Many questions regarding cloth diapers!

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I am not a fan of cloth diapers. The rubber pants that you usually have to wear does not appeal to me and I do not trust it to hold up. I would stick with the disposable diapers
 
Another option, if you like the idea of AIOs but want to customize things a bit, would be pocket diapers. I know a few people here use and like these, and they're a relatively popular cloth diapering option for babies. I've been meaning to try them for a while, but--other priorities. Anyway, as their name suggests, these diapers are basically an AIO without the absorbent core. They have an internal pouch for you to add that. And when the cover wears out, your investment in stuffers is safe.

I'm a prefold fan myself, but while I'd like to justify that with some sort of practical comparison, the real reason is that I was diapered in prefolds as a baby, and had access to them throughout my youth. My preference is, more than anything else, a fetish thing. I will say, though, that folding and fastening prefolds goes very quickly with just a little practice. If you're mainly ignoring them because you fear the process, don't. From a comfort perspective, however, I will add: If there's a type of diaper that always reminds you that you're wearing a diaper, it's the prefold. The bulk through the crotch is unmistakable, and though their performance as a bedwetting diaper for side-sleepers is surely hard to beat, I actually find lying on my side in a prefold to be slightly uncomfortable. Good thing I'm a tummy-sleeper! :)
 
Cottontail said:
Another option, if you like the idea of AIOs but want to customize things a bit, would be pocket diapers. I know a few people here use and like these, and they're a relatively popular cloth diapering option for babies. I've been meaning to try them for a while, but--other priorities. Anyway, as their name suggests, these diapers are basically an AIO without the absorbent core. They have an internal pouch for you to add that. And when the cover wears out, your investment in stuffers is safe.
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I agree with Cottontail...since I started making my own pocket diapers I can tailor the absorbency to what I need...drying time is less, and I can use PUL pants for the outside. So each part of the diapers that I make...inner and outer flannel, soaker material, and outside cover...are separate units that can be individually replaced as needed. Pockets that are bought online generally have the waterproof outer cover built in. I don't make mine that way so I don't have to worry about the outside cover breaking down and ruining the entire diaper. When using AIOs, if the inside soakers or the outside cover fall apart, your diaper is pretty much toast. Pockets are also excellent choice if you are not sure how much protection you'll need.
 
I have been using cloth diapers for 20+ years due to a neuromuscular disorder.

Started off buying cloth diapers and Gary plastic pants from V. Jensen. Found his advertisement in the back of a disability magazine. He was local, which allowed my wife to take me over and “shop” for what would work best for me. That was an interesting experience to have the two of them discussing diapers and plastic pants for me with me sitting there. It was also interesting because my wife chose juvenile print flannel diapers for daytime with milky white plastic pants to let the prints show through, and heavy duty white birdseye diapers with juvenile print plastic pants for bedtime—it took the institutional aspect out of wearing diapers, but my head was reeling over the juvenile prints my wife chose for me.

My wife then started making me diapers. Initially, she had our young kids pick the printed flannels. Again, ended up with a lot of toddler and juvenile prints, which the kids thought were great.

Ultimately I realized I didn’t like flannel diapers as they wear out quickly from washing and start feeling like cardboard. Plus they start tearing quickly at the pinning site. Birdseye diapers wear like iron—I really like them.

Currently though, for bedtime I prefer twill pre-folds from Changing Times Diaper Company stuffed in a Snap-Ez Pocket Diaper. I can’t say enough about either product.

The Changing Times twill pre-folds are wonderfully soft and absorbent, and wash and dry well. They pin on easily as well if wearing them with plastic pants instead. They are very similar to birdseye for wear and tear, but much softer. These diapers are old school revisited and I love them.

The Snap-Ez Pocket Diaper is also wonderfully soft, both inside and out. The micro fleece lining is super comfortable and keeps you dry. The PUL cover is very effective at containing leaks, and the knit polyester shell is much more comfortable against the thigh than plastic pants. Plus, I much prefer the snaps over the velcro on other products. Every part of the interior is accessible, which allows you to arrange, fold, and flatten the pre-folds inside to best work with how you sleep, meaning if you’re a side sleeper they won’t leak if you stuff the pre-folds into the wings. The Snap-Ez Pocket Diaper gives me all the benefits of an AIO (no pinning, no plastic against the skin, custom fit), with none of the downsides (long dry time, uneven wear between the various layers). I have fifteen pocket diapers and they have all lasted a VERY long time (good investment).

Because of my condition, my bedtime wetting can vary greatly. When doing well I remain dry through the night, but when doing poorly I can drop up to 10 pounds of water weight overnight! I know when it’s going to be a night of heavy wetting and I can stuff the pocket diaper appropriately (double diaper), and if necessary pull on snap-on plastic pants for extra protection.

