Three More Reasons I Love Pocket Diapers

Posted by joy

12 Jan

#1 They have a high resale value. Many people find it odd to consider the resale value of their diapers, but pocket diapers often sell for more than half of their retail value AFTER baby has used them. They cost more up front, but it’s important to factor in how much they’ll earn you at a consignment shop.

#2 They’re easier for traveling. We always use our prefolds for weekend trips or even all-day excursions. They’re easier to put on and take off when we’re doing those creative diaper changes in a public restroom, your car trunk, or on your great aunt’s living room floor.

#3 They’re easier to line dry. Prefolds air dry into stiff, shingle-like sheets that aren’t easy to fold and use with baby. But pocket diapers air dry extremely quickly and always have a soft fleecy layer close to baby’s skin. They may require more washing, but they’re much easier to dry in any season just by hanging them on a rack in your home.

Stay tuned for Rebecca’s rebuttal to these pocket diaper posts when she professes her love for prefolds!

Filed under: Baby Gear, Diapers

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10 Responses for "Three More Reasons I Love Pocket Diapers"

Leighann of Soy is the New Black and The Full Mommy January 12th, 2009 at 11:52 am 1
I’m all about the pocket diapers.

Prefolds are bulky and I can’t keep it in place to get on a wiggly 20-month-old.

AIO’s take entirely too long to dry.

Pockets go on as easily as disposables on an on-the-move little guy.
Teri January 12th, 2009 at 1:52 pm 2
What is the difference between (logistically) pocket diapers and all in ones?
rebecca January 12th, 2009 at 4:11 pm 3
All-in-ones are all one piece, so they are very easy to use (just like a disposable), but they take longer to dry and cost more upfront.

Pocket diapers have a terry-cloth insert that you put in the diaper before you put it on the baby. Before you put it in the diaper pail, you shake out the insert. So they’re a little more work than than all-in-ones, but they dry much faster.

(Teri–I answered your other question in the Thrill of Cloth, too!)
Leighann of Soy is the New Black and The Full Mommy January 14th, 2009 at 8:10 am 4
Teri- I thought I would prefer AIO’s so I bought one to try and I find that I use that one absolutely last because they do take so much longer to dry.
Karalee January 14th, 2009 at 8:33 am 5
With our 1st son, now 2 1/2, we used mostly bummis covers and hemp contours I made myself. That system worked well until his “output” became too much. We tried one of everything, trying to find the right combination but in the end, had to put the cloth diapers away and use disposables. Now, with our 2nd son who is already 6 months old, we’ve found the Bum Genius All in Ones and are SO happy. Expensive, take longer to dry (throwing a clean, dry towel in the dryer with them helps a LOT) but so simple and quick they’ve won us over. Only problem now is that our 6 month old is gigantic at 22 lbs and he will outgrow the Bum Genius All in Ones size large before his 1st birthday. So… we’ll have to pull out the stash from the first time around and see what we can do. It’s all about trial and error… and it’s even so different from one child to the next. Luckily, we have good friends to share our diapers with, so we feel like we got a great value out of our stockpile of cloth.
rebecca January 14th, 2009 at 9:29 am 6
Karalee, you may find that your son starts thinning out at about a year. Once kids start walking, they stop gaining weight so quickly and start getting taller instead of fatter. Of course, this is all hearsay . . . my daughter is almost three and is about the same weight as your 6-month-old!
Karalee January 14th, 2009 at 10:33 am 7
LOL! Thanks… he weighs almost as much as our 2 1/2 year old. I think I’m making cream this time around, plus he had a headstart at 10 lbs 2.2 oz at birth! He’ll slow down eventually, I hope.
Mary January 22nd, 2009 at 11:10 am 8
Hello Ladies! I am three months pregnant with our first child, my husband and I are looking into eco friendly ways to raise our baby. He fell in love with the idea of Pocket diapers but I have a few questions, I know they may be silly so bare with me.

I understand the insert idea and to insert them before putting on the diaper, but in my head it seems like a difficult task to remove the insert once the diaper is soiled. What a mess I can see myself making! Another question…I understand these diapers and inserts are washable and it seems pretty easy when they are just “wet,” rinse off and place in pail until laundry day; but what to do when they are um….more soiled? Can that just be rinsed off in the sink as well? Last question I have is about how many diapers are needed to get started? I know they are reusable but still I would think you would need enough to last a few days until laundry is done.

Any suggestions would be of great use and appreciated, thansk!!
rebecca January 22nd, 2009 at 1:54 pm 9
Mary, I’ll try to answer your questions:

1. Before you put the wet diaper in the diaper pail, you sort of shake the liner out. If you have Velcro tabs, you have to close them so all your diapers don’t stick together in the wash. Fuzzibunz have snaps, so you don’t have to do that.

2. While your baby is eating only breastmilk/formula, you do not need to rinse, dunk, or do anything special for the dirty diapers. Just put them straight in the diaper pail.

3. After your baby is on solid foods, you need to deposit the waste in the toilet. (You are actually supposed to do this with disposables as well.) If this gets too messy, you can try using flushable liners. The wet ones can be washed and used again, and the dirty ones just go straight in the toilet. Then there will be no dunking/scrubbing/etc. You may never need diaper liners if the “deposit” is not messy. Some just fall into the toilet and don’t leave a mess on the diaper. (Sorry if this is gross information.)

4. Since pocket diapers are more expensive, I’d probably start with 18-24, or as many as you can afford. Manufacturers recommend washing them every other day, but if you had 18 you may be able to go every three days.
Mary January 22nd, 2009 at 3:03 pm 10
Oh its not grose information, anything is helpful at this point, and I really appreciate the advice! What I was thinking about was when the “deposit” isn’t solid, I know after they start eating more solid foods they’re “deposit” hardens but before then its um….well pudding. What do you do with it then?