GroVia vs. GroBaby

I know every cloth diapering Mama has her favorites, and is rarely swayed to a different type of thinking. Still, after using the new GroVia shells and soaker pads for only a couple of weeks, I felt the need to post a review/comparison on the difference between GroBaby and GroVia. 

I have posted several blogs about how much I love GroBaby diapers, both the biosoakers and the cloth inserts. They are great, and remain great! Of course, it is nearly impossible to buy them anymore, but if you want to try cloth diapers and want a deal, go to Bumrite Diapers, where they still have some GroBaby in stock, having bought out the last of Natural Baby Co.'s supply. 

I have not tried a huge variety of cloth diapers. I tried gDiapers, mostly using the flushie inserts, but also using some microfiber cloth inserts. They were a failed experiment. We gave it almost 2 full years and even I finally ceased to believe they were awesome. I used a Bumgenius 3.0 AIO pocket for awhile... not a fan. It HAS to be washed after each use! I also tried a multitude of other covers. Some were OK, some stank. 

I had pretty much given up being environmentally friendly in the diaper department until I stumbled upon GroBaby. Then they became GroVia. Now, I have gone from a "sometimes I throw a cloth insert in the mix overnight for extra absorbency", to a full-on cloth diapering mama. But, I am the only one in the house who uses the cloth inserts, so it is mostly on the weekends only, but the biosoakers are more environmentally friendly than even the most eco-friendly sposie... so I still feel better about my diapering habits than say, the person who uses pampers. 

I digress. 

I received my new stash of GroVia shells and soaker pads from Bumrite Diapers (I ordered their "True Hybrid Package" which contained 6 shells, 18 soaker pads and 3 packages of biosoakers at an awesome price). I washed and washed and washed, trying to get those soaker pads ready for use as soon as possible. I washed and dried them 2x a day for 4 days. After 8 full cycles, I decided I could start using them...since they would only get better the more I used and washed them!

I thought GroBaby was awesome. Seriously, compared with the new GroVia soakers, GroBaby stinks! The first diaper I changed, I had to stop myself from automatically throwing the shell into the cloth diaper pail. I said, "wait... check it first, it may not be wet." Thanks to the new waterproof back on the GroVia soaker pads, you don't need to wash the shells after each and every use! 8 times out of 10, the shell isn't even remotely moist when I change the diaper. 1 out of the remaining 2, it is so mildly moist, I spray some odor remover and hang it in the sun... then it is ready for another use a couple of hours later! It is so great to cut down on laundry. Especially since I don't have and can't afford a stash of 30 shells! And now with our second's arrival imminent, being able to reuse shells is going to be key!

Have the biosoakers changed? Yes, they have. Again, for the better!!! The sticky tabs aren't impossible to remove from the shells anymore. They actually don't stick too great when you just lay them in, but once you take the diaper off, they are nice and stuck, but it doesn't require all your patience to get them off without leaving behind half the sticky residue! Plus, still awesomely absorbent. I admit to sometimes being a bad mother who totally forgets to change her 2 yr old's diaper. It is not on purpose. I say, "Silas, we need to change your diaper!", he, of course, screams, "No!" and runs away. Before I have a chance to get him, I turn to "do something else real quick", next thing I know, another hour has passed and it has now been almost four hours. eek! Leaks leaks leaks! Nope. Full diaper, no leaks. They really are super absorbent. My only complaint is that they are still pretty much impossible to open in order to flush the inner contents...so I don't bother. Since I can to compost (which we don't do because we don't have a place for a compost bin) or trash the outer portion, we just trash the whole thing. BUT, we put them in biodegradable Diaper Dekor diaper pail bags... so the whole thing is less likely to be chillin' in a landfill when my 10x great-grandchildren are having kids. 

And what about the shells? They are barely different. 1/2 higher rise, which for people like me who have really tall kids, is awesome! I have always had a rise problem with Silas, he is in the 90% percentile for height. The 1/2" goes a long way. And the Tuck-in Laundry tabs... awesome! Now I don't need to constantly detach all the shells from each other in the wash. They were difficult to figure out at first, but thanks to Angela at Bumrite diapers, who posted a little step-by-step "how to use the laundry tabs" on her website and facebook, including pictures, it is really easy. At first the Aplix was really really strong, making it actually difficult to pull apart with one hand when trying to change a diaper, but that has loosened up as well--in a good way. 

All in all, I can't believe they were able to take such an awesome product as GroBaby and make it 20x more awesome, but they did! I still love my GroBaby, and I use the soakers at night, on top of a biosoaker for my little wetter. It is the ONLY way I can avoid a leaky diaper at night. Of course, if I stopped letting Silas guzzle water right before bedtime, that would probably help too. 

