Best Bottoms Diaper Review

When my husband first suggested that we cloth diaper, I thought he was crazy. In my head I had an idea of the old fashioned cloth diapers and thought of dirty rags, big safety pins, and buckets full of dirty diapers and bleach filled water. I agreed with him to do some research and look into cloth diapers but in the back of my mind I wasn’t really considering it. However, I posted on a local mommy and me group inquiring about cloth and was lucky enough to have several mommies respond and even offer to have me over to their houses to see their stashes. I went to one lady’s house and she used exclusively Best Bottoms. She said she was so glad that someone showed them to her so that she didn’t have to go through and try each type of diaper. After seeing how cute, modern, and easy they were, I decided to give them a try myself.

About the diapers:

Best Bottoms fall under the AI2 category. They are comprised of an outer shell, which is waterproof and snap in inserts. It is a one size system, meaning it can fit babies from birth to potty training. The shell is one size and can snap to adjust but they do offer different size inserts. They offer small, medium, and large in microfiber and hemp as well as overnight inserts and doublers. You can see the cover in the picture with the adjustable snaps as well as a microfiber insert with the snaps.

Here is my experience so far:

I started them with my daughter at 6 weeks when she was around 10 pounds. You can see a picture of the first time we tried them. I chose to buy microfiber medium inserts which are supposed to be used from 11-22 pounds. (We decided to skip the small inserts to save money and will upgrade to the large if necessary.) The diapers worked great! The shell can be reused until the baby poops or for a day. At each wet diaper, you can snap in a new insert and go. When my baby was little and often wet when her diaper was off I learned to have a second shell with an insert snapped in ready, so I could immediately put a diaper back on her. I would rotate between two shells and thus avoided her peeing on the changing table. Now I am quick enough at snapping in the inserts that it is no longer needed.

I have since tried two other AI2 systems and there are a couple reasons I like Best Bottoms best. One is that the shell is just PUL and there is no other material inside. I have tried one system with mesh inside and one with a soft fleecy material and they can only be used through a few diaper changes because the shell absorbs the wetness. The second reason is because Best Bottoms inserts snap in on each end. There is no folding of the inserts or worrying about one end sliding around in the diaper. They stay perfectly in place.

My daughter is now 5 months and we still use mostly Best Bottoms. The designs are so cute and we don’t have problems with leaks (as we have with other types we tried). Also, you only need a small amount of them to get started. Because you can reuse the covers, a few go a long way. I started with 5 covers and about 25 inserts. I washed every other day and this was all my stash was made up of for about 2 months (although we used disposable overnight). Best Bottoms really are the best and I would recommend them to anyone!

Bio: Laura is a CPA by profession but currently a stay at home mom. She lives with her husband and 5 month old daughter in CT.


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Best Bottoms Diaper Review

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My First Cloth Diaper

I wanted to share my experiences with Best Bottom diapers. These diapers are sold as a two part system consisting of a one size diaper cover, and three sizes of inserts. The diaper cover contains two layers of PUL, double leg gussets, and four rows of rise snaps, instead of the usual three. For the inserts you can choose either four layers of microfiber topped with a layer of stay dry fleece, or an organic option of cotton and hemp. Also available are a "micro-doubler" and an overnight insert that has six layers of microfiber. You can also use them separately; you can use the diaper covers over prefolds, flats, or fitteds, and use the inserts in pocket diapers or other covers. These diapers make up about half of our current rotation, with the other half being pockets and all in ones.

I definitely have an emotional connection with these diapers. This system was the one that I picked when I was pregnant, and the first cloth diapers we put on our daughter. I was drawn to this system because of the customizability and the adorable patterns on the covers. We didn't actually start using these diapers until she was about three weeks old and maybe 9 pounds or so, however, I do think that you could use this system on a newborn, as the extra row of snaps in the rise and the crossover tabs allow them to adjust to a very small size.

My baby is a very heavy wetter, so we have had some issues with the inserts being able to keep up with her. I bought almost all of the stay dry inserts, which was fortunate because she doesn't like to feel wet. She started out in the smallest size, and by the time she weighed about 12 pounds she was already wetting through them. It is very obvious when it is time to size up the inserts, as the cover starts leaking and her skin started getting red in the areas where it touched the PUL- I think because urine was saturating the whole inside of the cover instead of staying in the inserts. At that time we switched to the medium size, but I only ended up using them for about a week because I did not see any real increase in absorbency from the small inserts. If I was able to do it over again I definitely would not have bought the medium inserts, I barely was able to use them.

