"Stay Dry" diapers - worth the $$ ?

[Smirkin]

I see that many pocket and AIO diapers are made with fleece or suede inner liners, and I've read that people say those materials wick moisture away and therefore are better at preventing rash. I currently use prefolds only, day and night. In order for me to stay home with her, our budget is extremely tight right now, and I've exhausted all my family favors already in terms of gifts at the baby shower, in which practically our entire diapering stash was purchased for us.

BUT - if there are some diapers out there that really are significantly better at keeping her dry and as rash-free as possible, I'd like to know so that I can look for sales and FSOT and etc.

Those of you who use them, are they really that much better than prefolds in terms of dryness?

[sagemomma]

what i did was i went to the fabric store bought a yard of fleece or you could even get old fleece blankets you have or from the thrift store. cut em up to the size that would fit in your prefold and just place it in between baby and diaper, viola cheap stay dry liner, works awesome, nice and cheap and versitile you can use them as baby grows in different diapers. HTH

[michelle123]

The fleece option that PP recommended is a good choice. Does your LO get a lot of rashes? If so, you might try putting on a cream or diaper stick to create a wetness barrier. There are many diaper-safe options available, and you shouldn't run into too many problems with them since you are using prefolds.

[Michigan Mama]

I agree with the PP's. If prefolds are working well for you, stick with them! If you feel the wetness bothers baby, cut up fleece like post #1 suggested or use a cream like post #2 suggested. If you are using a normal diaper rash cream, just be sure to wash your liners separately from your dipes (like with the towels or baby's clothes or something). Unless they are poopy - then I was them with my diapers anyway.

As far as rash causes, make sure your diapers are getting rinsed enough so there isn't detergent residue. You could try stripping them on really hot, using a squirt of blue Dawn on your hot wash (you'll have to do a few extra rinses), or you can even boil your pf's. That might help. Diaper rash can even come from things like food allergies. That was the case with my ds. Good luck!

[Mrs.Oz]

When I started CDing with DS, I used pockets, but had to discontinue after a couple of months due to a bad rash that I could not get rid of. We have hard water, which makes laundering synthetic materials a pain in the rear. I have a hard time even getting BO stink out of some of DH's shirts that are polyester, just to give you an idea. Once I switched to prefolds and flats I have had zero problems with rashes, stink, etc. I think they're more versatile too, since you can use them as is, or add a fleece liner (purchased from a CD store, or just cut up fleece from a fabric store) if you want a stay-dry barrier for nights/naps. I also love that I don't really have to worry about anything getting ruined (snaps/velcro/elastic,PUL). I currently have 108 diapers (holy cow!!! I didn't realize I had that many--I just counted them) that cost me $230. For that price, I could get about 12 pockets which wouldn't even be enough for one kid. I know a lot of mamas love pockets, but for me they are just not worth the money or the extra laundering work.

[Llyra]

I prefer all-natural fibers. I have one child who's sensitive to polyester, so she actually got MORE rashes in stay-dry cloth diapers. And actually, even my other two seemed to get more redness and rashes in synthetic diapers, now that I think about it. Plus, the synthetic diapers are harder to keep clean.

[ChetMC]

Agreeing with Others

I haven't had trouble keeping my fleece and microfibre clean. I have pocket diapers, but I got a lot of them cheap. They're mostly seconds and clearance items that I got for half price or close to it.

I have no complains about prefolds at all, and agree with the previous posters that a fleece liner does the trick if you want something dry next to baby's skin. I don't find $20 diapers ten times better than a $2 prefold inside a good cover.