Are cloth diapers comfortable?

As a parent I totally understand that people want their babies to be as comfortable as possible.

When I first started cloth diapering, I was very worried that since cloth diapers are bulkier, they would be uncomfortable for my baby, but 3 years later I now know that I had nothing to worry about.

I have never noticed cloth diapers causing my children any kind of discomfort, even on very hot days or when they are at the playground.

If you want to learn more about cloth diapering check out my article ” Do cloth diapers make the house smell?”

Read ” Do cloth diapers make the house smell?” now

Do cloth diapers feel hot?

Cloth diapers are actually slightly cooler than disposable diapers, this is because cloth diapers are more breathable than disposables.

The soft, fabric like outer layer of disposable diapers is actually just there to look soft and comfy, the actual functional outer layer is a solid plastic layer, similar to what grocery bag plastic looks like.

The outer layer of cloth diapers is usually either PUL (polyurethane laminate) or TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane laminate), both are polyester fabrics that are laminated on one side.

However, while there is still a plastic coating, it’s not solid, PUL and TPU actually have tons of little super tiny holes, this is why if a cloth diaper gets to wet you can feel it from the outside.

But these tiny holes mean that cloth diapers are way more breathable and therefore slightly cooler.

There was also a study done in Germany where they found disposable diapers were warmer by about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) than cloth diapers.

Now, you may be thinking ” that’s such a small difference, that doesn’t matter” well a urology expert in the article said that a 1–3-degree Celsius rise in testis temperature has been shown to harm sperm count.

The researchers now suspect that the increased use of disposable diapers may have contributed to the rise in fertility issues.

As far as cloth diapers being hot during the summer, I have never seen any signs whatsoever that my kids were hot or uncomfortable in their cloth diapers.

I do have to say though, most of the time during the warmer seasons my kids go pant less all the time so that might be a contributing factor, but even when they wear pants, I still don’t see any discomfort.

my son taking his favorite planter for a walk in the yard

Do cloth diapers make it harder for baby to move?

Now, I am not a medical professional, but I have of course taken my kids to the doctor, and they wore cloth diapers to their appointment.

I have never had a medical professional comment on the cloth diapers causing problems for my babies even when my daughter was a late walker.

Even the physical therapist my daughter saw (just to double check that she was physically able to walk) never even brought up her diapers at all (turns out my daughter just didn’t feel like learning to walk 😐 )

Okay so now that I’ve said that, the only time I have noticed cloth diapers impeding my kid’s movement is when they are in their overnight cloth diapers.

Overnight cloth diapers are known for being very bulky, and I have noticed my kids having a little bit more trouble moving around them.

But, they still walk, run, climb the stairs and climb into their beds, then in the morning they climb out of their beds, scale the side of my bed and then jump on it like a trampoline until I finally give up and go get them juice.

my toddlers looking at stuff out the window and waiting for me to drag my butt outta bed and get them juice

In their regular daytime cloth diapers, they do everything every other kid their age does.

I would say that in general a cloth diaper is a little less bulky than a very full disposable, so saying that disposables are always trimmer isn’t really accurate.

Are natural fiber cloth diapers rough?

In my experience most natural fiber cloth diapers are pretty soft and stay pretty soft even after several washes.

Bamboo is the softest

Then cotton

And finally, hemp is the roughest natural fiber.

Also, many types of T-shirts, pants, underwear and bras are made of natural fibers, mostly cotton but I am seeing more and more clothing brands doing more with bamboo and hemp.

I personally wear clothing made of cotton all the time and I have never thought to myself “man, I wish this was plastic” and maybe that’s just me but I do notice far more cotton clothing than plastic.

T-shirt made of 100% cotton and awesomeness

I have heard stories of cloth diapering parents putting their toddlers in disposables for one reason or another, and because the toddler did not like the feel of the disposable, they either flipped out or potty-trained.

I have also found that many adults who have to wear diapers prefer cloth diapers because they are more comfortable and stay comfortable even when wet unlike disposable diapers.

When the super absorbent gel beads in disposable diapers get wet, they expand and become clumpy and uncomfortable.

Whereas cloth diapers do not have these gel beads and don’t get clumpy.

If you want to learn more about how cloth diapers feel check out my article ” Do cloth diapers feel wet?”

Read ” Do cloth diapers feel wet?” now