Thirsties

9 Ratings: 4.3

Cloth diaper brand

From the company website: Thirsties® line of cloth diapers were launched in 2004 in an effort to offer sustainably produced and quality designed diapers at affordable prices. Our mission is to make it easy and attainable … see full wiki

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Fabulously fitting cloth diapers

Sep 6, 2009

by EcoMama
posted in Eco-Babyz

Rating:

On our quest to find cloth diapers that will work for us we came across Thirsties. They are one of the more well known cloth diapering companies out there. Since no diaper is the same on every baby, take note that my review is based on my 7 month old, 16.5 lb girl. We tried the Fab Fitteds with the Duo Wrap diaper covers. Although I don't think this option is that hard to use, if you are looking for a more babysitter, grandma, and dad friendly option you could try their Pocket AIO V2.

FIT: On my little girl the Fab Fitteds are just as the name implies, they fit fabulously (see photo). They are so luxuriously soft, I wouldn't mind it against my own skin you know where. So I know she is comfy in them. The velcro creates a truly custom fit that you can adjust to infinity. The Duo Wrap fits right over the Fab Fitted for a waterproof barrier between the baby and your furniture, you, or the carpet. It has an adjustable rise with snaps, so again a custom fit. Velcro at the waist just like the Fab Fitted beneath. As you can imagine, it gets a little bulky with two sets of velcro fasteners around the waist. But it isn't so bulky that it is not comfortable for her. The gussets at the legs keep messes in, the elastic is not too tight either. This is not a 'one-size' diaper, both the Fab Fitteds and Duo Wraps come in different sizes. So the fit is quite trim for a cloth diaper. Check out the photo gallery to see how it fits.

PERFORMANCE: Again, just like you might have read in my last review, I was astonished at the performance of cloth diapers in general. Around the house the Fab Fitted really could be worn by itself without a cover if you change the diaper often, it is quite absorbent. I always use it with a Duo Wrap, we go for about 3+ hours between diaper changes. Even then when I take it off she is dry and comfortable enough to go longer. We haven't had any messy incidents because she mostly goes on the potty for #2s. But the couple of times she did go in the diaper, it stayed where it should, washed out well, and left no stains. Thirsties also left us with no rash, such a relief after the problems we were having with disposables. Another attractive feature - they have a 90 day replacement warranty, yes, for cloth diapers! Besides that, a lifetime repair warranty on stitching and velcro tabs. So if for any reason after use and abuse your tabs stop sticking, just send it to them and they'll return them with new tabs.

EASE OF USE: The velcro makes it really easy to put on and take off, just like disposables, but waaaaaay cuter. It does take a minute longer to put these on compared to AIO (All-in-One) diapers since the absorbent part and the cover are separate. Washing is a piece of cake: rinse of solids in cold water, store in dry pail (with a dash of baking soda) until the wash, then depending on how soiled the diapers are either do a cold rinse and a hot wash, or just a hot wash. Remember that cloth diapers 'need' detergent that is residue free and non-toxic and you usually need just half the recommended amount, or even less if you are washing just a few diapers. Drying time varies with your method, the best one being out in the sun. I don't have that privilege where I live so I just air dry them on a rack inside the house and that takes about eight hours in the humid summer, will hopefully be less in the winter.

VALUE: Again, as with any cloth diapers, you will save over disposables. Even though I have found a really great deal on our Seventh Generation disposables at $0.18 per diaper, cloth is still less expensive in the long run. These are sized diapers though, the Duo Wrap comes in two sizes (because it is highly adjustable), and the Fab Fitted has four. That is precisely why they are so perfectly trim and well fitting though.

Since you do not need to wash the Duo Wrap at each diaper change, you also only need one cover per three Fab Fitteds. One Duo Wrap is $12.75 and each Fab Fitted is $14.50. So if you are as determined as I am, you want to save money, and are up for one load of laundry every day - you could cloth diaper full time with just 9 diapers that would cost you a total of $168.75. Plus the cost of detergent, shipping, taxes, and water. So about $200 bucks. Compare that to disposables at $400 to $600 a year. Not to mention that way more resources are used to make disposable diapers (crude oil, wood pulp). According to the Thirsties catalog, 25 million trees are used to manufacture baby diapers each year. Disposable diapers are also the third largest contributor to landfills! Take that!

EcoMama Green Factor: +4 Thirsties are made of polyester and are not organic. But when you factor in the positive aspects of cloth diapering and the ease of use/care they still come out a winner. They are also dyed with low-impact dyes. The company itself is also as green as they come. Check out the wiki ---> for the website and more info.

Disclaimer: This was a complimentary product, but lucky for you I do not review complimentary products unless they have great performance! Only the best for my readers.