At that point my daughter was still only about 12-13 pounds, I don't even think four months old, and we were already starting on the large inserts. The disadvantage of having to switch so early was that we had to unsnap the rise to the second to largest size to accommodate the snaps, and it turned the diaper from a fairly trim option to quite bulky. However, the large inserts are definitely more then a match for her, and I am hopeful that it will take her a long time to outgrow them. She is now six months old and 14 and a half pounds, with a long torso and slender frame. She has been wearing the BB diapers at this size for over two months with no problems at all, and since she has grown, they look less bulky and obvious. She has fallen asleep in one and worn it overnight with no leaking, or I will use them with the overnight insert as a night diaper on purpose. I also have a few of the cotton and hemp inserts, which I pair with a microfiber insert in a pocket to use as a night time option, and that works really well. My plan is that if she eventually does outgrow the microfiber inserts I can use the cotton and hemp inserts with a fleece liner, as they are supposed to be more absorbent.

I wash my BB diapers in Rockin' Green detergent, and haven't had any issues with staining or repelling. I generally tumble dry my inserts, but I always hang the covers because it really seems to wear down the PUL faster to put them in the dryer, even though I dry them on low. You can definitely see the difference in the covers that have spent more time in the dryer, but even so, all of them have held up very well to five months of regular use. I feel confident that this system will last through this child and possible future ones.

Bio: Rebecca Azer is a working mom to one daughter. She started cloth diapering to save money, and ended up an addict!

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My First Cloth Diaper

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Fluff Friday 112 WINNER!

This week's Fluff Friday winner is Jill M.

She will receive:
2- Best Bottom One-Size Diaper Covers
2- Best Bottom Stay Dry Inserts

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! Please, contact us ASAP so we can get your winnings out to you!!!

Fluff Friday 112 WINNER!

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Fluff Friday 112

Fluff Friday:
2- Best Bottom One-Size Diaper Covers
2- Best Bottom Stay Dry Inserts

Question of the week:
What diapering system would you like to try but haven't purchased yet? Leave your comment before Thursday, January 13th at 7pm EST. (You can only answer the "Question of the Week" ONCE PER GIVEAWAY, NOT PER DAY.)

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How? We will draw one winner randomly with an "Online Number Generator" and will make a post with the winner on Friday, January 14th. It is the responsibility of the winner to contact us to claim their prize.

Who can participate? US Residents are welcome!

Important note about the winner: If we haven't heard from the winner by the closing time of next week's giveaway, we will choose another winner that will be published TOGETHER with next week's winner.

Good luck, and don't forget to tell all your family and friends about the giveaway! In case that you don't win, what a better person to win than a friend of yours!!

Fluff Friday 112

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Doing the Hybrid Thing

So Hybrid cars have been all the rage, well now I'm here to tell everyone about Hybrid Diapers! I am pretty sure that I have used each kind of Hybrid diaper I have stumbled upon. I love versatility and the thought of doing smaller loads of laundry hooked me! My first experience with Hybrid Diapers was the GroVia shell/snap in soaker set, I then tried Flip, BestBottom and most recently the Softbums Omni.

GroVia
Pros: soaker snaps in, so it stays place, the soaker has it's own PUL layer so no pee gets on the shell, it comes in PRINTS, It is an OneSize so you only have to buy one diaper birth to potty learning, true to size, come in either Aplix or Snaps.

Cons: it seems like every time he poops it gets on the shell so it has to be washed, not able to wipe out, the poop is hard to remove from the soaker because of its two separate layers, one size insert, pricey option.

Flip
Pros: The cover is PUL so it can be wiped out if poo gets on the cover, OneSize, large soaker pads that hold alot of pee, perfect for naps, easy to clean poo off, they stay in place for my son who crawls and cruises, reasonably priced.

Cons: My husband won't use them because they are a bit tricky to fold and get under the flaps, when I bought them they only came in snaps which are difficult to manage with a wiggly baby (but they are starting to come out with aplix) and they have kinda boring colors, one size insert.

BestBottom
Pros: A nice mix between Flip and Grovia-soaker snaps into place and the cover is made of PUL and easy to wipe, comes in some prints and cool colors, comes in different soaker sizes (including hemp/organic and even an overnight!), OneSize diaper, trim, reasonably priced.

Cons: the front is a little stiff but has never bothered DS, I have had these for a while but I don't know how well the cover is going to hold up.. it seems less sturdy than the others, but we have had no problems with pilling or anything! The insert shrinked in the wash.

SoftBums Omni
Pros: Able to use as a pocket, all in two or just as a cover, VERY soft, OneSize, the adjustable leg gussets are amazing!!!!, I use the super absorbent pods and they are great for naps or road trips, different pods available.

Cons: Only come in a few colors, when used as AI2 the lining still gets wet because the pods are not backed with PUL and you cannot wipe the inside because it is fleece so I would only use this for maybe 2-3 changes.

Overall, most of my stash is made up of Hybrid diapers and I love them. I know I save money from using just pockets because I can re-use the covers. I have never been a prefold gal and my husband refuses to use them so this has been the cheapest way for us to cloth diaper. I would recommend them to anyone who is considering using cloth diapers for financial reasons but may be put off to using prefolds or flats.

By Erica T.

Doing the Hybrid Thing

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