Econobums Review

I've been thinking about making the switch to cloth diapering only within the last few months as the cost of other things as been rising. On average, I spend 70 bucks a month on disposable diapers. Considering during the day I change koen's diaper around every 2-3 hours and once a night(as of recently) but that all depends on if he has a poopy diaper or not. Haha, but I am going to start this review off with looks and end with the more important stuff. I got a econobum cover and 4 pre-folds from a nice lady on thebump.com who said they weren't her style and if I paid shipping costs I was more then welcome to them. (deal!) So regardless on if she's previously washed them, I pretended as if the prefolds were brand, stinking new and washed them 3 times in hot, hot water with a little detergent. I also want to note, along with the econobum prefold, I was also using gerber birdeye prefolds which I purchased from the Military Post Exchange. I will note which prefold I am reviewing at the time. So after drying all the prefolds, I stuck Koen in his new cloth diaper with a econobum prefold(EP).

Cloth butt: EP cloth butt wasn't too bad, he didn't have to move up a side in clothing because of it, but it did stretch out the clothing he normally wears. It also made him look like he had been riding a saddle and to me, he looked uncomfortable. I'd ask him how they felt, but he is four months old and all he can tell me is, ooooohhhhhhaaaagggggg. They also looked like they were limiting his leg movements. He is a kicker and it looked like he was having trouble moving them. But then again, he wasn't crying so it couldn't have been that uncomfortable.

Gerber prefolds(GP) are a lot thinner than EP, so the cloth butt is highly reduced and to me, looked just like his sposies did. Even when I doubled up the GP(as in used two GP for one diaper).

Absorbency: I think the EP are very absorbent. I didn't get the chance to test the EP for poopy absorbency, but I am fairly(90%) confident they can take a beating with a fairly poopy diaper. As for the pee, my little guy is quite the water hose and they held up pretty good. I wouldn't recommend leaving the diaper for more than 2 - 3 hours though, but since I change him that often, not a problem. And I think they would hold up fine overnight.

GP. One prefold alone would have to be changed every hour. They kinda suck for absorbency. But if doubled or combined with the EP, they are awesome as extra for the EP or when doubled with itself it can handle a couple hours of pee. Now as for poop. I think it could hold it's own against a decent poop. Maybe not a seriously epic poopsplosion, but a normal poosplosion. Sure. Easy peesy. They absorbed very well to a normal poop, so. lol. But I will warn, I left the diaper for too long with the GP's and it leaked a little out the back(Pee, not poop. LOL) So while the GP's are cheap and give less cloth butt, they are a little weak in the absorbency area. But maybe with more washes comes more absorbency and even if they don't work for you. You at least have some more burp cloths! And who doesn't love burp cloths?

Econobum Cover: In my honest opinion, I remember reading that someone thought it was a little flimsy and were scared of the snaps coming off. The cover is very light weight, but is very water proof. As for the snaps, I agree, at first you'd think they would rip right out of the fabric, but after forgetting to be delicate with them while changing Koen and just yanking them off, I think they could hold their own. Trying to size the diaper is a little fun at first(did I mention Koen is a kicker?) but once you figure out the best snap setting for your little one, it's easy as pie.

Overall, I think it's a pretty good cloth diaper for the expense paid(3 covers and 12 prefolds for 49.99). If you don't mind the EP cloth diaper butt, then I think these diapers are fantastic! :D