Cloth Diaper Comparison and Review

My wife and I have made the decision to use cloth diapers. We were originally going to use a service, but after some thought, we decided it would be better to buy our own. The service diapers were two pieces. Every diaper would be like putting on two. Cloth is already harder that disposable, so we wanted to make it as easy as possible. I am the primary diaper-er so I agreed.

We went to a few workshops put on by local baby stores and my wife has done a lot of research. We have purchased several different brands of diaper to try them out and see which ones we want to go with. Since we have twins, we are going to need about 30 diapers if we want to get through one day.

I have decided to compare the diapers we have tried and let you know what I think about them. As a Dad, I might have a different perspective.

We have selected a variety of pocket, one piece and hybrid diapers. Each has the advantages and disadvantages which I will go over. We also wanted one size fits all. This has been a bit hard because our girls are still quite small. They only just crossed the 10 pound mark, so they are the size of some newborns, yet they are now 4 months old. So we actually bought a few small sizes so they would fit better.

Here are the brands we have tried thus far.

1. Charlie Banana One Size
2. Bum Genius One Size
3. GrowVia One Piece One Size
4. GrowVia Hybrid One Size
5. AMP Small
6. AMP One Size
7. Bummis Tiny Fit
8. Bummis Easy Fit
9. Mother-Ease Wizard Easy Stuff
10. Blueberry One Size

There are a lot of things that have gone into our thinking.  We want something that is going to fit well, grow with the girls and not leak.  Plus my wife would like it if they were cute.  That doesn't matter to me.  

I also like it it they are somewhat easy to manage.  I am the one putting these things on at 3 o'clock in the morning, so ease of use is a selling feature.  Velcro wins over snaps every time!

1. Charlie Banana One Size

Charlie Banana is a one size pocket diaper.  It is made of micro-fleece.  It has adjustable leg holes and uses snaps.  

 Pros: 

• Really wicks the moisture away.  Sometimes I have a hard time telling if the diaper is even wet.  
• Adjustable leg holes.  It uses a elastic band that moves to different lengths to keep the leg holes snug, but not too snug.  Most other diapers have one size leg, and depend on rows of snaps  to determine how tight the legs are.  
• Poop comes off easily.  We use a toilet sprayer after poops to get most of it off, and the micro-fleece doesn't hold on to it.  Plus you can loosen the leg holes to smooth it out in case extra fecal matter is stuck in the cracks. 
• The pocket stays closed.
• The shell dries very quickly.
• Cost effective.  We bought them in a box of 6 for $125.

Cons: 

• The snaps are damn hard to do up when you are very sleepy.  
• It is difficult to stuff the soaker pad into the pocket with large hands like mine.
• The configuration allows one side to double over the other, so when you are in between sizes it can be either too tight, or too loose. 
• The front tabs of the diaper can peak out on the sides of the legs and must be stuffed in to ensure it doesn't leak.  If any of the microfleece is showing, that will get wet.
• You must smooth out the soaker pad when you put the diaper on or else it can get folded up inside reducing it's effectiveness. 

2. Bum Genius One Size


Bum Genius is also a one size picket diaper.  It is also microfleece.  It has velcro instead of snaps.







Pros

• Velcro is easy to use.
• Also wicks moisture away well. 
• It is large, so it is easy to stuff for my big hands.
• Poop comes off just as easily.

Cons

• It is quite large and can be loose fitting on a smaller baby.  
• The front tabs are quite large, so they have to wrap around the baby, which can be awkward. 
• A little bulky.
• The closure of the pocket seems to stay open.

3. GrowVia One Piece One Size


GrowVia is a one piece diaper.  The insert is attached, but folds out so it can dry easier. It is made of organic cotton.  It uses snaps.







Pros

• One piece design means no stuffing.  That is good for me.
• Since the piece is attached, there is no chance of losing it.
• The snap tabs are very flexible and stretchy.
• It has a slim fit.  It isn't bulky at all.
• High quality construction and material.  It just feels high quality.

Cons

• The cotton is not very absorbent.  Not good if you have to leave it on long because it is prone to leakage.  
• The flap is too long for a small baby, so it must be tucked under or folded so it doesn't stick out.
• Poop stains!  The cotton is quite dense, and no matter how long I spray it with water a thick residue remains.  There were stains after washing, but they did get bleached away when dried in the sun.
• Takes a long time to dry.
• More expensive than the average.

4. GrowVia Hybrid One Size


The second GrowVia we have is a hybrid.  It has a reusable shell and a snap in liner.  The liner is organic cotton.  It uses velcro.







