I'm married, and my wife is itching for some babies. My response to her constant hints? Do you realize how much those chitlins are going to cost? Setting aside all of the cute expenditures, there's a dirty side to parenthood than can cost a pretty penny too. Of course I'm talking about diapers.

There's generally three ways of wrapping your baby's tookus:

1. Single-use, disposable diapers: they'll run about $50 to $80 per month, depending on the brand, but be aware that the absorbent chemicals and plastics used in disposables can cause irritation. Shelling out some extra dough can be worth it for an unrashed rump.
2. Cloth Diapers: this environmentally-conscious solution has been around since diapers began. Fortunately, they've evolved for our convenience. We no longer need the giant safety pins or the poo-covered washboards. Now you can purchase weekly diaper services that pick up your baby's soiled garments and replace them with a stash of fresh ones. 60 clean diapers a week and a mess I don't have to clean up for $18? Not bad.
3. The crème de la crème: gDiapers. Chic, efficient, and uber environmentally-friendly, gDiapers are chemical- and plastic-free, biodegradable inserts that break down in just 50 to 150 days. Compared to disposables which take 500 years to biodegrade, gs leave a pretty small footprint. Did I mention you can flush and compost them? The only downside is you will spend around $40 for gPants with only six inserts.

The bottom line: all children are different. One heinie may get irritated in disposables and another not. What's important is the wellbeing of your child, so don’t be afraid to try as many options as are available to you. If your baby takes to the cheapest option, great! If not, simply rework your budget to accommodate your baby's expensive tushie.

--Chris

Photo taken from this photostream and used with permission of a Creative Commons license.
 

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