Gerber pre-folded cloth diapers are great burp cloths, but lousy diaper inserts.
I used the Gerber pre-folded cloth diapers as burp cloths all the time when my baby was exclusively breast fed, and they were my favorite burp cloths. My son was a "happy spitter," he was totally happy and gained weight, but he spit up a lot, so I needed really absorbent burp clothes. I gave the Gerber pre-folded diapers a try as inserts for the gDiapers because I read that others have used them with success, I found them to be very absorbent for spit up, and they are cheaper than the gCloth inserts. I found them to be very prone to leaks. I don't know if it was just because they aren't exactly the right size for the gDiapers, but I won't be using them again!
Buy at least 2 days worth of diaper inserts and snap-in liners.
I started out with 6 snap-in liners, and I had to do laundry daily. Now I have 12 snap-in liners and I still do a load of diaper laundry almost daily because I don't like to let them sit for too long. I do find it nice not to have to do a load of laundry every day though. It takes the pressure off if I miss a day for one reason or another. I currently have 12 diaper inserts which is just about enough for 2 days. I will probably get some more because they are size medium/large, so I can reuse them for my next baby and for longer!
Check cloth diapers more frequently than you would disposable!
This seems pretty obvious I guess but cloth diapers are harder to check than disposable diapers. You can't just squeeze them and feel if they are wet. You have to open them up and look! The times that my son had leaks were when he had gone more than 2 or 3 hours without a diaper change. This isn't usually the case, but it happens depending on naps or if we are in the car. The gCloth liners work pretty well except when they are wet before they get dirty. They break down kind of like toilet paper when they get wet, which is why they are flush-able, so it makes sense. The messiest diapers I've have to clean were really wet and dirty, so if you get to the wet before they get dirty it isn't so bad.
You can use cloth diapers overnight...if you double up on inserts.
I was pretty low on disposable diapers when I started using cloth diapers, but I figured that they would last me a while since I was only using them overnight. They lasted over a week, but I did run out eventually, and I didn't get a chance to pick some up before bedtime. I had read that doubling up on the gCloth inserts helps prevent leaks if you put them hemp side together (some refer to it as a "hemp sandwich"). The liquid is absorbed by the hemp side, so if you put them together then the wetness stays off of babies bottom and off of the snap-in liner. It works so well that I would do it all the time, but it makes the diaper very bulky! My son had a hard time walking around in the double insert diaper, so I will only do it if he is sleeping or in his car seat.
That's all for now. It's bedtime for this Mama!
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