Thirsties Duo Diaper Review

Jun 7,2010 / By Maria / 12 Comments

I have heard people mention Thirsties duo-diapers when discussing night time diapering options, and a lot of people were interested in them after browsing the site for the fab wipes giveaway. I was able to get one at my favorite online cloth diaper store for $17 and change after coupon, free shipping, and I had a few bucks in my Paypal account.

Before I forget: Check out my “Cloth 101” post at Village of Moms. Today it’s basic cloth diaper types.

So here’s the deal with the Duo Diapers: they have the snap down rise that offers 3 sizes in 1 diaper, just like many one size pocket diapers, except Thirsties come in two sizes. Size one is supposed to fit 6-18 pounds (or 0-9 months) and size two fits 18-40 pounds (or 9-36 months.)

Many one size diapers say they will fit birth through potty training, but most people find they don’t fit well until the baby is around 10 pounds, and some say they don’t fit quite through potty training. That means even if you buy one size diapers, you could potentially have to buy three sets of sizes; newborn, one-size and XL/Toddler. With Thirsties, you’d only have to buy two.

My guy is just over 17 pounds, so I chose the size two in Ocean blue.

The double leg gusset is supposed to better contain messes, but I’m not sure how I feel about PUL potentially being directly against his skin (didn’t bother him though.)

One thing I love is that the pocket is open on both sides, which means you don’t have to pull inserts out before washing, woo-hoo!

The Duo Diaper has a unique insert as well. It has a two layer microfiber terry insert snapped to a 5 layer hemp jersey insert. You stuff the diaper with the microfiber facing the baby side (inside the pocket of course!)

The size two duo diaper on the small setting

and stretched

vs a Bumgenius 3.0 on the small setting

and stretched

Thirsties duo diaper size 2 on the large setting

Stretched

vs Bumgenius 3.0 on the large setting

stretched

Overall, the Duo Diaper size 2 is just a bit larger than a Bumgenius 3.0. Here they are one on top of the other, rises unsnapped.

Too bad they can’t “cuddle” and make some diaper babies! Wouldn’t that be cute, some wee little BG/Thirsties babies? Hee hee.

The small Thirsties setting seems to fit similarly to the Bumgenius 3.0 on the medium setting.

Notice that the microfleece inner was hanging out. I didn’t find info about this happening, so I figured it might wick if it was hanging out, and I fixed it.

It’s all good in the hood, but I prefer a diaper that doesn’t require any special instructions (make sure you do this or that, don’t let the xyz hang out!) I like diapers that anyone (who can put a sposie on) can just pick up and put on.

There’s a close up of the leg opening. If the PUL touched his skin, it didn’t bother him.

The first two times we used this diaper, he wore it for around two hours as usual. The third time, I put it on him before we went to drop my daughter off at preschool. It’s about 30 minutes round trip, but while we were out, my Mom asked if we could stop by before we headed home. I told her we couldn’t stay long since I didn’t have any diapers with me.

By the time we left, he’d had the diaper on for over 2 hours, around 2 1/2 by the time we got home. He fell asleep on the way, so I took him upstairs, nursed him and snuck him in bed, thinking it wouldn’t work. Well don’t you know that my little non-napper indeed napped. By the time I changed him, he had been wearing the diaper for over 4 hours! Eek! Not only did we have no leaks, but there wasn’t a hint of redness on his tush either!

Of course now I definitely want some size 1 Duo Diapers for my non-existent newborn baby! I know that the goal of all diaper companies is to get you to buy a complete stash of just their diapers, but I’d never recommend that. Buy one and see how it goes. If you like it, buy a few more. I still wouldn’t recommend putting your stash in one “basket” so to speak. Make sure you have a variety of brand and styles. As your baby’s shape, size and wetting habits change, things may not work quite the same for you. Or, something you loved at first, you might not like so much alter. Just sayin’.

See the size 1 on my newborn.

I also have to see how the velcro holds up over time. For now, it’s great!

All In One Diapers Cloth Diapers Made in the USA Review Sized Diapers Velcro/Aplix Closure WAHM made

The Eli Monster AIO Diaper Review

May 25,2010 / By Maria / 2 Comments

I spotted this diaper on The Eli Monster’s Hyenacart store a few months ago. I was surprised to see that it was still “in stock” at the beginning of April when I had some money burning a hole in my paypal account. I bought right before the owner was due to deliver her daughter, and the item’s page said shipping would be delayed by about a week. I wasn’t worried since it was in stock, and I knew she hadn’t had the baby yet (I’m a “fan” on Facebook and was watching for updates!)

