In my eco-explorations with my son, I even went as far as trying cloth diapers - when he was almost three. At a time where most parents are ending their potty training, I was trying to find another solution to his night-time leaks. And, seeing as he'd be in diapers for several more years, I wanted to make the best possible choice for him.
Let me back-up a little.
Coming from a pre-programmed, no-nonsense disposable world, I had no idea that there was a whole other way to this. My entire life, I laughed at the cloth diaper. After all, I was cloth diapered. That was the old way of doing things. It was old-fashioned. It was too much work. It was more work! It was yucky. It was unnecessary in our modern world.
When I read about cloth or heard about others using it, I thought, “How nice. They must really care for the earth."
When it came time for me to finally use diapers, there was no question that I would use disposables. For goodness sake, there were too many other things to do besides cleaning poop collectors.
So, I never gave cloth a second glance.
It took one too many sleepless nights (and another complete diaper-pj-sheet-mattress-pad change), when I thought, “There needs to be another way!” And suddenly, the words of one mom I had shared my efforts with came to mind, “Why not try cloth?”
I had ignored her. I had thought it ridiculous that something like cloth would hold more liquid than these supposed leak-proof systems!
That's how my journey began.
As I begin researching cloth diapers, I also began learning little tidbits of information about the beloved disposable that made me cringe.
Did you know that:
- in Canada and the US, 20,000,000,000 disposables are discarded into landfill sites each year? *
- disposables are made mostly of soft, fluffy pulp which is produced by chemically treating wood fibers? The pulp undergoes a whitening and softening process when it is exposed to chlorine-based bleaching agents, such as chlorine gas and chlorine dioxide.
- another chemical that simply should not be in a baby’s diaper is called sodium polyacrylate? This substance is found in the fluff layer of the disposable and turns your baby’s urine into gel.
- from birth to toilet training each child will use approximately 5,300 disposable diapers?
- it takes 440-880 lbs. of fluff pulp and 286 lbs. of plastic (including packaging) per year to supply a single baby with disposables?
- landfill sites do not provide the conditions necessary for diapers to decompose and that it takes hundreds of years for a diaper to decompose? That means, no one, since the invention of the disposable diaper, has yet to see a diaper decompose!
- When feces is discarded with disposable diapers there is potential for public exposure (via rodents, pets, flies or birds).
In today's article, I'm going to take you through the main types of diapers on the market so that you can make an informed decision about which diapers to use on your little one.
Please note that I am not an affiliate of any of these brands (so I'm not getting any compensation for sharing what I share). I list the company's website in the resources below so you can learn where to find them locally. Keep in mind that everything I share here is based on my personal experience at the time that I tested out cloth diapering (more than 2 years ago). I am also sharing the brands that I know have been tested by other moms I know and trust. Each of the brands below can be found in Canada and the USA.
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| My cloth diaper stash |
Types of Eco-Friendly Diapers
Prefold Diapers
These are the diapers I was clothed with. They are rectangular in shape and are usually pinned into place. A waterproof cover, or a PUL (polyurethane laminated fabric) cover is needed with these. I'm not saying more about these because I have not used them myself, but I know these are the cheapest to purchase.
Contour Diapers
These are similar to prefolds, only they have a shape to them, so that they better contour the baby's bum (as the name suggests). These also need a protective cover. Again, I don't have more to share about these, but I know they are not very expensive, although slightly more so than the prefolds.
Fitted Diapers
A fitted diaper is a cloth diaper that is cut to fit your baby and does not require folding and pinning (different from grandma’s). They basically look like an underwear but go on like a diaper. Fitted diapers do not have a waterproof outer and therefore need a diaper cover.
Fitted diapers usually have elastic around the waist and thighs to allow for a comfortable fit that won’t let anything escape, as well as either snap or Aplix (Velcro) closures to ensure a custom fit around the waist.
You can see the fitted diaper by Mother-ease:
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| This is the Mother-ease Sandy White Cotton Terry fitted diaper. What you're looking at is very much like an underwear. It's so soft, I wanted to wear it myself. |
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| The Mother-ease Sandy diaper with the waterproof outer cover (just behind it). |
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| The Sandy diaper opened. See how soft? |
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| The Mother-ease outer waterproof cover, with velcro attachments. |
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| The cover opened. |
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| The Mother-ease Sandy diaper with a liner for extra absorbency. |
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| An entire fitted diaper kit by Mother-ease. |
One-Size Pocket Diapers
A pocket diaper is one of the closest designs you can get to disposables. There is a stay-dry lining with a waterproof exterior that creates a “pocket” where you insert an absorbent fabric (or a liner). The lining and the water-proof exterior are all sewn together.
A pocket diaper is usually one size. That means, you can use this diaper from birth until potty training (8lbs to 35lbs) simply by adjusting the snaps on the front to extend the rise. This makes it a money saver.
Two brands that make one-size pocket diapers are Mother-ease and Happy Heinys (although there are tons more!)
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| Happy Heinys One-Size Pocket diapers |
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| Happy Heinys with two sizes of liners |
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| Here I am stuffing a Happy Heinys pocket |
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| This is the Mother-ease Wizard EasyStuff One Size Diaper |
I would say this type of diaper is a mix between the one-size and the fitted diaper. This is as the name suggests, this is a diaper that is a fitted and a cover… all in one. It’s basically sewn together to make things easier. The main difference between these and the one-size is that you would need to purchase different sizes along the way, as baby grows.
