Happy Heinys!

So today was the trial of the Happy Heinys diaper! I waited until Abby had her daily poop (although SOMEtimes she's a two-a-day pooper...I just took my chances today!), then put her clean bum into her very first cloth diaper!

The Happy Heinys is a Velcro diaper, and, as I suspected, she immediately began to fiddle with the tabs! Although, as my sister-in-law's sister-in-law (six degrees of Kevin Bacon, anyone?) pointed out, once her kids got to a certain age, they were also able to get out of the snap diapers! So, really, there WILL come a time when Abby will be able to take off any diaper I put on her - that's just what's going to happen and we'll deal with it when it happens! And hopefully it will happen with a WET diaper, not a DIRTY diaper! ::prays::

I had no trouble adjusting the diaper - using the snaps on the front (which don't hold the diaper on, they're purely used to make the diaper a one-size diaper) was easy, and there were four different sizes I could have made the diaper. I chose #3 of 4 (although I think I could have used #2 and still had enough room for her in the diaper - I just didn't want it to be too loose!), then velcroed (is that a word?) it in place - presto diaper change-o!

The only thing I had trouble with was putting the insert (I used the larger one - the way Abby pees, I KNEW the newborn one wasn't going to cut it!) into the pocket in the diaper. I mean, it sounds easy? It's basically put A into B, but...it was a little tricky. It was kind of like trying to rethread a drawstring when it comes out of a pair of shorts or pants or something. Know what I mean? It was just a little awkward. But once it was in, it was fine!

She wore it for almost 4 hours before she started to look a little bottom heavy, so off it came, and on went a disposable diaper (one of the few in my dwindling stock - I need to decide on a cloth diaper soon or my baby will be running around naked! Or I'll simply have to buy a few more plastic ones...). Abby had no marks on her bottom (with the disposables, I often find she has the criss-cross marks from the inside of the diaper (does that make sense?) on her tush), and there was really no odor from the diaper - both pluses! For now, since I don't have a cloth diaper "disposal" setup (as in, I don't have a station set up to contain the dirty diapers and inserts until they get washed), I simply tossed both the diaper and the insert into the washer with a few inches of water - I'll get to it in a bit.

Now, this particular diaper presented something that I'm finding I don't really like - because Abby is actually touching the DIAPER and not the INSERT, I have to completely wash both parts. I can't just wash the insert, and wipe out the diaper (since it was just a wet diaper). In my book, this takes points away from Happy Heinys. I wouldn't call this a PROBLEM, persay, it's just not something I want to deal with in a cloth diaper. I want to wash the least amount of material possible - inserts/prefolds ONLY!

But, overall, it's a nice diaper. Here's a recap:

PROS

• Made completely in the U.S.!
• Super soft to the touch, and very absorbant (I washed the insert 3 times before using it)
• Easy to adjust and fasten
• Not crinkly!
• Not super bulky - it would fit nicely under clothes

CONS

• It was a bit tricky to put the insert into the pocket of the diaper
• Both the diaper and the insert need to be washed, not just the insert
• This was the most expensive diaper of the 3 I ordered (but is NOT the most expensive cloth diaper around - it falls kind of in the middle)

5 pros, 3 cons - not bad for the first diaper! Here's a picture of the Abbigator wearing her Happy Heinys! And, no, she doesn't have a mohawk, it's just how her shadow is! And does anyone else think she's a redhead?! We're still waiting to see what her true hair color will be!

Tomorrow - the Flip!

-Jen