Year End Diaper Review

You may or may not know that we use reusable diapers. We have had much success (at least we think so) with our experiences. We plan on continuing to use the reusable diapers with both of our boys once Micah comes. Starting in October I got a part-time job at a local store that sells reusable diapers. I was able to put most of my paycheck towards buying more diapers to add to our "stash" so that we would have enough diapers to circulate between the two boys. This post will mainly be about the diapers that we have tried and our own personal findings and opinions. Hopefully you find it helpful in some way!

Bum Genius Diapers

When we first started cloth diapering (about a month after Luke was born) we had already collected a few different types of diapers to try out. At that point we had 4 Bum Genius 2.0 diapers, 1 Fuzzibun (size small), and 1 Haute Pocket (one size). After circulating through these few diapers we decided that we really liked the Bum Genius so we went online and ordered the 12 pack of the Bum Genius 3.0. These diapers have a velcro tab closure, they have snaps on the front to allow for 3 different size rises, a removable absorbent pad and the diaper comes in various colors, they can be washed in three cycles in the washing machine and dried in the dryer, and they have laundry tabs.


At that time we really liked using this diaper and even took all of our Bum Genius diapers to France last summer and used them the entire time.

Now that we have had these diapers for almost two years they are starting to show wear and tear. The velcro is not as sticky and the laundry tabs no longer work. I find that when we wash them in the washing machine they come out in a giant chain because the velcro has stuck to each other. The elastic in the legs has started to stretch out too. I have had to retire one diaper that was having consistent leaking problems due to the stretched elastic.

I cannot say too many bad things about this diaper because it has served us well for nearly two years but we have found some diapers that we like better. Two years ago the Bum Genius was the only one of its kind but now many companies have come out with similar and more improved diapers.

Smartipants:

Yay! We love Smartipants diapers. They are like the Bum Genius in that they are one size diapers with a removable terry cloth absorbent pad. They do not have velcro which is one of the reasons that we like them so much. As Luke has gotten older and more active he has also taken interest in taking off his diapers. We have also been working on potty training. When those two combine trouble (for me at least) follows.


Some other benefits of Smartipants diapers are that they are reasonably priced. You can buy a single diaper for $14.95 and a three pack for $39.95. Compare that to a Bum Genius diaper that sells as a single for $17.95 and $53.10 for a 3 pack! On top of that you have shipping costs unless you buy them locally. Yay for buying local. You can order Smartipants diapers here. This is the website for the store that I used to work for: Barefoot Kids & Barefoot Herbs.

There are 6 colors of Smartipants to choose from and also white. Reusable diapers can be really cute!
Flip Diaper:
The Flip diaper is made by the same company as Bum Genius. It is basically a one size waterproof shell that has an absorbent pad that lays right in the diaper. It is NOT a pocket diaper like the Bum Genius or the Smartipants. The benefit of this type of diaper is that ideally you don't have to change the entire diaper every time it is soiled. We have really like this particular diaper so far because we can reuse the waterproof cover multiple times and just change the pad. The flip that we have only came with one pad but we have a few prefold style diapers that I fold into one long strip and lay in the diaper cover and we are good to go. We have not had any problems with leaks either which is a huge plus. It is a one size adjustable diaper and it closes with snaps so there is no velcro to deal with. You can order the Flip here. A single Flip diaper and pad retails for $16.95. It is not a bad price if you have multiple pads that you can use to make the shell last longer. You can order a package of five pads for $9.98 here.

Econobum:

The Econobum diaper is very similar to the Flip. It is a one size adjustable waterproof diaper cover with snap closures. It comes with a prefold diaper that basically lays right inside the diaper cover. I consider it an old concept sold in new packaging. Moms have been cloth diapering in this way for years by using prefolds and rubber pants. I do think that this is a practical system because it does not involve diaper pins or Snappi's and it is quite economical.
You can order the Econobum here. Only $9.95 for the cover and it comes with a pad.


Before Luke was born I bought a 6 pack of cloth prefolds and two small waterproof covers with the intent of using them with Luke but the pocket diapers ended up being just too easy. I never got around to using them. I am planning on using them with Micah though. I still have all of the infant inserts (absorbent pads) from our original Bum Genius diapers that were hardly used. I am going to lay them inside the waterproof covers and basically use them just like the Flip and Econobum! I will let you know how that works out!

Blueberry Diaper:


The Blueberry diaper is another one size, pocket style diaper. It does not have velcro (Hallelujah) and it comes in a variety of cute patterns and colors. The store that I worked at had two Blueberry diapers with a black and white cow pattern so Of COURSE I had to get one! Luke is so cute in it and he really likes it a lot! We like it too because it has never leaked. We will have to get back to you on that one though because have only had it for about two months. It works really well at night though in case you were wondering. So the next time that I worked I bought the other one so that we now have TWO cow printed diapers for our two cowboys! I can't wait for them to be matching.

As you can see from the above picture they come in really cute patterns and fabrics. I would love to have the one posted above. The price for one these little cuties is $27.97 for a single!!!! Yep, that is not a joke. It is definitely worth it in the longevity department and if you have more than one child in diapers at a time (which we will) or if you get a discount because you work at the store part-time.

And last but not least...

Gro Baby Diapers:

I sold a lot of Gro Baby diapers when I worked at the store. They come in four different colors and four different patterns. They have velcro closures but the velcro is slightly different than normal velcro. The hook part is not rough to the touch and is not scratchy. The are one size adjustable diapers and they do have an organic option that closes with the snaps. That would be the one that we have, well actually we have two.

They work like a diaper cover and they have an absorbent pad that snaps in. They are very trim looking underneath clothing as well which is nice because most reusable one size diapers are a bit bulky underneath clothes. We have two shells and 4 pads from this diaper system. We have had mixed feelings about this system. I know that it works well for a lot of people but we have had problems with leaking. The other problem that we have run into is that if the soiling of the diaper is not #1 but #2 then we have to change the entire diaper. The shell and the pad go immediately into the diaper pail. There is no using that shell again and then we have unused pads just sitting there.

This is another system that we will have to get back to you on since we have just started using it and it might be great for a newborn! We just don't know yet. As far as the price goes...$24.95 for a single diaper shell that come with a soaker pad. You can buy that here. This price is for the velcro style diaper. The prints (they are adorable, especially if you have a girl!) are a few dollars more and the organic one that snaps is the same price as the print diapers. The rumor is that the company is coming out with a snap style in a print! I will be watching for that for sure! This diapering system also offers bio soaker pads that are disposable/biodegradable that have sticky tabs that stick in the diaper cover. This is a nice feature if you are traveling or for nighttime use.

That is going to be all for now folks! We have used Haute Pockets and Fuzzibunz before and I did not talk about them at all today...maybe in a future post. We are also committed to updating you on our findings as we further use these various diapering systems. I did not talk at all about why we cloth diaper or why I think other people should consider it. That is a post for another time as well. I do hope that you gleaned some valuable information from our experiences! Check back for future updates!