- "Traditional" prefolds - This is what most people think of when they hear the term cloth diaper - the kind with the folding (aka assembly required) and pins. However, there are many types of prefolds on the market, and there are these awesome things called Snappis that work just as well (if not better than) pins. Most people also use 'covers' or 'wraps' with the prefolds to avoid leakage - these range from the classic 'plastic pants' to the many different styles of wraps available. My rating: 2 out of 5 stars. The price is nice, but I couldn't get the hang of folding the diapers (had a lot of leakage) and when Joseph was really small it was hard to find plastic pants that would work.
- Wraps with inserts - You buy a cute, cloth outer “wrap” and then fill it with inserts (or folded prefolds). Voila! My rating: 3 out of 5 stars. We tried a few different wraps (Flip covers were a favorite), but found that the mess (leakage) was higher depending on what kind of insert we used. More experimentation may have led to better results however.
- Pocket diapers - Similar concept to wraps but these inserts/liners come with the diaper (in most cases) and are sized for the diaper. There is a ‘pocket’ from front to back that you stuff with the liners. To clean, pull the liners out, rinse, rinse the cover, and toss in a wet bag. Perfecto! My rating: 5 out of 5 stars. These had the least leakage (depending on if the snaps/sizing was correct!) and were some of the least labor-intensive to clean. Also much easier to explain to our babysitters than the different insert options!
- All-in-ones (AIOs) - These are the mack trucks of cloth diapers. Essentially, they are pocket diapers without pockets - the liners are built in, which means no assembly required and very easy to rinse. The downside? Takes longer to dry after washing. My rating: ?? We never used these, but I’ve heard very good things about them from friends!
- Sized diapers mean that you buy diapers in a size (i.e., XS, S, M, L, XL) so that they fit well at whatever weight/length the baby is. The downlow: These should get less wear and tear than adjustables, as they won’t be used as long. However, you have to buy more of them (i.e., 10-24 in each size if you don’t want to do laundry every 3 hours), which makes them more costly.
- One-size diapers mean that they adjust to fit the baby, using snaps, velcro, and/or elastic. Most say they fit from 8 - 35 pounds (which may mean different things depending on the baby). The downlow: These are more cost-effective (i.e., buy 24 of them and use them until potty training is over). However, since they will be used more frequently, they may not last as long. (I’m hoping to get two babies’ worth of use out of ours though... time will tell!) Also, adjusting the size as baby grows is not always 100% on target with the recommended sizing.
Our favorite brand was (and still is!) Fuzzibunz. We used the XS sized pocket diapers when Joseph was tiny, and they worked really well - hardly ever leaked and the snaps are super easy. Once we had decided on the brand, we then moved to the one-size diapers as my husband was much happier with spending the $$ on something we could use until Joseph was 2. Fuzzibunz also had a pretty cool one-size diaper that they had recently launched (with neat elastic bands!) that we liked better than some other one-size options. (These other snap-only versions were very bulky... Joseph looked like a sumo wrestler!)
Recently, we did have to contact Fuzzibunz as one of our diapers had some peeling of the inner waterproof layer. (They have a one-year warranty on all of their diapers.) I was nervous about contacting them but the customer service was fast and very helpful! We mailed in the problem products and they sent us back a new diaper and some baby leg warmers (too cute!) within one week of receipt.
And no, Fuzzibunz isn’t paying me to write this. However, I’ll take free diapers whenever they want to send them to me though! (Hint, hint.)
