Author Archives: Maria

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Maria is an aspiring "fit mom" of 3 children, writing about cloth diapers, going green, and her life as a single mom. Maria works with many companies within the cloth diaper industry and beyond, providing social media management, product development, and other services.
Cloth Diapers Discount Fitted Diapers Giveaway Made in the USA Natural Fiber Diapers Retailers Review

Play All Day Hemp Fleece Diaper Review and Giveaway from EcoMom – Plus a discount! (CLOSED 8/10) U.S. & Canada

Aug 3,2010 / By / 152 Comments

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I’ve already told you about Eco-Friendly Baby Products – EcoMom, when I reviewed the Plum/Revolution Foods products.  I’m very happy that EcoMom is expanding their cloth diaper offerings!  I was originally supposed to review the gDiapers (several readers have asked about them) but they were such a popular new item, they weren’t able to let me review them just yet.  Hopefully soon!
EcoMom has competitive pricing and offers free shipping on any $75 order every day.  However, they also offer the EcoPass.  The EcoPass is $99 for the year ($8.25/mo) and gets you free shipping plus 15% off of all orders!  At this time, there are no restrictions on that.  It’s good on both oversize and expensive items!
EcoMom has a new feature, the “daily deal.”  As an EcoPass holder, you would be entitled to buy the daily deals (plus new products!) before anyone else, and that free shipping would really make it a deal!
Also, check out their “What Does EcoMom® Mean to Me” – Video Contest and you could win a $200 shopping spree!

The diaper EcoMom sent me is an organic hemp fleece fitted diaper by Play All Day.

The diaper is 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton fleece.  I received a size medium, which fits 16-28 pounds.

The body of the diaper has 3 layers of organic hemp fleece, while the soaker has two.  Edges are all serged.

The diaper is sized pretty generously to fit a wide range, but the snap overlaps help fit smaller babies.

Like other hemp/organic cotton products, it needed to be washed and dried 3 times on hot before use, to remove the natural oils.  It will continue to gain absorbency through 8-9 washes.

After prepping, the diaper became, um, more fleece-y looking.  I am sure there is a word for that, but it escapes me!

The first time I tried the diaper on my son, I didn’t double the soaker, and used it coverless.

Even though my son is on the smaller side, at around 18 pounds, I got a good fit.

We have used the diaper several times already.  The first time, he “christened” it quickly, as he always does with new diapers.  The second time, we got about an hour and a half out of it coverless, before I noticed some dampness on the outside in the wet zone. 

With a cover, the absorbency is great.  I think this would make an excellent night time diaper with a good cover or wool soaker, possibly adding a doubler for a very heavy wetter.

Hemp is excellent in a diaper, since it is very absorbent, without being bulky!  The MSRP of the size medium is $17.50.

EcoMom is offering one reader a $15 gift certificate.  Use it on a diaper, or anything you like from their store!  This is open to the U.S. and Canada!


All of my readers may enter discount code SBBL287 at checkout and receive 15% off of your order through 8/31/10!


Here’s how to enter:  You may do any or all of the below.  Leave a separate comment for each entry.  Be sure to leave your email address in at least one comment if it isn’t visible in your profile.  If you are using the anonymous comment option, please leave it in all comments.  You may use the format email at host dot com if you like.


1. Visit EcoMom and leave me a relevant comment such as: What product would you like to see them carry that they don’t already?  What product do they carry that you would like to see me review?  What would you buy with your $15 gift certificate if you win?
2. Follow this blog
3. “Like” me on Facebook
4. “Like” EcoMom on Facebook
5. Follow me on Twitter
6. Follow EcoMom on Twitter
7. Tweet about this giveaway.  One tweet per day please.  You may use this if you like: @chgdiapers has a #giveaway for a $15 gc from @ecomomceo for #clothdiapers or other #organic products.  Ends 8/10  http://bit.ly/beJKh9
8. Sign up for EcoMom’s Newsletter


This giveaway is open to the U.S. and Canada.


I will accept entries until Tuesday August 10th, 2010 at 9 P.M. Eastern.  I’ll select a winner with random.org’s true random number generator, and contact the winner by email.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner chosen.  Winner’s email address will be shared with EcoMom, for prize fulfillment purposes only.  Winner will be required to provide shipping address to EcoMom.


Remember you can use discount code SBBL287 to get 15% off of your order until August 31, 2010!

EcoMom graciously provided me with the pictured diaper for review purposes, and will also provide the winner with a $15 gift certificate.  I was not otherwise compensated, I was not requested or required to write a positive review and all opinions are my own!

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Mailbox Mondays

Mailbox Mondays 8/2/10

Aug 2,2010 / By / 3 Comments

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Every Monday I will answer user submitted questions.  They don’t have to be about cloth diapering!  I’ll always answer questions via email, but if you would like your question to be answered in a Mailbox Mondays post, send an email with the subject “Mailbox Mondays” to change.diapers.change.the.world at gmail dot com!

