Hybrid diapers?

apmcm

Sorry if this has already been discussed, but I haven't been on in a while!

 

So, I recently discovered that there's such a thing as "hybrid" diapers. In particular, I was looking at gDiapers. Has anyone heard of them or used them? Did they cost much more than disposables? Did they leak?

I would like to use something earth-friendly, but also budget friendly. However, since I'll be a working mommy I don't feel like cloth diapering is feasible. Any opinions/suggestions?

MamaStef0810

gDiapers are great, albeit a little bit more expensive than disposables and cloth.

One thing you need to ask is whether they are even allowed at daycare. Most places only allow disposables. What we do is cloth diaper at home and on the weekends and use disposables at daycare and on long car trips and vacations.

MamaStef0810

Also, Seventh Generation makes great earth-friendly disposable diapers.

Lexs4

We plan to use them but will be going with the cloth inserts as much as possible.  I did a lot of research on them & found them to be just as reliably as the other brands such as fuzzibuns & Bumgenius when the instructions are followed properly & they are secure on the baby. 

I am stocked on tiny gpants & smalls, just trying to finish purchasing the rest of my mediums & larges & my inserts.  I lucked out and got a lot of tiny gpants on ebay, since I had already purchased the smalls (you can only get the tinys when you buy the package on the gDiapers website which comes with 12 tinys & I think like 6 smalls) and just got them in over the weekend & they are adorable!  They came with a package of disposable inserts & after reading the directions, I was able to get those fitted inside the tinys perfectly. I however don't plan to use them unless I need to, maybe nights if using 2 cloths or an insert & a doubler doesn't cut it. 

I think with ANY diaper there is a risk of blow outs & leaks, but I have heard & read many good things about gDiapers when used correctly & prepped before hand.  (The inserts have to be washed somewhere bt 6-8x in just hot water to prep before using.)  I pasted a link below for a site that has some pretty good items that are made for gDiapers if you want to use cloth inserts.  Just know that the disposable inserts are only 100% biodegradable when composted, so they do leave a footprint if flushed or thrown away.  We are fortunate to have a lot of land and woods at our disposal so we can compost the disposables a decent distance from the house or any areas we frequent. 

https://www.nappyshoppe.com/store/inserts-and-doublers-c-68.html

Lexs4

MamaStef0810:

Also, Seventh Generation makes great earth-friendly disposable diapers.

Not to sound snarky, but 7th Gen is not as earth friendly as they would like you to believe.  If you do some research you will see that these are not 100% disposable & also are made with the same gel that regular disposables are which is not very earth friendly.  What is sad is there is no real earth-friendly disposable, I have yet to find one that is 100% biodegradable in the US market.  

apmcm

Thanks for the info ladies! I have also heard that 7th Gen isn't quite as eco-friendly as they advertise.

Has the price difference been significant between these and disposables?

LaLaaaa

We're going with the one size Fuzzi Bunz.  I just can't see spending so much money on all different sized diapers.  Instead of needing (for example) 30 of each size, I only need 30 total to get me through until potty training.  Cost wise I don't think you can beat it.  Having said that, I know CDing is a lot of work.  But my best friend is a teacher and currently a single parent (husband deployed) and she does it exclusively.  If she can do it, I can do it!  (that's what I keep telling myself anyway, lol)

misskate28

I studied gdiapers quite a bit and was seriously considering going with all gdiapers for my stash, but then DH and I sat down and calculated how much they would cost us in a year versus disposables and they came out costing the same, if not a little bit more.  Our main reason for wanting to cloth diaper was our environmental concern, but it seemed that we should take advantage of the potential cost benefits.  At that point DH and I decided to just go all cloth pocket diapers (we won't be sending Kennedy to daycare).  We're mixing together Rumparooz, Fuzzibunz, Greenbottom, Offspring, Cutiepoops, and Blueberry diapers.  I do think that gdiapers are a smart way to go if your child will be in daycare as long as the daycare's fine with them.  gdiapers does have some pretty darn cute designs and colors too!  Lexs4 - I'm envious that your stash is almost done.  I've only just started collecting mine.

kaleqt

I was considering G diapers until I read a lot of not so favorable reviews on them. My neighbor also tried them and hated them, she said they leaked all the time.

Lexs4

lindsayluong12:

We're going with the one size Fuzzi Bunz.  I just can't see spending so much money on all different sized diapers.  Instead of needing (for example) 30 of each size, I only need 30 total to get me through until potty training.  Cost wise I don't think you can beat it.  Having said that, I know CDing is a lot of work.  But my best friend is a teacher and currently a single parent (husband deployed) and she does it exclusively.  If she can do it, I can do it!  (that's what I keep telling myself anyway, lol)

Just as FYI, since they use inserts, it is recommended that you only need 4-6 pants per size, so by the time I am done I will only have 32 pants...  I have 8 tiny & 8 smalls which according to the numerous sites I used to make my decision would be more than enough.  I only have 2 of each of the med & larges but will stock up to 8 of each as well.  I bought extra plastic snap in liners & am even considering making my own inserts based on some pretty crafty ladies on the internet, although I have bought about 24 small inserts as well.  I will need to buy some of the med/large to use as a guideline for the sizing, but they are pretty easy to make on your own & should save us a bunch of $ in the long run. 

It really surprises me to see all these posts about negative reviews on gDiapers, beyond the fact that the disposable inserts were not 100% biodegradable unless composted. I spent weeks researching what was the most cost efficient choice for us to use & eco-friendly as well & aside from the random few posts about negative experiences, the positives ALWAYS outweighed the negatives when it came to these diapers.  Now that I have made the investment, I tend to find a lot more sites raving about them, especially when I am searching for add on products such as doublers & extra liners. 

Our biggest concern was water consumption when it came to cleaning and caring for them.  We have a low producing well which prohibits us from using unlimited amounts of water & we generally restrict our usage for laundry to two loads a day so AIOs were not going to be a good option for us.  When I researched a lot of the one sized options for pockets I got mixed reviews so I decided to go with the gDiapers.  Obviously I have not had the opportunity to use them yet, but feel very good about the decision I have made.  Guess if I am wrong I will be selling my stash on craigs list or ebay, but I feel good for trying them...

KelCaryn20

We have decided to cloth diaper as much as possible, too. 

Another brand we have been looking at is GroVia. The hybrid diapers they have are adjustable, and grow with baby. You can use either the cloth inserts, prefolds or disposables inside the shell, too.