Mabu Baby Eco-Diaper System Review & Giveaway

When I first heard that Wal-Mart was going to be selling modern cloth diapers, I was intrigued. I contacted the company, Mabu Baby, about doing a review and they immediately replied and sent me a great package full of products (I'll be reviewing the non-diaper products in a subsequent post). I received a Mabu Baby starter kit which includes 2 diaper covers with pad holders, 2 washable inserts, 2 disposable inserts, and 5 liners. I also received an extra pack of disposable inserts and an extra pack of liners.  

My first impression when opening the starter kit was that the washable insert is extremely soft. Initially, I thought was that the system seemed a little complicated, at least compared to my other diapers. However, the kit includes very clear instructions that shows how to easily put the diapers together. So make sure you look for the instructions when opening the kit! Once I put the diapers together the first time, it was easy after that. 


This is the diaper cover. It has soft hook and loop tabs. The hook and loop tabs are extremely soft and do not irritate Jaxon's stomach the way most other hook and loop diapers do. It is lined with Ecowix fabric, which is made from natural white bamboo charcoal and recycled polyester. It's a moisture wicking fabric that keeps baby's skin dry. It also helps break down odor. 

This is the diaper pad holder. It snaps into the cover. The cover and diaper pad holder are both made of recycled plastic bottles. 

The snaps are tiny, but easy to use.

 This is the diaper cover with the diaper pad holder snapped in.

This is the disposable pad. I don't really know how to describe it other than it reminds me of those giant pads they give you at the hospital after you have a baby. 

Then the diaper pad lays inside the diaper pad holder. 

This is the reusable insert. It is terrycloth topped with the Ecowix fabric. It has a fold in half design that allows it to be absorbent while still allowing it to dry quickly. In the dryer, the pad and cover will be dry in a matter of minutes. I hang everything to dry and mine were dry within 3-4 hours. The insert has remained soft after washing and any stains have easily sunned out.  

Terrycloth side

Ecowix side

 Folded in half

Reusable pad inside cover

It's not necessary to unsnap the holder from the cover when washing (this makes it easier to use after washing. The hook and loop tabs did not stay fastened when washing, but I have only used one brand of diapers whose laundry tabs actually worked. If you go ahead and put the diapers together straight out of the wash, including the pad, these diapers are as easy as a disposable to put on. 


The sizing is supposed to be similar to disposable diaper sizing making it easy to find your baby's size if you are switching from disposables. Since we never use disposables, I cannot attest to this. However, Jaxon is 20 lbs, and the size 2 that I was sent is for babies 9-20 lbs. When I saw the sizing on the box, I was concerned since he is at the top of the weight range. Once I opened the box, I realized the sizing is generous. The size 2 fits him well and works great. Jaxon has a small waist, so the hook and loop tabs meet in the middle -crossover tabs would be helpful, especially for use on babies at the smaller end of the weight range. 

I tried it with both the disposable and the washable insert. Both worked well and there were no leaks, even after several hours. Jaxon likes to christen new diapers by pooping in them immediately (do other babies do this?), and this diaper was no exception. We tried the reusable insert first. I did have to change the entire diaper once he pooped - I was unable to reuse the diaper cover. I did use one of the diaper liners,  but it did not keep the poop from reaching the elastic around the legs of the diaper. I use liners on a fairly regular basis with other diapers and have a problem with liners shifting in most diapers. This could be user error on my part or could be due to the fact that Jaxon never stops moving and the liners end up shifting. 

Comfortable leg elastic - does not leave any red marks on chubby thighs

I was able to reuse the cover when we were using the disposable insert. The disposable insert fills the diaper out a little more and therefore seemed to keep the messy contents farther away from the diaper cover and pad holder. This was my first time to use a disposable insert. I must admit, they were strange to use after using only cloth for almost a year. However, I can certainly see where they would be useful especially when traveling. They seemed to absorb well and  Jaxon's bottom still felt dry even when the insert was wet. The disposable liners are flushable. The disposable inserts are not flushable, but they can be composted or you can just throw them in with your regular trash.  


You can find Mabu Baby diapers at some Wal-Mart locations. To find the Wal-Mart closest to you, click here. The diapers aren't sold at the Wal-Mart nearest me, but they are sold at one about 30 minutes away so when I was going to be in that area, I stopped by to check out the display. The starter kit retails for $29.94. 

You can get 4 additional pads in the size 1 for $9.94

I really liked these diapers. I reach for them often when we're at home, which is really saying something since I typically hate hook and loop diapers. They never leak! I don't use Mabu very much when we are out, but that's mainly because I like to show off my diapers so I take my cutest ones when we go places. I would love to see Mabu offer colors or prints, because I think that the cute factor is what attracts many people to cloth! I think the plain white is in keeping with the cost savings factor that Mabu's display promotes. When I use Mabu diapers, I prefer the reusable insert to the disposable insert, mainly because it's easier for me to just throw everything in the diaper pail as opposed to throwing part of the diaper away. I do like having some disposable inserts on hand. There have been times in the past when we were traveling that I wished we had disposable inserts. I usually don't think about it until we are packing, so I am glad I have an affordable option that can be easily purchased without having to order online and wait for it to arrive.

