Raise your hand if you’re ever satisfied with your nighttime cloth diaper routine?

Mine’s not raised.  Trust me I loved the Sustainablebabyish bamboo fitteds but one day I just up and decided to sell them all.  I’m strange like that.

It wasn’t until the night after I shipped them off that I realized I had put myself into a desperate situation.  I don’t know about you but I have to really trust a diaper before I’ll use it at night.  I mean, do I really want to change a diaper in the middle of the night or worse my sheets??

No.

So when I received the new Tiny Tush Trim 4.0 hemp fitted I was nervous.  There’s no sweat using it during the day.  The worst that happens is a change of clothes.  I put it to an extreme daytime test, however.

Hold that thought. Let me tell you a little bit about the Tiny Tush Trim 4.0 hemp fitted first.

• Extremely adjustable.  The Tiny Tush trim fitted is designed to be used from the newborn stage (without the snap in liner), to the crawler stage and on to toddler-hood.  The snap in liner can also be used inside a newborn cover as a diaper. No doubt that with Sterling this will be a true one-size. Plenty of room to grow and it fits in the waist. An annoyance that comes with one-sized diapers and tiny waists.
• Very soft organic cotton/hemp fabric.  100% hemp would be stiff and scratchy.  The addition of 20% organic cotton to the blend results in a squishy soft (not bamboo soft but cozy sweatshirt soft) and stretchy fabric.
• Super trim. The Tiny Tush trim fitted lives up to it’s name.  Even with the rise snapped down and the snap-in folded in the front, the diaper is t.r.i.m.  This is the beauty of hemp.You need less layers to get the job done.
• Absorbent. As expected with hemp, the absorbency is excellent.  Hemp is a naturally anti-bacterial, super absorbent fiber that is grown free of pesticides and fertilizers.  This site has some great information on hemp.
• Hidden snaps. Beautiful.
• Workhorse. Pretty cloth diapers are great but everyone needs a diaper that you could literally put through a ringer 100x and it still functions.  Hemp is the fabric for that.  Durability is a great thing for a one-sized diaper. I know a few one-sized brands that unfortunately break down well before the child outgrows them.
• AFFORDABLE!! I just noticed that my friend LeAnn of Gigglebritches is selling the Tiny Tush Trim 4.0 for an introductory price of $16.15!!!! (Half dozen for $93.90!) Guys, that is an amazing price for a one-sized cloth diaper.
• Made in the USA.

Back to my daytime use marathon.  I put the Tiny Tush trim fitted on Sterling late morning.  He took a nap, woke up during lunch preparation, after lunch we had to quickly leave the house while Daddy hosted a webinar, played at the park–oh, oops forgot to change his diaper– came home, griped at encouraged the kids to clean up their playroom and finally realized that I had not changed his diaper in a long time (long like this sentence).

I remember feeling his diaper periodically thinking that it didn’t “feel” wet.  Obviously, this is a tactic I learned from sposie days because this trick doesn’t work with a cloth diaper. Duh.

Anyways, I finally change his diaper and although very wet there was still room for more wetness.  The very back of the Tiny Tush Trim was dry.  Not bad. If it lasted all day then I trusted it for nighttime.

I have since used it every night that it is clean.  Which is about 2x/week.  Tiny Tush Trim 4.0 hemp cloth diapers will require a few washes to reach full absorption potential.  I began using mine after 1 wash and have seen a steady increase in it’s fluffiness.

These are fitted diapers so they do require a cover.  I have used So Simple, Thirsties and Flip over the Tiny Tush Trim 4.0.  Because of the uber-trimness any cover will most likely work.  You can even tuck in the “ruffles” if they happen to overhang the cover.

In celebration of the March 1st release of the new Tiny Tush Trim 4.0 hemp, Charlene (Tiny Tush creator) has offered to giveaway 1 to one of you!

Entry is simple…Just follow the rules…you can do it…SEPARATE COMMENTS.

1. What is your current nighttime diaper?
2. Hop on over to Twitter and follow Tiny Tush. www.twitter.com/tinytush
3. Become a fan of Tiny Tush on Facebook (and if you win post a picture when you receive it!)
4. Place my banner on your blog or link to me on your favorite forum (cloth diaper or other).

