Photo by jen_rab, used under Creative Commons license. I’m currently 32 weeks pregnant and ready to become a first-time mom to our baby. I thought I had everything figured out about our parenting needs/choices months ago… until I read an article about different diapering options. I never realized there were other options besides cloth or disposable, and now I’m interested in hybrid diapers. The brand that appears to be most readily available where I live is gDiapers, but I have a few questions.
I love that they’re biodegradable, and that there’s a flushable liner to catch solids. It’s also great that they’re latex-free, since I’m allergic. However I am wondering these things: are they versatile? If gDiapers isn’t in stock at the local store, can I get another brand? Also, are there ongoing costs — are the financial savings really worth it if I’m spending more on electricity and water to wash the diaper covers and inserts? And finally: how many covers and inserts do I need to start with? — Barbara
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Comments on So… are gDiapers really that incredible?
We got a newborn pack, which came with 12 tiny pants with snap-down fronts to accommodate the umbilical stump and 6 small covers, plus eighty flushable refills. My girl outgrew the tiny pants in about ten days. I bought a pack of six extra snap-in liners, and stuck with the disposable refills. I only need to do laundry every three days or so. Even the most prodigious poos stay pretty well contained. I love our gDiapers and so does my daughter!
Just weighing in as a nanny (and soon to be mom) who cloth diapers- I started watching NatureBaby when he was 6 weeks old, and for the first two months his Parents and I tried gDiapers. Sometimes they would work out well. Usually they wouldn’t. The day they switched to Bum Genius and Fuzzibunz was a great day! He is a happy and leak-free 14 month old now 🙂
but- obviously they do work for some people, so it might be worth trying a few out. I wouldn’t stock up though, just in case you don’t like them.
We started with prefolds and covers. While I still love them my son is too squirmy and won’t hold still for diaper change. We ended up getting a bunch of all-in-one Bum Genius diapers. I like having this style because it is much easier during changes. We hope to train him to be better about being changed so we can go back to our prefolds and covers.
Yeah, I’m another hater of the gDiaper. I liked the concept but it was just complicated in real life. I know it seems counter-intuitive, but straight up cloth diapering turned out WAY easier for us. We use BumGenius and also diaper service quality prefolds (skip the Gerbers, they are really only burp cloths and do not work as diapers at all). We use these with a wool cover. (Man, I love the wool covers like it’s made of unicorn hair or something.)
Now that my baby is a toddler, I expected to find cloth diapering extra gross or full of scraping poop or something but mostly, it’s just shaking into a toilet and throwing the diaper into a pail, then later throwing the pail contents into the wash. We do have our own washer and dryer and the costs are extremely minimal, turns out. But really you don’t have to pick just one method, you might use this kind or that kind and even mix in disposables to round out your particular situations.
Honestly, for us personally, the gDiaper was just too much crap to do correctly whereas the cloth was just easier all around.
I personally prefer pocket cloth diapers to gDiapers but I wouldn’t rule out having some gDiapers as well if you can afford it. If nothing else, the gDiaper liners are our favorite and we now use them to stuff our pocket diapers! gDiapers are also great for elimination communication as they are easy on and off, and the velcro is in the back and harder for babies to remove. I had a chunky baby so we stopped with gDipes because the plastic liner and snaps cut into his skin – Actually cut, not just left lines. It was recommended by a lot of people that I just step up a side or alter the diapers myself but as I had already bought diapers in the correct size based on weight, it really irked me that I would just be out that money I’d already spent due to know fault of my own.
On the other side, I know that Emily over at JoyfulAbode.com swears by g’s and uses nothing else on her petite baby. Another perk is that they are sold at some mainstream places. We have Fred Meyer where I live and they carry them there, and at Babies R Us.
I would recommend trying a few types of diapers at first and then purchasing more of the ones you end up loving. My personal favorite way to go is buying secondhand, gently used pocket diapers. 🙂
I didn’t read all the responses so this may have been said. gDiapers are the trimmest dipe I’ve tried, but that’s about the best thing they have going for them. I have a couple but I only use them when she wears a certain pair of pants. I’d say get a few different styles of dipe and then resell the ones you don’t like (lots of sale groups on Facebook).
