Meet Our Diapers! The GroVia AI2

This begins a series of posts that I have been meaning to write for quite some time.  The idea is to write a post for each different type of cloth diaper we have, discussing the different features of each diaper and our likes and dislikes.

The GroVia AI2 (all-in-two) was the cloth diaper that started it all for us, and the only diaper we used for the first couple of months of using cloth, so naturally it will be the first diaper profiled.  To be more specific, our first diapers were GroBaby AI2s.  Shortly after we began purchasing cloth diapers GroBaby was rebranded and their name changed to GroVia.  Several improvements were made to the AI2 (aka hybrid) system during the rebrand:
1) When the rise snaps are completely unsnapped (I'll talk about this more in detail shortly) there is an extra half an inch of rise in the diaper.  Great for those tall toddlers!
2) Tuck under laundry tabs were added to keep the hook-and-loop tabs closed during washing to prevent them from sticking to other diapers in the wash.  This helps to extend the life of the diapers.  I have definitely noticed that our hook and loop GroVias stay in better shape, longer, than the hook-and-loop GroBabies we've had.

3) A waterproof backing was added to the GroVia soaker pads that the GroBaby diapers did not have.  I have also noticed that the GroVia soakers haven't shrank as much as some of our GroBaby soakers did.

Our GroVia AI2s are, by far, the most versatile diaper in our stash.  The beauty of this diaper is that there are so many different options available from GroVia, but other non-GroVia options can be used, too.  The AI2 is a two-piece system consisting of a waterproof shell and a soaker pad.



The Shell:

The AI2 waterproof shell is available in either a hook-and-loop (think Velcro, which is just a brand of hook-and-loop) or snap closure (right).  The benefit of hook-and-loop is that they allow for a more precise fit;  however, hook-and-loop tends to wear out more quickly than snaps.  Fortunately when they wear out, hook-and-loop diapers can be converted to snaps by removing the hook tabs and installing plastic snaps (below). The advantages to the snap closure is that they last longer than hook-and-loop, and are more difficult for sneaky toddlers (like mine!) to remove.

The shell can also be used as a diaper cover for fitted, prefold, or flat diapers.  We participated in the Flats and Handwashing Challenge in May.  For an entire week we used flat diapers (the big pieces of cloth your grandmother folded into diapers) and were limited to 5 diaper covers - all of the covers we choose to use for that week were GroVias.   They can be used as swim diapers (though it's advisable to use only one or two shells for swim purposes as the chlorine in pools may cause the materials to wear faster).  We stick to our older GroBaby shells for swim purposes.

GroVia AI2s are one-size cloth diapers made to fit from around 8 pounds (newborn) to 35 pounds (toddler).  They truly are a diaper to last throughout the diapering years.  When I first began researching cloth diapers and seeing pictures of modern cloth diapers online I simply could not comprehend how they worked.  How could they fit a newborn and also a toddler?  I was confused by all of the snaps on the shells/covers, and could not figure out how they worked (most other one sized diapers use a similar system).  Then I found some GroBabies in a local baby boutique, and was finally able to see how they worked.  There are 3 rows of rise snaps (2 sockets, 1 stud) with 3 snaps on each row.  When completely unsnapped the diaper is at it's largest rise (length), or can be snapped down to to the middle or lowest row of snaps to make the diaper smaller (right).

Soakers:
GroVia offers two different options for soaker pads: a washable, reusable, snap-in cloth soaker pad, and a disposable biosoaker.  GroVia diapers used to be sold as a shell set for $24.95 which included a shell and a cloth soaker pad.  The sets have been phased out shells are now sold by themselves for $16.95, allowing customers to choose which soaker method they prefer to use.  The cloth soaker pads are backed with TPU, the same waterproof material that the shells are made of.  This helps to eliminate (or at least reduce) dampness in the inner mesh lining of the shell.  Cloth boosters are also available and may be laid on top of the soaker pad to increase absorbency.

The disposable biosoakers are similar to disposable diapers without the sticky side tabs.  Where biosoakers differ greatly from traditional disposable diapers are that they are dye-free, fragrance-free, plastic-free, and chlorine-free.  They are also mostly biodegradable (minus the elastic, I believe), and contain only a fraction of the absorbent chemicals that are found in regular disposables.  In our experience they are just as absorbent as traditional disposable diapers.  Biosoakers are simply laid inside of the AI2 shell.  There are two sticky tabs on the back of the biosoaker to keep them in place on the shell, but we never use these.  They have worked just fine for us without using the sticky tabs, and I have heard others complain about the tabs leaving a sticky residue on the insides of the shells which may be difficult to remove.

As I mentioned earlier, GroVia soakers do not necessarily have to be used with their shells.  We have used fitted diapers underneath of our shells.  We have also used fitted and prefolded diapers.

