Product Review: Bummis #clothdiapers

Soon after finding out that we were pregnant with our AppleBlossom we knew that we were going to cloth diaper and so I went to my SisterL for advice. As you can read back on this post, she strongly prefers a Bummis system to cloth diapering. *Thanks to Shirley from Bummis, I was able to review an Infant sized Bummis Organic Cloth Diaper Kit* and I'm sold! This is my preference for cloth diapering pretty much for all the time. In the weeks to come I'll fill you in on other methods I also use and enjoy. But I love Bummis brand!




First off, what did I get in the kit?

The Infant size contains:

• 24 infant size Organic Cotton Prefold diapers (4 x 8 x 4 layers thick)

• 4 Super Whisper Wraps – small

• 2 Super Brites – small

• 3 rolls Bio-Soft liners – small

• 5 reusable Fleece Liners

• 1 Fabulous Wet Bag – large (available exclusively in the Kit!)

• User Guide

My only qualm with the kit is that it is that there are no Super Whisper Wraps with Snaps, they all have the hook and loop Velcro instead. And for those of you than are unaware, the Super Brites are covers that close with velcro as well. The kits are gender neutral in that they come with a blue wet bag (that has a zipper and draw strings), green Super Brite, white Super Brite, Celery SWW, Froggy Pond SWW, and a white Super Whisper Wrap. Not that there is any problems with those patterns, but if you want to girlify (Margaret-ism) your cover stash, you have to buy a Flower Print SWW separately. And now they have just made available some fabulous Limited Edition Star prints! I cannot wait to get some for my medium stash!!

(Froggy pond picture taken 3 wks)

So what to tell you about first? How to use the system? What I think? Here goes...

This type of diapering system consists of using a prefold DSQ (diaper service quality) cloth diaper and a waterproof cover. No Snappis or pins for me thanks! In my case I use the Fleece Liners for naps and night time (although these days a prefold does not quite handle all night, and she will wake up and request a change ever so politely...) and when I am expecting a messy diaper we will also prep with a flushable liner as well which makes clean up so much nicer. Being exclusively breastfed our AppleBlossom's diaper system is pretty simple. Take off the diaper, toss the cover (if not messy) in one pink bucket, toss the soiled prefold into another. If I'm using a liner I toss it in the trash bucket or toilet (which ever is closer). Pick up another prepped diaper and flip up the prefold and secure the cover, replace baby outfit and we're good to go. Pick up the soiled diaper pan and dump the diaper into my big (dry) diaper pail. If there is an extensively messy diaper, I will rinse it out before adding it to my pail. The plan in the future for when she starts solids is to get a diaper sprayer (DH - you listening??).

DH says that he likes these with prefolds better than pocket diapers, but that he likes all-in-ones better than these. He tells me that if I did not pre-assemble these, he would ignore them and reach for an AIO to skip the extra step of assembly. Yet when these are ready to go, he is more than willing to strap them on her little bum.

Assembly... Once I run a load of diapers. Okay explanation here. Prewash cold, wash cold with Charlie's Soap (tell them I sent you), wash warm, tumble dry low. Some times if there is more than usual, they will either need a second tumble or I hang them up in our bedroom on the drying rack. Now, once I run a load of diapers, I dump the basket on the bed and go to assembly. It takes about 15 minutes and is rather entertaining to my wee bairn (that's for you SisterB). I fold all the prefolds into a try fold, opposite the seams and make a stack. Then once all the diapers are separated out from the covers, I place a diaper in a cover fold it over properly and set it in my box ready to go. Once the box is filled onto the changing table shelf it goes and it's Daddy approved.

I love this system. It's so simple. Sure there is a few minutes effort to prep the diapers with assembly, but oh well I hardly even notice it anymore. I was able to use these diapers almost first thing home from the hospital and at four months and 12 1/2 pounds there is still lots of room left of the velcro tab for her to continue to use them on her itty bitty waist. Right now I'm starting my list of what I want for her medium size and wondering when we'll get there. So far I'm planning a Baby sized Organic Cloth Diapers Kit that will give me 18 baby size prefolds, 2 SWW - medium, 2 SBrites - medium, 1 roll Bio-Soft liners - large, 5 reusable Fleece Liners, and of course a fabulous wet bag and user guide. In addition to this I already purchased a medium Flower print, and plan to get at least one each of the Super Star print covers. I'm also not adverse to getting some more Fleece Liners so that I might be able to use one on every change and not have to "guess" which one will consist of a nap time.

(Flower print picture taken November 30th, 17 wks)

More details for those so inclined...

• I love these prefolds. In my stash I have some Under the Nile prefolds, a plethora of Gerber prefolds both 4x8x4 and the slim organic ones, some green edged Indian prefolds, a few Bambino Mio prefolds and the Bummis by far take the cake (although the Bambino Mio ones are pretty great too!). After washing they become more and more absorbent and shrink a bit, but from beginning to end they are so soft!
• The SWW are my favorite. The SB are nice, but they just aren't quite the same to me. The prints available in the SWW are so much more exciting and I prefer the inner cover layer over the wipe-able water proof material. These covers are a much better fit than the others I have tried and will never go back to anything else such as our past attempts of Polar Babies, Thirties, and so on.
  

I highly recommend everything in the Bummis Organic Cloth Diaper Kit and will definitely be using the next size kit when our AppleBlossom reaches the next size range.

As for just starting a deeper conversation, as I'm sure you're overwhelmed by all this... This system is the cheapest by far than any other cloth diapering system and it's organic! And for night time, we have started using Kissaluvs v1 and v2 inside a cover and love it! But that's for another time and day...

WHERE TO BUY: You can purchase your own Bummis products many places. My suggestions are to either click the button on the right side bar (through my affiliate link) to go to Kelly's Closet. OR go to Diaper Junction (their customer service is unbeatable and they are where I get all my duds!). On average the Super Snaps (white) cost about $11-12 and the print covers are all about $12.25-12.75. For starting out, you'll definitely get the best bargain in a starter kit.