Mother-ease has come out with an award-winning all-in-one.
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| Mother-ease Wizard Uno All-in-one diaper |
Hybrid Diapers
Ok. This is an interesting one. This diaper is not actually cloth, and it’s not actually a disposable. It’s sort of an in-between, or a hybrid. And the reason I had to try it was because it’s so unique.
The diaper we used was gDiapers. This diaper comes with an outer cloth cover (or a gPant), as seen below:
and, it also comes with two special accessories:
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| On the left, you see the disposable liner (refillable), and on the right, the PUL insert that snaps on and off for easy cleaning. |
Here it is all assembled:
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| You can see the inner PUL insert snapped in with the disposable liner tucked into it. gDiapers come in several colors and patterns. They are just adorable. |
The way this diaper works is when it's soiled, you take out the liner and you can either flush, compost or toss as you would a regular disposable. The PUL insert and outer cloth pant can be reused if not soiled. I highly recommend watching gDiaper's videos if this appeals to you.
This diaper is interesting for many reasons, but one main reason I liked it was because the velcro ties in the back, so babies who tend to pull off their diapers, wouldn't have easy access to the velcro (a very interesting option for us!)
Eco-Friendly Disposable Diapers
After using cloth diapers for naps and night-time for a while, my son outgrew the sizes and I was stuck once again. I didn't want to return to those toxic disposables, so I tested out eco-friendly versions. The two I tried were these:
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| Eco-friendly disposable diapers. On the left, Attitude diaper, and on the right Seventh Generation diaper. |
Eco-friendly diapers are not only smarter for the environment in that they biodegrade quicker than regular diapers, but most are also chlorine-, fragrance-, latex-, and petroleum-free. Plus, they're hypoallergenic. For a kid who is going to be in diapers for an extended amount of time, this is especially important.
Handmaking your own
Many of the diaper businesses out there are run by parents who just want to offer the best to babies. If you feel like you might want to have a hand at making your little one's bum cozy and are handy with the sewing machine, here are great resources for making them yourself .
I have to add that if you are serious about making your own, you need to think about these two points first:
- Time - when baby comes, you won't even have time to breathe. You will need to get a head start on these but...
- Do you really know which style you'll prefer? You might have to make a few of each type and then make more when baby comes.
- Zany Zebra Designs - free links to cloth diaper patterns
- Wazoodle - a company that sells fabrics for your cloth diapering designs - organic included
My Final Thoughts On Reusable Diapers (based on my personal experiences):
I have to say that what I learned is not at all what I expected to learn when I had first embarked on the cloth/eco-friendly diaper journey. I was expecting to find a night-time solution to diaper leaks and that’s it. I was expecting to like one diaper and invest in that one brand, and that’s it. Boy, was I off.
I had no idea that in running through this jungle, I would be transformed.
- The first thing I learned was all about that environmental stuff. Then, I learned about the health factor. But there was so much more.
- Cloth diapering is not an all-or-nothing investment. In other words, you don’t need to commit to full-time cloth diapering in order to give this a shot. Like me, there is the choice of part-time cloth diapering, which is still better for the environment and health than full-time toxic diapers, right?
- It’s not necessary to stick to one brand or one style of diaper. I had this image in my head that you go to a diaper store, buy everything they have in one brand, and stick with that for the length of baby’s diapering days. No. Not the case. You can own different diapers from different companies and meet the needs of a particular time of day or a particular body type. If one brand meets all of the needs, then so be it! But, don't be shy to test different brands.
- Just as adults come in all shapes and sizes, so do babies. This was most likely the reason I wasn’t having success with disposables. Not all diapers are made alike - they won’t fit all babies in the same way (despite what the big companies have us believe). This to me, was a revelation! I just thought a diaper was a diaper and it was supposed to collect what it was meant to collect.
- The reason there are so many types of diapers (cloth or otherwise) is also due to individual preference. The fit is not the only factor here, but function too. Some people prefer Velcro, others swear by snaps. It’s just like choosing underwear (I won’t go into the choices we have as adults, but you get what I mean).
- Not only are we shaped differently, but I learned that our bladders are different as well. Same for babies. Some hold more liquid and wet more at once, others hold less and wet less but more frequently. Makes sense, right? See why some disposables weren’t working for us? I discovered that my son is a heavy wetter.
- It’s also a good idea to try different brands or styles for different times of day. Babies wet differently at night than in the day (think about how far away meals and water are from that last diapering before bed, and before a nap). Trying different brands/styles does not lead to waste, trust me. Look at the ones I’ve tried. I discovered that I like some better for nap, some better for daytime, and some better for bedtime. So, you can still use the diapers you have odd ones of. (Or, you can sell/ donate and some companies allow you to return as they have special trial offers).
- Another thing I learned is that the position of sleep affects the leakage protection of a diaper. There are cloth diapers better suited for babies who sleep on their tummy and for those who sleep on their back or side. And, then, there is the 360 degree sleeper (like my son!) – which makes a diaper shift throughout the night.
- Also, I learned (and am proof of) that cloth diapering can begin at any age and stage. Most would consider it late for a toddler to begin, but even a toddler can test out different cloth training pants instead of disposables. Or, how about swim pants? Every little effort is worth it.
Resources for you:
Mother-ease - official website
Happy Heinys - official website
gDiapers - official website
Seventh Generation - official website
Attitude - official website
Go to Part 7 here.
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