Cloth Diaper Tips: Dave and Becca’s Picks
I have a hard time narrowing my favorite diaper brands and diapering systems down because, for the most part, I just love them all and I find different occasions when each is my favorite. Dave and I are now on our second child in cloth diapers—a boy this time—and I’m definitely noticing a trend in our favorites from one child to the next. So, I’ve compiled a list of our go-to diapers for different situations.
Leaks: For leaks, we really love Rump-a-rooz. The inner gussets hold poop in fabulously, and the stretchy tabs give a good fit around both the waist and the legs. Also, the inserts are very absorbent. While transitioning from newborn diapers to one sized pockets, Baby Bear leaked through every single, tried and true brand that we had—except for the Rump-a-rooz.
When we need a cover, a Thirsties Duo Wrap is the best because it has fantastic leg gussets. We have it both in snaps and Aplix closures and I honestly prefer the aplix both because it gives a more snug fit and because the front flap on the inside of the diaper is open so you can tuck a pad folded prefold underneath. However, I keep the snapping version around because it'll last longer.
Rash:
We find that nothing works better for soothing diaper rash than going coverless with a fitted diaper or using a wool cover over natural fibers. This allows us to both feel that the diaper has been used because wool feels humid (it is usually aired out every 1-3 diaper changes but doesn’t have to be washed for about 2 weeks unless it gets soiled) and the combination is breathable.
Vacations: We found that while we’re on vacation the most time-consuming and/or expensive thing to do is diaper laundry so we cut that time and money in half by bringing flat diapers and PUL covers. Flat diapers have only one layer so they wash and rinse easily in the washing machine without any extra cycles and, they dry quickly both in the dryer and on the line. PUL covers wipe clean and also dry easily. Flat diapers do take longer to fold, however, but if you aren’t diapering a newborn who poops all the time, you can resort to an easy pad fold, pre-“stuff” your covers, and put the diapers on like AIOs.
Babysitters and Childcare: We really like using our bumGenius pocket diapers with aplix closures for babysitters and daycare. Of all the diapers in our stash they look and function most like disposables and aren’t intimidating for people using cloth for the first time.
Nighttime: Dave and I really like using hemp overnight so a Knickernappies One Size Pocket diaper with the hemp/microfleece combination loopy do insert is our favorite night time diaper. We only have two of them and we always save them for night time. We also have an old style Baby Kicks One Size Pocket diaper with a Joeybunz insert that works wonderfully.
As Gifts:
My husband doesn’t really participate in the gift giving so these are my picks. When I give cloth diapers as gifts, I generally take a hint from the person who wants to try cloth diapers first. Usually, newbies gravitate towards pocket and AIO diapers because they’re nervous about cloth to begin with and these are more like disposables. So, for the friend who wants to try pocket diapers, I like to give a combination of diapers including 2-4 of the following: a bumGenius 4.0 (always!), a Fuzzi Bunz One Size Pocket Diaper, a Diaper Rite One Size Pocket Diaper, and/or a Smartipants One Size Pocket Diaper. Those are some of my favorites and also represent different budgets so I like to give them all in order that my friend will discover her favorite.
Our All Time Favorites: At first, Dave preferred the bumGenius with Aplix because they were so easy to use. He’s all about getting it done and getting out of there quickly. However, after we got a couple of Fuzzi Bunz One Size Diapers, he said he preferred them because they give a snug fit and they are built to last.
Honestly, pinpointing a favorite is difficult for me. I like them all. Since I always go to the Grovia One Size AIO diaper first if it’s clean, I’d have to say that it is my favorite. It’s trim, super soft, and very absorbent.
I realize that my list leaves out some other tried and true systems such as Flip, Applecheeks, or gDiapers, but I can only talk of the diapers I’ve used and I’ve never used any of those diapers and I can’t think of a good excuse to buy them with a stash as large as mine.
So, what are your favorite diapers and why?
