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.
All In One Diapers All In Two Diapers Cloth Diapers Giveaway Made in the USA Natural Fiber One Size Diapers Review

SoftBums Echo Slide to Size Diaper Review

Jul 27,2010 / By / 752 Comments

 

softbums
One of my readers (darn, can’t remember who now!) told me about SoftBums.  When I looked into them, I was really intrigued, since I’ve never seen anything quite like them!
The SoftBums system consists of a waterproof outer shell, and snap in inserts (pods).
I received a chocolate color shell (adorable!) with a dry touch pod, an organic bamboo pod and a stay dry newborn insert/doubler (mini pod).

 

That isn’t what makes it so unique though!  SoftBums doesn’t have a snap down rise or adjustable elastic with 3 or 4 sizes.  It doesn’t have a fold down rise with 2 sizes.  It has infinitely adjustable elastic with a drawstring system.
 
I’ve joked about newborn “chicken legs” but this diaper comes pretty close to fitting an actual chicken’s legs.  As in buck-buck-bagawwww chicken legs.  It gets that tiny!
The front of the shell has a small opening. 
This is what the toggles to adjust the elastic look like.  You do have to fish them out; I am positive there is zero risk of a child getting them out of the diaper, so no choking risk.
At it’s tiniest, it gets tiny.  Above the diaper is folded, below it is stretched.
With the elastic fully expanded, it gets fairly large.  Here it is folded.
I can’t really say “stretched” for this next pic because I had the elastic fully expanded, so there wasn’t any tension, if that makes sense!
Initially, I was kind of overwhelmed about the completely customizable elastic sizing.  I’m not used to more than 4 options!  I decided to take one of my son’s size mediums, and try to get the diaper to a similar size, then tweak it from there.
It took a little playing around to figure it out, but I think I got it pretty close!
The inside of the diaper is lined with super soft material, so there’s no PUL touching baby’s skin.  The inserts snap in.
The inserts fit inside the diaper so perfectly, it really is an all-in-two; the cover can be re-used for several changes.
When you use the stay dry insert, you just have to be sure to fold it under, not toward the baby, so the soft microfleece is touching the skin, rather than the microfiber.
I washed the diaper and inserts, and hung the shell to dry.
I initially tried the stay-dry insert, since that’s my preference.  I wish I could remember what left such awful red marks on his legs.  🙁
I usually choose pocket diapers for their ease of use, but this was super easy.  Maybe it’s the Velcro closures that make it so much simpler.  Other diapers I have with this type of insert have fold down rises and snap closures, so I’m folding, holding in place, folding a rise, then trying to snap 3 snaps on each wing, all while holding everything in place on a wiggly baby.
I daresay the SoftBums system is Daddy friendly!
I found the SoftBums to be very trim as well, different than other one size diapers and different than other diapers with similar soakers.
We had no leaks and no wicking.  In fact, this has served as both a nap time and car-ride diaper, and I’d continue to grab for it for either situation.  Especially since it is so easy to take multiple “changes” on the road with a few soakers and maybe an extra shell.
I wasn’t quite as fond of the organic bamboo insert.  It was incredibly soft and absorbed very well.  However, it was a bit larger than the stay dry insert, and didn’t fit quite as well in the diaper. edit: Sarah at SoftBums let me know that the organic bamboo insert will eventually shrink to the same size as the dry-touch insert.  I’ve washed on hot and dried on high several times and haven’t noticed a difference just yet!
It seemed rather bulky on, and I had to tuck the insert in a bit.
My package also included this cute wipe.  My daughter tried to claim it to use for her babies since it is girly, but it is so soft, and stacks perfectly on top of my Thirsties wipes, so I’ve been using it.  I don’t think my son has noticed the teapots!
When I have some funds, I definitely want to buy another SoftBums Echo shell and a few stay dry pods to use on the go.  I also think adding a few of the mini pods would make a great and affordable newborn solution!  A single shell retails for $21.95, DryTouch Pods $4.95, SUPER DryTouch (extra absorbent) Pods $5.95, Organic Pods $9.95 and Mini Pods $2.95.  The shells come in 9 colors and three limited edition prints, and there are tons of packages available! See this diaper on my newborn.
Want one?  Find a retailer or win one!

One lucky reader will win a SoftBums Dry-touch Echo Solo pack in their choice of color!.  Here’s how to enter:

You may do any or all of the below.  Please be sure to leave your email address in at least one comment if it isn’t in your profile.  If you are using the “anonymous” option, please leave your email address in all comments.

