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This Cloth Mama recommends Fuzzi Bunz Cloth Diapers for their ease of use, but she also uses wool covers whenever she can (and secretly wishes she could outfit her son in wool every day).
 

She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their super cute 2 1/2-year-old little dude. Amber is getting ready to start the cloth diaper journey all over again – they are expecting another little boy later this year!

 
I have one son, 2.5 years old and another on the way.
 

 
Since my son was a few months old, so over 2 years.

 
From the moment he was born he had horrible diaper rashes. We had to slather him with creams yet still he had awful rashes. I did some research and wondered if it was the chemicals in the disposable diapers we were using that made him get so raw. So when he was a few months old we started cloth diapering exclusively and his rash has been gone ever since.
 

 
We bought a variety of different styles to try out. All told we bought about eight different brands of pocket diapers, all in ones and pre-folds and then tested them all out. I sold the ones I didn’t like on Diaper Swappers and pretty much got my money back since they had only been used once or twice.

 

 
We ended up using Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers because they are so darn easy and dry much faster than all in ones or fitteds. We live in a dry climate so we can dry our pockets and inserts in just a few hours outside in the sun. This is way cheaper than using the dryer and more eco-friendly.

We also use knitted wool diaper covers at night over the pocket diapers and sometimes during the day over pre-folds. I really love the look and feel of wool, and that it is made of all-natural materials, unlike the PUL in most pocket diapers. Wool is beautiful and so absorbent. Not cheap though and unfortunately I’m a slow knitter so we only have a handful of wool covers.

 
I think at this point we have about 10 prefolds, 15 pockets, 20 inserts, and six handknit wool covers.

 
We settled on Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers (pockets) because they are just so predictable and fit my son really well. They also have a great resale value, whenever we’ve gone up in size I get a good chunk of my money back by selling the ones he has outgrown.

For wool covers, I’ve purchased from a number of different longies knitters, but right now my favorite (and she knit the ones pictured) are from The East Side because she uses organic “O-wool” brand yarn. Scrumptious.

 
With the pockets, we take the pocket out, throw the whole thing into a dry diaper bag that hangs on the door. I wash them about every four days by doing a cold rinse, hot cycle with soap and then a cold rinse. Every few weeks I strip them by doing a few more hot cycles. We usually line dry since it is so hot and dry here.

The wool covers really are self-cleaning as long as it is just pee! They can go for several weeks without a soak, honest. I never believed this until I tried them but wool really is magical. Every several weeks I’ll soak them in warm water and add lanolin and then let them air dry.

 
I purchase our Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers from Amazon because they always have the best prices.

 
My pockets have gotten some soap buildup – which you know is happening by the ammonia smell that will come from the diaper bag. If that happens, I’ll just strip them by running a few extra hot cycles without soap and it does the trick every time.

 
Yes, I wish I could afford to buy hundreds of wool longies and shorties so my son could wear them exclusively instead of pants. They are anti-cheap though.

 
We had a rough time finding a pediatrician that we liked and that was in tune with our attachment parenting style. While cloth diapering and attachment parenting have nothing to do with each other, you’ll often see them go hand in hand in families. So our previous pediatrician came into the room, took one look at our son wearing only his bright orange cloth diaper and said, “What is that he has on? What fancy underwear!” She then proceeded to have no idea how to unsnap it and told us she hasn’t ever seen anyone use cloth diapers. We knew immediately we were in the wrong office and it turned out we were right.

Fast forward to a few pediatricians later and this time my son is sitting there in his bright turquoise pocket diaper. The new pediatrician walks in and says, “Wow, love your blue Fuzzi Bunz Cloth Diapers! Great color!” He takes them off and re-snaps without flinching. Bingo! We really love him and he is a great advocate for our parenting style. So funny how the diapers were the first indication for the type of patients they commonly see, which translated to their own parenting philosophies.

 
Well, since I am pregnant I’ll have this opportunity in a few months! This time we’ll cloth diaper from day one and won’t have to test out different brands since we know what system works for us already.

 
Buy a few different brands and styles to see what fits your child the best and works best for you.

 
Yes! It really is true that disposable diapers caused my son’s skin rashes. It wasn’t just a newborn thing that he grew out of. A month ago, my son was at his Grandma’s house and we forgot to restock the diaper bag with fresh diapers. Luckily, she was able to borrow a few disposables from the next door neighbor who has a child the same age.

Over the course of that day, he wore disposable diapers for about six hours and came home with a red rash that turned raw. He must have very sensitive skin, but fortunately after a couple of days in cloth again and the rash went away quickly. I mention this because for us it isn’t just about saving money or being eco-friendly…it is healthier for our son to be in cloth!