Posts Tagged ‘organic’

The long awaited Gro Baby Biodegradable Soaker pads finally arrived late September 2009. I only ordered a couple of boxes because I wanted to be sure that these worked before I made a big time commitment to the product for the store. I love the Gro Baby diapering system already. It is a trim one size shell that you snap organic cotton pads into. You change out just the pad after baby pees, and the put in a fresh pad. I generally only needed to wash the shell after Braden would poop. There is a choice of snap or hook and loop closure. The only beef I have had with the system was a lack of colour choices! Functionally they are a great diaper. But Gro Baby is planning prints by the end of 2009, and I cant wait for those!

So I put Braden to work testing out these biodegradable inserts. Our first “cloth” diaper with Braden was the gDiaper system using their flushable inserts. So the concept is not new. And it is great that another company is coming to the green party of offering up choices for those who do not want to do laundry, or for travel and out and about. They inserts comes in two sizes. Given that Braden is 24 pounds at time of testing and wearing his Gro Baby diapers on the largest setting, we went with the size 2.

The biodegradable insert is very small when taken out of the pack folded (about 5 inches square), so they would pack into a diaper bag nicely and take up very little space. They are folded into thirds, and you unfold them and they look alot like the inside of a high end disposable diaper. They have a plastic back (which is biodegradable) and a paper front. There is a gusset edge on the pad for poop catching.

To put into the Gro Baby shell, you have to peel away the adhesive strips on the back. There is one at each end of the back of the pad. These stick to the mesh inner of the Gro Baby shell just fine. Its quite strong. A bit too strong in fact because I found if it gets a good hold on the snap at the back, you can tear the plastic backing of the diaper when trying to pull it off. This gets a tad tricky if the insert is full of poop!

The built in gusset does its job. I have not had any leaks with this insert in the Gro Baby shell. The pad holds quite a bit of pee too. We put it on Braden at nap time, the pad was full and heavy when I took it out after his nap. No leaks. Braden is a heavy wetting baby too.

I took the test a little further and tested the insert out in some other covers I have here. I tried it out in Otter Blotter covers and Thirsties Covers, and it worked well. If I placed the adhesives on the shiny side of PUL it did however stick a little too well and it was a little tough to get the insert out.

A pack costs $19.99, and there is 50 in a pack, so they work out to 40 cents each. So this system will cost you like a disposable does. BUT here is the big difference. This insert is compostable and biodegradable. Meaning it will not clog up a landfill for the next 500 years like a disposable will. You can also flush away the paper part of the unit. You still need to throw away the plasticy outter.

So what place will this have in Braden’s cloth diaper stash? For travel, for out and about, I will keep a couple in his diaper bag. Also when he gets a teething rash, I will use these as I don’t like to put creams on my cloth diapers as it can ruin them.

The addition of the Gro Baby Biodegradable Soaker pads to the Gro Baby line up makes them a very versatile cloth diapering system that should last most of baby’s diapering career.

Fitted diapers are a very affordable easy diapering choice. No folding needed like pre-fold diapers, and only a little bit more cost. To me that cost is worth not having to do any fancy folds.

The bum genius fitteds are sized, so that you get a good fit for your baby. It does mean that you will need to buy more as your baby moves up in sizes. But chances are they will not wear out on the first baby, so they will be good for future babies, or will resell really well. These diapers are made of a soft bamboo terry, and have easy to use velcro closures. They are actually quite a trim diaper, though your choice of cover may affect this. And yes, you will need a cover for these. I have tried quite a few covers with these and they work great with everything I have tried from Covered Caboose Wool covers, to Thirsties Covers, to Otter Blotter Covers.

Now in general I prefer a pocket diaper or an AIO or AI2 diaper to a fitted diaper, so they would not be my first recommendation for a diapering system to a customer in most situations. So when would I recommend them as a system? Well here is three times.

1. Cost. They can be a very cheap option. The Bum Genius Fitted Diapers are only $12.95 each. And you only need a couple of covers as you change the fitted diaper and only wash the cover if soiled.

