Little Kite Girl's Reviews

The long awaited diaper post.  Well, long awaited for me, anyway.  We’ve been using cloth diapers for about a month? now? maybe? two?  For the record, I didn’t start until just before Camper’s first birthday.  My review is therefore a bit skewed…because although I think I could really get into the whole prefold diaper thing with a less mobile baby…his age and wiggliness means that I kind just skipped those.  I just moved onto to AIO’s and fitteds.  I also tried a very limited selection and just hoped they worked.  I didn’t have a lot of time or money to try out different systems.  I got lucky with some advice from friends, help from (and free shipping from!) momsmilkboutique.com, and reading reviews on diaperpin.com.  Here are my favorites:

bumGenius Deluxe Bamboo Fitted: If I only owned one kind of diaper- this would be it.  I’m sure that there are other good fitteds, but I love how soft this one is, how easy to get clean, and how well it fits.  I have my 22+ lb. baby in larges- and there are no leaks with room to grow.  I find these so easy to put on, even with the added step of using a cover as well.  My husband prefers these, too.  The only drawback is how long it takes to dry.  I send them through one hot cycle in the dryer and then hang them overnight to get them the rest of the way dry.  But they are worth it because I don’t worry about leaks AT ALL.  EVER.  I’ve never had a blowout of any kind in these diapers…and my kid is a mover. If I had to wear diapers- this is what I would choose.  Yup.

Thirsties Duo Wrap: I like the regular Thirsties as well, but the Duo Wrap is just as great with the added bonus of fitting a wider weight range in one cover.  Again, never had a blowout of any kind.  They are comfy and make his butt look cute and fit my kiddo well.  Sometimes he gets red marks where the elastic hits- but it doesn’t seem to bug him.  I would LOVE to try wool soakers, and those Imse Vimse covers are so cute…but starting so late in the game I just wanted to find something that worked well and stick with it.  I own a few Duo Wraps and one or two regular Thirsites covers, and I want for nothing.  Except for maybe a cute pattern.

Natural Baby Dream-Eze All-In-One: I got these AIOs at a recommendation of a friend- and I am very, very pleased with them. They have snaps, and it’s nice not to have to worry about the Velcro in the washer.  They also have flap-like inserts that are connected to the diaper, which makes them wash and dry really easily while still being all one piece.  The colors are cute, I got the biggest size and Camper has tons of room to grow with no leaks or blowouts.  I worry that a really gross poop could work it’s way out of these…but it hasn’t happened yet.  These ones seem to take a bit more pulling/tugging to get into place just right, but it’s not rocket science or anything.  They are really trim and fit well under clothes.

So that’s it.  Those are my favorites.

On to the others.

Thirsties Fab Fitted: I like these, I do.  I just like the bumGenius fitteds more.  These wash up and dry really well, the Velcro is good, the colors are cute.  They are SUPER trim.  Never had a leak or blowout.  The only reason that they come second is because they aren’t made of (I don’t believe) natural fibers.  And because they aren’t quite as soft.  I have a feeling that the people that said they have blowouts in these don’t change their baby’s diaper enough.  A good sturdy diaper.  I got these from a local store, and I’m glad I got to try them out.

Snug to fit: I own one of these.  I picked it up because it was super on sale and I liked the idea.  I’ll stick this one on Camper when he JUST pooped or if we have to leave to go somewhere in an hour or so and I’ll have to change him again anyway.  I’ve never had a leak (I think owing to the Thirsties covers…really) but it gets SO WET.  Like…his skin feels wet.  It’s sad because it does fit SO WELL and never leaves red marks.  A good diaper- but not the best in my opinion.

