Cloth Diapers Now

I’m a cloth diaperer.  And as such I’m always eager to talk to others about the ins and outs of it.  Cloth diapers are not the same as they were when our parents were covering our little bums.  There are so many options that it’s really confusing at times.  And in most places they’re only sold online so you can’t touch everything to feel and see the difference first hand.  So I’m going to try to make the mud clear.

First, let me tell you why I cloth diaper.  I’m cheap.  I’m a penny pincher and am willing to do a little extra work to save the family a little extra money.  A lot of those savings (as far as diapers are concerned) come because we have a washer with our apartment and don’t pay the water bill and we live in a warm, dry place so I can hang laundry to dry.  There are lots of reasons to cloth diaper, but there’s the honest truth of mine.

That being said, I chose the least expensive diapers as my preferred method.  And those are the same ones that covered me: Prefold diapers.  (Actually I think my mom used a lot of flatfolds too… but that’s a small difference.)  Flatfolds and Prefolds are just the standard cotton diapers.  Flatfolds are a large square that need to be folded down to size (but because it is a single layer of cloth it dries super fast).  Folding directions can be seen here.  Prefolds are made into a rectangle with extra padding in the middle.  You can see a video here.

Now, in the second video the lady used a snappy.  I’ve used these, but switched to using just diaper pins.  The snappy is a little y shaped stretchy clawed thing that grabs the diaper at either hip and the crotch.  Well… the crotch grabby always let go as my girls got more active and would grab onto anything they were wiggling off of… the couch my lap, Grant’s shoulders… and so we would get a baby stuck to something awkwardly and screaming loudly.  It was a neat idea, but failed in our household.

You also saw her use a cover.  When we’re at home I use just the diaper because I can see or feel the dampness to change her immediately and if I don’t it can breath a lot better without the cover (not necessarily enough to matter too much unless she’s already a little rashy).  But when we go out… or when Grant’s diapering we use the covers.  My favorite brand is Econobum because it’s inexpensive, made to adjust from newborn to potty training and comes with relatively cheap prefolds made to fit into the cover perfectly.  Another fun brand is Thirsties… but these ones have velcro (hook and eye) for the straps and the velcro gets nappy really fast so I’m fully behind using any of the diapers that snap closed instead.

There are definitely easier systems, but they get a little more expensive.  My friend Jenny found a bunch of Fuzzibunz for cheap on ebay and found a new brand, Sunbaby that seems pretty affordable.  These are both ‘pocket’ diapers.  Remember that cover you saw in the video?  Add a fast soaking up fabric forming a second, inside layer.  The two layers form a pocket that you stuff with the super absorbent pads.  I borrowed some from her to take them for a test drive.  I hated stuffing them after washing and unstuffing before washing.  I disliked that the cover could only be used once and then washed (the plain cover system can get wiped down between inside diapers).  But Grant loved that it was so easy for him to just stick on the diaper.

Similar to this system is a system like the Little G diapers that have a wipe-able cover that I like and inserts that get snapped into the cover (unlike my diaper and cover system where they are disconnected the whole time).  The snaps keep the inserts in place and the Little G diapers even come with a disposable insert option that could make it easier for outings/ babysitters/ grandparents (we flat out use disposable for these instances more often than not)

Lastly, if you want the cloth equivalent of a disposable diaper, you want an all-in-one (often shortened to AIO) like Bumgenius.  The absorbent layers are all sewn to the cover so after each mess you throw the whole kit and kaboodle into the wash and put on a new one.  But guess what.  These are the most expensive.

Look on Amazon, or follow the links to check out prices of all of these options.  There are also quite a few on Etsy for any of these, made by women who use their own patterns.  But they aren’t necessarily the cheapest option.

Or make your own.  If you want snaps you’ll want a snap press.

Be sure to check out my upcoming post on cloth diaper care!