review - bumgenius elementals

reviewed by:  Tam

These make up 98% of my nappy stash!! I LOVE them!!!

They are an organic cotton diaper so do require a bit of prepping before first use.  They are SUPER absorbent! I have rarely had leaks in the 12 months I have been using them.. In fact the number of leaks I have had during that time I could count on one hand with.

Price – I rate this nappy 1 star for price... Here in the USA they are $24.95 each but I know in NZ/AU it is A LOT more than that! However I do think it is good value for money and I would (and have) definitely purchase more.

Leaks – 4 stars, I have rarely had leaks, and when I have had leaks it is because I have left my son too long between changes.  Most of the leaks occurred when he was itty bitty and would take unexpected long naps.  In the 12 months I have been using these nappies I have had 5-6 leaks tops.

Fit – 5 starts for fit.  I have never had fit issues with this nappy.  My son is on the smaller side, he was born 6lb 15oz and at his 12 month check up he was 17lbs 8oz.

Ease of use – 5 stars what isn’t to love? This is an AIO (all in one) nappy no stuffing required!!


Washing – 3 stars, being it is organic cotton it does stain... But nothing the sun can’t handle.  So while the stains DO come out they don’t come out during the wash, they require some sunning to get them all nice and new looking.  It washes very easily but it does take a long time to dry (because it is an AIO) I usually pop mine in the dryer for 20-30 minutes on medium heat and then hang them to dry.  We live in an apartment so I don’t have access to an outdoor clothes line, when I have visited family who have had an outside line I line dried them every time and they dried in a day in the hot summer sun.

In summary these really are great  nappies and I am very happy with my purchase.  The only downsides are the long drying time and that over time they do develop small holes on the legs and where the soaker is attached, this does not effect their function it is purely a cosmetic issue.  Out of the 24 that I own only 3-4 are developing holes and they are tiny.

Now for the ratings:
price:  1/5
fit: 5/5
leaks:  4/5
ease of use:  5/5
washing:  3/5
OVERALL RATING:  18/25

a year of cloth love - part 2

... continued...

a 'wahm' diaper, again from the Nappy Network [tnn]

seven months and showing off her first BabyLand diaper

eight months old and showing off a Fuzzibunz pocket

a couple of weeks after the February earthquake, in her first Itti Bitti D'Lish

nine and a bit months old - showing off her new Bummis SWW

still living away from home because of the earthquake.. this time in a mint D'Lish

almost eleven months old, showing off her standing skills - and her BumGenius pocket

the cheekiest kid in all of Christchurch... eleven months old and in another Bitti D'Lish

ONE YEAR OLD... showing off her purple Bitti D'Lish with baby cousin, Bronte [almost 4 months].. neither was in a great mood...

Showing off a Monkey Doodlez minky pocket, and rocking some cow print BabyLegs

today... a few minutes ago to be precise.. in my favourite pocket, as seen in part one of this little blog entry

and that really brings you up to date... from itti bitti baby - to Itti Bitti diaper lover... I am looking forward to the next year in cloth, and will see you same place, same time in one year :)

we are family.... [an itti bitti family]

My sister [as I believe I have mentioned] has started using Bitti Tutto diapers on my niece, Bronte - and I finally got to have a proper play with them, last week when I had the honour of babysitting Bronny for the first time.  She - of course, was a total dream and if anything my own children were tougher... there was a rocky moment or two when Emersyn and Bronte both decided to reach fever-pitch with their crying, at the same time.

OF COURSE, being the clothaholic - and ittibittiaholic that I am, I couldn't resist putting the girls in their matching coloured Itti Bitti's [I have to confess that I had packed all of Emersyn's Itti Bittis, that I knew Bronte had the same colour of] in order to take their first matching-diaper photo.

It happened to be during the rocky moments I mentioned above - neither girl was in a great mood, but nevertheless here is the photo of the Itti Bitti cousins....

