Whether or not our country is in a “true energy crisis” is left to be seen, but as consumers, few of us in the United States have escaped the soaring prices at the gas pump, grocery stores, restaurants, etc…

Why the speedy rise in energy and transportation costs? Dow Chemical blames the cost of crude oil. Crude oil prices have doubled, even from this time last year, a 17 year high. To offset their soaring costs, Dow Chemical Co. announced a 20 percent price increase in their products, effective June 1, 2008.

Since Dow makes chemicals that go into everything from antifreeze and coolants, to toys, textiles, detergents and disposable diapers, it will come as no surprise that Americans are about to start paying substantially more to purchase basic staples and also, disposable diapers.

Dow is the biggest maker of polyacrylate, the absorbent chemical gel found inside every disposable diaper. When they raise the price of polyacrylate for their disposable diaper manufacturers, consumers will see the trickle down rise in pricing for disposable diapers.

They aren’t the only major chemical company affected either; just the first to announce a price increase-others are soon to follow.

How will this be reflected in the cost of diapering a baby in disposables?

A trip down the grocery aisle, plus a quick calculation of how many diapers a baby will go through in any given day, gives a rough expenditure of about 50 to 65 dollars a month spent on diapers–before the price increase. With Dow Chemical’s price increase of 20 percent on everything, YOURS and MY checkout receipt will reflect a rise of 10 to 18 dollars a month JUST IN DISPOSABLE DIAPERS.

For one reason or another disposable diaper prices have gone up considerably over the past few years. Day care providers who only 5 years ago paid about 22 cents a diaper for Pampers Cruisers^™ are now paying 34 cents for that same disposable diaper.

Beat the rising costs of disposable diapers - USE CLOTH DIAPERS instead!

Set aside any environmental argument you have heard regarding cloth diapers versus disposable diapers and simply focus on the FACTS - the actual COSTS. Following Dow’s announcement, cloth diapers have now become the most economical means to diaper your baby, period.

The Real Diaper Association has an excellent breakdown on the cost of disposable diapers in their Diaper Facts. According to the RDA, based on an average change of 8 diapers per day for a period of 2 years, a single baby will need about 6,000 diapers. Eight diapers a day might not seem like a lot, but 6,000 diapers certainly does-especially 6,000 disposable diapers with a trickle down price increase of about 20 percent.

Not only are disposable diapers expensive, but they are not a wise expense since a disposable diaper used just once is considered trash. Cloth diapers are REUSABLE; the initial investment pays you back, wash after wash, year after year, and through subsequent children.

Cloth Diapers cost less than one tenth the cost of disposables.

Based on estimations made by the RDA, the cost of using cloth diapers is about one tenth the cost of disposables. With the upcoming increased pricing, that will be less than one tenth. Now is the time for parents and caregivers to check out how far the cloth diaper industry has come in making modern cloth diapers that are easy to put on baby, easy to care for, much softer and more comfortable, and of course, considerably less expensive.

Wool Soakers have long been considered a night-time cloth diapering option for heavy wetters. The double-layered knit design in the body of the original Aristocrats Wool Soaker gave extra absorbency right through the stride where baby needs it most. Now, with the addition of legs, these Wool Soakers took on the name “Longies.”

Absolutely breathable, yet dry to the touch, wool longies make for effective, leak-resistant pajama bottoms over your baby’s prefold diapers. The Aristocrats Wool Longies are too bulky to wear under more fitted clothing, like pants, however many moms use them over their child(ren)’s cloth diapers as pants when out and about; they also make adorable, natural “tights” under little girls’ dresses in cooler weather.

With all of the benefits how can you go wrong?

The Aristocrats Wool Longies, along with prefold diapers, are a sensible purchase for the pocketbook, environment and your baby’s comfort. The natural wool fiber is both thermal and yet, remains dry. In other words, even though it can store water vapour up to 35 percent of its own weight, it remains ABSOLUTELY DRY. The breathability factor of wool longies can’t be beat; ample circulation cools your baby’s most sensitive areas alleviating trapped heat.

We all know that keeping baby dry is one of the first ways to fight against diaper rash, but another way that the Aristocrats Wool Longies reduce infection is through the built-in anti-bacterial properties of lanolin. Yep, the all natural lanolin found in wool kills germs that cause odors. This means you’ll not likely have issues with your wool longies becoming stinky or, if re-lanolized occasionally, losing their water barrier.

Easy to use and easy to care for, wool soakers are dirt and dust resistant. The lanolin acts as a self-cleaner, reducing the time you spend washing diaper covers.

Why the concern for boys and trimness in a diaper? Well, boy babies have a tendency to be outfitted in pants and/or shorts and not sweet frilly dresses and bloomers. And though it is true that in the very first few months, babies spend a good deal of time in onesies, at some point you pull out the not-so-gender neutral clothing and want a cloth diapering system that will work with the clothes you choose, as opposed to choosing clothing that will work with your cloth diapers.

