Review: sustainablebabyish | sloomb snapless multi and OBF fitted comparison

Grab your cup of coffee, latte, soft drink, or glass of water - this is a long one, and for good reason! We give you honest reviews and opinions, and sustainablebabyish | sloomb, inc.'s collections are some of our absolute favorites! I could go on and on...and I think I will!

The words I would use to describe sloomb's designs and color palettes are fresh, clean, pure, and simple. Don't be fooled - these are not your mom's or grandma's diapers! Long story short, our cloth diapering journey started over 7 years ago with fitteds and covers (not sloomb). I didn't really know what I was doing, didn't have any resources (or where to find them), and I ultimately "quit". Twice. We came back to cloth diapering (again!) with pockets for the birth of our third baby. So when I showed the sustainablebabyish diapers to my mom recently, she laughed, knowing I'd "failed" them before. She didn't laugh for long! The quality is outstanding, and while the diapers (especially with the snapless multi) are "simple", that doesn't mean they are not well-thought-out designs. Both the snapless multi and the organic bamboo fleece (OBF) fitted are very smart designs!

Both the snapless multi and the OBF fitted are fitted diapers, which means they are not waterproof in themselves - they should be paired with a cover. (Try sloomb's wool covers or knit longies from Mami's and Papi's or sloomb!) The snapless multi is a one-size diaper. As the name implies, it is snapless. You can pin it or use a snappi. If you're not using a wool cover and it's one with velcro or snaps, you may not even need to fasten it! Being snapless, it literally has INFINITE adjustment possibilities. The OBF fitteds are sized, have snap-closures, and have a snap-in doubler (snaps in the front so you don't risk touching poo!). Each type also comes with an additional lay-in doubler (the snapless comes with two)! I usually don't even need to use them, but my older baby (non-heavy wetter) can use the snapless as an overnight diaper with the two doublers, and the lay-in doublers can be used, left out, folded in half for extra absorbency right where you need it (even front-and-center for little boys).

With these diapers increasing in recognition, there have been lots of questions recently on the Mami's and Papi's facebook page. Yesterday on facebook, Erin from sloomb graciously answered some of our burning questions for us! Here is what she had to say, straight from the authoritative source!

"...OBF Fitteds do shrink (our patterns are made to accommodate shrinkage & we increased sizing last Fall slightly for a slightly more generous fit)...

Snapless-multi fitteds are made of terry - these are incredibly stretchy and are 3 layers in the body so that they have approximately the same absorbency as the shell of the fleece fitteds. Bamboo fleece is not a very stretchy fabric. It is beautiful, ultra absorbent, and soft. You should care for the fitteds well. Don't over dry them, wash with Ecover fabric softener if you need to, use dryer balls, and an awesome cloth diaper safe detergent (like Lulu's!).

Regarding sizing, I have always recommended people size up in our OBF fitteds if possible. Sized fitteds are more expensive and in our opinion should fit more than one size - they were designed this way. Our son could wear S, M, or L at the same time. This gives you a choice. You can use a smaller fitted for a trimmer fit or size up and have more room, but it will last longer. Our cross-over snap in the front allows for a tighter fit at the waist if you want to move up to the next size.

The snapless is just awesome, plain and simple. It is versatile, well loved for nights or day use, is highly absorbent (they come with bamboo fleece doublers), and is super stretchy so you can add as many doublers as you need. Even if you love the sized fitteds, I always try to encourage people to at least try the snapless. Pins and snappis are very easy to use with our fabric, grandparents/caregivers/dads love them too!

A great tip is to fold one of the doublers in half in the wet-zone. For OBF sized fitteds try folding one of the snap-in doublers before adding the extra doubler in. This gives you an extra 3 layers without adding bulk where you don't need it. Our snap-in soakers snap in the front so that boys can also benefit from folding.

Which one is our personal favorite? I like both. We only used sbish for our son. He had about 18 diapers total, aprox 10 snapless, 8 sized + tons of wool."

As Erin mentioned, yes, products from sloomb could be considered an investment. But if you're going to splurge or set aside money for a great diaper (or several)- these are the ones! The quality is exceptional, and the diapers are made in the USA!! The absorbency and fit are amazing. Our younger baby is a heavy-wetter, and the OBF fitteds in particular are worry-free for the mama of a heavy wetter, especially paired with wool for a breathable combination. Here's the post where these began to be known as the "magic diaper". I agree!

Oh, you'd like to see pictures??? Great! I have quite a few! And Erin from sloomb has allowed me to post the pictures she took of the OBF fitteds. Thank you! Pay close attention to the captions, as the diapers look similar.  For reference, our babies are 7 and 21 months. The 7 month old is right at 50th% in all measurements, weighs around 18 pounds, thigh measurement is 9.5 to 10", has a 14.5" waist, and approx. 11.5" rise. The 21 month old is mid-80th% in height, mid-40th% for weight, weighs 27 pounds, and is 34.5" tall with a 11 3/4" thigh measurement and 17 1/4 inch waist measurement.

all sizes washed OBF fitteds

all sizes washed OBF fitteds

all sizes washed OBF fitteds

all sizes washed OBF fitteds and WOOL!!

I wrote a blog post on the OBF fitted a few months back, but thought it would be nice to bring back these pictures :) At that time, she was borderline for medium, so Mami suggested we size up. About four months later, the medium still fits great and lots of room to go!

inside of OBF fitted with lay-in doubler

OBF fitted on 4 month old

And here's the same OBF fitted on the same baby, almost 4 months later!

For our older baby, I put the snapless multi on just as it is, with the full rise. On our younger baby, I fold the top/front of the diaper inward, then pull the wings across the front and fasten.

snapless multi, adjusted for smaller baby 7 months

beautiful!

snapless multi snappi'd

snapless multi on both, two ways to pin, baby on right has rise adjusted

OBF fitteds, size medium on left, size large on right

OBF fitted, size XL, crossed over snap

Besides the reasons I've already mentioned, there's another reason I love these diapers so much. After a year or so of uneventful cloth diapering with our third baby, she began to develop issues. It started as rashes that were difficult to treat, then we experienced ammonia burn, open sores, infection, more open sores, more ammonia burns, and lots of tears from both her and me. On the advice of a few friends, switching to a clean-washing, simple diaper design made of natural fabric was one of three changes we made that ultimately kept us in cloth diapers. (With some medical background, I couldn't help but make these changes one at a time with a wash-out period so as not to get confounding results along with a re-challenge :) ) Getting the right wash regimen and the right detergent was another piece of the puzzle, as well as some great skin products when needed. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with pockets or all-in-ones. And our younger baby in cloth could care less what's on her bum, but once I eliminated pockets and all-in-ones (even natural fibers) from our older baby, her skin is beautiful and healthy!! I don't need to cringe in anticipation any longer when I take a diaper off, afraid of what I might find. I can't say enough how important that is after MONTHS of issues last year. (As a side note, I'm speculating that our particularly difficult water conditions, paired with the more complicated design of pocket covers and all-in-ones (multiple layers including an attached waterproof layer) as well as microfiber that "grabs" everything combined with the sensitive skin of our older baby caused the issues.)

Sustainablebabyish | sloomb diapers and wool are beautiful, soft, pure, clean, simple, and healthy. All those descriptors are what cloth diapering is really all about, right?? Healthy for my babies' skin, and healthy for the Earth! You can't argue with that! You can find them at Mami's and Papi's online store (snapless multi, OBF fitted, knit wool longies, knit wool cover) or from sloomb.com (snapless multi and OBF fitted, knit wool longies and covers). Watch out - some of the trim colors may leave you searching for a sweet treat! :)

*Whew!*
~Prima~