What Kristina Loves...

I love sharing what some of my favorite diapers are and what I love is constantly changing as the needs of my son changes. So here is a current list of my favorite things!

OS Diaper: My favorite OS diaper has to probably be the Tots Bots Easyfit diaper. I find that it fits the best range of babies and actually goes bigger than most of my other OS diapers which is good because I am pretty sure I will be needing it with my son. The make of this diaper is great for the OS feature.

Sized Diaper: My favorite sized diaper at the moment is my Charlie Banana diaper. I am using a large on my son right now and the rise is great, the snaps I have closed all the way so there plenty of room for growing yet which is just what we need.

AIO Diaper: Tots Bots Easy fit wins this category too. The material used to make this diaper dry quickly and is very soft against my son's bottom. Its all one piece but has a long tail that comes out on its own during washing which ensures for a better wash and less stink possibilities. It also helps improve drying time making it much shorter than my other AIO diapers.

AI2 Dipaer: Smart Snugs, which is a diaper I currently have for review. The diaper cover is lined with a very soft fleece so baby's skin isn't against the plastic PUL like other AI2's I have used. The snap in liner is made of Zorb which is very soft as well.

Pocket Diaper: Blueberry Pocket diaper. I have this one in the super cute owl print. They also just released a bunch of really cute new prints as well. The fit of this diaper is really nice, its soft and stretchy. No issued with snaps, elastic etc so far. This has a microfiber insert in it which I am not fond of but I haven't had problems with it.

Fitted Diaper: SustainableBabyish, hands down! Although they don't have the super cute prints they are still really nice diapers to have and worth the long wait and $25 dollars that you will spend on one of them. They are very absorbent and last a long time. And they have FANTASTIC customer service which is 10 thumbs up in my book.

Diaper Cover: Cotton Tail Babies, who makes fleece covers. This is also my son's favorite because it has 'wakets' (rockets) on it. Very soft, well made, has a double layer sewn in the wet zone. The fit is great and I am very happy with this cover.

Detergent: Ecosprout is my detergent of choice. I have tried quite a few and have never been more than happy than what I am now with Ecosprout detergent, plus the smells are delish! This detergent doesn't cause any red bottoms on my son which is what every mom hopes for.

Wet Bag: WAHMIES. I just got the WAHMIES groovy guitar wet bag and its so stinking cute, well made, a great size for going out for the day. Love it!

Pail Liner: Planet Wise diaper pail liner. Love the size, colors, build, everything. It works wonders for both my diaper pails which are totally different sizes. Fits both of them great with no issues.

Wipes: I love the wipes I get from my local CD store. They are a WAHM wipe made with flannel on one side and a sherpa on the other. They gripe the poo and are super soft. I haven't had any stain issues with these at all!

Butt Cream: Grandma El's Butt Paste is my favorite. It doesn't seem to leave behind any residue on the diaper. Some I have found to leave the inner material of the diaper kind of dingy which I don't like but I haven't seen that happening with Grandma El's. Oh and it works great too!

Fastener: There are currently 3 kinds of fasteners you can get: Pins, Snappi or a new item called a Boingo. I really would love to try out the Boingos but because I haven't I will be picking Snappi as my fastener of choice.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my favorites and why I choose to love the things I do! Feel free to share your favorites below in the comments!

Tender Tushies

I have had the opportunity to work with Tender Tushies (isn't their logo cute?) and review one of their diapers. I was sent a cute green with stars print diaper.
There are a lot of snaps on this diaper but not so many that it becomes overwhelming. There are cross over snaps, as well as hip snaps. This is also a OS diaper so you have those snaps as well.

The outside of the diaper...this diaper has a great shape. I like the front with the square corners. It seems to stay in place nicely.

The inside is nice and soft.

The pocket opening was a little small but not terrifyingly small. I have bigger hands and so stuffing was a more work than say a BG which has a huge pocket opening but honestly I didn't find this pocket opening to be a problem. I actually love the elastic on the front and back of the pocket openings because after stuffing the diaper the insert (which is microfiber) stays tucked in the diaper and doesn't pop out to say hi.

My son is now a chunky 27 pounds and 33 inches long at 19 months old. He fits nicely into the medium rise for this diaper and the tabs are all the way closed with out using the cross over tabs. I would easily open this up a little more so there is one snap open but the picture looks a lot tighter than it really is.

With the one microfiber insert in the diaper its pretty trim.

The rear view...lol he is a wiggly little boy sorry for the funny shots!

I am very please with this diaper, we are yet to have a leak. I also have left him in this diaper for probably 4 hours while running errands and no problems at all. It held everything in for him. We have used this at nap time with out issues. Haven't used it for night time because I know a single MF insert will not do the trick. I could stuff this with our hemp prefold and it would probably work great. The elastic on this diaper is nice and tight but hasn't left any red marks on his legs. I would say that this has been a great diaper for us and the print is really fun.

Tender Tushies is a company located in Canada and these diapers sell for $9-$10 dollars which is a great price. They also sell other products.

Green Baby Clothing Company Review

I love finding sites that sell unique items for my guys to wear. Bonus when the items are Eco-friendly. Green Baby Clothing Company is just one of those places. Based out of Canada and run entirely by Mommy's, Green Baby Clothing Company stands behind their products with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. And do they have the selection of items to choose from - there are items for baby, toddler, kids, mom, dad and home!

