Fitteds comparison

[Juliacat]

I've decided that my "stash nirvana" consists of 2-3 dozen identical prefolds and 1-2 dozen identical fitteds, with 6-12 covers of no more than two different kinds. This is what I have in the newborn size, but although the newborn stuff still fits her at 5 weeks, she is starting to outpee it.

I have a lot of regular 4x6x4 prefolds, but no larger fitteds than KL0's. So I bought a sample stash of fitteds:

Snug-to-fit all-snap
Osocozy
Growing Greens
Kissaluvs size 1, classic
Kissaluvs size M/L, organic

Dh and I looked at them carefully after I prewashed them. Just from looking, dh likes the KL1 best, because it's the simplest of the snapping diapers, although he concedes that absorbency and drying time may make an external soaker a better idea. Just from looking, I like the Growing Greens best, because it was the only one that dried in one dryer cycle, but it's also the most complicated to use. I like the sewn-in external soaker on the Snug-to-fit, but for the way it's constructed, it's not very quick-drying. My second favorite is the Osocozy, because it's totally idiot-proof. Pair it with a pull-on cover and even a sposies user could handle it with no instruction. But, I'm not a fan of Velcro, and frankly if I were going to use Velcro, there are other options I would have considered. (I had ordered the old style snap tape version and was sent a Velcro one by mistake.) I love Kissaluvs' sizing but I don't like that they're 10% polyester and I've heard they're not very absorbent. The organic Kissaluvs may be an improvement, but they're more complicated to use.

I've been testing the diapers this morning by leaving her coverless while holding her, so I KNOW I'll change after every pee. Right now DD2 is napping (in her crib) (on a waterproof pad) in the organic Kissaluvs after going through the Osocozy, the KL1, and the Snap-to-fit in rapid succession.

More later....I'm mostly posting now because I don't know for sure that I will be able to post later....

[threekstrio]

I'm curious is this is a stash amount that you'd recommend to a friend or a newbie. Really? 36-60 diapers? I guess that just seems like a HUGE amount to me so I was just wanting to make sure I understood you correctly. And could I ask why you would say 6-12 covers? I've never used pf's on a newborn so do you go through quite a few covers in a day? and could I ask how often do you wash when you have this many? I love reading others experiences

[Juliacat]

I wash every other day, to prevent odors from setting in. I could easily get by on 30 diapers and 6 covers, which is more or less what I would recommend to a newbie. Any fewer than that and I would worry about running out if I got behind on laundry or if it was taking them a long time to dry on the line or if she was having an especially, um, body-fluid-oriented day. Plus I like to have some extras for the diaper bag. The reason why I have more diapers and covers than 30 and 6 is that cloth diapering is my hobby as well as a practical necessity, and I tend to buy things in quantities of 6. If I pick two different kinds of diapers and two different kinds of covers, I like to have enough of each to get me through to wash day if the mood strikes. It's CERTAINLY not necessary, but I think it's fun, and if you can't have fun changing diapers, well, what can you have fun with?

We just had poop leak out the leg of a Growing Greens. The cover (BSWW) kept it all in, though.

[thebigfam]

LOL I love your dialog! It just made me smile....keep the updates coming and keep us informed on what you decide to use!

Big Momma

[thefreckledmama]

[Juliacat]

I washed them all again and am trying again. Only the Growing Greens dries in the same length of time as a prefold, but the others were all dry after another 20 minutes. She's in the Osocozy again. Two of my problems with Velcro are that it's scratchy and it catches on things in the dryer, but with DD1 I never had a terrible problem with those two things. The problem was that she went through a phase where she could and would remove Velcro diapers but not snap ones. Actually it went like this:

1. She couldn't remove either kind of diaper
2. She could remove Velcro (so we started using all snaps)
3. She figured out snaps (I started putting her in onesies full-time)
4. She lost interest in taking off her diaper

So, the Velcro phase was temporary. It WAS nice to have snap diapers during that time, though. Still thinking!

[thefreckledmama]

I'm not a big fan of velcro diapers in general. Regardless of how well I take care of them, the velcro always wears out long before the diaper itself does.

Thanks for doing this! We're planning to re-stash in a couple months for the new baby, and even after 2 years of CDing, I'm still at a loss as to what I want to get.

[Juliacat]

Good point about the wear on the Velcro.

I think all of these diapers are fine and work. For us, I'm thinking we will stick with sized diapers rather than one-sized. The folding and snap settings on the one-sized diapers (and the organic Kissaluvs, not even technically a one-sized diaper) bewilders ME--it's worse than folding flats; poor dh! I may order a couple more brands of sized fitteds since my preference would be 100% cotton and snapping.

