Choosing to cloth diaper your baby can SIGNIFICANTLY cut down on the cost of diapers. This is still true even if you just use cloth diapers part time.
But with all the different styles and types of cloth diapering systems, it can be hard to know what you really even need to get started.
When I was pregnant with my first baby, I spent COUNTLESS hours researching and learning everything I could about how to cloth diaper.
As a nursing student on a budget, I wanted to make sure that the upfront cost I was going to be paying would be on the BEST and EASIEST cloth diapering system for my family.
Besides types of cloth diapers, most people considering cloth diapering have lots of other questions that can make them hesitate to get started.
How much does it cost to cloth diaper?
What all do you need to get started with cloth diapering your baby?
How often are you supposed to change a cloth diaper?
How to cloth diaper for naps and overnight sleep?
And WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THE POOP??
After doing TONS of research on cloth diapering and now having cloth diapered 2 babies off and on myself, I’ve got lots of tips and info for you on this subject.
Keep reading for the top 7 things you need know to get started with cloth diapering.
Types of Cloth Diapers
Cloth Diapers have definitely evolved over the years. Back in the day when our grandparents or even parents were using them, there were way less options to choose from. Still today, when most people think about cloth diapers, they typically imagine origami style wrapping a flat cloth around a baby and using sharp safety pins to fasten them.
While this method can still be used, there’s so many better options available now.
The main 4 styles of cloth diapers to choose from are:
- All in ones
- Pocket Diapers
- All in Two/Hybrids
- Covers with Prefolds, Flats, or Fitted Diapers (Or really any other absorbent cloth.)
That may sound like an overwhelming amount of options to choose from. But it’s actually really nice to have several cloth diapering options available!
Here’s a breakdown describing each of the most popular styles of cloth diapers.
All In One Cloth Diapers
These diapers get their name due to having all the absorbent materials already sewn into the diaper.
This means there’s no stuffing or folding required. You simply just put the diaper directly on the baby *ALL IN ONE* piece.
This makes them the closest style to disposable diapers as far as ease of use.
Depending on the brand of all in one cloth diaper you get, they come with a variety of different absorbent layers. But what they all have in common is that they all have absorbent layers sewn inside the diaper, with a liquid repelling outer cover.
Pocket Diapers
This style of cloth diapers are similar to all in ones due to also having absorbent inner layers sewn on the inside of the liquid repelling outer layer. But the main difference is that they include an opening which allows you to essentially “stuff” the diaper with added absorbent material.
Again, depending on which brand of pocket diaper you have, the material and style of pockets will vary.
Some pocket diapers only have openings at the top/back of the diaper. Others also have openings at the bottom/ front.
Benefits of having openings both at the top and bottom of a pocket diaper:
- It’s easier to stuff or insert added absorbent layers into the pocket when theres double openings.
- The inserted layers are better able to agitate out of the pocket in the washer. This is essential in ensuring the diaper gets well cleaned.
All In Two/Hybrid Diapers
All In Two or hybrid diapers get their name due to the fact that they consist of a two step method.
First, there’s a liquid repelling outer cover, just like most all other cloth diapers.
Second, these diapers typically come with 2 absorbent inserts.
They can usually be snapped or simply laid inside the diaper cover.
That makes this style of diaper arguably easier to assemble than pocket diapers.
Cloth Diaper Covers With An Absorbent Insert
The last most popular style of cloth diapers is similar to the above method, except they don’t have the feature of snapping the inserts into the cover that all in twos sometimes do.
With this method of cloth diapering, you simply lay the absorbent layers directly onto the the cover or even wrap it around the baby and then close the diaper cover over them.
Some diaper covers are sized and others are “one sized”.
One sized diaper covers come with adjustable snap risers.
This allows you to adjust the size of the cloth diaper to fit your baby from newborn to potty trained.
This method is also the most similar to the “old school” way of cloth diapering.
But even with that being said, there’s still so many more modern options to choose from now.
