How And Why I Started Cloth Diapering

It doesn't feel as long ago as it really was, but realizing that Gabe's second birthday is only three days away really puts the time-frame into perspective. I didn't have this blog yet when I was pregnant, but anyone who was reading my old blog at the time knew about the struggles we were having when we found out we were pregnant with our miracle baby. Jared's dad had just passed away (his mom had passed when he was 17) and so we had just moved back out here to be close to my family. It was almost a month exactly after we moved that I realized I was late. About 2 months late. And sure enough, a HPT showed up positive, and a Dr's appointment confirmed that we had conceived about a week before we moved! Things were going great, but towards the end of my second trimester Jer lost his job, and we needed to figure out how to save as much money as possible. I was in a birth group from americanpregnancy.org and another mom started posting pictures of her cloth diaper stash. I was intrigued. What better way to save money than buy diapers once instead of more disposables each week! I started searching around and ended up winning some blog giveaways and received our first cloth diapers totally free! I got a Babies 'R' Us gift card for Christmas that year and bought 2 new bumGenius 4.0 pockets, and got 12 small SwaddleBees prefolds and 3 Econobum covers from a lotto on DiaperSwappers.com. We also received a gift of 6 handmade newborn fitteds and 2 size 1 Thirsties Duo wraps from a friend on APA. We were set!

Once Gabe was born I was winning more giveaways and found a good deal online on used BG 4.0's and ended up with a stash of about 30 pocket diapers by the time he was 3 months old. Of course we ended up changing up our stash completely over the past couple years, but we've stuck with our goal of saving money.

Kael&Kaed Un-Paper Towels Review and Discount Code

I was selected back in February to review a new product made by Kael&Kaed, which happened to be something I was really wanting to try, but too cheap to make a formal purchase. I was sent 4 un-paper towels (meaning, cloth and reusable VS paper and trash). I'll elaborate what I mean by being to cheap to make a formal purchase of un-paper towels, by saying that I've basically picked up a back of 12 washcloths from the local dollar store for about $3, and that's what I use for "un-paper towels" around the house. For cleaning, for wiping dirty faces, hands, and messes. Even for draining fried foods. Sure, they aren't anything cute to look at, but they do the job! So being able to try something that is cute to look at was just icing and sprinkles on a long waiting cake.

Aside from the cotton prints, and the super soft woven fabric on the opposite side, I love that these un-paper towels have snaps. If you're new to these like I was, you're probably wondering right now why on earth there are snaps on a piece of cloth that's to be used as a paper towel. Well, it's actually a pretty genius idea, especially in a family environment where people will be looking for a roll of paper towels, not a stack of cloths. Yeah, that's right, it's to snap the towels together so they can be formed into a roll.

The only problem I had was that these were so much smaller than a paper towel (measuring 6.5"x10" each), that even with 2 layers of cloth I didn't find them to absorb very much. Not that I wouldn't use them, but this smaller size worked best for wiping dirty tables or countertops, or cleaning up the baby, instead of soaking up a spill.

Aside from that, they have made a permanent addition to out kitchen. Tasha, the mama behind the scenes at Kael&Kaed would like to offer you all 20% off instock items in her shop, by using code JUNE20OFF.

You can visit Kael&Kaeds' shop (and use the discount code), and "like" them on Facebook :-)

DISCLAIMER: We were sent the product(s) mentioned in this post for review purposes only. We were not offered monetary compensation for review, and our opinion is 100% our own. 

Prayer and Thought Request

I know it seems like things are always up and down around our household, but I need some support from anyone willing to help. Jer has been suffering from back pain and swelling since he was last home 2 weeks ago. He was diagnosed with a pulled muscle and sent back on the road with an anti-inflammatory medication. Through his phone calls each day he expressed how nothing was helping and made an appointment to be seen when he came home again. He made it home last Friday but couldn't get into the clinic until this morning. He had an ultrasound to check if he was having issues with his gallbladder but the tests came back negative. Another appointment this afternoon, he was given x-rays, which showed fluid filling his right lung and part of his left, as well as starting to surround his heart. A consult with another Dr in the clinic and a call to a Dr (which happens to be my dads Dr) from an entirely different clinic/hospital group gave the potential diagnosis of either Lupus or Leukemia. 

