Kissaluvs Marvels AIO Diaper Review & giveaway CLOSED

May 5,2010 / By Maria / 505 Comments

We love our Kissaluvs Wool Lover diaper cover, so when some readers told me they’d like to see me review wipes and wipe solution, I immediately thought of Kissaluvs. I had looked at their diaper lotion potion and premium wipes several times, but hadn’t tried either.

I was hoping to review the wipes and lotion potion, but then I saw the Marvels one size all-in-one diaper. Kissaluvs sent me one for free to try and review, and one reader gets one (their choice of color!) as well! The colors are: Butter (with yellow inner), Raspberry (with Pink), Kelly Green (with Yellow) and Summer Sky (with White). They retail for $22.95, which is the middle of the road price wise.

You’ll have to forgive me for some of these pictures. It was really sunny and I was having a hard time getting enough light but not too much! I know I could edit them but I think you’d rather read a review with a couple of washed out pictures than read nothing because I’m busy trying to edit the pictures. Tee hee.

Generally speaking, an all-in-one diaper (AIO) will look pretty much the same as a pocket diaper except the soaker is sewn into the diaper. The Goodmama One is an exception to that, it has a snap-in soaker. Like a pocket diaper, an AIO has a waterproof outer or hidden layer, usually PUL. They also usually have a stay-dry inner made of microfleece or suedecloth. I like AIO diapers for their ease of use, but they take longer to dry and are harder to get clean. So why was I so interested in the Marvels?

The soaker is only sewn into the diaper on the end, so it’s almost like a pre-stuffed pocket diaper. The insert can agitate out of the diaper in the wash and turn the diaper inside out (it did in mine), which reminds me of the Smartipants diapers. Very nice not to have to pull a yucky insert out!

The pocket also allows you to add additional inserts if needed. The opening is wide enough for easy use, but not gaping open.

The Marvels have the snap down rise adjustment, which is my preference for a one-size diaper. They aren’t too difficult to undo, but I didn’t have any trouble accidentally popping them open either.

The wing snaps are easy-peasy too. There are just two snaps on each wing, I prefer it, and I get a lot less complaining from my hubby.

There are two overlap snaps for smaller babies. The guidelines for this diaper are 7-35 pounds (varies by baby as always of course!) and I do think this is likely to fit smaller babies better than other one-size diapers.

The large setting is about the same size as the medium on the Flip. No fear though, it’s really just because the leg elastic is drawn a bit tighter.

When I fully stretched them, they were about the same size.

The small setting is pretty small though!

It doesn’t seem bulky, even on the small setting.

I can’t get over how soft the diaper is. Not just the inner, but the PUL too!

I didn’t have any issues with marks from the leg elastic, but we also had no leaks.

After washing, it was less work than a pocket diaper, since I didn’t have to find the matching soaker, then make sure I had it in far enough (but not too far!) and laid flat. However, I did have to flip the diaper right side out and then smooth the insert flat. So, it’s not quite as easy as a sewn in soaker.

I really ended up liking this more than I thought I would. It looks so basic, but it’s so soft and easy to use!

I didn’t get to try the premium or hemp wipes, but Kissaluvs did send me some of their “awesome knit terry wipes.”

At $1.25 each, they are more affordable than other wipes, but they are really, very basic wipes. They are single thickness and feel like thin washcloths. They are a bit larger than baby washcloths (8 x 8), but they curl up after washing just like our cheap Target brand baby washcloths do. Maybe I’m spoiled by other wipes now, but I don’t think I would buy these, I’d save my money for nicer ones, like their premium wipes (those are $2.00 each.) I will certainly use them though, they do the job!

Now, want to win a Kissaluvs Marvels one size all-in-one diaper? Kissaluvs is sending one to a lucky blog reader, in the winner’s choice of color!

Here’s how to enter:

Be sure to leave your email address in a comment if it isn’t in your profile.

