Fitted Diapers

(Be sure to check out parts 1 and 2!)

So, if I manage to keep the time between cloth diaper posts to a month, that’s not too pathetic, right? Right? Eesh.

Fitted diapers, as the name implies, are fitted: they’re shaped like a diaper, they have elastic around the legs, and they have a built-in fastening mechanism. We have two different brands, which are rather different in style: Thirsties and Kissaluvs.

The Thirsties are made out some kind of soft micro-fleece that is supposed to wick moisture away from the skin, with a more absorbent internal cloth part. They fasten with Velcro tabs, and come in a host of shiny colors.

The Kissaluvs are made of a terry-like cotton, which doesn’t have the “wicking” feature but which Rachel thinks is a little more absorbent than the Thirsties. They fasten with snaps, and come in a few colors, but not the same rainbow of fruit flavors that the Thirsties offer.

Neither is waterproof, so in either case we pair the diaper with a waterproof diaper cover.

I’d have to say that the fitted diapers are my favorite style of cloth diaper. They’re incredibly easy to put on and take off, and the fit is less bulky than the prefolds. Of the two, I slightly prefer the Thirsties because I prefer Velcro to snaps: snaps are probably less likely to wear out over time, but Velcro provides more flexible sizing options, since you can only snap where there’s a snap, but Velcro works over the length of the tab. I admit that I am also, like a hummingbird or a small child, attracted to bright colors.

(With the Velcro tabs on the Thirsties fitted diapers or the covers, it’s important to fasten the tab down to the adjacent laundry tab before washing. That way, you don’t have free-floating Velcro that will pick up lint in the wash, or end up mating with all of your other diapers to form a giant Velcro mass.)

So, if fitted diapers are my favorite, why would we use prefolds at all? A few reasons: First, the fitted diapers are considerably more expensive per diaper—about $12-15 compared to around $2 for a prefold. The fitted diapers are also less absorbent than a prefold, which in practice means somewhat more frequent diaper changes. The micro-fleece fabric is also a bit more finicky than the plain cotton of a prefold: some diaper creams may end up coating the fabric in a way that negatively affects their performance.

In the following extremely dorky (and too-quiet) video, I demonstrate the use of both kinds of fitted diaper:

Filed under Baby Stuff | Tags: cloth, diapers, gear | Comments (2)