Prepare yourselves for some brutal honesty here: I don’t like cloth diapering.
(waits for sky to fall on head)
…
…
Since I’m still here, I guess I get to tell you more.
For me, cloth diapering has been “one more thing” to add to a very busy household and scattered, out of balance schedule. I don’t love the extra laundry. I don’t love that every time I get caught up and stuff/pair up all my diapers, it’s back on the to-do list 24 hours later.
I miss being able to say, “He’s just medium squishy,” which, with disposables, meant the diaper had something in it but wasn’t full and could probably wait an hour for a change. Finally, I don’t love the thought investment.
By “thought investment,” I mean that, like so many things in the natural living/real food lifestyle, cloth diapering is not something you can do by rote without any conscious thought. You need to troubleshoot leaks, figure out washing details, get diapers into the sun to get stains out, and, as you saw in the cloth diaper rookie post from yesterday, there’s a pretty steep learning curve.
I am a person who appreciates knowledge and seeks to be a lifelong learner, but sometimes my brain gets tired. 
It must be said that disposables are much simpler than cloth: put on, take off, throw away, order/buy more.
It is also true that I applaud our tiny garbage bags each week, and I used to be uncomfortable knowing how much I was throwing away with ‘sposies. Disposable diapers are absolutely horrible for the earth, with the non-biodegradable waste and the toxic human waste combined. They don’t belong in landfills, and it was truly silly that I’d go to great pains to reuse plastic bags, recycle every 2×2″ piece of paper I wrote notes on, and avoid disposable tissues, while still throwing away a half dozen diapers every day.
I know cloth diapers are the better way to go.
I know this is an important practice for the earth and for my children’s and grandchildren’s generations.
That’s why I’m still doing it, and I’ll keep it up – I’m too darn stubborn to let the fact that I hate it get in my way.
Don’t let me scare you off now…there are many, many women who absolutely love cloth diapering, who find a sort of calm solace in hanging their diapers to dry, who love seeing those cute fluffy buns on their babies.
A little part of me loves the “fluff” too. That part is going to take over the post now and put the cranky part in time out so we can talk about what diapers you should really buy and why!
Reviewing 25 different diapers from about 20 brands is totally crazy. I’m going to do my best to distill the options into a few best choices for certain situations/budgets today, and I’m also going through the cloth diaper review post thoroughly to make sure I was fair and consistent on my scoring.
Click HERE to get the newest eBook on cloth diapering, Confessions of a Cloth Diaper Convert!
KS Cloth Diaper Resources
Here’s what we’ve covered so far:
- Cloth diaper review: 25 styles/brands evaluated with videos for each one!
- All-in-One Cloth Diaper Reviews
- Two-Piece Cloth Diaper Reviews
- Fitted Cloth Diaper Reviews
- 7 Tips for the Cloth Diapering Newbie
- A Cloth Diapering Rookie’s First Steps: The Routine, The Vocabulary, The Laundry
- Wet Bags and how much I love them
- How to Make Cloth Diaper Wipes
- Cloth diaper absorbency tests: how much do all those materials hold?
- Newborn Cloth Diapers
- Best Cloth Diapers: Newborn to Toddler
KS Recommends
I’ve updated this post (9/2012) with a 2-week leak observation, tracking every single diaper change and what happened. Some of the final numbers have been changed as a result!
These are the diapers I would be willing to spend money on and would want in our stash; they are rated the highest on the scale I used to review (clicking on any of these links will take you to the review for that diaper or category at my massive review where you’ll find a full description, review, video, and leak report.):
Softbums, Omni (29)
Wooldins (28)
Sprout Change (29)
Econobum (27)
Kawaii Green Baby bamboo diaper (pictured above) (26 or 27…but perhaps demoted because its elastic played out at just about one year)
Tuck and Go (25)
Kissaluvs fitted diaper (organic) (25)
Motherease (25)
Go Green! (25)
Kissaluvs (cotton fleece) (24)
Since I get to add my own commentary and not just go by the numbers, I will. These are definitely all my favorites, but the two that I’m a bit more skeptical about are the Omni and Go Green. I’m surprised the Omni ranked quite so highly; it is a very good diaper, but I don’t have quite as much emotional attachment to it as the others. The Go Green seems to leak more than I’d like, but perhaps I need to double stuff like I do most pockets. So there. My very subjective opinion.
UPDATE 9/2012: The Go Green does leak too much at night with the preschooler. The Omni is a true favorite, but its counterpart, the Echo, had a sizing slider malfunction that doesn’t make me happy. After re-evaluating every diaper and keeping track of leaks for 2 weeks meticulously, the Econobum brand moved up 4 points, well deserved.
Making Your Stash
Ten kinds of diapers is way too many, so let me explain how to narrow those recommendations down for your purposes:
Nighttime
We’ve always had “night-night” diapers at our house – when we used ‘sposies, it was Target brand during the day and Pampers at night. We cosleep, so nighttime leaks means big sheets to wash and change and a huge pain in the tushie. I put a bassinet-sized waterproof pad under John’s lower half, but I breathe easier if I know he’s wearing one of the diapers I save for nighttime:
- Any fitted: either Kissaluvs or Wooldins are about equal, always with an extra hemp/cotton doubler and sometimes a small liner as well, with the Marvel cover from Kissaluvs or the
Econobum(Link no longer available) cover - Motherease is not easy to get on at all, but it’s been such a great nighttime solution – only with the Sugar Peas hemp doubler though!
- Good backups include Kawaii with 2 bamboo inserts and an extra Sprout Change or hemp doubler and the Sprout Change cover with triple stuffing of some sort
On the Go
If John had certain diapers on when we left the house, I wasn’t happy until he was changed into something more reliable, like the ones below. Some diapers are just easier to pack, too:
- Tuck and Go
- Kawaii
- Softbums Omni
- Motherease
At Home, to Reuse the Cover
I do appreciate how I can hang these covers to air out and then reuse them on another diaper change:
- Tuck and Go (pictured above)
- Econobum
- Sprout Change
- Marvel cover
For the Budget
If you’re looking for the best deals, I recommend:
- A few Econobum covers with prefolds – many recommend Green Mountain prefolds as the best and warn against buying at a regular box store (although when I only had 5 cloth diapers, I used some of my old burp rags with the Sprout Change cover and they worked!).
- The only really bum thing about Econobum is that big poos come through the leg seams, so you’ll deal with a little bit more laundry because of that (about like disposables used to do minus the full blowouts). You may find having a few more expensive shells like Marvel or Sprout Change is worth it, especially since you can reuse for multiple changes. UPDATE: many readers say my experience with the leg seams is unique, which makes the covers even better!
- Prefolds are most certainly the most economical, and many people say that they tried all the fancy brands and just ended up loving the versatility of prefolds in the end. I can see how that happens, so don’t be afraid of them, but they are slightly more work with wiggly babies.
