Sprout Change Cloth Diaper Review and Say What?--GIVEAWAY!

If you've been following my blog the past few weeks you know I took the plunge and tried cloth diapers. I mostly used Sprout Change. To be honest, my husband has had to work with them more than I have but we've talked about and both gotten a feel for them now and I can give my honest opinion on this whole cloth diaper thing.

First of all, like I explained in my initial Cloth Diaper Experiment post--I'm not one of those people who is going to make people feel bad for using disposables. That's not my personality, and quite frankly I'm not trying cloth because I'm scared of Pampers harming my baby. Sure, that's a possibility, but it's also possible that my toaster will burn my house down. I wanted to give it a try because I figured if it was as easy as everyone says it would be a great way to save a few extra bucks a month, and keep extra trash from hitting the landfills. I also was thinking it would be more comfortable on my baby's bum and prevent diaper rash (although she's never had it *knock on wood*).

I was sent Sprout Change Cloth Diapers, the All in Two Super Saver kits.

I had organic hemp/cotton and stay dry microfleece (fleece on top, microfiber underneath) inserts to use in the covers.

Here's what I like about them:

1.They're one size. TRULY. There's elastic around the legs, and the back, which you can adjust while the baby's wearing it (here's my video demonstration of how that works). It was easy to fit wide around her thunder thighs, but taken in a little around her belly. It's nice because you set it once, and don't need to change it for months.

I know people who are used to multiple snap diapers for one size say adjusting the elastic is a pain but for me, it makes it faster for every diaper change after the one adjustment every few months. You don't have to line up a gazillion snaps every diaper change. I won't need to buy more covers because these are suppose to last until she's potty trained, or 40lbs.

What's cooler? They now have snap extenders if your baby gets bigger than that! No need to buy more for every time your child moves up a size.

2. The covers are reversible. It's the ONLY reversible diaper on the market. I have 8 covers aka shells, but if you count the other side with different colors that's 16 shells! Depending on the way you put it on the snaps close on the side or on the front. I prefer the front snaps, which close like I'm used to with disposables but different cloth diaper people have different preferences.

3. They aren't super bulky. I don't have a huge stash of diapers but compared to the others I do have (Fuzzibunz, gDiapers, Nifty Nappy) these are the least bulky of the bunch, which is nice because a lot of time her diaper is covered with adorable clothes.

4. Easy to use! I love this all in two system. During each diaper change I don't have to take the shell all of the way off. I just grab the insert, roll it up, and toss it in our diaper pail. Then place a new insert down. If poop does get on the shell, I toss the whole diaper in, but that usually happens just once a day. It's easy when we're out too because I don't need a ton of huge diapers to carry around, just an extra shell and a couple of inserts.

I have gDiapers too but think these are easier because they don't have an extra layer of plastic inside like the gDiapers do. These are EASY! Perfect for a first time cloth diaper person for myself. Did I mention they're easy?

5. Very Effective: They're waterproof, so we didn't have any blowouts like we did/do with disposables. She takes a big crap every morning and these always contain it. (I really need to start taking her to the toilet). Did you watch my waterproof demonstration? 

6. The price is right! The all in two system is one I wanted to go for, because the all in ones are more expensive for me to buy a whole new diaper and throw it in the pail after every use. With these all you need are a few shells and additional inserts for however many changes you think you'll have. The inserts are only $5-$7, as opposed to diapers from $16+. Plus, like I mentioned before, they're one size!

7. The stuff is interchangeable. Since we've decided to stick with cloth diapers (can you believe it?) the diapers we already have can be intertwined with stuff we get. The inserts can be used in pocket diapers, the covers can be used with prefolds. I can even use the biodegradable inserts I have for my gDiapers in these!

8. Mom made: I bought a cheapo $5 diaper off ebay then felt a bit guilty after when I realized it was from China. Sprout Change diapers are handmade my mamas like you, right here in the US. I feel right supporting them, versus "The Man".

Some problems I had:

I adjusted the elastic too tight around my baby's thighs (thinking oh she's only 3 months, I can make these tight) but they were too tight so I had to go back and readjust all of them all over again. My advice would be give one shell a try at one size for a few changes and make sure that's working before adjusting them all to save you some time.

For naptime, sometimes we'll stuff the sprout change inserts in a pocket diaper to absorb more while she sleeps (she pees a lot aka "a heavy wetter").  At first she went through a nap strike when we switched to cloth. Now she can sleep longer in her Sprout Change diapers now that she's adjusted (or maybe she was starting to teethe?) Either way, I may try an experiment with two of the hemp inserts to see if those work better for nap time, or lay fleece inside too, we'll see!

Cloth diapers as a whole:

In the beginning we all had to get used to more diaper changes. Lil' J wasn't used to feeling the cloth and wetness like you can feel (which is why cloth diaper users tend to have less diaper rash--because you have to change them more frequently than disposables) so we've had to adjust to more diaper changes. This isn't necessarily a problem with the brand as much as it is with the adjustment period.

Despite what people say, it IS more work than before, nevertheless, after two weeks I feel pretty adjusted. We still use disposables at night, but I don't mind because we were gifted SO MANY diapers that we have a lot to use still. By time time we're running low I'll probably look into tips for overnight diaper usage.

Even though it is more work, it's not as much work as I expected. Washing them is a piece of cake as I just dump the pail of diapers into the wash. Drying them is easy, and then it's not like I have to fold them or hang them.

I'm helping the environment a little by using less trash, and since I am using more energy to wash and dry the diapers I'm going to start line-drying the inserts to save energy too! This cloth diaper experiment has really inspired me to take a look at my life and see where I can cut corners and be a little greener while saving a little bit of $green$ too.--Even though that TOTALLY wasn't me. I guess knowing my daughter and granddaughters will be growing up in this world I'll leave behind makes me think a little more about what I'm doing.

It's not over though, keep following to see more of my cloth diaper findings and tips (I just bought some flushie liners to put over the inserts to hopefully avoid more poop, as well as a cloth diaper safe version of "shout") my cloth wipe attempt is next!

Oh, and speaking of following. Each of my blog followers, old or new (or confirmed email subscribers) who comments on this post before October 27th will be entered to win a Sprout Change Super Saver Starter Kit! It comes with one shell and three inserts. You can choose stay dry or organic. I won't tell you more cause you can read about it on their site. You can also learn more by watching my MomTV show TUESDAY 10/19 at 1pm EST (time change) where Catherine, the owner of The Willow Store will be on to talk about Sprout change. Attendees will be given a code word to get an extra entry to this giveaway!

You can get an extra entry if you follow @TheWillowStore on Twitter or fan The Willow Store on Facebook. Random.org will choose the winner. Good Luck!

*Thanks to The Willow Store for sponsoring this review and giveaway

***

Winner of the Sound Beginnings Prenatal Music Belt: #12 Mama Campbell
Winner of the Cutie pa tutu: #38 Alice Anne
Winner of $75 to CSN Stores: #59 ShoeStringLiving
I'll email you all, and you'll all have 48 hours to respond to claim your prize! Congrats!