Cloth diapering [Part 2]
A part of me was sad when our cloth diapering journey ended, but you may know that I was also really looking forward to living my best life…NAPPY FREE! Moms….a nappy free life, is the BEST LIFE…no jokes!!! The sequel to ‘Cloth Diapering…who does that?’ is probably 2yrs in the making! This post has been sitting in my drafts for YEARS! I have moms telling me they loved part 1….so where’s part 2? ‘Please post the link….‘ *insert crickets chirping*. I would ignore the comments…. BUT here we are! Sorry…..but better late than never right? I’ve blown the cobwebs off this draft, I polished it up, ready for 2019!
The first post covered the basics of how to clean and store your dirty nappies, the nitty gritty of caring for them. This post, will deal with the different types of nappies. Believe me….there are lots and lots of types of nappies!! I am pretty sure by now a lot of the terminology has changed, and I am going to be a bit outdated with what I know.
Types of nappies:
Flats
These are the old-school square shaped nappies that we wore as kids! The ones you fold, use a snappy or saftey pin with and put a cover over it. The only flats I used are the towelling ones that you buy in packs from Woolworths, Ackermans, Peps, etc. You get them in a variety of materials though, hemp being a popular one I recall. These are probably the most inconvenient in terms of needing to fold them, but cost effective and easy to clean, dry, etc.
Pockets
So what is a pocket? Essentially, it’s a nappy that has a little pocket inside it and into this pocket, you stuff the insert. The insert is the part that absorbs the fluid.
Inserts come in different types of materials:
-
- Microfibre (this is the only type of insert that should never touch baby’s skin, so always inside a pocket only)
- Hemp
- Bamboo
- Various cotton and/or minky combinations; Combinations of the above
- Some people use receiving blankets to stuff into pockets as well.
All in one (AI0)
This is a basically a nappy where you just basically put it on like a disaposable. There is no stuffing of pockets or adding of a cover. All in ones are waterproof and the insert is stitched onto the nappy. These are very convenient and not badly priced (brand dependent), but they take longer to dry.
All in two (AI2)
This nappy is waterproof, but the difference, compared to an All-In-One, is that the insert is not stitched in, but clips in. The benefit of this is that the wet inserts can be clipped out and new fresh inserts clipped into the same cover. Truthfully though, I just used to unclip and chuck it all into the wash. I’ve never reused the cover of an All in Two, but the option is there.
Snap in one (SIO)
- Hybrids/Hybrid fitteds – These nappies are not waterproof. They are layered and come with inserts to ensure that your baby will be able to wear this for a good 2 hours, and at that point the outside may start feeling damp and you will then change the nappy. The nice thing about these nappies are that they are more breathable on the baby’s bum. If you plan to go out, you may want to put a cover over this nappy. In summer though I’d let me baby just rock a t-shirt and a hybrid fitted and change as needed. These nappies usually come in lovely prints.
- A SIO is basically a hybrid fitted that is more waterproof. In theory you should be able to remove the wet inserts and merely add a fresh. dry insert, but personally I never did this….as I said above with the AI2…and to me, a SIO and AI2 are very similar!
These are just the basics. More nappy types include:
- Hemp fitteds
- Fleece nappies
- All in threes (AI3)
- Night nappies are also a whole other ballgame.
Note:
- Different fabric types also mean different drying times. Some nappies will be a pain in the butt to get dry in winter, and others a bit easier.
- Don’t put all your eggs into one basket and purchase 20 of the same brand. Try a few diapers from different brands and find what works for your child.
Resources
Here’s a great article on the savings when using cloth over disposables. You get cloth nappies on a wide scale in terms of costs. It can be as economical or as expensive as you want it to be. You can do flats at R80 for a pack of 4, to R50 for a pocket, to R200 for a fancier name brand pocket, to R500 – R1000 for a WAHM (Work at home mom) made hybrid fitted, to R800 for a Windpro nappy to R1000 for an imported nappy brand.
I used the Hippie Safari blog extensively when researching which nappies I wanted to try out, as this mom has used an extensive range of brands cloth diapering her own child.
Once you join a nappy group you can ask away about all the different types and night time options. I only wish I started cloth diapering with my first or at least my second child! I would have saved so much money. It’s really fun, but a bit of trial an error in the beginning. I refused to cloth diaper my newborn as I hated testing on him and finding him wet, so I only started when he was around 3 months old.
Second hand is cash in hand!
Something to consider…there’s a real market for your second hand cloth nappies. You can even buy them second hand to try out if you want to. Some people are saying…Gross! Second hand poop nappies?? Nothing a good bleach and hot wash doesn’t sort out. So it’s something to consider. If you keep your nappies looking good, you can get back around 50% of what you spent, maybe even more.
If you’re interested in finding out some more information, the Facebook group is the way to go. You need to request to join though and you will be screened as it’s a closed group. Don’t want any weirdos getting in 🙂 If you’d like any other information, please leave a comment or question below, though I am terribly rusty.
So is this something you’d consider or no ways?