Mother Ease - is it really the "Mercedes of cloth diapers"?

[danmicfred]

I posted earlier about Kushies AIO and now I am wondering about Mother Ease diapers. Should we go for them because so many people recommend them even though they are more expensive. Does anyone out there think they are particularly worth it? I am not knowledgeable about what diapers are more absorbant and good cloth to use so I don't know if what they use is good but in my Baby Bargains book, they seemed to list it as the Mercedes of cloth diapering. Anyone have experience or care to add anything?

[american_mama]

This time I can actually speak from experience since I have owned a Motherease One Size for a full year, plus I have a Motherease Airflow cover.

I personally think Motherease is Ok and lots of people either think they are OK or great. I suspect they are called the Mercedes beecause they are a very well-known company. So many other cloth diaper makers are small family-run businesses; you find out about them through cloth diaper boards like this, but for someone not doing a lot of research, they may never discover these dozens and dozens of small home-based companies. Motherease is bigger, probably has been in business longer, etc.

I didn't like Motherease at the early infant stage because the diaper folds down at the waist to make it smaller. This means that the waist is really thick, all the more noticeable and unattractive on a small baby. The extra liner also couldn't snap in when using that infant row of snaps and I didn't find the diaper absorbent enough without it. I suppose the extra liner could have just been laid in the diaper, but I never knew to do that. Now that my daughter is 20 months and requires no folding at the waist, I like the diaper pretty well.

The MOtherease Airflow is a good cover. A littly puffy, but it doesn't leak and is very adjustable. I like the Eco Prints and colors they have available. Their Riki Wrap is made of the same material and should also be good.

Motherease has a good introductory offer for a diaper and cover at a good price. You should try that. I personally would not be comfortable ordering a whole $200 plus stash without first trying just one. I have never tried their Sandy diaper, but I think people say it's hard to dry or something. I think their One Size diaper is more popular nd I'd stick with that.

You should also try a Fuzzibunz pocket diaper, whcih you haven't mentioned yet. Once you stuff it, they are just like an AIO in terms of ease of use. I'd also recommend a bumGenius one size pocket diaper. Both are usually well-liked, have legholes that I think will contain newborn poop, and are a great introduction to pockets. If you hate them, they have good resale.

[o_mom]

I have 10 ME Sandys which I got used and one ME one-size, one Airflow and two Rikki wraps.

The one-size is a nice diaper, but don't think it will truely last you from birth to PT. I can't get it on my very skinny 34 mo who is just barely 30 lbs. It is bulky on infants and really won't last to 35 lbs, but does make a very nice "medium" that will last a long time.

The Sandy is also a nice diaper. It does take slightly longer to dry, but I just take all the other diapers and liners out and run an extra 10 min with just the Sandys. I got mine used from a friend that had used them on two kids already. They are in great shape still. Elastic and snaps are in perfect condition.

The intro package is a great deal - you can easily resell it and not lose more than a dollar or two if you don't like it. You can get a Sandy in the intro package if you call them instead of ordering online.

I think they have that reputation because they are one of the few large production cloth diapers other than pre-folds (though that is changing). Fuzzi-Bunz is also like this. You are going to get a very consistent product, there are no surprizes. You will also be able to find many, many reviews. That makes people more comfortable with them.

There are many, many smaller companies and WAHMs that make fine products. However, some may have no reviews and you may find that there is a bit more variation in the product. It will likely not be a functional problem, but some people have a hard time seeing past that. I have been very pleased with most of my diapers regardless of where they came from.

[danmicfred]

Hi, thanks for the info! :) What was the difference you noticed in the two covers? Do you prefer one over the other or does one leak more?

[danmicfred]

Hi Karen,
Thanks for the input! :) I just looked into Fuzzibunz and they sound nice too only I was a little worried about the laundering aspect since they prefer some sort of special detergent and mention detergents with oils, etc. might mess up the diaper. Do you know anything about that or how much that holds true?
I think I will try the introductory offer for MotherEase as well. Sigh. I had hoped to find the perfect fitting diaper and accessories before the baby arrived but I guess I may just end up using disposables at first and then trying out maybe my top three choices for cloth diapers and then getting a package of my favorite. It's hard when apparently different diapers fit children differently - one brand seems to make one person happy and another raves about how it leaks or doesn't fit. Sigh. This is going to be harder than I thought but at least I know I can come on here and post questions for more experienced moms! :)

[o_mom]

I got the Rikkis first when DS1 was very little. I was new to CD and velcro just seemed easier and snaps were scary. :-) I got the Airflow later when I was looking for a trim diaper for an older toddler and it was part of the intro package. Now I like snaps better.

Both covers work great. I have had no leaks with them (well, no more than any other covers and usually because of user error). However I would prefer the Airflow now, just because I think snaps will last longer than velco.

[o_mom]

I use Sam's Club generic detergent on my FB and have no problems.