cloth dipe reviews

(Some of this is a rehash from my original cloth diapering post. Some of this information is new. I don’t feel like rereading my initial post, so while I’m sorry for the overlap I’m not sorry enough to do anything about it… lol.)

General info: In these photos Damien is between 11 and 13 lbs, and 6 and 7 weeks old.

I had never even heard of, let alone considered, modern cloth diapering until I read about it on Young House Love (the post is here.) I liked how cute the diapers were, I liked how they were eco-friendly… but let’s face it, I mostly LOVED how they saved money. Not too long after that I found a post on The Feminist Breeder about FuzziBunz diapers, and hopped over to the company website to learn more. Turns out they were having a super awesome sale, so I bit the bullet and bought some, which brings us to -

Review #1: FuzziBunz One Size Pocket Diaper

Football butt!

Currently my stash is 99% FuzziBunz (not quite an accurate statistic – it’s actually around 90% – but who’s counting? Well, me, apparently.) As I previously mentioned, I initially got a great deal on them, and acquired a few more from my registry and eBay. I have two Elites and eleven regulars. The only observable differences between the two are: the Elites have one less hip snap (which makes them less bulky but also less adjustable), their inserts are minky rather than microterry (which I like), and their leg elastics are all the way inside the diaper instead of accessible from the outside (which I HATE, especially since I’ve already had to adjust Damien’s diapers several times.)

In general I really like these diapers, and if these were the only cloth diapers I ever tried I’d be satisfied. I found the initial adjustment fairly complicated – using the elastic settings recommended for Damien’s size didn’t fit him at all, so I had to improvise – but since then it’s been much easier. I don’t mind stuffing the inserts and have no problem getting my hands in there, and I have fairly big hands (aka Man Hands); actually, I’ve enlisted my husband to help stuff inserts, and his hands are HUGE (he’s 6’4″) so that shouldn’t be an issue for almost everyone. FuzziBunz wash and dry super easily, and the stains (at least from breastmilk poo, which is all the baby is making) come out easily. I do rinse the poop off the diaper before running them through the wash, not because I necessarily have to, but because I don’t do laundry every day and when it’s sat on the diaper for three days, it makes me feel better to see it’s GONE.

My favorite parts of the diaper: no diaper rash (which Damien gets with sposies), no blowouts, equal or less pee leakage (I mean, if the insert is full the insert is full, so leaks CAN happen), and adorable cute fluffy butt in clothes. :) I can’t wait for summer when Damien can run around (er, crawl around? ride around?) in a tee and diaper, or just a diaper, because I hate covering the cuteness up. Of course, much of these things could be said for cloth diapering in general, so I suppose I should get specific to FuzziBunz. I like how well-made they are, and though their adjustability is annoying right now it’ll be a major bonus in the long run. They’re fairly average priced in the cloth diaper world, unless you get a great deal on them like I did. Overall, I’d recommend them, but I’d like to try out a few more brands before I call them the BEST CDS EVER. Which brings me to…

Review #2: Blueberry One Size Deluxe: Hook/Loop

Just chillin' on the changing table, in my adorable diaper

I bought one on Amazon the other day in the star print. I’ve heard that snaps last longer than Velcro, but since all I have at the moment are snaps I decided to give the hook and loop style a try. I’ve done two cycles of wash and wear with this diaper, and it’s official: I love it. I can already tell that the Velcro is going to wear out before the snaps, but I don’t care – it’s so freaking EASY! I could leave my husband with a pile of these diapers and no special instructions (unlike the FuzziBunz, where Damien is between snap sizes and I have to buckle them asymmetrically.) I was a little worried about leakage from the leg holes, but if the waist is tight enough it isn’t a problem. I like that these diapers have snaps to adjust the rise – Damien is on the middle snap right now, and when you compare that to no snaps at all, it’s obvious these diapers will last awhile. (I was showing this diaper to one of the third graders that goes to my tutoring center, and we joked that it would practically fit her!)

The only complaint I can think of is the Blueberry insert is larger than the Fuzzibunz one, so it’s a little harder to get it to fit all the way into the pocket – it tends to bunch up in the front and then fall out the back (at least on my diaper.) Just something extra to watch for while putting the diaper on baby. This also makes the crotch area wider (as you can see in the photo), which I guess could be an issue if he was walking – we’ll find out! I think the biggest problem here is going to be the Velcro, which is ironic since it’s also what I like so much. When washing it initially I forgot to fold the diaper’s tabs in on themselves, so they got a little roughed up in the wash, but flattened out soon and worked fine. As long as I can remember to take care of the tabs, I think these diapers will be a worthwhile investment – in fact, I already want to buy one in every pattern (LOVE the owls! And the giraffes! Seriously!)

Review #3: Happy Heinys One-For-All: Snaps

Looks like Damien is dancing a jig here, with the hem of my hoodie photobombing

I ordered the skull pattern in the hook and loop, but ended up with a snap diaper. Which is okay, albeit a little weird (how’d you do that, Amazon?) I’d like to start out by saying YES IT REALLY DOES GLOW IN THE DARK. A reviewer on Amazon claimed they don’t, so my husband had to make sure (not that it matters, since I think they’re cute either way, but he wanted to find out For Science.) After holding them up to the light for a few seconds (not while the baby was wearing them, lol) semi-invisible skulls appeared, and sure enough, glowed! That said, the entire diaper doesn’t glow if that’s what the reviewer meant, but that would look pretty silly.

Anyway, once we made this very important discovery I tried the diaper on Damien. This diaper also has an adjustable rise, which I put on the second smallest setting. As you can see in the picture, I put the waist snaps on the smallest setting without overlapping the tabs. Just like the other two diapers, the leg holes and waist fit just fine on my 13-pounder. This is the slimmest of the three diapers, though the insert is the same size as the FuzziBunz one. I do have a complaint, though – I’m not crazy about the waist snaps. The first two are easy, but the second two (further back on the tab) are harder, especially the bottom one, which I spent a good thirty seconds trying to get to close. What I really don’t like, though, is the fact that the ends of the diaper tabs are free-floating and require being placed just so in order to lie flat. The extra hip snap on the FuzziBunz, and the Velcro on the Blueberry, removes this problem. Also, I bet if I’d received the hook and loop version of the diaper I actually ordered, it would resolve the issue!

The quality of the diaper is on par with FuzziBunz, and I do like the slimness and variety of patterns (there are at least five I want! Like the cute puppies, and more owls, and the blue hibiscus for summer…) That said, I think I’d prefer the hook and loop version of this diaper, and am going to make sure to order it next time. (How, I’m not sure, since I ordered it LAST time and ended up with the wrong diaper. Maybe it was a fluke and if I try again it won’t happen? I really like ordering from Amazon since I have Amazon Mom, which means free shipping, but if I have to I can go through a diaper website.) If and when that happens I’ll compare the two, but otherwise the Happy Heinys snappy diaper is a perfectly fine dipe to add to my rotation.

Coming soon(ish)… Reviews of two Lovely Pocket Diapers – the Classic LPD (only $7.50!) and the Rave (which I’m particularly interested in because of the double leg gusset, normally only seen in sposies.) They were recommended by someone on a cloth diaper message board and with such awesome prices (two CDs for under $20!) I wanted to check ‘em out.

I’m also keeping my eyes open for great eBay deals, or for available gently used diapers on diaper websites. Since I’m not working very much money is really tight right now, so I need to take advantage of all the deals I can… and as I’m discovering, buying cute cloth diapers is addicting!

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