So here's a quick recap of my diaper experiment:
I had never used a cloth diaper on any of my kids until pretty recently, when I tried out a few from Diaper Lab. There they have a very cool "Experiment to Own" program, which is super simple: Choose any eight diapers that they sell and take them home and try them out. After two weeks, bring them all back, return whatever you don't like, pay for what you do. It's wonderful.
(See this earlier post for a journal of my two-week cloth diaper experience.)
So as I said, I brought home eight different brands and styles of cloth diapers. I also got a stack of a few different extra inserts: boosters, regular inserts, extra-thick over-nighters. If you're looking for "this one has a longer rise by 3/4" than that one" or "the Velcro/Aplix on this version blah, blah, blah...", then this is not the diaper review for you. This is just me, trying out a new thing, sharing my impressions along the way. This is my beginner's-eye-view of all of it.
Oh, and a note about the photos: they kind of aren't the best, because I almost forgot to take them at all! In fact, I only barely remembered as I was standing at the counter at Diaper Lab, ready to return what I didn't want. I hesitated, weighing my options: do I gather all my kids and the diapers, walk the five blocks to my car which is in metered parking, and hope that I can get good photos there? Okay, maybe not. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I asked the super nice lady behind the counter if it was ok if I took photos with my phone as she was checking everything off the list? Obviously, she said yes.
Bummis Duo Brite Wrap with Duo Brite Insert (blue with circles)
This is the one I expected to love. I wanted it to be the best one. I wanted to buy the cute little green one at
the end of my two weeks. It was my
favorite in the store. But every time I used it, the front of Baby Boy's shorts or pants was damp, or even wet,
because of the way the insert is designed. It is two very thick layers, and the way that it snaps into the cover in the front leaves the second layer on top of the pocket, so it wicks from the top layer, to the outside of the pocket, to the front edge of the waistband.
Such a bummer. I think it would
probably work fabulously for a girl, because the wet part wouldn't all be in the front.
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| Outside of Bummis Duo Brite. Simple, lots of snaps. |
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| Inside of Duo Brite. Can you see the pocket on the front? (at the bottom in the photo) One layer went in the pocket, One layer went on top, which was where my problem was. |
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| Duo Brite with liner. I wish I'd taken a photo of how this snaps in. |
GroVia Shell with
GroVia soaker pad (dark grey)
The first couple of times I used this one, I had a lot of wetness on the inside of the mesh lining, and had to let it dry between uses. I don't know if it started absorbing better (I've read that some cotton inserts need to be washed up to five times, and I only did three) or if I just got better at putting it on him. At any rate, I had no problems with that after the first couple of days.
In fact, this ended up being one of my very favorite diapers that I tried. I loved it so much that I bought three more shells and four more soakers, at the end of my two-week trial.
It is super absorbent but still has a really trim fit, which is nice for a new crawler like mine. I LOVE the Velcro. I’m not sure what’s different about it, but
it just has more sticking power, which I see coming in handy in the toddler
years. This diaper is also way less bulky than
all the others, because the insert has a sort of hourglass shape to it, instead
of being just a large rectangle like all the others. You’d think maybe it wouldn’t absorb as much,
but this "soaker pad" is thick, like at least 6-8 layers of fabric thick, so it does just fine. And it's made in two separate layers, so it dries in the dryer pretty quickly.
In the interest of experimentation, I finally did try this one overnight - I just added the Bummis Deluxe Booster, and the two together were more than adequate for overnight use.
I have found that I reach for this one consistently on the hottest and most humid days. The other diapers that I have chosen to use are just as good in terms of absorption, and not leaking. But this one is the only diaper that doesn't have some kind of fuzzy fabric right against his skin. And personally, fleecy fabric sounds just awful on a hot, wet, summer day.
In the interest of experimentation, I finally did try this one overnight - I just added the Bummis Deluxe Booster, and the two together were more than adequate for overnight use.
