TushMate AI2 Cloth Diaper Review

I first heard about TushMate diapers while researching cloth diapering options for Jeremiah at the start of my journey. Two TushMate AI2 Starter Kits were actually some of the very first diapers I ever bought! Great reviews and a flexible system were what attracted me to them from the beginning, and I can say, three years and running, they haven’t disappointed. What’s even better, is how TushMate continues to strive for excellence and keeps coming up with innovative diaper designs!

Features:

TushMate AI2 Starter Kits come with a shell (snap or hook and loop closure options), natural fiber inserts, and a stay dry liner. There are countless ways to use this combo, so you can find what works best for each baby.

TushMate AI2 Globe shell with two hemp/cotton blend inserts.

There are three things I really love about TushMate diapers that sets them apart from other similar style diapers: First the hidden snaps for the inserts and liner. These snaps are hidden inside the shell (see picture below), so you never have to worry about them rubbing on your baby. This is especially great because you can choose to use the shell with TushMate inserts, or any insert that works for you…I LOVE using prefolds tucked in the cover flaps for night time diapering. Because the snaps are hidden away, it doesn’t matter how I use the cover, the snaps are there if I need them, but out of the way if I don’t!

Check out the hidden snaps in the TushMate shell!

Second, I really like the stay dry liner that can snap into the cover. Many parents want their kids to have a stay dry option, but need the absorbency of a prefold. These liners are perfect for keeping wetness away from the baby’s skin, and also make a nice double-gusset to keep messes inside. Once again, they are there if you want them, but you don’t have to use them, if you don’t want to.

Stay dry liner snapped on top of the hemp/cotton insert to keep baby’s skin dry.

Finally, I love the unique way TushMate makes their printed diapers. The way they print and cut their fabric ensures that EVERY SINGLE DIAPER has a perfectly placed print! No more being disappointed because your favorite part of the print is missing from your particular diaper. They have beautiful and unique prints that make every diaper change fun. With my love for traveling, the Globe print is definitely a favorite of mine.

Every TushMate diaper is printed and cut to ensure EVERY diaper has a perfectly placed print!

Function:

I have been very happy with TushMate diapers. My AI2 diapers from THREE YEARS AGO are still going strong with regular use! You can’t say that about many brands at all. They have excellent elastics that are wide and gentle, the covers made with TPU are both thick and beautiful (especially compared with other similar brands), and their flexibility make them work for any cloth diapering need.

The natural fiber inserts (you can choose between 100% cotton and a hemp/cotton blend) and very thin, making it a trim diaper. For little ones/light wetters, you only need one or two regular inserts with each change. They also make a large insert that works great for day time diapering. Inserts agitate out in the wash, keeping your hands as clean as possible during diaper changes.

At night, I use a prefold paired with a regular TushMate hemp/cotton insert, and that will last my kiddos 12 hours! The covers have flaps to let you tuck inserts inside and keep them from poking out the top and back.

Each cover has front and back flaps to hold any insert in place (even if it’s not a TushMate insert)!

Fit:

TushMate AI2 diapers are one-size fits all, so they can fit small babies through potty training. I couldn’t quite get a small enough fit to work on Evelyn when she was a 7 lb newborn*, but it wasn’t long before they started fitting her. Now, I love how trim these diapers are, and check out how cute their Globe print is on Evelyn!

If your cloth diapering needs are regularly changing, or you like to have OPTIONS without spending a ton of money, TushMate AI2 diapers are perfect for you. I’m also a huge fan of their customer service. They stand behind their products and take great care of you too. Want to give TushMate diapers a try? Click here.

Leave me a comment! What is your favorite feature of the TushMate AI2 system?

*TushMate also makes a newborn AIO diaper, for a better fit on tiny babies!

I received a TushMate Starter Kit free of charge for the purposes of this review. All opinions expressed are 100% my own and not influenced by the company.

Nicki’s Diapers: AIO, Pocket, or Cover…Which one is best for you?

I first came across Nicki’s Diapers when I was on the hunt for another cloth diaper brand they carry in their online store. Soon after I started shopping there, they came out with a new line of diapers with their own name brand. Not only did they have some adorable prints at great prices, but they have an awesome program to go with them. For every Nicki’s Diaper product you buy, they will donate one to a child in need. That is something I can support! They even have pictures of Nicki going to an orphanage in China to donate some of their diapers to babies there. I love it!

Nicki’s Diapers come in four different styles (AIO, pocket, cover, and pull-on cover), and I’m going to feature three of them today. Not only is the style of each diaper different, but they also have different fits and functions (as you can see in the picture below). Hopefully you will get an idea of which diaper would work best for you, and you can give Nicki’s Diapers a try!

