Cloth diapering has tons of different options, such as do it yourself or diaper services. Diaper services drop off a certain amount of clean diapers, and pick up your dirty ones for a certain fee each week. I do tons of laundry each week, so an extra two loads of diapers was no big deal for me. Anyone who has ventured into the cloth diapering world is surely overwhelmed at the start. There are so many options! Pocket diapers, All in ones, prefolds, hybrids, the list goes on and on. After doing a bit of research, I chose to buy a hybrid kind called "gDiapers". They have the option to be worn with a cloth insert, or their own special eco friendly biodegradable insert that is similar to a disposable diaper. The benefits of their biodegradable inserts are they can be flushed down the toilet, tossed in the compost, or thrown in your regular trash, and they decompose completely in a matter of months vs hundreds of years. I strictly use their brand of cloth inserts, but I'm sure I'll try the biodegradable refills eventually.
The gDiapers come in three distinct parts, the cover, liner pouch, and the part that soaks up pee (either cloth, or the disposable refill) and I'll do my best to explain it all.
The first thing people notice about gDiapers are their adorable colorful covers, commonly referred to as "gPants." They come in many colors, and a few times a year they release special edition designs. Each cover is made up of two soft layers of breathable cotton fabric, with velcro tabs that are on the back of the diaper. The backwards closure is supposed to prevent older babies from pulling their diapers off, but I haven't any problems yet in this department since my Squishy baby is still so young! The part I really like about this cover is it is very soft, doesn't have any snaps, and the velcro closes on itself for washing so it doesn't stick to every other sock in your washer.
Snap in Liners - These things look like plastic, but they're actually made up of a special fabric which is extremely breathable. These liners are permeable to water vapor but waterproof to liquid, which allows heat to escape and keeps pee from leaking out. Because the vapors are released, a very wet gDiaper will often feel damp to the touch on the outside, which is an added bonus because it helps you know when they need to be changed! These liners are the key part of how gDiapers work, as they make a seal around your baby's bottom to contain pee and blowouts. If your baby just pees, all you have to do is wipe this liner off before putting in a new cloth. If your baby has a code brown, you easily unsnap the dirty liner and pop in a new clean one. Voila!
gCloth insert - These cloth inserts are made up of soft micro-fleece and hemp fabrics. The hemp is extremely absorbant, and the fleece side helps wick moisture away from your baby's skin and keeps them feeling dry. They may seem fairly expensive at the start, but I think they're worth every penny. I wash mine with regular free and clear detergent, and haven't had any problems with staining or funky odors.
I haven't used the biodegradable refills yet, but when that day comes I'll be sure to come back and let you know how they worked for me. They are about the same price as regular diapers, so you're not saving any money, but you are saving the world tons of diapers in a landfill that never really decompose. Mother earth would be proud!
Just like babies, gDiapers come in a few sizes. Because they're on the expensive side of cloth diapers, I only bought the Medium size which fits babies from 13-28lbs. My son gained weight so quickly he was able to wear his g's by 2 months, and prior to that we just used our disposable stash that I got at my baby shower.
When my son starts on solids, I'm sure I'm going to have to change things up a bit and invest in a handy dandy toilet diaper sprayer to remove extra poop, but so far these diapers have been amazing for us. The company has some of the best customer support imaginable and if you have any problems with leaks you can call their HQ! Their leak ninjas who will give you tons of tips and advice to troubleshoot and prevent leaks depending on where the diaper is giving you problems.
There is a bit of a learning curve to these, you can't just slap them on a baby or you're bound to get leaks. I watched a few youtube videos, and learned how important it is to get the middle liner to be right in the thigh leg crease and not just a fat roll to keep all the pee inside. Also, don't over tighten them, they should be a bit looser on than you'd put on a 'sposie.
The supplies I have for full time cloth diapering:
7 gPants - I had to have a bunch of colors to match all Squishy's outfits. You could probably get away with 5 or 6 though.
12 snap in liners - The gPants come with liners in them, I bought one extra box that included 6.
24 gCloth - This is enough that I have plenty of extra for my son's diaper bag, and laundry days.
I still use one 'sposie for overnight use since my son is such a heavy wetter and I don't change him for almost 10 hours, but we use g's all day. I have read about a lot of moms who just double up on cloth inserts at night, or one cloth and one biodegradable insert.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend these, especially if you're not sure if you're ready to make the full leap into the cloth world.
Pros:
- super trim, not nearly as bulky as other all-in-one diapers
- very cute colors designs
- very breathable, no diaper rashes
- there is actually little laundry, the cloth inserts are pretty small.
- you can use fabric or biodegradable inserts, making trips to the store or out of the house diaper changes quick.
Cons:
- they can leak if you don't put them on right.
- the snaps can leave red spots on your baby's thighs if the diaper is on too tight
- they're a bit pricey to get started on