To Sum It Up:
Our GroVia AI2s constitute the majority of our diaper stash, and are, by far, our most used diaper.  We have both snap and hook-and-loop shells.  We have all available GroVia soaker options.  With a toddler who has recently discovered how to remove her diapers, we prefer the snap closing shells, or make sure she is wearing bottoms over top of her hook-and-loop shells - which will work until she figures out how to take her pants off, too.  Leaks are very rare with our GroVia AI2s, and have always been a result of errors we made (leaving the diaper on longer than usual or leaving a portion of the soaker sticking out of the shell).  We almost always use cloth soaker pads, even when traveling, as long as we have access to a washer and dryer.  Our biosoakers are reserved for airline travel (they take up a little less space, and we don't have to carry around dirty soakers) or instances where there aren't laundry facilities for us to use.  We love that there are fewer diapers to wash with our GroVia AI2s because the shells do not have to be changed unless they have been soiled, so we usually only end up using 2 to 3 shells each day.  That the shells dry so quickly (less than an hour indoors, even faster outside) is another huge advantage to this system.

Functionality aside, GroVia diapers are just darn cute!  We love the variety of colors and prints available, and are eager to get our hands on the two new colors, cloud and surf, that will be released next month.  GroVia has also teamed up with Seedling Kids to create beautiful organic shirts to match their print diaper designs.

These diapers have been a perfect fit (no pun intended) for our family.  As great as the diapers are, GroVia's customer service is the icing on the cake.  Their dedication to their products and their customers is second to none.  They are easy to contact, and take care of the rare product issue quickly and effectively.  Their Facebook page is a wonderful resource for customers or potential customers with questions, and a place where lots of GroVia mamas get together to share the love of their favorite diapers, including lots of pictures of their babies' adorable fluffy bums.

Keeping 'em Busy

Toddlers around tough!  They don't stay in one place, and things like ceiling fans and lights don't keep them amused anymore.  Attention spans are short, and they always have to be moving.  As a full-time, stay-at-home mom, it can be very trying to entertain my 15 month old without getting into a rut or losing interest in whatever we're doing myself.  So, I wanted to share a few things that we like to do and items we have here in our house, and I'm hoping that others will share their toddler activities, too!

Arts and Crafts:

We started with crayons, Play-doh, and finger paints fairly early on, after getting an email from BabyCenter that suggested trying those items around 7 or 8 months.  We have had a lot of success with the Crayola Tadoodles line, which includes bath crayons, regular crayons, markers and stamps.  Tadoodles are bulb-shaped, perfect for toddlers who still have some time before they're ready to learn the pencil grip.  The bath crayons are very easy to wash off of the sides of the tub.  We bought a large roll of easel paper from Michael's for regular crayons and finger paints.  We just masking tape the paper to the table or the floor and let her go at it.  But, best place for finger paints with a young toddler?  Outside!

I was very excited to find a younger kid's version of the magna doodle at Target.  Fisher Price has the Made by Me!  Elephant Doodler, which is recommended for children 12 months and up.  Again, the writing instrument is bulb-shaped for little hands.  And Addisyn just loves sliding the little yellow mouse back and forth to make her drawings "disappear".

Looking for a less messy way to paint with a toddler?  We grab a paint brush, a cup of water, and head outside to let Addisyn "paint" the sidewalk.  It's comical to watch her walk a few steps, make a few quick strokes with her brush, walk a little further, and squat down again to add a few more lines and dots.  She also gets a kick out of dipping her brush in the cup for more water.  Want an inside version?  Check out the Aquadoodle!  I had heard of this years and years ago, but wasn't really quite sure what it was.  Turns out it's just a big mat with a surface that's specially made to change colors when it's wet, and it comes with a marker that you simply fill with water.  We picked up some cheap sponges and cut out shapes to use as stamps, too!

Quizzes:

No, they're not for a grade... Addisyn loves to point out items to us, especially when we ask her where something is.  She used to hold my finger while I nursed her, and she would use my finger to point out different parts of my face and head.  I'd tell her what they were, and then point hers out, too.  Now I'm able to ask her where they are, and she knows.  We do this with other household objects and toys, too.  This has really become a great distraction tool when we're in a situation where we're holding her and she wants to be put down but we can't put her down.

Books:

Now that she's walking Addisyn definitely doesn't want to hold still for me to read to her, but we make it work as best we can.  I find that I can keep her attention a little longer if she has something to do like point out pictures of things I ask her to show me, or turning pages.  We have a few flap books, and those seem to work well for us, too.  I love to see her looking at books herself.  One of her favorites is called Hand Hand Fingers Thumb.  On many of occasions I've glanced over at her "reading" the book to herself,  looking at and pointing to her hands and fingers.

