Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Green Mountain Diapers Review-Workhorse Fitteds & More!

             Hey folks! Welcome to day 2 of the Fabulous Fitteds Giveaway Event here on Mixed Bag Mama! I'm very excited to share with you about today's company and a couple of the fitted diapers and new wool cover they offer. We've got a lot of info jam packed into today's post, so sit back, grab a cup of tea or coffee, and get ready to learn about some truly versatile diapers!

             Green Mountain Diapers is your go-to stop for organic and natural fiber cloth diapers. They offer everything from prefolds to fitted diapers to wool covers, and everything in between! You can also find diapering and baby accessories, such as diaper fasteners, wet bags and pail liners, blankets and sleep sacks, and SO much more. GMD also provides an extensive collection of information on cloth diapering subjects, such as info for those that are new to cloth diapers, washing instructions, and diaper definitions. Their customer service is awesome too, so if you can't find an answer to your cloth diaper question, I'm sure they would be more than happy to answer it by email or telephone.
             GMD has been very generous and offered me the chance to review not one, but three of their items: the Cloth-eez Workhorse Organic Fitted Diaper, the Snug-to-Fit fitted diaper, and the new Babee Greens Wool Snap Wrap.


             So, while I was totally excited to try these Cloth-eez Workhorse Fitteds, I couldn't help but wonder how well they would work overnight, which is when I've mostly been using fitteds on Little Bit. (At first, at least. I'll get to more on that in a minute.) Why? Because it's basically a cotton prefold made into a fitted diaper. We already use cotton prefolds and flats during the day (albeit super thin, cheap ones), but I knew there was no way in heck those would ever hold up!

 Small

Medium
             I'm happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised by their effectiveness. Like with yesterday's review diaper, we started trying this one out when Ripley was around 3 ½ months old. She had the small size on a whopping 9-10 hours the first night with no extra inserts and no leaks! It was thoroughly soaked (that's to be expected after that long of a stretch), but she had no booty redness in the morning (rashes have been our main concern with overnight cloth diapering) AND she had even went #2...And let me just say, it's good at containing that too!


             The second night she went around 6 ½ hours with no inserts and no leaks, though it was soaked again. Woo hoo! I can't remember these leaking at all any of the times we have used them, otherwise I would have made a note of it. Let's talk about some other things I loved about the Cloth-eez Workhorse diapers:

-They are trim enough to use during the day for naps and long car rides. These have been my go-to diaper for outings when I don't really want to have to worry about changing her diaper, such as my older daughter's dance class day and dropping off and picking up Myka with my mom some weekends. (Roughly a two and a half hour drive there and back, not to mention usually eating somewhere for about an hour and sometimes going to a store.)

-Being sized diapers, this makes for a much better fit and less bulky.

-The craftsmanship on these is phenomenal as well. I couldn't help but notice the super strong seam on the sewn-in insert. That puppy isn't going anywhere for a very, very long time. Although it was used, I have another brand of fitted diaper that has a similar sewn-in insert and it was already a little torn when I got it, though the rest of the diaper looked practically brand new. The seam just looked chincy to begin with.

-Even with the built-in insert, there is still plenty of room for additional doublers, boosters, etc.

-As far as dry time goes, these are definitely one of the faster drying diapers I have. Depending on the conditions, I give these a short to medium length of drying time.

-At only $11.95 for the extra large size and all others being lower in price than that, this diaper is budget-friendly!

-The only thing I didn't really care for about the Workhorse diapers is the “frilliness” around the legs. It flares out a bit too much for my liking and worries me about poosplosions, though thus far we haven't had any issues. It also makes it kind of annoying tucking into certain covers, but it's not a huge deal.


***

             You know how they say not to judge a book by its cover? That is definitely true of the Snug-to-Fit diaper. I had major reservations about this one when I first received it in the mail because it looks MASSIVE! It is a one size diaper, but I couldn't help but think, “There is no way this big ole thing is going to fit on Ripley!” However, I was pleasantly surprised again and, in fact, this is one of my favorite fitteds in my stash now.


             Needless to say, it's not nearly as big or bulky on her as I expected. I have it on the smallest rise setting, so at 4 months, she still has plenty of room to grow. Plus with the crotch area being so wide, it also offers ample room for older kids and extra inserts.


