Test the cloth diapering waters with Econobum!

Have you checked out the various packages offered by Econobum?  They're perfect for those who are on the fence about cloth diapering or using prefolds and want to give it a try without a huge investment.

Prefolds and covers are the most economical and forgiving method of cloth diapering.  You don't have to worry about ruining an expensive pocket diaper and you can purchase a kit that will allow you to cloth diaper for a full day for the same cost as purchasing just 2-3 pocket diapers.

Another great perk about the Econobum system is that their covers are a a one-size fits all.  Generally speaking, you should be able to use the same covers from birth through potty training.

You can purchase a Single Econobum prefold and cover for $9.95,  an Econobum 3-Pack for $11.95 which includes three prefolds and one cover, or a Full Econobum Kit for $49.95 which contains twelve prefolds and three covers.

Econobums are also great for use as gifts.  You might want to give the gift of cloth diapers to an expecting mom and Econobum has three choices, one for anyone's budget.

Visit Earth Angels Diaper Co. today and check out our great selection of cloth diapers and accessories plus Flat Rate Shipping of $5.00 on any size order.

Newborn Picks

So I am LOVING cloth diapering a newborn. He is now 4 weeks old. I have a lot of my first son's diapers saved but we started with a diaper service so the diapers I had are still too big on my newbie! Plus there are so many fun diapers out there that I needed to try! I consider him a business expense - to try out all my new products!

So Netanel was born Jan 17 weighing in at 7 lb 4 oz - perfect size! But he was also too small for some of the diapers that should fit a newborn. Plus we had the umbilical cord issue - what would fold down and not rub on it. So I'll share my faves!

Lil Joeys are awesome for newborns! They're a bit pricey, I agree. But they really fit perfectly. They're designed for 5-12 lb. We used them from the beginning, as they have a fold down for the umbilical cord. Plus they still fit great a month later, and I except to get at least another month or so use out of them. To top it all off, my 2 year old's favorite diaper is Rumparooz Ladder 6 - so now he has matching diapers with his little brother!

Tini Fits are also designed to fit 5-12 lb. They don't have the umbilical cut out and they were a bit big initially, but we love them now, at 4 weeks. Plus they're stuffable like a pocket!

FuzziBunz Perfect Size in XSmall is another great fit. I love pocket diapers in general as you can stuff them with extra absorbancy, which I've needed to do. Plus if you snap them all the way to the center, at the smallest setting, it pulls down the middle to clear the umbilical cord.

Kissaluvs fitteds in a Size 0 are a well-known favorite for newborns. They fit great, snap down in front and are trim. To go over it I used a Thirsties XSmall cover which fits great. I started with a Bummis Newborn Super Brite but he's basically outgrown that by now - except for very trim diapers. But it doesn't work over prefolds anymore.

Prefolds are also a great newborn option. They're economical, absorbant, and you can customize the fit. They are a bit bulky but fit fine under a onesie or stretchie. Babies look cute with a bubble butt! For overnight diaper changes I like Bummis Whisper Pants - you dont have to deal with pinching and tucking the prefold into a cover. They're not cute, but when you're bleary-eyed in the middle of the night, you just pull it up and you're done!

bumGenius XS All-In-One are also a great, easy newborn diaper option.

And coming soon are GroVia's newborn organic All-In-Ones! Can't wait to try it!

What's your favorite newborn diaper??
Check out our Newborn Diaper page!

Fluff in the Spotlight! Thirsties *New* Duo Hemp Prefolds!

Some of you may have been around long enough to remember that Thirsties used to manufacture their own cotton prefolds. When they were discontinued the cloth diapering world was heartbroken. Moms scoured the web looking for the last of the last, whatever remained for sale was going to be it.

Since then we've had to pair our beloved Thirsties products with various types of prefolds and fitted diapers from other companies. Inquiring minds asked pretty regularly "When might you all make prefolds again?"

Well the time has finally come and Thirsties has released their New Duo Hemp Prefolds!

