“Why are there so many options?!”
That is one of the first things people ask when they consider the option to cloth diaper. This question is usually closely followed by, “What does all this mean?” AIO (all-in-ones), pockets, one size, doublers, inserts, prefolds, covers; it’s like another language, not to mention overwhelming!
Sure, some of the terms are easy to figure out. But seeing all these new terms forces a person to ask, what do I really need? I am the kind of person that likes to do research before I buy anything. In my hunt I thought the one size would suit our needs best.
I went with the option to diaper my baby with the one size diapers. I started off by buying a few bumGenius! One Size Diapers (and registered for a bunch more). This was a great idea, so I thought…
Now, after I have jumped in the deep end of the pool, I’m learning to swim – slowly. I have come to know that one size doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll be able to use them from day one. Cloth diapering a newborn is a whole new story.
I found the one size diapers were HUGE (on the smallest setting) compared to my tiny newborn baby. The area between the legs looked twice the size of a cloth diaper that would actually fit this little body. I wondered how I could have overlooked this. I didn’t find a lot of information about what diapers would fit newborns.
Now that my baby is a little bigger and I’ve done more research, I’ve come to realize many people use the prefold diapers along with a diaper cover for their newborns. While prefolds are a great option for a lot of people, they didn’t seem to be the best option for us. I looked into the sized diapers. Although the sized diapers cannot be used for very long, they fit that little newborn body much better than the one sized diapers.
Since my new found discovery, I have purchased several x-small and small diapers. The all in one diapers seemed to be the greatest option for us. We tried the bumGenius! brand. They fit a lot better and they have an insert in them already. The best thing is that there is a pocket, so it is possible to add an insert for those times of heavy wetting. The only down side to these from what I have found is they take a while to dry. The all-in-one size cloth diaper have worked so well, that we recently purchased more in other brands. The best advice I have is to try what you think will fit your life best, and if that doesn’t pan out the way you had hoped, there are plenty of other options in the wonderful world of cloth diapering.
GUEST BLOGGER
is a stay at home mom to a daughter who is just shy of a year old, and is currently pregnant with their second little blessing. She loves spending time with her family and also enjoys reading, baking, cooking, and making crafts.
Bryana is the owner of 
Becca is a part-time Spanish Teacher and part-time Stay-At-Home-Mom. She's a cloth diaper expert who enjoys spending time with her family, crafting and selling her wares in her very own
Julie is a mom to three kids including a set of identical twins. Through cloth diapering her twins she developed a passion for the industry and is an avid cloth diaper advocate. You can also find her on her blog
I think everything you posted is so true. When I was first starting the whole cloth diaper idea in my head, the information out there was tremendous! Luckily for me, I had an avid cloth momma at my church that was more than willing to help me out. I checked out sales and diaperswappers so that I could purchase one maybe two of a whole bunch of different diapers to find out what would work for us. Boy am I glad I did. What I thought would work, didn’t and what I thought would be okay, has been great!
I knew nothing about cloth diapers when I started over a year ago. I actually used disposables on my newborn because I didn’t know what else to do. Now, when I get ready to have another, we’re doing the bumGenius sized AIOs from the start.
There is so much out there and every day there are more options. I have primarily used prefolds on my two babes now 4yrs.(potty trained at 2)and the other 9 mos. I love them. However, I do find it great to have some AIOs for outing when changing is difficult. They seem to leak sooner and are harder to clean though. Prefolds are so basic! I love a big pile of fresh sun dried cloth! FYI I have found Bummis Super Whisper Wrap to be the best if you use prefolds.Fast to dry, easy to come clean, well fitting, and sturdy!