Monthly Archives: May 2011

Cloth Diapers Diaper Accessories Review Snap Closure Velcro/Aplix Closure

Turn a Snap Diaper into a Velcro Diaper – Adapt-a-Snap from GoGreen Pocket Diapers – Review

go green adapter 1

Last year, I wrote a 4 part post about my thoughts about the future of cloth diapering. In part 4 I mentioned that I’d love to see a diaper with snaps, that also had a Velcro strip and tabs that could snap on and off at a whim. I’d mentioned this to a few WAHMs, and as far as I know, no one had made such a thing. At least one WAHM had made a diaper with both snaps and Velcro, and you just affixed whichever you wanted, but I thought you really needed to be able to remove the Velcro.

Anyhoo, a little while ago, GoGreen Pocket Diapers posted on their Facebook page that they were coming out with a snap-to-aplix conversion kit that sounded exactly like what I was talking about! I’m a little embarrassed to say that I got pretty excited. I mean, really. Who gets all bouncy and squealy about a cloth diaper accessory? Well, me I guess. Largely because I was like OMG, YES! Someone else thinks this is a good idea! I’m not crazy!!

go green adapter 2 front on

OK, so here’s how it works. You can get either white or black, and you can buy them with matching snaps (so you hardly notice them) or multicolor snaps (so they have the cool look of the GoGreen Champ, with the ease of Velcro.) It just snaps right on the front of the diaper.

go green adapter 3 tabs

The tabs snap on the same way.

go green adapter 4 tabs on

I wasn’t sure how well the tabs would stick, since there are snap caps all along the Velcro strip, but it’s as if they aren’t even there, they stick just fine.

go green adapter 6 tabs closed

You can overlap the tabs since they have the loop texture on the reverse side.

go green adapter 5 tabs overlapping

You can also reverse the way the tab is snapped in to make it close up even smaller.

gogreen adapter on bumgenius wreversed tab

When you reverse both tabs, you can close it up just as small as when it’s snapped, or even smaller.  (Only one tab is reversed in the pictures above & below.)

gogreen adapter on bum genius

So obviously, I tested this with a Bumgenius diaper. The adapter will work with The Champ, or any other diaper with 1″ snap spacing, and two rows of 10 snaps. The obvious thing would be to test the adapter with the Champ, but when I received it, my Champ was dirty and I was anxious to try the adapter! This means I was extremely confused by what I thought of as “the mystery tab.”

go green adapter 7 mystery tab frontgo green adapter 8 mystery tab back

It is slightly smaller than the closure tabs (closer to square) and has male snaps on one side (caps on the other) and loop (fuzzy Velcro) on both sides. I couldn’t figure out what it did. I contacted Leah at GoGreen, washed my Champ, and it all made sense. (LOL)

gogreen overlap adapter

I totally forgot that the Champ has an additional set of female snaps on the wing, so you can overlap the tabs for tiny babies. I sound like such a dummy, but since I’ve never needed the overlap, it just totally slipped my mind.

gogreen overlap adapter 2

This additional adapter snaps to the newborn overlap snaps and attaches to the hook of the other closure tab. There’s no hook on the underside of this adapter since it sits up against PUL (hook might snag it.)

gogreen overlap adapter closed

Using this adapter on the newborn snap gets the diaper even tinier for really small babies. Since a baby that small isn’t going to be mobile, you shouldn’t have wing droop issues from the tabs attaching to each other vs. having them both attach to the front of the diaper.

gogreen adapter on flip

You already know the adapter works on the Bumgenius, so obviously, it works on the Flip as well.

gogreen adapter on rumparooz

Rumparooz, check! I was trying to figure out what else I could try it on. I’m more of a Velcro gal myself, so I will choose that over snaps if it’s available. I was mentally inventorying my diapers and thought maybe it would work on the Oh Katy (especially since I remembered that had a newborn overlap snap!)

oh katy not quite right size snaps for gogreen adapteroh katy has only 8 snaps

As it turns out, the snaps aren’t quite the right distance apart, and it only has 8 snaps!

still made it work

Even so, I made it work! The adapter is pretty forgiving! The end of the Velcro strip might rub baby’s tummy this way though!

So, why would you want an adapt-a-snap? I’ve heard so many people say they started out with Velcro because it was simple (also an easy transition from sposies in my opinion), and it was great until their baby figured out just how easy it was to undo! So then they were stuck buying snap diapers, or trying to stop their streaker wannabe. With these adapters, you can buy snap diapers, but use them as Velcro until you need the snaps. Or, if you always love snaps, but want something easier for babysitters, this is it.

