Who knew it could be so easy?

After all my night time diapering dramas, I have suddenly found the perfect night time diapering solution for Emersyn.  I'm using a fitted - or a pocket, with a pad folded flat as a booster, then putting a fleece cover or a woolen cover over top... and bobs your uncle!  No leaks, no wet clothes, no wet bedding - and not a lot of bulk either!  I forgot how absorbent a simple pad folded flat can be.  I think all I need now is to get my A into G & make some fleece liners, so that they can have a staydry layer, and it'll be perfect.

I don't even really care which fitted or pocket I use, because I know that the addition of the pad folded flat will give me enough absorbency (me/her) - and with the wool or fleece cover over top, it's pretty much a bullet proof solution!  When I use a pocket diaper, I use two microfiber inserts as well, but I could probably get away with just using one.

I think the ONE thing I have learnt from all this night time drama, is that the COVER you use is the most important factor, and that pocket diapers often leak if they are by themselves, no matter how perfect the fit is.  Obviously with wool and fleece you do need a reasonable amount of absorbency in the actual diaper, but if you do have enough, the wool/fleece is essentially bullet proof (well, wee proof!).

It makes me laugh to think that for SOOOOOOOOOO many months I refused to use fitteds overnight (and to be honest, I have no idea why...) - and in the end it was FITTEDS that were part of the solution.

Now to get my hands on more woolen soakers, and to make some more fleece soakers - the perfect task for my new sewing machine I'm getting tomorrow! (happy birthday to MEEEEEE)...

Have any of my readers fallen in love with wool or fleece for night time?

Night time is just Snazzi!

I've posted a lot about my issues with overnight cloth diapering, and leaks - but in June-ish I finally found something that worked for me, and started using prefolds and covers overnight.  I got a little bored with that and started using pockets at night time again, and using woolen or fleece covers - because they NEVER leak, and well, sometimes it's nice to just throw a diaper on, and not worry about if you have 50,000 natural fiber boosters and the like.  I was qutie happy using FuzziBunz petite overnight, with 2 microfiber inserts and 1 bamboo or hemp booster, but I still didn't feel 100% successful, because often around the legs would be a bit damp (take into mind she often sleeps for 14 hours at night)...  BUT with the wool/fleece soakers - leaks that made it to the clothes or bedding were never an issue, so I let it slide.

A fabulous friend of mine gave me a whole bunch of fitteds and covers she'd used with her kiddos, including some size 2 Snazzipants - I had used size 1 Snazzi's when Emersyn was younger, but after she grew out of them never got around to upsizing - for once I couldn't justify buying MORE diapers, when I already have a bunch sitting in the diaper chest, waiting to be used.  My friend told me that she'd loved using Snazzipants overnight - something I'd not really tried, because as a whole I'm not too fond of fitteds, because of how wet they get, however I decided to give it a go one night....

I took a Snazzipants fitted, and then used a trifolded infant prefold and put it inside, along with a hemp booster, which has a staydry layer on it, and I finished it all off with a lovely woolen soaker.  I expected a soaking diaper the next morning - and that the wool would be damp - but was amazed when I got her up, took her pj's off and found that the soaker felt perfectly dry - and what is more, the Snazzi fitted wasn't even FULLY wet - there were still some dry patches on the outside!!!!  It hasn't been intentional really, but since then I've been using the Snazzi's at night, and haven't had ONE leak.  Even with the woolen cover on, the diaper isn't too bulky - and it seems to fit perfectly, because there are no gapes between her tummy and the top of the diaper, which is something that I seem to find happens with all other diapers I've used at night (except the Ecobubs woolen pockets).

I know a lot of my readers are from outside of New Zealand, and aren't able to get Snazzipants - but if you EVER find one somewhere, buy it!!!  They're a great little fitted, and they are nice and gentle around the legs.. and also nice and soft and fluffy...  The brand new Snazzi's are DIVINE, I have never felt material so soft, and to be honest I'm quite jealous that babies get to have such softness on their tushies!

I'm writing this from my parents computer and have no photos on hand, but in the next couple of days I'll post some photos of Emmy in her Snazzi's!

Last [???] night time update

Well, I think night time issues are definitely a thing of the past for us.  I was getting by fine using the prefold/microfiber/pocket/fleece cover combination - I still got the occasional leak, but it was only if she had a super long sleep, and a bottle during the night. 

