Green Acre Designs Cloth Diaper Review & Giveaway U.S./Canada (CLOSED 4/19)

Apr 12,2011 / By Maria / 11 Comments

Since I started cloth diapering in 2009, I’ve heard Green Acre Designs (GAD) mentioned a lot. GAD makes sized pocket diapers and AIOs with PUL, fleece, or fuzzy “GADimals” outers. They also have one-size semi-fitted pockets, covers and inserts. Definitely worth noting are their husky medium and extra-large sizes. Weights are difficult to estimate since it really depends on the child’s build, but GAD estimates the extra-large will fit 29-55 pounds (Rise: 15-22, Waist: 14-28, Thigh: 11-19, Stride: 6), so check these out if you’re looking for a large or special needs child!

I received a gorgeous embroidered medium pocket diaper and a one-size microfiber terry insert.

The embroidered diaper retails for $23.95 and the inserts are $4.50 each. The insert is sewn in a loop for more thorough washing and faster drying, and the flaps give you the ability to put the absorbency where you need it (4 layers in the insert and 4 in the flaps.) Green Acre Designs also has sized microfiber and French terry inserts, one-size hemp French terry inserts and hemp French terry doublers.

The pocket diaper has elastic on both the front and back of the diaper to contain messes, and side snaps for a trim fit.

The diaper I received has an additional flap of PUL covering the embroidery to prevent any wicking through. This embroidery backing is an option available for an additional $1.00.

The diaper has 1 mil PUL outside and microfleece inside. All GAD diapers come with a one-year warranty on snaps, elastic and PUL!

I received the “green baby” embroidery on kiwi PUL with butter microfleece, but there are tons of color and embroidery options available!

I’m loving all the little details like the finished pocket opening edges.

The diaper I received is a medium. My son is about 22 months and 22 pounds, and it fits him wonderfully with plenty of room to grow. Here is the size chart (ranges of course vary greatly based on your baby’s size & shape!):

Pocket Sizing	Waist (Inches)	Thigh (Inches)	Rise (Inches)	Stride (Inches)	Weight (Pounds)	Approximate Age
Small	8-16	6-9	10.5-14	4.5	7-15	0-6 Months
Medium	11-23	8-13	12-16	5.5	12-25	2-18 Months
Medium Long	11-23	8-14	12.5-17	5.5	15-35	3 Months-2.5 Years
Husky Medium	12-24	8-14	12-16	5.5	15-35	3 Months-2.5 Years
Large	12-24	9-15	14-19	5.5	22-40	8 Months-4 Years
Extra Large	Coming Soon	Coming Soon	Coming Soon	6	28-55	1.5 Years-7 Year

Here I’ve measured the medium folded and stretched:

I thought the diaper looked just as adorable on.

It fit really well, and the one-size microfiber insert was very absorbent. It did take me a little bit to figure out exactly how to fold it, so he has quite the booty in this picture!!

Giveaway: Green Acre Designs is offering one reader a PUL pocket diaper with microfleece inner, in their choice of color and size, along with a microfiber insert (ARV $19.45.) The winner is able to upgrade to a hemp insert for $2.00, or pay to add embroidery if they choose!

Here’s how to enter: All entries go in the form below. I love comments (great way to remind yourself you entered) but comments do not count as entries.

Mandatory entries include your name, email address and your Green Acre Designs feedback. Tell me what you like best/least. This could be products, colors, something about the website etc. You may receive Bonus entries if you follow Green Acre Designs on Twitter and/or Tweet about this giveaway (one time entry for tweeting please.) You may use this tweet if you like: #win a #clothdiaper #giveaway from @chgdiapers and @GADclothdiapers #GreenAcreDesigns #clothdiapers rock! Ends 4/19 http://bit.ly/gIqtKu

I will accept entries until Tuesday, April 19th, 2011 at 9:00 P.M. Eastern. I will select a winner using random.org’s true random number generator and notify him/her by email. Winner has 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is chosen. View my giveaway rules page for complete details. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada

# of entries received as of giveaway close: 217

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FTC compliance: I received the above item at no charge in order to review them. I was not otherwise compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.