The other problem with Velcro is the longevity. The laundry tabs of many diapers aren’t exactly great, so you end up with curling closure tabs, snagged diapers etc. etc. It’s so easy to just pop the tabs off before you toss them in the wet bag, then snap them back on when they’re dry. Alternately, you could get a strip of fuzzy Velcro, cut rectangles, and slap ’em on the closure tabs before you wash.

At $6.99 each (edit: The price isn’t set in stone since this is still really a prototype. They may end up being less!), the adapters might be a little too pricey to buy one for each diaper in your stash, but it doesn’t take too long to attach them, so you could definitely get away with having just a few. I wouldn’t want to try to snap all 20 snaps on a new diaper with a wiggly, naked baby waiting.  So you’d probably want to at least have enough to have one or two already on diapers, waiting in the wings so to speak!

Hooray for GoGreen reading my mind!  What do you think?  Could you use one of these?

FTC compliance: I received the adapt-a-snap at no charge in order to review it. I was not otherwise compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.


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Cloth Diapers Giveaway Made in the USA Pocket Diapers Review Snap Closure WAHM made

Kim’s Cloth Embroidered Diaper Review & Giveaway (CLOSED 5/11)

Kim's Cloth Diaper 1 back

I was a tester last year when Kim of Kim’s Crafts was perfecting her Kim’s Cloth diapers. They start at just $13.00, and go up to $19 for specialty ruffle butt or Kimbroidery (embroidered) diapers. Mine was $21.00 shipped!

Kim's Cloth Diaper 2 frontKim's Cloth Diaper 3 front

I have zero photography talent (less than zero if that’s possible) and black minky is especially hard to photograph! The photos I’ve taken don’t do this diaper justice at all. I’m really impressed with the attention to detail, including neat, even stitching!

Kim's Cloth Diaper 4 detail

The diaper has snap closures.

Kim's Cloth Diaper 5 snap closures

You can buy Kim’s Cloth Diapers with fleece or minky inners. Mine is minky!

Kim's Cloth Diaper 6 inner

It’s a pocket diaper with a rear opening. The pocket isn’t enormous, but I didn’t have any trouble stuffing it!

Kim's Cloth Diaper 7 pocket

My tester diaper had a microfiber towel for stuffing. I’m not crazy about them, largely because the feeling of microfiber on my hands creeps me out (microfiber inserts don’t do this to me, I don’t know why.) I’m also not great at folding them so they fit in the pocket just right.

Kim's Cloth Diaper 9 measured insertKim's Cloth Diaper 10 insert sitting on pocket

This time I received a sewn insert, which is 2 layers of microfiber sandwiched between flannel. It is small enough to fit nicely in the smallest setting.

Kim’s Cloth Diapers are “one size fits most” and are estimated to fit 15-45 pounds (based on Kim’s experience, tester and customer feedback.) They are a bit larger than some other “one-size” diapers, and I think the sizes are probably medium, medium/long, large and extra-large, but to keep things simple, I’m going to refer to them as small, medium, large and extra-large!

Kim's Cloth Diaper 11 size adjustment

The size adjustment is through 4 snap settings on the leg elastic. It’s easy to find the snaps inside the pocket, and they are sticky enough to not come undone accidentally, but not sticky enough to make it difficult to adjust!

Here are the 4 sizes measured folded and stretched. As always, this isn’t an exact science, since measurements can really vary depending on exactly how I pull the fabric, but it should give you an idea! (P.S. I know I should have lint rolled this between washing & photographing it. Sorry!)

Small (4th snap setting):

Kim's Cloth Diaper 12 small foldedKim's Cloth Diaper 13 small stretched
Kim's Cloth Diaper 14 small

Medium (3rd snap setting):

Kim's Cloth Diaper 15 medium foldedKim's Cloth Diaper 16 medium stretched
Kim's Cloth Diaper 17 medium

Large (2nd snap setting):

Kim's Cloth Diaper 18 large foldedKim's Cloth Diaper 19 large stretched
Kim's Cloth Diaper 20 large

Extra-large (1st snap setting):

Kim's Cloth Diaper 21 xl foldedKim's Cloth Diaper 22 xl stretched
Kim's Cloth Diaper 23 xl

My son is 23 months old and about 22 pounds. Initially, I tried him in the large (2nd snap) setting, but it was a bit big.

Kim's Cloth Diaper 24 large on 22 lb babyKim's Cloth Diaper 25 large front
Kim's Cloth Diaper 26 large sideKim's Cloth Diaper 27 large back

So then I tried him in the medium (3rd snap, second to smallest) setting. It looks a little funny because I literally adjusted and re-fastened the diaper while he was on the run, LOL.

