Lil Helper Charcoal Bamboo Cloth Diaper

Diaper Type: AIO/AI2
Closure Type: Snaps (front)
Sizing: One size
Rows of Snaps: 2
Insert Type: Snap-in
Outer Material: Bamboo PUL/TPU
Insert Material: Charcoal bamboo and microterry
Lining Material: Charcoal bamboo
Leg Elastic: Encased
Number of snaps on each wing: 3
Price: Diaper with insert: $26; Additional Insert: $10
Website: http://lilhelper.ca/

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A few weeks ago, I received two wool dryer balls from Someday Sarah in exchange for some mama cloth. The Someday Sarah wool dryer balls are made differently than most dryer balls out there. The outside of Sarah’s dryer balls is crocheted with 100% wool yarn, and the inside contains wool sweater scraps. Sarah makes a lot of recycled wool soakers, so she has quite a few scraps. I think it’s great that she figured out a way to use those scraps instead of throwing them away. [Read more →]

I recently received a free Owls print GroVia shell, and I must admit I was very excited, even though I’m not a big fan of PUL/TPU diapers or covers.

Pros:

• Cute print.
• Wide elastic at the back of the diaper.  The back elastic in GroBaby diapers is one of the things that I didn’t like, so I was glad to see the elastic has been changed.
• Can be re-used.
• Dries very quickly.
• Trim (although I didn’t use it with the GroVia soaker).
• Strong snaps.
• Strong velcro.  I love the loop fabric!

Cons:

• Big snaps. I always had to make sure the soaker was covering the area where the front snaps are located, so that my little one wouldn’t be uncomfortable when on his tummy.
• Polyester lining. I wish they also sold the same shells with a natural fabric lining. I know I wouldn’t be able to re-use the shell before washing, but it’s not a problem for me since I usually don’t re-use the shells much anyway.

My overall rating: 8/10

Did you know I don’t like snaps, hook and loop, and elastics in a diaper?  If not, then you know it now :)  So, when I found out about a diaper that had none of those, I decided to try it.  Tiny Bird Organics had a great deal which I could not resist, so I went ahead and bought a pack of 3 of the German-made organic cotton tie diapers.

Pros:
1. The diaper is made of organic cotton.
2. No elastics which makes cleaning a lot easier.
3. One size
4. Low cost
5. Made in Germany.
6. Dries very quickly.
7. Contain EBF poo very well.

Cons:
1. Might be a little bulky on small babies.
2. Hard to find in Canada. I bought mine from Tiny Bird Organics which is in the US.
3. Takes a bit of time to put on a baby. Can be too much work if you change your child very frequently or practice infant potty training.
4. Can be a challenge to put on on a wiggly baby.
5. Requires an insert/doubler.

Overall rating: 7.5 out of 10

El Bee Baby cloth diaper on my 14/15 lb son

Depending on how obsessed you are about cloth diapers, you might have or might have not heard about the Canadian-made El Bee Baby cloth diaper.  It’s one of those expensive diapers that a lot of people either can’t afford or they just don’t want to pay that much for.  I wanted to make similar diapers (undyed and with simpler binding though) for my newborn, so I thought seeing this diaper in real life might help me figure out how to do it without wasting a lot of time. I was lucky enough to get one on sale and I bought it without a doubler to keep the cost down.

When I first saw the diaper, I was impressed.  It looked like no other diaper I’ve ever seen.  It was cute, the workmanship was great and it looked like the diaper took forever to make.  The unique binding looked like so much work, I almost immediately stopped wanting to make a similar diaper myself.

Pros:

• Great workmanship
• Trim
• Great fit on my son
• I found it easier to get the diaper clean where the elastic is because of the binding.  As most people who have cloth diapered for a bit know, it’s not easy to clean poop off of the elastic area of the diaper.

Cons:

• The price of the diaper is high.  However, when you think about how much work went into making the diaper, you might understand why it’s so expensive.
• Might be too trim for heavy wetters.
• I haven’t used the doubler / lay-in soaker that came with it at all because it shrunk in such a way that it wouldn’t lay flat.  I decided to use soakers/doublers that made instead.   Also, the doubler looks quite thick because of the binding, but I doubt it’s very absorbent.

Overall rating: 9 out of 10
I would have given the diaper a higher rating if it wasn’t for the cost and the weird shrinking of the lay-in soaker.

I have not been paid to write this review. The diaper was purchased by me.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Since my 8 -week-old baby is a heavy wetter already and is also very sensitive to wetness, I’ve had to use disposable diapers at night.  Sometimes, I also have to use disposables during the day whenever I want him to have a longer nap.   Normally, I use Broody Chick or Nature Babycare “eco-friendly” disposable diapers, but because they start getting a bit too expensive after a while, I decided to try Bambo Nature by Abena (please note the link points to a PDF file).

Since you know I don’t like to write huge reviews, let me get right to the point and tell you about the pros and cons :)

Pros:

• Less expensive than other “eco-friendly” disposable diapers
• Very absorbent for a newborn who’s a heavy wetter
• Chlorine free (oxygen bleaching used instead)
• Supposedly they’re suitable for babies with eczema and other skin conditions.  The diapers have definitely not caused or made my son’s eczema.
• 70-80% biodegradable materials
• 100% natural absorber (high percentage of starch used in the absorbent core)
• No perfumes or lotions used
• No major smell when diaper wet. This has always bugged me about regular disposable diapers.
• Awarded the prestigious Nordic SWAN eco award

Cons:

• Run a bit big on my baby. The Midi size (11-22 lbs) still seem a little too big on my 14-lb baby.  It’s not a big deal, but I would’ve probably bought a smaller size if I had known that.
• Not 100% biodegradable
• Not the softest outer material, but the inside is similar to that of other disposable diapers.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with this diaper.  I would love it if it was 100% biodegradable, but 70-80% is quite good when you compare it with the biodegradability of regular disposable diapers.

Overall rating: 7 out of 10

Today, I wanted to tell you about a beautifully-made diaper from Rainshine Designs.  I’ve wanted to try this diaper for a while, but it usually doesn’t make sense for me to buy diapers when I can make well-fitting and cute diapers for my daughter myself.  Sometimes I get bored with my own diapers though, so I do purchase a cloth diaper made by someone else every few months.

Photo courtesy of Rainshine Designs

When I first looked at the diaper after opening the envelope, I thought it was very cute.  I then started looking at the stitching, fabric, etc. and was very impressed with the workmanship.  Megan, the creator of the Rain Shine Designs diapers, is a very talented and hardworking seamstress.  I rarely see such incredible top-stitching. [Read more →]

I bought a Large DreamEze AIO Cloth Diaper a while ago after reading some good reviews about how absorbent and trim it was. It took me a while to find a store in Canada or in the US that had it in stock and would not charge an arm and a leg for shipping to Ontario, Canada.  Once I received the diaper, I was really excited and was hoping it would work well for us.  Unfortunately, my excitement did not last long.

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Just as most cloth diapering people, I occasionally use disposable diapers. Since plastics and the chemicals found in disposable diapers are a concern for me, I do try to look for diapers that contain as few of those chemicals as possible. [Read more →]