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Pocket Diapers

Pocket diapers have become the most popular type of cloth diaper. Pocket diapers consist of a waterproof outer layer, and an inner layer of fleece or suedecloth, which wicks wetness away from babies skin and into the absorbent insert that you stuff in between the layers. Pocket diapers consist of two parts, the actual cloth diaper and the insert. Many brands of pocket diapers now come with an insert, like Fuzzi Bunz and BumGenius. Some brands do not come with an insert, so you can choose to purchase whatever type of insert you prefer. Happy Heiny's are a pocket diaper that allow you to choose what type of insert you want to use with them. See our New to Cloth section for more details on all the different types of pocket diapers and inserts. The newest trend in pocket diapers is One Size Pocket Diapers, like Mommy's Touch Easy Clean Diapers, BumGenius One Size Diapers, and Haute Pockets. These diapers fit most babies from about 7-35+ lbs so you don't need to keep buying different sizes.

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Baby Kangas

Unique zip close pouch, free insert

BumGenius One Size

PUL outer, suedecloth inner, Free One Size Insert.

Fuzzi Bunz

The original pocket diaper, snap closures and soft fleece inner. Free Insert!

Green Acre Designs

Side snapping, fleece inner, color combos, Free Insert!

Happy Heinys Pocket Diapers

Soft fleece inner and daddy-friendly hook and loop closures

Haute Pockets

One Size Pocket Diaper available with Velcro or Snap Closures. Free Wonder-Fulls Insert!

Mommys Touch One Size Pocket Diaper

New Easy Clean One Size Diapers with snap or Velcro closures

Pocket Change Diapers

No need to remove the insert, it comes out in the washer! 2 Free Inserts!

Swaddlebees Econappi

One Size Pocket diaper with organic cotton inner.

So, how exactly do pocket diapers work? The inner layer of microfleece or suedecloth allows wetness to pass through it while feeling dry to the touch. This keeps baby feeling dryer, preventing diaper rash. It also may help them sleep longer, if they tend to be woken up by a wet diaper. I am often asked if you need to change the whole diaper, or just put in a clean insert. Yes, you do need to change the diaper and insert. Although the diaper feels dry to the touch, the urine did pass through it and needs to be changed. Another good property of the fleece or suedecloth inners is that is makes cleaning off "messy" diapers easier. Most solids will fall right off into the toilet. Pocket diapers also tend to resist staining more than many other types of diapers. Sometimes the inserts do tend to hold onto stains, but in my opinion they are just inserts, no one really sees them, so a few stains on those don't bother me.

Can you use pocket diapers on a newborn? Sure. Fuzzi Bunz and Happy Heiny's both make great newborn/preemie size pocket diapers. The fleece inners help keep those runny newborn poops inside the diaper. Many babies (about 8 lbs +) will fit right in to small size pocket diapers or one of the brands of One Size diapers, like BumGenius or Mommy's Touch.

How long do pocket diapers last? It depends on how often you use and wash them and on your wash routine. I have talked to many people who have had 3, 4 even 5 kids using the same cloth diapers. However, most manufacturers have a warrenty period of 60-90 days for sewing/elastic defects and 18 months+ for snap defects. If you took your favorite shirt and wore and washed it as often as you do cloth diapers, it would wear out pretty quickly. Most pocket diapers are made with man-made materials and therefore do hold up quite well to the "abuse" they receive. I have personally used the same diapers on my 2 kids and most of them have held up pretty well. If you are using the same 12 diapers everyday for your childs entire time in diapers, they are most likely going to be quite worn out by the end. A larger amount of diapers being washed every few days, will hold up better. Drying in a hot dryer, or diapers that sit in the diaper pail for extended periods of time may cause the elastic to wear out faster. You should also avoid stretching the elastic when it is warm. Wait to stuff your pockets until the diapers have completely cooled from the dryer. Repeatedly "baking" them in the hot sun, or exposing them to bleach or other harsh cleansers will also shorten the lifespan of a cloth diaper. Cotton and other natural fibers will wear our more quickly than polyester and other man made fabrics. So, you can certainly take steps to extend the life of your cloth diapers, but reusing the same diapers 150-200+ times is certainly better and more cost effective than disposable diapers. Also, keep in mind, if you are using sized diapers, size small generally isn't used for more than a few months, so you can use your size smalls for several children. Same goes for larges, if your child isn't in them too long before they are potty trained. Kids are usually in mediums for the longest, so you may need to invest in a few more of those over the years of cloth diapering your kids, but many cloth diapers can be passed on to other kids or saved for your next one.