Off The Bum

Graham Bear Wear Diaper Review

Lindsey Jane8 Comments

Emery is our first baby to cloth diaper from birth. I knew my one size diaper stash would not fit him at birth. (Though have since tried WAHMies one size diapers and they would have easily fit him from birth.) We decided to go with fitteds and covers. I really like fitteds. They are a great option for newborns. Why? Well, newborns have that runny, explosive poo and the fitteds keep that inside the diaper where it belongs! If ever the poo escapes the fitted, it still remains securely inside the cover. We never had a single poo leak with Emery in fitted diapers. (Disposable diapers always allowed explosive poo leaks with the older two!)

At first, I ordered 6 Graham Bear Wear diapers. They are so trim and so cute! These are extremely well made diapers! She uses Zorb and they are so trim because of that. These also have a snap down in the front to protect the umbilical stump. Graham Bear Wear diapers have cotton velour interior (often hand dyed to match the outer fabric you choose). The outer is the cotton of your choice. She has so many lovely fabric choices! I have no two Graham Bear Wear diapers that are alike! Talk about fun! And each diaper comes with a matching liner!

After Emery was born, I ordered 6 more because they were such great diapers! The Pastor even liked these diapers, though he was initially very hesitant about fitteds and covers.

You do need a cover, since fitted diapers are not waterproof. Graham Bear Wear diapers easily fit my 6 lb. 13 oz. boy and would have easily fit my firstborn (5 lbs. 2 oz. at birth).  These easily fit under a Prowrap newborn diaper cover. These fit Emery until he was about 11 lbs. and ready for our one size diaper stash!

Photot of a Graham Bear Wear Newborn fitted diaper beside a bumGenius one size oraganic all-in-one to show you the size. The Graham Bear Wear diaper is set on its “medium” setting. The bumGenius diaper is as small as it gets.

A side by side comparison of a Graham Bear Wear Newborn Fitted Diaper with a Nanipoo Fitted Diaper.

Would I recommend Graham Bear Wear fitted newborn diapers? Absolutely! And I do! These are my favorite newborn fitted diaper! They are still in excellent condition after one newborn. I bought them for $50 for 6. Talk about a great deal! The only downfall is that you may not get as much money back if you plan to sell them once your newborn is out of them. Graham Bear Wear is a relatively new shop, so the word is not quite out there about what wonderful diapers they are. I am keeping mine! Hopefully I will get to use them again!

My newborn diaper stash.

Nancie was easy to work with. She made and shipped my diapers quickly! She even threw in a couple velour wipes with one of my orders! (And those are lovely if you are in the market for cloth wipes and don’t make your own!) She had so many cute and fun fabrics to choose from and hand dyed the velour to match many of my diapers.

**UPDATE: While I still adore my Graham Bear Wear diapers, it appears that they are no longer around. Which means that NONE of my newborn diaper making folks are in business anymore. If you come across them on diaperswappers, know they are awesome diapers. But it looks like for the time being, you can’t get GBWs.**

***UPDATE: She’s back! You can get them on Etsy again! Yay!***

Nanipoo Fitted Diapers

Lindsey Jane2 Comments

When deciding how to cloth diaper a newborn, I settled on fitted with covers. I knew none of my one size diapers would fit my little bitty babies. (Though since then have tried out WAHMies one size cloth diapers, and they would have fit my little bitty boy.) I had heard such lovely things about Nanipoos, so I thought I would order some and give them a try. I ordered 6 custom newborn size Nanipoos. There was a slight delay with getting them, since the sweet lady that makes them lost her husband the day after I ordered. But she was lovely to work with and kept in contact, even during such a difficult time. I appreciated that and waited on my diapers. They arrived the week Emery was born, so I had them in time!

These diapers do require a cover since they are not waterproof. Nanipoos have snaps and an umbilical scoop in the front to protect baby’s little bebo. (If you haven’t read the Belly Button Book by Sandra Boynton to your little ones, you should. It is cute.) They easily fit my 6 lb. 13 oz. newborn. I imagine they would have even fit my first and she was 5 lbs. 2 oz. at birth! These work really well with Newborn Prowrap covers. Nanipoos are a bit more fluffy that my Graham Bear Wear diapers, but they work well! These easily fit until Emery was about 11 lbs. and big enough for most one size diapers.

Side by side comparison of a Graham Bear Wear Newborn Fitted and a Nanipoo (on right).

Side by side comparison of a Nanipoo Newborn Fitted Diaper and a bumGenius One Size Organic All-in-one (on smallest setting).