1. Visit Kissaluvs and tell me either what product you’d like to try or what product you wish Kissaluvs made.
2. Follow my blog, current followers count. Comment saying you’re a follower to get your entry.
3. Like me on Facebook, current likers count. Comment saying you’re a fan/liker (can’t get used to that!) to get your entry.
4. Follow me on Twitter, current followers count. Comment saying you’re a follower to get your entry.
5. Tweet about this giveaway. Be sure to include @kissaluvs and @chgdiapers. You can use this example “If you love #clothdiapers enter this #giveaway from @chgdiapers for a @kissaluvs Marvels AIO before 5/19 http://bit.ly/d9OqVB”
6. Like Kissaluvs on Facebook. Comment saying you’re a fan/liker to get your entry.
7. Follow Kissaluvs on Twitter. Comment saying you’re a follower to get your entry.
8. Blog about Kissaluvs and/or this blog or giveaway. Just spread the fluffy love, you don’t have to be all like “Golly gee wilikers mister, I sure would like this diaper!” Hee hee.
9. Bonus Entries Review a Kissaluvs product you’ve tried and liked on Amazon, on diaperpin or on the review tab of Kissaluvs Facebook page. One entry per review, leave a link to your review in a comment to get your entry.

I will accept entries until Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 at 9:00 P.M. EST. I’ll use random.org’s true random number generator and will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to claim his/her prize.

Thank you to Kissaluvs for sending me a Marvels diaper and terry wipes at no charge. I’ve reviewed them both the same way I would have if I had paid for them. Thank you also for agreeing to send a blog reader a Marvels AIO as well.

Cloth Wipes Giveaway Made in the USA Review Wipes Solution

Thirsties Fab Wipes and Booty Luster Review and Giveaway! CLOSED

Apr 30,2010 / By Maria / 289 Comments

When I started cloth diapering, using disposable wipes got real old, real fast. I kept wanting to ball the wipe up inside the diaper like I did with sposies. It was a pain to remember to pick them out and throw them away!

When I ran out of the disposable wipes I had, I cut up some burp cloths that were laying around. I didn’t like them as burp cloths because they were very thin and washcloth-like. I doubled them over and zigzagged them. Not easy since they were super stretchy!

Not only are they not pretty (LOL) but they’re actually kind of scratchy compared to materials used in cloth wipes. I also don’t always have enough since I don’t have to wash every day anymore. I was finding myself using several for a diaper change and having to scrub a little bit, which isn’t fun for my little guy.

I really wanted cloth wipes, but I was kind of scared to buy some and not like them. I wanted to find a brand I liked, and buy a nice pretty stack of them, rather than have a mismatched collection!

I’ve heard Thirsties talked about in my cloth diaper groups. Both the Duo Diapers and the Duo Wraps came up an awful lot when I was asking other cloth diapering mamas about night time diapering. I haven’t tried either of those yet, but Thirsties agreed to send me a 6-pack of their fab wipes and a 4 oz. (travel size) bottle of their booty luster wipe spray. There’s a giveaway too, so keep reading!

“Thirsties® is a small (but growing!) cloth diaper company committed to greener parenting and Eco Friendly solutions, not to mention 100% USA Made quality! Erin, the owner of Thirsties, started this business with an old sewing machine and $100 5 years ago. Through her hard work and diligence, her company is now one of the leaders in the cloth diaper industry. Our diapers are now made by work at home mothers, and very close to our Canon City warehouse, reducing our carbon output. Erin and I are experienced cloth diapering moms, and offer our knowledge to our retailers and customers alike.”

The wipes! Oh my goodness, if you could feel these things. Buttery soft is an understatement. I feel bad for wiping my son’s tush with those rough burp cloths. 🙁

The wipes are cotton velour on one side and microfleece on the other. Both sides are super soft and the white side is nice to be sure you got the tushie clean. They’re 8 x 8 (after washing and drying) and will fit in a wipes warmer or empty wipes container. The washing instructions say to dry on low, but I dried them on high with my diaper inserts and had no trouble.

