Cloth diapers for toddlers: Brands and important features.

Cloth diapering a toddler can seem really scary, but if you know what to look for it’s actually not that hard.

Cloth diapering a toddler is exactly the same as cloth diapering smaller babies just with an extra insert or two.

I currently cloth diaper 3 children, 2 of which are toddlers.

You do have to adjust things as your child’s needs change but it really isn’t that complicated.

What type of cloth diaper is easiest to use on toddlers?

In my experience pocket style cloth diapers are the easiest type of cloth diaper to use on a toddler.

Since the absorbency is all inside the pocket you just have one smooth surface to deal with, which makes diaper changes much quicker.

Which is extremely important when you have an angry toddler that doesn’t like diaper changes.

You will also want to look at how wide the cloth diaper is, in my experience wider cloth diapers have a roomier cut so they can hold a ton more absorbency.

This is important because by the time your baby reaches toddlerhood they will probably be out wetting the inserts that came with your pocket diapers.

So you need to have room to add more absorbency and have the diaper still fit correctly around the legs.

By 6-7 months old my 1st needed at least a flour sack towel of extra absorbency in all of her pocket diapers and at least a small hemp booster in her all-in-ones assuming they were they were natural fiber diapers.

My 2nd and now 3rd out wet original inserts by 3-4 months but they are pretty heavy wetters.

Currently I’m cloth diapering 2 toddlers, a 3 year old and a 18 month old, all the inserts that came with my pocket diapers I use as boosters with hemp/ bamboo flats being the main absorbency.

For an example that more people would be familiar with,

Take a receiving blanket

Fold it in half

Then fold in half again

Then fold that smaller square in 3rds

You now have a pad folded receiving blanket, now get 2 more receiving blankets fold them the same way, and stack them on top of each other.

Those 3 receiving blankets are the bare minimum absorbency my 2 toddlers need through the day.

Your child may need more absorbency than that or they might need less but having a cloth diaper with a roomy cut is probably going to make your life a lot easier.

Top 3 best pocket cloth diapers for toddlers

We are looking for cloth diapers that have a wider, roomier cut and at least offer a snap option since some older babies and toddlers are able to take hook & loop/ Velcro cloth diapers off.

I have found that pocket diapers in general are easier to get on a toddler since some toddlers feel the need to break out some serious MMA moves during diaper changes.

These are pocket cloth diapers that work really well for my 2 toddlers.

For a size reference

My 3 year old is 36 inches tall (about 91 centimeters) and weighs around 28lbs (about 12 kilograms).

My 18 month old is 32 inches tall (about 81 centimeters) and about 24lbs ( about 10 kilograms)

Thirsties pocket diapers

Thirsties covers and pocket cloth diapers both have pretty roomy cuts and therefore can hold a lot of absorbency.

Thirsties pocket diapers also have a “tunnel pocket opening” meaning the pocket is open at the front of the diaper as well as the back.

Tunnel pockets make it so the insert can agitate itself out in the washing machine, you can just throw the diaper in the pail/ wetbag and go back to keeping your kid from destroying the house.

Thirsties pocket diapers also come with either a stay-dry or organic cotton pocket lining, the cut doesn’t change between the two so it’s up to you which version you choose.

Thirsties is known for having really nice, sturdy hook & loop/ Velcro, so it is a little harder for kids to get Thirsties hook & loop/Velcro off.

Link to my article on the Thirsties natural pocket diaper What is the best cloth diaper

Barnyard Bums pocket diapers

Barnyard Bums cloth diapers look almost exactly like Alva baby cloth diapers, however Barnyard Bums are 1/2 inch wider.

While a 1/2 inch may not seem like a big deal, it does make a huge difference as far as how much absorbency the cloth diaper can hold.

Barnyard bums PUL also feels thicker and sturdier than Alva baby’s which is great for toddlers since they are pretty rough on anything they come into contact with.

Barnyard Bums is the most affordable brand on this list at $9.50usd per pocket shell.

Applecheeks size 2 envelope style pocket diaper

Applecheeks cloth diapers are a sized cloth diapering system, the size 1 is supposed to fit from newborn to around one year of age.

Then the size 2 is supposed to fit from one year to potty-training, I personally feel the jump between the size 1 and 2 to be a little to big.

While my 1st did out grow the size 1 at around one year old she did not fit really well into the size 2 until just recently at age 2 1/2 – 3.

But since they are cut pretty big their fit right now is awesome and they can hold a lot of absorbency.

The applecheeks shells are actually referred to as ” envelope covers” because of the unique placement of the pocket opening which is closer to the middle of the diaper rather than at one end.

The envelope opening allows the inserts to agitate out by themselves in the washing machine.

How many cloth diapers do I need for a toddler?

Typically the older your child is, the fewer diapers they need each day.

My 3 year old goes through 5-8 cloth diapers a day plus 1 overnight cloth diaper so I would buy 24 cloth diapers plus 3 overnight cloth diapers.

Which would give me 8 daytime and 1 overnight for 3 days.

So any given day I would have 1 set to use that day, 1 set dirty and 1 set drying.

My 18 month old is currently getting some molars so like every other time something new happens with your kid their answer is to poop more.

Now it is extremely runny so the diaper sprayer takes it right off and it doesn’t seem to stain, but that little poop machine can go through 3-4 diapers within 2 hours of waking up some mornings.

So because my 1st did the same thing at this age I know that I’m gonna need more like 8-10 diapers a day for him plus 1 overnight cloth diaper.

So I’d buy 30 cloth diapers and 3 overnights, so 10 each day and 1 overnight.

Overnight cloth diapers for toddlers

Overnight cloth diapering is probably one of the more difficult aspects of cloth diapering.

No-one wants their baby to wake up in the middle of the night because they are wet and uncomfortable.

I would start out by just doubling what you put in your toddler’s daytime diaper and then add on from there if you need to.

Natural fiber absorbency is key here, stay-dry liners are gonna come in handy and if you haven’t already consider adding flats to your nighttime stash.

Microfiber is the least absorbent cloth diaper material, it also holds on to smells and gets compression leaks very easily making microfiber not a very ideal overnight cloth diaper material.

Cotton is more absorbent than microfiber is less prone to compression leaks and natural fibers tend to not hold on to smell as much.

Bamboo is a very soft, fluffy and absorbent material, it is also anti-microbial so it doesn’t hold smell.

Hemp is the most expensive cloth diaper material but also the most absorbent, unlike bamboo, hemp is a kinda rough fabric so most of the time it is mixed with cotton or bamboo.

Stay-dry liners or microfleece liners help wick moisture away from your baby’s skin so if you are using a natural fiber ( cotton, bamboo, hemp) against baby’s skin a stay-dry liner helps them feel dry.

I discovered stretchy flats when my 1st was about 8 months old, and they have been magic overnight solution ever since.

Currently for my 2 toddlers I’m using 500 GSM hemp/ bamboo fleece origami folded with 1 large bestbottoms hemp insert and 1 large bestbottoms overnight hemp insert.

I also put in a stay-dry liner, then I cover all that with Thirsties size 2 and 3 duo wraps.

Now keep in mind from what I’ve seen on YouTube most toddlers don’t need this much absorbency I apparently just have kids that pee like elephants.

It took me a while to develop a really good strategy for cloth diapering toddlers overnight but once I found it cloth diapering at night wasn’t such a big ominous scary thing anymore.

Video from lainaslife below has a few different options with babies that I would say have more average absorbency needs