Diapers. This is usually the only thing non-parents know for sure goes hand in hand with babies. What most people don't know, is how many options of diapers there are, the amount of diapers you use and why things like cremes and powders are helpful. A lot of parents what to be very "green" now days and are therefore looking to cloth diapers as well, which is yes, ideal in saving trash, however, might not be the best scenario one you are actually the one changing those diapers. I've tried at least 10 different types of diapers, both disposable and cloth. Here is what you need to know about diapering: YOU ARE CHANGING DIAPERS CONSTANTLY - JUST LIKE BREASTFEEDING. Since YOU ARE BOUND TO TIME CONSUMPTION AND LACK OF SLEEP, CHOOSING THE DIAPERING SYSTEM THAT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER IS PROBALLY THE BEST CHOICE. Trust me all of you who haven't had kids yet, it's harder once you are in it.

DIAPERS

Facts: Most parents change at least 10 dirty diapers a day the first month of a new baby's life. Many (like myself) changed even close to 20 diapers a day. Thats 300 - 600 diapers that first month.

My first experience in diapering was with my little sister and brother. I am 6 and 10 years older than my siblings and I remember the mess of the cloth diapers we had at the time. The plain white cloth rectangles that you fold over their little butt and legs and pin with large pins that poked you if the baby moved. The good thing was, you bought one small sized cloth set of diapers for the early months and then a larger sized cloth set for the later months and a waterproof liner that was basically a slip over panty, which saved you money in not having to keep purchasing disposables. However, it means way more time dedicated to cleaning it and more laundry detergent, unless you have service that picks up, cleans for you, and delivers them back (which costs a monthly fee). When I became a mom myself, I was working 2/3 days a week and my husband was working everyday even weekends which meant I was alone in the cleaning - and that many diapers to clean in addition to breastfeeding, laundry, the extra sanitizing for the fragile infant, the non-sleep, the constant grocery shopping, cooking, frequent doctors visits and researching did not make cleaning roughly 20 soiled cloth diapers a day appealing for me. We had a smaller house at the time that didn't have a separate laundry room or even a real sink outside either, which meant I would have to soak the dodo in a bucket in the house and scrub it out using the kitchen sink or the bath in the one bathroom we had, meaning more cramped quarters with a very strong scent. So, we opted for the typical disposable brands Huggies and Pampers before trying other brands later.

My Experience with Huggies, Pampers, & Disposables:

The Biggest Help for New Parents = The Wetness Indicator

Click for more info: Huggies Little Snugglers Diapers - Size 1 - 35 ct

The "Wetness Indicator": In the newborn stage, it is hard for the new parent to figure out why the baby keeps crying. Of course, it's normal for a newborn to cry often (like every hour, yes) but its frustrating to try feeding and still have him crying, to try to soothe, comfort, rock back to sleep and still have him crying, to change the music, give a bath, go on a car ride, and still have a baby crying, then to peak in the diaper and not "see" anything to have to change ... wondering, what is it??!!! Well, often it is the diaper. Even now, my son at 21 months is walking around in a wet diaper for awhile before we catch on. What really helps is the COLOR LINE on the diapers that Huggies and Pampers brands have. Its a light yellow line that turns a blue or green when wet which really helps to cut confusion of trying everything else. In the beginning especially, when new parents still learning how their baby works - the cycle, the cry that means eat vs. frustrated, what temperature they like, what sounds they like, etc. , parents often don't notice the tiny amounts of pee in the diaper that irritates their baby. I noticed my girl was more irritated with a soiled diaper than my boy. The color pee lines really helped to coach us into cuing in as parents the first time around.
Availability: These brands are sold everywhere. When you are exhausted (as moms you will be), and especially if you are busy running errands, juggling multiple children, working, you might forget to bring enough diapers with you. If you are needing more diapers, it saves a lot of time to know you can walk into any nearby grocery store, drug store, even major gas stations and pick up a pack of the smaller sized Huggies or Pampers. This is not the case with organic diapers or cloth diapers.
Price : Huggies and Pampers are usually the brands that you can find deals on more regularly than other brands. Of course, Luvs and generic brands go on sale or can have better deals also.
Efficiency : The efficiency in holding the pee or poo from leaking has a lot to do with the thickness of the diaper, the shape, the contents its made with (for absorbing) and the staying power of not falling off. The shape is a little different between Huggies and Pampers. I liked the Pampers fit better for my daughter as she was more skinny and long vs the Huggies that is a little more wide and shorter, I felt. The velcro sides I really like as they seem to be pretty stuck on once placed. The only times we really had leaking problems with these brands were when it was time to move up in size or in the design style. From these brands, there is a "12-hour" version which holds quite a lot yet does not have the pee lines, however, but the time you need a heavier hold, I feel you are already more in tune with your baby and familiar with checking diapers that you won't need the pee lines anyway.
Downside: The chemicals to absorb the soil are strong. I noticed my daughter's diaper rash became much much better when switching from these diapers to cloth and other disposable brands like Babyganics and Honest. While this might not be an issue for all babies, I noticed a big change in my daughter's sensitivity to these diapers once she started eating solid foods. As I researched and talked with other moms, it seems that solid foods caused a higher amount of acids in poo and that mixed with the chemicals in the diapers caused a bad irritation and even infections (girls parts need more frequent changing and very thorough yet gentle cleaning). Although I found certain ways of cleaning helped like using water for pee instead of wipes or using talc-free powder helped and certain diaper rash cremes in certain amounts helped, the biggest factor in my experiment of solving the diaper rash and infections were in switching out of these diapers themselves. So, by the time my second was eating solids (after I used all the gifted diapers from friends and family), I also switched him into a different kind of diaper.