It’s been a while since I bought disposable wipes, but my rule of thumb was that I wouldn’t buy them for more than 2.5 cents per wipe, and under two cents per wipe, I would stock up. That was the “sensitive” brand. (Add a scoffing “ha!” to that please.)

I seemed to use a zillion wipes, but let’s just say 15 per day for simplicity here. That’s a cost of about $9 for a month. If you’re buying smaller refill packs or tubs, not shopping sales and clipping coupons, your cost per wipe will be a lot higher. For me, a 6 pack of thirsties wipes ($10.75 MSRP) would pay for itself in just over a month. So even if I had bought three dozen wipes, they would have paid for themselves by now.

I’ll just skip right over the issue of ingredients in disposable wipes and impact on the environment and add that based on the reviews I’ve read, people continue to use these wipes long after their kids are out of diapers. Wiping faces, cleaning the house. Let’s see you do that with a “used” disposable wipe!

The compulsive side of me feels the need to point out how nice and pretty they look stacked up all nice and neatly.

I had to run a quick load of diapers to avoid using those nasty burp cloth wipes on him! I want to buy 3 more packs of these. I think that would give me enough to have some upstairs and downstairs, not have to wash every day, and be able to ditch the burp cloth wipes!

The Booty Luster ended up being a whole lot nicer than I expected. To be honest, I thought it was going to be a pre-mixed, overpriced version of every other wipes solution. Sorry, I was wrong!

The ingredients are: Aloe Vera, Vitamin E, 100% Pure Coconut water, Organic White Honey, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Glycerin, Humectant Moisturizers, Avocado and other Organic Ingredients.

The “other organic ingredients” is a little bothersome to me. Edit: Those “other organic ingredients” are just purified water, so no worries! Anyone who has experience with food allergies will tell you how irritating listed ingredients like “natural flavoring” can be! My son doesn’t have any topical allergies that we know of, so I didn’t pursue this. I do like that it uses Grapefruit Seed Extract as the anti-fungal ingredient, rather than Tea Tree Oil.

I’m used to squirting away and wiping, squirting some more, wiping etc. I had a hard time getting used to needing only 2 squirts of the booty luster. My son’s tush wiped clean easily, felt smooth and clean, no residue at all. The spray came out with just the right mist, though we did have a few drips. The scent was very light, but pleasant. Like a very light, summery citrus.

The MSRP of the 4 oz travel size bottle is $6.25, and the 8 oz bottle, $11.00. That’s a little spendy for cough*cheap*cough, ahem, frugal me. However, using the math I did earlier, this would most likely still be cheaper than disposable wipes and very convenient to boot. I’m not sure how long a bottle will last, I’ll have to update on that. If I can get used to only needing two squirts, it will probably last a long time!

If you want to drool over all Thirsties has to offer (and maybe leave a not so subtle hint with some dog-eared pages), you can request a catalog on their website. Just go to www.thirstiesbaby.com/catalog.htm.

Want it? Find a retailer at thirstiesbaby.com. Or, win it!

~~Thirsties is sending one lucky blog reader just what I got! A 6 pack of~~ ~~fab wipes~~ ~~(your choice of boy or girl colors) and a 4 oz. bottle of~~ ~~booty luster!~~ ~~U.S. Residents only.~~

Here’s how to enter (the first entry is mandatory, you may do any, all or none of the rest as you choose!):

~~Please be sure to leave your email address in at least one of your comments if it’s not visible in your profile. If you win and I can’t find contact info for you, I will choose another winner.~~

~~1. Visit~~ ~~http://www.thirstiesbaby.com/~~ ~~and tell me what else you’d like to try.~~

~~2. Follow my blog publicly. Current followers count, comment saying you’re a follower to get your entry.~~

3. ~~“Like” me on Facebook.~~ ~~Current, uh, “likers” (?) count. Comment saying you “like” me on FB to get your entry. (They like me, they really really like me!)~~

4. ~~“Like” Thirsties on Facebook.~~ ~~Same as above. Current likers/fans count & leave your comment to get your entry.~~