I will randomly select a winner on Monday March 15, 2010 and will post it at the bottom of my next blog post.  Winner will be contacted via email.  God bless!

I am such a huge fan of Rumparooz cloth diapers.  I’ve even rubbed this love off on a friend of mine who now has 8 for her 2 year old!

Julie and her family have been blessed with an amazing success story.  She shares a bit of it with us in her video Birth of Rumparooz.

If you’d like to purchase a Rumparooz cloth diaper you may do so directly from Rumparooz or from one of her many retailers.

I’d also be blessed if you would take a minute to answer an 8 question survey. Once you have answered the 8 questions you will have the opportunity to add your name and email and be entered into a drawing for a NEW Goodmama bamboo fitted. This is a special Goodmama I won from the Goodmama blog and I’d love to pass it on to you. Click the link below to get started.

Cloth diapers are the healthiest diapering choice for your baby. They are the most environmentally friendly diaper.  And believe it or not they are the best for your budget.

I get plenty of comments from moms wondering how in the world people buy $40, $25 and even $17 cloth diapers.  Not everyone is going to be able to buy $20+ cloth diapers but price isn’t what matters.  It’s the fact that you have stopped doing what everyone else is doing and considered that there is something better.

How do most people stumble onto cloth diapers? Did your venture into cloth diapers go something like this?

1. A mom or dad discovers something shocking: gel crystals on baby, the enormous amount of disposables filling the Diaper Genie every week, the Quick Books column titled “Diapers” that is surpassing the “Auto” category…
2. They look for alternatives. Perhaps a Google search using “disposable diaper alternatives” or “natural diapers”.  They’ll probably discover G-diapers.
3. Once they research g-diapers they discover real cloth diapers.  Then they hit a wall called choices.  Almost every new user emails me saying they are completely overwhelmed.

That’s pretty close to how it went for me.  (3 Reasons I Cloth Diaper)

So, now that you have decided to cloth diaper you attempt to maintain your zeal for this new world while navigating the millions of cloth diaper websites.  It’s so easy to keep doing what you’ve been doing. Sure, disposable diapers cost a ton, sit in a landfill and contain nasty chemicals but it’s comfortable. We all do it in some area of our lives and it’s never a good thing.

But, I’m not going to let you do that.  Just like I wouldn’t let you eat Little Debbie’s treats or buy an item I knew you couldn’t afford.  The whole point of this blog is to make the choices easier for you.

Here are ways that you can start cloth diapering on a budget:

Make them: Check out this post listing many sites on how to make cloth diapers.  Diaperkit.com is the one I would start with first.  She has a sale box on the homepage that includes kits and patterns.

Buy used: Once you’ve narrowed down a system or even some brands that you’d like to try go to a site like www.diaperswappers.com, www.swapmama.com or www.hyenacart.com/spotscorner to find second hand items.  If you’re grossed out by the thought of used cloth diapers you can always wash them in some bleach when you receive them. If you have friends that cloth diaper ask them if they have a couple you could borrow to try out.  I’ve seen many great deals on Craigslist as well.

Start small: The ideal number of cloth diapers to have on hand is a minimum of 12.  However, you can easily get by with a lot less especially if your child is a year or older.  When we began cloth diapering, at one point I was using 4 Happy Heiny’s for 90% of my stash.  I had few prefolds and prowraps that I could use in a pinch but I preferred to use the HH.  Needless to say, I did laundry 2x a day

Buy new: You could buy a stash of made in China cloth diapers off Ebay like Coolababy, Sun Baby or Sweet Baby but you are taking a big risk.  Reviews are iffy on whether they are worth it or not.  They are super cheap though and would make a great re-gift to someone in need when you buy better ones.  These will work they just won’t be leak proof, so change often.

Purchase a system like Econobums and Flips.  For $100 you’d have enough to last more than a day.  You’d run a small load every night and have them ready in the morning.

For birthdays, Christmas and anniversary ask for money to purchase diaper packages from sites like Cloth Diaper Superstore, Banana Peels Diapers, Kelly’s Closet or Great Lakes Diaper Company.  And don’t forget about tax returns and garage sales.  Of course, I wouldn’t recommend you purchase a package of cloth diapers that you’ve never tried first.