From left to right: Nicki’s Pocket, Nicki’s AIO, Nicki’s Cover. All set to their largest setting.

Nicki’s AIO Bamboo

Features: Natural terry bamboo fiber snap-in insert and liner. The legs have roll-in elastic, which is gentle on babies’ legs. Comes in either snap or aplix closures, and the snap option has crossover tabs.

Function: This All-In-One diaper is easy to use with the insert that can snap out before washing to speed up drying time. You just put it on the baby, roll in the legs, and go! The diaper is VERY absorbent – great for heavy wetters, or even night time. It didn’t quite make it all night with Jeremiah as a two-year old, but it could work with a booster of some kind.

Fit: This fits the smallest of the three diapers. It looks great on Evelyn (at 11 lbs), but is on the very last snap setting for Jeremiah (he is currently around 30 lbs). With the thick bamboo insert, it does seem bulky on smaller babies.

Nicki’s AIO on two month old, Evelyn.

Nicki’s AIO on two-year-old Jeremiah.

Nicki’s Pocket Diaper

Features: Stay dry liner with openings in the front and back. These openings make stuffing the pocket easy and allow the included microfiber insert to agitate out in the wash. No touching wet inserts! Comes in snap (with crossover tabs) or aplix closures.

Function: Pocket diapers are a favorite of many dads and babysitters because they are so easy to put on. With the insert already stuffed inside, you can put them on the baby just like a disposable.

Fit: The Nicki’s pocket has the largest fit of their three styles. It did not fit Evelyn as a newborn and left large leg gaps. Now that she’s almost three months old and over 11lbs, she can wear the pocket diaper without problems. There is still plenty of room for two-year-old Jeremiah, and I still have the rise snapped up one setting.

Nicki’s Pocket Diaper on two month old, Evelyn.

Nicki’s Pocket Diaper on two month old Evelyn.

Nicki’s Pocket Diaper on two-year-old Jeremiah.

Nicki’s Diaper Cover

Features: Tuckable flaps at the front and back to keep inserts in place. This cover has double gussets in the legs to hold in messes. Comes in either snap or aplix closures, and the snap option has crossover tabs.

Function: If you want the most for your money, the Nicki’s Cover is the way to go. It’s the least expensive, but gives you a TON of versatility. You can put any insert (unless it is microfiber w/o a micro fleece liner) or fitted diaper you want inside so you get a customized diaper that works best for your baby. I use it mainly for Jeremiah’s night time diaper because I have to stuff it with a prefold AND flour sack towel combo to last him all 12 hours at night.

Fit: This cover is in the middle between the AIO and the pocket diapers. It gets small enough to fit a newborn (see my post on OS diapers that can fit newborns here), but is also very roomy for a toddler. Jeremiah still has the rise snapped up once for his day time diaper, but I unsnap it completely to fit his bulkier night time inserts. It is a very trim diaper that makes it fit easily in a diaper bag and isn’t bulky under clothing.

Nicki’s Cover (over a flour sack towel insert) on two month old Evelyn.

Nicki’s Cover (over a flour sack towel insert) on two month old Evelyn.

Nicki’s Cover (over a flour sack towel insert) on two-year-old Jeremiah.

Thanks to my two wonderful baby models (Jeremiah had to be bribed with fruit snacks to hold still!), I hope you have a better idea about which Nicki’s Diaper would be best for you. Or, just get a couple of each and try them for yourself…click here to check out their website! Let me know what you think…which diaper style would YOU choose?

This blog post may contain affiliate links (all opinions and reviews are still 100% my own). If you purchase through them, you’ll be supporting The List Mama – Thanks!

Do One-Size Cloth Diapers Really Fit a Newborn?

After Evelyn’s birth, I’m frequently asked how life is with two kids. Honestly, it’s not as difficult a transition as the one going from no kids to one kid. A couple years of experience under my belt has really helped everything go about as smoothly as I could wish for. And Evelyn is a REALLY easy baby, so that helps!

Since I started cloth diapering Jeremiah when he was a month old, I was very excited to try cloth earlier with Evelyn. Many cloth diaper companies claim their one-size diapers can fit from birth to potty trained, but which ones REALLY can fit a newborn? While I haven’t tested out every brand (although I wish I could!), I did try some popular ones out on Evelyn to see how they worked.

Now, I know every newborn is a different size, so this won’t be true for everyone. But, Evelyn was 7 lbs and 9 oz at birth, so she was a great average-sized baby to try these diapers on. If you tend to have larger babies, it’s likely you will have even more success getting one-size diapers to fit from birth.

