I love cloth diapering Poppy. I didn't jump in and buy an entire stash of any one diaper instead I bought 2 of several types. I have finally discovered several that work really well for us. Each baby is different as is each brand of diaper. If you ask 10 cloth diapering moms to recommend their favorite you are likely to hear 8 different answers.
When Poppy was born she had very thin legs. Things have changed. Poppy now has chubby thighs. Diapers that worked well in the beginning now leave nasty marks on her legs. Here are the diapers we tried for the newborn stage:
Rumparooz, Lil Joeys - Loved these. The snaps allowed for a good fit around thin thighs. They absorbed really well, we never had a leak. They do take a long time to dry in the dryer.
Bumgenius 3.0 size XS - We moved to these after the Lil Joeys were getting a little small. I loved these diapers too. No leaks, great fit. They dry faster than Lil Joeys.
Green Mountain Prefolds - I didn't use prefold a lot. I don't dislike them, I'm just lazy. I paired the prefolds with Thirsties Duo Covers.
Stage 2 diapering:
Bumgenius 3.0 size S - Same as XS above.
TotBots - Don't care for these. They are too bulky. I would need to buy bigger size clothes to fit over the bulky diaper. Absorbency is good. Washing is easy, I love how the tongue comes out in the washer on its own.
Bumgenius 4.0 AIO - I love a trim diaper. These aren't trim enough for me to love. I also don't like them when they are snapped down to the smallest size. They just don't lay neat enough for me. The function is great though, they absorb and don't leak.
Tailfeathers - These diapers are made locally. I wanted to love them but I don't. This diaper has leaked nearly everytime we have worn it. The liner seems to wick out around the leg openings. We have retired this diaper.
Bumgenius Freetime - I love the concept of this diaper. There are two flaps attached at each end of the diaper. You can fold or layer the flaps so you have more layers where you need them the most. I use this for a night time diaper with an added booster. Not trim enough for me to love for daytime use.
Bumgenius Elemental - This is an organic cotton diaper. The absorbent layers aren't attached or enclosed in the middle so they dry fast for an AIO. This was my favorite diaper. It is trim and absorbs well. Not good for night time use.
Applecheeks - My favorite diaper. This is a cover with a bamboo insert. The insert comes out by itself in the wash. Its trim and fits Poppy chunky thighs perfectly. She fell asleep early tonight and I didn't get to change into a night time diaper so we will see how it fares after 11 hours.
Sustainablebabyish Fitted - This is the best night time diaper. They absorb like you wouldn't believe. I was pairing it with a Rumparooz cover but the cover is leaving marks on her thighs. I am giving wool a try. I need to lanolize our new locally made cover.
Yes, I love cloth diapers. I love trying new diapers and comparing. I know cloth was supposed to be cheaper than sposies. Many of the diapers I have tried are seconds so they are a lot cheaper. I have bought a few used and I look for sales. I do try to support the local cloth diaper stores too.
I was able to stay at home with my youngest (who now has 3 kiddos of his own) and used cloth diapers. Of course, we only had 2 diff kinds. The large square that you learned to fold lots of diff ways as your baby grows or the rectangle with extra layers in the middle. And they were all white. Diapers were hand washed with each changing, then soaked in diaper pure until washing. Then washed in tide and bleach with a second washing in HOT water, Ivory Snow and a baby brand of fabric softener. My toddler was also potty trained at this time and his whites were treated the same way. It was more trendy to use disposables at that time and (everyone thought) more sanitary. I didn't care. I had a smugness about me. Raising those two boys and staying home with them when they were small were the happiest years of my life.
ReplyDeleteI love hearing the stories your mom tells of you and Poppy. Great job!