Geffen Baby Quick Absorbers Plus

I was recently given the opportunity to review a set of the Geffen Baby Quick Absorbers Plus inserts. I really like Geffen Baby's jersey hemp flats, so I was excited to try their inserts.

I received a package of three Quick Absorbers Plus inserts, but you can also buy them in quantities of 6 or 12. When you receive them the dimensions are 6" x 17", but they will shrink somewhat after prepping. I found that mine are now 5" x 16" which is a great size for us.

You can see that after it was prepped it softened up nicely and shrunk down just a bit. The Geffen Baby Quick Absorbers Plus inserts are made of five layers of a 60% hemp and 40% cotton blend jersey. This makes them very absorbent, while still very thin! Geffen Baby also offers Quick Absorber inserts that are still five layers of hemp and cotton jersey but are about 5" x 13" if you need a shorter length. If you want even more absorbency try the High Absorber inserts (5" x 13" with two layers of hemp and cotton jersey plus three layers of hemp/cotton fleece in the center) or the Super Absorbers inserts (5" x 13" with five layers of hemp/cotton fleece). If you prefer microfiber, they also offer the Ultra Absorbers inserts (6" x 17"with three layers of microfiber).

You can see in this picture above that this insert is nice and thin. I really enjoyed using these as doublers in my flats during the Flats Challenge! Since they are made of natural fibers they handwashed well too. They add a lot of absorbency without adding a lot of bulk. We found that these worked really well in all of our pocket diapers also. Geffen Baby calls them universal inserts, and that certainly seems to be an accurate assessment! I was able to use them with all of our diapering systems. I've used them as doublers in all-in-ones and all-in-twos, as doublers in a prefold, and as doublers in flats with great success. Geffen Baby is a really great company and many of their products are made in the USA. Check them out on their website and on Facebook!

North St. Bags - A Diaper Bag for Dad!

Just in time for Father's Day, I got to review a backpack from North St. Bags here in Portland, OR. This is their Woodward Backpack which is a lightweight pack with versatility and style. North St. Bags makes a whole line of bags for cyclists and people about town. I have so enjoyed using this pack as a diaper bag for Coral. Of course, her dad agrees too!  

This removable zipper pouch velcros on the inner side of the bag to keep smaller things handy and in order. They have different attachments that you can choose to order as well to customize your bag space.

Here is a bird's eye view in to the bag. You can see that the pouch is attached to the two rows of Velcro in the bag. Opposite from the pouch is a sleeve for a laptop or any other item that you wouldn't want to get scratched or crumpled by other objects in your bag. I've appreciated this feature for a variety of uses such as taking cards or flat packages to the post office and transporting photos. I have a bit of a walk to get there and after accessing a normal bag a few times, I have always beat up any paper items in my bag pretty well. I usually have to hope that the recipient chalks that up to the USPS's rough handling, but not when I use this backpack!

 

 

 The chest and waist straps are good quality and easy to adjust with the D-rings. You don't realize how handy these are until you are fumbling for the strap while is a hurry or with numb fingers in the cold. I also appreciate the padding in the shoulder straps. They are comfortable but still breath well and don't make you overheat.

 Here is Dad and Coral on their way to an adventure.

Here Dad is wearing the pack fairly high on his back but it can adjust to many a different size. We have a few BG's in here, some spare clothes, wipes, wetbag, sippy cup, changing pad, bib, water bottles for us, snacks, a flask and all with room to spare.

The generous folks as North St. Bags are offering a discount code for 20% off a purchase of $100 or more between now and Father's day. You can tell your husband or dad to choose his own gift this year! Just go to http://northstbags.com/ and enter code = "bagsfordads"  (no caps) valid through 6/16/2013.

Orange Diaper Company Terry Squares

I was so excited to be able to try Orange Diaper Company's Terry Squares for the Flats Challenge. Orange Diaper Company, or ODC, is known for their adorable fitted diapers and their super squishy bamboo terry fitteds and flats. I was sent an infant and a toddler size Bamboo Terry Square to review, along with a set of ODC Super Doublers.

I just loved the way ODC products are packaged with the "handmade" tag and the ODC ribbon. It was such a fun package to get in the mail. The purple edges you see are the toddler sized Terry Square in Grape, and the one on top is the infant size in Natural.

The Super Doublers are a fantastic addition to any cloth diaper stash. They come in a package of two and are made of three layers of bamboo fleece. At 3.75 inches wide by 21 inches long, these are a great size to fit in any diaper you have! I used these as doublers for many different flat folds and they fit great in all of them. I discovered that I could use both of these with the toddler sized Square as an overnight option for my heavy wetter! I just laid them in my fold and then folded the extra length back over itself in the front since Ava is a tummy sleeper and needs that front absorbency.

