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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.

DryBees Fleece Night Diapers

Feb 25,2010 / By Maria / 9 Comments

I’ve been hunting for a night diapering solution that won’t leave clothing and sheet soaked in the morning.

I had been using a Bumgenius 3.0 on the large setting (we use medium during the day) with an insert and 3 doublers. It was working OK I suppose, though usually my son’s pajamas were wet on the back right above the diaper.

Since it’s winter, he’s also been using a fleece sleep sack. That has helped somewhat, since it at least keeps the sheet dry.

Lately however, he’s woken up even wetter. All the stuffing also sometimes causes a gap at his leg. He often rolls onto his side to sleep, which caused him to pee right out of the leg gap, soaking everything and waking himself up!

I’ve been looking for something else to try. Enter DryBees.

I bought a DryBees Fleece Night Time diaper from Abby’s Lane. I found a coupon code for 5% off, got free shipping, had $3 in my Paypal account from a survey, and Abby’s Lane included a free microfiber insert. not bad for $15.52!

I really liked the charcoal color, but they didn’t have the size I needed, so I bought sage. I chose a medium, which should fit 14-22 lbs.

The outer is heavy weight Malden Mills Windpro fleece and the inner is suede cloth.

The inner is definitely stiffer and rougher than the micro fleece inner most of my other diapers have.

I tried the diaper on Saturday during the day, just to see how it fit. I used just the microfiber insert it came with, and it was great. It fit fine and didn’t leak.

I tried it overnight on Sunday. I stuffed it with the microfiber insert it came with, a Blueberry bamboo doubler and two hemp doublers. It was a tight squeeze into the pocket, which is tighter than the Bumgenius pockets.

It didn’t seem any bulkier than the BG I usually over-stuff at night.

The next morning, his back was wet, but the inserts weren’t completely soaked. I thought maybe it was user error? I quickly washed & dried them to try again Tuesday night. Wednesday morning, he woke up with EVERYthing soaked. Pajamas, sleep sack, sheets, everything. The microfiber insert was not soaking wet but the hemp was. That made me suspect that it had something to do with the hemp being up against the fleece.

Wednesday (last night), I tried again. First, I tried to use the microfiber insert it came with, along with 3 microfiber doublers (two from Happy Heiny’s and one from FuzziBunz).

I actually couldn’t fit all that in the pocket, so I ditched one of the HH doublers.

I fit it all in the pocket!

Fluffy and squishy, but no leg gap!

This morning, all the inserts were soaking wet, and so was he.

So, I’m trying other things! I ordered a Heartland Dreams fitted, a Kissaluvs Wool Soaker and Eucalan Wool Wash (click that link for info on requesting a free sample. I’ll post about wool when I get that stuff.

I also ordered Knickernappies LoopyDo and SuperDo inserts. I’ll figure this out yet! I’m guessing I will end up having to use multiple super inserts along with a wool cover!

November 2010 update: I gave up on this diaper; so many people love it but it just didn’t work for us. Here’s what worked for us at night, after a lot of trial and error:

Dypes by Dixon Sweet Slumber Fleece Diaper or a Bumgenius pocket, stuffed with a Superdo insert, a loopydo with an added natural fiber doubler, or a regular microfiber insert with a natural fiber doubler. I always put the microfiber in the pocket on the baby side and the doubler underneath (or in the middle of the loopydo.) This allows the microfiber to quickly absorb liquid, and the doubler locks it away (yes, I feel like a paper towel commercial.)

What has also worked for us is a super absorbent fitted, like the Guerilla Fluff Utilitarian with a night-time wool interlock soaker over top.

Cloth Wipes Diaper Accessories Wet Bags & Pail Liners

Planet Wise Wipes

Feb 22,2010 / By Maria / 8 Comments

The color is a little weird on the photos in the next few posts. When you have munchkins you gotta do what you can when you can. Thusly, I had to take photos when it was getting dark, plus the mountains of snow we still have outside make things look awfully weird.

Anyway, I’ve been looking for an on the go wipe solution for a while. I don’t change tons of diapers while out and about, so the plastic cases tend to allow the wipes to dry out before I use them all. I also think they’re really quite bulky for the amount of wipes in them.