The interior is a nice cotton velour (think Swaddlebees) and the outside is the fabric of your choice. If you choose knit fabrics, your diapers will have a bit more stretch and fit a little longer. If you choose a woven cotton, your diaper will have a bit less stretch, but will fit until about 10 lbs. still. They take a little longer to dry than a pocket diaper or a Graham Bear Wear Fitted diaper because they are a little more bulky. (Usually 2 and a half cycles in the dryer.)

Would I recommend Nanipoos? Absolutely! They are very affordable ($8.50 a diaper) and very well made! These held up well and will hold up to use on more than one child. You can also resell these on DiaperSwappers.com and usually get $5 (sometimes $6) a diaper back! I chose to keep mine since we are hopefully not done having children yet. (We’ll see what the Lord has in store for us.)

My Newborn diaper stash.

Gro Baby Diapers

Lindsey JaneLeave a comment

You’re confused, right? What on earth is The Pastor’s wife doing with an All-in-Two diaper? She’s a One Size Pocket girl! Well, yes, I am a One Size Pocket girl, but these Gro Baby One Size All-In-Two diapers were generously donated to The Parsonage (Thank you, Melissa!). So, I have tried them out (meaning I’ve used them over 100 times each) and are letting you know what I think.

A side by side comparison of a Gro Baby One Size AI2 (left) with a Haute Pocket One Size Pocket diaper. Both on larger setting.

A side by side comparision of a Gro Baby One Size AI2 Diaper with a Haute Pocket One Size Pocket Diaper. Both on small setting.

So, here is how these diapers work. The outer shell has a mesh (think basketball shorts) interior and two snaps. The inserts snap onto the outer shell and you can set a doubler on top of that. I was given 2 shells, 4 inserts, and 2 doublers. The theory is that when your little one wets the insert, you simply remove it and insert another, reusing the outer shell. That absolutely works out for older babies and toddlers. It does not work so well for little ones. When they are little (the babies, that is) they poop every time they eat. This means that they soil the shell and you can’t just pop in a new insert. Eventually, they get to where they only poop 5 times a day, which still doesn’t work out well for an all-in-two system. Then somewhere around 3 or 4 months old, they begin pooping only once a day (or once every three days). Then this system works pretty well.

Interior of Gro Baby One Size AI2 Diaper. To the right of the diaper is the doubler for it.

Interior of Gro Baby One Size AI2 Diaper with no insert. The inserts attach using the snaps on the shell. You can also see the mesh inside of the shell.

So, here you see the aplix tab. Gro Baby has very gentle aplix tabs and the entire upper part of the diaper is the “loop” portion of the aplix. It is very gentle. It does not gather fuzz or lint and is not too very grabby in the wash. The laundry tabs don’t always stay closed, but they usually end up hooked to themselves and not snagging my other diapers, so I won’t complain too much about that. The aplix is easily opened by a toddler, though. It does not take much effort to open it. It actually feels more like a disposable diaper tab. I have many, many problems with the weakness of these tabs.
These diapers are pretty small. They are very short, but kind of wide. They are similar in fit to a Rocky Mountain One Size or Tweedle Bugs One size, but a bit smaller. These fit Emery (17 lbs. and round) well. They seem the barely fit Aidan (26 lbs. and average to thin). They don’t fit Imogene at all. Realistically, I’d say the range on these is 6 lbs. to 30 lbs. Kind of crummy, since an all-in-two works best for older babies and toddlers. The weak aplix makes it impossible to keep on a child if using them on the larger setting. The tabs just let go when they are under any strain at all!

They are absorbent and work as a night diaper with the doubler, provided your child is a back sleeper. They leak with side sleepers and larger tummy sleepers.  I do have the “old” version (I think new ones are coming soon), so I’m not sure if they will make the shells bigger with the new version. I love that the snaps aren’t white. It just looks cool. It makes them look nicer.

Do I recommend Gro Baby One Size Diapers? Hmmm. Yes, I had to think about it! On one hand, they look nice and work well for 4 months through 2  years. On the other hand, they don’t fit an older toddler and cannot be used as intended before 3 and a half to 4 months old. (Though they do “work” in the sense that they fit and don’t leak. You cannot reuse the shell when a little baby explodes poo all over it. So, you’d have to buy enough to change the shell every time. So, it doesn’t “work” for using one shell for every 2-3 inserts.) They are easy to get on and off, so an ECer may like them a lot for that.  So, I guess I sort of recommend them. Just so long as you are aware of their limitations and the deviations from the all-in-two plan. Don’t cry to me when you buy 8 shells & 24 inserts for a newborn, only to find the shells only get you through half a day. And don’t cry when you love them, but your 3 year old is still not wanting to potty train but just does not fit in your beloved Gro Baby diapers anymore. They are pretty neat diapers, but could use a lot of work! (Manufacturer of Gro Baby, if you’re reading this, make them bigger! Make the inserts a bit longer! Make the aplix stronger, or better yet, switch to snaps entirely!)