These fantastic new prefolds really are unique and innovative.
What are some of the features of the *New* Duo Hemp Prefolds?

• Available in TWO Sizes (Size 1 fits 6-18lbs & Size 2 fits 18-40lbs)
• Patent pending design is easy to clean, quick to dry, and grows with your baby.
• Made from buttery soft hemp jersey custom knit in the USA
• 25% more absorbent and much more durable than cotton
• Maintains a trim and comfortable fit
• Naturally anti-microbial
• Pair with Thirsties Duo Wraps and end up saving $2000 over disposables

What are some of my favorite features? Personally I love the feel of the hemp jersey. They feel soft like a t-shirt and I can tell baby would love the texture. No more crunchy cotton feeling like some of the cotton prefolds get.

I also LOVE the loop design. It's hard to tell from the pictures so I added to the illustration so you could get a better understanding of where the loop is and why it makes laundry so much easier. It's everything you love about prefolds but the loop design allows for much faster drying times.

What else? You could even put your favorite insert or doubler inside the loop before you fold it to make the prefold more absorbent! No liners would be needed because the baby would still only have the hemp jersey against their soft skin.

Want to win a set of Duo Hemp Prefolds? Come back to DiaperDiscussions tomorrow and enter our Giveaway! One lucky mama will win a set of Duo Hemp Prefolds in the size of her choice, compliments of Thirsties!

Fluff in the Spotlight: Econobum OneSize Cover & Prefold

So, for years die hard prefold users have been on one side of the fence and BumGenius users on the other. If cloth diapering with prefolds can be so easy then how can we justify spending $16-19.00 on a single diaper? While the BumGenius users thought about how reliable their BG's were and a lot like disposables, super convenient!

Now, thanks to the makers of BumGenius, the prefold users and the BumGenius users can have the best of both worlds! They can have the Econobum!

The Econobum is a super affordable, super easy to use Onesize cloth diapering system. Prefold lovers are sure to love the ingenius design of their onesize prefold and cover and BumGenius lovers get to experience just how convenient and affordable using prefolds and covers can be!

The Econobum works like this:

*The Econobum is available individually or in a kit.

A Love/Hate Relationship with Prefolds

Prefolds are all about necessity for me. I chose to start cloth diapering about a month ago for several reasons, one of them being cost savings. When I looked at the potential savings over time, especially when reusing cloth diapers for future children, the choice seemed obvious. The up-front cost of initially buying 18 to 24 diapers to have on hand for an older baby was a bit daunting, however.

Before making my initial cloth purchases, I created a list of my “dream diaper stash” with the associated costs, and then a companion “for now diaper stash” that fit within my current budget. My dream diaper stash did not include prefolds. My second list included six. I use a combination of Bumgenius 3.0's, KCK Ones, Bamboozle fitted diapers, and prefolds. While I plan to purchase additional pockets and AIOs in the future, I had to settle for depending on some prefolds for now.

Truthfully, prefolds are a lifesaver if you’re starting out with cloth on a limited budget, as they are the most economical cloth diaper available. I own three one-size diaper covers, one Thirsties Duo Wrap and two Wonderwraps. I rotate in my prefolds during diaper changes throughout the day, primarily when I know we’ll be staying in. Prefolds are durable, getting softer each time you wash them, and they certainly do their job. Learning to fold them, and finding the right fit for your baby, can involve a bit of a learning curve at first, but I eventually got a routine down. In fact, I own two snappis, but generally don’t even bother to use them anymore.

I’ve read several blog posts from experienced moms who’ve learned to love prefolds, who consider them to be “tried and true,” and who turn to them again and again. I want to be one of these moms, I honestly do, but I’m not. I can’t get over the bulk of prefolds or the extra hassle involved in folding, placing on baby, then getting a cover on. My little guy is nearly 10 months and placing a prefold on him today involved a mini wrestling match. Whenever I use prefolds, I indulge a little fantasy about the day they’ll be used as last-choice on laundry day or even as cleaning rags.