Jer is going in for surgery tomorrow afternoon so the surgeon can attempt to remove as much fluid as possible from his lungs and heart, and explore the area for a potential mass that may also be in the area of swelling on his back.

Please keep him in your prayers, and you don't pray, just please think of him and that he makes it through everything alright tomorrow. Please hope/pray that his health is not as terrible as they are thinking it is, and if it really is Lupus or Leukemia, that they are able to treat him and his health doesn't deteriorate.

The few years we've been able to be together and start a family together has been the best of both our lives. I ask you all to please use the power of thought and prayer to keep us together as a family, and for a quick recovery for Jer.

Booty Buns #clothdiapers Review and Giveaway

You may remember reading about Booty Buns Cloth Diapers when I participated in their huge "Go Green, Give Charity" Giveaway. After participating in the giveaway and reading more about the company, I decided I just had to try one of their diapers out for myself! So I contacted them, and they were more than happy to help me out :-)

There are a few things I loved right away, before even trying out the diaper on Gabe. First, the extra set of rise snaps. Most One-Size diapers have 3, sometimes 4 rise settings, which is sufficient after the "newborn" stage of diapers, or after 8-12 pounds depending on the brand. Booty Buns are a true OS diaper, from the feature of 5 rise settings. Their pocket diapers will fit most babies from 3 pounds up until 45 pounds. Yes, you saw that right, they can fit already at THREE POUNDS!

Photo Courtesy of BootyBunsClothDiapers.com

 Of course the other immediate favorite feature of mine is the suede-cloth inner. There seems to be a fine line in the world of pockets between mamas who love fleece and those who love suede-cloth. Of course there are some who love both, but I'm a suede-cloth lovin' mama! For me, it washes up so much easier, as in, it rarely holds onto stains. It still feels so soft and smooth after many washes. Fleece always gets so pilly for me after just one or two washes, and pockets with fleece inners always seem to wick for us too. I've never had wicking with a suede-cloth pocket.
The only thing better than a suede-cloth pocket now, is a suede-cloth pocket with double gussets! Yep, Booty Buns have that too! As well as a double opening, which means no more pulling out dirty inserts before washing. Just toss the dirty dipe in your diaper pail, and let your washer do ALL the work ;-)

Photo Courtesy of BootyBunsClothDiapers.com

 Booty Buns also includes a super soft cloth wipe, and a nice smooth flannel liner with each of their diapers.Both were so soft to the touch (and of course, to my little mans' bum), and seem to hold up nicely. The wipe has made it into my regular wipe stash, and the liner is my single favorite liner we now own. I love the idea of fleece liners, but I hate that much bulk in a pocket. I also love the idea of disposable liners, but I think they are far too thin to be using with something that can bond to your diaper make it repel. I never would have though to use flannel! Genius! Booty Buns recommends using a flannel liner to help clean up when your baby poops, and the flannel is said to be a nice barrier for babies who may be sensitive to suede-cloth.

There are 2 inserts included with the Booty Buns OS Pocket, both microfiber, both have a snap to snap it into the top of the diaper to prevent shifting, but one is a newborn size while the other is more medium size. Because of our shared laundry room, I usually end up with stinky microfiber. I tried these inserts a few times, and while they worked just fine, I have swapped them out for an infant-size prefold. The microfiber is more trim, but I feel like cotton washes up a bit better.

Gabriel has always been a pretty easy baby to find diapers for. He never hit that "chunky baby" stage, and wasn't really tiny as a newborn (a little over 8 pounds...) so everything fit him. However, I still love the adjust-ability of Booty Buns. I cannot wait to be able to test this on a newborn. (Shh! That's a post for another day!)

