Bumkins All-In-One Review

This is a review for Bumkins All-In-One One Size Diaper (AIO, OS). It offers a one-size, adjustable fit. It's all-in one, so there is no need for stuffing. There's stay dry fleece that surrounds the cotton and promises to wick the moisture away. Supposedly fast drying. Waterproof outer shell. Thus far, I have had no need to contact the company, so I will be unable to provide a service rating.

Currently priced at $16.95, it's only one dollar cheaper than the bumGenius 4.0. It's less expensive than your outrageously priced diaper, but I wouldn't consider it a "steal." That being said, I do think you get your money's worth with this diaper. Today (and for the next two days), they're 40% off at Ecobuys.

PRICE 3 of 5

I really like the feel of these diapers. The outer material is a tad more stretchy than the bumGenius diapers. It's soft, with booming colors. I think they're well made. The diaper is supposed to be stain and odor resistant, for those of you who have had issues with odor and staining.

These diapers did take a long time to dry on my drying rack. (I'm talking 24h + indoors to get rid of the damp feeling).

QUALITY: 5 of 5

Bumkins AIOs seem to fit my son really well. We haven't had any trouble with leaks and they fit wonderfully under his clothes.

The elastic around the legs does not create any lines. Last week, we were snapping onto the band. My son has grown a lot already and we no longer need to do that. Having the option is wonderful because it creates a really good fit for skinny babies. 

Bumkins AIO on small setting. BumGenius 4.0 on left on medium

We are starting to wear the bumGenius 4.0s on the medium setting. (We're still using the small setting on the bumGenius Elemenals). With Bumkins, we are on the small setting and it fits perfectly that way. Like the bumGenius, it has three sizes that are adjustable via the snaps. 

Bumkins and BumGenius 4.0 at largest settings

On the largest setting, the diapers seem to be the same size. The snaps are in different places, so small and medium are not the same on this diaper as the BumGenius diapers.

The biggest difference between the Bumkins and other one-size all-in-one diapers was the interior. I'm used to finding the opening to stuff diapers in the back. All brands have made up something about this helping to be a poop catcher. I haven't found that to be true or untrue... poop just collects all around the back flap and inside the back flap-- making me remind myself that baby poo will not kill me when it touches my fingers as I pull out the insert for the wash. 

In the above left photo, you will see the Bumkins diaper on the left and a bumGenius diaper on the right. The Bumkins diaper has the flap on the bottom. It also seems to stay closed a tad better than my bumGenius diaper.

On the right photo, I opened the Bumkins flap to show you that there are two snaps inside the diaper. 

Those two snaps allow you to stuff this long end piece into the diaper and snap it in place. Your Bumkins-wearing baby can now wiggle as desired without having the flap start to move out of place. The flap is actually pretty thin. I was surprised it held as much moisture as it did.

I believe it's the thin flap that helped with creating such a trim fit. If you would like to add more to this diaper, they have left it open for stuffing. I stuffed with one of my BumGenius microfibers overnight and had no problems. It wasn't tremendously fluffier with the new addition.

I also like the fit around the hips for these diapers. The snaps seem to be in the perfect location for a comfy and snug fit.

FIT 5 of 5

Bumkins offers one-size diapers, all-in-one one-size diapers, and covers. They also have newborn diapers. However, on their site two of the four are "sold out" with no expected restocking date. They seem to have about nine prints (all adorable) for you to choose from.

SELECTION 3 of 5

I will probably end up adding more Bumkins to my stash in the future.

ALVA baby Pocket Review

I have been using my ALVA baby diapers for about one month thus far. I now own 12 of them. In the beginning, I really hated these diapers. At that time, I had three. They took forever to arrive in the mail. My first order was pretty messed up. I contacted their support team via e-mail because they're not from here and I couldn't reach someone during the day. I was awake around 3am when I got a reply. Their English wasn't so great, but they agreed to fix my problem. We had a few 3am chats via e-mail before they were definitely on board and we were sure we understood each other. Overall, I am a very happy ALVA baby customer in regards to their service. I understand that mistakes happen. This could have gone terribly wrong, but they worked with me and fixed the problem.

SERVICE:  5  of 5

They're $4.79 each. The price is fabulous. I love this company. Shipping is also pretty cheap.

