Once the diapermoon is over…

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While reading one of my old blog entries, I realized that I feel quite differently about some diapers now, compared to how I felt when they were brand new fluff mail.  Some things I didn’t like at first, I grew to love and vice versa.

Therefore, I’m going to do a quick summary (linking to the original blog post also) of some of the diapers I’ve been using for up to 6 months.  I’ve also taken some photos of things I find noteworthy. 

I warn that this post will be very long and somewhat rambling at times.     🙂

Since some people do refer back to the archives, I’m going to also figure out the best way to link this post to the original post, perhaps by just linking to this post to avoid a big glob of copied & pasted text at the end.  Here goes!

Bumgenius 3.0 One Size Pocket Diapers.

The first 3 diapers I bought were Bumgenius 3.0s.  I’ve had those since October, so just about 6 months.  They’ve gotten some major wear and tear.  Not only have I had them the longest, but when I first started out, I only had 3 BG, then 6, and I literally washed them twice a day to keep the sposies I needed to use, to a minimum. 

The most common complaint I read (I think I read hundreds of reviews when deciding what to initially purchase) was that over time, the velcro curls, doesn’t stick and forms diaper chains in the wash.  Some people have even done a snap conversion.

Well, I happened upon this Bumgenius Refresher Kit at cottonbabies.  The refresher kits include three new pieces of elastic (back elastic, two legs) new tab closures and new laundry tabs. Each kit also includes instructions for sewing your diaper refresh kits into your bumGenius cloth diapers. Each kit is only $1.00!  It seems well worth it to me.

That said, I don’t need any.  The light blue diaper was one of the first 3 I bought and the one I reach for the most.  It is the “worst” as far as tabs curling, and you can see it’s not really bad at all.

The velcro actually sticks to the laundry tabs, stays firmly attached, but isn’t too difficult to remove from the diaper or laundry tabs.

There are no functional problems at all.  They may need a little refresher in a few more months, but who cares.  I remember being so shocked at the price of $17.95 per diaper when I first started looking at cloth.  Now I know, that’s cheap!!  They’re one size, waterproof, come with not only an insert, but a doubler too, have a stay dry inner, and are actually one of the least expensive diapers I’ve bought!

They also have the “poop scoop” in back and a nice, wide pocket for stuffing.  I’ve heard some people say they don’t like that, but I do.  You have to fold the “poop scoop” over after stuffing to cover the opening.

I also adore that they have the PUL “stopper” on the front.  You don’t have to be too particular about getting the insert just so, since that will keep it from wicking onto clothing.

Speaking of stuffing, it takes me seconds to stuff them now.  I had a learning curve though.  I don’t really think it’s something someone can teach you, you just have to get the hang of it.

As long as the diaper is on the right rise setting, stuffed properly, fastened properly etc, I don’t have any leaks or blowouts.  These are my go-to diaper when we leave the house because I know I won’t be left “all wet.”

Happy Heiny’s Monkey Print and Peace Bears

I sheepishly admit that the prints are what made me desperately want these!  I initially thought they’d be great for newborns since they had a “newborn” setting in addition to small, medium and large.  They claim to fit 7.5 to 35 lbs.  Many one size diapers have similar size ranges, but almost everyone tells me that they don’t really fit until about 10 pounds. 

My son was born at about 8 pounds and was a bit over 14 pounds when we started cloth diapering at about 4 1/2 months.  He has worn the “medium” setting on all of his other one size diapers since then, but we are still on the “newborn” setting on these!!  We started out on medium and went to small, then finally newborn, in search of a secure fit.

Granted, he’s teeny at 16 1/2 lbs at 10 1/2 months, but I just can’t see how a 7.5 pound baby could wear these.  I think the sizing is more like Small/Medium, Medium/Large, Large/Extra large and Toddler.

The aplix closure tabs do overlap, but I’m always left with the end flapping in the breeze for some reason.  I’ve never tried a snap version.

When I tried to use the “small” setting, we had constant leg gap and he would pee right out the leg hole, leaving the insert bone dry.  Even since we sized down, I have to be really careful about how I put them on or we get leaks. 

Since there’s no stopper like the bumgenius has, I have to be careful not to stuff the insert too far into the diaper, but then it sometimes wants to hang out the back.  The inserts also do not have the snaps for sizing like the BG have.  They also want to bunch up inside and that also causes leak issues for us.

I have to use the foldover method for securing the tabs during laundering, they don’t stick to the laundry tabs for me.

They have a little bit of pilling here and there, but overall seem to be “aging” fine. 

I will definitely hang on to them since they may fit better if he chubs back up, or might fit another baby (if we have one!)  Solid colors cost $1 more than the bumgenius, but there is an additional surcharge for prints.

Fuzzibunz One Size Pocket Diapers

A very, very long time ago, long before I even had a baby on the way, I researched cloth diapers.  I ended up liking FuzziBunz the best, but I was turned off by the cost of having to buy different sizes.  My daughter was such a peanut that she was only about 24 pounds by the time she was fully potty trained.  For her, we would have needed some newborns, smalls and some trainers.  That would have been all.  Oh, if only I could have all the money back (or even some of it!) that we spent on disposables for her.  What a fluff stash it would buy!

In the beginning of my cloth diapering, I wanted only one-size diapers, so I bought this.  Initially, I thought this was OK.  Nice and trim.  Then I realized that the way I had the waist & elastic setting wasn’t quite right.  I found the elastic confusing and off putting, and the nice trim fit wasn’t as trim once the fabric was puffy from adjusted elastic.

I found the triangular snap configuration confusing and annoying and my husband hated it.

Since it’s one of the last I reach for, it doesn’t surprise me that it’s in pretty good shape!  The cost was $1 more than the Bumgenius.

Blueberry Minky with Velcro

Again, I got suckered into a diaper because of the cute print!  I had heard good things about Blueberry, but that their velcro was awful.  Since I couldn’t find any of the prints I liked with snaps, I got the velcro, thinking that people were just anti-velcro.

Boy was I wrong!!  This was the blog post that made me realize how wrong wrong wrong initial impressions can be!  I hated the insert because I couldn’t figure out how to fold and snap it.  Now I love it!  It’s one size without adding much bulk, has microfiber and hemp both, is very trim, and is a loop, so it dries quickly.  Definitely one of my most favorite inserts now.

I also thought the velcro was good.  Bwaaahhhahahhahah!!  Excuse me while I slap my knee and wipe a tear from my eye.

You be the judge:

It’s as though Blueberry velcro defies all rules of logic.  It is im-freakin-possible to get off the dang diddly laundry tabs!  Seriously, I work up a sweat trying to get them off, and this one is ripped almost completely off.

Put them in the washing machine though and it’s like the velcro thinks the laundry tab has cooties.  The velcro sticks to everything BUT the laundry tabs.  This means all my other stuff gets snagged, and the Blueberry velcro gets a bunch of gross fuzzy stuff stuck in it.

The inside is quite pilly, and seems to have stained more than others.

In general, it just looks much older than diapers that have been used much, much more often.

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