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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Snappi Review

3 Sweet Peas prefold
Snappi closures are little plastic, Y shaped contraptions that provide closure for diapers that don't have snaps or hook & loop.

Features:
-Two sizes, newborn and baby
-Rubber, Y shape
-Teeth on each of 3 arms to grip fabric
-Hooks at each end for pulling
-Usually sold in sets of 2 or 3

Megaroos ETPF
These little thingies are a little intimidating at first. I couldn't imagine putting those little teeth so close to my baby's sensitive area, but so many moms rave about them so I had to try. The manufacturer recommends pulling all of the ends several times to make them more elastic, which I did.

I then put them on a prefold. Disaster! I don't think I pull it tight enough. One of the arms came undone and then another. Ugh. Try number two. Success! I pulled tightly enough on all 3 sides. The diaper stayed closed and tight. After many changes, I've finally gotten the hang of them.

Bumkins Prefold
Overall, I think they're great. They are fairly cheap and you don't need that many of them. They're easy to clean, just a rinse and dry. I even give one to my daughter to play with and keep her occupied while I change her. The only downside that I see if if your baby is a boy. I imagine it would put a lot of pressure on his little area with the bottom arm being pull down so far and tight. Overall though, two thumbs up.

Sustainablebabyish Bamboo Flat Review

Sustainablebabyish (aka SBish) makes a bamboo loop terry flat. With the high quality of the fitteds that I've tried, I had to splurge for a couple of these flats.

Features:
-Available in 4 sizes; x-small, small, medium, and large
-Serged edge all the way around, variety of colors for thread
-Stitch lines at 1/3rds for easy folding
-3 layers of thirsty bamboo baby loop terry

I was reluctant to spend the expensive price tag of these flats, but I invested in two of them. When they got to my house, I was excited to see that they were just as soft as I was hoping. I prepped them with a couple washes and put them on my baby girl as fast as I could.

The size large is perfect for her. I don't have to fold down the rise. The back comes around to a great placement on her hips. With the fabric being so stretchy, it gives a great fit with room to move.. They are also really super absorbent. I can leave it on her for up to 4 hours before changing and even then, it's not totally soaked. The Snappi (review here) grips the fabric really well and doesn't leave holes after washing. They are easy to wash, don't stain easily, and dry fairly quickly. After quite a few washes, they've remained just as soft as straight out of the package.

This prefold works great under fleece covers. I do use it under PUL covers or pockets as covers, but I have to tuck the back thigh under the cover. It's not a big issue, just another little step before finishing the change. Overall, these are a couple of my favorite prefolds and I reach for them often.

The only downside to this diaper is the price tag. It's quite expensive for a prefold. However, they do retain their value. You may pay up to $13 each for one new, but you can sell it for $8-$10 when you're done with it. Plus, Sloomb plants one tree for every diaper you buy. You gotta love that!

Bumkins Prefold Review

At first, I was hesitant to try prefolds. I couldn't keep away when I found a good deal on brand new Bumkins prefolds from a cloth diaper service that went out of business. Encouraged by other cloth diapering mamas, I decided to give them a try.

First let's review the features:
-Available in bleached or unbleached indian cotton
-Available in newborn, mid-size range, or premium (toddler)
-Rectangular diaper with no elastic or closure system
-Extra layers in the wet zone
-Serged top and bottom

I was able to get the unbleached cotton, premium size prefolds. They came to me unused and unwashed. They were smooth and soft. After a couple washes to prep, they quilted up and got even softer.

Having never put a prefold on a real baby, I was nervous. I used a Snappi (review here) for closure. Honestly, I didn't look up how to fold a prefold over a baby. I just made it up. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my big daughter, who doesn't fit into typical one size diapers anymore, had enough left in the rise that I could fold it over in front before putting on the Snappi. I mostly use these under fleece covers, but occasionally use PUL covers or pockets. When using fleece, I just fold it on her, Snappi, and go. With PUL covers that have leg elastic, I need to tuck the fabric in from around the back of her thigh. It's not a huge deal, just one little extra step before releasing baby.

