Mobums Wool Interlock "Night Night" Soaker

I really like my Kissaluvs wool cover, but I wanted a spare for when it was being washed.  I also wanted to get a medium, since the large was a bit, well, large.

I managed to win an auction for a mobums "night-night" wool interlock soaker, for about half the price of the Kissaluvs.  The night night soaker has a double layer of wool through the whole soaker body, wider waist and leg bands, and all seams are serged for durability. 

The size medium I purchased fits a 17" rise, 15-17" waist and  9-10" thighs.

Monique at mobums ended up refunding my shipping (all of it) because there was a slight delay in shipping my soaker out.  I didn't even notice a delay; it came in about a week.  Still, that was my first hint that mobums has excellent customer service and really values their customers.

The soaker was shipped lanolized with cucumber melon scented lanolin.  I've become very sensitive to smells lately and this was a little strong for me.  I contacted Monique and got help washing the scent out.  She was very apologetic, receptive and sweet.  This was nice, since she had no way to know the scent would bother me. 

I thought this would be a good opportunity to show you my wool washing routine!

I fill my utility sink with some lukewarm water and a teaspoon or so of Eucalan, then swish it around before adding the wool.

I squeeze the suds into the wool a bit, then let it soak for 15 minutes or so. 

In the meantime, I get four towels out, and stack them in sets of two.

When the wool has finished it's soak, I drain the water, then gently squeeze some of the water out of the wool.  Then I lay it on top of a set of towels.

I roll the soaker up inside the towels.

squeeze

unroll

Then move to the next set of towels.

roll

squeeze

unroll

then lay flat to dry.  Mobums soakers can be tumbled dry on low, but I'd rather just let it air dry.  I'm afraid one day I will accidentally dry it on high and ruin it!

Here's a close up of the leg openings

and the seams inside the soaker

Here the mobums medium is on top and the Kissaluvs large is on the bottom.

another angle

The Kissaluvs has that extra, extra wide waistband to fold over and cover higher waist diapers etc.

The night night soaker actually has quite a bit of stretch to it.

It fit snugly, without being tight.

It fit over that super fluffy booty!

I topped the soaker off with fleece pants. In the morning, I could feel a bit of dampness on the outside of the soaker.  It doesn't surprise me, and in my opinion, it isn't a reflection on the quality of the soaker.  My son manages to completely saturate an outrageously absorbent fitted, so the fact that the wool (which is breathable remember) was damp where his tush was compressing it all night, doesn't concern me!

In the end, this is a great product and the fact that it comes with even better service behind it, makes it worth much more than the price I paid!!

August 2010: Still in our regular night time rotation!

Kissaluvs Kissa's Wool LOVER Diaper Cover

I am, I admit it.  I'm a wool lover!  I can hardly believe it.  I'm having a hard time remembering all of the reasons for my paralyzing fear of wool, but they were definitely there.

Why wool?  Wool is breathable and will keep baby's hiney warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  Wool is obviously a natural fiber, and has built in anti-bacterial properties.  It absorbs moisture, does not retain odors, and does not have to be washed often.

Seriously, if you use wool covers all day long, you can have a rotation of 3 or 4 going.  Change the cover when you change the diaper, just flip the damp one inside out and set aside to dry and you don't have to wash every 2 or 3 weeks!  If it is "soiled" you have to wash it of course!

So, on to the Kissaluvs cover I bought.  (or "butt sweater" if you're my hubby!)

I chose this one in particular because it is made with ultra-fine merino wool.  I wish you could feel this because it is heaven; I would love a sweater made out of this wool!  I chose it also because of the leg gussets, which aren't as funny looking in person as they looked on their site.

According to the size chart, I should have gotten a medium, which fits 15-25 lbs.  The large says 20-35 lbs.  My son is only around 16 lbs, but I figured it would be better to buy a large, have it be too large, go back and buy the medium (saving the large for later), rather than ending up with one that is too small.  I was worried about fitting it over the overstuffed, fluffy nighttime behind.

