Guest Post By Julie Kieras – from A Year With Mom and Dad
I was excited to have the chance to review the new Smart Bottoms Smart One 3.0 for All About Cloth Diapers (received free for review purposes), as I’d used the original Smart Bottoms diapers several years ago. I had a great experience with Christy, the owner and founder. And a deep appreciation for the quality materials and 100% Made in the USA construction of Smart Bottom diapers.
The new Smart One 3.0 really blew me away with the design changes since the original Smart One I had tried on my first son!
The 3.0 is an all-in-one One-size diaper with an attached insert for a soaker. The insert is a “loop” so that air can pass through it and dry the insert quicker. Also, since the soaker /insert is attached only at one end, this allows you to fold the insert to place extra layers either in the middle or at the front for your baby.
The inner fabric and soaker are all made from 100% certified organic cotton, which is my first choice for diaper inner fabric! It’s so very soft! (But, does not have a stay dry topper, so just be aware you may need to add a fleece liner if your baby dislikes the damp feeling). I noted that Smart Bottoms says you CAN dry the entire diaper in the dryer, but recommends air drying for longer lasting covers.
I love the four snap-down size choices of the Smart One 3.0, which make this diaper able to fit a baby from 8-35 pounds. My baby is about 20 pounds and it fit him well on the second to last setting.
The fit on my 8 month old baby was trim and snug, despite his many chubby rolls! The leg openings have encased elastics and didn’t leave red marks, which is common for my son due to his chunkiness. Also they did not leak, so long as I rolled them slightly to the inside so no absorbent material showed. With two rows of snaps PLUS hip snaps, I got a very secure fit around the waist and hips for my baby – I really loved how the hip snap didn’t allow for any “wing droop.”
I found the absorbency to be superb. In fact, ashamed as I am to admit it, we had an “incident” in which the baby wore the Smart One 3.0 much longer than usual (about 5 hours). I thought my husband had changed him after a nap, and he thought I had changed him… so nobody had in fact changed the baby’s diaper immediately after a nap. However, when I realized this and rushed to change him, although the diaper was heavily soaked, it had not leaked! I was impressed!
At $23.00 each, I find the Smart One 3.0 to be comparably priced to other all-in-one diapers. However, I feel the Smart Bottom all-in-one diaper holds better value, since it is a one-size diaper AND uses organic cotton.
You can find Smart Bottoms diapers online at their website as well as many other online and brick and mortar stores around the country! Smart Bottoms also makes covers, prefolds, and accessories for cloth diapering!
Overall, the Smart One 3.0 diaper met and exceeded my expectations, which can be hard to do for this 3 year veteran of cloth! I’d recommend it especially to new cloth diapering mamas, good for daycares too, I’d bet! I would definitely add more of these to my own stash! And with some exciting new prints available, I may just have to do so!
I received a Smart Bottoms diaper free of charge for my use in facilitating this review. All opinions are 100% my own, however.
Still would like to try this one! Keep entering giveaways… :)
This diaper reminds me of the BumGenius elemental (by the looks of it) – how does it compare? :-)
I liked this diaper, but it is NOT gentle on chubby thighs after the baby is over a certain size so I had to sell it. If they ran just a tad larger in the leg they would be great for a larger range of babies.
I just won a Smart One 3.0 in a giveaway and so far I am very impressed. I haven’t tried it for naps yet as it has not been washed enough to reach full absorbency, but it contained a liquid poo very nicely the other day! :-)