The first thing to consider is how much into convenience are you?
Are you opposed to using diaper pins or the efficient snappi diaper fastener to secure a prefolded cloth diaper on your baby? If that doesn’t leave you running for the disposable diaper aisle, then take a gander at the cloth diaper fold called the Angel Fold; it calls for a snappi fastener and a trim wrap-style cloth diaper cover, like the very lightweight Bumkins diaper covers or the equally thin, but waterproof, Bummis Whisper Pant.

The Bumkins can also be used without diaper pins or the snappi fastener, but both accessories will create a smoother and taunter overall fit.

Make sure you purchase Chinese Prefolds that fit your boy well, and if looking for trimness, try the 6-ply over the 8-ply. Trimness in your cloth diapering system will sacrifice a bit of absorption, but as with any baby, your son’s diaper needs to be changed whether he wets a little or a lot, so super-absorbent properties truly are not only unnecessary, but unhygienic.

Uncertain about the prefolds and want something with a bit more form? Contour Diapers have the same hourglass shape as a disposable diaper or a fitted cloth diaper, but without the elastic that gathers at the leg and waist and the snaps or velcro closures. The contour diapers are easily layed into any wrap-style cover and though unnecessary, can also be secured with any style of diaper fasteners.

Willing to give up a tad bit of trimness for convenience?
Although fitted cloth diapers are a tad bulkier than the Chinese Prefolds and the Contour diapers mentioned above, they make up for their bulk with the convenience of securing around baby with snaps or velcro/Aplix closures, just like a disposable. Some fitted diapers are considerably trimmer than others. For instance, the Tiny Tush Trim One-Size Cloth Diaper worn with a Bummis Whisper Pant is only slightly less trim than the above contoured diaper option.

Avoid bulk at the waistline.
The overall idea is to avoid bulk at the waistline. Baby to Toddler pants are often elasticized at the waist, which adds bulk already. Go for a trimmer cloth diaper cover, like a lightweight pull-on cover, seen pulled on over a fitted diaper here, and/or a side snapping or even lightweight front closing wrap, and it’ll fair better under pants than any kind of fleece diaper cover, All In One or Pocket style cloth diapers.

Confused at all? Contact us and we’ll customize a cloth diapering system just for you and your son’s needs.

That is why I LOVE the cloth diaper fold known as the Angel Fold. It is fast and efficient to put on baby, as well as economical. The Angel Fold utilizes diaper service quality cloth diapering products that will hold up over time through subsequent babies. You would be hard pressed to find a better deal.

Don’t believe me? Let’s look at the ingredients for a single diaper change using the Angel Fold.

• 1 (one) Chinese Prefold
• 1 (one) Bummis Super Whisper Wrap or other wrap-style cloth diaper cover
• optional diaper pin or snappi fastener

Even though these can be purchased as singles, they also come in a prefold diaper package deal for even more savings.

Why is the Angel Fold so fast and efficient?

The use of the cloth diaper wrap is the primary reason the Angel Fold is such a fast method of cloth diapering. If you look at the cloth diaper folding technique, you can see the prefold is literally “wrapped” into the waterproof core of the diaper cover so it can easily snug up against baby’s contours and secure comfortably, keeping messes contained. This wrap is secured using wings strategically placed at the upper left and right sides of the cover’s back side. The wings wrap around, holding the prefold in place against baby’s skin, and securing on the front panel that draws up between the legs. Basically, the whole of it works like a disposable, just more comfortable, natural and absorbent for baby.

Cloth diaper wraps with velcro or Aplix tabs allow for a lot more adjustability for a growing child’s waist and thighs; it can be tightened or loosened in seconds. This makes for a very efficient cloth diapering system as it will be worn much longer than a system with covers that snap or use another form of predetermined size constraints.

Whether using cloth diapers or disposable diapers, there will be leaks if you do not first determine the right diaper size, if it is not secured properly, or in the case of cloth diapers, if the cover doesn’t fit properly.

Let’s start with diaper size.

Prefold diapers that are too small (or do not have enough panels for your baby’s wetting needs) simply can’t hold enough moisture to get the job done adequately.

Cloth diapering is one area where size matters a lot. While weight measurements may seem simpler, they are not as accurate as measuring the waist, rise and thighs of your baby to ensure his unique characteristics are taken into effect. Learn how to find the perfect fitting cloth diaper for your baby.

Fastening prefolds on baby

Snappi ensures a snug-fitting diaper with enough natural movement for the baby

There are multiple options for how to secure the prefold on your baby. A growing favorite is the Snappi, but quality diaper pins and/or using the right size diaper wrap (a diaper cover that “wraps” around the diaper to secure it to baby) works as well.

