Interview with my Hubby

Although Father's Day has past, I thought it would be fun to interview my husband to find out what he really thinks about cloth diapering.  Because I stay at home with our son, I kind of had the final say in how we diapered him, since I'd be doing most of the diapering.  He was supportive of cloth diapering, but didn't have a huge interest in it in the beginning.  I feel like he's really come around and is now very supportive of our cloth diapering!  So, I thought it'd be fun to hear things from his point of view.... hoping you will, too!

What did you think about cloth diapering when I first brought it up?
I thought it would be really gross.... putting the poopy diapers in the washing machine.  And having to spray off poopy diapers--I was a little intimidated by that.

Did you really want us to use cloth diapers in the beginning or would you have preferred just using disposables?
I respected your desire to use cloth diapers, and knew it would be better for the environment and would be cheaper....so I agreed.

How did your opinions change once we started using them?
The ones for the infants (prefolds with the snappi things) are still really confusing and difficult for me, but once we started using the pocket diapers, it was really easy!  And once I saw how the washing machine looked after doing a few loads, I realized it didn't really matter.  Spraying off the diapers isn't so bad either, although I've had my share of difficulties with it.
Now, I'm kind of proud that we use them.  I know that it saves us so much money, and I've seen the volume of diapers we've had to throw away when we do use disposables.

What is the hardest thing about using cloth diapers?
Spraying the poop off!!  Before having the Spray Pal, I would always spray poop onto the wall or the floor.... my best story is when I was trying to drop poop into the toilet, when the snapped-in insert fell out, and everything landed in the woven magazine bin.  That was rough.

What's your favorite thing?
They're so much cuter than normal diapers!

Is there anything that really surprised you about using cloth diapers?
I think I was surprised by how easy they are (the pocket diapers).  Instead of using the velcro on disposables, you just snap them on-quick and easy!

Would you ever want to just use disposables?
No.  Maybe in the infants, with prefolds and things :), but otherwise, no.

Anything else you want to add?
The only other thing I'm surprised about is the volume of pee those things can handle!!


So, looks like he really does appreciate that we use cloth diapers :)  I'm glad he's been so supportive through the last two years of diapering!!  And that I didn't have to convince someone who was really against it.  How about you guys?  How do your partners feel about cloth diapering?

Katie

RubyRumps Fitted Diaper

For the past month or so, I've had the chance to try out a great fitted diaper--RubyRump's hemp fitted diaper.  RubyRump's is a business owned by a WAHM, Marion.  Marion lives in Washington, and has 5 children.  Her last three kids were cloth diapered, and after learning to make cloth diapers, decided to start her own business-RubyRumps.  She makes fitted diapers, covers, and also AIO diapers.  Marion sent me one of her organic hemp fitted diapers to try.
The etsy shop describes the make-up of the diaper well: "The outside layers are organic hemp fleece and the inside layers are a combination of organic hemp/cotton jersey and organic hemp/cotton fleece."  
And let me tell you, with all the hemp in there, this diaper is absorbent!  But before I get ahead of myself, here's what the diaper looks like:

It's pretty simple in design, but does the job well.  The diapers only come in velcro/hook and loop, and I found it to be really strong.  We've had no issues with it rolling up or anything yet, and they stayed stuck down in the washing machine (so NO diaper chains, which is one of my diapering pet peeves!).
The absorbency of the diaper is completely sewn in, so no snapping or adding layers, which is nice--no searching for the insert to snap in while folding the laundry!

The only problem with the absorbency being completely sewn in is that it takes longer to dry.  Now that it's pretty much summertime here in Virginia, I've been line-drying my diapers and haven't noticed that this diaper takes excessively longer than the others out on the line.  But I did notice, on rainy days when I dried everything in the dryer, that the diaper wasn't completely dry after one cycle.  Because I'm lazy, most nights I just take the diapers out of the diaper and leave them in the basket to fold in the morning anyway, so I usually just laid this one out over the edge of the basket and it was dry by morning.  Depending on what other nighttime diapers I used, this isn't the only diaper that needs a little extra dry-time, so sometimes I just added an extra 20 minutes to the cycle and it was dry.  Overall, not a big deal, but just something to be aware of!
And in case you noticed above, I did say "other nighttime diapers," meaning, this diaper is one of our nighttime diapers!!  If you've read any of my other posts, you'll know that my son is a super-soaker.  We have very limited options for nighttime, and this one passed the test!!  Because these diapers are made with so much hemp, I had high hopes for nighttime.  And after washing it and having it take so long to dry (yes, it takes longer to dry, but that also means extra absorbent!), I knew I had to give it a shot overnight.  And it worked.  Like a charm.  I paired it with a wool cover and had complete success!  Hooray!!  This diaper wasn't even completely soaked through by morning.  So as far as absorbency goes, this diaper is fantastic!
Another reason I love hemp is because it's so trim!  Major absorbency without the bulk.  This diaper is really quite trim for such an absorbent fitted diaper.

I used it only at naptime and nighttime (really the only times we use fitteds), so I can't say how it fits under clothing, but looking at this thing, it is super duper trim.  I actually had to pick out specific wool covers that fit more tightly during naps/nightime so they wouldn't fall down!  So I'd say this diaper would work great as a daytime diaper.

again....so trim.