Disposable Diaper Brands I Tried:

Pampers with Wetness Indicator Size 1

Luvs Size 1

Huggies (More Absorbant Kind)

Parent's Choice All Sizes

Generic Brands that are not pictured but also efficient and affordable:

My Brief Experience with Cloth Diapers:

Gentle on the skin: For my daughter's baby shower, we happen to have been gifted a set of cloth diapers. After the rash and infection episodes with my daughter, I tried just using cloth diapers for a few days to see if it made a difference and it did. Cloth diapers are just that - cloth. They are more bulky because it is only folds of material that is soaking up soiling, not chemicals or mesh materials. Seeing that the cloth diapers seemed to clear out her rash, I would use cloth diapers in-between the disposables when ever I felt she was more irritated in her private areas until we found the disposable diapers that really worked for us.
Modern versions are easier to clean: Styles have changed since diapering my sister and brother in the early 90's. The modern day versions of cloth diapers are not merely thick long rectangle cloths that you fold into pins. Instead, you now have cute "diaper covers" that take the place of the pins basically snapping or velcro-ing a waterproofing liner over the cloth diapers keeping leakage to a minimal. The actual cloth that is now wrapped around the baby comes in much smaller sizes than before - as you now can use "inserts" that are shaped like a ten inch oval that fits into the diaper cover which minimizes the bulk. There are things a "cheesecloth" type of paper that can be lined in the cloth to help you roll up the poo and throw it out instead of poo being so soiled into the cloth like previously. There are things like waterproof pail liners that can act like you laundry basket/trash bag for your dirty diapers that is similar to the disposable diaper pail.
Saves money: It does save some money to invest into reusable cloth diapers if you are able to handle the laundry loads yourself (vs. hiring an service to clean for you). This is true especially if you are using cloth diapers for multiple babies.
Environmentally Friendly: Reusable diapers means less trash. However, it does mean much more laundry waste so do keep in mind the type of cleaning wastes this can create. Overall, minimizing trash combined with saving money is usually the reason people choose cloth diapers.
Downside: A lot of work to maintain. As I mentioned before, if you have a lot on your plate, as most moms do, plus work or another child, this is very time and energy consuming to maintain. I feel this also requires a larger cleaning space (then just a tight apartment washer/dryer) to be able to sit the dirty diapers (until you can get to it hours later) without it soiling other cloths or stinking up the room, really soak the soiled - in a bucket or washing sink that is separate from what people take a bath in (unless you are going to keep cleaning the bath in-between all the daily poos soakings), and wash alone - not with other laundry (which means laundry sits longer accumulating piles). The other thing that is a pain with cloth is going out with the baby - you have to keep bags of dirty diapers used on that outing (in the grocery stores, Walmart, the park, the restaurant, the beach) and changing a bulkier load on the go can be messier. If you run out of diapers, not many places sell cloths except for a few Gerber prefolds at Walmart. You have to go to the boutique and specialty shops or order online for cloths - if you live here in Hawaii anyway.

Cloth Diaper Brands I Tried:

Bambino Mio Newborn Set

Bum Genius One-Size-Fits-All

My Experience with Chemical-Free Disposables:

Gentle on the skin: My kids have had almost no rash problems with these diapers. The only time I have seen rash or irritations were during very hot days (We are in Hawaii) or when being unable to change the diaper for a long period of time (like stuck in a bad traffic episode)
Convenient: There are more chemical free disposable versions now sold in major stores like Walmart, Target, and Longs. If you are at a mall, Nordstrom even sell Honest diapers.
Cute: Honest diapers are really really cute. I was liking the Babyganics diapers until I saw these - look how cute these are (see below).
Downside: Generally, most chemical-free brands are a little more expensive (at least in Hawaii). Some of the brands that are equally priced to the mainstream brands are sometimes containing a smaller number of diapers in that pack or have less absorbency and therefore, you are having to use more, having to buy more. Partly why I initially switched to Honest diapers, is because of the bundling system which give s discounts on bulk purchasing that comes to be the same price as buying Huggies or Pampers. The absorbency of some of these chemical-free diapers was low, like Seventh Generation and Earth's Best, I have to admit - and that was frustrating as it caused more leaks and much more frequent diaper checking.