- A few Kawaii pocket diapers with bamboo inserts for babysitters and when out of the house; pockets are just easier to pack, and this definitely is the most bang for your buck + effective.
- For any pocket diaper you choose, you can use thin microfiber cloths, folded into thirds, as stuffers. They dry super fast, allow you to be in charge of the absorbency, and are an economical option. (Thanks, Lenetta!)
- If you have nighttime leaks, grab one or two fitteds.
For Bigger Kids
Almost all of our diapers fit my 3.5-year-old, but some just seemed more comfortable and roomy:
- Go Green
- Kawaii
- Tiny Tush
- Bum Genius
For Others to Put On
When I think about how people not used to cloth diapers end up faring with various styles, this list became quickly clear:
- Tuck and Go – couldn’t be simpler to put on AND take off
- Softbums Omni – the option of stuffing the pocket is handy, and these snaps are among the easiest to figure out
- Sprout Change, Kawaii, Go Green, and Motherease are close seconds on this list, but each of them has a little wiggle room for folks to put them on wrong, plus Kawaii needs to be unstuffed after a change.
On the Bubble
A few more diapers are worth mentioning, in my opinion, since they performed rather well. There are a lot of pockets in this category, so if the convenience of a pocket diaper is important to you, take note. A few of these diapers also might move up in the ranks pending a few more weeks of leak testing.
Tiny Tush (pictured above) (21 23)
Grovia (21 23)
Bumkins (21)
Flip (Link no longer available) (19-20)
Softbums, Echo (Link no longer available) (20 19)
Fuzzibunz One Size (19, perhaps less after elastic played out before one year of use)
**Be sure to check the cloth diaper reviews for the details on each diaper above!**
Not on My List
Some diapers just left a bad taste in my mouth, usually for being too complicated or simply for leaking. A lot. I’m sure some will disagree, but these guys just weren’t for me:
Thirsties Duo diaper (21 20)– recently demoted because the Velcro is failing miserably! It has completely come off my daughter at night twice…
Hiney Liney (link no longer available) (15)
Oh Katy! (15)
gDiapers (14)
Babykicks Basic (13)
Ones and Twos (13)
Bum Genius (9, updated to about 15-19 after one year)
Babykicks Premium (3G pocket) (7)
Itti bitti tutto (6)
Random Things You’ll Find Different with Cloth
Starting a new routine is always difficult for people like me. I’m the girl who went through Calc II in college without learning to use a graphing calculator, simply because I was too stubborn my senior year of high school to learn one darn more piece of technology. I knew I’d encounter some changes and have to learn new skills when switching from disposable diapers to cloth, but there were some surprises nonetheless:
- I was told I’d do less blowout laundry even while doing more laundry for the actual diapers. Encouragingly, that was true, but I was suddenly washing nearly every pair of pants and onesie that John owned! So that the boy would still have clothing to wear, we had to get a new tolerance for “wet” or “damp” and redefine when the clothing actually needed to be changed. “Just damp” meant “leave it on.” Don’t judge me until you’ve changed entire outfits three times before lunch, and your baby is not a newborn. I run out of pants all the time!
- Once John was wearing a ‘sposie because I hadn’t stuffed diapers (as usual), and he had a huge blowout up the back. I didn’t even hear it happen. This has NOT happened with cloth, not once. Case in point.
- Cloth diapers, ironically, almost keep too much smell in – you can sniff a baby’s bum and not know he’s poopy!
- Cloth takes up so much room! I always thought folks didn’t take cloth on trips because they might not be able to wash them properly, but my goodness, it’s probably because they don’t have room for all that fluffiness! I need a new diaper bag…
Reader Recommendations
So many recommend Bum Genius, Fuzzibunz (Link no longer available), and Green Mountain Diapers (prefolds). One important point I’ve learned in this whole cloth diaper process is that you can’t really just go by the brand – if you get a recommendation from someone, be sure to write down what kind of diaper they loved from a certain brand. Here are some quick notes from helpful KSers:
- Little Lions is another good site for prefolds. They have seconds that are really cheap.
- Motherease has new bedwetter pants.
- A few people always recommend elimination communication – a great idea, but not one I’ve instituted. It’s never too late!
- the ecoDiaper free book by Ingrid Bauer that is worth its weight in gold just for its down to earth, lovely parenting advice and the diaper free method is like icing on the cake. I highly recommend it to everyone even if they are using Pampers ;)” (from a reader)
- For newborns: “My recommendation is to get a dozen newborn prefolds and about 4 newborn covers (probably about $70). Try them out for a bit once your baby is at least 7-8lbs. If cloth diapering seems like something you are ready to jump into whole hog, I would try a starter set from Mother-Ease. Their one size diapers seem like a good, economical option. The diapers themselves use snaps to adjust as your child grows and you just buy bigger covers as they grow out of them.” (from a reader)
- Want more? Check these out:
Other Resources
When you jump into cloth diapering, you do commit to a certain amount of reading and research (you’ve gotten this far in the post, haven’t you?). Here are some other places to peruse:
- Diaper Swappers (second hand diapers for sale, information, forums and more)
- All About Cloth Diapers
- Calley at The Eco Chic
- Dispelling the Myths: Why Cloth Diapering is Easier Than it Seems
- More Reasons Cloth Diapering is Easier Than You Think
- The Cloth Diaper Foundation: Affording Cloth Diapers on a Low Income
- Keeper of the Home’s Pocket Cloth Diaper Review
- The Art of Simple has an amazing cloth diaper 101 series, with reviews, how-tos, and Qs answered.
- 5 Cloth Diaper Problems that Haven’t Sent Me Running Back to Disposables (and One That Might) — supporting the cause still one year later, along with some laundry problems you’ll want to know about.
If you’re a wee bit overwhelmed, or if perhaps you want to commiserate with the cranky Katie from the beginning of the post, let me leave you with some sage and comforting words from a dear friend:
Just assume that you’re diapering your baby with disposables. That’s the status quo. Every time you manage to use one cloth diaper, you save one from being thrown into the trash.
The glass is half full…and you’re overachieving when you incorporate some cloth, not failing when your baby’s in disposables because you’re behind on the laundry.
It’s all about attitude and perspective…and the perspective from here of that fluffy little rump is pretty inspiring!
Coming Up…
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming about real food and natural living.
This week we’re starting a real food weight loss and exercise mini-series, during which time I’ll share ideas for on-the-go real food protein sources for after a workout with some nifty ideas from Radiant Life (where they also offer kits for homemade baby formula), my new quinoa-oat protein bars (also a grain-free version), and a new simpler tutorial for my famous homemade yogurt method. I’ll also be reviewing sippy cups from Mighty Nest, so be sure to stick around as there’s plenty to do with your baby beyond his or her cute buns!
