I think if you're reading my blog, it's safe to say at this point you know I'm a fan of cloth diapers. Just a little bit. :) I have a decent little "stash", I've finally perfected my wash routine to curb the "stinkies", and Polish Prince is totally on board. We have settled into our nice little cloth diapering life. Cue vacations. As practical as cloth diapers are at home, they are not necessarily the easiest item to travel with. They can take up a lot of room in a suitcase, you've got to have a reliable washer (or be okay with handwashing/using a laundromat), and you've got to travel with your own detergent. It's all a bit cumbersome if you're going away for a week or more. The great news is the cloth diapering community has an answer! Hybrid diapers. These brands are marketed to people who want to cloth diaper, but want flexibility as well. Hybrid diapers typically consist of a reusable cloth cover and a reusable or disposable insert option. As long as the cover isn't soiled, it does not need to be washed. Just wipe it out, I use wipe solution, let it dry and re-use! Some popular brands are
Flips by BumGenius,
GroVia and
gDiapers. After doing my research and talking to some other cloth mommies, I decided to try the Flip system for my most recent trip.
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| The OS Flip cover |
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| The OS Rump-A-Rooz cover. Note the double gusset along the leg |
I went to pick up a couple covers and a pack of disposable inserts from
Zoolikins and while I was there, I was perusing other covers to tuck the disposable inserts in, rather than just the Flip covers. I already had some
Thirsties duo wraps (which I love), but was also shown the
Rump-A-Rooz covers, which I hadn't previously considered. The Thirsties and the Rump-A-Rooz have one of my favorite features in a diaper cover, the double gusset around the legs. B does not have skinny legs by any stretch of the imagination, but I did notice the Flip cover left a slight gap when he would sit. Since we were going to be on a 4 hour plane ride and an 8 and a half hour car ride, sitting was a reality, the gap was going to be playing with fire. I grabbed a couple Rump-A-Rooz covers just to try the difference.
Now, just to backtrack a little bit, the Flips have little fabric--flap--I guess for lack of a better term, that hold the insert in place, whether you choose the reusable or disposable ones. Since the Thirsties and the Rump-A-Rooz covers are not part of a "hybrid" system, they do not contain this extra fabric flap. I was worried that this would make the insert move around. Not the case in my situation!
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| The Flip cover with the disposable insert tucked in the "flaps" |
What I would do is lay out the cover and place the insert inside. I would then lay B on his back, on top of both.Next, I fold just the insert up to his belly and then bring the cover up over the insert and snap it. (Please see the pictures below with my model Mr. Bear. There is no way squirmy B would cooperate for pictures of each step!) :)This was the quickest and most effective way to use the disposable liners in a "non-flip" cover.
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| Step 1: Lay out the cover with the insert placed inside |
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| Step 2: Fold the insert up, leaving the cover still down. This gives you room to maneuver the insert. |
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| Step 3: Locked and Loaded. See the inner gusset hugging the bum? |
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Through all of our travels, I did not have one leak, #1 or #2! I was
shocked! Some mama's have told me they struggled with leaking through
the disposable inserts in the Flip system and have suggested doubling up
on the inserts. I was prepared to do that, but never ran into that
issue. I think having the double gussets along the leg holes helped
immensely! The great news is, I also use the covers for night-time since B has figured out how to work Aplix closures. Both the Flip and Rump-A-Rooz covers go great over fitted diapers and their snaps are A-MA-ZING!
Please feel free to share your traveling with cloth tips and tricks below!
Anyway...Bumkins were one of the first cloth diapers I purchased and I'll be honest, they weren't my #1 favorite go-to diaper, but here's why I respect the brand and gave them another try. Like the people who work at Zoolikins, the brains behind the Bumkins products care. They listen to feedback, are open to suggestions and are constantly working to serve the best product, for the best price to their loyal customers. Bumkins has made some amazing modifications to their cloth diapers. The new prints are beautiful and the fit can't be beat. They are by far one of the most trim diapers I own! I also love their snaps. B has recently started to pull at his diaper and prefers to go au natural. My floors do not prefer this, thankfully the Bumkins snaps are tough and he has yet to be able to rip them off! And, because I'm quirky, they have cross-over snaps on the right side of the wing tabs. This may not seem like a big deal to others, but if you have a "system" like I do, you always snap the right side first, but then you realize that your baby is having a "skinny day" and have to overlap, well, there's no overlapping snaps on the right wing, just the left, so you have to unsnap the right, then snap the left first, then re-snap the right again, all while trying to keep a wiggling, squirming, flipping one year old to sit still for a diaper change. THANK YOU BUMKINS FOR OVERLAPPING SNAPS ON THE RIGHT SIDE!! And my final favorite features: the fact that their one-size all-in-ones (AIO's) are made with both fleece AND cotton/bamboo combines the best of both worlds for baby. Their one-size stuff-its (pockets) come with a microfiber insert and have the same great fit as the AIO's.