This is the Infant sized Terry Square in a Neat Fold on Ava. I like to use a size one Snappi for many flat folds and it worked great on this one. The Infant Sized Square is 23.5" x 23.5" and according to the ODC website should fit from birth up to 25+ pounds. Ava is 26 pounds right now and I still had a lot of room to have this fit her, so you can definitely use this size for a long time. The size and absorbency you get do depend on what flat fold you use, but so far every fold has fit great. The bamboo terry cloth is very stretchy, so that helps to get a nice smooth fit and helps to make a smaller flat fit longer!

You can see in this picture just how nice and trim the flat is. I am in love with the squishy bamboo terry that these squares are made of! Some terry cloth flats have a smooth side and a looped side, but the fabric that ODC uses has the plush loops on both sides! I found that the fabric was really easy to either Snappi or pin depending on my mood and how still Ava would hold for me.

The Toddler Sized Terry Square is 28" x 28", and fits from 20-40 lbs. This larger size could be folded to fit smaller babies than 20 pounds but it will be bulkier, so ODC offers options so that you can get a trim fit on any size baby. I personally loved the larger size. I could tell that the extra 4.5 inches on each side gave quite a bit more absorbency and I can see how this size will fit Ava longer than the Infant size. This picture above is the Toddler size in an Origami Fold with a single pin for closure. 

If you want a Terry Square for a newborn but don't want to fold an Infant or Toddler size down to a newborn size, ODC offers a Newborn Size Terry Square! The newborn size is 16" x 16" and will fit from birth to 15+ pounds. If you need help deciding what size to get check out this post from ODC that talks about how the different sizes came about and how each of them fits.

Overall, we love these flats and doublers! I was so excited that the doublers plus the Toddler sized flat can work as a nighttime option for us, and I love using these for naps as well. Both the flats and the doublers handwashed really well during the Flats Challenge, too. One thing that I discovered during the Flats Challenge was that these Terry Squares remain soft even with handwashing and air drying. Many of my standard cotton flats would get super stiff and kind of rough, but the ODC terry flats stayed soft with every wash! The absorbency of these flats is just amazing to me: they hold a ton of liquid. If you are using flats for the cost savings, you might see the price of these and balk somewhat, but I really think that they are worth the extra money. I would recommend that any flats using family get at least a couple of these to supplement their stash with a highly absorbent option. If you are just a cloth diaper addict then you need to try ODC if you haven't already. The squishiness is irresistible to a cloth diaper addicted mama! Check ODC out on Facebook and on her website, where the Terry Squares are open for a pre-order right now.

Momma Made

Recently, I was given the chance to review a diaper from Momma Made, a WAHM who makes cloth diapers.  The Momma behind Momma Made is Lindsey, who has two young children.  She's been making diapers since January--she has a newer business, so make sure to show her some love! :)  And with how cute her diapers are, I don't think that will be a problem.  Lindsey sent me a super soft, minky pocket diaper to try.  It's absolutely adorable!

 

I can honestly say that I've never seen a diaper like this before!  It's mostly minky fabric, but it also has some PUL that goes across the back, creating a super cute look.  I absolutely love this woodland's print!  It's a little girly for my little guy, but he's been wearing it anyway!  And it's soooo soft, he's never complained! :)  Here's what it looks like on the back:

I absolutely love the combo of the minky and the PUL.  It looks so cute and is so so soft.  The snaps are also colored and coordinating.  I thought at first they were just colored to match the diaper (which they are), but they're also color coded to help you figure out which snaps to use.  The snaps and wings are actually angled, which not only looks cute, but also helped me get a better fit on my son.  Basically, if you can see on the picture below, rather than snapping the wings on the snaps that are one on top of the other, you actually use the colors that match-- so, brown on top and brown on bottom, or the green on top and the green on bottom.  It's a little hard to explain, but really easy once you try it out.  If you can see on the snaps below, it starts with two brown snaps on the left side, angled slightly to match with the angled wings.  

color coordinating snaps

So, how did this diaper work for us?  It worked great!  I didn't receive any inserts to go with the pocket diaper, so I can't vouch for how they'd work, but the diaper itself worked great.  We got a really good fit on my skinny son, with no gaping at the legs.  And like I said before, the inside of the diaper is made out of minky material and is SO soft!  The elastic is also inside the minky, so we had absolutely no issues with this diaper leaving red marks on his legs.

inside of the diaper; pocket above

The pocket itself is nice and large, if you can tell from the picture above.  It's a little lower on the back, and has a nice, big flap to cover the opening, which I really like.  That way there's not much of a chance of it opening and letting the inserts touch baby's skin.  The pocket also opens all the way across, which is helpful for stuffing.

