I have to admit that when I was asked to review a GroBaby diapering system, I cringed a little. Cloth diapering has always been a mystery to me and I was under the impression that putting this one on my daughter would result in a big wet, stinky mess.
This diaper, though, would have none of that.
It did not leak, even overnight when Tallulah fell asleep two hours after a diaper change, before I could change her one last time before bed. (I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe in waking a sleeping baby for something like a diaper change.)
We have been having problems with blowouts in disposables, but the Gro Baby handled with ease everything Tallulah dealt it. The shells are available in four prints and four solid
colors. They have aplix (hook and loop) fasteners at the waist (snap conversions are available for $3.50 per shell), and there are six snaps across the front that allow for size adjustments; the shells are supposedly adjustable to fit from infancy through potty training. This one fit Tallulah, who is 5 months old, on the smallest setting.
The shell I used, a vibrant green (Kiwi), is soft, as are the organic cotton soaker pads that snap inside.
The Gro Baby website recommends changing the shell only when soiled, air-drying between changes is suggested when it’s wet, so it can be used through multiple diaper changes
for most babies.
The first time I tried the system, we were able to make it through a whole day and night before we needed a new shell. The second time, a particularly messy diaper (she’s still exclusively breast-fed) waylaid the shell after just a change or two. I read some reviews that said the shell’s mesh lining was hard to clean, but that wasn?t a problem for us. The soaker, on the other hand, held onto stains a bit more.
The whole system is machine washable on warm, using ½ the recommended detergent for a regular load. (Note: Using detergents with whiteners, bleach, vinegar, enzyme cleaners or fabric softeners is not recommended and voids all warranties.) The shell dried on the line long before the soakers finished in the dryer ? they took more than two cycles to dry.
The shell was a great fit for Tallulah, although it felt a little bulky, especially when I added the booster for nighttime. I can imagine that it might feel less bulky on a bigger baby.
The company also makes bio-soaker pads, disposable pads that can be stuck inside where the soaker snaps in. The pads are made with biodegradable and compostable materials, so they can be composted or even flushed down the toilet. Those are handy, especially when you’re out and about.
In my experience, they are almost as absorbent as a regular disposable diaper, but given their size, I’m not so sure I would feel safe flushing them down the toilet. My only complaint here is that the adhesive is a little toooo sticky.
You have to make sure you put the pad where you want it the first time because moving it usually results in tearing. And when I took the bio-soaker pad off the shell at diaper change, the adhesive stayed behind.
The company recommends 10-12 Gro Baby shells, 16-24 soaker pads, 8-10 boosters, two to three dozen cloth wipes and a Magic Stick diaper ointment to get started, which by my calculations adds up to somewhere around $350. (As an example, a Gro Baby shell set comes with a shell, a soaker pad and a booster and goes for $24.95.)
I think you could probably get by with less, depending on how often you did laundry, although having fewer diapers in rotation would obviously result in more from wear and tear for your stash.
Overall, I give this diaper a thumbs up. It works great, and it’s absolutely adorable.
Review by Kim from Whirligiggles.