Finding the perfect diaper cover fit

The final step to stop leaks with prefolds is choosing the right diaper cover. Prefold diapers, unlike other styles of cloth diapers, can be worn with any style of diaper cover. As when selecting a cloth diaper size, learn how to measure baby for the right, leak-free, fit.

When looking for a swim diaper, unlike when selecting a cloth diaper to be used “out” of the pool, absorption is not a determing factor. Swim diapers, like the Imse Vimse Swim Diaper are not to be absorbent at all. A diaper that absorbs will become heavy with pool water or urine which poses a danger of “weighing down” the child in the pool. This is why disposable diapers with super absorbent polymers are an unwise choice for swimming pools. The absorbent gel found in the core of a disposable diaper can absorb up to 100 times its weight in fluids. Immerse a disposable diaper in a sink or tub and feel how much heavier it becomes. Over the course of an hour of pool time, the “full” absorbent core will begin to break down and tear apart. This exposes your child’s genitals directly to the chemical gel, and it pollutes the pool.

To be in compliance with health department regulations, a swim diaper needs only to contain solid messes. Chemicals within a pool take care of urine a baby may pass, but solids need to be contained within the diaper to reduce health risks in shared water settings. And of course, if a child is of potty training age, they should be taken to a restroom regularly to relieve him/herself there.

One walk down the disposable diaper aisle in any supermarket leaves you with the impossible task of finding a diaper that can fit your largest child without allowing for blow-outs at the leg or up the back with your smallest child. A poorly fitted disposable diaper makes for an uncomfortable baby and an increase in the number of diaper and clothing changes for mom. Make your life easier, consider one-size diapers.

The variation for adjusting a one-size diaper offers room for your baby or toddler to grow. This makes it a more economical choice than buying multiple packages of disposables, or even multiple sizes of cloth diapers.

The bumGenius! One Size Diaper is a favorite among parents of multiple children, as well as babysitters, grandma and anyone else that might be daunted by the idea of changing a cloth diaper.

The bumGenius! diapers easily fit babies from 8 pounds all the way up to 35 pounds. That is quite a stretch! It is the first cloth diaper to feature stretch-to-fit tabs (patent pending), making cloth diapering as easy AND as comfortable as disposables.

The bottom line is that as a 100% nonprofit organization, all money collected from advertising on the RDA website goes to give away diapers. Yes, you read that right - they GIVE AWAY cloth diapers. By doing this, the Real Diaper Giveaway, with the help of Real Diaper Association advertisers and members, spreads more cloth diapers to more babies who need them.

If you are a cloth diapering advocate, consider joining Real Diaper Association. We are business members of Real Diaper Association and are a part of their ongoing effort to increase the use of simple, reusable cloth diapers.

What? You would expect otherwise?

Cloth diaper makers and both off and online cloth diaper stores offer a variety of cloth diaper styles that would make your head spin. In fact, the task of finding the cloth diapering system that is just right for you might seem like a daunting one. Never fear, there are many cloth diaper advocates available to assist you in finding that perfect match for your baby’s size and your family’s system.

Have a heavy wetter - need to tailor absorbency? Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers or Haute Pocket diapers are perfect for night time diapering.

Want an organic cotton diaper that snaps on and off as easy as a disposable? Try the Dream-Eze Organic Cotton Fitted Diaper. It is built to fit trim and has a low-rise so it can secure right under babies belly button, allowing for a more comfortable fit inside a cloth diaper cover and under regular baby clothes.

Need to watch the budget, but want a high quality - as in Diaper Service Qualiy - cloth diaper that can wear beneath any cloth diaper cover and wash up easily? Start with the #1 selling prefolds, made of 100% heavyweight cotton twill and available in unbleached/natural and bleached/white. They can easily be secured to baby using a durable and economical “work horse” diaper cover - the Super Whisper Wrap.

The sky is truly the limit with the growing number of WAHMs producing diapers to sell online, as well as the manufacturers that are stepping up production of reusable cloth diapers to meet the growing interest in sustainable diapering alternatives to disposables.

One of the products that we have gathered a good deal of positive testimonials about is the Mini Shower Spray Wand. The Mini Shower Spray Wand is a hand held spray wand that attaches to your commode and aids in rinsing off soiled cloth diapers instead of having to dunk and soak them. It acts sort of the same as the sprayer you may have at your kitchen sink, but with a high pressure multi-hole jet spray head to give you the maximum pressure necessary to handle even heavily stuck-on diaper messes.

The Mini Shower Spray Wand attaches directly to the water line that feeds into your commode and the actual mini-shower head hangs on either the left or the right of the commode, according to your preference. The holder can also be permanently mounted on the wall of the cabinet beside your commode.

And don’t worry - your kids won’t make a water park in the bathroom because the Mini Shower Spray Wand comes with a shut-off valve for when not in use.