What I didn’t know is that the “in stock” items are simply items available for purchase, but they are made to order. I hadn’t thought to check her about me page, where I would have seen the estimated 2-3 week turnaround. I learned my lesson there and will always read “about me” pages before I buy!

It ended up being about 6 1/2 weeks before it arrived, but it was totally worth the wait, honestly! I contacted Steph to check in a few times and she was absolutely wonderful. I’m always leery of “complaining” because I never know how the seller will respond, or if they will think I’m going to be a cranky customer. She was apologetic, understanding, and acknowledged that it had been a long wait! She asked that I tell her if there was something she could do to make this a positive experience. Considering that she birthed a 10 lb, 5 oz baby and still managed to make my diaper, and respond to my emails the same day I sent them, I’m giving her a pass. 😉

If you purchase a diaper from The Eli Monster, you can expect better quality than you’d get from the “big name” mass produced diapers. I don’t think I found a single stitch out of place. I’ve only seen one other “work at home Mom” diaper with the impeccable quality of The Eli Monster. Very, very hard to believe that she made this!

I chose a size medium, which is estimated to fit 10-22 pounds. I love that the size is on the label, and the dual sided brand label is very neat! As you see, she sells on etsy as well. When I took it out of the package my first thought was “oh no! This will never fit, it’s so tiny!”

I measured it stretched…

Folded/unstretched…

As it turns out, it’s almost exactly the same size as a Bumgenius 3.0 on the medium setting.

I think it looks smaller because it is so trim. The microcloth internal soaker is extremely thin, and is sewn just through the middle of the diaper. I have to say that I prefer the elastic style of the bumgenius (I guess “cased” elastic is the right term?) Hard to explain, but it seems to be more secure and doesn’t dig in.

The inner of the diaper is soft suedecloth to keep baby’s bottom dry. There is a hidden layer of PUL, so no cover is needed.

The outer looks like a woven cotton in the pictures, but it’s actually a very soft, nylon feeling material.

This diaper is called the “SpeedyPants” and has racing stripes and an applique (hand silkscreened) patch. My husband loved the diaper, he said it looked like a race car.

I love this diaper!! It is totally my style; those who know me know I’m not a huge fan of most “baby stuff.” I’ve found solid, stripes and dot patterns that I like OK, but I love, love, love the diapers The Eli Monster makes. At under $20 for an AIO diaper, I think it’s a pretty good deal. I love how trim it is, but it is a sized diaper, so it won’t fit forever. Oops, almost forgot, I was so hung up on how awesome it looks, it performs well too!

The problem is now I want one of her camera wrist straps, newborn diapers (and a newborn to go with it!) and this diaper (buy one of those and she will send another to miracle diapers.) I’ll also take one of these and these and these longies. Oh heck, I’ll take one of everything. Hee hee! She has even made prefolds cool.

I purchased this item myself, I wasn’t given a freebie or discount. The opinions (and diaper!) are my own.

Cloth Diapers Diaper Covers Fitted Diapers Made in the USA Natural Fiber Diapers One Size Diapers Review Snap Closure Velcro/Aplix Closure Wool

Little Beetle Little to Big Diaper and Wool Cover

Apr 19,2010 / By Maria / 12 Comments

I’ve been really getting into using wool and fitteds at night, so when betterforbabies.com told me they were sending me a Little-To-Big Beetle diaper and a Little-To-Big Organic Wool Cover, I was really anxious to try them.

No doubt what I pulled out of my mailbox was what I’d been waiting for!

Better For Babies sells natural and organic baby products including diapers, covers, soaker shorts, trainers and other accessories.

Better For Grownups sells reusable facial rounds, sateen tissues (really want to try these!) and family cloth, all crafted from fair trade organic cotton.

As the package says, the diaper is 100% organic, fair trade cotton, and is sweatshop free! They’re actually made in the U.S.A. wow!

That’s the first time washing instructions have made me giggle. Tee hee!

The orange is adorable, and the diaper is super soft and squishy.

