Dad-Friendly Diapers

(Disclaimer: My readership is diverse. Many have expressed an interest in hearing more about my cloth diapering experience but I know it will not appeal to other readers. If you don't want to read about diapers, don't read this post. Though I promise not to be graphic.)

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The other day, the Badger came up to me and said, "Roo needs a diaper change. I really want to learn how to change these cloth diapers you've been using, so would you please come in and watch me and make sure I do it right?"

What woman doesn't want to hear her husband say he WANTS to help change the diapers? Especially when she's using cloth and it's complicated?

So we went in to the changing table together. He put Roo on it and unfastened her diaper. "Okay..." he said confidently as he opened the diaper drawer.

He surveyed the contents of the drawer. "Uh..."

I looked in the drawer. "Well, it looks like all the pocket diapers are in the wash." I did some rummaging. "And the fitted diapers too. That's okay, you can use a prefold."

The Badger was starting to look confused. This was more than he'd bargained for.

I opened another drawer. "Now where is that snappi?" I rummaged. "Darn it all, I think Roo ran off with the snappis and hid them somewhere. Where did they go?"

At that point this look of total defeat came over the Badger's face. In order to change his daughter's diaper, he required something called a "snappi." Not only did he have no clue what a "snappi" was, but they were mysteriously missing.

"No, wait, honey! Don't go!"

Too late.

Honey dear, a Snappi is a little stretchy hook thingie that has replaced diaper pins in the world of cloth diapering:

See how it holds the diaper on? No pins. Fast. Easy. Really cool.

Even cooler are the new pocket diapers. You stuff a liner inside the middle and then they go on like disposables. The outer layer is waterproof, so you don't need a cover over them.

The best thing about them is that they fit a very broad range of sizes, so I can use the same diaper for either Roo or my little Rabbit. I don't use them on the baby very often because she goes through so many diapers in a day it seems silly to put it on her when I'm going to have to take it off a couple hours later. But they're perfect for Roo, who doesn't need changing very often.

The downside to these highly useful objects is that they are very expensive. You can buy a dozen prefolds (flat square diapers) for the price of one of these. However, it is highly recommended to have a couple of them because they are very convenient for when you're out and about or when someone like (*ahem*) dad is changing the diapers. So when I was purchasing my first set of cloth diapers I bought four of them. One of the websites had a deal where they would send you four different brands of one-size pocket diapers at a slight discount so you could see which brand you liked best.

Some readers will be interested to know that the four brands I got were BumGenius, Haute Pockets, Happy Heinys, and Mommy's Touch. I found, for the most part, that they were all about the same. They are very high-quality, work very well, and I love them all. The BumGenius have been heavily marketed and therefore are the best-known of these brands, but there was little difference between them and the others. In the end I decided that Mommy's Touch has a slight edge over the competition for one reason: there is an opening at both ends instead of just the back and that makes it a lot faster to stuff the insert in the diaper. Being able to reach your hand in the other side and pull the insert through is a lot easier. Also, I really liked the celery green color of the Mommy's Touch.

Talking to the Badger later that evening, he requested that we invest in a few more of the pocket diapers so that when he goes to do the changing they are less likely to be all in the wash and throw him for a loop. Since I like them so much, I was happy to agree.

That evening I did some surfing on the net. Now, there's one thing I've noticed about expensive cloth diapers: pretty much everyone sells them for the same price. Unlike many things on the web that I am able to buy for substantial discounts, the nature of this industry is such that fifty cents off is as good a sale as you're likely to get. For someone who's used to getting things 30% off or more, it's a little frustrating. I tell you that because you have to understand how extremely excited I was to find a site (Kelly's Closet) that was selling Mommy's Touch pocket diapers in closeout colors for a substantial discount. The only stipulation was that other than you being able to specify "boy" colors or "girl" colors they wouldn't tell you what the colors were.

How bad could the colors be? For girl prints it probably meant they had switched shades of pale pink or something. Anyhow, what did it matter? This was the best deal on the web.

So I bought six.

They came a few days later. When I opened the package, I was practically blinded.

Bright neon pink, my friends.

With purple snaps and turquoise liners. Roo is all ready for Baby 80's Night at the roller rink.

Closeouts.

Non-returnable.

Sigh.

I did so like that celery green. Surely it would have been worth a few extra dollars.

That's what I thought at first. Then I realized something: you absolutely cannot miss these diapers in a drawer full of white and pastel baby paraphernalia. Therefore, they are the perfect thing for dads.

So we have christened them the "Daddy Diapers." And the Badger is once again changing diapers with confidence.

He just has to wear sunglasses to protect his eyes.