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Cloth Diapers Mailbox Mondays

Cloth Diaper Advice – Mailbox Mondays 4/11/11

Apr 11,2011 / By Maria / 6 Comments

If you need cloth diaper help, on Mondays, I answer reader submitted questions, and ask my other readers to weigh in as well.

Questions don’t have to be cloth diaper related, just email maria at change-diapers.com with “Mailbox Mondays” in the subject, or Fill out my contact form for readers, which you will always be able to find on my Contact Page.

No submissions this week, so I figured I’d ramble about things & stuff.
I have said over and over again that I think it’s wise to “diversify your stash,” rather than having a whole stash of just one diaper. Even so, I often wonder hmm…what would I choose if someone said “I’ll buy you a whole stash of cloth diapers, but you have to choose just one brand.”

I have a lot of favorites that I love for various reasons, but I actually think I would choose Bumgenius 4.0 if you held a gun to my head and made me choose (after I told you it was a little nutty to put a gun to my head over cloth diapers of course.) If you’d throw in a stack of Knickernappies Loopydo and Superdo inserts, I’d be really thrilled!

Why do I love them so much? Well, maybe I have a little soft spot since they (Bumgenius 3.0) were the first 6 diapers I bought. 3 of those 6 diapers were replaced under the amazing Bumgenius/Cottonbabies warranty, two are in serious need of aplix replacement, and one still looks and works just about like new, aside from a little pilling etc. That’s after 18 months of use, and during several months of that, those six were washed one or two times every day.

The Bumgenius fit really well and don’t leak. They are what I grab for if I know we are going to be out and about. They are super, super easy to use and are the first my husband reaches for. The improvement of the Velcro on the 4.0 version really sealed the deal for me. They don’t come in tons of colors, but those that they have are nice. I’m very glad the brights are back! When I first started cloth diapering, $17.95 for a diaper seemed spendy, but now it’s really a pretty good deal.

How about you? What would you choose if someone offered to buy you a full stash of just one brand?

So that leads me to the other thing I was thinking about. Cost.

I guess since Bumgenius is sort of my benchmark or gold standard when trying other diapers, I also compare others to their price point. If a diaper is one-size and under $20, I’m there. When it starts creeping up to the $20-$25 range, it had better be cute and have a great track record. I would consider a diaper in the $25-$28 range, but I would honestly be pretty hesitant to spend that much. Especially since the most expensive diapers I’ve ever bought, the Goodmama One and Blueberry Minky (before the price decrease that came with the change to microfiber inserts) turned out to be the most disappointing and biggest wastes of money, leaving a bad taste in my mouth for pricey diapers!

Now, I will admit that I would probably pay more for a diaper that I already knew I loved (like a few WAHMs that are my favorites) that was in a print I was obsessed with (like this Guerilla Fluff diaper I’m still pining over more than a year later. Boo-hoo!!) Or a really special diaper as a keepsake, like baby’s first diaper or something.

What really made me think of this was a lovely newborn diaper that a manufacturer/retailer posted on Facebook Friday. It was a lovely diaper, with a gulp inducing price tag of 35 smackaroos! I think using cloth in the newborn stage is wise, since you can spend a hundred bucks on sposies before you know it, but cloth can be used for multiple children and resold. You can do it the frugal way with prefolds and a few covers, or I guess you can go all out and spend close to $1,000 on some $35 newborn diapers.

What I think is reasonable is hard to define. Just to clarify, by reasonable, I mean reasonable for me. If you have the money and desire, feel free to spend $200 on one of these limited print diapers people collect!