1. Visit SoftBums and tell me what color shell is your favorite.
2. Follow this blog.
3. Like me on Facebook
4. Like Softbums on Facebook
5. Follow me on Twitter
6. Follow SoftBums on Twitter
7. Tweet about this giveaway and link back here.  One tweet per day please.  You may use this if you like: @chgdiapers has a @softbums #slide2size #clothdiaper #giveaway until 8/6 http://bit.ly/boqwgc
8. Share this blog or giveaway somehow.  See the stack of “share the love” icons on the left of the page.  You can use the StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Facebook or Delicious icons if you have account there, you can post about this in your Facebook status (@Fitteds and Pockets and Snappis, oh my! and @SoftBums if you do that and please link to this blog post.)  You can tell a friend via email, post on a cloth diapering board or group, “Favorite” my blog on Technorati or even vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs – Mom Blog Directory I’m not picky, just share with someone you think might be interested!  This is going on the honor system, just leave me a comment telling me what you did to share.

This giveaway is open to the U.S. only.

I will accept entries until Friday, August 6th at 9 P.M. Eastern.  I’ll choose a winner with random.org’s true random number generator and notify the winner by email.  Winner will have 48 hours to claim the prize before it is forfeited and a new winner is chosen.
Thank you to SoftBums for providing the review and giveaway products.  As always, all opinions are my  own, I didn’t receive any other compensation and I wasn’t requested or required to write a positive review!
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Mailbox Mondays

Mailbox Mondays 7/26/10

Jul 26,2010 / By / 9 Comments

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Here’s the second installment of “Mailbox Mondays.”  I will always answer any questions you have via email, but if you would like to have your question answered on a Mailbox Mondays post, please email me at change.diapers.change.the.world at gmail dot com and put “Mailbox Mondays” in your subject.  Questions don’t have to be diaper related!

Photobucket
I wanted to quickly tell you that I’m going to be a regular writer on The Village of Moms, which is where I guest posted my Cloth 101 posts.  I’ll be posting the first Monday of every month!  I’ll write about cloth diapering, babywearing, kid’s activities and crafts, frugal tips and more.

 
The first question is from Heather.  My answer is long winded as usual, but would you expect any less from me?  🙂
 
I had a question about stripping my micro fiber inserts. I have a horrible time with ammonia stink and have been told I should strip them because I have buildup issues (we have hard water). Every time I wash my diapers I soak them overnight in my washer with a cloth diaper detergent and them I wash them in the morning. My wash routine is like this:

Double rinse and spin
8+ hour soak
Heavy duty wash, heavy soil level, extra rinse
Hang dry in the sun

So what exactly should I do to get rid of my ammonia stink? Strip? Change my wash routine? Any help would be appreciated!

Heather A.
 
Oh Heather, I so feel your pain.  While I do not have hard water, I did battle the stinkies.  I tried so many things, I ran my washer 24/7 for at least two weeks I swear.  The good news is, I doubt we run any risk of ever running our well dry!
 
Wash routines are to me,  the most confusing part of cloth diapering.  If you ask a room full of cloth diaperers this question, you would get twice as many opinions as people in the room!
 
Stink usually comes from buildup as you know, but the hard part is, buildup of what?  It could be a buildup of detergent, a buildup of the minerals from your water, or a buildup of, ahem, “deposits” made in the diaper.
 
I find that the simpler you keep things, the better off you’ll be.  Since you have hard water, it’s not going to be as simple as most.  I don’t know what kind of detergent you are using now, but once you get the stink under control, consider trying Rockin’ Green’s hard rock detergent, or adding Calgon water softener to the load.  With hard water, your detergent is working so hard to take care of the minerals in your water, there’s no oomph left to clean the laundry!
 
Now back to the buildup.  If you run the diapers through with no detergent, do you see any suds?  If so, you may have a detergent buildup.  Try rinsing until there’s no suds, without adding any detergent.
 
No suds?  I commonly hear people say to use dish soap to strip diapers (original blue dawn.)  This caused more problems for me.  Lot of people have had luck with soaking diapers with Rockin’ Green, then rinsing a ton.
 
What worked for me was RLR.  RLR is a laundry treatment that you can use once a month or so to remove buildup for diapers and other laundry.  (Worked wonders on our towels & sheets too!)  I have an HE washer, well water and a softener, so I did not use a whole packet for a load.  You might need to.  Run a heavy duty wash with a soak, then rinse rinse rinse until you don’t see any trace of suds.  Then, I took the diapers out to dry and ran just the inserts through with a dab of bleach, then several extra rinses.  I know a lot of people will not use bleach, but it worked for me!
 
