Happy 2012!

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I Was Dreaming Of A White Christmas

But as most of you have probably seen, that came and went. As much as I love being able to drive without worrying about ice or snow, I have to admit that it really doesn't feel like December. I'm hoping to not jinx anything, but I'd love to see a little white!

Please Excuse My Absence

I've been struggling lately. Since J's semi burnt to the ground, we've been having one hit after another. 2 weeks ago he fractured his wrist on the road and tore the tendons in his arm. He cannot return to work for an undetermined amount of time, and we have yet to hear an update about his workers compensation checks that he is supposed to be receiving. I know it's only been a couple weeks, but being it's right after the holidays now, we're still handling that financial blow, and the guilt that Buggie didn't get a single gift from us. Christmas Eve, J's ear drum popped. So along with not being able to use his right hand for anything, he can't hear, and has [WARNING - EWWW!] blood and puss leaking from his ear. Yuck!

About a month ago I found out I was expecting again. Just days before J had his latest accident, I began to miscarry. J still does not know I was expecting. Nor does anyone else. This was going to be a surprise, and I'm glad I kept my mouth shut, but now I've been dealing with this emotional hurt on my own.

Please excuse my absence lately. I have not forgotten about my blog, or my readers. In fact, I have quite a bit in store for you all! It's just taken me quite a bit of oomph to get back to wanting to do anything.

I hope you all had a fabulous holiday! I've been so thankful for my precious angel, Bug, that he's happy and healthy. And we're so blessed to have him in our lives.

Merry Christmas!

529 Baby Review

The wet bag. Considered a cloth diapering essential by most, and something that has failed me time and time again over the past year. I've tried pail liners of different brands, only to find a pool of, uhm, diaper... leftovers.... in the bottom of the pail on laundry day, followed by a dripping mess from the bathroom to the laundry room. I've tried hanging wet bags that literally drip, more...diaper... goo... from the seams. Nasty. Especially with a curious toddler and 2 dogs who lick every off the floor. Yuck!

Out of desperation, I contacted Kristen from 529 Baby about her variety of hanging wetbags. She sent me a large hanging bag with top center handles for easy hanging on hooks or door knobs.

Although her wetbags have a zippered top, I do prefer to leave them open at all times. I honestly feel that it does help with air circulation in the bag and keeps stink down. I use the same practice when I use a regular diaper pail.

Not only does Kristen offer bags with a top center handle, but you can also choose towel bar handles and a side-snapping handle:

Photo from 529 Baby Online Shop

I've been using this bag for about 2 months now, very regularly, and am very pleased so far. I tiny holes in the PUL like I've found with my big-name pail liners, and no leaky seams like I've seen with my other WAHM (work-at-home-mom) hanging bags. Kristen did point out to me however, that bags that hang with a corner down (like side-snapping bags) are more prone to leaking.

The large bag I received measures 19.5"x22" and holds 15-18 diapers, which is 2 to 3 days worth for us, depending on what diapers we use. 529 Baby also offers medium (6-8 diapers) and small (2-3 diapers) wetbags as well.

Please visit her on Facebook, Hyena Cart, or eBay!

Kelly Wels: Changing Diapers book Giveaway!

Remember my review of Kelly Wels wonderful new book, Changing Diapers: The Hip Mom's Guide To Modern Cloth Diapering? I loved being able to offer one of my readers a new Fuzzibunz of Rumparooz diaper, but now I want to give someone the chance to read the book! I still read this book all the time. I have a lot of the information memorized, but I love reading it anyway! So I am giving away a copy that I pre-ordered.

Remember: There is also a sale on the books right now too! So If you're looking for more than one copy, you can buy 1 for $9.95 or 2 copies for $17.95, both with free shipping! Click here to Visit Changing Diapers Book

If the wrong Rafflecopter form shows up, or it doesn't show up at all, please click here.

Stripping Cloth Diapers

Stripping Cloth Diapers via Thirsties

A Merry Fluffy Christmas #fluffyxmas WINNER: Re-Draw

Unfortunately, my Merry Fluffy Christmas did not respond to the emails I sent her, even after an extension. As much as ti makes me sad, I needed to re-draw a winner. So, here we go!

