The Happiest Little Family There Ever Was: The Cloth Diaper Saga...My Diaper Stash

So I have had a few people ask me how cloth diapering is going. Well, it is going great! Gerry and I were just discussing it and we both agree that using cloth is one of the best decisions we have made for Catie Grace. If you want a reminder of why we chose cloth, you can look here.

Before we started cloth diapering I did a lot of research on which diapers to choose and how to launder them.

First you should know that there are several different types of cloth diapers. The traditional ones that everyone thinks of (think 1980's) are called pre-fold diapers. Though the pre-fold diapers have come a long way, I wasn't keen on the idea of putting on a diaper, fastening it (not with diaper pins but with special fasteners), and then putting on a leak-proof diaper cover. There is also the All-In-One cloth diaper (AIO). This is basically the exact same thing as a disposable diaper but you wash it instead of chucking it in the trash. It's as simple as that.

Gerry and I decided that we would use pocket diapers. The pocket diapers are a perfect combination of function and ease. The AIOs seem like a great idea but I've read that they take a very long time to dry and I really like the idea of disassembling the diaper to wash it so I can make sure it gets really clean.

Another choice in cloth diapering is one-size versus perfect fit. The pocket diapers come in sizes (XS, M, L, XL) or you can get a one-size adjustable diaper that will fit from about 10 pounds to 35 pounds- which means that it would fit from the time the baby is a few weeks old until they are potty trained. We opted for the one-size diapers so we could easily use the same diapers for a long period of time. They each have their own way of adjusting to smaller babies (as I will address later in this post).

Above are the Fuzzibunz diapers. We have about 16 of the Fuzzibunz and I must say they are my favorite.

Why they are my favorite-

They have elastic in the waist (I go into detail about that later in this post) so they are the most customized fit.
They come in really cute colors.
They are fleece lined which is really comfy for Catie Grace and the absorbent liner is really absorbent and does a great job.
The Fuzzibunz come with two different absorbent liners- one for when the diapers are on the smallest setting and one for the bigger setting. This is also great because if you have a heavy wetter you can double up on the liners at night to avoid leaks.

Where they could be better-

They are less bulky than some cloth diapers, but they are pretty big! Sometimes they make Catie Grace look like she has some junk in the trunk, but they could be worse.
All the snaps are sometimes hard to get all lined up in the dark in the middle of the night- but I have quickly become a pro!

Pictured above is a Sunbaby diaper. I had read a few reviews about the Sunbaby so I wanted to try them out. These diapers are $5 from ebay, so I thought- why not!

The Sunbaby diapers are just ok. The only leak we have had with any of the diapers was with the Sunbaby and she was SOAKED. I have to say that it may have also been my fault for not changing the diaper soon enough and it hasn't happened again. Anyway- the Sunbaby diapers aren't nearly as nice as the other diapers in my stash..but they are $5 a piece as compared to $17. I like the Sunbaby for during the day at home, but they aren't my favorite.

Pictured above are the three Kawaii diapers we have. The place where we get our cloth diapers, Kelly's Closet, runs specials about once a month where if you spend $30 on their website, you get a free one-size cloth diaper. We have done this a few times and that's where we got all of our Kawaii diapers.

Why I love the Kawaii-

The velcro is very easy to put on and take off in the dark and in the middle of the night.
They are fleece lined and very soft for Catie Grace.
They are very absorbent and I feel really confident putting them on Catie Grace at night.

Where they could be better-

If I hadn't gotten the Kawaii diapers for free, I probably wouldn't have bought any that were Velcro instead of snaps. From what I understand Velcro doesn't last as long as the snaps and when babies get a bit older- they can un-Velcro the diapers and take them off.
The Kawaii's are even bulkier than the Fuzzibunz so I like them for nighttime but not in pants during the day.

Here is a close-up of the elastic on the Fuzzibunz diapers. There is elastic on both sides at the hip and the leg to adjust the fit. You simply unbutton the elastic and adjust the size and then tuck the extra elastic back into the pocket.

I really like this feature because you can really customize the size of the diaper depending on your baby.

There is also elastic in the waist for a more customized fit.

Above are the Bumgenius 4.0 pocket diapers. We have two of these, but I wouldn't really mind to have a few more of these in my stash. In the first picture you can see what the diaper would look like for a bigger baby, and in the second picture you can see how they are adjusted for a baby Catie Grace's size.

Why I love the Bumgenius-

These are the least bulky diapers in my stash so they are good for pants and outfits when we are going out in public.
They have snaps instead of Velcro so they will last a long time.
They come in some really fun colors.

Where they could be better-

The absorbent liner in the Bumgenius diapers is very very thin. We haven't had any leak issues with them, but it just amazes me that they can be as absorbent as the thicker Kawaii and Fuzzibunz diapers. I'm not as confident putting her in the Bumgenius at night because they are so thin.

The one size diapers all run in the $17-$20 range. This may seem expensive, but these diapers will not only last her until she is potty trained- they should last few a few children! I have found the best way to stock up on diapers it to wait until Kelly's Closet has their special where if you spend $30 you get a free one-size diaper and buy them then. That way it is more like paying $10 a piece for the pocket diapers instead of $20 a piece.

Now that I am comfortable with the idea of cloth and the pocket diapers, I wouldn't be against trying some AIO's or pre-folds. I guess we will see how my stash changes as time goes by.