I have found that I reach for this one consistently on the hottest and most humid days. The other diapers that I have chosen to use are just as good in terms of absorption, and not leaking. But this one is the only diaper that doesn't have some kind of fuzzy fabric right against his skin. And personally, fleecy fabric sounds just awful on a hot, wet, summer day.
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| GroVia with cotton soaker. It snaps in at the front and back. |
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| Inside of GroVia. I like the mesh lining, nice and cool for summer! |
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| Outside of GroVia. This is some heavy-duty velcro! |
Fuzzibunz Perfect
Size (apricot)
This one is super soft on the inside. Not the same stay-dry lining that most of them have, this is almost a true fleece. So it seems super hot for a Boston summer, but I can see it being nice and cozy in colder weather. (Although, it's not like my baby is complaining about the fleece, this is all me here.) No leaks, and it fits well.
This one is super soft on the inside. Not the same stay-dry lining that most of them have, this is almost a true fleece. So it seems super hot for a Boston summer, but I can see it being nice and cozy in colder weather. (Although, it's not like my baby is complaining about the fleece, this is all me here.) No leaks, and it fits well.
He had a really messy diaper in this one, with no leaks, even though it’d already been on him for 4 hours at the time, so it was very
wet already. I was impressed.
This one worked really well, and I have no complaints except
that since it doesn’t adjust vertically, I’m pretty sure he’s going to outgrow
it. I really like the one-size thing. But it is one of my oldest daughter's favorites, so I kept it, since she averages one diaper change per day, and it seemed reasonable to take her opinions into consideration. She likes the off-set snaps - she thinks it makes for a better fit.
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| I don't know if you can see the off-set snaps, or not. Kind of fun. |
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| Inside of FuzziBunz with insert. It's a traditional pocket diaper, but with extra soft fleece! |
BumGenius 4.0 (light grey)
This one is kind of difficult to snap properly with Baby Boy wiggling all over; I think maybe the snaps are just still stiff because it's brand new? But no leaks, ever.
It's also a great choice for overnight, since I can stick two inserts into the pocket with ease. I use one insert and one rise-snap for day, and two inserts and no rise-snaps for night.
I love the lining in this one. Soft and comfy, but not straight out fleece. And I like stuffing the diaper
ahead of time and just being done. Just
grab the one thing at diaper changing time.
The 4.0 has become one of my first choices. If it’s in the basket, I’m probably going to
grab it. It fits well, and I can use it for day or overnight.
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| Inside of 4.0 You can see the opening for the pocket here. Lots of room for whatever you want to stuff it with! |
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| Outside of 4.0 Tons of snaps, for the perfect fit. My nephew says this one looks "sci-fi." :) |
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| Top: newborn insert. Bottom: regular terry insert. I snapped one rise snap to show how it can be adjusted to match the rise snaps of the diaper. |
Blueberry Basix
(giraffes)
I had to put in the dryer to get it to dry fast enough, every time. This was a deal breaker for me. I need to wash them before I go to bed, hang them all up, and have everything be dry in the morning. It’s the most adorable diaper I tried, though. Those giraffes are just so cute!
I had to put in the dryer to get it to dry fast enough, every time. This was a deal breaker for me. I need to wash them before I go to bed, hang them all up, and have everything be dry in the morning. It’s the most adorable diaper I tried, though. Those giraffes are just so cute!
Somehow Baby Boy timed about half of his poops to be in this diaper. I have no idea. But the fleece lining has no stains at all, which is great.
I never used this one overnight. I tried sticking an extra insert in, and it was
cartoonishly huge. I suppose it’s
possible that it’d be absorbent enough on its own, but I’m not brave enough to
try. I like the peace of mind that comes
with that extra liner, and I’m not willing to risk a middle-of-the-night change
just for the sake of the experiment (if that makes me a bad scientist, so be
it).
If I could get it to dry overnight, I would love this diaper. It has a really innovative design, with the lining that partially pulls out, but is still connected. This feature does, admittedly, help lessen the drying time considerably. The other two all-in-one's took 36 hours or so to dry.