We've been using this diaper for a few weeks now and have had absolutely no leaks!  And as I said before, it's just so soft that this is one of the first diapers I've been reaching for.  Here's a front view of my son wearing it (and no, it's not a giant bruise on his stomach--it's marker :) ):

sorry this is blurry....

The picture makes it look a little small, but it is actually a really good fit.  This diaper is a little small....not sure if the rise is big enough to fit a super tall baby, but Myles is pretty tall for his age, and aside what it looks like in this picture, we do actually have some room to grow.  He's 25lbs, pretty tall and skinny, and on the highest rise setting.

Here's a few other "side" shots.  I would have gotten more picture of him in the diaper, but geesh, are toddlers hard to get pictures of!!!

This diaper is a little bulky, I think it's because of the minky.  But it still fits in all his pants just fine-I think it just "poofs" out a little when it's not contained.  However, this isn't a problem for us--actually, it helps keep his pants up! :)

Overall, we absolutely love this diaper!  It's absolutely adorable, and definitely the softest diaper we own.  It works great, and is affordable.  Be sure to check out Momma Made's facebook page and hyena cart to get a diaper of your own.  Lindsey also makes AI2 diapers, hybrid fitteds, and some smaller items, like nursing pads, and diaper keychains.  If you'd like to purchase any of them, she's offering a 10% discount for Cloth Diaper Addiction fans!  Just let her know in the checkout notes that Cloth Diaper Addiction sent you, and she'll apply 10% off.  

She's also giving one lucky reader a $10 discount on any diaper order, so be sure to enter below!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Urbun Sprout - SproutWrap

Continuing with my Flats Challenge series, I have a great daddy friendly diaper to introduce to you all today! Made by Urbun Sprout, the SproutWrap is a fitted flat diaper. A fitted flat has all the ease of use that a fitted diaper does, but it has the ease of washing that a flat diaper does! I was sent this adorable apple print to review and use for the Flats Challenge.

The SproutWrap might look complicated on first glance, but it is really easy once you see how it goes together. It has a snap closure for the waist with cross over snaps on one tab to allow for a smaller baby to fit it.

For bigger babies, a pair of these SproutLeaf snap covers are included to cushion any snaps that might rest against your baby's hips.

The SproutWrap is two layers of soft flannel that are sewn to be easy to fold. You can see the shape in this next picture. The back of the diaper has waist and leg elastic to give the fitted diaper shape. On each side are flaps that fold in to become absorbency. There are four rows of snaps to allow four rise settings on the diaper.

The SproutWrap also has a snap in snake-style soaker made of flannel and organic cotton terry cloth. To start folding the SproutWrap you snap in the soaker, if you are using it, and fold it back over itself to fit the rise you need. 

Once the soaker is laying flat, you adjust the rise settings by folding the front over to the height that you need.

For Ava (26 lbs, 31 inches) I can fold over one or two of the snap rows to get a good fit. The row I use is determined by the cover I am putting over it. I get a slightly better fit with just folding over one row, but for my trimmer covers I can get a really trim fit by folding over two snap rows.

Once your rise is set, fold each of the sides in to the middle and your diaper is all set! This diaper centers most of the absorbency right in the middle and has a nice smooth fit.

 This is the diaper on the smallest possible setting. If I were to use this on a newborn I might leave out the snap in soaker, but with the rise folded all the way down you would hardly need it. You can see how tiny this diaper gets!

This is the largest rise setting which would certainly fit large toddlers really well. Like I mentioned above, Ava is 26 pounds and 31 inches tall and I still fold down one or two rows. I love that this will continue to fit her for a long time!

We got a really good fit with this diaper. I set the SproutLeaf snap covers to peek out for this picture, but generally I line them up to be wholly inside the diaper or peeking out the leg slightly if needed.

This side shot is with the soaker in, and you can see that it is a nice trim fit even with the soaker double over!

Here is another front shot with the snap covers pointed downwards. It looks a little lopsided due to a very wiggly toddler!

Overall, I really like this diaper. It is Ava's favorite currently due to the cute apple print! Every time she sees it she gets so excited. There really is no learning curve with this diaper at all. Once you see how it is laid out, it's pretty intuitive to fold it together. This is a fantastic option for daddies to use or to take along in your diaper bag if you are using flats. I used this diaper for the flats challenge without the soaker and it washed up really nicely every time. This diaper had great absorbency both with and without the soaker, too. When I use the soaker it is absorbent enough for me to use on Ava at naptime! I love the print options that are available at Urbun Sprout too. There are some really unique options to choose from. Check her out on Facebook and on Etsy and tell her that Cloth Diaper Addiction sent you!