After 12 solid months of using
Chelory diapers, I thought it appropriate to give my opinion.
FABULOUS!!!!
Years ago I started off using Bum Genius (first generation) diapers and loved them. I only ever used BG after that. Then Rachel started sewing and selling. I became pregnant and thought supporting a friend would be better. I had heard her diapers were awesome and she consistently sold out within minutes of her stocking times. So I put in an order. Rita was born and I was anxious to start using them. I could tell just by handling them that they were in a class FAR ABOVE Bum Genius. I began using them exclusively by the time Rita was about 2 months old. Her weight was just right for the diapers but her legs were a bit scrawny. Needless to say we had some regular blow-out leakages but, again, it was due to her legs being so darn skinny. I worked on hamming her up and it wasn’t too long before everything was dandy. I am completely and utterly impressed at the quality of
Chelory diapers. Rita is now 13 months old and we are still using them exclusively. Her little bum can’t handle disposables very well. We’ve tried during weekends away and she always always always comes home with a nasty rash.
I started off with 6
AIO (all-in-ones), 6 wool
AI2 (all-in-two…cover with a snap insert), and 24 snap fitted inserts. Today I have 7
AIO, 6 wool AI2, and 5
AI2 (regular PUL cover). The only thing I would have done differently is gotten only 3 woolies, a few more
AIO, and the rest AI2 (PUL cover). I do like the wool as it lasts much longer between washes, is uber soft on baby’s skin, and is quite durable. But I’ve found they sit differently on Rita than the regular AI2 covers and often get soiled with poo leakage regardless of how I set the fitting. As she gets older and her poo more solid (sorry about the detail), this has become less of a problem.
With another baby on the way and Rita being only 19 months when he/she is born, we’ll most definitely have 2 babes in diapers. That means I’ll be picking a few more up from Rachel over then next few months. Although I might have enough of a stash because Rita doesn’t go through nearly as many diapers as she did as an infant, I DO enjoy a good reason to shop for a few more. And John is quite understanding about the matter. ;-)
She even has
"miniC" diapers now for newborns up to at least 12lbs. I'm eying those ones for sure!
Chelory…THE BEST cloth diaper on the market (in my opinion).
PROS: highly absorbent, no stuffing, extraordinarily well made, cottage industry product (handmade), super cute, extremely durable, no fuss washing, customer service is phenomenal, always free shipping, return policy
CONS: the only ‘con’ I can think of is perhaps the price, but they are worth every penny.
In regards the price, our initial investment was around $600-$650. I kept close track of what we would have been spending if we’d use disposables for the first 6-7 months. These diapers paid themselves off after 5 months of exclusive use. Pretty much we are diapering our 13 month old for free. And the convenience of NOT having to run to the store for diapers or wipes is awesome. As far as having the laundry to do all the time, well, with 4 kids I do laundry every day anyway. I just make sure I set my diapers on at night (it’s an extra long wash with extra rinses) when my other laundry is mostly done and in the morning (on none winter days) I hang them out to dry in the sun all day or I hang them near the fire to dry inside. Not a big deal.
Great visual I saw on FB the other day...
Side note: it isn’t too hard to make your own wipes either. If you have several kids you probably have lots of receiving blankets. Pull a few out of your stash, cut them into 7”x7” squares, double them up, and run an edge stitch around them. My mom made about 40 for me in less then an hour. Another way to save about $350/year on wipes.
