The Perfect Pocket Diaper

It can be overwhelming to select the "perfect" cloth diaper among all the different brands of pocket diapers out there, but a good place to start is Diaper Pin.  Click "product reviews" to see people's opinions of all the different brands out there. 

I was determined to find the perfect cloth diaper, and my main criteria were 1) Excellent reviews,  2) Snaps instead of Velcro, and 3) a lower price.  I loved the idea of a one size diaper, but most, like BumGenius and Happy Heinys, were made with Velcro tabs.  The few brands that offered one size diapers with snaps, like FuzziBunz, had very conflicting reviews, so I decided to forgo the one size diaper in favor of a high quality diaper that would last for years and fit well. 

After poring over reviews on Diaper Pin, I concluded that Snap-EZs and Preston's Pants were both consistently rated very highly, since their scores were nearly perfect.  Snap-EZ was in the process of changing their inventory, so they're dumping all the old style for their new eco-diaper.  The old line, which is made just like any pocket diaper, was on sale for $12 (now reduced to $10!).  Preston's Pants can be pretty posh diapers because they're completely customizable.  You can get just about anything embroidered on the diaper's booty, and they also have a really soft minky fabric that makes for a good nighttime diaper.   But they had a few diapers on clearance for $9 each, so I got two Preston's Pants and 3 Snap-EZs, just to start with.  Neither brand came with inserts, so I had to buy them separately.  I loved the Snap-EZs so much that I later bought two more diapers.  I also started having second thoughts about Velcro and one-size diapers, so I went on a forum for selling used cloth diapers, Diaper Swappers, and waited for someone to sell their good quality, gently used one size diapers.  I ended up buying two BumGenius 3.0s for $12 each, with inserts.  That makes my total cloth diaper purchases $102 for 9 diapers, without tax and shipping, which really isn't bad at all.  I did have to buy inserts separately, so I'll tell you about those in another post.  This one's long enough!

An adorable Preston's Pants cloth diaper booty!

My Experience with these Diapers

My go-to diaper, my workhorse diaper, is definitely the Snap-EZs.  They are extremely well made.  The inside fabric is microfleece and suede cloth, depending on what I picked out (I've got a few of each), and after 8 months of using the same cloth diapers every day, there are no stains at all on the Snap-EZs.  The outside fabric looks just as nice as the day they arrived in the mail.  The old diapers also came in every color imaginable, both inside and outside, so they're especially cute.  

The Preston's Pants are ok!  Not my favorites.  The outsides of the two I bought aren't that cute, but I knew that when I got them on clearance.  I think it's either something about the way that these diapers fit my baby or the way the insert fits inside, because Isabelle does have occasional leaks in them.  The inside fabric is also a very nice fabric, and they do not stain either.  

The BumGenius diapers are very good diapers.  I usually save these diapers for when I know someone else will be changing Isabelle's diaper, like at church, MOPS, or the gym because the Velcro makes them seem very similar to a disposable diaper.  These diapers are extremely easy to use and there's no guessing about what snap setting to use.  The diapers are made with laundry tabs for the Velcro to stick to, so that they don't latch onto other diapers and ruin the outside fabric, but the laundry tabs wear out very quickly, so my BumGenius diapers end up sticking to each other in the wash.  The white fabric inside the BGs do stain easier than others, but I've only had a little bit of discoloration from the cloth diaper friendly rash cream I put on Isabelle sometimes.  These diapers really don't leak.  On a road trip once, we stopped 2 1/2 hours into the trip for a bathroom break and to change Isabelle's diaper, but she was sleeping.  Any parent knows better to wake a sleeping baby, especially on  5 hour drive, so we decided to take our chances.  When we arrived at my mom's house, Isabelle hadn't leaked a bit.  Now that's a good diaper!

Troubleshooting

For about the first month after I started cloth diapering, I had an issue with leaks.  Isabelle would leak from time to time in the inside leg area, so I started fastening the diapers really well, on a snugger setting, to prevent the leaks.  But the leaks continued!  I posted questions on cloth diapering message boards and even e-mailed the owner of Snap-EZ (Ruth, who is excellent and handles orders and problems firsthand).  Finally I discovered the problem.  The diapers were too tight!  I knew they would leak if they were too loose, but too tight??  I never would've guessed!  The problem is that the inserts absorb so much liquid, but like a sponge, if you squeeze them too much, the liquid will come out.  That's exactly what was happening with Isabelle's diapers.  They were on so tight that she was having compression leaks in the leg area.  

Now that I've been using cloth diapers for 8 months, I've started to conclude that most problems with cloth diapers are user errors, like mine.  I think most of the diapers aren't going to leak if used properly.  You can always add inserts or doublers to hold more moisture or adjust the diaper setting, and usually that will fix the problem.  So I think if I picked diapers out again by reading reviews, I would probably come to different conclusions and make my decisions based solely on durability.

I said earlier that few companies were making one-size diapers with snaps, but that's changed since August!  A few months after I ordered my diapers, Happy Heinys started making their diapers with snaps.  I'm going to order more diapers soon, so I've decided that any new ones will be Happy Heinys one size with snaps, since these diapers are well-known for being durable, high-quality diapers.  Jillian's Drawers has a great return policy, so I'm going to buy one to make sure it fits Isabelle well (she's on the tiny side!), and if I like it, I'll order more.   

Hybrid Diapers

There are some really cool diapers out that I think of as hybrids.  They seem to combine the pocket diaper with the prefolds and covers.  These are diapers like G-diapers and the new Flip and Econobum, from the makers of BumGenius.  These diapers have a waterproof outer shell, and either disposable or reusable liners.  Most pocket diapers have inserts that should not be up against baby's skin, but these are safe and comfortable enough that no pocket is needed.  All you do for a diaper change is pull out the old one, wipe the shell if needed, and put a new liner in.  The old G-diapers were similar, but had a disposable liner.  I disliked the G-diapers because I didn't want to have to buy anything anymore, but the new G-diapers have a reusable liner that you wash, so this sounds great.  I haven't read enough reviews on these diaper systems, but they definitely sound appealing.  The Econobum would be a very thrifty way of having a lot of diapers without a lot of cost.  But really, I see very little difference between these diapers and the old prefold and cover route, except that these liners may possibly be more absorbent than prefolds.          

Your thoughts, questions, ideas, or advice?