**Update**

After using them for about 150 washes, the elastic is getting much less springy. The back elastic on all my Gro Baby diapers is completely shot and the leg elastics are all making their way toward that end. So, less than 6 months of good elastic use. This could be due to squeezing my average size two and a half year old in them (which should be fine). I think I could have gotten another month or two out of the elastic if only the baby was using them. Which, the baby is the only one using them now, since the 29 lb. 2 year old no longer fits in them.

Happy Heiny One Size Pocket

Lindsey JaneLeave a comment

I bought one Happy Heiny when I first convinced The Pastor that we should cloth diaper the little ones. I purchased the aplix version under the impression that The Pastor was certainly not capable of snapping a diaper. I thought, “I’ll have to use aplix (velcro for those that aren’t in the know about such things) because snaps are too difficult for The Pastor and he’ll get so frustrated he will forbid me to cloth diaper our children!” So, there were a couple problems with that thought. The first was that anyone would forbid ME to do anything! Ha! Such a silly thought! The second was that aplix is somehow easier. It isn’t. In fact, my experience has been that aplix makes my life more difficult. Yes, grandma’s and babysitters can much more easily figure out an aplix cloth diaper. But really, once you’ve put on a snap diaper once or twice, it is simple. Really. It isn’t rocket science- just diapers. And if you can figure out how to work those blasted adjustable waist kid pants, then pocket diapers will be a breeze for you!

What a rant! Okay, I guess I should start my actual review. The Happy Heiny diaper we own has been labeled since the beginning as “Imogene’s diaper.” She still wears it at night. Why? Well, the fit of this diaper is very, very specific. Yes, it is a one size diaper, but it is not for the round child. Imogene was 2 when we started cloth diapering, so she was out of her round stage. She fit in this diaper so well. Aidan was a terrible fit, still is to some extent. Emery is a terrible fit.

The interior fabric of a Happy Heiny is fleece. Yes, it pills with repeated use. No, the laundry tabs do not work. This diaper is the cause of many, many snags on my other diapers (usually my bumGenius diapers- they must be enemies). The large aplix tabs warp in the dryer. They still work, they just don’t look nice. When you put it on, you can kind of straighten them back out a bit, but they are forever warped. The aplix does accumulate fuzz and things, but it continues to work. And a note, they are not joking that the lime green color is lime! It glows!

These diapers have an odd fit. They are much longer in the rise than other diapers. That makes them a good fit for toddlers and longer babies. They are fairly narrow width wise. So, if your child is a rolly little thing, this diaper is not going to fit him right. If, on the other hand, you are diapering tall or slender children, this diaper will fit lovely. It would fit an 8 lb. baby, but not extremely well. Realistically, you could expect it to fit closer to 10 lbs. It will fit all the way up to 40 lbs. (maybe even 45 lbs. if you toddler doesn’t have thunder thighs like mine does!)

I like the shape of the Happy Heiny insert. It is an 8 or an hourglass, whichever way you choose to look at it. The insert alone is a great product! It would make you Blueberrys and Econappis work so much better!

I don’t have leaking issues with this diaper at all. I do have the many, many fit issues. And of course, I have the laundry frustration of it grabbing onto everything else in the wash!

Do I recommend Happy Heiny One Size Pocket diapers? Well, only if your child is a difficult fit and it slender. For kids that are lean, tall, skinny, etc. this diaper may be just what you need. I would recommend you go for the snap version over the aplix version, though I’ve never tried the snap version. Aplix does offer more help in the way of difficult fits, but you will have to deal with the headaches that come with aplix. I won’t be buying more, they just don’t work well enough for all the kids. (And the point of me having one size diapers is that all diapers fit all kids needing diapers.)

Looking for a similar fit to a Happy Heiny? Try WAHMies One Size Pocket diapers. They are just as tall, only slightly wider- fitting a broader range. Plus the WAHMies have an extra set of snap that make them easily fit a newborn! Want fleece interior similar to a Happy Heiney, but don’t like the fit? Try Tweedle Bugs. (Blueberry Deluxe diapers also have the same fleece, but I don’t really recommend Blueberry diapers.)

