Taking gDiapers for a test drive

Touted by someone more clever than me as the 'hybrid' diaper, gDiapers combine the eco-friendliness of cloth with the convenience of disposable.

With statistics like this is make you mull over your choice, I decided to give gDiapers a test drive.

There is only one thing to do with a disposable diaper once soiled: throw it out. That means every one of the 18-23 billion diapers sold annually goes directly into a landfill somewhere in America. That’s a staggering 3.5 million tons of poop and plastic going into the ground…each year. It’s no wonder disposable diapers are the 3rd largest single consumer item in our waste system – following newspapers and beverage containers.

I simply ordered the starter kit online. Service and delivery were extremely prompt. Several emails along the way let me know where my order was.

Frankly, I was pretty eager to get the kit. As soon as it arrived, I had Peanut at her changing spot to try out her new g-gear.

Assembly was pretty staight forward. I had the most difficulties with getting the g-pants on Peanut. I had gone for Medium since she's about 17 lbs now, but a little skinny-mini. Still I noticed the pants pinching her little thighs while in the waist she had a gap. Over the next day or so, I got better at it, but I don't think they ever fit her perfectly.

The g-pants were admittedly adorable - they also had a 'baby-got-back' effect that was v. cute.

My next challenge was spotting when they needed a change. With Peanut's usual Pampers I can see/feel them swell up when she wets them. No visible hints with the g-Diapers so I had go more by the clock. Soon I felt it had been long enough -- time to check and flush.

I was nervous about the ability of our toilet to handle the load so I did double-flushes in the beginning. No prob. Then I did a few single flushes. No prob - the first times. Then we had a back-up.... we live in a house that's less than 10 years old, but as I had earlier suspected the flush was a bit weak.

Shaking out the g-Diaper was easy enough, swirling was no hassle.

It was, of course, more work than a Pampers change. I had to hold Peanut still longer and then suffered the unexpected side effect of her following me to watch it flush....it never seems like a good idea to get a baby excited about what the toilet can do :-) I had a pre-loaded g-Diaper ready to switch out so that was easy - with two pairs of g-pants and 4 liners.

I haven't yet gone for a refill and I haven't yet figured out the cost comparasion because we weren't 100% sold on the idea.

a great unintended benefit was the interest Peanut had in the boxes which the g-Diapers shipped in. It was actually the first time she started putting objects inside something (the g-Diapers box!) and carrying them around :-)