19-8-2010 - Cloth Dipaers

My mood while writing this blog: Bored at Work

Cloth Diapers A-Z

Definitions:

CD- Cloth diaper, aka dipes, fluff, stash, and many other nicknames people have for their diapers.

AIO- All In One, the diaper comes in one piece, no assembly required. *Easy for dads, grandparents and baby sitters.

OS- One Size, the diaper is adjustable typically from 8lbs to 35lbs and will last from birth to potty. *Very economical and my personal preference.

Sized- The diaper comes in several sizes; Small, med, lg. *Trimmer fit but more expensive since you have to purchase so many more diapers.

Pocket- The diaper has a fleece/OBV inner and a water proof outer, the absorbent insert must be pulled out of a pocket in the back of the diaper for washing and stuffed back in before placing diaper on baby. *Nice because they dry much faster than AIOs.

Prefold + Cover- A square cloth diaper that must be folded and placed on baby, then a water proof cover placed over it to prevent leaks. Also called a two-part diapering system if used with fitted diapers, a non water proof diaper that needs a cover. *Not preferred, they look cheaper to purchase, but after all accessories they come out to the same price as AIO or pockets but are more complicated to use.

OBV- Organic Bamboo Velour, often the inner lining in diapers instead of fleece. Very luxurious and soft. OC- Organic Cotton, often used as the absorbent inner in diapers instead of microfiber.

Snaps vs. Aplix- Every diaper I have purchased with aplix (Velcro) tabs has had to have the aplix replaced. It degrades and discolors, a disappointment since they are easier to use but just not worth it in the end.

PUL- Poly Urethane Lining. It is what makes the diapers water proof without feeling plastic. Almost looks like saran wrap melted over the interior of the fabric, truly ingenious!

Diapers:

1. Blueberry Deluxe Mini ~ A wonderful Mini diaper, fitting from 4lbs to 16 lbs. It is a pocket style, and I love the blueberry inserts, they are half hemp half microfiber. So absorbent and the quality of these diapers is superb. They come in a variety of so-cute prints, no leaks, no red marks and snaps closure! Fits so trimly on your tiny new baby. They are a bit pricey at around $19 a diaper.

2. Blueberry Minki Sized Cover ~ If I did want to use a two part diaper system these are the covers I would use. They never leaked, are so very cute and soft, and fit nicely without any gaps, even on my chunky thighed tiny waisted baby! They also come in either aplix or snaps closure.

3. Blueberry Minki Sized Pocket ~ One of my favorite pockets, I have only tried the sized version but they fit beautifully, are luxuriously soft, the prints are adorable, no leaks or red marks. I have them with snap closure, and if they weren’t so expensive I probably would have had my whole stash in these. Also has the standard blueberry insert, half hemp half micro-terry, so no extra stuffing needed with these.

4. Bum Genius AIO Sized ~ Hmm, I love BG in general. They size a bit large, fit well, have a pocket in the back in case you need to add extra absorbancy, the newborn size has a dip for umbilical care, they are everything I love from BG, BUT are only available in Aplix closure which I hate. The aplix (Velcro) is discolored, lost its “stickiness” and overall ruined the usefulness of a lovely diaper.

5. Bum Genius Organic OS AIO with Snaps ~ Ahh, I didn’t really need any new diapers when these came out, but my current aplix closure BGs were on their last leg and I HAD to try BG’s with snaps! I love them , they are my husbands fav dipe. They are so easy, the snaps are a wonderful addition, the OC inner worried me at first, I was afraid they would cause a diaper rash but we have had no problems I LOVE these diapers and HIGHLY RECOMMEND them for ease of use and quality. The only down side I have with these is how long they take to dry after washing.

6. Bum Genius Pocket OS 3.0 ~ I love BG, I love the OS, they fit so well, the inner lining is so soft even after a year of washing. No leaks, even use them over night and for long car rides with a booster. They size great for any size baby, they are a wonderful diaper and if only they came in snaps. As mentioned before, the aplix does not hold up well and is such a disappointment to me. I really hope that BG begins to make these with snaps!

7. Econobums ~ This is a prefold and OS cover set up and are sold together in a set. The prefold is large and doesn’t fold incredibly well with the cover. The cover is thin and feels flimsy to me. When I undo the snaps I am so afraid I will rip the PUL, over all I have an impression of cheapness. If you are on a budget and just need a few to up your stash these would be an ok choice, but there are so many higher quality options out there to settle for these diapers.

