Video: Description of AI2s and AIOs

Okay...3 things:
1)  AI2 = All In Two/Hybrid; AIO = All In One

2) I accidentally said that bumGenius AIOs have microfleece sewn inside of the pocket.  I meant to say microfiber.  Oops!  I should make myself a script first or something.

3)  Not all AIO diapers come in separate sizes.  Some of them do come in OS (One Size).  I think I said this, but I wanted to make sure.  :)

Video: Description of Various Pocket Diapers

I took out some of my son's diapers to show you some of the variety in the world of OS pocket diapers.  :)

ik

Review: Nubunz Diapers - CHEAP DIAPERING SOLUTION!

While I have been blogging about CDing cheaply I thought it would be nice to review some of the "cheaper" diapers out there for you to consider.  :)

Nubunz Diaper - $9.50 (Currently on sale for $8.00) w/2 inserts, or you can get seconds diapers with inserts for $5.50, seconds without inserts are $3.00.

Materials:  The outer material is PUL with a liner of polyester microfleece.  The closure is available in snaps or velcro (some velcro are rounded tabs and some square).  The inserts are 3 layers each of polyester micro terry cloth.

Fit:  8 - 38 lbs. (as claimed by Nubunz Diapers)

How it works:  Nubunz Diapers are a One Size (OS) pocket diapering system.  The absorbent inserts are placed in the pocket and can be adjusted for your absorption needs.  Snaps on the front of the diaper allow the diaper to adjust in the rise for a baby as they grow.  The closure on this diaper is available in either snaps or velcro.

Thoughts from Amanda:

Aesthetics -  Currently the full price Nubunz Diapers are available in only 8 pastel colors.  (Think bumGenius colors.)  You an get seconds diapers in brighter/bolder colors though while supplies last.  There are no prints available.  They have put a hold on the brighter colors due to some quality issues with them (much like bumGenius had to do recently).  I believe it is a PUL issue that many companies are dealing with.  The snaps are all white...that doesn't matter to me personally.  The velcro is white, unless you get the square tab ones which are sort of a less bulky version of the original Happy Heiny's closure.  With limited supplies of colors, and possibilities of problems with the bolder colors in the seconds section I can only give the aesthetics of the Nubunz diaper a three pin rating.  I will say that I bought mostly seconds diapers though and didn't have any bleeding issues or problems with the quality of the PUL on any of them.

Functionality -  These diapers function like a bumGenius 3.0 for the most part.  They have that top layer of PUL which will stop compression leakage.  LOVE that feature.  And I'm glad it can be found on a "cheap" diaper to boot.  I found the rise to be comparable to the rise of a bumGenius 3.0.  Keep in mind that bumGenius has recently updated to the 4.0 which includes a higher rise.  If your child runs on the average to small side of the scale the rise of the Nubunz should be plenty for you.

My "big" complaint about the Nubunz diaper was the lack of stretch.  The other thing I love about bumGenius is that the area around the velcro tabs is stretchy giving you a tighter fit.  This diaper just didn't have as much "give" to it.  However, when you're only paying $9.50 for a full price on a diaper one can't complain too much.  :)  As far as the rounded velcro tabs v. the square.  I didn't experience any issues with either.  However, I could see how the corner of the PUL could get caught on carpeting while baby is crawling around, or rub on furniture when baby is climbing, and become undone.

Durability -  The Nubunz diaper held up to washing as well as any other diaper I have does.  I honestly can't complain at all.  The velcro was really sticky.  I did get a little nervous when undoing snaps as the snaps would really grip and I didn't want to tear the PUL. I never did, but alas I was nervous.  Although I guess it's nice to know that the snap closures are really closed well.  The PUL held up to washing, and as usual my outers were hung dry the majority of the time.  Another plus...the Nubunz Diaper is constructed in the good ol' USA.  :)  Keep in mind though that people have had problems with the bold colored diapers, and although that hasn't been my experience it is something to consider when purchasing.

Availability -  This is not normally a section I put in a review, but as far as I am aware the Nubunz diaper is only available from Nubunz.  This can be a damper to those who want to shop around.  The price is good on their website and they are efficient about shipping, but if you're looking to buy your diapers all in one spot then this isn't the diaper for you (unless you want a whole stash of Nubunz...which wouldn't be a bad thing.).  Also...they seem to be going through a phase of changing what is available and what not so you will be limited as to what you can find and in what colors.  This can be annoying if you're picky about your diaper colors.

Trials of a Dum Dum: Overnight Success!!!

Wow...it's been a while since I've talked about nighttime diapering, huh?  I never really could get it out of my head.  We did continue using disposable diapers for quite a while while I mulled over what to do.  None of the special "nighttime" diapers worked for us that we had tried, and I was tired of spending money on things that were failures.  I don't mind spending money on things that work but I'm not a big fan of in the long run, but not on things that fail from the get go.

