All-In-One diaper Archives - Page 2 of 2 - My Life: A Work in Progress

12 September, 2012 5 Comments

Some weeks ago, I was walking through one of our local Navy Exchange stores with my husband, when I spotted cloth diapers. I don’t know if they recently started carrying them, or if I just never noticed before, but I was ecstatic to see them on the rack at a “chain” retail store! (Click on the photos below to see larger images)

The NEX was selling several different print of the Bumkins All-In-One one size diaper. We bought two: one in the Cat in the Hat print, and one in the Blue Pixel print. The prints were perfect. I love Dr. Seuss, and the Blue Pixel print reminded me of my husband’s Navy uniforms.

All-in-one styles of cloth diapers are great, because they’re essentially one piece. For cloth diapers, this makes them the closest to a disposable. Caregivers, reluctant cloth diaperers (husbands), daycares, and nursery workers may find this style the easiest to use.

The negative of an AI1 diaper is they usually take a long time to dry.

The Bumkins AI1 is a one-size diaper. The three rows of snaps on the front of the diaper allow the rise to be adjusted. There’s one row of waist snaps, as well as hip snaps. The snaps allow the diaper to be adjusted to fit babies from approximately 9-35 lbs.

The outer shell is made from waterproof PUL fabric with TPU, making it stain and odor resistant. The diaper comes in either a hook and loop or snap closure.

If you’re out and about, and baby poops, just roll the diaper up and fasten the waist snaps (or hook and loop) before placing in your wet bag. This will keep the poop contained until you get home.

The inside of this diaper has stayed very soft, despite using and washing every other day for weeks now. I love putting this on my son, because of the softness!

The center panel on the inside of the diaper is made of an absorbent cotton and bamboo rayon blend fabric. The panel is surrounded by fleece to wick moisture away from baby’s skin, keeping him dry and comfortable.

The center panel actually folds down and snaps inside a pocket that opens at the front of the diaper. This gives the diaper an extra layer of bamboo absorbency without a ridiculously long drying time.

The opening and pocket at the front of the diaper is wide enough, that you can even add another insert for more absorbency! For heavy-wetters or older babies, this is a great option to have in an all-in-one diaper.

The fold-in panel can be unsnapped and pulled out, making this diaper very quick to dry…especially for an all-in-one diaper, and one with bamboo, at that!

Bumkins 4 — Fold-in panel pulls out for quicker drying

Since this diaper has bamboo fabric, it needs to be prepped before you use it the first time, by washing it several times. It does not need to be dried in between wash cycles.

The daily care for these diapers is simple: machine wash on hot (don’t forget your extra rinse cycles!) and tumble dry on low. I line dry most of my diapers, to save energy and prolong the life of the fabric. The sun is also a wonderful natural disinfectant and stain remover!

I’ve noticed that you do not need to unsnap the fold-in panel before washing, and it will still get cleaned. After it’s washed, I’ll pull the panel out to speed up drying, and then place the diaper in full sun (with the colored, outer side facing away from the sun). The Bumkins AI1 dries much quicker than my other AI1s and my other bamboo blend fabrics.

Mr. Stinky Pants is four months and about 16 lbs. in this photo. I’m using the middle row of snaps, but I can stretch the first row and have him wear the rise on the smallest setting. Between the hip, waist, and rise snaps, I’m able to get a good fit on this diaper. So far it’s contained my son’s poop (but I can say that about all of his cloth diapers, since he’s never had a blow out in cloth).

There’s plenty of room to grow in this diaper, and I could see it fitting him until potty training. On the flip side, this diaper probably will not work for newborns or very small babies, but that’s true of many one-size diapers (see my list of newborn and preemie-appropriate diapers here).

I only have one complaint with this diaper. The fold-in panel is made to fit the diaper at its largest setting. This means, if the diaper is at a smaller setting, you have to put your hand all the way inside the diaper, and fiddle with the panel at the very end (back) to get it folded under to fit. Otherwise, the inside of your diaper will be lumpy with the extra fabric squished around. At first it was annoying to do this, but I’ve gotten the hang of it and can do it quickly now.

Pros

Absorbent
Easy to use
Soft
Good fit
Cute prints
Quick drying

Cons

Panel has to be fiddled with when diaper’s on smaller settings

All in all, I love this diaper and definitely recommend it! I think it would be a great addition to anyone’s stash.

