The AIO

The all-in-one is by far the easiest diaper to use. After it is washed and dried you simply put it on then toss it in the diaper pail when it is dirty. There are different kinds of AIO's with sizing, there is either a one size fits all, which has snaps to alter the rise or a sized diaper which fits depending on the babies weight. The material the AIO is made of also varies, the inner of the diaper is made of an absorbent material, such as cotten, hemp, bamboo, etc. The outer of the diaper is made of a material that will keep the wetness inside the diaper, the most common outer is PUL ( polyurethane laminated fabric). This fabric is soft on the outside and more plastic feeling on the inside. There are a few AIOs that use wool or fleece as an outer, these usually have a snap in soaker instead of a sewn in soaker (sometimes referred to as an all in 2 or AI2) and are closer to the pocket style diaper. On the top right is a picture of the outside of an AIO with a PUL outer and velcro to fasten the diaper. The lower right picture is the inside of the diaper, which is 100% cotton flannel.

Pros

• Very simple to use
• Easy to wash
• Only have to buy one set if using ones size diapers of diapers

Cons

• More expensive
• Not as versatile
• Bulkier than other types
• Take a long time to dry

Kushies customer service

The first cloth diapers I bought was a 5 pack of kushies brand all in ones, the ultra diapers.  I liked them fine, but after a little while (2ish months) the outer got some little holes.  I knew that kushies had a 90 day guarantee, so I sent them an email, and they replaced my diapers!   I was very impressed with thier customer service and quick responses.  I think I must have just gotten a bad batch because most people love them, I hope that this new batch will be great!

Links to Descriptions

Ok, so that is a basic rundown of various diaper styles. If it was not clear or you just want to see other descriptions here are a few links to great sites with diaper descriptions:

http://www.littlefornow.com/pages/cloth-diapers-howto.php

This link will answer pretty much any question you have, it is also a great place to buy diapering products!

http://www.zany-zebra.com/cloth-diapers-101.shtml

Learn about cloth diapering!  This link also has great info on making your own diapers!

http://www.diaperpin.com/howto.asp

This site also has reviews and rankings for almost every cloth diaper out there!

Good luck!

PUL Diaper Cover

PUL is the most common diaper cover. It is easy to use because you can just rinse it after use and then use it again without washing it every time.  Most PUL covers close with either velcro or snaps, they also come in one size which is great to save money by only buying one cover. There is a wide variety of PUL covers in various colors and styles, look around to find the right one for you!

Wool Diaper Cover

 Wool diaper covers are awesome because they are made of natural fibers and they are very breathable, great for overnight. The way the wool works as a diaper cover is it is lanolized to keep the wet in and to neutralize odors. Lanolin is a waterproof oil substance that comes off of the natural wool during processing.  You only have to lanolize your covers once a month, or when they start leaking.  Wool comes in a various styles, the top is a wool wrap which uses touch tape closures and works a lot like any other  diaper cover.  Next are wool longies which are wool pants to use as diaper covers that also keep baby warm.  The bottom picture is a wool soaker it pulls up like underwear. Another great thing about wool is it is so easy to make, all of these were made by me and I will have tutorials on how to sew each coming soon!

Prefold Diaper

Prefold diapers are the best deal for your money. They are by far the cheapest at about $1.50 a diaper.  They are great because they also are very versatile, they have a wide weight range and can be folded down for smaller babies, or left big for a larger baby.  Prefolds are also great because they are very easy to care for, they dry quickly and wash up well.  This is also a very trim diaper that can hold a lot of liquid.  They are great for overnight or nap time as well.  One of the downsides of a prefold is that they are almost always made of cotton and do not have a stay dry layer against babies skin. But overall, they are a great option for someone new to cloth diapers.

Contour Diaper

A contour diaper is a cross between a fitted and a prefold diaper.  This type of diaper is good for someone who wants to go cheaper than a fitted but does not want to have to worry about a snappi or pins as well as the folding that go along with the prefold.  Most contour diapers use velcro to close.  They need a cover and are usually made of cotton or bamboo.

Fitted Diaper

A fitted diaper is really very similar to an AIO except you need a cover over it so it does no leak.  Fitted diapers are made of all different types of material, cotton and bamboo are the most common.  A fitted diaper usually has velcro tabs to close.  This type of diaper is nice for someone who wants to use covers but still wants the snug fit of a pocket or an AIO.

