Maya Wrap Ring Sling Review & $30 Eco Mom Gift Certificate Giveaway (CLOSED 11/1)

Oct 25,2011 / By Maria / 5 Comments

EcoMom sells eco-friendly and organic products for moms, kids and babies. I received a $30 gift certificate to spend on a review item for the virtual baby shower, and I had a hard time choosing. I felt like a kid in a candy store with a pocket full of money! EcoMom sells organic food, cloth diapers, natural/organic bath and skincare products, wooden and organic toys and way more eco-friendly gear than I could possibly list.

EcoMom is offering free shipping on all U.S. orders for a limited time. If you buy an Ecopass, you get free shipping all the time, plus 15% on all your orders! They have my favorite…a sale section! All products EcoMom sells are EcoMom approved, and their customer service is excellent!

EcoMom has quite a few slings and carriers, and I finally decided to put my $30 gift certificate towards a Maya Wrap Ring Sling. I love the plum and olive colors, but I decided on the neutral chocolate. The slings retail for $74.95 and are available in small, medium and large sizes. There’s a 6″ length difference between sling sizes, and the small is recommended for people under 5′ 2″ and/or who are slender. Even though I’m not exactly slender right now at 34 weeks pregnant, I am petite and small framed, so I went with the size small so I don’t have to worry about tripping on, or getting tangled up in the sling’s tail!

The slings are recommended for babies from 8-35 pounds, and the strong, light anodized aluminum rings are smooth, weld free and tested to 250 pounds. The 100% hand loomed cotton is soft, cool, breathable, durable and gives without stretching, for support and comfort. The shoulder is padded for comfort, and the unpadded tail can be used as a nursing coverup. The sling came with an instructional DVD, and it also has a zippered pocket to store keys, phone, burp cloths etc.

I was a little overwhelmed when I first opened the sling, but I was determined to figure it out before the baby came! I took lots of photos and videos to share with you. I’m sure I made mistakes and some seasoned ring sling’ers will point them out for me. 😉 I think it will be easier with a real baby vs. a teeny, squishy bear too.

To get your sling ready to use the first time, hold each end of the sling with the tags facing each other. Gather the edges of the tail to the middle.

Put the rings over your wrist to make this next step easier, then bring the tail through the rings.

Then you bring the the tail over the closest ring and under the other ring, then spread the fabric over the rings, making sure it isn’t twisted.

Hold the ring at your shoulder and pull the tail through the rings until the bottom of the pouch is around your hip bone.

Quick video demo (and yes I know my videos aren’t very good! They look so darn dark now, but they didn’t look that way on the camera or my computer. I need to find time to edit them more (just added fill light in YouTube!), but I’m hoping to do this better after I’ve used it with the new baby!):

Once you have done this, you’re pretty much ready to use it every time.

Put your arm through the sling, then bring it over your head.

You will make a pocket for the baby, then support the baby’s weight while you place them in the pocket.

Continue to support your baby’s weight while you tighten the ring sling. Make sure you have read all about babywearing safety! The material that came with the sling had lots of good info about using the sling safely. You want to make sure the baby is positioned correctly, is snug & secure, has his/her face/airway clear and head supported

Again, I’m sure I didn’t do this perfectly!

It wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be though!

The zippered pocket on the tail is really convenient.

Here’s another terrible video, this time of me putting the sling on:

One reason I really wanted a ring sling is that it’s really easy to take it off without disturbing/waking the baby.

Just support the baby’s weight while you pull the rings away from yourself to loosen the sling. Then lift the fabric over baby (while still supporting the baby’s weight of course!) and you’re done. Then it’s just as easy to put it back on again!

Be sure to follow the EcoMom blog, EcoMom on Twitter and “like” EcoMom on Facebook!

~~Giveaway: One winner will receive a $30 Gift Certificate code to spend towards anything you want from Ecomom. Entries go in the Rafflecopter form.~~

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3 bumGenius Freetime Diapers – Giveaway from Diaper Junction (CLOSED 10/6) U.S./Canada

Sep 27,2011 / By Maria / 12 Comments

I think we have all heard the exciting news about the new bumGenius prints (Albert and Lovelace), colors (Dazzle, Mirror and Sassy) and products, including the bumGenius! Freetime diapers and Flip Potty Trainers!