This diaper comes in a bunch of different prints, so make sure you’ve shopped around to find one you like. Amazon has several listings with different prints. Also on Amazon is a Bumkins AI1 that is not a one-size diaper (I believe it’s a discontinued style), so again, make sure you’re buying exactly what you want.

I’ve seen this diaper retailed from $16.95-18.95, but if you’re lucky enough to have access to a military exchange, I bought ours for $12.99 each, no tax! That’s a steal!

Note: This review contains affiliate link. I was not compensated for this review. I purchased the items reviewed above. The opinions are my own and may differ from yours.

Review: Thirsties Duo All-In-One Cloth Diaper

4 September, 2012 3 Comments

I love all-in-one diapers because of their simplicity. So far I have AI1s from GroVia, BumGenius, and Bumkins, but I was looking for something new to add to the stash. I’m slightly hesitant where Thirsties are concerned, since my son grew out of their size one fitted diapers by the time he was three months old (about 14 lbs.), although the sizing says 6-18 lbs. or 0-9 months. But I thought it’s only fair to give Thirsties another try, so I purchased a Thirsties Duo AI1 in size two from my go-to store for cloth diapers: Diaper Junction.

Since they are the closest to disposables, AI1 diapers are great for babysitters, church nurseries, daycares, and reluctant cloth diaper users (hubby likes them). They go on in one piece and come off in one piece.

The Thirsties Duo AI1 is very affordable for an AI1. This diaper retails for $15.75 from Diaper Junction. For the price, it really does have a lot to offer!

Thirsties1 — Thirsties Duo All In One Cloth Diaper- Size Two

Thirsties Duo AI1 comes in sizes one and two. The row of three snaps on each diaper allows them to be adjusted for smaller or larger babies. Thirsties states their size one fits 6-18 lbs. or 0-9 months. Size two fits approximately 18-40 lbs. or 9-36 months. There’s a row of eight snaps across the waist. Although there aren’t any hip snaps, my son had no issues with “wing” drooping.

The inside center of this diaper is quite thick due to the built-in three-layer microfiber terry soaker, reported to hold seven times its weight in liquid. I read a complaint on another site where the reviewer thought the built-in soaker was too short for a boy, and needed to come up higher in the front. However, Mr. Stinky Pants didn’t have any issues with peeing out the top of the diaper, and when the diaper is actually on him, it looks to me like the soaker comes up high enough. Perhaps this will change as he gets older?

The soaker is topped with stay-dry fleece, so nothing irritating touches baby’s skin.

Although many of Thirsties diapers come with leg gussets, sadly, the AI1 does not. Unless you have a little guy or gal with skinny legs, this really shouldn’t be a turn off. My boy doesn’t have a lot of extra rolls or chunk, and he’s never (yet) had a blow out in any of his cloth diapers, gussets or no. But if gussets are something you’re really looking for, check out the Thirsties Duo Diaper. The leg elastic is thick which makes it less likely to leave marks on baby’s legs. (To be honest, marks don’t really bother me anyway. They don’t hurt him, and the diaper does need to be tight enough that runny breastfed poo can’t seep out.)

The signature tunnel design allows for faster drying and better washing. When I dry the diaper, I usually turn it inside out to speed up drying. The tunnel area is pretty narrow, but you potentially could even slide an insert in there for additional absorbency.

As I mentioned earlier, my son grew out of his size one Thirsties Fab Fitted diaper and Duo Wrap by the time he was three months. This does lead me to speculate whether or not the size two will actually fit him to potty training. Here he is in his size two Thirsties Duo AI1. He’s just shy of 4 months in this photo, and about 16 pounds. I’ve got it on the smallest setting, and there does seem to be plenty of room to grow in the waist and rise. It’s a little bulky under the crotch, but he’ll grow into that.

These diapers come in both solids and prints. My son is in the “Scottish Storm” print with snaps. You can purchase them in Aplix hook and loop closures as well. What’s also great about these diapers is that they’re made in the U.S.A.!

I would buy this diaper again. It fits well. It’s very absorbent. It’s holding up well after several washes, and it’s affordable for an AI1. You get a lot of bang for your buck with this diaper.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. I was not compensated for this review. I purchased the item shown above. These opinions are my own and may differ from yours.