Fast forward a bit and I decided that hemp was the way to go.  I ordered two BabyKicks Hemparoo Joey-Bunz in large.  They have 6 layers of hemp in them.  Now hemp is a great fabric.  It absorbs a lot, but it is slow to absorb which means it's best if you pair it with something else on top for quick absorption.  Enter the recipe:

Overnight Diapering a Tummy Sleeping Super Soaker (Toddler)


1 bumGenius 3.0 OS ($17.95)
1 Prefold trimmed (or purchased this size) to fit in a pocket diaper (about $2.00 a piece)
1 BabyKicks Hemparoo Joey-Bunz (Large) - FULLY PREPPED! ($4.99)


Take the prefold and trifold it.  Place this on top of a BabyKicks Hemparoo Joey-Bunz insert (we used Large because our son is on the highest rise).  Take prefold/hemp combo and place this in a bumGenius 3.0 OS pocket diaper.  Make sure that the prefold is flat and touches the sides of the diaper.  I do this by sticking my hand down the center of the trifold and fanning my fingers apart.  The bumGenius diaper is key because it has the compression leakage barrier of PUL at the top front of the diaper.  That is VERY important.  


Place diaper on baby.  Put on pajamas and continue with nighttime routine.


We have not had a leak since starting this.  It is important to note that the hemp insert must be fully prepped before this will work for a true super soaker.  We're talking at least 10-12 washes folks.  But, it's so worth it.  No more overnight sposies for us!  :)

My future concern is that the bumGenius runs small compared to other OS diapers, so how long will this work for us?  Tonight I'm going to try a microfiber insert on top of the Babykicks Hemparoo Joey-Bunz to see how that works for us.  That may make the diaper less bulky and therefore allow it to last us longer in the rise.  You could try this with Nubunz (a bumGenius copy) but there were a few things about that diaper that I wasn't a big fan of, but that's for a future review.

Why the Babykicks Hemparoo Joey-Bunz?  Well, I liked that it was all one piece.  I found one other hemp insert that was 7 layers I believe, but it was two pieces meaning one area of the diaper would be even bulkier.  This was 6 layers and all one piece, and very very thin.  That was the best deal I could find without making one myself, and even then with ordering materials that would have been more expensive to do.  So the Babykicks Hemparoo Joey-Bunz is a winner in my book.  And if you use two that would be 12 layers of hemp!

So, happy overnight diapering everyone!  :)  Do you have a different solution that works for you?  Leave us a comment and let us know.  We want everyone to have lots of ideas and methods to try from.  :)

-Amanda-

Shop Review - Giggle Britches

Physical Location:  Troy, Illinois
Phone Number:  618-795-8301

Website:  http://www.giggle-britches.com

Store Basics:

Giggle Britches was started by LeAnn Kitchen because she 
noticed a need for a "cloth diapering and natural parenting
store in the St. Louis Metro-East area."

She has a great Cloth 101 section that gives a quick rundown 
of how she does her cloth diaper laundry and what you would 
need to get started which can be handy when you are looking 
at a shop and just getting started in the cloth diapering world.  

What Giggle Britches carries:  Prefolds, Fitteds, Covers, 
Pockets, AIOs, AI2s, Package Deals, Inserts/Liners, and 
Accessories (i.e. wipes, Snappies, Charlie's Soap, wetbags, 
and pail liners).  

Selection:  The selection is small but 
seems to be growing with more and 
more quality products over time.  
They do carry some of the major tried 
and true brands such as bumGenius, Thirsties, Happy Heinys, 
Fuzzi Bunz, Haute Pockets, Tiny Tush, etc. so it's definitely 
worth checking here and comparing prices with other stores 
before buying.I only give this category a three because 
compared to larger stores this store is small in comparison.  
But, I think you'll see in the next few categories that LeAnn 
is in a leagueof her own in customer service.

Level of Service:  LeAnn is friendly 
and helpful.  She's great about 
keeping in touch with her customers 
and has a great fan page for her store 
on Facebook which you should join to hear about the latest
sales, discontinued products, or new items that will be added 
to the store.  

I also want to say that she has the FASTEST delivery of a store 
I've ever experienced.  My order was at my house within a 3 
days of purchase.  I was majorly impressed and it is one of the 
many reasons I check her store often when hunting for diapers.  
After all...when you're addicted don't you want to get your fix 
fast?  I know I do!  

Package Deals:  Giggle Britches has 
some of the best small diaper packages 
I've seen.  If you know what you're 
looking for in a diaper this is a great 
place to buy a package to try different versions of one type.  
For example...if you know you're a pocket diaper person then 
you could try her One Size Pocket Sampler.  She has them for 
several different categories including nighttime diapering so 
check those out for sure.

