BFBBP: Thirsties Duo Diaper & Hemp Prefold

I was thrilled when Thirsties offered my family the opportunity to try another one of their cloth diaper products. In case you haven't read them; please check out the blog I wrote about the Fab Fitted, Hemp Inserts & Duo Wrap, and my review of the Fab Wipes, Booty Luster, & Booty Love. The Booty Love is still my favorite cloth diaper accessory; it's a CD safe ointment that keeps G from getting even a hint of rash. As part of the Babies First Birthday Blog Party, Thirsties sent us a Duo Diaper to review. It's a pocket style diaper & very easy to use. While the BFBBP is geared toward one-year olds, this diaper is perfect for any diaper stash!

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Why Thirsties is great for one-year-olds

I obviously use cloth diapers with baby G, and believe that you should too. Briefly, cloth diapers help the environment and your wallet. They mean less waste in landfills and less money spent on diapers. Sure you have to do a little extra laundry, but the natural resources used to manufacture disposables far outweighs the water you use cleaning cloth diapers. Using cloth diapers means you don't have to shell out cash each week for disposables. A little extra money up front means less money spent over all. I also find that cloth diapers leak less when used correctly. They are more customizable to your baby's wetness needs & look cuter too.
Thirsties is by far the most absorbent brand of cloth diapers I have come across, and because they offer all-in-one, pocket, fitted, & pre-fold options, I highly recommend starting your stash with Thirsties. They are made in the USA, some even by work-at-home moms. I love their commitment to using local products when possible and the fact they work hard to reduce the company's carbon footprint. Thirsties warehouse is 100% wind powered and they use 100% biodegradable mailers. You can read more about their sustainability efforts in my other reviews or on their website.

Duo Diaper ($18.50 solid colors - $19.50 prints)

Material. The outside is PUL (polyester & waterproof urethane coating) and the diaper's lining is polyester microfleece. The Duo Diaper comes with two inserts that can snap together; one is 55% Hemp, 45% Cotton & the other is terry microfiber. Thirsties products are free of VOC’s, PVC, phthalates, lead, & latex. I was bummed when the hemp insert shrunk, so just be prepared for that with washing. Check out Thirsties website for all of the color/print options. We chose the mud color for review & I like having a brown diaper in the mix.

Pocket Style. The waterproof cover part of the diaper is just like the Thirsties Duo Wrap, including the extra leg gussets that have stopped many a dirty mess from spilling out. The cover is attached to the liner that has an elastic front and back opening that is the width of the diaper. It is very easy to stuff the inserts into, with room to include doublers too. The waist opening has comfy elastic in just the right places so that it fits snugly on any size baby--even chubby thigh, average waist baby G. The only downside for me is that it doesn't seem to have a very good "stay-dry" feel, although it is microfleece so it pulls most of the moisture away from G.

Closure. The snaps used are great--they are sturdy and stay closed very well (they don't just pop open when you tug on the diaper, like some other brands we have), but are also easy for me to open. Thirsties Duo Diaper does come in aplix, but I can't offer a review of its quality because we are snaps people.

Size. Thirsties offers Duo sizes. Their diapers are split into two sizes weight categories (rather than small, medium, large) to reduce the number of total diapers you need to buy. While there are one-size fits all options out there, the Thirsties Duo sizes offer a more tailored fit with reduced extra-fabric on the snapped down sizes.

Smallest Settings (size 2)

Largest Settings (size 2)

Size 1 is estimated to fit from birth to 9 months old at 6 - 18 pounds. Size 2 is estimated to fit from 9 to 36 months old at 18 - 40 pounds. I've found this to be pretty accurate. Baby G was in Duo Size 1 from birth (over 8 pounds) until she hit about 17 pounds, and then I moved her up to Duo Size 2 because we needed more rise for her long torso. She is about 19 pounds now, with one snap down, and we usually use all but 1 waist snap. Of course, your baby may fit differently based on body shape.

Use. The first time I used the Duo Diaper, I didn't add any extra inserts and put baby G down for her nap. I was really bummed when she woke up with wet jammies & sheet. I immediately contacted Thirsties customer service to see why this happened because we've never had problems with our other products they make. Sonia suggested I add a doubler at nap or night time for more absorbency since G is a heavy wetter. Since adding a Thirsties hemp prefold to the inserts we've not had a leak issue while G sleeps. If we use the diaper during the day I don't add the prefold & the diaper is pretty thin under clothes.

Duo Hemp Prefold ($8)

Material. 55% Hemp, 45% Cotton soft jersey knitted in the USA. Thirsties prefolds feature a unique, patent-pending design that is very trim but absorbent. The hemp fabric is sewn two layers thick but then looped around so that it ends up being 4 layers thick with a quick drying time due to the design. There is also an extra inch or so of fabric that can be folded down for smaller babies to decrease the length.  They are offered in the two duo sizes I mentioned above, but can be folded long or short-ways for added versatility. Ours still feel soft like a jersey t-shirt after a full year of use.

Use. I can't recommend Thirsties Hemp Prefolds enough. You really won't be disappointed with them, any way that you use them. They can be stand alone diapers, tri-folded & placed in a diaper cover as a super-budget friendly way to cloth diaper your baby. They can also be snappi'd or pinned for more containment of dirty messes. Additionally, I've found the Thirsties Duo Hemp Prefolds to make excellent doublers for pocket diapers. I believe that the key to our night time cloth diapering success is the Thirsties Hemp Prefold that I stuff into a stay-dry pocket diaper (we also use the Fab Fitted with hemp doubler for night time).

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You can purchase Thirsties cloth diaper products from many local & online retailers. Check out Thirsties' website to request or download the current catalog so that you can read all about their awesome diapers and accessories. Be sure to like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter--you'll also get extra entries in the giveaway for doing so.

Thirsties has offered to give one Letters from Momma reader a free Duo Diaper & Hemp Prefold for added absorbency. Winner will have choice of color & size. Open to US & Canada. Enter to win using the new version of Rafflecopter form below. If you need help with Rafflecopter please contact me or see this video.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received the Duo Diaper to facilitate this review. Prize will be sent from Thirsties. All opinions are my own, yours may differ. Not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Facebook. Entries involving Facebook are not mandatory, and Facebook has no liability for this giveaway. Ends 3/23/12 at 12:01 AM Eastern. Open to US & Canada.