**Update**

This diaper still fits Imogene. She is now night time potty training, so it may get passed down to Aidan. (It fits him a little better now that he isn’t so round.) After 15+ months of daily use, the leg elastic has decided to wear out. This is a quicker wear than bumGenius (3.0 or organic AIOs), Blueberry, and Econappis. However, it is much longer than Haute Pockets! 450+ uses before elastic fails is completely acceptable to me! Elastic will not last forever, but this seems to be a decent amount of use out of the elastic.

BumGenius 3.0 One Size Pocket

Lindsey Jane2 Comments

Like my grumpy little bumGenius model? He is just so lovable, even grumpy.  I can’t say the same for bumGenius.

I am not a bumGenius fan. There. I said it. I’m glad we got that out of the way first. While I am not a fan, the 3.0 one size pocket has some nice parts. One nice part that no other diaper I have tried has is a little extra PUL protection around the top inside front of the diaper. bumGenius puts a little strip of PUL around the top of the inside of the front. Why is that cool? Well, one size diapers tend to flip out a bit at the top on the smaller sizes. Those adorable little chubby bellies tend to roll the front of the diaper down. (I know you know what I’m talking about. My maternity jeans did it ALL THE TIME!) That little extra strip of PUL keeps urine from wicking out the top via the interior fabric. (Not common, but happens a lot at night when they wet their diapers a lot.) Another plus is that suedecloth (which is the interior fabric of a bG 3.0 unless you get your hands on some of the limited edition fleece versions) does not stain. It also wicks away wetness pretty well. I also cannot say I’ve got any serious leaking problems. I love their inserts, I’ve got several extras that I use for added protection when needed. That is where my likes end.

Wow! I dislike my bumGenius diapers so much I don’t take pictures of them! Yikes. Well, now for what I do not like about bumGenius 3.0 one size pocket diapers. Suedecloth is quite possibly my least favorite interior fabric for a diaper. It tends to make all my little ones have small red bumps on their bums. (Smartipants and Rocky Mountains also do this, since they are suedecloth inside, too.) And suedecloth is not the softest stuff around. (Kind of reminds me of a softish polyester felt.) I also loathe velcro, or aplix if you’d rather use the cloth diaper term. BumGenius has particularly terrible aplix. It really grabs everything in the world and gets weak very fast. I have to weekly attempt to remove the strings and lint build up in the aplix. The laundry tabs are also a joke. They don’t hold at all. (Blueberrys are the only aplix diaper I have that holds to the laundry tabs.) So, really the bumGenius 3.0 just has all the things I happen to dislike in a diaper. If they had a snap version, I might like that. (Especially if it was a snap & fleece version- oh wait! That would be a Haute Pocket!!) The aplix issue makes this diaper’s life max out around a year and a half.

Realistically, this diaper fits around 8 lbs. You may be able to make it work on a 7 lb. baby since it is velcro. And it does max out between 35 and 40 lbs. (38 lb. Imo can wear these in a pinch, but they are tight and uncomfortable on her.) The shape of these is the same as a Haute Pocket or Smartipants.

Would I recommend the bumGenius 3.0 One Size Pocket Diaper? Not really. If you like aplix and suedecloth, then go for it. If you like the idea of bumGenius but would like a cheaper option, Smartipants would be a better choice. If you are like me and find the fit of a bG okay, but wants snaps and fleece, then you’d be happier with Haute Pocket Traditional One Size Pocket diapers. There are better diapers out there. These just fall short all over the place for me. Yes, they work. But why settle?

Here is my sad little bumGenius 3.0 one size pocket diaper after a little over a year of use.

A close up of my aplix tab on my bumGenius 3.0. You can see how yucky it looks and how it curls up, not holding where it is stuck.

And a close up of the loop strip. It is fraying. Sad little diaper needs to be put out of its misery.

Tweedle Bugs Diaper Review

Lindsey Jane8 Comments

Never heard of Tweedle Bugs? Don’t be alarmed. I hadn’t either. I came across them by chance one day and just HAD to give them a try! They were so much cheaper than anything I’d ever seen! ($12.95 a diaper!) These are one size pocket diapers that are cheap! For $12.95 I got the black diaper seen above, a Tweedle Bugs insert, and a doubler.

The interior is a fleece. It reminds me of Fuzzi Bunz fleece interior. They have a pocket opening in the front and back, so like Smartipants, you don’t have to unstuff them. They unstuff in the wash. (Which is a great feature!) The Tweedle Bugs insert is almost identical to a bumGenius insert.  The exterior is more nylon feeling and looking. It has no stretch to it as some PULs do.  They only come in a snap version, which you all know is a-okay with me!