My husband and I are actually big fans of the Gdiapers. Our son has been using them since he fit into the Medium/Large size of the pants. We’ve never used the biodegradable inserts, we just use the cloth inserts. We pull them from the diaper, put them directly into a wet bag (no rinsing), and then throw them all into the washing machine. They come out clean every time.
We tried regular cloth diapering at first (from 2 weeks until about 6 weeks) and we just never got the hang of it. But, at about 6 weeks our kid was just about big enough for the Medium/Large diapers (he’s a bruiser!). We find that if you change them often enough, about every two hours, they don’t leak. We have had some serious poo bombs, and the G diapers have held fast. Occasionally we have some leakage, but it’s usually due to us not changing his wet diaper soon enough.
As far as cost, we found that in the long run it will be TONS cheaper than disposables, not sure how it compares to other . True, the upfront cost is a little harsh. I’ve had friends start with Gdiapers right off the bat, and the kiddos were in the small G pants for a really short amount of time. But the Medium/Large pants have a really long shelf life. Like, from 12-28 pounds, or something like that. So we figure that at some point, we’ll have to re-purchase the Xtra Large pants. But, the cloth inserts and plastic holders will fit in those.
Hope this is helpful, looks like you are getting a ton of good advice!
This isn’t about hybrid diapers (which I don’t think even existed when my teenager was a baby), but since people have mentioned going all cloth and laundering at home, I have to put in a plug for diaper services. (Is this something else that makes me seem old and out of touch?) Maybe other cities don’t have them, but I used Baby Diaper Service in Seattle and they were fabulous. They delivered clean diapers every week and took away the dirty ones. I used the waterproof wraps they sold, and once I got the hang of folding the diapers right with no “wicks” sticking out of the wrap, I had very little problem with leaking (except for occasionally with a diaper someone else put on). I was a single working mom and couldn’t do laundry every day, though I’m sure that’s cheaper. I got several months of diaper service as a gift (which I asked for) from various relatives.
I’ve only tried two diapers, Gro-via and Best Bottom. I think our Gro-via are in the closet somewhere (which reminds me I should find them in case of laundry emergency) and we slowly stocked up on the Best Bottoms so we now have a comfortable cushion for laundry days.
i hated gDiapers, and cloth prefolds. Love love love pocket diapers!!! BumGenius, Fuzzibunz, and SimplyCloth are my favorite but even cheapies off ebay are adequate. We use disposables out of the house and over night, but the pocket diapers are fabulous. I know it all comes down to personal preference, but I found gDiapers to be outrageously expensive ans not easy to use. Prefolds were too much of a painnt get on correctly and seemed uncomfortable to my baby, thoug they were cheap I got rid of them.
We used G-diapers for nearly 18 mo, mostly for nighttime diapers and travel. We stopped using them because we have had some unemployment in our family, and had to cut costs. Honestly, we don’t really miss them.
We didn’t have any problems while using them, however, and Grandma really liked using them when the kid was at her house. I didn’t find them complicated or hard to deal with, personally.
Now we are using prefolds in diaper covers with no issues, and we stick a cloth gDiaper liner in for extra absorption at night. Our fave Diaper covers are the plush Jamtots covers (only leak when we aren’t paying enough attention to diaper changes)!!!
I started off with prefolds (newborn size) & covers & a Snappi–they were great for my baby for the first few months. Then I switched to pockets, but I wish now I hadn’t been so hung up on getting the fancy-looking pocket diapers. Prefolds were great. The pocket diapers’ elastic is starting to go & I’m going to have to replace it. That said, I do love the AppleCheeks diapers I’ve gotten–bamboo inserts and you can either lay the insert in and re-use the cover, or you can use it like a regular pocket diaper (the inserts agitate out in the washing machine).
