I received this product free for review. All opinions and bizarre fan-girl confessions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.
When I was 15, the biggest star in my universe was Dana Scully, aka, Gillian Anderson. I would’ve given anything to meet her… or even to see her from afar. I had a fan page devoted to the X-Files. If you’re not afraid of frames and animated gifs, it still exists out there on the inter-webs.
Nowadays, I have a different kind of web page (one that takes significantly less time to update, thanks to the progress we’ve made since my first dial-up modem and my scanner that took 30 minutes to scan one image). I’m a different kind of fan girl. I geek out about cloth diapers… and I collect them… and now, while three large Rubbermaid totes of X-Files merchandise sit abandoned in my parents’ basement, my current collection of fluff is out on display in my son’s bedroom.
I still remember my first X-Files episode (5×01, original air date November 2, 1997), and I still remember receiving my very first fluff mail: four GroVia shells in the summer of 2012. If you think dreams don’t come true, I’m about to boggle your mind. In the past year, I’ve not only met my teenage idol… but I’ve been asked by GroVia, my first true-fluffy-love, to do a review!
Yes, that’s right. And if I’d had more than about 15 seconds to pose for this photo with Agent Scully herself, I’d have probably started showing her Cub’s diapers…
But I digress. You’re here for the diapers, and the truth is in here. (See what I just did there?) While I’ve had GroVia shells in my rotation since the very beginning (they were our first one-size covers), I had not, until now, had a chance to try out their prefolds. I’ve never used GroVia’s snap in soakers with my covers; it’s always been some other style of insert from my collection. I prefer inserts that are versatile and can be paired with different covers, so GroVia prefolds were my choice when Laura at GroVia asked what I might like to review.
In case you’re unfamiliar with GroVia shells, let’s start at The Beginning (coincidentally, the name of episode 6×01…):
GroVia Shell and Prefolds Review
GroVia shells
- One-size, available in aplix and snaps.
- Have a “matching” snap-in insert available in organic cotton or stay-dry versions, but you can use any inserts you want.
What I love about GroVia Shells:
- Inner is mesh: PUL doesn’t directly touch baby’s skin (a concern for some babies);
- Reusable for multiple changes: If a bit of poop isn’t caught by the insert, you can usually spot-clean and leave the shell to dry for the next change. I often used only 3 shells a day when we used exclusively GroVia covers and Bummis prefolds. (GroVia hadn’t released its own prefolds when I first started cloth.)
- Quick to dry: They dry super fast even just hung in my bathroom. I started with a really small stash, so this was super important for me!
- Cutest of cutest prints: Our first love was Owl, now it’s a tie between Sweet Grass and Woodlands.
- Great fit almost since birth: We started using our shells at about 3 weeks, so Cub was about 10 lbs. Cub is now just shy of 30 lbs, and his GroVia shells still fit great.
Depending on the insert used, I snap the rise down one level, even on my big boy!
What I love less about GroVia Shells:
- Don’t work well overnight: The lack of front waist elastic and the fact that it doesn’t cover most fitted diapers well make our GroVia shells exclusively for daytime use. Overnight, I use a pretty hefty combo of inserts that is just too thick to get a snug fit with GroVia.
- Not the best coverage over Snappi-ed prefolds: The size 3 prefolds secured in a bikini twist or angel wing fold are a bit too big to get good coverage under a GroVia shell. In any case, I prefer to lie my prefolds in the diaper versus securing them with a Snappi.
Why GroVia prefolds?
- Versatile: You don’t have to be a GroVia cover user to love their prefolds;
- Wide range of sizes: get the perfect fit and absorbency with 4 sizes to choose from;
- Bamboo/Cotton blend: Super soft and absorbent;
- Easy to wash and customize: Like all prefolds, they are easy to launder and it’s easy to customize your absorbency depending on your fold;
- Long life: One of the things I love most about prefold diapers is that they can continue to be useful even when your children are no longer in diapers! They’re way more absorbent than your ordinary kitchen towel!
What would I change?
- Preshrink: Why don’t manufacturers pre-shrink their prefolds? I suppose it’s an issue of time/cost efficiency… but in a perfect world, I’d love if my prefolds came prepped and already their final size;
- Packaging: I wish GroVia prefolds didn’t come in a plastic pouch. There are surely practical reasons for this kind of packaging, but I’d like something I can more easily reuse or recycle.
How do I use GroVia Size 3 prefolds?
Prepping is trying on the patience, but necessary! GroVia recommends to wash and dry 6 times:
GroVia Size 3 prefolds, appropriate for my near-30-lb Cub, are too big to fit tri-folded in a cover. It took a bit of tweaking, but I finally found the perfect way to use my prefolds with my covers.
Here’s how to get the perfect fit with your GroVia size 3 prefolds in a GroVia shell:
As you can see, particularly for a boy, this fold provides extra absorbency in the pee zone, and extra coverage in the poopsplosion area! This folds allows for a gape-free fit that isn’t too bulky.
Conclusion:
Very versatile, very cute… and you never forget your first cloth diaper love!
Shop for GroVia at Nicky’s Diapers and Gro-Via.com in the US and Lagoon Baby in Canada. (affiliate links)
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