Enter every cloth diaper giveaway you can find.  And trust me there are plenty. Check out Emi @ The Cloth Diaper Report or Kelly @ The Cloth Diaper Whisperer to find many opportunities for winning cloth diapers.

Join the Baby Half Off facebook fan page and know what the next deal is first! www.babyhalfoff.com

Finally, Kelly’s Closet has a page called “Diaper Value“.  This page contains many cloth diaper choices all under $15.  Check out the sales page on each of the listed sites.  Sometimes cloth diaper makers discontinue a style and you can get the old one for really cheap.

For my recommendations on prefolds and covers see my post How To Start Cloth Diapering On a Budget.

Sometimes I have zero self control.  Zero.  I haven’t had the need to really purchase any cloth diapers over the past year.  But, there are times when a diaper looks so enticing I just have to try it.

One day I noticed that Banana Peels Diapers tweeted that they had just listed some Goodmama The One cloth diapers.  So I bought one- The Jungle One.

Is it squishy soft like Goodmama’s are famous for? Of course.

Is it worth the $28.00? No.

I can name a dozen or more cloth diapers that are just as cute, more absorbent, better fitting, trimmer and easier to put on.

I have yet to buy a Goodmama cloth diaper (fitted or AIO) that doesn’t have at least one snap that is broken or less than perfect.  That’s crazy.  Some people complain about crooked or uneven stitching but at least the diaper still functions!

I get so frustrated when I’m trying to hold Sterling down and I can’t get a snap to snap! Plus, I have to fold down the rise and it never stays even.

Once the diaper is finally on, Sterling usually gets to wear it about 45 minutes before the wicking gets me wet.  GRRRRRR.

Really?! $28 for a cloth diaper that leaves him and I wet?  Bum Genius Organics run about $24.95 and they don’t leak. I’ve left one of them on for 5 hours and only then did it leak.  Anne Marie Padorie AIOs cost $20 (CAD) and I’ve never had a leak.

Perhaps it has to do with the turned & top-stitched seams.  Most all-in-ones I’ve used that are T&T wick.

My advice, if you are on a budget don’t splurge on The One.  If you have money to throw away…donate it   I am fully aware that there are hundreds of cloth diapering families out there that LOVE Goodmamas.  That’s great, every child is different.  But, my goal is to prevent emotional purchases that you may regret.

As always, let me know your thoughts.

If you have more than one child it didn’t take you long to realize how very different each child is.  Different personalities, different sleep patterns and different body shapes.

I’ve had a variety of body shapes with my children.  Haley was long and skinny. Haven had a skinny waist but chunky thighs.  Paisley was well endowed all over.  Sterling is missing the fat all over.

Just like a shirt that fits me probably won’t fit you, cloth diapers that worked for Paisley most likely won’t work for Sterling.

That doesn’t mean that all cloth diapers are meant only for skinny babies or chunky babies.  There are many that accommodate both.  But, for that nice, snug fit on those precious stick legs you want to know in advance the cloth diaper you are about to buy is going to hold in the output.

Here are cloth diapers that I have used in the last 11 months on Sterling and how they have faired on a baby with no waist and tiny thighs:

1) Softbums. Perfect thigh fit due to the toggle adjustment. Crossover tabs provided a tight waist fit with no puckering/gapping.

2) Rumparooz. Awesome fit with skinny thighs. Gapping at waist, front puckers.

3) Mutts (Muttaqin Baby). Used from birth to 4months. No leaks out the thighs or waist.

4) Grasshopper Cloth diapers. Tight fit at thighs. Side snapping allows the front panel to lay flat with no sagging.

5) BumGenius Organic and Flip Cloth Diapers. With double rows of snaps I get a good leg fit but often have bunching due to tightening the waist as far as it can. Sterling wears these on the medium setting.

6) Goodmama. Not my favorite. I have to crossover the tabs as far as possible then I get bunching. (review of The One coming soon!)

7) Katydid. Love em. The wing droop snap is a little off center but who cares! I love the fact that I actually have this option.  I get the best fit on Sterling when I use a Katydid. (review coming soon!)

8 ) Envibum. Covers: not the best for skinny babes. Pocket AIO: at 19lbs I get a perfect fit.