My favorite feature:  Some of the 
diapers come with a 15 day Risk Free 
Trial.  This gives you an opportunity to 
buy 1 diaper (only 1), try it for 15 days, 
and return it for a full refund.  All you are out is the cost of 
return shipping!!!  (Don't forget to wash and dry it before you 
return it!)  I don't know about you, but that sounds like a great 
deal to me.  

Definitely check Giggle Britches out and see what they have to 
offer.  Quick shipping, packages, and Risk Free Trials?  I think 
you'll be impressed too!

Trials of a Dum Dum: Overnight Part 2

Well, we tried our indian prefolds in the diapers overnight (and during the day).  Remember, my son is 8 months old, about 21 lbs..  We've only used it at night twice because we only have one and I do laundry every other day.  So here is a run down of our last 2 nights:

Night 1:  bumGenius 3.0 on highest rise setting.  The pocket was so full with the premium indian prefold and the microfiber insert that it was really difficult to even get it on my son.  I find that the BGs seem to have a lower rise compared to some other pocket diapers.  But, after some work I got it on.  My son had the biggest bum I'd ever seen.

We made it through the night without any leaks on the highest rise setting (which is what he is on normally anyway)!  Woo!!!  The prefold did a great job of absorbing all of the way down.  Microfiber always seems to just absorb in one spot.  He woke up as dry as could be.

Lesson learned:  The bumGenius is a good way to go because the PUL layer overlaps on the top locking in moisture.  You'll see why that is important in a second.

Night 2:  This time we tried the same setup, premium indian prefold topped with microfiber insert.  We attempted a different diaper this time though and used a Haute Pocket.  Normally my son is on the medium rise setting in this diaper during the day so I used the same setting for the night.  MAJOR LEAKAGE!  He was soaked down to his feet in the a.m.  (Yeah, my son doesn't wake up when he pees in his bed.)

I have a couple of theories:
1)  The Haute Pocket does not have the protective PUL at the top of the diaper like the BG and that's where his diaper was wet in the morning.  So, I believe compression caused the diaper to leak out of the top (my son is a tummy sleeper of his own accord).  This got his pajama pants wet and then caused the pants to wick the moisture all of the way down to his toes.

I will attempt this diaper again as it was much easier to get it on him being a slightly larger diaper compared to the BG.  Next time I will open the snaps to the largest setting to see if that gives the top a more snug fit so as to trap any moisture.

I know that this can work since it happened once so I just have to figure out what diaper it is going to work best in.  Also, I guess it will depend on how much he pees each night.

The trials continue...

Daytime:  The regular indian prefold alone did help my son to last to the 2 hour mark each time it was used.  Woo!

Trials of a Dum Dum: Overnight

I thought I'd do some posts for all of the newbies like me out there.  Or shall I say Dum Dums?  Yep, I'm the first to admit that I am one of those people.  Although CDing off and on since Gabriel was born there is still much I have to learn.  Isn't that the case with anything you take on though?  Such as being a mom?  And look how many of us are jumping on that band wagon?  :)  For good reason!  So, no fear....  Right?

Not much about cloth diapering scares me.  But, there is that one itty bitty part of our day called nighttime.  Yep.  Nighttime.  Sure, all day long you're moseying along.  Maybe you have a leak to deal with, but nothing like you will experience in the middle of the night or the next morning.  Finding the right nighttime diaper is like looking for a needle in a haystack from some.  Others get lucky on the first go 'round.

I have a super soaker.  My son can soak through 2 microfiber inserts in 30 min. - 1 hour during the day.  We tried 2 microfibers at night, and we tried adding the wrong kind of hemp doubler at night.  I use all pockets, and I stuffed it with a Hemp Night Stay Dry Doubler from Green Mountain Diapers.  The problem was they had fleece on top...good for a fitted diaper, but not for a pocket.  As the fleece and the inner of the pocket diaper work against each other somewhat slowing absorption.  I even tried lying that on top of the pocket and yet, still didn't work.

So, I got in touch with Stephanie at Abby's Lane and explained my nighttime situation.  I told her that my son was 20ish lbs., 8 months old, and what I had already tried.  She informed me that many people have kids who outgrow the absorbency of microfiber by 6 months old.  (Some even 2-4 months old.  So, if you're having daytime leaking problems regularly this could be why.)  I told her that on his bumGenius 3.0s he was on the large setting, and a medium on his Haute Pockets.  I also told her that after buying a large number of diapers I was on a tighter budget and wanted to be economic about my purchases.  I LOVE that she completely respected that.  Thanks, Stephanie!

She suggested getting some indian cotton twill prefolds.  One in regular size for the daytime and one in premium (topped with a microfiber insert) for the nighttime.  These apparently have a lot more absorbency than the microfiber inserts or towels.  They showed up today and I can't wait to try them out.  They're going through a few wash and dry cycles as we speak so they're prepped for tomorrow!  :)  I will definitely keep all of you posted on the nighttime trials.  (And the daytime...we'll see if he can go longer than 1 hour in a CD.)

