Cloth Diaper Review - Update

I updated my long Cloth Diaper Review post to include the Haute Pockets I ordered a few months ago. Unfortunately, they didn't meet my expectations, even though they came in really cute colors.

AW! I'm the December Mom of the Month

Check out my post on the Nicki's Diapers blog :)

While you're there, check out the Cloth Diaper Clearance site. I scored a few Haute Pockets for $11 each. Can't wait to try them!

Cloth Diaper Victory!

Two weeks ago I submitted a proposal for a cloth diaper trial period to our daycare director. I initially asked for a two-day trial, and she came back offering an entire week to try them out. Last week was our trial run, and I was really nervous about it - kind of that feeling you used to get before the first day of school. I had all of my BG3.0s packed and ready to go the night before, along with a wetbag and diaper pail. I went in early on Monday to give the teachers a quick demonstration. They were all shocked to see how easy they were to use - most of them were expecting the pins and prefolds. On Friday I heard back from the director and we're now allowed to cloth diaper Charlie full-time! This is fantastic news for us, and I feel like I've really succeeded at teaching someone something new and changing someone's mind about cloth diapers.

I'm still not going to be a "CD pusher," but I'm very excited that people are becoming more open-minded about the topic. I can't even begin to tell you how many negative comments I got before Baby C was born, and how many people didn't think I'd really follow through with my plan. I love them, and I'm so happy we decided to go against convention.

Swim Diaper

After reading my SIL's blog post about how bloated my nephew's diaper got after playing in the fountain, I realized that I never updated my cloth diaper posts to include the reusable swim diapers we found. I checked out a few different styles and settled on the Bummis SWIMMI, mostly because they had a velcro front and I figured that would work well for us since Baby C has no butt to hold up his bottoms. This was the only brand I found with velcro.




I ordered them from the sister shop of Nicki's Diapers - My Swim Baby. They specialize in swim diapers and everything summer related. These diapers have worked out really well for us. They've kept everything contained, so far!

A word of warning: Swim diapers (even the disposable kind!) are NOT meant to hold in pee, only to hold in solids. At the beginning of swim season there were tons of posts by moms who didn't realize that swim diapers let the pee flow through and ended up with soaked carseats or laps :)

We usually stick them in the diaper bag and put them on after we get to the pool. There are lots of fun prints to choose from, too!

Hippie or Not?

So over the weekend it was brought to my attention that some people think I'm "hippie-ish." I was shocked to hear this piece of information. Not because I think hippies are bad, on the contrary I admire the individuals who were part of that subculture - their respect for individual rights and their unwillingness to blindly follow authority. Apparently the idea of "me-as-hippie" was inspired by a few characteristics of my life. Perhaps the better term would be "Crunchy," rather than "Hippie."

The Pro-Hippie/Crunchy List
1. Eating habits (Natural/local/organic/homemade)
2. Breastfeeding
3. Eco-Friendly/Sustainable Living
4. Baby-Food Making
5. Cloth Diapering
6. Craigslist/Thrift Store Shopping

I'm not saying that I'm really good at everything in that list. I sneak a soda here and there during long and boring days at work, I don't think Dunkin is organic OR natural, I can't bring myself to use cloth toilet paper, and we use disposable wipes on the really awful diapers. I also don't think these behaviors need to be limited to the "crunchy" set. If we all made an effort to live a little more sustainably we could have a huge impact on our environment. Breastmilk is the most natural and beneficial food you can give an infant, so to me that was a no-brainer.

I also like to think that I'm not pushy when it comes to these things. If I'm out to dinner at someone else's house, am I going to refuse to eat the meal that's been prepared if the ingredient list includes processed cheese food, high fructose corn syrup, and conventional veggies? No, I won't. Do I judge moms who don't breastfeed? That's a trickier one, because I'll admit that I do believe that everyone should at least consider it, and that the "it's gross" excuse is just flat out wrong. If you've tried it and you either can't do it or decide that it's just not for you, then that's your decision and I won't say a thing either way.

