Mailbox Mondays

Mailbox Mondays 8/2/10

Aug 2,2010 / By / 3 Comments

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Every Monday I will answer user submitted questions.  They don’t have to be about cloth diapering!  I’ll always answer questions via email, but if you would like your question to be answered in a Mailbox Mondays post, send an email with the subject “Mailbox Mondays” to change.diapers.change.the.world at gmail dot com!

Before I get started, I wanted to remind you that I’m going to be a regular poster at The Village of Moms.  You may remember my guest post series about cloth diapering.  I’ll be posting the first Monday of every month, and today is my first post!  I’ll be writing about cloth diapering, baby wearing, “green” and frugal topics, as well as crafts, recipes and more!  I’d love for you to read my first post, which is about Homemade Kool-Aid Scented Play Dough!

The first question is from Stephanie:

I know you answered a question last week about nighttime diapering, but I’ve got another one.


When it comes to nighttime diapering, I know the words trim and absorbent don’t mix. But, I am looking for a solution that is as trim as possible that will work for a 27lb 20 month old. Having a bulky diaper bothers her and she just cant sleep (I wouldn’t be able to either). She is not a super wetter, but needs good absorbency to make it through the night.


Thanks!


Stephanie
 
Night time diapering seems to be the biggest conundrum in cloth diapering, second only to wash routines!  The solution for your daughter will really hinge on how heavy of a wetter she is.  A pocket diaper with a Superdo insert is the trimmest you will get (in my opinion) and still get ultra-absorbency. 
 
At this point, my son actually doesn’t need that much absorbency anymore.  If your daughter doesn’t either, you might try the Loopydo insert instead, adding a hemp doubler if needed.
 
The flip cover with the organic insert is trimmer than others, and has proved a great solution for many babies.
 
Another thing to think about is using a wool soaker over an absorbent fitted.  My experience has been that the more absorbent fitteds are bulkier, but I’ve recently discovered that hemp fitteds can be very absorbent without the bulk. 
 
I wish there was an easy answer, that I could tell you exactly what to get, but it’s really trial and error!
 
The next question is from Amanda:
 
My little one has had a recurring yeast rash in his diaper area for several months now. We brought him back to the Dr last week and she told me to bleach all my diapers and then do an extra rinse before hanging them in the sun to dry. I am terribly afraid of using bleach on my dipes, especially since many of them specifically say on the tags NO BLEACH. Is there something else I can do to make sure there are no nasty yeasties living in his diapers? We use pockets with a variety of inserts-bamboo, hemp, microfiber and plain old cotton prefolds and all of his dipes have Bamboo or organic cotton lining. HELP!


Amanda
 
I’m sorry you’re dealing with this!  Not fun for you or baby! 
 
There are other things you can try before you resort to bleach.  Around 3-4 drops (front loader, 4-6 for a top loader) of tea tree oil or grapefruit seed oil along with a hot wash, followed by drying in the sun.  Water temps need to be above 122 degrees to kill the yeast.  If you turn your water heater up to wash, be sure to turn it back down afterward!
 
Boiling water is also a good bet, but only on the prefolds.  You can damage the PUL, snaps and aplix on your pocket diapers.
 
I would definitely not recommend bleaching your diapers on a regular basis, however, 1/4 cup of bleach to a load of diapers will be very effective in killing the yeast, and doing this once will be very unlikely to damage your diapers.  Of course, do not pour bleach directly on the diapers!
 
You will want to use liners in your diapers if you are using a topical cream to treat the yeast.  I don’t usually recommend using disposables, but you might want to think about using a few until things are really cleared up.
 
 
As usual, these are my opinions, I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on T.V.  Follow manufacturer’s instructions carefully, I’m not responsible for any damage or injuries.  (There, is my tushie covered?)

