Product Review: Bumby Wool

Shortly into our cloth diapering adventure, we discovered that Mr. R had a sensitivity to synthetic materials. He was in store bought fleece pants one day when we noticed his legs were all red and splotchy. The doctor soon told us that he had mild eczema that was brought on by food sensitivities (at the time it was barley and dairy) and that synthetic fibres would exacerbate the problem. He told us that breathable fibres such as cotton and wool would be the best thing for R. So, I considered that pretty much a prescription to go buy some woollies! I asked for a prescription to send to our extended health provider, but he didn’t think I would be able to convince them to cover the costs.

It was around one year ago today that I learned of a Work At Home Mom (WAHM) who lived in Alberta, our neighbouring province in Canada, who made wool interlock products. The company name was Bumby and she just happened to have openings on her Customs List. I quickly signed up for 3 items, 1 pair of pants (called longies) and 2 pairs of shorts (called shorties). It was love at first sight. The red was the PERFECT Canadian red and matched all things Canadian! The olive green was gorgeous and matched everything. The sewing was great, the cut was perfect on R and they were machine-washable!

For those who don’t know, wool is a great product to use when cloth diapering, because not only is it breathable, but when you wash it with lanolin (what naturally coats sheep’s wool), it becomes just about water proof. In other words, you can use lanolized wool as a cloth diaper cover. This allows you to use fitted cloth diaper products made of cotton, bamboo, hemp and so on and then place wool soakers, shorties, longies, capris and even skirties (skirts) over top, keeping your baby’s skin breathing, and preventing leaks the same way a synthetic cover would. It’s a win/win in our opinion. R has been sleeping in cloth and wool since he was 3 months old and we rarely have wet sheets! The bonus to it all, is that he looks absolutely adorable with a variety of colours, styles and cuts to choose from. Basically you are customizing not only your cloth diaper cover, but also your child’s clothes. R wears wool bottoms, instead of regular pants/shorts, about 90% of the time.

Bumby offers 2 types of wool: silky wool and fuzzy wool. The names lend themselves to give you the general idea of their description. Silky wool is thinner, and requires an added soaker to be considered water proof (not a problem for team Bumby), but is amazingly soft, machine washable and very stretchy. This type of wool is great for leggings (yup, that’s right, you can have styling leggings for your little one that will also serve as a cloth diaper cover), and la ighter weight option for summer weather and warmer climates. We love our silky shorties in the summertime! Fuzzy wool, is as it sounds, a thicker wool, that feels like your child’s favourite stuffed animal. It is also very stretchy, but is great for longies and shorties, particularly if you plan on sizing up and will need to cuff.

Probably one of my favourite things about Bumby, aside from the amazing customer service, is how customizable everything is! Even when offered through her retailers, add ons such as extra length, pockets, appliques, multi colours (named Bumby Bolds), cuffs, and more are available so that you can truly have a one of a kind product. Different cuts are also available for babies and toddlers with different body types and mamas with varying taste. Our favourite for nights is the cuffed legging with added soaker.

So, I guess if one was wondering, “Why would I buy Bumby?” My answer is, aside from all the things I mentioned above, in a time when cloth diapering is moving away from the “green” movement that pioneered its return in society, and is moving toward mass production and distribution, we can make a choice to support superior products made within our own country or on our shared continent.
Bumby also has an excellent Facebook page and fan Buy/Sell/Trade and Chat page and is available at the following retailers, as well as direct from the Bumby site:
Gnome’s Naturals
Kissed By The Moon
Poppy Fields Shop