It’s hard to imagine a cloth diaper fitting a big kid. But they do. Even chunky toddlers can squeeze into most cloth diapers at 30 pounds. Most one-size cloth diapers are rated to a suggested 30-35-40 pounds. This is just a recommendation and not a guarantee depending on the size of your kid.
I had the “will these diapers fit” freak out myself. My toddler is a 85-90th percentile baby. He was massive and when your child hits 20 pounds at 6 months, you begin to question and doubt the longtiivty of your cloth diaper stash. But fear not, babies will walk and when they walk they slim out. Trust me, mine did. The rare child won’t, but the vast majority diapers will continue to fit as their bodies change. You might even find yourself in a little yo-yo game with constant adjustments to the rises and waist snaps to find the perfect fit.
My toddler is nearing the maximum suggested weights on most of his cloth diapers as he hits nearly 35 pounds. To help you out, I’m showcasing him in all of our favourites starting with a collection of traditional all in one cloth diapers. This post focuses on cloth diapers that have a sewn in absorbency making them strictly an AIO. It’s traditional thought the AIO as having the shortest lifespan due to absorbency and slightly smaller fit.
Toddler Stats
My toddler will be two at the end of July. During this photoshoot in the month of May/June, he weighed in at about 32-35 pounds. He is 34″+ tall (he went thru a growth spurt at some point and continues to grow in these photos). My toddler fits well into 2T clothing (slowly veering into 3T, but he’s a boy). He’s tall, and stalky. I find he’s less chunk/chubb, and more just a well-built toddler .
Disclaimer & Disclosure: Some of these cloth diapers I did receive in exchange for my review, and promotion of these products on social media and this blog. However, this post is not sponsored content. Summer 2017, I am working with Nuggles & Omaiki in a Brand Ambassador relationship. This post does contain affiliate links to some of my favourite cloth diaper retailers. Purchases thru these links provide a small revenue stream for the ongoing efforts of this blog.
AIO Sizing
We just opened up the rise snaps in our AIO cloth diapers at 30 pounds. When I say just I mean around 30 pounds and in the past 4 months. Up until then, he was solidly on the middle rise snap. I decided to open up the rise snap because I felt the rise was beginning to get too low on his hips and I was having troubles bring the hip snaps over to buckle up. I actually busted the seam in my Blueberry Simplex tugging too hard!
I still close the rise snap one snap down in my SmartBottoms and my Bummi’s AIO. But mostly everything else fits best open rise. I’ll admit many of these diapers look really goofy when he’s laying down, but the fit, the seal in the legs, and the tummy work better when he’s standing and playing. When he sits there are no leg gaps, and we don’t get any poop explosions or unnecessary leaks (leaks happen when we fully saturate an AIO which does happen from time to time – mostly when I use them for naps, or really hot water days).
Because most of these cloth diapers at 30 pounds are becoming a tight fit, I’ve moved away from them and have started using other forms of diapering. You can read why I packed up my AIO cloth diaper stash here. [Good news is we are headed towards potty training, but now finding him trainers that fit is a struggle too]
The BestBottom AIO is a larger cut than the Best Bottom OS cover and fits my chunk awesome. Low cut, but a nice fit with the current absorbency.
The Blueberry Simplex is getting tight on my chunk. We have one set snap on each side and no gaps when he is sitting. But I’m not a huge fan of it because it doesn’t have any stretch.
Regardless of the Elemental (OBGE, NBGE, BGE3), the bumGenius all in one is a big hit in this house. The stretch tabs help give the right fit, and despite the funny fold under his tummy, I love how these still fit. Check out the BGE3 below.
The bumGenius 3.0 elemental.
The Bummi’s AIO I have opened up to full rise now as he hit his most recent growth spurt. This diaper still fits nice and large, and will be a fan favourite for some time.
The GroVia AIO has nice stretchy wings o the side to give a growing fit. We are beginning to be on the last snap or so, but still good room to grow. Unfortunately, you can’t buy these new in Canada.
The GroVia O.N.E still fits awesome. With room to grow, I finally like how this diaper fits my toddler.
I’m not a fan of my Omaiki AIO with my toddler because the hook & loop waist is much too easy for him to undo. If I had a snap version I think this would be different.
SmartBottoms is between rise snaps. Personally. I prefer it open rise setting like below and then I tug up to keep the legs tight.
Open Rise is my preferred as its just easier to do up
This Tots Bot V4 just doesn’t fit anymore. Sure I did it up, but the rise was a complete fail
We still have room on the long waist snaps of the Easy Peasies Ready USE AIO
What do you think? Are All in One (AIO) cloth diapers still viable option for 30 pound babies. Did you baby look different in these diapers?
Some of these definitely don’t work very well anymore – the Omaiki H&L and the TotsBot. Some of these work better like the Easy Peasies Ready Use and the bumGenius with the stretchy tabs. Stay posted on this site and social media to see how Pockets and covers compare on my growing toddler. In the meanwhile, we’ll be rocking out on the potty as we transition into cloth trainers.
- LagoonBaby (Canada)
- Cloth Diaper Kids (Canada)
- Nicki’s Diapers (USA)
- My Sweet Pickles (USA)
- Amazon (USA)
These are such fun prints! I was just at MommyCon Vancouver and was blown away by the different cloth diaper brands and everyone seemed to swear by different brands. What a crazy world!
THIS is the kind of information moms need when making these choices! I see so many moms post on threads asking about cloth diapers and weight limits, etc, and here it is! Great post!!
I can definitely relate as a (part-time) cloth diapering mama with a rather large child! I know your post will surely help those other mamas in need! =)
Thank you for such a through write up & the details on every brand! We don’t cloth, but I encourage EVERY parent to go this route. If we would have done more research, we would have. The growing with your little one is the main reason!