One Size Cloth Diapers vs. Sized #FallFluff
Posted by Darcy Zalewski •
September 9, 2011 •
Cloth Diaper Adventures ,Hops, Memes, and Events •
30 Comments
As I researched what cloth diapers to buy, I kept getting lost in the terminology and abbreviations. After familiarizing myself with those, I was able to make more sense out of the posts and references I read. Certainly the best way I’ve learned has been by doing though!
I still sometimes get mixed up about fitted and sized, often saying fitted when I mean sized. Fitted means the diaper is designed to “fit” baby’s body. Non-fitted diapers include prefolds, flats, and diapers without elastic or some means to fit snugly around those thighs. Fitted diapers can be sized OR one sized.
Sized diapers fit certain ranges (age, height, weight). They cannot be worn from birth to potty; whereas one size diapers are designed to last from birth to potty. One size diapers offer a variety of ways to adjust their fit as baby grows. Usually it’s to adjust the rise but some also adjust the leg elastic.
We mostly have one size diapers because I wanted to stretch our diaper stash dollars. I didn’t think it’d matter that much. I mean, why pay the same price for a diaper that can’t be worn as long?
I’ve learned it’s not that simple!
- One Size may fit from birth to potty, but since it’s used more often over the course, it will wear out quicker.
- OS tend to fit babies better in the middle. They tend to be too big on newborns and too small on potty training babes.
- Sized fits better at each stage and handles the different movement stages well.
- As baby grows, you need to “size up” when they out grow the current size and restash. (But that in between sizes time can be awkward.)
- OS works well to diaper multiple children at the same time.
We have a few sized diapers and I do like them. In our experience, sized fit our skinny minnie better. We still successfully use OS, but they would have fallen off if we used them at day one! I still think OS is a more economical option. However, if you are going to end up diapering a few kids, you’ll use the sized diapers enough to justify the cost.. I think! So, (no surprise) I like having a variety to choose from… I wouldn’t want all OS or all sized.
Just gimmie some of each!
Which do you prefer: One size or sized?
Don’t forget to see what Mariah and April have to say too!
Tags: cloth diapers, cloth leaves nothing behind, one size, sized
i like both. i like one size for my pockets orr covers. i oobviously like sized for fitteds and wool products. I think you have to have both.
I am new to cloth diapering. Because I have two in diapers, that are 12 mths apart, most of what I have are One size! I need to use them on both girls!! However I do have some AIO large, and these work great (along with extra inserts in the pocekt) for my 21mth old, overnight!! The fit is really good, compared to the same brand in a one size pocket. I’m not sure if the AIO plays into that as well, but I like those diapers the best!!
Overall, I prefer sized diapers since I can get a better fit, but the drawback is, I have to spend more money on the diapers. I have about 50%/50% of sized vs. one size. My daughter just turned one and is approximately 30 lbs. So a lot of one size diapers are tight on her and some of the rises do not fit well.wifemummynurse
I think I like sized, I find them to fit better!
Alena Bejenarou
sanikache@aol.com
i’m new to cd and i thought os would be more cost effective but you make a good point about the sizing-makes me reconsider fitteds. thx!
I have one sized & LOVE them!Sarah211987
I like a mixture of both! My 3 yo is still fitting into most OS (I have small kids!). I don’t think they would have fit her at birth though (we started CDing at 9months). Hopefully we will get pg soon and I’ll be able to actually try on a newborn! I already have a stash built up and I have NB and smalls as well as OS.
Prefer one-sized because if I build my stash, I have enough to avoid early wear out. I feel bad when the sized diaper becomes too small…
I like both depending on the size of the baby. I like sized dipes for newborns and smaller babies (OS are too bulky), but I like OS for about 9 months and up.
I’ve never tried OS because sized were recommended to me and I was able to get a large stash via gifts and borrowing, so we haven’t had to spend any money yet! I’ve had a great experience so far, but I’d love to try OS.