MY experience w/ gDiapers has been that we can’t afford the biodegradable liners. And honestly the cloth gLiners absolutely suck. What we are doing though since we have a large supply of gCovers (I’m about to have baby number 2) is we are making our own tri-fold cloth absorbers to put into the covers.
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We got a newborn pack, which came with 12 tiny pants with snap-down fronts to accommodate the umbilical stump and 6 small covers, plus eighty flushable refills. My girl outgrew the tiny pants in about ten days. I bought a pack of six extra snap-in liners, and stuck with the disposable refills. I only need to do laundry every three days or so. Even the most prodigious poos stay pretty well contained. I love our gDiapers and so does my daughter!
Just weighing in as a nanny (and soon to be mom) who cloth diapers- I started watching NatureBaby when he was 6 weeks old, and for the first two months his Parents and I tried gDiapers. Sometimes they would work out well. Usually they wouldn’t. The day they switched to Bum Genius and Fuzzibunz was a great day! He is a happy and leak-free 14 month old now 🙂
but- obviously they do work for some people, so it might be worth trying a few out. I wouldn’t stock up though, just in case you don’t like them.
We started with prefolds and covers. While I still love them my son is too squirmy and won’t hold still for diaper change. We ended up getting a bunch of all-in-one Bum Genius diapers. I like having this style because it is much easier during changes. We hope to train him to be better about being changed so we can go back to our prefolds and covers.
Yeah, I’m another hater of the gDiaper. I liked the concept but it was just complicated in real life. I know it seems counter-intuitive, but straight up cloth diapering turned out WAY easier for us. We use BumGenius and also diaper service quality prefolds (skip the Gerbers, they are really only burp cloths and do not work as diapers at all). We use these with a wool cover. (Man, I love the wool covers like it’s made of unicorn hair or something.)
Now that my baby is a toddler, I expected to find cloth diapering extra gross or full of scraping poop or something but mostly, it’s just shaking into a toilet and throwing the diaper into a pail, then later throwing the pail contents into the wash. We do have our own washer and dryer and the costs are extremely minimal, turns out. But really you don’t have to pick just one method, you might use this kind or that kind and even mix in disposables to round out your particular situations.
Honestly, for us personally, the gDiaper was just too much crap to do correctly whereas the cloth was just easier all around.
I personally prefer pocket cloth diapers to gDiapers but I wouldn’t rule out having some gDiapers as well if you can afford it. If nothing else, the gDiaper liners are our favorite and we now use them to stuff our pocket diapers! gDiapers are also great for elimination communication as they are easy on and off, and the velcro is in the back and harder for babies to remove. I had a chunky baby so we stopped with gDipes because the plastic liner and snaps cut into his skin – Actually cut, not just left lines. It was recommended by a lot of people that I just step up a side or alter the diapers myself but as I had already bought diapers in the correct size based on weight, it really irked me that I would just be out that money I’d already spent due to know fault of my own.
On the other side, I know that Emily over at JoyfulAbode.com swears by g’s and uses nothing else on her petite baby. Another perk is that they are sold at some mainstream places. We have Fred Meyer where I live and they carry them there, and at Babies R Us.
I would recommend trying a few types of diapers at first and then purchasing more of the ones you end up loving. My personal favorite way to go is buying secondhand, gently used pocket diapers. 🙂
I didn’t read all the responses so this may have been said. gDiapers are the trimmest dipe I’ve tried, but that’s about the best thing they have going for them. I have a couple but I only use them when she wears a certain pair of pants. I’d say get a few different styles of dipe and then resell the ones you don’t like (lots of sale groups on Facebook).
My husband and I are actually big fans of the Gdiapers. Our son has been using them since he fit into the Medium/Large size of the pants. We’ve never used the biodegradable inserts, we just use the cloth inserts. We pull them from the diaper, put them directly into a wet bag (no rinsing), and then throw them all into the washing machine. They come out clean every time.
We tried regular cloth diapering at first (from 2 weeks until about 6 weeks) and we just never got the hang of it. But, at about 6 weeks our kid was just about big enough for the Medium/Large diapers (he’s a bruiser!). We find that if you change them often enough, about every two hours, they don’t leak. We have had some serious poo bombs, and the G diapers have held fast. Occasionally we have some leakage, but it’s usually due to us not changing his wet diaper soon enough.