Sand and water fun:

We decided to get Addisyn a water table for her first birthday, after seeing how drawn she was to the dog's water bowl, and she loves it!  Shortly after we got her water table we also discovered that she enjoys digging, as she would crawl from the water table in the backyard, over to our little garden and play in the dirt.  Our next investment: a second-hand sandbox.  She is absolutely tickled when we turn over a bucket to make a sand castle, and we pull the bucket away and there is a tower of sand left behind!  We always start with the sand box, and then move on to the water table.  This way we can rinse off the sand, and avoid her getting absolutely covered in sand after she has played in the water.

My Little Helper:

Let's face it, staying home with your children isn't all fun and games.  There are still household responsibilities to take care of, and that's where my little helper comes in.  Even young toddlers like to feel helpful, and what we see as work is still just a game to them - make it fun!  Addisyn is always helping me fold laundry and put her diapers away.  She hands me a pieces of clothing so that I can fold them, or gives me her diapers to put away.  We also try to stay in the habit of cleaning up her toys each evening before starting her bedtime routine.  I sit by the toy bin and ask her to go get specific toys that are out on the floor.  She brings them over to me, and most of the time will put them away when I ask her to.  Not only are we creating good habits by getting her to put her toys away, we're also working on object recognition, and playing a fun game.

Memberships:

Sometimes - okay, a lot of the time - I just have to get out of the house.  As a Christmas gift my husband gave me a membership to the Fort Worth Zoo.  For just $65 a year I get free parking and admission (non-members - $5 for parking, $12 per ticket), and get discounts on food, merchandise, the train, and the carousel.  Addisyn will get in for free until she turns 3.  We definitely got our money's worth out of that membership within the first couple of weeks.  I also have an annual membership to the Fort Worth Nature Center - a great place to hike, and just spend time outside.  The individual membership was $45 for the year and includes admission ($5 per person for non-members), a discount at the gift shop, and many of their special events are free (usually $5 in addition to admission for non-members).

Baby Talk

As with all babies, Addisyn has known how to communicate her wants and needs from the very beginning.  She didn't have to learn to tell me what she wanted, I just had to learn what things meant.

Of course the most important thing that a newborn communicates is when they are hungry.  Fortunately I knew going into motherhood what signals I should look for, because they are very subtle: smacking or sucking on gums, sucking on hands, rooting, heck, even just being awake in a lot of newborns is a sign that it's time to eat.  Addisyn would suck on her hands like nobody's business!  I knew that crying was a last resort, reserved (as far as hunger goes) for those occasions when the polite ways of requesting milk weren't working.

Babies do cry, of course.  Those first several weeks before I had really started "figuring her out" were tough.  If she had just eaten we'd check the diaper first.  If we had just changed her diaper (unless we heard something...) I'd try feeding her first.  But sometimes there just seemed to be no rhyme or reason to any of it.  She woke up one night during the first week and I nursed her and put her back into her bassinet, asleep. I got up to use the bathroom, and when I came back into our bedroom she was awake and crying again.  My husband, who had slept through the initial waking and feeding, asked "is she hungry?"  I broke down.  But at around 5 weeks I felt like I had a pretty good handle on things, I was much more confident in my ability to decipher what she was telling me.

                                                                                                                     

Around 6 months we started working on baby sign language.  For months I tried to teach her the sign for "more".  Over and over again at meal times I would ask if she wanted more, signing it each and every time I said the word.  I would show her how to make the sign with her own hands.  She just never seemed interested, and eventually I stopped trying.  Then, months later, she just randomly started signing it!  We ask her what she wants and she signs "more".  A lot of the time if she is hungry she just follows us around signing "more".  After the breaking of the ice with that first sign, others have been a lot easier. It is incredible watching them learn to communicate in a more "grown up" fashion.

She has been saying "da", meaning "that", for months now.  She points at everything - "da da".  Every morning when I go to get her out of her crib she hands me her blankie - "da", she points at a butterfly on the wall by her crib - "da", she shows me her soother - "da".  When she wants to nurse she tells me "na na".

I also realized that she began making animal noises on her own as well.  When my husband gets home from work our dog, Bailey, goes nuts.  Every time this happens Addisyn makes "oof, oof" sounds, and at first I thought she was just excited.  Then one day we were outside playing and she heard a dog barking a few houses away and started making her "oof, oof" sounds - she was barking!  Now we can ask her what the dog says (or any other animal, for that matter) and she says "oof, oof, oof".


Not really baby talk, per se, but I am very impressed with the things I can ask her about and she knows what they are.  Eyes, ears, noses, feet, toes, hands, fingers, books, balls, shoes... the list goes on and on.  Bailey often ends up being the subject of our little quizzes, and Addisyn shows us her feet, nose, eyes (read: poking the eyes) ears, and tail.

Like all parents, I make it a point to repeatedly tell her what things are, frequently.  But it's still almost unbelievable when I see that she has learned it.