Cloth Diapers

I was determined to use cloth diapers on Mick even before he was born. Not so much for economic reasons, but for better breathability. Cloth diapers are not as popular in Asia as they are in US, UK and Canada. I bought the Gerber birdseye and prefold diapers from US on my first assignment there.
The birdseye diapers are the normal traditional lampin that are available in retail stores. Prefold diapers are rectangular diapers sewn with more material in the middle. The prefold diaper is not available in Malaysia, however you may be able to get them in some online stores. With these 2 types of diapers in hand, I thought I was ready to cloth diaper Mick upon his arrival.

However, when I tried the birdseye diaper on Mick, it leaked non stop. I ended up changing the sheets each time I changed the diaper. Then I tried the prefolds. Of course this was much better than the birdseye, but Mick was a very, very active baby and I just couldn’t get the pins on the diaper. I tried using the Snappi, but due to lack of experience on my side, I couldn’t get them to stay on. I ended up using the prefolds as burp cloths.
I bought some plastic covers and went back to using the birdseye diaper. But I wasn’t happy with Mick wearing the plastic cover(it was as good as wearing disposables with more cleaning work). I was searching online and I found this really nice looking breathable covers. I ordered them online and after 2 weeks I had a nice system going with birdseye diapers and breathable covers.
However, after 3 months, the birdseye diapers were not absorbent enough to hold the mess. At this point, I gave up on cloth diapers and switched to disposables. While visiting some chat rooms, I learned about fitted diapers. Fitted diapers are just like disposables but made out of cloth. They can come in various sizes or one size. After visiting diaperpin and reading so many reviews, I decided to try the Mother-ease One Size, since my breathable covers were also from Mother-ease. I was really happy with my cloth diaper system.

During my second assignment to US, I discovered more about cloth diapers. There are many other types. There’s the all-in-ones, which is a fitted diaper with a breathable cover sewn on the outside. Then there is the pocket diaper, which I absolutely love. If you are attracted to disposable diapers but want to switch to cloth diapers, these are the diapers to go for. You will notice that your baby is just as dry in pocket diapers. They are very easy to use. All you need to do is to stuff the pocket with inserts. Out of all the diapers available, fitted diapers are the most natural as you still have natural fibers(example – hemp, terry, organic) next to baby’s skin. The pocket diaper has a microfiber material that acts as a barrier between the baby’s skin and the insert. Microfiber is a man-made breathable material, although much better than disposables, the material is still not 100% natural. The cost of cloth diapering a baby is still much less than disposables. Like all good things(like breastfeeding), the initial investment is high and the learning process is a little longer, but you will reach the cost breakeven point after about 6-7 months and the benefits are greater.