"Another bear the ewer, the third a diaper"
—One of the earliest known uses of the word in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.

The word diaper originally referred to the type of cloth rather than its use ; "diaper" was the term for a pattern of small repeated geometric shapes, and later came to describe a white cotton or linen fabric with this pattern. The first cloth diapers consisted of a special type of soft tissue sheet, cut into geometric shapes. This type of pattern was called diapering and eventually gave its name to the cloth used to make diapers and then to the diaper itself. This usage stuck in the United States and Canada, but in Britain the word "nappy" took its place. Most sources believe nappy is a diminutive form of the word napkin.

Development:
Unangenehme Vaterpflichten by Adriaen Brouwer, depicting the changing of a diaper.

The problem of clothing infants not yet potty trained is as old as human history. In some countries with warmer climates, babies were kept naked and mothers tried to anticipate their bowel movements so as to avoid mess near their living areas. This method is known as elimination communication and is still used today in some cultures.

In the 19th century, the modern diaper began to take shape and children in Europe and North America were being diapered using cotton material, held in place with a safety pin. Cloth diapers were first mass produced in 1887 by Maria Allen in the United States.

In the 20th century, the disposable diaper gradually evolved through the inventions of several different people. In 1942, a Swedish paper company known as Pauliström created the first disposable diaper using sheets of tissue placed inside rubber pants. Four years later, a Westport housewife named Marion Donovan developed a waterproof diaper cover known as the "Boater" using a sheet of plastic from a shower curtain; she was granted four patents for her invention, including the use of plastic snaps as opposed to safety pins. In 1947, a man named George M. Schroder invented the first ever diaper with disposable nonwoven fabric. Disposable diapers were introduced to the US in 1949 by Johnson & Johnson. During the 1950s, companies such as Kendall, Parke-Davis, Playtex, and Molnlycke entered the disposable diaper market. In 1956, Procter & Gamble began researching disposable diapers. Vic Mills, along with his project group including William Dehaas, both men who worked for the company, invented "Pampers" while searching for a better product to use. Presented to Fred Wells as project p-57 (this was the plane Wells had taught American pilots to fly during WWII), Mills stated "This one will fly." Although Pampers were conceptualized in 1959, the diapers themselves were not launched into the market until 1961. Over the next few decades, the disposable diaper industry boomed and the competition between Procter & Gamble's Pampers and Kimberly Clark's Huggies resulted in lower prices and drastic changes to diaper design. Several improvements were made, such as the introduction of refastenable tapes, the "hourglass shape" so as to reduce bulk at the crotch area, and the invention of super-absorbent material from polymers known as sodium polyacrylate.

 

The Modern Cloth Diaper

Most of our mothers used cloth diapers on us and they were the flats that you had to fold into shape. Now most people that used cloth diapers in the US, and other developed countries, use prefolds, fitteds, All In Ones, One Size, or Pocket diapers. These are the modern diapers of today.

Prefolds are much like the old school flats but they have been sewn with more absorbency in the middle and you don't need to fold them. You do need a way to fasten this to the child so you will need diaper pins, a snappy or a fitted diaper cover that holds the diaper in place. This is the cheepest solution but you need a diaper cover for them if you don't want everything wet when your baby has wet its self.

Covers use to be these plastic pants that were pulled on. Now you can get them in wool, fleece and PUL. Wool and fleece breath very well and are good for night time.

The PUL is good for going out because it keeps the liquid in.

Fitteds are cloth diapers that have a soaker in the middle that look like disposables but are made out of cloth that can be washed over and over. These are great with no pins needed. Some of these have snaps and others Velcro. You also need a diaper cover with this one.

All In Ones are just that everything you need in one diaper. You don't need anything else. It is like the fitted diaper with the PUL diaper cover sewn on to it.

Most One Size diapers are pocket diapers so that you can control the thickness and absorbency of the diaper through the growing period. These diapers have snaps in the front for the adjustment in rise. Most of these fit babies from 8 pounds till 35 pounds. These are great for night time use because you can adjust how much absorbency you need. They are also great for long car rides. These are normally lined with fleece or micro terry that keeps your baby's bottom dry. This is a major plus because diaper rash comes from wetness most of the time. These do not need a diaper cover because the cover is sewn in. These you can get both with snaps and with velcro. Pocket diapers are much like the One size except you can't adjust the size and they fit better during the day because they are trimmer. They also have fleece or micro terry that keeps your baby dry to the touch and the diaper cover is sewn in. These you can get both in snaps and in velcro.

Most of the modern diapers are here because a stay at home mom saw a need for something better and started trying new things. All of the diapers on this site are made or started in the states.

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