Overall this diaper really didn't have much that I didn't like:
Positives:

• Highly adjustable, fits babies ranging in weight from 3-45 pounds
• Suede-cloth inner
• Double gussets
• Comes in snaps, which, ultimately, last longer than most other parts of the diaper itself (lol)
• Comes in a wide variety of colors
• A wipe and liner are included with each diaper, cutting down on the need to order more accessories
• Booty Buns donates 1 diaper to charity for each diaper sold
• Has a double pocket opening so inserts agitate out in the wash

Negatives:

• Microfiber inserts - although I know a lot of moms LOVE them ;)
• Does not have a hook-and-loop option, which may turn off someone new to cloth unsure about snaps

Considering the very wide weight range and extra customizable fit, the price tag of $25.50 is a bit more appealing knowing you won't need extra diapers for the newborn or potty learning stages :)

Booty Buns is offering one of my readers the chance to win their very own Booty Buns cloth diaper in their choice of color (I will pay the shipping). Please enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLAIMER: We were sent the product(s) mentioned in this post for review purposes only. We were not offered monetary compensation for review, and our opinion is 100% our own. 

DeeTergent Review and Discount Code

Last year I contacted Dee of DeeTergent after hearing about her products on Diaper Swappers. I waited for a new batch to be made up and she graciously sent me a bag of Monkey Farts detergent. I tried it out over the span of a couple months on cloth diapers, and regular laundry, including Jer's work clothes. It seemed really good at first, but after a few washes I noticed an odd funky smell in our "clean" laundry. I loved the smell of the detergent. It was very fruity, and filled our apartment's laundry room, and even lingered with our laundry for a day or so afterwards, but things just had an unclean smell to them underneath that delicious banana smell. I tinkered with our wash routine for over a month and then Dee offered to send out a new bag. She explained that they did make a few changes to their formula around the time that my original bag was sent out, and wanted to make sure I was using their best product.

It was about a month later that I received a new bag, in Raspberry scent! Yumm-o! I immediately noticed that the texture of the new bag of DeeTergent looked different. When I scooped it into our first load of laundry, it looked like it dissolved a little quicker too. Again, the delicious scent filled the laundry room, and lingered with our laundry. I loved it! After a couple loads I could really tell this batch was cleaning better. Our clothes smelled better, and Gabe's diapers came out looking cleaner and much more "fresh" smelling. It rinsed clean in one wash too. It's been a very long time since I've seen a lower sudsing, clean rinsing detergent clean so well!

I should note as well, that after I got a routine down working smoothly with the new bag of Raspberry DeeTergent, we were washing with hard water in our apartment building. A couple weeks later we moved (which is in another blog post) to a townhome, that also has community laundry, but also has a water softener running through the buildings, as well as the washers. So I got to try this DeeTergent out on a couple types of water, and I was amazed at how well it worked under different circumstances.

DeeTergent is made of saponified coconut oil (coconut oil soap), sodium percarbonate (powdered peroxide), sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), sodium carbonate (washing soda), and love :) All scents used in her DeeTergent's are made from essential oil and natural fragrance oil blends. You can also use DeeTergent as a household cleaner! Mix 1/2 a scoop with 1 liter of water in a spray bottle to use on coutertops, toilets, sinks, showers, etc and use directly from the bag as a cleaning powder. [Info from www.deetergent.com/faq]

I've enjoyed trying DeeTergent so much, that I'd love you all to try it out too. Dee is offering all readers of my blog a 20% discount by using the code: CHISFAN, which expires on 6/5/2012. You can use your discount code on DeeTergent's website HERE.

Don't forget to connect with DeeTergent on Facebook and Twitter. Let her know you found her here!

DISCLAIMER: We were sent the product(s) mentioned in this post for review purposes only. We were not offered monetary compensation for review, and our opinion is 100% our own.