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Good morning, good afternoon, good evening or good night depending on when you’re reading this week’s blog entry.

Today I want to talk about diapers, more specifically adult disposable diapers. That’s probably the number 1 reason we’re all here in the first place, am I right? hehe

There are many things you need to take into account when picking and buying diapers, unless you’re like me and you collect, bag, label and catalog the diapers. lol

So when you’re picking a diaper you need to look at the following things:

Size – Diapers come in different sizes and it’s more than just Small, Medium, Large, and Extra-Large. I mean that each company has different sizing standards, even between their own diapers.

For Example, Rearz Princess Pink comes in 3 sizes: Medium fits 32-40in, Large fits 36-50in and Extra-Large fits 40-58in

But then, look at Rearz Lil’ Monsters, they also come in 3 sizes: Medium which is 32-42in, Large which fits 40-52in and Extra-Large which is 50-62in

Now, to round this out, I’ll use a muggle (Incon) diaper for an example, and for this let’s look at Abena Abri-Form.

The Abri-Form is a fun diaper. Not only does it come in 6 sizes but it also comes in 14 absorbency levels, but we’ll come to that later.

So the Abri-form comes in 6 sizes:

Extra-Small 20-24inSmall 24-34inMedium 28-44inLarge 40-60inExtra-Large 44-67inXXL up to 100in

So, as you can see from my 3 examples, while a lot of the sizes are “close” they are in fact different. You may fit into a large Abri-form but not the Princess, and for that matter you may fit into the large Abri-form without issues, but you may need extra-large in one of the other diapers. This right here, by the way, is why a lot of companies sell diaper samples. You can buy a sample of a diaper or diapers to make sure they fit. Rather than spending $100 and up on a case of diapers that don’t fit, you can spend between $5 and $20 on sample packs. Then you’ll know for sure.

Also, keep in mind when sizing, there really isn’t an “in between size” all diapers overlap in sizing but for the best fit you want to be closer to the lower number or maybe even go to the next size up if you find the leg holes are too tight. I often use a large diaper on people even if they can fit a small diaper, but then again it’s always easier to be diapered by another person rather than diapering yourself.

You can buy samples of Rearz diapers at Rearz.ca, wearingclouds.com, daynitecare.ca and on Amazon.

Capacity - So now that we have talked about sizing, the next thing you need to look at is what you’re going to use these diapers for. Some people like using diapers for different things. For example, I would use Lil’ Monsters for day time use and Princess Pink for night time use.

So now you’re asking yourself, “Why would you do that?” Well simple, it all comes down to capacity or absorbency, basically the amount of liquid a diaper can hold. (For this I’m only talking about liquid waste and not solid waste, if we’re talking solid waste then it’s always best to change as soon as possible.)

The Capacity is based on the whole diaper, not just the “crotch” area. So, when you see most ab diapers are 5000ml, that’s the total capacity for that diaper. Most people do not use a diaper to its full capacity because in order to use a diaper to its full capacity you need to wet in different positions, not just standing or sitting. You also need to lay down on your back and tummy, as well as shift around.

A Rearz Princess Pink diaper in large is 5385ml and can last up to 12 hours, give or take, depending on how much you drink. However, if you’re sitting in a car driving for 10 hours wearing a Rearz Princess Pink diaper, odds are you’ll need to change in half that time because you’re not moving around or shifting and only wetting in one area. Often, I hear people complain about a diaper leaking and not holding much. This may be because the person wearing the diaper is just sitting in one position and over wetting. Other times it has to do with the SAP or Super Absorbent Polymers inside the diaper as some diapers have a higher SAP content while others have higher cotton content. Some companies use a cheaper SAP then other companies and it doesn’t absorb as fast, causing leaks.

Some diapers are different capacity based on their size. Let’s look at Rearz Safari.

Rearz Safari comes in 4 sizes and each size has a different capacity.

