My son Chris, who is now 20 mumble-something years old, would surely be embarrassed to see his name in print in relation to diapers, so don’t mention this to him please.

But I have to say that today’s baby bottom cover is far and away a different animal than what I had to use 20 some-odd years ago. I remember keeping safety pins stuck in soap so they would be easier to go through the folded cloth diaper, sticking my fingers more times than I could count with said pins (ouch!) and plastic pants that created a welcoming environment for diaper rash bacteria.

But I loved putting something so soft on my baby and knowing those diapers could be washed instead of thrown away. Not that I didn’t ever use disposables, I did, but the cloth just felt better.

And so I find that years later, much has changed about diapering. One Ballard Mom I talked to, Jennifer Kakutani, currently uses sign language as a way to communicate with her 2-year-old daughter, Alita, about potty times.

“She’s pretty much out of diapers and just wears them at night," said Jennifer. She does use cloth diapers when necessary, launders every couple of days, and uses disposables “just for times when we aren’t around a washing machine, like camping.”

Considering that a baby can generate as many as 7,300 diapers in just two-an-a-half years (an average of eight diapers per day) a good look at options is time well spent. After all, the number of choices for pregnant future parents is pretty daunting: Shall we use disposables? What kind? (Some disposables made to be free of chemical residues). If we choose cloth, what about a diaper service? Or buy them myself and wash them?

Initially, newly pregnant Natalie Singer-Velush was hesitant about using cloth diapers.

“I envisioned pins and rubber," said Natalie, laughing at the memory. With her husbands encouragement, she researched the issue.

“I was blown away by the modern versions of cloth diapers”, she said, “My mind was changed."

It’s not hard to find good reasons to use cloth. Regular disposables may contain traces of Dioxin and other chemicals, landfills are literally loaded with diaper materials that are estimated to decompose in some 300 to 500 years, and the cost to keep a baby’s bottom covered with throw-away diapers for more than two years can run around $2,500.

Now Natalie is not only a convert, she is the owner-operator of Punkernoodle Baby, a one-stop shop for many brands of cloth diapers, some even made locally.

With a Web site and blog, cloth diaper showroom and classes offered in Green Diaper Choices, Natalie’s passion for her environmental business comes through loud and clear. Velcro has replaced pins, many fabrics are organic and choices abound.

“After all," said Singer-Velush, “would we adults wear throwaway underwear?”

Natalie’s next class in Green Diaper Choices will be held Saturday, April 25, 12:30 p.m. at the Seattle Holistic Center, Wallingford, inside the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., Room 302. The cost will be $20, with $10 redeemable for any cloth diaper product at Punkernoodle Baby. For more information contact her at 866-325-5966.

Rhonda lives in Ballard and is the Urban Crop Circle Project Leader for Sustainable Ballard. Questions, Comments, Ideas? You can reach her at Rhonda@sustainableballard.org.