9) Huggabuns One Size pocket.  Huge. Even on the smallest waist setting it’s too big. This diaper would be excellent for chunky babies.

10) Bottomstoppers. Love the waist adjustability with the aplix version.  I am able to get a tight fit with no gaps.

11) Cutiepoops. Very snug, compact fit. Nice. (review coming soon!)

12) Marvels One Size Diaper Cover (kissaluvs). Better for a medium sized to chunky baby.

13) Happy Heiny’s One Size snap cover. Similar to Marvel, not the best choice for skinny baby.

14) So Simple Stacinator cover.  Great choice.  At 19lbs Sterling wears the small with a perfect fit.

15) Sustainablebabyish Bamboo fitted. Great waist and thigh fit. Lower rise diaper, tight elastic, crossover snaps.

16) Thirsties covers. Order small! Sterling can literally swim laps in his medium Thirsties cover. A size small would be just right.  Internal gussets are a necessity.

17) Weehuggers. Loved the fit, absorbency wasn’t enough.

18) Anne Marie Padorie I wasn’t a big fan of the pocket but love the AIO. I’m still using it today (7 months later!) and there are no stink problems and the fit is what you’d want- snug.

19) Apple Cheeks cloth diapers.Awkward fit on a 2.5 month old skinny baby.

20) Grobaby. Initially loved them. The fit is great but the re-usability of the shell became an issue for me.

21) Sposoeasy AIO. Puckering at waist led to wicking. Trim and easy to use though.

22) Little Bear Bums. Couldn’t get a tight fit in the legs but the snappi provided a good fit at the waist.

23) Sustainablebabyish Snapless multi. Maybe it’s me but again, as with LBB, I couldn’t get a tight thigh fit but the waist was great.

There are a few features that are a must when it comes to preventing a saggy cloth diaper on a skinny child: crossover snaps/tabs, 2 rows of snaps (one for waist, one for thighs), a way to shorten the rise or a shorter rise sized diaper, front elastic and wing-droop snaps.  There isn’t a perfect cloth diaper for every skinny baby but looking for a couple of these features will get you in the right direction.  Usually if a cloth diaper doesn’t work for Sterling it is due to the poor fit at the waist.  Bunching, puckering, wicking are all common problems with a small waisted child.

These are just the cloth diapers I could recall using in the last 11 months, what are some that I am missing that you love on your skinny baby?

Come on! Who wouldn’t want to spice up their laundry routine?!

I wasn’t exactly looking for a change to my routine but while I was shopping on one of my favorite sites, Alice.com, I stumbled upon the True Green Laundry Washing Ball

I know what you’re thinking. Didn’t she try out a Laundry Ball about a year and a half ago and not end up liking it? Yes, I did.

But, this company had a video…a very convincing video (I posted it below).  I took the bait and bought 2 plus the dryer balls.  It’s research after all , someone has to test it out and see if it is really as good as they make it sound.

I’m going to use it for 45 days and let you know how it’s going.  Then, I’ll update you in about 6 months.  In the meantime, if you haven’t checked out Alice.com you should. It’s been very convenient for me and I couldn’t resist the free $10 and free shipping–but be stronger than me and don’t add things to your cart you don’t really need

When I research cloth diapers reviews aren’t the only factor I consider.  As a matter of fact, the moms behind the diaper can lead me to buy without even reading a single review.

That will be the case with Envibum cloth diapers for many of you.  Sure, I’ll give you my review but first I want you to “meet” the Envibum wahms and hear their mission.

Rachel Sibel is the brilliant designer and seamstress who created Envibum. She took a minute to share with me how Envibum came to be.

I am a mother of three with our 4th on the way. I started cloth diapering 13 years ago with my first. I have been a streamstress for over 20 years making everything from custom wedding dresses to drapes. My daughter was my first to try my handcrafted diapers and I had a lot of years to perfect the design.

I am a practical parent with a focus on natural. So I have always used cotton for my baby’s bum. Easy wash and care was and is a must for my family. Early last year I was rocking our newborn son while praying for some of our friends as the Lord lead.

I felt God telling me to make and sell the diapers I had made for all my children. I said out loud, “Is that You Lord?” It was such a clear thought that I was either going crazy or I was being given a vision and an assignment. I said, “OK God lets talk about it.” So I as I sat rocking and praying I blurted out the name “envibum” and then laughed out loud at the realization that I was just given the name of our new company.

