When you go to choose a type of diaper, its first a good thing to know all of your options. If you already know, GREAT, if not, Visit the “Types of Diapers” section under Diaper (or just click the pretty link) for a full explanation of each specific type.

Once you’ve got all of that rolling around in your head and you’ve got that dazed look on your face, we’ll break it down a little further. The type of diaper for you correlates specifically to the type of person you are. If you are the kind of person who is meticulous about everything, has to fold your clothes the second the dryer stops turning, or if you’re the kind of person who needs a quick fix on most things, and will leave the laundry in the dryer for a week if you can (but never the washer, that’d be gross) you will use different types of diapers with different degrees of success. So I’ll give you a run-down of diapers and their human counterparts.

Flats and Prefolds with Covers
These are the most difficult to use of all the modern types of diapers. You have to learn how to fold, you have to be good with a pin (or a snappi) and you have to keep a squirming child from rolling off the table WHILE you fold, and pin or snappi. AND THEN add the cover on top of that.

That being said, they’re about the easiest to take care of. Most are white so if they get stained, you can toss a ¼ c. of bleach into one of the washes, or leave them out on the clothes-line for a while and, instead of fading, they will regain their pretty white-ness.

When putting them on, make sure the whole diaper is UNDER the cover, especially if you’re using cotton. If the diaper is sticking out anywhere, you’ll get leaks (mainly from wicking), and that’s no fun.

So, if you’re one of those people that needs a quick fix, having a few of these around would be a VERY good idea. All-in-ones might suit your fancy a little better, but your flats and prefolds will be your lifesaver when you’ve run out of the easy ones.
Also, if you’re one of those meticulous people, these are good for you too. They will stay clean and pretty under your care and probably free of wrinkles as well.
I’d actually recommend having a few of these around for everyone. Seriously, when you have a few hectic days and don’t get to the laundry right away, grabbing a pre-fold or a flat is REALLY nice.

Pockets or AI2’s
In this second section, You have the mid-range of cloth-diaper difficulty. The diapers come apart, so they dry quicker (there will be less checking in the dryer to see if they’re done or not) but you still have to go through the trouble of re-stuffing pockets every time they’re cleaned. With AI2’s you have to snap on the insert. Not exactly the most difficult of tasks, but can be annoying if you’ve lost one part of the diaper somewhere around the laundry room.

They go on basically like a disposable diaper. You don’t have to fold them at all and they either have snaps or velcro on them to make attaching them to the child easy. Snaps are a little harder for you, but they’re MUCH harder for the child to get them off J.

This is my diaper of choice. I’m not the most meticulous of people (right now I have this weeks laundry on towels in the bedroom because I haven’t folded and put anything away yet). I don’t want to risk missing a damp diaper in the dryer so AIO’s aren’t for me. I’ve been making pockets actually and they’re awesome (though my machine doesn’t do the eight layers of cloth for the inserts) and they’re pretty easy to make.

AIO’s
These have been dubbed “the cloth disposable” diaper by my DH. He’s beautiful. They are All In One. You don’t have to attach anything, you don’t have to add an extra layer (unless your child wets a lot, then a doubler is a good idea) you just attach the diaper to the child.

These are the kind of diaper that I’d recommend if you’re trying to convince the day-care facilities that you would rather them NOT put your child in disposables while in their care. They’re the easiest to use by far.

The problem I have with them is that they DON”T come apart. So when they’re drying, the dryer has to dry about 10 layers of fabric (for the home-made kind) That’s a lot for even a good dryer. Adding a dry towel to the dryer helps, but I’d still be afraid that I’d miss a damp one and end up with mildew. But for those people out there who are very well organized and check everything (like my housemate Heidi who is absolutely amazing) They’ll probably be perfect for you!

Well I hope I’ve helped. I didn’t explore ALL of every possibility, but these are the main types of diapers, and the easiest to find.