cloth diaper remix

Two weeks old, rocking a prefold and cover.

We've done cloth for 10 months now, and I am to the point where people start asking me questions. Despite my present battle with detergents (maybe), I know what I'll do next time for the first six months and beyond.

Prefolds get my vote
We started with Lil Joey newborn diapers that leaked like a faucet no matter what and automatically equaled a clothing change. Regardless I think they are the cutest and I used them until I realized that cuteness < laundry efficiency. So 90 percent of the time we used prefolds with Thristies covers. I had 24 prefolds in newborn size, which fit until 8 months because we have a small-bottomed child. I could usually make the covers last for two or three diaper changes before the went into the laundry pile. Now we still use prefolds but use vintage Gerber prefolds from the 1980s. True story. I have no idea if the current version of these work as well as the old school ones, but my hunch is no.

One-size pocket diapers for speed and laziness
My current stash includes 1 FuzziBunz one-size, 4 FuzziBunz mediums, 2 Kawaii one-size, 6 Bum Genius all-in-one one-size with snaps, 1 Bum Genius with velcro and 1 Blueberry Deluxe. I am neutral on Bum Genius vs. FuzziBunz. They work equally well, and I think it's a matter of personal preference. Kawaii diapers have a bamboo insert and are half the price of the other two brands. I could use my other one-size diapers even when he was teeny tiny by adjusting the snaps but the Kawaiis leaked and I could never get as tight. They work fine but I see them wearing much faster than the more expensive brands.

We like the pockets for babysitters, daycare and anytime we're going to need to change diaper fast in public. The downside is I have to air dry them and of course I only use them once (versus the Thristies cover).

Nighttime battle
Henry is a nighttime nurser and until he switched to his now up once to nurse and only for comfort routine, we'd leak and have to wash our sheets weekly (yep, we slept on pee sheets some nights, judge away). Wool soakers worked but the cleaning/lanolizing routine was just too much for me to fathom in the beginning. I had Sugar Peas fleece cover that worked sometimes but mostly not. It's better now that he only nurses once during the night, usually closer til morning.

I was committed to cloth from the beginning but I always fear that when we do use disposable (travel with no access to a laundry room) I will experience the glory that is throwing a diaper in the trash and never seeing it again.

It doesn't happen though. And every time I do shell out $12 for 36 diapers, it confirms we made the right choice.