We recently received an assortment of products from Charlie Banana to try out this month and now it's time to share our first impressions.
Charlie Banana's main selling point is "signature softness." This refers to the plush white fleece lining on their pocket diapers, which you can buy in a stay-dry (polyester) or cotton/hemp version.
Diapers are "one size" and adjust with a hidden elastic band, very similar to the kind that adjusts a brassiere strap. Here are the price break-downs:
- One size fleece-lined pocket diaper with two microfiber inserts, $23.88
- One size cotton-lined pocket diaper with two hemp/cotton/terry inserts, $27.88
One insert is small, the other large. There are built-in folding lines to help you shorten them, if needed.
Here's the fleece diaper and two included inserts:
The organic diaper is lined with cotton instead of fleece, and the inserts are hemp/cotton on top with a poly/nylon fill. They have the same folding lines.
Since the front rise of the diaper isn't filled up with a bunch of snaps like most things on the market, the fit of a Charlie Banana diaper is smoother and trimmer, which I like a lot. Adjusting the inner elastics is not hard at all, especially since the band is clearly marked S, M and L in black letters, so you can slide into place at the pre-recommended settings. Once you have the little strap adjusted, you won't have to do it again for a while - until your baby goes through a growth spurt!
We are using the L (large) setting for Camille right now since she's a two-year-old.
We had to fine tune the large setting just a bit to make it more comfortable around Camille's legs. After that, it was smooth sailing, with the exception of the wings drooping when Camille wore the diaper for a long time or was super active. This despite the fact that there are hip snaps on the wings of the diapers, which are designed to prevent sagging.
Charlie Banana also sells disposable inserts, which I love for busy days and outings. They measure 14x6 and look a lot like a woman's disposable pad. Absorbency is excellent, thanks to the combo of wood pulp and polymer fiber (similar to a disposable diaper). Each insert is lined on top with 100% rayon from bamboo. They are $15.99 for a pack of 32.
You can use them with nearly ANY type or brand of cloth diaper (pocket, cover, AIO, etc.)!
Charlie Banana's organic cotton wipes are $12.99 for a pack of ten and are super soft and easy to clean. My only suggestion would be that one size had some texture, instead of both being smooth. This would make cleaning up stuck-on messes a little easier.
