The book touches on everything a hip mom needs to know about cloth, but the information isn’t overwhelming.
From why choose cloth (I definitely giggled about the “secret club” and being “addicted to cloth!”)…
to cloth 101, including types of diapers and how to wash them. Each chapter is illustrated with beautiful photos and easy to understand diagrams. I think every cloth diapering Mom should have one of these books handy to lend to people who ask about cloth. The information is concise, easy and fun to read, and I don’t think it would be overwhelming even for someone who was totally new to cloth!
The book retails for $17.95, but it’s available for $11.98 right now, and a limited number of “seconds” are available for $7.98.
I posted my Softbums Echo review way back in July 2010! I just washed the wipe they sent along with that diaper; we’re still using it. Although an all-in-two isn’t my favorite (I prefer pockets) the Softbums Echo was one of very few diapers that worked for us when my 3 month old was a newborn. It gets sooo tiny that it fit him well (not true about most o/s diapers) and the insert was actually absorbent enough for him (not true for most newborn diapers!) It was a dream come true for our tiny super soaker!
Now, Softbums makes the Omni as well. It’s everything you love about the Echo, but it also has a pocket opening, so you have the option of using it as an AI2 or a pocket diaper. I received a solo pack with a super dry touch pod (retails for $24.95) plus a dry touch mini pod. The mini pods retail for $2.95 and can be used in the smaller size settings, or as a doubler.
The super dry touch pod (“dry touch” because it is topped with soft, stay dry fabric) is 3 layers of microfiber (6 when you fold it over), so you’re unlikely to need the mini pod too! A smaller, 4 layer dry touch pod retails for $4.95, and additional super dry touch pods sell for $5.95. You can also purchase organic bamboo pods for $9.25 and organic bamboo mini pods for $3.95. Whichever “pods” (soakers) you use, this can be an affordable all-in-two system.
You can choose hook & loop closures or snaps. The snaps are easy to use, so they are Daddy friendly, even when said Daddy prefers Velcro.
The size adjusts via a toggle on each leg’s elastic. On the one hand, this is a little intimidating, but it also allows you to get exactly the fit you need. I held the diaper up to a diaper that fit each boy and adjusted. The opening is in the front, and was large enough for me to do additional tweaking as I put it on each child. This type of adjustment means it won’t be as easy for babies of different sizes to share diapers, but that’s not an issue for me. Each of my boys has their own diapers, so I don’t have to fool with size adjustments at every diaper change. (I have all of my “diaper bag” diapers snapped down to small, so if my older son needs one, we just unsnap it!)
The size adjustment means that I really can’t measure every size for you like I usually do. Instead, I adjusted the diaper as large as I could, while still leaving the elastic with some stretch…
Then measured the diaper folded & stretched. (This is about as inexact as you can get!)
Here it is next to a Bumgenius 4.0 on the large setting:
Here’s that setting on my 2 year, 10 month old, 29ish pound son (the legs could be a bit tighter on him):
Next, I set the diaper really small. Sorry, there’s no “really small” setting, LOL. I just tried to make it tiny, but not crazy tiny!
Then I measured it folded and stretched:
I adjusted it similar to a small one-size diaper, then put it on my 3 month old son, who is around 11 or so pounds (that’s a guess; he was 10 lbs at 2 months.) Once I put it on him, I just fished the toggles out & adjusted it further.
That’s with the super dry touch pod in the pocket, so it’s a little bit bulky, but what do you expect with 6 layers of absorbency in such a small diaper? I know the mini pod isn’t absorbent enough for my son, but it would be nice & trim on a small baby that isn’t such a heavy wetter. The regular (non-super) dry touch pods are 4 layers of microfiber topped with microfleece, so they would be another good choice!
The Softbums Omni is versatile and quite cost effective when used as an AI2. They are also made in the U.S.A.!