[Erinjvrn]

I try to use fitteds w/ snap in soaker always b/c of drying time. B/c of this, I prefer mutts for newborns and goodmamas (or similiar) for next size up (one size). I do have 4 BG bamboo fitteds in xs and s, but after that the drying time is too long for me.

[AKislandgirl]

I have some loveybums fitteds. They are nice! They have a snap in doubler and are a snap diaper. She also sells and econo line. I plan to get some of those when we are ready to size up.

[Juliacat]

The Loveybums look pretty tempting. They are kind of pricey, but it would be worth it if they were good.

I found out that Heiny Huggers use the same 10% polyester base fabric as Kissaluvs, sigh.

I just put a 2-day load of diapers in the dryer (I still haven't braved the line drying yet, though I know I'll kick myself for it once I finally do start, since I love line drying). I counted 28 diapers. Some of them had just been used as burp cloths, but still, I'm glad I have more than the bare minimum! I love leaving the baby coverless and changing as soon as she wets. Any bottom redness vanishes. That is my kind of fluff.

[alfabetsoup]

I like sized diapers when they're in a small and one size after that--so up to about 15lbs or so, because on my kids that's when the one-size stuff starts fitting nicely.

We had prefolds and covers for the newborn/small stage plus a few random fitteds and some BGOS. DD2 is 17mos, 20lbs (skinny) and we now have goodmamas, imse vimse covers, wool covers, and imse vimse AIOs with snaps. It's simple, DH is happy with it and I don't think I'll ever have to size up covers or AIOs!

[cristeen]

My little guy is almost 3 months, and these are my fave dipes at this point (I only buy organic, snap, sized dipes):

Dream-Eze (2 quick dry doublers) - for a daytime dipe they're great - and they look really nice too.
Clovers (except these have 1 lay-in doubler, which is a pain in the wash)
My total favorite are SNB, but that company's out of business - but anything with OBV doublers would be lovely - snap in is my favorite.
Valor Kids is also great.
Little Birds bamboo is a great absorbent dipe, the tri-fold lay in doubler is a bit of a pain, but it's a great night-time dipe.
And I LOVE my Sugar Peas pea-in-a-pod AI2s - these are absorbent enough for night-time (he gets changed once in the night).

What's not absorbent enough for us:
Loveybums - have to put in another doubler
Piper's Closet - I love the fit, they'll last for a long time, good elastic, but the doubler is sewn in which means it takes longer to dry, and it still needs a lay-in doubler

[Juliacat]

Now I just have to figure out how to organize the stash....I like all the fitteds I ordered well enough to keep them, except that it drives me nuts to have so many different kinds. I ordered 5 more old style KL1's because dh likes them and they were on sale, but if I sell all the other samples, that's only 6 identical fitteds and I'd like to have at least 12. I don't know if I should buy more KL1's, or the Osocozys which I prefer, or nothing at all. And I don't know how many. I don't want to have too many diapers total, but I do want enough that when I get in the mood I can use one kind exclusively. I also feel compelled to own everything in multiples of 6. This is bad enough for diapers, but with covers it's even worse. Right now I have 6 BSWW in each size. I'd like to get some Dappi nylon pants, too, because they're cheap and they work. I have 2 in small, so I'd have to get 4 more. The problem is that dh likes absolutely everything to be front-snapping. If I buy 6 front-snapping covers, that's 18 covers and that is insane!!!

BTW, I'm crazy like this about everything, not just diapers. My MIL gave me a pair of green socks for Christmas and I am at a loss as to what to do with them. All my other socks are white. ONE pair of green socks doesn't go in the same category, but I can't convert my entire sock stash to green!

[threekstrio]

Originally Posted by Juliacat

I wash every other day, to prevent odors from setting in. I could easily get by on 30 diapers and 6 covers, which is more or less what I would recommend to a newbie. Any fewer than that and I would worry about running out if I got behind on laundry or if it was taking them a long time to dry on the line or if she was having an especially, um, body-fluid-oriented day. Plus I like to have some extras for the diaper bag. The reason why I have more diapers and covers than 30 and 6 is that cloth diapering is my hobby as well as a practical necessity, and I tend to buy things in quantities of 6. If I pick two different kinds of diapers and two different kinds of covers, I like to have enough of each to get me through to wash day if the mood strikes. It's CERTAINLY not necessary, but I think it's fun, and if you can't have fun changing diapers, well, what can you have fun with?

We just had poop leak out the leg of a Growing Greens. The cover (BSWW) kept it all in, though.

Great explantions for your way of doing it. I hope your Growing Greens work out for you.