The One-Size Cloth Diaper Debate

I think that all of us parents can agree that saving time and money is an ideal goal for anything.  We're already running around like crazy and wasting our precious resources on something that doesn't make our lives easier?  Insanity!  

When it come to cloth diapering, one might assume that buying "one-size" options is the money saving way to go - these diapers can "grow with your baby," right?  Well... maybe.

 

The basic idea behind a one-size cloth diaper is that, through a series of snap closures, you can adjust the way the fabric is secured around your baby - this allows for a hypothetical 8lb baby to fit into the same diaper as a hypothetical 30lb toddler.  But does it really work as easy as that?

In my experience, I've only dealt with BIG babies.  My son was born weighing in at a burly 9lb 4oz, and my daughter at a slightly more modest 8lb 0oz.  Even under those circumstances - where the newborn was actually larger than the typical minimum weight for a one-size diaper (8lbs) - the diapers were far too bulky and just not practical at first.  My kids used newborn specific cloth diapers for at least the first month, if not a little longer.

I currently have a two month-old (the daughter I mentioned earlier) and she's only just now wearing the one-size diapers from our stash.  She's about 12lbs now - and in my experience, the 12lb mark is generally the smallest that I feel confident with.  A poor fit (i.e. a too big diaper on a too small baby) can lead to leaking, and, in the words of my idol Sweet Brown:

What brands work best on small babies?

There is some variation on the sizes of one-size diapers... as odd as that sounds.  I've found that buying the "cheapy" brands off of eBay (try this link) generally results in slightly tighter fits - of course, they will also fit tighter as your child grows, so they won't last as long.  Snaps on these are also lower quality, so buy at your own risk.

If you want to be sure your diapers are either locally made or if you're a "name brand" kind of parent, the Rum-A-Rooz OS diaper fits a lot more snug on my kids than others and has a really adjustable fit around the legs if your baby has "thunder thighs" like mine did/do.  Kawaii Baby OS diapers are a great option for parents on a budget - these work okay as well, though still a bit bulky on a 12-13lb baby.

What does a OS cloth diaper look like on an infant?

This is my daughter in a Kawaii Baby OS - as I mentioned above, she weighs 12lbs now.  This diaper, hypothetically speaking, should fit an 8lb newborn... and to be honest with you, I can't buy into that.  Yes, there are smaller adjustments to the fit at the waist and thigh than what she's wearing here, but you'd force that poor newborn into doing the splits with all that bulk - Do you see what I mean?