Those old diapers worn in ancient times weren't all that bad! Cattails, when they ripen puff out with some very soft fibers that would be quite absorbent. Also used were mounds of moss and leaves in those first fancy diapers of old!

Other than the warmer climates where infants and children were usually kept naked, the diaper has been in existence for thousands of years.

The first fancy diapers were moss or leaves wrapped in animal skins.

You and I might not think that these were fancy diapers - but I bet these "old timers" thought so!

In the 1800's cotton diapers held in place with pins were first used. It's interesting to note that the first cotton diapers weren't washed very often but were only left out to dry and then reused! Once the importance of cleanliness and hygiene was realized, diapers were given more notice and better “models” were developed.

During WWII, when more and more women entered the work force, cloth diaper services became very popular and began to spring up all over the United States. Now THAT'S a fancy diaper - but leaving them sit in that pail for a week was... well smelly!

It was shortly after the war that the first rubber pants – coverings for cloth diapers – were invented. A woman named Marion Donovan made the first pair from a shower curtain. Infants and toddlers could now be allowed into the parlor with at least some degree of safety!

In 1950 the first preformed diaper was invented (probably by another woman!). Before this cloth diapers were huge affairs that had to be folded into the proper shape and size for the baby. This was also the first diaper that used snaps instead of safety pins to hold them closed.

In the late 1960's we began to see the rise of the disposable diaper. Most mothers thought they were better than sliced bread. (I know I did!) Disposable diapers were considered the ultimate in fancy diapers! The first ones still used safety pins - but that was soon changed to fancy diapers with reusable tapes!

In the 1990's however, the impact of millions upon millions of disposable diapers in the landfills began to have an impact that we are still feeling today.

More and more families are choosing to go green and return to cloth diapers. BUT, they are not the cloth diapers of two hundred years ago! BumGenius cloth diapers, for example, use the same conveniences of velcro and elastic as disposable diapers – yet they are cloth and reusable. Instead of rubber pants, we now have water resistant coverings made of merino wool, nylon or polyurethane laminate.

There are pocket diapers, which are a water resistant cover with an inner pocket for the insertion of a prefolded cloth diaper. Others are all one piece that can be easily washed. Many of the pocket diapers and these fancy cloth diapers are also available in one size for infant through potty training – which can be a life saver if you have more than one child in diapers!

To see what is best in Pocket Diapers visit: babyearth.com.

No longer just plain old white (although still available) fancy cloth diapers come in a huge assortment of colors and designs. Velcro, buttons and snaps have replaced safety pins!

BumGenius has organic one size fits all diapers as well. It's not a pocket diaper, but a cloth diaper with a 6-layer inner lining to absorb a lot of mess! There is no need to stuff as in a pocket diaper, so they save you a lot of extra trouble. Both the Pocket diaper and the One size fits all systems are the now and the future of cloth diapers.

bumGenius first made their appearance on the fancy diaper scene in 2006 with their innovative stretch tabs to make one of the first "one-size-fits-all diapers.

Today they are still a forerunner in the market with several organic fancy diapers that are very much environment savers. The bamboo organic diaper shown above is one such example as well as their basic one-size-fits-all organic diaper.

Time magazine reported in January of 2008 that, “an estimated 27.4 billion disposable diapers are used each year in the US, resulting in a possible 3.4 million tons of used diapers adding to landfills each year.”

That's just huge....can we keep doing this to our planet?

babyearth.com