Cloth Diaper Adventure (FuzziBunz)

After a ton (and I truly mean a ton, several hours a night for weeks) of research and talking with church friends that cloth diaper; we decided to trial the FuzziBunz One Size Diaper.

Why we choose FuzziBunz:

-During my online research I was reading a lot of blogs and reviews. Most comments were that velcro does not hold up well in the wash; either sticks to other items, pearls, or needs to be replaced after so long. There were some comments that there is a benefit to velcro for better fitting; however, we opted for longer term use as we would be using these will our three children.

-Our main concern with cloth diapering was the bulkiness of the diaper and how cloths would fit over top. FuzziBunz was overall listed as the trimmest diaper.

-Ease of use. Pre-folds would be cheaper, however, I wanted the ease of diaper changing. More likely for my husband and family to use.

-Several church friends use various cloth diapers and liked FuzziBunz the best. Word of mouth really says a lot about a product and goes far for our comfort level.

We decided before we even got started that we did not want to trial too many different types of diapers, because due to the cost of purchasing each one vs. bulk things would get expensive quick. Plus we might end up having to use some that we don't like as much. We figure if we like one; why trial others? If it works... it works!!

We ordered our first trial FuzziBunz from Amazon. It was the cheapest we could get with free shipping. There are several cute color options, however, I like the white or off-white so the diaper will not show through cloths.

When checking the mail on Tuesday (May 29th), I was so excited to find our diaper had arrived.

Spent some time checking the diaper out and reading the instructions.

First Impressions:

-The outside material feels durable and well made
-Inside is extremely soft
-Inserts feel thick and absorbent
-Feeling excited and nervous to try them out

Was so excited to try it out; washed it right away with some kitchen towels. Directions state to wash on hot water and dry on low heat.

First trial was on my little Laney (Isn't she cute :) during a regular afternoon play time. Thankfully she had just had a messy diaper (thought I would start out easy with potty only). Prepared the diaper setting the adjustments according to the recommendations and decided to use both inserts. http://www.fuzzibunz.com/one_size_diaper.php

Fairly easy to put on. Seemed to fit well as directed. Off we go :)

She was a little reluctant to pose for a picture, but was able to get a few good shots.










Changed Laney after about 2hrs. Right away, I was excited to find that there were no leaks!!! Very awesome :) Once I opened the diaper I checked to see if it was wet and was very amazed. I could not tell by looking at the diaper that it was wet, nor could I feel anything (seriously, I was so amazed I held the diaper up to my husband running my hand down the inside stating "I'm not sure it is wet!!! Feels completely dry!!"). The weight of the diaper helped me to identify that it was in fact rather wet. Removed the inserts to find them soaked. How amazing that the wetness was completely pulled away from my little one's bottom :) I can't express enough how wonderful this is. Most disposables claim to do this, but I have yet to experience that.

We did find a few red marks on her back and front thigh. Made a few adjustments to the settings to see if it helps next trial.

Unfortunately, I only have one diaper to trial; so I immediately put it back in the wash for next time.

Second Trial was on Wednesday for Laney's nap time; she takes approx. 3hr naps. Still using two inserts and the adjustments mentioned earlier to try and prevent red marks. This trial went pretty well, not as good as the first trial. When I checked her diaper after her nap it seemed to have no leaks and was very soaked, however, when examining her onesie noticed a very faint dampness around one of her thighs. Red marks from First Trial did not exist; so I think we have it adjust well now. Not to bad considering how wet the diaper was.

Third Trial was on Wednesday evening for Laney's bed time; she usually sleeps approx. 11hrs. Similar results as Second Trial. This time we had an actual leak; some of her onesie was a little wet around one thigh.

Fourth Trial was Thursday afternoon; hoping for a messy diaper. I suspected that we would have one soon; so we put on the FuzziBunz diaper (along with a homemade cloth liner; just to keep things easy. I'll blog about this later if it turns out to be a good use). Sadly, when it came time to change her there was no mess. I was very disappointed to find the next diaper was messy though. Arg, wish I had two to trial. This evening I was able to watch a few YouTube video's about messy diapers and feel better about the clean up. We'll just have to get through that later.

I recalled that my church friends did state that night time diapering might need either a different diaper or more inserts. Our preference would be to resolve the problem with inserts rather than using a different night time diaper to keep costs down. Unfortunately, we only have two inserts to trial; which was already fairly bulky, but acceptable. Spent some more time researching today (Thurs) to see what could be done about the inserts and found a lot of suggestions to use a Hemp insert. Hemp inserts are less bulky and more absorbent. Found that FuzziBunz just started selling a new Hemp insert, however, they seem to be sold out everywhere (leading me to believe the might be popular).

With my research today I found that there was an awesome sale going on at ClothDiaper.com (http://www.clothdiaper.com/PRODUCTS/FuzziBunz/Fuzzi-Bunz-One-Size). You get an extra insert with each diaper; so 3 inserts! Plus a free diaper hanging pail (mail in coupon). Unfortunately, the sales ends today Mar 31st 2011 (of course it ends today, Murphy's Law strikes again!!!). I pondered the purchase all afternoon and talked it over with my husband. Without having a messy diaper trial; I was a little nervous to make the leap, however, either way I knew we would be using a cloth diaper of some kind and have less trouble with messy leaks vs. potty leaks. We decided to purchase a total of 20 diapers (19 more if you include the one we have now). Laney goes through about 8 diapers/day and Kaymi uses 2/day. This would give us about a two day supply with some extra just in case. We can always purchase more, but thought this would be a good start.

We decided to go ahead and purchase some Hemp inserts to help with sleep times. They were very difficult to track down. Sold out almost everywhere! Finally found a few at Green Baby Shoppe Inc. (http://greenbabyshoppe.com/category_1/Cloth-Diapers.htm). I bought all I could of their Medium insert. I'll be excited to report later how these worked out, but suspect they will be great from what I'm reading.

Overall this felt like a big purchase, but in the long run we will be saving hundreds of dollars each year our children are in diapers. Plus we are not adding to the world trash and choosing a healthy/comfy product for our little ones. So far my cloth diaper experience has been positive and I feel very comfortable about making the switch. After all we usually get really wet leaks from disposable diapers during overnight, so much so that Laney's front is covered in potty. Cloth by far has been a better experience.