Where we are now

Over the past few months I have only made one cloth diaper purchase, but our diapering sure has changed!  First, I realized my son doesn't need hemp at night.  This happened when I realized I needed to strip my hemp inserts because they were starting to stink.  So, I decided to put hemp in his pockets instead of the standard microfiber (since daytime diapers aren't as prone to stink anyways).  This makes for a trimmer diaper, which I like.  Then, I bought flat diapers.  I bought these for the baby on the way mainly, but I knew I would use them on my son until then.  I loved how trim they were, so I replaced most of my prefolds with flats.  I still used the Econobum prefolds at night for a while because a single flat isn't as absorbent as the prefold by a long shot!  But, thent he Econobum prefolds started to stink.  I bleach stripped them, which worked, but I also learned that with so many layers sown together that I was going to see the stink back soon.  So, I decided I wanted to use flats at night.  But, I knew it would take 2-3 flats to match the absorbency of one prefold!  I only had 12, and I didn't want to give up flats during the day.  So, I bought 4 flour sack towels from Target.  Two towels wasn't quite enough.  So, I tried one flat and one towel.  This seems to work pretty good.  If I am not on top of it in the morning, we can have a slight leak, but it isn't a mess at all.  His fleece pajamas keep the moisture inside, so the only way I know is when I take them off for his bath. 

So here is our currently used stash:
3 GroBaby Shells - used with flats during the day, but since they are hook and loop, he must be wearing pants!
3 Econobum Covers - used during the day with flats and any (or no) pants/bottoms because they are snap.  Also used at night with a flat and flour sack towel.
12 flats
4 FuzziBunz pockets - used with Thirsties Duo hemp inserts or FB microfiber inserts during the day
3 Kawaii pockets - used with Thirsties Duo hemp inserts or the single JoeyBunz insert during the day
1 BG 4.0 pocket - used with the flat/flour sack towel combination at night.
1 TweedleBug pocket - used with a flat or Gerber DSQ prefold during the day.
4 MotherEase Fitteds - used with a prefold or flat inside for more air circulation.  Only used at home since it isn't a waterproof combination (but great for hwen he is a little red or I am doing laundry).
3 Econobum and 3 Gerber DSQ prefolds - back-ups, etc in covers, pockets, and the fitteds.
4 flour sack towels

I could easily go with just the flats and pockets with hemp, but I still used the prefolds and fitteds some.  It is nice to give my hook and loop diapers a break occasionally, and using the fitteds is one way to do that!

Pocket Diapers

I now have four pocket diapers. The first one I got was a FuzziBunz with my order of Econobum and swim diapers from Kelly's Closet. Then, I decided to order a hook-and-loop pocket in hopes of getting my husband to put it on our daughter the one night a week he watches her (while I take our son with me to church). I decided to go with BumGenius 4.0 based on price and reviews. I then also added a TweetleBug snapped pocket to my order to get to $50 for free shipping. Since I spent over $25, I used the coupon for a free one-sized diaper as well, and I got a Kawaii hook-and-loop. I am using the pockets for bed time, and they are working well. I had to add a Thirsties Hemp insert in my son's because he has become a heavy wetter at night, but my daughter just needs the standard double-stuffed pocket.

I don't see to many important differences in the four pockets. They each have their own unique aspects, but they all work about the same for us. They are all about the same size completely open, and that is what is most important in my book. Here are the smaller differences:

• FuzziBunz uses adjustable elastic to change the rise/fit, and the other three use the snap-down system that most one-sized diapers use.
• TweddleBug is actually a sleeve diaper - with an opening in the front and back of the pocket. This means you don't have to unstuff before washing (which is nice). The others are all standard pockets with just an opening the back.
• As for the back opening, the FuzziBunz and TweedleBug are just a simple opening. The Kawaii has elastic on the liner as well as the cover, and the BumGenius has a flap to hold the inserts in.
• The Kawaii laundry tabs (for the hook-and-loop) aren't placed as well as the BumGenius. One is way too close to fully function. This is the one thing I don't like about this diaper.
• TweedleBug has two snaps, and the FuzziBunz has three for waist closure. The BumGenius snap option also has only two snaps. The third snap does give me a better leg fit on my skinnier son, but it is a little harder to get it on him (since he wants to go, go, go).
• The TweedleBug inserts and BumGenius inserts are almost identical, with a snap to change sizes and a thin newborn insert. The FuzziBunz has two inserts of different length but equal thickness, and the Kawaii has two inserts about the same length and thickness. The snap on the insert is necessary for the TweedleBug since it is a sleeve (I bet the insert woudl peek out otherwise), but other than that they are interchangeable.

I lvoe the pocket concept, and I would love to have more of them. But, they are more expensive than preoflds and covers. The Kawaii's run almost $10, the TweedleBugs almost $13, and the BumGenius and FuzziBunz almost $18. Since you have to launder the whole diaper after each wear, I would need about 25 in my stash if that is all I had. But, I was able to buy 24 prefolds and 6 covers for about $125. That is about half the price! So, I might slowly add one or two pockets into my stash, but I don't think I would go completely with them at this point.