It is definitely big!

It still worked wonderfully though!  The first night with this wool cover was the first night in a while that he woke up with dry jammies, sleep sack and sheet.  I was so anxious to use it that I used it right away and washed and lanolized it the following day.

I've been using it for 2 1/2 weeks and aside from the initial wash, I've only washed it once.  My biggest hang up about wool (the washing) has turned out to be one of the most awesome things about it; it's so simple.

When I take the cover off of him and it's a bit damp inside, it will initially have a slight urine odor.  As it dries, the smell disappears.  If it starts to retain the smell, it's time to wash.

Washing is ridiculously easy.  I put maybe two or so inches of tepid water in my utility sink, along with a dab of  Eucalan wool wash and swished it around a bit.  I placed the cover in and squeezed it a teeny bit, then let it soak for 15 minutes.  After that, drain the water.  No need to rinse.

Click here to request a free sample of Eucalan (SASE required).

To dry, I had ready two sets of two kitchen towels laid out on the counter (one towel on top of the other).  I gently pressed out as much of the water as I could, then I laid it flat on top of one set of towels.  I rolled the towels and cover up and gently squeezed, unrolled it and repeated in the dry towels.  Then I laid it flat on the counter to dry (out of the sunlight).

Next time I wash, I will take photos of the washing routine.

I'm not sure how often to lanolize, so I went ahead and did it with both the initial and the second wash.  I know it's one of those "do it when it needs it" kinds of things, but you know how that goes when you're learning!  Since Eucalan is a lanolin containing wool wash, I shouldn't need to lanolize too often.

edit: I did quickly find one good tip.  When you're washing, if the water beads up on the wool, you're good.  If it forms some "pools" where the water soaks in, you might want to lanolize soon.  If it becomes saturated with water, you definitely need to lanolize.  I mean when you first place it in the water.  Obviously it will eventually become saturated if you are washing it, LOL

I got a bottle of liquid lanolin in the health and beauty section of my local organic market.

I'll talk more about lanolin, what it does and what else it's used for, later.  I've heard some people say they just use Lansinoh Lanolin to lanolize their wool. 

The routine was pretty much the same as the washing (I didn't let the cover dry between washing & lanolizing).  However, I did initially add hot water along with the pea size amount of lanolin, in order to "melt" the lanolin.  Then I added tepid water, swished and added the cover.

It took a full day for the cover to dry, I wasn't able to use it the next night.  I'd really like to have a second one, and this time I think I'll get a medium!

An interesting tidbit on storage, from Kissaluv's site:

Before storing away, wash the cover thoroughly without lanolizing. Do not fold and put between clothes. Hang it or spread it on the top of other clothes. If WL is pressed for a long time, it may get a bit stiffer like other finer wools.

I wish I had known this.  I have a sweater that I loved packed away, since it had not fit me since the winter before I got pregnant with my son.  While shuffling clothing around, I handled it, and it felt really strange.  Brittle almost.  I wonder if there is a way to save it?

P.S. Don't forget to enter this week's giveaway here!

Goodmama One

Goodmama diapers are very popular.  They're quite pricey, and some hard to find prints can go for even more, even used!

They're most well known for their fitteds, but they also make an All-in-One.

They sell exclusive prints through different stores, and I snagged The Pebbled One from Kelly's Closet with my gift certificate.

They call this an all in one, but it appears more like an all in two to me.  There is no absorbent material sewn into the diaper, only the snap in soaker and lay in booster.  I've heard some people say that a true all in two has a shell that can be wiped out and re-used with a new snap in at each change.  Because this one has velour inside, it would need to be washed after a single use, thus making it an all in one.  *shrug*

Anyhoo, because it's Organic Bamboo Velour A.K.A. OBV (actually usually bamboo, cotton and polyester), it had to be washed and dried at least 4-6  times before use.  It takes 6-10 uses to reach it's full absorbency potential.

I did wash it the minimum number of times before use, and it didn't hold much.  I've heard people say the "ones" wick at the legs.  Wicking would be putting it mildly.  I know he's wet it because his clothes are wet!

