Sunday, February 27, 2011

Econobum Review.

As my stash started to shrink due to J-baby outgrowing his prefolds and covers, diaer laundry became an every-other-day occurrence. At first it wasn't so bad, but after a week or two, I was done. Not willing to invest in more pocket diaps, I decided to go ahead and check out the Econobum system. When I was first looking into prefolds/covers this was an option I quickly dismissed. Reviews said they were bulky (especially on a newborn), the snaps on the inside of the cover would dig into baby's skin, and the one-size prefold didn't really work with the mid-rise. So instead we got 12 unbleached Indian prefolds (up to 15lb) and size 1 Thirsties Duo Wraps (up to 18lb). Those worked well enough, but only for about 2 months. Totally not worth the money I spent on them.

My friend had given me and Econobum prefold she didn't like, and I had been using it with a Flip cover. It was a tad bulky, but very absorbent and worked really well. So when I started looking again, this system seemed like a good idea, especially for the price. I ordered 2 trial packs, which came with 1 cover and 3 prefolds each.

So impressed! Instead of washing the inserts 5-6 times, I boiled them each for 20 minutes and washed once. They have stayed so soft! Much more so than I expected. The covers fit well, and just look nice and simple to me. I really like that about them.

Pros:
*Price! The trial pack is only $11.95, and for a Complete Kit (6 covers, 24 pf) you're looking at $99.90. Yes! You can cloth diaper full time for under $100!
*Absorbency. J-baby is quite a heavy wetter, but these diapers hold up well. Even during long naps there is no leaking or wicking. We might even be able to use these as a night diaper in a pinch if we added a stay dry doubler!
*Quick drying. We hang all of the diaper covers/shells to dry. Because the fabric is so thin, it dries in no time! And the prefolds dry in one drying cycle.

Cons:
*Fit. For smaller babies, it's going to be bulky. If you've got the insert folded for the shortest rize you might find it to be quite wide between the legs as well. For J-baby that's great because... well, if you've ever changed his diaper or seen me change his diaper, you know.
*Snaps. For some reason the snaps are a little difficult to undo. I'm afraid that not being careful unsnapping them could cause the thin fabric to rip. Yes, one of the pros is also a con.

Shortest rise.

Smallest setting.

Small fold on the left, Med/Lg on the right. As you can see, there's a really big difference in the width. This is probably why it seems so bulky on little babies.

J-baby in the smallest setting.

Side view. (The mark on his leg is not from the diaper. It's from the blanket he was laying on in his swing.)

Back view.

Under shorts.



All in all, for the price and quality, you can't beat the deal! Even if you just got a few trial packs for laundry days, these are totally worth the investment!