Cotton Diaper Roundup

We've been using cloth diapers for a few weeks now and I'm enjoying it. For the record, I have had to deal with FIVE poopy diapers and have handled them with much grace and aplomb. :) What I'll do once it's cold out and we've winterized the house and I can't get to the hose any more ... well, I'll just worry about that when it happens. Maybe Echo will volunteer to clean up the poopy ones. (I'm kidding. That's gross.) Anyway, in case anyone else was considering making a switch, I offer up my well-researched but highly subjective (and limited) opinions on the cloth diapers I've tried:

FITTED DIAPER (BumGenius Bamboo Fitted Diaper)
It’s not a bad diaper—doesn’t leak and fits well. It’s definitely easy to put on. But for the price, I’d rather just get an All-In-One (AIO) and not have to deal with a separate cover. Plus, the diaper takes longer than any other to line dry. (Although I've read that these diapers last longer than the AIOs because the covers on the AIO get washed every time you use the diapers. The covers with the fitted diapers can be used two or three times before washing. Less washing = less wear and tear on the covers.)

PREFOLDS WITH COVERS:
I have tried three different prefold diapers: Chinese cloth, Indian cloth and Hemp. The hemp is by far the most absorbent, but it is also the roughest and most expensive of the three. I'll definitely be investing in some HempBabies Diaper Doublers, though. Between the Indian cloth and Chinese cloth I haven't noticed much difference. I've read that the Indian cloth wears out faster, but at $2 a piece the diapers only have to be used about 10 times to save money over disposables. I do add in a microfleece liner to help keep her bum dry. My mom sent me a website with different sizes of Chinese prefold diapers. I'm really excited about this because I hate that huge bulge of extra fabric. It looks really uncomfortable.

There are several ways to fasten the diapers onto the baby. I didn't even attempt pins. I did try the Snappi fastener, but Julia's too wiggly. Maybe if I'd started before she could move so much and been able to master my technique. I'll keep trying this way because I think it looks cute and is supposedly the best way to keep, er, everything in the diaper, but most of the time I go with the simple fold and stuff method (aka the Newspaper Fold or Basic Tri-Fold).

I've tried out two different waterproof covers: Bummis Super Whisper Wrap (Velcro closures) and Bummis Super Snap (snap closures). The Velcro supposedly wears out faster, but it is MUCH easier to fasten than the snaps. Of course, this means it's much easier for Julia to open as well ... like she did yesterday morning.

So I'll be ordering some shorter Chinese cloth diapers (with rainbow stitching! pretty!), a few more diaper doublers and microfleece liners as well as a couple more waterproof covers for Julia's daytime diapers.

ALL-IN-ONE DIAPERS (AIO) (BumGenius All-In-One):
I am in love with these diapers. I would marry them if I could. As it stands, they will be my best friend forever (BFF). But they're a very expensive best friend. If I could afford it, I would ditch the prefolds with covers and make these Julia's daytime diapers. They are basically disposable diapers that you wash and reuse. If you are intimidated by cloth diapers, but really want to try them out these are the way to go. So simple. They dry fairly fast as well. Plus, if it's raining, the BumGenius diapers can be just tossed in the dryer. Since we have not won the lottery yet, I'll order the prefolds and get all the use I can out of the one AIO that I have. (Actually, if we won the lottery, I'd go here and load up on their 18 diapers plus wool package and add on several other "accessories." I imagine I could spend $700 easy just for Julia at the size she is now.)

POCKET DIAPERS (BumGenius 2.0 One-Size):
These are Julia's nighttime diapers. They are just about as easy to use as the AIO, but have more flexibility. You can stuff one or two inserts down in there or an insert and a doubler or two inserts and a doubler. Whatever your little heart desires. For Julia, I use the insert that came with the diaper along with a HempBabies Little Weeds diaper and a HempBabies Diaper Doubler. This combination has kept her dry with no leaks every night for the past week. I tried using two inserts, but she leaked a couple of nights. I'll be ordering a couple more of the one-size diapers just so I don't have to wash diapers every day. The BumGenius pocket diapers are nice because they are size adjustable. Supposedly you can use the same diaper from birth to toddler. I've read that they don't fit larger-sized toddlers as well, though. And since the elastic already leaves little pink lines around her legs, I'm thinking that's true. I'll also be buying more PJs one size up because I have to admit that her nighttime diaper with all the stuffing is HUGE. I cram her into the snap up PJs that we have and just leave the two snaps by the diaper undone.

I haven't tried any of the wool diaper covers. They are rumored to be great for nighttime with no leaks. However, the expense and high maintenance have put me off for now. Oh, who am I kidding? I'll be trying one of these before buying more of the one-size diapers.

And that's all I've got. I'm going to order the Baby Wipe Kit because I like the idea of non-disposable wipes. Plus, with the cloth diapers, the disposable wipes become a tad inconvenient. You can't just wrap them up in the diaper and they get stuck in the diaper pail if you try to dispose of them on their own. I haven't tried flushing them and am a bit wary of that as a solution. So I end up tossing them in the trash can in Julia's room, but this seems highly unsanitary. With the reusable wipes, I can just toss them in with the diapers and wash them all together.

And we'll go back to disposables when we travel. Don't worry, I'm not going to show up at your house and ask to stick Julia's dirty diapers in your washing machine. Besides, we have 398 Huggies in Julia's closet that we need to use.

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