Bumgenius AIO

Apr 13,2010 / By Maria / 4 Comments

>

I received this BumGenius All-in-one diaper free with my BumGenius coupon and flip purchase from Abby’s Lane.

The size medium I chose fits from 15-22 pounds. My little guy is about 16.5 lbs as of the day I took this photo.

It fits him wonderfully with plenty of room to grow.

These are a lot like the BG 3.0 O/S diapers. They have a stay dry inner.

A stuffable pocket to add additional inserts.

They have the same waterproof outer with front PUL “stopper,” the “poop scoop,” aplix closures, rear elastic…all the same great features except it has a sewn in microfiber soaker.

This is a photo of the diaper turned inside out, which helps it dry a bit faster.

These diapers are sized, with the XS fitting from 6-12 pounds (no stuffable pocket on this one), S fitting 8-16 lbs, M fitting 15-22 lbs and L 22-30 lbs. This makes them even trimmer than the one sized diapers, and they are just as leak proof.

They are priced at $15.95 each, which is $2.00 less than a Bumgenius 3.0 one-size pocket diaper. If money were no object, I would gladly exclusively use these. Since money IS an object for us, (a very scarce one at that) I would prefer the one size diapers.

Aside from the cost issue, they would experience the same velcro wear over time (the organic AIOs come with snaps but not these, with the stay-dry inner). You’d also be unable to separately treat the microfiber insert if it needed some extra stink treatment, which would limit your options (bleach and other treatments can damage PUL). One person told me she actually removed the soaker from the diaper, which would “save” it, but then it would be a pocket diaper!

The XS/newborn size diapers are priced at $3.00 less. I would definitely get a few of these to diaper a newborn! But for now, I’ll stick with my 3.0’s, though I’m so glad I got to try this!

Edit August 2010: I still like this diaper; it is very trim and absorbent. However, it is getting a little stinky. If I turn it inside out to dry and sniff the microfiber, it doesn’t smell clean. I’ve had to re-wash it turned inside out several times.

0

DryBees Fleece Night Diapers

Feb 25,2010 / By Maria / 9 Comments

>

I’ve been hunting for a night diapering solution that won’t leave clothing and sheet soaked in the morning.

I had been using a Bumgenius 3.0 on the large setting (we use medium during the day) with an insert and 3 doublers. It was working OK I suppose, though usually my son’s pajamas were wet on the back right above the diaper.

Since it’s winter, he’s also been using a fleece sleep sack. That has helped somewhat, since it at least keeps the sheet dry.

Lately however, he’s woken up even wetter. All the stuffing also sometimes causes a gap at his leg. He often rolls onto his side to sleep, which caused him to pee right out of the leg gap, soaking everything and waking himself up!

I’ve been looking for something else to try. Enter DryBees.

I bought a DryBees Fleece Night Time diaper from Abby’s Lane. I found a coupon code for 5% off, got free shipping, had $3 in my Paypal account from a survey, and Abby’s Lane included a free microfiber insert. not bad for $15.52!

I really liked the charcoal color, but they didn’t have the size I needed, so I bought sage. I chose a medium, which should fit 14-22 lbs.

The outer is heavy weight Malden Mills Windpro fleece and the inner is suede cloth.

The inner is definitely stiffer and rougher than the micro fleece inner most of my other diapers have.

I tried the diaper on Saturday during the day, just to see how it fit. I used just the microfiber insert it came with, and it was great. It fit fine and didn’t leak.

I tried it overnight on Sunday. I stuffed it with the microfiber insert it came with, a Blueberry bamboo doubler and two hemp doublers. It was a tight squeeze into the pocket, which is tighter than the Bumgenius pockets.

It didn’t seem any bulkier than the BG I usually over-stuff at night.

The next morning, his back was wet, but the inserts weren’t completely soaked. I thought maybe it was user error? I quickly washed & dried them to try again Tuesday night. Wednesday morning, he woke up with EVERYthing soaked. Pajamas, sleep sack, sheets, everything. The microfiber insert was not soaking wet but the hemp was. That made me suspect that it had something to do with the hemp being up against the fleece.

Wednesday (last night), I tried again. First, I tried to use the microfiber insert it came with, along with 3 microfiber doublers (two from Happy Heiny’s and one from FuzziBunz).

I actually couldn’t fit all that in the pocket, so I ditched one of the HH doublers.

I fit it all in the pocket!

Fluffy and squishy, but no leg gap!

This morning, all the inserts were soaking wet, and so was he.

So, I’m trying other things! I ordered a Heartland Dreams fitted, a Kissaluvs Wool Soaker and Eucalan Wool Wash (click that link for info on requesting a free sample. I’ll post about wool when I get that stuff.

I also ordered Knickernappies LoopyDo and SuperDo inserts. I’ll figure this out yet! I’m guessing I will end up having to use multiple super inserts along with a wool cover!

