Best Cloth Diapers?

[Jewels06]

My DH and I want to start cloth diapering our DS and I was wondering what they best cloth diapers out there were. I'm not even sure where to start, thanks!

[jeminijad]

You may get a bit more response in the Diapering forum

What is "best" is going to be your personal taste. There are a few main types, though:

1) Old fashioned flats (just a square of absorbent cloth,) and prefolds (extra fabric sewn into the middle of a rectangle of cotton.) These are cheapest. You use them with a cover for waterproof-ness (see #4.) They are easy to take care of (can bleach, boil etc.) They are harder to learn, harder to get other caretakers to use, but still not actually difficult. Great brands are Green Mountain Diapers, Little Lions, and Diaper Rite.

2) Fitteds, which are sort of like a disposable diaper because they are cut and elasticized to go straight onto a baby w/no folding. They can close with snaps, velcro, pins, there are all different types. There are MANY brands of these, in cotton, hemp, microfiber and other fabrics. You use them with a cover (see #4.) Great for containing messes. You can get them in one-size, which is adjustable, or sized. Look at Tiny Tush, Goodmama, Mother-ease and Kissaluvs just for examples.

3) All in Ones- many brands of these also. It is a one piece diaper, just like a disposable. These are possibly, the most expensive way to go, but the easiest for random people to use. Bumgenius and Grovia are famous brands of these. There are also All in Twos, which are similar.

4) Covers go over a flat, prefold or fitted to keep pee in. They can be PUL, nylon, fleece or wool. Look at Bummis, Flip, Thirsties and Aristocrats.

5) Pocket diapers- really really popular. It is a waterproof outer sewn to a piece of fabric inside. You stuff absorbent fabric between. Bumgenius, Happy Heinys and Thirsties are the biggest brands, although there are many others.

[Knitting Mama]

How old? I think age really makes a difference. For newborns who get 10-12 changes a day, prefolds and covers all the way, because you can use a cover for several changes before it gets poop on it or stinks. Now that Cecilia has gone down to 5-6 changes a day, we use a mix of BumGenius Organic AIOs snaps and Katydid AIOs snaps. I like the BGOs because they're no stuff (there's no doubler to stuff into a pocket), and they are super trim and the organic cotton is very absorbent. I love the fit of the Katydids as well, even if it's a doubler stuffed diaper.

[cristeen]

Theres a forum specifically for diapers on here.

As for "best", everybody has their own opinion, and there are literally 100 to choose from. I always suggest deciding what details are important to you before you start looking. Is price the deciding factor? Then you want pfs/flats and covers. Will your babe be in daycare and you need something easy for them? Then AIOs or Pockets are for you. Do you want breathability and natural fibers? Then probably fitteds and wool. Then you need to decide natural fibers or synthetic (synthetic holds more, feels dry to baby, but is harder to keep clesn)? Velcro or snaps (everyone has a preference)?

Think about things that will impact cds- do you have your own machine, or use shared machines? Front loader or top loader? Line dry or dryer? All hese things may influence your choices. If i had to line dry, id only be using pockets and flats. Our climate is rarely warm enough to line dry anything else in a reasonable amount of time (today being thd exception when i have the entire stash on the porch railing as its supposed to hit 90). If i had to share a machine, id be using natural fibers, which are less likely to have repelling problems from chemical residue in the machines.

The other thing to decide is if you want sized or one-size dipes. OS dont fit NBs, but beyond that they do. But if you want to use those dipes on more than one babe, you'll need either a lg stash of OS or all sized. Most OS will not last through multiple kids if they're washed/worn every other day for 2 yrs.

My personal fave is the old style dream-eze, but i have an extreme dislike of the new style. But right now the dipe i reach for most are my Rumparooz OS pockets.

[jenmn]

For my 11 month old, I'm really liking the bumGenius Flips right now. I also like their organic AIOs, but they take longer to dry and are more expensive.

Maybe do one of the diaper trial programs so you can see what you like and what works for you?

[Blessed1]

For my infant I use prefolds and thirstie diaper covers..they work very well for all the diaper changes we have to do! I am slowly buying some AIO one size for when she gets older

[annettemarie]

Moved to diapering