One Size Diaper Project–16 Weeks–12 pounds, 15 oz

When I am looking into buying a one-size diaper, I am always wondering how the baby looks as he/she is growing  in the diaper. For example, how does it work during the skinny-legged days? What about during a chunky phase? What about going into toddlerhood? Because of this, I decided to start up a One Size Diaper Project. For this project, I will be posting pictures of my baby in one size diapers. I hope to update it bi-weekly so you can see how he is growing into different one size diapers.

If you are a blogger, you can include your link below in the comments and direct people to your blog to check it out.

Wow time is flying SO quickly! I love seeing the chunks grow on my formerly skinny-legged boy. Right now I am a HUGE fan of the diapers that have a snap down rise because they are so easy to adjust between my two kids. Before I would pack about a dozen diapers per kid, with lots for backup. I am also finding that it is much easier for people who watch my kids to just say, “Unsnap it for “Sprout”, keep it snapped for “Stalk.” Therefore, the BG Elemental is working great for daycare and absorbency. I love the fit of the GroVia AI2 and Softbums Echo right now.

What do you think looks like the best fit? What is your experience with any of these?

Gro Via AI2

Tiny Tush Pocket

Dinkledooz

 

Bumgenius Elemental AIO

Softbums Echo

Softbums Omni

Rocky Mountain Diaper

Bottom Bumpers One Size AIO

Bugga Bugga Boutique AIO

Baby Kicks Pocket

Wahmies Pocket

Gro Via AIO

Itti Bitti Tutto

Go Green Pocket

AMP Pocket

Oh Katy Pocket

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Bumgenius Elemental One Size Diaper Review

Before I jump into this review, I want to briefly discuss HOW reviews here are composed. I have two main beliefs when it comes to diaper reviews: (1) For every diaper, there is a baby out there that it works well for. Therefore, reviews at Padded Tush Stats emphasize what kinds of babies certain diapers work well for, and perhaps struggles some people may have with a diaper. Since I include both the praises of the diaper and the issues people had, you can expect a pretty honest review. (2) People (including myself) can give up on a diaper because of a certain issue without even troubleshooting with the makers of the diaper. I have found that the makers provide a lot of great tips. That is why all reviews are shown to the owner with the option for them to provide comments; however, I DO NOT change any answers, I simply give them a chance to add a comment.
Padded Tush Stats recently released surveys for the Bumgenius Elemental One Size All in One Diaper. After numerous calls for survey respondents on social networking sites, blogs, and cloth diapering community forums, we received 27 responses.
In the survey, questions are broken down by the kinds of diapering issues faced by the babies. Before we look at the results of the survey, I wanted to provide some basic information on the diaper. You can also see this in the video found below.

Video Review

The diaper has six layers of 100% Organic Cotton. The outside is made of PUL. The tabs stretch to make putting on the diaper easier and the diaper fastens with snaps. The diaper has a 3X3 snap down rise to ensure a fit on babies 7 to 35 pounds. The diaper comes in nine different colors.
Let’s look into the stats on this diaper.

Main Findings:

The diaper seems to fit a wide range of babies (both skinny and chunky). The diaper is not often used as a night-time diaper. One of the main concerns with the diaper is that if the layers are not rolled in then there are definitely leaks. People were very impressed with the fact that it is an organic insert. Respondents were conflicted about the drying time; some felt that the layers allowed for a short drying time, while others felt that it took too long.

Pros (asterisks for more popular responses)
Organic***
Soft
One Size
Easy to put on**
Absorbent**
Cute
Trim**
Great for Out and About
Layered soaker allows for faster drying****
Strong snaps
No Stuffing
Well made*
Cons
Cost**
Extra Long drying time***
Diaper fits a bit small
Tough to spray poop out of separate layers
Leg of diaper rolls out to cause leaks**
Snaps don’t allow for best fit at waist
Snaps break
Cotton starting to wear away at leg gathers
Starting to wear away pretty quickly*
Inside gets bunched up
Bulky
No cross over snaps
Only offered in snaps
Rise not high enough**



Comments from Survey Respondents
“This is a wonderful diaper for out and about, daycare, relatives, whatever.”
“I usually use a fleece liner to make ds feel dryer and it makes poop clean up way easier and reduces stains.”
“MUST roll in any white cotton around legs to avoid leaks.”
“You have to fold the layers (fold in front for boys and in back for girls). I feel like the fold is a hard, uneven spot so I fold the two layers separately and carefully to make the diaper feel even when I'm holding my baby.”
“when combined with a flip stay dry insert, this makes an excellent overnight diaper”
Pricing
$24.95
Bumgenius Diapers are made in the United States and Egypt
Where to buy them
* Bum Covered Diapers has these diapers available. They provided these diapers for review.
* There is a great thread at Diaper Swappers that tells you other places where you can get get free shipping.
* On the right hand side you will see a Kelly's Closet affiliate link. They have free shipping with orders over $49 and they most often have a free diaper with $39 purchase. I did not purchase from this store prior to my affiliation.
* If you know of other vendors that sell these at a decent price and have good customer service, feel free to let us know in the comments section.

