I'm a cloth diaper whore; and now you can be too!

It is ridiculous.  One of the things that us cloth-diapering mamas can't put into words is the joy that cloth diapers bring.  We all espouse how they're good for the environment.  How they're cheaper.  How we don't fill landfills.  Blah, bla ba.  What we generally DON'T tell you is how giddy we feel when we get fluffy mail.  I think it's kind of like clothing shopping with the added component of morality: not only are we buying something cute and fashionable, we feel like good people for doing it (dangerous, I know.)

So imagine how much giddier one feels when gets a beautiful, glorious, FREE cotton-hemp fitted diaper.  And furthermore?   I get to offer a FREE diaper to one of you lovely folks as well.  It is a good day, people.

I'm probably walking on dangerous ground here. When a blogger is given something to review it is supposed to be an unbiased review, but it actually never seems to be. I have NEVER seen a review of an item given to a blogger that was negative.  Being as this is not, primarily, a giveaway blog, I don't need to rely on freebies from company's. So I will tell you what I actually think. Because I kind of enjoy pissing people off.

All in all, this is a very nice fitted diaper. For those who need a little background, a fitted diaper means that it goes on easily, almost like a disposable, generally with velcro or buttons holding it in place. But it is not waterproof and needs a cover put on the outside. I really, really like the theory of fitteds. Unlike something like BumGenius, you only change the inside and can use the cover several times, until it gets poopy or smells. With fitteds, covers generally last a long time. So, theoretically, a fitted diaper is super easy to put on (unlike, say, prefolds) and has the added economic benefit of not needing very many covers. The problem I have is that in reality fitteds are often as expensive, or even more expensive, than something like pockets or all in ones. And there aren't very many one-size fitteds, so you need to keep buying larger sizes.

Why are fitteds so expensive? I'm not really sure. Many of them are organic cotton or hemp, unlike the common microfiber you find in bumgenius and fuzzibunz (among others.) They are often customizable with cute prints, etc., and often not as mass-produced. They are also often very absorbent and make great night time diapers.

Fitteds are not the primary solution for us. Not only for the aforementioned reasons, but also because daycare in Minnesota requires that the whole diaper be changed at once (cover and insert). So it makes more sense to use pockets and all-in-ones. However, we do use things like fitteds and prefolds at home and overnight, and this makes a great night time diaper.

Another pet peeve of mine is this tendency of diaper manufactures to overstate their size range, and Baby Beehinds is no exception. They claim to fit 8-35 lbs, and there is no way this is true. It fits MJ perfectly right now, at 16+ lbs, but I'm sure it wouldn't have fit her before ~12 lbs.  And the other reviews of this diaper online suggest it doesn't go to he max end of that range, either.  The only brand I have found that doesn't do this is Thirsties. Here's my recommendation to diaper companies: don't do this, it pisses us Mamas off. I know you THINK you are doing us a favor by outlining the absolute upper and lower limits, because there are babies for whom this range may work. But we would prefer if you only list sizes that are almost guaranteed. And then, if it fits longer, that's a nice added bonus. If we think we are buying a diaper that will last far longer than it does we are upset. If you narrow the size range, we will still buy your product, but we'll be happier in the long run if it meets or exceeds our expectations. Get what I'm saying?

So all in all, here's my thoughts on this diaper. If you realize that the weight limits listed are bunk, and instead accept a more realistic 15-25 or 15-30 lb range then it's a good diaper. As fitteds go, it's a great fitted; you'll have to ask yourself whether fitteds are the right choice for you, though. As someone that owns mostly microfiber, the soft, organic fabric of this diaper feels luxurious. It has snaps, which I generally don't love (though I've been told once MJ can start taking her diaper off I'll change my mind on this), but the snaps overlap in the front, allowing the waist to cinch down tighter than snaps usually allow. It also has detachable inserts, which are great because they allow the diaper to dry much faster than if the inserts are sewn in.

If I had to give this diaper a star rating, I would say 4 out of 5.  And to be fair, I'm generally a pretty harsh grader.  I will use this as one of my primary night time diapers, paired with either a bumgenius flip cover or a thirsties duo cover. 

So, now that I have rambled on, some other things you should take note of:  this was provided by ecomom, a fabulous online store with all things green and crunchy (yay earth!)  I am excited to be able to offer a 15% discount to ecomom.com with code SBBL223 (this expires May 31st).  In addition, they currently have a $99 membersip that allows free shipping and a 15% discount off every order, with no minimum purchase. 

Okay.  We know why you're here.  You want a free diaper.  I believe in easy giveaways, so here are your options (each option should be a separate comment):

1)  Go to EcoMom.com and tell me a product you would love to find in your May Day stocking (if there was such a thing.)  This is a mandatory entry.

Additional optional entries:

1)  Follow ecomom on twitter (twitter.com/EcoMomCEO) and tell me that you did.
2)  Join EcoMom's newsletter and tell me that you did (they won't spam you, I promise!)
3)  Publicly follow this blog and tell me that you have.

That's it.  I can't handle giveaways with 15 different options, so I'm sticking to these 3.  This giveaway will close in one week (Friday, April 30th).