Showing posts with label Cloth diapering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cloth diapering. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Smart Bottoms Smart One 3.1 Cloth Diaper Review


Ease of Use- 4/5: These diapers are very easy to use. My husband does have a hard time figuring out how to fold the tongue style insert but he also has a hard time snapping diapers on straight. These wouldn’t be the diapers I’d leave for a babysitter or grand parent. I do fold the insert before I put them away so my husband doesn’t have to money with it but it might be a little confusing for someone who doesn’t know what the insert is. Also, these diapers take forever to prep. I prepped our first Smart One about 3 times and it leaked really badly. After about 3 more rounds of washing and sort of drying we have been 100% leak free. Smart Bottoms uses U.S. milled organic cotton that has not been treaded with any chemicals, which leaves all of the natural oils in the fabric. More oils in the fabric means you will have to wash these a lot more than any other diaper to get them to become absorbent. I love that they don’t want any unnecessary chemicals on our babies but I am so impatient to put new diapers on Peeka. The wait to fully prep is definitely worth it.
More for Your Money- 4/5: I always have buyer’s remorse when I spend over $20 on a diaper so when I bought my first Smart Bottoms I bought Smart One 3.0 AIO, which was on sale for $18 to make room for the revamped 3.1. I ultimately bought it because it was made locally. After trying the 3.0 I fell in love and had to buy more. I bit the bullet and bought 2 3.1’s. These diapers go from about 8lbs to 35lbs. Every piece of a Smart Bottoms diaper (and other products) is made in here in the US AND the cotton they use is 100% certified organic cotton milled in the States. “Made in the USA” products are always the best quality. The best quality also means spending a few more dollars for the best.
Performance- 4/5: After using the 3.1 for 3 months we have only had one leak, which was user error (I didn’t prep it enough times). Peeka is a tummy sleeper and with a double fold of the insert in the front she has always had dry naptimes. We haven’t used these overnight yet but with a doubler or an infant prefold underneath the insert I wouldn’t have any concerns with leaks. After prepping (5 or 6 washes, I didn’t dry in between washes) this diaper is a super soaker. After a 3-hour car ride and a giant EBF poop the 3.1 kept everything in. Peeka is almost 6 months old but can pee like a toddler and we never worry about leaks when she is wearing Smart Bottoms.
Fit- 4/5: The 3.1’s have a wider front waist than it’s predecessor the 3.0 which means they now fit babies longer. Peeka was about 11lbs when she first wore a Smart Ones and at almost 6 months and about 19lbs she is still on the smallest rise and 1 row out on each side for her waist (she is tall and solid). The waist elastic is very wide and doesn’t leave any red marks on Peeka like some other diapers.
Overall- 4/5: These are my favorite AIO diaper. I love that these are 100% made in the United State AND a Michigan company; it makes my heart so happy. The fit is great, the color and patterns are to die for and the quality of fabric and snaps is out of this world. I have a few of these in my stash and would buy more.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Homemade Cloth Wipe Solution

have been cloth diapering Peeka for just over a month now and it has been wonderful. We even traveled 3.5 hours to Chicago to MommyCon (our adventures at MommyCon will be my next post) in cloth diapers. Granted most of the babies there were in cloth, it was our first big trip without disposables.
When I first started using cloth I never thought about using cloth wipes too. Why wouldn't I just use disposables? They are so convienent, right? Wrong! It is such a pain to have to have a wet bag/pail for cloth diapers and a diaper genie/trash can for wipes. I want easy. I want to be able to throw the wipe in the dirty diaper and put it in my wet bag and call it good. Cloth wipes just make more sense.
So I have been trying to use up what we have left of our disposables wipes. I am calling it quits today. I will always have some disposable wipes around and in the diaper bag for messy hands or quick clean ups but I will not be using them to clean bottoms anymore.
Freedom!
I have about two dozen bumGenius Natural Flannel Baby Wipes that I'd been using as wash cloths because they are so soft and 12 Planetwise Flannel Wipes I got on clearance from Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique (I get most of my cloth goodies from them if my local store doesn't carry the product). So I was set on wipes but I need the solution to go with them. I had been researching all kinda of diy wipe solutions and premade solutions online. Being lazy and cheap I decided to try my own with things I already had on hand. I found a simple recipe that I had to try from cleaningouttheclutter.com.

Basic Wipe Solution (Can be used with your favorite soap and oil.)
So I whipped up a batch.

I used Organic Coconut Oil, and a 1/4 cup of each Aveeno Baby Wash. I mixed it up and it looked like this.


I've read that some people put this solution in a spray bottle and spray the baby or the wipe and use, some people will put this solution over wipes in a wipe warmer and have premoistened wipes ready at hand and some people leave it in a container with a top and dip their wipes in when cleaning baby.
I realized I have no wipe warmer, no extra spray bottle (we just moved at a pitched anything empty) and if I had an open container of anything on the changing table Peeka would kick it and spill it everywhere. I do have a OXO Perfect Pull Wipes Dispenser that is awesome. I have 17 wipes folded up and ready to go in it.

You can watch this video from my favorite DirtyDiaperLaundry.com to see how to fold wipes so they come out one at a time.

I did pour an extra cup of water over top just because the solution seemed really soapy once I poured it on the wipes.

Now time to test these bad boys out! Peeka wanted to put them to the ultimate challenge, she pooped... A lot!
The wipes cleaned up Peeka's bottom so well. A+ on clean up. The thing was the wipes were so soapy I had to ring them out and I felt like I was leaving so much soap and oil on her bum. There were soap suds I had to wipe off with a dry cloth. Not squirmy baby friendly. Not to mention my wipes stuck together when I tried to pull them out!


BUT it was nice to throw everything in one place instead of having a trash and a wet bag!

I think the next batch I will use a lot LESS soap. I think I will also wet the wipes and squeeze out the extra solution before I place the wipes in the box.

All in all cloth wipes will be much more convienent that disposables once I figure out the solution thing.