These diapers are great for cloth diaper beginners, dads or babysitters who have trouble with flats and prefolds, and sleepy mamas who are looking for quick diaper changes! These fasten almost exactly like disposables, and if you keep them pre-loaded its just as fast to change the diaper.
gDiapers were the first cloth diaper I ever purchased. I decided during pregnancy to use cloth diapers, but I wasn't sure whether or not I would be able to stick with it since it seemed like so much extra work compared to disposables. I decided to try gDiapers first because they come with disposable as well as cloth inserts. I liked having that choice. I also purchased some AIOs and some pockets later on to complete my newborn stash. I knew I wouldn't need the tiny g's because I had a bigger newborn (9.8 lbs) so she was able to wear the gPants size small right off the bat. Now I love cloth diapering and I would NEVER stop and use disposables, despite the extra effort involved.
gDiapers are not my favorite diaper, but I do really love them, especially for at home and when she was a newborn they were great. These diapers are definitely great, but not for every situation. Because of that this review is a 3 Star review, but I do recommend these highly for newborns and for at home! And definitely anything is better than a disposable!
--My Experience ---
During the first few weeks these were great for nighttime because she wasn't wetting as heavily then, and waking up every 30 mins 2 hours during the night for a feeding and a change. I was tired and I used gPants exclusively for nights because all I had to do was flip the diaper inside out over the diaper pail to dislodge the wet insert, then put in a clean one. I never had to touch poo or pee. It was even easier than putting on a disposable in my opinion, because I didn't have to roll up the diaper and fasten it before throwing it away. I just flipped the insert out into the pail in one swift motion and moved on.
When she got a bit older and started wetting more we began having problems with these for night. We started using them for day with no issues, until we switched to the medium size. At that point the smaller inserts were too small to absorb the pee fast enough without a leak. We started using two small inserts at once, which did okay, but meant the diaper was more bulky. We switched to the M/L/XL insert and that helped.
... Then we moved to an area where our water is so hard that we had to give up our fleecy diapers and only use natural fabrics which rinse cleaner, faster.. I even had to give up the cloth inserts for our gDiapers because of the fleecy layer. Now we are only using flats, prefolds, Kiwi Pies, and gDiapers. Instead of using the gDiapers with the cloth inserts, I use 2 flannel Gerber prefolds/burpies folded up inside. Because its folded I can adjust the size and fit to my baby's bottom and now I never have any leaks at all, and its slimmer than using 2 gDiapers inserts. I've also used Alva Baby's bamboo inserts and Joey Bunz hemp inserts and those work great too, but I save those for night time so I rarely use them in the g's. I would love it if gDiapers had an all natural fabric insert. I would be willing to pay extra for that in order to have the choice.
I've been using these for 18 months now and bought every color, but none of the prints. I've used sizes S, M, and L, and probably will be purchasing some of the XL soon.
--Kid is Smarter Than Diaper ---
Unfortunately even though they velcro in the back and are supposed to be harder for babies to remove, my daughter somehow mastered it at around 7-9 months old. At 13 months old it became impossible to keep a gDiaper on her unless she was wearing pants or a onesie, because she can whip off one of these like lightening. They are so cute that I hate having to cover them up with pants or shorts. I wish they would create a snaps version that snaps where the current ones velcro.
--Cloth or Disposable? ---
The disposable inserts work a million times better than the cloth. They absorb just as much if not better, they fit better inside the nylon bit, and I have had ZERO leaks with them. I love the disposable inserts. They are flushable which is great but I live in an apartment that doesn't have the best sewage system ever, so I still threw mine away. I hardly ever buy them though because they are kind of expensive for what they are, and I'd rather use cloth anyway even if the cloth leaks. Another use for the disposable ones are as liners for other cloth dipes. They work great as liners when you need to put baby oil or rash cream on baby's booty but you don't want to ruin your diaper and have to strip it.
