Ecobubs Wool Pocket Cloth Diaper Review

Nov 1,2011 / By Maria / 3 Comments

Ecobubs are wool blend diapers from New Zealand that mom & daughter run company Grin Unlimited, has brought to the U.S.! Grin Unlimited gives back with 1% For the Planet, uses 100% recycled paper products, LED lighting and even recycled office furniture! They work with local vendors whenever possible, and the inserts for the diapers they sell are sewn at a local factory.

I was intrigued by the idea of a wool blend pocket since I love pocket diapers and I love wool! I wondered how it would work in a pocket diaper, since you don’t typically machine wash wool, but can reuse wool covers. The Ecobubs wool pocket is a little bit different. Think of the wool blend outer replacing the outer most layer of any pocket diaper. The wool blend outer is durable, doesn’t need to be lanolized, and can be washed like any other diaper. There is a thin layer of PUL in between the wool blend outer and the soft microfleece inner. The big benefit of wool is that it is natural, breathable and keeps skin cool in summer and warm in winter. Since there is still a layer of PUL in the diaper (and a microfleece inner) this isn’t the diaper for someone looking for a 100% natural diaper.

Ecobubs are sized diapers. I received a large, which is estimated to fit 24+ pounds. Small fits 7-16 pounds and medium fits 11-26 pounds.

The diaper is side snapping and has a front pocket opening.

I received a microfiber insert for daytime use, as well as 2-layer inserts for nap/night time. The 2-layer inserts snap together rather than being sewn together, which makes them easier to clean and dry. I haven’t used the inserts at night since I know from experience that only a microfiber/hemp combo works for my son at night. Even when the inserts were pretty soaked, I didn’t experience any leaks.

Edit: The single insert I received is exactly the same size, shape and thickness as a typical pocket diaper’s full size insert. However, I’ve been advised that this is in fact EcoBubs’ booster, and is not intended to be used by itself. The snap together insert is the standard insert.

2 years of cloth diapering and nearly 100 diapers used, and I have never seen a booster/doubler this size. They are typically considerably narrower, shorter and/or thinner. So, when EcoBubs said they were sending me two inserts (one for daytime & one for night time) as well as a booster, I assumed they made an error & sent me 1 daytime insert and two night time inserts. I do apologize for my error.

Even though the booster is not intended to be used alone, if you typically do not have trouble with leaks when you change pockets diapers every 2-3 hours and use just one insert, the booster alone would likely work just fine.

Here is the size large measured folded and stretched:

Here’s my son in the size large, I think he is somewhere in the neighborhood of 27 pounds (?) at almost 2 1/2 years old.

He still has plenty of snap settings to go!

Naturally, the diaper is quite a bit fluffier with the 2-layer insert, but not unreasonably so.

The Ecobubs Wool pockets come in the navy/cream stripe I received, plus chocolate/petal pink, ruby/cream, red/chocolate and chocolate/sky blue. Each diaper comes with one microfiber insert, retails for $32.95 and comes with a 12 month workmanship warranty. Though a bit pricey, they perform well and are adorable. I want to see a small pink/chocolate on someone’s newborn baby girl! I think these would make great “special occasion” diapers for photos too. How cute would the ruby/cream diaper be in holiday photos?

Right now you can only buy directly from Ecobubsdiapers.com. If you use coupon code “Change” you will receive free shipping on your order. (Offer ends 11/15/11.)

Be sure to “like” Ecobubs on Facebook so you don’t miss promotions and chances to win diapers! “Like” the page to be entered to win a wool pocket (EcoBubs will draw a winner on 12/1.)

FTC compliance: While I did receive a product at no charge for review purposes, I was not compensated for this post and all opinions are my own. Although a shopping link is available on my affiliates page, links within this post are not affiliate links.

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Mailbox Mondays 8/8/11 – Storing Cloth Diapers

Aug 8,2011 / By Maria / 1 Comment

Well, we almost didn’t have a Mailbox Mondays this week! Here I am, just dying to answer your questions, and I didn’t get a single submission. For shame! 😉

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.

Catherine came to the rescue and asked:

I was wondering- after my babe outgrows her dipes, is there something I should do before I store them so they don’t get stinky?

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Cloth Diaper Advice – Mailbox Mondays 7/11/11 – Black Spots on Diapers & Cover for Fitteds

Jul 11,2011 / By Maria / 8 Comments

Do you have cloth diaper issues? On Mondays, I answer reader submitted questions, and ask my readers to weigh in as well.

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.

Sarah says:

I am puzzled at what this is and why I started getting them. Little black dots in some of the diapers. Not like a stain, but just little black dots. What is this and how can I get rid of it?! It just started in the past month or so. My diapers are in such good condition besides this. I would send a picture but I am not sure how using this form. Thanks!

Sarah

Hi Sarah. It’s hard to say without seeing them, but the first thing that comes to mind is mildew.

Is it all of your diapers or just some? Is it on the inserts and diapers, or just the inserts? How often are you washing? What is your wash routine? How are you drying the diapers?

I’d suggest washing no more than every 2-3 days, consider keeping your pail or wet bag open, use hot water to wash (I’m sure you already do!) and make sure the diapers get dry fairly quickly. Hang (or lay) them in the sun if you can. If you have a bathroom that won’t get steamy while you’re drying the diapers, consider hanging them in there so you can turn the exhaust fan on to remove humidity from the air.

Has anyone else experienced back dots on their diapers? What was it? How did you get rid of it?

