Here’s a first-time mom’s confession: The first thing I ever bought for the coming of my little one is one pack of 24-piece diapers in small size. Believe it or not, I only added one more pack of the same brand and quantity of diapers from a baby fair. I was a few months away from delivery, and I only thought about diapers as far as the hospital bag is concerned!

I only realized how essential diapers were when we went home from giving birth. My newborn would cry at the slightest discomfort of having a pee in her diaper. Before we know it, her pack of newborn diapers from the hospital is all used up. The ones I bought were still so big for her, so we had to buy sets of newborn diapers. Our garbage bin exclusively for her diapers easily gets full to the brim. Her diapers run out fast and we have to constantly be on our toes to keep the supply running.

I honestly wondered when the diaper waste is going to end. While the use of diapers is convenient for us, it’s not necessarily good for the environment. Now that my daughter’s getting older, her diapers are growing bigger with her, too! The amount of waste I contribute to the world is bothersome for me.

So I started researching for alternatives we can use instead of disposable diapers. Here are some ideas I found!

Do it the old-school way! My mother used both the soft lampin and the thicker katsa (flour sack cloth) as diapers for my youngest brother, and she would only make him wear disposable diapers when going out. The lampin will have to be folded diaper-like on the baby’s legs and fastened with pins on the sides. The disadvantage of lampin as diapers is the time you spend in doing the laundry as it has to be washed right away for the stain to not stay.

The only difference this one has from the lampins mentioned above is that Chino Pino are pre-folded. It will save you the amount of energy you exert to make sure your cloth diaper sits well on your baby’s bum. They already look like diapers on their own, but they have to be washed as well.

These cloth diapers are the pricier alternative, but unlike the lampin, this cloth diaper has a lot of colors and styles to choose from! It also has inserts made up of bamboo, hemp, or cotton, that absorb the wetness and can be washed and worn again. Washing these inserts is the only downside, but mothers do it for the love of mother nature.

If disposable diapers cannot be eliminated in your home but you’re determined to at least minimize their use for economical and environmental purposes, you may carry out the following strategies:

Each of these diapers has its pros and cons, so balance these out by using a combination in a day! This way, you won’t have to wash too much and you won’t have to throw away too much either.

My mom still tells me to allow “breathing time” for my baby’s bum before putting on another diaper. By doing this, we also help keep my baby’s bum away from rashes developed in enclosed disposable diapers.

Older kids may be trained to not wear diapers in preparation for potty training. Prepare diaper-changing mats as the bedding may be soiled without them.