gDiapers

I know, i know, many of you are saying, "g-what?" (or if you're a beets, "g-whaaaaaaaaaat?") Do they have something to do with gmail or google? No, they do not. They are the next step for people who are environmentally conscious but who don't want to deal with cloth diapers. How could this be, you ask? Well, it's simple. You simply flush these diapers down the toilet.

If you're interested: g-what?

I first discovered these on the blog of a friend of mine from high school--Jana, a.k.a., Sweetpea. I admit that at first sight I was intrigued. Now, having caved into excellent marketing, I have bought and sampled the goods.

I cannot say enough about how fantastic this experience was as a consumer. First of all, their website is well-arranged and easy to navigate. Secondly, I ordered this on Tuesday evening and received it on Thursday morning (after having been told it would take 3 to 5 business days to arrive once it had actually shipped). Thirdly, the packaging is just awesome! Form and function, together: I love it. The box comes with a cardboard sleeve of sorts that comes off and then folds like an accordion. On the outside are cute pics of babies in gdiapers, on the inside are instructions for the use of the product. I like the multi-purposeness (is that even a word?) of said sleeve. Fourth, the product is extremely easy to use. And, finally, Aidan looks SO DARN cute in his little gdiaper.

There will be naysayers out there:

"what about use with low-flow toilets? These couldn't possibly work with low-flow toilets." Oh, yes, yes, they do. I have low-flow toilets. The first few times I used the swish stick, you know, just to be sure everything was broken up. However, the last time I threw caution to the wind and I flushed without swishing. No problemo, dude. I mean, this stuff breaks up in the toilet better than toilet paper. (and, in the category of TMI, Macon and I have had ....well, let's just say that we're more likely to clog up the toilet than this "flushable" is).

"it is not as environmentally friendly as cloth."Well, that depends. If you're interested, check out this, this, and just for kicks: a comparison with disposables. I need to admit at this point that there are several mommies out there who do not use disposables because of the absorbent crystals in them. There is the question as to whether or not these are toxic and whether or not we should be using them in diapers at all. Gdiapers would say it's not a problem, others say it is. I will not attempt to address this issue here.

So, what about the theory that children in cloth will potty train up to a year sooner than children in disposables? That is around 1000 diaper changes, folks. So, for me and mine, we'll be using cloth as a mainstay. However, I think we'll be using the gdiapers instead of pampers/luvs/huggies/etc for things like going out and travel. Furthermore, I think it may be worth using these on baby number 2 (no, we're not pregnant) for the first 4 to 6 months before we start solids. All Liquid "bizness" (a.k.a. "poopie") all the time sounds like a great candidate for flushing, and potty training will not be an issue that is even on the horizon at that point.

The really exciting part is that there is a great option available for people who don't want to do cloth, but who do want to be better stewards of the earth. 90% to 95% of the market uses disposables and then they sit in a landfill for 500 years. If some of that market share switched to gdiapers, it would make a HUGE difference in our landfill problems (as diapers account for a ginormous amount of trash in the landfill system).

Another thing that has impressed me has been the patience and kindness of the founders of gdiapers. I have read many a webpage with either glowing or glowering reports about gdiapers, and for all those glowerers the founders have responded to their posts with patient and kind comments either explaining away misconceptions or gently pointing out mistakes. This makes me like them even more. They not only have a great product and provide a fantastic consumer experience, but they are also humble when they could be arrogant.

Having tested said goods, if you have any questions for me, feel free to post them. I will do my best to respond. (Man, I feel like a gdiapers evangelist...what has become of me? I never imagined I could get so excited about diapers...and for those of you out there who don't have kids, just wait. You, too, will find yourself here. When you do, look me up. You know where to find me.)


...did I mention how darn cute these things are?

**NEW INFO:
I forgot to say two very important things:
1-these cost about 5 to 7 cents more per diaper than your typical pampers (but it's like buying organic milk, if you do it and others do it, then the price will come down--in the meantime, it's worth the extra money to not be adding to the landfills).
2-The "g-pants" (the outside cloth covers) velcro in the back instead of in the front. This is fantastic! I was able to let Aidan run around in just his diaper all afternoon and not once did he take it off. (one of the issues with cloth diapers and maybe disposables, too, is how they fasten in the front and so babies figure out how to take them off.) In fact, this cloth diaper cover is the best fitting of any I have tried. I am probably not through trying, but for now that is saying quite a bit.