Last week decided that I would see what would happen if I added an extra microfiber insert, and used a pul cover - rather than inserting it all in a pocket...  So I added a Real Nappies night time booster pad on the top of the prefold, and put the microfiber insert under the first layer of prefold - used a pul wrap, and whaddya know - NO LEAKS... 

I actually preferred that combo over the pocket combo, so started using it each night, and so far there have been no leaks.  I think it's the extra layer of microfiber [Real Nappies night time booster pad has a top layer of microfleece so it can go against the skin] that helps to prevent any of the sneaky little leaks that I was getting with the pocket combo.  Another bonus to this little combo, is that it's a little trimmer - not having the fleece soaker over top actually makes quite a lot of difference, and I guess trimmer means it is a little more comfortable too.


Now my sister is having night time issues with my niece - so I am helping her find a combo for Bronny.  Night time issues are never ending it seems.

and it's solved.

Hooray - our night time issues are solved [insert exclamation mark here... since my keyboard exclamation mark doesn't work]

I have tried the Ecobubs, prefold, microfiber, fleece cover combination for two nights now, and both mornings she has woken up dry, we probably could have gotten away without the fleece cover both times... but since i made my first fleece cover, I've been wanting to use it LOL [did I even blog about my cover??? I don't think I did...].

It is such a relief to have this finally worked out, and I'm thrilled with the combo that eventually worked because it is actually really trim - I don't think it is a lot bulkier than a daytime diaper with two microfiber inserts inside it... and I think that helps Emersyn to sleep better at night too - night before last she slept through from 10.30pm [as usual she woke up during Desperate Housewives and the SERIES final of Brothers and Sisters...], and then last night she woke an hour after going to sleep, but went back to sleep after I gave her her dummy/pacifier - and didn't wake up until early this morning.

If it turns out that an uncomfortable diaper is what has been preventing Emersyn from sleeping through the night, I am going to kick myself.

Moral of the story - if you are having a hard time with cloth, keep at it, you will EVENTUALLY fix the problem, or find a new solution.... and then you will feel a whole new renewed love for the fluffy side of life.

Night time update, y'all

FINALLY.  

SUCCESS...

I think that after 4.5 months of battling leaks and explosions and frustration, I have finally found THE night time solution for us... well, for Emersyn. I posted last week about my success using a toddler prefold, bamboo insert and microfiber insert inside a pocket diaper... with a fleece cover over top - I'm still using much the same system, I've just refined it a little.  

To start with I was using a bamboo terry trifold insert, wrapped inside the prefold, but I decided to give the [trimmer] bamboo fleece a go... luckily that worked just as well as the bamboo terry.  I also wondered if there was a way to fold the prefold so it would actually be the length of the pocket, and I wouldn't have a bunch to fold over - which added a lot of bulk to the whole diaper... I remembered seeing infant prefolds being trifolded width ways, as opposed to length ways [see photo later in post], so I tried this and VOILA - it was the perfect length... it also cut down on quite a lot of the bulk, which if you remember was one of the issues I had with that whole diaper setup.  Last night I began wondering if I even really needed the bamboo inside the prefold - because I know the bigger prefolds are more absorbent, so decided to give it a go and leave out the bamboo.  This morning I was pleasantly surprised when there were no leaks.  

So if you've lost track, the new diaper 'set up' is a toddler prefold trifolded width ways, with a microfiber insert on top of the trifold - and then it's all inserted into a pocket, and a fleece cover is put on top.  I am now wondering if I can eliminate the fleece cover by using a better fitting pocket diaper... I have been using FuzziBunz petite, which fit Em well when they are just stuffed with microfiber inserts during the day, but I find that when they are stuffed to the max they gape at the legs, and the top of the diaper doesn't fit snugly on the tummy - that also gapes.  Those two issues were the reason I used the fleece - I knew the fleece would catch any leaks up the top, or down at the legs.

Upon a suggestion from one of my lovely blog followers, I decided to take another look at some pockets I have - Ecobubs woolen pockets... These are side snapping diapers, and I know they get a really nice fit around the tummy during the day, so I decided to put all my absorbency in and see how it looked on Emersyn.

