And the winner is....

Pocket diapers are by far my favorite. I'll tell ya' the world of cloth diapering is extreme. There are tons of WAHM, an acronym for Work At Home Mothers, who make cloth diapers and covers and sell them. As a matter of fact, the bum Genius 3.0 that I am in love with was made originally by a WAHM, and from what I have read is being sold in some Target stores. crazy! These aren't the old square pieces of material with an ugly plastic wrap to keep the pee in that my mom put me in, cloth diapers of today are a fashion statement...along with being evironmentally friendly and economical.

It took me a lot of experimentation and questions to get to the point where I am now with cloth diapering. I ordered a few package deals of prefolds, contours and pockets to see what I would like. I didn't even test the AIOs because my gut told me that they just wouldn't get as clean as diapers you actually pulled the insert out of and clean separately. The decision on what type of diaper system to use was a personal one. I had to ask myself questions such as: "do I mind touching a lot of pee," "do I think my baby gets clean if the cloth is full of pee or poo?," "do I want to wash them?," "which dipes work best on a wiggler?" and most importantly "do I want to deal with the poopies when they start eating solids?" All of these were some of my initial questions, so I researched and researched and researched. I think I was a bit too obsessive, but I knew if I was spending hundreds of dollars up front to diaper my kid(s) that I wanted to make the most informed decision I could make.

The research was easy because there are many, many people who blog about it, companies that sell them post all sorts of information from how to clean them to reviews and suggestions, and a forum (diaperswappers.com) where you can go and thread q's on diaper "chatter" or even look at the various types of diapers. There is an area on this forum where people sell and trade their new and used wares...yes, you can resell your used diapers. If you take really good care of your diapers you have the potential of getting at least half of your money back when you are through using them. This also depends on which diapers you use. If you use prefolds you may as well keep them to dust with, but the wraps you cover the prefolds in and if you use dipes such as Fuzzi Bunz or bum Genius, you can get some cash back on your investment. For instance, all of the diapers I "tested" and didn't care for I sold. I posted them on diaperswappers.com and sold them within one day. You get rated on the forum, so your diapers better be what you post them as or someone will give you a bad rating and you'll never be able to sell again. I hope mommy Heather blogs about her diaper experience chasing another woman down to get not-so-nose-friendly used diapers. Let's just say - if someone posts they have free cloth diapers and they are just giving them away and not donating them, don't go get them.

The system I decided on, as I mentioned, is pocket diapers. I like that the insert can be taken out and the cover can be washed separately. Makes me feel like they get really clean that way. I can also put a doubler in them for naps and nightime and not worry about leaks. I have 13 bum Genius 3.0 and 3 Fuzzi Bunz. I need to add about 6 more to my collection so I don't wear them out. But, once I add those 6 and take good care of my diapers, I should be able to use them until bubbies gets potty trained...in about 2 years. I did the math, and after all I bought and sold and the accessories needed (diaper pails, rice paper and potentially a diaper sprayer), I will have not only made a small impact on our earth's landfills, but I will also have saved almost $1700. Crazy!

Here is bubbies in his bum Genius...I like this diaper and the Fuzzi Bunz because they are not bulky. They are a tad bulkier than a disposable, but not bad under clothes. And, they look SO cute with just a shirt or onsie, too.