Book Giveaway: Changing Diapers by Kelly Wels
Writer Kelly Wels wants to be your personal cheerleader for cloth diapering. In Changing Diapers: The Hip Mom’s Guide to Modern Cloth Diapering, the cloth diapering expert breaks down the taboos and misinformation about old-fashioned, leaky cloth diapers and makes a case for cloth diapering to convince even the busiest parents. She begins by citing the myriad chemical components of disposables, shown to cause asthma-like symptoms in lab rats, and moves on to dispel commonly held beliefs about the convenience and reliability of cloth. Wels says switching from plastic disposables to fleecy cloth diapers not only saves your baby’s bum from chemical exposure but spares landfills of 6,000 diapers per child. Each of those diapers takes 500 years to break down—probably not the legacy any parent wants for their child. As another plus, Wels says, your wallet will also benefit; the average savings gained by switching to cloth diapers are more than $2,000 per child.
Wels covers types, brands, and methods of diapering as well as common diaper dilemmas including acceptance at hospitals and day cares, travelling concerns, and more. Supplementing the wealth of information in this book are beautiful photos of infants and toddlers in colorful, fluffy diapers—happily proving the effectiveness of their undergarments. The resources section is extremely helpful and provides a virtual community of like-minded parents via blogs and websites.
Read on for a Q&A with author Kelly Wels and to enter to win a copy of Changing Diapers.
What makes cloth diapers different nowadays?
They’re like disposable diapers now. They look like them and work like them—you fasten them with Velcro or snaps. And they can save you $2,000 during the first two years of diapering. Most of the products are one-sized and grow with your baby so you only have to purchase diapers once! And the only thing you have to do is put them in the wash.
How does that work?
Washing cloth diapers is now super easy. You can use flushable liners or a diaper sprayer to wash out the solids.
Did you use cloth diapers on your children?
With my first child, I had all the intentions of using cloth diapers. I used the really old-fashioned kind for two days and thought it was a nightmare. So it scared me off and we used disposables. My second child was about 14 months old when I started using cloth. He had been in disposables, like my daughter had. And I can honestly say that the cloth diapers worked better.
Honestly?
Really! They’re better in so many ways. They’re more absorbent and more comfortable. They’re convenient. You never run out and go to the store on a cold night. I used to have two massive trash bags to take to the dump each week.
Why is switching to cloth so important now?
By switching to cloth diapers you save more than one ton of disposable waste from going into the landfills. By using cloth diapers you keep harmful chemicals away from your baby that are in disposable diapers (like toluene, dioxin, xylene)..
How available are cloth diapers and accessories?
There are several hundred online retailers that sell cloth diapers and accessories. It is as easy as typing “cloth diapers” in a Google search bar. Modern cloth diapers are now making their way into big box stores like Target and Babies ‘R’ Us, making it very easy for people to try out modern cloth diapering options.S&H
Giveaway! Win a copy of Changing Diapers from Green Team Enterprises. To enter, leave a comment answering one of the following: If you’re a parent, what’s one way you try to “be green” with your baby or children? Or, if your kids have flown the nest or you don’t have any children, what’s a way in which you try to “be green” at home? Commenting will close on Monday, Nov. 7 at 11 a.m. EST, at which time one winner will be selected at random. We’ll announce the winner here and on our Facebook page.
11.7.2011 Update: Our winner is Nikee H., who has a wee one on the way! Congrats, Nikee, and thanks to everyone for the inspirational ideas! -The S&H Editors
