Hey Guys,

I have been going back and forth on what cloth diapers my wife and I should use. I have broken down how much the different brands will cost me and why. Also the advantages and disadvantages of each. It helped me, and hopefully it will help some of you other dads. Let me know what you think.

Bum Genius 4.0
Advantages: One Size Fits All, Snaps, Lower Cost
Disadvantages: Must wash entire diaper, must carry soiled diaper when traveling.

Cost
20 Diapers (recommend number to have) - $360
Inserts (1-2 Per Diaper = (4) 6 packs) - $72

Total Cost - $432 for the life for your babies diapering stage)

G Diapers purchases in bundled sets
Advantages: wash inserts / liners instead of entire diaper (which is washable too) can use biodegradable / flushable inserts (great for when you are on the go outside the house)
Disadvantages: Cost

Cost
30 Diapers- (1 Newborn Bundle, 1 Sweet Bundle, 1 Everydays 6 Pack) $365
12 Newborn (included in Newborn Bundle)
6 Small G Diapers (included in Newborn Bundle)
6 Medium G Diapers (included in Sweet Bundle)
6 Large G Diapers
Inserts -
80 Biodegradable Inserts (included in newborn bundle0
18 Small Inserts (3) 6 packs - 90
18 Medium / Large Inserts ( 12 included in Sweet Bundle. Only 1 pack needed0 - 30
1 pack Extra Liners - 20
Total Cost - $505 life of baby's diaper stage

(I also priced out not buying the G Diapers in bundles and it was about a $50 difference)

I guess it really depends on what you're needs are.... but either option is great compared to $460 in the first year alone for disposable diapers. I think I prefer the idea of the G Diapers because I don't need to carry replacement diapers: 1 shell, and 5 biodegradable inserts if I am headed out of the house... instead of 5 diapers and finding a place to put the poopy ones, OR using disposable diapers only when I am out. The $70 difference buys you a few more diapers, and the convenience of just changing the insert instead of the whole diaper.

Anyways. Hopefully that helps someone.

So what happens when you're out and your kid has a massive poop, getting it all over the shell? Looks like those are all velcro too, no good once your kiddo figures out how to take them off. Just a couple things to consider.

We've used bum genius for both our boys. The savings and environmental impact made it worth it for us.

Perhaps it's the same difference...

either carry 4 BumGenius diapers, or Carry 2 shells, 1 extra Liner, and a 4 Inserts. They would probably take up the same amount of space in the Diaper Bag. Under the assumption that he isn't going to get poop on the shell EVERYTIME we go out... the inserts help with minimizing the amount of poop I have to carry around with me while I am out and about.

Good point about the velcro thou... I suppose we could add a snap, or a button if we wanted to still maintain the ability to use hybrid.

Thanks!

Cool post.

I know lots of families that prefer reusable diapers will also keep a pack of disposables around for travel or outings. If you're only buying a few, you can afford the bio-degradable disposables.

The same argument can be made about the snaps. A kid could figure out how to undo them pretty easily.

The advantage of the velcro or hook and loop in bumGenius's case is that they can be sized to fit him or her. With the snaps you are at the mercy of where the snaps are and if they don't fit around the waist then your out of luck.

But in the case of being out and about and your baby takes a giant poo we found these planetwise wet bags to put the diapers in so that keeps the smell inside the bag and keeps the diaper bag dry until you get home and can rinse out the diapers.

Our total investment for the life of baby's diapering = ~$350 for 32 diapers (including 20 extra inserts)...enough for about 1.5 kids

We use the bumGenius too and also like the perfect fit of the Velcro closure. Each diaper comes with 2 inserts, so you don't need to buy additional inserts unless you want a more absorbant doubler for nighttime.

We also have a couple of the Flip diapers (made by bumGenius) that we double stuff for our nighttime diapers. They are similar to the G diaper, but far superior in fit and versatility. You can use fleece inserts, prefolds, or disposable inserts. So this may be an option for @audioandy to invest in a couple of these for outings if you want to carry less around.

My wife found all of our diapers on Craigslist, some were even new for half the price. There is a wide range of used, so definitely make sure they haven't used diaper rash cream, and that the Velcro is in good shape. Even if you buy your first 20 new, it's nice to add to your initial stash to lenghthen your rotation (and so you don't find yourself up sh!t creek without a diaper ). We have about 32, which gives us enough for 3 days, but we wash every two days and use that third day to let the last wash hang dry. This also gives us enough to use with 2 kids if their diapering stages overlap.

The other nice thing about CL is that we were not initially sure of which diaper system we wanted to go with, so we bought a variety off of CL, and just resold those that we decided not to use (and made a small profit).

We are a huge fan of the wet bags. Buy at least 2 for the diaper bag because you'll need to wash them from time to time. My wife bought most of our wet bags on Etsy.com, but you can also find them on Amazon, or your local store may carry them. We prefer the kind that zip for the diaper bag (vs draw string) as they are better at keeping the stink in.

Not really. The snaps on the bum genius are right across the front so you have different sizes. They're pretty hard to get undone, however my 2 year old won't last 2 minutes in a velcro closed diaper.

Hello All,

I am using "under the nile" cloth diapers with my baby, they are working fine for me.. and i guess its cheaper than other brands, also it is made of organic cotton