OTHER STUFF:

Wahmies Pail Liners: I’ve only used Wahmies Pail Liners- and I like them a lot.  I wash them with the diapers and they hold up well.  They’re cute, too. I have two for the pail and two smaller Wahmies wetbags for my diaper bag.  I like that they have a little piece of fabric sewn inside that you can put essential oil on.  Makes the diaper pail smell better, and Tea Tree Oil has some natural antisomethingorother properties that make me feel like the laundry comes out cleaner.  Just two or three drops in each bag keeps the pail smelling better and then leaves the LIGHTEST of scents on the diapers themselves after a wash.

Safety 1st Diaper Pail: I’m not a big Safety 1st fan normally- but this diaper pail is EXACTLY what I needed.  It only fits about two days worth of diapers in it, thus forcing me to wash before I run out.  It sits close to the toilet so that I can change Camper and then dump and flush and stick them right in.  It works well with the Wahmies pail liners.  It’s cheap and clean and easy to wipe down.  Real winner.

Diaper Sprayer:

Some people don’t think these are necessary…but I do.  It was easy to install…it’s great for cleaning the toilet as well…and it means I can spray off gross poops before putting the diapers in the pail.  This means less stink, less staining, and an easier time getting them really, truly clean.  Sometimes I don’t need it, but for those days when I do…I’m glad I have one!

*Wipes: I bought a few bamboo wipes, but honestly…I just use washcloths.  I got out those previously useless baby washcloths, bought a stack of 100% cotton ones from WalMart for $1, threw them in a basket and keep them near the sink.  When it’s time for a wet down, I just use warm water to wash, use a dry one to dry, and throw them into the diaper pail.  Works perfectly.  I wash Camper’s butt every day in the bath with soap- so I don’t worry about soap in between unless things are really sticky.

Confession: I’m Not 100% Cloth.  I often get caught up thinking that I have to be 100% devoted for something to make a difference.  But it’s not true.  I carry disposable baby wipes when we’re out.  I still use Nighttime Huggies for overnight, when I don’t want to worry about wet cloth next to Camper’s skin.  If he were younger and I had to change him more often, I’d probably do cloth overnight because it’s just as easy…but 8 hours in a long time for a cloth diaper.  As he gets older I notice that he’s waking up dry a lot.  I’ll probably go to cloth when that’s more consistent.  But for right now, this system works for us.  And we’re still contributing less trash and wasting less money.  It works for us, so don’t be intimidated by the fact that you might still want to use disposables overnight or send some with your kid to the babysitter.  I figured it out, and even with using 2 overnight diapers a night (we usually only use one) we STILL spend less on diapers with the cloth system.  And I think I have enough wipes to last through two more kids…just because YO…a lot of those things come in a box.

UPDATE: All cloth all the time!  So since I wrote that last post, we actually HAVE gone 100% cloth.  I went into some forums and did some investigation, and found a foolproof nighttime method.  It is the following:

Fitted Diaper (BumGenius Bamboo)

1 Doubler (we use a hemp because that’s what I found on sale.  A prefold will do just fine.)

Fleece Liner.  Put it in between the baby and the diaper and it will keep the baby dry, no matter how wet the diaper and doubler become.

Wool Cover.  Now that Camper is in his diapers for 8-12 hours, I worry about the plastic pants aspect of it all.  So we got a wool cover to allow for breathing, which helps his skin AND the stink issue.  Air is only good.  We got the Imse Vimse Wool cover, and I like it a lot.  Although I covet the Aristocrats Soaker.

So there ya go!  That’s our overnight solution, and aside from being a little bulky (the child still maneuvers fine) it works really well.  I’d totally use the fleece liner for car trips and stuff, too.  For sure.

So that’s it!  Those are my reviews.  Again, I got lucky in that I didn’t HATE anything that I bought.  So I don’t really have any “bad” reviews for you.  But if you’re looking for a few different kinds of natural fiber diapers that fit well, fit for a long time, don’t leak, and wash and dry well…those are my recommendations.

UPDATE: If you want to order from Mom’sMilkBoutique use this link to get there: HERE! and enter this discount code: MMB10.  You’ll get 10% off any FIRST order of $65 or more.