Fluffy Friday: Review of Little Bee Cloth Diapers

A few months ago the call went out from The Little Bee Co. for bloggers to review their diapers. As I was pregnant at the time, I told them it was no rush, but they sent me a diaper anyway and now it’s been FIVE MONTHS since my little one was born, and we’ve been using the diaper all this time, so it’s time to post that review! If you’ve been reading here for a while, you know how thoroughly I like to review a diaper. I’m not going to just take pictures, say something nice and be done. I’m going to give you the scoop. I’m going to give you the details you want to know. I’m going to use it for a LONG TIME before I give my opinion.

What I LOVE about Little Bee is that they donate a cloth diaper to an orphanage somewhere in the world for each one purchased. That means you’re doing good for your baby and another baby in need at the same time! Check out their mission HERE! I can’t tell you how annoyed I was when we had an orphanage group come to our church and request funds for disposable diapers. Hello? What an unnecessary mess in their environment, not to mention a cost that could easily be negated or cut down a TON by using cloth diapers! So when I saw Little Bee’s promotion, I was intrigued and quite happy to provide the review! I see in the past few months they’ve added beads, and I spy other new products on their site, too!

Little Bee was kind enough to send me a one size OS ultra cool bamboo blend diaper with 2 microfiber inserts (they snap together). So far, after using the diaper weekly, if not 2x weekly, for the past 4 months straight (at least), I have found the inserts to be plenty absorbent, even for my heavy wetter. If you’re thinking… but Jill, you hate microfiber. Yes. I do. But I’ve given it a fair shake. I haven’t noticed smells or any other issues as of yet with the materials. I wanted to use the diaper as presented to give the best review that I possibly could.

So.. daddy. Daddy is not a fan of one particular aspect. He hates what I LOVE. I have a feeling our little one is going to be a tummy sleeper. There is elastic in the FRONT of the diaper, so it keeps that belly section sucked in for less chance of leakage! I think that it’s harder for him to stuff and snap (big hands). Other than the front elastic, he had no comments, which means he doesn’t have issues with using it, he just has manly hands. 🙂 Also he loved the buy one give one aspect. He mentioned how cool it was several times. One of these days, I’ll take advantage of this fact and order more. Maybe I’ll get pregnant and order a dozen newborn size? No? Hmm. 😀 Time will tell I suppose. For now I’ll snuggle my little one….and tell you how I feel about the diaper!

Mommy–Love the concept of donation with each purchase. Love the belly elastic. The pocket is a tiny bit difficult to stuff with the double insert snapped down for smaller infants, but I think when it’s fully extended that it will be less of an issue. I love the colors of the diapers. Yes, diapers. Did I mention I won another one of the same exact style in a giveaway? No? Well I did. Gorgeous. So really I’ve been able to double test.

OS on Newborn: When my baby started fitting into one size diapers, I pulled these out right away. I never had an ebf leak. Never had a urine leak. The diaper stays put. I was an especially big fan when baby was going to bed for 4+ hours after the first few weeks home, and just… soaking the newborn diapers. These made short work of whatever she could flood them with and kept her happy as a lark, and her clothes dry in the middle of the night.

Nap/Night: I discovered something in the last couple of months. Baby has sensitive skin. The diaper is not stay dry. It’s natural (from their site: 100% all natural bamboo/organic cotton/coolplus blend)  but doesn’t keep moisture away like synthetics (boo). With my first child, this wouldn’t have mattered. but my 2nd and 3rd (current tester) both have SUPER sensitive skin. So, although I loved them overnight in the newborn phase, it’s a daytime diaper now. Fully capable of nap or night time soaking, for sure, but not for my little one’s skin. Probably the curse of having a redhead, I’ll have to have her swathed in sunscreen and unscented lotions for life. You get the idea. It’s not the diaper’s fault. I need to invest in a pack of fleece liners and give these a try at night again! An excuse to buy diapering stuff? Awesome!

Drying time: In dryer on low dries about as well as another other pocket. On a line, may take longer than a suede cloth inner. Because my dryer likes to eat snaps I’ve been tossing them (snap pockets/covers) over a laundry basket. These do take a touch longer to dry. If you had a full stash of these, I’d suggest either drying them in actual sun/sunny window, or using a low dryer. If your dryer likes to eat snaps? Use a lingerie bag.

Price: The UltraCool is their most expensive at $24.00 a diaper, but considering you get a ‘give one’ along with it, it’s a pretty good deal. The rest of the diapers fall into line with a price point similar to other brands.

 

Disclosure: I was provided with a diaper to review, but was not compensated in any other way. There was actually a delay in them returning a message to me and so they sent me a newborn diaper, too. I’ll review that later. This does not affect my opinion in any way, but wanted to point out how sweet it was! As always, this is my blog and I tell you the truth. My humble way of saying, the opinions are my own, and may differ from yours, so use your best judgement in every purchase decision you make–wise in these economic times, right?