Wednesday, October 21, 2009

the good and the grisly about gDiapers

As many of you know, I started using cloth diapers back when Gabriel was about 8 months old. For some wacky reason, he had developed an allergy to his diapers! Whoever heard of such? Well, rather than search high and low looking for just the right diaper that wouldn't irritate my little guy's sensitive skin, I decided I'd dive into the world of cloth diapering since I had wanted to anyway from the very beginning with Baby #1. (By the way, don't ever let anyone discourage you from doing something just because it sounds like a lot of work. I would never have known the difference, had I started out with cloth.)

ANNNNNYhoo...I spent the next several weeks researching, shopping online, and trying out several different cloth styles. And since that time, Baby #4 joined the team and, from the get-go, I just swaddled his little bottom in cloth--right alongside his not-so-much-bigger brother. I have thoroughly enjoyed diapering this way, with the exception of when someone has a stomach bug. It is at those moments that I will do just about ANYthing for a package of disposables!

I'd love to share some of my experiences with you (the handful of friends who happen to read my ramblings). Maybe it can help someone out there to avoid being completely overwhelmed by the the very W-I-D-E world of cloth diapers, as I was.

But for today, I'm just
going to start simple. One diaper at a time, as it were. Today's installment of
"Works for Me Wednesday" is all about gDiapers. (Remember THIS picture (on #24)??)

Those of you who know of what I speak can begin ignoring me....right...now.

But for those of you still hangin' with me...


gDiapers are, in essence, flushable cloth diapers. They have cotton outer pants that go on like a regular diaper, only the Velcro straps fasten in BACK rather than in front, which helps to prevent diaper removal by the baby. Attached to the cloth pant (by cute, little orange snaps) are water-resistant liners. The liners are machine washable but need to be hung to dry. This is no big deal because they dry in like ten minutes. Inside the liner, you place a flushable insert. This is the actual "diaper." It does all the absorbing and catching, etc. These inserts can either be placed in the trash or flushed down the toilet after each use. Ingenious.




good:

1) Something about flushing it ALL down the toilet makes me happy. Somehow it sort of erases the memory of the yuckiness (unless, of course, the liner needs to be washed).

2) The pants are soft and come in cute colors.

3) Customer service is AWESOME! (I have even been personally contacted several times.)

4) Shipping may be a tad pricey, but it is always CRAZY fast!

5) They're easy to use. Even daddies (
love you, Babe) can pop an insert in the liner...once daddies learn to get the diaper up good and tight, that is. (Rise is everything.) I've heard that many daycare centers even accept them over traditional cloth diapers.

6)
gDiapers are healthy for babies, as they contain no chlorine, latex, perfumes, dyes, plastics, or other chemicals.

7) They are better for the environment, because even IF you don't flush them, they will biodegrade in about 50-150 days.

8) They work consistently well. You know? For those of you who use prefolds and covers as your primary diapering system, you know that sometimes things shift or just don't get where they need to be in order to prevent leaks effectively. And different prefolds absorb at different rates. gDiapers are great in that one flushable insert is exactly the same size, absorbency, and fit as the next. Their website does a great job of explaining how to use the product as well. (See "All About Fit" and "All About Flushing" here.)

9) They are wonderful for quick changes. There's no fussing with bulky prefolds, no pins, no parts (at least, not once they are loaded up and ready).

10) They're durable. I am slowly having to replace most of my regular diaper covers that Gabriel used. I don't know if I was just too rough on them or what. But to have only lasted through one child...well, that's not good. Not so with my gDiapers! All the Velcro is working just as well as it did when I first got them. AND if the Velcro wears out, gDiapers will send replacement Velcro for free.

11) Did I mention they're cute??



grisly:

1) The swish stick (used for breaking up the flushable insert just before flushing) sort of
grosses me out sometimes. Mostly when I catch my toddler with it in his hand after being far too quiet in the bathroom. (Ugh!!! What
was he up to??!?)

2)
gDiapers are really not great for exclusively-breastfed babies, at least not in the very beginning. Poops are just FARRRRR too runny and a consistency that is not as easily absorbed (quickly) by the flushable insert. To be fair, though, the liner still does a good job of catching runny poops before they get out and actually LEAK. BUT you'll have liners to wash at every diaper change, and those liners stain immediately. (Hate stains.)

3) They're not that
great for using at night, in my opinion. Certainly ONE insert is not enough!! gDiapers suggests you place one insert in as usual, and then roll a second insert and place up front for boys and in the middle for girls. The downside of this is pretty obvious: You use up TWO inserts and, therefore, will need to buy refills sooner than you normally would. That said, I have used gDiapers at night many times (in a pinch), and this method really does work just fine.

4) As the liners are merely water-resistant, after a couple of "wets" the outer cotton pants will start to feel damp. (However, if one changes the baby's diaper as often as one SHOULD, that is never a problem.)

5) You have to BUY the refills, so they're not nearly as economical as ACTUAL cloth diapers.

You might wonder, at this point, if you're
going to be purchasing refills (for roughly the same price as disposables--if not more!), then why not just use disposables?? Well, for me it goes well beyond the environmental concerns, like this for instance: Dioxin, which is a by-product of paper bleaching, is a harmful carcinogen. (That's why when I DO buy disposables, I buy chlorine-free.)