The only issue we really had with this diaper was the fit.  And actually, we only had trouble in the legs; the waist was great!  I asked for a large, but I'm thinking we could have gotten by with a medium.  The weight ranges said a large would fit 16+ pounds, but I'm thinking that they run pretty large and it depends on the shape of the baby.  Myles has tiny little legs, so we got some gaping around them.  It was never an issue, as far as poop goes (I think it helps with fitteds that you have a cover to hold everything in), but just something to be aware of.  I have some friends with kids who weigh the same as Myles but have a completely different build, and I'm pretty sure this diaper would fit just fine on them.

You can see how it gapes on his right leg.  But when I made sure to pull the diaper up as high as I could before fastening it, it helped a lot.  And because we always wear a cover, we never had any problem with the gap causing a leak.

Overall, we love this diaper!  It is SO absorbent, and its really great to have another option for nighttime!  I love that its made with organic materials, so I feel really good with it against Myles' skin.  In my experience, the sizing runs large, but I think it depends on the build of the baby.  And, it just looks cute--who doesn't love a cute, fitted bum.....

*on a side note, Myles is starting potty training and we're having a really hard time keeping diapers on him!  Can you tell what he's trying to do in the picture on the right??  I have to keep telling him "hands off!!"

Anyway.... we really like this diaper!  If you're looking for a super absorbent fitted to add to your stash, this is it!  And they're also really affordable, at only $18.  Be sure to check out RubyRump's on facebook and on etsy.
Marion is also offering a great discount on her store for our readers--30% off, using the code RR30!  To order, check out what's available in her etsy shop, or if you don't see what you want, she can always do custom orders; just send her a message through etsy or facebook.
Also, if you live in or are visiting Port Townsend, WA, her diapers are for sale in a shop on Water St, downtown, called "Seams to Last."  Be sure to check them out!

Momma Made

Recently, I was given the chance to review a diaper from Momma Made, a WAHM who makes cloth diapers.  The Momma behind Momma Made is Lindsey, who has two young children.  She's been making diapers since January--she has a newer business, so make sure to show her some love! :)  And with how cute her diapers are, I don't think that will be a problem.  Lindsey sent me a super soft, minky pocket diaper to try.  It's absolutely adorable!

 

I can honestly say that I've never seen a diaper like this before!  It's mostly minky fabric, but it also has some PUL that goes across the back, creating a super cute look.  I absolutely love this woodland's print!  It's a little girly for my little guy, but he's been wearing it anyway!  And it's soooo soft, he's never complained! :)  Here's what it looks like on the back:

I absolutely love the combo of the minky and the PUL.  It looks so cute and is so so soft.  The snaps are also colored and coordinating.  I thought at first they were just colored to match the diaper (which they are), but they're also color coded to help you figure out which snaps to use.  The snaps and wings are actually angled, which not only looks cute, but also helped me get a better fit on my son.  Basically, if you can see on the picture below, rather than snapping the wings on the snaps that are one on top of the other, you actually use the colors that match-- so, brown on top and brown on bottom, or the green on top and the green on bottom.  It's a little hard to explain, but really easy once you try it out.  If you can see on the snaps below, it starts with two brown snaps on the left side, angled slightly to match with the angled wings.  

color coordinating snaps

So, how did this diaper work for us?  It worked great!  I didn't receive any inserts to go with the pocket diaper, so I can't vouch for how they'd work, but the diaper itself worked great.  We got a really good fit on my skinny son, with no gaping at the legs.  And like I said before, the inside of the diaper is made out of minky material and is SO soft!  The elastic is also inside the minky, so we had absolutely no issues with this diaper leaving red marks on his legs.

inside of the diaper; pocket above

The pocket itself is nice and large, if you can tell from the picture above.  It's a little lower on the back, and has a nice, big flap to cover the opening, which I really like.  That way there's not much of a chance of it opening and letting the inserts touch baby's skin.  The pocket also opens all the way across, which is helpful for stuffing.

We've been using this diaper for a few weeks now and have had absolutely no leaks!  And as I said before, it's just so soft that this is one of the first diapers I've been reaching for.  Here's a front view of my son wearing it (and no, it's not a giant bruise on his stomach--it's marker :) ):

sorry this is blurry....

The picture makes it look a little small, but it is actually a really good fit.  This diaper is a little small....not sure if the rise is big enough to fit a super tall baby, but Myles is pretty tall for his age, and aside what it looks like in this picture, we do actually have some room to grow.  He's 25lbs, pretty tall and skinny, and on the highest rise setting.

Here's a few other "side" shots.  I would have gotten more picture of him in the diaper, but geesh, are toddlers hard to get pictures of!!!

This diaper is a little bulky, I think it's because of the minky.  But it still fits in all his pants just fine-I think it just "poofs" out a little when it's not contained.  However, this isn't a problem for us--actually, it helps keep his pants up! :)

Overall, we absolutely love this diaper!  It's absolutely adorable, and definitely the softest diaper we own.  It works great, and is affordable.  Be sure to check out Momma Made's facebook page and hyena cart to get a diaper of your own.  Lindsey also makes AI2 diapers, hybrid fitteds, and some smaller items, like nursing pads, and diaper keychains.  If you'd like to purchase any of them, she's offering a 10% discount for Cloth Diaper Addiction fans!  Just let her know in the checkout notes that Cloth Diaper Addiction sent you, and she'll apply 10% off.  

She's also giving one lucky reader a $10 discount on any diaper order, so be sure to enter below!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Diva Cup!!

Even though Mother's Day is over, I thought I'd share a little about my experience with a product that has made my life as a mom (and just a woman in general) a whole lot easier-the Diva Cup.  Now, for those of you who have never heard of the Diva Cup, it's a menstrual cup that takes the place of tampons and pads.  And I absolutely love it.

