Travel Diapers

When we decided to cloth diaper there were a few reasons driving us to do so, namely environmental and cost. When we thought about the chemicals that go into making disposable diapers and the images of landfills still holding them decades later, it made me feel responsible to not dump an additional few thousand to the pile. This picture was shared with me on facebook this week and was a great visual reminder of how using cloth can help to prevent that landfill pile up. 

Courtesy of http://the-giggling-green-bean.com/ Facebook page- a Denver, CO based cloth diaper store.

Now that being said, I also live in a reality where cloth is not always convenient or best. Since Heath was maybe 6 months old and a heavy overnight wetter, we chose to use a disposable as a night time diaper and Target has been a great brand for us to keep the wetness away from his skin when he has great stretches of sleep.

When we travel is another time where we look to have alternative options that work for our itinerary. Sometimes we will not have access to a washer/dryer where we are staying. On a travel day where we could be in transit 3-11 hours, it is not ideal to carry a wetbag with you that could be filled with poopy diapers (airplane toilets are not an option for rinsing). So we usually rely on our trusty Target disposables for those travel days.

This past Christmas break we traveled to California and while in years past we have packed up our cloth diapering system with us, I wanted to try out some hybrid options. I dislike that taking our cloth with us means checking another bag, and we were also going to be traveling a bit more throughout the trip and not staying at one house location. So I explored the disposable inserts to use with our cloth covers. In our last minute packing I was limited to what our (one) natural store in town had in stock which was a package of gDiapers disposable insert. One package had 32 inserts for ~$18.

gRefill on the right. 

gDiapers biodegradable gRefills
Pros:
- They were large and filled in the cover well.
- They were highly absorbent and I felt worked very similar in the way to Target disposables as far as how much it would hold.
- They provide the option of composting or flushing as they advertise as biodegradable, though their website says this: * Disposable inserts are biodegradable in home composts per ASTM standards by a third party independent lab (wet ones only please). Nothing truly biodegrades in a landfill. But gDiapers gives you options for disposal. Flush, compost or toss. The choice is yours.When referring to the top picture here, this made me feel somehow better that these could break down more than a common disposable. I did not try flushing any of them because I was concerned about putting such a large piece down the toilet and since we were traveling, we did not have access to our compost.

Cons:
- When compared with the flip they were not as soft, but before I knew any different I thought they were fine to have against Heath's skin.
- More expensive (partially because of our in town purchase, didn't shop around online) Diapers.com sells a pack of 32 for $15.59
More info at their website here: http://www.gdiapers.com/shop/diaper-inserts/biodegradable-grefills-case

Flip Disposable Insert

Flip Disposable Diaper Inserts
Pros:
- They were softer to the touch
- They were better priced (we ordered online at diapers.com for $5.99, package of 18)

Cons:
- I found these less absorbent than the g's and had to change wet diapers more quickly, but also went through more covers because of dampness penetrating.
- While they were longer than the g's they were not as wide and I think for Heath's body type at least this size of Flips were not as good of a fit.
- Not biodegradable nor flushable
More info at their website here: http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?products_id=2160
Takeaway:
This was a great hybrid option for us to pack only our covers and then had free shipping directly send the inserts to our travel destination, reducing the need to pack them. It became more of a vacation for us when we were not obligated to do diaper laundry every two days and just used a sink to hand wash the covers as needed. I like that we have some extra on hand that we can try out for other scenarios (church nursery, car rides, maybe night doubler?). For people wanting to dabble into the cloth diaper world, this may be a great full time option for you, especially if you don't have immediate access to a washer/dryer in your home.

Want to read more reviews? I found these interesting:

• On using the gDiaper system http://mrandmrswright.com/2010/10/g-what-gdiapers/

• Flip system and their insert change in 2010 http://everythingbirth.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/flip-disposable-inserts-are-on-their-way/

• A nice comparison of Grovia and Flip  http://www.iloveclothdiapers.com/2010/11/grovia-vs-flip-are-they-same.html