How to Choose a Cloth Diaper

Prefolds (snappi/pins/wrap), Contoured, Fitted, AIO, Pocket, Wool, PUL, Fleece, Flannel, Polyester, Snaps, Velcro... the list goes on. How can DIAPERS be this complicated?? Can't you just go to Target & pick up some gerbers? Sure, but where's the fun (& high performance *bias*) in that?

If you're new to cloth and are on board with the idea, but a bit overwhelmed on which route to go, that's why I'm here. To help you figure out which cloth diapers are the right ones for you.

The most common advice is to buy one or two of a bunch of different types to try & see what you like. This is excellent advice. The logic is that gently used cloth diapers (GENTLY) have an awesome resale value, so you can "easily" recoup most of your losses. However, for most of us, even deciding on which "bunch" to try is daunting (we haven't even touched on brands.), not to mention the shudder of dealing with traveling to & fro from the post office numerous times to ship off those disliked "trials".

So the disclaimer here, is that as with all things Baby, everyone has an opinion and not many are the same. Some favorites depend on the size & shape of the baby & others on the fashion obsession (or lack thereof) of the mother. I'm going to organize your options under some general categories here & we'll walk through them one at a time. At the end, hopefully you'll have a good idea of which diapers you'd like to try.

Another note: If I mention specific brands when talking about types of diapers, I will offer what I would probably choose if taking that particular route. You don't want me going into specifics on brands at this point. Neither of us would make it to the end of the lens.

The first important step is to evaluate your reasons for cloth diapering. This will help tremendously in narrowing down the categories until you find what works for you. Most people do not fall neatly into one category, but like I said... we're just narrowing down here folks.

So, here are the 5 areas we'll cover to help you narrow your list:
- Cost
- Environment
- Vehement distaste for chemicals (or allergic)
- Rash issues (not due to disposable diaper allergy)
- I met someone who cloth diapers, thought the diapers were soooo cute... plus I have a shopping addiction so this just seemed like a logical step to take.

So...you're frugal. Perhaps you're like my dad & it's just sort of this genetically inherited hobby, or perhaps you're really in dire straights in the $ department. Regardless you're in it to save money. Do all cloth diapers save you money over disposables? Well, that depends. It depends on what type of cloth diapers you're going to use, what kind of covers, and even how many children you plan to diaper (the more kids you use your cloth on, the more you're saving).

A little "googling" will bring you to a number of cost comparison charts (that one's my favorite). It's a good idea to take a look at these to get a feel for what you're into.

Ok, so the skinny on the frugality: If you're buying diapers The cheapest, yet effective way to go:

Flat Diapers: The original One-size fits all Fold & pin (or snappi) Diaper. My generation of diaperers call them the "old school dipes". To modern folk, this seems a wee bit intimidating, but like anything else, once you figure it out, it's not that big a deal. So you can buy 36 or so of these babies & be good to go (as far as the actual diapers are concerned) for all of diaperhood. They clean easy & dry quickly. FYI: from what I hear (I've never used this type of diaper) you HAVE to double up the diaper and/or add doublers as baby gets bigger for added absorbency.
Plastic Pants : Vinyl Pants. Can't beat $9 for a 6-pack. I have to put a disclaimer here though...I would never use these unless absolutely desperate. I'll post on covers sometime with details...but I'm not a fan of the true-blue plastic pants.

Your Approximate total so far: For Age 0-24 mo. $108

wow. Now THAT is cost-effective. Not including any doublers...but that's not going to add a really significant cost.

Another (more popular) option:

Prefolds: These are basically the flats all sewn up how you (most often) would've folded the flat diaper...thus, "PRE-fold". You will need different sizes as the baby grows with these. The cheapest option can be found in your local superstore, but i've heard enough poor reviews on those that we're just not even going to calculate them in our cost-analysis.

Wrap Cover: Definitely more $ than "plastic pants" but a little more breath-able, little more adjustable, and less incidence of elastic cutting into baby's skin (not to mention a wee bit more convenient).

Approximate cost: $286.44

I had two more thoughts on how to be frugal in your cloth diapering. They also just so happen to be "uber-green".