Back in college, one of my roommates who studied abroad for a semester, came back and told us about the Diva Cup she had used while she was out of the country.  I thought she was nuts.  A cup that you have to stick up there that holds everything?  So gross!!  However, the more questions I asked, the less crazy she sounded.  She had explained that it was a lot more sanitary than it sounded, you didn't need to worry about buying "feminine products" at all, and it saves a lot of garbage and waste.  All of those things sounded good to me, so a few months and a lot of online research later, I decided to go ahead and try it out.  Initially, it seemed expensive, at almost $40, but I figured that if it saved me from having to buy tampons every month, I'd make the money back in just a few months.  That was almost 6 years ago, and I haven't bought tampons since.  The Diva Cup is said to last a year or two and to check it often for signs of wear.  I had my first one for almost 4 years with no wear and tear at all--the only reason I got rid of it was that I had a baby and moved up to Size 2 (they come in 2 sizes-Size 1, for women under 30 who have never had a child, and Size 2, for women over 30 OR who have had a child).

Now, I will admit that the Diva Cup has a little bit of a learning curve. I didn't have much trouble getting the hang of it, but I've talked to some people that it's taken a few months to get it right.  The biggest problem is getting it in correctly.  I always just fold my cup into quarters (well, in half and then in half again).  In my opinion, it helps to get it wet ahead of time so it goes in easier.  But it basically just sits pretty low in your vagina-your muscles hold it in place.  In the directions, it says you can tell that its in correctly when you can turn it in a circle using the little stem.  I'm never really able to do that, but I can usually tell that it's in correctly when I can pull it down gently and it doesn't move (now, obviously, if I pulled harder, it would come out, but I just pull gently enough to know that it's expanded to its full shape).

So, how does it work?  Basically, once you have the Diva Cup in place, it just collects all the blood, and you dump it into the toilet, rinse/wash it out, and put it back in.  Easy!  No garbage, no mess (honestly!!), and no waste.  And the blood in the cup is actually not as gross as it sounds.  In my opinion, it's actually much less disgusting than seeing it on a pad.  And you never have to worry about the pain of pulling out a dry-ish tampon again.  Plus, you don't need to worry about forgetting tampons/pads while you're out! 

To wash it, they have a special "Diva Wash," but I just use plain, old soap.  My sister thinks that's disgusting, but I've never had any kind of problem with it.  And if you're worried about it, you can just buy the special wash.  I just do a quick wash every time I take it out.  Between periods, I sterilize it by boiling it for 5-10 minutes and keeping it in the bag that it comes in to keep it clean.

The question I'm asked most often is what to do if you're in a public restroom.  And quite honestly, I rarely need to empty it while I'm in a public restroom--one of the best things about using the Diva Cup is that you only need to change it 2-3 times a day, depending on your flow!!  Even on my heaviest days, I only need to change it 3 times a day, and the rest of the week, I just empty it when I get up in the morning and before I go to bed. So, usually, I can time it so I never need to empty it while I'm out and about.  But if you do, I just skip the wash.  I just wipe it out with a little toilet paper and stick it back in, making sure to do a really good wash the next time I empty it.  It's that easy!  

So, does it leak?  Honestly, I think I've only had my Diva Cup leak twice in the nearly 6 years I've used it, and both times were my own fault.  Once was because I had a pretty heavy flow and forgot to empty it in the afternoon.  And the other time, it didn't open up completely when I put it in, so it leaked.  But both times I could tell there was a leak right away, so I was able to fix it before it became a problem.  Now, I know a lot of people have some trouble in the beginning, but if you stick with it and figure out the best way to insert it, it's definitely worth it!!

Overall, I am in love with the Diva Cup and would never, ever go back to tampons and pads again!!  I love how much money I save, how much garbage I'm keeping out of the landfills, and I love how easy it is (once you get the hang of it).  I, quite honestly, would never use anything besides a menstrual cup again.  The Diva Cup isn't the only menstrual cup on the market-I've also heard of the Lunette and the Mooncup, but have never tried either out.  

Have any of you ever tried a menstrual cup?  What is the best or worst part about using one?  If you have any questions, please let me know!!  I'm not an expert, but will help if I can!

**The review and opinions above are completely my own.  I did not receive anything for the review, except the hope that maybe a few of you will try out a menstrual cup!!**

Traveling with Cloth-Part 2

I shared a few months ago a post about traveling with cloth.  I had driven with our cloth diapers quite a few times, but had never flown with them.  So, I thought I'd just share a few thoughts on how that went!
A few weeks ago we flew down to Florida on vacation, and I brought along cloth diapers, along with cloth swim diapers.  And overall, it went great!!

little beach bum

I had no issues with the washer and dryer there, which was nice (often when I travel to MI with my diapers I need to strip them when I get home....not exactly sure if it's the water or the washer/dryer).  And I packed the perfect amount to be able to wash diapers every other day....didn't have extras, but could always make it to wash day.  The other benefit we have with using cloth is that my son's clothes fit :)  He's pretty thin, so the cloth bum keeps his pants up!!  So I didn't need to worry about which pants he wore while we were down there.
Now, there was a downside to bringing cloth--space.  Cloth diapers take up a lot of space!  If I had prefolds big enough to fit my son, I would have brought those since they're smaller, but I didn't.  So I brought pockets for daytime and a few fitteds for naptime and nighttime.  I packed everything flat, with the pockets unstuffed.  But they still took up a lot of space!  Luckily, we needed to check a bag anyway for suntan lotion and all that fun stuff.  So, we had the room, but I will say, they took up a significant portion of the suitcase.
The other place space was an issue was while we were actually flying and in the airport.  Cloth diapers just take up a lot more room than disposables!  Luckily my wet bag has a snapped handle, so I just snapped it onto our stroller and no one really noticed we had an extra "bag".  But I had a really hard time fitting three or four cloth diapers into our carry-on bag with all the other things we needed to keep an almost two-year old occupied on a flight!
One way I could have reduced the amount of space they took up was just to do laundry every day.  This would have pretty much cut the number of diapers in half.  I just didn't know if I'd have been able to keep up with doing laundry every day.  But that definitely would have reduced the amount of space the diapers took up.