Nice velcro closures. Thus far, they are actually easy to get off of the laundry tabs, but still stick to them in the wash. I have too many that I struggle to free from the grasp of the laundry tabs, but in the washing machine they’re all like “Meh, whatever, we don’t like you anyway,” and become besties with 3 other diapers. Gah.

The velcro strip on the front of the diaper had that funny, stiff feel/sound like the Rumparooz. I actually debated taking a video of me crinkling it, but decided that would be a little weird, ha ha. Once I put the diaper on him though, it wasn’t stiff and didn’t dig into his belly. I think it must just be whatever the velcro strip is backed with making that sound.

This diaper is a one size (6-36 pounds) and it’s the first one size fitted I’ve owned that has the snap down rise for sizing. Love this.

The diaper comes with a soaker and a foldable “beetle booster.”

One thing I found really unique is that the soaker is sewn in, just at one point on each side of the middle. So, no matching up soakers or snapping them in after washing, but it’s not sewn all the way into the diaper, allowing for better cleaning & easier drying. You can slip the booster out to fold it and place in where needed (wet zone), or you can tuck it under the soaker to be held in place.

At first glance, it seems a lot smaller overall than other one-size fitteds, even all the way unsnapped.

Actually though, it just seems that way because the elastic is drawn a bit tighter.

Fully stretched, they are just about the same size.

Snapped on the smallest rise setting and unstretched, they are quite small. I don’t doubt they really would fit on a 6 pound baby!

I used it on the medium setting on my little guy (who is about 16.5 lbs and 27.5 inches). It fit wonderfully, and I think he could wear this setting for a while.

This was so easy to put on him. I love my other fitteds, but this is so much more Daddy friendly. My hubby gets really frustrated by the soakers to pull up and fold over and adjust, rises to fold over and rows and rows of snaps.

I folded the booster in half, placed it in the wetzone, and used the diaper coverless the first time. It was the last diaper before bed and he hadn’t uhh, “used the facilities” by the time I put his night time diaper on him.

Because the soaker is in the middle of the diaper (it’s very trim too!) rather than being snapped into the back, his tush wasn’t fluffy like I’m used to. I actually joked that it was weird to be able to feel his hiney through the diaper instead of a mound of fluff!

The next time I used it, I put fleece pants over. He wore it for a good two hours and it was fabulous!

I also tried it with the Little-To-Big Organic Wool Cover.

The cover is 100% organic merino wool and fits 6-36 lbs.

It’s mamajammin, yo. I feel like I’m looking for Waldo. I don’t want to miss anything funny on the packaging.

Yeah, Mother Nature is a smarty pants, but who figured out we could shave the wool off the sheep and make diaper covers out of it, huh? Who’s the smarty pants now, huh?

100% USDA certified, organic wool.

I received a cover with snap closures, though both the diapers and covers come with your choice of snaps or velcro.

I think velcro on the diaper and snaps on the cover are the perfect combo, especially since my son has figured out how to open velcro! Better For Babies said “we find it’s good to pair one closure with the other…snaps and aplix lining up exactly against one another can cause a funny fit.” You can overlap the snaps for a smaller baby.

The cover has the same snap down rise size adjustment that I love. It’s especially nice on a cover since you may need a slightly bigger cover to go over a diaper with a higher rise.

The first time I used the cover, I used it over my Licorice Lane Fitted.

It’s so nice to be able to adjust the rise on the fly, depending on the diaper you have on under it.

The cover didn’t really add any bulk.

So cute!!

I of course also used it over the Little Beetle Little-To-Big diaper as well.

The snaps are so easy to do. With some others, the snaps can be really “sticky.”

Better for Babies told me that the “snaps do have to be opened and closed gently (since the 100% organic Merino wool doesn’t have any synthetics), but it’s easy to do so.” That makes me wonder if these are intentionally easier to undo, to avoid yanking on the wool.

I do wish the rise snaps were just a tiny bit “stickier” though. I sometimes inadvertently pop a rise snap on any diaper, usually when I am pulling the diaper to adjust it as I’m putting it on. With the cover, I did it about 3 times in a row and really annoyed myself. I’m sure it is just a learning curve with that. I also popped one somehow with him on my hip. That seems to be my only “complaint” though!

This was really trim over the super trim diaper!

