Changing Gears... er, Diapers...

My last two posts were just a teensy bit heavy so I'm changing gears here.

Yes, we use cloth diapers. Now, if you haven't heard much about the wonders of modern cloth diapers then you probably think we are crazy, and you are in good company. If I had a nickle for every person who gave us the "are you crazy?" look when we told them we are using cloth... well, I'd have about a dollar. But, you get the idea.

That being said, I thought I'd write up a little number about my "cloth diaper experience" thus far. Please keep in mind that I am not, and should not be viewed as, any sort of cloth diapering expert. I did a little bit of research and talked to all of my cloth diapering friends before May was born - just enough so I could make a somewhat informed decision about which diapers I would buy, which one's I wouldn't buy and why. So, please take my opinions and recommendations with a grain of salt - there is SO much out there that I don't know about.

Why We Use Cloth
As soon as we found out we were pregnant, I decided we would need to do cloth to save money... that's really the number one reason we did it. The beauty of the cloth diaper is that you buy them once and they should last through multiple children so the savings in the end is incredible. Then, I proceeded to get incredibly overwhlemed by the billions of kinds of cloth diapers out there. Luckily, I have a friend who uses cloth and has a few different kinds at her house so she gave me a little tutorial to help me better understand the differences - this helped a lot and I was able to choose the kind that I wanted.

Why We Chose Pockets 
From what I can tell there are three basic "types" of diapers - prefolds, All-in-One's and Pockets. 

I will not write to much about prefolds since we didn't use them. But, I believe they are the cheapest option and some folks swear by them, especially for newborns.  Prefolds are those cloths that are mostly used as burp cloths nowadays - with the three panels - the most absorbent one in the middle. I couldn't figure out how to properly fold them onto the baby and I knew that the hubs would have a hard time with this as well - and he's quite involved in the diaper changing when he's home so I eliminated these almost immediately (had bought a few prefolds and borrowed some covers to try them out).  

What seems to be the easiest (but also most expensive) diapers are All-in-one's (AIO's). AIO's are convenient because they are basically like a disposable - you don't have to deal with an insert or extra "folding" like a prefold - you just put them on the baby and wash them and you're done... like a washable disposable diaper. I haven't used these but I have heard that they take forever to dry (lots of absorbent material in there) and they might hold onto smells (gross).

We use pocket diapers which are basically like a diaper shell with a pocket in them and they come with an insert that you put in the pocket. You wash the shell and the insert after each use.  After I wash the diapers I stuff the inserts back into them and plop them on the changing table so that they are ready to go with no work at each diaper change.

We chose pockets because I liked that the inserts came out for washing (unlike AIO's) and that you can alter the amount of absorption based on need. For example, we use two inserts for overnights - we wouldn't be able to do this with AIO's. And, there just seems to be more options out there for pocket diapers - most brands make them and they go on sale often. 

So, how do they work?
Try to contain your excitement - here come the photos. :-)

We have a few different kind of pocket diapers:

FuzziBunz one size diapers adjust to your growing baby with adjustable leg gussets. I thought this looked complicated at first but it's really not. You adjust both sides of the elastic to fit snuggly around the baby so nothing escapes - if you have a skinny baby, this is a life saver! We have many other "one-size" diapers that don't work on our long skinny baby yet because the leg gussets are too big for her still.

This is a FuzziBunz one size diaper with snap fastner

Close up shot of the adjustable elastic

Most of our diapers are one-size diapers but I did get a few sized diapers when they were on sale - these are certainly quite simple since you don't have to adjust the rise or the leg gussets - just put them on the baby until they grow into the next size.

This is a FuzziBunz sized (small) diaper with snap fastner

Most of our diapers are the white BumGenius (4.0) one size diaper with velcro fastner. We got a great deal with these thanks to a friends discount :-). I LOVE the velcro fastner - it's so fast and easy to take the diaper on and off (like a disposable) and it seems like we can get the best fit with these. BUT, it definitely seems like the velcro is probably going to wear out sooner than the snaps will.

This is a BumGenius one size diaper with a "hook and loop" fastner (velcro)

These also grow with the baby - the only thing you change is the rise using the snaps in front.

There are three rises - this diaper is set on the middle one (one snap is undone so you can see how it works)

Most of these are stuffed the same way:

Open and ready for stuffing

Here's the insert

And here's the insert half way in - a properly stuffed diaper will have this all the way in and flat inside the diaper - you don't want it all wrinkled up and bunching in there.

Here are a few different inserts/pocket diapers that are a little different from the basics outlined above:

The BunGenius diapers come with a small insert for when the diaper is on the smallest setting (it's also less absorbent) and this insert that you can change the size of using the snaps. See the photo below for insert snapped to a medium size. It also snaps to a small size but that felt a little bulky to me and we just used the small inserts that came with the diapers until we needed more absorption and were switching to the medium rise on the diaper.

BumGenius insert snapped for medium size

This is a "SmartiPants" diaper - My cloth diapering friend told me about these and I LOVE them because the pocket opens on both ends of the diapers - this means you don't have to take the insert out after a diaper change - just plop it in the pale and the insert will come out during the wash (more on washing later!) You stuff the insert in and make sure it's flat all the way across.

Then straighten out the diaper so the insert is not showing on either end - You don't want the wet/soiled insert touching baby's skin.

A Few More Random Thoughts 

• Remember that your diapers should last through multiple children - so buy neutral colors! The colors are super cute but you can't match them to baby's outfit because as soon as you put the matching one on, it's time to change the diaper anyways. :-) We have a few pink or flowery one's because I just couldn't resist but most of ours are white, yellow and blue incase we have a little boy someday. And it seems like the cuter the diaper (cute patterns, bright colors, etc.) the more expensive the diaper. Don't get sucked in, it's not worth the money!
• If you get sized diapers, the size they will be in the longest is medium so stock up on those! We are switching May into her medium sized diaper soon and she's just about 5 months.  And she'll probably be in those until she's about 1 and a half depending on her weight.
• Buy your diapers on sale!! There are tons of baby discount websites that run daily half-off deals - I bought all of our diapers this way (except for the one's we registered for). Some of the sites I use are:
• http://www.greenbabybargains.com
• http://www.babyhalfoff.com
• http://www.babysteals.com
• http://www.ecobabybuys.com

        There are so many more but these are just the one's I use

• Register for diapers! Babies r Us has BumGenius now and Charlie Banana (or something like that, haven't used those though).  Or you can register on Amazon and lots of other websites.
• Remember there are a ton of other cloth diapering options out there - this is just what I know about.  There are combo AIO/pocket dipes, there are combo cloth/disposable dipes (disposable liners that you place inside the diaper, we may explore this once May is eating more solids :-). There are shells that don't have a pocket - you snap the insert right into the shell and so much more.
• AND, be ready to see the "are you crazy?" face when you tell people you are doing cloth. :-)

More to come on caring for the diapers. :-) I know, you can't wait.