Cloth Diapers 101

One of the most important things we can do is preserve this earth and our world as we know it for our children's children's children. Campers follow a "Leave no trace" philosophy, and ideally, we could try to do this all the time. However, that is not practical. There will always be SOME trace... our homes, for example. When I became pregnant, I began to realize how much stuff is accumulated, and how much trash is created per baby. I was astonished to see the statistics on diaper usage and the amount of time that soiled diapers take to barely decompose at all.

What can we do to decrease the pollution entering our world from diapers? There are several options. The first option is to choose a biodegradable diaper, and use a diaper service which composts them or compost them yourself. The second is to use a hybrid diaper, which is a cloth diaper wrap with a compostable liner. You can compost this liner yourself, or you can use a composting service. The third option is to use a completely cloth diaper, which you may launder yourself, or pay a service to launder.

I have chosen to use a combination of hybrid diapers and cloth diapers myself. Completely cloth diapers are not always practical, for instance, when traveling and laundry would be inaccessible. Also, if your child requires any lotions or creams which could render the cloth diaper waterproof, you may wish to have hybrid liners on hand.

Many people who have never used cloth diapers themselves think that cloth diapers are just prefolds and pins, but there are so many more options available now than when I was a child. These diapers, in my experience, often leak less than traditional disposable diapers. However, there are so many options available for cloth diapering, that new parents can be intimidated by them. I am going to attempt to simplify the diaper options available here.

AIO - All in One - The diaper is one piece, several layers all sewn together, and while this may be easy, it can take a long time to dry when washing.
AI2 - All in Two- The diaper consists of a waterproof outer shell and either a lay in or snap in soaker. Soakers can be interchanged as long as the outer shell is unsoiled to decrease laundry, and biodegradable soaker inserts can be used while traveling.
Pockets- The diaper consists of a waterproof outer layer sewn to a permeable soft inner layer. There is a pocket between the outer layer and the inner layer, which can be stuffed with soaker pads or pre-folds.
Pre-folds- These are more traditional cloth diapers. They are wrapped and folded around the baby and either pinned or held in place with a Snappi.
Snappi- A T-shaped piece of silicone with barbs on each end to secure pre-folds in place.

Which cloth diapers do you use? Which do you recommend to others? Which did not work for your child's unique build?