Now that I've been using the Alvas a few months I figured I'd better update again!
My son is now a year old and has slimmed down quite a bit. He's still about 23-24lbs, but much taller and skinniner. He also loves his water! Due to this I've been having a lot of problems with leaking and wicking.
The Alvas tend to gap at the legs. I was never too happy with the fit when they were snapped down, because this causes a wrinkle of inner fabric to stick up and sometimes wick onto his clothing. (I have heard of a tip to roll that inward, which I haven't tried yet. My son is getting to the wriggly stage so much fussing over how exactly the diaper is on isn't allowed. I'm lucky to even GET the diaper on!)
Without the rise snapped down, they seem to fit better at first, but very quickly the legs begin to gap. Since he's mobile now, the insert bunches up between his legs and the whole thing loses contact with his body, meaning absorbency is compromised and if he's laying on his side.... leaks! Or, once I pick him up and smash his diaper against my body, the car seat, the shopping cart, I get a big mess of wet pants.
On some of the diapers, (mainly the bamboo and the basic colors, not so much the minky) the fabric likes to roll on either side of the top snaps, exposing the inner suedecloth and possibly wicking.
I haven't had any problem with drying the bamboo shells in the dryer. If I don't, they are super rough and scratchy. They have lost some of their softness but are still nice and stretchy.
The gussetted diaper is my least-used. I don't particularly like the snap-in, (unsnapping it while it's pee-soaked is a pain) and somehow the fact that there's a hole for stuffing in both front and back seems odd; like if I don't snap it in it may work its way out the front. I was most excited for this one because of the inner lining of PUL so on second thought, I should start using it again.
I found the microfiber inserts that come with these diapers is very fluffy and prone to compression leaks. I rarely use them. The bamboo inserts seem to do the same, though not as bad. My go-to insert is a snapped-down CottonBabies microfiber insert paired with a JoeyBunz hemp insert or a homemade bamboo/hemp fleece insert.
I think that these run a little large and may fit chubbier babies better.
