1 Month to Donate 1,000 Diapers for Mother’s Day
Today is exactly one month away from Mother’s Day and as a new mother I thought I would try a pretty ambitious project for a new blogger. With the help of other mothers I want to donate 1,000 eco friendly disposable diapers to mothers in need by Mother’s Day.
My baby just hit the three month mark and it is an unfathomable expense to provide for one of his two most essential needs. Before my baby was born and I was feeling totally overwhelemed with the strollers and toys and facts and figures that make every expectant mother manic a friend and seasoned mom told me, “Don’t worry, all you need is boobs and diapers.” That one sentence became my calming mantra over the last trimester of my pregnancy. Boobs and diapers. Simple, right?
Sadly, as I have started to donate my kiddo’s outgrown newborn clothing to local charities here in Los Angeles I am coming to realize that diapers are a luxury item for needy moms. According to LADiaperdrive.com a newborn baby goes through about twelve diapers a day at a cost of about $100 per month. Lower income families may keep babies in the same diaper all day to cut costs which can have a huge impact on a baby’s health or use money that would have otherwise gone to food on keeping a baby properly diapered. I accidentally stumbled onto a picture of a yeast diaper rash caused by infrequent diaper changes which was terrifyingly unpretty. It is really sad to imagine a little kid with that such a painful preventable ailment. You can see the image here on About.com. WARNING! It is extremely graphic and features unclothed male infant diaper area. Very NSFW.
Cloth diapers aren’t a feasible option for these moms as they usually do not own washing machines and a diaper washing service adds a steep cost. Furthermore, the environmental impact of the water used to wash cloth diapers in areas such as California with long term water shortages can be an overlooked environmental hazard.
Eco-friendly disposables are a good option but are still more costly than regular disposables by several cents per diaper. Donating eco-friendly disposables to mothers in need is great for baby, mom and mother earth. 1,000 diapers would fill the needs of three newborns for one month and would be 1,000 less diapers sitting in a landfill for 500 years!
I will be posting details on how and where to donate on Monday. I will also be posting links to diaper chariaties across the country that you can donate to. I have already written one article with some of this information which can be accessed here.