So, overall, I'd say if you have the space, go for it!!  I loved having our cloth diapers down there and not having to buy disposables.  But, I also feel like, if you don't have the space, don't feel bad!  Disposables have their place, and at times, traveling is definitely one of them!
We're flying again this week for my sister's graduation, and unfortunately, there's just going to be no room for my diapers.  While its a bummer, I'm not going to feel bad buying disposables.  Sometimes you just have to do it!  I'll just be sure to bring Myles' belt so his pants don't fall down :)

Has anyone else had an experience like this??  Any tips for reducing the amount of space cloth diapers take up?

10 Ways to Go Green

Well, as April has come to an end (which is crazy!), I thought I'd wrap up our "Earth Days" month with a short list of ways your family can "go green."  Some of these are different things we've reviewed or posted about during the month, and others are just things our family does or would like to do.

1.  Recycle:  This is one I'd assume most of us do, but just in case....recycling is important!  Get your kids involved--let them sort your recyclables.  If they don't have a pickup at your home for recycling, bring it in once a month.  In our area, #5's aren't recyclable, but I can bring them in to our local Whole Foods, where they'll recycle for us.  Once you get in the habit of recycling, it becomes really easy!  Here's a post written by Jen, about when her family began recycling: Recycling is Fun! (and a lot of work)

2.  Reusable Shopping Bags:  All those plastic bags you get at the grocery store, pharmacy, hardware store, basically every store, can really add up.  But one way to reduce plastic bag waste is to get some reusable shopping bags.  You can buy them at the grocery store, and often, they're given away at events and things.  Use them!!  I just keep them in my car, so I always have them with me when I'm out.  And just use them instead of the plastic ones at the store.  We've really cut down on our plastic bags at home by doing this, which is keeping lots and lots of bags out of the landfill!

3.  Reusable Snack Bags:  One way we've reduced our waste is by buying some reusable snack bags. At first, my husband was a little embarrassed to use these at work, but he kept up with it, and now loves it.  And saves us money and garbage by not using plastic ziploc bags every day!  He puts his sandwiches, chips, carrots, etc. in our reusable bags at lunch.  I also use them for snacks for Myles while we're out and about.  They're really convenient, and I keep finding new ways to use them.  You can find reusable snack bags all over etsy.  And some of our favorites are from Re-Pac, which often has Living Social deals and coupons, making them even more affordable.

4.  Unpaper Towels/Cloth Napkins:  Another way to reduce paper waste at home is to invest in some unpaper towels and cloth napkins.  While it's more money upfront, you definitely save money in the long run!  Now that we've consistently been using our unpaper towels from Joyful Girl Designs, I haven't had to buy paper towels in at least 6 months!!  And we haven't jumped on the cloth napkin wagon yet, but I'd really like to in the next few months.

5.  Make your own Cleaning Supplies:  One way I've tried to be really intentional about going green in our home is by not buying cleaning supplies anymore.  It sounded crazy when I first started, but honestly has been much easier, and much much cheaper than I would have thought!!  Cleaning supplies you get from the store have so many chemicals I just didn't want around myself and my family.  By making them myself, I know exactly what we're exposing ourselves to.  And honestly, so far, they all work just as well as the store bought kinds.  I've also been making my own laundry detergent and using vinegar instead of softener, and both of these work just as well, if not better as the Tide and Downy I'd been using before.  You can find recipes for homemade cleaning solutions all over pinterest and online, but most involve vinegar, baking soda, and different essential oils.

6.  Rain Barrel:  I wrote a post on this a few weeks ago, but if you have a place to put one, invest in a rain barrel!!  They not only save water, but save you lots of money!  They basically just collect rain water that you can use to water your plants.

7.  Teach your Kids:  Basically, just teach your kids to conserve energy and/or water.  If I let him, my son would be a major source of water waste.  He absolutely LOVES to turn the faucets on and off and play in the water.  Now, this isn't always a bad thing, but if I let him, the bathroom faucet would be on 24/7, wasting gallons and gallons of water.  So, at 22 months, I'm doing my best to teach him not to waste the water; to turn the faucet (and leave it!) off while he's brushing his teeth; that he doesn't need the tub to be completely full of water to take a bath.... things like that.  And with older kids, turning off lights when they leave the room, or turning off electronics when they're done with them.  These are simple things that can make a big impact.  And things our kids need to learn!!  They won't (usually) just come naturally.

8.  Limit Driving:  If you live in a place like me, it would be impossible to walk everywhere.  It would take me all day to get to the grocery store and back.  So we do a lot of driving.  But I try to combine trips and run all our errands for the day at once.  Or, if I need to go to the far side of town, I wait until I have a few errands to run out there so I don't need to make the long trip more than once a week.  And when we can, we do walk or ride our bike to run short errands.  My husband even rides his bike to work most of the time!  It's less than 2 miles from home, and with traffic and parking, he can usually bike there faster than he can drive.