All the diapers mentioned here were free product samples, but my opinion is strictly my own.
Babysitting in the 80’s and one of the families I sat for had a bedwetter age 8 and cloth diapers and plastic pants were worn to bed. Younger ones in pampers all the time.
fast forward to raising my own and having bedwetter. Disposables leaked and so I switched to cloth and plastic pants remembering the babysitting days. They worked just as well 20 years later as they did then.
Was changing baby siblings using cloth diapers, fastened with pins, and worn with the old pull-on rubber pants, at age 8. Started babysitting at age 10, continued all through my teen years (cloth diapers and rubber pants in those days- 1970’s), then had my own kids starting in the early 80’s, and used old-fashioned cloth diapers with rubber pants on them, too.
Economical, versatile, traditional.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. I started doing some investigating on cloth diapers and was so overwhelmed. Your blog saved me! I loved all the video examples which just helped to know which TYPE of cloth diaper I wanted, not to mention more specific brands. I knew that I wanted to do cloth diapers but didn’t know what direction to turn. You demonstrated options that I didn’t even know existed! Thank you so much for taking the time to do all of this! You certainly made it easier for me to narrow down my choices!
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I am new to cloth diapering…well actually I haven’t started as we are expecting our fourth in April. I want to say thank you for your brutal honesty at the beginning and I can’t wait o learn what Wes you have o sy. Laundering is probably my biggest nemesis despite ll my efforts to make better systems and te thought of cloth airing freaks me out. I am a quasi recycler but call me pregnant or just wiser now, the thought of 9000 diers per year in the landfill by our family just isn’t an option. Your brutal honesty made me feel better because evn though I haven’t really started my brain has thought all those thoughts already….eek! I am ‘practicing’on my 2.5 year old but didn’t want to Mae a huge investment if I wasn’t going to do it o find out all the differences in each brand. I don’t have the advantage f an expert coming to show me as I live in a small town, so this series is just what I need, so thank you….thank you….thank you:)
Hi, I want to say thank you for your time. I have just started cloth diapers and have discovered my favorite is the SoftBums Echo and Omni. I purchased about 15 kinds and i did not like most so i decided to make some to save money. I have purchased 3 of your favorite to try out since i have trouble with leaks at night. I do want to mention how well the Echo and Omni fit on a newborn (9pounds). Also, the Echo comes with the bamboo pods just like the Omni and it is those pods that make them so great. It depends on the seller. I purchased 10 microfiber pods and do not like them at all and use the bamboo pods in both the Omni and Echo. The difference is the Omni is pocket and the Echo is not since you snap the pod on the top. I do want to mention, since i have tried MANY pods/soakers, that the minky are the worst ones on the market.
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OK so I am really confused. I have been online all day researching. I have a 24 lb 20 month old BOY that is a pee-er, especially at night. I have always used Luvs bc cheap but at night have to use Huggies or his bed and pj’s are soaked. I hate for him to be sleeping like that….BUT I can not disturb his sleep or he will want to go back to bed WITH ME!!! I have decided to switch over to cloth and don’t know where to begin and have no extra funds to take a risk and buy one of a few. I had intended on using them before having my son but because I worked didn’t think I could handle it….I lost my job while on maternity and simply never never thaught about them again until now. I had 9 months worth of diapers given to me from showers so just didn’t think about it.
What kind do you like for heavy wetters? I also don’t like the ones that take a million years to put on but I am not opposed to it not being simple. My husband needs to be able to change just in case….I think he has only had to change 5 MAYBE!!! Heee!
I had these in mind to because cheaper but reviews aren’t the best…Econobum: Full Kit 3 Diaper Covers, 12 Prefolds and 1 Wet Bag
I think I will love the CD system and don’t want to waste too much investing in something you or others know aren’t worth it. Please be honest. Thank you so much for your time and your reviews.
I would encourage you to try a wool cover over a disposable diaper. (This worked really well for us on overnights – disposables just hold more than cloth, but even those weren’t just quite enough for my boy).
The nice thing about a wool cover is that it can airdry during the day – you really only need to wash/lanolize it once every week or two.
GMD has a really nice cover that I love (but I found mine used on craigslist for a fraction of the price). They also have tutorials on how to wash wool and lanolize it.
http://greenmountaindiapers.com/covers.htm#kissas
Good Luck!
Shannon,
Ack, sorry I took so long to answer! If you haven’t already invested, I would totally go with the Econobums. For a budget diaper, it’s truly amazed me. Out of 25, it’s one of maybe 4 or 5 that I’ll trust at night, with a prefold insert plus an extra hemp doubler, sometimes a third fleece insert or hemp as well. It’s huge, but effective!
For a straight up bullet proof night-time solution if that doesn’t work for you, I haven’t tried the wool thing, but I have two that I LOVE and really do last 12 hours: the fitteds by Kissaluvs or Wooldins with a Marvel cover (or the Econobums cover, for real!) and the Motherease AIO with an extra hemp/cotton doubler. Both are worth the investment for nighttime, trust me. You’ll only need 2, maybe 3 nighttime diapers, and the sleep is worth it. 😉
I am totally being honest, promise! I hope this helps and that you’re not too anxious about the investment (that’s the great thing abt Econobums, I think that pkg you mentioned is only $50 or so, right?)!!
🙂 Katie
ujst remember that you don’t have to do it all at once, you can always buy 3 or 6 here and there until you have 18 or 20 or so. that is what we did, because we had to, and it was so much easier. but as far as brands go, every baby is different and everyone likes different ones. that being said, both my kids were super chunky babies and i really felt bum genius 3.0 fit them great. very few blow-out or leaks. you can buy them used, or for a little more shop around and get them new. sometimes the used are not much cheaper and i just as soon get new. plus you can always re-sell them. i think the bum genius are very durable too. ours have been used for 48 months now and are still looking good (except the velcro- see my earlier post about easy snappi fix to worn out velcro). good luck!!
also if you do sposies, check our amazon or even target or your grocery store for chlorine free diapers. they are only $33/ case of 4 for NATY, which i loved, on amazon. and my kroger sells chlorine free for $6.50 a pack. that is like as cheap as luvs but way way better for baby 🙂
I appreciate all the info but it’s making my pregnant head spin lol, would you say Kissaluvs cotton/hemp fitted diapers would be the best all organic option?
Ana,
Me too! Yes, I do love the Kissaluvs fitteds. Kawaii and Softbums bamboo insert are also great organic options; depends on how much time you want to spend putting the diaper on! 😉 Katie
I agree with all the commenters who think that trying so many different styles of diapers has made it confusing for you! We tried only 3 different brands to start and 2 more later, and they were all fitted diapers with snaps so somewhat similar. (We did try a wider variety of covers, I think about 7, but that was a short experiment as our immediate conclusion was, “Only 2 of these work AT ALL!” and one of those was much less expensive than the other, so we just bought more of that kind.)
