Thoughts on fitteds and covers

First of all - SO good to be posting again. Something funky happened with the blog, but once I switched over to the Blogger Beta, I was back online. Funny how that works, huh?

Anyway, to pick up where I left off - we need to talk covers. But I can't do that until we discuss one more type of diaper that also needs a cover - the beautiful, fun, lovely fitted diaper.

Fitteds are diapers that are made from natural materials, but there is no folding or pinning required. They generally close with snaps or aplix. Most every fitted on the market has some kind of darling fabric on the outside, generally a cotton weave, knit, or flannel (although there are many other possibilities). Some people question why have such cute material on the outside when this diaper has to be covered (it's not waterproof). Well, many mamas like to let their babes go around the house or out in the yard in a fitted with no cover. Again, these are all-natural materials so an uncovered fitted provides a lovely amount of breathability for baby's bum.

Personally, I do LOVE fitteds, but I find I am clearing most of ours out of the stash. They are fairly expensive to buy new (compared to prefolds) . . . or maybe that's just because I like to buy fitteds made from organic cottons. Anyway, I have only come across a very FEW brands of fitteds that can hold up the way a prefold can. It's so important to remember as you read about my personal tastes that D is an ultra-heavy wetter. So prefolds under covers are the workhorses of our stash, but fitteds are so nice for days when she wants to rollie-pollie away from a diaper change.

Some of my fave fitteds are:

Clothmopolitan (so wonderfully trim, extremely well-made, very abosorbent - kind of hard to get. Have to watch for stockings)
Laughing Lion (very similiar to Clothmo in my opinion - equally well-made, very trim, great fit)
Keester Kovers (she doesn't stock a lot of fitteds, but she made us an all organic velour one that was so scrumptious! I bet she would do a custom fitted for anyone who is interested. Super sweet mama!)
Blackbird Lane (also fairly hard to get, but AWESOMELY absorbent for heavy-wetting babes!)
El Bee Baby (dang near impossible to get - as in, two-year waiting list! Basically, if you want brand new El Bees, you put your name on the list for a child you hope to concieve in the future. I have two I scored off of For Sale Or Trade boards)
Dream Eze (the only fitted I am listing that is not Work At Home Mom made - I love Kim at Montana Diapers and she worked very hard to design this awesome diaper. Super, super absorbent and gorgeous trim cut)

So, that's about all I can think to say about fitteds. Oh yeah - there are lots of choices on fitteds: turned and topstitched edges or serged edges; soaker style - sewn-in, snap in, internal . . .; snaps or aplix; front-snapping or side-snapping . . . Everyone will have their own personal taste on those choices. As for me and my household, we like a side-snapping, snap-in or sewn on external soaker with either turned and topstitched edges or serged edges that aren't TOO ruffly. But to each their own!

Okay . . .

COVERS!

There are three basic kinds of covers: nylon, PUL, and wool.

Let me cover the first two today, because I want to devote an entirely new entry to wool.

NYLON
The plastic pants that our parents used on us are not so much used these days. A very basic, very easy, very cheap way to cover a cloth diaper that needs a cover (flats, prefolds, fitteds) is with nylon. I hear great things about the Dappi cover. I personally have two Bummi Whisper Pant in our stash that I use from time to time. If you want top of the line nylon covering, you must have the Snap-EZ snapping nylon cover. These are all great choices, and nylon tends to breathe a bit better than PUL.

PUL
First of all, what is PUL? PUL stands for Polyurethane Laminate. It is a synthetic, waterproof material that you will find used in diaper covers, pocket diapers, All-in-One diapers, and diaper wet bags. Because of its synthetic nature, it is generally not breathable - but still highly functional and useful for all kinds of diapering needs.
By far the most popular (in terms of number of users) of PUL cover is the Bummi Super Whisper Wrap . It comes in basic white, but also has a few cute prints. Highly effective and user-friendly, these were an important part of our beginning stash. Many people also like the Imse Vimse Bumpy cover. I have tried Wiggle Worm Bottoms but they have got to be some of the most DARLING covers I have seen yet! There are a plethora of choices for PUL covers -- check out some for yourself at the Diaper Pin Covers Review Page.

Well, I have a sick chick who needs my attention. I can't wait to share with you all why I love WOOL in my next entry!