Bumgenius Freetime Cloth Diapers from Diaper Junction – Winner!

Oct 6,2011 / By Maria / 1 Comment

Whew!! After I sorted through all these entries, there were 380 unique entrants, and 1513 valid entries!!

The winning entry is #571, which is Krystyn.

Congrats Krystyn, I’m sending you an email now!

0

Thirsties Duo Cloth Diaper Giveaway (CLOSED 10/13) US/Canada

Oct 6,2011 / By Maria / 15 Comments

I bought my Thirsties Duo Diaper and published my Thirsties Duo Diaper review about 16 months ago. Take a look at it for all the detailed photos, info and measurements! (It is one that migrated from blogger to WordPress, so the text is a little squished, sorry! Manually fixing the spacing on all those posts is on my to-do list!)

16 months later and I still love this diaper. I bought the size two, which fit my son at a year old, and still fits him at 28 months old, with lots of room to grow. I haven’t had any of the longevity issues with the Velcro that I’ve had with some other diapers.

The Duo Diapers are “one-size style” with 3 snap down rise settings, but they come in two sizes. Size 1 is estimated to fit 6-18 lbs and size 2 fits 18-40 lbs. This means that two sizes of diapers should get you all the way through potty training.

I love this diaper not only because the open-on-both-ends pocket actually does allow the insert to agitate out in the wash, but for the insert itself. It’s actually two inserts that snap together: a 2-layer microfiber insert and a 5 layer 55% hemp, 45% cotton insert. You don’t need to unsnap them to wash, and not being sewn together means they are easier to get clean. I did notice that over time, they shrunk a little unevenly so they don’t lay exactly flat against each other, but once they’re in the diaper, you can’t tell. The microfiber/hemp combo is a favorite of mine. Put the microfiber side closest to baby so the moisture is wicked away quickly, then the hemp layer underneath locks it away. This is definitely a reliable “car ride” diaper!

The Duo Diaper retails for $18.50 in solid colors, and Thirsties just added “mud” (brown) to the lineup! The prints, including the adorable owl print, retail for $19.50. Thirsties also just announced that the Duo Diapers are now available with snap closures!!

Be sure to request a Thirsties print catalog and “like” Thirsties on Facebook!

Giveaway: Thirsties is offering one winner a duo diaper in his/her choice of size (one: 6-18 lb or two: 18-40 lb), solid color and closure (subject to availability!) ARV $18.50. Entries go in the Rafflecopter form.

0

Zoobies Blankie Babies / Blanket Pet Review & Giveaway (CLOSED 10/13)

Oct 6,2011 / By Maria / 14 Comments

Clearly I’ve been living in the dark ages, because I had never heard of Zoobies until about a month ago! If you’ve been living under the same rock I had been, Zoobies are plush “friends” that become a pillow, and have a fleece blanket inside.

The original blanket pets retail for $35, and are available in 24 adorable animals. Their sizes vary based on which animal you choose, but they are quite large, and the blanket measures 34″ x 44.” 9 adorable Storytime Pals feature your favorite characters, and retail for $38. Three slumber pets have sleeping bags inside instead and retail for $50. All are recommended for ages 3+, but safety tested for all ages.

I knew I couldn’t get one for one child and not the other, so instead I let them work together to choose one for the new baby. They both loved the Olivia Storytime pal, but we decided on the Baby Tama the Tortoise Blankie Baby.

The 6 cute blankie babies are smaller versions of the blanket pets, that are recommended for ages 0-2 and retail for $25.

They still serve as a friend, pillow and have a blanket measuring approximately 30″ x 24″ inside.

They also have a silky soft square on the blanket corner, and a detachable teething ring.

Velcro underneath allows it to turn from a cuddly stuffed animal to a pillow.

The blanket zips off for laundering, and it was not difficult to stuff it back in!

They’re not overwhelmingly large for the under two crowd, have squishy soft heads, and Zoobies polyester fill is made of recycled plastic (PET) bottles!

~~Giveaway: Zoobies is offering one of my readers the product of his/her choice (ARV $25-$50.) Entries go in the Rafflecopter form.~~

0

Earth Mama Angel Baby A Little Something for Mama to Be Review & Giveaway US/Canada (CLOSED 10/12)

Oct 5,2011 / By Maria / 9 Comments

Earth Mama Angel Baby (EMAB) has fabulous, toxin-free products for pregnancy, postpartum, breastfeeding, baby and family as well as gifts. They have a line of baby loss comfort products, as well as the Healing Hearts Baby Loss Comfort website and Healing Hearts Baby Loss Comfort Facebook page.

I have a soft spot for EMAB because more than a year and a half ago, I had only been blogging for around 4 months, and I was just getting up the guts to try and ask for sponsors for the blog. Not only did I get to review the Earth Mama Angel Baby Bottom Balm and Happy Mama Body Wash, but Tracey of EMAB actually took the time to talk to me on the phone and direct me to several great resources. Do you believe that a year and a half later, we still haven’t used all of our bottom balm? A little goes such a long way, and cloth was really the rash cure for us!

