It’s no secret that I’m a huge, huge fan of bumGenius cloth diapers. From the time I saw them while pregnant with Kendall, they piqued my interest in cloth diapering, and as we moved forward with using them (mostly 3.0 pockets, but a couple all-in-ones and Flips) for nearly 2 years, my love for them grew and grew. I’ve recommended them here many times, and they’re always the first brand I recommend when my friends ask for cloth diapering advice.
That’s not to say we didn’t have our ups and downs. When the hook & loop tabs on my 3.0 pockets were completely fried from 2 years of wear and tear and a little too much lint from the wrong kind of flushable/washable liners, I was to the point of frustration. I emailed my concerns to Cotton Babies (the company that makes bumGenius), and was so happy to hear that they would send me hook & loop tabs to replace the old, non-sticky ones. With a little help from my frenemy, the seam-ripper, and my sewing machine, the 3.0s are as good as new.
Then I got my hands on a gorgeous new 4.o when I had the amazing opportunity to have coffee with Jenn, the founder of Cotton Babies and bumGenius, at Blogher this past August. I immediately washed it and put it on Kendall as soon as I got it home. Not only was this diaper made with snaps, which made it much harder for my tenacious toddler to tear it off, but it also fit him, chunky legs and all, so much better. The rise was higher and, even at 37 lbs, it was just as perfect as it was when he was 13 lbs. I didn’t think it could get any better.
Cloth diapering has mainly been a function over form thing for us, and I never did get too sucked into all the fancy diapers with the spiffy prints. To me, I’d rather have a reliable, leak-free fit and a durable diaper than a cute print… BUT it would be nice to have both, right?? Could the 4.0s get any better?
I think they just did.
These beauties showed up on my front porch yesterday, and if you were here when I was opening the package, you would have heard, “Shut. Up. No. Way. So. Cute.” as I took each one out. I wanted to jump onto Facebook and Twitter and share pictures right away, but I was sworn to secrecy until today after they released their video announcement, which finally just went live. You can watch it here!
Since I couldn’t spill the beans last night, I occupied myself by trying one on Kendall and letting him play around in it. Here he demonstrates his love for bumGenius and all things colorful and fluffy on his bottom via interpretive dance.
We’re spinning…
We’re spinning…
We’re jumping…
Annnnddd he’s spent…
I think it’s funny I didn’t know the names of these prints before watching the video today, and Kendall, appropriately jammed out in the “Free Spirit” diaper.
I can’t wait to try these out on baby girl when she arrives! I already went through her closet and found cute outfits to match some. The red one is a go for Valentines Day, for sure.
A HUGE thanks to bumGenius for sending me the diapers to preview and tell my readers about! I hope everyone likes the new prints as much as I do.
To see more, and maybe buy some of your own, check out bumGenius.com.
Kendall is nearly 2 1/2, weighs (by my rough estimates) 37-38 lbs, and fits the 4.0s perfectly still. I’m 28 weeks pregnant and can’t wait to try these out on an itty bitty baby soon!
*** Additional details- The Artist Series retails for $19.95, begins shipping on November 16th, and you can pre-order starting today.
Edited on 10/6 to add- I saw a lot of feedback on the bumGenius Facebook page yesterday that some people were disappointed with the prints because they aren’t “cute” enough, are “too modern” or “too gender neutral.” See, this is where I think bumGenius hit a home run. The cloth diaper market is saturated with “cutesy” diapers. You can get gender specific prints from just about anyone (they are all over Etsy). What’s been missing is a truly modern, fresh, gender neutral line, and I think bumGenius did a great job filling this niche.
I also don’t think people understand the massive amount of work that goes into setting up something like this for a company the size and with the reach that bumGenius has. They don’t have the freedom and flexibility that most small and WAHM companies do. They have to plan months in advance, and they have to do their best to reach the most people with the smallest amount of change. That’s why I think a truly gender neutral line  was the perfect choice (and what, please tell me, is NOT gender neutral about graphic prints that don’t involve flowers in primary colors?).
No, they might not be for everyone, I get that, but I think they are a great addition to what’s already out there, and I look forward to seeing what the next artist in the Artist Series comes up with. Hopefully, as they work their way through all the artists, they will be able to come up with something that pleases everyone. I say BRAVO, bumGenius and Jenn! Can’t wait to see what else is in store.
