gDiapers

jaimejean22

So... I have ALWAYS been set on using disposable diapers, but I have been seeing stuff about gDiapers and they seem very intriguing. I like the idea of being able to use disposables if I want, and using the liners so that I don't have to deal so much with the poop   That is honestly the reason that I haven't wanted to use cloth diapers, because I just don't want to deal with the poop, and I know that my hubby will not want to.  So... it seems like gDiapers could be an in-between solution for us.

Has anyone used these?  What are your thoughts, opinions, experiences, etc.  If I am going to invest in going down this route, I want to make sure its a solid, easy product.  Thanks!

Mizuiro007

I have looked at these but have no experience with them. There's a specialty board for cloth diapering and they may be able to offer some information, but I'll warn you my experience was that gDiapers and similar systems aren't popular there.

I found YouTube to be rather helpful. At the time I was looking I found some videos about cleaning and so on and they talked about the disposable liner reducing the mess but it couldn't catch everything.

Have you looked at diaper services? My mom swore by this when my brother and I were young and it seems it's still available.

SunnyD2015

I used them 8 years ago with my second baby and continued to use them with my third.  I liked them at home.  I used disposables while out and about.  

Sometimes you have to play around with them to get the absorbency right.  I used to cut a pad in half for more absorbency up front for the boys, especially during the night when they pee more.  

They were a good alternative for me.  I felt better about my impact on the environment.  

stephaniechen82

I used them 2 years ago. I liked the concept of a hybrid cloth diaper, but if your city doesn't have composting , the disposable insert is not really any more environmentally friendly than regular disposable.
Also my kid was a 'super soaker' and needed two cloth inserts. This was pretty bulky. I used a trifold insert found on greenmountaindiapers.com. Instead. The orange label size fits both small and medium gDiapers. I would say I the outer parts lasted maybe 2-3 times being worn before needing a wash. They do get a little moist because the liner is meant to breath a bit, so I would hang them up to air out in between wearing.
Also, with cloth diapering I didn't realize how bad baby poop stains. UV light from the sun works great for naturally removing the stains. Therefore line drying in a sunny spot is essential.
I will keep using them. Honestly though if you are looking for an ease of use type situation, all cloth diapers get gross. A diaper washing service would be best. And their inserts which you basically rent may not fit a gdiaper.

SunnyD2015

Actually, you can flush them if you don't have a septic tank.  They have a special flush stick to use to swirl the diaper in the bowl and then flush it.   And they are more environmentally friendly because they decompose faster than regular diapers.  Regular diapers can take 100 years to decompose, GDiapers only take like 55 days.  So they are better for the environment.  They have a whole video on their website that shows how they are more friendly than regular diapers.  

violetigerlily

If poop is the main thing holding you back from other types of cloth, they do make disposable liners (around 6 cents each) for regular cloth diapers too. We're looking at using all-in-ones with the liners and if we need to just having some disposables on hand for traveling (since they're cheaper than the fully disposable g diaper inserts).  We're first time parents and DH in particular was thinking of just using disposables because of the poop but after going to a cloth diapering seminar and finding out about all the different cheap flushable liners, we're going to give it a try. 

Edit: FYI a lot of the other brands all-in-ones (one piece) or all in twos (more similar to g diaper style with snap in cloth liner) are all one size that adjusts to fit the baby from about 8-10 lbs until potty training age. If I remember correctly g diapers had a lot of different sizes, so one advantage of something like a BumGenius or Thirsties all in one is that you only have to buy them once, plus no snapping in or buying cloth liners, just use it with a flushable lay on liner to toss the poop. 

If you're in a city you might want to see if you have a cloth diaper store or service that will let you do a rental/trial period with a variety of brands.  That way you can try out different types of cloth or g diapers for a few weeks to see what you like and how much work it involves without investing a ton of money on brands that aren't best for your lifestyle or baby.  That's what we're doing, and if we end up hating cloth entirey we can just switch to disposables without really losing any money, since we didn't buy anything. 

stephaniechen82

Just to address a few things:

I think that even compostable gDiapers take a considerable amount of time to decompose in a landfill because of a lack of oxygen, and bacteria required for decomposition.  But ultimately these would be better than regular in the long run.  It is best to compost the pee soaked ones if you have the option, or if your city has the option.

You *can* flush them...in a house with good plumbing.  These clogged out toilets no matter what we did, but our house is older.

The liners do improve dealing with poop in general, but baby poop from breast fed babies is very runny (TMI) and goes right through the disposable liner in my experience.  These liners worked better in our case, because they are more flexible and don't tend to poke out and fall apart like the more paper based gDiaper liner. https://www.amazon.com/Buttons-Disposable-Bamboo-Diaper-Liners/dp/B00GLCFXGW/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&qid=1438357921&sr=8-21&keywords=disposable+diaper+liners

We had alot of ammonia build-up, whether gDiaper or not, so a good product that helped us (for homes with hard water)

1. Borax.

2. Rockin Green https://www.amazon.com/Rockin-Green-Funk-Ammonia-Bouncer/dp/B004D5KJJA/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1438358479&sr=1-1&keywords=rockin+green+ammonia+bouncer

BostonBaby1

I am also highly skeptical about the ability to flush these diapers. We also live in a home where we have old pipes. We have city sewer, but can have issues if we even flush adults wet wipes down the toilet. Unless if you have an extremely powerful flow from your toilet, I'm not sure that flushing them is the best idea.