Update, Sept. 2015 : Bummis has recently merged with Mini Kiwi.
I love Bummis. Based here in Québec with their boutique on St-Laurent in Montréal and many of their products manufactured in nearby St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, I can’t say enough positive things about this company and its dedicated owners. You can find out a bit more about Bummis’ history and mission, plus see a bit of me and Wolf Cub, in this CBC story that aired this spring.
I’ve been very privileged to be a tester for Bummis, allowing me to try some of their prototypes on Cub and give them my feedback. The first of the tested products to hit the market is also their first one-size cover, the Simply Lite.
Cub’s first diapers were Bummis prefolds and Super Lite covers. I remember wondering to myself why Bummis didn’t have a one-size cover. Past the newborn stage, I didn’t want to buy three different sizes of covers, so I switched over to GroVia. Had the Simply Lite been available when Cub was born, I think it’s the only cover I would ever have needed: it looks to me like it would have fit him even at birth (7 lbs 7 oz) or at least very shortly there after, and it definitely fits him now at almost 30 lbs.
There are a lot of one-size PUL covers on the market, so what has me taking particular notice of the Simply Lite?
Firstly, here are some characteristics that it shares with most other covers on the market:
- It’s wipeable/rinseable, so you can use the same cover over and over throughout the day;
- It’s one size so this means you don’t have to spend a ton to cloth diaper from birth to potty learning.
And here are the characteristics that I think make it better than other covers I’ve tried:
- The curved, elastic waist band that doesn’t dig into Cub’s tummy and stretches with him as he moves;
- The total lack of gaping, even with a large insert;
- The fact that Cub never gets red marks on his waist or thighs, even wearing this cover nice and snug;
- The surprising trimness;
- The perfect fit over a large prefold (bikini twist fold);
- It’s Canadian made;
- Leaks are few and far between;
- It looks like it will fit well even on skinny newborn legs on the smallest rise;
- It works wonderfully for us OVERNIGHT!
Single Drawback of the Simply Lite:
- It is a bit small to get good coverage on top of a bulky fitted diaper. That being said, if it were big enough to fit on top of a large baby’s fitted diapers, it wouldn’t also be trim enough to fit a newborn! (The only PUL cover I’ve found that fits well on my big boy over a fitted (like his sBish) is the MotherEase AirFlow.)
How I use the Simply Lite:
While I was testing the cover, I used it during the day over a Bummis baby-sized prefold in a bikini twist. The largest Bummis prefold is too large to fit in any cover I’ve tried when trifolded. You can get away with it in the Simply Lite, but it makes for a very, very big bum. Up until about 20 lbs, however, an infant-sized prefold in a trifold would be fine. Over the bikini twist fold, on the other hand, the Simpy Lite is amazing! Neither a Flip nor a GroVia fits properly over this fold for us.
I don’t use the cover during the day very often now that I’m done testing because Cub is going through an “I hate having my diaper changed more than anything in the world” phase. It’s challenging to get even an all-in-one on him (I usually have to change him while he’s on all fours or standing). Once he is old enough to let me bribe him into staying still, I’ll go back to bikini twisting him! I also plan on using the Simply Lite on eventual Cub #2, on top of newborn fitted diapers and the two, smaller sizes of prefolds.
But for now, the Simply Lite is part of my definitive Overnight Diapering Solution:
I pair the cover with a Flip overnight insert, trifolded, and an AMP hemp booster:
I prefer this system over using a fitted overnight because the wetness doesn’t spread all over Cub’s tush. In a fitted, the urine inevitably soaks into the entire diaper, meaning there is wetness all along his bum cheeks and his waist. Using the Flip insert and AMP booster means the wetness stays up front. The Simply Lite fits over the the insert/booster combo perfectly, with no gaping whatsoever.
Furthermore, it’s the only overnight diaper that works with Cub’s one-piece pajamas In a fitted and cover, there’s no way he fits in his size 24 month footie pjs!
Another benefit of this system is the ease of care: the cover is much easier to wash than wool, and I find the inserts are easier to clean than a fitted. It’s also easier to treat your overnight inserts for ammonia build up, in my opinion.
Although the Flip insert is the only one we’ve tried, you might find a 3-ply AppleCheeks insert to work with another type of booster. I prefer a hemp layer closest to Cub’s skin for the “feel dry” effect!
If you’re not in Montréal to pick up your Simply Lite in person, many online retailers have them, including my favourite, Well.ca. [affiliate link]
*Please note that this review is in no way sponsored by Bummis, nor was it a condition of testing the Simply Lite diaper that I blog about it. I chose to write about the Simply Lite because I liked it so much (I bought more once they hit the market).
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