Hybrid - WHY???

Hybrid diapers. If you are all about using cloth for either the environment or financial reasons, why would you ever use them? The answer is convenience!

We cloth diaper for financial reasons – buying disposables for two is expensive! Unfortunately, hybrid diapers are just as expensive (if not more) most of the time. But, if you can get them on sale, sometimes it is worth using them.

So, when would you want to use disposable inserts instead of cloth? For us there are two times we have used them – traveling and rashes. The rashes have been very few. But, once my son got a terrible rash because he dirtied his diaper in the middle of the night and I didn’t realize it until hours late. His poor rear was very red and painful. We did a lot of air time, but at nap and bedtime I put him in a hybrid diaper and slathered him with the “dreaded” Desitin.

Traveling we also use hybrids. I don’t want to deal with trying to dunk and swish at someone else’s house or at a hotel. I could use disposable liners, but there are “horror” stories of those not staying put. So, since I was able to get some disposable inserts on sale, we use those for our toddler when we travel. I pair a Flip or Econobum cover with a flat and then a disposable insert on top of that. He is a heavy wetter, and that combination is bulletproof for us. The flat may get wet, but those are so easy to wash. I don’t worry about residue for laundry machines or even the detergent really when we use flats while traveling. As for what inserts we use, we have both GroBaby (old GroVia that we got when they changed the name) and Flips. I prefer the GroBaby because they contain everything better. So, I use the Flip when I am fairly certain we will just have a wet diaper, and then I use the GroBaby the rest of the time.

If you are only cloth diapering for financial reasons, why not just use disposables? Well, there is one big advantage – size! Our diaper supply for a trip is more compact when we use disposable inserts. Also, with two in diapers, I can use the same “stash” for both kids. I definitely couldn’t do that with standard disposable diapers!

Another idea of hybrids – they are great as an emergency item in the car. In a pinch, you can use them for “that time of the month” as well as a diaper for your child. The GroVia ones have adhesive on the back, so you could just stick them to clothes if you had to (I wouldn’t use the adhesive on the inserts with your diapers though as it doesn’t come off of PUL easily).

So, if you can find a good deal on the disposable inserts, buy a box. They are great for those “special” times when using straight cloth just doesn’t seem like the best idea!

Bio: Stephanie is a mom to three kids – 4, 2, and 7 months old. She is a WAHM who started using cloth apprehensively when her oldest was 2.5 years old and now is an advocate for cloth.