So, you’re considering cloth diapering!
Hello, friend! I’m Meghan, a mommy, military spouse, homemaker, finance enthusiast, and a blogger who dreams of the day my husband and I move our family home to Arkansas so our children can spend more time with their grandparents and we can live rural in our dream home. Feel free to stick around the site to look for more content on all of these topics, but without further ado: let’s talk cloth diapering.
I want to give you the basic building blocks on what we use (and your other options), what’s affordable, what’s absorbent, and what brands we trust after months of wear and tear.
It’s important to know that diaper covers are only one piece of the puzzle. Knowing what inserts to use is information that is equally as important when building your cloth diaper stash. I’m going to give you all my advice below.
I had watched all the videos. Read all the blog posts. And I have to say, I felt pretty prepared. And I was.
If I was successful as a brand new mom you know what this means? You can be successful, too.
I hope to give you the information and encouragement today to make your experience seamless. So, without further ado: let’s talk cloth diapering.
Table of Contents
- I want to give you the basic building blocks on what we use (and your other options), what’s affordable, what’s absorbent, and what brands we trust after months of wear and tear.
- If I was successful as a brand new mom you know what this means? You can be successful, too.
- Pocket Diapers: My Cloth Diapering Product of Choice
- The five types available these days include: all-in-ones, all-in-twos, pocket diapers, diaper covers with independent inserts sold separately, and wool diapers.
- I liked that cloth diapering with pockets could be just as simple as disposables when you’re at the changing table. They’re all one piece after you stuff them, and you don’t have to worry about what type of insert is going up against your babies skin. This isn’t the case for all cloth diapers.
- Cloth diapering doesn’t have to be hard. Don’t set yourself up to quit by making the whole process complicated.
- How many do I need and which brands should I trust?!
- Cloth Diapering and Inserts
- So, get out of here and get your diapers!
Pocket Diapers: My Cloth Diapering Product of Choice
There are many different types of cloth diaper options on the market. If you’re like most people, cloth diapers make you think of flat white diapers with safety pins. The diapers of yesteryear which are referred to as “flats” or “pre-folds” are still out there. They are budget friendly if saving money is your only priority. However, most of the world has moved on to more modern and waterproof options (which I recommend).
The five types available these days include: all-in-ones, all-in-twos, pocket diapers, diaper covers with independent inserts sold separately, and wool diapers.
Each of these types include either snaps or velcro for putting the diaper on your baby and adjusting the fit.
- Snaps
- Pros: Durable. No way are the snaps the reason a diaper is getting retired.
- Cons: There is a learning curve, but once you do it a couple of times you’ll get it.
- Velcro
- Pros: Easy to use. Goes on your baby just like a disposable diaper.
- Cons: The velcro wears out quickly. You will be replacing your covers before the life of your diaper is up, and certainly before your child is done diapering.
Pocket diapers with snaps are my cloth diapers of choice. I chose these because they are easy to use, the snaps aren’t going to force me to double my monetary investment, very comparable to disposables, and honestly, they’re cute!
Pocket diapers are exactly what they sound like. They have a waterproof layer externally, a fibrous layer internally that liquid passes through, and a pocket in the back of the diaper for you to place inserts in.
I liked that cloth diapering with pockets could be just as simple as disposables when you’re at the changing table. They’re all one piece after you stuff them, and you don’t have to worry about what type of insert is going up against your babies skin. This isn’t the case for all cloth diapers.
With All-in-Ones and All-in-twos you may have to alter your diaper by adding an insert for more absorption, and then you need to know if it is safe for your baby to have that insert directly in contact with their sensitive skin. Sounds like more research and inconvenience to me.
With covers and inserts that are sold separately, you have to assemble these on the changing table. This keeps each diaper change a math equation: “Okay, what absorbency do I need for this diaper? What inserts do I have?” I don’t know about anyone else, but the more problem solving required to complete a task, the less likely I am to actually do it.
Cloth diapering doesn’t have to be hard. Don’t set yourself up to quit by making the whole process complicated.
When I wash my diapers, I stuff them all with inserts and restock my drawer full of them when I’m done. Every time my baby has a dirty diaper, I reach into the drawer, grab a diaper, and put it on him. Simple, easy, and thoughtless diaper changes. As they should be.
If I were to do it all over, I’d choose pocket diapers every time.
How many do I need and which brands should I trust?!
How many cloth diapers do you need? Excellent question. One of much debate and arguably different for different varieties. When baby is awake you change cloth diapers about every two hours + the poops. That makes about six diapers in 12 hours, an overnight diaper or two, and let’s say one poop.
All those changes amount to about eight to ten diapers a day. So, Meghan how many does that mean we need?
Many people say the secret to cloth diapering success is owning 24 diapers. I would agree. I personally own 28.
24 is a good number because of laundering. Who wants to launder cloth diapers every day?
Funny story, I did. For about the first two months. Then I thought to myself: why?