November 2010 update: I gave up on this diaper; so many people love it but it just didn’t work for us. Here’s what worked for us at night, after a lot of trial and error:

Dypes by Dixon Sweet Slumber Fleece Diaper or a Bumgenius pocket, stuffed with a Superdo insert, a loopydo with an added natural fiber doubler, or a regular microfiber insert with a natural fiber doubler. I always put the microfiber in the pocket on the baby side and the doubler underneath (or in the middle of the loopydo.) This allows the microfiber to quickly absorb liquid, and the doubler locks it away (yes, I feel like a paper towel commercial.)

What has also worked for us is a super absorbent fitted, like the Guerilla Fluff Utilitarian with a night-time wool interlock soaker over top.

0

Kushies Ultra Lite

Jan 25,2010 / By Maria / 5 Comments

I did not have high hopes for this Kushies Baby Ultra Lite Washable Diaper.

I want to preface this by saying most experienced cloth diaperers have said they hate these and are glad they didn’t give up on Cd’ing because of them. I would really only suggest these to someone who wants to try cloth diapers that are easy & inexpensive. I’d rather have One Blueberry than 3 of these, but I’d rather have these than disposables.

This was a new product at Kelly’s Closet. I still have a balance on the gift certificate my Mom got me for Christmas. I’m always looking to increase my fluff stash and try something new, plus I wanted to bump my order over $49 for free shipping.

I was really intrigued by the price. This is the cheapest (mass produced) diaper I’ve purchased (aside from the econobum, which was free with a coupon code & I didn’t care for at all.) They were even cheaper than the smartipants diaper.

In addition, it is an all in one diaper, which means the soaker material is sewn into the diaper. I’m a little leery of them because of the drying time and inability to remove the soaker for extra cleaning.

You get to choose boy, girl or neutral print, you don’t choose the actual print. I find that pretty disappointing since part of the fun of cloth diapering is choosing the cute fabrics! The one I received is OK. Not horrible but not what I would have chosen if I’d been able to.

I’m not sure where I come up with this stuff, but for some reason, if it had been on clearance for, say, $8 or less, I would have been less concerned with the print.

So, my initial opinion of the diaper wasn’t really great. The tabs were small and the outer fabric reminded me of a windbreaker.

However, the diaper was really cushy and had a nice, thick absorbent core, which somehow also felt very, very trim. I also realized that the small tabs mean that you don’t have to have “overlapping” tabs, you can just put one below the other, since the loop part of the hook & loop was as wide as both tabs.

According to their website, it has 6 layers of 100% cotton flannel plus a “special middle soaker for increased absorbency.” That soaker is just the fold down flap you can see in the photo. You can fold it over to get extra absorbency where you need it. This is the first diaper I have that doesn’t have a fabric against baby’s skin to wick moisture away. You can buy stay dry liners or buy and cut microfleece to line diapers with.

These are also sized diapers. I chose infant (10-22 lbs) but they also offer toddler (22-45 lbs). I would probably continue to use the diaper as long as it continued to cover the important bits and not leak. The weight limits can really vary based on your child’s waist size, rise, skinny, chunky etc.

The diaper was just fine on.

The diaper doesn’t have any fancy gussets, but he pooped in it as well as soaking it, and we had no leaks or blowouts. I do wish it had a stay dry inner though, the whole inside was of course wet to the touch.

The tabs held wonderfully and weren’t too grippy, yet they didn’t budge during laundering.

I didn’t think I’d like this diaper, but it functioned very well, and when purchased in 5 packs, they are less than $10 per diaper. That is less than an econobum!

These are very Daddy friendly. The fact that they are all in ones and have a velcro closure makes them as close to disposables as you can get. They are so affordable, you could try a few, use them long enough for them to pay for themselves, then move on to another type of diaper, or sell them or give them away!

They are also readily available. I’ve heard people say they have seen them at Wal-Mart (Ptooie!!) and a quick search of their site confirms it. Free site to store shipping too.

Bottom (no pun intended) line, these are cheap diapers that are fine for the price. Don’t buy them if you’re expecting Blueberry quality, but they’d be a great alternative to prefolds and covers or disposables.

Now I’m really curious about the “Ultra” type. It says it has 5 layers of 100% cotton flannel (vs the Ultra-Lite’s 6, though perhaps that was a typo) plus the extra soaker. I love the adorable duck print pictured! These are also available in Preemie (2-4 lbs) and Newborn (4-10 lbs). That is definitely enticing since even one size diapers usually don’t fit well until about 10 pounds and it’s tough to think about investing hundreds of dollars in teeny diapers the baby won’t wear long!

They do have a strike against them in my book, because in their drop down menu, they have spelled “Classic Diaper” as “Classic Diper.” Spell check. Use it. (No, I’m not perfect, but I also don’t have a professional website and business!)

Edit August 2010: This is an OK diaper but very “cheap” and won’t really hold up to “messes.” If you’re on a budget, I’d suggest a Hybrid or prefold/cover system before I recommended these.

0

Testing, testing 1 2 3…

Jan 23,2010 / By Maria / No Comment

>

A lot of diaper makers get started because there is some need that is not being met by other diapers. If she decides to sell to others, she needs to see how her diapers fit on babies of other sizes and shapes, how they hold up to wigglers and heavy wetters, and what other moms think of her design.