Anyway, I’m glad you’re going to stick with it despite feeling deterred, and I think you’ve done a great job with your thorough reviews!
To help with your leaking issues, in case you missed my saying it over and over 🙂 Dappi nylon pull-on pants are excellent covers! Many sites sell a pack of 2 for $5 or $6. Each size fits for several months at least, and all of ours held up through 2 babies (ours and a friend’s). In our experience, they also work well over underpants when the child is toilet-training.
I just wanted to say thank you for doing such a detailed series on cloth. 🙂 I think if you stick to it, it will grow on you… Kinda like whole wheat pancakes and real maple syrup, it takes a bit of getting used to but after awhile Bisquick and Butterworth tastes like sugar topped paste! 🙂 So go you for baby steps… (and choose like 1-3 types, lol)
<3 Vicki mom to 7 and cloth diaperer for 11 years!
Have you tried out any flatfold diapers? I would love to hear some about those from a newbie cloth diaperer! I’m thinking about getting some because they’re inexpensive, wash well, and dry well. They’re also very versatile and about as close to “one side fits all” as diapers get.
I really want to switch to cloth diapers, but the set-up cost and insane number of options keep overwhelming me. I’ve been researching this since before our first was born (over 3 years ago) and still end up with my head spinning. We’re finally in a place where we can do cloth diapers, so it might just be time to leap in.
Thank you for sharing all of this information with us! It has been incredibly informative and helpful! 🙂
They are the cheapest, but they require alot of folding to get them in the right shape before they are used. So, I perferred the pre-folds, and managed with just 2 sizes. I have had the flat ones, and they can be used just as diaper doublers or with a young baby so you can skip a small size prefold. They make great clothes for putices and other household uses after baby is grown. And, If you have the time and find the activity of calmly folding after each load, they do work well
I didn’t try any totally flat ones, but I did like the prefolds I tried! Hope you end up with a frugal system you love! 🙂 Katie
i think those flat folds are worthless as diapers. sorry to be so harsh, but that’s the only way to put it. they are cheap because they are like a huge hanker-chief. they are not absorbant at all. i had a few a tried them and found they peed right through them, immedietely. and yes like debi said they are huge and have to be folded just so to fit. but they make good burp rags or low lint kitchen towels.
i did prefolds and covers when mine were newborns, and i did not really like it enough to buy the larger size to keep going. the main reason being that a cotton rag next to your baby’s behind does not wick away moisture at all, so you have to change the diaper immedietely (which we all want to do, but sometimes it doesn’t happen), and i mean right on the spot. i am not a mom to let my kids fill up a diapers, disposable or cloth, i change them frequently every hour or so as little babies. and i still found my babies had reddish bottoms from the prefolds. not a rash, just redness from sitting in their own urine and poo for one minute or 20. my kids don’t have sensitive skin, but hey what baby doesn’t have delicate skin.
that being said, with #3 on the way, i think i will still use the prefolds for the first month or so like before. i don’t use the covers unless we are napping or going out; around the house i just cover them with the prefold and secure it just so with a snappi, and then wrap them up in a blanket and hold them all the time anyway. as soon as they go i take it right off and let them air out or be diaper free for a minute before putting another one on their bottom. i might bounce around with chlorine free sposies, like i did with #2, if the leaks or redness get to me. but as soon as my kids fit into the bum genius/AIO stash, around 6 weeks, i am happy to switch to those. they wick the moisture away wonderfully and fit better. yes they are more expensive, which was huge for us because we live on a very, very modest single income. but i figured it was an investment, because they last long and you can re-sell them for a nice amount. i guess you can re-sell $2 cloth prefolds for $1, too, maybe? either way, for my sanity, i really do appreciate the AIO style. we just bought a few at a time, some new some used til our stash was built up. now i am glad we did 🙂
i just want to add, for anyone on a modest budget who thinks building up their stash over time is a great way to afford cloth diapers (as opposed to buying 18 or 20 all at once for a couple hundred bucks, yikes!), and you think you might do some disposables in between, to really shop around for chlorine free disposables because you can find them for a comparable price to pampers and it is so worth it to know at least you aren’t exposing your babies skin to so many toxic chemicals. our skin is very porous, and toxins are readily absorbed and not filter by the liver, so what you put on and next to baby’s skin is SOOOO important, of course. i used to buy NATY on amazon, although recently my grocery store (kroger’s) has chlorine free diapers for $6.50/pack.
especially when you have a newborn, which is so much to get used to even if it’s not your first; and not to mention cloth diapers don’t always fit little wee ones so well, don’t beat yourself up about using some throw-aways to get you through. but really i think these days there is so many chlorine free and even better out there that are affordable (they used to be over $16 a pack when i had #1!), there is no reason to put stinky, chemical oozing pampers next to your delicate one.
You didn’t link to the Green Mountain Diapers – – so sad. An awesome company with great products – http://greenmountaindiapers.com
I have to agree with previous posters that perhaps there were too many experiments going on at once. The biggest benefit of a single system = I can delegate them matching/stuffing process to my children (even my 15 month-old can “help” put diapers away).
Also, keep in mind that there are benefits you have yet to see. Cloth diapered babies tend to toilet train much earlier than disposable babies (major plus) and you can sell your used cloth diapers for as much as 80% of your initial investment!!
Julie,
I hope I get that early potty-training thing! 😉 I do hear much good about Green Mountain, but I couldn’t get them to work with me on a product sample, so that’s the only reason I couldn’t recommend them – didn’t get a chance to try them out! 🙂 Katie
Thanks so much for all your effort and time doing the cloth diaper reviews.
I did cloth for about a year with my last when he was about 2 yrs old.
I pray we are blessed with another after our reversal and want/would have to use CD.
This will save me so much money, time and effort in research .
Thanks again, this was a gift!
Perhaps you overthought cloth diapers. I mean absolutely NO offense by this, but from your blog it seems to me that you tend to be an over thinker! That’s coming from a fellow overthinker at times 🙂 But you must remember:
“There is now therefore NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Using cloth or disposables, either one, does not make you a better Christian. It will not save your child’s soul, or your own. While we should be good stewards of God’s creation, we should also realize that we can only do so much. It isn’t worth the expense it takes on you and your family. Sin has corrupted this world and using cloth diapers won’t change that. Only God and the saving grace of Jesus Christ can do that.
These things have been on my own mind lately. I have cloth diapered off and on (depending largely on our laundry situation: coin machines, etc) since my son was born two years ago. But I am seriously considering selling my cloth diaper stash. It is simply not worth it for our family. Yes, it would be cheaper and healthier to use cloth, but I am a better wife and mother when we use disposables. There are plenty of other things I do to keep our family healthy and to care for this beautiful earth.