9.  Borrow Things:  A way that we've tried to reduce some of our waste (and needless buying) is by borrowing and swapping things within our community.  Some of my girlfriends from church have a clothes swap once a season, where everyone brings clothes they no longer want or fit into, and then we basically go shopping in each other's clothes!  It's a lot of fun, and you get free clothes out of the deal.  It also keeps me from buying new clothes.  We also do this with kids clothes and toys.  And I'm sure there are also ways of doing this with household goods as well.

10.  Cloth Diaper: And last but not least, use cloth diapers!!  This isn't the easiest one on the list, but I'm guessing many of you already do this, which is why you're reading :)  But cloth diapering is an awesome way to reduce waste!!  And if you already cloth diaper but haven't made the plunge into cloth wipes yet, try them!!  They're really easy once you try.  I actually find it to be more work to pick dirty disposable wipes out of my diapers than to just toss everything right into our wet bag.

So, there you have it.  10 (relatively) simple ways for your family to go green this spring!!  Do you have any other ways your family is going green?  Or have you tried any on this list already?

Adrianna Knits

I was given the chance to review another great WAHM's items--a diaper, cover and liner from Adrianna Knits.   I'm really excited to share them with you!  But before I share the products, here's a little about Adrianna.
Adrianna is a mama to three-a nearly 7 year old (with high functioning autism), a 3 year old and 1 year old.  She left her job after having her first son, to be able to stay at home with him and be on call for him.  It also gave her a chance to do what she really loves-knitting, crocheting, and sewing.  She learned how to crochet when she was 3 (!!) from her grandmother.  A few years later, her grandmother taught her to sew and to knit.  She learned all the basics, and then taught herself everything else!
She opened up her etsy shop back in 2010, where it was mostly hand-knit items.  After her son was born in 2012, she was able to get a serger, and really got into making her own cloth diapers.
She designs and makes them all herself.  Nothing is exactly identical, since everything is made by her!

Although not everything is identical, from what I've experienced, it's all of the highest quality.  Adrianna sent me a prefitted (prefold made into a fitted), a fleece cover, as well as a few fleece liners.  Let's start with the prefitted.
Here's the prefitted on my son, who's about 25lbs at 22 months.

This is a one-size diaper, and even though we're on the biggest rise setting, it looks like it's going to fit for quite a while longer.  It does snap down to be quite small, and Adrianna says on the website, it should start fitting around 10lbs.

prefitted on smallest rise setting

 Like most other one-size diapers, it may be a little bulky at first, but would definitely be absorbent enough!  And it's nice to have something to grow into.

We get a great fit with this diaper.  There's never any red marks with this diaper, since the elastic is inside the prefold.  There's just nice, soft cotton on baby's skin.  But because there's elastic inside, there's no gaping at the legs, which means no leaks!

no gaping!

This diaper is basically a converted prefold, which I love.  I loved prefolds when Myles was a newborn/infant, but once he got really active, it made it difficult to get them on.  If I had known about prefitteds when he got to about 6-7 months old, my stash might look really different!  They're just like a prefold, made with natural fibers and super absorbent, just much easier to get on!  Plus, they're super affordable, at only $6.95 each.  A little more expensive than a simple prefold, but much much cheaper than most fitteds.
There's also a little elastic in the back, which helps to get a good fit.

there's elastic at the top....a little difficult to see

She also adds an extra insert that can be snapped in for extra absorbency, which I really appreciate.  We can always use extra absorbency around here!  It's a little longer than the diaper itself, which allows you to fold it however you need it--in the middle for girls, and at the front, for boys.  Or you can leave the insert out, if you don't need the extra absorbency, or for a newborn.

insert folded for a boy

I also usually used the liners Adrianna sent me with the prefitted.  Because prefolds are just made of cotton, they aren't "stay-dry," meaning the baby will feel wet.  This isn't a bad thing and isn't going to hurt them or cause diaper rash, but sometimes it's nice (I like it especially at night or naps) for them to feel a little more dry.  That's where a liner comes in.  Adrianna's liners are made out of fleece, which keeps baby feeling dry.  They fit perfectly along the insert of the prefitted, which is where most of the moisture goes.  They worked great!  The edges are serged, so there's no fraying, and they look a lot nicer than if they were just cut.  You can also use liners if you use a diaper cream (although it should still be cloth diaper safe so it doesn't get all over your diapers in the wash).

prefitted with the fleece liner

As far as quality goes, this diaper is fantastic.  The shape of it is perfect.  It has three rise settings, and since it's a fitted, you don't have to have a perfect rise, since you'll have a cover over it anyway; but we get a great fit in it.  It also has crossover snaps around the waist, which is super helpful for skinny babies.  The snaps themselves are nice and strong--I don't feel like Myles could get them undone on his own, which is definitely a plus. :)  And I just love the feel of it!  It's nice and soft, and the more you wash it, the softer and fluffier it gets.


Adrianna also sent me an adorable fleece cover, in a soccer ball print.

It fits perfectly over the prefitted.  No gaping at the legs, or the top.  I was a little worried the rise might be too short, but it fits perfectly.

I had to bring in backup to get some decent pictures :)

We don't have a lot of fleece covers in our stash, but most of the ones we have have an extra layer of fleece in the wetzone.  This cover doesn't, but we have not had a single leak using it.  We've used it mostly at naptime, but a few times during the day, and its worked wonderfully no matter where we've used it.  No leaking, it fits under Myles' clothes, and looks adorable!  It's a tad bit bulky, but I always expect that when pairing a fitted with fleece--it's just a lot of material.  But I don't mind the bulk as long as it does the job.  And the combo of this prefitted and fleece cover has consistently done the job for us!

