The Cloth-Diaper Dilemma: Three to Choose—Which to Use?
Yes, indeed! Your baby’s bottom can help save the planet! If you’re an eco-minded expectant mother or the mom of a child still in diapers, and you’ve decided that cloth diapers are the way to go, you might be interested to know that cloth diapers have come a long way. Today, there are three basic cloth-diaper systems that are distinctly different. To help you make an informed decision when you go diaper shopping, here are the three styles:
The Pocket Diaper
The pocket diaper consists of a layer of waterproof fabric and a layer of fleece sewn together with an open “pocket” at the top. The pocket-style opening enables you to customize the absorbency to fit your baby needs. You simply slide a piece of cotton diaper, specially made inserts or even a hand towel into the pocket for a great-fitting diaper that has an absorbent core, an outer waterproof layer and an inner fleece layer that draws off the moisture to the cotton insert, keeping your baby’s bottom nicely dry. Pocket diapers have snap closures, so you don’t have to mess with diaper pins, and you’ll have a wide choice of colors and cute designs for the outer layer.
The All-in-One or One-Piece Diaper
As you’d expect, “All in Ones” have the absorbent-cotton layers and the waterproof cover sewn together, and they close with either snaps or Velcro. It goes on and off baby like a disposable, and diaper covers are not necessary. You may need to use doublers to increase absorbency, depending on your baby. While lots of people use all-in-one cloth diapers full-time, others use them primarily for diaper bags, babysitters, or for Daddy. The outer part of these diapers also come in a choice of colors and designs
The Two-Piece Diaper
Most people are familiar with the two-piece diaper. It’s been around for many years. As the name indicates, the two-piece diaper system consists of two separate items—the soft, absorbent cotton diaper next to baby and a waterproof cover on the outside. The outer cover can be made of waterproof fleece, wool or laminated polyester. If you choose the more-often used wrap-style cover, which closes with either snaps or Velcro, you won’t need diaper pins. The inner cloth diaper may be either a prefold, fitted or contour diaper. And what, you may ask, is the difference between the three types of cloth diapers? So glad you asked!
Prefolds are used by most diaper services. They’re rectangular in shape, with two long panels on both sides which get folded onto a thicker middle panel. The diaper is then placed on a cover and folded around the baby. Fitted diapers are as easy to use as disposable diapers. In fact, they look like a disposable diaper that closes with Velcro or snaps, and there’s no waterproof cover attached. The contour diaper, shaped like an hour glass, folds around the baby easily before you put on the cover.
No matter which system you choose, you’ll be doing good—for your baby and your planet!
About this article: This article was brought to you by Corner Stork Baby Gifts, a baby gift store located online at http://www.cornerstorkbabygifts.com specializing in baby shower favors and unique baby gifts including baby blankets, baby clothes, personalized keepsakes and much more to help celebrate your new arrival. Author: Susan Hawkins