I love CD's!

I'm really loving CD'ing! As excited as I was to get started trying them, I was still really nervous about actually following through but it really is easy and I love it! My only problem right now is that I don't have enough of a supply to not have to wash them every day but I'm going to order some more of my favorites and then we'll be good to go! Alright, now for my thoughts so far....

Overall, a couple of things I'm really enjoying about CD's in general are:
- My baby's skin is all the same pretty color. She didn't have diaper rash before exactly but the entire diaper area was always a little more pink with disposables (regardless of brand).
- When I open up her diaper for a change I don't find gel crystals stuck to her sweet bum. I found this to be much more of a problem with Pampers than Huggies and Kirkland brands. (*The gel is what wicks away the moisture from baby's bottom in disposables.) Alright, here are my individual reviews:

bumGenius Organic One-Size All-In-One
This is a OS (one size) so it's adjustable to fit baby from 7-35 lbs. Also, it's an all-in-one so there is no stuffing involved. This diaper is very absorbent & so far we haven't had any leaks! She hasn't had a BM in this brand yet so I'll let you know how that goes when we get there. This CD is one of the most trim of the brands I've tried. *CD's are more bulky than disposables in general & a lot of people find that babies have to wear bigger clothes because of this. Auria doesn't have a butt (poor girl didn't have a chance to inherit one from either of us) so the bG just makes her clothes fit as if she did have one ;) The convenience of it being an all-in-one makes Josh more apt to use them. My only negative is that it takes a little longer to dry since all of the layers are sewn into the diaper.

Charlie Banana 2 in 1 Size
We're currently using size Small for 7-18 lbs. (*Charlie Banana also offers a OS that I'd like to try.) This is a pocket diaper so you do have to stuff a liner into the pocket. The beauty of a pocket diaper is that it keeps the liner securely in place. You can add an extra liner for extra absorbency if needed - good for nighttime (if your baby sleeps long enough, which mine doesn't, haha). Using 1 insert has been plenty for us so far... no leaks! Auria has had several BM's in this brand and the poo has always stayed inside the diaper! Our first night of using CD's Auria had a BM right before we went to bed and in the middle of me changing her she went some more so she soiled TWO diapers, haha!
She was really testing Mommy's commitment to CD's from the start. I wasn't sure how to handle to poopy diapers because they make a sprayer to rinse the poo off before washing but I haven't gotten one of those yet (don't ask me why I hadn't planned this part out better, I don't know) so I just used a little toilet paper and wiped most of it off into the toilet - just the way you'd wipe a dirty bum, just not as thoroughly - and that worked just fine. The diapers came out of the wash completely clean, you could never tell we'd used it at all! These diapers are bulkier than the bG's but they fit her really well and they still fit in her clothes just fine. These diapers are completely dry after one cycle, but sometimes the inserts need a little extra drying time (I'm okay with that, just shows you how well they hold liquid and we want that!!)

Bumpkins
We're using size small, for 6-12 lbs. These are an all-ine-one with an optional insert for extra absorbency. This diaper is plenty absorbent (no leaks!) as-is so I haven't had a need for the extra insert. The closure of this diaper is velcro and I've got to say, in the first few CD changed I appreciated this feature because that's what I've been used to with disposables so it's easier to get it on a squirmy baby. The snap closures take a couple of times to figure out an appropriate adjustment. Even though I wash them as the directions say, the velcro still sticks to other things in the washing/drying process but it's really not a big deal for me since I wash all of the CD's together. If I were including clothes in the cycle I would probably have more of a problem with that aspect. As I said, these are quite absorbent but they are the biggest/bulkiest of all the CD's we've tried. I can understand a OS diaper being really big, to leave room for adjustment, but for a sized diaper to be so big... I just don't see why they couldn't make it a little smaller! These are always completely dry after one cycle so these are usually the first ones we use after a wash bc they're always the first that are ready to use! Overall I like these, but they wouldn't be the first I'd recommend, solely based on the unnecessary bulkiness of the design.

Flip OS Cloth Diaper Cover & Organic Insert
This is a OS made to fit 8-35 lbs. I've only used the cloth insert (although I did order some disposables too) and it's been plenty absorbent. This one is not a pocket diaper, so the insert is only held in place by tucking it under flaps at either end of the diaper. That hasn't caused as issue with leakage but I can see how it might. The beauty of this non-pocket design is that as long as the cloth insert absorbs all of the "mess", you can reuse the cover and just add a fresh insert! This is more convenient for traveling because carrying around multiple all-in-one/pocket diapers takes up a lot of space in the diaper bag! Plus, if you use the disposable liners you don't have to worry about dirty diapers in your wet bag. These aren't too bulky so they fit under her clothes fine.

gDiapers
We're using size Small which is for 8-14 lbs. I'm using the gCloth inserts (gReills aka disposables are available) and these are non-pocket diapers. You start out with the gPant, add snap in liner, then add insert. These are by far the trimmest of the CD's! They're not much bulkier than a standard disposable. I was thinking these would be one of my favorites because, like the Flip, you can reuse the gPant/liner as long as the insert absorbs everything but so far every pee diaper has had a little wetness around the leg. I'm going to give this one a few more tries (since I've already invested the money) but I definitely can't trust this diaper when I know we're going to be out and about. I'm afraid to think what would happen in the event of a BM!


Okay so that's my CD experience so far. Sara, I think I answered your question about the handling of the #2's but if you'd like a more thorough description on that, or anything else, let me know and I'll try to elaborate! I want this to be as informative as possible. I know I've relied on other mommy reviews in making my decisions for which things to try so I'm happy to share my experiences to (hopefully) be helpful for others too!

I'm off to check on my CD's that are in the dryer...