A while ago I won a giveaway on A Little Sugar and Spice for some cloth diaper wipes from Bummas. I selected the Wild Ones. Each package of wipes retails for $16.99 and you get 10 wipes in a package.

My Thoughts…
I like these wipes. Really like these wipes. They are the perfect size to fit in my wipe warmer. They did shrink significantly upon first wash, so at first they were big enough to fold in half in the wipe warmer. They are very plush too! One wipe with these and the mess is cleaned up! Even his worst messes have only needed two wipes. Want to make your own cloth wipe solution? Check out my post on a homemade solution.

Would I buy them? That’s a tough one. They are worth the money because they really do work. I’ve been using 2 packages of infant wash cloths from Walmart for almost a year and it works for me. It doesn’t work as well, and they are much thinner, but cheaper. I would buy them if they were about a dollar a wipe. Ten bucks would be more my price range. I guess you’d just have to decided if the better quality is worth the higher price. You do get what you pay for. Better quality and my guess is these will last much longer than my wash cloths turned wipes.

Do you have cloth diaper wipes? What brand do you use?

 Cutler is wearing a size Large Simplex Cloth Diaper by Swaddlebees. This is an AIO meaning all in one. The absorbent layers are sewn in. This adds to your drying time, but the ease of use (no stuffing!) totally makes it worth it.

 It’s a great fit! Usually I prefer a one size diaper because honestly, who has the money to buy diapers for every stage and size? This diaper came in a box of diapers I purchased off of www.diaperswappers.com.

 My favorite part is the side snaps. Very simple to figure out, even for my husband and mom. Some other snap diapers just look terribly confusing and when I’m not the one doing the diaper change, the snaps are always done wrong. Not with a side snap diaper. VERY easy to get on correctly.

Today I want to show you the Smartipants diaper. I love a lot of features about this diaper.

• One size diaper from 7-35 lbs
• 13 colors to choose from
• Insert comes out in the wash
• very PLUSH insert
• Overlap snaps

 The aplix on the front is hidden under the fabric. I LOVE that! No more diapers train coming out of the laundry! Plus when Cutler sits down some of his diapers front aplix will rub on his tummy and leave marks. Ouch! Not with these!

 Here is the hidden front aplix under the fabric. How genius is that?

 Here is the aplix tab on the back of the diaper that tucks under the front fabric. It has a little pocket that the tab tucks into. They really thought of everything! I think if you dry your diapers in the dryer the aplix starts to get all hard and crunchy over time. This method of it all being hidden and tucked away will likely make your aplix look newer longer.

 So here is the back tab untucked. Good size tab too!

 Here’s me tucking it under the front fabric panel to the hidden front aplix.

They have a great photo tutorial on their website. I have to say that after holding and using this diaper I was blown away by it’s quality. I like the aplix being hidden, I like the gussets that hold in blowouts, I like the super cute prints! I just knew I was looking at a $30.00 diaper. The diapers themselves range from $18.50 – $22.50. Then you have to purchase an insert which ranges from $7.00 – $11.50, or you could use your own fitteds, prefolds, or even flushable liner and use the OtterBlotter as a cover! Here’s a tidbit from their website:

Compare to pocket diapers and AIOs: Buying one multi-size AI2 and 3 snap-in O-Pads provides 3 diaper changes for as little as $11 per change!

They offer different inner fabrics. The suedecloth is my FAVORITE! It looks way newer than the microfleece which is actually newer!

Here you can see that my Microfleece looks all old an pilly, while my suedecloth looks new and pristine!

The sizes are the same. The measurements in the picture is just a diaper laid out on the couch, no stretching involved.

Here’s where we get to the nitty gritty details. PUL (polyurethane laminate) vs. TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane). I prefer PUL. It looks white, that’s the easiest way to tell. It’s slick. Even out of the dryer the PUL is easy to stuff, while the TPU is sticky feeling out of the dryer and harder to stuff. TPU is becoming more popular because it’s more breatheable they say. All I know is what I see. I’m convinced that the PUL will hold up better and longer compared to the TPU.

The Aplix diaper has elastic on the back and front of the pocket, where as the Snap diaper has elastic just on the back. They made this change to make them easier to stuff. Many mom’s had trouble getting their hands in the smaller opening. Not me. I have no troubles either way. I prefer the double elastic. It’s not too tight. The flat pocket opening often hangs out of the back of his diaper. I don’t like how it looks, although it’s super easy just to tuck it back in.

Here’s where I see the biggest difference. They both claim they are one size diapers that will grow with your baby up to 36 lbs, but based on the leg elastic I don’t agree. My son is 18 months old and 24 lbs. The Aplix diaper fits him perfectly in every way. The Snap diaper looks like a great fit, but when I take it off of him he has huge red marks across both of his thighs. An obvious indication to me that they are too tight on his chubby little legs. So I would say the snaps will last longer pound-wise. However, if you have a skinny baby the Aplix may give you leaks, whereas the Snaps will probably be a better fit.

I am honored to be trying out a brand spankin’ new diaper called the Go Green Pocket Diaper. First I want to tell you that these diapers are SUPER CUTE! Just check out some of the prints:

Aren’t they adorable? They are priced between $8.99 and $9.99 a diaper, which is about half the cost of comparable diapers. They have even bundles like diapers creating a pack like this super hero boy pack:

You want some yet? I was sent the Tangerine diaper to try. Each diaper comes with a 3 layered microfiber insert too!

My thoughts:

• One size diaper will adjust to fit almost all babies from small to large! Love that!
• Fabric is very soft
• Inside fabric is perfect! (I can’t stand when diapers are lined with a fabric that pills and looks really worn out in just a few short months. That won’t happen with these diapers)
• Elastic is very stretchy and not at all tight
• Snaps are good quality. Not too tight that you feel that it will pull through the fabric, and not too loose so as to come undone.
•  Inserts are very fluffy.

