So, I first discovered Alva diapers through Just Simply Baby, who sells them along with a lot of other great diaper accessories. They are listed as Just Simply Baby diapers, and come with a tag with that name. I bought two diapers, the leopard print and green star print pictured below. I was in love! They were so cute!
Alva diapers are pockets, meaning they are made with a waterproof outer material, and a soft inner layer made to wick moisture away from baby's bottom. This layer has a opening in it, to form a pocket, hence the name. In this pocket it where you put the inserts, which are made from 3 layers of microfiber.
Frugal Mama Review: Alva Diapers
After noticing the same prints and design in various other places, I realized that these diapers were being wholesaled/dropshipped all over the place. JSB, eBay, Sew Is Your Baby, Green Bees Diaper Co., and Kawaii were just a few places I found these diapers, and everywhere but eBay had them listed for $10-$14. I now dropship them on eBay as well, starting out at $5.59. My eBay store is here, where I also sell the sandboxes and doll furniture I build!
Cost: 5 out of 5
If you get the Alva diapers straight from the manufacturer, or off of eBay, they are incredibly well priced. In this instance I don't feel that "You get what you pay for" applies. These diapers are definitely $10 dollar diapers, for only half the price.
For a full set of pockets, you typically want a stash of about 24 diapers. You can buy 24 Alvas for $136 if you shop right, which translates to a cost of .02 cent per change.
Because in one year a baby will have an average of 12 diaper changes a day in the first 4 months, down to 4 diaper changes a day by 36 months. That's about 5,826 diaper changes. $136 divided by 5,826 is .02. Doesn't this sound familiar? These diapers are cheaper than Flips, but fall within the same range when you get down to the nitty gritty.
Design and Functionality: 4 out of 5
The Alva diapers are my favorite, it's true, but the downside are the inserts. Now, if you order from JSB, you get slightly thicker inserts that work so much better, and are by far my favorite so far. If you order them straight from the manufacturer, they come with very thin inserts, and quite frankly, are a waste of money.
The upside to this factor are the hip snaps. Most Alva diapers come with hip snaps and that just makes my day. Since Frugal Baby is so skinny, most diapers don't fit her thighs. The extra adjustment options are fabulous!
Frugal Mama Rating: 4.5 out of 5
These are my favorite diapers so far, when you combine cost and design. Though I do use prefolds and other inserts for them instead of the inserts that come with them, but for the price, they're still worth it completely!
Thank you for this review! I recently found out about these diapers and was looking for a good, honest review about them. My s-i-l uses BG on her kids, and I love the whole idea of the pocket diapers, but BG are just so expensive! It's great to see a more economical option!
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa! Glad you liked the review! I've tried just about everything,and I love alva! :]
DeleteThank you for this information. I first purchased some under the name "Kawai," but I started noticing identical prints through all of the places you mention, and I was just completely confused. I want to research the production company, so this is helpful. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI have had other people tell me that sometimes the kawaii were made somewhat better, but I have not noticed a difference.
DeleteI haven't been able to find a consistent answer, but I'll try here:
ReplyDeleteDo you think these will work on a newborn or baby under 10 lbs?
Christy,
DeleteI first tried these on my daughter when she was about 9 lbs, and they were still a little big. I would probably get a couple of designated newborn diapers.
could you email me more about the difference between the alva inserts and the jsb inserts? what're the inserts made of? other than being thicker, why are the jsb ones so much better?
ReplyDeletethanks!!!
brissa.porter@gmail.com