Cloth Diapers 103: Bumgenius Organic All in One

Bumgenius diapers are like the Lexus of cloth diapers. They are snazzy, dependable and a bit expensive...but really i do love these diapers. They are so cute even the babies don't even need pants!


Although Bumgenius makes lots of different types of cloth diapers, we use their newest style, the Organic 3.0 One Size All-in-One Diaper . Bumgenius diapers are brightly colored and very well-made. Here's a pic of 2 of our diapers in Ribbit and Moonbeam.





All-in-One Diapers (AIO) are diapers that have both the absorbent diaper part and the waterproof cover sown together--you only need this one piece, it's by far the easiest cloth diaper system available. Once the diaper is dirty, just like with a sposie, you take the whole thing off and start over with a new diaper.





A one size diaper (OS) is a diaper that is intended to be used for your child's entire diapering years--birth to potty training. There is a weight range for which the diaper should fit: Bumgenius claims their diapers should fit babies from 7-35 lbs. From my experience and from what i have read, most other cloth diapering moms agree that bumgenius diapers do not fit babies very well until they are about 10lbs. This is really a common issue with most OS diapers. The way a OS diaper works is that there are 3 different rise settings on the diaper. The rise snaps are the lowest 3 set of snaps on the diaper. The first picture shows the diaper open to its largest setting ..the 2nd pic shows how to adjust the diaper to its smallest setting--this is the setting we are currently on with no sign of moving up any time soon.


Bumgenius diapers come with 2 types of closures, Aplix (velcro) or Snaps. Depending on who you talk to you will get a different opinion on which closure is best. In general, you can get a more customized fit with Aplix and the diaper change may be a bit quicker and/or easier for big hands (like a Daddy's), but snaps are more durable in the wash and are harder for kids to take off when they reach the age to want to do so. We have not experienced any fit problems so far with the snaps and i feel like because of the durability of the snaps--i am getting more for my money.



The material in the inside of this diaper is made from an ultra-absorbent organic cotton. I love buying organic cotton products whenever i can--so this is a BIG plus for this diaper. If you don't know much about organic cotton, it is grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment. Organic production symptoms replenish and maintain soil fertility, reduce the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers, and build biologically diverse agriculture. Also organic cotton is very absorbent and doesn't retain some of the smells that other cloth diaper fabrics seem to have and lets face it...what more do you want from a diaper than something that is absorbent and not smelly?



The only real qualm that I have found with this diaper is that if you are exclusively breast feeding your child, the poo may not always be contained--at least in the beginning. We really haven't had too many problems with blowouts from Holden, but because of Nora's skinny legs, it's hard to get a tight fit around her thighs and therefore blow-outs tend to happen. Other types of diapers prevent these types of leaks by sewing in leg gussets--a pic of another diaper brands gussets are shown to the right. If Bumgenius had this one feature--it would be the BEST diaper available...that's just my opinion of course. Just now since Nora has hit around 12 lbs am i noticing a drop off in the leaks with her poo and i believe by the time they both get a bit bigger and they start eating solids, therefore resulting in more solid poops, there will be no more leaks.


There are however no blowouts from the top of the diaper. I used to HATE this problem with Nora, because it would run all up her back and get all over clothes. Bumgenius has a wonderful elastic feature at the top back of the diaper to prevent this problem from happening--and i love it!

The last thing i would like to talk about with these diapers are the laundering. I do plan to later devote a whole blog to cloth diaper laundering...that seems to be so many people's main concern with cloth. But for now, what's important to know is that as with all organic cotton diapers, they must be prepped in the beginning to get all the naturals oils off of the fabric in order for this to be absorbent. This process does take a little bit of time, but the more washes you do with your organic diapers the more absorbent they will become..so just stick with it! Also, as is a common problem with AIO diapers, they take a longer amount of time to dry. Usually I just hang them up on a drying rack and they are dry by the next day. They do get a little stiff this way, but if you just stretch the cotton out a little bit with your hands it will soften right up.


So that's it for Bumgenius...I would definitely recommend trying some of these diapers out. They are great to have around for babysitters, resistant cloth diapering dads, or for when you are running errand. They are so easy anyone can do it!


Here's a pic of Holden and his puppy showing off their cute Bumgenius bums!