Cloth Diapers - Decision Time!

We made our decision about which diapers to keep and which to return! It actually only took two weeks of use to make the decision which is great because we had to ship the non keepers back before we vacationed to Chicago. (Our 30 day trial was over the day we came home.) I ended up returning all of the diapers except the bumGenius Elemental all in ones. I wanted to keep the Flips too, but we needed different colors for those.

After shipping almost the whole lot back, we were left with 3 diapers of our preference. I immediately ordered more! The new order included 9 bg elementals and 6 flips. This gives us a grand total of 18 diapers. "Why ship back the old flips and order more?" you might ask. Well my husband, Mike, is color blind and the flip covers are not supposed to go into the dryer. So, I ordered flip covers with colors that stand out to him in case he gets stuck with diaper washing duty. Also, they were running a special of buy 2 flip covers, get 1 free. Yay! I opted to get the stay dry inserts again since they worked well for us the first time around and are cheaper than the organic inserts. I also got 6 Diaper Rite unbleached medium pre-folds to try in the flip covers.

I was ecstatic to get the shipment before we left!! This let me wash the lot twice before we left for Chicago which saved prepping time when we got home. And the main reason I was so happy is because I was able to take flip covers with me! Crazy to say this, but I way prefer putting Evelyn in cloth diapers now. A big reason is because they always contain her poop. Disposables do NOT contain her poop 75% of the time. So, that means a yucky outfit change almost every time she poops in a disposable diaper. Not with a flip cover for back up!

The reasons we chose the bg elemental and flips are because:

1. Absorb well
2. Contain well
3. Easy to spray off
4. Fit well
5. Well made

I'm very happy with our decision to cloth diaper this baby and am really happy with the diapers we chose. I still have this strange affection towards the Rumparooz, but they just didn't work well for us. I have one Rumparooz (free diaper with the first order) and will continue to use it as back up in hopes that my opinion towards it will change.

Cloth Diapers - Week 1

We have been using cloth diapers for a full week now. I really expected some huge dramatic things to report back about, but they have been quite uneventful. Evelyn wears them, we change them, we wash them. Really super easy. I still put her in a disposable at night. Not because I don't trust the cloth, but she just sleeps really well right now and I don't want to change a thing about how she sleeps.

I tracked every singe diaper Evelyn had over the past week. Here is what I think about them after a weeks worth of use.

bumGenius Elemental AIO

• Leaks/Poop - No leaks. Contains poop well. It sprays off just ok.
• Fit - A bit bulky, but not huge.
• Cleaning - I love that the whole thing goes into the washer & dryer. It takes a while for them to dry completely.
• Overall Impression - I like this diaper. I like the way it looks, feels, and functions. It is what I first reach for IF it is completely dry. I plan to buy more of these.

bumGenius Freetime AIO

• Leaks - No leaks.
• Fit - HUGE, super bulky.
• Cleaning - Washes fine, takes FOREVER to dry. It can not be put in the dryer.
• Overall Impression - She wore this diaper twice. It is currently clean and back in the box to be shipped back. I do not like it for my 11 week old.

bumGenius 4.0 Pocket

• Leaks/Poop - No leaks. Contains poop well, not fun to spray off this diaper.
• Fit - It fits well.
• Cleaning - Cleans well. It washes easy, dries quickly. Though, it is easy for poop to stain the edge of the shell where the soft wicking material is sewn to the elastic. The material bunches there.
• Overall Impression - The infant soakers are useless unless doubled up. The regular soakers are fine. There is nothing wrong with this diaper. I like it. I just don't love it and I can't put my finger on why. It works well... maybe I'll figure it out after another week. So far I plan to return them.

Rumparooz Pocket

• Leaks/Poop - Two leaks for wet diapers. The first time she wore it in the back. The second time was because I tried adjusting the leg holes to a different snap (total user error). It contains poop just fine, but I expected it to contain it better with the double gussets. It is fairly easy to spray off.
• Fit - These fit nicely. They are trim and look really comfortable.
• Cleaning - They are easy to clean and fairly quick to dry. The shells take longer to hang dry than the bg 4.0.
• Overall Impression - These diapers are super cute and I love putting them on her. I don't think they function as well as the bg elementals. I can't decide if I would get more of these. I go back and forth between wanting to buy more, keeping the ones I have, and returning them all together. Still on the fence about them... they are SO adorable on her.

Flip AI2/Hybrid

• Leak/Poop - No leaks. Contained poop fine, but it got on the shell. It is easy to spray off this diaper because it's just a flat soaker that gets sprayed.
• Fit - Fits really nice.
• Cleaning - Easiest to clean. The shells dry super quick (snaps faster than velcro) and the soakers are easy to dry too.
• Overall Impression - I like these. It is said that you can just change the soaker and reuse the shell if she's just wet. I have only done that once. It worked out fine. These aren't as absorbant as the bg elementals. I haven't decided if we'll get more of these. Maybe just more soakers to go with our current 3 shells.