--Washing ---
They are a pain in the butt to wash, if you follow the manufacturer's instructions. According to the washing instructions, the shell, nylon pouch, and insert all have to be washed separately. These are marketed to be more convenient than other cloth diapers, but I don't think so. I did wash them separately for a long time but eventually stopped. I no longer use the inserts, but if I did I'd wash them with the rest of the diapers that need cleaning. I wash the shell and pouch together on the gentle cycle, with all my covers that have velcro. Then I hang them to dry. Possibly as a result, the fabric where the snaps are attached is fraying and the velcro isn't as strong. But its better than staying up all night bent over a bucket of suds scrubbing poo out of the crannies of the pouches with an old toothbrush.
One problem is that after the first washing (even following the washing instructions to the letter) the color begins to fade dramatically, in spite of using a detergent with no brighteners or other additives. After using the same diaper for a few weeks you will not even remember what color the diaper was when you first bought it. The colors fade SUPER easily. The pink, orange, red, brown, and dark blue are the worst ones. The aquamarine, yellow, pink, green, and orange don't look bad a bit faded. In fact the orange fades down to a pretty peach. So far the colors that took longest to fade are the purple, taupe, and yellow.
--Diaper Bag ---
I HATE these for a diaper bag. They take up SO MUCH more room! I have the shell, pouch, and inserts currently on the child, then the extra inserts in the bag, since she is a heavy wetter I have to bring 8-10 inserts with me because I have to double up. Then I have to bring an extra shell and pouch or two in case of a poo 'splosion, plus the wetbag, wipes, and all the other diaper bag items! Then, when I'm changing her I have to change the inserts out, and sometimes wipe out the pouch before putting in a new insert, so she's wiggling all over some disgusting public restroom changing table forever while I'm having to swap out inserts with one hand while keeping her from falling off the table with the other, because of course the safety belt on every public changing table in the world is broken for some reason. Its easier to use my KiwiPie fitteds and covers!
--Sizing ---
I really feel like their sizing is off for chunky babies. My daughter is within the weight range for the L but needs the XL because the velcro on the L is irritating her skin VERY badly every time she wears her g's. I am not sure if I'm going to make the investment or go with a different diaper that fits toddlers. She is almost 10 lbs under the range for the XL, but the L no longer fits her. When she was within the weight range for the M she needed the L because of her round little belly. When she was in the weight range for the S, she needed the M. And none of the shells I've had have ever seen the inside of my dryer. Conclusion? These run really small, by about 4-5 pounds at least.
The XL size is now available on Vine.com, Diapers.com, and the gDiapers website but its more expensive than the S/M/L sizes AND it only comes in Guppy Green and Goddess Pink. Seriously? They don't make the super cute prints, or the other colors in the size I actually need. To me, this is an insult to the loyal customers who have stuck with g's for so long that their child is now a toddler, who still want to make the investment in this brand as opposed to the other cloth diapers that fit toddlers. Not only do they make us pay more for a slightly larger sized diaper, but we get less choice in color and pattern. Not cool. For this reason I may decide to go with a different diaper after a year and a half of giving gDiapers my money.
I've been using gDiapers with gCloth inserts for about 3 months, my son is now 8 months old. I ordered one diaper from several different companies to see what I liked. It was surprising to find that little gPants don't come with any insert only a liner. So if you only order only one you still can't use it until you get a 6 pack of gCloth inserts or a box of the disposable inserts. To begin with I just used inserts that came with other diapers to see if I liked it.
I like that gDiapers are not as bulky as all-in-one or pocket diapers. They are similar size to a wet disposable diaper. This means his pants fit like he is wearing disposables. They also don't interfere with crawling or other movement like the bigger cloth diapers. My son is 16.5 lbs and in the medium gDiapers. He is crawling and pulling up in the furniture to stand and plop back down on his bottom. No leaks other than a little wetness in the leg a couple of times. Clothes were still dry though. I've had a little problem with the snaps leaving red marks on the front of his hips. If I just make sure they are up as high as possible and fastened loosely this is not a problem. They never fall off even when put on very loosely and not wearing pants.