Emersyn in her D'Lish and Bronte in her Tutto

Rockin' her yellow Tutto

and just because I can, here is a photo of Bronte in her beautiful yellow Tutto [of which Emersyn has one in the same colour].  It was lovely to see both girls rocking the minky - but also doing their part for the environment, at such young ages.  Of course neither of them realise the impact they are having - but all the same, I think it's sweet.  I look at these luscious, soft, vibrant, utterly beautiful diapers, and feel so so happy that I made the decision to start using cloth... and that my darling baby sister eventually came to the 'dark but fluffy side' too

Back to the beginning...

I thought it was time to take some photos of the different types of diapers, so that those of you who haven't come across modern cloth diapers before, would have more of an idea what the heck I'm talking about!  In amongst all the AIO, AI2, OSFA, OSFM, FB, BG, PF abbreviations & associated cloth diapering jargon, are the 4 (well, 4 of the 5) basic types of modern cloth diaper - the AIO & AI2 (all in one & all in two), the fitted, the pocket & the prefold.

We will start with the pocket diaper.  This diaper consists of a waterproof cover, which has a stay-dry layer on the inside - and in between the waterproof cover & stay dry inner, are insert - which provide the absorbent layer/s for the diaper.  They do up with either snaps or velcro/aplix, and come either sized (small, medium, large, x-large) OR in a OSFA (one size fits all) style.

the waterproof outer

the stay-dry inner (microfleece)

the cover and an insert

the insert slides in between the two inner & outer layers

Next, we have the fitted diaper.  The fitted diaper has all it's absorbency sewn in, and often will come with an optional soaker which can be snapped in, OR is sewn in as a flap.  Fitteds are NOT waterproof and require a waterproof cover.  As with pockets, these can be fastened with either snaps, or velcro/aplix

fitted, fastened with snaps

inside the fitted, you can see a detachable soaker pad

Now we get on to the AIO & AI2.  They are a combination of the fitted and the pocket, in the way that the absorbent layers are sewn into the diaper, and again there can be the snap in, or sewn in soaker flap, but unlike the fitted - and like the pocket, the outer material of the AIO is waterproof.  There is a distinction between the AIO & AI2 however.  The AIO - as said above, has all the absorbency sewn into it, whereas the AI2 has the cover - referred to as the 'shell', however all the absorbency needs to be added to it - generally with snaps.  The AI2 is sometimes referred to as a 'snap in' or 'snap in one'.

the AIO & AI2 are the same on the outside

the AI2 has a shell - with all the absorbency separate & to be snapped in for use

all the absorbency that can be snapped in (you can customise to suit your child)

the AIO however, has all of its absorbency sewn in, with or without an extra soaker flap

And last but not least, we have the prefold.  The prefold is the closest thing to the old school flats that were used 'back in the day'.  The diaper is essential sewn in thirds, with absorbency on the inside.  The two outer sections with less absorbency, the inside with more (usually 4x6x4 layers), and they can either be folded into a pad shape (trifolded), or they can be folded & fastened as with flat diapers.  As with the fitted diaper, prefolds do require a waterproof layer over top of the diaper.

a prefold in its flat state - you can see it is sewn in thirds, lengthways

a prefold in its trifolded state

Another option for cloth diapering - as I mentioned with the prefolds, is using flats.  I haven't added them as I don't have any personal experience using them, however I do plan on purchasing some & giving it a go - so stay tuned for my flats experiment! 

A fluffy day in the life of Emersyn

Here's a chance to see Emmy's fluffy wardrobe for a whole day!  Enjoy!

Good morning everyone!  Time for my first diaper change

"buh-bye" FuzziBunz

& hello pink (dyed) prefold!

... no prefold is complete without a cover (Bummis Super Whisper Wrap, Froggy print) - and on those cold days, a pair of babylegs!

Up from my nap - and it's time for an Itti Bitti (Bitti D'Lish) in Turqouise... Mummy didn't plan on the turquoise diaper matching the Turquoise in my babylegs!

now I'm up to no good.. but a least I look cute!

now my mean Mummy is making me have another nap...  I"m in my PeaPods this time - and funnily enough, my red diaper matches the red in my babylegs!

up from my nap & now I'm all nekkid - bar my diaper, ready for my bath!

nice & sparkly clean, showing off my BumGenius diaper - and showing Mummy how clever I am getting at standing up!

saying "buh-bye" to the people on TV... Mummy says it is time for bed...

having my bottle while Mummy changes my diaper... first step is a TotsBots Bamboozle

followed by a[nother] Bummis SWW - Jungle print this time!

and now I'm in bed... I don't want to but *yawn* I'm a bit tired... Non-night everyone!

set up costs!

