We were in the supermarket earlier and I was amazed at how many brands of disposable there were on the shelves.
When Sam and Alex were babies, we did not use disposable diapers 24/7 but only at night and when going out. Laundry was a hassle and we didn’t have househelp nor yayas but we managed. Speedy was even better with the washing machine than I was except when he fell asleep between washing cycles.
Why cloth diapers? Personally, I never really believed that disposable diapers kept baby “drier”. In this tropical climate, wrapping the kids in plastic — and the outer layer of all disposable diapers is plastic — prevents their skin from breathing naturally.
Second, do the germs and bacteria in the urine die as they get trapped in the diaper (even when they turn into jelly as diaper manufacturers claim) or do they stay alive waiting to victimize my children and give them urinary tract infection?
I know it’s a huge convenience for parents, but…
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Nanaynikiel 04.18.07 at 11:32 am
Just a quick correction — a number of disposable diapers today have fiber outer coverings (what they call “cloth-like”) which allows baby’s skin to breathe. My kids have also had very little to no episodes of diaper rash, so I guess they make em better now. I certainly don’t regret using disposables — just makes my life so much easier, more time for the kids too.
Connie 04.18.07 at 1:54 pm
Unless your kids is in an airconditioned room 24/7, touch the “cheeks” of his behind and it’ll be sweaty. Leaking can’t be prevented unless the outer covering is opaque.
Gloria 04.18.07 at 3:24 pm
that’s what my mother always said: that they managed well before even without with just the cloth diapers. when i gave birth, i had that dilemma of choosing between cloth and disposable diaper. i chose the disposable mainly because of convenience. with cloth diaper kasi dumadami ang lalabhan, so pera-wise baka patas lang. besides lahat pa-panghe pag cloth diaper. he he. bottomline, sabi ng nanay ko, tamad ako compared sa kanya. ha haha!!
Connie 04.18.07 at 3:41 pm
I’m all for convenience pero nakakdiri din isipin that all the bacteria are less than a centimeter away from my baby’s — what do you call that, urethra? And it’s that way for hours. Eh kung 24/7…
dexie 04.18.07 at 10:49 pm
with my first child i opted for cloth diapers during the day but the hassle of washing them every freaking hour bugged the heck out of me. not to mention the electric bill we got on that first month. so we switched and stuck to disposables.
i’m sure disposable diaper manufaturers have researched all that stuff. i haven’t heard any pediatrician say anything bad about disposable diapers.
if the diaper is full, change it, di ba?. and always clean with wipes first. for diaper rash, vaseline is the best cure.
Connie 04.19.07 at 12:37 am
pediatricians get incentives (free trips and vacations, expensive appliances, etc) from drug companies, diaper manufacturers, health drink manufacturers… i don’t know.
dexie 04.19.07 at 10:19 am
to clarify also, i’ve never had a pediatricia recommend a certain disposable diaper brand so i don’t have any cause to suspect any incetive exchange
Daisy 04.19.07 at 11:49 am
Dear Connie,
Thanks for sharing your mommy journals at mga kuro kuro.
When I gave birth — I really really want to use the lampin instead of the disposable for all the reasons you mentioned–we also do not have a yaya. we just had some house held a couple of months then kami na lang.
Kaya naman talaga kung kaya about the lampin. kaya lang po napansin ko lang that there are days that every hour or more nag wiwi si baby. there are some instance that hindi agad na detect thus andun pa rin yung bacteria. yung sa disposable malaki din tulong hindi na lang namin pinatatagal one wiwi or two alis na agad palit na agad. cloth like na rin kaya presko rin. pag nag pupu i think nag stick talaga sa lampin sobra din kaya double check din to disinfect and plantsa.
But it is interesting really to know what other moms think and what is the best based on experience ng mga moms
thanks for opening the discussion
lemon 04.19.07 at 2:49 pm
Hi ms connie,
From the time Faith was born until she was potty-trained, I made sure to use cloth diapers, except when we had to go out, to my officemates’ and colleagues’ surprise(they were puzzled that someone was still using cloth diapers). I just can’t believe any baby would be comfortable using disposables in the same manner that we ladies don’t feel comfy when wearing sanitary napkins. The few times that unknown to me, the nanny let her wear disposables during daytime, she got rashes, and that made me livid.I told her, kahit na mas magastos, or kahit na magpalaba na lang kami, basta, ayoko nang naka disposable diapers ang anak ko.
ria 04.19.07 at 7:22 pm
My kid has been using diapers since he was born… NEVER had a rash or anything. Mas kadiri kaya yung cloth diapers. EWWW!
Connie 04.19.07 at 8:39 pm
daisy, hello. discussing disposable diapers make more sense than discussing the elections hehehe
ria, so the thing that can’t be washed and cleaned and has to stay next to the baby’s skin LONGER is less kadiri? amazing.
based on your comment, with the immature ewwww, it’s really about which is more convenient for the parents. so let’s not have any pretensions that the choosing disposable diapers is something for the good of the child.
lemon, you said it: i hate sanitary napkins too. LOL No matter what all the ads in the world claimed — that you’d be so comfy you’d forget you have your period — i always felt it was a lot of BS. course, it still felt wet and sticky.
and, yeah, why should babies feel any better? same principle. same technology. the stuff that sanitary napkins are made of are the same stuff that disposable diapers are made of.
Mitch 04.20.07 at 12:34 pm
When my eldest daughter was a newborn, I swore to use cloth diapers with preference. Ang problema naman, since they are always wet, my daughter never got to sleep well. Tapos rainy season baby pa siya, so it was really a problem with regards to diaper laundry. Still, we tried to stick it out. I gave in to the convenience of the disposables when it became frustrating that within half an hour of a fresh diaper, she’d be crying because she’s wet na naman. I’d always run out of diapers and eventually, she got rashes pa from always being soaked.
When we first tried the disposables, skeptic din ako. I’d always be checking inside the diaper if the baby’s bottom is dry or if the surface of the diaper is dry, even if at least to the touch. And when the inside looks wet enough na, I’d experiment pa by pressing a tissue to the absorbent surface to check how much moisture the baby’s skin is exposed to. Surprisingly, dry pa din naman. But still, just to be sure, I weaned them off diapers as early as we could.
Bottomline pa din siguro, whichever the preference is, me necessary precautions pa din. As for disposables, kahit pa sabihin na VERY absorbent, it is still not good practice to leave the diaper on very long. Sa cloth diapers naman, we’ll have to admit, one has to be very meticulous with washing them.
Connie 04.20.07 at 1:41 pm
Hi Mitch. Just for discussion purposes. I often wondered if it was really bad to let an infant learn what discomfort means. When the baby cries because he’s wet, he is actually learning to communicate his discomfort.
Mitch 04.21.07 at 8:43 am
Point taken, Connie. Although as I saw it, a cranky, unrested baby isn’t healthy either. I was much more concerned that they got to sleep well day and night. Although, looking back….baka sadyang mareklamo lang nga mga anak ko. One of their first words: “makati” tsaka “aray”