Weedle Weedle

I am excited to share with you today's store feature Weedle Weedle!

-When did you start Weedle Weedle? I decided to open a shop when I was on maternity leave with my son, who is now almost 2 years old. Once I decided to retire from my job in the corporate world, I put the plan into action. Before Weedle Weedle, I worked at Google, and though I love that company, I wanted to spend much more time with my family. Now I stay at home with my sons and run Weedle Weedle from my home.

-How did you come up with the name? This was not easy! I wanted to make sure I had a whimsical name but didn't focus solely on babies or cloth diapers. So many of the names I originally liked were already in use, so we had to get creative. My family was brainstorming for me one weekend and my brother was texting me ideas. Finally, it came to him, "Weedle Weedle" - it was something my oldest son (now 4.5) used to say when he was a toddler. It doesn't mean anything - it was just cute and made us all smile when we thought of those memories.

-Even though you are web-based and out of your home, do you allow (local) families to come over and view your inventory if they are curious about cloth? Absolutely! I hold one-on-one overviews at my home and I also meet people at mutually convenient locations (from playgroups at someone's home to the public library!). This is so important to me - what really helped me in my decision to use cloth was meeting other mamas who used cloth and actually seeing and touching the diapers, understanding how easy they can be and how modern they are now.

-What are some stand out products that you sell? I have a lot of fans who love sustainablebabyish | sloomb, and for good reason! I keep a lot of it in-stock because it's a diaper that isn't readily available everywhere. BumGenius and FuzziBunz are great diapers and are often the choice for baby registries. We carry a very chic line of handbags from MZ Wallace. I started carrying the Kate diaper bag - it's a beautiful bag, very functional, super lightweight and easy to wipe clean, and versatile - carry it as a diaper bag, use it for an overnight trip or carry everything you need for work. I've expanded to carry more MZ Wallace styles and will soon carry the full line.


Weedle Weedle sent me a pail liner and a wet bag to review. They are both the WHAMIES brand.
I love the size of the pail liner. It is huge! But not to the point of it filling up your diaper pail with no room to spare.
The top of the bag has a nice band of elastic across the top of it with plenty of stretch to accommodate bigger diaper pails.

It also features a stretchy handle so you can loop it over a door knob or a hook.

The inside of the pail liner has a little piece of fabric that you can dab some TTO on for helping with smell.The wet bag I got is the cute groovy guitar print. I Love it! It has a canvas, durable handle on it with a metal snap for extra strength. No worrying about it falling off the stroller when your riding around the park.
The inside features white PUL matieral which is a thicker PUL than other brands I have tried.

SO CUTE!

I really like these bags from WHAMIES. I think they make great quality products. I haven't been using these very long so we shall see how they hold up overtime but I'm sure that they will exceed my expectations by far!



*Weedle Weede send me a pail liner and wet bag to review. I was not paid to write this review, opinions are my own.*

PinStripes and PolkaDots

PinStripes and PolkaDots, LLC is Illinois' oldest diaper shop and downstate Illinois' only shop that exclusively sells cloth diapers. We've been around since January 2005, starting out with just a few shelves of modern cloth diapers. Today, we sell more than 40 brands of cloth diapers, training pants and cloth diapering accessories. The goal of PinStripes and PolkaDots has always been to educate caregivers about modern cloth diapering option and provide caregivers with a cloth diapering package that will meet each baby's needs. Currently, we have the one of the largest selection of cloth training pants in Illinois and on the web. On the web, we're known for our detergent guide which ranks different detergents and how well they clean cloth diapers, whether they're good for baby's skin, etc. We also have a comprehensive washing instructions guide that many companies, including Cotton Babies, refers their clients to.


When the store opened in 2005, chocolates were given as a gift to customers after purchasing a diaper. These chocolates were in the form of little honey bees and ladybugs. Thus, the name PinStripes and PolkaDots (bees have pinstripes, ladybugs have polkadots). It's fitting that the shop is named after chocolate :-)



Pinstripes and Polkadots is also one of my top referencing sites for when people have questions about what detergents are safe for cloth diapering. You can find an entire list of pretty much every detergent imaginable and if its safe or not and why!

Itti Bitti Tutto Review

I was thrilled to be selected to try out the bitti tutto from itti bitti! I had never tried any of their diapers before and was pretty giddy when it arrived in the mail (and I didn't know it was coming that day, so forgive the hot mess that I am, along with my nervous excitement, haha!)

Now that the embarrassing part is over with... ;)

Here are some more detailed features of the bitti tutto OS diaper...It is ridiculously trim for everything packed into this diaper...

Crossover snaps (which I, personally, always love)

The waist snaps help with wing droop...

Three rows of snaps...Combine this with the crossover snaps and the waist snaps, you get a handful of ways to make this diaper work for your little one!
Gussets....

