Akumi and I went to our first birthing class tonight. The way the scheduling ended up, we're attending the last two classes of this series, then the first four later.
Since many of my friends are expecting, I thought I'd mention the things that struck me as something new I've never heard.
Conventional wisdom says that cloth diapers are better for the baby's bum than disposables. They result in less diaper rashes and don't produce a lot of landfill waste.
However, this comes at a cost of convenience (who wants to wash all that crap?) and the amount of detergent chemicals used in home washing makes it no less environmentally friendly than disposables.
However, there is a third choice I never knew about.
The instructor suggested having disposables on hand for when you go out, but use cloth at home with a diaper service. It's actually cheaper than buying disposables.
Diaper service?
Once a week, someone comes to your front door at the same time every week, and picks up the soiled linens, and brings you freshly laundered ones. The economy of scale involved makes it more environmentally friendly than washing your own. It sounds pretty convenient as well.
Something to look into and consider.