Anyway, EMAB sent me the “A Little Something for Mama to Be” gift package, as well as the New Mama Bottom Spray.

A Little Something For Mama-To-Be Includes:
Happy Mama Hand to Toe Wash 1.67oz
Happy Mama Spray 1oz
Earth Mama Body Butter 2oz
Natural Stretch Oil 1oz
Organic Morning Wellness Tea (2 bags)

When I received this package, I thought about what an awesome gift this would be for a Mama who just shared the news she was expecting. Especially a Mama who is expecting her second, third (etc.) child and is far to busy with the other kids to pamper herself, and is unlikely to receive gifts this time around!

The Earth Mama Body Butter contains organic ingredients, no artificial fragrances, preservatives or dyes and zero toxins! It is delicately scented, absorbs into skin thoroughly, and is heaven for itchy pregnant skin!

Ingredients: Aloe barbadensis (organic aloe) leaf juice, Olea europaea (organic olive) fruit oil, Helianthus annuus (organic sunflower) seed oil, Kosher vegetable glycerin, Butyrospermum parkii (organic shea) butter, Olivoyl hydrolyzed wheat protein, Cetearyl alcohol, Glyceryl oleate, Glyceryl stearate, Citrus sinensis (organic sweet orange) oil, Aspalathus linearis (organic rooibos) leaf extract, Simmondsia chinensis (organic jojoba) seed oil, Calendula officinalis (organic calendula) flower extract, Borago officinalis (organic borage) seed oil, Rubus idaeus (organic red raspberry) seed oil, Citrus aurantium amara (neroli) oil, Vanilla planifolia (organic vanilla) extract, Xanthan gum

The Happy Mama Hand to Toe Wash contains no petrochemicals, petroleum or petroleum byproducts, 1,4-Dioxane, formaldehyde, or phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, cocomidopropyl betaine or other synthetic foaming agents or surfactants, no artificial preservatives, parabens, phenoxyethanol, Quaternium-15 etc. and no artificial emulsifiers. It has a natural, citrus-y ginger scent that would help ease the quease, though luckily I was over the morning sickness stage by the time I received this package!

Ingredients: Saponified Cocos nucifera (organic coconut) oil, Saponified Olea europaea (organic olive) oil, Aloe barbadensis (organic aloe) leaf juice, Kosher vegetable glycerin, Butyrospermun parkii (organic shea) butter, Potassium citrate, Zingiber officinalis (ginger) oil, Citrus paradisi (organic grapefruit) peel oil, Citrus aurantifolia (organic lime) oil, Vanilla planifolia (organic vanilla) bean extract, Calendula officinalis (organic calendula) extract.

Happy Mama Spray is an aromatherapy spray that the whole family will love (if you share!) It is made with a safe, proprietary blend that includes lime and ginger pure essential oils.

Ingredients: water, Citrus aurantifolia (organic lime) essential oil, Zingiber officinale (ginger) essential oil, Citrus reticulate (tangerine) essential oil, Citrus sinensis (organic sweet orange) essential oil, Olea europa (organic olive ) oil, Cananga idirata gebyuba (ylang ylang) essential oil and Borago officinalis (borage) flower essence.

The Natural Stretch Oil is vegan, cruelty free and conains no nut oils. Of course, it has zero toxins and no artificial preservatives, fragrance or color. You can use it for itchy pregnant bellies, as a massage oil (or for perineal massage) or even as a bath oil!

Ingredients: Vitis vinifera (grape) seed oil, Simmondsia chinensis (organic jojoba) seed oil, Borago officinalis (organic borage) seed oil, Matricaria recutita (organic chamomile) extract, Calendula officinalis (organic calendula) extract, a proprietary blend of Citrus sinensis (organic orange) essential oil, Citrus aurantium dulsis (neroli) oil.

Lastly, the Organic Morning Wellness Tea is USDA Certified 100% Organic & Certified Kosher, and contains ginger root and spearmint, a hint of Peppermint, Chamomile and Lemon Balm with a little Orange Peel for flavor. It is caffeine free and packaged in biodegradable, easy to brew tea bags with compostable overwrap. Again, I’m over the morning sickness phase, but my BFF recently received some fantastic news and is in dire need of these, so I’ve passed them on to her. 🙂

Ingredients: Zingiber officinale (organic ginger) root, Mentha spicata (organic spearmint) leaf, Matricaria recutita (organic chamomile) flower, Citrus sinensis (organic orange) peel, Melissa officinalis (organic lemon balm) leaf, Mentha piperita (organic peppermint) leaf.