I love that both the diaper and cover will fit babies from “Little-To-Big.” They may be a bit of an investment, but they will last. I also love that they are completely natural, with no synthetic materials at all and that they’re socially conscious as well. See this diaper on my newborn.

Thank you so much to Better For Babies for sending them to me to review! Of course, my love can’t be bought with diapers, so the freebies in no way affected my review!

Check out Better For Babies and Better for Grownups. I’d love to hear what products interest you, and what else you’d like to see me review.

(also see BFB on Facebook, BFG on Facebook, BFB on Twitter and BFG on Twitter!)

Edit August 2010: Although fitteds aren’t really my favorite (I prefer pocket diapers) this is so, so trim, and soft and squishy, I can’t help but love it!

Cloth Diapers Diaper Covers Fitted Diapers Inserts Made in the USA Overnight Diapering Solutions Pocket Diapers Retailers Review Sized Diapers Velcro/Aplix Closure Wool

DryBees Fleece Night Diapers

Feb 25,2010 / By Maria / 9 Comments

I’ve been hunting for a night diapering solution that won’t leave clothing and sheet soaked in the morning.

I had been using a Bumgenius 3.0 on the large setting (we use medium during the day) with an insert and 3 doublers. It was working OK I suppose, though usually my son’s pajamas were wet on the back right above the diaper.

Since it’s winter, he’s also been using a fleece sleep sack. That has helped somewhat, since it at least keeps the sheet dry.

Lately however, he’s woken up even wetter. All the stuffing also sometimes causes a gap at his leg. He often rolls onto his side to sleep, which caused him to pee right out of the leg gap, soaking everything and waking himself up!

I’ve been looking for something else to try. Enter DryBees.

I bought a DryBees Fleece Night Time diaper from Abby’s Lane. I found a coupon code for 5% off, got free shipping, had $3 in my Paypal account from a survey, and Abby’s Lane included a free microfiber insert. not bad for $15.52!

I really liked the charcoal color, but they didn’t have the size I needed, so I bought sage. I chose a medium, which should fit 14-22 lbs.

The outer is heavy weight Malden Mills Windpro fleece and the inner is suede cloth.

The inner is definitely stiffer and rougher than the micro fleece inner most of my other diapers have.

I tried the diaper on Saturday during the day, just to see how it fit. I used just the microfiber insert it came with, and it was great. It fit fine and didn’t leak.

I tried it overnight on Sunday. I stuffed it with the microfiber insert it came with, a Blueberry bamboo doubler and two hemp doublers. It was a tight squeeze into the pocket, which is tighter than the Bumgenius pockets.

It didn’t seem any bulkier than the BG I usually over-stuff at night.

The next morning, his back was wet, but the inserts weren’t completely soaked. I thought maybe it was user error? I quickly washed & dried them to try again Tuesday night. Wednesday morning, he woke up with EVERYthing soaked. Pajamas, sleep sack, sheets, everything. The microfiber insert was not soaking wet but the hemp was. That made me suspect that it had something to do with the hemp being up against the fleece.

Wednesday (last night), I tried again. First, I tried to use the microfiber insert it came with, along with 3 microfiber doublers (two from Happy Heiny’s and one from FuzziBunz).

I actually couldn’t fit all that in the pocket, so I ditched one of the HH doublers.

I fit it all in the pocket!

Fluffy and squishy, but no leg gap!

This morning, all the inserts were soaking wet, and so was he.

So, I’m trying other things! I ordered a Heartland Dreams fitted, a Kissaluvs Wool Soaker and Eucalan Wool Wash (click that link for info on requesting a free sample. I’ll post about wool when I get that stuff.

I also ordered Knickernappies LoopyDo and SuperDo inserts. I’ll figure this out yet! I’m guessing I will end up having to use multiple super inserts along with a wool cover!

November 2010 update: I gave up on this diaper; so many people love it but it just didn’t work for us. Here’s what worked for us at night, after a lot of trial and error:

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.)

What has also worked for us is a super absorbent fitted, like the Guerilla Fluff Utilitarian with a night-time wool interlock soaker over top.

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Category : Velcro/Aplix Closure

Thirsties Duo Diaper Review

The Eli Monster AIO Diaper Review

Little Beetle Little to Big Diaper and Wool Cover

DryBees Fleece Night Diapers

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