             For being plain old cotton, I was surprised again by just how absorbent the Snug-to-Fit diaper is. It wasn't too wet after 6 ½ hours the first night, so I left it on until she got up later in the morning for a grand total of about 11 hours and it still wasn't soaked! I did use a hemp doubler under the built-in insert, so I'm sure that helped, but still. The second time it was super soaked in the butt after 8 hours with no extra inserts, but I think the leak had more to do with not properly lanolizing the wool cover I used over it. Again, I've used it a lot more than two times, but if I had any issues with it, I would have made notes of it.
             I also liked that:

-It's easy to use. While snap diapers have grown on me over the years, I still like the ease of use with aplix. It especially makes changing squirmy babies and middle of the night changes easier.

-It just looks and feels like it would be comfortable for baby to wear.

-As far as drying time, it's pretty quick since it's cotton.

-At $15.95, it's very affordable, especially considering it fits babies from roughly 7-35 pounds, so you won't need many of them!

***

             I have heard nothing but good things about using wool with cloth diapers, so I was extra excited when Green Mountain Diapers offered to let me try out the new Babee Greens Wool Snap Wrap as well. Between this and the EcoPosh cover I'll be reviewing later in the week, I think it's safe to say I've become a wool addict. I'm already trying to decide what brand I want to try next! But let's get back to the review...
             Here's what I did like:

-It's made in the U.S.

-It's very soft and the legs are nice and stretchy.

-I can actually fit this under some of her clothes!

-Shape-wise it's similar to the regular covers I use.

-Since it's somewhat on the trimmer side and depending on what you use underneath it, it's a nice option for letting baby “air out” without being completely naked since wool breathes and PUL covers don't. It would be good for summertime during the day too.

-Compared to other wool covers and soakers, it's priced similarly at $36.95. (It is made of merino wool, though, and that's the good, soft stuff!)

             What I wasn't so crazy about:

-It needs more snaps! That was my main beef with this cover. I find I have a hard time getting a good fit because of this. Most of the time it ends up kind of wonky and I'll have one side snapped in the very middle and the other other side snapped on the second one next to the outside just to get it tight enough.

-The Babee Greens Wool Snap Wrap was smaller than I expected. Yes, they are sized covers, but I have found that I can't use this with a lot of the fitted diapers I now own because they just won't fit in it. However, it works perfectly with my smaller fitteds, such as the Osocozy and Sweet Pea, and this cover has been great over the workhorse fitteds during the day. I have also started trying it out with my Osocozy prefolds at night and I am really liking that set up as well.

Left: Over the Osocozy Right: Over the Sweet Pea

            How is it in the leak repelling and rash preventing departments? Well, now that I know I needed more absorbency in some of my fitteds I used with this cover and actually lanolized it better, it has been working fantastically! I had a few compression leaks the first two or three times before I really lanolized it properly, so learn from my mistake. Even though some wool washes contain lanolin, do yourself a favor and still use actual lanolin to lanolize too, especially if you're mostly going to be using your wool items for overnight. 


             Ripley still got a little rashy after wearing one of our Greenchild Creations fitteds under the Babee Greens, but honestly I think the fitted just needed stripped. I've not really noticed any issues since.

***

             While I don't think I was really expected to write anything about these, I have to. These things have been a lifesaver! I am not into pins and I just never did get the hang of the Snappi. I know how to use it, I could just never get it to work for some reason. These Boingos have been a game changer for my fitteds with no closures. They are so easy to use and they actually stay all night! I highly recommend them! They're one of my new favorite cloth diapering accessories. 

 

             For all of your organic and natural fiber cloth diaper needs, definitely be sure to visit Green Mountain Diapers. They have so many wonderful products to choose from. You can stay up-to-date with them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Don't forget to check back next Tuesday when the giveaway goes live and enter for a chance to win a $40 Green Mountain Diapers gift certificate, along with other great prizes!

I received these items in order to facilitate my reviews. No other compensation was received. My opinions may differ from your own.
ethannevelyn

2 comments:

  1. I really love these. I think people tends to get discourage when they spend a good amount of money and then they are hidden inside another wrap. But I think people tend to forget that in the long run - it will save them money. That's the logic I am going for. Thank you for linking up with us on #FabFridayPost

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    Replies
    1. You are absolutely right. The upfront cost is definitely scary, but you save so much in the long run!

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