Now that we’ve been doing exclusive cloth diapering for about 9 months, I feel like I can give adequate reviews of the brands we use. I know in the scheme of things, 9 months is not that long, but (hopefully) it’s more than a third of the time the Itty Bitty will be wearing them, and when you use 8 a day, you get to know the ins and outs pretty well. Below is a list of the brands we’ve used (amounts we own in parenthesis) and what I believe to be the major pros and cons of each.
Wearing a Bum Genius at 8 weeks
| Bum Genius One Size 4.0 (10) | |
| Pro | Con |
| -Trimmest that we have, which really helps on her teeny tiny heiny
-Easy to adjust when needed -Width will accommodate an overnight hemp insert without being too bulky -Aplix holding up pretty well when used correctly -Husband’s favorite |
-Inserts stain more frequently than other brands we have |
Crawling in a FuzziBuns at 9 months
| Fuzzibuns One Size Pocket Diaper (8) | |
| Pro | Con |
| -Price
-Inserts least likely to stain |
-Bulky
-Pills after a few months use -Needs adjusting more frequently because of the button at the leg adjustment -Seems to leak more often than other brands we’ve used -Too narrow for an overnight hemp insert to slide in |
Hanging out in a Happy Heinys at 7 months
| Happy Heinys One Size Pocket (3) | |
| Pro | Con |
| -Softest of the ones we have
-Best fitting -Width will allow an overnight hemp insert, but it is pretty bulky |
-More difficult for new users because of the overlapping buttons (not one we would take to a babysitter)
-Price |
And just an aside, this child has WAY too many clothes to ever be running around in just a diaper- I stripped her down for the sole purpose of documenting our cloth journey, and then immediately put her adorable clothes back on her! Just in case you were wondering.
Standing in her denim-looking Mother's Touch diaper
| Mother’s Touch All in One (3) | |
| Pro | Con |
| -Lots of cute prints
-Has stayed really soft -Doesn’t stiffen when line dried -Stains come out easily |
-Doesn’t have a snap up for the rise to make it fit small babies very well (they didn’t fit her until she was almost 6 months old)
-Takes longer to dry than a pocket, but not as long as most other AIOs |
| Kushies One Size All in One (2) | |
| Pro | Con |
| -The velcro closure seems to hold up pretty well, but we’ve only used this brand for a few months | -Take FOREVER to dry
-The extra absorber thing quickly becomes displaced if the baby moves, which is pretty frequently -Doesn’t have a snap up to make it fit small babies (they didn’t fit her until she was about 6 months old) |
| Grovia Newborn All in One (2) | |
| Pro | Con |
| -Didn’t stain (but I only used them for a few weeks before I got fed up with them and sick of washing them every day) | -Leaked every time I used one
-Took a long time to dry -Very hard to snap, and you don’t want to be pushing so hard so close to brand new baby hips and ribs -Price |
My impression at this stage of Cloth Diapering is first that I have too many! At first, I did not feel that way since a lot of them didn’t fit her properly, but now that they are, we have more than we need. Although I’m glad we tried out so many, if I could start over, I’d get fewer brands, and probably just stick with Bum Genius and Happy Heinys for pockets and Mother’s Touch for AIOs. I’m actually thinking about selling the Fuzzibuns soon after making these pro/con lists!
What’s your favorite brand of cloth diaper if you use them?