BINGO.  It was a LOT trimmer than the FuzziBunz, and there was absolutely no gaping around the legs - and the fit across the tummy was nice and snug.  Obviously I need to wait until tomorrow morning to give an official verdict, but I think that if she wakes up leak free [or relatively, depending on how many bottles she has overnight, and how long she sleeps in the morning], we may have found our DREAM night time solution.

Here is a visual representation of the diaper composition, for those of you who like visuals...

step one - the toddler prefold, obviously pre trifolding.  if you look closely you can see the two horizontal lines in the fabric, which would normally be vertical

step two - sides of prefold are folded into the center.  again if you look closely you can see the two horizontal lines

step three - the prefold is then folded into a pad type shape [ie completing the trifold]

step four - the microfiber insert is then placed on top of the prefold

step five - the prefold and insert are then placed inside the pocket - microfiber closest to the microfleece layer [white] of diaper 

step six - 'here is one I made earlier' - place the diaper on the baby.  this photo was the actual diaper that Emersyn wore to bed - I decided to do a photo tutorial AFTER she'd gone to bed..

a better view of the fit around the legs

I will hopefully have a positive report in the morning.. I sure hope so anyway.  If it does work, I guess I need to invest in some more Ecobubs too...

Dare I mess with a good thing?

The last three nights we've had success with our overnight diaper [insert canned applause here]... the one issue I have with it, is the utter bulk of the whole thing.  I am wondering if perhaps using my trimmer bamboo FLEECE insert would make it just a tiny bit trimmer than the bulky [but admittedly very absorbent] bamboo TERRY insert.  I don't know if I want to try it and then fail... but at the same time, if I can make it a little trimmer - and find it's still working, then I win.  Well... Emersyn does... 

I guess it could be kind of like a process of elimination - who knows, perhaps all I REALLY need is the toddler prefold and the microfiber insert that I'm using on top of it all?  I've also been noticing the outside of the diaper is dry when I take it off in the morning - so maybe another possibility is not putting the fleece soaker over the diaper, which would also eliminate a little of the bulk.

End of the day, whether I try it or not, I know the prefold/terry/microfiber/pocket diaper combination works - and it isn't as if her waking up damp/wet is something new to me [or her], so maybe it is worth trying the different bamboo insert tonight, and seeing how dry [fingers crossed] she is in the morning....

Yes, I think that's what I'll do.  Hopefully tomorrow I can report back with positive news.... 

Hallelujah.. maybe?

Well. We had success last night - Emersyn officially woke up with her wetness contained to her diaper - yaayyyyyyyyy.

I checked the various absorbent layers when I took her diaper off, and while all were wet, none were really saturated - there was still a lot of absorbency left in the prefold in particular, so I am thinking that toddler prefolds will be part of my night time combo from now on.  I just wish there was some way to make the whole diaper a bit trimmer, but at the end of the day it's more important for the diaper to work, than to look good.

Tonight.... I think I will try the same combo again - make sure it wasn't a fluke.  She had one bottle during the night last night, which seems to be the norm, so hopefully it WASN'T a fluke.  Could I potentially have found the combo that is going to work??????


Stay tuned... again.

fingers crossed... aka night time diaper, take 10225

Righty ho ho ho....
Seeing as stuffing pockets worked pretty well at the end of last week, I've decided that tonight I shall again go with a stuffed-to-the-max pocket diaper, covered with my trusty fleece soaker.

For anyone who is interested, THIS is the combo I am using....

here we have a toddler size Real Nappies prefold, folded down to the correct length, with a trifolded bamboo booster in the center...

the said prefold is now wrapped around said bamboo insert... into a little parcel [as Gaby said]

But wait there is more [absorbency] - a microfiber insert is then placed on top of the little prefold parcel 

It was then all stuffed into a FuzziBunz petite pocket

the diaper was then placed on a very unhappy Emersyn.  Yes, it's rather bulky - but if it works, then it's worth it...

finally a fleece soaker is placed over top, for added protection...

 ... please wish us luck. It would be nice if this little combo actually worked, but I'm not really holding my breath, purely because nothing else really seems to want to work.  I do think there is enough absorbency there though, so who knows..

stay tuned. 

epic fail... again

I'm scratching my head right now... the night time combo I tried last night failed verrrrrry badly, Emersyn woke up soaked through.  I had her in a Bummis SWW with two padfolded flats, and a Real Nappies night time booster pad.  I think if I had her in a fleece cover/soaker we would have been okay, but no - I decided to test fate and see what'd happen without the magical fleece layer.