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Friday Giveaway Linky Giveaways Linky

Weekly Friday Giveaway Roundup for July 30th, 2010

Jul 30,2010 / By / 2 Comments

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Each Friday, I will post cloth diaper, babywearing and “green” giveaways that I’ve found, or that readers have submitted. The post will be accompanied by a linky where you may enter any family friendly (no “adult” products please!) giveaways, they do not need to be diaper related.

If you have a cloth diaper/accessory/babywearing/green giveaway you would like to be listed in the next giveaway roundup post, please email a link, blog name, giveaway title, end date and photo (if applicable) to change.diapers.change.the.world at gmail dot com.

My SoftBums Echo Slide2Size Dry Touch Solo Pack giveaway ends 8/6!

This week’s giveaway finds:
Giveaways still running from last week:

Ergo Baby Carrier from My New Life as Mom (ends 8/10)

Planet Wise Medium Wet Bag from Mom to Bed by 8 (ends 8/2)

Planet Wise Wet/Dry Bag from Hot Tips 4 U (ends 8/9)

Best Bottoms Diaper from Dirty Diaper Laundry (ends 8/2)

Inspired by Finn Amber Teething Necklace from Mommy is Green (ends 8/3)

Bummas Wipes from The Thrifty Things (ends 8/3)

Knickernappies Diaper from Wee Little Changes (ends 8/22)

Lil Joeys Newborn Diapers from Giggle Britches and The Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative (ends 8/10)

Enivbum Cloth Diaper or Mom4Mom cover and liner from Two of a Kind Working on a Full House (ends 8/2)

Sprout Change Diaper from Mommy is Green and The Willow Store (ends 8/2) Open to the U.S. and Canada

Preston’s Pants Diaper ($20 gift certificate) from Organic Girl Open to the U.S. and Canada! (ends 8/4)

You may enter any family friendly giveaway in the linky below, and you can use the code to paste it into your own blog as well. The format Blog name – Giveaway Item – Ending date works well. At a minimum, please include the item and end date, and link directly to the giveaway.

Please view my post on where I list my giveaways to find more great places to link up!

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

Kim’s Kloth Pocket Diaper Tester Review

Jul 29,2010 / By / 1 Comment

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When Kim of Kim’s Crafts decided to start selling Kim’s Kloth Diapers, she needed testers.  Usually a WAHM will want the feedback of moms with different age and size babies before selling outside of her circle of friends.
I like to think I’m a good tester because I’m pretty good at evaluating products in a detailed fashion, and heaven knows I don’t hold back, hee hee.
I tested a one size pocket diaper, which is right up my alley.  I really enjoyed testing for Kim because she seemed to really listen to my feedback, and I didn’t have to worry about her taking my comments about the diaper as personal criticism!  As you read my review, please keep in mind that I tested a prototype, and Kim took all of her tester’s feedback into account while tweaking her final product.
Kim is having the Kim’s Kloth Store grand opening on Thursday, August 5th at noon, and you can get 10% off everything all week!
The diaper has a nice pocket opening, though it wasn’t quite as big as a Bumgenius. 
The snaps include the ability to overlap for small babies.
I thought the stitching was very even, I had to scrutinize to find an area that was a tiny bit off, and looking at this picture, even up close, it’s hardly noticeable. 

Initially, I misunderstood and thought this was a sized diaper, and put it on my son as shipped (large setting.)

The package included clear instructions on how to adjust the leg elastic, so I think I was just having a major brain lapse that day.

It was a little loose on the large setting of course, since my son normally wears mediums.

Stuffed with the included microfiber towel, it was very trim.  I’m not a huge fan of the microfiber towel for various reasons!

The next time I used the diaper, I adjusted the leg elastic.  It’s easily accessible through the pocket.

The snaps are pretty “sticky” so you don’t have to worry about them coming loose during use. 

It took a firm tug to get each snap out of the opening, but it wasn’t difficult at all.  There are a total of four settings.

I had an extra BumGenius microfiber insert, so I decided to try it in the Kim’s Kloth.