I like the little 10 packs of wipes that just come in a pouch with a resealable sticker closure, but I can’t find 10 packs anymore!

In my wish list post, I was wishing for the Planet Wise wipe pouch but it was out of stock forEVER.

I FINALLY got it! Yippee!!

I’m wondering if it was OOS so long because it was changed slightly. The photos I saw before had it zippering on the long end, but what I got zippers on the short end.

They are stacked and then folded, making the pouch full of wipes really quite trim.

They are really quite thin, and single ply. However, folded in half, they are about the same as the double thickness wipes I made out of burp cloths. When you think about it, you don’t want them to be too thick, or you will have a big brick of wipes in your diaper bag.

They seemed to shrink in size a good bit after washing, and fluffed up a little bit. I folded each one singly knowing that if I didn’t, I’d end up yanking them all out at once trying to get one.

With all ten wipes in the pouch, it was quite fluffy, probably as thick as a plastic travel wipe case. Of course, you can smoosh it if you need to!

The very first photo in the post shows it with just 5 wipes in it.

When I’m out and about, I take my wet/dry bag with diapers and wipes. I usually leave this in the car, unless I’m going to be in a single place for a while (like when we go visit my parents). This will work just fine to tuck it in the dry section.

The thing I love about Planet Wise bags is that they won’t wick, not even from the zipper (as long as you have it locked closed). So, you can mix up some wipe solution, dunk and wring the wipes, and put them in the wet bag. Stick the wet bag in with your clean diapers without worrying about getting them all wet!

This brings me to my dilemma (I’m so good at making a long-winded post even more long-winded!) When we’re at home, I just use a squirt bottle. I’ve been looking for a small travel size squirt bottle, but I have several issues. First, even the smallest travel size squirt bottles are pretty large, as well as expensive (in my opinion anyway, $3 for a squirt bottle??) Then I’d have to worry about it getting squished/crushed, dropped or leaking. It takes me so long to go through wipe solution in the squirt bottle, that it would probably get kind of icky after a while.

So, I could pre-moisten the wipes instead. I have some issues with that too. I might go a whole week without changing a diaper away from home, then next week I may use 6 travel wipes in a single day. If I pre-moisten them, I’ll be using a lot more solution. Would I pre-moisten all 10, or just 5 at a time? Would I then wash them all when I got home, or would I just wash the ones I used and then freshen up with new solution?

Would I wash the whole shebang once a week or so to keep it fresh? I don’t want to over wash and cause more wear than necessary. I don’t want them to sit and get icky, but then I don’t need to add one more step to getting everyone ready and out of the house either (storing them dry and moistening before we leave)!

I’ll have to just play around and see how it goes. This is the hardest part for me. I need a plan darn it! It’s so hard to just figure things out as I go.

In any case, I still really want to find the little 10 wipe pouches of Lansinoh (my favorite, they smell so good and are so compact!) Pampers, or Huggies wipes to keep in my purse for emergencies. If you see any of the smaller count pouches anywhere, please let me know!

Uncategorized

Stock Annoyance

Feb 17,2010 / By Maria / 1 Comment

>To make a very long rant a little shorter…

I cannot stand having to try to track stuff down that I want to buy. I can understand if it’s a rare or discontinued item. If it’s a currently produced item, available from the manufacturer, I want to easily find it in stock somewhere.

I do NOT like spending my time choosing an item, clicking and seeing oh, it’s only available in an 18 XXXX-Long.

I’m a bargain shopper, so I am very used to this happening with clothing. If it’s a really good deal, it’s probably not in the size you need. It will be something weird, like a 3-piece suit in a size preemie, or a onesie in a 4T, ha-ha.

I don’t like online stores that are set up where I click charcoal thinking that it’s in stock, only to see it say there’s only Small in that color. So I think ok, how about this color, nope, Large only. Ok, clicking the back button again, surely THIS color is in stock, NOPE! OMFG! (That’s “oh my fudgin’ goodness”) Just SHOW me what color I can get in a MEDIUM for heaven’s sakes!

