types of cloth diapers

cloth diapering can be intimidating at first because there are so many options: prefolds, fitteds, pockets, all-in-ones, all-in-twos. what do these terms even mean? i will explain them in the way that i understand them.

prefolds are what we use 90% of the time. they are what most people think of when they think of cloth diapering. however, there are no diaper pins or plastic pants anymore! someone invented a genius tool called a snappi that holds a prefold together under a cover. there are many different ways to fold a prefold to put it on baby. certain folds work best for girls and others best for boys. some are better for newborns and others for bigger, older babies who only have 1-2 poopy diapers a day. 

prefold diaper

prefold diaper after i sewed on a fleece liner
the fleece liner helps pull moisture away from baby's bottom to reduce the risk of diaper rash.

prefold diaper on baby

cover on = done

fitteds, from what i understand, are like prefolds, but they are shaped like a diaper instead of a rectangle. they don't have a waterproof outer cover, though, so you have to use a cover with them.

photo courtesy baby milano

pockets are very similar to a disposable. they have a pocket in the back to put inserts in (one for day, two for night) and then you put it on baby, snap or aplix in the front. easy for grandparents, babysitters, etc. most pocket diapers come with two inserts. the bumgenius and fuzzibunz diapers we have are pockets. we only use these at night because we don't have many. they are more absorbent than a prefold, especially with two inserts. 

pocket diaper (bumgenius 4.0 one size)

snapped up "small" vs unsnapped "large"

inserts

slide insert in pocket

done!

pocket diaper on baby

all-in-ones are most like a disposable. they're one piece -- put it on baby, fasten, done. the downfall to these is that they take a long time to dry after you wash them. from the outside, the look exactly the same as the pocket diapers. the only difference is that the "insert" part of the diaper is sewn onto the inside of the diaper. that's why they take longer to dry -- because they are thicker. i also don't think you can adjust the absorbency like you can with a pocket diaper.

all-in-twos have an insert that you lay in the diaper, instead of sliding it in a pocket. this is what the popular gdiaper is, as well as the flip diapers. many brands have reusable inserts and disposable inserts for your convenience. we might look into these with disposable inserts for vacation this summer -- still a cloth outer layer, but disposable inside. it seems like that would be easy for travel but still cheaper than buying disposables. flip diapers also make a great toilet training pant option for toddlers, which i plan to try once the time comes.