Preparing for a baby comes with lots of decisions. From birthing, to bedding, and feeding, all the choices can be overwhelming. By the time you get to diapers it’s easy to just go with what friends and family give you at the baby shower.

It’s estimated that 20 billion diapers are thrown away each year. Before the average baby is potty-trained they will use 7,000 diapers! You can’t recycle or compost diapers because they have plastic linings. So, any effort to reduce this number is a great way to avoid plastic waste. But what are the best options for cloth diapers?

Let’s start with the basics. Diapers, in general, have two to three main layers:

• an outer layer that prevents pee from leaking outside of the diaper
• an absorbent layer that soaks up all the pee
• some diapers have a wicking layer that pulls moisture away from the baby’s skin

You can achieve these layers in many ways. But before I get into the 3 main types, just for thoroughness’s sake, there are two other types–prefolds and fitted. These would not be my personal choice because they are not leak proof and would need an additional diaper cover.

Prefolds are what your grandmother would have used if she cloth diapered. You’re basically doing diaper origami and pining it together as Mom Loves Best shows below.

The only reason why you might consider this method is because it is the cheapest. But seriously, when I was struggling with 2-hours sleep, I don’t think I could have done this complex folding. But again, if you’re a ninja and want a cheap option, by all means!

Fitted cloth diapers are a step up above prefolds in that they have fasteners and elastic around the legs but are not water-proof. So, again, they would need a diaper cover which to me just seems like another piece. Having a baby is hard enough, let’s not make it harder, please?

So, onto the three types that make life as a parent a little easier: Pocket, All-In-One, and Hybrid.

Pocket

• Pros: easy-to-use, one size fits most
• Cons: comes individually wrapped in plastic
• Cost: $

Pocket diapers are called so because, you guessed it, there’s a pocket inside. You can put the insert pad inside the pocket and the top layer acts as a wicking layer or you can put the insert pad on top of the pocket or both.

I use the pocket ones because, honestly, it was the highest rating cloth diaper I found on Amazon. I liked that they would grow with my baby and that the inner layers are organic cotton.

For overnight use, I put the absorbent insert on the top of the pocket and then add a second softer organic cotton insert on top of that.

Another great thing about the pocket diaper is that you can use the outer layer as a swim diaper!

All-In-One

• Pros: easy-to-use, no extra inserts, one size fits most
• Cons: expensive
• Cost – $$$

The All-In-One cloth diapers are the closets to traditional diapers. You just pop it on and pop it off. There’s no inserts to add or remove and it’s really simple. The one shown above has an organic cotton liner and the outer layer is laminated polyester.

The only issue is that they are much more expensive than the pocket diapers–like 2 to 3 times the price of the pocket diapers. And given the rough guideline that a diaper should be changed every two hours, that’s eight to ten diapers a day if your baby sleeps through the night.

I’ve seen these range from $15 to $30 per diaper. Multiply that by at least eight and that’s a lot for diapers. But that’s still a huge savings compared to disposables.

Hybrid

• Pros: one size fits most
• Cons: inserts are expensive
• Cost: $$

The hybrid is a combination of the other two. They have a waterproof outer layer and a detachable absorbent layer. Because they have the detachable layer, you pull out the detachable insert when changing a diaper and reuse the outer layer several times before washing.

So, if you go with this option, you can save money by buying less outer layers and a lot of extra inserts.

Another great thing about the hybrids is that you can use the outer layer as a swim diaper!

So, what do you think? Are you considering cloth diapers for your baby? If you have questions I didn’t answer, tell me in the comments!

For related and random posts, check out:

• Plastic-Free Snacks for Kids
• Plastic-Free Toilet Paper & Alternatives