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24 comments
omg! i love the new prints; they’re just so fun… we love our bumgenius 3.0s for sure. i haven’t bought any new ones yet (mostly because we don’t need any more)… but now? now i might need some new ones 🙂
I LOVE them!!! I can’t wait for my Baby #2 to wear some too!!
ahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they are adorable!! oh my gosh!!!!!!!!! why weren’t these out 2 months ago when i bought 1 dozen of the 4.0’s! cannot wait to have baby #2 just to get them!
when they “first” line i’m assuming they are going to have more artist lines coming out?
Yup, I think so!
On their website they also mention “Bright colors” will be shipping Jan 2011….is this giving us a hint for the next artist line/ set of color they are releasing? They can’t tease us like that!
I think they are just returning the bright colors that they had before- Blue, green, pink, and orange. They might add red or black now that they use them in the prints though.
Bum Genius with snaps, not velcro?
Sold!
That was the only thing Fuzzi Bunz had over the 3.0’s.
Aaaahhhh you are so lucky!!! I was on their youtube page continuously refreshing for the announcement video this afternoon. I LOVE the prints too!!!!
Aahhhh!!! I am so excited! Those are amazing! Thanks for sharing, you are one lucky chick to get to preview these!
Swoon. I love them.
Kendall looks so much like his dad in that last picture. And he looks so much older! He looks practically like a 4 or 5-year old!
Just wanted to comment & say I love them too! I am also surprised that I “lost” your blog sometime since I was TTC (shortly after your son was born) and having my son, who is now almost 1! Thanks to BG for bringing me around so I can start reading again!
All the research I’ve done (including your blog!) has led me to doing the cloth diaper thing and after a guided tour of all of the different diaper systems/brands at Cotton Babies a few weeks ago, we’ve decided to go with the Bum Genius 4.0 when our baby gets here in January. I already thought all the fruity colors were so cute and I love the prints! Yay for adorable laundry–even when it’s stinky.
You’ve actually inspired me to try cloth diapering. My baby is 10 months old and has been using disposable diapers since he was born. I think these BumGenius 4.0 are going to be ordered and ready to use by the end of the week… so excited!
How exciting! Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.
The diaps are pretty cute… but OMG, what a darling little model!
I have a question regarding the Retail Therapy print – I pre-ordered one yesterday thinking it was teal and white. Then I saw the description on the cotton babies blog, and it called it teal and lavender!
Since you have it in person, can you tell me if it really looks lavender? It sure didn’t appear that way in any pictures I’ve seen!
It’s very, very pale. Where the lavender is most noticeable is on the tabs. If you look at the picture I took above of them all laying flat, I think that accurately depicts the color. I wouldn’t have a problem putting my boy in it, but we have a BG 4.0 in Bubble (a lavender color) that I don’t mind putting on him, either.
Perfect, that’s what I needed to know. It definitely looks very, very pale. Thanks, Jill!
I’d like to love BGs, but the velcro just doesn’t hold up like other diapers. We have a dozen of them and I don’t get rid of them because I’ve already bought them & my MIL can’t figure out snaps (don’t ask) and I don’t want to buy all new diapers just for daycare at her house.
It’s great that you can repair/replace the velcro yourself but not everyone is as crafty – so the offer of sending replacement parts doesn’t work with people like me. I don’t want to pay MORE to fix something that really shouldn’t be falling apart in the first place, KWIM?
I love this new series! I’m expecting my first and have started to buy a few diapers, I already preordered one Eiffel Tower and I’m thinking I might need to order another color! 🙂 We are waiting to find out the gender, so I love that they are very gender neutral!! I haven’t been able to find very many “cute” gender neutral prints.
Great!
My youngest will turn 5 in January and i saved his bumgenius 3.0s, I’m now >8w pregnant and was wondering if I should try something else or just get more bumGenius, guess i’ve made up my mind. 😀
I agree with you, I love that they are gender neutral. I refuse to drop loads on gender specific diapers when I plan on having more children! These particular prints aren’t my style, but I will be keeping an eye out for future installments. I hope those are gender neutral too!
Can u not buy these diapers anymore?