8. FLIP Organic ~ A great idea in general, I really like them as a travel diaper but my husband, not so much. You lay the organic insert into the diaper (which is very soft and absorbent btw) tuck the ends under the flaps, and apply to child! Haha, the other half is not coordinated enough to handle this process though. It is a OS and fits well, looks just like a BG with snaps; no stuffing inserts into a pocket, but dries SO fast unlike an AIO. I am a fan but will not be making these the majority of my stash due to the husband’s issues with this dipe.

9. FLIP Stay-dry ~ Copy everything from #8, except instead of an organic insert it is a microfiber insert with a fleece topper. Also very nice, I like both types of FLIP and the microfiber insert is a bit trimmer in fit than the organic insert (the stay dry insert is cheaper than the organic as well so if you’re not into organic for the sake of organic then go with the stay dry).

10. Fuzzi Bunz OS ~ Another of my FAVORITE diapers. They size in a unique way, instead of having rise snaps, the elastic in the legs and back of the diaper is sizable. They are so adjustable, better than any other OS I have tried. They are so durable, and since you can resize the elastic, if the elastic begins to wear out you can replace it in a matter of minutes yourself! No having to send it back to the manufacturer! The fleece inner is so soft, doesn’t pill even after many many washes. Snap closures and this is a pocket diaper, the stuffing is easy and it comes with two different sizes of microfiber inserts. Very absorbent and I love this diaper, the fit took a little getting used to but once I had it down we have had no leaks and it is very trim with the different size inserts. I love to use this as an overnight diaper and I buy one for everyone’s baby shower who is interested in cloth.

11. Fuzzi Bunz Sized ~ Also an amazing diaper from Fuzzi Bunz. They have a soft fuzzy inner, absorbent microfiber insert, are a pocket style, fit wonderfully, simply lovely and give a very trim fit as they come in sizes. The only downside is that you have to buy them in several sizes before you potty train. I used these before discovering the OS version and they are one of the reasons I fell in love with CDing.

12. Good Mamas the ONE ~ A recent find for me. GoodMama used to just make fitted diapers so I wasn’t interested, but just came out with these AIO OS. They are definitely a luxury item, OBV inner is SO soft and just lovely. They are the version of designer collector cloth diapers, they are fancy and beautiful with a level of quality and uniqueness I had not really seen before in cloth. They have hidden snaps so the appearance of the diaper is not affected (LOL, I know, it is a diaper) but they do not leak, size well though I would not recommend for a tiny baby, so soft and absorbent with all natural inner fabrics touching your babies skin. I like them a lot, the price ($28) and the difficultly in locating them (they sell out QUICKLY) makes it hard for me to highly recommend them but they are just decadent and I do own a few! They are a very nice diaper if you can afford them!

13. Happy Heinies Mini ~ A mini OS diaper, fitting from 4lbs to 16 lbs and great for those of us who have smaller babies. Aplix fasteners (I know, I generally don’t like them) but since they are only for small babies I don’t really have a problem. The flaps overlap in such a way that discoloration isn’t seen and baby is not so active as to make it a problem if they aren’t as “sticky” as they would have to be for a crawler/walker. The fit is good, breast fed poos do sneak up the back every now and then but I haven’t found a diaper that can contain those 100%. No red marks left on little babies legs, they also come with two different size inserts so no extra bulk on your tiny one. The interior is soft fleece, the outer PUL is soft and flexible. A great choice for little babes!

14. Kushies Ultra Lite ~ A big disappointment (sigh) They are HUGE. There is no way they would fit on a 10lb baby. There is no real way to size the diapers down either. The infant size (supposed to fit 10lbs-20lbs) does fit my 21 lb 20 month old. There is no elastic in the back of the diaper, I cannot imagine newborn breast fed poos staying in. The outside is fairly soft, not as soft as BG or FB, but soft, not too plasticy. The designs are cute, but a waste of money. I DO NOT recommend these.

15. MagicAlls ~ A sized AIO, very nice, soft, absorbent, snap closure, long drying time, I really loved these diapers but the Med size runs a bit small and the Large size runs very large, lol, leaving a bit of a gap. I do recommend them, but they were discontinued recently and can typically only be found used now.