Small fits 27-36in with a capacity of 4864mlMedium fits 32- 40in with a capacity of 4981mlLarge fits 36- 50in with a capacity of 5361mlX-Large fits 40- 58in with a capacity of 5385ml

So even within the same diaper the capacity often changes based on the size because the bigger the diaper the more it’ll hold. This is also why you’ll often see people wear large diapers rather than medium, even though they fit mediums just fine, because of the extra capacity.

Types - The next thing you need to take into account is the type of the diaper. According to the diaper database there are 3 types of diapers.

Plastic-Backed or PE backed - Polymer outer shell.Cloth-Backed - Cloth-like outer shell.Hybrid - Plastic-backed often with cloth-like sides and Velcro tapes.

Plastic-Backed - Rearz Princess Pink, Safari, Rebel, Lil’ Monsters, Seduction Violet, Lil Squirts and Inspire are all plastic-backed diapers. The vast majority of ab diapers are plastic-backed.

Cloth-backed – Abena, Molicare, Tena, Attends, Nappies R Us PlayDayz Pink and PlayDayz Blue all come in cloth-backed. Also a lot of muggle or Incon diapers come in cloth-backed, as well as Pull-ups.

Hybrid – Rearz Barnyard, Bambino Magnifico, Bianco UltraStretch, Bambino Sun N’ Fun are all hybrid with plastic backing and cloth sides with Velcro tapes.

Each of these diapers has their own advantages.

Plastic-Backed - These kind of diapers normally offer the best protection overall. However, they’re not often discreet due to their crinkle sound, granted a lot of us love that sound. However, if you’re trying to be incognito baby you’ll want cloth-backed.

Cloth-Backed - These kinds of diapers are great if you want to be discreet around friends or in public. The cloth-backed diapers are also great in the summer time as they breathe better than the plastic backed diapers so they’re cooler in the summertime heat.

Hybrid - With the Velcro tapes these diapers are great if you want to adjust your diaper a few times, if you need to take it off but haven’t used it, or if you, like me, don’t want to mess or deal with a messy diaper. The Velcro tapes make it super easy to take off the diaper and reattach it again if you put the diaper on to tight and you need to adjust it. These styles are great for those with minimal dexterity.

Tapes – The next thing to think about are tapes. Most printed diapers come with 4 tapes, 2 per side, but now diaper companies are coming out with 2 tapes, 1 per side, to be more like baby diapers. This helps to make the diaper feel more like baby diapers. However, there are only a few diapers on the market that are 2 tape diapers, Rearz Inspire Select is a 2 tape diaper as was Lil’ Squirts Original, which was the first 2 tape diaper by Rearz.

In my personal experience, the single tapes can’t hold the diaper so after a few wettings the diaper becomes heavier and the tapes pull, causing the diaper to sag and often fall off.

Prints - The last thing to look at is the colour or print of the diaper. You may want a plain white diaper like Rearz Inspire Original, Inspire+, or Inspire Select, or maybe you want a purple diaper like the Seduction Violet. Maybe you would like a black diaper like Rearz Seduction Black or maybe one of the cute prints like Rearz Safari, Princess Pink, or any number of the other printed diapers out there. Maybe you want to do a medical scene and use a medical diaper like the AMG Ultra-Plus, which has 4 different colours, depending on which size you get.

You also need to keep in mind that a lot of the printed diapers have the possibility of having the colour run, most notably the darker colour diapers. Sometimes it’ll discolour your leg but other times it may discolour a light colour onesie but keep in mind not every diaper will run.

Here’s a couple of things to remember:

1. Oils and Lotions/Creams can cause ink transfer if applied to diaper plastic.
2. Plastic panties/pants are your friend.

Granted we don’t apply baby oil or lotions or creams to the outside of the diaper but as an experienced AB daddy who has changed a lot of diapers, it can happen. No matter how careful you are it can happen. Remember Murphy’s Law: “Whatever can go wrong will go wrong.”

Plastic panties/pants help if the colour does run. Your onesie and/or skirt/pants/dress/footed jammies what have you will be protected because of the plastic panties/pants.

Next time I will talk about Pull-up diapers and maybe have a little project.