The first secret: Make your own. If you have access to a sewing machine, you can make diapers out of fabric just lying around your house (or the local Goodwill....or your friends houses...or the closets of people off freecycle). There are a number of websites that have free patterns for home-made cloth diapers & covers. Here's a few I like:

Diapers From Recyclable Materials
Sew A Prefold the Real Way (you don't have to use "diaper fabric" I used a flannel nightgown & it works great).
List of more specific links

I recently picked up a bag full of flannel nightgowns from someone off freecycle & made them into prefold diapers (i stink at sewing but prefolds are pretty much idiot-proof) & doublers (I added two layers of an old cut-up towel I don't use inside the flannel, work like a charm).



The other tip is to buy used diapers. There are plenty of people selling their used diapers, often because they did not like that type (or cloth diapering at all), or they are just finished with diapers. You do have to "stalk" FSOT (for sale or trade) forums (ebay no longer allows the sale of used cloth diapers) which can be time consuming. But sometimes the deal you get on barely used diapers is well worth the time invested. I "stalked" ebay for about 2 months until I found a lot of 24 mother-ease one-size with 12 doublers & 4 covers. They had only used 4 of the diapers one time (I assume tried it for a day & didn't like it?). I saved about $60 from buying brand-new. Things to look out for:

- How long they were used (if they diaper 2-3 kids through diaperhood & the seller is claiming they're like new...look elsewhere).
- How were they washed (bleach &/or fabric softner? Major no-no)
- Stains? (I personally don't care TOO much about stains, but the price should be dramatically dropped for stains. Don't pay too much for an ugly diaper)
- Request to see pictures (outside & inside)

There are lots of sites that cater to the sale of used diapers, as usual, google is your friend. However, be sure to keep an eye out on craigslist & your local freecycle group. I recently bought 6 newborn AIO's for $3 a piece off craigslist. Not a major name brand, but a super strong work-horse diaper in excellent condition. I wasn't even entirely sure I was HAVING another baby (my youngest is 14mo at the moment), but I couldn't help myself.

Where's the "green" you say? Aren't all cloth diapers, "uber-green"? Well, while i do think all cloth diapers are green... they are not all "UBER". What makes these two "uber-green" is that you are consuming one less brand-new product & salvaging something that may have otherwise (esp. in using scrap fabric to make dipes) gone to a land-fill. I don't even feel the least bit guilty that my mother-ease are all bleached white cotton (vs. the more enviro-friendly unbleached I would usually choose), because they were used. Someone already ordered them, causing them to be made so I might as well make sure they get all the use out of them that I can.

Ok that *might* be a little overzealous, but you get my drift. You're in it to save some landfill space, cut down on the production of dioxins...really, the cloth vs. disposable diaper politics can be pretty confusing. For our purposes, I'm going to assume you agree that cloth diapers are the greenest option in diaper choice.

I do think that all cloth options are preferable to disposable, but if you're really hard-core environment-friendly, yesterday's discussion of enviro-concious choices covered the bases pretty well.

The only thing I could really add to that would be organic diapers. These are not the most pocket-book friendly option in many cases, but seeing as how cotton is one of the world's most pesticide intensive crops, your choice may not be as silly as some may think.

It may or may not make a difference to your baby's skin (some say yes, some say no), but it clearly makes a difference in run-off pollution...not to mention the health of farm workers. So if your wallet can take it, "go organic".

Disposable diapers have been implicated by cloth diapering proponents for everything from chronic diaper rash, to male infertility, even to asthma! For some the problems are due to chemicals, others are due to the non-existent air-flow (which btw won't be helped much in PUL covers).... My opinion? Well...I'm not entirely sure. The arguments do make sense (some more than others), but I'm not 100% on board. But that's not why we're here folks. Let's talk about diapering options for the chemically sensitive & rash-prone.

Chronic Diaper Rash:

I originally switched to cloth with diaper boy when he was somewhere around 14-16 months as a "last resort" having dealt with chronic rash problems since he was around 9 months old. It got to the point that i had to put him in the shower every time he had a bowel movement (which happened to be 4-5x/day!!) because I couldn't wipe his sore rash one more time. The cloth diapers helped SOME, mostly because I was able to change him constantly (like every 30min-1hr) without the cost/environment stress. However, if left in a wet diaper (he only uses them for naptime & bedtime now) for an extended time he STILL gets a slight rash, whether cloth or disposable. The only thing that helps is for him to not be in a wet diaper (again, whether cloth or disposable!)....and to eat a lot of yogurt or take probiotics. I think a large part of diaper rash is the diaper itself, but for the chronic, bleeding booty kids, I bet diet & constant changing has a lot to do with it.