Kim's Cloth Diaper 28 medium frontKim's Cloth Diaper 29 medium side
Kim's Cloth Diaper 30 medium back

Giveaway: Kim’s Cloth is offering one reader a custom Kimbroidery diaper in the winner’s choice of minky and embroidery design (Kim will email the winner with available embroidery designs.) ARV $19.00

Here’s how to enter: All entries go in the form below. I love comments (great way to remind yourself you entered) but comments do not count as entries.

Mandatory entries include your name, and email address.

You may receive bonus entries if you “like” Kim’s Crafts on Facebook, and/or “like” The NEW Change-Diapers.com Facebook page. Please note: this is a new Facebook page. You must like the new page to receive this bonus entry. Feel free to “unlike” the old page after you do!

I will accept entries until Wednesday, May 11th, 2011 at 9:00 P.M. Eastern. I will select a winner using random.org’s true random number generator and notify him/her by email. Winner has 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is chosen. View my giveaway rules page for complete details. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S.
# of entries received as of giveaway close: 371

FTC compliance: I paid normal retail price for the pictured item. I was not compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.


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Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Knickernappies One-Size Pocket Diaper Winner

knickernappies winner

I had a lot of fun reading these entries. Some people made me a little envious that they had a cloth diaper store literally right down the street from them. Then again, I felt bad for those who are even further away from one than I am! Then there’s poor Breanne…her closest retailer is 2398.3 miles away. However, since she is in Hawaii, I can’t feel too sorry for her!

173 people entered this giveaway, with 487 entries in all. The winning entry is #291, which is Kristina Severson.

Congratulations Kristina! I’m emailing you so you can claim your prize and choose your color!


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Blog Hop Cloth Diaper Blog Hop

Cloth Diaper Blog Hop for May 2011

cloth diaper blog hop
Copy and Paste Code

It’s time again to hop to some cloth diaper blogs! This blog hop is just for fluffy blogs. If you always or even sometimes post about cloth diapers, you are welcome to participate.

There aren’t any hoops to jump through to join in. You don’t have to blog about the hop or post the button (I’d love it if you did though!) You don’t have to follow any blogs or leave comments.

Of course, I would love for you to view the other blogs, follow if you like the content, and leave a relevant comment if you like a particular post!

I love to read cloth diaper blogs, so I follow anyone who links up!


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Cloth Diapers Mailbox Mondays Swim Diapers

Cloth Diaper Advice – Mailbox Mondays 5/2/11 – Pilly Microfleece & Swim Diapers

pilly microfleece on #clothdiapers via @chgdiapers

If you are looking for cloth diaper advice, on Mondays, I answer reader submitted questions, and ask my other readers to help too.

Questions don’t have to be cloth diaper related, just email maria at change-diapers.com with “Mailbox Mondays” in the subject, or Fill out my contact form for readers, which you will always be able to find on my Contact Page.

Maria says:

Hi, Maria! I am expecting some new hybrid diaper inserts topped with microfleece, and I was wondering what I can do to prevent pilling. Also, is there anything I can do for items that have already pilled, like use a sweater shaver?
~Maria D.

Pilling is just the nature of fleece! Fortunately microfleece seems to pill a little less than fleece fleece (Anyone have a fleece pullover? LOL.) Unfortunately, I don’t know of any way to prevent the pilling. A sweater shaver should take care of it if it bothers you though! 🙂

Delora says:

Hi Maria,

With spring finally starting to appear in some parts of the country, I’d love to get your opinion on reusable swim diapers. What brands/styles work well? How long can a diaper be expected to last with heavy use? What about using just covers as swim diapers? Anything special to consider for boys vs. girls?

Thanks!

Delora

Hi Delora! I’ve used the Kushies Swim Diaper and a Bummis Swimmi, though there are a few others out there as well. I really liked the gusseting and tie closure of the Kushies, as well a the soft fabric in the middle.

We aren’t big swimmers, so I don’t have experience as to how they hold up over time, I’ll have to defer to my readers there!

I wouldn’t want to use a diaper cover (that I liked anyway!) as a swim diaper, since it’s possible that exposure to the chlorine could damage the PUL. That said, I’ve heard of quite a few people using them that way. When my delaminated Rumparooz diapers were replaced under warranty, they didn’t require that I send the delaminated diapers back. So, I hung on to them to use as swim diapers.

Cloth swim diapers work just like their disposable counterparts; they simply hold solids in, they don’t absorb urine. So, the delamination wouldn’t matter. Most swim diapers don’t have thick fabric inside (usually just mesh) so I do wonder how wet/soggy the pocket inner would get.

On that same note, since they don’t absorb urine, there really aren’t any boy/girl issues with swim diapers.

So, your turn readers!

  • Have you figured out a way to keep microfleece from pilling?
  • Do you have a favorite swim diaper?  Have you used one heavily?  How long did it last?
  • Have you ever used a cover or pocket shell as a swim diaper?


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