2. Newborn. Most one size diapering systems are too big for most newborns and leaks will happen. A sized fitted diapering system is great for newborns. And the Bum Genius XSmall diaper has a little dip in the front for the cord. I know it can seem expensive to buy a set of diapers that will only last a month or two, but if you plan more than one child, these will last for more than one child. And if this is your last or only child, then you can sell the diapers used on places like diaperswappers.com. Those first couple of months after having a baby can be very tiring, and to me a good diaper system that is easy and leak free is a good thing to have. I know prefolds is the cheap way to go, but to me, folding and mucking around with them is not worth it when you have so many better options out there. When I had my first, they were the only option, but there is no way I am going backwards :) If you couple the XS Bum Genius Diaper with the XS Thirsties Cover which also has the cord cutout, you have a good little diapering system for a newborn.

3. Nighttime. A good fitted at night with a wool cover can be a great option. Now we did try the Bum Genius fitted at night, but it needed a g-flapper insert between the diaper and the cover to last the night.

One thing I did find about this diaper was it ran a little small and Braden was out of his medium before the recommended poundage even though his other mediums sized diapers were still fitting him.

Dream-Eze is made by the same folk who make the Gro-Baby. And when I put in a recent order for Gro-Baby, I bought one of these in a size large to try out on Braden who was around 16 months and 22 pounds at the time.

This diaper is an All-in-One diaper that closes with snaps. It has an organic cotton inner. It actually dries pretty well because there are two flaps that make up most of the inner lining. Those flaps are longer than the actual diaper so you need to fold them into the diaper. To my mind this makes it the ideal diaper for a boy as I fold the flaps into the front of the diaper. It does create a little bulk at the front because of this. It is also a bit challenging to tuck these folded flaps into the diaper when you are closing it up on a squirmy infant who thinks he has better things to do than get his butt changed :)

The snap closure has a double row of snaps so you don’t get bad “flap droop” that I found single row snap closing diapers tend to suffer from. Because of its many layers of absorbing cotton in the wet zone, I have found this diaper to be a good nap time diaper. I have not yet tried it at night. If I do, I will update this post accordingly.

This is a sized diaper, not a one size. The size large was a snug fit on Braden at around 22 pounds. This is a diaper you do not need to stuff or anything. But the flaps may confuse some care givers — like my husband. It is not one I would leave out for him to use because I can see him not getting all the flaps stuffed in correctly and we would end up getting leaks because of that.

The verdict on this diaper at time of writing. I like this diaper but not planning on adding it to the store at this time. I may do so in the future. I will however order it in for any customer who wants me to. If that happens, I will likely order them for the store at the same time. There is only one of this diaper in Braden’s stash at this time.

Otter Blotters have been going through a revamp, so I am reviewing the covers that I started selling. I still love them. I think the only con they had was there was no one size option. To me pretty much everything else about them was fantastic. Newer versions will be one size.

Otter Blotters – Original AI2 cover are a flexible cover. I have used them over fitted diapers, with the snap in pads that are made specifically for them. I have used them with g-diaper flushables when I was on a trip and when out and about. I have also laid in a g-flapper with success.

To me Otter Blotters are one of the more elite diapers I own. If I am going somewhere and I want to “advertise” with Braden’s butt, I will in general reach for one of his Otter Blotters first. They will generally grab someones attention, and once I tell them to pat his butt, generally they come back to do that again because the minky is irresitably soft. :)

Otter blotters AI2 original covers are made with an outer of cute super soft minky fabric, and have an inner waterproof PUL layer. There are leg gussets for extra leak protection. One of the unique things about this diaper is that the closures do not have any exposed loop to snag in the wash or on clothes being worn. And the tabs tuck in under a flap to prevent little hands from undoing their diaper. Because this is an AI2 system, the covers can be reused until soiled. When wet, just unsnap the pad and put in the diaper pail and snap in a fresh one.

The orginal snap in pads are very thick, which makes them take a little to dry. In summer this is ok, as they are just drying out on the line. In the winter time, after a bout in the dryer, they get to hang on the hanging octupus I bought from Ikea over night. They have a top lining of super soft bamboo velour. The pads is one of the things Debby has been working on for new versions of the Otter Blotter.

This diaper is one of my favourites, and this is evidenced by the fact Braden has over 8 of them (2 he has since grown out of). The only con for me is the fact they are sized, which in itself can be an advantage as a sized diaper can be a better fitting one.