As far as cost, we found that in the long run it will be TONS cheaper than disposables, not sure how it compares to other . True, the upfront cost is a little harsh. I’ve had friends start with Gdiapers right off the bat, and the kiddos were in the small G pants for a really short amount of time. But the Medium/Large pants have a really long shelf life. Like, from 12-28 pounds, or something like that. So we figure that at some point, we’ll have to re-purchase the Xtra Large pants. But, the cloth inserts and plastic holders will fit in those.
Hope this is helpful, looks like you are getting a ton of good advice!
I am not pregnant or even trying and I have to say how much this post made me love this site even more.
WHO KNEW THERE WAS SO MUCH FUCKING INFORMATION ABOUT DIAPERS?!
I.love.it.
omg, people LOOOOOOVE to talk diapers: http://offbeatmama.com/2010/01/obsessed-with-cloth-diapers
Did/do you guys use cloth Ariel? Just curious.
This isn’t about hybrid diapers (which I don’t think even existed when my teenager was a baby), but since people have mentioned going all cloth and laundering at home, I have to put in a plug for diaper services. (Is this something else that makes me seem old and out of touch?) Maybe other cities don’t have them, but I used Baby Diaper Service in Seattle and they were fabulous. They delivered clean diapers every week and took away the dirty ones. I used the waterproof wraps they sold, and once I got the hang of folding the diapers right with no “wicks” sticking out of the wrap, I had very little problem with leaking (except for occasionally with a diaper someone else put on). I was a single working mom and couldn’t do laundry every day, though I’m sure that’s cheaper. I got several months of diaper service as a gift (which I asked for) from various relatives.
Sorry to add even more information to an already potentially overwhelming topic, but I thought I would share one of the resources that helped me make my decision.
http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/hybrid-cloth-diapers-comparison/
I’ve only tried two diapers, Gro-via and Best Bottom. I think our Gro-via are in the closet somewhere (which reminds me I should find them in case of laundry emergency) and we slowly stocked up on the Best Bottoms so we now have a comfortable cushion for laundry days.
Good luck on making your decision.
i hated gDiapers, and cloth prefolds. Love love love pocket diapers!!! BumGenius, Fuzzibunz, and SimplyCloth are my favorite but even cheapies off ebay are adequate. We use disposables out of the house and over night, but the pocket diapers are fabulous. I know it all comes down to personal preference, but I found gDiapers to be outrageously expensive ans not easy to use. Prefolds were too much of a painnt get on correctly and seemed uncomfortable to my baby, thoug they were cheap I got rid of them.
We used G-diapers for nearly 18 mo, mostly for nighttime diapers and travel. We stopped using them because we have had some unemployment in our family, and had to cut costs. Honestly, we don’t really miss them.
We didn’t have any problems while using them, however, and Grandma really liked using them when the kid was at her house. I didn’t find them complicated or hard to deal with, personally.
Now we are using prefolds in diaper covers with no issues, and we stick a cloth gDiaper liner in for extra absorption at night. Our fave Diaper covers are the plush Jamtots covers (only leak when we aren’t paying enough attention to diaper changes)!!!
I started off with prefolds (newborn size) & covers & a Snappi–they were great for my baby for the first few months. Then I switched to pockets, but I wish now I hadn’t been so hung up on getting the fancy-looking pocket diapers. Prefolds were great. The pocket diapers’ elastic is starting to go & I’m going to have to replace it. That said, I do love the AppleCheeks diapers I’ve gotten–bamboo inserts and you can either lay the insert in and re-use the cover, or you can use it like a regular pocket diaper (the inserts agitate out in the washing machine).
MY experience w/ gDiapers has been that we can’t afford the biodegradable liners. And honestly the cloth gLiners absolutely suck. What we are doing though since we have a large supply of gCovers (I’m about to have baby number 2) is we are making our own tri-fold cloth absorbers to put into the covers.