Before I get started, I wanted to remind you that I’m going to be a regular poster at The Village of Moms.  You may remember my guest post series about cloth diapering.  I’ll be posting the first Monday of every month, and today is my first post!  I’ll be writing about cloth diapering, baby wearing, “green” and frugal topics, as well as crafts, recipes and more!  I’d love for you to read my first post, which is about Homemade Kool-Aid Scented Play Dough!

The first question is from Stephanie:

I know you answered a question last week about nighttime diapering, but I’ve got another one.


When it comes to nighttime diapering, I know the words trim and absorbent don’t mix. But, I am looking for a solution that is as trim as possible that will work for a 27lb 20 month old. Having a bulky diaper bothers her and she just cant sleep (I wouldn’t be able to either). She is not a super wetter, but needs good absorbency to make it through the night.


Thanks!


Stephanie
 
Night time diapering seems to be the biggest conundrum in cloth diapering, second only to wash routines!  The solution for your daughter will really hinge on how heavy of a wetter she is.  A pocket diaper with a Superdo insert is the trimmest you will get (in my opinion) and still get ultra-absorbency. 
 
At this point, my son actually doesn’t need that much absorbency anymore.  If your daughter doesn’t either, you might try the Loopydo insert instead, adding a hemp doubler if needed.
 
The flip cover with the organic insert is trimmer than others, and has proved a great solution for many babies.
 
Another thing to think about is using a wool soaker over an absorbent fitted.  My experience has been that the more absorbent fitteds are bulkier, but I’ve recently discovered that hemp fitteds can be very absorbent without the bulk. 
 
I wish there was an easy answer, that I could tell you exactly what to get, but it’s really trial and error!
 
The next question is from Amanda:
 
My little one has had a recurring yeast rash in his diaper area for several months now. We brought him back to the Dr last week and she told me to bleach all my diapers and then do an extra rinse before hanging them in the sun to dry. I am terribly afraid of using bleach on my dipes, especially since many of them specifically say on the tags NO BLEACH. Is there something else I can do to make sure there are no nasty yeasties living in his diapers? We use pockets with a variety of inserts-bamboo, hemp, microfiber and plain old cotton prefolds and all of his dipes have Bamboo or organic cotton lining. HELP!


Amanda
 
I’m sorry you’re dealing with this!  Not fun for you or baby! 
 
There are other things you can try before you resort to bleach.  Around 3-4 drops (front loader, 4-6 for a top loader) of tea tree oil or grapefruit seed oil along with a hot wash, followed by drying in the sun.  Water temps need to be above 122 degrees to kill the yeast.  If you turn your water heater up to wash, be sure to turn it back down afterward!
 
Boiling water is also a good bet, but only on the prefolds.  You can damage the PUL, snaps and aplix on your pocket diapers.
 
I would definitely not recommend bleaching your diapers on a regular basis, however, 1/4 cup of bleach to a load of diapers will be very effective in killing the yeast, and doing this once will be very unlikely to damage your diapers.  Of course, do not pour bleach directly on the diapers!
 
You will want to use liners in your diapers if you are using a topical cream to treat the yeast.  I don’t usually recommend using disposables, but you might want to think about using a few until things are really cleared up.
 
 
As usual, these are my opinions, I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on T.V.  Follow manufacturer’s instructions carefully, I’m not responsible for any damage or injuries.  (There, is my tushie covered?)

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Friday Giveaway Linky Giveaways Linky

Weekly Friday Giveaway Roundup for July 30th, 2010

Jul 30,2010 / By / 2 Comments

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Each Friday, I will post cloth diaper, babywearing and “green” giveaways that I’ve found, or that readers have submitted. The post will be accompanied by a linky where you may enter any family friendly (no “adult” products please!) giveaways, they do not need to be diaper related.

If you have a cloth diaper/accessory/babywearing/green giveaway you would like to be listed in the next giveaway roundup post, please email a link, blog name, giveaway title, end date and photo (if applicable) to change.diapers.change.the.world at gmail dot com.

My SoftBums Echo Slide2Size Dry Touch Solo Pack giveaway ends 8/6!

