Ragababe Organic Two Step Diaper Review

Better late than never, but here goes. I received this diaper and two inserts from Ragababe back at the end of October so this review has been a long time coming., (sorry Joy). The problem I had with testing this diaper has absolutely NOTHING to do with the diaper itself, it was a problem of my son being a mind reader or something who seemed to just know whenever this graced his bottom and would poop in it. Darn it! So for over a month this was basically an all in one type diaper b/c after a poo a two step dipe has to be changed cover and all. Ugh. The past couple of weeks though, he seems to have been limiting his poops to other brands of diaper and I finally got my full Ragababe 2-step experience. :)

I am no stranger to 2 step diapering systems, I simply adore my flips diapers and for the sake of fair comparison left them out of the my original all in one review. Now that I have a two step rag the flips are no longer safe from having to go head to head with the awesomeness that is a Ragababe diaper.

For the uninformed, a two step diaper is basically a fancy prefold with cover... just slightly easier. The cover is water proof and wipes clean after your baby wets it. An insert that is formed to fit in the crotch of the diaper is removed after it is wet and changed while the cover is reused. When the baby poo's the entire package must be changed and put in the laundry. A two step system is for me anyway great for travel because the inserts take up so little space compared to a pocket or all in one diaper (I have never used prefolds and covers so I don't know how much space they take up). They fit easily in the diaper bag without being bulky and also fit nicely in my travel size wet bag without filling it up. Two covers and four or five inserts is good for an afternoon out. I often switch off between an all in one type diaper and the 2 step diapers during an outing.

OK so let the opinion's fly.... ;)

First off, looking at the photo's on the website website the first few times I visited I thought the Ragababe two steps fell short in the style department. My flips covers are a solid color, like most of my diapers, and I like it that way. Who wants a white diaper with little dots of color (the snaps?). Haha, who indeed. :) Turns out those little dots are pretty darn adorable and don't blend into the diaper the way the yellow snaps do on my yellow flips cover which is a HUGE plus for my color blind husband who cannot see the snaps on the flip well b/c they blend in with the diaper. Hummm, who woulda thunk? Ragababe kicked it up a notch in October and offered customers the ability to choose their snap color from a rainbow of options. Any color or color combination goes. THAT, was a BIG hit with customers and I am pleased to say they made that option a permanent thing. Whooo, show me a Florida State 2 step and I'd knock you over to be the first to order it. :P The custom snaps are a great way to show off how unique a Ragababe diaper can be.  My two step diaper happens to be Red and Blue snaps which the good folks at Ragababe called the spiderman diaper. I'm not a comic fan so when I saw a photo of it on their facebook page my mind jumped to red white and blue = Patriotic and of course my very favorite rag is my Hero all in one. I expressed my extreme desire to rob a bank so I could purchase that diaper and Ragababe took pity on me and included it with my "it's my birthday and I'll buy diapers if I want to" order. I was SUPER excited!!! So, OK, my first impression of the two steps was dead wrong, they are just as adorable as the all in ones and the extra cool part is you can personalize them. What other brand of diaper does that?? ;)

Construction and features would be the next observation I made, after I got over my excitement at having new diapers anyway lol. Here we have a diaper that is sized but fits a huge range of sizes from very tiny all the way up to 40 lbs. There are three size options to choose from. Size 0 fits babies 4-18 lbs, Size 1 fits babies 9-30 lbs, and Size 2 fits babies 15-40+ lbs. Can we say wow. I REALLY hope that by the time Nicholas is 40+lbs he is not in diapers haha. I don't think I want to heave him up onto the changing table at that weight. Anyway in a stroke of brilliance the Ragababe sizes overlap each other so that you are assured of getting the best possible fit. Each of the size's weight ranges are also fairly large so you don't have to worry about your child growing out of the diaper in a matter of weeks, which is what happened to me when I bought my very first cloth diaper. :/ I can say you'll get your money's worth as far as how long you can use these puppies which is a good thing because they aren't the least expensive option out there. As with a lot of items though you pay for form and function and the Ragababe's certainly fit the bill. The inserts for these diapers are amazing. According to the website, "RagaBabe Inserts are made of ultra soft, absorbent organic cotton Sherpa with layers of lightweight bamboo rayon inside. The insert snaps into the back of the cover and is held in place by the flap in the front." To some people, like myself for instance, what the product is made of is of less importance than whether or not it does what it says it will do. This one's a winner. Just like the all in one diaper, the sherpa inserts are the bomb when it comes to absorbing. I haven't tried it yet but I'd imagine doubling them would give a heavy wetter nighttime protection. I use pockets overnight though. The inserts themselves are sized to fit into the diapers depending on which of the three sizes you have chosen where the flip insert is made to be a one size insert which accounts for the added length (and bulk) of the insert. The really nice thing about the inserts in Ragababe is that they snap in.