5. ~~Follow me on Twitter.~~ ~~Current followers count, comment saying you follow to get your entry.~~

6. Tweet about this giveaway. Please include @chgdiapers and link to this giveaway. You may use this example if you like. “@chgdiapers is giving away Thirsties wipes and Booty Luster until 5/14 ~~http://bit.ly/dsSyLJ~~ ~~#clothdiapers #giveaway” Limit one tweet per day, please comment with the permalink to your tweet for your entry.~~

~~7. Blog about this giveaway and link back to it. Leave a comment with a link to your blog post for your entry.~~

~~Then do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around while patting your head and rubbing your tummy and…ok that one was just for fun!~~

~~I will accept entries until Friday, May 14th at 9 P.M. I will use~~ ~~random.org’s~~ ~~true random number generator to select a winner. I’ll notify the winner by email and s/he will have 48 hours to claim the prize!~~

Cloth Diapering Detergents Eco-Friendly/Green Natural Household Products Review Washing

Naturoli Soap Nuts

Apr 26,2010 / By Maria / 5 Comments

My friend Tonya is switching her household to all “green,” one week at a time. She’s writing in on Cafemom’s The Stir. Here is the post that prompted the one I’m writing right now! At the bottom of the post you can read the posts from prior weeks as well.

Anyhoo, when she bought her Naturoli soap nuts, she noticed that they were cloth diaper safe and offered to send me some. I’ve been using them on my cloth diapers for over three weeks now and I am so grateful to her for sending them to me!

What are soap nuts? They’re the dried husks of the soapberry. They contain saponin, which works as a natural surfactant. They can be used for a lot more than laundry as well.

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

EllaBella Bottoms Fitted Diaper

Apr 22,2010 / By Maria / 1 Comment

A while ago, when I was looking for a night time diapering solution, I was asking people what brand their most absorbent fitted was; I heard EllaBella Bottoms a lot.

I sat back patiently and waited for her to stock her store, then realized she was stocking in a congo and not her own store (she stocks here too). Oopsie. Once I figured out where I should be looking, I couldn’t coordinate her stocking dates with my wallet stocking dates. i.e. I was broke. Finally I was all set to buy a custom slot and I almost missed out! EBBs are very popular. I looked a few minutes before the stocking at 8 P.M. then forgot until after 10 and I barely snagged the last one!

Turnaround was pretty quick for a custom. I paid for the slot ($10 deposit that went towards the final price) on 3/28 (late at night) and she contacted me the next morning to get started. I received the invoice for the balance when the diaper was complete on 4/8 and I got the fluffy goodness in my mailbox 4/15.

I didn’t give Mandy a whole lot to go on. I chose the outer cotton knit fabric, and told her to pick the inside for me. I also asked her to include a booster/doubler.

Her listing stated that the price of the diaper was $18 and shipping was $3.50. She normally charges $3.00 for a doubler. My total cost including shipping was $23.50. My invoice said she didn’t charge me for the doubler because she wasn’t totally happy with her stitching, but by my math, she just gave me a $1.00 discount. No matter.

She included a sample packet of Lil’ Outlaws pail pardner. I didn’t realize it was in the bag until I went to throw it away, I just noticed that the diaper was smelly (not bad smelly). I always wash my diapers before the first wear, and I know that some people store their supplies near other things, so it really didn’t matter to me.

I do suggest that WAHMs be cautious with the use of scent because some people are much more sensitive than I am. I always forget to ask sellers if they are smoke free but I need to start doing that before I get a yucky surprise in my mailbox!

Before anyone thinks I’m picking on Mandy, back to the fluff!

So cute!

I love this fabric. Mandy told me it was quite stretchy, and I’d heard other people say that as well. I’m sure that makes it more difficult to sew perfectly straight. I tried zigzagging some old stretchy burp cloths to use as wipes and it was not pretty folks! Again, not trying to pick on Mandy but I like to be very thorough in my reviews! 🙂

It has the cut/shape and fold down rise with snaps that are pretty standard for a one size fitted it seems.