I told my sister first about all that I was feeling. I knew I had to run it by her as a litmus test before telling my husband how our life was going to change forever. She was so excited and as we talked I jokingly said, “ya, our tag line should be helping families grow healthy, wealthy, and dry.” She responded with, “yes, it should be!” I sat my husband down and told him the news that God was calling us to make diapers.(I laugh now at how little I knew about what God had in store for us.)

My husband was on board immediately and as we talked we got more and more excited! We got to work right away and everything fell into place. We have mostly grown from word of mouth. We have an awesome group of moms that have lended their babies and time for testing and perfecting.

We now ship our diapers all over the world. Our focus is babies health and helping families. We love the benefits of saving the Earth but feel investing in people’s lives is where God’s heart is. We use the highest quality of fabrics and my perfectionism in sewing comes out in our quality checks all along the way. We have wonderful seamstresses who put their love into each diaper as much as their talent.

We are blessed to have families cloth diaper with envibum. We are doubly blessed to be able to give to those in need at the same time! We are always prayerfully looking for new ways to give. Giving monetarily with each diaper purchased and giving a mom4mom cover to a mom and baby in need with each one purchased encourages us to get the word out about envibum. We truly are thankful for all our envibum parents and worldwide family. God bless.

The Envibum cloth diaper is a super luscious green minky outer with a waffle organic cotton inner.  It is a one-sized all-in-one with a pocket for adding extra absorbency.  I love that Envibum provides us with a one-sized diaper without all the snaps and adjustments.

Sterling is almost 1 , 19.5lbs, and 32″ long.

The fit is snug and absorbency has been great.  Most of all I love the color and feel!

Envibum also has the mom4mom cover, which I feel is a must-have in every stash. You can’t mess it up! I have had many issues with “rinse and reuse” covers not really being “rinse and reuse”.  Either the binding gets wet or the fabric part.  The mom4mom cover is completely encased and only PUL is exposed.  This allows for a true rinse and immediately reuse cover.  A meager $130 is all it would take for you to cloth diaper your baby for many, many months.  (2 covers + 12 t-shaped liners are listed at $129.99 www.envibum.com)

Check out what Rachel has to say about the mom4mom covers:

I am very excited about this cloth diaper.  Not just because it’s a great product but because they have a heart for giving back to those in need.  When you check out their site look for the red Envibum! They will donate $2 to the Salvation Army in assistance to Haitians for every red Envibum you purchase.

Thank you, Envibum, for donating your products for me to try out!

** CONTEST CLOSED! CONGRATULATIONS, LISA AND EMILY! **

When I did my research for the best cloth diapers for nighttime I noticed that many of you love the So Simple covers.  I felt a little left out

Was I missing out on a cloth diaper cover that would change my life??  Um…Not likely, but I still wanted to try it.

I contacted LeAnn of Gigglebritches to see if she would be interested in a So Simple review.  She graciously sent me one to try and one of you will win one too!

The fit of the So Simple cover is a little clownish.  I’m okay with clownish if it performs well.

You can cut down on the clown look by ordering on the small end.  I ordered a medium for Sterling and it was huge! LeAnn swapped it for me and the small fits much better.

As expected, the cover performed well.  I haven’t had many PUL covers that didn’t hold in everything.  Good for me (only for review purposes), Sterling had a monster poo and it escaped the diaper.  Thankfully it did not come out of the So Simple cover.

So why would you want to buy a So Simple cover if it’s just like any other PUL cover?

1. The fleece waist and legs.  Imagine how much more comfortable that is for baby than tight elastic!
2. The So Simple cover can be used as a pull-up cover, then if necessary — like the poop incident– can be unsnapped.

Are there any disadvantages to the So Simple cover?

The fleece holds a urine smell so I wash it after nighttime use.  That is the only time I have used it.  Daytime use may allow for multiple uses. Also, size may be an issue for some.  Sterling is clearly in the medium size range, however, the small fits much better.

I can’t imagine that there is a cloth diaper that wouldn’t work with a So Simple cover.  With generous room, even the poofiest nighttime cloth diaper booty would fit.

