It's Not Easy Raising Green: Goin' Places...

We have a couple of family trips coming up. The first one is a weekend trip to Cleveland to visit my mom's side of the family. They haven't met Layla yet, so this is their introduction. The next trip is to a family reunion in Charleston, SC this summer. Now, these trips are making me incredibly nervous because 1) I've never travelled a significant distance with a baby and 2) Layla is cloth-diapered, so I don't yet know what I'm going to do about diapering her.

I think for the Cleveland trip I'm going to bring her cloth diapers because we're staying with my aunt who has a washer and dryer. Plus we're driving a minivan so we'll have plenty of storage space. But the Charleston trip is a different animal because we'll be flying, provided my husband can swallow his fear of planes. They give you enough crap about checking multiple bags as it is. Imagine us trying to cart our entire stash with us on a plane ride. Not happening! We'll also be staying in a hotel and as good as the Marriott's laundry service may be I'm sure they don't wash cloth diapers.

I'd heard of gDiapers a few years ago before we had our girl.

I've never tried these for Layla, but I think they may be an option for the SC trip. They work similarly to the prefolds and covers we use for Layla, but the liners are flushable. I've heard people find preparing them for flushing a bit cumbersome (you have to tear the sides, pull the liner apart, and swish it in the toilet... all fun stuff!). But I figure if it keeps waste out of landfills, I don't mind the extra work. Plus the company claims the liners break down in a landfill in 90 days, as opposed to the 500 years it would take for disposable. I wouldn't consider them for long-term use, however, because they do contain SAP. That's the polymer used in conventional disposable diapers and it has been linked to gynecological problems in girls later in life. Also buying the liners on a regular basis would get a little pricey I imagine, which negates the money-saving benefits of cloth. But for our travelling purposes, these look like they might be a good option. I hope I'm right.