The other item I received was not part of the above package, and that is the New Mama Bottom Spray. It sounds weird to say this, but I’m looking forward to trying this. Ideally sure, the baby would slip right out with nary a scratch or swelling, but let’s be realistic here! Even the easiest births will leave you uncomfortable for a while, and that’s where this soothing perineal mist comes in! With witch hazel, lavender and peppermint oil, it will soothe postpartum discomfort, and the bottle even sprays upside down! As usual, toxin free and nothing artificial! You can even use it for sunburn, puffy eyes, razor burn and more!

Ingredients: water, Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) leaf extract, Cucumis sativus (cucumber) extract, kosher vegetable glycerin, proprietary blend of Lavendula angustifolia (organic lavender) oil, Mentha piperita (organic peppermint) oil..

You can use all of Earth Mama Angel Baby’s products with no worries about any harm to yourself, your family or your baby from toxins or artificial anything!

Be sure to “like” Earth Mama Angel Baby on Facebook, follow Earth Mama Angel Baby on Twitter and follow the Earth Mama Angel Baby blog!

Giveaway: Earth Mama Angel Baby is offering one of my readers an “A Little Something for Mama to Be” gift pack (ARV $19.95)

0

Motherhood Personal Posts

Slightly Strange Reasons I’m Proud of My 2-Year Old

Oct 5,2011 / By Maria / 5 Comments

We’re all proud of our kids. They’re the cutest, sweetest, most brilliant children on the face of the earth. After all, they are our children, right? 😉

My daughter was so verbally advanced that I have to try really hard not to compare. When the pediatrician asks questions about my son’s development, he has to remind me that my daughter is/was exceptional, and I can’t use her as a benchmark! However, my son has totally shocked me in the past several months.

I’m going to be annoying and say he’s “28 months old.” I promise I will not be saying 40whatever months, leaving you scrunching up your face, doing mental math! It just seems like there’s such a huge, huge difference between a child who just turned two, a child who is 2 and 2 months, 4 months, almost 3 etc.

In the months since his birthday, his vocabulary and sentence structure has exploded. He’s counting to 15, singing songs and all that good stuff. Not only can he count to 15, he seems to have a slight grasp on #s, as in, he knows that “free bellypops” (three lollipops) are way better than one or two!!

The other weekend, he used a public potty with no potty seat and he accidentally drew a perfect lower case e on his magna doodle. Oh accident schmacksident, he’s a regular Einstein! Tee-hee!

He also understands if/then propositions way better than my daughter did at that age (heck, better than she does now!) He totally gets we’ll change your diaper, then we’ll go down and play. Picks a diaper, lays right down, then hops up ready to go! Unfortunately he also has the selective hearing that’s common to 2-year olds (and the male species in general), so “eat dinner, then you can have candy” backfires, since he only hears “you can have candy!”

The same day he used the public potty, he was holding a lemon slice from my water (and don’t tell me about all the reports about germs on lemons, I don’t want to think about it…ew) and my daughter was having her usual fit of pouting because “I want a lemon too!” (read this like: I want an oompa loompa now!!) and my son, without hesitation, ripped the lemon slice in half and gave her a piece!

I know sharing and 2-year olds is an iffy issue, especially since my 6-year old sets a terrible example. (We’re working on that, but she was an only child for almost 4 1/2 years, so it’s tough!) His willingness to share actually leads me to probably the top reason I’m proud of my son.

He has an uncanny ability to read people’s facial expressions and feelings, and he has genuine empathy for other people. Even when we are reading books, he will analyze the characters and other illustrations and say something like; “Pooh Bear sad, water fall down.” That was in a book where Pooh Bear slipped and knocked his honey pot over.

When we were dropping my daughter off at gymnastics, he saw a child a little younger than him crying, looked concerned, and said “He’s crying. He’s mad.” I didn’t even know if the child was crying out of sadness or anger/frustration, but his mother agreed that he was indeed mad! He is always concerned when his sister has a tantrum (daily, at least) and wants to make things better. He even tries to stick up for her, like the other day when she said my dinner was “disgusting” and wanted “something else.” He tried to ask me for “sunthin’ ewse” for her, on her behalf!

He also has a genuine understanding of “I’m sorry.” He may step on my foot and when I say “ow” (that kid seriously stomps for such a little guy!) he will turn around, say “I’m sorry” and give me a little pat, or otherwise make sure I’m OK. If he spills something, he will say “I’m sorry Mommy!” and he’ll go grab a towel to help clean it up.

It may seem like a strange thing to be proud of, but it seems like American boys/men are taught that they shouldn’t have feelings, let alone show them, nor should they have any regard for anyone else’s feelings either. Two year olds are supposed to be self-centered, so it’s just amazing to me that he’s more in-tune with others’ feelings than his 6-year old sister (or most adults for that matter!!)

Are there any things your kids do that make you proud, that might seem like a weird thing to be proud of?

0