Good luck with your decision either way. Cloth diapering can be a wonderful thing, but it isn’t for every family.
Emily,
Wha??Overthink? 😉 Just kidding…it’s good to hear that other folks get overwhelmed and are humble enough to admit, as you did, that you’re not as good a wife/mother when something is stressing you out, and you were wise enough to cut that part out of your routine. Your encouragement as a sister in Christ means a lot to me! 🙂 Katie
I appreciate your honesty. Disposable is definitely much easier. But there are things about cloth that are just so nice, too. Good luck in your continued diapering!
I don’t know if this has already been covered or not but something that helped me when I got started with cloth diapering is that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I started by buying 3 different diapers that got good reviews/recommendations and tried them at home for a few weeks. Laundry can kind of be a pain when you only have a few diapers but you can always wash with towels. Once I decided what I liked, I bought maybe 4-6 more switching up with disposables. Once I got more comfortable, I started to round out my stash and worked my way up to using them outside the home. When my son got older and we struggled with leaking at night, I went back to disposables at night. Go slow with it. Make sure you find something that works for you before you spend a lot of time and money. And also, if you are having problems with the diapers, talk to whoever makes them or to the store you bought it from. Most of the WAHM behind the diapers are very knowledgeable and passionate and can maybe help solve the issue. I had problems with my son’s diapers leaking and was about to write off the diapers but after speaking to the manufacturer, I found out that it was actually a problem with the detergent I was using and had build up on them.
I’m sorry cloth diapering didn’t work out for you. 🙁 I love it so much, it’s disappointing when everyone else doesn’t feel the same. It’s amazing how different brands work for some and not for others. My favorites were your least favorites – crazy!
I have been CDing for about 2 years and I agree that it can be overwhelming and it is not as easy as using disposables. I have a love/hate relationship with CDing. I mostly hate the troubleshooting. I have also found that some products I used to love have now been replaced with new favorites. I first had PlanetWise wetbags and now am a total convert to MonkeyFootDesign bags, they are a much better quality. I used to like GroVia but all of my velcro ones barely stick anymore, I found the snap in liner really made no difference for me cause the cover always seems to need a change as well and once I styarted using the diaper sprayer I thought they were the biggest pain due to the multiple layers. I like Best Bottom diapers better for a snap in style, the cover can be wiped off, the velcro has held up well, they are USA made and less expensive. I also found Smartipants and Thirsties to be my favorite pockets since you don’t have to pull the insert out.
for anyone with worn out velcro, especially if it is a big part of your stash, i recommend the snappi diaper clips. i have 18 bum genius, and for our 2 (so far, one on the way) they just had the best fit and the seem durable-except the velcro, obviously, which wore out in a little over a year and a half i think. at first i was furious and hated the BG, and thought of adding snaps, but then i thought about the snappis, which are super cheap, and i love my BG all over again. i just cut off the bottom “snappi” (it is a T shape longer across the top) and use each snappi on top of the velcro tabs so it goes across the top front of the diaper, and it works like a charm, and we very rarely have blow outs. plus, it is actually still quicker than the 6 snaps on our fuzzi bunz 😉 i recommend getting 4 or 6, unless you are diligently organized. seems like one or two or more of ours always disappears, since they are small. good luck!
Sorry! I continue… I currently use flips because that’s just what I heard about before I had my baby. I wish I had had your reviews before I bought all flips! Although I do actually love the flips, I think I would buy sprout change if I could do it again. These post definitely encouraged me to keep on keeping on with my cloth. Since my baby started having solid-food poops I have not loved cloth as much as I did with just breast milk poop. It is definitely more work and more gross, but I have a diaper sprayer on my toilet and that really helps. Thanks again for all of this awesome info!
Thanks so much for doing this review! I loved all of the info and I learned about a few new brands (kissaluvs and sprout change
Thanks for doing this huge review. It definitely is overwhelming in the beginning, trying to decide where to start. When I first started CDing my twins, I had no idea what was going to work for them. I tried AIOs, pockets, fitteds, basically everything except for prefolds. They intimidated me! I hope that some folks will be encouraged to at least give cloth a try. One thing I will say though, is that what works for one baby won’t neccessarily work for another. Babies are all different shapes and sizes so one might experience leaks with a certain diaper on one baby but not on another. I am so glad you were completely honest about each one and why they were good/bad for you. I have read so many reviews on diapers and it seems I can never find a bad review!
Call me lay, but I tend to just stuff my diapers as I use them. If I don’t, the kids throw the diapers and the inserts everywhere. And I’d rather do other things during naptime 🙂 There is one diaper called the Easy Fit, by TotsBots, that you don’t have to search for the insert for. It is actually attached to the diaper, comes out in the wash on its own, and then you just fold the end and stuff it back in. It’s quite handy. My stash is almost made entirely of those (they fit both of my twins very well and they are built very differently). It is a more expensive option, however. My other CDs that fit really well are from a WAHM (three monkeys cloth diapers). BumGenius were my least favorite. I used them only at night until the PUL layer disintegrated. Now they sit on a shelf unused. Unless I have an emergency.
Aaaaanyway, I’m glad that despite your woes, you are still CDing! The environmental and financial factors are biggies for me too.With CDing two kids at the same time and using cloth wipes, we are saving more than $2000 a year. Can’t go wrong with that!
I enjoyed your post. It was certainly very thorough, and I’m sure it will be helpful especially to the newbie!
My son (1st and only child so far) is 18 months old and we’ve been cloth diapering since he was under a week old. I remember being a bit overwhelmed with the choices at first, but because I am a cheapskate, I went with the cheapest route–green mountain diaper PFs and a few Thirsties covers, and I’m happy I did!
Maybe it’s because I started with CD’ing from the beginning and went so simply, but since the initial choice, I’ve found it quite easy. Like someone else said, it’s actually liberating for me to think of jsut having to pop some diapers in teh washer instead of having to run to the store if I run out of diapers (not mentioning having to find sales and coupons and buy them in bulk/online, etc…)
My 18 month old son is still in diapers (although we are doing early potty training so he’s beginning to ease out of them) and he wears PF’s 90% of the time still! They’re so simple to wash. He wears pocket diapers at night–Kawaii or BumGenius double stuffed. And that’s it. We use cloth for everything except overnight trips. I wash every 3rd day and try to hang them on the line whenever possible. We handwash the covers often, to save wear and tear. Because we are practicing early potty training, I don’t like to let my son sit in pee at all–I change him and potty him often. I like that the cloth helps him know when he’s gone pee!
