Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Diaper House: Cloth Diapering Reevaluation

Don't panic, we are still cloth diapering!  Just a little differently than before.  My house has been diaper central lately.  Between selling my old stash and my new one arriving, I feel like I eat, sleep and breathe fluff!  There are diapers in my kitchen, in my bedroom, in the garage, and even in my car.  It's a little crazy.



When I was pregnant with Lu, I decided to keep things simple and bought all one kind of diaper - the easiest kind of diaper to use - the BumGenius 3.0 All-in-One.  For those not familiar, there are five different types of cloth diapers:  prefolds, fitteds, pockets, all-in-ones, and hybrids.  And there are about a million brands for each type.  I, like many, found (still find) this to be overwhelming.  Most people say buy different styles and brands, figure out what you like and then build a stash...my OCD self didn't like that idea.

Fortunately, we lucked out (since we had already committed to the BumGenius brand), and we were very happy with those diapers.  They literally went on just like a disposable!  I added to our stash as Lu got older and outgrew the small, and eventually medium dipes.  We were set.  I hadn't bought, or thought about buying, diapers in months.  Then I recently went to Zoolikins with a friend who's expecting.  I listened to the same old spiel about the various styles and brands, the pros and cons of each, and decided I was no longer content with our diapering situation.  The AIO diapers may be extremely easy to use, but because the liner is sewn in, the diaper doesn't get the same thorough cleaning as other diapers.  Obviously, they still come clean; they don't smell or look dirty.  But, I think these diapers tend to be more prone to build up as baby gets bigger and output increases.  Which means more diaper rash and more stripping.  My OCD, germophobe, (sometimes) lazy self doesn't like that either.

I decided it was time for a change.  I bought fifteen BumGenius One-Size Pocket Diapers (I'm big on brand loyalty, yo), one dozen infant size prefolds, three Flip Inserts - which I need to buy more of, and three Thirsties Duo Wrap Covers.   All snap closures and all gender neutral colors.  So here's the game plan:  pockets are for daycare and bedtime, and we'll tri-fold the rest of the time.  I have another three dozen prefolds in storage, so all I need to do is buy a few more Thirsties covers before Babe arrives.  He'll be in prefolds exclusively for the first month or two; once he's big enough, he and Lu can share the pockets.  I likey.

I likey for a few reasons. 
1)  It's cheaper. 
2)  It's cleaner. 
3)  It's a space saver.

Lu likey too.




What kind of cloth diapers does your family use?  Did you find that certain styles worked better or worse for your kiddo?

7 comments:

  1. I bought a few of each type of cloth diaper - prefolds, fitteds, aio, pockets, hybirds, and wool. I just ordered some flats too. I liked that we were able to try each kind and then see what we liked best. We loved Gdipers for the newborn phase.

    Now, we pretty much trifold exclusively with Econobum covers, prefolds, and GMD prefolds. We use Fuzzibunz OS and BG AIO when we go out.

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    1. How do you like the wool covers? I never looked into Econobum, but now I wish that I had after hearing how much you love them! You know I love anything that's budget friendly. ;-)

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  2. I'm all over the place with my stash. I have everything from flats to AIO's except fitteds. Now that I'm working I'm trying to beef up my AIO stash so it's easier for others.

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    1. I hear you!!! Pockets and AIOs are a must, if you're ever going to get any help with diaper changes. I have a ton of large AIOs for sale that would be perfect for Raedyn. Let me know if you want to check them out! :-)

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  3. I looooove my BG pockets :) Mainly because I'm obsessed with the new colours/prints. They're SO FUN!

    But you know me, I'm a sucker for prefolding. It's so trim and really not hard to do at all :)

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    1. I looooooove how trim the prefolds are! Love, love, LOVE!

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  4. I was big on BG 3.0 One Size and they made up my entire stash. When I had DS I needed some more diapers and we added Fuzzibunz sized diapers and I love them. I have also used Smartipants (don't care for these), BG AIOs and a BG Flip.

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