This isn't a new concept or design but it IS a handy one since the insert won't slide around or bunch up while you are putting the diaper on. My poor husband experience the cure of the sliding insert on Christmas eve as he tried to wrestle Nicholas into his flips cover in the backseat of the car all on his own. Oops! So yay for snap in liners that alone makes these daddy approved. The inside of this two step is lined with a soft suede cloth. It is supposed to be softer on the babies skin and is a stark contrast to the Flips cover which isn't lined at all. The liner in spite of being a soft cloth can be wiped clean with a baby wipe between changes and dries pretty quickly.  The Ragababe signature star is held in place with their out of this world Velcro closure. Just like their all in one diapers this stuff stays stuck and closed for as long as baby is wearing the diaper. The laundry tabs function as they are intended and thus far I have not had issue with them in the laundry. I will say though that if you forget to stick the laundry tabs together and they get stuck to oh say an insert... hahaha well lets just say you'll get a glimpse of just how strong this stuff is! My husband has fallen in love with the Velcro on these diapers. He now HATES snaps and won't use anything with a snap closure if he has the choice. It certainly makes diapering a wiggle worm a bit easier.

My poor, once beloved, Flips diapers now seem kind of second rate to me. I still love them of course but I have a new main squeeze in the Ragababes and the husband certainly likes them better. The one and only sore spot with me and Ragababe is the price point. At $29.95 a pop these fabulous diapers are a tad out of my price range for now. The Flips day pack (2 covers and 6 inserts) runs $49.95 for the regular and $59.95 for the organic. The same deal on Ragababe would cost you $95.70 with two size 2 covers and four additional inserts (two inserts are included). Of course, you definitely get what you pay for. Ragababe goes out of their way to source the best of the best in organic materials and as a mother of children with allergies Ragababe creator Joy is very mindful of her materials.  Also my Ragababe two step has been getting washed A LOT in recent weeks and I feel comfortable saying it's received almost as many washes as my Flips cover and already the Flips is beginning to look worn and has a few threads sticking out  here and there. As somebody who looks a everything and assumed she will save it for the next baby a durable product is a must. That puts the price for rag's in prospective a little bit and if you are planning for more children to cloth diaper I'd put my money into the Ragababes.... if I had any to spare at the moment. ;) This is truly a case of you get what you pay for. 

While we are on the subject of value I'll state that between the two different styles of Ragababes I personally prefer the all in ones as my favorite diaper of all time and happily they are not quite out of my price range, though I do still have to save for them. My husband also prefers the all in one b/c what husband wouldn't really? Anything that functions just like a disposable is all good in his book :P Each type of diaper has it's uses, as I mentioned at the beginning of my post I like how well a two step fits more diaper changes into a smaller amount of space in my diaper bag. 

My experience with the Two step rags has been a good one overall. The great features and wonderful construction of this diaper make it a real winner. I do want at least one or two more of these diaper covers for days when a 2 step is more desirable so that I can switch back and forth between covers more easily. Like I said... show me maroon and gold - Go FSU !! :P The addition of the second cover however will likely have to wait until I have my next order of all in ones home safe and sound. Those are for my husband and encourage him to help change baby diapers lol. All of the Ragababe diapers have been holding up well to wash and wear where as I mentioned with the flips it is looking a little worn after only a couple of months. 

I think all I really need to say here to let you know how much I love these diapers is to say that I used to have money set aside as a "diaper fund". My diaper fund has converted itself into a Ragababe fund... I simply LOVE these diapers. 

oh and just a side note, Ragababe also has awesome cloth wipes- I got one as a sample and like it - and just recently introduce a Ragababe blanket made from their organic cotton that will DEFINITELY be on the shopping list next time we are expecting. Don't forget to that they run a different special every month which allows discounts on some of the items you may be purchasing and as always their shipping is a flat fee of 2.95 for your entire order. :) Just try and find a better diaper made by a better company... I Dare ya! :P