Smartipants Review

Back when I initially started to dig into all the different cloth diaper types and started building our stash I heard of the Smartipants brand and was intrigued but was hesitant to order any due to wanting to see some more reviews. I subscribed to their blog and twitter feed and kept up with the company but never ordered one.

One day on twitter they asked for reviewers and I sent in an email and to my surprise about a month later I received a cool blue Smartipants diaper with one microfiber insert.

After taking the diaper out of its package I started playing with it a little. The snaps are VERY sturdy. Many times I feel like I am going to break them off because they hold on so tight. The diaper has a 2 snap adjustable rise in the front that uses 3 settings from snapped all the way down for a tiny one to all open for a larger baby/ toddler. After playing with the diaper a little I threw it into the wash to prep it. Once washed I was ready to put it to the test on 3.5 month old Elli. Lately she has really been putting diapers to the test by flooding them very quickly and having some massive teething explosive incidents so I was curious to see how it would hold up.

Well she is not one to disappoint and after an hour I heard her really mess up her diaper. When I went to change her everything was held in and the insert absorbed all the moisture.

Next I wanted to see if the insert really did come out in the wash. Once again I was not dissapointed. I threw the entire diaper in with the others and did not take the insert out. On wash day I did my normal routine and sure enough when I went to put things in the dryer the insert had washed right out and was perfectly clean.

The final test was seeing what else would work in the pocket. I stuffed the pocket with a pre-fold once, the hemp insert from a Thirsties Duo diaper and a Bum Genius microfiber insert snapped down. The only one I had problems with was the thirsties and I think its because the insert is a little wider than the pocket.

My overall opinion of this diaper is excellent! It is the easiest diaper in my stash to care for by far. Simply because I don't have to remove the insert and the shell can be dried on a low heat setting or hung up to dry. The smart sleeve insert that comes with the diaper is super absorbent in my opinion. Also the leg casing held the most explosive messes and showed showed no signs of wear after a month of use.

The only thing I think I would like to see improved in this diaper is the sleeve insert. While it fits one insert great but with an older baby who is a heavy wetter you might need a greater ability to stuff the diaper with more than one insert. I think the pocket could be just a touch wider and larger to allow more stuffing.

Other than that this diaper worked very well for us and I have sense bought a few more. It is now the diaper that when I reach for a pocket at home it is my first choice.

4 month stats

Elli had her 4 month check up last week and to no suprise she has defiantly hit her growth spurt. She weighed in at 14lbs 4 oz which is around the 67th percentile and 25.5 inches long which is in the 90th percentile! Her pediatrician said that she is following Butters and getting very tall extremely quickly.
He asked a ton of questions of course regarding her reflux and developmental milestones. He told us that the reflux should subside when we start solids. Also he agreed about delaying solids until 6 months. She is growing very well so there's no need for any supplements or anything like that. She is determined to stand which he liked but rolling over isn't anything she is concerned with right now. He was also happy to see her wanting to sit up on her own and agreed with us that she might just skip rolling.

The only thing he wasn't very happy about is that she isnt sleeping through the night yet. The thing is she is sleeping in 6 hour stretches and only waking up once a night. Normally she gets up between 1:30 and 3:30am, eats, gets her diaper changed and goes right back to bed. So in that respect she is doing well though.

And now for the pictures:

 

on the changing table just happy

 

Hanging out in the mei tai asleep while I pack.

On the road again

Well I'm off on another adventure by myself. I was informed on Thursday that I needed to get to NAS Corpus Christi as soon as possible. So I set out getting my flight, hotel and rental car all booked. Things were a huge flurry of activity. I let W know and all of a sudden it set in. Elli just turned 4 months old and I'm leaving. Part of me just wants to cry. It was pretty rough when I left Butters for the first time and while it might be a touch easier this time it still just sucks and there's no way around that.

So the question is what about nursing and everything. Well luckily we have enough frozen milk in the deep freeze that she should be fine. I calculated that we had enough to last 11 days assuming that she eats 30oz a day. This is quite the stretch because I think in 24 hours she might go through 20 to 25 oz max.

Luckily the trip is only for the week. Granted I am going to try and take the time I have to catch up on a review I need to do and get a couple of other posts done. I return Friday night and I can already tell you that I will be very happy to see all of them and the return of Mac for the weekend!