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| Outside of Blueberry. What an adorable diaper! |
If I could get it to dry overnight, I would love this diaper. It has a really innovative design, with the lining that partially pulls out, but is still connected. This feature does, admittedly, help lessen the drying time considerably. The other two all-in-one's took 36 hours or so to dry.
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| Inside of Blueberry, with insert pulled out. I had to fold it to get it in the photo, but hopefully you can see how it's attached at the front? |
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| Inside of Blueberry, with insert inside pocket. |
Thirsties Duo All-In-One (aqua)
Again, I had to put this one in the dryer. It’s just too humid here for hang-drying all-in-one’s in less than 24 hours, which just isn’t an option when you only have 8 diapers. I left this one on Baby Boy the longest – 4.5 hours - and had no problems with leaking.
It handled a regular wet diaper like a champ. I wonder about poops though – there’s an
opening at the waist in front and back, and it seems like it’d be tough to
clean.
I never tried this one at night. Same reason as with the Blueberry Basix.
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| Outside of Thirsties. It's a great little diaper, it just takes FOREVER to dry. |
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| Inside of Thirsties. See all that padding? Yeah, that's the problem. |
BumGenius Flip (white)
I used this one overnight a lot. I put the regular BumGenius stay dry insert, along a terry insert as well. The first night I actually had the newborn insert in there too, just because I was nervous about leaks, but it was ridiculously huge, and I was worried about his tiny little legs getting sore from being bowed around the bulk. I decided that no one else stuffs their diapers that much and they do just fine. Everything went great, every time! No leaks, no problems. Both inserts were soaked in front, but strangely dry in back. I’m used to the wetness immediately spreading in a disposable.
One big selling point for Flips is that it's just a PUL cover, with no lining of any kind, so it dries in no time. A lot of times I use this one simply because it's the one that's dry, when all the others are still damp.
My only problem with this one is that about half the time, the elastic waistband of Baby Boy's pj pants flip over inside the top of the diaper, so his pants end up damp around the top. I can avoid this if I remember to pull his pants waistband down an inch or so below the top of the diaper.
Flips are tied for my favorite for overnight (along with BumGenius 3.0 and 4.0). Easy to add to. Straightforward. I just leave all the rise snaps undone to
accommodate the extra bulk.
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| Inside of Flip. No nonsense, just a simple PUL cover. |
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| Stay-Dry insert. Never had a leak when I've used this one: alone for day, with another for night. |
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| Outside of Flip. Same snaps as the 4.0, so easy to make it fit perfectly. |
BumGenius Elemental
All-In-One (green)
When I first was looking at all my different options, this one seemed the least neat and streamlined; the lining doesn’t adjust, and is attached at both ends but hangs loose inside. It seemed like it’d be bunchy in weird places since I can’t put it exactly where I want it. I saved it for last when I first went through all the diapers.
When I first was looking at all my different options, this one seemed the least neat and streamlined; the lining doesn’t adjust, and is attached at both ends but hangs loose inside. It seemed like it’d be bunchy in weird places since I can’t put it exactly where I want it. I saved it for last when I first went through all the diapers.
And my instincts were right. This one leaked. Every. Single. Time. No matter what I did, how I folded or adjusted it, it was always bunched up like this photo when I took it off. Poop seems like it'd be disastrous - I'm so glad I never had to deal with it.
I used this one the least. Not only did I not like it because it kept bunching up and leaking all over, but it takes a couple of days to dry. Definitely my least favorite. After the first week, I didn't use it again.
I'm not going to say it's a bad diaper. Obviously it works for other people with their babies. In fact, one of the ladies at Diaper Lab said it's one of her favorites for her daughter. But it sure didn't work for Baby Boy.
BumGenius 3.0
I didn't rent any of these, but I did buy three of them on Ebay. I think they work almost exactly the same as the 4.0 that I rented. The only real difference is that these are velcro, and the 4.0 has snaps. I'm sure some people have strong opinions about that, but they're sixes to me. I love them for days or overnights, and I love that I can stuff them all and have them waiting in a basket for the next diaper change without having to snap/stuff anything when I have a bare-bummed, wiggly little boy.