Cloth Diapers - Day 1

The diapers have been prepped and are ready to wear. Here is Evelyn's diaper play by play for the day.

7:43am - BumGenius 4.0 Pocket Velcro & Regular Soaker

• Dressed and Removed: I thought it seemed a little bulky on her so I asked Mike to get me the newborn soaker to put in it. In the 30 seconds it took him to figure out which soaker was the BG newborn, she had soaked the regular soaker. Time for a new diaper already since the shell is also wet. This is kind of a strike against AIO and pocket diapers. The entire diaper has to be replaced each time.

7:45am - Rumparooz Pocket Velcro & Infant Soaker

• Dressed: This diaper is trimmer than the BG 4.0. It didn't seem quite as bulky and I like the soft material against her skin. I found the velcro a bit difficult to adjust. If it was tight enough in the front, it left red marks on her back from the elastic bunching back there. I'm thinking that it's user error and I'll get better at this.
• Removed after 2hr 55min: It was very wet. The diaper contained the wetness everywhere except at the top of the back of the diaper. Since the absorbant shell material goes all the way to the edge, the wetness "bled" onto the shell a little bit.

10:35am - BumGenius Element AIO Snaps 

• Dressed: This diaper fit her well once I figured out how to lay the inside layers in the diaper without bunching them up. I really liked the stretchy tabs for the snaps. This one is super cute on as well. I was happy to not have to make a decision about the soakers.
• Removed after 3hr 13min: It was wet and heavy when I took it off. Nothing leaked anywhere and her bottom felt dry to the touch. I really like that there was no insert to remove once soiled.

1:48pm - BumGenius Freetime AIO Velcro

• Dressed: This diaper is bulky on! I found the velcro harder than the snaps of the BG Element, but easier than the RR velcro.
• Removed after 2hr 40min: Wet, still bulky, no leaks. Her skin was really moist.

4:28pm - Flip AI2 Snaps & "Small" Soaker

• Dressed: The soaker is folded to the "small" setting. This one took the most time to get adjusted on her. After I felt like it fit well, I realized the soaker wasn't centered. I thought this diaper had potential to be my favorite since it's so versatile. We'll see after she fills it up.
• Removed after 1hr 32min: Evelyn pooped in this diaper... while we were at sonic. Wacky Pak Wednesday! I changed her in the trunk - don't judge. It's a flat safe surface and it's where we change our diapers on the go. This diaper contained her poo well. It was mostly on the soaker, but a little was on the elastic shell edge threatening escape. I wiped her bottom with the soaker which cleaned the mess off the booty way better than a disposable. Then I wiped the shell with a wipe and cleaned her bottom with wipes. The diaper went in a ziploc bag and the wipes went in the sonic trash. It was a lot faster and a lot easier than I had expected.

6:00pm - BumGenius Element AIO Snaps 

• Dressed: 2nd time wearing this diaper and it was super easy to put on while we were at sonic.
• Removed after 1hr 20min: Evelyn pooped in this diaper. It contained the poo very well. It was harder to wipe her bottom with this diaper compared to the flip soaker. Mainly because there are so many layers to grab when wiping. After this diaper I sprayed both poopy ones with my toilet sprayer. That worked well.

7:20pm - BumGenius 4.0 Snaps & Regular Soaker

• Dressed: 2nd time wearing this diaper. It seemed less bulky than first try. Probably because I'm used to seeing cloth diapers on her bottom by this point. Also I like the snaps better.
• Removed at 9:25 after 2hr 5min: It was wet with a poop fart that wiped off the diaper well. No leaks.

I put a trusted disposable on her for bedtime. She sleeps well in her Huggies Snugglers and I don't plan to mess with her great sleeping habits just yet. Day 1 went a lot better than I expected. I was hesitant to take a spare cloth diaper with me when we were out of the house today, but it was just fine. All 7 diapers used today are currently in the washer. I don't know if I'll get to dry them before I go to sleep. 

Today's Winner: BG Element AIO with snaps. 

Today's Loser: BG Freetime AIO with velcro. 

Prepping Diapers - Here We Go!

They are here!! I ordered them Saturday and they arrived Monday! Way to go USPS! Once I pulled them out of the box, I realized they are way more confusing in person. Mainly the pocket diapers. There are multiple soakers (the absorbant insert part) for each cover. I wonder if I got too much variety for the first swoop?

Before she wears them they have to be prepped. This means they need to be washed and dried 3-5 times. They actually don't reach maximum absorbency until they have been washed around 10 times. So I read each label and started washing. It's been exciting to try out my new washer that was delivered Sunday.

