I initially bought 24 prefold diapers (the flat ones that your mom probably used) and a couple of covers, but soon graduated to trying out every type of diaper out there. In this post, I’ll give you a quick run-down of the types of diaper I tried out: prefold diapers with a cover, all-in-one diapers, fitted diapers with cover and pocket diapers.

Prefold diapers are flat, cotton rectangles with several absorbent layers sewn into the middle of the diaper. If your mom cloth diapered you, she probably used these. They require  some “cooking” prior to use in order to remove the oils from the cotton-you can either boil them on the stove or wash them on hot several times. To keep the wetness and et cetera contained, put a waterproof cover over top of the prefold. There are several types of covers, many are made of PUL (polyurethane laminate), but there are also wonderful covers made of wool and fleece that are more breathable and earth-friendly. I really enjoyed using prefold diapers with Aiden and James when they were babies, and whenever we were not planning to go out anywhere. They aren’t the most absorbent diaper out there, so if your child is a “super-soaker” like mine were, you might not want to use prefolds as your main diaper. But oh, how cute they are!

All-in-one diapers, AIO for short, are very user-friendly (and husband-friendly) because they are, well, all-in-one. My husband always grabbed the AIOs first when he was on diaper duty because he didn’t have to worry about using a cover or remembering to stuff the pocket (we’ll discuss pockets later). If you want quick and convenient without any prep work, AIOs are the way to go. The only drawback to using AIOs is that they take longer to dry in the dryer/on the clothesline. It’s nice to keep a few of these in your stash for times when you have a babysitter or your only somewhat-cooperative husband is on diaper duty.

Of all the cloth diapers I tried, I think fitteds were my least favorite.  Don’t get me wrong-they are all kinds of cute, but then you’ve got to put a cover on it, which ruins all the fun of having a super-cute diaper! Fitted diapers are sewn with several absorbent layers on the inside. The outer layer-the one that touches your precious baby’s bottom-is often a nice fleece or velour or bamboo fabric. Pictured at left are two SOS fitted diapers that I used back in the day. These suckers were so very popular that you had to stalk the maker’s website and hope you were lucky enough to get to the checkout page before someone else yoinked it out of your cart. If you bought prefolds and are bored with them, there are several sites on the Internet whose business it is to turn prefolds into fitteds-a neat and inexpensive way to try out fitted diapers without investing in a whole new diaper. As with the prefold diapers, fitted diapers need a waterproof cover over top, as they are not waterproof themselves.

Last but certainly not least, there are pocket diapers. I tried all of the above diapers before finally arriving at pockets. I love them.  Pocket diapers are called as such because they have a pocket into which you stuff the absorbent insert of your choice.  The most popular fabric to use for an insert is microfiber. You can buy fancy ones intended for cloth diapering, or you can go to Wal-Mart and buy microfiber towels from the automotive section-they both perform equally. (But beware of Wal-Mart’s yellow microfiber towels-they bleed!) You can also stuff your pocket diapers with prefolds (prefolds really do come in handy all the time). A great thing about pocket diapers is that you can control the thickness of the absorbent layers. As you can see in the picture at right, you can stuff a pocket diaper until the cows come home. Aiden was ready for bed in this picture, so I had put a prefold and probably a couple microfiber inserts in there for good measure. A bonus feature of a fully-stuffed cloth diaper-they can help baby to sit more steadily!

If you’d like to give cloth diapering a try, but have no clue where to start, fear not! Try Googling “cloth diaper starter kit” and you’ll get a plethora of results. A site that I used a lot during my diapering days was CottonBabies. Check them out for lots of great starter pack choices.

Have a cloth question? Ask here!

I don’t know too much about recycling in Austin. Are there any readers out there that can enlighten me and help us unload in an earth friendly manner? We have a curbside bin and I am wondering what all can be recycled in that bin. Seems like our trash has tripled since having children and I am carrying around a guilty conscience about all of the trash that we throw away every day. Would love some detailed info on what I can recycle versus what just needs to be thrown out.

I did a little research and found this link for recycling in Austin. Are there any readers out there that can help out those of us living in the suburbs of Austin? Please, tell us what we can recycle curbside and what has to go to the dump.