I do like to discuss politics, lean more liberal than most, and if you handed me tickets to Bonnaroo I wouldn't turn them down, but let's think this through realistically, shall we?

The Not Hippie/Crunchy List
1. The car in my garage
2. Satellite TV
3. Occupation
4. Skill set
5. Daily Life

I like deodorant, and I don't mean the natural crystal deodorant. Give me the aluminum-filled antiperspirant deodorant any day! I work in market research, which is probably one of the most anti-crunchy/sustainable occupations out there. Do I question my decision to sell my soul regularly? Yes, but I'm still there, which means that a paycheck can buy me away from my principles.

In summary, when's the last time you saw a HDTV-watching, Real Housewives-obsessed, KitchenAid mixer-loving, sports-car driving Hippie?

Cloth Diaper Review

Baby C advertising his greenness.



The awesome Toledo Nesties ordered me the Changing Diapers, Changing Minds trial package from Jillian's Drawers. Link to site for complete details, but the general idea is that they send you a variety of cloth diapers (unused) to try out for 30 days. You try them all out, decide which ones you like best, and then send the rest of them back to the store in exchange for credit towards a full order of diapers. (there's actually a huge market for used cloth diapers, as odd as it sounds, so they turn around and resell them) If you're considering cloth diapering I highly recommend the program. It's a great and cost-efficient way to test drive a variety of diapers. The packages vary by the size of the baby, so I received the newborn selection.

Please note that these are only my opinions and I personally know other moms who disagree completely with my assessments. From talking to other moms I've discovered that diaper performance is heavily dependent on the baby in question - differences in overall size, butt size, and leg chubbiness all need to be accounted for. Charlie Beta is long and skinny, especially his legs. What works for him won't necessarily work for your baby, and what works for your baby might not work for him.

The Lineup

Kissaluvs Size 0



Thirsties Fab Fitted



Thirsties All In One Diapers



BumGenius Organic One-Size All-In-One



BumGenius 3.0 (one-size pocket)



Organic Imse Vimse Cover



Bleached Chinese Prefolds



Snappi




** I bought these on my own **

Unbleached Chinese Prefolds



Thirsties Cover



WonderWrap One-Size Cover




The Results

Loved

BumGenius 3.0 (one-size pocket) - Everything I had hoped they would be. No leak issues, fit Baby C perfectly on the smallest setting, liner keeps his skin dry, great for overnight and being out and about. These come with 2 inserts, a newborn insert and a larger one for later on. You can continue to use the NB inserts for doublers down the road. I stuff the larger insert in there for overnights since he's such a good sleeper. He's gone 7 hours through the night with no leaks.

Bleached/Unbleached Chinese Prefolds/Snappi - The most economical option, can be found for $1-$2 each and you can get by with 2 covers if you need to. I like the Snappi, it's pretty idiot proof and I imagine it's much easier than using pins. I was intimidated by this option at the beginning, but I researched the folding options and practiced on a stuffed bear and was very surprised to discover how quick and easy they are. These will remain a staple in our house. The downside to these diapers is that when they're wet they're WET and need to be changed NOW. He lets me know the moment that he pees. I don't use these for going out or overnight.

Organic Imse Vimse Cover - This was a great cover, didn't leak through at all. It's much trimmer and softer than the other covers I tried out. I actually liked this one best but decided not to go with these as a permanent option because I discovered the WonderWrap One-Size. I'd prefer to buy a few one-size covers that will last throughout the diapering stage than have to rebuy covers in different sizes after each growth spurt.

Liked

Thirsties Cover - This is the main cover that I use with the prefolds. It's trimmer than the WonderWrap but not as trim as the Imse Vimse. I prefer this one over the WonderWrap right now because it fits Baby C better, but it's sized so I'll have to buy more as he grows.