"posing" for the side shot....or trying to run away!

I have been really impressed with Adrianna's products!  Everything is top quality and has worked really wonderfully for us.  The fit on both items was great, and as I said before, we haven't had any leaks when using either item, which them it an A+ in my book!!  And everything is really affordable, which is definitely something I look for in a diaper.
Adrianna has lots of other great items in her etsy shop.  And one of my favorite things is that she'll convert YOUR prefolds into prefitteds for only $3.95/diaper!!  I thought that was an awesome idea and a great price!  I might be doing that for our next little one....
She also makes some absolutely adorable hats!  She asked if I wanted to review one, but Myles absolutely refuses to keep a hat on his head, so I begrudgingly declined.  But if you have a hat-lover, be sure to check them out.
Adrianna has also kindly offered to giveaway your choice of either a sized (newborn, small, medium or large) or a one-size diaper!  Be sure to enter below!


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Rain Barrel Love

I thought I'd share with you guys a simple, but really useful way that my family has gone green.  And it might be useful to some of you for the hot, summer months coming up!

The first summer we moved to Richmond, I really wanted to keep my yard green and looking nice.  I ran the sprinkler for an hour or two a few times a week.  I watered all my plants/vegetables at least once a day.  And then I got my first water bill.  Ouch.  I never realized how expensive city water is!!  Growing up, we had our sprinklers and hose attached to a well, so it didn't really cost anything to run.  Well, city water is a different story.  Let's just say, the rest of that summer, my lawn didn't look quite as nice as it did when we moved in :)
But, a few weeks after my love of my sprinkler went away, I found someone selling rain barrels at our farmer's market.  I had never really seen a rain barrel before.  But I went home and did a little research on them, and learned that they're basically a giant barrel attached to your gutter drain to collect rain water.  I thought it was genius and bought one the next time we went to the farmer's market.  And I haven't been disappointed.

our lovely rain barrel

There's our rain barrel.  Now, it's nothing fancy-they do make really nice ones.  Ours was just a big blue barrel that was painted green to blend in a little more with the landscape.  The paint is peeling off a little bit, and there's a few things I would change, but overall, this thing has been awesome.  While I can't water the grass with it, I do water all of our landscaping and vegetables with the water from the barrel.  We never have to use the hose to do any of that!  Which saves water and money.  I also don't feel bad letting Myles fill up his little elephant watering can about 30 times an afternoon to "water" the grass, because this water doesn't cost us anything!

Basically, the water just pours in through this hole from the gutter spout.  One thing I wish this rain barrel had is a filter or a screen to keep leaves and sticks from coming in.  Some rain barrels just have an open top, covered with a screen to keep debris out.  

don't mind the dirt and pollen on top!  it doesn't get cleaned often :)

It also has a little hole on the side, so when the barrel fills up, the extra comes out the side and doesn't back up the gutters.  

I would highly recommend a rain barrel to anyone looking to save some water and some money!  They're pretty easy to install, and super easy to use.  Although it's a little more work than using a hose, we love using the rain barrel.  Also, we get a discount on our storm water bill for every rain barrel we have!  Definitely something to look into in your area.  

rain barrel love :)

Joyful Girl Designs-Unpaper Towels

One of the ways my family and I have tried to make less waste and "go green" is by using more unpaper towels.  This was a concept that made so much sense to me.  Why throw away so many paper towels when you could just wash cloth ones and use them over again!  I was already using this concept with my cleaning supplies and had a lot of rags that I used to clean with, but I didn't really want to use rags in my kitchen.  So I was really excited when the concept of unpaper towels started getting more popular!  And luckily, Jessica, from Joyful Girl Designs, gave me the chance to review her unpaper towels.
I actually first came across Joyful Girl Designs when Jessica was making wool covers.  We have a lot of her upcycled sweater wool covers in our stash and love them.  I was really bummed when she stopped making them, but, she stopped making them so she could focus on other things--like, unpaper towels of course!  She also makes awesome wet bags, sandwich bags, baby wipes, and some other things to help reduce waste in your home.
Jessica sent me some adorable "Cherries" unpaper towels, as well as a kitchen wet bag to store them in.  And I must say, having the wet bag has been awesome.  When I started using unpaper towels, the biggest problem I had was where to store them until laundry day.  So I'm so glad that I received the hanging wet bag to go along with the towels!  Here's the wet bag she sent me:

It's really simple, but I love it.  It's the perfect size for the kitchen-big enough to hold probably 6-10 unpaper towels and a few baby washcloths.  I love that it has two straps, so it hangs nicely in the kitchen.   

The door to our basement is in our kitchen, so it's the perfect place to hang the wetbag!  She also has wetbags with just one strap, so you could hang it from a kitchen cupboard or something.  

The wetbag is great quality.  The PUL inside is nice and thick.  We haven't had any leaking with this wetbag.  It also has a zipper, so if you want to seal it shut, you can.  I've found that leaving it open works best for us--that way the towels can dry out, and it's also less smelly than sealing it shut.  But it's a nice option to have the zipper if you ever wanted to use the wetbag for diapers or swimsuits or something.  

One tip to using a wetbag for kitchen cloths-I've found that letting my unpaper towels (as well as washcloths for cleaning up after meals) dry before I put them in the bag keeps them from getting mildewy and smelly.  Because I don't do my regular laundry as often as diaper laundry, I actually had a few baby washcloths get mildewy because they sat, wet, in the bottom of the wetbag for a while before washing them.  But letting them dry out ahead of time stopped this problem!

