Fuzzy Bunz vs Bum Genius

Hi Abby,

I started using Bum Genius 3.0 on my son when he was 5 1/2 months old. He's now 16 months old. I LOVE THEM. I bought 18 diapers (probably too much...we never seem to be out)They last until he's potty trained. There are snaps to make them bigger as he grows. It's been almost a year since we started using them, and they still look like new. I bought them on www.cottonbabies.com, and their instructions were to wash once in cold, then once in hot water. It hasn't been too much of problem to wash them twice. Bum Genius also sells a diaper sprayer that hooks onto the toilet. A total must for cloth diapers! Good luck!

I have used both, and I MUCH prefer Fuzzi Bunz. I've used the sized Fuzzi Bunz (my son wears Medium right now) and the one-size-fits-all Bum Genius, and I didn't like the Bum Genius. I don't know whether it's because I'm using the one-size-fits-all of those, but they just don't seem to fit as snugly. And they take FOREVER to try, whereas my Fuzzi Bunz only require one dryer cycle.

One tip: Do NOT use regular detergent or fabric softener on your Fuzzi Bunz. Or Bio-Kleen. It creates an invisible residue that makes the diapers not absorb, and then you have to go through the tedious process of stripping them over and over and over to get them to work again. (I learned that one the hard way!) Charlie's Soap works great. We just use it for all our laundry so that we don't have any residue in our washer from other loads, and we've been really happy with it. (You have to order it online, I think, but it's not very expensive and it goes a long way.)

Good luck!

Hi Abby,

I ended up purchasing Fuzzi bunz because my son at the time had really fat thighs, and i read somewhere that they had generous leg openings. They do and they worked great. I love the snaps, because now that he has leaned out we just adjusted the size and they still fit. The fleece is totally non-staining and all the poop easily comes off with some dunks in the toilet (I then rinse the rest of the diaper in hot water in our garage sink and drop it in the bucket until wash time). They are very easy to keep clean.

I believe all diapers have to be washed on hot and cold rinse. If the poop is bad or I have left them sitting a little too long I do run an extra cycle (with vinegar). I swear by vinegar as a bleaching agent, it gets out the pee smell, all the poop color and just leaves the diapers fresh. I put a little vinegar in the wash cycle and the bleach cup (I never use bleach). I love castile soap to get them extra clean, and the best best poop remover is Zout (that is the only chemical I use, and he has not had an reaction). Oh, and nothing refreshes diapers like drying them outside. The sun is a natural bleaching agent, and not to mention the savings on energy.

I am preg with my second due in Jan, and I will buy more fuzzi bunz, they are very sturdy.
Good Luck. Email me if I left anything out.

Haven't used FB, but my LO has been in BG since her umbilical cord fell off. She has SUPER fat thighs so I love the almost limitless adjustment that the velcro offers.

I have 28 of them - for a while I was washing every other day, but the last month or so we're down to every three days or so. I have been very happy with them, although sometimes the velcro does cause problems. The washing tabs have all worn down so they don't stick and I end up with quite the diaper chain when I do laundry. Also, sometimes it curls up and doesn't stay stuck very well and can irritate her skin if it rubs her, but that mostly only happens if someone other than me puts the diaper on her. :) They are fairly trim for a cloth diaper and easy to wash - I either rinse them in my Potty Pail (www.thepottypail.com) or do a cold rinse in the washer, and then a cold wash and a hot wash. I have to soak or rinse before I wash b/c I have an HE washer - the whole low water use thang doesn't work so well with diapers! It was fine until she started solid foods and her pee got a little more concentrated, and then I had to do a little experimentation to figure out a new system to get 'em really clean.

H

I have used bum genius for a year and a half. I line dry my diapers after a short cold rinse and a regular hot wash. They have held up well over time and I've been happy with them.

I noticed recently with the one size Fuzzy Bunz that the size adjustment is done in the leg elastic rather than in the diaper shell like the bum genius. In my experience, the elastic in the legs is the first to wear out, so I think that this method for size adjustment might not be ideal over time. I'm just speculating, though. I never used them. I also noticed that the pocket for the insert is a little awkward in the FB. I like the generous opening in the BG and think they're easy to stuff with the inserts. The snaps on the FB are a nice feature. The velcro on my BG can occassionally fold under and irritate my son, but that's my only complaint about them.

Good luck!

