Monday, July 18, 2011

BAM Diaper Cover: An Experiment

I wish you all could see this diaper cover in person--it is seriously the cutest thing I have made in, well, maybe ever! It is so tiny!  
Here is a comparison between this little cover, to fit a newborn up to 10 lbs (maybe?) next to a 20-30 lb AIO diaper

The reason I wanted to experiment with making a cover is that I recommend covers to people. All-in-one diapers can be expensive (even mine, though at $16 they are at the bottom of the price range as far as All-in-one diapers go). Lots of families (including mine, when my boys were under 15 lbs) can't afford to buy AIOs when their babies are little. 
 Enter the diaper cover! A diaper cover is a waterproof shell that you use with an absorbent inner diaper of your choice. This is a prefold diaper folded in thirds (this is the system I used when my boys were tiny). A fitted diaper could also be used (a fitted looks like a regular AIO but without a waterproof layer)
 The BAM cover is made out of two layers of durable waterproof PUL for extra protection. The shiny inside layer wipes clean--if the prefold is only wet, the cover can be wiped dry and a new prefold can be used. See the genius of the cover? you only need a 3-4 covers per dozen diapers (such as prefolds or fitteds, which are much more economical than AIOs)
 The BAM cover has laundry tabs, just like BAM AIO, so that there will be no snags in the washer or dryer
 Here is the real clincher on how tiny this thing is--my model is my American Girl doll! Good ol' Molly!  Like I said, this cover was an experiment and would only fit a tiny newborn. I would normally sew on a strip of loop so that the tabs can double over but what baby would ever be that skinny? (ok, maybe a preemie, like my own kiddos...but any full term babe wouldn't need the double over tab)
 Like the BAM All-in-one, the cover has gusseted leg and back elastic that rolls in to keep  wetness and messes inside
The BAM Cover
(Thanks for modeling, Molly!)

I often encourage pregnant moms who are looking into cloth diapers for their babies to go with covers and prefold diapers at first or use a combination of prefolds/covers + AIOs.

Here is a breakdown of cost:
1 Dozen Chinese Prefolds (one of the best brands) = ~$24
4  BAM covers = $32 ($8 each)
Total = $56

I used a cover and prefold system when my kiddos were little because we were going through dozens of diapers a day. All-in-ones just weren't practical or affordable at this stage. When my boys got a little older and were going through fewer changes a day, we switched to a combination of prefold/covers and AIOs. 

Now, back to the "experiment" of this cover--I have never used this type of cover before (unlike the AIOs which I used on my own kids) so I don't know how it works or if it needs improvement. If you or someone you know would like to be a tester for me, I will make you one cover for FREE in your choice of size in exchange for an honest review of the diaper cover as well as improvements that could be made.

Interested? Email me: bmeng@liberty.edu

UPDATE: (Tuesday July 18 2011)
I currently have 5 testers! Thank you so much for your willingness to try out the BAM cover! I will blog about the reviews in a few weeks to let everyone know how the new cover works. 

3 comments:

  1. I'm sure you want a review before next year but I'll be happy to give it a try if you don't get a little baby to test them on before then!

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  2. Thanks Brit! I have three testers already, but I would be happy to sew some for you when the time comes if you want to try some out! :)

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  3. What a great trial! Hope you get los of good responses.

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