NOTE: Almost all OS diapers will be bulky on a newborn – especially if you’re putting them under a onesie. But the diapers that “fit” could actually get small enough in the legs and waist so there were no gaps that minimized leaks.

One-Size Cloth Diapers that FIT a newborn:

Buttons Diapers – One of my favorites, see my review here!

Bum Genius 4.0 Pockets*

Softbums Echos* – Another one of my favorites!

Nicki’s Diapers Cover*

Peachy Baby

One-Size Cloth Diapers that DIDN’T fit a newborn (but still great diapers!):

Lil Helper

Nicki’s Pocket Diapers*

Moraki AI2*

TushMate AI2

Buying one-size cloth diapers can really save you a lot of money, if you truly can use them from birth to potty training. I did end up getting some newborn diapers to fit better under Evelyn’s outfits, but I was happy to use many one-size diapers right from the start! What other brands of one-size cloth diapers have you found that fit a newborn?

*You can get these diapers from Nicki’s Diapers, one of my favorite online cloth diaper retailers. Their customer service is fabulous!

This blog post may contain affiliate links (all opinions and reviews are still 100% my own). If you purchase through them, you’ll be supporting The List Mama – Thanks!

Buttons Cloth Diaper Review

Our newest family member: Evelyn!

It’s been a while since I last wrote a post. The main reason for the lack of writing is I have been getting ready for the birth of our second child. Evelyn was born three weeks ago, and things are finally starting to settle in place!

Today, I’m going to write my first cloth diaper review. You can see my story about why I decided to cloth diaper here. It’s been almost two years since I started my journey, and I’ve had the opportunity to try many kinds of diapers. And when the owners of Buttons asked me to write a review about their cloth diapers, I was more than happy to share my love for Buttons with you!

Buttons “Critter” cover

Buttons large hemp insert (left) and microfiber insert (right).

The Stats: Buttons are an All-In-Two (AI2) diapering system. They are comprised of a one size cover and a snap-in insert. The inserts are two sizes: small and large, and come in either microfiber or hemp. Both inserts have a stay-dry micro fleece liner on top. They also have overnight doublers in both sizes and fabric types. Buttons diapers were designed to reuse the covers used a few times by just changing the inserts. That means less laundry and more money for you, since you don’t have to buy a cover for each diaper change!

JD at nine months old in his Buttons diaper.

My Story: I started using Buttons diapers about a year and a half ago. It started with just a couple of covers and some flour sack towels I used as inserts. I immediately was impressed by how well the diaper cover was made. It has two layers of PUL, but still has a lot of stretch to get a nice fit. The double-guesset leg elastics are great at holding in messes too. I use the covers mainly for my day time diapering because they were so trim and fit nicely under Jeremiah’s clothes.

When Buttons came out with their hemp inserts a few months ago, I splurged and added some more covers and the inserts to my stash. By this point, I was so impressed, I decided to make them a majority of my stash. When we found out we were expecting Evelyn, it gave me a good excuse to top off my stash with a few more covers and inserts. 🙂 Now, almost all of Evelyn’s diapers are Buttons!

What I LOVE:

High quality product – The covers and inserts look and feel very high quality. With regular use for about 1.5 years, the elastics are just barely relaxed compared to a new cover (some are not relaxed at all!). And they still have LOTS of life left in them. That’s awesome compared to other popular (and more expensive) brands of diapers I’ve tried!

Stretchy cover – The stretchy PUL makes it easy to get a good fit on your baby. There is also a small bit of elastic across the front of the waist, so you don’t have any weird gaps across the tummy.

Snap-in inserts – My first AI2 diaper system I used had inserts that just laid inside the cover. It worked great when Jeremiah was little, but once he decided he didn’t like diaper changes, it made changes even more difficult with an insert that he could kick out of place easily. Buttons inserts snap in, making it simple to change the diaper quickly and easily. They always stay in place!

Interchangeable inserts with other AI2 covers – Buttons inserts and covers are compatible with a number of other AI2 diaper brands. That makes finding an insert to snap in easy if you have variety in your stash.

Price – For the quality of diaper, Buttons are definitely one of the most affordable diapering systems. For just a little over $200, you can get everything you need to cloth diaper your baby – including wipes and a wet bag!

Adorable prints and brilliant colored covers – The website does not do the colors of the covers justice! The solids are rich and beautiful colors, and the prints make diaper changes fun for moms and toddlers. Jeremiah loves his Critter cover and wants to look at all the animals each time we put it on him! And to go with their name, each cover has a cute button embroidered on the back.

