Sunday, November 25, 2012

cloth diapering v.3

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last time i left off we were now dealing with a baby who ate solid foods and still loving our prefolds and covers.  we were still using the 2 dozen small prefolds that i ordered before avery was born and trifolding them into the diapers.  i loved this method of cloth diapering for us because it was super easy, i could do laundry every 3 days, and i really love cotton for diapers.  cotton is so low maintenance, you can use diaper creams with it (although we never needed to), they dry quickly, and there's no folding or stuffing to worry about after they come out of the dryer.  however, once avery started crawling i had a problem with the trifolded prefold inside the cover because it wouldn't stay in place as well.  ours kept popping out of the top of the diaper cover.  unfortunately using a snappi or pins wasn't an option with the small diaper since my tiny girl was finally large enough where the diaper couldn't fit around her.  i started looking at other options for diapers and considered just ordering some medium prefolds because i really do love them.  however, one of the things i don't love about cloth diapers is their bulk, especially with a girl, i've had a hard time getting pants to fit over them.  i looked into other, slightly trimmer cloth diaper options and landed on pockets since they tend to be trimmer but you can still stuff them with whatever you want making them as absorbent as you need them to be.  

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i looked into cotton options because i really do love cotton but they tended to be pretty pricy.  i finally ended up trying to decide between the bum genius 4.0 one size and the fuzzibunz one size elites.  they're both one size diapers, which is something i definitely wanted for the money saving benefits.  i was leaning towards the bum genius since the covers i was previously using were the flip covers, which are made by the same company and fit the same way.  however, i ended up with the fuzzibunz because they're lined with a mircofleece vs. the microfiber that lines the bum genius.  i read that some babies have problems with the mircofiber and that it can be an ezcema irritant.  since avery's had some sensitive skin issues when she was little i decided to go with the fuzzibunz.  i originally ordered a 3 pack so that i could try them out before ordering more.  i know that there are several retailers out there that offer trials but i suck at returning things so i decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

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a flip cover with a prefold.

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fuzzibunz one size elite.

there are a lot of things i love about the fuzzibunz compared to using a prefold and a cover.  

1.  i love that the diapers are trimmer.
this has been especially helpful now that it's winter and she's wearing pants pretty much every day.
2.  i love that they basically go on like a disposable.  avery is terrible during diaper changes.  she rolls and screams and basically does everything she can to make it a miserable time, pinning her down with one arm, while trying to arrange a prefold and a cover on a sqwirming baby isn't easy and most often did not make for the best arrangement of the prefold in the cover.  the fuzzibunz are pretty easy to put on a moving baby, there are three snaps on each side instead of the two like a lot of covers but i don't find this an issue.  i had the snap closures with our flip covers and definitely would buy them again.  i hate velcro.
3.  i also like that the fleece keeps her a little drier than cotton does.  it wicks the moisture away from the diaper to the insert.  i never had diaper rash issues with cotton prefolds, but if she's in a diaper for a long time it's nice to know that it's not super wet against her skin.
4.  also, avery's slimmed down a lot since she started crawling and the fuzzibunz seem to fit her better.  i occasionally use a flip cover with a hemp insert or a prefold and there are some pretty big gaps around the leg holds.  i've never had leaking issues because the inserts i'm using are really absorbent, but the fuzzibunz to seem to fit better without being tight or leaving marks on her legs.  
5.  they're easier when traveling.  it's just easier to grab a pocket diaper than a prefold and a cover and it takes up way less space in my purse.  i don't use a diaper bag because all i ever really bring when we're out is an extra diaper and an aden & anais blanket.


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flip cover with a prefold.

there's also some things that i'm not in love with.  
01. this isn't fuzzibunz specific but i don't love (in fact i sort of hate) stuffing the pocket diapers.  with the prefolds and covers when laundry was done i just threw it in the dresser drawer, but with pockets i have to stuff the inserts into the diapers before they're good to go.  the flip side is that then i can put the diaper on without having to worry about a diaper insert and cover.
02.  i don't like the way they adjust.  the adjusting elastic is a huge pain in my opinion.  yes, you only have to do this once in a while, but still, it sucks.  also, i have to make sure the fleece on the back is covering the button, otherwise it'll rub on her skin.
03.  they're expensive.  they're not the most expensive and i really believe they save us a bunch of money, but it's a lot of money to drop all at once.  i did get a pretty good deal from the fuzzibunz site when i ordered them & i did a lot of shopping around to see which site was cheapest.  fuzzibunz won only because i think they were having a 20% off sale when i ordered another dozen after our initial 'trial' with the 3 pack.

overall, i'm happy that i made the switch to pockets and it's worked out well for avery. i was worried about having laundry issues since cotton is so low maintenance and synthetic fibers are not.  i don't use any special cloth diaper detergents, i just use the free and clear stuff that we've always used for our clothes & avery's too.  i only add a tiny, tiny bit of detergent.  i do this with clothes, too as you really don't need much in general. also, we don't have a high efficiency washer.  i know some people love their's but i've heard they can be sort of high maintenance especially when dealing with diapers.  and although they look so fancy and pretty i've been very happy with our water guzzling washer that came with our house.

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