I think a lot of people think of the start up costs of using cloth diapers, and that puts them off - because paying hundreds of dollars in one go, CAN be very off putting, especially if you don't have hundreds of dollars just floating around.  But I am here to tell you that you don't NEED to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars!  I personally think that prefolds & covers are the cheapest way to go, probably followed by OSFA (one size fits all) AIO's or pocket diapers....

So I have done some research online - using New Zealand websites, to get some cost comparisons for the price of diapers from birth to potty training...
*** please keep in mind these prices are for brand new nappies, from reputable stores - you CAN certainly pick up preloved diapers a lot cheaper (I may actually add an example to this post) 


Real Nappies have a 'birth to potty' pack which costs $600 and contains 6.5dozen prefolds, 23 wraps, 8 rolls of 100 liners, 2 bags of nappy sanitiser, 2 night time boosters, 1 pair of potty training pants and 1 wetbag

& when searching various websites I found Tweedle have 6 packs of small prefolds for $19.80, and 6 packs of regular prefolds for $21.60, and on YoYo Nappy I found a cover which has a OSFA option, for $25.00.  This little combnation would come to a total of $344.00 (2doz small prefolds, 1.5doz regular prefolds & 8 covers)

When it comes to OSFA pocket diapers, the cheapest I could find were from Cherub Tree, where you can get 20 OSFA pockets for $349.70... 20 is the minimum number of pockets I would be wanting & is what I started out with.

Sticking with Cherub Tree, I also found their AIO diapers for a bulk price of 447.70 for 20 diapers.  Again, 20 is the minimum amount of diapers I would want to have on hand

I know a lot of people will still be thinking that $344.00 is expensive, particularly at one time, so for an example of how cheap you can do things, here are some examples I found on TradeMe...

• 18 prefolds (regular size) - $40.00 buy now
• 18 prefolds (small size) - $40.00 buy now
• 8 prefolds (newborn size) - $20.00 buy now
• 8 Real Nappies wraps (newborn size) - $20.00 buy now
• 4 Real Nappies wraps (infant size) - $20.00 buy now
• 5 Bummis wraps (small/infant size) - $35.00 buy now

there are none on right now, but you can see from those prices that you could most likely find 6-8 medium wraps for $30.00-40.00, so you could almost say you could get a whole system on TradeMe for just over $200.00 (most people I've spoken to have said they've not had to go past a size medium for wraps)



So here are some of the 'cheaper' deals I came up with on my search - keeping in mind these are for TOTAL diaper packs, that will do from birth-3yo approx

• TradeMe prefolds & wraps, some used, some unused, some barely used - $200 approx
• Tweedle prefolds & YoYo Nappy covers - $344.00
• Cherub Tree OSFA pockets - $349.70
• Cherub Tree OSFA AIO's - $447.70
• Real Nappies 'birth to potty pack' - $600.00 (lots of extras)

What is important to remember is that you DON'T need to buy everything all at once...  There is no reason you can't buy items as you need them (unless of course you are getting a bulk deal), and remember to email the owner of the store to find out if they do lay-by (lay-away).  I was able to pay off my initial stash of OSFA pocket diapers, over the space of about 12 weeks, which made it VERY attainable!  Another way to develop a stash of diapers that won't cost the world, is to join an online cloth diapering forum, such as The Nappy Network (NZ) or Diaper Swappers & check out their 'FSOT' (for sale or trade) areas - I have purchased a lot of my diapers this way & definitely won't hesitate to do it again!

You can of course spend a lot of money building your stash if you wish - I'm a believer that when it comes to cloth diapers, you often do pay for quality - not that I'm saying the cheaper options I've mentioned above are bad quality - I have used all of those brands & have no complaints!  But if you did want to spend hundreds - urm, even getting toward the thousand (plus!) dollar mark it would be very easy... it all comes down to what you feel is acceptable to pay, because when you are done with the diapers there is a market for used diapers, so you could guarantee to make some of your money back!