So, diaper recommendations for the rash-prone: The best option for a rash-prone kid would be pre-fold diapers (or flats), using a fleece liner (for those that are not opposed to (or allergic) to non-natural fibers) & wool cover. I know prefolds aren't as easy (until you get used to it) but they get clean the easiest, no super thick layers or different types of fibers to be dealing with. OR, prefold with no cover around the house (that'll keep you on your toes to keep changing!...oh & for winter this is what babylegs are good for!) & PUL (like Mother-ease Airflow or Bummis) for out of the house excursions. Ideally you'd just go nekked at home (perhaps EC would be for you?), though the winter presents a problem for this option (babylegs don't help a nekked butt!). The next choice after prefolds would be fitteds, for similar reasons (being an avid fitted user, I have to admit prefolds DO wash & dry up easiest).

Chemical Aversion:

If you're pro-cloth because you're anti-chemicals, then pretty much any cloth diaper is a possibility for you, depending on your reasons/level of avoidance. You may want to stay away from those that use polyester (Like Kissaluvs & The "Stay Dry" version of Mother-Ease) if you're really anti-non-natural, then most pocket diapers are out for you as well (they are polyester fleece lined). Most AIO's (I have heard of Wool-in-one's..technically WI2's, but have no experience w/them) are made with a PUL cover (polyurethane laminate...non-natural) or Polyester Fleece. If you care about what the cover is made from then wool is pretty much the only cover option for you. So the options for completely 100% natural fibers: prefolds, & non-poly fitteds (we'll deal fully with covers later).

image from crankypants.com

Everyone....well, most everyone wants to dress their babies cute. Of course, cute is in the eye of the beholder; some like lace & poofy sleeved dresses on their little girls. I like brown pants with pink cammo shirts. When diaper boy was a baby I was a little more particular about his clothing. He almost never wore overalls & rarely if ever sweatpants in public. Not sure what happened, but I'm much less particular with diaper girl. She's been known to leave the house in slippers & hammer-esque pants on more than one occasion.

Cloth diapers can seem daunting for those who hover on the "obsessive" side of "cool" for their kids. What about the "big booty"? Can cool clothes fit over cloth? Will he/she ever wear jeans again??

Yes. Not only can you have your cute, but you can kiss it too.

For the trimmest fit under "regular" (as in cut crazy small for the disposable world) baby clothes you'll probably want to go with AIO's (All-In-Ones). Some brands are just about as trim as a disposable, though I can only assume you're compromising absorbency.

Now for the fun stuff! If you love to shop & you're not concerned about bare-bones spending (I have heard some women say they actually budget out how much they WOULD be spending on disposables monthly & spend it on "fun" cloth diapers & accessories). There are all KINDS of super cute diapers, in all kinds of styles. You can even dye & embroider prefolds (or buy them that way). The options are just about endless (assuming your wallet is endless). For the super-shopper cloth momma, WAHM (work-at-home-mom) goodies would be the fun way to go. Join a forum do a little chatting & surfing & you'll be on your way to custom diapers & covers & wipes....oh my! I even saw one pic of a cute little girl crawling in a cammo AIO embriodered with, "My Daddy Protects my Bum". Talk about cute.

A few of my "favorite things" (ok, so i own zero of these due to cost, but in my imaginary world....):

Cranky Pants: Seriously. The motto? "Because it's easier to deal with the cranky when the pants are cute" Marketing at it's best (not to mention the knitting is supposed to be really top-notch)...& yes, the pants ARE the cover!

Just about any Pocket Diaper or AIO that's a solid color.

Woolly Bottoms: what can i say? i've been on a wool kick.

That's a VERY short list of what could be an all day extravaganza. If you like options, the internet is your oyster. You can just find a good trim AIO you like so you can keep baby in cute snug jeans, or you can buy super cute dipes that you wouldn't dare cover with clothing (again, another reason babylegs aren't as dumb an idea as you may think)....or fall into the wonderful world of wool & take up knitting as a hobby (or sell off your gold teeth to fund pants). Or any combination therein!