This being said, I’m grateful for the option to use prefolds. When we potty trained our daughter, many experienced parents recommended we fully ditch the diapers, skip pull-ups, and simply commit to underwear. I approached cloth diapering with the same philosophy and my baby only wears disposables during our Friday babysitting-trade nights with friends. This would have been impossible without prefolds.

Days when I look at my prefolds with a bit of disdain, I remind myself how much I love cloth diapering. I love to pull them out of the dryer, fresh and white. I love how we no longer have to recycle enormous value-sized disposables boxes, make last-minute runs to the store for diapers, or deal with the cost and trash associated with disposables. I love placing a soft, clean diaper on my baby with its adorable, colorful shell. Mostly, I love feeling like I’ve made a choice that is good for my baby and the environment, all the while saving money – and I’ve got prefolds to thank for that!

Contributed by Mindy F.
http://theinquisitivemom.blogspot.com

Using Flat Diapers with a Newborn

When I started cloth diapering our newborn the day after he was born, I had a stash of preemie sized prefolds (for babies up to 10 pounds) and infant size prefolds (for babies up to 15 pounds).

Unfortunately, the preemie prefolds were too small to fasten with a Snappi around my 7 pounds son, and leaked if I just placed them in the cover; and the infant prefolds just didn’t fit well in the extra small newborn covers.

Fortunately, I’d also bought a dozen birdseye flats, thinking that they were cheap and I might experiment with them someday. I tried simply folding a flat diaper in half, then folding it in half again. Perfect! They were so easy to use, and kept the runny poo totally contained (unlike the hospital disposables).

They were also a breeze to wash and dry. I ordered two dozen more right away, and I’m still using them almost 6 months later. I never would have guessed that my favorite cloth diapers would be flats!

Contributed by
Christy

If I knew then what I know now (re: cloth diapering newborns & small babies)

Steering my customers in the right direction when they ask for advice is always a top priority, and sometimes this means steering them away from a huge sale and into a more realistic, economical and practical option.

New moms, specifically first time moms, are usually really good about doing their research. Which diapers are the best? How do they work? How many do I need? and so on. In my experience they usually end up deciding on a well known pocket diaper and make up their mind that's what they want to use and they plan to build their stash accordingly. New baby = 12-24 pocket diapers plus inserts. Then they're off to shop.

If I knew then what I know now about babies and their bowel movements...lol I would have started with prefolds and covers when I first began cloth diapering my sons, especially since I rarely left the house. Why would I say such a thing? Because new babies poop and pee all day long. A squirt here, a drop there, as soon as you've placed a fresh diaper on their tiny bum they've gone and soiled it again. You check it and think, "man I can't just let them wear that diaper, even if it is only a pea sized amount of poo." Before you know it you've changed that babes diaper 3-4 times in one hour!

This is where prefolds come in. A soft and fluffy prefold, which are easily laundered and very forgiving, can be tri-folded into a cover, think Thirsites, and you're ready to go. Baby soils it two seconds later, you grab a fresh prefold and replace the soiled one with a clean one. Chances are your cover didn't even get dirty. Repeat this scenario throughout the day and you might go through a dozen prefolds and 2-3 covers. Depending on how often you plan on doing laundry, you could get started cloth diapering an infant with 4-6 covers and 2 dozen prefolds.

When you're ready to take baby out and about or have a need for diapers that you can or need to leave on for an extended period of time (like overnight), then you should experiment with pocket diapers and microfiber inserts or hemp inserts. Microfiber and Hemp are miraculous in the amount of pee they can hold, and paired with pocket diapers such as BumGenius or Duo Diapers they've been known to rival disposables in terms of how much they can hold before leaking. This makes them a perfect option for night time diapering or for use when heading to the doctor, the mall, or the grocery store.

Final thoughts, extend the life of your expensive pocket diapers by utilizing prefolds and covers when you can, especially when babies are less than 6 months old.

Thanks for reading!