Think that cute innocent face isn't contributing to Global Warming? Your baby's environmental footprint could be a lot bigger than you can fit into those adorable booties.

Consider this:

• An infant to toddler aged child will increase your water usage by 60-100 gallons (227 to 379 litres) per day.
• An average household's gross garbage weight increases 30-70 per cent with a new baby. And it can stay that way for a few years.
• A baby's added usage can increase your household's power consumption by over 60 per cent.

The Dirty Lowdown on Disposable Nappies

The nappy question is a big one. Consider these sizable facts on disposable nappies:

• Nappies are the third most common item, by volume and weight, in American, UK, European, Japanese and Australian landfills.
• A disposable nappy could take up to 400 years to break down - this means every single disposable nappy that has ever been manufactured is still sitting in landfill.
• According to Choice consumer magazine, 95 per cent of Australian babies wore disposable nappies in 2007. In China, only 6 per cent do; in India, 2 per cent.
• It takes over 10 full sized trees to produce the number of nappies your baby will use in its first couple of years.
• The production of a single disposable nappy requires 2/3 of a cup of petroleum. This adds over 3 billion gallons (1134 billion liters of oil) per year dedicated to disposable nappy production.

However, when it comes to re-usable nappies, Australia's water restrictions and dry climate might not be ideal for heavy laundering practices. A controversial UK study revealed that the environmental footprint of cloth nappies could actually be greater than disposables.

Fortunately, modern nappies provide you with a range of choices, including nappy liners that can be composted and disposables that are plastics free.

Statistics are from carbon-balanced-baby.org