Carolyn ~ I'm sending you an email now! Please respond within 48 hours to claim your prizes!

Wordless Wednesday: Week 12

Found My Wash Routine (and a Thanks to Rockin Green!)

I've been struggling for months now to perfect my cloth diaper wash routine. Why does it need to be so much more difficult than washing regular laundry? I mean, other than these are diapers of course LOL

Rockin Green has always been my cloth diaper detergent. I won a bag shortly before Bug was born and it was the only detergent to ever touch our diapers. EVER! Until they switched to the Remix. Many of you may be familiar with the also recent Tide switch to Ultra, and anyone who used Tide powder for their diapers has been cursing P&G ever since. I've been having the same troubles. Since RNG's switch to the Remix, I've experiences stinkies for the first time. I've had stains, bad stains, and a general "not clean" look and smell to Bug's diapers. I got clammy, nervous and almost teary-eyed as I decided to switch detergents and try to solve these problems. Over the past few months I've tried:

•  Eco Sprout
• Tropical Traditions
• Tide (both liquid and powder)
• Dropps
• Allens Naturally
• Crunchy Clean (both the regular and hard water formulas)
• AND different additives to each trying to adjust how they would work

Same results. All the posts I've seen on different cloth diapering boards of diaper laundry woes came to a reality for me, and drifted into a nightmare. Until I discovered....

BLEACH

This is something I never wanted to do to my diapers. I hate bleach. It makes me gag, it makes me cough, it literally burns my nose and into my lungs. And I somehow always get some on Jer's t-shirts (ok, that one could easily be solved by wearing my own shirts, but his are so big and comfy lol) 

In all seriousness though, all it takes me now it a tablespoon or 2 in a large load (about 25) of diapers along with wipes and family cloth and all the nasty ammonia and stink are gone! The sad part is though, that I can't get away with only bleaching once every other week or once a month. If I skip one load without adding bleach all the stink is back :( Though, since we really only use prefolds now, I feel it's a small price to pay for clean diapers! Now on to my thanks.

Rockin Green just finished up hosting a "Rock a Soak" contest, where RNG fans submitted photos of "rocking a soak" and they chose 3 contestants to win 2 bags of RNG, a laundry scoop and a bottle of thier new Melody room spray. Guess what? I was one of the winners! Does anyone remember when I soaked the pack'n'play we got from one of our neighbors? Yeah.... 

 Thank you Rockin Green!

Looking For Sponsors!

<center><a href="http://babyandthechis.blogspot.com/search/label/Winter%20Baby%20Birthday%20Bash"><img border="0" src="http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm27/gothickornchic/Baby%20and%20the%20Chis/cute-cartoon-penguin-picture_422_8131-2.jpg"/></a></center>

It's December and while Christmas is getting close enough, Bug's 1st birthday is trailing close behind! I am looking for a couple more sponsors for the Winter Baby Birthday Bash I'm hosting along with Bri from Eco Baby Mama Drama. If you're interested and have a fun item, from diapers, to toys, to something to help mom relax after the big day and after she realizes that little baby who "just came home not too long ago" is a whole year old! (Or, another year older!) If you'd like to be a sponsor, please send an email to babyandthechis@gmail.com

A Merry Fluffy Christmas CLOTH DIAPER **GIVEAWAY** #fluffyxmas

Welcome to the 2nd Annual “A MERRY FLUFFY CHRISTMAS!”
How “A Merry Fluffy Christmas” Blog Hop Giveaway works:
You will have until 11:59pm EST on December 5th to enter in our prize package below.
There will only be ONE winner for each participating blog.
Please remember to read ALL instructions on each blog, as each blog’s entry methods are different.
And don’t forget to visit ALL OF THE PARTICIPATING BLOGS for more prize packages to win! You can find the Linky at the bottom of this giveaway post.
That’s it! And good luck!

Wild Mountain Mommies OS Pocket/Insert and 3 pack of Wipes
(Combined Retail Value of $22.50 ~ Thank you Wild Mountain Mommies!)

Charlie Banana 10 pack of Double Sided Wipes
(Retail Value of $19.88 ~ Self-Sponsored)

Geffen Baby 3 pack of Super Absorbers Hemp/Organic Cotton Inserts
(Retail Value of $13.99 ~Thank you Greffen Baby!)