Now, on to the unpaper towels.  Here's the set she sent me:

They are adorable!!  And I actually love that one side is black-it keeps any stains from showing up!  

So, basically, one side is cotton, and the other side is a cotton-terry.  The cotton-terry side is really absorbent!  Much more absorbent than a regular paper towel.  And I find that I can do some serious scrubbing with these compared to paper.

The quality of these are awesome.  They're nice and thick.  They also have snaps on both sides, so that they go together, just like a paper towel roll.  

The snaps are really nice quality--nice and strong.  

These unpaper towels do fit on a paper towel stand, but I actually found it to be easier to not even bother with the stand.  The stand I have is a little small, so it was hard to "pull" one of these off.  I just keep the roll under the sink.

When I started using unpaper towels, there were a lot of times I would reach for my regular paper towels so I could "save" my unpaper towels from whatever it was I was doing, like cleaning up something that might stain or wiping things off the floor.  And the more I use them, the more silly that seems.  That's what the unpaper towels are for!!  To clean up messes!  Now, we do still have paper towels around, just in case.  We also use them to clean up raw meat juice or things that might be unsanitary.  But the more I use unpaper towels, the less I need the paper kind!  

These unpaper towels make an awesome addition to any kitchen or cleaning basket!!  I love them.  They're so much more absorbent than a paper towel and save so much waste.  And because they snap together just like a roll of paper towels, they can be stored just like paper towels.  I've also washed them quite a few times already and they still look brand new.  There's been no fraying of the fabric.  And although they shrink a little bit, they still snap together nicely.  The quality of these towels is amazing.  

I also think having the wet bag is really helpful.  Unless you have a lot of kitchen space and have room for a basket to keep dirty cloths in, having a small bag to hang them in is a life saver.  

Joyful Girl Designs has so many adorable prints to choose from, be sure to check them all out!  They come in sets of a dozen for $39, which is really affordable.  All you need is one set to save you from dozens of rolls of paper towels.  Now is the perfect time to check out her other great items, like reusable sandwich bags, wet bags, and even mama cloth--she's offering a discount of $10 off any purchase of $20 or more with the code CDA10 in the etsy shop, a great deal!

Also, lucky for you guys, Jessica is giving away 6 unpaper towels to one lucky reader in this adorable "Sow n Grow" print.  Be sure to enter below!!

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Curly Monkey

Thinking about Earth Day coming up on April 22nd and different ways my family could go green, I immediately thought of all the obvious (but still good!) things--reusable grocery bags, "unpaper" towels, rain barrels, reusable snack bags, cloth diapers and family cloth.  But when I stumbled upon Curly Monkey on etsy, I was introduced to something I simply hadn't thought of-reusable makeup removing rounds.  And I don't know why I had never thought of it!  I use at least 2-3 cotton balls every night to remove my mascara/eye makeup, and they obviously just go right into the garbage can.  Why had I never thought of using something reusable to do this?  Not sure, but I'm glad Emmanuelle at Curly Monkey did!

Curly Monkey is owned by Emmanuelle, mama of three beautiful children.  Curly Monkey began back in 2007, mostly with eco-friendly clothing.  Then in 2009, baby #2 came into the world, and they discovered the wonders of hemp!  They began making baby wipes.  And then in 2009, when baby #3 came along, Curly Monkey got a new look, and really found their passion.  Emmanuelle uses hemp in almost all her products.  Hemp is one of the most earth-friendly products, requiring little water, and no pesticides or fertilizer to grow!  Curly Monkey makes a variety of products, including baby wipes, makeup-removing rounds, receiving blankets, and nursing pads.  And they're all absolutely gorgeous!

Emmanuelle sent me a 12 pack of her rainbow reusable rounds.  First of all, they come packaged absolutely adorably!

The rounds themselves are just gorgeous.  They come in six different colors-two of each.  

rainbow of colors

The rounds are made up of 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton.  They're so soft, and get even softer after you wash them.  They're a good size-I didn't measure them, but the website says they're 4".  Here's the size of one compared to my hand.

Mine shrunk slightly after I washed them, but probably only by a quarter of an inch.

I started using them as soon as I got them, and I must say, I absolutely love them!  First of all, they're so pretty!  They just add a little color to my nighttime routine :)  And they're so, so soft on my eyes!  As I said before, I use them to remove my mascara in the evenings.  I use coconut oil (which I love!) to remove my waterproof mascara, so there isn't a lot of rubbing, but I feel like our eyes are so sensitive.  It's nice to have something extra soft to gently remove my makeup from such a sensitive area of my face.  I also feel like this absorbs everything better (which would make sense, since they're made out of hemp).  Before, I would use 2-3 cotton balls to remove the makeup, and now I only need to use one of these rounds for both eyes.  And I feel so good knowing I don't need to buy cotton balls anymore!  Obviously, it's not a huge deal to throw away a few cotton balls every night, but every little bit counts!

Now, the only downfall to these is that because they're removing makeup (and in my case, waterproof makeup), they do get stained.  I expected this when I got them.  I knew a combination of coconut oil, which stains, and waterproof makeup, which really stains would probably leave their mark on these rounds.  And it has.  But it honestly doesn't bother me.  I know they're clean, even if they're stained, and it doesn't affect how they work at all.  I'm also thinking that if I spent a little time either prepping them with some sort of stain remover, or doing some research on how to better clean oil and/or waterproof makeup from fabric, I could reduce the staining, but quite honestly, I'm just too lazy to do that :)  The staining was just a given and doesn't bother me at all.  But if this is something that would bother you, it's something to consider.  Or you just may want to do a little research on how to reduce the staining.  If you do, let me know :)

Overall, I absolutely love these rounds!  I don't think I'll ever go back to using cotton balls on my eyes. Be sure to check out Curly Monkey at their etsy shop, as well as their facebook page!  You won't be disappointed!!  Curly Monkey is offering a discount of 10% on the entire shop for the next week, with discount code EARTH10.  