It of course has the cotton knit outer, and has a hidden layer of bamboo fleece and a polyester minky inner.

The two snap-in soakers have layers of bamboo and cotton terry, topped with the polyester minky. The booster is bamboo fleece topped with the minky.

The layers are quite thick. For comparison, here it is on the bottom, another O/S fitted on top of it and my Guerilla Fluff on top of that.

Just the two.

Finally, just the EBB with the utilitarian.

Just a single soaker from each.

The first time I put the EllaBella Bottoms diaper on my son, I tried to fold the soakers and doubler over; I’m used to doing this since my son can be quite a heavy soaker.

It was way too bulky like this and I didn’t feel like I could get a good fit without leg gap. As it turns out, it was totally unnecessary. The next time, I didn’t fold anything (except the rise) and he had it on with the flip cover for about 2 1/2 hours with no leaks, and the outside of the diaper was hardly damp (and in the wet zone only at that!) I am definitely going to try this dipe at night!

Here are some photos of it in action. I wish I could remember what diaper he had on before this that left all those red marks. Yikes!

The red marks on his leg here are from razor sharp baby fingernails combined with his love of grabbing mounds of flesh (his favorite pastime while nursing!)

If you’re looking for a super absorbent fitted, EllaBella Bottoms should definitely be on your short list!

Edit August 2010: This diaper is adorable and very absorbent, but it’s not in our regular rotation right now simply because I prefer pockets to fitteds. It has held up quite well, though the doubler shrunk oddly/unevenly and has curled up.

Cloth Diapers Diaper Covers Fitted Diapers Made in the USA Natural Fiber Diapers One Size Diapers Review Snap Closure Velcro/Aplix Closure Wool

Little Beetle Little to Big Diaper and Wool Cover

Apr 19,2010 / By Maria / 12 Comments

I’ve been really getting into using wool and fitteds at night, so when betterforbabies.com told me they were sending me a Little-To-Big Beetle diaper and a Little-To-Big Organic Wool Cover, I was really anxious to try them.

No doubt what I pulled out of my mailbox was what I’d been waiting for!

Better For Babies sells natural and organic baby products including diapers, covers, soaker shorts, trainers and other accessories.

Better For Grownups sells reusable facial rounds, sateen tissues (really want to try these!) and family cloth, all crafted from fair trade organic cotton.

As the package says, the diaper is 100% organic, fair trade cotton, and is sweatshop free! They’re actually made in the U.S.A. wow!

That’s the first time washing instructions have made me giggle. Tee hee!

The orange is adorable, and the diaper is super soft and squishy.

Nice velcro closures. Thus far, they are actually easy to get off of the laundry tabs, but still stick to them in the wash. I have too many that I struggle to free from the grasp of the laundry tabs, but in the washing machine they’re all like “Meh, whatever, we don’t like you anyway,” and become besties with 3 other diapers. Gah.

The velcro strip on the front of the diaper had that funny, stiff feel/sound like the Rumparooz. I actually debated taking a video of me crinkling it, but decided that would be a little weird, ha ha. Once I put the diaper on him though, it wasn’t stiff and didn’t dig into his belly. I think it must just be whatever the velcro strip is backed with making that sound.

This diaper is a one size (6-36 pounds) and it’s the first one size fitted I’ve owned that has the snap down rise for sizing. Love this.

The diaper comes with a soaker and a foldable “beetle booster.”

One thing I found really unique is that the soaker is sewn in, just at one point on each side of the middle. So, no matching up soakers or snapping them in after washing, but it’s not sewn all the way into the diaper, allowing for better cleaning & easier drying. You can slip the booster out to fold it and place in where needed (wet zone), or you can tuck it under the soaker to be held in place.

At first glance, it seems a lot smaller overall than other one-size fitteds, even all the way unsnapped.

Actually though, it just seems that way because the elastic is drawn a bit tighter.

Fully stretched, they are just about the same size.