I also like that you can unsnap the wet/soiled insert and liner and drop it in the pail without ever touching the dirty part. I love that the Velcro on the gPants is the small softer kind that doesn't seem to collect strings in the laundry. Even if I forget to fasten the Velcro before washing the gPants. I wash them about once a week. I have found that the Charlie Banana small inserts fit great in these though they are bulkier and don't have the wick-away fleece side. Thirsties inserts bunch up in the gPants and are best used in pocket diapers.
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We love the gdiapers. We've had months and months of use and wouldn't do any other diaper. The functionality is great. My husband isn't fond on the cloth so we primarily use the disposable inserts. When I watch her I use the cloth. The cloth isn't super absorbant so I change her often in the cloth. The disposable is great. It can really soak up a lot!!! Also, our community has many resell shops and we often purchase resell diapers. The velcro is easy to change out and you can easily personalize your diapers. Cute ruffles are easy to sew on or any other cute items you want to do. The velcro stays on tight. Ensure that the nylon liner is snug to your little one's legs. My 13 and 11 year old boys are able to change her with no problems. Easy to launder and overall great for babe and environment. Love it! Great to was with Charlie's Soap...also available on amazon.
Charlie's Soap Powder 2.64 lb (80 Loads)
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Okfirst things first. I KNOW CLOTH DIAPERS. Now I wouldn't call myself an expert quite yet (only one kid and a year and a half of CDing so far), but I have learned a few things. When we started cloth diapering, these were the diapers we turned to. They were the only cloth diapers they sold at Babies'R'US, they looked cute, so we thought we would go for it. Since then, I have tried pretty much every cloth diaper on the market. And let me tell youthey are ALL better than gDiapers. Here are a few reasons why:
1. The material. This is not waterproof material. The nylon is only barely waterproof, and even with only a moderate wetter, we still had to change these gPants every 30-45 minutes to avoid leaks. This short grace period shortened even more after a couple months, as the nylon liners didn't hold up too well (yes, even after following the washing directions!).
2. The closures. Velcrorookie mistake. If you have animals, even worse mistake. The fur will get in there (since it does tend to get well, everywhere), rendering the velcro less effective even more quickly. The velcro is secured by cheap, ineffective glue. After a couple months, we started finding the velcro apart from the pants in the dryer.
3. The snaps. The cheap plastic that makes up the snaps readily breaks, about a fifth of our gPants suffered some kind of snap misfunction (either it broke, fell off in washer, stopped working, etc).
The bottom line (pun intended): If you want to do cloth, don't do it this way. You are going to waste money, energy, and precious time messing with these gPants. The inserts I would still recommend as a substitute for wipes or washcloths, but these pants are terrible. As in, the worst. Some better brands that have much better quality cloth diapers are as follows: fuzzibunz (EXCELLENT for heavy wetters and overnight), thirsties (I highly recommend the duo wrap snap), bumgenius (especially the snap pocket diapers), bamboozle fitted diapers (another great overnighter, works great with a thirsties wrap). If you are looking to save money then I would say you can't go wrong with any old prefolds and a snap wrap. Cloth diapering should be fun, and with OTHER diapers, it really is! ;)
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I purchased this because her other G-diapers where all ivory or orange. It is nice to have a diaper to match her outfits. Just like the other G-diapers, this is great. I refill it with the disposable, flushable liners when we go out, and at home I fold a prefold diaper and put it in the liner part. I use one of the cloth liners from another brand of diapers and a prefold for overnights. Never a leak yet! I love how it Velcros at the back since she has now learned to take off velcro from her other diapers. The only thing I would make to make this better is to add an optional snap or something, cause its only a matter of time before she figures out the velcro on these!
My son at 3-5 months really liked this mat, but I found more things I dislike about it than like about it.