The insert is a little wider than the diaper.

So I wasn’t able to get it to lay quite flat.  I think a narrower insert would work well.  If I remember correctly, the Fuzzibunz insert would probably be a great fit!

Above is the small setting, folded.

There’s the small setting, stretched.
Above, the large setting folded.  I think, I think!  It’s been a while since I took these photos!
Stretched
In the end, I settled on the next-to-smallest size.
Kim estimates the weight range to be 15-40 pounds.  My son was around 17.5 lbs and had plenty of room to grow in them.  I’d love to see this in a slightly smaller pattern as well, for newborn-15 pounds, like the stages/duo diapers that other brands have.

I noticed that the inner of the diaper got a bit pilly after several washings, and we did have a bit of wicking at the legs.  However, I think that was probably due to my lack of microfiber folding skills!  I’d love to try it with an insert sewn specifically to fit it.

The diapers will sell for $13 (bargain!) with a microfiber towel inluded for stuffing.  You can elect to purchase a sewn insert for $1 extra.  Kim also made some tweaks to the snap arrangement on the final product!

“Like” the Kim’s Crafts Facebook page to see fan submitted photos of the diaper on other babies, and keep tabs on the grand opening!
I received a diaper for the purposes of testing, opinions are mine and I wasn’t required to write a review at all, let alone a positive one.  🙂
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Giveaway Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Bumgenius Giveaway Winner!

Jul 29,2010 / By / 2 Comments

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I can’t believe how many entries this giveaway received!  I had so much fun reading all of the entries.  The “say anything” entries are my favorite! 

I hope everyone liked the bonus entry to share.  I thought it was nice to give everyone a chance for a bonus entry that they could choose, according to their own comfort level, without losing out to the person willing to do 10,000 various things to gain entries! 

The winner is Kendra of Seen and Heard!  Kendra, I’ve emailed you at the address listed in your blogger profile!

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All In One Diapers All In Two Diapers Cloth Diapers Giveaway Made in the USA Natural Fiber One Size Diapers Review

SoftBums Echo Slide to Size Diaper Review

Jul 27,2010 / By / 752 Comments

 

softbums
One of my readers (darn, can’t remember who now!) told me about SoftBums.  When I looked into them, I was really intrigued, since I’ve never seen anything quite like them!
The SoftBums system consists of a waterproof outer shell, and snap in inserts (pods).
I received a chocolate color shell (adorable!) with a dry touch pod, an organic bamboo pod and a stay dry newborn insert/doubler (mini pod).

 

That isn’t what makes it so unique though!  SoftBums doesn’t have a snap down rise or adjustable elastic with 3 or 4 sizes.  It doesn’t have a fold down rise with 2 sizes.  It has infinitely adjustable elastic with a drawstring system.
 
