When I first started cloth diapering there were a lot of side snapping options and they were quite popular!  GAD Baby, Knickernappies, and GEN-Y were all hot topics on the forums.  People liked side snapping diapers because they could pull up and down easily and they had a cleaner look on the front since many were also sized.

This leads me to my next point- with sized diapers on the decline now that one size options have the largest following, side snapping diapers are following suit.  Why?  Because most side snapping diapers were sized.

Yes, you can still buy side snapping diapers!  I’m not trying to alarm you just yet.  Bottombumpers are still going strong, so are Knickernappies, and GEN-Y.  There are still WAHM’s making side snapping diapers, including side snapping fitteds.  Alas, I’m seeing less and less retailers carrying the Blueberry Basix, one of my favorites..  And GAD (Green Acre Designs) were just on super mega clearance for $5 each and they are rarer than a unicorn sighting on retail websites.

In this cloth diaper world there are trends that happen.  Remember when  Goodmama was the hardest diaper to find?  Remember when embellished prefolds with batik or tie dye was all the rage?  There are trends within this small community that come and go.  As the diapers improve, or as the fad dies, a new one comes to take its place.  I don’t see any new brands releasing side snapping options either, so for now the only current choices are the established brands that have been around for many years.

It is harder and harder to find stores that stock side snapping diapers.  I won’t call them extinct yet, but I will say they just aren’t as favored among cloth diapering parents as they used to be.  Could it be because they’re one more step away from being like disposables?  Is the concept too foreign for the parent who just wants to use cloth diapers without having to attend a seminar and consult a book?  Easy is best when it comes to winning over a new to cloth parent.

Well… at least side snaps are easier to find than the now completely extinct “S” hook diapers.  If you remember those then you really are an old school cloth diapering mom.

Any other trends dying off?  Tell me in the comments!  Or, what trend do you see rising?  I think it is hybrid fitteds!