This really took care of things for me, and now if I start smelling some ammonia, I will use a bit of RLR, some extra rinses and a dab of bleach on the inserts.
 
Once you get the current issue taken care of, you of course want to keep it at bay as long as possible.  If you have a top loading washer, use the largest load size, regardless of the actual size of the load you’re washing.  Try not to wash more than 20 diapers at a time.  If your issue was detergent buildup, use a little bit less.  If it wasn’t, you may need to use a little more.  If you’re using a detergent that is formulated for cloth diapers, use the recommended amount, not 1/4 or 1/2 like you often hear.  I’ve also found that I need to rotate detergents.  One will work fine for a while, then suddenly doesn’t anymore.
 
I had such a hard time with this!  I like things organized and I like hard and fast rules (I’m weird.)  So it was hard for me that there wasn’t a list to follow that said use this amount of this type of detergent and do this wash cycle and you’ll be all set.  It depends so much on your water, your washer etc. 
 
In conclusion, don’t fret! Be patient and you will figure things out.
 
 
Next, a question from Alexis:
 
What do you use at night? Do you change in the middle of the night?
 
I’m going to answer these in reverse. 
 
Night time changes
 
Now, at 14 months, my son sleeps 10-12 hours most nights.  When he occasionally wakes, he has a quick “snack” and goes back to bed without a change.  When he was really little, nights went like they do for most parents of young babies.  Sleep a little while, wake up, nurse, change diaper, then the circus routine of getting him back to sleep, then repeat.  Most of the times he woke, his diaper was changed.
 
In between there, he started to sleep a bit longer, and I had to up my night time diapering game.  Then came the tricky time period.  My son wasn’t waking as often, and he was starting to drift off to sleep after nursing.  
 
This won’t win me any mother of the year awards but neither of my children have been great sleepers.  If my son happened to drift off while nursing, I would at least try to lay him back down.  If he stayed asleep, I would sneak out of the room, crawl into bed and pray he would stay asleep for a while!  I suppose I probably should have woken him to change his diaper but uhhh, not gonna happen.  If I tried to change his diaper first, before nursing him, he would have woken the whole household to express his disapproval.
 
What I use at night
 
During that in-between stage where my son was really drinking quite a bit at night, but not necessarily being changed every time, he was quite the heavy wetter.  I spent a lot of time and money trying different things, and for a while, I really had no choice but to wake him to change his diaper.
 
Right now, I wash every other day and I have 4 diapers specifially for night time use.  I’m still stuffing them the same, though I really don’t need as much in them anymore.
 
Two of my “night time” diapers are Bumgenius 3.0s.  Initially, I had them so overstuffed that I had a leg gap that made the diaper useless if he was on his side!  Now, each one has two full size inserts with a hemp doubler in between.
 
The third is a combo of two of my night time diapering desperation purchases.  It’s a Dypes by Dixon Sweet Slumber fleece diaper, stuffed with a Knickernappies Superdo insert.  If you are having night time issues, I highly recommend trying a Superdo.  It’s incredibly absorbent, but much thinner than multiple inserts (still thick though!)
 
The last one in my night time rotation is again a purchase made during my desperate search for a night solution.  It’s a Guerilla Fluff Utilitarian fitted topped with a Mobums night night wool soaker.  My GF diaper has: 3 layers to the diaper, 2 soakers with 3 layers each, a doubler with 2 layers plus a layer of wool and optional zorb added.  That sucker is absorbent!
 
In the thick (har har) of things, I decided to be redundantly redundant and top even the waterproof diapers with a Kissaluvs Wool Lover soaker, and I favored fleece PJ pants also.
 
He may have looked a bit like a snowman, but it was worth it!  Just a few hours in a disposable diaper gives my little guy an awful rash, but I know lots of people who use a single disposable at night.  I won’t tell anyone if that’s what you decide works best for you.  😉  We won’t throw you off Fluff Island.
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Uncategorized

Designer disposables (and the time I wore a diaper-on my leg)

Jul 25,2010 / By / 12 Comments

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I had heard of the new “designer” Cynthia Rowley Pampers, but just noticed them in the Target Ad today.  $14.99 for 23 size 4 diapers?!  *gulp*

I’ll say, I’m not a “sposie hater.”  I used them for my daughter for 2+ years and on my son for 4+ months.  My daughter never had issues with diaper rash, though my son did (which is really what made me finally make the switch.)