In the morning it’s really easy to unsnap the pocket diaper (and snap-on plastic pants id worn), hold the pocket diaper with the back opening hanging down into the diaper pail, and give a gentle tug on the twill diaper(s) to pull them straight into the pail. No unpinning or handling soggy diapers! I have the option to wash the pocket diaper with the twill diapers or separately.

My wife liked the juvenile prints she used to get for me as she thought it brought levity to a bad health situation, which it did. It was never an ab/dl scenario for us. My current combo of a Snap-Ez Pocket Diaper stuffed with one or two twill diapers is far from institutional looking, but I am not embarrassed by it when I’ve ended up in the ER, whereas making an appearance in the ER with juvenile print diapers or plastic pants has been unsettling in the past! You might just feel a little bit younger than usual when wearing this combo.

Hope you find what works best for you!
 

I have been pouring over all these posts the last couple days! I really appreciate all the replies! :grouphug:

I have decided to go ahead and try both cloth prefolds and an AIO diaper. My wife insisted I get both since the AIOs were cuter. I just hope it doesn't leak on me. I decided to go ahead and order my prefold from changing times. Their diapers looked like they had the best quality and thickness. Most of the other sites were anywhere from 4 layers to 6 or had combinations of cheaper soaker foams or mats built into a more expensive twill or gauze etc... Changing times blows all those out of the water (10 layer soaker panel) and seems to be the only diaper I have been hearing non-stop good reviews about. I also got diaper pins, and a snappi to try out as well. I ordered a Pul cover from dependeco to go over this.

I decided to order a Kin AIO and a Dependeco Star Wars AIO.

Try everything once and see what works and doesn't work seems to be the general advice.


As far as folding a prefold... I been looking at the different folds and I like the way the Angel wing fold looks. Which folds by experience do you guys find works best? Are their pros and cons of different folds? If it helps I generally sleep on my tummy prolly 80% of the time. The rest is on my back or cuddled up with my wife. :hug:

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Kawaiii said:
As far as folding a prefold... I been looking at the different folds and I like the way the Angel wing fold looks. Which folds by experience do you guys find works best? Are their pros and cons of different folds? If it helps I generally sleep on my tummy prolly 80% of the time. The rest is on my back or cuddled up with my wife. :hug:
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I'm an Angel Wing fan. It's certainly one of the easier ways to fold a prefold, too.

Don't buy more than a few prefolds to start with, and consider getting a couple of sizes. The folds you use will determine the real size of the diaper, so simply lining up your waist size with the diaper dimensions on the site can leave you with something that's too small once folded. A larger size will afford more folding versatility, but may also prove too bulky. You'll want to experiment if you're intent on finding the best solution for yourself. And be sure to wash the diapers 4-5 times before really judging them. I usually do 6 full wash/dry cycles before I consider my prefolds ready, and they'll continue to shrink and quilt and soften long after even this.

I really like the Changing Times prefolds, and if you're going to try pinning, the Dritz pins Changing Times sells are as good as any. Store them stabbed into a bar of soap to keep them lubricated.

Enjoy your cloth diaper adventure!
 
Cottontail said:
I'm an Angel Wing fan. It's certainly one of the easier ways to fold a prefold, too.

Don't buy more than a few prefolds to start with, and consider getting a couple of sizes. The folds you use will determine the real size of the diaper, so simply lining up your waist size with the diaper dimensions on the site can leave you with something that's too small once folded. A larger size will afford more folding versatility, but may also prove too bulky. You'll want to experiment if you're intent on finding the best solution for yourself. And be sure to wash the diapers 4-5 times before really judging them. I usually do 6 full wash/dry cycles before I consider my prefolds ready, and they'll continue to shrink and quilt and soften long after even this.

I really like the Changing Times prefolds, and if you're going to try pinning, the Dritz pins Changing Times sells are as good as any. Store them stabbed into a bar of soap to keep them lubricated.

Enjoy your cloth diaper adventure!
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I'll have to take you advice on that soap thing too, because I can have issues piercing through sometimes
 
The Dependeco covers are terrific. Best incon product I've ever used. Double velcro closure keeps it snug all around. Unlike every other velcro product I've used, the velcro has not lost its "stick" in several years of heavy use.

An AIO is not a good idea.

When I wear a cloth diaper, I use a thin (two layer, no center panel) flannel contour diaper with gauze or birdseye baby diapers layered in the middle to give the necessary absorbency. Because that puts the absorbency just where it's needed, it's much less cloth than a prefold or a thick contour. Also, gauze baby diapers are very cheap.

I don't use pins. Just lay the diaper in the PUL shell, lay on top of it, pull it up and close it.
 
I wear 4 layers of gauze diapers at night, pin them on-one pin in each side. They are very comfortable and absorbent. Also need plastic pants over them. Usually get mine on ebay and they are fine. The all-in-one combinations are more difficult to care for, and usually the waterproof covering wears out way before the diaper. As dogboy said birdseye lasts longer but is not nearly as comfortable. I have tried velcro closures also, but they are more difficult to care for, and often the velcro wears out and you end up using pins anyway.
 
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