16. Rumparoos ~ A wonderful OS pocket diaper. It has one more rise sizing option than most OS diapers, making it fit from 4lbs-35lbs! The colors are unique, the quality is great, it also has a double leg gusset feature that is AMAZING at stopping breast fed poo leakage and has snap closure. The designs are beautiful too! Nice fleece inner, soft PUL outer, I can’t say enough good things about this dipe. The down side, it is a little expensive ($23) and the tabs seem to fade after a couple washes. Not as noticeable with the patterned dipes but with the solid colors you can tell the color is a little off. The microfiber inserts are very absorbent and the sizing option on the inserts is a nice plus! Highly Recommend!

17. Real Easy ~ Another of my early flops, I found this diaper to be huge, incredibly bulky between my daughter’s legs, the inner flap was very odd and I did not like it being fully hemp (very stiff). The leg holes gapped and caused leaks, I retired this dipe very early on.

18. Smart Nappy ~ This is the UK version of the G-Diaper. A plastic hammock that you lay an insert or disposable pad into sewn into a cloth cover. It left red marks on my daughter’s legs and poo leaked out the legs and up her back constantly. Aplix fasteners that scratched her tummy when she crawled, well all in all this diaper did not work out for us and was retired.

19. Swaddlebees Pocket ~ A sized pocket diaper and one of the first GOOD diapers I tried. Definitely convinced me to stay with cloth! They have a very slim cut through the crotch making them very slim fitting and good for jeans when your babe is older. Since they are sized the fit is trimmer as well. The inserts are great, absorbent, but what you gain in trimness also makes the dipe unsuitable for overnight, they will leak if you leave them on for long periods of time (thinness through the crotch, remember?) but are a great addition to my stash for day time. The inner lining comes in fleece or OBV, both are great options though I find the OBV gets stiff if you line dry them. Highly Recommend!!!

20. Swaddlebees AIO ~ Read the above review for #19. Everything is exactly the same except the soaker is sewn in, no stuffing this dipe but it has a longer drying time same as all other AIOs.

21. Thirsties AIO ~ A nice sized AIO, fleece inner soft PUL outer. The legs are nicely gusseted to prevent leaks, and they are quite absorbent. My daughter is short so we did not have a problem with them having a short rise, but for a taller baby I could see it causing problems (leaks). I like them but they are not spectacular and come with aplix fasteners so not a huge fan.

22. WHAMies ~ A very different design for diaper fasteners, hooks (yes, it is a hard plastic hook) instead of aplix or snaps. It is a pocket OS diaper, velour inner, super soft PUL outer, very absorbent, I did have leaks until I figured out the unique sizing on this dipe. I like it, but when babe gets older and starts to squirm during changing time the hooks can be a bit inconvenient. I do give them a thumbs up over-all but feel parents should be forewarned about the hooks!

23. Wonderoos ~ These were a curiosity buy, they were so cheap in comparison to other pocket OS diapers. Well, they are huge, bulky in the extreme, the sizing options ran large and we had leaking from gaping leg holes. Maybe on a large baby they would fit well, but I would not recommend them for an 8lb baby as they are advertised. I passed them on to a friend with a chunkier baby and she said they are not her favorite but they are a back up dipe if she’s late doing laundry. For me I wouldn’t even use them as a back-up.

The Color Code:

My Top Picks Good Diapers, I Like them A Lot!, I Wouldn’t Use these Diapers Again

Other Items of Interest

Wet Bags ~ A bag made of PUL, water proof and smell proof* for taking along in the diaper bag to put soiled diapers into. I like the Planet Wise wet bags for quality and smell control.

Cloth Wipes ~ The only cloth wipes I don’t like are the FB wonder wipes. They are too thin and curl up. I like the BG flannel wipes, the FB fleece double sided wipes, and several other off brands. I also made some of my own out of fleece & terry. There’s not much to a cloth wipe, it is just nice to not have to pick disposable wipes out of the diaper before washing, or worse, out of a poopy diaper before rinsing! Also a money saver, especially since I make my own wipes solution as well.

Wet Pailing ~ Soaking your dirty diapers in a pail until wash day. Many moms swear that it helps prevent staining of the diaper and reduces smell. Also eliminates the need for a pre-wash cycle.

Dry Pailing ~ Placing your diapers in a dry bucket or large wet bag until wash time. Poop does not “dry” to the diapers if you rinsed the poo off the diaper and do diaper laundry every 3 days.

I have done both methods and now prefer to dry pail, I line dry my diapers and maybe that helps bleach stains but I have not had any problems with either method. Dry pailing is just easier and not as messy transferring the dipes into my front loading washing machine (dirty water dripping onto the kitchen floor).