Le sigh.


Tonight I'll try a SWW again, but with fleece over top - see if it happens again... If it does, I guess we'll be back to the pockets, because they did work for the two nights I tried the flats inside them.

At this stage I am wondering if ANYTHING is going to work overnight.  I REALLY don't want to consider using disposables, but I'm getting sadly close to it.  That said, I don't know that disposables would work anyway, because they seem to be less absorbent over long periods, than cloth.

Once again, 'we will see'... I guess...
 

the night time diaper debacle... continues...

The stupid earthquake in February seemed to bring with it my what now feels like NEVER ending issue - finding the right night time diaper, or really the right night time diaper combination...  To begin with we were quite happily using a pocket diaper with two mirofiber booster inserts and an extra insert, or a microfiber booster, but then all diaper hell broke loose, and suddenly our tried and true combo just wouldn't work.

Sooooo I got hold of some bamboo trifold inserts and threw one of those in with our microfiber - very bulky - but it worked... for a start.  After that I began putting in two of the bamboo inserts instead of the microfiber - again it worked... sorta... but not well enough.  Eventually I began fooling around with prefolds and bamboo, and recently flats and bamboo [and covers, of course].  Both of those worked better than the bamboo-in-a-pocket combo, so perhaps I am on the right path?

What I know DOES work, is using fleece covers - I have a Bummis fleece cover that works well enough - but I do find if she gets too wet, it leaks out the sides and up the top.  I have a FunkyBumz fleece soaker which I LOVE - it works better than any other cover I have... and I'm also still using my fleece-blanket-cheapskate-cover - and may I add, still without a leak too.

So I generally know I'm okay if there is fleece on top - but preferably a cover with two layers of fleece [as with the FunkyBumz and my homemade pinnable cover].  I BELIEVE that pad folded flats may be the answers to all my night time issues, I have used them the last two nights in a row, and Emersyn has been dry upon waking.  To this point I have been using them inside pockets - primarily because of the staydry layer the microfleece on the inside of the diaper provides.  Tonight we might try something new though...

It's been suggested to me to use the padfolded flats, inside a cover - because the way a pocket goes when it is stuffed to the max, can sometimes cause leaks, purely because the urine rolls right off the diaper - and that makes sense.  So tonight... I'm giving it a go and trying the flats inside a cover, as always with a bamboo booster for a little extra absorption.  I will put the fleece soaker over top - because I really don't want her to wake up at 4am soaked through.... but maybe... just maybe... with the flats/cover combo, I won't need to worry about a fleece soaker.

I think that one of the reasons I've been having so many problems, is that lately Emersyn has been waking up once or twice a night for a bottle - so she ends up having a lot of urine output, and it makes sense that a diaper can't handle 12-14 hours with all of that output.  It can only be pushed so far before there is no more absorbency left.  The first night I used flats inside a pocket, she slept through completely - ie, no extra liquid intake/urine output, and then last night she had one bottle early in the morning - but luckily she still woke up dry.  Obviously one simple solution would be to change her diaper when she wakes, but for some reason it doesn't occur to me, particularly if she's woken me during a deep period of sleep... it's not unless she keeps me awake for a prolonged period that I think "ohhhh.. change her diaper"... so maybe I need to just try to remember to change her diaper when she's up during the night - but that is so much easier said than done, particularly with the sub-zero mornings we've been having lately.  Not that that's an excuse.

SO..... 
What I know works is fleece, flats and bamboo boosters. 
What I know annoys Emersyn is the lack of a staydry layer between her skin and the top layer of the diaper
The obvious solution seems to be:  Using flats, with a bamboo insert and some form of staydry layer, and a fleece cover over the top.
Still to work out is whether flats work better for Emersyn when they are used inside flats, or when they are used inside a pul cover with a fleece liner over top of the top flat [for the staydry layer].

I hope like heck that the above little 'equation' is my getting very close to the end of this whole debacle, and finally finding a night time solution that works.  I'd love to find a night time combo that isn't hugely bulky - but right now I'd take one that is horribly bulky and works, over a trimmer option that DOESN'T work...