Now.
I have enjoyed
gDiapers for several reasons. They have saved me on more than one occasion when I have not done the LAUNDRY and therefore have nothing with which to clothe the baby bums. I've found they're great for going places when I don't want to deal with coming home with stinky laundry. They NOW have actual CLOTH inserts available, which I only just got, so I'll have to let you know how they do. (But I'm excited about not HAVING to go buy refills.) I also just really LIKE this company. They are clever and creative and cool. One thing I really like is how they put a "g" in front of everything. Each pair of "Little g's" has a "g" color name, like "grasshopper green," "glam black," "goo goo blue" or "ga ga pink" and some of the pants have a printed fabric with every "g" word they could think of (groovy, giggle, genius, gorgeous, grow, green, etc.). They even have a buyer's incentive program called "
gThanks" (cute) in which you get a free gift after buying ten gDiaper products.

If you think you might like to try these out, your best value is to buy the
starter kit available on the gDiapers website or at Whole Foods Market. You'll get two pairs of "Little g's" pants, three liners, ten flushable refills, and a swish stick all for $27. Normally, a pair of "Little g's" costs $17-18 and comes with ONE liner. So, already you SAVE MONEY by buying the starter kit. The bonus is the swish stick (valued at $2.50) AND ten refills (refills run $14.50-16 for a package of 32). Catch the starter kits on sale (by chance) or pick up a coupon (sometimes they have them ON the rack at Whole Foods) and you have really done well.


I actually just got an email from them: Right now (through the 24th) you can
get 4 "Little g's" (in specific fall colors) for $49. Unfortunately, I'm not getting paid to tell you that. (Gee!)

7 comments:

  1. Congratulations on finding gdiapers! I've been using them for 1 1/2 years. I used cloth in them from the start (except for traveling/hiking/camping). I found that with cloth they are fine for exclusively BF poop. I also don't normally have a problem with the flushies not holding enough at night time, but maybe I just got lucky with a non-heavy wetter. And you're right, the customer service is AMAZING.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have two gdiapers and I love them. I use them with cloth inserts though. And my baby wears them backwards because I have never gotten the hang of attaching the velcro backwards.

    I much prefer gdiapers to Dappi covers.

    Thanks for your comment on my blog!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love gdiapers as well and have been using them for about 6 months. A handy tip I have picked up for night time use (which I do no problem): Instead of using a second liner underneath at night start saving the backs of used ones that didn't get wet. I keep a pair of scissors in my change table drawer and when it is just a pee diaper I cut the wet part off and save the dry part that usually is against her bum. So before bed I usually put one or two of these half inserts under the full insert and we are good until morning.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Lori! I've only been using G's for three months with our (first) little one, butI wanted to add to the BF poop with disposable inserts comment. First, I completely agree. My husband is the one who pointed it out - it just doesn't absorb well! Second, the cloth inserts solve that issue (amongst others - $) so that's the good news. Thanks for getting the word out there about G's! I've converted many CD skeptics with them (like the hubs).

    Blessings,
    AllisonO

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi there! Saw a link to this post from gdiapers on facebook. :) We discovered gdiapers while preggo with our now toddler and have used them from the start - LOVE THEM! We do use bumgenius at night, but rely on our gs during the daytime. We used to use gs at night until the little guy was just wetting too much and not getting changed during the night - when we did use them at night, we did what a previous commenter did with using a clean, dry half of a used flushie under the new one. Worked great when we needed a little extra absorption!

    We started out in flushies but almost always use cloth inserts in them now. Have you heard of Sharni's gflappers (the nappy shoppe)? They are AWESOME!! We started using them when he was 4-5 months old, but we still have flushies on hand for a few occasions. I love that we can do cloth or disposable with the gs - so convenient! I've blogged about them some, if you're interested. Just click on the gdiaper or nappy shoppe label. GREAT POST!! :)

    ~Daisy

    ReplyDelete
  6. how many gpants and/or gliners do you recommend for the small phase? i'm due next month. i've got three gpants, 4 liners, and 24 gcloths (figure that's a diaper change every 2 hours so diaper laundry every other day). i've read that gdiapers don't always work on newborns but sometimes they do. i'm using the gcloths (which i have also read is more successful on newborns than the flushies). your expertise would be much appreciated!!! =)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi, Danielle. I'm responding to your question on my blog regarding gDiapers. (Sorry...I've been swamped lately.) Umm...I think 24 gCloth diapers is probably a good number. If I were you, I might go ahead and snag another pair of pants and an extra liner or two. Unless, of course, you'll be using another kind of cloth diapers as well. I just know that sometimes baby will wet a TON during a nap or road trip(resulting in very damp pants) and sometimes there are blowouts--sometimes more than one of them per day. And in the case of said blowouts, you may even end up with dirty pants (not just liners). You may be on top of laundry enough that you can immediately throw something in the wash, remember to transfer it to the dryer, and all of this in a timely and organized manner. I, however, am severely distracted by all the goings-on here and OFTEN forget I've got things in the washer. I guess I'm just pointing out that once you're out of pants, you're out of options. Four is a good number. BUT, like I said, if you're going to use alternate forms of cloth diapering as well, three should be plenty. I use gDiapers mainly as a supplement to my cloth diapering routine. I used three size small pants, four size medium, and three size large. Oh, and I'd also go ahead and keep a package of flushable refills around just in case the laundry isn't dry just yet and you've GOT to change the baby into SOMEthing!! :) Hope that helps!! Thanks so much for visiting my blog. May your upcoming delivery be blessed, go smoothly, and be absolutely wonderful! (I'll post this at YOUR place, too.)

    ReplyDelete

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