There’s so many cute prints of diaper covers now. There’s also the option to use covers that either have a snap or velcro/hook and loop closure.
While this method does require a bit more work, there’s also a lot more options for what absorbent layers you can use.
Although you can use virtually any absorbent cloth inside a diaper cover for this method, there’s 3 options that are most popular.
Prefolds, flats, and fitted diapers are the most popular options to use with cloth diaper covers.
Flat Cloth Diaper
These are typically what most people think of when they think of the original method of cloth diapering our grandmothers used.
Essentially these “diapers” are one large, thin piece of fabric. They can be folded a variety of different ways and even wrapped around the baby and fastened closed.
There is the option to buy flat cloth diapers that are made and marketed as actual cloth diapers. But you can also use receiving blankets or flour sack towels as flat diapers.
Some people even repurpose t shirts or sheets into flat diapers.
While the oldest method for fastening flats around a baby was to use safety pins, this method is obviously not very safe.
My mom jokes about how stressful it was for her as a teen mom trying to fasten closed a cloth diaper onto my wiggling older brother using a safety pin. He got poked, she got poked. He cried, she cried.
Needless to say that was the end of their cloth diapering journey and my mom was a disposable diapering momma from then on with all 4 of her babies.
Thankfully, now they have these useful little accessories called snappies that are used to fasten flat diapers closed.
They are T or Y shaped and are typically made out of stretchy rubber material with little “teeth” on the inside that grab onto the cloth material.
Flats are definitely the most economical type of cloth diaper. But they’re also probably the most difficult to use.
Prefold Cloth Diapers
These diapers get their name due to the absorbent layers being pre sewn together.
Most prefolds have the most amount of absorbent layers sewn in the middle. But some are sewn with the same amount of layers along the entire diaper.
Some prefold diapers, like these ones from Thirsties, are actually sewn in a way that are hollow inside.
This allows them to get cleaned really well in the washer since soapy water can obviously get through the middle of the diaper. This also makes them must faster at drying.
How To Fold A Prefold Cloth Diaper
There’s a few different ways you can fold prefolds. But typically most people use the trifold method with prefolds. This is simply folding them into thirds.
Depending on the gender and size of your baby will determine how you fold a prefold diaper.
Some prefolds are larger than others. So depending on the size of your baby, you can either trifold the prefold horizontally or vertically.
If your baby is a boy, you want to have more layers of absorbency towards the front of the diaper. Folding down the front of the diaper some before folding it into thirds will help achieve this.
For girls, you want the majority of absorbency to be in the middle and back of the cloth diaper.
To achieve this, you can use the same method as I mentioned for a boy, but instead fold down the back of the prefold first.
If the prefold you’re using already has added layers of absorbency in the middle, lay the prefold out to where that layer is laying horizontally before trifolding it. This will maximize the amount of absorbency in the middle of the cloth diaper.
My biggest tip for trying to figure out how to fold a prefold is to simply experiment to see what you prefer.
Fitted Cloth Diapers
These are similar to all in ones since all the absorbent layers are already all sewn together.
However fitted diapers are only made up of cloth material.
This means you still have to use a cloth diaper over a fitted cloth diaper.
There’s a few different types and styles of fitted diapers.
The best fitted diapers in my opinion are the Thirsties natural one size fitted diapers.
These are made out of a blend of highly absorbent bamboo and cotton fibers.
They also come with snap in soaker pads with 8 additional layers of bamboo cotton.
This makes these fitted diapers super absorbent!
They also are made with snap closures and adjustable snap risers.
This allows you to only have to make a one time purchase upfront of however many fitted diapers you want.
What Is the Best Type of Cloth Diaper For Beginners?
To answer this question, you first need to figure out what’s most important to you with cloth diapering.
Are you wanting to get started with cloth diapers using the cheapest method possible? Or are you okay spending more upfront and having a more simple cloth diapering routine?
