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Every Monday I will answer user submitted questions. They don’t have to be about cloth diapering! I’ll always answer questions via email, but if you would like your question to be answered in a Mailbox Mondays post, send an email with the subject “Mailbox Mondays” to Maria at change-diapers dot com.
Naomi says:
Hey Maria,
Talk to me(us) about hemp vs. bamboo. Any recommendations of brands for a hemp or bamboo insert?
Overnight diapers for my 3 year old are getting pretty bulky. I usually sandwich a terry hemp doubler between two microfiber inserts in a generic pocket. That usually does the trick, but I’ve only got two of the hemp guys and when I’m out, I stuff the poor pockets to the gills with microfiber (3 inserts or 2 inserts with a mf towel). While dd doesn’t seem to care about the bulk, it gets hard to stuff and when family sees her overnight diaper it is pretty comical.
I don’t mind bulk, but am wondering which material to try and get inserts of. I’ve heard a lot about wool covers, but right now can only afford to stay with my pockets for overnight and just get a couple used inserts.
Great question! I’ve been fortunate in that several of the diapers I’ve purchased/reviewed came with natural fiber inserts, and they are definitely top notch for nighttime diapering.
In no particular order, first is the insert that came with my Babykicks Bumboo Pocket Diaper. This is 55% hemp and 45% cotton. Babykicks also sells Joey Bunz, Joey Bunz Premium (both sized) and doublers separately. (There should be some in the CSN giveaway in the Merry Fluffy Christmas event!)
My Amp Duo Diaper came with a 2-layer hemp insert, as well as a bamboo insert. The inserts look like a smallish prefold that you trifold, and they also come in 3-layer hemp, as well as organic cotton.
My Blueberry Minky was one I bought after only cloth diapering for about a month, and it was my first experience with a microfiber/hemp combo. It’s a one size insert that snaps down to different sizes, and a 3-pack retails separately for $19.95.
These doublers were kind of random. They were loose in the package with the Blueberry diapers I bought last year. I believe they are organic cotton and bamboo doublers but I’m not entirely sure. I use both of them at night. I have 4 night time diapers in my rotation right now. My Guerilla Fluff Utilitarian with a Mobums Wool Interlock Night Night Soaker, a Dypes by Dixon Sweet Slumber fleece pocket stuffed with the superdo, and two Bumgenius 3.0 pockets, one stuffed with a microfiber insert and one of the random hemp/cotton doublers, the other stuffed with the loopydo with the second random doubler in between.
Speaking of which, I wholeheartedly recommend the Knickernappies Superdo and Loopydo inserts. I purchased these out of utter desperation when my son was soaking every insert I had, and I was creating a monster leg gap by putting 3 inserts in a pocket. They really are rather pricey at $7.50 for a loopydo and $12.95 for a superdo, but I think they are worth it. I tried to be cheap and buy the large size for my son’s medium diapers, but they are quite bulky folded over. I love the microfiber/hemp combo because the microfiber whisks the moisture away from my son’s skin, and the hemp locks it away.
OK, I feel like a paper towel commercial. Really though, if you are looking for a solution for a heavy wetter, I highly recommend them. The only problem I have with them is that they can become quite stinky. When I notice that, I wash (inserts only) with about 1/4 cup of bleach, then rinse rinse rinse until the water is clean and the inserts don’t smell like bleach anymore!
If I had the money to spend, I’d love to have more superdo/loopydo inserts. I’ve been wanting to buy some mediums for a while but I’ve been trying to stick to the budget!
These are just the inserts I own, there are of course lots of other natural fiber inserts/prefolds out there!
So how about the rest of you? Do you have a favorite natural fiber insert?
Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 18, 14 and 11-year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. 
[…] 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.) […]
>I personally prefer the 55% Hemp/45% Cotton blended inserts. I love how they absorb. So far my favorites are the AMP Diapers 2 layer foldable insert and their 3 layer insert.I've read that while bamboo is an absorbent natural fiber it takes so much more energy to transform it from a hard wood-like plant that it is actually bad for the environment. I've heard that where bamboo is actually made into a fabric there is a lot of air polution from the factories.So, for now we'll stick with hemp.
>Both hemp and bamboo are incredibly absorbent. I'd have to do some research to find out which is "supposed" to be more absorbent, but I'm amazed by how much liquid hemp can hold!
>Which do you think absorbs better? Hemp or Bamboo?Definitely looking into some superdos.thanks for the info!