Thursday's Thing: Cloth Diapers

If you've been reading my blog very long, you probably know we use cloth diapers. You can read some of my older posts if you are curious about our reasons. We used a couple kinds and have decided to stick with one most of the time and I like it so much that I wanted to feature our cloth diaper of choice as one of the "Things I like on...Thursdays" this week.

We love our Bum Genius 3.0 one-size pocket diapers.

Choosing them: I did a good amount of research and found these to be the most affordable, positively reviewed of the one-size diapers. Before I found them, I did a trial with a few prefolds, covers, and a fitted all-in-one bum genius. All of these worked alright for us, especially the Bummis Super Snap covers over prefolds. However, we didn't have enough to cloth diaper fulltime. A few months later, I was ready to try again and we decided to go with the Bum Genius one-size style because it would be (hopefully) fit Ariel through potty training. They fit up to 35 lbs according to the package. And we would be able to use them with any other children. They fit as little as 5 lbs. I wasn't thrilled that they were pocket diapers, but I the other benefits made it worth it.

Buying them: I found a package deal of 18 of the BG 3.0 OS diapers at a pretty good price...they tend to be cheaper the more you buy, but the price adds up the more you buy too. I opted for 18 because that would (on typical days) get us through two full days between washing...when we started diapering at 9 months.

Using them: I have found all the claims to be true. We tried one on my niece when she was about a month old and maybe 8 lbs (not sure exactly) and it fit great. Ariel is 28 lbs now and they fit her great, too. They come with a newborn insert and a regular insert. We use both all the time. It makes them a little more bulky, but that way they don't leak and they last a little longer. For our girl, one BG lasts about the same amount of time as a disposable diaper. That way they also last fine through the night (for the most part). I use a piece of fleece as a liner whenever she has any diaper rash and I put some ointment on her. This keeps the diaper from repelling and can occasionally protect from staining.

Washing them: They wash great and hold up great! I keep them in a locking lid trash can between washes. I don't rinse them before washing. All I do is dump the solids. Though with an especially messy one I might do some extra rinsing. I wash with Woolite's HE liquid detergent. Once through the regular cycle on cold, once through the regular cycle on hot with an extra rinse. Dry the inserts in the dryer. I try to line dry the diapers either insider or outside, but occasionally dry them in the dryer. We don't have any stains on any of our diapers. I've never stain treated any of them. I've never used bleach on them.

Pros: price, quality, holds up, washes well, works, fit, velcro closures, double inserts come with each diaper, colors, comfortable, can change sizes

Cons: bulky, Ariel was able to unvelcro when she figured out how it worked, but as long as she has clothes over she doesn't mess with them