For review, I received a handmade reversible hat. This treat was for my middle son, in the size of 2-5 years. He has a rather large head, so it is a tag snug on him :) But it so cute, and the print is PERFECT for him - he is obsessed with all things pirate!

The fabric is 100% cotton and so soft.

Here is one side:

And the reverse:

The back has elastic for a sure fit, and it definitely makes it nice and snug. Benjamin has been running around for 2 days with this hat firmly planted on his head, "ARrrrgh"ing his little heart out ;) The hat remains!
He hates having his picture taken (just like his mama!) so I thought I was doing good to get a handful of pictures of him modeling the hat.
Here, he was asking if he could wear it to church to show his friends that he was a 'real pirate'. Presh.

You can see other reversible hats by Green Baby Clothing Company by clicking here. If one of those fabric selections are your style, or you need a different size, don't fret! Green Baby Clothing Company is always open for custom items - including different fabrics and size changes! All reversible hats retail for $26 and, for $2.50, will ship to US and Canada!

You can find Green Baby Clothing Co. on the following social media outlets:
Green Baby Clothing Company on Facebook
Green Baby Clothing Company on Twitter

Disclaimer: I received one reversible hat for review. All opinions are honest and my own.

Fancy Pansy Cover Review

I'm always on the lookout for a durable PUL cover. I love fitteds and prefolds (I love wool and fleece too, but just not daring enough to use them when we are out, haha!) I was thrilled when Krista from The Fancy Pansy contacted me to review her OS covers. I was even more thrilled when it arrived!

Look at the cross-over snaps ... in both directions! Even though my husband and I are both right handed, we cross in different directions! This cover pleases us both (marital harmony in cloth diapering is really what it's all about, folks!) ;)Three rows of snaps (combined with the cross over snaps) makes for a wide range of fit. In fact, The Fancy Pansy claims that the OS Cover can fit babies from 7-40lbs.!!!
Solid on the back...
Solid on the inside. The PUL feels heavier than most PUL covers (I'm rejoicing, not complaining!) I feel like this cover would withstand multiple babies (some of our OS PUL covers have not held up fantastically throughout 3 children).We often resort to this cover at night time paired with a jam-packed fitted, because there is no doubt whether or not it will last the night - it will!

The fit is great too. (For reference, my guy is 14.5months and about 25lbs).

He's starting to get the "toddler tummy" :) So it looks like he barely fits, but he does, I promise!, with tons of room to grow! Here, I have the OS Cover paired with a fitted and I feel like the cover covers the fitted perfectly!We have really enjoyed trying out this cover and will definitely keep The Fancy Pansy in mind when we need to replace our other PUL covers! The Fancy Pansy OS Cover retail for $13.00 and she has all sorts of colors and prints to choose from! Be sure to fan The Fancy Pansy Facebook page to keep up to date on stockings and sales (And let her know CDA sent you!)

FluffyRumps - Review & Giveaway

A few months ago my daughter was having a horrible time teething. Way worse than her brother or sister who had gone down this road before her! So what did I do? I sent out an S.O.S. to all of you! Rhonda from FluffyRumps responded - and quickly! She sells genuine Baltic amber teething jewelry (along with some other fluffy goodness that we'll save for another day!). Are you wondering what "Baltic amber teething jewelry" is, or what it does? Rhonda has a great definition on her Facebook page:

"Natural Baltic amber is a completely non-invasive remedy for side effects associated with teething. It helps with lack of appetite, redness in the cheeks, swollen gums, diaper rashes (and as cd'ing mamas - we ALL want to avoid that!), upset tummies, earaches, fevers, and colds. Baltic amber is also a natural analgesic that will calm your child. Think of it as a natural infant Tylenol."

A little more research found that when Baltic amber is worn on the skin, the warmth of your skin resleases a tiny amount of the healing oils from the amber. Then these oils are absorbed by your skin and sent into your bloodstream.

Ella and I received a multi-colored necklace to review.

I LOVE the way the colors look with her red hair! =)

At first (in just looking at a few pictures online), I was really confused about how these went on. I didn't know if they were made of a stretchy material or what...I couldn't see a clasp. Once I had the necklace in hand, it's pretty easy to see how it goes on:

There is some controversy about when babies should wear these. Some moms swear by them 24/7 and leave them on their children that long. Others (like my pediatrician), are a little more leary of allowing the babies to have them on during unsupervised times (like naps and bedtime). Some worry about the necklaces being a choking hazard, others say the worst that can happen is they bite off a little piece (they are all individually knotted on, so if you lose one bead the whole necklace doesn't fall apart) and then you just find it in their diaper. Just watch what your kiddos do and act accordingly. Once Ella found the necklace, I wasn't comfortable letting her sleep in it. That's just me. You may decide something entirely different. =)

(How the necklace should look in length.)

I can honestly say that I did notice a difference in her disposition after wearing the necklace for a couple of days! I stopped using it once her teeth popped through, and I'm just now noticing the red cheeks and runny nose starting...time to put that necklace on full time again!

Rhonda is a WEALTH of knowledge and has been INCREDIBLE to work with! She's VERY quick to respond via email. She has graciously provided a Baltic amber teething necklace for one lucky reader to win! Fill out the form below for your chance! And if you don't win? Totally worth it to buy your baby's teething necklace from FluffyRumps!

This giveaway will close on November 15th, 2011 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 Baltic amber teething necklace for review. All opinions are truthful and my own. You may have a different experience. FluffyRumps is sponsoring the giveaway of one Baltic amber teething necklace.