Mommyhood. Uncensored.: On Being a Modern, Eco-Friendly Mom. Sometimes.

I had the opportunity recently to do a full product review for a fantastic new cloth diaper (and accessories) company based out of Ontario. After weeks of Seedling being sick, and not really wanting 'those' poops happening in a cloth diaper, we were finally able to test everything out! Here is the full deal:

Lil' Helper Cloth Diaper Review

Included in my demo kit were:

1. Organic bamboo diaper with organic bamboo inserts - two of these, one in orange, and one in the most adorable denim pocket print

2. Organic bamboo charcoal diaper with organic bamboo charcoal inserts

3. PUL-lined wet bag with drawstring

4. PUL-lined wet bag with zipper

5. Extra inserts - cotton, bamboo, and charcoal

6. Bamboo wipes

Right off the top, can I just express how adorable their logo, packaging, and prints are?! Everything just looks cute! Appearance, however, is not always everything - I'm sure you all want to know about performance.

The diapers are an AI2 (All-In-Two) model, with snap-in inserts and doublers. I always used the doubler with Seedling, as he would have soaked right through to his pants otherwise. For ease of use, I will give these diapers a 10/10. The sizing adjustments are fantastic, and while I do prefer velcro to snaps, these provided a wonderful fit around both the waist and legs. The snap-in-snap-out inserts are also great. If Seedling hadn't soaked through both inserts to the cover, all I did was swap out the inserts. That made for easy changes that even my husband wasn't afraid to try. I love the idea of diapers where you just swap inserts. The snaps on these make sure that they aren't bunching up or sliding around inside the cover, which is a problem we have had with other similar diaper styles.

The different choices for inserts also makes these quite interesting. They offer a way to combine different outers and inserts for time of day, or where you will be going. My favourite inserts BY FAR are the bamboo charcoal. Genius idea. Honestly, I don't know what made them think this up, but it is so smart. The charcoal addition to the inserts makes them a gorgeous gray colour (less staining, people), and so incredibly absorbent. Not to mention, they don't smell. Like anything. After they blew me away, I decided to do the ultimate test: what if I left a diaper in the wet bag and forgot about it for...say...2 days? After the waiting period, I took the diaper out and expected that abhorrent ammonia odour to be permeating my nostrils. Zilch. Nothing. The diaper was dry, and if I didn't know better, looked and smelled clean. Crazy. It does make it a little more difficult to tell when a change is required, but if you stick to the rule of every 2-3 hrs for cloth, you won't have an issue with leaks. The only downside to the bamboo charcoal inserts is that they are bulky. I preferred to use the charcoal inserts with a regular bamboo outer, just to cut back on the amount of bulk on Seedling's rear. Goodness knows he could use some help holding up his pants a little (skinny little thing), but the combo of the charcoal outer and inserts was enough to make him look like he had an 'old man' pouch in the front. Plus, he was crawling all funny and had trouble standing up.

The organic bamboo inserts are deliciously soft. Like, rub them against your cheek soft. They are also absorbent, but not quite as well as the bamboo charcoal. I used these with the charcoal outer, again limiting the amount of bulk while still benefitting from the charcoal. When put together with the bamboo outer, these are extremely trim. No leaks, either.

The only inserts I didn't like at all were the cotton. When washed and dried to prep, they shrunk funny, and didn't hold their shape. They seemed scratchy and bulky. If you were going to make the investment in these diapers, I would pay a little extra, and just get the organic bamboo or charcoal. The cotton inserts were also the only ones I used that leaked.

Their wipes and wet bags are great. The wipes are very soft, and when dampened, do a great job of cleaning up those extra-messy messes. One side is a little rougher for cleaning the dirtier bits, while the other side is velvety and soft for gently cleansing the most delicate areas. The wet bags are pretty standard, nothing too out of the ordinary there. I didn't have any leaks with them, and they held about three diapers with inserts when wet/dirty.

You want to know how much they cost now, right? They range from $20-$26 per diaper, which includes one set of inserts. Not bad, when you compare with others that are a similar style. Plus, you're supporting a Canadian company. Inserts range from $8-$10 per set, wet bags range from $6-$8, and a set of 5 reusable bamboo wipes will set you back $10. Their online store also offers free shipping in Canada for purchases over $60, and to the USA for purchases over $90. The nice thing about these diapers is that you probably won't need as many outers as inserts, because for changes that haven't leaked through or gotten extensively stinky, you can just swap out the inserts and keep using the same cover. You also don't have to buy any different sizes. I tried putting the diaper on the smallest size on one of Sprout's dolls. It fit like a dream, and that baby would probably be in the 7-10 lb range if it were real (she thought it was staying on the doll, and loved it so much that she cried when I took it off to use on her brother).

All in all, I would give Lil' Helper cloth diapers a 9/10. I would have said 8.5, but let me tell you a little bit about the company and their philosophies. They have a policy called "Baby Do Good", where they donate one cloth diaper to a family in need for every three diapers purchased from their company, whether it is online or in store. I love companies that do things like this. While I don't cloth diaper exclusively, I do understand the impact of disposable diapers ending up in landfills all across the world, and I think that what Lil' Helper is doing is a fantastic way of decreasing the waste of others. You should also really visit their website, and read the biographies of the two co-creators. Did I mention they are of the male persuasion? Surprising, right? Refreshingly different in all aspects, and Canadian. Check them out. You won't be disappointed.