Hi! I’m Traci, Oncology/Public Health Nurse and mom of three. I share all kinds of Tips and Reviews here and on Instagram. A note about my diaper-buying habits is that I unreasonably resist against a subscription. I know it costs less and saves time, but I usually find myself running to Target late at night when I have NO TIME and buy diapers and formula along with craft supplies and other stuff I may or may not need.

It’s SO HARD being a parent and constantly bombarded with advertisements that make you feel like you need to purchase a certain product to be a ‘good mom’ or give your kid ‘the best.’

As a nurse and third time mom, I’m feeling protective of the new mamas out there and am here to say: if your baby is unhappy or not sleeping through the night: it is not a reflection of how “good” of a mother you are and is most likely NOT going to get better because of something you buy.

Find the _______ (diapers, sleeping routine, way to feed your baby) that work for your family and your budget.

Obviously with the caveat that babies deserve basic care and to talk to your doctor with any concerns. Pediatricians can be surprisingly more helpful than Tik Tok!!

Freestyle Diapers: the only tree-free diapers

FIVE WORD REVIEW: super soft, organic bamboo, fun

I purchased a pack from Whole Foods of the diapers and had already bought the wipes.

Freestyle diapers use certified organic bamboo pulp for the core of the diaper, which is not only soft and dry, bamboo regrows in 60 days (vs 20+ years to regrow the 1B+ trees cut down for the diaper industry).

Freestyle diaper designs

I was tickled to see that Freestyle hired Cristina Martinez (@Sew_Trill) to design the diapers. My fingers are crossed they release additional designs that showcase more of the vibrant colors and meaningful designs of her art! As my friend Kristin said best, “I’m a sucker for prints. Anything that makes diapers more fun, I’m in!”

Below are all photos/art by Cristina Martinez.

Overnight Protection

Any ad that holds longer sleep like a carrot for moms had better deliver. Coterie ads seemed to all but guarantee my baby would sleep through the night if we purchased them. However, Coterie diapers have been one of the brands I have consistently noticed both poop and pee leaks on. For me, Freestyle > Coterie diapers, although I will admit there is something that feels so luxurious about Coterie’s white textured design. I do not think Coterie is worth paying $1.09 per diaper.

PRO TIP: If your baby has sensitive skin, SIZE UP in diapers. I have Frances in a 6, even though her weight would put her in a 4. That way the soiled diaper isn’t sitting right against their skin.

freestyle versus all others

I rounded up every diaper I could find in my car and house (which was a whopping 7 brands!) to compare. Since Aiden and Anais stopped making diapers, I have never been brand loyal and purchase diapers depending on our budget and my mood. A few weeks ago we were at Costco trying to “go gazelle” (Dave Ramsey budgeting reference) and I went for my first Kirkland diaper purchase. For all 3 of my kids I have always been a diaper snob and love prints so this felt like an incredible sacrifice and in my mind was basically putting a plastic bag with a napkin inside on Frances. Well, the truth is that it actually felt a lot like Frances was wearing a garbage bag with a napkin inside. I HATED Kirkland diapers. We actually returned them!

Honest has historically had my favorite prints. I think a little fun goes a long way while parenting. Huggies have good leak coverage (particularly the Mickey Mouse ones). I like the pull-up Millie Moon training pants and Millie Moon diapers run huge but are super soft. Dyper is also pretty soft, runs a little small.

Freestyle seems to have the best of it all: environmentally friendlier, super soft, much better price point than Dyper and Coterie, good leak protection (again, I size up), great packaging and I like that I feel like I’m supporting a more ‘grassroots operation’ versus a large conglomerate.

I *may* have taken the review a step too far and decided to test the diapers myself. I had purchased a box of Huggies from Costco and wanted to do a head to head comparison. I repurposed my Frida Mom peri bottle and heated water to 95 degrees. Then I delivered the volume of my daughter’s bladder (3.5oz of warm water) to the diaper I was “wearing” and moved around and sat down. Freestyle: I felt 1/10 moisture, even after delivering an additional baby bladder amount of 3.5oz (7oz total). Huggies: I felt 6/10 moisture after one baby bladder amount delivery of 3.5 oz. This was the final justification for converting to Freestyle.

Freestyle Wipes:

I’m not going to be shy about this one. I am VERY picky about wipes and the Freestyle wipes are our new favorites, BY FAR. Our previous favorites were Rico from Costco. I have always pulled out 3-4 wipes before I start changing a poop because that’s how many it takes to get the job done and Frances wrestles me during changes. With Freestyle, we use 1-2 and they never break and don’t smell like chemicals. My husband said to me, “They are like the Viva paper towels of baby wipes.” (If you haven’t tried Viva Paper towels, you can thank my friends the Chouras after you try them ).

“Freestyle Soft Bamboo Wipes are 99% water, EWG Verified, and larger & thicker than every other plant-based brand.”

Note: you PUSH the tab to open the wipes (not pull like most there brands). My husband, Babysitter and I yanked them open and broke the tab. Whole Foods let me exchange them. Freestyle said they are making the PUSH design more obvious.

In summary, we are loving Freestyle diapers and wipes but never forget:

if your baby is unhappy or not sleeping through the night: it is not a reflection of how “good” of a mother you are. Find the _______ (diapers, sleeping routine, way to feed your baby) that work for your family and your budget.

-Traci Clark RN BSN OCN PHN