Gussets...everywhere! This diaper could hold in some major newborn mess!

I'm amazed that the diaper is THIS trim...are you ready to see what all goes in??

To start, here are all the pieces laid out...

They make it dummy-proof (even though I had to sit and stare for who know how long to figure the dummy proofness out!) ;) Just match up the colors!

You can really put these inserts in any way you choose - whatever provides the best protection for your little one...

More matching!

All put together!

So, there's the inside. If you're a bit overwhelmed by all the soaker pads - don't be! On the itti bitti site, there is a great page devoted to using the diaper and soakers.

How does it fit? Well, this is where it got iffy for me. I tried and tried and tried and just couldn't get a great waist fit on my guy. I tried different absorbency options and different rise settings, but I never got THE fit I was hoping for. However, through the legs, the fit was great!Also, I was amazed at how snug it was on my guy. He has an itti bitti waist, I thought for sure, we'd be using the crossover snaps (we do on any other OS diaper we have that has that feature). However, the website does say that it will go to 44lbs (we're currently at 25lbs at 14months), so we'll see!I have a feeling that this diaper would fit amazingly on an tiny baby (totally just speculation, I don't have one to try that theory on!) But I think that is where the crossover snaps would make the fit perfect.

While the fit was a bit funky, it works like a DREAM! We have yet to have any leaks. And, I would easily use this on a newborn given all the gussets...I mean, seriously. Did you SEE the gussets?!

Just in case you missed the gussets the first time ;)

I said in the video that I was excited to see how it would work at night, so I bit the bullet and went for it. I was floored. 12 hours later and it was only barely damp around the legs - the waterproof minkee (and the umpteen layers of bamboo absorbency) really held up. Seeing that the diaper isn't covered in PUL and is a bit more breathable, I may start resorting to this at night time (which says a lot for our super soaker!)

So! A neat little diaper! Great concept! Might require a bit of work to figure out the exact combo for your little one, but definitely one worth trying!



You can find itti bitti on the following social media outlets:
itti bitti on Facebook
itti bitti on Twitter

Disclaimer: I received an itti bitti tutto for review. All opinions are honest and my own.

Comfy Bummy - Review & Giveaway

Welcome to Comfy Bummy - a super cute and super resourceful store nestled in downtown Naperville, IL! I was really excited to have an "excuse" to visit Comfy Bummy! It's a cute little store that is big on customer service. All of the staff that I have worked with have been very friendly and very knowledgeable!

(A view looking into the store after just stepping in the door)

The store itself is adorable! There are all sorts of nooks and crannies in which to find unique products for moms and babies. They carry everything needed to successfully cloth diaper your baby, as well as boutique gift items for mom and baby. Babywearing items? They have them! Swaddling products? You bet! Everything is well organized! Check out these laundry items - how cute is it that they are all together on shelves with "laundry" written above them? I love all of the thought and details shown throughout the store!

Another neat thing at Comfy Bummy are all of the handwritten signs seen throughout the store. They advertise the prices of the products and the classes/events that are upcoming. Comfy Bummy currently offers a Cloth Diapering 101 class, a Daddy Diapering class, and a Mommy Cafe that meets once a month.

They have various events that take place, like this one:

It's a Diaper Swap with a Natural Parenting Panel where you can ask real people real questions! Check it out on their Facebook page for more info! Jen (the marketing manager) talked so passionately about all of the different classes they are going to offer once they relocate to a larger location: mom and baby yoga, babywearing, baby sign language, nutrition classes, and the list goes on! It wasn't too hard to get excited about it with Jen's enthusiasm! =) At Comfy Bummy they are all about educating EVERYONE on the benefits of natural living.

One really practical feature that they have on hand is their baby model. They have a basket full of diapers that you can touch, investigate, and try on the baby. I LOVE this idea - it's so helpful!

One of their favorite diapers are the Thirsties Duo Diapers. Here they are all neat and organized:

Comfy Bummy was gracious enough to give me a Thirsties Duo Diaper to review! I don't have many girly colors, so I was all over the Orchid color. I don't have many aplix (velcro) closures for my diapers either...I generally trust the longevity of snaps more. However, I've been looking to expand my velcro stash to better suit babysitters and other caregivers (daddy and grandma to be exact).

(a good fit - 10 months and 21 lbs with the smallest setting on the Size 2 Duo)

One of the neatest things about this is that I put the Thirsties Duo Diaper into our rotation without telling my husband that it was there. He changed our daughter one morning and I was thrilled to see her cute, new, purple diaper peeking out the back of her jeans! =) Daddy didn't even need any instructions on this one! Better yet, when you do have a sitter and have them just leave the diaper on the pail for you to take care of (hours later...), you don't have to smell the stink of unstuffing the diaper the next day - just attach the laundry tabs and throw it in the wash (unless of course, you have any poop to rinse off first...) - the inserts agitate out on their own!

