We’ve had a few questions of late about using the bumGenius Pocket Diapers for newborns and here’s what we’ve been saying.
There are pros and there are cons.
Let’s start with the Pros:
This diaper comes bundled with a newborn insert (the absorbent part of the diaper) that is small and trim so it doesn’t overwhelm your baby, make his or her bum too huge.
This diaper also comes with a one size insert that will grow with your baby. Usually parents switch out the mini newborn insert for the one size insert at about 10lbs and this will take them right throught. There may be a point where you’ll need a boost of absorbency (toddler naps & nights) at which point you can pull out that mini insert and use it as a booster.
It will grow with your baby and you won’t need to purchase another size of diapers. You won’t have any “diaper clutter”.
If you have two in diapers (a newborn and toddler), you can use the same set of diapers for them both.
No learning curve for the other diaper-ers in your life, as they only have to learn one style of diaper (and then they get to perfect it by practicing 7000 times!)
Now, let’s take a look at the Cons:
As with any One-Size Diaper, it needs to have extra material to accomodate for it’s growth up to fitting a toddler. This can make it seem overwhelming to figure out how to put it on a teeny little newborn.
They do have a little more “poofiness” to them because of this extra material. If the inner material is not well approximated to the baby’s skin, this can be a cause for leaking (but this can be remedied – see the video for a tip).
While we typically recommend a set of 24 diapers, we recommed 30 if you are going with a One-Size to decrease the wear and tear over 2-3 years. This will be a higher up front cost, but over the course of your diapering days, you’ll still be ahead for only having purchased one set of diapers.
Have a look at the Learning Series Video Tips for using a bumGenius Pocket Cloth Diaper with Newborn to learn two specific hacks to make this diaper fit well and decrease the incidence of leaking during the newborn phase. The video was created before the 4.0′s were released but the concepts are transferable and work well on both the 3.0s and 4.0s.
If you haven’t been over on our Facebook Page, you won’t know about this yet.
We have selected 6 Parent Reviewers, all with cloth diapering experience, all with different sizes and ages of babies to give this diaper a test drive and report back to us. EasyFits will be landing on doorsteps across the country starting on Tuesday.
Watch our Facebook page for photos and reviews, coming shortly.
In the meantime, enjoy the video and if you have any questions about the EasyFit (8-35lbs) or it’s little sister the TiniFit (5-12lbs), drop us a line at customercare@newandgreen.com
Update August 29th: Reviews
From Jessica, one of our Newborn Reviewers:
We’ve been using the EasyFits for a few times now. Our Miss H is 6 weeks old 10 lb just looks so cute in it! There is never a leak yet and I don’t believe we will get any! The legs fit snugly! I love how easy it is to just toss to the washer without shaking out insert. Oh and how soft it is on her bum!
From Miranda, one of our Toddler Reviewers:
During the day the Easyfits are great. I can go out without worrying about leaks and don’t have to worry about unstuffing them in the middle of wherever I am changing him as they unstuff themselves in the wash. We haven’t had any problems with staining on these diapers, even with runny poops where they have stained others.
From Meaghan, one of our Older Baby Reviewers:
I like how easy it is to get a snug fit with these. With other diapers I have found myself undoing and redoing the velcro a couple of times to ensure a good fit, but this one seems to get it right the first time every time.
When we ask new parents what they rank number one as the most important feature of a cloth diaper, they almost always say “Easy to use!” or “Convenient”. I believe this comes from the fear rooted in the notion that cloth diapering is hard, not user friendly and terribly inconvenient.
While prefolds do require a bit of learning to get you to the stage of “Hey, that’s not difficult..at all!”, they are really a do-able diaper option. And they have lots of great benefits.
Here is a short list of our top 5:
Organic Cotton - one of the greenest, healthiest choice in textiles from production to end user
Very absorbent
Easy to wash and fast to dry
Simplicity means no technology problems (ie nothing to break on it)
Durable – many many babies can have these diapers grace their bottom and then they can be upcylced to cleaning cloths
So with all this behind us, lets take three minutes to look at Prefold Cloth Diapers in the Learning Series Video above. This is your intro to get you into your prefold zone.
AMP Duos are a relatively new diaper to the market and very innovative. These are one of the only pocket diapers that we have found that can work on a newborn baby and will fit them well right up until 18lbs. There is a trick we have found that will make the fit perfect on a tiny newborn (watch for an upcoming post to see this in action).
We love this diaper with BabyKicks Hemp as the insert as it provides a lovely, trim fit and the option of laying the insert inside the shell or stuffing it inside. The video discusses why you may choose one method or the other.
Enjoy and do let us know if you have been using this system. We love to get reviews from our families about how their diapers are working for them.
And just a little aside – JoeyBunz Hemp Inserts are truly fabulous and families are beginning to take notice of this. They are absolutely flying off the shelves!
We often get asked if it’s possible to start cloth diapering from day one or if it’s possible to cloth diaper a smaller newborn. In short, the answer is….YES!
The biggest consideration for diapering a newborn is containment. This is key to success (meaning no leaks and the ability to confidently say to nay-sayers that it IS working out for you!). In the newborn phase, your baby is changed often and their bladders are not all that big, so super absorbency is as high on the priority.
So how to you achieve great containment? A good fit, particularly around the legs and waist, the ability for the fabric to absorb readily and the two barriers that a fitted diaper (like a Kissaluv Size 0) and a Diaper Cover (like a Bummis Super Brite) go a long way in extra insurance!
And if you want to start from day one, you’ll need to consider having a diaper that allows your baby’s umbilical stump to be open to the air to heal. Once it’s healed (usually 1 – 1.5 weeks), having a diaper with a higher rise that covers the umbilical stump is absolutely fine.
Top rated on consumer sites like TheDiaperPin.com, the Kissaluvs Size 0 paired with a Bummis Super Brite is our first recommendation for parents wanting a functional and easy to use system for their brand new babies.
Have a look at the video (caution – I can speak very very fast) and let us know what you think. If you have any questions about your newborn diapering choices, email customercare@newandgreen.com for further direction.
