Fitted Cloth Diapers

Fitted cloth diapers are the more sophisticated cousin to the prefold or flat cloth diaper!  Fitted diapers require covers, just like prefolds and flats, but are cut to fit your baby's shape and do not require folding.  They also have elastic around the waist and thighs that allows for a snug, custom fit that won't let anything escape.  Most of our fitted diapers have an easy, user-friendly closure like snaps or Aplix (same as Velcro, just a different brand).  The fitted cloth diapers without closures are more appropriately called "contour diapers" because are contoured to fit your baby, but don't always have elasticized legs and waist.  The advantage to the contour diaper is that your fit is not restricted by the closure- you can pull the diaper as snug or loose as you like, fasten with pins or a Snappi diaper fastener, without worrying about being in-between snaps or not having enough aplix to get the diaper snug enough (or running out of aplix when your baby is outgrowing the diaper).

Snaps or Aplix? Choosing a closure for your fitted cloth diapers
If you prefer a closure for your fitted cloth diaper, you will need to choose snaps or aplix.  It will really come down to a personal preference.  Some people dislike aplix because it can get caught on other cloth diapers and covers in the wash.  However, all of our fitted diapers with aplix have fold-back laundry tabs to prevent this from happening.  Some people dislike snaps because they are restricted to the snap settings given- one snap setting might be a little too tight, while the next might be a little too loose.  Usually this is temporary, as your child will likely grow the little bit necessary to make it to the next setting.  Snaps tend to hold a bit more securely, as some toddlers have an easier time pulling aplix closures open.  Aplix, however, tends to be a little bit more user-friendly for when other caregivers are changing baby's diaper.  We usually recommend trying one of each to get a feel for your preference.

Choosing Fabrics for your fitted cloth diapers
You also have a choice of fabrics when selecting fitted cloth diapers.  Hemp and organic cotton are our top choices.  Hemp is more absorbent than cotton, has longer, denser fibers, and will hold up better over years of cloth diapering.  Hemp is also an environmentally friendly choice, as it requires no pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides to grow.  Hemp cloth diapers are also naturally antibacterial and antifungal, and work to prevent diaper rash and yeast infections.  For more information of hemp, please read our articles, "Why Use Hemp in Cloth Diapering?" and "Is Hemp Really Better than Cotton?"

Organic cotton is softer than hemp, and for areas with very hard water, will stay soft while hemp may not.  (However, don't let this deter you from using hemp- it is still soft like any fabric, and far superior to any paper diaper.)  Certified organic cotton is also grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or chemical defoliants, unlike its conventionally grown counterparts.  Organic cotton is milled in a variety of different textures- we have cloth diapers made of cotton fleece, cotton sherpa, cotton terry, cotton velour, and cotton flannelette! 

Fitted Cloth Diaper Expectations
All cloth diapers will get wet through when baby pees.  Cloth diapers are porous, breathable, and made of wonderfully soft fabric that is not waterproof.  So all cloth diapers do require cloth diaper covers for waterproofing.  For families converting from disposable diapers, it may be alarming to see and feel wetness come through the cloth diaper.  This is OK!  We don't want wetness to pool next to baby's skin or get locked in and held for hours.  Cloth diaper covers provide the waterproofing needed to prevent wetness from getting on baby's clothes and bedding (or mom and dad's clothes and bedding!).  Additionally, once baby is wet, she or he needs a diaper change.  Cloth diapers can last 12 hours if need be, but during the day, baby needs to be changed when he or she is wet.  Just as with disposable diapers, just because they *can* hold an entire day's worth of urine, doesn't mean we should leave baby in a super-absorbent cloth diaper for hours.  It is also worth noting that some families go without covers when at home, or when they want to monitor how often and how much baby is wetting.  With our toddler, we often go coverless as she wants to be changed as soon as she pees anyway.  However, if Grandma or Grandpa are coming for a visit, we pull on a diaper cover so no one gets a wet lap!

Our Recommendations

People often ask us what we recommend.  Honestly, we recommend all of these fitted diapers!  If we didn't love them and feel they work superbly, we would not offer them in our store.  Each of these diapers has a place in our stash.  Our best-selling fitted cloth diapers (and the ones that make up most of our personal stash) are Little Beetle fitted diapers.  The Little Beetle Hemp Fitteds are consistently top-rated fitted cloth diapers.  For night time, we especially recommend the Little Beetle Original with doublers, or the Happy Hempy fitted diaper stuffed with either Babykicks Joey Bunz Hemp inserts or Happy Heiny Hemp Stuffins.  One of our softest and most absorbent cloth diapers is the Little Beetle ONE- we love this diaper because it is made of 100% organic cotton velour and sewn in small batches at a small family facility in Georgia.  Once you've had velour on baby's bum, it will be hard to use anything else!

Our newest arrival that is becoming a staff favorite for night time is the Babykicks One-Size Fitted Cloth Diaper. You can stuff with it as much absorbency as you need, and it will fit just about all babies from birth to potty.

As with everything, we recommend getting a few to try.  We would be perfectly happy with an entire stash of any of our fitted diapers- but we like a little variety, and so does our toddler!

(Don't forget- all fitted cloth diapers require a diaper cover for waterproofing- please read our information page on cloth diaper covers next! Click here to go back to our Cloth Diapering 101 page!)