Laurie says:

Maria,

I have recently started using fitteds with covers as the overnight diapering solution for my one year old daughter. I bought two Mother-Ease one size fitteds with an air-flow cover and they work great. I also bought a Kissaluvs size 2 fitted which I love. However, I didn’t buy a Marvels diaper cover–I assumed the Mother-Ease cover would work over the Kissaluv fitted. It really doesn’t. Neither does an unstuffed Bum Genius or Econobum cover. The Kissaluv fitted is awesome for absorbancy and softness, so I don’t want to give up on it. Any thoughts on what cover (or unstuffed pocket) has the widest dimensions to cover any potential fitteds I might use?

It seems like the trend in cloth diaper covers is to make them trim, for use as an all-in-two system with inserts or trifolded prefolds (like the Econobum.) However, this means they don’t really work well over fluffier fitted diapers.

The most generously sized PUL cover I’ve used is definitely the Smartipants Smart-Fit Cover. I was able to fit it over my fluffiest fitted diaper with ease (see the last three pictures in that review!) The Thirsties Duo Wraps and Thirsties Covers as well as the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap seem to have a more generous cut to fit over fitted diapers.

For night time, I highly recommend a wool cover. They are breathable, have some stretch and give to them, and fit very well over fitted diapers!

I know there are fitted mamas out there, what is your favorite cover to use over a fitted diaper?

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Cloth Diaper Advice – Mailbox Mondays 6/13/11 – Night Time Diapers for a Super Soaker

Jun 13,2011 / By Maria / 3 Comments

Have a cloth diaper problem? On Mondays, I answer reader questions, and ask my other readers to give their advice 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.

Suki says:

Hi Maria, I had left a comment on your wall about my daughter potentially having diabetes. Well, it turned out that she doesn’t. She just hit that toddler stage where she pees a ton more. What I’ve done to keep up is to double stuff everything. That works during the day and diaper changes are about every two hours.

What I’m having trouble with is nighttime diapering. She is almost 18 months and drinks 16 – 32 ounce of milk each night and so I have to change her diaper once or twice at night or I get leaks. She’s a super duper heavy wetter at night.

I’ve tried a Super Do with a Loopy Do and that lasts maybe half the night. I’ve tried a combination of hemp and microfiber inserts (as many as I can without the leg opening gaping!). I don’t want them to be too bulky so I thought maybe some hemp flats?

I’m willing to spend some money but I want to increase my chances of something that would work.

Thanks!

I’m so glad to hear she doesn’t have diabetes! That much fluid intake will definitely soak a night time diaper! Since the Superdo (and a Loopydo, wow!) didn’t cut it, my next suggestion would be fitteds with wool. Fitteds are great because the whole diaper is absorbent.

When I was searching for really absorbent fitteds, I found the Guerilla Fluff Utilitarian. I had mine made with all the extras, like added Zorb in the soakers, and a wool precision doubler (I don’t believe she uses wool anymore though.) If you can do it without a leg gap, try adding a natural fiber (like a hemp blend) insert, doubler or prefold inside as well. Top it with an extra-thick, well lanolized wool cover. In the winter, I also used fleece PJ pants for an additional barrier!

If that doesn’t do it, you may need to continue to change her at night, until she is old enough to limit her fluids a bit before bed!

So how about the rest of you? Have you dealt with an epic super-soaker? What worked for you at night?

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Sustainablebabyish Knit Underwoolies – Wool Cloth Diaper Cover Review

Jun 9,2011 / By Maria / 4 Comments

I don’t enter many giveaways anymore, so it’s not surprising that I don’t often win! I do enter giveaways that are easy to enter, don’t have a ton of entries, and of course it has to be something I want to win!

Most recently, I entered to win Sustainablebabyish knit underwoolies (a wool cloth diaper cover) from Merrimack Valley Diapers and the Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative. I don’t have a lot of wool since it is rather pricey (and I was initially afraid of wool!) but I do have a Kissaluvs Kissa’s Wool Lover Diaper Cover, a Mobums Wool Interlock Night Night Wool Soaker and a Little Beetle Little to Big Wool Cover. Wool is much easier to use and wash than I thought, and it was our savior for night time when my son was in a super heavy wetting stage!

I’ve been eyeing Sustainablebabyish (A.K.A. sbish) since the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt, when I spent hours and hours on their site looking for that darn diaper, LOL!

Imagine how stoked I was when I won!! Especially since wool is expensive! The underwoolies retail for $34.00, so this was an awesome, generous prize from Merrimack Valley Diapers. (They have a note on their home page that they’re going out of business, which is stinky, but you might be able to catch some good sales!)

The Sustainablebabyish tag is made out of wildflower paper that you can plant, how cool! There was no real “packaging” to speak of, but I really like their tags.

The underwoolies come in size 1 (5-18 lbs) and 2 (18-37 lbs.) Since it was free, and my son doesn’t really need anything, I chose the size 1 for someday newborn diapering. I think it may have just barely squeezed on my 23 pound son, but not over a fluffy fitted!

The craftsmanship is amazing (inside out above to show the seams) and it’s such a simple, but gorgeous cover. I haven’t gotten to really use & review it, but I don’t doubt that it will perform as well as the other wool I have! Of course now I want to try a Sustainablebabyish fitted to go with it! 🙂

FTC compliance: I won the pictured item in a giveaway. I was not asked to write, nor was I compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.

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