Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Fuzzibunz XS Newborn Review


I didn't start cloth diapering until Miss A was one, so Baby J was my first time cloth diapering an itty bitty!  But one of my favorite diapers when I started cloth diapering Miss A was our Fuzzibunz so when I was building my stash for Baby J, I made sure to stock up on the Fuzzibunz XS for newborns!  If you would like to read more about my initial findings with cloth diapering a skinny baby and our rocky start to cloth diapering Baby J, please see the Intro post here.

Fits:  4-12 pounds

This diaper comes in both Snaps and Hook & Loop versions.  I will be including both in this review.


Price Per Diaper:  (4/5 Stars)  This diaper retails for $13.95 in snaps and $14.95 in Hook & Loop.  Many of the AIO newborn diapers are more expensive than this, so this might save you a few bucks.  Being that this is a pocket diaper, you also have the added feature of being able to add other inserts to this in order to increase absorbency.

Leaks:  (2/5 Stars)  I have mad love for Fuzzibunz diapers, but for skinny newborns this diaper just does not work!  I tried this on Baby J as one of his first cloth diapers at 1 week old and there were HUUUUUUGE gaps around the legs.  Not small gaps like many of the other diapers...I'm talking a gap large enough to fit a whole other leg!!!  I didn't even try to use these for weeks.  In fact, I took the diaper back off as soon as I put it on him that first time, there was no use leaving it on with gaps like that!  Once we got up to 8 1/2-9 pounds, I tried using these again...there were still gaps!  The gaps were not near as large, but still too big to be able to use these!  It was not until Baby J reached 10-10 1/2 pounds that these diapers finally fit well and the manufacturer weight maximum is 12 pounds.  Once we were able to start using these, they were a favorite.  They fit nicely and were very absorbent. The Hook & Loop version and snap version had the exact same gap around the leg.  I was not able to tighten the H&L one to make the legs any tighter.


Fit:  (3/5 Stars)  It is hard to pick a numerical rating for fit, I will explain why.  As I mentioned above, these diapers were completely out of our rotation for a long time due to the leg gap.  This was a huge disappointment to me given my past love for this brand.  The label says that this should fit starting at 4 pounds, I cannot imagine how!!!  On my skinny guy, the snap version would have been out at first anyway due to the waist not fitting as well!  This diaper does not have overlap tabs, which I feel would make a huge difference!  The H&L version can be overlapped and therefore does offer a better fit on the waist but this does not fix the gaps at the legs.  Once my skinny little guy hit around 8-8 1/2 pounds, the waist started to fit well but the legs did not fit well until 10-10 1/2 pounds.  


Ease of Use:  (4/5 Stars)  These diapers are quite easy to use.  They are a pocket diaper so you do have to stuff them with the included XS insert.  The pocket is pretty small to stuff, so if you have large hands this might be a challenge for you.  They are quite easy to put on baby, the H&L is a cinch and the snap version does not have a ton of snap options to confuse you!  Washing is simple, just a quick unstuff and into the wash!  Also, these diapers wash EXTREMELY well!  I love how nice FB diapers wash!  They don't stain and wash back to white!


Washing:  (5/5 Stars)  As I mentioned above, these wash SO well!!!  Even pesky EBF poop came out on the first wash!  No staining here!!!  These are a cinch to wash, just unstuff the pocket, toss them in the wash, in the dryer (or hang), then stuff the insert back in, and ready to go!  The MF inserts do retain some staining...but no one sees that except mom! ;)  On the H&L version, after washing, the tabs tend to curl which can look funky under clothing, snag on clothing and open, and tend to come undone easily.  I like the H&L for fit issues but do feel that FB needs to redesign their H&L.  Also, make sure to TIGHTLY secure your H&L tabs for washing, these have a tendency to come undone in the wash as well!


Overall Performance:  (3/5 Stars)  I love Fuzzibunz diapers and I really thought this would be a home run for us.  Most people (Like Me!) would read that these fit from 4 pounds and would think they would fit any size baby well!  Wrong.  I was so sad when I discovered how BIG they are!  My guy was 7-12 at birth and dropped to around 7 pounds at his lowest.  I would have never guessed that a diaper meant to fit from 4 pounds would be so big on a normal (but skinny) size baby!!!  Big :( on this one!  These are still a great NB diaper!  I still recommend them highly...but only to those who have a fairly good idea that their newborn is going to be chunky!!!  The H&L does offer a tighter fit around the waist but I am not a huge fan of this H&L since it did tend to come undone quite easily both on baby and in the wash.  The snap version does not go as small around the waist, but you avoid the issues that you have with the H&L.  Both had the huge leg gaps.  So the decision is up to you if you like H&L or snap.  Both have pros and cons.  This is a nice diaper, unless you create skinny humans!

Total Stars:  21/30


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