Hi Abby,
I have a hodge podge stash of cloth diapers. I have 1 Bum Genius and 3 Fuzzi Bunz.
My bg is a one size fits all. I like it and use it on my 24lb two year old daughter at its biggest size and snapped down to its smallest size on my 16lb 3 month old son. The velcro seems to be wearing out a bit. I've been using this particular diaper for about 14 months. I especially like it for overnight use with the second insert for either baby. It's probably the trimest of my cloth diapers. I haven't had problems with leaks or blowouts. I haven't tried the microfleece bg. I don't personally care for the pocket opening flap, it doesn't seem necessary but isn't really a problem either.
Of my Fuzzi Bunz, 1 is the original style size small, 1 is the newer style size small, and 1 is the newer style size medium. All three have snap closures. I haven't tried the one size fits all Fuzzi Bunz. I use the medium on my toddler and both smalls on my baby. The snaps seem to hold up better than velcro. I like the softness of the microfleece in fb. They fit very well and each size fits for a long time. A bit bulkier than bg. Though they only came with one insert I add a doubler to these for night-time use.
I wash all of my diapers together. I choose to do a cold water rinse (rather than a "wet pail" soak) in the washing machine, then a warm water wash with 1/2 cap of Planet detergent, and a cold water rinse. I find that Planet detergent rinses out well, if using another detergent it's sometimes necessary to do an extra rinse.
I like using cloth diapers and hope you will too. www.kellyscloset.com is a good site for diapers. www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com has a detergent comparison chart and articles on diapering. Clothdiapering is trial and error in finding what brands/system best suit the needs of your family. I've learned a lot during my years of cd'ing (I cloth diapered my older daughter 14 years ago before we had all the options we have now). Please let me know if you have other questions.
Best wishes, K.

I have a variety of diapers, but in terms of pockets I have tried Fuzzi Bunz one-size and their perfect size (i.e., single size), as well as Happy Heiny's velcro one-size. My favorite is the Fuzzi Bunz one-size. At first it was bit intimidating with all the various elastic sizing you can do. But once you figure it out, I think these are the best. Keeps stuff in and fits nicely. I would say they contain leaks BETTER than their single size diapers as you can really tailor the fit to your baby.

I also decided that I prefer snaps to velcro, as the latter sometimes can roll or slip with a busy toddler and irritate their skin. Velcro is nice in that you can adjust the fit quickly but just can be a bit rough if it hits the skin.

I've heard great things about Bum Genius from friends, but haven't used myself.

Good luck!

I loved fuzzy bunz and tried a bunch of types.
they don't leak and my size mediums last from the time he was 6 months to 2 years old! The buttons make it so that you can adjust the leg and waist really well.

they clean soooo much better than cotton. I always cleaned off the poop and tried to rinse the pee ones. I sometimes bought the liners to help in cleanup. after rinsing I would store them in a diaper pail - no water and then wash them when I was getting to the end of my supply. I washed on hot with normal natural detergent only one time.
I did have this great old washer that I could put it on spin cycle first and that would suck out any extra water first before washing and that seemed to help.
If they got a little discolored I put hydrogen peroxide on them and/or put them into the sun to lighten and sun sterilize!
easy breezy!

Hello,
I used a variety of cloth diapers with both my kids and loved them. I used mainly Mother Ease with my first which worked great. When I needed to get a few more diapers for my second I tried Fuzzy Bunz and Bum Genius. I prefered the Fuzzy Bunz, the snaps seemed to work better than the velcro. I then used a combination of the Mother Ease and Fuzzy Bunz, along with a few others that I had bought to try. The Fuzzy Bunz were good for when we were out and about, but I liked the Mother Ease for night time. It is a good idea to get a few different ones to try and see which ones fit your baby best.
C.

abby If you just started back to work I would get a diaper service because doing your own takes a lot of time washing rinsing folding. time that you could just have fun with the baby. I tried it. good luck S.

Hi Abby,

I LOVE my BumGenius above all the other brands I've tried. I'm using the 3.0 One Size Pocket Diapers. I do a rinse cycle and then a hot water cycle and them come out great. We have had very few blowouts over the last 13 months with the BumGenius. Over the holidays when we were traveling, I used regular diapers and had blowouts everyday, but at home with our cloth diapers, it is contained much better. I absolutely love them and find them super easy to use. I love the one size as it grows with the baby. When I noticed a few leeks happening, I changed the sizing (went down a snap) and it took care of it. On the BumGenius website it says that you'll unsnap and snap back down at various growth stages, so even though your child will be getting bigger, at some point, you may need to make the diapers smaller again due to how they are portioned.

Feel free to email me if you have any other questions! As I said, I love my BumGenius and have been extremely happy with my decision to go with them. I wish the money I had spent trying out other brands hadn't such a waste!

Good luck! Happy Cloth Diapering!

M.

I use cloth, although neither of those. I run one wash on cold/cold, then one on hot/cold with extra rinse (so 2 cycles, basically) and that works fine. I use sensi-clean wash which is also zero residue: definitely pick one of those options as 'normal' detergents will leave residue and odor will build up. I don't find the washing a big deal: I put it on when he goes to bed, then an hour later turn it on again (detergent in the second wash).

E.