I confess I have one small complaint...maybe "concern" is a better word. Sometimes this happens:

I'm always afraid that it will cause a leak if the inside part is not tucked in (by another caregiver) but so far - no issues! My daughter can go quite a while in this diaper before needing it changed. Jen from Comfy Bummy says her son can go all night in it - that sure is a "thirsty" insert! A couple of other great features: wide pocket openings make for easy stuffing, the two sized system truly allows the little babies AND the bigger toddlers to use them, and the colors and prints are great!

(already a little model - ankles crossed on her own! Anyway, cute purple bum!)

This giveaway will close on November 8th, 2001 at 8 pm EST. At that time, a winner will be chosen via random.org and contacted via email. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Have fun!!!

Disclaimer: I received a Thirsties Duo Diaper for review. All opinions are truthful and my own. You may have a different experience. Comfy Bummy is sponsoring the giveaway of a Thirsties Duo Diaper.

Hopscotch Store Review

WELCOME TO HOPSCOTCH!
A mommy owned business in Grand Rapids MI.

Kristina and I decided to visit Hopscotch, a local eco-friendly store to check them out and their selection of cloth diapers. While I say local, I must admit this was the first time we had been there. We do live about a half hour away and between the two of us, have 5 kids under the age of 4. It was unlikely it would be a successful trip to bring all of them.

When we arrived we were shocked with delight! The store was amazing and so bright! We met with Rachel, one of the stores owners. She started to show us around the store and was very knowledgeable about everything that they carried. She was a lot of fun and very helpful.

Here are a few pictures from the store and what we saw/experienced. If you are close, I highly suggest checking them out or at least visiting their website!

HOPSCOTCH

When you first walk in, there is a shelf full of train letters...every boys dream. My son sat here for a long time looking at them. They even had a little track with some piece on it for testing.



The store is so full of color and brightness. The front windows lighten up the place just right and casts a glow on everything. This picture is showing a small section of the toys. They carried a lot of wooden toys, all of which were super cute.

Some of the clothing they carry... organic, locally made, made in the USA and adorable!
The shelf on the left side of the picture has the training underpants.

Organic baby toys

Books! (Most of the books carried are by Michigan authors or about Michigan-which is awesome!) They also carry other books that are inspiring, educational or just plain cute!
Toward the right side of the pic, there are crafty things (a must have for my 4 year old.)

MORE Toys!

I couldn't even imagine all of the different types of feeding supplies until I saw these shelves filled with all sorts of wonderful goodness. There were so many different types of things, I didn't even know where to look first! So many colors too!

Another shelf full...
The majority of the store was full of eco-friendly products or locally made/produced or eco conscious manufactures from the USA .

This was one of my favorite things about the store. They had "how to" papers posted by the cloth diapers for everyone to take. These would be great for the newbie learning to cloth or even the "seasoned" cloth vets. I read a few while I was there and even learned a few things!

Another FAVORITE!!! I must admit my sister and I were digging through this for quite some time. It isn't often that you can find used cloth diapers in an actual store so we were stoked! I was even able to find some to use for training pants on my son.

Here is the main section of cloth diapers (looks like kinda slim pickin's-doesn't it?) Well, that is because 1. The store is AWESOME and extremely helpful (which makes you want to buy more) and 2. They are getting ready for the new ones to come in. That means new prints, designs and more! Hopscotch carries all of my personal favorites: BGs, Tots Bots Easy Fits, Bummis, Flip system, MotherEase, Tiny Tush, Fuzzibuns and many more. They have a large assortment to choose from including some local WAHM made ones.

Baby wearer? Yes? You'll love the selection here! Not yet? You'll love the selection here! lol They carry a LOT of different types of slings, wraps and carriers and even have some to try out! They also have some baby dolls for you to try out diapers if you are still new to cloth.

My angry little bird! He was mad because Mommy took his picture! This is the play area for your little ones to play in while you shop. It is full of all the fun things that they carry in the store! It is tucked in the back of the store so no escapees out the front (like my son would do) while you are distracted by all of the glorious cloth and goodies filling the shelves!

Some other FUN FACTS about Hopscotch:

Hopscotch is run/owned by sisters Rachel and Chris.

They have free activities for families every Monday that include visits from local authors and musicians, crafts, story time and games.

They have a 30 day promise that you will become a successful cloth diaper Mommy or you can return your diapers for store credit or exchange them for a different brand. (see website for details/rules)

You can create a registry!

Hopscotch

Hopscotch also gave me some MotherEase diapers to try out. Review coming soon!