PRICE: 5 of 5

In regards to quality, these diapers are pretty good for the price. You can get minky prints or regular PUL prints. I actually prefer their minky materials. The PUL diapers aren't as nice as other brands I have tried. (I can feel that they're cheep, and look cheep). The minky ones look soft and yummy. (As yummy as you can get with a diaper). I only have two PUL diapers. They're both green.

 

Here is a side by side view of wear and tear after one month of use. In comparison to other diapers, I think it's safe to say it faded pretty quickly. However, the inside is still flawless. Other diapers lasted a bit longer, but other diapers I own aren't minky. I don't think the colors hold up well in a hot wash cycle. I would never recommend washing poop in anything other than hot water. I also use the recommended amount of soap. My other diapers held up just fine. My personal clothes are also doing great. This diaper just fades with time. Because the inside, and overall function is what matters most-- I'm only going to take off one point for fading.

QUALITY: 4 of 5

The elastic is comfortable and fits my son perfectly. There's elastic in the back around the butt as well. This creates a really fitted and trim fit for my son. I like it a lot.

By  trim, I mean my son's clothes fit around the bottom and buckle nicely without bulging between buttons. My son is learning to crawl. Can't have a diaper that prevents movement!

FIT: 5 of 5

 

If  you visit the ALVA Baby website, you will be delighted with the view. They're constantly updating their prints, which is dangerous for people with fluff addictions. 

That being said, all of their diapers are currently pockets. While you may be able to get any color/design your heart desires... It is unlikely that you will find anything other than pockets.

I ordered two color snaps because I thought I would like them most. Fortunately, they ran out and I only received one. It doesn't look like they're going to be getting more of them. The color snaps snap a bit differently around the waist. I don't like the placement of the leg snaps. And for whatever reason, my color snap diaper doesn't snap easily. I was never able to get it to fit properly.

The color snaps are the only ALVAs with double gussets. I didn't think they made much of a difference.

While there is a wide variety of color options, you really only have the option of pockets, or more pockets. The color snap pocket had a different snap variety, but it was really just another pocket... and it's no longer offered.

SELECTION 3 of 5

Months 2-3

PJ is now 17 weeks old (3 months and 28 days). My husband and I have enjoyed watching him expand his use of toys. (Months 0-1, he was only using two items happily).

During his 2nd and 3rd months of life, PJ has learned to:

• Sit in his Bumbo Baby Seat for about 5 minutes at a time. We sit on the floor with him and chat.
• Grab items from his Fisher-Price Rainforest Melodies and Lights Gym (In particular, he likes kicking the rattle, and grabbing the parrot).
• He's still a fan of his Tiny Love Gymini Bouncer, which was the first "toy" we were able to put him in from the hospital. He can now grab toys that hang from the sides. He has hated vibrations for the past two months.
• During tummy time, he can now pick up his head and arch his back.
• He can roll on to his side, and onto his back again. With a moderate push with a finger, we can get him to roll all the way onto his belly. He's excited, until he realizes he can't get back over.
• As of today, he can grab his bottle and hold it to feed himself for approximately 5 seconds.

Over the past month, my son seems to really enjoy a ball we received as a gift. It has lots of circular holes in it and he enjoys grabbing it, and chewing on it. He also likes to chew on his Sophie Teether.

Bibs have become vital. He's a drooling machine. We go through 10+ bibs per day. I really like the ones with the rubber back. He no longer fits the newborn bibs (and has outgrown most of his 3 month clothes).

Since birth, we've read our son a variety of Mr. Men and Little Miss books. When he was first born, we used to read Mr. Cool to him regularly. He seems to still remember Mr. Cool-- but he also loves Mr. Greedy, Mr. Busy, and Mr. Slow. This month, we added Mr. Tickle and the Dragon to our reading sessions, and Mr. Jelly and the Pirates. We also enjoy Girrafes Can't Dance and Liza Lou And The Yeller Belly Swamp. (By enjoy, I mean books that get PJ testing out his baby chatter).

Diaperwise, I think my favorite daytime diapers are fitteds with a cover. They contain his poop really well at this point in his life. My favorite fitteds are the ones that fit under the covers easily:

• Kissaluvs Fitted Cloth Diaper, (We're still on Size 0 at the largest setting).
• Tinytush Trim Fitted Diaper One-size 
• Workhorse Fitted Diapers (We're on size Medium, almost at the largest setting on snaps... love the ones without the snaps though for a perfect fit with a Snappi)

In the beginning, I really loved my Thirsties Wrap (Size one still fits). As of yesterday, our Flip Covers started to fit nicely at the smallest setting as well. I'd say we generally go through 2-4 wraps in a day. When I don't use the fitteds, I like the organic insert for the flip covers. Its less bulky than the microfiber currently. I really like the velcro Flip covers for times when PJ wants to be free, immediately. He kicks like Michael Phelps and the velcro takes two seconds.