I'm not going to say it's a bad diaper. Obviously it works for other people with their babies. In fact, one of the ladies at Diaper Lab said it's one of her favorites for her daughter. But it sure didn't work for Baby Boy.
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| BumGenius Elemental. The lining is attached in front and back. No matter how I adjusted or folded, it always bunched up. |
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| See how it bunched? Leaks were inevitable. (Sorry if this is gross.) |
BumGenius 3.0
I didn't rent any of these, but I did buy three of them on Ebay. I think they work almost exactly the same as the 4.0 that I rented. The only real difference is that these are velcro, and the 4.0 has snaps. I'm sure some people have strong opinions about that, but they're sixes to me. I love them for days or overnights, and I love that I can stuff them all and have them waiting in a basket for the next diaper change without having to snap/stuff anything when I have a bare-bummed, wiggly little boy.
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| Inside of 3.0 Just a straighforward pocket diaper. I love it. |
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| The terry insert that comes with the 3.0. It has snaps that match with the rise snaps, just like the 4.0. |
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| Outside of 3.0 Simple and effective. I do love the velcro when Baby Boy's in crazy-rollover mode. |
Inserts
Some diapers come with their own special snap-in inserts (Bummis Super Brite) or soaker pads (GroVia). Others have more generically-shaped
mix-and-match inserts. Of all the plain
old rectangle ones (two kinds of BumGenius – stay dry and terry, and the
Fuzzibunz insert that came with the cover), I can’t really tell a
difference. They all seem to hold enough
to take a diaper anywhere from 2-5 hours, they seem to mix-and-match between brands seamlessly, and if I stick a second one in there, they’ll all do overnight, no problem. I’ve used all kinds of combinations of inserts for
overnight, and never had a problem.
One insert I rented but returned was the Flip Organic Night Time Insert. It's a big fat designated-for-overnights organic pad from BumGenius. For ease of use, I preferred grabbing any other two liners, since the overnighter organic pad took awhile to dry, even in the dryer, and is super bulky. But it did a good job, and never leaked, so I really can’t complain about it. I just preferred the others because of drying time.
One insert I rented but returned was the Flip Organic Night Time Insert. It's a big fat designated-for-overnights organic pad from BumGenius. For ease of use, I preferred grabbing any other two liners, since the overnighter organic pad took awhile to dry, even in the dryer, and is super bulky. But it did a good job, and never leaked, so I really can’t complain about it. I just preferred the others because of drying time.
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| Here it is unfolded. See the seams that make it super simple to fold perfectly? |
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| Here's the night time insert folded. |
Another insert that I rented and returned was the Flip Organic Day Time Insert. This is just a very simple piece of cotton fabric that you fold into quarters to use. Super easy, and because it unfolds to wash, it dries in no time. But I had much the same "bunching" issues as with the Elemental lining. I guess they're just not for me.
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| Here's the day time insert folded. |
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| Here's the day time insert unfolded. See? As simple as it gets. |
The insert I rented and ended up keeping was the Bummis Deluxe Booster. I liked the way its shape fit in with the GroVia diapers, enabling me to use them overnight if I wanted.
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| Top: stay-dry side. Bottom: cotton side. |
So. What did I end up with?
(1) FuzziBunz Perfect Size with Insert
(1) BumGenius 4.0
(3) BumGenius 3.0
(4) BumGenius Flips
(6) BumGenius stay-dry inserts
(6) BumGenius terry inserts
(4) GroVia shells
(6) GroVia soaker pads
And how much did I spend? Not counting the rental fee, around $150. I had been paying about $40 each month for disposables, so before Baby Boy turns one, I'll have come out on top.
I don't see any reason why we won't continue with cloth until Baby Boy becomes Little Boy and is potty trained. It's seriously easy, and it seems like a "good" thing to do, both for my baby and for the environment. Plus, I'll never again have one of those super-late-night runs to the store because I realize I just used the very last diaper in the house. Instead, I just toss a load in the washer.
I've got this.
Kate
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