I have had the pleasure of becoming good online friends with the creator of Otter Blotter, Debby Reed. Both of us started our diaper businesses at the same time, and we have been communicating back and forth about this journey we have been doing at the same time. Debby is wonderful to work with, and she has made several custom otter blotters for my customers. She will do applique on the butt for my customers, so if you have something in mind, and it is a do-able design, we will do our best for you. Debby is still on the quest for the perfect Otter Blotter. To be honest, I think she was pretty close with the AI2 orignal cover….

The G-Flapper is my own product. I came up with the G-Flapper when I was trying to find a cloth insert that worked really well in gDiapers. I found some that kind of worked, but realised I could sew better to fit. My first efforts had too many layers of cloth to cater to my heavy wetting son, and they took two rounds in the dryer to dry. So I came up with the flap system so that the insert would wash and dry better.

The ALL Bamboo G-Flapper is one of the later versions of my G-Flapper. I decided to try out heavy bamboo fleece as the bottom layer instead of hemp to see how the two would compare. I had customers test them out and fill in a survey for me, and the response was extremely positive. It is now one of my most popular G-Flappers. Many ask what is the difference between the organic flapper with hemp and this one with the bamboo fleece. Basically the bamboo is a more expensive fabric, hence the price difference. To me they absorb very similar, but the bamboo remains softer to the touch. Some customers tell me they think the bamboo absorbs better.

The ALL Bamboo G-Flapper is made up of two layers of HEAVY bamboo fleece (there are two main weights on the market and I use the heavy version), two layers of double bamboo terry (and many say this does the same job if not better than microfiber without the stink issues), and 1 layer of bamboo velour backed with a layer of single bamboo terry. I have the bamboo terry backing the velour to help keep it from shifting around everywhere because it is so silky soft. It also adds an extra layer of absorbency.

So here is what some of my customers have written to me and about the insert on various groups I am on:

Wendy writes “So I received my first “gflapper” the other day and have only washed it twice. I put it on dd around 2:30 pm while I was up in Maine, and forgot to change her until after we got home at 6:00 pm! I was slightly horrified when I realized that I hadn’t change her, and then I was simply stunned that it soaked up all her pee and no leaks anywhere! Thanks Sharni for such a wonderful product…..must go order more :)
P.S. It was the all bamboo one!”

Darlene writes “Hi Sharni-
Just wanted to share how much I LOVE the Bamboo G-Flappers! I purchased a tester version in March and loved it. (Unfortunately it was left at my inlaws out-of-state, never to be returned) As sure as it is everywhere, money has been tight, but I have never forgotten your inserts. I have been using the cheap Gerber inserts in which I would have to double up just to last us an hour of two. Slowly, my daughters thighs have been rubbed red as those inserts are so rough and had to be folded so thick. I finally got around to ordering bamboo g-flappers and can’t believe the difference! I continue to get ready the change her, to find that the third layer is still dry as could be. I feel so spoiled not having to change cloth diapers so frequently! In addition, the top layer of the inserts are SO soft! I feel guilty for subjecting my daughter to rough inserts for so long! Thank you for creating such a quality product! Cloth diapering is becoming more popular as the economy slows and I will continue to spread the word about your AMAZING inserts!”

Leslie writes “”I use nothing but G-Flappers from Nappy Shoppe. They are awesome and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! They hold up, are absorbent, fit the G’s perfectly, …I could go on and on.
I highly recommend them!”

Tina writes “The gFlappers™ at www.nappyshoppe.com are awesome!! I am a huge fan of Organic Bamboo Velour and she makes the top layer with that. It’s a 3 layer insert, all sewn together at one end so it also drys really quickly as well!”

So yes I know these G-Flappers are the most expensive in my line up. But when combined with the G-Diaper system they still come out dramatically cheaper than any disposable system. And cheaper than some other cloth diaper systems.

And yes I have customers who love to use them in their pocket diapers too :)

Drybees Gone Natural Bamboo Diaper is new in 2009. It is a fitted diaper made out of soft organic bamboo fleece. It comes in two sizes, and within those sizes you can adust the diaper to fit your baby better with the typical one size snap system. The diaper closes with snaps as well.

It has two bamboo flaps that are attached at each end of the diaper. With my boy I am able to fold the one attached at the front so that I have extra layers in the front where he needs it most.

By the time this diaper came out Braden was in the Size 2. I am about to relegate this diaper to the too small basket. At 23 pounds he is wearing it on its largest setting with the one size, and and on the widest snap setting. This diaper runs very small, so I do not really agree with the sizing recommendations of this diaper. It claims to fit up to 36 pounds!

