Help!
How Do I Choose One Kind of Diaper?
Part
II
This is part II of my article entitled as
above. This second article will cover
all-in-one diapers and flat diapers. Part I covered
prefolds and fitted, or shaped, diapers.
We are ready to talk about ALL-IN-ONE
(AIO) diapers. Thank goodness, I can refer you to the section on
fitted diapers for most of this. All the same criteria apply, but we have to add one:
covering.
What kind of cover is attached to the diaper?
What is the material? Will it hold up to the kind of laundering the diaper itself needs to get
sufficiently clean, or will the cover wear out before the diaper part does?
These are very important questions, as an all-in-one diaper combines two very different elements in one
piece.
You may find "take-apart" all-in-ones that can be washed in two pieces, the diaper and the cover, and then
be put back together prior to use. The benefit is that it can shorten the
drying time and improve the cleaning process. The drawback is that you
re-introduce the work of assembling a diapering system, which was supposed to be
eliminated by purchasing an all-in-one diaper. However, if it works for you and is a good value for your needs, then there's no reason not to try it.
Be sure to examine carefully the closure system on these diapers, as you will want it to last.
Some AIO's may also have a pocket for inserting a doubler or insert for
absorbency. This pocket may not come so clean in the washer, depending on
how it is constructed. It is also another step in the re-assembling of
your AIO diaper.
Out of all the diapers available, all-in-ones tend to be the most expensive, because for every single diaper you buy, you are also buying a cover. In a prefold diapering system,
for example, you can manage with only half a dozen covers for four dozen diapers.
Last, let me mention FLAT diapers.
This is the diaper that was around even before prefolds, and some people still swear buy them.
Consider the benefits: inexpensive, easy washing, short drying time, AND you can fold them to any shape or size that you need for baby.
What could be more flexible than that?
Some people consider the drawbacks to be the fact that they don't want to spend a bunch of time folding, or that they don't understand how to fold flat diapers.
Remember that you may be replacing your folding time with snapping together, inserting, and otherwise caring for your more specialized diapers.
As for help with folding, there are plenty of websites available with detailed instructions on how to do it, including pictures.
Visit DiaperWare
or
Born to Love for two
examples.
* * *
January, 2009 Update to FLAT diapers
I have, for the first time in my life, begun
using flat diapers. No, I don't have a new baby. Not a new human
baby, that is. We actually have a cat who is paraplegic. Last
August, when he was five months old, Apricot suffered a broken back. We're
not sure how, and his story WILL make it onto my site one of these days, but
long story short, he survived. He pulls himself around with his front legs
and is just a hoot to watch.
The drawback is that he has no bowel or bladder
control, so he has to wear a diaper.
After suffering a heart attack looking at the
prices of pet diapers (both disposable and washable), and after realizing that
most of those diapers are meant for urine containment only (why???), and after
acknowledging that I REALLY DON'T LIKE TO SEW and wouldn't want to make my own
pet diapers, I marched down to my local Wal-Mart, hunted up and down the baby
aisles until I found the packages of Gerber flat diapers shoved to the back of
the very bottom shelf, and bought a package.
Thus began my journey of figuring out how to
fold a flat diaper onto a cat who has not only two legs but also--a tail.
I am happy to report that after much trial and error, I have successfully
learned how to do this! Complete with adjustments for the fact that he is
still growing...
...so. If I can figure out how to
fold a flat diaper to fit a cat, you can figure out how to fold a flat
diaper to fit your baby!
* * *
I hope this information will be helpful in getting you started looking at all the different diaper types without having to
spend a fortune on sample packs. Perhaps now you can buy just the samples you are truly interested in.
Finally, I'd like to say that cloth diapering can be simple.
While many people enjoy lots of special types of diapers, you can successfully diaper your baby with
simple, basic supplies that are also easy on your wallet.
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