Adventurers into Cloth Diapering : Types of Diapers

Now that you have had sometime to learn the lingo lets dive into part one of choosing a cloth diaper.  You need to know what kinds of diapers there are.

Prefolds and covers: These are pieces of rectangular cloth that are prefolded into 3 sections.  You place them on baby and hold with Snappies.  The cloth is NOT water proof so you need to cover them with a water proof cover. You will also see numbers like 4x6x4 or 4x8x4. These numbers are describing the number of layers of fabric in each third of the fabric. The higher the number the more absorbency. These are popular because they are probably the cheapest way to start cloth diapering. You can get prefolds for a few dollars and Snappies are equally as cheap. The covers can be very cheap if you go with simple PUL or you can use wool covers treated with lanolin to make them water proof but that is another post.

Unfolder Prefold w/snappi

Prefold as if it were on a baby

How to fold a prefold

One of my JuneBug mommies LO. This is a Prefold with a PUL cover :D

 AI1's : All in One diapers are exactly what they sound like. They are functionally just like a disposable diaper. You put it on the baby and secure with either aplix (aka the genric name for Velcro, in hind sight I should have added this term to the list) or snaps. When you need to change you take off the whole diaper and toss it in the diaper pail.

This is a BumGenius Elemental AI1 (my favorite!)

AI2's: All in two diapers are diapers that can function as a all-in-one or as a diaper cover.  They have a layer of PUL fabric which makes it water proof . You can typically remove the inner soaker that is attached by snaps or is laid in the cover and reuse the cover until it becomes soiled.  Many people prefer these diapers because you have less laundry. 

This is a Swaddlebees Econappi allin2

Pocket Diapers : Pocket diapers are two material sewn together with a pocket in the middle. The outer material is made of water proof PUL (polyurethane laminated) or a hidden PUL layer and the inside is made of different materials to wick away moisture from the skin. The material typically tends to be micro fleece but I am seeing many WAHM diapers that ingeniously use sport wicking fabric! Genius!!! There is an inside pocket between the PUL and the inside material that you can stuff with different material to absorb the wetness. These are popular for the ability to stuff the pocket with nearly anything you want. They are great for night time diapers.

This is a Happy Heiny's Pocket diaper

I tried to use several brands of diapers but I have to admit I am very bias to BumGenius/Cotton Babies products. I am trying to branch out but I haven't done so just yet. Next, how to choose from all of the choices!

Golden Toe BzzAgent Give Away!

Yippie, I have long waited for this day. This is my first give away. First let me tell you why.

I am a super lucky BzzAgent. BzzAgents are a international WOM (word of mouth) campaigning program.  Customers, like myself, are given products and asked to report back to the company if they like or dislike the products. This is the big key part..they want us to give our honest opinion, no hype or BS.  We are also asked to share our experiences with our friends and family positive or negative.  This also means my friends and family get tons of great coupons! The last campaign I was in was for Fair Trade Green Mountain Coffee which I loved and now buy nothing except Green Mountain Coffee. I am currently in a few more and will report back to ya'll with those experiences later.

On to the current one...Golden Toe.  I received my lovely Bzz Box with my Golden Toe goodies. Boxer's, socks and TONS of coupons to use at Kohls. They are 5$ off 25$ worth of Golden Toe products and with all the sales running right now that can get you a great deal.  First, I have to say that I already love Golden Toe products. They are the only socks I buy for myself.  They last for a super long time and are very durable. The socks I received are just as amazing as the ones I have bought for myself.  They have reenforced toes with comfort seams and are super comfortable. They also have an elastic band at the top to hold them up, which is PERFECT for fall boots. The two pairs I am giving away have a great blue argyle and blue stripe print.  My husband and I fought over these sock because while I am fully aware that they are mens dress socks I needed a new pair of fall/winter boot socks and these were cute, comfy and perfect!

So, enter below for your chance to win! Good LUCK!




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Adventures into Cloth Diapers : The Lingo

One day I was on Face Book talking with my Momville aka the June Bugs and the topic of cloth diapering came up. I have to be honest I never even considered cloth diapering my three year old and therefor never consider doing it with my newest addition. I have never been more confused about a baby product in my life. I asked question after question and scoured the internet for information. I instantly felt like I was totally over my head and I nearly gave up on the idea.  Learning about cloth diapers was in a sense like being thrown into a new Country where I didn't know the language or culture but being the determined type of person I am I just took a deep breath and powered on.  I want to make these post easy to understand and I feel that doing that means breaking the post up a bit.  It seemed to me during my research that if the information would have been in smaller bite size chunks that I might not have gotten so overwhelmed and nearly gave up.

When you go to a new Country the first thing you may want to learn is the language and this is no different when it comes to CD's....See, right there is a perfect example! You are thinking what is CD?!? I have compiled a short list of some of the language when it comes to CDing aka Cloth Diapering.  Just put this list in your back pocket as we move forward into the world that is CDing. Try not to put too much though into what some of these words mean just yet. This is just your introduction into the culture...Think of it like you need to know how to pronounce the words before you really understand how to use them..These are most of the helpful abbreviations and words that I came accross when on my adventor. I am sure I have missed some but this will get us started...

AIO - All In One cloth diaper, has a soaker pad and waterproof material sewn all together like a disposable diaper

AI2 - All In Two cloth diaper, waterproof cover with snap in soakers that can be used more than one time

CD - cloth diaper

Chinese prefold- made of high quality cotton, requires a cover

Dry Pail- A diaper pail where you keep dirty diapers until they are able to be washed

DSQ - Diaper service quality

Fluff- cloth diaper

Fluffy Mail- cloth diaper package in your mailbox

Fluffy Butt- a cute little cloth diapered baby bum!

HE - High efficiency (when referring to washing machines)

Hyena - A term for hard to get, popular diapers that are stalked by diaper hungry moms

Indian Prefold= A type of prefold that is not as soft as cotton but durable

MF=Microfiber. A type of fabric that wicks moisture away from the skin leaving the skin to feel dry

OS= One size fits most diaper

Pail Liner- A liner for your diaper pail

Prefold- A tri sectioned prefolded cloth diaper you pin or snappi on, requires a cover. You will see numbers like 2x4x2 which refers to the number of layers of fabric in the prefold.

PUL - polyurethane laminate, a material used to make diaper covers/wraps

Snappi- An ingenious little three sided stretchy fastener used to hold prefolds or flat diapers closed. The Snappi eliminates the need for pins.

Soaker- the area where you want to accumulate moisture.  These can also be added material to enhance the absorbency of the diaper.

TLer - Top loader washing machine

WAHM - work-at-home mom (Usually refers to diapers made by mom’s who work from home)

Wet Pail- A diaper pail filled with water

Wicking- The movement of moisture