Are you a Bumgenius Elemental owner? Feel free to complete a survey if you haven’t already. Completion of surveys here at Padded Tush Stats give you extra entries in our giveaways.
* I was not compensated for reviewing this product, but I did receive a Bumgenius Elemental from Bum Covered Diapers to Review. But this post contains my honest opinions.

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Flats and Handwashing Challenge–The Finale

 

As I was wrapping up the challenge, hubbs said to me, “You are going to be brutally honest, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you are going to tell them that this sucks, right?” [pardon the harsh language!]

“Yes. Yes I will.”

So there ya have it. Last week felt like an ETERNITY. It gave me such a great appreciation for the people out there who have to do this. But, I also felt like it was an amazing learning experience. I feel like I am so much more knowledgeable about cloth diapering on a budget. I even contacted a local Community Service organization to offer my services for teaching about cloth diapering (and to see if anyone is in need of a flat donation)—haven’t heard back yet….bummer.

I am going to put a summary here of the things I have learned through this whole experience. I gotta say, some good stuff came out of this. I am now using FLATS FOR NIGHTTIME! You got that right. I use the diaper bag fold with a pad fold inside of it for leak-free nights. Fitteds were working for me (as well as a Ragababe with an insert laid over top OR a bumgenius 4.0 with a Superdo stuffed inside), but I found that flats didn’t trap the stink in (Hubbs, who is on NIGHT duty, still puts on the Ragababes and Bungeniuses, but I use a flat whenever I get the chance).

So, without further to do, here is my summary of things I learned:

* Diaper Bag fold = LOVE
* Use rubber gloves when wringing diapers dry
* Put plunger into tub at an angle to get diapers moving around
* Connect covers to one another and hang on shower rod
* Pad folding another flat into diaper bag fold made it stand up during night time.

* Make sure diapers can really spread apart when drying

* Padfold works well for little baby, but diaper bag fold works better for older baby

* Have a stash basket so you can easily transport diapers between rooms

* I should probably have a bigger stash if I were to do this full time. I LOVE this post from Milk Bubbles Blog about someone doing all of this for free. If I did this full time I would probably use some of her great tips like using sheets! It would at least be nice to have a few backups for instances like this where stuff isn’t dried in time. OK and I will confess, my back is KILLING ME from wringing out diapers for (what felt like) an hour tonight. I would love to just do this every other day!

* Step on diapers to dry
* Ask for advice
* Enjoy your kids, no matter how many diapers are damp

* Turn the flats upside down when drying (so unpin it and take that which is hanging from the bottom and pin that part)
* Don’t overflow the sink you are washing them in
* Be simple: Rubber gloves, detergent, laundry sink (or a tub), drying rack
* I really think people need a 3 day supply in order to maintain sanity. It is still NOT THAT MUCH MONEY and yet washing doesn’t have to be every day and there is no rush with the drying.

* Plastic bags really do work, in a pinch

* Rockin’ Green works GREAT to wash these. I was amazed by how different the water looked from the first rinse to the last. Like night and day! I like how easily the stuff dissolves. I don’t have to get out clumps of detergent or anything.

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Flat Fold Invention Submission: Skinny Neat Fold

Here is another submission for the Flat Fold Invention Competition. This is called the “Skinny Neat Fold” from Monica at Crunchy Monica. Go ahead and give this fold a try!

Here's a picture tutorial of the Neat Fold, modified:

Step 1: Lay out flat diaper with point down. (El never fails to jump on any laid out fabric!)

Step 2: Fold up bottom corner towards middle.

Step 3: Fold top corner towards middle.

Step 4: Take left corner and fold across so that top edge of "flap" aligns across top of folded section.

This is what the flat should look like.

Step 5: Repeat step 4 with the right side. This is actually the end of the steps needed to make the traditional Neat Fold but I'm not a big fan of how bulky the middle is and prefer a thinner crotch area.

Step 6: Fold in left side towards middle.

Step 7: Fold in right side towards middle.

Step 8: Pull out left corner.

Step 9: Pull out right corner. (Notice the great "poop pocket" this creates.)

Step 10: Lay baby on top of diaper and pull center panel up.

Step 11: Fold down rise, if needed.

Step 12: Pull up right corner and "roll in" to make for a trimmer fit across hip, if desired. (This will create more of a "bikini cut" rather than a "boy short" cut.) Pull "tab" across middle.

Step 13: Repeat step 12 for left side.

Step 14: Adhere snappi fastener. Done!


I like to check each side for any gaping and will roll in any loose edges.

Notice the nice tight fit.

A very trim fluffy bum!

Back side, showing the "poop pocket."

Trim fit through the crotch.

Another front view.

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Flat Fold Invention Submission: Happy Anteater Fold

 

Here is another submission for the Flat Fold Invention Competition. This is called the “Happy Anteater Fold” from Elizabeth from Mothering From the Maelstrom (love that website name!). Go ahead and give this fold a try!  (P.S. The video beginning cracked me up!)

 

Happy Anteater

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