This week’s giveaway finds:
Giveaways still running from last week:

Ergo Baby Carrier from My New Life as Mom (ends 8/10)

Planet Wise Medium Wet Bag from Mom to Bed by 8 (ends 8/2)

Planet Wise Wet/Dry Bag from Hot Tips 4 U (ends 8/9)

Best Bottoms Diaper from Dirty Diaper Laundry (ends 8/2)

Inspired by Finn Amber Teething Necklace from Mommy is Green (ends 8/3)

Bummas Wipes from The Thrifty Things (ends 8/3)

Knickernappies Diaper from Wee Little Changes (ends 8/22)

Lil Joeys Newborn Diapers from Giggle Britches and The Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative (ends 8/10)

Enivbum Cloth Diaper or Mom4Mom cover and liner from Two of a Kind Working on a Full House (ends 8/2)

Sprout Change Diaper from Mommy is Green and The Willow Store (ends 8/2) Open to the U.S. and Canada

Preston’s Pants Diaper ($20 gift certificate) from Organic Girl Open to the U.S. and Canada! (ends 8/4)

You may enter any family friendly giveaway in the linky below, and you can use the code to paste it into your own blog as well. The format Blog name – Giveaway Item – Ending date works well. At a minimum, please include the item and end date, and link directly to the giveaway.

Please view my post on where I list my giveaways to find more great places to link up!

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Cloth Diapers Made in the USA One Size Diapers Pocket Diapers Review Snap Closure WAHM made

Kim’s Kloth Pocket Diaper Tester Review

Jul 29,2010 / By / 1 Comment

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When Kim of Kim’s Crafts decided to start selling Kim’s Kloth Diapers, she needed testers.  Usually a WAHM will want the feedback of moms with different age and size babies before selling outside of her circle of friends.
I like to think I’m a good tester because I’m pretty good at evaluating products in a detailed fashion, and heaven knows I don’t hold back, hee hee.
I tested a one size pocket diaper, which is right up my alley.  I really enjoyed testing for Kim because she seemed to really listen to my feedback, and I didn’t have to worry about her taking my comments about the diaper as personal criticism!  As you read my review, please keep in mind that I tested a prototype, and Kim took all of her tester’s feedback into account while tweaking her final product.
Kim is having the Kim’s Kloth Store grand opening on Thursday, August 5th at noon, and you can get 10% off everything all week!
The diaper has a nice pocket opening, though it wasn’t quite as big as a Bumgenius. 
The snaps include the ability to overlap for small babies.
I thought the stitching was very even, I had to scrutinize to find an area that was a tiny bit off, and looking at this picture, even up close, it’s hardly noticeable. 

Initially, I misunderstood and thought this was a sized diaper, and put it on my son as shipped (large setting.)

The package included clear instructions on how to adjust the leg elastic, so I think I was just having a major brain lapse that day.

It was a little loose on the large setting of course, since my son normally wears mediums.

Stuffed with the included microfiber towel, it was very trim.  I’m not a huge fan of the microfiber towel for various reasons!

The next time I used the diaper, I adjusted the leg elastic.  It’s easily accessible through the pocket.

The snaps are pretty “sticky” so you don’t have to worry about them coming loose during use. 

It took a firm tug to get each snap out of the opening, but it wasn’t difficult at all.  There are a total of four settings.

I had an extra BumGenius microfiber insert, so I decided to try it in the Kim’s Kloth.

The insert is a little wider than the diaper.

So I wasn’t able to get it to lay quite flat.  I think a narrower insert would work well.  If I remember correctly, the Fuzzibunz insert would probably be a great fit!

Above is the small setting, folded.

There’s the small setting, stretched.
Above, the large setting folded.  I think, I think!  It’s been a while since I took these photos!
Stretched
In the end, I settled on the next-to-smallest size.
Kim estimates the weight range to be 15-40 pounds.  My son was around 17.5 lbs and had plenty of room to grow in them.  I’d love to see this in a slightly smaller pattern as well, for newborn-15 pounds, like the stages/duo diapers that other brands have.

I noticed that the inner of the diaper got a bit pilly after several washings, and we did have a bit of wicking at the legs.  However, I think that was probably due to my lack of microfiber folding skills!  I’d love to try it with an insert sewn specifically to fit it.

The diapers will sell for $13 (bargain!) with a microfiber towel inluded for stuffing.  You can elect to purchase a sewn insert for $1 extra.  Kim also made some tweaks to the snap arrangement on the final product!

“Like” the Kim’s Crafts Facebook page to see fan submitted photos of the diaper on other babies, and keep tabs on the grand opening!
I received a diaper for the purposes of testing, opinions are mine and I wasn’t required to write a review at all, let alone a positive one.  🙂
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Giveaway Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Bumgenius Giveaway Winner!

Jul 29,2010 / By / 2 Comments

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I can’t believe how many entries this giveaway received!  I had so much fun reading all of the entries.  The “say anything” entries are my favorite! 

I hope everyone liked the bonus entry to share.  I thought it was nice to give everyone a chance for a bonus entry that they could choose, according to their own comfort level, without losing out to the person willing to do 10,000 various things to gain entries! 

The winner is Kendra of Seen and Heard!  Kendra, I’ve emailed you at the address listed in your blogger profile!

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