All in ones are probably the closest to disposables as far as ease of use since all the absorbent material is already all sewn into the cloth diaper.
Pocket diapers and hybrids would be the next step down as far as ease of use. They do require the extra step of stuffing the absorbent material into the pocket diaper or snapping the inserts into the hybrid over.
While I would place diaper covers with prefolds, flats, or fitted diapers as the cloth diapering system requiring the most work, they really still aren’t much more work than pockets and hybrids.
Covers and prefolds are actually my personal preferred method for cloth diapering for many reasons.
Not only can this be the cheapest system of cloth diapering since you can reuse the cover multiple times for pee only diaper changes. It can also be really versatile and customizable as far as what you can use for absorbency.
Another benefit to using cloth diaper covers and some type of absorbent cloth inside is that they can agitate in the washer really well to get nice and clean.
They also tend to be the fastest at drying. This Is really helpful if you’re anything like me and procrastinate washing your cloth diaper stash and you’re in a time crunch to get them cleaned and dried.
How Many Cloth Diapers Do You Need To Get Started?
Most babies, especially newborns can be expected to go through about 8-12 diapers in a 24 hour period.
You’ll want to wash your cloth diaper stash about every 2-3 days. This will help to prevent them from getting ammonia build up or to start getting smelly.
24 cloth diapers is a pretty good sized stash to get started with.
If using the all in one method, this means you would need 24 separate all in one diapers. The same goes for pocket diapers. However with pocket diapers you’d also need 24 absorbent inserts for the pocket.
If using diaper covers, you can actually reuse the same cover a few times. If it’s not visibly soiled you can just change out the absorbent insert.
This means you can get away with as few as 6-8 diaper covers and 24 prefolds, flats, fitted diapers, or whatever combination of these you choose.
How Much Does It Cost To Cloth Diaper?
The initial cost of cloth diapering depends primarily on which style of cloth diapers you choose to use.
For the most part, all in ones, pocket, and fitted cloth diapers tend to be the more expensive options.
Hybrids and 2 step systems of using a diaper cover and absorbent cloth material like a prefold or flat tend to be the cheapest option of cloth diapering.
So depending on which style or combination of styles you choose to buy will significantly impact how much your cloth diaper stash costs.
Example Cost of A One Size All In One Cloth Diaper Stash
A stash of 24 one size all in one cloth diapers would cost approximately $708.
Example Cost of A One Size Pocket Diaper Stash
A stash of 24 one size pocket cloth diapers would cost approximately $642.
Example Cost of A One Size Fitted and Size One Cover Stash
A stash of 24 fitted cloth diapers would cost around $702.
This does not include the cost of 6-8 diaper covers that you would also need.
The cost of 8 size one cloth diaper covers would be around $122.
So together that adds up to about $824.
That actually makes this method of cloth diapering the most expensive if you choose to exclusively use fitted diapers and covers.
Example Cost of A Size One Cloth Diaper Cover and Prefold Stash
The cost of 24 size one prefolds and 8 size one diaper covers would cost around $174.
This is a huge reason why this was my preferred method of cloth diapering with my own babies.
You also would need to invest in a second stash of some two diaper covers and prefolds.
But with this method costing significantly less than the others, you still would save hundreds of dollars in comparison.
If you’re wanting to start cloth diapering on a budget, prefolds or flats with cloth diaper covers is the way to go.
A stash of 24 flat cloth diapers with 8 size one covers would also cost around $175.
Since flat cloth diapers are one size, you wouldn’t have to invest in a second set like you would with prefolds.
You can of course use any combination of all of the different styles of cloth diapers to customize your stash.
This is what I did and I loved having several different options of cloth diapers to choose from.
I hope this was all helpful information if you’ve been wanting to cloth diaper!
Feel free to save this post to refer back to later or send to anyone you may know who may be wanting to buy the best cloth diaper stash!
Thank you so much for reading! Stay tuned with babymommanurse.com for future posts on cloth diapers!