Pros

• Hybrid design means no stuffing.  The one piece snaps easily into place.
• High quality construction and material.
• Slim fit.  
• Easy velcro for those late nights.
• Shell drys very quickly.

Cons

• Same problem with the cotton.  But in this case the cotton gets wet and the sides touch the shell, and it must be washed. You need to change it very often if you want to reuse the shell.
• Long soaker must be folded so it doesn't stick out the top of the diaper when the baby is small like mine are. 
• Poop stains.
• Expensive.

5. AMP Small Size

The AMP is another pocket diaper that uses microfleece.  This is the small size and it uses snaps to close.

Pros

• Small size fits our small babies very well.
• Microfleece wicks away the moisture.
• Poop comes off well.
• Dries quickly.
• Snug fit around the leg holes.

Cons

• Small size, so the baby will quickly out grow it.
• The micro fleece bunches at the leg holes, so if the diaper gets too full it may leak.  If wearing pants, they will get wet.

6. AMP One Size

Exactly the same as the small size, but it has a row of snaps that allow it to change size so you only need to buy one.  We got the small size just to try it out.

Pros

• Same as small size, but also grows with the baby.
• Plenty of snaps for different sizes.

Cons

• Same as small size.

7. Bummis Tiny Fit

This is a one piece diaper that uses velcro for fastening.  It is hemp, so quite absorbent. We bought several small ones because they fit so well.  They are good up to 14 pounds so we figured we would be able to use them for a few months because of the size of our girls. 

Pros

• Velcro is easy to use.
• Absorbent, they hold a lot pee.
• One piece makes it easy.

Cons

• One piece is very difficult to stuff into the pocket.  My hand is far to large to do it, and I need my wife to do it so I don't freak out.
• They take forever to dry.
• Too small going forward.

8. Bummis One Size

This is the big brother of the tiny fit.  Also a one piece with a pocket.  It is hemp, so quick absorbing. 

Pros

• Same as Tiny, but it grows with the baby.

Cons

• Quite bulky
• Pocket is bigger, but still difficult to stuff.  The waterproof side is kind of tacky, so my hand gets stuck.
• Drying takes forever.

9. Mother-Ease Wizard Easy Stuff


This is a pocket diaper.  It has a different set up for easy stuffing.  The sides are completely open, so you just lift it up and place the insert inside.  No stuffing really.  It uses snaps.





Pros

• Obviously easy to stuff.
• Has a channel on the side to keep leakage from getting to the outside.

Cons

• Poor construction.  Started fraying after first usage.
• Very baggy.

10. Blueberry One Size


Yet another  pocket diaper.  It also uses micro fleece.  It has a fuzzy outside cover.







Pros

• Micro fleece wicks well.
• Poop washes off

Cons

• Pocket remains open, and hangs out the back.
• It is bulky and large.
• Fuzzy spotted cover makes me feel sleazy.

Soaker pads


A note about soaker pads.  These are the inserts that go inside the pocket and you can also add a second one for extra wetness protection for the one piece diapers.  They come in all different materials.  Hemp, Bamboo, cotton, micro fleece.  Bamboo and Hemp hold the most liquid, but they take forever to dry because of it.  It would be good to several options depending on the urination habits of your baby.


Conclusion


My conclusion is that it's hard to use cloth diapers.  They all have their pros and cons.  The Charlie Banana have the best sizing options in my opinion.  The Bummis One Size are my favorite overall because of absorption, pocket stuffing ease and velcro fastening.   The AMP is also pretty good.

Really, you have to gather the information and make your own choice. 

Poop Stains Cloth

My wife and I are using cloth diapers on our twin girls.

There are plenty of reasons to do it.   We do it for the environment.  It is amazing how much garbage you generate with disposable diapers.  Having two babies pooping and peeing ever few hours makes the bags of garbage pile up quickly. With the cloth, you just have to wash them, so that is better.

Cost.  There is a large cost up front, but you make that back with time.  We have one size fits all, so each diaper will expand with the girls.  Depending on the diaper, it can cost between 15 and 25 bucks for each one. We need about 10 or more diapers per baby.  So the total cost might be somewhere around 500 bucks in the end.  But if you compare that to the cost of buying a 25 to 40 dollar box of disposables ever week or two, you see that quickly you are on the right end.