My concerns:

• There is no overlap snap on the flaps for a very tiny baby.
• There are only 2 snaps on the flaps and they are horizontal. Not having 3 snaps or not having the snaps vertical can lead to “wing droop” where the wing of the diaper will droop down and look like it’s falling out. 

Solution? For the price it wouldn’t cost much at all to add another row of snaps to the front of the diaper and another snap on the wing. It would give you much added support and still come in way cheaper than the comparable diapers.

I tugged on the wing to get it to look like this for the picture. I’m not sure it would actually droop down this far on it’s own just from wearing. I’ll have to get back to you on that one. I expect it to look like the picture with the original fit before I went and tugged on it.

Overall these diapers are great! They are almost identical to pricier diapers, just without the high price tag. Want to see it in action?

Disposable items have made their way back into my house. One out of necessity and one out of convenience. When I was asked to help with Camden’s classroom Halloween party I signed up to bring plates and napkins. I brought them to the party only to find that another mother brought some and had them already opened. Now I could have saved the plates and stored them until Halloween next year, but hey, why not use them! At first I really enjoyed knowing that I was not going to have a sink full of dishes, but then as I saw so much waste in the trash can I instantly felt guilty. We’ve been using dishes instead of paper plates for years. I guess the initial convenience was nice, almost comforting, but then reality set in. I’m not helping, I’m part of the problem. Did you notice that they are Styrofoam too! How terrible of me! I should have paid more attention when I was purchasing the plates, but being the frugal mom that I am I purchased the least expensive item I saw available. Now the plates are gone, all used up and we are back to our dishes. It feels good to right my wrong.

My second disposable appearance?

Disposable diapers. I know. Are you mad at me? Well, hear me out first. Cutler is a silent pooper. I haven’t heard or smelled it for the last few weeks. That means that by the time I discovered a dirty diaper, the load had been in there for a bit. Just long enough to cause him some irritation. The only problem with using cloth diapers is that you cannot use traditional diaper rash creme. It causes the diaper to repel instead of absorbing moisture. They do make cloth diaper safe rash creme, I just don’t have any. So I had to go out and buy a package of disposable diapers.

As I entered the store I felt terrible. I thought people were looking at me, judging me. I know that’s not the case, they have no idea that I use cloth diapers and that now, with this purchase I am aiding in the pollution of our planet! UGH! I honestly felt like I had to keep my eyes down, not to make any eye contact for fear that they will see through to my heart. To feel the guilt that I felt. Wasn’t it visible? I left the store feeling like somehow I had failed. Failed to commit to my cloth diapering plan, failed to commit to improving my efforts to waste less.

After that first diaper change I thought, WOW, these are so easy! Just toss into the trash! Did you know that even with disposable diapers you are supposed to put waste in the toilet and not in the trash. It says so on the box. That human waste is not intended for landfills. I’m sure no one actually follows that advice though. The first few diaper changes were all too convenient. I felt that I could easily end back up in this rut. I call it a rut because I’ve done this flip flop thing before. Try cloth and go back to disposables. This is my longest cloth diapering experience. Almost 9 straight months! Then as the dirty diapers began piling up in the trash can I felt that familiar pang of guilt. I know what I must do. Ditch the disposables.

His butt is all healed up now. I have the remainder of the diaper package on standby in case it happens again. Unless someone out there has a tube of cloth diaper safe cream you’re not using, then please send it to me! So there you have it. I have been duped by disposables. I have once again fallen for their convenience, only to be flipped back by my on conscience. I know that when you don’t use disposable items you will have more work. Not much, but you will do more dishes and more laundry, but in the end it’s all worth it. I know that I have saved money that would have ultimately been thrown away, and for what? Because I was lazy? I didn’t feel like washing that extra dish or rinsing off another cloth diaper? I’m over it. The extra work is worth my peace of mind.

Have you been duped?

I LOVE these diapers! I’ve been using them since I started cloth diapering Cutler at 8 months old (hey, better late than never!). When all the other diapers are so pricey these days, I had to do some research. I searched high and low for a great affordable alternative to the $25.00 a piece dipes and the Kawaii diapers were just the thing! They run $67.50 for a 10 pack of snaps or velcro. They have so many to choose from, pockets, covers, minky diapers and even heavy duty for bed time. Their website is www.theluvyourbaby.com.

Check them out!

Mother-Ease was kind enough to allow me to try their AIO Cloth Diaper. These are a sized cloth diaper, not a one size fits all diaper. They have PUL, so they will NOT need a cover. I really like the side snap feature, less bulk on the belly. In the video below I’m trying the Large (20-35 lbs). The diaper looks large on my 19 lb 10 month old, but this diaper holds true to the same principals as their Air Flow Cover. They feel that this design allows baby’s skin to breath better. Here’s a quote from their site.

Mother-ease® All In One cloth diapers are highly breathable with the same side venting and adjustable snap enclosures as the Air Flow™ Snap Cover. Elastic all around gives the baby a comfortable, “no restriction” stretchy fit.

I’m not sure how well this diaper would fit under snug fitting clothes, but I wouldn’t use this as a daytime diaper. If you are new to cloth diaper terms, the AIO, or all in one diaper, has the absorbent layer sewn in. There is no pocket to stuff, making it the most simple cloth diaper system out there! The absorbency of this diaper alone is 12 oz!!! That’s the equivalent to one can of soda. If you add the insert it’s an additional 7 oz. bringing you to nearly 20 oz of absorbency! That’s amazing! This is now my “go to” night time diaper. They should market it that way, it’s the perfect night time diaper!

So I’m curious, do you think this would work for you for a night time diaper? What do you use now and why?

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