Hellobee

I’d never really put much thought into the type of diapers I put on my babies. As awful as that sounds, it’s true; I bought Pampers Swaddlers when they were newborns because that’s what was recommended, and then we moved to the Kirkland brand diapers because they were a great price, fit well, and came in a giant box. Thankfully, we had no issues with leaking, bad diaper rash, or any sensitivities, so we stuck with what worked.

One day a few weeks ago, I was tidying up around the house. Unless diapers are particularly stinky, we have a tendency to toss them in front of the door to the garage until there’s enough for a grocery bag full, and then put them in the garage garbage. As I filled an entire plastic grocery bag with diapers, collected just from that day, the thought of them sitting in a landfill made me a little nauseous. Having two kids in diapers means about 10 diapers per day, depending on how often they need to be changed. 70 diapers a week. Not only is that a ridiculous amount to be throwing out, its also pretty costly. Even the cheapest diapers run us roughly $2/day. There had to be a better solution.

Before I was a mom, cloth diapers freaked me out. Dealing with another person’s bodily waste disgusted me, and I hated doing laundry with a passion. As I became a mom of one, and then of two, I realized a few things. One, that bodily fluids were an inevitable part of motherhood. And two, that laundry was ANOTHER inevitable part of motherhood. The idea of cloth diapering really didn’t gross me out any more. But, since disposables were working for us, I hadn’t given much thought to changing things up. In my circle of friends, there is only one family that DOESN’T cloth diaper…and that’s us. Peer pressure wasn’t a deciding factor, but it certainly made me realize that cloth diapering was an ‘accessible’ option. But if I was hesitant, Mr. O was downright terrified. And, because he’ll be staying home with the kids starting in about a month, he needed to be on board.

The nice thing about having ‘crunchy’ friends is that there are always those willing to let to experiment with what they have. A few of my friends banded together and lent me enough cloth diapers and inserts to last me a week, and each spent some time going over the styles, fabrics, fits and care instructions for the diapers I borrowed. I felt that, in one fell swoop, I had the entire world of cloth diapers at my fingertips.

I quickly fell in love with cloth diapering. The cute prints, fluffy bums, and sheer lack of garbage they produced was wonderful. They fit my kids well (both kids!), and Mr. O was on board right away as well! I knew I couldn’t keep my friends’ cloth diapers forever, so I had to start searching for diapers of my own. Over the course of the week, I had tried every style of diaper on each of my kids, and knew which type I preferred. Here’s what I learned:

All-in-one diapers: These are, without a doubt, the easiest diapers. If you’re looking for something that comes all in one piece, where you don’t have to worry about inserts, liners, diaper stuffing, etc., AIOs are your friend. I tried the Bumgenius Freetimes, which are also a one-size diaper (from 7-35+ lbs). I liked them, they fit well, but there are a few downsides to them. First, since the liners are built right in, you can’t easily change the absorption by adding or removing inserts. Second, they take a LONG time to dry, because the fabric can all bunch up together. Thirdly, because the liners/inserts are two flaps that overlap, they can look a little intimidating to people who have never used a cloth diaper before. They also tend to be the most expensive option, but you usually pay a premium for convenience. (ex. Bumgenius Freetime)

Hybrid diapers: These are also called ‘All-in-two’ diapers, and are a bit more complicated to use. Hybrids consist of a cover, and then a variety of inserts that you can use to customize the absorbency. You can also get disposable inserts for some of the hybrids, making it easy for daycare and babysitters who aren’t familiar with cloth diapers. They’re a very flexible option, plus they can cut down on washing since you can reuse the cover for a few changes, and just switch out the inserts. (ex. Bumgenius Flips)

Pocket diapers: Ultimately, we went with pocket diapers (Glowbugs). These require a bit more work on the front end than AIOs or hybrids, but once they’re assembled, they are super simple to use. Pocket diapers consist of a waterproof cover with an interior ‘pocket’ made of stay-dry polyester. You stuff the covers with inserts; some snap in, some just get tucked into the pocket. It takes me about 20 minutes in front of the TV at night to ‘stuff’ all of our diapers (about 30), and then they’re ready to be used. Like the hybrids, you can add extra inserts to customize the absorbency. One disadvantage is you have to remove the inserts to wash the diapers. Mine agitate out in the wash (as long as I remember to unsnap them), but several varieties do not. Dealing with dirty inserts when they’ve been trapped inside a diaper cover, inside a wet bag for a day or two? Not ideal. (ex. Glowbugs, Bumgenius 5.0)

Fitted diapers: These diapers are made entirely of absorbent material, and require a waterproof cover fastened over top. This is the diaper we use at night; the absorbency is amazing, and we haven’t had any leaks. Fitted diapers ARE bulky; they’re usually ‘sized’ (as opposed to one size adjustable diapers), and they’re intimidating for people who aren’t familiar with cloth diapers (there are essentially two diapers that need to be put on). Lots of people love fitteds though. Like the hybrids, you can reuse covers for a couple of changes if they don’t get wet. They also tend to be made of natural materials like cotton, bamboo or hemp, as opposed to some of the synthetic materials used in other diaper styles. (ex. Motherease Sandy’s)

Prefolds: When I mentioned cloth diapering to my mom, this is what she envisioned. Prefolds are a great way to cloth diaper on a tight budget; they’re a rectangular piece of absorbent fabric that you fold in a variety of ways, then add a waterproof cover. You can fold them in three and use them inside a hybrid diaper cover or other waterproof cover, or you can actually diaper your baby in a prefold, fasten it with a Snappi or pins, then add the cover. Like both the fitted diapers and the hybrids, you can often reuse the covers for more than one change, and just swap out the prefolds. (ex. Bummis Organic Prefolds)

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Thankfully, I have friends who gave me access to all five styles of cloth diapers, and I was able to determine exactly what I liked from experience. If you’re just getting started and can’t borrow diapers from someone, I highly recommend buying a few different styles before jumping in and committing to a style. You might find that your baby can’t handle the synthetic fabric on a pocket diaper, or that you really hate having to fold a prefold at each diaper change. Finally, Buy/Sell/Trade groups are your best friend when it comes to cloth diapers. Some people get a little squicked out by buying secondhand diapers, but I promise once you give them a good bleach soak and/or stripping, they’ll be good as new. I’ll write another post about buying secondhand and all of the things to look out for, but even if you buy one secondhand diaper in each ‘style’ to try out before you commit, you’ll be much happier with your decision.