apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

actually, one diaper IS three sizes -- it's a one-size diaper. they don't have an expanded view on their site, but they probably have various snaps on the rise that you snap down depending on the size of the baby. they should last their entire diapering life, and you can use the same stash for your toddler and infant. one-size diapers are great like that.

I've been cloth diapering since 2003, and here are my comments based on what I have learned --

-cotton velour is not the best liner inside a diaper -- poop sticks to it, it keeps baby's bottom damp, and it stains (on the plus side, it is soft). The best material to line a diaper is fleece -- microfleece, windpro or microsuede, as it releases the poop easily, and wicks moisture away from baby's bottom (and washes easily).

-I find either diapers or diaper covers with gussets to be invaluable in preventing leaks and blowouts (this diaper doesn't have a gusset).

-PUL does not breathe easily, and so I find that in order to prevent redness, PUL covers should be alternated with either wool or fleece covers.

This is what I use now, after MUCH experimentation:

-an IMSE VIMSE all-in-one -- it has organic cotton terry, and a built-in microfleece liner, and yes, gussets

http://www.imsevimse.us/store/item/1kxdk/All-in-One_Diapers/All-in-One.html

alternated with IMSE VIMSE organic cotton terry contour diapers (with elastic around the legs)

http://www.imsevimse.us/store/item/14zp8/Contour_Diapers/Terry_Contour_Diaper_-_single.html

covered with IMSE VIMSE's Bumpy wool cover, which is simply the best diaper cover, ever. It fits surprisingly trim, has gussets, washes well, breathes, and is not too thick

http://www.imsevimse.us/store/item/p1ks/Diaper_Covers/Wool_Cover_-_out_of_stock.html

My favourite fitted diaper of all time, Samuel's Fitted diapers, made with hemp fleece and line with microfleece, is not being made anymore (although maybe the creator, at Mom-and-me-creations might one day be persuaded). It is too bad -- it was absorbent, very trim, with all the plusses of microfleece. Fortunately, I have some (just not as many as I would like).

Monika has some great points! Also, PUL is not organic. It is Polyurethane Laminate.

I just found the econappi diaper the other day, and I am interested in trying it because it is a pocket diaper with an organic inner. I have Fuzzi Bunz and bumGenius, and the synthetic fabric inners like microfleece and microsuede have a tendency to get buildup and then they repel moisture, which gets to be a real problem. I also have had experience with synthetic fabrics creating a very harsh ammonia smell when they become wet with urine.

My favorite cloth diapers are Goodmama fitteds from http://www.thegoodmama.com. They are made of Organic Bamboo Velour and Hemp, are extremely absorbent, wash clean and dry quickly, and are also one-size-fits-all. They are fitted diapers and so they do need a cover, but we use wool covers, so we're looking at all natural fibers all around here in our house.

My little one just joined us 3 weeks ago today and we've planned on cloth diapering. Sadly, she's a teeny lady and even the premie sized cover we bought doesn't fit her. Everything is HUGE on her poor little but and skinny legs. She's over 6 lbs now, and every once in a while we'll try on the diapers to see if they fit her yet.

The Pampers are killing me (our coop doesn't carry Seventh Gen diapers in a small enough size). Any advice? Or do we just wait it out?

Alisa-
How big is she? (weight?) Try the XS Fuzzi Bunz!

Alisa,

you could order seventh generation from diapers.com, it shows up at your door in a day!

When she was last weighed a week ago, she was just over 6 lbs. I assume she's been gaining about an ounce a day since she eats all the time and has the right amount of diapers. We already spent hundreds of dollars on our diaper stash. Oy.

Oh, exxon23 and your coveted goodmamas! I'd love to get my hands on some, even though I am also hoping that diapers are almost done at our house.

Alisa--how about boring old preemie size prefolds? Try going to www.diaperswappers.com and you can get an info overload!

Speaking of which, one green aspect of cloth diapering that gets little press is the huge resale market. If people don't save their dipes for subsequent children, they often sell or trade them, so the life of a cloth diaper can be really long and, uh, fulfilling I guess.

I recently saw g*diapers at my local ecostore. I loved the idea of them (a cloth diaper cover with compostable maxipad-like liners for the inside). Has anyone ever used these? Good, bad?

I liked G diapers when I tried them and although they worked with our apartment toilets our landlord freaked out when we discussed it with her. We don't have an option to compost (and our local community garden wouldn't take them, I called) so we switched back to 7th Generation. I didn't think it was worth the additional effort if I had to throw them away.

I did give them away and got another user hooked so that was a plus.

BTW- the covers fit nicely and many people use them with washable liners.

i used g-diapers for the first few months of my son's life and eventually switched to seventh generation and now to naturecare (also available on diapers dot com). i liked the idea of the g-diaps but for us, they leaked every single time. it was a bummer and i let their customer service people know and they were very interested and told us that a redesign was imminent, but i have never seen it.

(i also have to post a shout-out for the very green

i don't know what happened in my last comment. i just wanted to mention elimination communication, among the green options.

Alisa,
She will grow into the covers very quickly. My oldest was only 5lbs 9oz at birth. We had one preemie size diaper custom made by a SAHM. (It was a luxury for us!) But he quickly grew into the XS Fuzzi Bunz as exxon23 suggested. We also used the smallest size Chinese prefolds with the velcro Bummies covers.

How does the naturecare compare to 7th Gen? I saw those at Target the other day and when I finish my next mega-purchase of diapers am going to try them. I like the compostable diaper disposal bags. Very handy on the fly.

Has anyone else found that the one size diapers are bulky for the two smallest settings?

We have a couple of Bum Genius 2.0 and they are just super bulky. And they always leaked around the legs. I got so tired of that that I started making my own diapers and covers. Shameless plug here-I started selling them on Etsy at TheEliMonster.etsy.com-sorry had to do since we're talking about what diapers fit out children best and where to find them.

JudiAU-I like the naturecare diapers for long outings. They're a little stiff but if you shake them out they soften up quite a bit. And really cute. No silly cartoon characters!

exxon23 --

the problem that you are having with microfleece and microsuede repelling moisture or smelling is because you are not washing them correctly -- they do not do that if they are washed properly. you are using the wrong detergent, and probably too much of it. to fix them, they need to be stripped (sorry, keyboard problem, and I do not have quote marks) -- check it out, but I think it involves several hot washes with vinegar.

As to a fool-proof way to wash them, use SPORT-WASH or SENSI-CLEAN (same product, different name for different markets). The former is available in the hunting department at Wal-Mart or online
http://www.atsko.com/products/laundry-care/

It works on fleece because it rinses completely away, leaving no residue (which is responsible for your problems). Make sure not to use too much detergent -- that is another washing mistake.

give them another whirl -- you'll find their great!