I have a toddler. It's hard to find cloth diapers that fit him well, and he is only 18 months old. We use pampers size 5 overnights for Sunday because he is a heavy wetter. We'll need to switch up to 6s next because he is wide of hip, and 5s seem to be too skimpy in the rear lately.
Here are a few of the latest styles we have tried. I left off prefolds and fitteds, because Mark is a wiggler, and Mike isn't really into anything too complicated.
Bum Genius 3.0 -- ONE SIZE.... pockets
I bought these as seconds from cotton Babies, and I liked them for a long time, then I realized that something was wrong. The PUL (waterproof layer) had bubbled and peeled away from the fabric it was supposed to be backing.. This only happened with certain colors, and I am pretty sure that the PUL fabric was a bad batch. However, since these were seconds they were not under warranty. I had used them 6-7 months before I realized what was happening to them.
Quality- poor in the long run
Fit - these stopped working well before we hit the 35 lb mark. We needed a longer rise.
Closure- Velcro, I loved this at first because of the adjust-ability, but after they started falling off because the velcro would randomly come undone, I am less enthusiastic about aplix or velcro.
Reliability- Eh, ok I guess, not great, we had wicking (leaking) at the tabs from day one, and then with the pul issue, all the green ones are pretty much dead. The wicking isn't a problem if you stuff with the right amount of insert.
Sensitivity - The suede cloth was great for a while, but irritated him when he got bigger.
UPDATE: MArk has thinned out a wee bit, so we can get these on again, but without a pant to hold them on, they come undone when he runs...now I understand the snap only people :-)
Fishnoodles - OS all in 2 -Seems thinner and less sturdy than the other diapers. I am afraid to rip it by stretching the tabs.
Quality -OK, not as sturdy as I would like.
Fit- ok for now, not sure about later. (small range of waist size)
Closure- Snap
Reliability- good, but works best with the snap in layers that came with it. Not so hot over other thicker inserts.
Sensitivity-No issues here! :-)
Bumkins -- lots of cute prints
Quality-- OK the waterproof layer in these is NOT pul, but some sort of water resistant stuff taffeta???.... ALWAYS leaked for us.
Fit- Fine, they have larger sizes, and we used these when Charlotte was potty training.
Closure- velcro, but held together really well
Reliability- Poor, these leaked each time we used them, not around the legs, but straight through the fabric.
Sensitivity- This was the first cloth that we ever tried with Charlotte, and when she realized that she was WET, her eyes got big as saucers... the inner is cotton, like a prefold.
Rump-ar-ooz OS pocket Cute,
Quality- Held up well so far, of course the fleece inside pills a little bit.
Fit- ok for now, not sure about later... these are getting small, mostly from double stuffing the front. (hey, I have a superwetter BOY)
Closure- Snap
Reliability- The inner gusset is great!
Sensitivity- no issues
Little Boppers - OS AI2-
Anne at Little Boppers is the fastest ship in the west! She was so prompt with shipping, that I would get her packages first even if I had ordered something a couple days before buying her dipes. The fit it great, and I LOVED these as soon as I opened the package. The fleece is now pilling a bit, but that happens to all fleece that is machine washed, at least all the fleece I've ever tried.
Quality- Great so far.
Fit- great! --
Closure- Snaps, and there is a cover for the snaps that are inside the diaper
Reliability- work very well
Sensitivity- No issues, the inner snaps have a cover, so nothing is rubbing against baby's skin.
The soakers that she makes are the best I've seen for a snap in multi layer. There are 3 sets of snaps to attach it to the shell, which gets great coverage where you want it. It also has multiple layers that all snap together, and you can get extra layers up front, or in the middle area. Because of the multiple layers it dries in one cycle, but is super absorbent.
Eli Monster AIO- these are uber cute, but they seem to always need a doubler for us, I just wish she also had a style with a snap in soaker... Or maybe I need some new doublers, I have old cotton babies rectangular ones that are a tad too wide thorough the crotch to fit most diapers well.
Quality- good
Fit- OK for now.
Closure- snap.
Reliability -OK with proper doubling. Not really nighttime worthy, but her new pocket styles might be. :-)
Sensitivity-No issues at all
Tweedlebum- XL I bought a few used L ai2, and they need to be used with a doubler now. I also bought one lonely used XL, with a custom prefold soaker & booster. It is great, and I would love to buy more. They offer custom embroidery... SO COOL! we have a pirate ship, two musclecars, and a monster.
Quality- good
Fit- fine, but we need the Extra Larges now at 18 months, but it is really hard to find XL dipes at all, so no complaining here!
Closure- snap.
Reliabilty - Great with proper doubling, and great on the hard to find prefold soaker! not really nighttime worthy
Sensitivity- Suede cloth irritates Mark, so we had to pay extra for velour. :-)
UPDATE: I saved up enough to buy a custom from her, and the older style seems to work better for us, the new soakers are long & thin, but they seem to have twisted up inside, making them very non flat.; Also, the new one I bought just isn't as nice as the used ones. So, I probably wouldn't buy again.
Green Bottoms Knit & pul cover with snap in minky topped soaker (a12) - L
I was surprised by this one. I was trying to get the largest Ai2 diapers that I could, and this didn't seem like it would work that well, but it is quickly becoming a favorite.
Quality- seems fine, time will tell... :-)
Fit- Surprisingly good, the snap attachment is far enough down in the back that it provides enough coverage in the front for a boy. Many other diapers that I tried with a snap in soaker had to be unsnapped to cover the front wet zone.
Closure - snaps or aplix, your choice
Reliability - good! The huge amount of absorption means that sometimes I can get away with just switching out the soaker and reusing the shell. However, you need to check the soaker after drying to make sure that it is all dry. We usually need 2 cycles to dry ours. Also, since the outer is knit, you need to have enough absorbency or it will wick a little bit.
Sensitivity- The minky is very nice, cushy, and non irritating.
Why do I bother with cloth? When I was potty training Charlotte, I realized that we were spending about $35 a month just for nighttime only diapers (Levi had enuresis for a while)
I bought 2 cloth diapers for each kiddo (
Happy Heiny Trainers) and just washed them each day. We only used them at night with the big kids for about 6 months, but I still have them ready and waiting for Mark to grow into them. Anyhow, this experience opened my eyes to the fact that cloth was not as gross as it used to be! NO HORRID WETPAIL or dunking in the toilet! Cloth can be leakproof and easy.
The eeeeeewwww factor is reduced by using flushable liners to flush away the ick, or just use a regular paper wipe to toss any ukko stuff...
If you like paper, go for it! But, if like me you find the paper diaper expense too great, consider trying cloth. If I know you in real life, I'll spot you a diaper or two, so you don't have to spend a lot to try it out. :-)
