Here is my cloth diaper stash, from left to right, top to bottom:
- Lily’s small-size Huggabuns diapers (this particular version is no longer made) with liners underneath
- Bumgenius 3.0 snapped to fit Lily with liners (also snapped to fit Lily) underneath
- Johnny’s medium-size Huggabuns diapers (also no longer sold in this incarnation) with liners underneath
- Imse Vimse training pants for Johnny with home-sewn cloth wipes underneath
- Lily’s home-sewn newborn cloth diaper covers (see this post). We used wipes as inserts for these, and she already outgrew them being the fast-growing child that she is…
The Bumgenius 3.0s are my favorites, but I only have three. They also don’t really fit Johnny at 20 months and 26lbs, so they aren’t the ideal one-size diaper in my mind. I would love to try out some one-size FuzziBunz or Smartipants but we have a decent stash of sized diapers that work just fine so I can’t justify the expense. Thirsties diaper covers also look lovely, although I always prefer snaps over velcro (ironic given that I put velcro on the diapers I made, I realize, but I didn’t have any of those fancy diaper snaps). I also want to try my hand at sewing an RRP diaper and one of Katrina’s fleece soakers – once I figure out how to use my sewing machine with three children in tow, that is!
And while we’re on the topic of sewing, if you’ve always wanted to learn but didn’t get the chance, consider joining Valerie from the Frugal Family Fun Blog’s FREE sewing workshop here – you have until August 31st to sign up!
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
Hi! I have also partly been using cloth diapers with snaps and velcro and with this baby I’m working toward going diaper free. I am so curious how it will work for us. Maybe I will put on cloth diapers but always take them off when the baby shows signs for urinating, etc. :) A cousin of Robin does it that way and a friend of mine is doing it with her 5th (at home) and uses cloth diaPERS otherwise. I’m reading a book about it by LaURIE Boucke and have looked into another one quite a while ago. The babies are receptive for this esp. up till age 6 months. I know many of those who do it who are potty trained by the age of 12-18 months.
The aim however is not primarily potty training but the parent-child communication, as well as the closeness and respect for the child, also in this area.
What a great stash you have!
@Andrea – I really like the inserts that came with the Huggabuns diapers, but I don't think they are sold anymore. I just use a single one. I'm not CDing at night right now. I could probably double up the inserts and have it absorbent enough, but the dampness still wakes up my kids so I've given up on that (for now at least) and just use disposables so they'll stay asleep at night.
Oh, I should have mentioned that I sewed 5 little diapers but she grew so fast that I couldn't keep up with the sewing (and taking care of 3 kids) so I just bought a bunch. And, really, unless you are selling cloth diapers, the diaper snaps are super expensive because you need the special tool to insert them which costs over $50!
I'm with you on the FuzziBunz. I wish I would have tried some but I've heard a friend of mine complain about the bulk so I didn't. Everyone online seems to rave about them though! Question for you, what is your favorite kind of insert? Also, how many inserts do you use at a time in a diaper? Just curious.
A few years ago, I never thought I would be excited to see a stash of cloth diapers – Hee hee!! You have quite the variety here. We're big fans of bumGenius as well. I tried gDiapers for awhile, but found them to be very pricey. I've never tried sewing them, but you've inspired me to give it a go! And thanks so much for promoting the workshop.. I'm getting super-excited about it!
I made a bunch of fitted diapers out of BIG prefolds last August, but Rachel has finally grown out of them. Right now I'm using prefolds with snappis and Thirsties covers. I only have one cover that fits right now, but I've just ordered 2 more from diaperswappers.com. Even though I have some PUL that I could have used to make my own, I literally do not have to time to do it right now. We're just getting back into using cloth diapers, and I want to have good covers on hand. I LOVE Thirsties, though I've never tried anything with snaps.
I didn't wash the diapers in the Borax soak last time like you recommended, but I think I will next time. Her diapers seem to have a urine smell even when she's dry. Would the wash cycle that you recommended help to eliminate that?
I'm thrilled to be using them again, though it's an adjustment for us. I just don't want to spend money on disposables any more. It's such a waste, especially if she poops 30 seconds after I change her.
I was getting ready to same the same thing as HD and the small cut smartipants are!
Check out my smartipants review on my blog. I have comparison photos with Hautes.
I just got my first one size Happy Heiny diaper the other day and I am happy it is larger than the Hautes even. However, with my tall guy it won't be lasting too long. Back to sized diapers for me!
I have two FB one size and they are a good size, I think. Ingrid fits into them fine at 25 lbs, she still has room to grow. I know it's hard to justify money when you already have a stash, I want to try so many different kinds but we already have plenty…
I'm a big fan of BG too. Abram and Josiah are both on the largest setting so I'm not sure how long they will last. I want to try FuzziBunz sometime too.
Katrina's soakers are super easy to sew – I am a total novice and I did it :) I think you'll enjoy it if you find time to tun on the machine with 3 kids needing you. I only have 2 but I haven't been able to sew a straight line since #2 was born :)
Good luck!
@HappilyDomestic – good to know about smartipants, thanks!
MaryAnne,
Glad you joined in again. I am too intimidated to sew my own diapers, but I think it would be fun. ;-)
Also, if you don't think BG are the ideal OS pocket diaper because of the size, then don't buy any smartipants. They are small in the rise. Great diapers, just run a bit on the small size. Happy Heineys gives a bigger fit though. I have never tried FuzziBunz OS.