My goal (and Stephanie whole heartedly agrees) is to try everything I can to make my normal pocket diapers work for him at night.  To only buy a different diaper if nothing else works.  Fingers crossed that this will do the trick.  If not it's on to the next step.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!  I'll update you soon on our progress.  Maybe we'll find that elusive needle in the proverbial haystack.

Review: bumGenius 3.0 OS

Diaper:  bumGenius 3.0  -  $17.95 for one diaper or you can buy them in packages which brings down the price

Type:  One-Size, Pocket

Materials:  The outside is waterproof PUL, it comes with 2 microfiber inserts - one regular and one newborn/doubler, the inside lining of the diaper is suedecloth.

Fit:  Babies 7 - 35 lbs.
How it works:  These diapers are a one-size dipe which means that the rise of the diaper is able to be adjusted through a system of snaps on the front giving it a small, medium, and large setting.  bumGenius 3.0s also have Aplix fasteners (velcro).  There is a strip of velcro across the front of the diaper to attach the velcro tabs to while the baby is wearing the diaper allowing you to adjust the size of the waist just like a disposable diaper.  Inside of the diaper is suedecloth which will wick moisture away from the baby's bottom leaving it dry, while an insert stuffed into the diaper through a pocket in the back does the absorbing.  bumGenius 3.0s come with 2 inserts.  There is one "regular" insert which can be adjusted with a series of snaps for a small, medium, and large setting.  (Large for the diaper, and for the insert, is to just leave it completely unsnapped.)   The diaper also comes with a "newborn insert" or doubler for nighttime.  Both inserts are microfiber.  For washing the Aplix tabs attach to small "laundry tabs" or squares of velcro on the inside of the diaper allowing you to leave the diaper open for proper cleaning without the velcro sticking to other items, such as inserts, in your laundry.  You do need to remove the inserts from the diaper prior to washing.


Thoughts from Natalie and Amanda:
Amanda:

Aesthetics -  They come in a good variety of cute colors.  The inner suedecloth is soft to the touch and the PUL is of good quality.  The snaps match the PUL in color which is nice, but the giant strip of velcro doesn't have the same sleek appearance as snaps across the waistline would.

Functionality - These were the diapers that my husband and I were the least timid about using upon starting CDing.  Their popularity also gave me confidence in my choice.  Stuffing the diaper takes a little practice.  You need to make sure the insert reaches all of the way to the very front of the diaper and that it is flat and not bunched anywhere.  Any mistakes in this can lead to a leak.  The velcro tabs make for a fast and easy change which can be a relief when dealing with a squirmy baby, but beware.  Tubby baby bellies can rub on the velcro tabs causing irritation when sitting so I recommend wearing these with pants or something to cover precious baby's belly.  These are pretty easy to find a good fit on your child as there aren't so many snaps that it becomes confusing, and I love that they grow with your child throughout their "diapering career."  You do have to pull the inserts out before washing which may bother those who are very easily grossed out.

Durability - There have been complaints that the velcro tabs begin to lose their stick after several months of use.  I recommend hang drying the outer part of your diaper to help the velcro last longer.  Although bumGenius recommends a spin in the dryer on warm heat to resolve this issue.  Also, curious babies or toddlers may learn that the velcro is fun to play with.  For me neither of these things has been an issue so far.  But, I guess time will tell.  I will let y'all know if something changes though.  :)

Natalie:

 Aesthetics -   I give them 3 diaper pins only because though the colors are super cute and easy to match with outfits, I like the prints. I wish Bum genius had fun prints. I am also finding that I like side snap diapers (we will discuss this later), Other than the print and side snap issues, they are cute and I think the minimal snaps makes them look less industrial.

Functionality - That's right 5 Pins on functionality. I have never in the past 8 months had a problem with these diapers working. No leaks, no mishaps, no blow outs.. nothing. They are easy to use, easy to clean and just plain easy. These are the diapers I got because they were on the website I registered on, and just got by default and because it was easy to just register rather than research myself to death in a world of unknown jibber jabber. Boy, I am glad for that. They are the best diaper to use first and to ease yourself into the diaper world. Their easiness makes it a great way to become excited about trying others.

Durability - I almost want to give them 3 1/2 stars because of the velcro curling on the tabs, but I didn't. I think a lot of the reason they are curling is because I am not very gentle with them. I throw them in the wash, and dryer and don't line dry or watch my washer/dryer temperatures. Maybe I should give them a 5? nah... 4 is good. Also, the dryer tabs where you are suppose to velcro the tabs to during wash, they only lived about 2 months before they started to shrink and no longer held the tabs, so now the tabs adhere to anything in the wash and make things nubby. annoying!