Cloth is fairly simple (though of course not quite as simple as sposies), involves fewer leaks and blowouts, it’s eco-friendly, healthier for my baby’s bum, cheaper (I am going to reuse my cloth diapers for #2 someday) and assists in potty training–what’s not to love?! 🙂
For me prefolds and all the same take most of the thought energy out of it. Also looking for clothing with CDs in mind will help with the leaks. When a onesie is compressing the diaper thant can encourage leaks. I hope it gets easier for you.
Oh dear Katie! I’ve been following along and can tell you are a bit overwhelmed! Perhaps trying this many diapers from the beginning was too much. Or perhaps there is just a learning curve (as there is with parenting) and you will soon find joy in cloth diapering. I applaud your honesty…I’m sure I was there at one time too. don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions! XOXO! Calley
I havent had one in diapers for years, I am 51 now, oldest child is 23, youngest is 14. They all were in cloth diapers. If I had to do it right now , I would probably buy 2 sizes of regular prefold diapers, yellow trim, size small 10lb and up and then size medium, brown trim. About 2 or 3 dozen of the smaller and then 3 or 4 dozen of the other. I would first try the Bummis nylon pullon pants, they are easy to wash and inexpensive, I found little difference between these and the wool covers for my kids, the key was not leaving in a wet diaper, but if you find your child is that sensitive, then you can upgrade. It is pretty easy and automatic, I found I didnot like soaking, just got smelly, when the child was older and had a solid enough poop to easily come off, tip into the toilet, otherwise dont worry about it. Put the load in the washing machine, do a presoak or prewash cycle, then wash cycle with hot water, do an extra hot rinse at the end, baby bottoms can be sensitive to detergent residue. I dont use bleach and dont care about stains on diapers ! They dont show you know….Then having a dryer is real nice, dump em in and dry them, dump into a laundry basket you keep next to the changing table, no reason to waste time folding or stuffing ! If I remember correctly, the nylon pants can go in the same washer load, no worries like the wool. Easy and best newborn baby bottom cleaning is done by having a little bottle of oil ( I used olive oil) just use a refillable plastic travel size toiletry container, if you can get a flip top is best. The oil will wipe off all sticky stuff and leave the baby bottom moisturized, wipe with a cloth (cut up wash cloth or cut up t shirt or a cotton ball) cloths just go into the dirty diaper bin and wash in the same load. I tried all fancy wraps and fasteners and settled on pins. Pins are cheap and easy. One hand holds the two pieces of diaper you are going to pin together, thumb outside the diaper, 2 or more fingers inside the diaper between where you are going to pin and the babies hip or tummy. You will never worry this way, you would poke yourself, the baby can wiggle, you have a tight hold of the area you need. It becomes quick and easy. Newborn baby in a size small diaper means top front of the diaper folded to a triangle and held with one pin in center of tummy area — later the baby grows and you dont pull as tight and go to two pins, one by each side.
If you are a brand new mom and someone has extra money, let them buy you a month of diaper service so the service can wash the first month while you get used to all the rest.
By the time I got to my youngest child, I even took the cloth on our 2 week camping and touring trip and just brought along a small wash tub and hand washed the old fashioned way….
I used to do daycare for 10 years, my kids never had rashes, but the disposable diaper kids would, and it is realy gross to see some of those super-absorbent beads that are supposed to stay in the diaper on babies delicate skin
I think one thing to keep in mind is that you probably made a lot of this same kind of time/thought investment when you were getting used to disposables. Way back when that first baby was born, and disposable diapering was a challenge. Maybe you had to try a couple of brands before you found your favorite. And just learning how to put a diaper on a newborn in general is hard at first! But after 2+ kids, you’ve become a disposable diaper expert. Now you’re trying to learn something new, and that’s always harder than sticking to your current routine. For those of us that have cloth diapered from the beginning, we didn’t have to learn one routine and then change to another. Cloth diapering is second nature, because that’s what we’re used to.
It’s probably funny to you, but the thought of having to go to the store (*gasp*) if my baby was low on diapers freaks me out. Throwing a load in the wash just seems so much easier! Also, I only have two kinds of diapers- fuzzibunz and prefolds. So I just make a stack of inserts, a stack of fuzzibunz, and a stack of prefolds. Covers go in the drawer. Easy! I love that my family of four only makes one bag of garbage a week. And my son was fully potty trained (day and night) by nineteen months and my daughter learned how to pee on cue at four months! Cloth diapers have definitely been a blessing to my family. Blessings on your diapering journey, whatever you choose to use!
I agree. I wanted to cloth diaper from the start, and got the hubby on board with the cost effectiveness. But part of the reason I wanted to start with cloth was so that we’d get into the routine of cloth immediately. I think my husband would’ve had a much harder time with it if we started one routine and had to switch. To me, having to remember to wash is no different than having to remember to stop by the store and pick up some diapers. And it’s a whole lot easier than hauling the baby out, especially in the winter. And we have 3 brands of diapers, but all are pockets, so it’s pretty easy to match them up quickly. I would not be wanting to deal with 25 different kinds of diapers.
Plus, this is going to sound crazy, but the fact that my husband and my mother and I are the only 3 people who “know how” to change his diaper has been beneficial when it comes to family functions where I need to save the baby from overwhelming relatives. I can say he needs a diaper change (and chances are he does) and viola, I have the baby back, no questions asked.
We have the exact same stash! Sometimes, I don’t even match up the diapers, but just leave them all in the basket and grab what I need when I change him. I try to remember to match them all up, but honestly, I don’t always fold the clothes either and we just grab from the dryer. It depends on how my day is going, you know? 🙂
I agree that it’s a little bit of a learning curve, but there were so many benefits I could see that it was worth it. I particularaly hated the middle of the night run to the store you prayed was still open because somehow the baby ran out of diapers. Now, I just start a load and it’s ready by the time he needs to be changed again. I try to hang the diapers to dry, but I usually use the dryer and my fuzzibunz have lasted over 3 years and still look practically new.
Katie, thank you for your honesty in your opinion. I would have to agree that cding is not as “glamorous” as some say, but it’s worth it in the end. I think, if you were to whittle down your stash to have only 1-2 styles and stock up from there, it would solve quite a few of the issues you’ve had. You could even give away or sell your other diapers. People are always buying used diapers! I feel for you that your intro to cds was so very complicated and overwhelming with choices, but I appreciate your evaluations and input. You helped me decide what to add to my stash since I’ll have 2 in cds in a few weeks when our 4th son arrives.
Thanks for the “real” Katie opinion! I cloth diaper and I LOVE them…only because of the fact that i don’t have to invest in disposables ALL THE TIME. That being said I also agree with the fact that any time you use a cloth diaper you are preventing a disposable from ending up in a landfill — so I encourage people to cloth diaper, even if only sometime! We cloth diaper at home and for short outings. I use disposables at night and for longer outings (church, town trip, overnights, etc). This works well for us…every family needs to figure out what works well for them!