They are not shipping until December, but Diaper Junction (one of my favorite places to buy cloth diapers!) is giving one of my readers the chance to win not one but three of the bumGenius Freetime One Size AIO cloth diapers!

Like everyone else, I haven’t gotten to see or try these diapers, and while AIOs aren’t my favorite type of diaper, I’m still really excited to try them. I think the soaker style (sewn in at the ends only) will be much easier to thoroughly clean than the sewn in style of the now discontinued sized AIOs. The style will also allow you to fold the soakers to put maximum absorbency just where you need it, and they are topped with stay-dry material. The shell is lined with an extra layer of microfiber terry and a stay dry material touching baby as well!

On the flip side, they won’t be quite as cloth diaper novice friendly as a pre-stuffed pocket diaper, and the soaker style may make them a little more messy to clean (if poopy) like the Organic O/S AIO (Elemental) diapers. Obviously, that’s all just speculation, since I haven’t actually tried them!

They will be the snap-down rise one size style we expect from bumGenius, and will be available in both Velcro and snap closures.

The Freetime diapers will retail for $19.95 each ($2.00 extra for prints) and Diaper Junction will offer quantity discounts when you purchase 3-5, 6-11 or 12+ at a time! Get on the waiting list now, and then enter to win some!

Giveaway: Diaper Junction is offering one of my readers 3 solid color bumGenius Freetime diapers. Diapers will ship in December and while I will pass along your color/closure preferences and DJ will do their best to fulfill your favorites, winner chooses just boy, girl or gender neutral.

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Happy Heinys XS Newborn Pocket Diaper Review (Plus Discount)

Aug 11,2011 / By Maria / 4 Comments

The Happy Heinys XS pocket diaper is sized to fit tiny newborns. I haven’t been able to find a size range for the XS, but the small is 8-16 lbs, so I imagine this XS would be perhaps 5-12 lbs. I do have another post coming up comparing the XS pocket to the mini-one size!

The diaper comes with Velcro closures, and extra-gentle leg elastic (not encased.)

The diapers retail for $18.95 with a microfiber insert, but you can get them for $2.00 less without an insert. Since I have plenty of small inserts, I elected to save the $2.00!

The small insert from my one-size Happy Heinys diaper was too wide, but a narrower insert fit just fine.

Here is the diaper measured folded and stretched:

The XS pocket compared to the one-size diaper on the small setting:

Finally, here’s my “model” in a newborn disposable, compared to the XS pocket:

See this on my newborn.

Discount: Shop http://www.happyheinystore.com/ and enter ThanksBloggers10 at checkout to receive 10% off your entire order!

FTC compliance: I purchased the above products myself, with a coupon code. I was not compensated for this post and all opinions are my own.

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Happy Heinys Mini One Size Cloth Diaper Review (Plus Discount!)

Jul 27,2011 / By Maria / 4 Comments

Last week, I reviewed the “new style” Happy Heinys one-size diaper. Today, I’m reviewing the mini one-size diaper! The mini-one size with inserts retails for $17.95, but just like the one-size, there are discontinued colors (burgundy, forest green, hot pink, light pink & peach) available at a $6 discount. Grab one for $2 less if you don’t need an insert, then add the discount code I have for you to get the price under $9!

I chose the light pink figuring it might be light enough to pass for off white. I think it does look rather pink, but I’m not too concerned about it. I mean, it is a diaper, right?

“Mini One-Size” is a fitting name, since it looks like a miniature version of the one-size! It has 3 rise settings (the o/s has 4) to fit 4-15 lbs, Velcro closures, and the same leg elastic.

The mini one-size comes with two inserts (if you don’t elect to save the $2 instead!) in extra-small and small. I tried the small insert from my one-size Happy Heinys diaper and though it was a wee bit wide. I’m curious about the size and shape of the inserts that come with the diaper, but I have plenty of newborn inserts/doublers that came with all my one-size diapers! I found one that was a little bit narrower and it worked really well.

