Deciding between Bumgenius AIO and GDiaper, please help!!! First time parents.

[BayGirl2]

My NB is 1 week old so thought I'd chime in with my experience so far. I tried the Jillians Drawer's trial package and knew just from playing with the diapers that AIO's would be the way for us to go. Anything with 2 pieces just seems to complicated to me, and would be harder for daycare in a few months.

I like the BumGenius Organic 1-size AIO, so I started stocking up on them used, but they will clearly not fit until he is at least 12 lbs. I'll continue to buy these as I find good deals until I have a full stash. I like that they will last for a long time and for other kids if I take care of them.

I also got some Thirsties 2.0 XS size, although I worried they would only fit for a few weeks. He ended up being long and lean (6lbs 10oz at birth, and down to 5lbs 14oz at one point) so these are pretty baggy on him and may last a while (they say 12 lbs). We started using them as soon as the meconium poop was gone, but they seem to rub his umbilical stump. We're using disposables for a couple more days until it falls off.

Overall, our few days with the Thirsties and the washing cycle went well, and DH is a big fan of them too. I hate the feeling of the disposables, the Pampers feel so fake and plasticy, and the 7th Gen are like unbleached coffee filters, I would not want them on my skin!

[paulasue]

I thought I'd like AIO, but my LO did not like to feel wet. Sometimes LO may dictate what you use. Out went prefolds, fitteds and AIOs. We ended up using pockets. I tried BG's, HHs and a lot of others and we both hated taking out the inserts. We ended up loving Mommy's Touch. Mommy's Touch is a pocket with openings in the front and back, so the inserts agitate out in the wash. So we change LO just like an AIO. They dry quicker, I just have to load dipes. Plus Mommy's Touch come in about 20 colors.

[GonnaBJulymom]

Maybe it's me, but I just could not get the hang of G-Diapers. I couldn't get them assembled properly. I am not very good at that sort of thing - all thumbs.

I love pocket diapers (BumGenius is a pocket diaper because you stuff the absorbant part in to the pocket of the cover. A true "AIO" is all sewn together- they take forever to dry!) I have a few BumGenius and like them very much. But I found I prefered Tiny Tush Elites. Both the fleece and the aplix (velcro stuff) seem to wash better and live longer with Tiny Tush. I know others who swear by Fuzzi Bunz.

We only get to use cloth at home evenings and weekends as DD is in daycare and they don't allow cloth. But even when I was a SAHM, I never really found issue with the laundry required for diapers. We just made sure to have enough diapers to last at least three days, so that if I needed to beg off laundry for a day, I could.

And now that I do both 'sposies and cloth, I can attest to the cost effectiveness of cloth, even at the price of pocket diapers!

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ETA: "One size" diapers, are notoriously inappropriate for most newborns. Just too darn big. I used 'sposies until her umbilical stump healed and then a few pre-folds and covers at first and a few fitted diapers. I also tried contours. That might work for you. It's like a sposie, made of cloth, then you put a cover on. Easier than folding and tucking etc etc.

I agree with the BG 3.0 one size pocket diapers, that way you can add however many inserts you need for absorbancy. I've also heard that the BG AIO takes forever to dry.

Why not start with gdiapers for your newborn, since the one size BGs are a little big at first. You can also save your gdiapers for outings.

So, short answer, both!

[gotchagomo]

Just learned that gdiapers now make a washable cloth insert! No more flushing and the cloth makes the system MUCH MORE reasonably priced! I'm going to invest in gdiapers and some bumGenius AIO 3.0s to see which I like better. The gdiapers look like they will fit a newborn better (trimmer) and they are just so darn cute! My last name initial is "g" so I love them even more!!! "Monogrammed" diapers!!!

[daisymommy]

Sorry, I just saw this and wondered...what is the point then of buying gdiapers with a washable insert? Thats the same thing as any other cloth diaper?

[lizzywednesday]

I am so thankful for this thread!

While I'm only 10 weeks along with my (first) pregnancy, I'm already weighing the cloth/flushable/disposeable question out based on my own history - my parents couldn't use disposeables with my siblings or I because our skin was so sensitive - and the fact that I'm trying to be a bit more environmentally conscious as I go through preparations for our little one.

I will say that I purchased a baby-shower gift pack of the gDiapers for a close friend's shower back in March (her daughter is now 4.5 months old) and she & her husband use the gDiapers overnight with no problems and cloth diaper during the day...and found customer service & shipping to be prompt, friendly and reliable enough to allow me to continue to consider them. Their introduction of cloth liners has me curious ... even if they don't work so well, I figure they'll make OK burp cloths, no?

I intend on registering for at least one pack of 7th Generation disposeables, just to see if they will work for us (have another friend whose daughter got nasty diaper rash from them) but would really like to try hybrids like gDiapers and/or cloth in case 'Junior' has the same kind of reaction to disposeables that my siblings and I did. (Which would stink because we're relying on my s-i-l for daycare when I go back to work and she doesn't do cloth!)

Also, any opinions on Kissaluvs diaper potion for keeping baby's bum happy? (Grammar school friend uses it on her daughter with no prob's.)

The real-world recommendations have been wonderful, especially for liners versus AIO's ... thank you all for your honesty and experience!!!!

[JBaxter]

I used gDiapers on vacation and when we go away for a day. I dont find them terribly absorbant for over night. I use a mix of fitteds and pocket diapers for everyday/night use.

[betsyab]

Thanks for all the great advice!! We ended up taking a cloth diapering workship put on by Diaper Lab (great resource if in the Boston area) and we decided to get the Bumgenius AIO XS size for our newborn, and then do their trial once our little girl fills out a little more and we can see what fits her best. This was recommended to us specifically, and the workshop convinced us this was the best choice for us once we had our hands on all the styles of diapers.

We ordered 36 of the x-small size, so that we'll only have to do the diapers every 3 days. We just received our diapers today, and they are absolutely adorable.

[edurnemk]

Sorry, I just saw this and wondered...what is the point then of buying gdiapers with a washable insert? Thats the same thing as any other cloth diaper?

I guess it gives you versatility, since you can use the cloth insert at home, and switch to the flushable inserts for travel and outings. We actually used the gdiaper stuffed with a prefold for some time. I like my BG's and Happy Heinny's better though. But I do use gdiaper for travel.

We also used the Jillian's Drawers trial program and have been using BG's since then. I started out with the organic AIOs but DS can't wear cotton, the damp cloth gives him a rash immediately, so I sold them and got the fleece lined pockets. The fleece keeps the moisture away from his skin.

[BayGirl2]

Since this thread is still going, an update:

DS is 11 weeks old now and since he's long and lean, he still fits in the XS Thirsties! He can wear our BG OneSize AIO's too, but they are bulkier so we rarely put them on him. The BG AIO XS's were too small about 4 weeks ago. So the Thirsties XS will fit him for at least 1 month longer than BG, and still room to grow. Something about the cut just seems to work better.

I've found that the AIO's aren't enough for the night time, especially since I want to go as long as possible (including through feedings) without changing him. We've gone with Happy Heiny's fitteds with a wool cover for night.

Unfortunately the daycare we finally got into won't do cloth! (Every one I interviewed before said they would.) They will do Gdiapers so we got some of those too. Need to work out the kinks though, I put one on him last night and he ended up soaked after an hour, so I'm not doing something right!

Hope this helps other new moms. I'm still amazed by how little marketing there is for cloth diapers, considering how many great options we have now.