Cloth Diaper Update

I've been asked a couple times to write a cloth diapering update and talk about how its going so far, and which brands/styles I like best. I feel like i've finally had enough practice and experience to give my "review," opinions and suggestions on starting your own cloth diapering stash.

I've done a TON of researching to find the best deals on all that I've purchased, so trust me when I say: "buy from this website, its the best deal." ;-)

Here is my idea of the "perfect" cloth diapering stash:

First off, everyone should have a good little stash of prefolds and covers. I'm wanting to end up mainly using pockets on Bodey, since they are quicker (and come in cuter designs and patterns!), but I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars buying sized diapers, so I bought only one size diapers. One size pockets are great once baby gets to be about 12 pounds, but until then, they don't fit the little ones very well. (Well, correction: some of them do...I'll get to that later.) My prefold/cover stash consists of 36 prefolds and 10 covers. I think this is perfect, because I am only washing diapers every 2-3 days.

My favorite brand cover is Thirsties. (Unless you plan on buying more than 4, in which case buy from here: thirsties.) I bought several x-small thirsties for the newborn days, which fit perfectly (and still do!) but as he has gotten bigger, I've also purchased a few size one duo wraps. I really like the duo wraps, because they are kind of a one-size cover, but not totally. Duo wraps come in two sizes: size one and size two. They snap down smaller or unsnap larger. They are nice because they aren't as big as a genuine one size cover, but they do last (size wise) for a very long time and its almost as cheap as a OS (onesize.) (Purchase from the same place as the regular thirsties.) Oh! And get the duo wraps with snaps. Snaps last much longer than velcro.

As far as prefolds go, I love the Imagine smart fit prefolds, which are cut a bit smaller than regular prefolds, so you can either tri-fold them and lay them in the cover or you can snappi them. Regular prefolds don't fit tri-folded into the covers, they stick out a bit. (Shipping is gonna kill you...but it would anywhere, lol, Nicki's is the only place who carries the imagine prefolds.)

This is a tri-folded prefold:

This is a snappi'd prefold:

(The blue thing is the snappi...gone are the days of pins!!)

This is kind of goofy to admit...but I LOVE changing Bodey's diaper when he is wearing a prefold and a cover. There is something fun about using snappis and folding the diaper right. :-) Its not as fun to change him when he is wearing a pocket diaper.

For the record...I HATE the Bummis super whisper wraps. They don't have double leg gussets, so every time I put one on Bodey, he got poop all over the place. But, I do like the Bummis super brite covers. (Thirsties are my favorite though, they are softer and not as "crisp.") The super brite covers come in a couple more designs. I've only bought these off of ebay...don't pay more than $9.00-$10.00 for one off of Ebay. You can buy it brand new for $12.75 with free shipping elsewhere online.

I've also been using pocket diapers on Bodey as of lately. (But we have not forgotten our beloved prefolds. Prefolds will ALWAYS be a part of our diapering system, just not as many of them...maybe only 12 or 15? Speaking of which...its about time to order the next size up in prefolds...) As I mentioned earlier, I only buy the OS pocket diapers. OS diapers are hard to fit on tiny babies. The tiniest OS brand I've found is Sunbaby.

Sunbaby's 3.0 diapers are super teeny tiny and fit great on the little ones. However, they have discontinued the 3.0's and upgraded to the 4.0's which are a tad bit bigger in the crotch, but have hip snaps (which the 3.0s don't have), so they are tinier around the legs than the 3.0s, which helps keep the poop inside. The 3.0 sunbabies are hard to find since they have been discontinued, so I only have about 10 of them, which I've found on ebay and other diaper swapping websites. Back when I was pregnant I bought some of the 4.0s...but I bought them in girly prints. I need to order a few boyish prints in the 4.0's for the Little Mister.

On a side note...I hate Fuzzi Bunz. In my search to find a tiny pocket diaper that would fit a tiny baby, I decided to buy a few size small Fuzzi Bunz. They claim to fit 7lbs up to...I forget. I foolishly bought 10 of them, without even trying one out before I purchased so many of them. I hated them. I used only 3 of them and then listed them all on ebay. They were huge, they fit funny and they leaked in the legs.

Now that Bodey is getting a bit bigger, I've purchased a few different brand OS'es to find out which ones I like. I already know that I like Alva baby diapers, (my mom uses them on Shylie, and I love them) so I bought ...too many of them... off of ebay. They will be the majority of my pocket stash. They are cheap, durable, adorable and soft. And they come in SOOO many patterns and colors!

Now, Alva is my 3rd favorite pocket diaper. But my first two favorites are a bit expensive (not Fuzzi Bunz expensive...but still...$$$)

My 2nd runner up is: Oh Katy diapers. (use code: newcustomer for 10% off order). Oh Katy diapers snap down really small, they fit Bodey great! They come with two inserts (which is rare) the insert has a snap, so it snaps into the diaper (which is great, so it doesn't move around and get bunched up...plus makes removing it when soiled easier.) It has newborn hip snaps, comes in cute colors...and the coolest feature...you can wrap it up like a sposie' when its dirty. Oh Katy diapers are about $17 a piece. (Yikes, I know...)

Now...for the winner...my #1 FAVORITE pocket yet...GoGreen's Champ 2.0. If my whole pocket stash could be champ diapers, I'd be one happy girl. But since Alva diapers are only $5-6 a piece and Champ diapers are $14 a piece...I don't see that happening any time soon. :-/ Where do I start on my raving about these??? Lets start first with the adorable patterns. They don't have a ton of designs yet (its a new product) but the designs they do have are cute. Even their solid diapers are cute...look! They managed to turn a drab black diaper into something super adorable! Check out those snaps. :)

Secondly, they boast of double gussets. Oh. my. goodness. What an invention! I love it!

Thirdly, they snap down really tiny. They fit Bodey beautifully.

Fourthly, they look ADORABLE on Bodey.

Fifthly, they have two openings to stuff the insert in, which is super cool, because that means you don't have to remove the insert before washing: it falls out on its own during the wash. (Yay! No more touching yucky inserts!) They also have the snap on the inserts just like Oh Katy does, so the insert doesn't move around and get bunched up.

Buy them from "Jack Be Natural" (click the blue link) They are amazing! And they ship incredibly fast!! I've received two packages from them so far, and each one was like receiving a gift in the mail!! They package the items so nicely, always add little "extras" in the shipment (laundry detergent samples) and always include a personal note to say thank-you for buying from them. But best yet, they have a deal where if you make a purchase of $15 or more, they credit your account a percentage of the sale. So my last order got me .77 Jack cash in my account...its not much, but that's still .77 off my next champ diaper!! ;-) Also--use code JACKSFAN for 5% off.

Oh, just thinking about these diapers makes me want to go buy another one. :-))

(If you plan on only using pocket diapers, you will need about 25 of them if you plan on washing every two days. Unfortunately, I am kind of addicted to cloth diapers, and I have enough of them to only have to wash once a month!! ok...not that bad...but pretty close!!)

Well there you have it!! That was my review! On another note: I looovve cloth diapering and am soooo glad I chose this diapering path!!