I’ve joked about newborn “chicken legs” but this diaper comes pretty close to fitting an actual chicken’s legs.  As in buck-buck-bagawwww chicken legs.  It gets that tiny!
The front of the shell has a small opening. 
This is what the toggles to adjust the elastic look like.  You do have to fish them out; I am positive there is zero risk of a child getting them out of the diaper, so no choking risk.
At it’s tiniest, it gets tiny.  Above the diaper is folded, below it is stretched.
With the elastic fully expanded, it gets fairly large.  Here it is folded.
I can’t really say “stretched” for this next pic because I had the elastic fully expanded, so there wasn’t any tension, if that makes sense!
Initially, I was kind of overwhelmed about the completely customizable elastic sizing.  I’m not used to more than 4 options!  I decided to take one of my son’s size mediums, and try to get the diaper to a similar size, then tweak it from there.
It took a little playing around to figure it out, but I think I got it pretty close!
The inside of the diaper is lined with super soft material, so there’s no PUL touching baby’s skin.  The inserts snap in.
The inserts fit inside the diaper so perfectly, it really is an all-in-two; the cover can be re-used for several changes.
When you use the stay dry insert, you just have to be sure to fold it under, not toward the baby, so the soft microfleece is touching the skin, rather than the microfiber.
I washed the diaper and inserts, and hung the shell to dry.
I initially tried the stay-dry insert, since that’s my preference.  I wish I could remember what left such awful red marks on his legs.  🙁
I usually choose pocket diapers for their ease of use, but this was super easy.  Maybe it’s the Velcro closures that make it so much simpler.  Other diapers I have with this type of insert have fold down rises and snap closures, so I’m folding, holding in place, folding a rise, then trying to snap 3 snaps on each wing, all while holding everything in place on a wiggly baby.
I daresay the SoftBums system is Daddy friendly!
I found the SoftBums to be very trim as well, different than other one size diapers and different than other diapers with similar soakers.
We had no leaks and no wicking.  In fact, this has served as both a nap time and car-ride diaper, and I’d continue to grab for it for either situation.  Especially since it is so easy to take multiple “changes” on the road with a few soakers and maybe an extra shell.
I wasn’t quite as fond of the organic bamboo insert.  It was incredibly soft and absorbed very well.  However, it was a bit larger than the stay dry insert, and didn’t fit quite as well in the diaper. edit: Sarah at SoftBums let me know that the organic bamboo insert will eventually shrink to the same size as the dry-touch insert.  I’ve washed on hot and dried on high several times and haven’t noticed a difference just yet!
It seemed rather bulky on, and I had to tuck the insert in a bit.
My package also included this cute wipe.  My daughter tried to claim it to use for her babies since it is girly, but it is so soft, and stacks perfectly on top of my Thirsties wipes, so I’ve been using it.  I don’t think my son has noticed the teapots!
When I have some funds, I definitely want to buy another SoftBums Echo shell and a few stay dry pods to use on the go.  I also think adding a few of the mini pods would make a great and affordable newborn solution!  A single shell retails for $21.95, DryTouch Pods $4.95, SUPER DryTouch (extra absorbent) Pods $5.95, Organic Pods $9.95 and Mini Pods $2.95.  The shells come in 9 colors and three limited edition prints, and there are tons of packages available! See this diaper on my newborn.
Want one?  Find a retailer or win one!

One lucky reader will win a SoftBums Dry-touch Echo Solo pack in their choice of color!.  Here’s how to enter:

You may do any or all of the below.  Please be sure to leave your email address in at least one comment if it isn’t in your profile.  If you are using the “anonymous” option, please leave your email address in all comments.

1. Visit SoftBums and tell me what color shell is your favorite.
2. Follow this blog.
3. Like me on Facebook
4. Like Softbums on Facebook
5. Follow me on Twitter
6. Follow SoftBums on Twitter
7. Tweet about this giveaway and link back here.  One tweet per day please.  You may use this if you like: @chgdiapers has a @softbums #slide2size #clothdiaper #giveaway until 8/6 http://bit.ly/boqwgc
8. Share this blog or giveaway somehow.  See the stack of “share the love” icons on the left of the page.  You can use the StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Facebook or Delicious icons if you have account there, you can post about this in your Facebook status (@Fitteds and Pockets and Snappis, oh my! and @SoftBums if you do that and please link to this blog post.)  You can tell a friend via email, post on a cloth diapering board or group, “Favorite” my blog on Technorati or even vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs – Mom Blog Directory I’m not picky, just share with someone you think might be interested!  This is going on the honor system, just leave me a comment telling me what you did to share.

This giveaway is open to the U.S. only.

I will accept entries until Friday, August 6th at 9 P.M. Eastern.  I’ll choose a winner with random.org’s true random number generator and notify the winner by email.  Winner will have 48 hours to claim the prize before it is forfeited and a new winner is chosen.
Thank you to SoftBums for providing the review and giveaway products.  As always, all opinions are my  own, I didn’t receive any other compensation and I wasn’t requested or required to write a positive review!
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