Buttons Cloth Diapers

I'm really excited to share a great brand AI2 of cloth diapers with y'all-Buttons Diapers.  This is a new company to me, so I was pretty excited to try them out.  I'm also not a regular AI2 user, so I thought it might be good for me to branch out and try something new.  And I must say, I'm really glad I did!  Not only did I find a great daytime diaper, but I have also found another nighttime option for us (which is a really big deal, as I talked about last week!).  So, let's get down to business.

Buttons Diapers was founded by a husband and wife team, who wanted to come up with an easy and affordable way to use cloth diapers.  They came up with a wonderful one-size cover (available in 5 colors) and two size insert system.  They also have a nighttime insert to double up with the daytime insert.  It's really simple.  There aren't a lot of bells and whistles (like various types of inserts, patterned covers, etc.), but the colors they have are adorable, and the system works wonderfully!  Needless to say, they get the job done.

Amy, from Buttons Diapers, sent me a pebbles cover (which I absolutely love! The grey isn't like any other diaper we have), as well as a daytime and a nighttime insert.

it came packaged adorably!

The cover is great.  It's a one-size cover, with double leg gussets, which I absolutely love.  They always seem to keep the messes in much better.

double leg gusset

The PUL seems to be very high quality.  It isn't so thick that it makes the diaper really bulky, but it's thick enough that it seems like it's going to last a really long time.  Here's the inside of the PUL:

And the inserts are seriously the softest, thickest microfiber inserts I have ever felt!  There's a layer of fleece on the top of the insert, so it's completely safe (and dry) on your baby's bum.  I got the large size for my 25lb little guy.  

daytime insert on the left;
nighttime insert on the right

So, basically with these diapers, you simply snap in the insert to the cover and go!  There's a great instructional video on their website which explains the whole system wonderfully.  This image also shows how the diaper system works:

 There's two snaps, one at the front and one at the back, which I really appreciate.  This keeps the insert from shifting around while baby's playing and wiggling around.  To use the diaper for nighttime, you just snap the daytime insert on top of the nighttime insert and then snap both of them into the cover.  Here's what the diaper looks like with the insert snapped in:

My son got a great fit in these diapers!  They're nice and trim, but they hold a lot of liquid!

We have this diaper all the way opened up as far as rise goes, and it seems like it will fit him for quite a bit longer.  I may have snapped it down once, but using the large size insert, this isn't possible-you'd need the smaller size insert to use it on the smaller rise settings.  This wasn't a problem for me, but it did limit the sizing options a little.

There was absolutely no leg gaping for us, even though Myles is pretty skinny, so that was great!  Especially since it the rise was all the way up!  And the leg gussets are great.  They are tight enough to hold messes in, but never left any red marks.  

sorry this isn't the greatest picture....squirmy toddler.....

So overall, during the day, this diaper worked great!!  It was simple and easy to use, and worked wonderfully.  We were able to do a morning of errands with no leaking.  And the diaper is so trim it fits great under all our clothes!  Plus, the fit is awesome.

Now, on to nighttime.  As I talked about last week, Myles is a super soaker at night.  I haven't really tried anything new at nighttime in about 6 months, because after a really long struggle, I finally found some things that work and I'm too afraid to change it up!  But....with the thickness of these inserts and the amount they could hold, I decided to give it a try.  And I'll be honest-I was really nervous!!  I hate the thought of Myles waking up soaking wet, but I figured that I may as well give it a shot.  It's only one night.  Well, I shouldn't have been nervous-this diaper pulled through with flying colors!!  After sleeping for close to 13 hours, Myles woke up completely dry!  And although the inserts were pretty close to completely soaked, there was absolutely no leaking!!

Here's the thickness of the two soakers on top of each other:

THICK!

And here's what the nighttime diaper looked like on Myles.  It's a little bulky, but not crazy.  And hey, if it gets the job done at night, I'm fine with bulk!!

Now, the only thing about the nighttime insert that I didn't love was that the two inserts barely fit into the cover.  It seemed like it was about to peek out the back-top of the diaper the whole time, which made me a little worried about the liquid wicking onto his pajamas.  It didn't happen-we were completely leak free all night, which is a really big deal for us!  But it still gets me a little nervous to see how close the insert gets to the top of the cover.  Aside from that, the nighttime insert worked so great!  I also love that it's a really easy solution for dads or babysitters.  Sometimes my other nighttime solutions are a little involved, with fitteds, wool covers, etc.  So, this would be a great nighttime solution, especially for when someone other than me is putting Myles to bed!  Just snap the inserts in and they're ready to snap it on him!

So, overall, we really loved this diaper!!  We get a wonderful, trim fit, and these inserts can hold a lot of liquid!  It's also one of the very few nighttime diapers that have worked, completely leak-free for us.  They're affordable, cute and so easy to use.  Be sure to check out Buttons Diapers on their website and on facebook.  Myles love these diapers, too-they're great for lego building! :)

Buttons Diapers was also kind enough to offer up a free diaper to one of our readers!!  The winner will have their choice of cover, and size of two daytime inserts.  Be sure to enter below!

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