Do I regret it?  Yes!  Mostly because I could have an  awesome stash of cloth diapers (or a diamond ring for that matter!) for the money I threw away on disposable diapers.

I’m cheap frugal, so I stockpile; diapers were no exception.  I worked sales, coupons, special offers etc. to get diapers from 8 cents each (name brand.)  I would buy them if I needed them if they were under 22 cents each.  For wipes my price was around 2.5 cents per wipe.  Now, that led to the problem of how many to stockpile.  I’m a worrier, so it stressed me out.  I was often left with too-small diapers to get rid of.

Speaking of too small diapers, it wasn’t just that they were too small, they had blowouts all the time.  I joke that I’m hardly doing more laundry now with cloth since we had so many wardrobe changes with sposies.

Then, there was the trash.  The pails were stinky, I had to keep on top of emptying them, then smell them again on trash day.  I’ll admit that at the time, I was more concerned with my convenience than the environment, but now the thought of all those diapers in a landfill sickens me.

When you get down to it, the reason I didn’t cloth diaper my daughter was ignorance.  If it weren’t for the cost, I would have been interested in the new Pampers.  I’m not into “character” stuff, it’s just not my thing.  So I hated seeing purple stripes through her clothes and Sesame Street characters peeking out of her pants.  Now I know that cloth diapers are easy, fun and addictive.  That they pay for themselves in no time, and even the plainest cloth diaper is cuter than the cutest disposable!!

Speaking again of money, I love being able to change my son whenever, without worrying about the cost.  You figure even at a good price, a diaper change costs you a quarter or more for a diaper and wipe or two. 
Even though disposable diaper manufacturers try to say you should change after every “use,” really, how many people do that?  I know some kids are just super soakers, but I was able to get a diaper to hold 5 cups of water in my little experiment.  Really?  I think they are more absorbent so you don’t have to change after every pee.  Even my doctor would say oh, I think you can get a little more use out of that, and close the diaper back up after checking her.  Sometimes we’d change 3 diapers just in the doctor’s office!
 
At 65 cents per diaper, do you really want to change it after an hour or two? 
So, about my wearing a diaper.  I received samples of the new, ultra-thin (and somewhat controversial) disposable diaper in the mail.  So, I decided one evening to wrap one around my leg and see what happened.  I’ll be honest, I was hoping it would give me some awful rash, ’cause that would make for some good blogging.
Alas, it did not, and while I took pictures, I won’t even bother posting them.  OK a few pics, LOL.  They’re not very exciting, I took them myself.
I started with a dry diaper and it instantly felt itchy and scratchy, especially at the leg openings.  No way would I want  to wear one of these on my bottom!

After an hour, I poured some water in and put it back on.  Each hour, I took a pic of my leg, added more water and put it back on.  Now, granted this was water and not urine.  I will do a lot in the name of my blog, but I have to draw the line somewhere!

After a while, the diaper warmed up to my body temp and felt squishy.  I actually forgot I had it on until I stood up from the couch!

I haven’t done this with a cloth diaper, so I really can’t guess what this means for potty training.  I’ve heard that cloth diapered kids tend to train (learn) sooner, but I don’t know if the soft, stay dry and comfy fabrics of today’s diapers make a difference.

My hubby didn’t blink when I put a diaper on my leg, but he sure looked at me funny when he caught me in the kitchen with a diaper, measuring cup & scale.  That diaper is a good 3 inches thick I think!
5 cups of water!  Won’t someone please change my diaper?!
Anyway, if you can afford to spend 15 bucks on 3 days worth of diapers, consider cloth!  In a month’s time, you could have a day’s worth of Smartipants diapers or a great stash of a hybrid/all-in-two system or prefolds & covers.  If nothing else, you could use them until they had paid for themselves (saving the money you had not spent on disposables) then sell them and buy something even cuter and nicer! 
Use them for another child, sell them…heck you could  donate them and still be way ahead of where you’d be had you used disposables!
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Friday Giveaway Linky Giveaways Linky

Weekly Friday Giveaway Roundup for July 23rd, 2010

Jul 23,2010 / By / 7 Comments

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Just a question: Is the list below of any help to anyone, or should I just stick with the linky?  I really haven’t been getting any submissions to be featured, so I’ve been adding the giveaways to the post myself.  It’s fine if it’s helpful, I will continue to do it.  However, it’s a lot of work, and I don’t want to do it if no one is using it.  Just wondering!
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 giveaway for two Bumgenius 4.0 diapers ends 7/28