I think it’s one of those things that is difficult to say $xx is reasonable while $yy is not, but if you hear a price, you can say whether it’s low, OK or high. For me, anything over $15 for a newborn diaper makes me thing “jeez, this had better be good!” Of course, the only newborn diapers I have so far I’ve won in giveaways (except one I bought as a second for cheap!) I’d love to have a FuzziBunz X-Small in my stash, but the price tag of $16.95 is pushing my limit. The same really goes for the Happy Heinys mini one size, but at least that has additional sizing possibilities.

Anyway, I’m figuring if I get to cloth diaper a newborn, I’d buy one of each on my wish list (probably enough for a day or so of cloth diapering) and see what I like, then buy a few more (maybe gender specific colors) of what I like best after the baby is born. So far, I haven’t had huge babies, but maybe my excitement over these adorable cloth newbie dipes would get me a chunky 10 pounder ready for one-size diapers at birth, hee hee.

So how about you? Do you have price limits in mind when you’re shopping for cloth? Do you have different limits for newborn diapers? Do you have a particular diaper/print you’re dying for that you’d be willing to pay more for?

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OsoCozy All-in-One Cloth Diaper Review & Giveaway (CLOSED 4/12)

Apr 5,2011 / By Maria / 18 Comments

ClothDiaper.com sent me two OsoCozy All-in-One diapers to review. I had been eying them for a while, and I was excited to try them. They are U.S. made, have Velcro closures, are all-in-one style with soft cotton against baby, and though they only come in 3 colors, the colors are cute!

The diapers come in two sizes. Size 1/Small fits approximately 6-18 pounds, and size 2/Large fits about 18-35 pounds. They’re an all-in-one style with a PUL outer, so no cover is needed. I received both the bleached and unbleached version of the diaper in the size 2/Large.

Both versions have easy to use aplix closures with the ability to overlap, nice big laundry tabs and rear elastic.

The all-in-one style is very Daddy or babysitter friendly, since they go on just like a disposable!

You can choose between the bleached version, which is 100% cotton gauze, or the unbleached version, which is 100% cotton Birdseye weave. I did not notice any difference in performance or fit, so it’s just a matter of preference. Both diapers retail for just $14.95 each!

Here is the size 2/large measured folded and stretched:

My son is somewhere around 22 pounds, and while the size 2 fit him, I think he could definitely fit in the size 1 as well! My husband put the diaper on him the first time with the Velcro completely overlapped, so one wing was attached to the front of the diaper, but the other was attached only to the other wing. Without being attached to the front of the diaper, the other wing eventually drooped! The next time we just made sure both wings were attached to the diaper!

I think the OsoCozy is well made, easy to use and absorbent. The aqua color is gorgeous and gender neutral, and I love the little bear in their logo! They are very affordable at $14.95 each too!

Giveaway: ClothDiaper.com is offering one of my readers three OsoCozy AIO diapers, in their choice of size, color and bleached/unbleached! (ARV $44.85)

Here’s how to enter: All entries go in the form below. I love comments (great way to remind yourself you entered) but comments do not count as entries.

Mandatory entries include your name, email address and favorite ClothDiaper.com Item. You may receive Bonus entries if you “like” ClothDiaper.com on Facebook and/or “like” Osocozy on Facebook.

I will accept entries until Tuesday, April 12th, 2011 at 9:00 P.M. Eastern. I will select a winner using random.org’s true random number generator and notify him/her by email. Winner has 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is chosen. View my giveaway rules page for complete details. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S.
# of entries received as of giveaway close: 393

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FTC compliance: I received the above items at no charge in order to review them. I was not otherwise compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.

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Sprout Change Cloth Diaper Review

Mar 31,2011 / By Maria / 17 Comments

The Willow Store sent me a Sprout Change cloth diapering system to try. I’ve heard quite a bit about them, and was very intrigued by their one-size, reversible all-in-two system, with a unique size adjustment.

I received a “string bean” shell, which is an adorable bright blue on one side, and bright green on the other. Sprout Change has tons of options for the absorbent inserts.

I received two of the organic inserts, but they also have stay dry inserts, organic hemp prefolds, even organic or microfleece “soft sleeves,” so you can use extra microfiber inserts you have!