I have mostly OS Pockets but am hoping they will last since I line dry the covers. I also try to rotate diapers so they wear evenly (sometimes i dont do very good at this because I do have favorites!)mehort
Line drying definitely helps! The heat in the dryer is tough on elastic.Syrana
I think I would prefer one sized but since my daughter and sil have to use what they get I try for any an all, I’ve even bought 2 used. This is a far cry from when I cloth diapered. Infact I am having my daughter read this asap as some of my info is now incorrect! I started cloth diapering in 1983 when cloth diapering wasn’t cool and diapered through 4 children. Two of children have 10 years between them so these fancier diapers were around for the last one however I only had 4 for emergencies. My daughter an sil would like to use them full time.
Gladys Psueparks2003
I have all one-sized because I thought they would be cheaper and I got them all used, so getting one-size seemed safer. I really like the idea of a two size system that both Applecheeks and AMP have. I have an Applecheeks size 2 coming in the mail and will be interested to see how it compares to my one size diapers.
I think for the next baby I will defiantly do sized fitteds to start with, then go from there :)
I like my AppleCheeks and Thirsties Duos – those kind of diapers are in between OS and sized so they are a great option to get a trimmer fit like sized but can be worn longerSyrana
One sized. Thanks for pointing out the fact that one sized can get worn out faster. It seems obvious, but not something a beginner would take into consideration.Sweetums82
It makes sense but I didn’t realize that initially either!Syrana
I like the one sized because they seem to fit better.
My daughter has always been on the small size! We have mostly OS Diapers, but a handful of Sized diapers. When we started using cloth, these gave the best fit; now that she’s grown some, they all fit, sized or OS. But if your babe is big, OS will usually do the trick. I will say that most of our sized diapers were ones that I won instead of bought! ngiraldi at gmail dot com
this will be our first time using cloth diapers when my nephew is born in november, so i really dont know that much about it, but we have bought newborns and aio so after we have a chance to try it, we will know more about which we prefer!
I think I prefer OS after the newborn stage!
I have tried sized yet, I, like you thought that OS would stretch our dollar more. I do look forward to trying a sized diaper, I may add it to my stash soon!
I have only 1 sized diaper to compare to the one size in my stash. I like how well it fits him, but I like the ease of the one size.stewartheather
I have never clothed diapered, but I know when I buy clothes for myself I hate “One size fits all” because apparently I don’t fit into the “all” category.
I think I would prefer the sized.pennymindingmom
I didn’t start cloth-diapering until my first was 7 months old. We got exclusively one sized because we were on a tight budget, and we loved them. We did have one sized diaper we received as a gift and loved it too. My petite daughter potty-trained early (completely diaper-free by 20 months, even at night), so we never had a problem with them not fitting. However, we are now expecting our second baby and do not want to use any disposables, so we are now on the search for newborn-sized and size small diapers. I think both sized and OS have their advantages, and we’ll have both in our stash.hollywilson82
I also have some sized and one-size diapers and I think it all depends on the day which ones I grab. I like both styles. I’ve found that I can often get a more customized fit with a one-size diaper because the weight ranges on the sized diapers often aren’t accurate with my skinny boy. It took forever for him to fit into the fuzzibunz medium even though he met the weight for it. Even now at 25 pounds and 19 months he’s slimming down a bit as he grows taller and the diaper is not fitting well (can’t get it tight enough) on waist and thighs.
I think OS diapers are a nice way to cover a majority of baby’s diapering time. I lucked out in the sense of newborn diapers vs os diapers because my son was 8 pounds when he was born. He fit into bumGenius 4.0′s the day he came home from the hospital. Of course at 8 months I have no idea if they’ll really last until he potty-trains, but even if OS diapers wear out faster because you are using them all the time, I think in some cases they are still worth it.
I have some of both. In the beginning (6 months ago) I got all OS thinking they would be great for both my toddler and my infant and some brands fit both better than others. The sized diapers that I have tend to fit both girls body type better (both have narrow waists but chunky thighs and bellies). Ive found I like having both (in fact Im trying to have a little bit of everything so that diapers that dont work in some situations work better for others and vice versa)
It sounds like I would need to have a mix of both, especially for newborns babies.allnaturalkatie
I am not diapering yet, but I have started collecting some sized diapers. I am still doing research and enjoy reading blogs from Moms who have been there so I know what I am getting into. I will probably add some OS to my collection once I actually have children.