Full Retail Value of $56.37!

Merry Fluffy Christmas Sponsor Spotlight: Geffen Baby #FluffyXmas

Geffen Baby is our pride and joy just as your child is yours. We are deeply involved in every single step of the manufacturing process to ensure that our product is perfect.
We began as Los Angeles-based textile manufacturing company that saw a need for natural baby products. We manufacture the textiles we use ourselves at our own plant in our own backyard to ensure that we have a hand in on every step of production from start to finish.


We decided to improve our fabrics by adding more hemp to the content, becoming the only fabric in the industry to have 60% Hemp and 40% Organic cotton. In doing so we created a performance fabric that is not only more durable, but also more absorbent.


After countless hours and late nights of studying all there is to know about babies and reusable diapers. We have gone above and beyond to improve all aspects of some of the best selling diapers on the market today. We have created the only Universal diaper inserts with an absorbency level system unique to us and especially designed to fit every baby’s needs.

During A Merry Fluffy Christmas, Geffen Baby is offering a 3 pack of Super Absorbers Universal Inserts. Five layers of 60% Hemp/40% Organic Cotton french terry fleece.

You can get a head start on your entries by visiting Geffen Baby on both Facebook and Twitter!

Merry Fluffy Christmas Sponsor Spotlight: Wild Mountain Mommies #FluffyXmas

The very first WAHM (work at home mom) I was introduced to after I started exploring the world of custom cloth diapers was Wild Mountain Mommies. I was quickly drawn in by cute prints and stayed for the quality products ;)

I actually think my very first purchase from Cristina was a set of cloth wipes. I was just in the process of transitioning from disposable wipes to cloth and her's quickly caught my eye on Facebook while she was advertising a sale she was having. This was also the first time I ever "stalked" an item LOL

I ordered a pocket diaper from her at that time as well, and became addicted. The fit was perfect on Bug, and the variety of designs and prints was incredible. I started using them more than my bumGenius pockets! Another favorite are her AI2's. Not offered in regular stockings, but as a custom diaper, and I fell in love with them. No stuffing, and so absorbent.

For a Merry Fluffy Christmas, Cristina is generously offering a one-size pocket diaper (with insert) and a 3 pack of her oh-so-soft wipes. You can get a head start on your entries by liking her on Facebook!

Winners!

The winner of the Eco Sprout giveaway is

Lyndsey Davidon!

The winner of the Monkey Toe Diapers giveaway is

All Natural Katie!

The winner of the Tropical Traditions giveaway is

Melissa H.!

And the winner of the coupon giveaway is

Breanne!


All of you have been sent an email :) Please remember, if I do not hear from anyone within 48 hours I will have to draw a new winner! Thank you all for reading, and please stay tuned for a fun holiday event coming soon!

Do You Use Disposable Diapers? I Need Your Help!

Alright, so you all know I cloth diaper, and I use coin laundry in my apartment, but I am in need of some help from mama's who use or have used disposable diapers on their little ones. I'm trying to work on an article about washing diapers with coin operated laundry facilities vs real costs from families who use disposables. I know there are so many different brands out there, so I encourage you to pass this post along and get as many people to fill this out as you can.

Please fill out the form here.

Wordless Wednesday: Week 11

300 Facebook Fan Giveaway: WINNER

Congratulations Colleen M.! You'll be recieving an email from me shortly!

Tropical Traditions Powdered Laundry Detergent Review and Giveaway

Hopefully you remember my review and giveaway not too long again featuring Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil.I loved cooking with their coconut oil, and soon after my review found that it also worked well for us as a diaper rash cream on Bug. I was so happy with their service and the product, that I was completely floored when they offered me the opportunity to review their laundry detergent.

Tropical Traditions Powdered Laundry Detergent cleans and removes stains from your laundry with the power of Oxygen Bleach Destainer and Deodorizer. Powdered Laundry Detergent is safe and effective at ALL temperatures on whites, permanent press, bright colors, pastels, prints, and delicates in hard or soft water. (Not suitable for Silk or Wool) Tropical Traditions Powdered Laundry Detergent is non-toxic, environmentally safe and contains no phosphates. Powdered Laundry Detergent cleans and safely bleaches your clothes with the added power of Oxygen Bleach Destainer and Deodorizer.