This is a "one size" diaper, but it doesn't have the snap down rise.  It has a fold down rise with an extra set of snaps.

The diaper closes with a single row of snaps, but there are 3 snaps on each wing.  I had a hard time getting it adjusted right.

I tried the regular setting.

I also tried the smaller setting.  You can overlap the wings for a smaller baby.

The diaper looks really cute all folded  up, waiting to be used, and is super soft inside.

On, it was OK.  I just couldn't seem to get a really good fit, and of course, it started leaking the instant he "used" it.

I've owned this diaper for three weeks now, and we've used and washed it about 4 times, after the initial 4 washes.  It's showing an awful lot of wear and I doubt it will hold any resale value if we continue to use it.

The color in these last photos is a little weird because of the reflective snow "lighting," ha ha.

Overall, I'm disappointed and not feelin' the Goodmama love!

Edit August 2010: I do not use this diaper anymore.  It leaks so badly I have to use it with a cover, which is annoying and bulky.  The snaps leave red marks on his tummy, and the diaper wore so quickly that I doubt it would have any resale value, even without the leaking issues.

Fitted Buddy Bear Bottoms (say that 10x fast!)

Buddy Bear Bottoms are made by a work at home mom, and sold on Hyenacart.  P.S. Read here if you're curious about the website name.

Sellers do not stock items continuously, and beause of the nature of the items/craft, diapers are often one of a kind or limited.  I hesitated too long on the diaper I really wanted from Heartland Dreams and it sold.  I was really disappointed and kept looking at this one.  I finally told myself that if it was still there when I got home (I was at the grocery store at the time), I was buying it!  It was, and I did!

I love little touches like that adorable piece of yarn tied in a bow, but it scared me for a second.  I thought, oh no!!  I didn't mean to buy a girly diaper with a bow on it!  Oh well, maybe hubby won't notice!  Don't worry, I'm not that stupid, it only took me a second to figure it out.  Hee hee.

This is a fitted diaper, which means it does not have a waterproof layer, and should be used with a cover.  They're wonderful because they are so breatheable.  You can put your baby in a shirt, diaper and babylegs and just change often, rather than using a cover.  Then you don't cover the adorable diaper.  Some of the cutest diapers and prints are fitteds.

I don't know what it is about this kind of diaper, but they speak to me.  I see them in their photos all squishy and trim and they call out "Buy me!  Buy me!"

They look so scrumptious stacked up.

I just fell in love with this print.  I know hearts are a little girly, but I think the colors make it boyish also.  Right?  Right?

The diaper has a thick, squishy snap in soaker.

The soaker is made out of ZORB, the outer of the diaper is cotton knit, and the inner is anti-pill fleece.

It took no time to dry.

This is a one size fitted with a fold down rise.  It has adorable color coordinated snaps.

As well as an extra row of snaps on the inside, for folding down the rise.

If you notice the snap on the right between the orange and green, you'll see you can overlap the wings to get a snug fit.

The weight guidelines are 10-35 lbs, which can vary baby to baby, as I've noted before.  The max rise is 17" and the max waist is 22".

It seemed to fit my 15.5-16 pound kiddo fine on the standard (unfolded) rise setting.

However, it didn't add much bulk to use the smaller setting with the soaker folded down.

He had it on (no cover) for at least an hour and a half, if not more than two hours (I wish I had looked at the clock!) with no leaking and no wicking.  The soaker was fairly soaked (hardy har har) so as I folded it and held it in my hand, I could feel some moisture seeping into the outer layer.

I would probably use a cover in any situation where he'd be susceptible to compression (like in the car), but it's a darn shame to cover up such a cute diaper at home!  Although, the econobum cover is so thin, you could see the diaper right through it!

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Buddy Bear Bottoms diaper!

Edit August 2010: I ended up selling this.  Fitteds are not my preference for daytime use, and it wasn't absorbent enough to hold up to my heavy wetter at night.