I have been given the opportunity to test and review an Apple Cheeks envelope style cloth diaper. If you haven’t read the interview I did with the WAHMs behind Apple Cheeks check it out HERE!
After a couple of weeks of washing and using here are my thoughts…
My likes:
Color choices. I love bold, fresh colors. No pastels here. I also enjoy creative names! Apple Cheeks doesn’t resort to boring Navy, Red and Yellow. Instead you get to choose from the delictable Sailor’s Blue, Cherry Tomato and Lemon Zest!
Elastic in front. Besides my Peewell fitted none of my other cloth diapers have elastic in the front waist. This is a great feature for skinny babies (Sterling may have chicken legs but he has a belly!). Elastic in the front is also good for stomach sleepers.
Serged legs. Serging around the legs always seems to hold major blowouts in better. As long as baby’s skin isn’t sensitive to it (as Paisley was) then I enjoy this feature.
Wide envelope (pocket). Easy to stuff and the insert comes out in the wash! Great for people like me who like to toss the diaper in the pail and then transfer to the washer with no extra steps. I’ve always left the insert in other pocket diapers but inevitably would have an insert or two not come out in the washer but ball itself up inside. The insert has come out every time in the wash with the Apple Cheeks diapers.
Double Snap Rows. Having separate waist and thigh snaps is a must. This allows a more custom fit. Whether your baby has skinny legs/skinny waist, skinny legs/ chunky waist, chunky thighs/ skinny waist, all ’round chunky :) you should be able to get a good fit.
My Dislikes:
Tight Elastic. Sterling has a size 1 which according to the website states should fit approximately 7-20lbs. I understand there is a great variation in body styles of children but at 13lbs I would think he’d fit in a size 1 perfectly. For the thigh snap I use the loosest setting and it seems too tight for my preference (red marks are slight but there). Sterling does NOT have chunky thighs. You’ve seen his chicken legs ;)
Wide Crotch. This can be someone’s like. If you want to use the shell as a cover (it was designed to multi-task) then a wide crotch allows for full coverage over a fitted diaper. I, however, do not like to use fleece lined shells as covers. The wide crotch makes for a bulkier diaper.
The Insert. The insert I have is a bamboo square that I trifold. I don’t find this to be that absorbant. When I use the shell in the future I plan on trying out different inserts that I have. Also, because of the wide crotch if you don’t make sure the insert fully covers the inside you will have wicking (leaks).
Here is little Sterling in his Sailor’s Blue Apple Cheeks Size 1 envelope cloth diaper:
Autumn is a wife, mother, homeschool teacher, friend and most important a follower of Christ.
Jashelle says
My little girl Frost is 11 weeks old and weighs almost 12 pounds, and i actually came on the net to order the waist extenders applecheeks offer. I thought about ordering size 2 but the rest of the diaper fits great! it’s just around her legs (that arent overly chubby whatsoever) they’re so tight that for the past couple days we’ve been only doing up the top snap! I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks the 7-20 lbs is an exaggeration :)
Autumn Beck says
Love her name!
Anonymous says
Thanks! I’ve been finding people either love it or hate it lol …
Jashelle says
Thanks! I find people either really love it or hate it lol…
Sar says
I’ve been using this diaper on my 13 lb very chubby baby girl and I love it. I don’t find the legs too tight or leaving red marks. All dupes fit all babes differently, but this one really works for me.
Caroline says
Thanks for the review confirming that I’m NOT crazy.
We bought several of these for my newborn. He weighed 8lbs at birth, and I am also finding the elastic to be too tight even for a newborn in the size one. I was positive I didn’t buy a preemie size, but I just had to google to check what the weight range was for the size 1 (7-20 lbs).
I just couldn’t fathom that my 8 lb baby had such FAT thighs that he couldn’t fit into a 7-20lb diaper.
emilie says
I was just about to post and ask if the rise of these diapers might work well with the microfiber inserts that come with bumgenius OS…but i see that somebody else already brought it up- so my question is answered!
At any rate, I enjoy your blog- I follow along often, and just wanted to say hello! :-)
Sharon K. says
Hi Autumn, I am not a fan of pocket/envelope style dipes, but I wanted to say that Sterling is adorable, chicken legs and all! LOL
Sarah Davis says
I loved this diaper at first and really my only dislike may be the sweating factor. I do not think that I will use this diaper in the 100 degree Texas weather, unless we are inside. I do like it for quick diaper changes. I have the bamboo insert and usually just toss it in the diaper, not the envelope. I also have thirsties inserts which I also just throw in the diaper. It washes really well. No problems here.
Liz says
Autumn, do you have an HE washer? I am a little skeptical of dipes that claim the insert comes out in the wash, especially with an HE…
Autumn Beck says
good question, liz. i don’t have an HE. maybe one of my readers can chime in on this one.
Cindy says
I know this is late, but: we have an HE washer and always throw our diapers from pail into the wash without removing the liners from the pockets first (we use fuzzi bunz), and the liners have always come out in the wash. We got the HE becuase no matter what we did with our top loader washer (tide, the dreaded chlorine bleach, everything), the diapers always came out of the dryer smelling of baby poo. Once we got the HE, no more smells! We even use just a natural organic cleaner (Nature Clean) and no bleach, and we’ve had no problems.
Nicole says
I also recently bought a used Applecheeks and it works well for our chunky [all around] guy. The size two elastic is a little tight for us, but we really like the double row snaps and use a cottonbabies (bumgenius) insert without any leaking. I am glad you introduced us to this diaper!