Hemp insert INCLUDING a stay-dry liner – Buttons is the only cloth diaper brand that I know of with this feature. Many moms prefer natural fiber inserts like hemp, cotton, or bamboo because they are very absorbent and they clean up easier than microfiber. But these materials do not wick moisture away from the baby’s skin. Buttons hemp inserts have a stay dry liner on top, so any moisture is pulled away from the baby and into the insert. These inserts are VERY absorbent, and Jeremiah can go up to 4-5 hours without leaks!

A one-size cover that actually FITS a newborn! – When Evelyn was born, I was eager to try some cloth diapers on her. We don’t have any newborn diapers, so I decided to give all my one-size diapers a try. While many claim they can fit a baby from birth to potty-trained, Buttons was one of the few covers that actually fit her! I like to fold a flour sack towel into a mini kite fold and snappi it under the Buttons cover. It’s a little more bulky than using a newborn cover, but there aren’t any leg or tummy gaps where leaks could occur. Definitely a win!

Evelyn wearing her lavender Buttons cover at just five days old and 7 lbs 10 oz.

Jeremiah wearing his Buttons Critter diaper at 23 months and 28 lbs.

Overall, Buttons diapers are an easy-to-use, affordable diapering system I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to give cloth diapers a try. They have wonderful customer service and a variety of buying options – whether you want to get a trial pack with a cover and a few inserts, or make them your entire diaper stash. Want to give them a try? You can shop for Buttons here on their website or here on Amazon.

Just for fun, here are some “action shots” of Jeremiah wearing his Cherry Buttons diaper. 🙂

Share your thoughts! Check out the Buttons website and let me know your favorite print or color…or your favorite feature Buttons diapers offer.

I received a Buttons diaper free of charge for the purposes of this review. All opinions expressed are 100% my own and not influenced by the company. This post may contain affiliate links.

Cloth Diaper Laundry (It’s Easier Than You Think)

One of the first questions I am asked when I tell people I cloth diaper Jeremiah (after, “What do you do with the poop?”) is “How do you clean them?” And this is a great question, because if you choose to cloth diaper your baby, you will be doing laundry every few days!

If you spend any time on a Facebook cloth diaper chat room, you will see a majority of posts about how people wash them. Everyone has their own opinion about the perfect washing routine, and it can be overwhelming! And while I know that each person will need to use some trial and error to find out what works for them, I’m going to share what it looks like on MY cloth diaper laundry day to give you an idea of how easy it is!

STEP 1: PRESOAK/RINSE

First, I start filling up the washing machine to the correct water level for the load size. I also add in some Biz to help get them extra clean. I have an “Extra Rinse” setting on my washing machine I use, but some also have Pre-Rinse settings.

Next, I take the wetbag where I store dirty diapers and dump them in the washing machine. The wetbag also goes in the wash.

I let the diapers agitate a few seconds, then leave them to soak for a little while (30 minutes-an hour – I stop the cycle by opening the lid.).

After an hour, I close the lid and let the washer finish it’s extra rinse cycle and drain.

STEP 2: WASH YOUR DIAPERS

I set my washing machine on the longest wash cycle* (Super Wash) and add the correct amount of detergent for the load size. Personally, I use powder Gain, but I know many cloth diapering moms who love Tide. As long as your diapers come out smelling clean and the detergent doesn’t contain fabric softener, you are good!

*I don’t usually do an extra rinse at the end, but sometimes I forget to change the setting on my washing machine (as you can see in the above picture). 🙂

STEP 3: DRY YOUR DIAPERS

Our dryer isn’t the best, so to save money and energy, I use a drying rack for all my diapers and inserts. Even if you have a great dryer, you may want to line dry the covers to minimize wear & tear on the elastic.

STEP 4: PUT THEM AWAY (and admire your pretty stash)

I use All-In-Two diapers, which don’t require any stuffing or extra prep. Here is a picture of how I store my diapers. I also have a basket of inserts sitting on the changing table to the right (just outside the picture).

Cloth Diaper Washing Do’s and Don’ts:

DO start with a simple routine that is similar to how you wash your regular laundry. This includes using the correct water and detergent amounts for your load size. Most likely, you can use your regular laundry detergent on your diapers (as long as it doesn’t contain fabric softener).

DON’T use fabric softeners (either in your laundry detergent or in your dryer).

DO change one thing at a time if you want to troubleshoot an issue. If you change multiple things at once, you won’t know what is the key to your success or causing problems.

Well, there you have it. Hopefully that gives you an idea of how simple it is to wash cloth diapers! I have a lot more information on washing cloth diapers on my Pinterest board. You should check it out here and follow me!

Leave me a comment! What cloth diaper laundry questions or tips do you have?

This blog post may contain affiliate links (all opinions and reviews are still 100% my own). If you purchase through them, you’ll be supporting The List Mama – Thanks!