.... I guess time will soon tell.

flat is fab

my first ever attempt at using a flat

 

Over the past few days I have gone back to basics and have been giving flats a bit of a go... I really did think I wouldn't like them, or that I'd think they were 'okay', but then not really give them a second look.  HOWEVER, I am thoroughly impressed by these 'old school' diapers, and think they may become an important component of my fluffy wardrobe. They are definitely on par with prefolds, and possibly actually better [in my opinion] than prefolds, because of the variety of ways they can be folded, and the fact that they are really a one size fits all diaper solution... I find that with prefolds, once Emersyn has grown and is closer to the end of the weight range for a certain size of prefold, they become quite hard to do up - there isn't a lot of fabric left at the 'wings' of the diaper.  Admittedly with a snappi this doesn't cause a lot of problems, but if you're pinning - it does.
 
Why do I like them?  I think it's the absorbency mainly - and the fac t they can be folded in certain ways, so that the absorbency is where you need it.  I have tried three folds - the airplane fold, the origami fold and the kite fold, and I think my favourite of the three is the origami fold.  I remember my Mum [and Aunties] using the origami fold on my sister and cousins - and it always looked so hard, and complex - very adult... but it only took a couple of goes before I felt like I was somewhat a pro.  I think that is part of what is so great about flats - they are almost the 'blank canvas' of the diaper world - and you can modify them to suit your own needs...  I imagine the airplane fold is great for using on boys, and the kite fold is probably very adjustable and could be used on a newborn.  


I have actually found flats to be so good, that I'm now using them overnight.  I have found that for Emersyn they are best used in the origami fold, with a Real Nappies night time booster pad on top - and then a pad folded flat on top of that... there are umpteen layers of absorbency - WHERE it is needed,  and when accompanied by a fleece cover, or a Bummis Super Whisper Wrap, they seem very much leakproof - and foolproof.

So are flats overrated?  In MY opinion - NO... infact, I think it's quite the opposite - flats are UNDERRATED...

the search is over!

I have FINALLY found THE right night time combo for Emersyn.  I have been having issues with this for a month, and believe I have done a couple of posts about it already.  After I started using the Bamboo fleece inserts, it was only a couple of nights before the leaks started again, and to be honest I was close to just giving up and using disposables overnight.  Then one night I dug deeper into the back of the shelf where my cloth diapers were (at my parents, while we were staying there) - and pulled out a FuzziBunz.  I decided it was worth a try, since I have had absolutely no problems with them in the past.

I stuffed the FuzziBunz with a bamboo towelling trifold insert, and then added a pad-folded flat... to be safe I put a Super Brite cover over the top, but as it turned out the next morning, I hadn't needed the cover!  The outside of the FuzziBunz diaper was actually dry - for the first time in weeks!  I tried the same thing the following night, with the same result - and am glad to say that a week down the line it looks like i have FINALLY found the right night time combination!

I think it has something to do with the width of the FuzziBunz - when I put the two inserts in, there is still space between the leg elastics, and the inserts, which I am picking eliminates the potential for the urine wicking into the fabric at the front of the diaper....  Looking at the diapers I've used up until now, when the inserts have been in, there has been no gap between the inserts & the leg elastic, and I really think that the issue was wicking.

Last night I forgot to put a cover on over her diaper, but this morning when she woke up, there was no wet outside-of-the-diaper! 

Hallelujah!

Why I love..... Bummis!

Super Brite

One of the first diaper brands I tried was Bummis... the first ever wraps that I bought were a blue, a green & pink Super Brite wrap, for use over prefolds.  The initial reason I bought them was purely because they looked cute - up until then I just had solid colour diapers, and so badly wanted to get a cute print... I came a cross the Bummis Super Brites on TradeMe & just couldn't resist purchasing them!  You wouldn't believe my excitement when they arrived - actually, those of you who cloth diaper would believe it, but anyone who doesn't - well, you'll be thinking "excited about a stupid diaper.. what the...?".

'Flower' SWW

'Bloom' SWW

After the first use of a 'SB' (Super Brite) I realised just how FUNCTIONALLY awesome the wrap was.  Unlike [most] other wraps I looked at, the SB's have leg gussets, which is a function I believe ALL wraps should have... they make sure that anything that accidentally escapes the prefold or fitted underneath, stays contained inside, but I've also found that for overnight use they cover a VERY bulky diaper easily....  Emersyn (as I have posted previously) is a very heavy wetter at night, and while the Bamboo has helped to improve the situation, I'm still finding that by the time she gets up in the morning she is wet, so have begun putting the SB cover over top... and even if the pocket diaper underneath is wet through, her pyjamas (and skin) are still nice and dry.  This is possibly why she has started sleeping a lot better over the last week - she's a little more comfortable. 