This week’s giveaway finds:
 
$25 Gift Certificate to KAM Snaps from My Life as a Married Girl, plus a great BG snap conversion tutorial (ends 7/31)
 

Bambino Mio swim nappies/swimsuit from Two of a Kind Working on a Full House (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)

Ergo doll carrier from Mommy of 1 and Counting (ends 7/24)

Babykicks Pocket Diaper from Mama to 3 Blessings (ends 7/28)

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)

Giveaways still running from last week:

Nicki’s Best Bottom Diaper from The Crafty Nest (ends 7/30)

Kissaluvs Newborn Fitted Diaper from The Crafty Nest (ends 7/27)

Planet Wise Wet/Dry Bag from The Crafty Nest (ends 7/28)

Sweet Pea AI3 Diaper (two winners) from The Nappy Shoppe (ends 7/25)

Katydid Cloth Diaper from The Review Stew (ends 7/26)

Katydid Cloth Diaper from Liz Has a Life (ends 7/31)

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

Bummas Wipes from Mom to bed by 8 (ends 7/29)

Sleepy Wrap from Mama B (ends 7/29)

Organic Sleepy Wrap from Go Green Street (ends 7/31)

Organic Beco Butterfly 2 Baby Carrier from My 365 to a size 5 (ends 7/29)

Ergo Baby Carrier from One Savvy Mom (ends 7/26)

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

Thirsties Duo Diaper from The Crafty Nest (ends 7/29)

Bumma’s Cloth Wipes from The Crafty Nest (ends 7/26)

$20 Abby’s Lane Gift Certificate from Show Your Amor (ends 7/27)

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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All In One Diapers Cloth Diapers Made in Canada Review Sized Diapers

Mother-ease AIO diaper review

Jul 21,2010 / By / 4 Comments

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mother-ease
Mother-ease Cloth Diapers generously sent me an all in one cloth diaper to review.  Mother-ease is a Canadian company, and they have been making cloth diapers since 1991.  They actually have the term “one-size” trademarked and make all of their diapers from start to finish in their Ontario factory.
The side snapping AIO diaper has a knit cotton terry inner and a waterproof outer.
The elastic reminds me of the Kushies diapers.  I don’t know how well it would hold up against breastfed baby messes.
The diapers come in small (10-20 lb), large (20-35 lb) and extra large (35-45 lb).
It came with a brochure with information about the products they carry and materials used, as well as a care & washing guide.
I chose the large, since my son is about 17.5 pounds.  The first thing I thought when I took the diaper out of the package was that I had made a mistake!  It seemed huge!
That is the large Mother-ease diaper underneath a Bumgenius 3.0 on the large setting.  For the record, the large Bumgenius is supposed to fit to 30 or 35 lbs as well.  (4.0s say 35 lbs, large AIOs say 30.)
It seemed really wide as well.  You can see from this photo that it definitely is wider than the Bumgenius.
Folded, it’s nearly an inch longer than the BG on the large setting.
Stretching it gets you about an extra inch as well.
I was worried that when I put it on him, it would be falling off of him, or super bulky.
It’s definitely pretty basic in the way of looks.  It comes in white only.
I got a good fit around his waist on the snuggest snap setting.
No gapping at the leg either!
I was chasing him around…
Trying to get a good “action” shot…
But I got more pictures of a blurry leg or the empty carpet as he zipped away before the camera took the picture!
I was actually surprised that it fit him so well (he is in mediums in everything else) and wasn’t bulky at all.
It’s an all in one, so of course it takes a bit longer to dry than other diapers.  It may look basic, but it didn’t leak and it washed up very well after he “christened” it as he always has to do with new, pristine white diapers.  No stains!
If you have a bigger child and need something to take you through potty training, this is a great choice.  The side snaps would make it easier to pull up and down (instead of unsnapping) and if the extra large is sized as generously as the large is, I imagine it would fit some very large kiddos!
You can shop online whether you are in the U.S., Canada or International.  The all-in-one diaper retails for $15.95-$17.95 in the U.S. depending on size.  They also sell one size and sized fitted diapers, covers, wraps, swim diapers and other accessories.
Another product worth noting is their bedwetter pants which come in sizes fitting up to 65 pounds and absorbing 21 ounces!
Thank you to Mother-Ease for sending me the review diaper at no charge.  I was not requested or required to write a positive review, I was not otherwise compensated and the opinions are mine. 
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