Despite the fact that I liked these diapers and they worked wonderfully, I felt like most people who use cloth now would not care for these diapers, which is sad because they are great diapers. They're not as cute as most of my other diapers. But, for a casual shopper at Wal-Mart who may not be aware of the modern cloth diapering world, I feel like they are a great gateway diaper. While they are a little complicated the first time you use them, it's really easy after that. If you stuff the inserts in the diaper ahead of time, they are as easy as disposables to put on. They work well, the price is reasonable, and they are easy to use and easy to care for.  


Would you like to try Mabu Baby Eco-diaper system for yourself? One reader will win a starter kit of their very own to try! Enter using the easy Rafflecopter form below (click read more if you cannot see the form). 

Cloth Diapers - Easy & Inexpensive!

Most people I meet who see my cloth diapers are intrigued by them and find them adorable. However, there seem to be a few things that hold people back from cloth diapering. The things I hear most are:

"It's too much work."
"I don't want to touch poop."
"They're $25 each? I don't have the money to get started."
"I don't think there's enough cost savings to justify all the work."


I love cloth diapering. I think more people would do it if they knew more about it and realized just how easy it is to get started. 


Cloth diapers are simple. 


Although I'd be lying if I said they were as easy as disposables. What's easier than just throwing something away? Let's face it, eating on paper plates is easier than washing dishes or loading & unloading the dishwasher. Yet, most of us do not use paper plates for every meal. I look at cloth the same way. I do three extra loads of laundry each week. That's all. I do not put my diapers in the dryer (though you certainly can), because I like to hang them out. I enjoy the way they look hanging on the drying rack and I like seeing them drying in the sunshine on sunny days. I have a total of 15-20 minutes invested in loading the washer each week, 15-20 minutes hanging the diapers out, and 10-15 minutes stuffing pockets or putting the diapers back together. That's less than an hour each week devoted to cloth diapering. I never run out of diapers. I never have to go to the store late at night or early in the morning to get diapers. I never have to call my husband and say "Please pick up diapers on the way home - we're about to run out!" For me, that extra hour each week is well spent. There's just something very rewarding about putting a poop stained diaper in the wash and bringing it out all nice and clean and fluffy and white, ready to be worn again!


As for changing them, most cloth diapers these days are as easy to put on and take off as a disposable. No pins, no pull on rubber pants. Even using the cloth diapering staple, prefolds, is easier with fitted waterproof covers. Just fold the prefold, lay it in the cover, and velcro the cover around the baby's waist. Easy!

Are you a parent? Then you will touch poop. 

This will happen - I promise you. You don't have to use cloth diapers to be a poop toucher. You may be changing a disposable and you put your hand in it accidentally, not realizing the diaper leaked onto the baby's outfit. It might happen when you're wiping him, and the baby wipe isn't quite strong enough to contain that poop and it comes through the wipe onto your hands. You may touch it when your baby poops in the tub, and you scoop it up with your hands to keep the baby from scooping it up with his. You may touch it when your toddler removes a diaper and paints the wall, crib, and herself with the contents of that diaper. All of these things have happened to me or my friends (and all happened while we were using disposables). Unless you wear gloves to deal with your child, you'll get poop on your hands (and maybe your clothes, too!) Kids find a way to get poop and other gross substances all over the place.   

I don't touch poop any more now that I'm cloth diapering than I did when my first baby was in disposables. For the first 6 months when Jaxon was exclusively breastfed, I threw the poop straight into the washer and never thought about it again. Now, for most changes, I shake his poop into the toilet and I'm done. Occasionally that poop needs a little help getting off the diaper and I just use a piece of toilet paper to help it off and let the washer deal with the rest. 

Now you might be saying "eww, you put poop in your washer?" Yep, I do. And the diapers come clean. Our clothes still get clean. No one has ever thought our clothes smelled like poop. What do you do when your child vomits in the middle of the night? I throw my kid's sheets into the washer, vomit and all, and let the washer deal with it. I've never once thought about bleaching my washer after something like that. To me, vomit is as nasty or nastier than poop. My washer handles vomit just fine. It handles poop just fine too.

If you want to get rid of the poop before diapers enter your washer, get a diaper sprayer from Cotton Babies or use disposable liners so you can just remove the liner and flush the poop. 


You're going to wash your hands after every diaper change anyway. You'll be fine. I promise. 

There are cloth diapering options for every budget.