I will occasionally put a Bummis Fleece Liner on the top of the natural insert to prevent PJ from feeling a damp diaper when he pees. I've had no trouble with Mictofiber thus far-- but it doesn't fit best in the Flips when on the smallest setting. I also find that I prefer not to fold the inserts. The diaper gets to bulky when I do. 

For travel, we use the BumGenius Elementals. They're pretty trim as far as all-in-ones (AIOs) go. They also hold a lot and we have never had a leak using this diaper. I throw two or three in the diaper bag, and we're good to go! 

For overnight, we use BumGenius Freetimes. They're a little bulkier than the Elemental diaper, but hold a ton. In the morning, the underside of the microfiber is soaked... but the top portion still feels dry. Amazing.

Around month two, my husband only used our Blueberry Pocket Diapers with velcro. He now goes for some of our snap diapers as well.

At our changing station, we're still using OsoCozy Flannel Baby Wipes. I keep them in a wipe warmer with distilled water. I have also found that I love California Baby's Diaper Area Wash. I spray one or two squirts on my wipe for pee diapers-- and directly on my baby's bottom for poo diapers.

Looking forward to month 4!

Green Mountain Diapers

I have tried all of my Green Mountain Diapers:

• Cloth-eez Workhorse Diaper with snaps
• Cloth-eez Workhorse Diaper with no closure 
• Cloth-eez Prefold (white, medium)
• Cloth-eez Prefold (white, wide)

They all fit wonderfully over my small Thirsties wrap-- and also fit very nicely under the Flip cover on the smallest setting.

While I am still not in love with Prefolds, I do wish I would have tried these first.

I absolutely LOVE the Workhorse Diapers. I like the snaps for ease, but I'm able to get a wonderful fit with a snapi. They've very absorbent and are offered at an excellent price!

Favorite Cloth Diaper Accessories

Swaddlebees Hemp Doublers: I have a three pack of these that I use with my fitteds and occasionally with my BumGenius (BG) Elementals. They make the fitteds last as long as my BG's... and they make the elementals bulletproof. I have three total. I haven't needed more. I use mostely BG's though. I only have 2 fitteds in rotation.

FuzziBunz Hanging Diaper Pail: You don't want to store dirty diapers with dirty clothes. I have two of these. When one is in the wash, I pull out the other. If they're both clean, one is in the closet waiting to be used. They're really nice. The elastic at the top is sturdy. The bag is usually partially closed. I loop the two hanging loops on the two sticks of my dirty clothes bin. I'm pretty sure I could use it as a trash can liner to create a diaper bin if I wanted to. I like the zipper at the bottom. I don't need to touch anything as long as I remove all of the inserts before putting them inside.

Bummis Reusable Fleece Liners: When using the BG elementals, PJ used to SCREAM the second he peed. After adding this to them, he can now pee without feeling wet. Thus, no screaming. I also use it with my fitteds-- or any diaper that doesn't already have a fleece liner.

California Baby Non-Burning & Calming Diaper Area Wash: I use this in the morning (which is usually a heavy pee diaper) and whenever PJ poos. I wipe first with distilled water. Then I spray and wipe. PJ seems to like this, and it keeps him smelling fresh. I also like knowing that he's clean. 

Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment: This is pretty much vasoline with lanolin. I use this around PJ's butthole after heavy poos. I wipe first with witch hazel on a cotton ball. Then I apply this with a Qtip. It prevents irritation on the next poo. 

OsoCozy Flannel Baby Wipes: I have about 60 of these. I could probably go two days without needing to wash more. Out of all the wipes I tried, these are my favorite. I could go without the lining around the edges. It usually shreds a bit in the dryer. But the wipe itself is sturdy and the perfect thickness. The thicker, fluffier, and colored ones I've tried don't seem to wipe poo off as well.

