Brace yourself... you'll be changing as many as 4,000 diapers in the first year of your baby's life. That's a lot of wiping, powdering and bottom-wrapping. And if the prospect of that isn't daunting enough, consider that a regular disposable diaper can take hundreds of years to decompose in a landfill, and the chemicals in it — most significantly chlorine — can contaminate the water supply.

So cloth diapers must be better for the environment, right? It's not that easy. After all, cloth diapers require frequent washing, which consumes lots of energy and water. And diaper services often use harsh chemicals like chlorine bleach — not to mention the impact on the environment caused by the delivery trucks. The cloth-vs.-disposable debate might be one of the most hotly contested among mothers, right up there with the "formula-vs.-breast-milk battle" and the "working-mom-vs.-stay-at-home-mom war."

The good news is, there are plenty of choices for greener and gentler products, from diapers to changing tables, from wipes to skin care products. You'll have to decide what works best for you.

DIAPERS

Green: If you can't face mounds of laundry every few days, opt for disposable diapers that are better for the environment. Disposables from Seventh Generation are chlorine-free, and use a nontoxic absorbent polymer to keep baby dry. They're free of latex, fragrance and TBT, a toxic fungicide. Even better are the biodegradable, semi-disposable options, such as gDiapers. New moms invest in a wardrobe of stretchy pants and snap-in liners, then buy replaceable inserts made of all-natural fibers. The inserts don't end up in a landfill like most disposable diapers — instead, they can be flushed down the toilet, where pathogens are removed and they're turned into biosolids, which are often used as tree fertilizer. gDiapers can even be composted; they'll break down in 50 to 150 days.

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