With our Laundry Detergent there are no harmful by-products upon decomposition. Powdered Laundry Detergent dissolves as completely as liquid detergents and rinses away completely leaving no residue in your clothes.

Powdered Laundry Detergent costs less to use than commercial liquid detergents and costs no more to use than commercial powdered household laundry detergents. Powdered Laundry Detergent contains no dyes, perfumes, fillers or phosphates. Compare our Laundry Detergent to your normal laundry detergent and you’ll see the difference!

Powdered Laundry Detergent can be used with Oxygen Bleach Destainer and Deodorizer to provide optimum cleaning and stain removal!

Because there is always something better out there, I thought this would be the perfect chance to try a new detergent on Bug's cloth diapers since I had ran out of Eco Sprout.

FYI: I want to let you all know, that if you are someone who is worried about your cloth diaper warranties, please check with the diaper manufacturers website or customer service to make sure this will not void your warranty. Our diapers are almost all second hand, past their warranty time, or WAHM brands who have no specifications, so I was not worried about the warranty, only clean diapers. That being said, this is the first time I've used non-cd safe detergent on Bug's diapers.

General Use Directions:

Begin filling washer with water, add Powdered Laundry Detergent, then add laundry.

• For regular size washers and normally soiled loads use 1/4 cup (2 oz) of detergent.
• For large size washers add 1/2 cup (4 oz) of detergent.
• For heavily soiled loads add 1/2 cup (4 oz) of detergent and 1/4 to 1/2 cup (2-4 oz) of Oxygen Bleach
• For extra cleaning and stain removal power use Oxygen Bleach as a pre-soak or add 2-4 ounces of Oxygen Bleach to 1/4 cup of our Laundry Detergent per load!!

Note: For front-loading machines use half the amount that is called for with top loading washing machines. For front loading washers and normally soiled loads, use 1/8 cup (1 oz) of Powdered Laundry Detergent.

Tropical Traditions Powdered Laundry Detergent comes with a 2 oz scoop (with a 1 oz line in the middle) to make measuring easy. With the size of our apartment buildings' new top-loader and the fact that I was washing cloth diapers, I used the full recommended amount for a load of that size, 4oz. Those of you may not remember, I rinse and soak our diapers in the tub first as my "pre-rinse" then run a hot washer load.

Wash cycle

Rinse cycle

I apologize for the cloudiness of the rinse cycle. We've been having a lot of trouble with the water here, and (it's totally gross to me to admit this, but....) even our tub water is yellow and sometimes even brown for the past few weeks. Now back to the diapers... The main thing I want to point out about the cycles is that, yes, the wash got very sudsy. I've never seen suds like that from any "natural" or "cloth diaper safe" detergent that I've been using on everything since Bug was born. However, aside from the unappealing color of our water in the rinse cycle, I want to point out that there is minimal reside and NO SUDS in the rinse water. Even better, for the first time ever, after the wash, and during and after the diapers dried, there was no - smell - what - so - ever. I thought this was the case when I tried Eco Sprout, but I am both sad and pleased to say that I've noticed an even better improvement by using Tropical Traditions. And stains? None. Even long time set in stains, vanished. I couldn't believe it.

Of course if it worked on cloth diapers, I knew it would work great on our clothes. No stains in Bugs' clothes, and no smells in J' work clothing.

Over the past 3 weeks I've continued to get the same amazing results. I also haven't noticed any build-up in Bug's diapers, and it seems like his rashes have improved. Could I have found the perfect detergent for us? I've still got my fingers crossed.

Try It For Yourself:
You can purchase your own 5lb tub of Tropical Traditions Powdered Laundry Detergent using the following link,

Household Traditions Powdered Laundry Detergent - 5 lb.

on sale right now for $16.99, or you can win one by entering using the easy Rafflecopter entry form below! If the wrong form shows up, or it doesn't come up at all, please click HERE.

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

What'd You Win - October

It was a slow "winning" month for me, but here we go!...

