As soon as you have a baby, you'll find that you suddenly have a lot of choices to make. One of the first will be what type of diapers you'll buy. Debate rages between parent groups as to which is better, but ultimately you'll have to make your decision based on what's best for your family and your baby. Here are the two top options you'll have to consider when it comes to baby diapers.

Disposable

Disposable diapers are factory produced, easy to use products that consist of a waterproof plasticized shell and inner absorbent fibers made of wood pulp and absorbent polymers. It is possible to get environmentally friendly disposable diapers if you're worried about possible chemical content in your baby's diapers. These green disposables are typically made of plant based plastics on the outside and interiors made of bamboo, cotton, or absorbent polymers that are plant based and biodegradable. In addition to the environment, disposable diapers are also hard on the finances of new parents, but can be changed in public or away from home without mess or fuss.

Cloth

For those who want a more traditional approach to diapering and wish to avoid filling landfills with even biodegradable disposables, there are cloth diapers. Kitting a baby out with cloth diapers is expensive to start with, but by washing and reusing the cloth inner and plastic outer diapers, may end up cheaper in the long run. Organic diapers made of cotton that was grown without chemicals are available to parents who are worried about allergic reactions or toxicity resulting from diaper use. Some cloth diapers are partially disposable, with inner liners of cotton or bamboo that can be removed and discarded. This may offer a compromise for parents who want the convenience and portability of a disposable but with the environmentally friendliness of a cloth diaper.

You may find that you have occasion to use both types on your baby - cloth diapers for nighttime or at home and disposables when you and baby are out and about and not able to wash and reuse the soiled diapers.