'Jungle' SWW

So I love Bummis [Super Brites] because of their leg gussets, but I also love the prints - particularly the Super Whisper Wrap (SWW) prints.  My first SWW prints I had were 'Jungle', 'Froggy Pond', 'Flower' & 'Celery Dot' - and more recently I have added 'Ladybug' & 'Bloom' prints to my collection.  Dotted around this blog post are pictures of the SB & SWW from the Bummis website - and are examples of the print-cuteness that I couldn't resist!  There are a few other new prints that I'd love to get, but have decided to wait until I have gotten over the novelty of having the new 'Bloom' & 'Ladybug' prints!

'Ladybug' SWW

The only downside for me, of the Bummis SWW is that they don't have leg gussets.  My perfect wrap would be a Bummis SWW with leg gussets..... the ideal combination of cute prints - but also the excellent function that is the leg gusset!  For the most part I have only used wraps over prefolds, but now I seem to be using wraps over fitted diapers more than the prefolds - and am still very impressed with how well they work.

What's the Deal With Bamboo??

Since I began cloth diapering, I have heard a lot of mention of bamboo diapers & bamboo inserts - and didn't really know what the big deal was... I knew it was a natural fiber - and that it's what Panda's eat, but that was about it!  A few weeks back I purchased a PeaPods pocket diaper, and when it arrived it turned out the insert was actually bamboo - although bamboo wasn't something I was terribly fussed on trying, I figured it was a good chance to see what the big deal was!

Well - the big deal turned out to be that it is extremely absorbent!  the 6 layers of bamboo were a lot thinner than my regular 6 layers of microfiber, and I was sure that the diaper would end up leaking in a big way - so you can imagine my surprise when I took it off her after a particularly big sleep, to find that it was nowhere near as wet as my usual microfiber inserts would be.  It was a very nice surprise, but again not something I was terribly fussed with.

Fast forward to about 10 days ago - and Emersyn suddenly starts wetting through her diapers overnight, seems that she suddenly became a heavy wetter, and my faithful old microfiber inserts just weren't doing the trick.  I use pockets overnight & the thought of having to use THREE microfiber inserts didn't appeal - because it would make for one heck of a bulky combination, however my usual 2 microfiber + 1 microfiber or cotton booster combination was no longer doing the trick.  What to do, what to do.  It was then that I suddenly remembered how impressive that bamboo insert had been, and wondered if perhaps switching my microfiber or cotton booster, for one of the bamboo trifold inserts would be a possible solution to the problem.

So that night before bed, I stuffed Emersyn's usual pocket diaper with 2 microfiber inserts and 1 bamboo insert - I put her to bed & then had to just wait and see.

The next morning when I picked her up I wasn't met by the familiar feeling of a wet sleeper - it was completely dry!  On further inspection it turned out that the nappy it self was still relatively dry!  The microfiber inserts were of course wet through, however the bamboo insert was still dry toward the back of it.  Miraculous.  I did wonder if it was just a fluke, so that night I did the same thing - and the following morning was met by the same result!

So what issssss so great about bamboo??  Obviously after my success with it, I did some research to find out a bit more about bamboo (beyond the fact Panda Bears eat it!), and I found out that...

• bamboo is hypoallergenic, meaning it's great for babies with sensitive skin
• it's softer than cotton, lightweight & durable
• it's naturally organic, antimicrobal & antibacterial
• it's able to absorb three times its weight in water & absorbs 70% more moisture than cotton
• bamboo is breathable 
• it's also good for the environment - grows without the need for pesticides etc, it's 100% biodegradable & sustainable, it generates up to 30% more oxygen than trees, it enriches soil & can be harvested every year.

It is more expensive than microfiber, but I think it is worth it - particularly if you have a heavy wetter, or prefer havnig something a little more natural as part of your diaper system.  You can purchase bamboo inserts, but most brands also have a bamboo option for their diapers - again, they may be a little more expensive, but in my (limited!) experience with bamboo, I think the extra price is worth it!