I want to make it through my weekend with a Sabbath day and a day to run around with my family. Running out of diapers is the lamest of all show stoppers. This is why I think its best to just keep a stash of about 24 or more so you can maintain normalcy. (And you know: wash your sheets, too.)
We want our babies lives to enrich ours, not slow us down. After cloth diapering for 8 months, I know there is no reason diapering has to be an inconvenience.
Meghan, what brands do we use? The brands I can wholeheartedly recommend are BumGenius, Nora’s Nursery, and ALVA Baby.
I have 4 BumGenius’, 18 Nora’s Nursery, and 6 ALVA baby’s. They have all held up very well and had minimal leakage and my child is now nearly nine months. When you leave here: I want you to know what they cost, what’s included with your purchase, when I use them, and why I recommend them.
- BumGenius
- I will say BumGenius diapers are expensive at $21.95 per diaper or $125.70 for 6 (which is why I only got four). I do expect them to outlast my others when it comes to wear and tear on the elastics around the legs and overall.
- They come with two microfiber inserts. This absorbency functioned well for us without assistance for about the first 5-6 months of his life. We will talk more about inserts below, but I did want to mention this as it is included in the value of your purchase.
- I use BumGenius exclusively for nighttime diapering because they have superior construction for leak prevention. There is a panel on the inside that comes down facing baby’s belly and I think that’s what truly makes their performance the best. (See above photos for comparison.) If my motivation for cloth diapering wasn’t saving money on diapers, I would have built my entire collection of cloth diapers from these. They just feel nicer.
- Nora’s Nursery
- Nora’s Nursery are significantly more affordable at $69.95 for seven diapers. No major leaks with this at night (as long as you have the proper inserts) and if your budget is too tight to add a few pricier diapers into your rotation, these diapers won’t have you washing sheets every day because of leakage. Most of the leaks I’ve experienced have only gotten to his sleeper. Bottom line: if you’re on a budget you can use Nora’s and you can expect great results.
- This diaper comes with a single insert of bamboo and cotton blend for each diaper. They also include a wet bag in your purchase if you go through Amazon.
- I use Nora’s for about 2/3 of my daytime stash. I do use one of these diapers in my nighttime rotation but it’s definitely not as foolproof as the BumGenius.
- Alva Baby
- Alva Baby’s are the “great value” of cloth diapers and go for $53.99 for a pack of six on amazon. They also go on sale. I’ve seen them listed for $29.99 for a pack of 6. If you’re on a hyper aggressive budget for diapering, I would build a stash completely filled with these and 4 Nora’s for nighttime.
- These diapers come with two microfiber inserts for each diaper. These still will keep my diapers from leaking at the two hour mark, with an 8 month old. These diapers are a steal.
- Alva’s are sprinkled into my daytime stash. I do recommend these diapers but I anticipate they’ll be the first ones I have to replace elastics (in the legs) on. I could argue that these are your best option as long as you’re willing to replace the elastics. With a lot of diaper covers this will be the first place that makes diaper covers ineffective.
Cloth Diapering and Inserts
Good inserts are crucial to your success. Period. They are where you should invest your time researching. I use all the inserts that came with my diapers, and I have added to them to increase absorption levels based on what I learned online.
When you start cloth diapering, I have only two inserts I recommend buying: flour sack towels (often called FSTs by the cloth diapering community) and hemp inserts.
- Flour Sack Towels (FSTs)
- So, what in the actual heck is a flour sack towel? Why are you using them in diapers? Well, they are plain white 100% cotton dish towels. And we use them because: they are as absorbent as they are affordable. I have sewn mine up into neat little rectangles now, but previously I was just folding them with each wash. If you aren’t much of a seamstress, folding is a great option.
- You can buy a pack of 14 FSTs on Amazon for $15.99.
- FSTs are a quick absorber. Most inserts take longer to start absorbing than FSTs do. When I build my diapers, I make sure that my FSTs lay on top of my other insert. This will help to pull the moisture away from your baby’s bottom rather than having it pool against their skin and leak out of the diaper.
- I use FSTs in my Nora’s Diapers that came with only one insert made from bamboo. These two together can go a 3-4 hour stretch for my 8 month old son without problems.
- Hemp inserts
- Here’s a real question. Why in the world is marijuana taking over every available market? I don’t know. Although, I can tell you with absolute certainty that hemp fabric is very absorbent, and I am a total skeptic. I am not comfortable using any other hemp or CBD products in my home, but I am a believer in these inserts.
- I never place these inserts against my baby’s skin, and I always sandwich it between the two BumGenius microfiber inserts because like I said, I’m a skeptic. But boy do they work. My baby sleeps a 13 hour stretch every night with no diaper change and no leakage.
- So, something to note is these can be pricey. I consider them completely worth it. These average about $10 per insert.
So, get out of here and get your diapers!
I hope you leave here today: confident, informed, and ready to take on cloth diapering. There will be many more posts to come on wash routines, what butt creams to use, and so much more information on how to be successful in cloth diapering! I look forward to having you back, and thank you for stopping by my blog!
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