Pocket Diapers

Pocket diapers are probably the most common type of diapers. They are slightly different then an AIO in that after the diaper is cleaned you have to stuff it with an insert, but once it is stuffed it is the same as an AIO. As you can see from the top picture on the left these diapers have a sort of pocket that an insert is sticking out of. The great thing about pocket diapers is you can change the absorbency depending on the needs of your child.  This is especially useful for overnight or nap time, you can put two inserts in so the child will not wet through the diaper. Most commonly inserts are made of micro fiber because it can absorb a lot of liquid.  Hemp and bamboo are also very common materials used in the insert. Another great thing about pocket diapers is that they have stay dry material on the inside against babies skin.  The most commonly used is micro fleece, with this liner the diaper feels dry even when you press your hand against it.  The outer layer is usually made of PUL with the plastic feeling side facing toward the stay dry material so it does not touch babies skin.  In the lower picture on the right is the outside of the diaper snapped up.  Pocket diapers either close with snaps or with velcro.  The diaper pictured is a one-size fits all so it has snaps to adjust the rise as your baby grows. Almost all pocket diapers have the one size option.

Pros

• Adjustable absorbancy
• One size diapers
• Stay dry inside
• Shorter drying time
• Easy to use

Cons

• More work than an AIO 

How do I start?

Okay, you have convinced me, I am going to switch, but where do I start? First of all, decide which kind of cloth diapers you would like to use. Here is a pretty basic run down of the different types of diapers:

Diapers sufficient on their own:

AIO ( all in one): These are diapers that are basically the same as a disposable. They have either snaps or velcro to secure, they are just one piece, no work, just wash and wear. This is typically the most expensive type of diaper.

Pockets: Just a slight step away from the AIO. These diapers have a "pocket" in the back that can be stuffed to change the absorbency of the diaper. For example if you have a newborn you probably do no need to use a very big insert (thing you stuff in the pocket) because they do not wet that much. But if you have a toddler the wet more so you can stuff bigger or just more inserts into the pocket. These diapers are slightly less expensive than an AIO.

Diapers needing a cover:

Fitted: These diapers are similar to a AIO, but they need a cover over them so they do not leak. Out of the types that need a cover these are the most expensive type.

Contour: This a cross between a fitted and a prefold, it is like a fitted because it is shaped, but like a prefold because it does no have elastic and you can fold it smaller or leave it larger.

Prefolds: These are probably what the average person thinks of when they think of cloth diapers. They have to be folded and tucked to fit the baby. These diapers need a cover because they are just cloth and may leak. These are very economical, about $2.00 for a very nice one.

Flats: These are the oldest style of diapers. They are one layer thick and just a big flat square, they take some great techniques to fold. These are also fairly inexpensive, also about $2.00 per diaper.

Covers over a prefold, flat, contour, or fitted:

Wool: There are several types of wool covers, a soaker (pull on like underwear), wrap (uses snaps or velcro to fasten), or longies (basically wool pants). These are typically expensive, but easy and cheap if you make you own!

PUL ( polyurethane laminated fabric) : Is a cover that fastens with either velcro or snaps. It is fabric that is laminated on one side.

Fleece: Uses heavy weight fleece, there is either a pull up style or one that fastens with velcro or snaps.

This is just a brief overview, there are so many different combinations, you just have to find out what works for you!

Why cloth?

It saves you money! You can do it for yourself based on what you are spending on disposables, for example if you buy diapers in bulk you can get them down to about .23 cents per disposable diaper, then you multiply that by the average amount of diapers in a day.  Using the average of a change every two hours, except at night, you have around 8 to 10 diapers a day.  Multiply that by 365 days a year for 2 and a half years which is about the average time it takes to potty train.  So your math will look something like this:

.23 (amount per diaper) x 9 (for average diapers per day) = 2.07 (dollars spent on diapers per day) then
2.07 x 912.5 (amount of  days you will use diapers) = $1,888.88.

Side note 9 (diapers per day) x 912.5 (average amount of days) = 8,212.5 that is how many times you will change your babies diaper, per baby, awesome.

Wow, that is a lot of money! Now compare that to how much you could save by going cloth, if you buy expensive diapers they would be about $18.00 per diaper, multiply by 20 diapers (so you only have to wash every other day). So:

18 x 20 = $360

That is for some really expensive cloth diapers and you would save

$1888-$360=$1528

So, you would have a savings of $1,528 and that would be using cheap disposables compared to the expensive type of cloth.  Now of course you do have to factor in the detergent you buy and the utility costs of water and power for the washings.  But still that is a lot of money saved, and you can save even more if you have more than one child because you would not even have to factor in that start up cost of $360 so you would just save the whole $1888.88!  Now, if that is not enough savings, consider if you used the cheaper kinds of cloth they are about $100 for the whole set, that is even more savings!

Need further convincing?  In our world of instant gratification we produce a lot of waste, via using the easier things in life such as fast food, paper towels, and disposable diapers.  The world can only hold so much waste and it can leech into our food sources and hurt the animals of the world, save the planet by using cloth!!