Anyway, for anyone who is wondering if GroVia is worth the cost, worth reinvesting $$ into your cloth diaper stash, it totally is. The system is crazy easy to use, on the go, out of the house, or in it. The diapers are also nice and slim compared to most, so pants and stuff pull up easily over them and baby doesn't get that HUGE tushy look that many CD's offer. To offset the cost of buying all these diapers... I sold all my old gDiapers! Sure, I didn't make back all I had spent on the g's originally, but I made enough to cover the costs for my new GroBaby and GroVia stash...

Cloth wins...hands down.

Since I have found a cloth/hybrid diaper that I really like and that really works, I have been very happy with diapering my little man. Never even once reaching for the "easier" disposable or wishing I had one on hand.
I love my GroBaby diapers. They never frustrate or disappoint me at how awesome they are. I have even begun to really like using the cloth inserts. With a flushable liner, even changing poopy diapers is super easy and not gross or icky at all. 

The problem came in, when GroBaby changed to GroVia. The changes they made to the diapers, actually seem like they are going to be awesome. Tuck-in tabs for the velcro so it won't come undone in the wash, 1/2 higher rise for those of us with tall babies, and a waterproof back to the organic cotton soaker pads. AWESOME!!!

Of course, since I had just spent quite a bit of money buying GroBaby shells and soaker pads because they were on sale and GroVia wasn't, I probably won't be purchasing too many GroVia diapers anytime soon. We are on a tight budget and buying the GroBaby shells and soakers was already out of it... so... the newer more awesome diapers will have to wait *sigh*. 

No big deal. 

BUT... the biosoakers were not available for purchase at the same time as the other diapers were. The nanny and my husband used the biosoakers exclusively, while I used mostly cloth and the biosoakers when leaving the house or traveling. I only had 2 boxes of 50 GroBaby biosoakers and they were no longer available as everyone had sold out of them. eeekkk!!!

Needless to say, I ran out of GroBaby biosoakers before the GroVia biosoakers were available for sale. Which meant.... I had to go out and buy some disposable diapers. *Side note, GroVia biosoakers came in earlier than expected on Gro-via.com and so I am "patiently" awaiting my order to arrive sometime in the next few days*

I was too tired the night I realized there would be no diapers for the nanny the next day, so I sent Jacob out to CVS to pick up a pack of diapers. I didn't really care which brand as they were all equally bad for the environment and I didn't plan on using them on any permanent basis. He came home with one of the Huggies brand diapers--not the Pure & Natural ones we used before which weren't too bad I have to admit.

A couple of nights ago, I was talking to Jacob about cloth diapers and how I couldn't believe how easy they were and how much I liked them. He just said, "I like disposables." I didn't feel like getting into a discussion over which was better with him because I know he has made up his mind NOT to like the GroBaby diapers, whether the biosoakers or the cloth soaker pads... it wasn't an argument I was going to win, so it wasn't worth having.

The next night, I was putting Silas' diaper on before bed, and I noticed a rash up his back, near where the back of the diaper is, and in the creases of his legs, it was rubbed raw. I pointed it out to Jacob and said simply, "He got a rash from those Huggies diapers, and they rubbed his legs raw." Jacob looked at me, almost defeated and said, "Yeah, I noticed that too, but the rubbing could be from the swimmie diapers that were a little too small." In his voice, I heard the sound of defeat, the sound of giving in, the sound of, 'you were right, the other diapers are better but I am not going to admit it out loud, this is the best you'll get'.

I didn't want to gloat, so I didn't say anything like, "I told you so." I didn't say anything at all. I just smiled, and on the inside, was totally doing the Dance of Joy, Balki Bartokomous style.

Now, if I can just convince him of how awesome cloth diapers are... 

Baby steps... baby steps...

Its not rocket science

As anyone who reads my blog knows, I have fallen in love. In the form of Gro Baby diapers. They are easy to use, don't leak (unless you leave them on too long), are easy to clean, and look adorable. Silas has barely had even a hint of a diaper rash since I have started using these exclusively, which I also like. 

And yet, every day when I get home from work, there are several covers in my wet bag and several pairs of pants, that were clean that morning, in the hamper. The other night, Silas said, "uh oh, water spilled". We looked down and there was a small puddle of liquid by his feet, but he wasn't holding any water. Urine had literally fallen out of his diaper. It was seriously some kind of miracle, because his diaper was on properly (for all intents and purposes) and the shell was NOT wet! Seriously, it wasn't even damp. How the heck did it escape?!