I am very grateful for LeAnn offering to give away a So Simple to one of my readers.  Here’s how to enter:

**PLEASE use separate comments IF you want more than one entry.  If not then put all your entries in one comment

1. Enter your name and what size So Simple you think your baby needs
2. Tell me what product LeAnn carries at Gigglebritches that you would like to try (besides the So Simple).
3. Refer a friend to All About Cloth Diapers.  I trust you so just let me know you’ve spread the word.  My goal with this blog is to make cloth diapering as easy as possible for everyone.

~God Bless~

I’ve tried dozens and dozens of different cloth diaper brands.  Most have at least one feature that is just right but the other features disappoint.

If I could design the perfect cloth diaper what would it look like?

Here are my favorite features from cloth diapers I have used:

• Softbums toggle rise adjustment.  Genius. No snaps, easy to adjust, perfect fit.*

• Rumparooz gussets. Genius again. The “poop scoop” works 100% of the time. No leaks.*

• Stretchy tabs like Bum Genius. Gives you that extra stretch for a snug waist.*

• Crossover snaps like Preston Pants and Katydid. Should be a standard addition on diapers.  A must have for skinny kids.

• Adorable and original prints like Goodmama and Rumparooz.

• Trifolding snap-in insert like Grasshopper AIOs. Easy to add a doubler and allows for quick dry.

• Elastic not just in the back (pretty standard) but in the front. Again a must for skinny kids and a bonus for boys. Baby Softwraps has this feature on the AI2 design.
• Trim like Grasshoppers and Bum Genius Organic AIO while still providing absorbency.

In summary:

If it’s a pocket: one sized, internal rise adjustment or strong rise snaps that won’t unsnap when diapering, stretchy snap tabs, wide pocket in the front, elastic in front and back, soft microfleece inner, bamboo/microfiber insert like the super-do and gussets like Rumparooz.

If it’s an AIO: one sized, strong rise snaps that won’t unsnap when diapering, stretchy snap tabs, snap-in trifold insert, natural fibers, hidden snaps, trim, gussets are still possible (I laid my Grasshopper insert in the Rumparooz shell to test), front snapping with crossover snaps and a creative, colorful PUL/snap selection.

I haven’t yet found the perfect solution for wing-droop.  Sterling gets it on almost every diaper.  I know there are snap options on some brands but I don’t like the idea of an exposed snap when the child no longer needs it.  Perhaps longer front panel wings would work.

What does your perfect cloth diaper look like? And if you get inspired by my list and create my perfect diaper, I get to try it first! *Of course, a couple of my favorite features are patent pending and out of respect for their creativity I ask that you not duplicate it exactly!

I love it!! It’s by  Mr. Mike Sings and it’s called I Use Cloth. Way cute!

My favorite line => “My baby’s backside is cute even if it’s covered in poop.” HAHAHA

Here are the lyrics:

Your baby poops and your baby pees,
Every time she sits on your knees.
You want solutions? You want answers? Well, I got ‘em.
Stop letting that child crawl around your house bare-bottomed.

Try those disposables; Look, Ma, no more tears.
So what if they sit in a landfill for so, so many years?
But there’s something else out there for you,
If you want to give it a try.
They can fit on your newborn, your crawler, your walker,
Or you can buy ‘em, One Size.

Try using cloth – they’re amazing.
And they come in different colors.
If you use cloth, imagine the savings.
Don’t worry if you annoy your mother.

There are so many styles to try.
There are so many brands to buy.
If you use cloth, the limit’s the sky.
And I can’t imagine why,
You wouldn’t use cloth.

They’re great for when I’m at home or when I go outside.
(I use cloth)
My baby’s bottom isn’t something I’m always trying to hide.
(I use cloth)
They’re great for during the day.
They’re absorbent for overnight, too.
(I use cloth)
My baby’s backside is cute even if it’s covered in poo.

I gotta tell you something, darling, that don’t worry me:
I don’t mind it at all when my baby poops or pees.
I got something so soft and snuggly on my baby’s bottom.
I don’t need no diaper pins, no rubber pants – so don’t think I forgot ‘em.

I’ve added his link to buy his cd. I don’t receive anything if you buy it, nor is he even aware that I am promoting his product.