BEST OF…Cloth Diapers and Accessories 2009

Whether you are a new mom or a seasoned pro, beginning cloth diapering can be a bit daunting when first starting out. For most of us, spending that initial investment is like spending your chore money in a candy store with candy you've never tasted before. So, in an effort to give parents and grandparents some honest feedback, we asked some really great cloth diapering companies to send us their favorite products so we could pass them out and chart the results. The results were awesome and took a little longer than we expected, but they're here and we're pleased to announce HELLOKY.COM'S BEST OF....CLOTH DIAPERS AND ACCESSORIES 2009!

Note: Scoring these diapers was harder than we thought it'd be. Every parent/grandparent had their own favorite, and while some diapers stood out more than others, each one was liked by someone. We scored based on Design, Fit, Comfort, Ease Of Use, Leakage (or lack thereof), Cost and additional feedback. The scores for each were then averaged out. While you are looking through the scores, please be sure to click the headings to see the great diapers and accessories, and be sure to read the extra comments from our parents and grandparents.

Happy Cloth Diapering!

Bummis Superbrite Wrap

• Design: 10
• Fit: 10
• Comfort: 10
• Ease of Use: 9 - Must learn how to use prefolds, but after that, SIMPLE!
• Leakage: 10!! This diaper features special leg gussets which fit comfortably and securely around your baby's thigh's to keep the diaper from leaking.
• Cost: $12-13

Additional Comments:

"These are my favorite. Hands down. For the family on a budget, these are some of the easiest and least expensive to buy! You can buy lots of cheap prefolds and several good quality wraps like these and be good to go!"

"We only had a few while keeping our granddaughter and found it really helpful to just rinse them out and let them dry between uses instead of a full wash cycle for her stay."

"I really thought I'd hate these, but they quickly became my favorites!"

Bummis Organic Pre-Folds

• Design: 9
• Fit: 10 - can be folded to fit differently, very customizable
• Comfort: 10 - becomes really soft with each washing
• Ease of Use: 8 - small learning curve requiring folding techniques for different circumstances
• Leakage: NA, must be used with wraps
• Cost: $20(Toddlers) or $15 (Infants) for 6

Additional Comments:

"Wow. These have definitely spoiled me. They've become some of our favorites!"

"I swore these were too old-timey, but paired with the Super-Brite Wrap, they quickly became some of my favorites. It took a little time to figure out how to fold them just right for my baby boy, but then they were some of the most customizable. I could add thickness and I can change the folds as he grows! "

Bummis Bamboozle

• Design: 8 - a soft bamboo fitted diaper with 4 layers of absorbency. Has snaps and requires a cover.
• Fit: 10
• Comfort: 10 - so soft!
• Ease of Use: 8.5
• Leakage: NA, must be used with a cover/wrap
• Cost: $18 - $20

Additional Comments:

"I couldn't believe it was made from bamboo and yet so incredibly soft!"

"This ALMOST makes me want to wear diapers. Almost."

"I liked these except for the fact that you had to unsnap them when it's time to change diapers, meaning you had to touch the wet diapers."

Fuzzibunz Perfect Size Diapers

• Design: 8 - Slim diaper (without all of the bulk) with adjustable waist and leg openings.
• Fit: 9
• Comfort: 10
• Ease of Use: 10 - Easy to use, must be stripped and must use special laundry detergent. Simply use the liner and then snap like a regular diaper
• Leakage: 7- relatively no leakage except around the legs when wearing shorts/pants
• Cost: 17.95 ea

Additional Comments:

"I loved these! Many of the cloth diapers make my baby look like he has 'junk in the trunk' and make it really hard to fit bottoms on them, but Fuzzibunz didn't!"

"These were the only ones that my baby's daycare would even accept because they were so much like a disposable diaper (except better)!"

One-Sized Bumgenius (By Cottonbabies)

• Design: 9.5 - one sized pocket diaper with velcro tabs
• Fit: 8 - can't adjust the legs
• Comfort: 10
• Ease of Use: 9 - very similar to regular pocket diapers but with a few extra snaps so you can adjust the length of the diaper
• Leakage: 7 - leaks around legs
• Cost: 17.95 ea

Additional Comments:

"It was great having a diaper that I didn't have to worry about which size to order! - Because it's made to be adjustable!"

"For convenience factor, the velcro is great. But, then again...I hated pulling fuzzies and hairs out of the velcro and detaching my diapers from each other when the laundry tabs wouldn't hold the velcro (or when daddy forget to use them)."

Bummis Superwhisper Wrap

• Design: 7 - A wrap (needs insert or fitted underneath). Velcro closures, no gussets for legs.
• Fit: 8
• Comfort: 10
• Ease of Use: 10
• Leakage: 4 While a few parents liked this wrap, the majority of them had a problem with leakage around the legs. One parent said, "you just can't use it at night unless you want some major leakage. Brief periods when you plan on keeping the diaper constantly changed, sure, but not for longer periods or when you're wearing your best suit. Or, in my case...a white polo shirt."
  (We also noticed that the handful of parents who liked this diaper had chubbier babies, while those with smaller and thinner babies seemed to have more issues with leakage)
• Cost: $10-$13

"Can't Live Without" Accessories For Cloth Diapering

Bummis Bio-Liners

• Design: 10
• Ease Of Use: 10
• Usefulness: 10 - for babies and toddlers eating solid foods
• Cost: $6-8 per roll

Additional Notes:

These "Bio-Liners" are toilet-safe liners that go on top of your cloth diapers, fitting between baby and diaper. When baby soils diaper, the liner can easily be lifted off and thrown away. If you have a finicky toilet, you may not want to flush them. In most toilets, they flush well and keep you from having to worry about any solids in the diapers!

Planetwise Wet Bags

• Design: 10
• Ease Of Use: 10
• Usefulness: 10
• Cost: $9.50 (small), $16.50 (medium), $19 (large)

Additional Comments:

These are perfect for wet bathing suits, diapers, clothing - you name it! The specially designed bags keep odor and wetness in and are great to carry in diaper bags!

Other Great Cloth Diapering Accessories

Bumgenius Bottom Cleaner

• Ease Of Use: 9
• Usefulness: 7 - This is a great alternative to disposable wipes. Simply spray on baby's bottom and wipe with a soft clean cloth. Great for travel.
• Cost: $9.95 for 4 Fl Oz

Additional Comments:

Ingredients: Water, Cucumber Extrac, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract, Organic Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe) Leaf Extract, Sodium Benzoate, Natural Vanilla, Polysorbate 20, Essential Oil and Isolates of Orange, Essential Oils of Grapefruit, Lemon, Mandarin (Bergaptene Free), Organc Palmarosa, Tangerine

Bumgenius Odor Remover

• Ease Of Use: 9
• Usefulness: 9 - helps get odor out of diapers when washing
• Cost: $5.99 for 8 FL OZ

Additional Comments:

To use, spray directly on soiled diapers after removing waste. Then, store in a dry pail until time to wash. This spray eliminates odor causing bacteria.

Ingredients: Water and vegetable microbes

Bummis Fleece Liners

• Ease Of Use: 9
• Usefulness: 7.5
• Cost: $5 for 5

Additional Comments:

Place between baby and diaper to help wick moisture away from baby's skin and keep baby dry even when diapers are wet!

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