The Cloth Diaper Trials

Originally, I planned to keep a daily diary of my experiences with this cloth diaper trial kit. I didn't succeed in that endeavor, but I did record my thoughts about each diaper:

• BumGenius All-in-One - great job of absorbency with the insert
• SmartiPants -inexpensive but leaky, even when double-stuffed
• FuzziBunz Perfect Size - less leaky than SP, but not great
• Hemp Overnight (not in the sampler) - only leaked a bit in the morning
• Thirsties with prefold - great job of absorbency, but takes a while to diaper properly
• BumGenius 3.0 One Size - mid-grade absorbency
• Thirsties FabFitted - same as regular Thirsties
• Thirsties Duo - very disappointing in its leakiness, especially compared to regular Thirsties
• Grovia Diaper Shell with snap-in soakers - Best by far, only leaked a tiny bit in the morning.

Those of you who know me on FB or in real life know I eventually chose the GroVia diapers and am enthusiastic about them. BumGenius and Thirsties did a comparable absorbency job. However, there are drawbacks with each of these diapers. With the BumGenius, they're all-in-one diapers, which means you have to replace the whole diaper at every diaper change. In contrast, Grovia diapers have snap-in pads that can be replaced while keeping the same outer shell. This amounts to slightly less laundry and fewer diapers needed to get started. With the Thirsties, I never quite mastered the pre-fold diaper thing. Rhys's bottom just seemed too big to use them on a regular basis, so I kept having little tufts sticking out of the top and sides of the diaper cover, which meant when Rhys wetted, his clothes got wet as well. Rather than stick it out long enough to diaper my baby properly, I decided Thirsties weren't for me.

So basically, GroVia diapers offer the absorbency of the BumGenius with the thrift of Thirsties since the whole diaper doesn't have to be thrown out at every diaper change. GroVia does not make the least expensive diapers. However, I think the cost upfront will certainly even out over time, as I won’t be doing the amount of laundry I’d have to do with a less absorbent cloth diaper, and I won’t be dealing with the constant cost of disposables (which I’ll still use from time to time). I found that the GroVia diapers fit easiest into my current lifestyle, and I enthusiastically recommend them to anyone considering cloth diapers.

(Aside: I’d also heartily recommend a liner like this one, which allows solid waste to be lifted out of the diaper and flushed with ease.)