This is a limited review of some of the products that I have used with my own daughter. There are many other brands and kinds of cloth diapers available. For user reviews, I recommend diaperpin.com. They can provide you with lots of helpful start up information and their Sales and Announcements page keeps you up to date on many of the sales being help at popular cloth diapering websites.
bumGenius One-Size
I have to give these diapers a 3 because I love several things about them but there are also several draw backs. I love the concept of a one size diaper. My daughter was born at 8 pounds and we used a couple of these for easier night time diaper changes and for on the go. As she has gotten older they have become our only diaper we will use for night time. They have leaked on occasion, but not since I started doubling up on the inserts. We haven’t had to change a diaper during the night since she was quite small.
We have had some fit issues. When my daughter was 9 months old, she was already getting a little tall for the second setting. I worry that she will outgrow the rise before she is 18 months old. She also has skinny legs and now that I have to double stuff the diapers at night I have trouble getting a tight fit around the legs. Fortunately we haven’t had many leaks as long as we double or triple stuff the diapers, since she rarely has a BM at night.
We do have some smell issues which is disappointing. I use Country Save detergent which is supposed to be approved for use with cloth diapers. The smell isn’t bad enough to stop me from using them, but after all night in the diaper, she reeks, even though her clothes and sleep bag!
However, in spite of the fact that these diapers do not get as much wear as her primary day time diapers, I am not confident that the Velcro will last until she is potty trained, let alone be used to diaper a second child. I also noticed some serious inconsistency in the laundry tabs. We ordered a three pack when my daughter was 3 months old, since we liked the two we had so much, and the laundry tabs were made of the same material as the non-abrasive side of Velcro. They seem to work better than the other laundry tabs which seem to be made of only suede cloth. I also noticed inconsistency in the shape of the Velcro tabs themselves. This is not really a problem, but it makes me wonder about quality control. The Velcro is definitely wearing on the first two of these we bought. But even some of the ones from the six pack we were given as a gift when my daughter was four months old aren’t as sticky as they used to be. I was hoping to pass these down to my next child, since they are so expensive. All in all, still a very useful diaper, especially for at night. Just don’t anticipate these lasting until potty training or passing them on to another child unless you have a very large number and don’t use them as your primary diapers. However, for just a couple dollars, you can purchase Refresher Kits from Cotton Babies with new Velcro, elastic and laundry tabs. But you will need a sewing machine and basic sewing skills, two things I currently lack.
$17.95 unless you find a sale or purchase seconds from Cotton Babies. I bought mine from Cotton Babies. The ones I received as a gift came from Kelly’s Closet.
Thirsties Duo Diaper
Thirsties Duo Diaper in Storm Cloud
When I bought my first one of these I was ecstatic. Finally, no more pulling soiled inserts out of my pocket diapers. They really did agitate free in the wash! They were perfect for other people to use, because it made the diapers function practically like an AIO, as easy as a disposable. But after a few weeks I started to have trouble with the inserts bunching up on one side of the diaper. The unprotected side would leak right through my daughter’s clothes. I’m not clear yet if this is a design flaw or user error. I love these diapers enough that I’m willing to see if the issue is correctable.
$18.50
bumGenius Deluxe All-In-One
I absolutely loved these in XS for my newborn. Since she was born at 8 pounds they didn’t fit for very long, but they were very trim and convenient for going out. I thought I would use disposables when I was away from home, but these made it so easy to use cloth when away from home. I actually dislike the fact that a stuffable pouch is added in the larger sizes. The opening flap doesn’t lay flat when putting the diaper on. They aren’t as absorbent as a pocket diaper, so they can leak if over-saturated. I have never had any smell issues until recently with my size Mediums. They don’t smell as bad as my pocket diapers when saturated, but definitely smell worse than when I first bought them last December. I use Country Save in the amounts indicated. Perhaps some smell is just inevitable now that my daughter is on solid foods. I haven’t tried sun drying them yet though, which can often help with smell and stain issues. I’d say that any minor smell issues are worth the wonderful convenience. However, I do think that they run a little smaller than indicated. My 19 pound, 29 inch, 11 month old seems like she won’t fit in the Mediums much longer.