However that being said, the size 1 version of this diaper makes a great newborn diaper. Julie of Rumparooz used this diaper on her son born in early 2009. She said it was one of the best fitting newborn diapers she had. So I would recommend the smaller size for newborns, and they will keep being useful beyond the tiny newborn stage unlike some sized diapers for newborn that most newborns grow out of by 10 or so pounds.

This diaper does require a cover. I have used it with the Thirsties cover and Thirsties DUO cover, Covered Caboose Wool Cover, and the Otter Blotter cover.

I give this diaper a 3.5 out of 5. Kudos for being organic, soft bamboo, covering a range of sizes and great for newborns (size 1). Losing a point for not going up to anywhere near its boasted size of 36 pounds for the size 2. The extra half a point is because some diapers that boast going up to this size still fit Braden and it remains to be seen as to if they will get there, this diaper has proven it wont at 23 pounds.

must confess I have alot of the Bum Genius Organic One Size AIO Diapers in my Stash. Around 10. For a diaper to make it into the store, there is more than one in my stash. It means I believe in the diaper’s effectiveness, and I believe in this diaper.

This diaper is an All in One. It has been constructed in such a way that it doesn’t take forever to dry like some All in One diapers I have tried. It doesn’t dry as quick as a pocket diaper would but quick enough for me.

It has an organic cotton inner and this absorbs well. And it is one of the trimmest diapers in my stash. It is often one of the diapers I reach for when we are going to be heading out and I am not sure I am going to get to change Braden as I would like. And I can get all of his clothes over it easily. The other reason for so many of them is that it is very daddy friendly, or it was. It used to come in velcro, which is how most of mine close. And my husband is more comfortable with velcro than snaps. But he did cope OK with the snaps when he had to. So this diaper did lose some of its daddy friendliness when it moved to snap closure only.

That being said, the velcro will wear out eventually. I have extended the life of mine by cleaning out the velcro and using hook tape over the top of them to hold them on. Bum Genius will send replacement velcro so you are not out of pocket hunting for velcro tabs that work when velcro does die.

Bum Genius moved to snaps because they do not have the wear out over time issues that velcro has.

This diaper is also a one size diaper, though I don’t think it will work on smaller newborns until they put on a pound or two. It should last to potty training depending on the build of your little one. My little man at 23 pounds is pudgy and comfortably wearing it on its largest setting.

Being an All in one this diaper does not require stuffing or anything. You just wash and reusing with no extra work. This is a great cloth diaper to get if you do not want to do more work than necessary. Basically you only have to wash and dry them every 2-3 days and you are done with any kind of work.

I give this diaper a 5 out of 5 and fully recommend it.

I had heard good things about this diaper, so I applied to become retailer before trying.  Something I don’t normally do.  Well thankfully, I didn’t regret that decision.

Gro-Baby is an outer cover that uses snap in organic cotton pads.  It is a one size cover that should work from about newborn to around 30 pounds.  I am not sure its going to make it to 30 pounds, we shall see.  At writing Braden is around 22 pounds and wearing it on the largest setting.

When changing a wet diaper, you just unsnap the pad, and re-use the cover.  I tend to use another diaper rather than using the cover right away.  I like to air covers out between uses.  Generally after a poopy diaper, you need to wash the cover too.  I find a ratio of buying one shell set and one pad set is a good way to go.  This gives you a cover, 3 pads and a booster.

I have had one customer with a heavy wetting 1.5 year old tell me that she gets the gro-baby diaper to last through the night with the booster pad, and another found she couldn’t get through the night at all.  I have not tried it at night myself.  Best I can get is a good nap out of it. 

I like this diaper for a day time choice.  It is trim fitting, so its great for fitting smaller clothes on his butt.  I used it when travelling with g-diaper flushable inserts.  At the end of Aug 2009, they will be coming out with their own bio-degradable inserts.  I will try them out and review them seperately.  If they are good, I will work out if I have the space to stock them in the store :)

Pros:

Trim fitting

Cost Effective with only needing to buy pads rather than complete diapers.

One Size

Comes in Snaps or Velcro

Cons

Only 4 colour choices

May or may not last to 30-35 pounds.  Remains to be seen.

Score 5/5 and stocked in the store.