Other times, an experienced diaper seller is trying a new design, or even branching out to new products, and she needs feedback.

Enter…the tester.

What a seller usually does is offer her product for the cost of shipping and materials, in exchange for brutally honest feedback, and typically also photos of the product in use.

This can be a great chance to try a new design for a great price, though most sellers would prefer a mom who has been cloth diapering for a little while vs someone brand new to cloth. Of course, that means that you may get a product with a few flaws or bugs that need to be worked out, or something that just doesn’t work for your child.

I had the opportunity to test an E.F.F.-n-Stuffs (Enjoy Fabulous Fluff -n- stuffs) diaper. The diapers will be sold in the Home 2 Home congo on Hyenacart.

She is also working on a nighttime diaper and also plans to offer custom diaper bags and combo sets!

Her regular prices will vary between $10 and $25 depending on style. She charged her testers for materials and shipping (I paid the same as all other testers and my review was not influenced in any way!)

I got a size Medium (10-22 lbs) all in two for my 15.5 lb boy. She also offers Small (NB/6 lb-12 lb) and Large (20-34 lb).

She uses cottons, cotton knit, jersey knit, interlocks, wool interlocks and more.

She ran out of the fabric I requested (you don’t get to be too picky when you’re a tester and that’s OK!) so she used some purple polyester on mine.

The inside is lined with fleece or cotton velour.

The soaker is thick, soft and squishy. Her standard soaker has microfiber sandwiched between fleece x2 and suedecloth next to babies skin. Her special soaker is the same, but has a hidden layer of PUL in the soaker.

Prior to this round of testing she made the AI2s without PUL and used fleece only but wanted to test and see if PUL makes any difference. She, herself, never used covers with her diapers, even to go out. The fleece of the cover is considered pretty water proof.

She will also offer a custom soaker with 5 layers of OBF sandwiched between fleece x2 and suedecloth next to babies skin, or hidden PUL.

I’ve actually only ever seen diapers with PUL through the whole diaper. Her method makes a lot of sense since the PUL would only be where needed, and the rest of the diaper area could breathe more.

I was a little concerned because it seemed a bit narrow as well as bulky, but it was just fine on.

I did not seem to add too much bulk between his legs and it was just the right width.

The wings are quite wide (“extended tabs”), but she plans to also offer “minimal tabs” as an option. Her diapers are purposely cut with more of a “boy short” shape for more booty coverage, making pants optional!

I did have a little trouble selecting the right snap settings to get a good fit around his waist and rolly thighs, but I usually have a learning curve getting used to any new diaper! There is tons of adjustability, and the tabs even have the ability to overlap.

So far, so good! He wore the diaper for about 2 hours and we had no leaks. The soaker didn’t even feel wet (though I know it was!) The only thing was that his hiney & the area around his leg were very red, which is rare for him since switching to cloth. I’m not sure what to make of that.

I wondered how he’d do with the polyester, but it wasn’t touching his skin, and he doesn’t have trouble with diapers lined with PUL. I’ll have to see if it does the same thing next time we use it. It was probably just a coincidence!

Edit August 2010: I did not care for the cut of this diaper/how it fit on my son, so I ended up passing it along.

0

Sized or One Size

Dec 22,2009 / By Maria / No Comment

>

One of the big questions when looking for diapers is, do I buy sized diapers or one size?

It was pretty easy for me to choose one size. They do tend to be a bit bulkier because of the snap down rise, but that is worth the convenience to me. I thought fuzzibunz were annoyingly bulky on the sides in a medium setting, so I would definitely be interested in trying a medium FB.

I stress over clothing sizes as it is. Sizing isn’t consistent from brand to brand, sometimes you need a different size top and bottom, trying to pack up one size & get another out. It makes me crazy!

Sized diapers tend to be a few dollars cheaper than their one size counterparts, since there is less material used. I’ve heard many people say they were able to make due with just small and medium sizes, skipping newborn and going to trainers in lieu of larges. Still, you’re looking at a larger expenditure for sized diapers.

With one size diapers, you can easily switch sizes on the fly, making for simpler diapering of multiple children. It’s also nice to be able to go up a size & add extra inserts for nighttime.

I’ve also heard people say their size went down as they became more mobile/their body shape changed a bit. O/S diapers make this more manageable.

Now, one size diapers often say they will fit at 7 or 8 pounds, but do not really fit well until 9 or 10. If you have a really tiny baby, this can be a problem. Happy Heinys and Rumparooz have an extra small setting, and a few companies even have a mini one size diaper that will go from birth to 15 pounds or so. You still have the issue of steering clear of the umbilical cord stump though. Some people just do disposables for a few weeks. Rumparooz has a tiny all in one that fits preemie-12 lbs and has a snap down for umbilical cord care. They have the inner gussets and they are just soooo little and cute. I don’t think I could justify the expense, but I sure do love them!

If you have a very large baby, or a late potty trainer (learner), one size diapers may not take you all the way through either, so keep that in mind!

0

Category : Sized Diapers

Bumgenius AIO

DryBees Fleece Night Diapers

Kushies Ultra Lite

Testing, testing 1 2 3…

Sized or One Size

Subscribe