$15.95
SposoEasy All-In-One
Sposoeasy All-In-One Diaper in Sage with Aplix
In fairness, I don’t think we gave these diapers a fair shot. I thought they were too expensive to justify. At $16.5-$18.95, these sized diapers seemed overpriced compared to a bumGenius One Size pocket diaper for $17.95 or a bumGenius Deluxe All-In-One for $15.95. We also only tried these diapers in snaps. As it turns out, we really don’t like snaps. I wish we had given them another chance in Aplix. These diapers definitely run larger. Our daughter has already almost outgrown her medium Bumgenius AIOs and she’s not even a year old yet! She wore her XS SposoEasy longer than her XS Bumgenius AIO. If she continues to be ahead of the curve in her growth, we may opt for a few of these were she outgrows her other size large diapers. Because these diapers are 100% cotton they don’t hold quite as much as micro fiber AIOs but they also don’t develop detergent buildup and smell issues as easily.
$16.95 at Green Mountain Diapers (but make sure to account for $6.95 shipping per order)
$18.50 at Happy Baby Company and Blue Penguin both with free shipping. However, I have seen them on sale at Happy Baby Company for $17.50. Keep your eyes open for sales.
Kissaluvs Fitted
I have version 1 of this diaper in a size 0. They are only OK. Because my daughter is long and skinny they were never really a good fit for her. My husband really didn’t like the snaps and vastly prefers fitted diapers with Velcro instead. They weren’t as absorbent as my bumGenius and Thirsties Fab Fitted diapers and didn’t hold in the Breast fed poo as well either. I was also disappointed at how rough they got after just a couple of washes. For this price, I would sooner pay a little more and buy a Thirsties Fab Fitted.
$13.95 at Cotton Babies
Kissaluvs Contours
I received a six pack of these as a baby shower gift. I had read mixed reviews, but like how affordable these were and hoped they would be easier to use than prefolds. I should have listened to the reviews. These are not worth the additional money. They aren’t very absorbent and they leak poo out the legs. Thanks to Thirsties covers I rarely really got a leak onto my daughters clothing, but they were still frustrating to deal with. I ended up using them as backups when I was running low on diapers or washing diapers. Prefolds are a more economical choice, they leak less and are just as easy to use once you get used to them.
$ 6.95 at Cotton Babies
Thirsties Fab Fitted
I love these diapers. They are wonderfully trim, especially the XS on newborns. These were my favorite for night time diaper changes when my daughter was tiny. Even now that she is in size Mediums they are still my favorite. They are easy for my parents and husband to use. (I just have to remind my father that they need a cover). My only disappointment is that I wish they were a little less expensive. If I could afford it, I would diaper my daughter with these all the time, though now that she is older, they are not quite as absorbent as prefolds, but much more convenient to use. (I actually recently found a whole bunch of Version 1 of these diapers at Diva Diapers for less than $10 each! The only difference that I can find between Version 1 and Version 2 is that the Velcro can only be overlapped in one direction on the Version 1 diapers).
$14.25 at Cotton Babies
$13.75 at Amazon
GMD Infant Fitted
This is a budget friendly fitted diaper. By far the least expensive fitted diaper I’ve ever found. It also seems to have a pretty wide size range from 5 to 13 pounds. I liked that these are all cotton, unfortunately that made them more prone to staining. (Though nothing a little sun drying couldn’t cure). The gussets don’t hold breastfed poo as well as I would expect for a diaper designed for infants. That being said I wish I had more of these. They are easy and convenient for night time diaper changes. But, I can only give it a 3 because I wish it came in larger sizes and because of leakage issues.
$7.95 Green Mountain Diapers
Cloth Diapering Can Be Affordable- Post 4 of 5: Diaper Reviews