Snapped on the smallest rise setting and unstretched, they are quite small. I don’t doubt they really would fit on a 6 pound baby!

I used it on the medium setting on my little guy (who is about 16.5 lbs and 27.5 inches). It fit wonderfully, and I think he could wear this setting for a while.

This was so easy to put on him. I love my other fitteds, but this is so much more Daddy friendly. My hubby gets really frustrated by the soakers to pull up and fold over and adjust, rises to fold over and rows and rows of snaps.

I folded the booster in half, placed it in the wetzone, and used the diaper coverless the first time. It was the last diaper before bed and he hadn’t uhh, “used the facilities” by the time I put his night time diaper on him.

Because the soaker is in the middle of the diaper (it’s very trim too!) rather than being snapped into the back, his tush wasn’t fluffy like I’m used to. I actually joked that it was weird to be able to feel his hiney through the diaper instead of a mound of fluff!

The next time I used it, I put fleece pants over. He wore it for a good two hours and it was fabulous!

I also tried it with the Little-To-Big Organic Wool Cover.

The cover is 100% organic merino wool and fits 6-36 lbs.

It’s mamajammin, yo. I feel like I’m looking for Waldo. I don’t want to miss anything funny on the packaging.

Yeah, Mother Nature is a smarty pants, but who figured out we could shave the wool off the sheep and make diaper covers out of it, huh? Who’s the smarty pants now, huh?

100% USDA certified, organic wool.

I received a cover with snap closures, though both the diapers and covers come with your choice of snaps or velcro.

I think velcro on the diaper and snaps on the cover are the perfect combo, especially since my son has figured out how to open velcro! Better For Babies said “we find it’s good to pair one closure with the other…snaps and aplix lining up exactly against one another can cause a funny fit.” You can overlap the snaps for a smaller baby.

The cover has the same snap down rise size adjustment that I love. It’s especially nice on a cover since you may need a slightly bigger cover to go over a diaper with a higher rise.

The first time I used the cover, I used it over my Licorice Lane Fitted.

It’s so nice to be able to adjust the rise on the fly, depending on the diaper you have on under it.

The cover didn’t really add any bulk.

So cute!!

I of course also used it over the Little Beetle Little-To-Big diaper as well.

The snaps are so easy to do. With some others, the snaps can be really “sticky.”

Better for Babies told me that the “snaps do have to be opened and closed gently (since the 100% organic Merino wool doesn’t have any synthetics), but it’s easy to do so.” That makes me wonder if these are intentionally easier to undo, to avoid yanking on the wool.

I do wish the rise snaps were just a tiny bit “stickier” though. I sometimes inadvertently pop a rise snap on any diaper, usually when I am pulling the diaper to adjust it as I’m putting it on. With the cover, I did it about 3 times in a row and really annoyed myself. I’m sure it is just a learning curve with that. I also popped one somehow with him on my hip. That seems to be my only “complaint” though!

This was really trim over the super trim diaper!

I love that both the diaper and cover will fit babies from “Little-To-Big.” They may be a bit of an investment, but they will last. I also love that they are completely natural, with no synthetic materials at all and that they’re socially conscious as well. See this diaper on my newborn.

Thank you so much to Better For Babies for sending them to me to review! Of course, my love can’t be bought with diapers, so the freebies in no way affected my review!

Check out Better For Babies and Better for Grownups. I’d love to hear what products interest you, and what else you’d like to see me review.

(also see BFB on Facebook, BFG on Facebook, BFB on Twitter and BFG on Twitter!)

Edit August 2010: Although fitteds aren’t really my favorite (I prefer pocket diapers) this is so, so trim, and soft and squishy, I can’t help but love it!

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Category : Cloth Diapers

Kissaluvs Marvels AIO Diaper Review & giveaway CLOSED

Thirsties Fab Wipes and Booty Luster Review and Giveaway! CLOSED

Naturoli Soap Nuts

EllaBella Bottoms Fitted Diaper

Little Beetle Little to Big Diaper and Wool Cover

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