How many people know what brand of diaper they are going to use before they have met the man they are going to marry?
Well, at least one. Yeah, that’s me.
When I was a nanny, my families used disposables, and frankly, it never really occurred to me that people still used anything else. Had they started talking about cloth diapers, I would have been speechless.
Which is funny, because just a few years later, I was anything but speechless on the subject of diapers. But there was still only one kind of diaper for me.
g diapers.
Oh! The cuteness! Oh! The environmental benefits! Oh! The ease (they FLUSH, people, FLUSH)! And in case you didn’t get it the first time: THE CUTENESS!
Of course, I eventually met the man I would marry. And way too early in our relationship, I brought up the topic of (g) diapers, and he was totally on board, and I was, like, bring on the wedding cake!
Yet, up until 2 days ago, I had never actually used g diapers. You see, that dream died when we bought a house with a septic system that was not compatible with the flushable inserts.
My friend and gMum mentioned I could use them with cloth inserts, but, you know, that just wasn’t my dream. We have another friend with a baby a little older than Hazel, and she was using pocket diapers and all-in-ones, and that seemed easy enough. And g diapers, for all that I dreamed of using them, were actually something of a mystery to me.
But recently, we needed to supplement our diaper supply, and I turned to my diaper guru – who is the above mentioned gMum and mother of 3 gBabies. Little surprise that she finally convinced me to order some little gPants and some gCloth inserts.
I was so excited that I photographed their arrival. I mean, who does that? If you’re so inclined, note that Hazel is wearing a bulky, off-brand pocket diaper with missing snaps. She obviously can’t wait to upgrade.
For those who stumble upon this post for an actual review of gDiapers, here it is:
gDiapers are simple, easy to use, and it’s possible to find great deals on used gPants and the liners that go inside. So don’t panic when you hear they have 3 parts. That threw me enough to avoid them for 11 months, and now I am SO SORRY. There is the outer cotton pant, a snap-in waterproof liner, and a cloth or disposable (flushable/compostable) insert. You buy the pant and liner together, and the inserts separately. A diaper “change” consists of changing the insert and probably the liner as well. The inserts obviously get washed after each use, and the liners pretty much as often (but they are easy to wash out in the sink and dry in an hour or two), but the pants only need to be washed every few days and can be washed with regular laundry.
Pros:
– Obviously, absolutely adorable on any bum (but especially hers).
– Very trim for a cloth diaper, and last as long as our pocket diapers.
– Hook and loop closures on the back instead of the front discourage ape-like-feces-finger-painting.
– Compared with pocket diapers, the set up takes up very little room in my diaper bag.
– I LOVE LOVE LOVE that we can use the disposable inserts when we travel. I have never had the gumption to ask a host if I can wash my dirty cloth diapers in their washer, if one is available, and we have always traveled with disposable diapers. With gDiapers, the insert is a lot less waste than a full diaper, the liners can be washed out in a bathroom sink, and the pants don’t need to be washed often, but can go in with any other household laundry. It’s simple enough to take camping and other places I can’t do a load of laundry. I’m really excited to be at least partial cloth when we travel now.
– Less laundry than a pocket diaper system, where the whole diaper AND the insert have to washed after each use.
– You can buy gDiapers and supplies at local grocery stores (where we live).
– gDiapers have really good resale value. I found special edition gPants on ebay for four times their original value.
– The gDiaper community is awesome, customer service is readily available.
Cons:
– The 3-part system is not really a con, it’s really very easy, but it kind of sounds intimidating. My advice is to get over it.
– The cost, if you choose to only use the flushable/compostable inserts, is nearly twice that of regular disposable diapers. But you’re saving the earth. And since gDiapers came out with their cloth inserts, you can use the system with reusable inserts for about the same cost as pocket diapers.
– g Diapers have a huge, loyal following. However, you can read plenty of horror stories of people who bought $200 worth of g Diapers and could never get them to fit correctly on their babies. Okay, that’s pretty awful. But you can read the same horror stories in reviews of every other type of cloth diaper, too. Anyway, this kind of put me off g Diapers because I didn’t know what I would need if I just wanted to try them – I figured I needed the whole system or whatever. However, after my new g Diapers came, I went to our used baby gear store and found some little gPants with liners ($6 each) and extra liners ($2 each). A pack of six gCloth inserts runs about $28, but you can find them cheaper. So I could have gotten one to try, with extra liners and six inserts, for under $40, the price of two or three pocket diapers. And with six inserts, you get at least three and as many as six diaper changes (Hazel is fine with a single insert, my friend uses two for extra absorbency).
Summary:
Worth a try. Like me, you’ll probably end up haunting local gDiaper retailers and re-sellers and coveting the extra-cute special edition gPants your husband says you don’t need. Like me, you will probably spend days (weeks?) dressing your kid in t-shirts and dresses with no pants because the little g on their bum is SO DAMN CUTE. Like me, you will seek out people who will listen to you talk endlessly about gDiapers (thanks, Mom).
Anyway, Hazel has been in gDiapers for two days now. I even bought a pack of disposable inserts to try the next time we travel. And I signed up to be a gMum.
And there you have it.
Some dreams really do come true.