Shown above with a Blueberry Deluxe to show size. The Tweedle Bug is a similar style to the Blueberry Deluxe and Econappi, but is slightly smaller. This means that this diaper fits smaller than the Blueberry. Realistically, it would fit an 8 lb. baby up to a 35 lb. toddler. (These do fit Imogene, 38 lbs., on the largest setting.) These diapers have some awesome elastic in them. It is super springy, but gentle. So, you can get a good fit without irritating fat thighs.

These are made a bit wider than other diapers. The rise is shorter than a Blueberry, but the width is the same. If your babies are long things, then this may not be a good choice. (Try Haute Pockets or WAHMies.) If you have round babies like I do, you may find the wider top makes it fit those chunky thighs so much better.


The pocket openings do gape a bit. It isn’t a use issue, just a visual one. You also have to make sure the insert isn’t sticking out the front on the smaller sizes. I have never had the insert work its way out while in use.

Do I recommend these diapers? Absolutely! If you want a cheap one size pocket diaper that works, you’ll love this diaper. It does have a limited size/shape range, so if you’ve got an oddly shaped or proportioned little one, you may want to take that into consideration. But overall, I would recommend these over their pricey counterparts any day! I am very happy with these and would happily buy more!

Like the price but need more of a size range? Try Smartipants. Looking for another fleece interior diaper with snaps? Try Haute Pockets.

Blueberry Deluxe Diaper Review

Lindsey Jane8 Comments

I have several Blueberry Deluxe One Size Pocket diapers. I like them. I don’t love them. You can see my Swaddlebees Econappi Review, since the Econappi and the Blueberry Deluxe are essentially the same diaper. The difference is in the interior and insert materials. The Blueberry Deluxe has a fleece interior and a microfiber/hemp insert. Over time, the interior fabric does pill quite a bit, but it is still very soft.

I have both aplix and snap Blueberry Deluxe diapers. (Thanks to Melissa!) I prefer the snaps. Big surprise, right? The aplix on the Blueberry is very, very strong. It hold up quite well, but I still have my usual aplix issues. On a brand new Blueberry, the aplix is so strong, it takes quite a bit of effort to get it unattached.

I have tried this diaper as an all in two, as the maker of Blueberry and Swaddlebees says you can. It didn’t work out for me. The interior fabric always got wet. I wouldn’t recommend buying these if you are wanting an all in two.

These diapers are on the larger end of one size diapers. Realistically, they fit from about 10 lbs. (if you’ve got a longer, leaner built child- you’re probably not going to get a good fit until 12 lbs.) and max out around 40lbs. Imogene wears them on the largest settings and she is 38 lbs. They have the smallest range of any of our one size diapers.

I have leak issues with these all the time. They are not good night diapers except on the smallest size. The insert gets all bunched up and moved around when the older ones are running around. You cannot put this on a kid and then go play on the playground. The running and climbing always leads to leaks. They work fine when they kids are still, like in their car seat, or just not overly playful. The insert seems just a little too narrow for the diaper.

These diapers are also kind of a pain when you’ve got multiple kids wearing one diaper stash (which is why I use one size diapers to begin with). The inserts snap together, so you have to determine what size you’re using when you put the diaper together. I assemble all my diapers out of the wash. So, with the Blueberry and Econappi, I must decide ahead of time which child will wear the diaper and then set the diaper accordingly. I also have to set those diapers aside for whichever size they are set to. That kind of annoys me. With other diapers, I can stuff them all and leave them all unsnapped, snapping them as I need them snapped. With these, I can’t exactly do that.

The velcro version of this diaper rubs poor Emery’s tummy. He is a rather round boy and the diaper top rolls in a bit on him. The rough Velcro tabs then rub his little tummy. I can readjust the tabs and unroll the top when I notice, but it rolls back as he moves and rubs again.

(Shown above with Econappi.) So, do I recommend the Blueberry Deluxe One Size Pocket diaper? Well, it really isn’t worth the money. If you’ve got money you just want to spend to have that little Blueberry tag on your child’s bum, then go ahead and buy some if you want. Just make sure you buy something else to use at night. Do they work? Yeah, they work for the most part. But you can pay half the price for a diaper that will work twice as well and fit much longer! I know I won’t buy anymore of these. In fact, I wouldn’t have more than one if several more were not given to me. These would work better if you bought different inserts for them. (Something wide, like a Happy Heiney Insert or Haute Pocket Insert would be perfect!)

Looking for a similar style at a more affordable price? Try Tweedle Bugs.