WonderWrap One-Size Cover - I use this one when the Thirsties cover is dirty. Right now it's pretty bulky for him and I don't think he looks very comfortable in it. When he gets a little bigger he'll probably fit into it much better. I like it because it's one-size so I can use it until he's potty-trained.

Thirsties All In One Diapers - These worked out much better for us than the BumGenius AIOs. They fit him very well, weren't too bulky, and didn't leak at all. I would have loved to go with these as a permanent option but because I'd have to keep buying new sets in bigger sizes I decided not to go with them since the BumGenius 3.0s worked just as well. If you don't mind buying sets in multiple sizes then this diaper is wonderful.

Kissaluvs Size 0 - Out of all the options this one fit him best, which makes sense since it's specifically designed for teeny tiny newborns. It was super soft and if they made undies for "big people" out of the same fabric I'd totally buy myself some. They were plenty absorbent and wicked the moisture away from his skin. I ranked these under the Thirsties AIO because they need a cover - the simplicity of the AIOs really appeals to me.

Wish I Hadn't Bothered

BumGenius Organic One-Size All-In-One - Tried this one three times and it definitely didn't work for us. I didn't like the design or the fit on Baby C. It was much bulkier than the BG 3.0 and leaked from both sides every time we put it on him.

Thirsties Fab Fitted - We only used this twice and it was a disaster both times. Diaper on, poop everywhere!


Miscellaneous Note

I use Charlie's Soap to wash my diapers. I also use it for Baby C's clothes, so it's not a unitasker. It has no scent and is completely natural.




If you want more information about cloth diapers check out diaperpin.com. It's full of useful information on why to use cloth diapers, how they work, how to wash them, reviews of every diaper imaginable, and reviews of online cloth diaper retailers. Very helpful. I'm so glad we decided to go with cloth diapers. It's definitely saving money in the long run, it's so much better for Baby Charlie, it's better for the environment, and they're so darn cute :)



Update to include a review of Haute Pockets



A few months ago I ordered a few Haute Pockets from Nikki's Cloth Diaper Clearance. I had been wanting to try them for a while. They come in cute colors, have a version that snaps instead of velcros, and are very soft inside and out. Needless to say, I really, really wanted to like these diapers. Unfortunately they didn't quite live up to my expectations. I think these diapers suffer from the same problem that the BG2.0s suffered from. There's no barrier at the top of the diaper to prevent the moisture from wicking onto the clothes. The BG3.0s have that tab around the top edge of the diaper. The Haute Pockets do not.



The soft inner lining goes right up to the top edge. For us, this has meant that any piece of clothing touching the top of the liner is likely to end up wet. This is an even bigger problem at night since his pajama shirts are a little tighter and really hug around the diaper area. We've never had a successful dry night in these. During the day it's a little bit better because he's changed frequently, but I don't trust them enough for trips away from the house.

Sunday, August 10th

Baby Charlie had his first bath today! He definitely didn't enjoy it - he screamed and cried and scared Einstein, who came out of hiding to see what the commotion was about. He was very concerned for the baby.





We also started cloth diapering today. So far so good! Here's Baby Charlie sporting a chinese prefold and Imse Vimse cover.



The other cover is a little big...

Introduction to Cloth Diapers

My co-worker brought me in one of the cloth diaper samples that she has, so I figured I'd post it here for those of you who aren't familiar with how far technology has come. These aren't your grandma's cloth diapers!

I present to you the Bum Genius 3.0 One-Size-Fits-All Pocket Diaper:







Isn't it cute? This particular model has 3 sets of snaps that you adjust according to how big the baby is. The pocket diaper has, in case you couldn't guess, a pocket, that you fill with the absorbent material of your choice. You can then stick a disposable liner on top, which can be flushed in a regular toilet. I'm torn between the pocket diapers and the All-In-Ones, which look pretty much the same but have no pocket to stuff, just flush the disposable liner and throw the rest in the wash.

These things are so incredibly soft, you wouldn't believe it.