Munchkin Glow Wipe Warmer: I actually like my warmer better with cloth! I keep it unlocked now because my cloth wipes are rolled and stacked. I fill it with distilled water, two rolls of wipes, and whala! Spa day for baby.

Reviews coming soon for: Kissaluvs Diaper Lotion Potion Squirt Bottle, Concentrate and bumGenius Bottom Cleaner 2.0

Favorite Cloth Diapers

It's official. I've gone cloth.
My son is 16 weeks old and I've tried quite a few.

(#1) BumGenius Elementals - At first, I hated these. But after I had more than one and was able to wait 2 days for them to dry without runing out of diapers, they became my favorite. I actually started throwing them in the dryer for 100 minutes on high heat so they would dry in 24 additional dryers on my drying rack. They're trim. They work well during the day and overnight. I love throwing these in my diaper bag because there is minimal effort required to put them on correctly or take them off and throw them in the diaper bag. I don't have to take anything apart or assemble anything. Granted, I did add a fleece lining to the top layer so PJ won't feel the wet diaper on his skin. I own seven of these.


(#2) Blueberry Deluxe Hook/Loop - I own one of these. I got it for $19.95 on amazon.com. Thus far, it's very absorbent. It's my only velcro diaper. I prefer snaps, but I wanted to try something different while building up my supply. PJ lasted in it overnight just fine. He went 8 hours without needing a change. (He rarely poops at night). When changing, the part that touches him was still dry. The stuffer was soaked. Impressive. I'm not a fan of their snap diapers-- even as someone who loves snaps. This is the only diaper C will use. I have two of the Hook and Loops, and one of the snaps. Once they break, I probably won't replace. I hate how the velcro always comes undone and sticks to everything else. C will need to master the snap! I own three of these.

(#3) BumGenius Freetime - I really like these. They're great for overnight. A tad less bulky than the 4.0s. It's nice to not have the need to put something together. I have the snap version. They dry quickly on my drying rack. I own seven of these.

(#4) BumGenius 4.0 - I own one of these in Twilight. LOVE it. PJ can last all night long without needing a diaper change. It's a little boxy... But that also seems to keep him from waking himself up at night. When he had an explosive amount of poo for a disposable, it didn't explode out of this diaper. It actually got a little close to his leg, but that was all. Disposables seem to soak up more poo moisture and stick to his bottom. I felt that I was wiping his bottom a bit to get all of the poop off. I own 10 of these.

(#5) Sunbaby - I really like these. They don't last long.... PJ pees right through them pretty fast. But I love the fit. They have an extra snap for his legs so the hip snap isn't pretending to adjust the leg holes. I still like my BGs more, but the price or sunbabies was great. Thus, I used Sunbaby diapers to complete my stash. I own 13 of these.


(#6) Mother-Ease Sandy's Cloth Diaper - Bamboo - This is my first fitted diaper. I really liked it. It didn't fit so well under the covers I own. It made my baby have a super bulky bottom. But, while I'm hope, I used a hemp doubler and a flece liner. This was bulletproof. PJ can nap for 2 hours without leaking with that particular setup. I like knowing that he can breath through the diaper. It's also unbelievably soft. At 3 months and 13lbs, he fits the small size very well. I plan to get larges soon. I have one in rotation.

(#7) Kissaluvs Fitteds v2.0 - After hating prefolds-- I decided to give fitteds a try. I have two of these in my rotation. They're not as soft or as absorbant as Sandy's. They fit inside my diaper covers a little better, as they're a tad more trim. I like them for naps with my hemp doubler and a flece liner. I like that I can put them in the dryer and they're dry with everything else. (My Sandy's and BGE's need extra time to dry completely). I have two of these in rotation.



(#8) Flip - I feel like I will like these more when PJ gets older. Right now, his poo is runny. If he poops, the cover goes in the wash. I'm not going to hand wash it with a wipe. When he pees, I can use the cover quite a few times. I don't like the microfiber inserts right now because PJ is too small. He's on the smallest setting. I can fold the insert as per the directions, but it makes the diaper bulky. The insert doesn't seem to stay in place well. I don't like the organic ones for the smae reason. I tried using a snapie on the organic inserts because they're like trifolds, less the puffy center. They just made them bulky... and made PJ cry. I haven't sold them because I genuinely think this is an awesome concept and will get better as PJ grows.. or when his poo goes solid. I own way too many of these. I was expecting love at first site. I probably only needed 3 covers. I have way too many.