We have used disposables since we were in the hospital.  The way they bloat up and keep dry is like some sort of dark magic to me.  What chemicals do they contain and how do they work?  I don't really want that kind of voodoo next to my babies genitals.  So cloth is better, and it seems like they won't get a rash.  I like that.

You are supposed to be able to potty train them faster with cloth.  When they get wet, they know it.  The wizardly inside the disposable keeps them dry, so they don't relate pissing their pants with being wet.  We will see with time how this all works out.

Funny how all through time we used cloth diapers, then technology created disposables and that was what people used, and now we are returning to the old ways.

Well, not everyone.  It is pretty hard to do in comparison to using disposables.  When the babies poo, with a disposable, you take it off wrap it up and toss it.  For me, I remove the diaper and then go to the bathroom.  We have a little sprayer that is attached to the water supply for the toilet.  I open the diaper and use the hose to spray off all the loose fecal matter.  My wife informed me I did a shitty job the first few times.  Who knew you needed to wash the diaper before you wash it in the washing machine.

So I stoop over the toilet with the rotten diaper in the bowl spraying every inch of shit off.  Sometimes I get frustrated and just use my hand to scrape the stubborn bits off.  Lovely stuff.  Then once I am satisfied, I try to straighten out my creaky back and transfer the sopping wet diaper into the wet bag and wash my hands and go back to the babies and wait for the next poop explosion.

It can be a bummer.  But my wife things the cloth diapers are really cute.

She doesn't like the poopy diapers.  That is all me.  I guess that is why they call me the Poop Catcher.

Born in the Wrong Generation

Have you ever heard your Dad tell stories about how many diapers he changed? What about all the times he put you in the baby sling and took you around the block? What about how he cleaned the house, did the dishes and prepared dinner?

Well, if you are my age, you didn't hear those stories, because they didn't happen. When my brother and I were born, my Pop was at the bar treating everyone to double Brandy Alexanders! (He had treated everyone to Brandy Alexanders when our older brother was born, so the doubles seemed like a good idea with twins and all. Clever right? Where do you think I got it?)

I'm not sure I will ever go to a bar again.

As for changing diapers. I have talked to several men my Dad's age and older, and none of them ever changed a diaper. My Mom told me a story about the one time my Pop changed my brother's diaper.

She had gone out to do some shopping, and Dad had agreed to stay home and watch my bro. A short time later, my mother returned from the store. She entered the apartment they were living in, and saw no sign of father and child. She did see the bouncy chair big bro had been sitting in. In his place was a unfastened diaper, full of poo.

My mother found my Dad and bro in the next room. Turns out, Pop had discovered the turd on board and deciding that he had a choice. He could leave my crying brother and wait for Mom to return and listen to him cry and smell his poopy pants. Or he could change him.

So, he undid the diaper and lifted the boy up and away from the stained cloth. Then without wiping him off, he put him down into a fresh diaper. He pinned it up and was done with it. Father and child happy again.

He didn't remove the dirty diaper from the chair. He didn't wash out the turds. He didn't put the whole thing in the toilet. He didn't even bring the side together to hide the fecal matter from the light of day. Then he left the room to get away from the smell. After that virgin attempt, he never changed another one.

No matter how bad a job I did at something, my wife wouldn't decide that it wasn't worth it for me to do it. She would tell me I was an idiot and that I should pay better attention and do it right the next time. And I would.

Men used to have it so easy.

Welcome To My New Life

My wife just had twins. I've learned that everything is about Mom now. I often catch her saying "my" babies. I tried to correct her a few times so she would say "our" babies, but now after a few months of reflection, I understand why she says it. Having a baby changes a woman in so many ways. It changes their body. It changes their brain. It changes their outlook on everything.

But Dads don't have hormones or physical changes to deal with. Everything is pretty normal for us. Until one day you are playing golf, and after seven holes you get the call. 5 weeks before you planned it, you are in the hospital and after 17 hours a doctor hands you a wrinkly, wet, bluish unhappy baby. Then 6 minutes later they hand you another one. So life changes, but you have less stretch marks.

As a new dad, I wanted to drop a few pearls of wisdom.

Sorry, I just had to leave because I am monitoring my twins on a video monitor and they started squirming, so I had to go an soothe them. I am back.

Where was I? Yes, a new dad. I can't breastfeed. I don't have the patients of a mother. I clean. I lift heavy stuff. I change diapers. That is my number one job. Changing diapers. Cloth diapers!

I had never changed a single diaper prior to having kids. Now I am an expert.

I have been shit on. Literally and figuratively.

I am The Poop Catcher