Gerber Cloth Diapers, A Brief Review

A few months back, during one of my swaps, my swap partner sent me some cloth diapers.  I thought it was totally awesome.  They were just the inexpensive Gerber ones, but I figured they were better than nothing.  I'd heard horrible reviews about how these diapers aren't absorbent.  They tend to leak everywhere and fill rather quickly.  For even a light soaker, it would be better to double them up.  Still, I couldn't be picky and they were a gift, so I was happy to give them a try.  What can I say?  At less than a dollar a diaper, they were perfectly in my price range.  Now if only I still had my old diaper covers!

In my time cloth diapering, I haven't had a chance to try out many brands or different types.  My experience has been pretty limited.  My daughter was only on disposables.  My older son wore nothing but Kissaluv's fitted diapers for the brief time I could manage cloth, though I wish I could have done it longer.  Now I've got these Gerber diapers and only a few of the Kissaluv's and a Happy Heiny to round things out.  Given how expensive disposable diapers are, I took the chance to switch over to cloth.  We've got a washer and dryer here, which meant I could cycle through the dozen diapers I had in a day and still have clean diapers, even if I only had one day's supply.

What my swap partner sent me were Gerber Prefold Birdseye 3-ply cloth diapers in a 12 pack.  The first day I tried them, they really did leak.  I wasn't terribly pleased.  I was beginning to think I should start doubling them up or adding a liner.  Given that I don't have any covers right now, soaking through is definitely a concern of mine.  I know no cloth diaper will ever be leak-free without a cover, but I've found that I can actually work things so that they hold a little better where he needs it most by folding over the extra fabric.  I'm also considering adding a second one folded on the inside so I can have a soaker to absorb some of the extra.  I've also noticed that after additional washings, they seem to be getting a little more absorbent.  Perhaps it's because I use a free and clear laundry soap and avoid bleach at all costs.  I've noticed that his pee diapers are just a little damp on the outside, unless he pees in his sleep, because then he can sleep through it and really soak himself.  His poop diapers have all pretty much been contained.  We had one leak thus far, but I think if I add an additional soaker that wouldn't have happened.  It would add bulk to the butt, of course, but that's not too big of a deal.  They work for us.  They work well enough that I just picked up two more packs to hold us over until we can get something fancier and they can be demoted to burp cloths and cleaning rags.  They're also work well enough to stuff the Happy Heiny diaper I have, though I've found I need two to last through the night.

The verdict?  They're not bad for being cheap Gerber diapers.  By the fact that I can pick them up at Walmart for $11, that's right in my budget right now.  Over time we do plan to upgrade and replace them with better and more absorbent diapers, perhaps some Chinese prefolds, Kissaluv's fitted, and Happy Heinys, but for now, they'll hold us over and spare us the cost of additional disposables until we can save up.  I bought $22 in diapers today, and that saved me buying a pack of disposables that would have cost the same and lasted, what?  A couple of weeks at best?  Poor little boy's rashes would have gotten worse and he would have continued to be unhappy.  Personally, if you can afford to save up and buy something higher quality, I'd say do it, even if it is just some nice prefolds.  If not?  Well, these are something good that can hold you over for at-home use if you can accept the need for a doubler or soaker and can tolerate the potential leaks until you can save up for something higher quality.