What Is An All-In-Two Cloth Diaper

What Is An All-In-Two Style Cloth Diaper?
An All-In-Two (AI2) diaper is a cloth diaper style that has a waterproof exterior cover and an absorbent pad that snaps into the cover.
Since the diaper is two pieces it's called an All-In-Two.
Technically speaking, an AI2 has absorbent inserts or washable soaker pads that physically snap into the waterproof shell, however, sometimes people use the term AI2 to describe any system where the absorbency is separate from the shell even if it doesn't snap in.
When it's time to change baby, remove the diaper, dump any solids into the toilet unsnap the insert from the cover and snap a clean insert in. Store the soiled insert in your wet bag until wash day. If the cover is soiled too, put it in the wet bag as well and use a clean cover instead, but otherwise, you can re-use the cover for several changes. This is the beauty of an AI2 system. Less laundry and you need fewer covers overall.
Generally speaking, you'll want about a 3:1 ratio. So 3 inserts to every 1 cover. An AI2 system is also great when packing a diaper bag - less to pack. Or, when you have multiple babies in cloth - you don't need as many covers.
PROS of AI2 Diapers
- Easy to use
- Less laundry and less storage space needed
- Wash easily and dry quickly
- Covers with exposed PUL interiors can be wiped clean or are easy to handwash/dry if necessary.
- Tend to be quite trim fitting on baby.
CONS of AI2 Diapers
- Snaps are not always inter-changeable between brands. So generally speaking you have to use the specific insert for the specific AI2 brand you have.
- Inserts may only come in only one size depending on the brand and might be harder to fit on smaller newborn babies until they grow into them a bit. (*Note you can get around this sometimes by using a smaller infant size prefold in the AI2 cover when baby is very small until the snap-in inserts fit baby.
- They may not work overnight for all babies. If you're looking for super absorbency for night time, a fitted might work better.
AI2 cloth diapers are quite popular and there are several excellent ones available. For a full selection of brands in Canada visit www.ClothDiaperKids.com