Cloth Diapering - What?

What is a modern cloth diaper?

Cloth diapers have come a long way from what my mother used. Pins? only if you really want to; uncomfortable plastic pants? again: only if you really want to. There have been great advances in fiber and fabric engineering to render the plastic pants obsolete. There are a few general categories of modern cloth diapers:

• All - in - one diapers. The only difference between these and sposie dipes is that you wash these and reuse them. Everything is built in & sewed together - absorbent part and waterproof cover. The all-in-one (AIO) that comes to my mind first is the BumGenius sized AIO's. These are VERY daddy, granny, daycare friendly. The drawbacks? The absorbency is not customizable and they take longer to dry.
• Pocket Diaper. These are just like AIO's with one major difference: they have an absorbent insert that you have to tuck into a pocket. This gives you the option to stuff whatever you want in there (a prefold for nighttime on a heavy wetter, a flat for easier washing, etc). Plus, they tend to dry faster since the insert is separate in the wash. The drawback? you have to remove the insert prior to washing. This could mean touching poo or pee. And you'll definitely have to wash your hands after putting it all in the wash. If this is a problem for you, maybe don't have anymore kids... ? There are a ton of pocket diapers out there. The ones that I started out with - Bum Genius one sized & Fuzzi bunz one size & perfect size (these are sized dipes).
• Flat Diaper. A flat diaper is the 'traditional' cloth diaper. It is one big square (sometimes rectangle) of birdseye cotton. 27"x 27" or 33" x 33" are two common sizes. What on earth do you do with it? Glad you asked. You fold it to fit your baby. Three popular folds are the origami fold, the kite fold, and the pad fold. Kim @ Dirty Diaper Laundry has some great instructional videos on flat diaper folding. To secure them closed, a snappi can be used (or pins if you are so inclined?) Flat diapers are more forgiving in the wash. They can withstand non-cloth-friendly detergents and handwashing much more gracefully than it's counterparts. Flat diapers require a cover (see below for options).
• Prefold Diaper. A prefold diaper is a smaller rectangle divided into thirds. The middle third is an extra absorbent area, generally with six to eight extra layers of cotton sewn in. All you have to do is snappi it on your baby and add a cover to be waterproof.
• Contour & Fitted Diaper. A contour diaper is basically a prefold shaped to fit a baby's body better. Contour diapers do not have a fastening mechanism on board - you'd have to use a snappi to get it closed over your baby. A fitted diaper is similar, but with either snaps or velcro (aplix) to fasten it closed. Both of these options require a diaper cover.
• Diaper cover. A diaper cover goes over a flat, prefold, contour or fitted diaper to ensure against leaks. These can be made from Wool, Fleece, or PUL. Wool & Fleece are not completely waterproof like the PUL, but they lend themselves as a more breathable option - great for the summer heat. Wool requires special care, it needs to be lanolized every so often to keep it's water resistant properties. However, it does not need to be washed for every wear. Wool covers are easy to knit (I prefer curly purly from ravelry.com so far) OR, you can sew a wool cover called a butt sweater from an old 100% wool sweater! (See my efforts for the flats and handwashing challenge for my butt sweaters)I think Fleece is a great option for around the house. It's so easy to find too - tons of retailers sell fleece pants (just make sure they are 100% polyester). Fleece covers are easy to make (or buy off etsy.com) with LOADS of print options (just go to JoAnn's if you don't believe me). PUL is great for out-and-about and overnight. Especially if it is double gusseted in my opinion. This eliminates poo-splosions.
• All - in - Two diaper (Hybrid diaper). This is a tricky category... but basically there are two brands that I can think of - gDiapers and gro-via (formerly gro-baby). It is a cloth diaper cover with the option of a cloth or disposable insert. I've tried both and frankly never reach for the disposable inserts - even when we're out, but that's just me. I can see where these would appeal to non-cloth users as a bridge. The concept is that you can reuse the covers, but in both of these instances, I find that the cover gets dirty somehow & needs to be washed every time. As a side note, I love both of these diapers (for different purposes) with the cloth inserts, but I treat them similarly to my pocket diapers for washing care.

What do you do with the poo?

Well... since you asked, there are a few answers to this.

• First, if your baby is exclusively breastfed (EBF) the poo can go right into the washing machine & washes out with no problem and for the most part - no stains!
• You could use a diaper sprayer. This is a device that you hook up to your toilet, it sprays a powerful stream of water to kind of "power wash" the poo off the dipes before it sets in.
• You could use bio liners and just flush the insert. This works especially well when your baby is a little bit older & you generally know what time of day they poo. Then you can just line the one diaper.
• Some moms shake the poo off. I can tell you that if I shook my 9 month old son's dipe, the poo wouldn't go anywhere...
• If you were practicing Elimination Communication (EC) you could just have your baby poo in the potty (if that was possible for you)