My cloth diaper stash and cloth diaper favorites

I have been cloth diapering Miss Victoria since she was a week old. It has been a great experience full of many ups and downs, but I am so happy with my decision to cloth diaper. We have saved a ton of money and on top of that, I actually have a lot of fun with it!

My cloth diaper stash has evolved a lot over the course of the last 15 months, but this is what it looks like right now

This does not include my newborn diaper stash, but this includes:
-12 Bumgenius Freetime all-in-ones (1 more than this photo shows)
-8 Bumgenius 4.0 pocket diapers
-3 Gro-via Hybrid all-in-twos
-5 Blueberry Simplex All-in-ones (1 more than this photo shows)
-1 Blueberry pocket
-3 random diapers (rumparoos, baby kicks, and kawaii)
-6 osocozy birdseye cotton fitteds (these now no longer fit my daughter, so have been packed away)
-6 Green Mountain Diaper cotton fitteds
-5 overnight fitteds (2 totsbots, 2 sustainablebabyish, 1 bummis)
-5 waterproof covers
-1 applecheeks swim diaper

This stash is quite comfortable for us. The variety allows for many different situations, which is great. I have just enough to wash every other day and allow my diapers to air-dry.

There are so many different cloth diaper options (you can learn more about cloth diaper types at my post HERE), but I have found that all-in-one diapers are the best fit for us. The number one reason I like them is that are very easy (they don't have to be stuffed after they are washed and don't require multiple layers) and my husband finds them very easy.

After over a year of watching friends and family cloth diaper, I have seen that those who have the easiest cloth diapering systems usually are less likely to quit because they don't have to devote much time to it. Those who are less likely to quite also have more supportive husbands who know how to use the cloth diapers and might even have their favorites. This of course isn't true for everyone, but its what I've seen the most.

For us, I used to own a lot of pocket diapers, which required me to stuff them after washing. It was fine, but I realized that it would be a lot harder to keep up when I have more than one child. As a result, I decided to invest in all-in-one diapers, as they are so simple and require very little of my time.

I have tried MANY different diaper brands, including: Applecheeks, Blueberry, Bottombumpers, Bummis, Charlie Banana, Fuzzibunz, Grovia, Happy Heinys, Imagine, Kissaluvs, Lalabye Baby, Moraki, Rumparooz, Thirsties, Totsbots, Bumgenius, Osocozy, Geffen Baby, Babykicks, Kawaii, Ragababe, and more I've sure that I can't remember

That does not mean I have tried everything by any means. But I have tried enough to give me an idea of what works well for us and why.

My 2 favorite diapers

Blueberry Simplex AIO
If I only had one diaper, it would be this one.

The fancy print doesn't matter, but this diaper is by far the best diaper I have tried. If I could, I'd have an entire stash made of these (except for nap and night diapers)

 The extra flap insert on the end agitates out in the wash, and you can either fold it on top of the diaper or tuck it down between the lining and the outer layer

This diaper is made in the US and seems to fit pretty much any child except teeny tiny babies (They make a newborn version that fits children up to 16 lbs, which was by far my favorite newborn diaper). The tag says it fits children 10-35lbs+ and my 25 lbs toddler fits this diaper perfectly. It is very trim, very absorbent in every area (doesn't matter if you have a front-wetting boy or a mid-back wetting girl), has a stay-dry option, washes amazingly, and uses cotton as the absorbent material instead of microfiber (which can be prone to ammonia issues). This diaper is perfect. Seriously. The only drawback is the price: $28.95.

The price definitely makes this more of a high-end diaper, but honestly, it isn't as high as some, and it is definitely well-made. I'd rather have fewer better-made, trim diapers than more leaky, bulky diapers. The great thing that offsets the price, however, is the resale value. A used simplex AIO in very good condition can go for $15-$20, or even more if it is a desirable print like this one.

I am also a fan of the Bumgenius Freetime, which is also my husband's favorite diaper.

I've had my freetimes since the beginning. They fit a baby 8-35lbs, but they are a bit on the bulky side for a newborn. I didn't consistently use these on Victoria until she was over 15lbs. Now we have 12 of these and I really like them. The attached flaps on the inside can be folded a variety of ways into the diaper to adjust absorbency, and they wash very well. My husband finds these very easy to use so they are his favorite by far. Freetimes are also a great price at about $19.95 (although I usually get mine at Buy Buy Baby with a $5 off $15 coupon). The only drawbacks are the material: these are microfiber which means they can be a bit more prone to ammonia issues if you don't have the right wash routine down, and the absorbency isn't quite as good as the Blueberry simplex. My heavy wetting 15 month old will soak one of these in 2 hours. This isn't a problem for me as I don't like to allow my baby to sit in a dirty diaper long anyway, but it is definitely a consideration when taking Victoria on errands.

I am planning 2 more cloth diaper posts in the next week or so:
--Everything you need to know to cloth diaper from baby through toddlerhood
--My ideal diaper stash at 3 different price points: $100, $350, $600

So be on the lookout for those soon!