If you ask me, trawling the internet for hours looking at diaper options & what prints etc you JUST HAVE TO HAVE, is a lot more exciting than walking into the supermarket & chucking a pack of 'sposies' in your trolley!

Fluffy Wardrobe - 13 April 2011

Today so far, Emersyn has worn.....

Snazzipants prefold & Bummis 'bloom' SWW
Mint green Itti Bitti - Bitti D'Lish AIO
Snazzipants fitted & Bummis 'ladybug' SWW
Bluberry bamboo fitted & Bummis 'flowers' SWW

to be continued!
(you can tell it was insert stripping day today!)

Favourite Brands... part 1!

While Emersyn has her bottle, I thought I'd share some photos of Emersyn in some of my favourite brands of cloth diaper - I'll also go into more detail about these brands in the not too distant future!

BUMMIS

This is one of Bummis new 'Super Whisper Wrap' prints - Ladybug

Another of their new prints - this one is called 'Bloom' & is my favourite print!

I just really like the colours they use in this print, particularly the pink & brown combo

ITTI BITTI

This is a pink Itti D'Lish AIO - the first AIO's that I've really purchased & loved

The back of a lilac Itti D'Lish SIO (snap in one, which I believe is essentially an AI2)

The Fuschia AIO

And the yellow AIO

SNAZZIPANTS

Wearing a size 1 Snazzipants fitted.. these were the first fitteds I tried & I love them (they are also a NZ brand)

My Clothaholic World

I never imagined that just over a year ago when I decided to exclusively cloth diaper my daughter Emersyn (who was still tucked safely inside at that stage), that it would turn into such an obsession for me - and yes, I think obsession is a fairly apt word to describe my love for cloth!  I started out with 20 OSFA pocket diapers, all the same brand - and thought that would be all I would need - or want.  However after spending some time on the cloth diapering board at JustMommies, it didn't take long for me to realise what was on offer out there in the world of cloth - OR that I wanted to try it alllllllll!

Emersyn arrived on June 16 2010 & I began cloth diapering her when she was 2 weeks & 3 days old (yes, very exact - I know!), her little but looked so big & bulky in her OSFA diapers, but at the same time they were too cute to NOT use.  For a couple of weeks I was more than happy with the OSFA diapers, but after a little searching on TradeMe one day, I realised that I too could have all the cute cloth the American ladies on my forum had - there was a mass of diapers for sale on TradeMe - some new, some used... considering money was tight, I decided to purchase a couple of preloved diapers, I don't remember right now what they were - but it was certainly the beginning of this clothaholism.

Fast forward 9 (beautiful!) months & my stash (that's a technical term in the cloth diapering world) is huge, and full of various brands of diapers, and various types of diapers.

Types? of diapers - I here you ask yourself.  Yes.  There isn't just one type of cloth diaper - they are split into 4 main categories

1. pockets
2. AIO's (all in ones) / AI2's (all in twos)
3. fitteds
4. prefolds

each of course having their own list of pros and cons, which I assure you I will go into in the not too distant future.  I can understand why cloth diapering can be overwhelming to those starting out - there is SO much out there that it can be hard to know where to start!  I personally started out as a huge fan of pockets (because they were all I had), I then bought some prefolds & covers - and fell in love with THOSE... a couple of months later I purchased my first fitteds, and again it was love at first sight/use.... Very recently I have started purchasing a few AIO's - and again....... LOVE.

If I had to sum it up, cloth diapering for me is LOVE... it's love for your little one, love for the environment & love for the adorable fluffiness that IS the modern cloth diaper ('MCD')....

My little clothbutt has just woken up, so I do need to sign off now to go and put another cute diaper on her little booty - but with that mention of 'clothbutt' - why not check out my 365 day photo challenge blog - CLOTH-BUTT CUTENESS 365 - with the focus being on - you guessed it, cloth diapers!  365 days in a row of cloth diaper photos to be precies!