Last month I wrote about my experience with our GroVia cloth diapers after a year of use. I got a lot of positive feedback from people who wanted to see more reviews of well-loved fluff. This type of review gives you an idea of what you can expect from a cloth diaper down the road.
Please keep in mind that this is just my personal experience. I am sharing my honest opinions, not a guarantee of what you can expect for yourself.
Note: Swaddlebees was always the same company as Blueberry. Since I first wrote this, they now go exclusively by Blueberry. Same thing. :)
My first experience with Swaddlebees was during the newborn rental I did with my daughter, Sophia. The Swaddlebees Newborn Simplex All in One was one of 4 other diapers that I got to try out and was one of my favorite newborn diapers. When my rental was up, I used part of my deposit to buy 8 size medium Swaddlebees Simplex 2.0 All in Ones.
Swaddlebees diapers are made in the USA. I enjoyed reading the ‘About Us’ post from Margarita, the founder of Swaddlebees & Blueberry diapers. She was very candid about the journey of the company and how they finally settled on a manufacturer in the middle of nowhere Arkansas, her words not mine!
Because they said it better than I could, here is the description of the Simplex 2.0 from Blueberry’s website:
A unique all-in-one diaper design that combines the convenience of an all-in-one diaper while providing the absorbency adjustability of a pocket diaper.
It is made with a waterproof outer layer and 11 layers of 100% cotton Birdseye fabric in the wet zone.
The diaper has pocket openings on both ends that allows you to increase the diaper’s absorbency by adding extra inserts. This also enables any extra stuffed-in doubler or insert to agitate itself out in the wash. Half of the soaker pad is attached, while the other half also comes out through one of the pocket openings during the washing cycle. The result is a diaper that is thoroughly cleaned inside out and dries fast-either in the dryer or on the line.
My first impression of the diaper was that it was well made with high quality materials. I had 8 different prints and loved them all! Sophia started wearing the size medium at 3 months. These fit her until around 12 months. She was around 21 pounds, everthing still fit, except the rise wasn’t high enough. So we needed to size up to the larges. I found these to be absorbent and trim fitting.
The only thing that may throw some with this type of diaper are the side snaps. Instead of pulling the wings forward to snap in the front. You pull the front back to snap on the sides. This takes a little getting used to. But it is really good for toddlers because it makes it much harder for them to take the diaper off!
Want to know how these diapers are doing after 10 months of use? I wash in Tide with hot water and line dry my shells and aio’s. These where washed approximately 1-2 times a week.
After all this time, I can say that I still recommend these. All of the elastic is still good. All of the snaps are fully functional and in excellent condition. Out of the 8 Simplex 2.0’s I have, only one had a small patch of pillyness on the shell.
These wash well. They wear well. Even after all these months they look almost like they did when they were new. Good fit, no leaks. Great absorbency with the ability to add even more if you need to.
I think after looking at the new prints available, I might have to get some larges! Have any of you ever tried these? What did you think?
Available at your Blueberry Cloth Diaper retailers.
Jenn is a long-time cloth diaper educator and a passionate small business advocate. She has worked in the reusable diaper industry for over a decade, helping millions of families via her websites All About Cloth Diapers, Thinking About Cloth Diapers and Cloth Diaper Geek as well as hundreds of small businesses during that time. Her goal always to provide simple, reliable information.
Jody says
I am excited to try these on my newborn arriving in August. I am doing a rental and bought 2 extra of these as the rental comes with some prefolds I plan not to use so wanted a few more. I love that they are cotton and you can add more inserts if needed. I have done lots of research and the reviews are great for the newborn size.
One question… you actually use Tide? I thought you need a special cloth diaper detergent that is free of additives etc? Please explain if you have time, I am curious if I have been mis informed?
Thanks for such a great website, It has been invaluable to me in doing research on how to start cloth diapering as a first time Mom:)
Jennifer Reinhardt says
Hi Jody, Yes, I use actually use Tide. Lots of moms do. While it is often suggested by cloth diaper manufacturers many cloth diaper users use mainstream detergents. I believe that you should use whatever works for YOU! Please read this post and feel free to ask as many questions as you like.
Lauren says
We also used the newborn version of these and it was our favorite! We have some of the one size now. I like them, I use them, I don’t love them like I loved the newborn ones, though the designs are so cute! I was confused about your description of closing them, then I googled – apparently my all in ones close like normal diapers, but you can get side close all in ones, I might have to check that out!
Deborah says
I have several of the swaddlebees simplex AIO’s and I love them. 10 months of frequent wear and they are still great. Can’t wait to see how they do over the next year.
Erika says
So funny that this post came up today, because yesterday as I was folding mine I was thinking how much I loved it! I only have one, but next time I buy a diaper (or a few ;-) ) it’s going to be more of these for sure!