One of my favorite diapers to recommend is the BumGenius Elemental. 

BumGenius Elemental Artist Series

You can purchase it from Cotton Babies, which is one of my favorite places to purchase diapers from because they always offer free shipping and low prices! The Elemental is organic cotton and is the easiest type of diaper to use because it's an all in one diaper. It goes on just like a disposable, comes off and goes into the wash. They are easy to wash because they have natural fibers. When it comes out of the dryer, it's ready to go back on the baby again. No snapping inserts in, no stuffing pockets. These diapers do cost $25 each. A full supply of cloth diapers is considered to be 24: that's 12 diapers per day, washing every other day. So for all 24 diapers, you'll pay $600. Considering that these are one-size diapers that will last you from birth through potty training, they are all you will need. You don't have to be a mathematician to know that it will cost you more than $600 to diaper a baby in disposables for 2+ years! Purchase one cloth diaper every two weeks from the time you find out you're pregnant and you'll have about 17 diapers by the time your baby is born! 

BumGenius 4.0 Artist Series prints

In addition, there are plenty of less expensive options for cloth diapering. You can choose the BumGenius 4.0 for only $20 a diaper. The Econobum diapering system offers a cloth diapering kit for just $48.95, which includes 3 covers, 12 prefolds, and a wet bag to store dirty diapers in. Two of those kits will have you cloth diapering full time for less than $100! Want to just try out cloth diapering before you invest a substantial amount of money in it? Purchase an Econobum cover and prefold for just $9.95. 

Econobum cover over a flat cloth diaper

For just $13.95, you can get a Flip cover that is a one size cover that will fit baby from birth to potty training. You can place almost anything absorbent inside this cover to use for a diaper. Target sells flour sack towels for about $1.25 each. Fold them to fit inside the diaper cover, lay in place, and replace when wet. Both the Flip & Econobum covers are wipe clean, so you can reuse them all day long. With a couple of covers, and $10 worth of flour sack towels from Target, you've got a day's worth of cloth diapers that can be used over and over again. 

Flip organic cotton insert, secured with Snappi

Remember, you don't have to start with a full supply of diapers. Pick up what you can afford right now. Use 1 cloth diaper each day instead of disposables. Use cloth diapers only on weekends. Try it out. You'll love it and you'll begin looking for ways to replace more of your baby's diaper changes with cloth.

What would you do with an extra $20 each week?


As I mentioned before in a previous post, saving money was not my primary reason for using cloth diapers. It really wasn't a reason at all at first. But I've learned that most people who show interest in my cloth diapers mention cost savings as a reason for their interest. I always say to them that we will save money by cloth diapering, but I was ashamed to realize I didn't know how much we had saved, or really if we had even saved money at this point.


So I sat down and did the math. We have saved more than $150 at this point by using cloth diapers, and even more if you calculate what we have saved by using cloth wipes! Considering that Jaxon is just 10 months old and probably has at least 14 months before I even begin to attempt to potty train him, we stand to save more than $1200 on diapers before this is all over with. Side note: I've got big plans for those savings (beach trips)!


Disposable diapers costs about .25 each. Each day, I change Jaxon 8-10 times. He has this habit of pooping as soon as he gets a fresh diaper, so sometimes it's even more than that. I save $2-$3 each day just by using cloth diapers. That's $14-$21 a week! 


Know what else? When Jaxon potty trains, I'll be able to sell his diapers. Yes, really. We had a few newborn diapers. I sold them for 2/3 what we paid for them. Cloth diapers retain their value very well.  


Interested in switching?  
Need help navigating the seemingly endless world of cloth? It's more popular than ever and it can be overwhelming to someone just checking it out.
Here are some great resources: 


Cotton Babies- there are great articles on the site about clothdiapering and you can buy everything you need to get started there.


Dirty Diaper Laundry - trying to find the perfect cloth diaper for you? Kim's cloth diaper finder on dirtydiaperlaundry.com will help you find whatever you are looking for. Need a diaper with Velcro closure for less than $13? You've come to the right place. 


All About Cloth Diapers - great articles on everything cloth related, including some to help you get started.


Still overwhelmed and just want to ask questions of a real, live person? Email me at shakymommy at gmail dot com. I'm not an expert, but I've been doing this for 10 months now and I'd be happy to help!


Now it's your turn to talk -tell me what you think about cloth diapering. If you currently cloth diaper, tell me why you love it. If you're not cloth diapering, tell me what keeps you from trying it! As always, I love your comments, but this time, there's a little something extra in it for you - be sure and read the fine print below!




I received no form of compensation for this post, but I am entering this post into a contest. The winner of the contest receives 12 BumGenius diapers! If I win, I'll get to choose one random person who comments on the winning blog post to receive 12 BumGenius diapers, too! So if you comment here and I win, you could win free diapers! How cool would that be?