Cloth Diapering: My favorite diapers and why

I haven't done a post about cloth diapers in a while.  I thought I would do a little update since we are a year in to it.  I posted some tips for those looking into cloth diapers back in the summer so if you are looking for information like that, here is the post.  

First of all, we absolutely love them.  All of us.  Even my mom and mother in law who were tough to convince.  Lonnie thinks they are great and even tells random people that we use cloth.  They give him a weird look and then he tells them "these aren't your grandma's cloth diapers!".  It is cute.  

In my other post I didn't really mention what diapers I used, accessories I had or my routine.  I thought I would do that here just to let you all know what works for me.  

My stash is a mix of pocket diapers and all-in-ones.  I'd say it is about half and half.  I certainly have too many diapers...no doubt about that.  I could make do with about 16-20 diapers now and wash every other day.  However, in the beginning I was a bit obsessed with buying diapers.  While I was writing this post, I was estimating that I had about 35 diapers.  Then I remembered I took a picture of all of my diapers a few months ago.  I hunted that picture down and counted.  45 diapers.  Holy crap.  I am kicking myself because that is WAY TOO MANY.  The good news is that cloth diapers have a great resale value.  I should do that because there are a few in this picture that I never use!  I didn't buy all of these either.  I'd say about 8 of these were free.  Anyway!

These are my main diapers.  I have a few other random brands that I got for free or for a huge bargain but I'm not going to list them here in this post.    

Bumgenius 4.0 (one-size pocket)
Bumgenius Freetime (one-size AIO)
Fuzzibunz (one-size pocket)
Thirsties AIO

Now, a little bit about each diaper and what I like about it and what I don't like about it.  Keep in mind...I love all of these diapers (which is why I have many of each of these).  Maybe I will do a post later about the other random diapers I use but didn't like them enough to order more of for my stash.  

Bumgenius Freetime
This is my favorite diaper at the moment.  It has been for many months.  I had other favorites when B was only on breast milk or when I had to spray poop off of every diaper.  But right now I almost wish my entire stash was this diaper.  IT is so easy to use and wash.  

It is an all in one BUT it doesn't take forever to dry like most other AIO's.  It has 2 absorbent flaps sewn to each end so when you dry it you can just unfold the whole thing.  I put mine on a drying rack before I go to bed and they are completely dry in the morning.  In the summer I hang them outside and they are dry in a few hours.  And, yes, I do put them in the dryer occasionally.  No problems.  

The only con I can think of for this diaper is that when I had to spray B's poop (which was just a short period of time) it could be a bit difficult.  Sometimes one of the flaps would flop down in the toilet and it just made the whole diaper soaked.  I kept a wetbag by the toilet so this was not a huge deal.  If I had to take the sprayed diaper back into her room...well, that just wouldn't have happened.  

Bumgenius 4.0
This diaper is very dependable, easy to stuff, and easy to size.  I really have no complaints about this one.  It fits B really well and always has.  The only reason I say the Freetime is my favorite is that I don't have to stuff the inserts into those.  I don't mind stuffing pockets at all.  B actually helps me but sometimes I am lazy, ya know?  

One of the best things about the BG brand is the tabs are elastic.  I feel like I can get a better fit around her belly with this since most of my diapers are snaps and not velcro.  

Fuzzibunz
This was my go-to diaper for a long time.  My favorite aspect of this one is that it is so trim.  The BG's aren't huge or anything but they are bulkier than these and I had to size up in pants and shorts for those.  If B is wearing pants or leggings then I am usually reaching for a Fuzzibunz.  Here is a comparison.  

The purple is a Fuzzibunz and the other is a BG 4.0.  See how much more narrow the crotch is in the FB?  That makes for a much trimmer fit when actually on a baby.  

The main downfall of this diaper, and this is not a deal breaker as this is the diaper I have the most of, is they are somewhat tough to figure out how to size at first.  The BG's have a snap down rise and that is how you adjust to fit smaller babies up to toddlers...easy.  The Fuzzibunz have adjustable elastic in the legs and across the back.  When I didn't know what I was doing this intimidated me and I thought I was doing it wrong.  Once I got more comfortable with it, it was no big deal.  You get it sized right and then you don't have to size it up until your baby grows quite a bit.  I do think this type of sizing helps to get a better fit for a variety of different shaped babes!  

I don't reach for it "as much" these days only because I have to change it more frequently.  B can soak both of the inserts in about an hour and a half.  Usually this isn't a big deal but if I know we are going to be out longer of something I put something else on her.  I probably should just get different inserts for them and I wouldn't even have this problem!  

Thirsties AIO
I bought these diapers when they were on sale and I needed some velcro for my MIL and for my mom.  They are not technically "one-size".  Thirsties actually has a size 1 and a size 2.  Both of these diapers have a snap down rise with three settings...just like the BG.  I never had a size 1 and, like I said, I started when B was 3 1/2 months old.  So if you were to get a size 1 you wouldn't be using it for long but I would assume you could use it on a newborn.  The size 2 will last until potty training as I don't even have the rise unsnapped all of the way yet.  

The absorbent material is sewn directly into this diaper but is left open on both ends.  This is a great perk because you can stuff another insert in if needed.  I haven't ever needed to do this because B isn't a heavy wetter but it would come in handy.  

This diaper does take a while to dry.  I find that it dries faster if you turn it inside out (another perk of it being open on both ends) before putting on the drying rack/hanging to dry.  I have plenty of diapers (obviously!) so it isn't a big deal for me to let these dry a bit longer.  

Most of the Thristies that I have are velcro.  The velcro is not the best quality and has started to wear out.  It still sticks and probably will until B is potty trained.  I will more than likely need to get the velcro replaced in order to use these on a second child.  She can undo it if she doesn't have pants on though...but that is any velcro really.  One of the reasons I prefer snaps.  

I don't usually reach for this diaper, not because I don't like it, but I just leave it in the drawer for my MIL, my mom or to be taken to the gym daycare.  They all prefer to use the velcro and these are the easiest velcro diapers I have.  It is more like a disposable than any of the above diapers.  I wish I had a few more in snaps.  

Here is a pic of all 4 diapers together just so you can see the differences in them.  They are all sized for how B wears them now.  

Top left: BG Freetime

Top right: BG 4.0

Bottom left: FB

Bottom right: Thirsties AIO

Ok!  So there is a run down of my fave diapers.  Next time I'll talk about my routine and the accessories I used.  When I was researching I found that I wanted to know more about the day to day cloth use...where you put the dirty diapers, how you store the clean diapers, how do you use them when out and about.  I wanted to know how I was going to fit this in with taking care of a baby!  It turns out it was much easier than I thought it was.