Received:
The Ultimate Green Store gift card from Newly Crunchy Mama of 3

Rockin Green 45/90 bag

SmartKlean laundry ball from WhyClothDiaper 

Not Received:
Cool Care styling tool holder from Newly Crunchy Mama of 3 (from August)

Rumparooz diaper from One Smiley Monkey (natural parenting)

Good Morning Mama

It was only a matter of time before bug would no longer need me to pull him up so he could stand, but I was surely hoping he would have at least waited until I was awake! This young man is growing up too fast!

Monkey Toe Diapers Review and Giveaway

As a part of my mission to banish rashes from Buggie's bottom, not only did I set out looking for a new detergent, but better diapers as well. I started with main stream brands, like bumGenius Elementals, but I love supporting WAHM's more, so along my search I came across Monkey Toe Diapers.
Susan, the WAHM behind Monkey Toe Diapers, also runs Sugar Plum Baby. What's the difference? Monkey Toe Diapers specializes in Nykibaby One Size pockets and AI2's, as well as Very Baby one-size fitteds. While Sugar Plum Baby specifically sells bamboo fleece or cotton sherpa fitteds, both of which are fabulous work-horse diapers. Sugar Plum Baby diapers are a great addition to anyone's stash at an affordable price. Monkey Toe Diapers offers excellent quality diapers as well, but are "embellished" or more customizable.

Susan sent me a black (with white snaps) Nykibaby one-size pocket with a hemp-bamboo insert. I immediately noticed how soft the inside of the diaper was compared to the bumGenius 4.0's I had been used. The inside of my diaper was white micro fleece, which in my opinion, feels much softer and seems like it would be more comfortable than micro suede on a baby's bottom. I always thought micro suede was soft, but this was like a cloud! Upon stuffing the diaper, I noticed it was incredibly easy to get my hand and the insert inside. I didn't feel like this diaper was any wider than the pockets I was used to, so my thought is the added stretchiness of the micro fleece gave the added "give" that was needed to stuff pockets with ease. Perfection.

FYI: Anyone who prefers micro suede to micro fleece, Susan offers both :)

Aside from the diaper itself, I immediately fell in love with the insert. Since I line dry everything inside our apartment, hemp itself gets crunchy almost immediately as it begins to dry. With the combo of bamboo, this insert stayed plenty soft and was easily folded up to be placed in the pocket. More importantly of course, I found this insert to be very absorbent. We easily made it through nap time, averaging 4 to 5 hours, with no wicking or leaks!

Monkey Toe Diapers website states that the Nykibaby OS Pockets fit from approximately 8 to 40 pounds, however I felt they ran a tiny bit smaller than the BumGenius 4.0 (which claims to fit from 7 to 35+ pounds).

Overall, while I used this diaper over the past few weeks I got a great fit, and it washed up incredibly well (no stains at all!). I feel like this is a quality crafted diaper and insert, and {as a personal preference} love there are only 2 columns of rise snaps instead of 3. I feel like the 3rd column is maybe a bit uncomfortable (especially on my little boy) and when choosing a diaper with print, it shows off much more of the beautiful diaper! 

FYI: Bug is 21 pounds and 30.5 inches long, and is on the largest rise and the 3rd smallest waist settings.

 As for the price, I think the price of Monkey Toe Diapers are fairly average. I bit more than bumGenius, but the same or less than other such as Rumparooz when comparing the price of an included insert as well. 

Monkey Toe OS Pocket (no insert): $16 + shipping

Hemp Bamboo Insert: $5

bumGenius 4.0 pocket with microfiber insert: $17.95

Rumparooz with Hemp Insert (Abbys Lane): $25.50

Fuzzibunz OS with microfiber insert: $19.95

You can purchase your own Monkey Toe Diaper from Susan's shop on Etsy, and you can connect with her on Facebook.

Susan has generously offered a OS Nykibaby pocket with hemp/bamboo insert from Monkey Toe Diapers of her choice to one lucky reader! Use the easy Rafflecopter form below to enter! If the wrong form shows up, please click here.

Eco Sprout Giveaway

 Hopefully by now you've gotten a chance to read my Eco Sprout Review, and now I'd love to present you with a giveaway! Eco Sprout provided me with a bag of unscented detergent to giveaway, but with the cost of shipping, I found a retailer who offers free shipping for just a little more cost to myself. I'd love to offer you a 24 ounce bag in your choice of in stock scent that I will purchase and have shipped directly to you! You can enter using the easy Rafflecopter entry form below :) If the wrong form shows up, please click here.

