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“Culla di Teby-Culla di Teby-Culla di Teby“ … at home, everything is just “Culla di Teby“! As a synonym for “cool, great, crazy …“ Well, that can really annoy me, but the name has a really nice sound and story. We received this “Dolce“ directly from Teby and it has become our favorite diaper. Since the manufacturer’s website is only in Italian, I had to contact Teby for some more information. So here is the diaper check with extra information directly from Italy  😉 .

About Teby:

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Teby is a family business, passionately conducted by Valentina Steinmann, CEO and founder of Teby. She answered all my questions immediately and very carefully. The diapers are regionally produced, designed, manufactured and tested in Italy (near Monza). Valentina wants to keep CO2 emissions as low as possible and is supervising the entire manufacturing process. The Steinmann family (no, their name is not Teby ;-)) has been working in the textile industry since 1957 and can profit from profound knowledge and experience. Valentina herself started the production of her first prototypes in 2012. Before that, she had not been satisfied with the standard clothdiaper system. So she decided to optimize it with great success, as we can see: She produced her “dream diaper“!

The name “Culla di Teby“ has a very sweet little history: During Valentina´s pregnancy they were asked constantly what the name of the baby would be. However, the couple didn’t want to reveal the name before the birth, so the people had to be patient. But the impatient Granny just decided to introduce the name “Teby“, which is a short form of the father’s name. And so she stitched the name “Teby“ on a small toy rabbit. The name “Teby“ was born. The word “Culla“ means cradle, and a small “Culla “ is installed inside of the diaper, so our lovely diaper is now called “Culla di Teby “ , i.e. “cradle of Teby “ .

About the materials:

The entire diaper (including the PUL parts / cradle) follows OEKO-TEX® 100 class 1 standards. The outer diaper is available in three variations:

  • Organic: 94 % Organic Cotton Jersey (GOTS certified!) and 6% Elastane. Therefore this version is doubly certified (OEKO-TEX and GOTS)
  • Classic: 94 % Cotton Jersey and 6 % Elastane (OEKO-TEX)
  • Soft Touch: 91 % Polyamide and 9 % Elastane (OEKO-TEX) cradle is sewn into the outside diapercover, so it does not have to be extra buttoned. The Soft Touch is particularly suitable as a swim diaper, too.

The Teby diaper (in Organic and Classic) has a huge plus: Its outside cover is made of cotton (and a little spandex), the waterproof part (Culla) is very small. The baby is surrounded only by cotton and when changing the diapers even you only touch natural fibers. It’s really nice to hold the baby without being confronted with any plastic. So the diaper has an extremely high level of comfort and feel-good factor.

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Washing:

The outer diaper and the Culla need to be washed at 40°C, so you need to wash them separately, i.e. not with your conventional diaper wash at 60°C. Maybe this is a small disadvantage. But you can put the whole diaper into the dryer, at a moderate level. But if the weather is good, the diaper dries very quickly on your clothesline.

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About the absorbency:

“Culla di Teby“ is not just a simple cloth diaper. You can use it as a hybrid – the cradle can be combined with every form of insert. So maybe you need disposable inserts for your next holiday trip? No problem with “Teby“! And even with a disposable insert, you still produce significantly less waste than with a completely disposable diaper. Additionally, the “Teby“ diaper can also be used as a swim diaper, which we have not been able to test, though. The insert consists of six layers and can be used on both sides. The microfleece side with its StayDry Effect can be used if you prefer a “very dry skin“ feeling for your baby.The very airy bamboo side has a viscose-cotton blend and is particularly suitable for babies whose skin is sensitive to synthetic fibers. This insert has absolutely convinced us. But if you prefer an organic insert, you can also use prefolds, for example our all-time favorite Blueberry Organic Size Newborn. If you use alternative inserts instead of “Teby“ inserts, please notice that your “package“ will be a little bigger.

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About the fit:

The “Teby“ is a very thin diaper, so your baby will feel very comfortable. The diaper shape has been adapted to fit the natural movement of the baby. So active babies will be able to move freely: The back has a taller and wider cut than the front part, so the front part does not make the baby feel uncomfortable. The buttons for the cradle are hidden and do not touch the skin. They are available only with velcro systems (similar to gDiapers) and they are closed at the back. At the beginning we were skeptical about the back velcro. But after we got used to it, we found it very practical (especially with an “active baby“ – vertical wrapping). However, velcro is “loud” and at night-time it could be a little disturbing, if your baby is sensitive to noise. Since our baby likes to be “held over a bush”, we have also tested how quickly the diaper can be unbuttoned, and it works very well. You can open just one side and let the baby pee. With a little practice, it is therefore a great alternative to a usual diaper and also to  training pants. Because the diaper does not grow with the baby (unfortunately), here is some size information according to the manufacturer:

  • S:  2.5 – 5.5 kg
  • M: 5 – 11 kg
  • L: 10 – 17 kg

About the price:

Check the manufacturer’s homepage, where you can find a shop offering all the diapers which are available. Here in Germany you can buy them e.g. at Fratzhosen (18,90 €).
Résumé:

Ingenious! A flexible system producing a very small amount of laundry. The skin, your baby’s and yours, is only touched by cotton. The wearing comfort is wonderful … actually perfect. In our case, the outer shell should be a dark color because our little “cookie” crawls like a fool. But fortunately, there are quite a lot of colorful designs. If “Teby” could manage to use another material for the cradle than PUL, we would love it even more. An alternative could maybe be an EcoPUL or wool? Opening und closing the velcro system should be a little easier and quieter and if we could wash everything at 60°C, it would be like heaven! At our counseling sessions we recommend the “Culla di Teby” wholeheartedly, it is easy to use for clothdiaper-newcomers. The fact that you can buy an organic version of the diaper is totally  “Culla di Teby“, thank you for that!

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Merken