Giveaway: One winner will receive a Softbums Omni solo pack with super dry touch pod in his/her choice of color & closure, subject to availability (ARV $24.95.)
My love of fluff began in 2009 with 3 Bumgenius 3.0 cloth diapers, so it’s only fitting that I would give away a Bumgenius 4.0 to welcome all the new faces (and to say thanks to the folks that have been around a while!)
Giveaway details: One winner will receive a Bumgenius 4.0 one-size cloth diaper in his/her choice of color and closure (ARV $17.95.)
Winner may choose Albert or Lovelace print however, they may be backordered. I will purchase the diaper from a reputable cloth diaper retailer of my choice, including (but not limited to) my affiliatesCloth Diaper Outlet, Kelly’s Closet, Diaper Junction and Mom’s Milk Boutique. Winner name, address & email may be shared with the retailer for order fulfillment only. This giveaway is open to the U.S. and Canada, excluding Quebec, and will end Tuesday April 3rd, 2012 at 9:00 P.M. Eastern. I will select a winner using Rafflecopter, 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 for complete details.
Please note: This giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed or approved by, nor affiliated with any cloth diaper manufacturer or retailer. I was not compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking the link, I receive a small portion of the sale. Thank you!
I had never used a Tots Bots Easy Fit diaper, but I did use the newborn version, a Tini Fit. Like the Tini Fit, the Easy Fit is made by Tots Bots in Glasgow, Scotland, and distributed in the U.S. by Bummis.
Bummis sent me one of the new version Easy Fits to review, although they won’t be available to purchase until April. I don’t have an old version, and I’ve already sent along my Tini Fit to a new home (it would still fit my son, but I wanted to send all the newborn diapers to my friend at once!) So, I don’t have a side-by-side comparison for you, but I will point out the features that have been changed (including the wider back elastic, which you can see above!) I’m not sure if this is new, but I noticed that the PUL is really soft. It definitely has a different feel than all my other diapers.
Whether you choose hook & loop or snaps (poppers) for your diaper (nappy), they are now color matched. Tots Bots are made in the U.K. so the Tots Bots Facebook page is full of “popper” and “nappy” talk. Tee-hee! The closure tabs are rather stiff on the Tini & Easy Fits, so I really wondered if they’d stay folded back and attached to the laundry tabs. Both the newborn and the big version didn’t give me any trouble. They have a snap down rise to fit babies 8-35 pounds, and the rise snaps are color matched as well.
Above left, I’ve pictured the fleece liner that was included with my diaper. The Easy Fit still has a half sewn-in soaker and brushed polyester side guards to prevent compression leaks. However, instead of a 2 layer soaker made of microfiber & rayon from bamboo, the soaker is 3 layers of color matched minky. This gives you more absorbency with less bulk.
The soaker is super easy to tuck in. It comes out on its own in the wash, but it doesn’t bunch or turn the whole diaper inside out. It gets cleaner & dries faster than an AIO with a completely sewn in soaker, and it’s quicker to stuff the soaker back in than it is to match and stuff pocket diapers. The pocket also allows you to add additional absorbency if you need it. The flap covering the pocket opening on my Tini Fit was the same brushed polyester as the side guards, but this Easy Fit is a different, even softer polyester.
Here is the small setting measured folded & stretched:
Below, I closed the left side of the diaper first. You can overlap the tabs (both of them,) and if you notice, the right tab extends further, allowing you to close the diaper even more tightly if you close the left tab on top of it.
Medium:
You can better see what I mean about the overlap in this picture!
Large:
My older son is 2 years, 9 months old and in the neighborhood of 29ish pounds. I put him in the large setting, and he looks like he has room in this one.
My little guy had just turned 3 months old last week when I took these pictures. He’s around 11 pounds (guessing…he was 10 lbs a month ago) and he’s somewhat slender since he’s a bit taller.
The small setting fits him with no leg gap, without struggling or double checking that it’s snug enough. This is what it looks like all the way closed, with that entire overlap being used.