Here is each size measured folded and stretched:

Small:

Medium:

Large:

Here is the largest setting and the smallest setting of the mini one size, compared to the smallest setting of the (full size) one size:

Here’s my “model” in a preemie disposable, compared to the smallest setting of the mini one-size:

Newborn disposable vs. medium setting of the mini one-size:

I also have a review coming up of the extra-small Happy Heinys pocket diaper, along with a separate post comparing it to the mini one-size. Grab a discontinued color without an insert, use the discount code below, and get a mini-one-size for under $9! I also wanted to mention Happy Heinys’ Micro Mini Stages AIO diapers, which fit babies 1-3 lbs, 2-4 lbs and 3-6 lbs. While it makes me sad to think of babies that tiny, I think it is awesome to have a cloth option.

See fit on a newborn.

Discount: Shop http://www.happyheinystore.com/ and enter ThanksBloggers10 at checkout to receive 10% off your entire order!

FTC compliance: I purchased the above products myself, with a coupon code. I was not compensated for this post and all opinions are my own.

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Happy Heiny New Style One Size Cloth Diaper Review / Comparison to Old Style & Discount

Jul 21,2011 / By Maria / 6 Comments

My Happy Heiny Monkey Print and Peace Bear print diapers were some of the first in my stash. Within a few months, I figured out that they really didn’t fit my slender son well. By the way, yes I know my “reviews” were terrible when I first started!

Happy Heiny now has an improved style that better fits average to slender babies! You can still get the original style if you love them, but they are made to order. The Happy Heiny Store has several discontinued colors available, that are discounted $6.00 below the $18.95 MSRP (burgundy, candy, forest green, hot pink, light pink, peach & purple.) Get one without an insert and save another $2.00. I was able to get this purple diaper for just $10.95, less an additional discount (I have one for you too!) So, if you like one of the discontinued colors and you have a spare insert, you can get these for less than $10 each!

The other thing I wasn’t thrilled about with my old Happy Heinys was the Velcro closures/laundry tabs. The diaper I got this time has snap closures, with overlap. You can also get the new style with velcro closures, and the same colors are available at the discounted price!

The diaper has 4 rise settings, and is estimated to fit up to 35 pounds. Happy Heiny calls the sizes newborn, small, medium and large, but I tend to refer to them as small, medium, large and extra large, as it does run a wee bit big. I have reviews coming up for the XS pocket and the mini one size as well, and they are far more likely to fit a newborn than this, in my opinion.

The new style still has the same leg elastic and pocket opening.

Overall, nothing jumps out at me as being different.

Here I’ve compared each size, folded and stretched. The purple snap diaper is the “new” style and the peace bears Velcro closure is the “old” style.

Smallest size setting:

Second to smallest setting:

Third/next to largest setting:

Fourth/largest setting:

The larger settings are most noticeably smaller, and the new style definitely fits my 24ish pound 25 month old better.

Here he is in the next-to-largest setting of both:

Most importantly, we’re not experiencing any of the leak issues we had with the old style, even when he “napped” (and by “napped” I mean fell asleep face down on the floor of my office because he refuses to take real naps!)

Discount: Shop http://www.happyheinystore.com/ and enter ThanksBloggers10 at checkout to receive 10% off your entire order!

FTC compliance: I purchased the above products myself, with a coupon code. I was not compensated for this post and all opinions are my own.

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Category : Retailers

Maya Wrap Ring Sling Review & $30 Eco Mom Gift Certificate Giveaway (CLOSED 11/1)

3 bumGenius Freetime Diapers – Giveaway from Diaper Junction (CLOSED 10/6) U.S./Canada

Happy Heinys XS Newborn Pocket Diaper Review (Plus Discount)

Happy Heinys Mini One Size Cloth Diaper Review (Plus Discount!)

Happy Heiny New Style One Size Cloth Diaper Review / Comparison to Old Style & Discount

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