EAAAUUUGGGHHHHH!!!

/rant

Natural Personal Care Products

Piggy Paint

Feb 16,2010 / By Maria / 5 Comments

Do any other children of the 1980’s remember Tinkerbell cosmetics? I was clearly not a label reader when I was a little kid, but I remember that this was peel off polish and made for kids.

My daughter loves to have her nails painted. We started out with toenails only, then I allowed her to have her fingernails painted also. I’ve always been concerned about the chemicals in it, (have you smelled nail polish lately? Phew!) espeially since her fingers are still always in her mouth at age 5 (licking something off of them).

I get whatever brand and colors are available either free after Extra Care Bucks (ECBs)/Coupon at CVS, or better than free/they pay me to take it (meaning I pay less ECBs than I get back). We have quite a few colors open, and I’ll occasionally let my daughter choose a new color from my stockpile. I use a bottle until it gets old/gloppy.

A few weeks ago, I heard about Piggy Paint. It is non-toxic, odorless, and kid friendly. It’s water based and made of natural ingredients (no formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, biphenyl A, ethyl acetate or acetone).

They have lots of colors, and each bottle is $8.99. Pretty shocking prices for someone who doesn’t like to pay for this kind of stuff, but not bad compared to regular drugstore prices.

I don’t have much of a problem paying a premium when it comes to my kids. If I saw this in a store, I’d let my daughter pick a color and buy a bottle.

When I have some extra cash, and she’s earned a little treat, I want to buy her some!

P.S. I started this blog about cloth diapering, but I’m guessing that at least some people who are interested in cloth diapering, may also be interested in other earth friendly, natural “stuff.” If this is not you, sorry!

All In One Diapers All In Two Diapers Cloth Diapers Made in the USA One Size Diapers Review Snap Closure

Goodmama One

Feb 11,2010 / By Maria / 1 Comment

Goodmama diapers are very popular. They’re quite pricey, and some hard to find prints can go for even more, even used!

They’re most well known for their fitteds, but they also make an All-in-One.

They sell exclusive prints through different stores, and I snagged The Pebbled One from Kelly’s Closet with my gift certificate.

They call this an all in one, but it appears more like an all in two to me. There is no absorbent material sewn into the diaper, only the snap in soaker and lay in booster. I’ve heard some people say that a true all in two has a shell that can be wiped out and re-used with a new snap in at each change. Because this one has velour inside, it would need to be washed after a single use, thus making it an all in one. *shrug*

Anyhoo, because it’s organic bamboo velour A.K.A. OBV (actually usually bamboo, cotton and polyester), it had to be washed and dried at least 4-6 times before use. It takes 6-10 uses to reach it’s full absorbency potential.

I did wash it the minimum number of times before use, and it didn’t hold much. I’ve heard people say the “ones” wick at the legs. Wicking would be putting it mildly. I know he’s wet it because his clothes are wet!

This is a “one size” diaper, but it doesn’t have the snap down rise. It has a fold down rise with an extra set of snaps.

The diaper closes with a single row of snaps, but there are 3 snaps on each wing. I had a hard time getting it adjusted right.

I tried the regular setting.

I also tried the smaller setting. You can overlap the wings for a smaller baby.

The diaper looks really cute all folded up, waiting to be used, and is super soft inside.

On, it was OK. I just couldn’t seem to get a really good fit, and of course, it started leaking the instant he “used” it.

I’ve owned this diaper for three weeks now, and we’ve used and washed it about 4 times, after the initial 4 washes. It’s showing an awful lot of wear and I doubt it will hold any resale value if we continue to use it.

The color in these last photos is a little weird because of the reflective snow “lighting,” ha ha.

Overall, I’m disappointed and not feelin’ the Goodmama love!

Edit August 2010: I do not use this diaper anymore. It leaks so badly I have to use it with a cover, which is annoying and bulky. The snaps leave red marks on his tummy, and the diaper wore so quickly that I doubt it would have any resale value, even without the leaking issues.

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Author Archives: Maria

DryBees Fleece Night Diapers

Planet Wise Wipes

Stock Annoyance

Piggy Paint

Goodmama One

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