Cloth diaper comparison

First of all, yes, I am still pregnant. Leave whatever comments you will, but please... no more suggestions for how to start labor or comments about late pregnancy. I don't know how much longer I can be gracious. Ha ha ha! :)

Oh, and another thing - those of you who have been SO eagerly awaiting this post have Amy to thank, she finally motivated me to get it done!

OK, all three of these diapers are Bum Genius pocket-style one-size diapers, shown in their various adjustable sizes. The lovely Vanna (a.k.a., my mother) is pointing out that the snaps on the front are the way you adjust the size. Also, it is worth mentioning (but I didn't catch it in the picture), the velcro tabs on the front can actually be overlapped to accommodate those tiny newborn bellies!

This is my only Happy Heinys (pocket-style, one-size) diaper. I must once again mention that I did not choose the print!! It adjusts the same way that the Bum Genius diapers do, using snaps on the front. However, the Happy Heinys diaper has a fourth row of snaps (the Bum Genius only has three). The velcro in this picture is shown overlapped, so it is in its skinniest size, though its largest size, since all the snaps are unsnapped.
These diapers are both FuzziBunz (again, pocket-style, one-size). You might have to click on the picture to see the detail I'm mentioning. I should have zoomed in more. Anyway, Mom's pointing out the adjustable leg gussets. Basically there is a strip of elastic with button holes all along it in the side of the diaper. You can pull the elastic as tight (or leave it as loose) as you'd like, and then button it at that size. (Pretty much the same thing as adjustable waistband pants, for those of you with tall, skinny kids like me!) The elastic then tucks into the diaper again (see the right side of the open diaper), so the buttons won't rub on the kiddo.
More FuzziBunz... the outside of the diaper closes with snaps, instead of velcro, but it has a lot of them to accommodate lots of different-sized babes! I tried to show the smallest possible size and the largest possible size.
I'm going to break here to quickly tell you my thoughts. Bottom line, I prefer the velcro tabs (Bum Genius or Happy Heinys) to the snaps on the front (Fuzzi Bunz), because they open and close quickly, are most like a disposable diaper, and you don't have to guess at which snap you want in order to tell how tight to make the diaper. However, if one had a whole stock of Fuzzi Bunz, and used them regularly, one could easily make note of which snaps she preferred and it wouldn't be any issue. The other thing is, if you are switching back and forth between a newborn and a toddler (and if you are buying one-size diapers, this is one of the big benefits!), it seems like it would be easier to snap into a different size than to use the leg gussets. Just a thought.

OK, inserts. The inserts pictured below are both Bum Genius, but all three brands came with two sizes of insert: newborn/doubler, and infant. The one on the right is the newborn liner, which will be much less bulky than trying to use the full-size liner right from birth... plus you can use it to 'double up' for naptimes and bedtime if your kiddo is a heavy wetter. I also know of a few folks who just use two full-size liners and skip the newborn liners completely.

While we're talking about liners, Bum Genius liners have snaps in them that allow you to fold up the insert a little to accommodate the sizing of the diaper. Plus, I kind of like it that the one all the way to the right has extra absorbency in one area. If you have a little boy, it's nice to be able to put double absorbency in the front, right where it needs to be! Of course you could fold any brand liner to do this. But I think the snaps are kind of nice!
The diaper on the left is a Bum Genius, the one on the right is a Fuzzi Bunz. What I'm trying to show here is the opening in the diaper where you insert the liner. On the Bum Genius, the pocket opening is "hidden," and on the Fuzzi Bunz it is at the very top of the diaper. (The very next picture demonstrates that the Happy Heinys diaper is the same as the Fuzzi Bunz, with the opening at the very top.)
See?

I thought this would be more of an issue than it is. But then again, it might be a bigger deal with a newborn... Ben used to poop right up the back of his clothes pretty frequently when he was littler, and I dread the thought of poop getting into the pocket part of the diaper. Just a thought. Oh, and here is a good place to tell you that the lining on the inside of the diaper, the soft part that actually touches baby's skin, is pretty different on the different brands! I was surprised. The Bum Genius diaper is sort of flannel-y, but the Happy Heinys and Fuzzi Bunz are both very fleecy. A lot softer! The poop sprays off equally well on both fabrics, but kudos to Fuzzi Bunz and Happy Heinys for making it so cushy for baby's tushy. (I'm such a dork.)
Laundry tabs. These aren't an issue with the Fuzzi Bunz because they use snaps for closure, but on the Bum Genius and Happy Heinys diapers that close with velcro, they can get stuck to EVERYTHING in the wash if you don't tack them down. The idea behind the laundry tab is that you can stick the velcro down so it won't catch on everything, while still leaving the diaper "open" to be laundered. It has been my experience that the Happy Heinys laundry tabs absolutely do not work. But truth be told, I don't really care. Velcro tabs getting stuck to other velcro tabs and/or diaper liners - ah. I have bigger fish to fry.
And finally, it is interesting to me that the different diapers (which are all fantastically liquid-proof) are lined with different material, somehow. The Fuzzi Bunz and Happy Heinys are reallllly plastic-y, while the Bum Genius is fabric-y while still plastic enough to be effective. This is probably completely irrelevant. :)

Random addition: the elastic in the legs and across the top of the Bum Genius appears a lot tighter than the Fuzzi Bunz. The Fuzzi Bunz can almost lie flat when it's open, on the floor or changing table (of course, if you adjust the gussets to pretty tight, it would probably curl up a little too). I think this makes the Fuzzi Bunz an easier diaper to apply, though. But the Bum Genius stretches plenty to accommodate!

Overall, I bet you can tell, Bum Genius wins in my book. What's interesting is that I think what will happen is, the newborn will wear the Bum Genius and Ben will wear the Fuzzi Bunz and Happy Heinys. The Bum Genius seem to size down a little bit better. I am currently on a cloth diapering hiatus anyway. Ben doesn't dirty diapers quickly enough for me to launder them frequently enough to avoid a nasty stench... so I'll pick things back up when I have two diaper factories under this roof. Also, I have decided that I'm probably not going to use cloth diapers on the little one at night, until he is sleeping through the night. I just don't see myself spraying off poop into the toilet after a 2 or 3 a.m. feeding. I can use disposables at nighttime and then switch to cloth when the sun rises!

Oh - I didn't include the Thirsties diapers in this post because I haven't used them yet. They are all-in-ones, as opposed to pocket-style (meaning, the diaper is all one piece, not a pocket and a liner), and so they are sized. The two that I have are newborn sizes, so I haven't had a chance to give them a shot. I anticipate LOVING them... I especially like the inner leg gussets for catching leaks! ...but I didn't want to pay for different sizes as the little one grows, so I mostly invested in one-size diapers.

And, OH! I totally forgot to rate the prefolds and covers! Well, quickly - I didn't actually mind them at all. If you have a good, snug cover (I used sized Bummis), you don't need pins or Snappis or anything. The covers close with velcro, very similar to the Bum Genius. Poop sprays off the prefolds well, and they didn't leak. My only complaint was that they were quite bulky, and Ben basically looked like he had just gotten off a horse when he would walk around! I have totally phased them out and will only use them in a pinch.

Long enough?