The Tini Fit was one of my favorite newborn diapers because it gave me the absorbency I needed (with the booster, it was as absorbent as (if not more than) a one-size diaper, but fit far better. The Easy Fit fits my little guy with no gapping or readjusting, and fits my big guy too. Plus, it’s absorbent enough for both of them! My younger son can soak a one-size microfiber insert in 2 hours, and so far the Easy Fit has lasted longer than that without a hint of leaking. That said, I have a hard time comparing the absorbency of inserts since both boys can really have a wide variation in their wetting habits. Since I can’t remove this insert it’s not as easy to tell how wet it is as it is when you yank a sopping wet microfiber insert out of a pocket. I’m still trying to find a good way to test insert absorbency “scientifically,” but Bummis says the old style Easy Fit can hold 17.6 oz (wow!) and I believe this is more absorbent.
You will be able to find the new style Easy Fit (and new prints) at Bummis Retailers in April. The new Tots Bots Easy Fit diapers will still retail for $23.95. You can see new prints & colors in Tots Bots’ Facebook album and they have photos of the inners as well. I pretty much want one in every color. 😉
FTC compliance: I received the pictured diaper at no cost for review purposes. I was not compensated for this post and all opinions are my own.
Last year, I posted my Itti Bitti D’lish AIO and O/S Tutto reviews. Both of “the fuzzy diapers” are my son’s favorites! Itti Bitti also makes a D’lish “snap in one” (SIO) which is essentially an all-in-two (or all-in-three to be exact.) I’ve been curious about them, so when my affiliate, Kelly’s Closet offered a 15% coupon for president’s day, I bit. I needed a few more reward points to have enough for a gift certificate, and this bumped me over. See, it was a logical purchase!
Itti Bitti says size small will fit 8-16 lbs, medium will fit 14-26 lbs and large will fit 23-37 lbs. However, they are cut with a much lower rise than many other diapers, so if you are at all in doubt about sizing, size up. (My 2 yr 9 month old can still wear a large, but if there was an XL, I’d buy it!) My little guy is around 10 lbs, so I bought a small and a medium.
The d’lish SIO is very much like the AIO. It has snap overlaps to fit a wide range of babies, and has the same inner fabric and leg elastic. I do prefer the encased elastic of the tutto, but I prefer the fit of the d’lish, so it’s a trade off!
Like the tutto, the inserts for the d’lish SIO have color coded snaps, so you know where they go. The inserts for the SIO are sized, so there is a bit less snapping involved than with the tutto!
The two layer bamboo insert snaps in and tri-folds to give you 6 layers of absorbency.
The hourglass shaped insert has two more layers of bamboo (so 8 layers total!) plus a stay-dry top layer. (Their website says there are only natural fibers in the soakers, but the content tag says the top layer is 100% polyester, and it definitely is!) I love getting the absorbency of bamboo, but still having only stay dry materials touch baby’s skin. I know some people say they would prefer that only natural fibers touch baby, but I much prefer stay dry. 🙂 The only thing that would make it better is it was a pocket, but I can’t turn every diaper into a pocket. Although, if Itti Bitti made a pocket diaper with encased elastic, I’d be all over that.
So here’s the size small measured folded & stretched (keep in mind that this is far from an exact science!)
Medium:
Large:
All of the sizes are great, and the overlap snaps allow them to get quite snug. Here is my son at 2 1/2 months and about 10 pounds in the small and medium d’lish SIOs:
My older son LOVES the Galaxy print (the red diaper.) I took it off his brother and when he was choosing a diaper to put on himself, he chose that one and wasn’t hearing it when I told him it was a) wet and b) too small for him. 🙂
FTC compliance: I purchased the SIO diapers at normal retail prices, with a promotion available to the general public. I received the AIO & Tutto diapers at no cost to review them last year. I was not asked to write, nor was I compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.
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