I did notice, when I changed this miracle diaper, that the right edge was folded back so I could see the inner mesh part. Is that it? Is that why the nanny can't seem to NOT have a leak which each diaper change. Our nanny is not an idiot--who hires an idiot to watch their child anyway. She is a sweet, intelligent, fun young woman who Silas adores and who is great with Silas. She didn't have this many problems with gDiapers, and yet, the easier better diaper, she can't get the hang of. 

The biggest problem with this is not the constant laundry that piles up because I am washing his covers after one use and all the clothes he pees on. It is not that the covers won't last as long because they are being washed after each use. It is my husband and his sighing, growling, annoyance. He rarely even changes Silas' diapers; I do most of the laundry, I am always the one to wash the diapers. But anything that doesn't work perfectly from the start and constantly, he doesn't like anymore. For example, four years ago, I bought a paper towel holder. The kind you screw into your cabinets so it hangs down above your sink and doesn't take up precious counter space. When it gets to the end of a paper towel roll, it won't roll like it is supposed to. Is it kind of annoying that you need to manually move the roll so you can get a single sheet or more off? Yes. Is it the end of the world and a huge hassle? No. Yet, the other day, as he is manually moving the roll, he throws up his hands, gives an audible sigh and growl and angrily declares, "I hate that thing!" I look at him like he is an alien. Seriously? With all the other more serious crap going on in our life to get upset over, you get angry at the paper towel holder. Perhaps it is his way of allowing his feelings about other more serious things he is upset over be shown... ???

See, me, I don't care about those little things, and therefore, do not spend most of my day annoyed or angry because some silly little contraption isn't working right. I get upset and angry at the big things, like say, the Contractor coming back and saying, yet again, we need to buy more tile (this is especially annoying since they gave us the measurements and square footage requirements to begin with). I get upset and angry over that, and he tells me to calm down, its not a big deal. Really? The fact we need to drop yet another $100 is not a big deal, but the paper towel holder is something to get upset over? 

Thank God he doesn't even know I write this blog!!! I didn't keep it from him on purpose, I just didn't mention it--now I am thinking that was a good thing!

Anyway, so since neither he nor my nanny can seem to use a perfectly simple diaper, he is getting annoyed with them and every time he needs to change a diaper, he gets huffy. I personally, am done purchasing and stocking multiple types of diapers in the house. If he wants to use disposables, he can just go out and buy them himself, that is if he knows what size to get. 

Seriously though, it isn't rock science. I am not that much more intelligent than they are, so why can I manage to change his diapers all weekend without a single leak (except perhaps overnight), when they can't manage to avoid a leak with even a single diaper change? I have explained several times, you cannot leave these diapers on for four hours at a time (even though I have successfully done so, usually because we are out running errands and lose track of time). This morning, I gave the nanny a little tutorial explaining she should lay the front flat, and make sure it doesn't fold over, that the diaper will naturally fall into a comfortable place on him once he moves. She only has four shells to work with today because I can't get into my laundry room due to a huge sleeper sofa blocking the way... 

Has anyone else had these problems when trying to teach others how to use a cloth diaper system? Is it me? Or is it them? If its me, I will apologize to them... I swear I will... but I really don't think it is. Anyone have some advice on how to teach them how to properly use the diaper? I have shelled out a decent amount of money into this diaper system, and really like it. I want to use it on the new LO when he or she arrives, including more cloth diapers, I am not changing systems now!!

GroBaby Love

I am in love. My previous issues have been resolved. I could not imagine a better diaper. 

For the last couple of weeks, I have been really breaking in the GroBaby diapers I blogged about before. My nanny has been using them and it has definitely been trial and error. We have had leaks, but normally they were caused by leaving the diaper on too long, not because of how the diaper was put on. 


GroBaby (now technically GroVia) diapers are so easy to use, I don't know why anyone would use regular old disposable diapers! They go on like a regular disposable, have leg gussets in the biosoaker to keep any mess contained, are comfortable for baby and unlike regular disposables, much more breathable. They are not nearly as bulky as other cloth or hybrid diapers (unless using a soaker pad and booster or a biosoaker and soaker/booster). Plus, they are too cute!!

I have also finally found a GroBaby solution to nighttime diapers. I tried just using a biosoaker. I tried just using a soaker pad. I tried a soaker pad plus a booster. I tried a biosoaker plus a cloth booster. Each one resulted in varying degrees of leaks from just a smidge, to OMG did I even put a diaper on him last night?!


The solution that has been working so far is a biosoaker with a regular soaker pad on top. I snap in the back of the soaker pad, and leave the front unsnapped. Two nights in a row, varying amounts of  "soak" in the am, and neither morning were there leaks. Yay!!!