(abbreviations: Rumparooz = RR, bumGenius = BG)

Washing

All diapers went in the washer together with 1Tbsp of Rockin Green. I added extra water to the cycle as suggested by some forums. Pretty easy so far.

Drying
Here is where the big difference is. My dryer was set on low/delicates. I can't wait to try out the new dryer on Friday!

• Pockets
• RR - Shells hang dry while soakers go in dryer.
• BG 4.0 - Shells hang dry while soakers go in dryer.
• All In One
• BG Freetime - Entire diaper hang dries.
• BG Element - Entire diaper goes in dryer.
• All In Two
• Flip - Shells hang dry while soakers go in dryer.

The RR shells have a fluffy interior that seem to take longer to dry than the BG 4.0 shells. The BG 4.0 have a soft but flat interior that looks like it will wick moisture well. Since the Flip shell has no fabric inside, it was dry almost instantly.

The BG Freetime obviously took the longest to dry, but it actually took less time than I expected. The BG Element was super easy because all of it got thrown into the dryer along with the other soakers. It did take longer in the dryer than the plain soakers, but not a whole lot longer.

Rank by First Washing Experience

After washing and drying all of the diapers 5 times (except the Flip shell which I only washed once) here is my ranking from favorite to least favorite:

1. BumGenius Element - so simple because everything stays together and can be dried
2. Flip - the shells dry super fast and the soakers are easy to wash
3. BumGenius 4.0 - the shells dry fairly fast but have to be hung up
4. Rumparooz - the shells take a while to dry and have to be hung up
5. BumGenius Freetime - you'll have a lot of "freetime" while waiting for these to dry

That's what I think so far as a cloth diapering noob.

Cloth Diaper Trial

I've been very curious about cloth diapers for my 2nd little girl, Evelyn. There are a few reasons I felt encouraged to give it a try this time around. First, Evelyn only poops 0-2 times a day. This wasn't the case to begin with, but her "schedule" has pleasantly changed to less frequent poos. Next, she won't be going to a daycare center. The 3 days a week that I'll be at work, she'll be with Aunt Monica who is on board with cloth! Finally, I found a website that offers a 30 money back guarantee on all the diapers I am interested in. So if we don't like them, no big deal.

Preparation
Diaper Sprayer - Gramma Orth got us a diaper sprayer for our baby gift. We've really been wanting one even without cloth diapers. Our 2.5 year old, Kayla, is potty training and recently had a stomach bug that we could have really used this for! So, it will be used even if we do not keep the diapers.

Cloth Diaper Safe Detergent - I got this at a local shop in Franklin, TN. It was $1 more there, but I wanted to buy local and not wait for shipping. I've heard only good things about the Rockin Green brand. I chose the Bare Naked Baby (unscented) version because the diapers have to be free of any scent to return for my money back.

Tools & Baby Info
Washer - We just got a new LG front loader washer to replace our not so great top loader.  Open box item at best buy!! This was not a purchase we made because of cloth diapers, but I was happy to see it had all the features I wanted for laundering them. For instance it is HE, but you can add water to the cycle. I hear that is helpful.

Dryer - This will be our dryer once they deliver it August 3rd.

Baby Evelyn - She came from me and my husband, Mike. I sometimes type Ev for short though I never call her that. She is 10 weeks old and 11lbs. That puts her in the 50th percentile for height and weight. She is mostly breastfed. We give her about 2-4 oz of formula pretty much every day. I'm not sure if it's coincidental or not, but she started pooping a lot less when we started giving her this tiny bit of formula. So, I like to say "2oz of formula a day keeps the poop away!"

Diapers
After much research, I knew that I wanted to try pocket diapers, all in ones (AIO), and all in twos (AI2). And I definitely want the diapers to be one size which means they grow with your baby. There are many online companies out there that let you do diaper trials, but they don't let you choose your diapers. They all send a bunch of prefolds and covers in the trial which I am not interested in at all. So I was so happy to find the trial at Diaper Juncion. They offer 7 different diapers on this trial and all were the styles that I'm interested in. With a hesitant husband, I put in our order.

• 3 Rumparooz Pocket Diapers. 2 with velcro, 1 with snaps. I actually only ordered 2 of these, but they were running a deal where you get 1 free diaper with certain orders. This is the one they sent me as a freebee.
• 2 BumGenius 4.0 Pocket Diapers. 1 with velcro, 1 with snaps.
• 1 BumGenius Freetime AIO Diaper. With velcro.
• 3 BumGenius Elemental AIO Diapers. All snaps, no other option.
• 3 Flip Stay Dry Diapers. 1 with velcro, 2 with snaps.

The order went in 7/28/12 at 6am. They say it will take 5-10 business days for the free shipping.