Thirsties: A Review

Really. i really can't emphasize enough how much i depend on these covers during confinement. In fact, the Thirsties covers were used on umar since he was born until yesterday (umar hit 7kgs. size 1 Thirsties covers 6-18lbs which means it should fit umar till about 8kgs, but his thunder thighs said differently :( )

first off, a little about the brand.

Thirsties is a USA made diaper brand, the most famous products being their range of diaper covers. There is also fitted diapers, sleeve diapers (kinda like pocket but with both ends open so the insert agitate itself out during washing) and more.

The Thirsties came either in aplix or snap closure, in sizes (XS, S, M and L) or 2-size system:

Size 1 which fits 6-18lbs (3-8kg), and
Size 2 which fits 18-40lbs (8-18kg)

Here are the ones that i used on Umar:

from left: aplix cover in Blackbird, snap cover in orchid, snap cover in storm cloud, and duo insert, all in size 1.

All three covers are the Duowrap Size 1 (i couldn't find the XS cover). the covers are made of breatheable waterproof polyurethane laminate (PUL) and wipeable, so if there's no poo stain, u can just wipe it clean and airdry for alternate use. These fit Umar since he's born (2.5kg) till 7kg at 5 months.

The DuoInsert is made of two parts: 2 layer microfibre topped with stay-dry microfleece, and a bottom part made of 5 layer jersey-hemp. these two parts are connected with snaps, so u can unstick them and they dry faster after washing.

here is how it looks like in the duowrap.

my take after using the system for 4 months?

on the duowrap:

easy to use, the wipeable feature made it a breeze. u can just lay on any type of soaker (but NOT microfibre insert!) on it, snap your baby in, and voila, all done. until umar outgrew his duowrap, i love to pair it with FLIP staydry insert (review coming up later). in terms of using aplix or snap closure though, i must say that it's a personal preference. and i prefer the snap ones, since the aplix easily folded under umar's belly and cause leaks.

on the insert:

although hemp is reputed to hold a LOT of liquid, sadly it didn't work out much for umar, even when he's about a month old. these days i separate the two parts and they are excellent as boosters for umar's night time diapering.

overall view: thumbs UP!

Clothdiapering a Newborn

When i first got pregnant, mak advocated on using the traditional lampin masa berpantang, and at least masa cuti bersalin to cut the cost of using disposable diapers. i was a little apprehensive, knowing how pemalas i am and kesian mak nak jaga kitorg masa pantang tu. but i was little curious when i came upon the term cloth diaper at babycenter community forum.

more and more i read, regarding the whole myriad of CD systems available. it was overwhelming, at first, especially the jargons used. AIO, AI2, pocket. what's the difference between insert AND soaker???? what's the difference of fabrics used to make these cute stuff? THERE'S ACTUALLY FABRIC MADE OF BAMBOO???

to name a few.

on and on i read, and did a lot of research to avoid disappointment (and waste of money). at first, the thought of using one size cloth diaper was very tempting. but the more i read, the more i came upon mothers who failed to use the one-sized ones since newborn, mainly because after all, newborns are very small, and the cutting of onesize CD just don't cut it.

at 26weeks i finally decided that i would use lampin and small sized diaper cover during confinement, and when my baby finally fit, the one-size CD would be economical.

during confinement, i used lampin, folded macam kapalterbang tu (the proper term is origami fold), lapik dengan liner, with thirsties cover XS or duowrap size 1. tak payah pakai pin/snappi pun (buat rugi beli je), sbb lampin tu tak bergerak pun dlm cover. umar was snug and happy in them. memang kena banyak kali tukar, sebab umar is a poopertrooper, and lampin cepat basah so baby kurang selesa. on the other hand, we experienced zero diaper rash episode. yeay!

malam still pakai huggies though, sebab tak confident dapat bagi umar pakai lampin dgn selesa malam2.

i also used thirsties duo insert, but since Bonnie (of mycheekyboo.com) ada 2 keping je size 1, tu je la rezeki umar. but more on that later :D

First post on Umar's CDing Journey

I did say I wanted to post on umar’s adventure in cloth diapering kan.. eheh, my bad.

Umar start pakai lampin biasa+diaper cover around his 4^th day, I think. Nak bagi pakai CD yang one-size still too big untuk umar, dah dia kecik comel je 2.5kg, and one-sized ones usually tagged for 8-35lb (±3-15kg). I bought a few diaper covers that are suitable for 6-18lbs, so the fit lebih cantik.

After much MUCH reading and researching and browsing through online sellers to find the best deal (for I am an avid bargain-hunter), here are the list of diapers that I’ve already bought before delivering umar:

1 Thirsties cover in size XS

3 Thirsties Duowrap cover in size 1

3 dozen flats/ lampin

2 Thirsties duo Insert in Size 1

A day pack of Flip (2 one-size (OS) Flip covers with 6 stay-dry inserts)

the links i provided is where i bought the respective items.

N during babyshower that my dearest friend Ya threw for me and Aishah, I’ve got:

3 Rumparooz G2 OS pocket diapers

1 Freshbots fitted diaper in size S

There are a few websites that I always refer to when in doubt or have a lingering question in my head:

www.clothdiapermalaysia.com

www.allaboutclothdiaper.com

www.diaperpin.com

from then on, i slowly bought more and after 4months, this is how umar's stash looks like:

not much, but enough to fully CD umar. i've since kept away the flats for my coming niece/nephew :D

i'll keep different posts on CDing a newborn, and reviews of each brand okies. later!