Eco Sprout Review

You may remember a few months ago when I was super excited that Rockin Green was releasing new Remix formula's that would be replacing their original formula's. This formula was supposed to clean better, be gentler on clothing and diapers, and rinse out even better than before! As much as I constantly raved about the original formula, you can imagine my disappointment when the new Remix ended up not working out for us very well. So I was forced to find something that would hopefully work better for the issues that were arising with the Remix. After searching Facebook and a few forums, I quickly decided I had to try Eco Sprout first.

The company was started by myself, a WAHM (Work-athome-dad). I was looking for a cloth diaper detergent that was great for not just diapers, but for my entire family's laundry. It was important to my that the detergent I used was non-toxic, natural, eco-friendly, sensitive for my boy's bottoms, and got rid of the strong ammonia our diapers always had with other detergents. After experimenting for several months and doing a ton of research, Eco Sprout was born. 

I manufacture the detergent and run the day-today business activities of Eco Sprout myself. Eco Sprout detergent is free from dyes, brighteners, enzymes, phosphates, SLS, and is 100% biodegradable. It is safe for cloth diapers. They not only come out of the wash smelling clean, but have zero to very little ammonia smell both when my sons pee and even in the diaper pail 2 days later!

~ Jared Edwards

Jared sent me a very generous sample pack which included a 2 ounce sample baggie of each of their scents, as well as a small (24ounce) bag of In The Buff (unscented). The scents include:

• Lavender Chamomile
• Warm Vanilla Sugar
• Fresh Linen
• Ocean Breeze
• Baby Powder
• Vanilla Sandalwood
• and a "seasonal" scent (in my package I received Pink Lemonade, however the current seasonal scent is Sweet Pumpkin Spice, YUM!)

FYI: All the scents will wash out ;)

I started off with the directions on their website for first time users. I filled our tub with hot water, 4 tablespoons of Eco Sprout, and added my clean diapers. I let everything soak overnight, and in the morning I ran everything through a hot wash in the top-loader and dried them. Of course they had started out clean, but I noticed that there was no "musty" smell to them that Rockin Green had assured me was probably just normal. These diapers had no smell to them, at all. I also immediately noticed that most set-in stains were lightened quite a bit, if not gone! Now it was time for the real test...

Bug showed no reactions to the diapers after they were washed in Eco Sprout. I never felt like we had a real ammonia problem, but I especially noticed in his night time diapers that his pee smelled a lot less pungent. As the next couple days went by, I noticed (or should I say didn't notice) the diaper pail, and it's sudden decrease in smell, though the pail is always left open for air. Then came our first wash, and it seemed like Eco Sprout had performed a miracle. The diapers came out just as clean and, uhm, non-smelly (lol) as they did when I washed the clean diapers after their soak. I swear I almost cried. I knew diapers shouldn't look dingy and smell "off". I knew it, and now my mind felt at ease.

Wash Cycle

Rinse cycle- Please don't be discouraged by the dinginess of the water. I assure you, it's just our hard water, not detergent residue lol

 I continued to use Eco Sprout on our diapers (and occasionally on Bug's clothing) with great results for about a month until my samples ran out. However, because of our water, I was using 4 tablespoons per load. While I never felt unsatisfied at any point with Eco Sprout, I need to figure how cost effective it would be for me to continue using it since we already pay $2 per load of laundry at the apartment as it is. It's definitely at the top of my list though!

Eco Sprout offers 3 sizes of bags: large (96 oz/ 96-192 loads) @ $24.98, medium (48 oz/48-96 loads) @ $13.98 and small (24 oz/24-48 loads) @ $7.98 as well as samples bags (2 oz/2-4 loads) @ just $1.75 each! (loads based off of 2 tablespoons per load/1 tablespoon per load, using the minimum amount of detergent suggested)

You can purchase detergent, bottom balm, bottom spray or pail refresher directly from Eco Sprout! You can also connect with Eco Sprout on Facebook!

You can win your very own 24oz bag of Eco Sprout by entering my giveaway, HERE.