Cloth diapers, I know it sounds a little extreme and hippy-ish, but as a modern day mama who is always looking for a way to save money this is a BIG drain on my baby budget. I totally understand buying the cheaper diapers, but I am the lucky mama of a sensitive skinned boy who can not wear the cheap diapers. So I looked into cloth diapers (CD) and found that there was many different brands;
This is when I decided to do an experiment! I started by making the perimeters of what would be acceptable and making it a success, so that way I would know if it was a failure for our lives. The three things that mattered most to me were to ease of use (At the time I was finishing my BS degree), I needed to be able to do this with as minimal stress as possible. This second was leakage, at the time we were leaking or blowing out about 5 times a week, so anything under that was acceptable. The third was most important, it have to save me MONEY$$$!!!
After a lot of research I found out there there were three main styles. The first one is a one-size which means that it will fit the baby from birth to potty training. The pictures below are of the Go-Green Pocket diapers.
A pocket diaper looks the most like a regular diaper, and has inserts that you stuff under the pocket. This brand is nice because you don't have to un-stuff them as the washer does it for you! The price of each diaper is about $17, and to survive 3-4 days you need at least 14-20. That can get VERY price, but if this is your first baby and you know you want more children this could work for you.
I did really like the colored snaps as it made it so much easier to snap them up at night.
This is an inside shot of the pocket, I loved the look of these diapers but they just didn't hold enough, and my son wet through them to much.
This diaper is the second kind I tried and it is called the gDiaper, This is a sized diaper which means that you have to have it in small, median, large, and X-LG to go from birth to potty training. I have friends that use these and love them, but the inserts didn't work well for us, they simply leaked to much. This kind did have one great feature and that was disposable inserts. I thought that was great for when others watched my son, except for the fact that they were as much as disposable diapers!
The gDiaper is called a shell diaper because the outside part is reusable (unless it becomes soiled) so all you have to do is take out the dirty liner wipe it out and put a clean liner in!
The Winner of my experiment was the best bottom diapers they are a shell One-size and they have been wonderful! For a set of 3 shells and 9 inserts is about $84. The inserts snap in so they don't move and become uncomfortable, and the designs are so cute!! I have 6 shells, I use three per week then wash the three I used and switch to the other three.
They have 2 different kinds of inserts in 3 sizes. Pictured here are the hemp (bottom) and the microfiber (top). It is said that the Hemp absorbs more but slowly, and the microfiber absorbs less but faster. This brand also makes a doubler (Hemp) which snaps in and then you can snap a second insert on top of that. I use this for nap time and it is perfect! The inserts here are large (Blue stitching), as when I started my son was already in this size, the other sizes have different colored stitching.
This is a picture of the owl shell with the microfiber insert, I love that it is easy to snap in the insert and go. They have NEVER leaked, and they are the easiest to clean and wash.
Now if you are truly going to make the switch to CD, then I would suggest making a handful of extra purchases. My list of essentials are.
1) Fuzzybums hanging wetbag
This is so you don't have the the stench of dirty diapers in your home. I have used this in all seasons (I live in an apartment) and there is no smell outside your door!
2) Wet/dry bag
This is for you diaper bag. So you can change diapers out and about and take home the inserts to wash.
3) Toilet sprayer
This attaches to the toilet so can spray off the poo!
I want to make one point very clear, the best bottom diapers are amazing for MY family, I have friends that use the Go Green Pocket Diapers, and the gDiapers and love them. That being said if you are looking for a reliable place to purchase them I would suggest www.NickisDiapers.com as they seem to have the best deal.
The last thing I would cover is price, going over the numbers and for all of the extras, and the inserts (this would include small, medium, & Large) is roughly $400-450. This sounds like a lot, but I was spending an average of $70 per month on diapers. As of the moment I only have one child which means that it cost $300 (I will need to buy the small & Medium for our next baby) then I will still save month as that is roughly 5 months of diapers, and we have already been using them for the past 6 months. Now when the next baby comes that will mean that I can divid the diaper price in half, and every baby afterwards will make the diapers less and less.
These are double thick hot pads, and they are a huge hit with everyone! I love to crochet, and to make these takes about 2-3 days of crocheting at night while I am watching T.V. 
