Shaky Mommy: minkee cloth diapers

bitti tutto in turquoise

I have always loved minky fabric. It's so soft! Jason laughs at me because I have to touch minky blankets when I walk past them. When we started buying cloth diapers, we purchased several that were labeled as minky. One was not minky at all...it was barely even fuzzy. The other two fell somewhere between fuzzy and minky, but they weren't quite what I was looking for. Then itti bitti, a well known brand in Australia, came to the U.S. We ordered one and finally found the minky softness I had been looking for! So when I was contacted about doing a review, of course I said yes! We were sent the itti bitti bitti tutto in Zeebra - how cute is this print?

Not only is the itti bitti diaper soft on the outside, it's also soft on the inside. The snap down inserts are made with a bamboo viscose and organic cotton blend so they are incredibly absorbent. They are topped with a layer of polyester so that the baby feels dry. I dry all my diapers, inserts, and covers on a drying rack. If you've ever line or rack dried clothing, you know it typically ends up stiff. Natural fibers seem to be the worst at becoming stiff when line dried. However, the itti bitti soaker pads remain soft, even after laying on the drying rack.

This itti bitti bitti tutto is designed as an All in Two system, so that the shell can be reused if it's not soiled. Because this is not a wipe clean system, the cover does need to lay out to dry in between changes. If Jaxon is not soaked, I will do this, but Jaxon loves to poop in his bitti tutto so this does not happen often for us. Itti bitti has designed this diaper with internal gussets and a patented "poo fence" in the back and I can attest to the fact that it works. Speaking of poop, though, this diaper is not a lot of fun to clean poop off of because there are so many parts. I do not have a diaper sprayer, so I'm dunking and swishing in the toilet. Thankfully, the stay dry layer on the top of the soaker pads lets the poop easily slide off, but sometimes it can be tricky to take the diaper apart without getting your hands dirty. One thing I do love is that this diaper does not stain. I don't know why, but it just doesn't. We've had some nasty messes in it and if any stains remain at the end of the wash cycle, they are faint and easily sun out.

Largest setting, as compared to BumGenius 4.0

Smallest setting, using crossover snaps - it gets very tiny!

Now, some people find this diaper a bit intimidating when you first take it out of the package because it is a highly customizable one-size diaper. Not only can it size down to fit newborns (starting at 8 lbs) or up to fit toddlers (44 lbs!), you can also customize the absorbency levels. There are hip snaps (shown below) and crossover snaps. The bitti tutto comes with 3 soaker pads. They each have color coded snaps, which I feel makes it easy to figure out how to put the diaper together. As shown in the picture below, you can snap the mini soaker to the short soaker (middle bottom picture) or the long soaker (bottom right).

The hardest thing about this diaper, in my opinion, is not putting it together, but getting the right fit. Because it's highly customizable, those first few changes were spent trying to figure out whether or not to use the hip snaps, which snap placement fit best and how best to position the soakers. We had a few leaks in the beginning as I experimented with all of this. However, once I figured out which settings were right for Jaxon, it fit beautifully -look how great this fits him!

bitti tutto in royal blue

A perfect fit, front and back!

When we first started using itti bitti diapers, I only used the one long insert or the short soaker with the mini soaker snapped to it. That was easily enough absorbency for him for 2 hours (I typically change him every 2 hours). Now he is wetting in greater quantities so I now use all three soaker pads While I still change him every 2-3 hours, there have been a few times we've been in the car and missed changing time. With all three inserts, he can wear this diaper for 4-5 hours with no leaks. The inserts, while small, are extremely absorbent and hold a good deal of liquid. We haven't tried this diaper overnight, but additional boosters can be added to increase absorbency.

Another thing to love about the itti bitti bitti tutto is its trimness. All of Jaxon's pants fit well over it and it doesn't cause a huge fluffy butt like many of our diapers do. I don't mind a fluffy butt, but for those of you who have trouble getting your kids clothes to fit right over cloth diapers, the itti bitti bitti tutto is definitely the solution. Because of the soaker design, this diaper is also extremely trim between the legs.

I'm often asked what my favorite cloth diaper is. I have an extremely varied stash and have compiled it with a lot of "free with purchase" diapers (thanks, Kelly's Closet) and wins from contests. However, I realized the other day that if purchase history says favorite, then I definitely have a favorite. We have purchased more itti bittis than any other type of diaper, so I think I can finally say I've found my favorite diaper!