I really like these prefolds. They are soft against baby's bum. They are woven so they're not super flexible, but they are flexible enough to let her move well in them. The Snappi attaches well to the fabric for a secure hold. The fabric also washes great with a quick drying time, no staining, and no sign of the holes from the Snappi. They hold lots of liquid for a good absorbency. My daughter rarely wets the whole diaper before I change her, which is typically about every 3 hours during the day.

If you're looking for a basic stash, I highly recommend Bumkins cotton prefolds. They are relatively inexpensive for such good quality. They can be used as a prefold, lay in insert, or inserts for a pocket diaper. Of course, there's no bells and whistles but honestly, it's just going to get covered up anyway, right?

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

3 Sweet Peas Prefold and Flat Review

[Keep in mind that I am the writer of this blog but I also own and operate 3 Sweet Peas. This is a biased review of my own products.]

3 Sweet Peas has a few types of diapers. Prefolds and flats are recent products that are available to the public. I always keep a few of my own diapers as testers and because I love them.

Features of the prefolds and flats:
-Serged edge or T&T
-Cotton interlock, cotton sherpa, or bamboo material
-No closure system
-Rectangular shape
-Extra layer of bamboo in wet zone for prefolds
-Stitch lines at 1/3rd for easy folding
-Cute prints and hand dyed designs

I kept 5 prefolds for my own stash. Right off the machine, they are soft. I did wash them a couple times but didn't do a full prep. I am aware that the bamboo gets more absorbent with more washes, but I was okay with the slightly lower absorbency for the first few wears.

Several of the flat diapers I kept were print cotton interlock outer and cotton sherpa inner with T&T edge. That makes for 3 layers of cotton and 3 layers of sherpa in the wet zone. The absorbency is good. I wouldn't call the absorbency excellent, but it lasts a good 3 hours for each wear. The interlock is soft and the sherpa is even softer. The interlock outer grips the Snappi very well but doesn't maintain the Snappi holes after washing. It washes well without staining and dries very quickly. I love the prints that I kept too.

I have two swirl dyed prefolds that I kept. One (red/orange) has a regular bamboo fleece outer with cotton sherpa inner. The other (reversible swirls) has two layers of heavy bamboo fleece. The red and orange swirly grips the Snappi very well because the outer fleece is very soft and flexible. The reversible swirls doesn't grip the Snappi quite as well because of the heaviness of the fleece. What that diaper lacks in softness, it makes up for in absorbency. Two layers of heavy bamboo fleece is equivalent to 4 layers of regular bamboo fleece. It's a true workhorse diaper. I love that I can use either side too, depending on what dye combination I want facing out.

My only criticism of these diapers is the T&T edge. It creates a slight bulkiness around the edges. My daughter doesn't seem to mind, so it's more of an observation. I am looking forward to keeping some of the serged edge diapers. They may be more expensive than the basic prefold diapers, like Bummis or Bumkins, but they are made by a work-at-home-mom (WAHM) who puts care into every diaper. Support small business!

Megaroos Designs ETPF Review

Megaroos Designs makes fitted diapers and extended tab prefolds (ETPFs). I wasn't able to purchase some new, but I got my hands on some used ETPFs from DiaperSwappers.

Features:
-Available in 3 sizes; newborn, mid-range, and premium
-Prefolds with cotton and bamboo
-Extended wings for longer waist measurement
-Cute cotton prints on the exterior
-Serged edges
-No closure or snap closure

I was so sure that I would love them that I bought 5 larges (premium size). I prepped them as I would for any used diaper, by boiling them and then washing several times with Dawn. They came to me slightly stained and I was not able to boil that out. After washing, I lovingly folded them and added them to my stash.
torbency is very good. It washes and dries quickly. It is mostly stain free if you wash frequently, but any delay in washing (more than 24 hours) results in shadow staining that is hard to remove. I used these under fleece covers and PUL covers. They worked well under both.

Overall, I was not super impressed. Even thought the prints are super cute, I fell out of love with them pretty quickly and ended up reselling them after only a few weeks. I will say that the quality of the stitching held up well being that I was the second user. They also hold their value as enough cloth diapering parents know of Megaroos to have a demand for used diapers. I didn't like the grip-ability of the Snappi closure but in all fairness, the exterior fabric might be softer brand new. They are an okay option for mid-range priced, cute prefolds.