A lot of my friends and readers frequently ask me, “What’s the difference between the types of cloth diapers?” I do my best to explain it to them over the phone or over email, but it’s one of those things that’s a lot easier to understand when you have a good look at them. That’s why I love to invite friends over and actually show them, demonstrate for them the difference between the various kinds of diapers.
I can’t have you all over (pity! it would be one hell of a party), but I can invite you into my house via video. So that’s what I’ve done. I put together a Vlog yesterday (after many technical difficulties, I’m still learning this fancy new camera, so please excuse the shifting focus). I did my best to keep it as short as possible, but there is a lot to share! I’ll walk you through everything from a prefold all the way up to an all-in-one with just about everything in between. A big thanks again to Rhea from SunshineDiapers.com for hooking me up with one of her Test Drive Sets to show you some types I didn’t have in my stash.
I hope this helps demystify cloth diapers for some of you, and at least gets you thinking about what may be the best option(s) for your family.
Please, please feel free to hit me up in the comments section below with any questions you have, or chime in if you think I missed something. I’ll do my best to answer everyone or find someone who can.
Also, I’ve got a couple giveaways to go with this! FuzziBunz is giving away one one-size diaper and a wetbag to one lucky winner and Artsty Fartsy Foo Foo is giving away a set of 6 hemp doublers!
I’m going to leave the comment section here open for discussion about cloth diapers, so GO HERE to enter.
34 comments
I’m expecting twins and planning on cloth diapering them so I’m soaking up knowledge! And slightly scared of the more complicated options even though they are cheaper!
this is awesome, jill! i use fuzzibunz perfect size’s, I also have a few one sizes. i have actually been using the PS throughout my CD experience and have luckily only had to make a one snap adjustment since Everly was 2 mo old (when we started) she is now 14 mos and still comfortably in the PS’s. So its possible they can last you longer than expected! Just my experience though, Ev has always been a peanut. I like the kissaluvs, I might try those out for round 2 when it happens 🙂
Thanks for posting this! I think it will help answer lots of questions. 🙂
That’s good to hear! I think my point of view is skewed from raising a monster child who put on weight like crazy the first two years. Thanks for chiming in!
Love the vlog! However, I’m going to have to disagree with the prefolds 🙂 We use a combination of fitteds, prefolds and BG 3.0s. I don’t think the prefolds are any more work than stuffing a pocket. We don’t use a snappi or pins. We just fold in 3rd and hold it place with a great thristies cover- piece of cake!
I’m glad you weighed in! I’m interested in trying this route the second time around. Good to hear it’s not that bad 🙂
I just started cloth diapering. I read up on your posts about the basics; however, I noticed that your son was still in the breastfeeding stage when you wrote them. Did you end up using liners or getting a diaper sprayer? We’re in the peanut butter stage (most of the time) and the poop is sort of grossing me out.
TIA!
You’re right. We wound up doing flushable/washable liners. For the most part, they worked great. However, I do NOT recommend the Imse Vimse ones. They pilled up my aplix like crazy. The PB stage is hard. Hang in there! It gets much easier.
Open comment to all: what is your favorite liner?
I can’t remember if this is the exact brand I liked the most, but they seem to be very, very similar http://www.sagediaper.com/home/dp1/page_9 (diaperaps biodegradable diaper liners)
As I noted above, I do NOT recommend the Imse Vimse liners as they pilled up my aplix really bad.
I love the Bummis BioSoft flushable liners, size small. I could never figure out why I would want the large size since I’d just have to fold them to fit in the diaper. Anyone have any tips on why I’d need the larger size?
Jenny, I liked the bigger ones because I felt like the smaller ones didn’t cover the diaper completely, but I still had to trim them a bit to get the perfect fit. I think someone told me they are that big to fit a prefold?
This helps a lit…I literally sat here and took notes! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to do this!
Ooops, meant to type that it helps a LOT!
Thank you SO much for this vlog, Jill!! I’m learning SO much from you!
GREAT VLOG!! thanks!
i learned so much 🙂
What a great vlog! You covered a lot of great options. I’m really interested in the hemp doublers, I’ll have to check those out.
Thank you so so much for this post!!
We have to move our son to cloth diapers because he has had a series of really bad chemical burns/neverending rashes due to disposables. I have spent so much time tryin to sort out the differences of the cloth diapers.
This vlog helped. A ton. I even made my fiance watch it. He is now less scared about the change over!
Note on the pocket diapers: I actually don’t remove the stuffing from inside my pockets, I have found that the stuffer actually comes out in the wash by itself with both BumGenius and FuzziBunz. This has worked for me with both a front loader and top loader washing machine. So I never touch any dirty diapers (unless I have to spray the poop off)! Just throw them right in the wet bag!
You know, I really think it depends on your washer. I’ve heard of people being able to get away with this, but it never worked for us. I would just end up with inserts shoved down and not fully clean inside my covers. I think it’s one of those things you need to try out and see how it works for you. That’s awesome that your washer does the job getting them out for you!
I tried and tried to get some Artsy Fartsy Foo Foo liners, but she was always sold out. I settled for some other hemp liners that worked well, but would still love to try hers. =)
So who can recommend a good soap and/or wash routine for hard water? We’ve been battling ammonia build up for months, and I’m just about ready to give up on my had-been-working-just-fine, clear and free detergent from Costco. Anybody find a detergent or routine that works particularly well for hard water?
Elizabeth, I’m about to “rock a soak” with Rockin’ Green Soap. I’ve heard great things about it. I plan to blog about it later today or tomorrow, so stay tuned!
Jill, do you use the microfiber inserts at night along with the AFFF doubler to get Kendall through the night?
Yup. Exactly.
Hi Jill,
Can you add doublers/stuffers to AIOs?
I’m pregnant with my first and I really want to try CDing but would like to keep it as simple as possible with AIOs. I’m worried, however that they might not be the best option for overnight. Can the absorbency of AOIs be upgraded in any way or should I stick to pockets for overnight?
So many options! Thanks for the vlog!
I believe so. You may need to play around with what ones work and fit best, but I don’t see why you couldn’t. Just make sure you don’t put any microfiber directly against your baby’s skin. It’s really drying and harsh.
Also, it doesn’t hurt to have a handful of pocket diapers just for night if that doesn’t work out for you. They really aren’t that much more work, especially if you’re already planning to add an insert/doubler.
Thanks!
Such a cool informative video! It really makes cloth diapers seem much less intimidating.
Thanks!
Im looking into starting to potty train my 20 month old daughter. Do you have any suggestions on potty training cloth pants?? We have used the gdiaper for along time and just LOVE it!!!
Courtney, we went straight to regular underwear during the day and his usual diaper during nap and night time. Jill K gave me lots of good advice when we started potty training. It is a tough couple of days and then gets much better from there. Just keep at it and it will work.
Good luck & Hang in there!
Thank you!!! Who is the Jill that gave u advice? I am open to any and all tips!!!
Babies Rabies – Jill. I’m Jill D, just a lowly old friend of Babies Rabies Jill. 🙂
You know, we never did potty training pants (as Jill D, my good friend, mentioned below). We just went straight from naked butt time to big boy undies. He’s still in diapers at nap and nighttime and probably will be until he’s closer to 3 just because I don’t have the energy to potty train him through the night yet.
There are cloth training pants out there, but I don’t know enough to recommend any.
You’re absolutely right…seeing it compared to reading it really gave me clarity on the options out there.
We’re going to start out with the prefolds, mainly because I’m cheap, but we’ll be moving up to the BG pocket diapers once baby gets a bit older.
Thanks for taking the time to vlog about it!