When I was pregnant with Juliana, I decided that I would use cloth diapers for her. Even though it is better for the environment, I have to admit that my main motivation for using them is that it is a less expensive alternative to disposable diapers.
After doing much research into diapers, I decided to use BumGenius. I would have liked to use a French brand, but I could not find enough reviews to determine which one to use. The cost of imported cloth diapers from the US is the same as the French ones, so I decided to go with what I knew.
I do not know anyone here that uses cloth. In fact, I think my husband’s family thinks I am a bit crazy. I do not think they are as popular in France as in the USA, but the green movement is gaining momentum here and more women are doing the switch.
I ordered BumGenius v3, organic all-in-ones and organic Flips online. I did not order newborn sizes because it would have been a huge investment for something she would grow out of quickly. Instead, we used disposables for her first two weeks and then switched to her cloth diapers. They fit her, but looked huge. My mother even made a comment on one of her photos that it looked like she had a very large bum. So even though she looked a bit ridiculous, they worked.
I much prefer using cloth diapers over disposable. We never run out, we rarely have a leak and Juliana looks comfortable in them. During her first 8 weeks, I had to do the laundry every day to keep up with her. We do not have a dryer and the sun is rarely out for them to sun dry.I have to dry them on the wall heaters around the house.
We ordered a few more inserts so now I do the laundry every other day. We have 2 BumGenius organic v3, 3 organic all-in-ones, 6 Flip covers and 12 inserts.
Of the three versions, we prefer the Flips. We go through one or two covers per day and 4 to 6 inserts. It is much more convenient to just remove the insert, swipe the inside of the shell with a wipe, and then place a new insert inside. It is less laundry than using the all-in-ones and they air dry much quicker.
The all-in-ones seem to wear out inside more and they take forever to dry. Since she uses the diapers on its smallest setting, there is a lot of excess padding inside of the diaper that you must fold up in the front for each changing. The positive side of these diapers is that they are similar to using a disposable, so it is easy for family or babysitters to learn.
We rarely ever use the v3. These diapers require you to place the inserts inside a pocket. It takes an extra couple minutes to place the insert and and then you will have to change the entire diaper, not just the insert.You might as well use the all-in-ones.
I would like to try other brands as well to see what they are like, especially since BumGenius diapers are only available in a limited number of colors. But as we stand, there really is not a need to buy more. We have plenty of diapers and these will last us a long time. They work very well, are comfortable – so no need to look any further.
We spent about 250 euros on them. Even if you count the extra water and electric we use from doing the wash, we are still saving thousands of dollars. Plus, I have read about many women who used the same set of diapers for all their children… bought them for one and saved them each time a new baby came along. Not bad! I bought all my diapers from Tim-Tam Nature during one of their sales. If you become a Facebook fan of them, you will periodically see offers for discounts on BumGenius. I usually get my orders within a week of placing them.
I do not have experience with any other cloth diaper, so it is hard for me to say who is best. But at least I can tell you that BumGenius has really worked for me and I can recommend these diapers. As with any cloth diaper, remember to wash them without softener and use the sun to bleach the poo stains out. And say good-bye to running to the store at all hours because you used up your last diaper.
chickster says
Great product review – thanks for sharing!
Liene says
Finally, another cloth diaperer in France! We use flat diapers, but I’ve become extremely frustrated because it seems like I spend 4-5 hours washing them in our “energy efficient” front-loader! To get them clean, I am doing a cold wash with vinegar, then a rinse, then a prewash, then a wash in hot with a final rinse! Not good for energy savings, much less the life of the diaper! Any suggestions?
French Mamma says
Wow, I wish I had some suggestions for you. I am very lucky that I have not had any issues yet. When I first started using them she was getting rashes so I was going heavy on the cream… they prevented the diapers from absorbing good. I washed them once in vinegar and my problem was solved. Let me know what you end up doing.
lalitha ashok says
Hi,
I am an FTM and would like to know which diaper rash cream is good in France. I am finding it very difficult to find one with enough good reviews.
Sitha says
I loved Flip too. Great for travelling. I tried one BG v3 and somehow it didn’t work as I expected. I preferred Fuzzibunz one size pocket than BG v3. Our first cloth diapers were Lulu Nature’s products. Fitteds type. Loved them but then I sold some since I wanted to try others. Gosh, I miss those cloth diapering journeys. My lil one started to say goodbye to cloth diapers and trainers since Oct 2011 (she was 2 y 6 m). Perhaps I should have another baby… Kidding 😀
There is a french advocacy group for cloth diapers, like RDA in US, its name is Bulle de Coton (http://www.bulledecoton.org/). Some discussions are available online (doctissimo, magicmaman, famili). But yes, it’s not easy to find not-online friends that are using cloth diapers for their babies. I received a kind of bizzare look too, mostly from my husband’s friends and my neighbors. But cloth diapering kept running *oh, I miss it again… 🙁 *
Happy cloth diapering!
French Mamma says
I was very tempted to try Fuzzibunz, but mostly because of the cute name than anything else. Thanks for the excellent info!
Annie says
I stumbled on your website today th
Annie says
I stumbled on your website today thanks to Facebook and I smiled at each one of the posts I read. I’ve lived in France my whole life but my parents are american so I can understand…
I have also used Cloth diapers. Some from France and some from the US. I like both!!
I actually have a neighbour that uses them too and it has helped us get to know each other. Believe me, there are more cloth diaper users than you think!!
French Mamma says
Hi Annie, thanks for your input! Which French brand cloth diapers would you recommend?
Stephanie says
Hi, I found your website too thanks to Facebook! I’m american living in France with a french husband and a small toddler. I use cloth diapers too, but mainly French brands! You are welcome to email me and I can send you some helpful links to the websites I go to. I think it is helpful to try a few different styles and brands to see what you like (although if you don’t have a dryer or lots of drying space, the flips and prefolds are pretty handy!) I buy cloth dipes second hand, which is a much cheaper way to test things, and some of the forums are really nice to search and read advice and see what other moms think of specific brands or styles. Bon courage!
Brazilgirl says
What detergents do you use to clean your cloth diapers?
C Tickle says
Great post and good information. There is so much info out there about cloth diapering. I came across your blog while doing research. I have decided to go with bum genius for our LO. We have used disposable for the first 4 months but now I think we need to make the switch. Fingers crossed!
French Mamma says
Thank you! Let me know what you think of them. I ordered more a few weeks ago for the next baby since Juliana will most likely not be out of her diapers yet.
We are on vacation right now and are using disposables to make life easier for my mother-in-law… it is a little easier with disposables, once you get into a routine, you will not think anything of it. It’s amazing how much money we saved by using BumGenius diapers!