I love that the packaging includes the sizing instructions and guidelines!

The diaper is side snapping, but all of the size adjustments are made through hidden elastic inside the diaper.

The leg elastic is adjusted through a small opening located on the front of the diaper.

The waist elastic is adjusted through a snapped opening at the wing. This means that not only is the front of the diaper less bulky, but this is a very Daddy or babysitter friendly diaper, even for those who prefer Velcro. One you’ve adjusted the size, you’re set. There’s no figuring out which snap to use!

The 5 sizes are newborn (5-10 lbs), infant (10-18 lbs), crawler (15-22 lbs), walker (22-34 lbs) & potty (34+ lbs). I think you could also call these XS, S, M, L & XL. The packaging has recommended settings for each size. To keep things simple, I’ve taken photos of each size measured folded and stretched, set on the same setting for waist & legs (4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st and 0.)

Here is the Newborn/XS setting, 4th button hole for each leg, 4th on one side of the waist and 3rd on the other (couldn’t quite get it tight enough to do on both sides!)

Infant/Small/Setting 3 on Waist & Legs:

Crawler/Medium/Setting 2 on Waist & Legs:

Walker/Large/Setting 1 on Waist & Legs:

Potty/XL/Setting 0 on Waist & Legs:

When the diaper is “right side out,” the front of the diaper snaps to the wings, like a traditional side snapping diaper. When you reverse it, it still snaps on the side (vs the front) but the back of the diaper comes around to snap on the front panel of the diaper. It sounds complex, but it’s really quite simple. I was wondering how it would work!

I figured my 22 ish pound, 22 month old son would fit well in the walker setting. I knew the organic inserts would shrink when I prepped them. Initially, they were quite large!

Here is the insert measured before prepping (washing & drying 3+ times.)

After prepping:

After prepping, the inserts fit wonderfully in the walker size, without needing to fold them.

I probably could adjust the size even a little bit more; the beauty is that just taking a few minutes to get just the right fit, makes diaper changes super easy until you need to size up!

The diaper looked adorable, but also performed very well. The inserts are super absorbent, fit well with no shifting or leaking, and are very easy to use.

It was very easy to remove the wet insert, and reuse the shell, reversed for a change of pace!

Now I understand why people like Sprout Change so much! Shells retail for $16.95 separately, Stay Dry inserts are $4.75 and organic inserts are $5.75. You can save more by buying insert 6-packs or diaper packages/bundles!

FTC compliance: I received the above item at no charge in order to review it. I was not otherwise compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.

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Stroller Blanket From Nikki’s Little House – Review

Mar 22,2011 / By Maria / 4 Comments

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Nikki’s Little House sells all kinds of fabulous products, from cloth diapers to Melissa & Doug toys. Nikki also has a Hyenacart store where she sells her hand made items. You may or may not remember the custom Birthday Monster shirt and I Heart Dad shirts she made for me.

I had been eying her stroller blankets for a while, and when the monster print was on sale for $15 (regularly $20), I grabbed it!

It even has loops to attach toys for little ones!

The blanket snaps on to the stroller to keep it securely attached. When my daughter was little, I ran over her blanket many times, and occasionally she’d toss it out without my noticing. That would mean backtracking my 4 mile loop to find it!

The blanket snaps at the bottom to form a boot to cover tootsies.

You can also use it unsnapped for bigger kids.

The blanket I bought is a super cute monster print on the front, with green trim and backing.

Here it is all snapped to the stroller:

Here you can see how the “boot” covers the foot thingie on the stroller.

I’m able to take my son out for a walk and have him tucked in snugly the whole time! The blanket is very well made and nice and soft and thick!

I am getting ready to order new I heart Dad shirts for both kids, my daughter wanted to wear them to pick up Daddy from the airport (business trip), and she was sad that she & her brother both were outgrowing them!

FTC Compliance: I paid normal retail price for this item. I was not compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.

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