My Favorite Cloth Diaper

My favorite cloth diaper system is the Flip system.

What makes this my favorite system is it's versatility and design. The Flip system is a two part system. You have the diaper cover and the diaper soaker. Unlike a pocket diaper there is no stuffing involved. You simply lay the soaker inside the cover and attach to baby with snaps or hook and loop. 

The diaper cover is a one size cover with a three snap rise. It can be adjusted to fit babies from 8 to 35 lbs. While it does get pretty small I would recommend newborn diapers for newborns. Most one size diapers are big and bulky on newborns. It has two rows of waist snaps, with two snaps on each wing. The picture on the right shows the diaper on the smallest waist setting and largest rise setting.

One nice feature, which also saves money, is that you can use the cover multiple times between washings unless it is soiled with poo. So during a diaper change you put the soiled soaker in your wetbag or drypail, wipe out the cover, then place a clean soaker in the shell and put back on baby.

Pictured below is the diaper cover fully opened. You can see that it has a flap to tuck in the soaker both in the front and back of the cover. The front flap also helps prevent tummy leaks for boys and babies who sleep on their tummy. The back flap is great for keeping poo from going up baby's back.

Now on to the versatility. You can use pretty much any soaker you want in these diapers. The only soakers I would not recommend would be microfiber that do not have a layer of micro fleece or micro suede to protect baby's bottom. It is not good to have baby's skin against microfiber. 

Flip makes four types of soakers for their diapers. Stay dry, organic (day or night) and disposable (yep disposable)!

Stay dry inserts are three layers of microfiber topped with a layer of micro suede. This is a one size soaker that you fold down to adjust from small to large so it fits appropriately in the diaper cover. The organic day time soakers are similar to a flat diaper that you fold to the correct size and place in diaper. The night time soaker is similar to a prefold. You adjust the size by folding in one direction or the other. I have never even considered using the disposable inserts (I am kind of an all or nothing girl when it comes to cloth diapers). I have heard they are great for longer vacations when you don't have access to a washing machine and for camping. We have yet to go camping with Bug, but even if we did, I know I have enough cloth diapers to get us through a few days, we wouldn't go any longer than that with a 1 year old anyway!

Pictured below is a Flip Stay Dry insert inside the diaper cover as well as a close up of the micro suede/ microfiber. It is as simple as placing the soaker inside the shell and tucking under the flaps.

My first Flip purchase was the Flip Day Pack. The day pack has two diaper covers and six stay dry inserts. I think I paid just under $50.

I also use Best Bottom stay dry soakers, regular prefolds and Imagine Smart Fit prefolds in my Flip covers. Best Bottom is another two part system, but I didn't like the shell, so I traded someone for another Flip shell. The Best Bottom shell does not have flaps in the front and back, instead it has snaps to hold the soaker in place. We got wet tummy leaks and poo explosions up the back, I also HATED snapping and unsnapping the inserts, just pointless extra work. But I like the Best Bottom Stay Dry soakers, so I kept those to use with the Flip covers.

Here is a picture of the Flip soaker (left) and the Best Bottom (right). Again, Flip is one size that you fold down. Best Bottom soakers are sized. So you buy a different size for each rise setting on the diaper. While it isn't as cost effective to buy all the sizes of the soakers, it make for a more trim fit. I also like that Best Bottom's soakers are contoured.

This is my out-and-about diaper. The shell and soaker make for easy day trips. It is a trim fit, but I also don't have to carry around a bunch of diaper shells. One will usually get me through outings. So I just have to put a soaker or two in the diaper bag.

Here are the two different types of prefolds I use. The one on the bottom is just a regular Indian/Chinese prefold. The one on top is Imagine Smart Fit size large (these only sold at nickisdiapers.com). Smart fit prefolds are sized so that you get the best fit under diaper covers. Both of these get tri-folded and placed in cover. But with the Indian prefolds you have to fold down the top, even on the largest diaper rise setting, so you get a lot more bulk in the diaper. The large Smart Fit require no folding down. It fits perfectly in the diaper cover on the large setting.

This is what I use for naps and overnights. The ONLY diaper system I use for naps and overnights. I rarely get leaks. Everything else I have tried leaks either at the tummy or the leg gussets. I have more luck with the organic cotton soakers than microfiber when it comes to nighttime diapering.

Because you can re-use the cover, use almost any type or brand of soaker you want, get a great fit for daytime and nighttime diapering, and trimness/ light packing for going out, this it my favorite diaper!

What is your favorite diaper? Is it different for daytime/nighttime use or while out on the town?

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this review, nor did I receive any product. I was not asked to give a review. All comments are my own personal opinion.