Diapers Diapers Diapers

I have a confession to make: I love cloth diapers...not just a "oh they save us money"...but that giddy Christmas morning excited when a few new ones "miraculously" show up in the mail. After trying more than a dozen different kinds...I have my favorites and I thought I'd share!

First of all I'd like to mention a couple kinds of cloth diapers that I dislike so much that I won't even bother reviewing...they might only deserve a one star rating: GDiapers and Kushies. They are in a why bother box...they don't fit very well and leak like crazy! I also have several types of covers to use with prefolds, but honestly I never use them because I like the convenience of grabbing a diaper, snapping it on, and being done.

     BumGenius                       Rumparooz                  Charlie Banana 

Now onto the wonderful ones that make me wonder why I ever used disposables!  I have three brands that I use all the time: BumGenius, Rumparooz, and Charlie Banana.  They are all one size diapers that can be used from 8 pounds up to potty training.

My youngest at 10 days old wearing a BumGenius 4.0

My favorite by far are the BumGenius 4.0! They're INCREDIBLE! (and yes all caps were needed) These babies wash up like a charm, never leak, are super soft, and are customizable for bedtime because they are a pocket diaper so you can add extra inserts! The inner lining is suede cloth which is very soft and keeps the baby's bottom dry and the inserts are microfiber and absorb very well.  Diaper rash is nonexistent with this on his little bum!

BumGenius 4.0's are the least bulky diaper that we have, which is nice when my little guy is wearing pants!  I also think these diapers are super cute, but I may be a little bias because of the model! 

Bum Genius Freetime Diaper

I also have BumGenius Freetime all in one diapers.  I like them as well but not like the 4.0's. They don't hold as much pee as the 4.0's and take longer to dry. They're easy to use, but not a good choice at night.

Rumparooz Diaper

Rumparooz are a great diaper...but a bit expensive.  They have a stay-dry fleece lining similar to the Charlie Banana diaper.  Rumparooz have 4 different sizing levels (snaps) that work well when the baby is very small, but unfortunately these diapers are smaller than any of the other ones so even on the biggest setting my very chunky 6 month old is on the last rise and doesn't have much room to grow.  The pocket opening in the back is also larger than the others and doesn't have a flap to cover it which makes it a bit messy with poo! But the "6-hour soaker" insert is great and never leaks!

Charlie Banana Diaper

Charlie Banana diapers are adjustable by tightening the leg elastics instead of using the snaps in the front like on the BumGenius or Rumparooz diapers.  These are also a pocket diaper, but the opening is in the front instead of the back.  The inner material is a fleece that is thicker so it is a bit warmer in the summer than the 4.0's. I do like these when my babies are small because the insert is much skinnier.

Large Inserts from Left to Right:
Bum Genius 4.0, Rumparooz & Caarlie Banana

Charlie Banana also uses 6 snaps to fasten the diapers instead of 4 like the other brands, which makes it a little harder in the middle of the night when I don't have my glasses on and am trying to "feel" my way to changing a diaper!

     BumGenius                       Rumparooz                  Charlie Banana

You can see in the side-by-side comparison above that BumGenius have the ability to be the biggest diaper.  I love how white and clean the suede cloth always looks, but the other two are nice diapers as well!

As for washing diapers....honestly it's not as gross as you might think.  If you have a baby, you already wash your fare share of spit up and the accidental blow-out aftermath anyway....and to me, a blow-out diaper is way worse!  I have yet to have a "up the back" diaper mess using cloth diapers because the elastic around the legs and around the back keeps it all where it should be!

I have a simple human step trash can that I use a kissaluv waterproof pail liner in.  Whenever I have a dirty diaper I just toss it in (throwing solids in the toilet...but I never rinse them out or scrub them).  After about three days the pail is full so I toss them in washing machine.  

There are sooooooo many ideas on the "proper" way to wash diapers, but let me just tell you what works for me.  I turn the dial to prewash/cold and just let my machine rinse them out.  I then turn it to the "soak/hot" and throw a small scoop of good old plain powdered Tide in and go on my merry way.  When I remember... sometimes 15 minutes... sometimes several hours later (because realistically how often do you forget you have laundry in the wash???) I just turn the dial to the wash and switch on the double rinse...and wah-lah...diapers are clean.  I hang dry most all our laundry so I do it with the diapers as well, but I have many friends that just toss them all in the dryer! 

Honestly, I probably spend about two minutes of my time "washing" cloth diapers every few days, my machine does the work...I just turn it on!

Bumkins Zippered Wet Bag

When we're out and about...I have a couple wet bags in the bottom of my diaper bag.  Instead of tossing a disposable in the trashcan, I just put the dirty diaper in the wet bag and take it home. I love Bumkins bags because they're waterproof, smell-proof, and have a snapping handle that can attach to whatever! 

Never running out or spending $50 a case for diapers is only a couple of the many reasons I love the convenient modern idea of cloth diapering!