My only complaint about the biosoaker is that it isn't the easiest thing to tear open to  flush and it really takes quite a bit of shaking to get the inner pulp out and into the toilet. gDiapers does have it on you there GroBaby--their flushies are super easy to tear open and empty, plus the outer portion is also flushable whereas with GroBaby, it needs to be trashed, so it kind of defeats the purpose of a flushie since part of it goes in the trash anyway. However, even if you trash part or the whole thing, they are still better than regular disposables in terms of biodegradability (did I just invent that word?)

Cloth diapering has been a completely new thing for me. I have not been using the soaker pads very much because, frankly, I don't change most of Silas' diapers and I am not going to make my husband or nanny be the experimenter. If I decide to go all cloth, they will learn then. But, I figured I owed it to them to be the first one to try out the whole cloth diapering thing. 

So far, I have not minded cloth diapering. Like I said, I haven't used them that often, but plan on doing it more so from now on. Several days ago I changed my first poopy cloth diaper. Luckily, I had the foresight of putting a flushable liner on top of the soaker pad. So, most of the poopy was easily cleaned up by simply removing the flushable liner and throwing it in the toilet. Some poopy did manage to make it onto the soaker pad and the shell though, so I did have to employ the diaper sprayer; but it was no worse than when poopy would get on the liners of the gDiapers. Then I threw both pieces in my wet bag until laundry day. No worries. Did it take a little more time than a disposable or biosoaker, sure. Was it a huge pain in the butt. Not at all. I am sure my nanny will be fine with experimenting and moving on to cloth diapers; hubby, probably not so much. He tends to not like to try new things, especially new things that aren't necessary or super easy from the get go. I am still just trying to get him away from disposables by showing him how easy biosoakers are... if I can at least get him on the biosoaker train, I can deal with him not being on the cloth train. Of course, if there are biosoakers in the house, I am sure the nanny will use those more than cloth, but at least either way, it is more eco-friendly than a pampers would be!

Of course, now that I am in love and am finally almost out of disposables, I cannot find anyone online who has GroBaby biosoakers in stock and GroVia biosoakers won't be available until July sometime. So, I need to find a way to make 40 diapers (all the biosoakers I have left) last until July... 


But, for anyone considering cloth or hybrid diapering... GroBaby/GroVia is definitely the way to go!!! I can't wait for the LO to arrive in August to start actually saving money by attempting to cloth diaper exclusively during maternity leave... well... OK, I'll use biosoakers when running errands or visiting family, but in general... CD only! Eek... I'll definitely have to blog about that when it happens!!!!

Gro Baby Cloth and Hybrid Diapers...

I have been experimenting with cloth and hybrid diapers lately. I used to use gDiapers, with the flushable inserts, not cloth, and we just had too many leaks after awhile. Poops were messy to clean up and always got on the liner if not the cloth gPant. Basically, we gave it over a year, but in the end, they just failed for us. It could have been us, not the diapers--so if you are thinking of trying gDiapers, don't let this discourage you. Lots of people love them. 


I bought a stash of Gro Baby diapers recently. I planned on mostly using the Biosoakers--Gro Baby's flushable/compostable insert--but bought some of the organic cotton soaker pads and boosters as well. I really would like to give cloth diapering a try, especially for this new baby on the way. 


We have had really good success with the biosoakers. A couple of leaks--usually caused by a long period of time in between diaper changes--3 hours or so. Silas is, as I mentioned, a camel and drinks a lot of fluids... so he is a heavy and frequent wetter. Even more traditional disposables have not held up to my little man. 


The cloth experiment isn't going so well and if there is anyone out there with Gro Baby experience, I could use some suggestions. The main problem seems to be that the Soaker pad gets so scrunched up in between his legs, that even if it could contain more, it won't because he is basically urinating on the cover. I did have a few successful diaper changes, but I watched him closely. How much water has he been drinking? How long has it been since I put this diaper on? 


In terms of actually changing them--well--they are super easy! Whether with the biosoaker or the cloth soaker pad. When the diaper doesn't leak--I am in love! I don't mind handling the used soaker pads to put them in the wet bag at all. Since Silas is a little older, his bowel movements are a bit more regular. So, I have been sure to either use a biosoaker or put a flushable liner over the cloth soaker pad to save me the trouble of having to spray the poopy off the cloth before putting it in the wet bag. 


I guess my biggest concern is that I am going to have to change or check his diaper every hour because of the scrunching issue. I really really want the Gro Baby diapers to work (I mean the cloth inserts), because it would be great to save some $$ on diapers with baby #2. We are hoping Silas is ready to potty train soon. So, please please, if you have Gro Baby Cloth diapering experience and had this same issue and resolved it, drop me a comment! Or, even if you didn't have the issue but think you know how I can resolve it, drop me a comment!