I actually think your opinions are fine, Katie, but agree that it would be way easier to find your zone by not trying so many options all at once.
The only thing I want people to remember is that reviews are totally subjective. As is finding the right system for you. For example, many of the diapers you don’t recommend are the very ones that have worked best for me, and I have never, ever gotten a leak in an econobum cover, hehe.
I don’t have kids in diapers BUT I’m old enough to remember diapering my youngest sister with cloth diapers before disposables came out in the late 60’s. I WOULD NEVER GO BACK! Even with all the contoured, snaps, fancy pants, etc. I’ve seen some very good, detailed and well considered info on disposables v cloth and it’s drain on resources, carbon footprint, WATER, etc. If you’re using disposables like Seventh Generation, NatraCare, it’s actually better than cloth on resources and baby.
The amount of water used to wash a diaper is akin to the amount that child will use flushing the toilet once potty trained so that point is moot. Also how much resources are used in manufacturing and transportation? Even those fancy all natural sposies have to be shipped. With cloth you can feasibly buy once and use them through more then one child saving tons of resources.
i am sure that good detailed info came from pampers 😉 lol. sorry but i just don’t buy it. disposables are made with nasty, toxic chemicals and they are not biodegradable, which means they stick around forever. and i really don’t buy the water argument because processing something like diapers uses tons of water and pollutes tons of water, something the diaper companies can conveniently hide when sharing their unbiased “facts”. what a bunch of baloney!! not to mention the chemicals in disp wipes, and all the waste water that went into processing them. and that cloth diapered kids potty train quicker. i am not saying i don’t turn to chlorine free diapers myself, but i don’t kid myself that something uber-processed and disposable after one use is better than a cloth diaper which gets uses thousands of times.
its like those studies that say dishwashers use less energy than by hand. maybe if you let the water run on hot the entire time you are standing there washing every dish and spoon (which i have seen people do). fill the sink up, rinse them on cold, there is no way even the most energy efficient dishwasher can beat that in the >10 years it is used before occupying a landfill. and BTW i just got a dishwasher for the first time in my life, and i LOVE it 🙂 but i don’t believe i am doing the earth any big favors. just myself and my dirty kitchen.
Yeah, I rather dislike cloth diapering, too. I feel somewhat guilty, too, because when other moms ask me about it, I simply cannot rave about them, even though I think it’s a good thing to do, all in all. I just hate solid poo, and my laundry’s already behind, anyway.
Really, I’d rather order take out every evening instead of making dinner, but you know that’s not going to happen! Of course, that’s not really a fair comparison (disposables aren’t as bad as take out every night), but the idea helps me along.
Thanks for helping us with all the confusion and thanks for being real with us!
I don’t particularly like cloth diapering either. We’ve found a system that works for us, but it did take much more thought than I would have cared to put into it…like spending hours online reading reviews and how-to’s and figuring out how to wash without causing rashes. Plus, I don’t find the fluffy butt to be all that cute…even after over a year of cloth diapering (from birth) I prefer the trim look of disposables.
However, since we use prefolds and wrap style covers, we are saving thousands of dollars on diapers (my son gets rashes from generic or scented disposables). Also, I was really disturbed with the amount of garbage we produced from disposable diapering my older child, so I feel better about reducing the waste we are producing. So, those two factors make me stay with cloth even though I don’t love it.
Also, I hope this doesn’t sound mean or judgemental, but it actually is not good for the baby’s skin to let them sit in a wet disposable if you can change it, even if the diaper can still “hold” more. Trust me, I’ve put off a sposie diaper change if there truly was no way to change it, but if you know it is wet, then bacteria can quickly start to grow in that dark warm diaper.
Oh, and that concept is relatively new to me; I used to do the squish test, too. However, that stay dry feel of disposables can be deceiving…it is still urine against their skin.
I think I’m lucky in that I didn’t have a chance to choose whether or not we were cloth diapering at all, let alone what types to use. When you have to use them because of expense, and that leads you to conclude that prefolds are pretty much your only option, it’s almost easier. (Case in point: I’ve been doing it for almost five years, and I think you know more about it than me!) Do I like cloth diapering? I don’t know…they’re diapers, you know?
I guess I prefer it to disposables (blowouts are gross, and I hate that disposable diaper smell), but every time we get back from a long trip using disposables, and I have to give up the super-fast changes with no laundry, it’s a bummer for half a day.
Anyway, I appreciate your honesty and your commitment to do it anyway 🙂
When I CD’d my kids 7 yrs ago I used prefolds, pins and gerber plastic pants. Cheap, easy, done. There wan’t a learning curve, I just washed them 5 times on super hot to strip them initially, then they were ready to go. I didn’t have to worry about folding, etc. I often just left the clean dipes in the dryer till I needed them, then tossed the dirty ones in the washer and ran a load at night. I just washed them once in cold, no detergent, and once in hot with OXY. I could do it on auto pilot, esp since I had 2 in cloth at the same time, and when my daughter was born, I had 3 in cloth doing a load every day, usually.
Its only overwhelming when you make it that way. Not everything in life or parenting needs to be over thought.
Just wanted to throw in there, in case anyone saw this and thought “ooh! There’s my CD solution!” – about four years ago Gerber changed the material they made their plastic pants out of. Now they are just about as good as the stuff that your baby puts in them. I the same system Rebecca did for my first baby, but after putting my thumb through Gerber’s pants a month after I bought them, I decided the price edge they had had been lost, and went looking for other options. Not many people make pull-on plastic pants anymore, but Bummies makes a Whisper Pant that’s pretty nice, and will last through several kids. However, once I made that switch I got sold on their Whisper wrap, which is not even twice as much as the pull-on option…
Though, one nice thing I miss about the plastic pants – if you’re ever really in a bind for a diaper cover, these can just be rinsed well in the sink and hung to dry. Can’t do that with PUL.
Yes, being able to rinse the cover (maybe a quick scrub with a squirt of liquid hand soap) and have it air-dry before the next change is a huge advantage!
Dappi nylon pull-on pants are similar to the Whisper Pants but HALF the price. We loved them.
We bought some Gerber plastic pants once when we forgot to bring spare covers on vacation. That was 6 years ago, so before they were made worse–we thought they were horrible even then, although they seemed durable, because they had a strong vinyl smell and left red ridges on baby’s legs.
I raised 3 girls in the late 70’s and early 80’s and used cloth diapers with all of them. Our options then were very limited–unfolded or prefolds, plain or the rare cute print on the plastic pants, and which diaper pins–plain colors, or the ones with the cute little ducks on them. The environmental issues were just starting to be discussed in regard to disposables. The main reason for using cloth for me was that I didn’t want all that chemical stuff on my baby’s bottom for the first couple years of their little lives. Next reason was the cost of all those disposables! Anyway, I’m thrilled that cloth diapering is coming to the forefront now–it’s good for everyone!
I forgot to mention to anyone thinking of cloth diapering: I would recommend getting a diaper trial (just google “cloth diaper trial” and many options will come up). During a trial, a store will send you several types and brands of diapers (but not 25 lol) and let you try them out for a flat fee. Once you decide what you like, you send the others back in exchange for store credit to buy more of your chosen type/brand. Or, if you decide cloth diapers aren’t for you, most stores will return all but about $10 or so of the cost of the trial once you return all the diapers.
I wonder as well if the true thought investment is the fact that you took so much time to write notes and review diapers. I love cloth diapering (though it has been frustrating at times such as when my son had horrible rashes and we had to switch brands). I only use one diaper now (bum genius organics) and have a routine down so I don’t even think about it now. I’m sure that with the struggle of a newborn, older children, and trying to do a good review it would definitely seem overwhelming. There are a lot of choices and some time and trial & error need to be done to find a system and routine, in the end I always feel better about not having to buy sposies as much. (We still use sposies for nighttime and long outings).
This post makes me sad. Cloth diapering is NOT some mind boggling activity. I have been cloth diapering since my older daughter was 3 months old (she’s now almost 3 and I’ve added a 4mo daughter to the mix). We use bumGenius pockets & AIO’s. I change them, put the diaper in the pail (I have never reached in and touch an insert; I just shake it out over the pail), and every other day I wash. Done.
I think you tried too many brands and you over thought things. For me, when I over think something, I get completely sick of thinking about whatever it is I’m making so complicated. Cloth diapers aren’t complicated. Do they require more thought than disposables? Yeah, a bit; you have to remember to put them in the pail, wash them, etc. But, if it’s something that consumes your thoughts and puts a major dent into your day, something is wrong. Either the wrong type of diaper is being used, the wrong wash routine is being done, etc.
As for the “squish” test, I can’t knowingly let my kids sit in their urine if it’s avoidable (things like car trips, nap, nighttime are exceptions, of course). I know that I would hate to sit in mine so I can’t do that to my kids as a regular occurrence.
All that said, I don’t think disposables are evil, other than to the wallet, and no one is a bad parent if they choose to use them. I just know there are people out there who work hard to clear up misconceptions about cloth and posts like this (with fixable issues…try out fewer diapers, don’t over think things, etc.) completely undo what we work hard to get across to people: that cloth diapering really isn’t *that* complicated. I can talk to someone all day long about how simple it is for us. Then that person could read this post and plow me over with their cart in Target as they snatch up the box of 284 Pampers. It’s discouraging.
Johanna,
I certainly didn’t mean to make anyone sad or discouraged; in fact, I’d rather make cloth diapering seem very accessible to folks who are nervous like I was.
The thought investment is mostly in the beginning – choosing your brand, figuring out the routine. You can’t deny that’s harder than Pampers, or else there wouldn’t be entire blogs devoted to CDing!
All sorts of folks give up on cloth or say thing like, “If it weren’t for this sprayer, we couldn’t handle cloth.” I don’t think anyone gives up on their baby because of diapers when they use disposables…
As for “medium squishy,” my son would tinkle immediately after a diaper change every time I changed him as a newborn. And those disposables are so absorbent, it’s really like sitting next to your urine, not in it. 😉 So, eh…
I do hope that this post gives people more hope and a good laugh, rather than plowing them into Pampers! But thank you for lending another voice to say how simple it is; that’s important for all of us scaredy-cats to hear.
🙂 Katie
Not everyone has to LIKE cloth diapering!!! It is ok to find it overwhelming, inconvienant, or even confusing. And being honest about it is allowed as well! Just because some moms find cloth diapering to be the most wonderful thing doesn’t mean we all have to pretend we love it too!
I never said that everyone had to love it. I’m not sure where this defensiveness is coming from? Or maybe I’m just reading it with that tone. I point blank said that using disposables does not make one a bad parent (and using cloth doesn’t make one a good parent). We are not debating whether or not to use car seats here; we’re talking about something that holds their pee and poop. All I meant was that it discouraged me that this seemed to give a negative view of cloth diapering when most of the issues Katie seemed to have were fixable (cutting down to no more than 2 brands/types of diapers, adding more absorbancy if you want it to “last” a while, etc.). But, just as she said, it’s overwhelming at first. I never disagreed with that. Heck, *parenthood* is overwhelming! But the more you’re exposed to it and do it, the more second nature it becomes. Well, diapering. I’m still working on the whole being a parent thing. 😛
As for “the most wonderful thing”, um, no. They are diapers. The kids pee and poop in them, I wash them…rinse and repeat. I enjoy doing it both for the cuteness and financial aspects but there are a lot of things in life that rank above cloth diapers for me. lol 🙂
Thanks for responding, Katie! I hope that you find some diapers that are less work and more fun for you!
Johanna,
Thanks for your gracious reply! And your comment about the diaper trials is sure to help someone out, yay! We’ll get in the groove eventually… 🙂 Katie
Thanks for all the time that you put into trying and reviewing all of these different styles and brands in detail. I’m sure it will be so helpful to people!
I do wonder though if the process of trying and evaluating so many different kinds of cloth diapers might have made it less appealing to you? I know I’m only speculating here, so I should be cautious. I’m just going based off of your comment about the amount of “thought investment” you put into it. If you just had one or two kinds of cloth diapers it might have made it simpler and a bit more routine. I felt like once I made the decision as to which kind of diapers to use and got into a routine with them, there was very little thought investment required.
All that being said I am definitely not a stellar cloth diaper-er. In fact, I am no longer cloth diapering my 19 month old. I used cloth diapers almost exclusively from about age 6 weeks to 10 months and I loved them. I used all Flips with snap closures and they were great. We did always use a disposable at night. I was not willing to be woken up due to diaper issues when I could avoid them by using a disposable :). It really was so easy and simple for me while he was only nursing. We stopped using them for a multitude of reasons: summer heat, solid food poops, and a season in which my son was very squirmy during diaper changes (not exactly easy to do up all those snaps on the Flips with a super squirmy 10 month old). Truthfully it was so simple when we were cloth diapering, but disposables are, of course, even more simple that it is hard to go back…especially now that I’m talking about a toddler and toddler BMs. I’m sure it is part laziness and part not wanting to deal with poop, but either way I’m in no position to get on someone’s case about needing to use cloth diapers.
I hope you don’t take my comment as being judgmental. I don’t think there is to be a “right” way to diaper your kid. I think what fits best for you and your family may even be different from kid to kid and season to season. I only have one child and realize that makes a big difference in the day to day running of the home.