Sprout Soup #clothdiaper store in Columbus Ohio

Anyone in the Columbus area? I have recently discovered this little cloth diaper and baby wearing shop in Columbus, OH called Sprout Soup. I perused the site for a little bit and found some really great products. They have such a great variety! They have everything from high chairs to cloth diapers and baby carriers. One of my favorites is the EllaRoo Woven Wrap in the Limona colorway. I have yet to be able to purchase a "good" woven wrap for myself, though. I have used a home made "Moby style" wrap that I really loved until Fuss was over 20 pounds. At that time, I switched to a Mei Tai. I'm really thinking I would prefer the wraps over the MT.

Sprout Soup also has a great section for Sloomb wool covers and wool wash! I just won a wool cover, so I definitely will have to order soon!

Head on over to Sprout Soup and let me know what your favorite product is that they carry or just a certain item you would like to try.

**Published in the hopes of becoming the Sprout Soup featured blogger for 2014. Thanks for your support!**

Flufftastic Summer Celebration is LIVE!

Flufftastic Summer Celebration is hosted by Mama on a Green Mission or Eco Baby Mama Drama. The Grand Prize is sponsored by Lotus Bumz, Rinse Hopper, 7 A.M. Enfant, BabyLegs, Wooly Rounds and Mama on a Green Mission and is valued at over $400.  This grand prize package is a great start for anyone or a great addition to the cloth diapering addict’s stash!

 

As promised, we have a great group of bloggers here to help you get your fluffy fix this summer. Whether you are looking for diapers, creams, or wool, there is a little bit of everything within these prize packages! I was lucky enough to be able to team up with Melissa from Melissa Kittle's Knits for Littles to offer you a $30 store credit good toward anything in her Etsy Shop!

Fuss actually has this awesome little snake made by Melissa! It is about 3 feet long and SOOOOO soft! Fuss literally chases us around the house with it going "Sssssssssss!" The best part? The snake is 100% washable! It will felt, but that will only make it more durable in the long run. The eyes are hand-sewn pieces of felt. I do not have any woolies made by Melissa yet, but if the quality is anything like the snake toy, then there is nothing to worry about there either. She is easy to work with and will do custom orders and colors as well.

On to the giveaway portion of our show...Melissa has kindly agreed to do a $30 store credit to her Etsy shop for this event. Please be sure to show her some love on her Facebook page. (Scroll to the bottom.)

Also, don't forget to head over to Mama on a Green Mission for your chance to win over $400 worth of Fluffy Goodness from Lotus Bumz!

Below, is the list of participating bloggers, so be sure to hit all these great blogs for more chances to WIN!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Mommy and Me Day at the Mall and Giveaways!

Well, I had a great time at the Mommy and Me Expo at Meadowbrook Mall yesterday. I met some great people and got to network and learn a few new things! I will be sharing some of what I learned with you in the coming weeks.

I also have a chance to review (and hope to giveaway) a Soda Stream! So if you could send all your friends to check out the blog, I'd really appreciate it!

Make sure you visit back often as I am co-hosting a giveaway for a $15 GC to Cloth Diapers Inc. with Life With My Littles! I also have a cute little bow to giveaway and review!

Booty Buns Cloth Diaper GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to the Go Green ♥ Give Charity Cloth Diaper Giveaway Event sponsored by Booty Buns Cloth Diapers! Over 175 blogs have teamed up to present this amazing cloth diaper giveaway hosted by Daily Mothering.

Here's your chance to win an entire stash of one-size cloth diapers!

 

This amazing cloth diaper prize pack includes:

20 Booty Buns One-Size Cloth Diapers

(these true one-size cloth diapers fit 3-45 lbs!)

20 matching flannel/terry cloth wipes

40 microfiber inserts

20 cotton flannel liners

(picture does not show inserts or liners also included)

First, a little about Booty Buns...

In case you haven't heard about them, Booty Buns Cloth Diapers are incredible one-size cloth diapers that truly fit from birth to potty training! They feature a snap-down rise with 5 different snap settings (most one-size diapers only have 3!) and a waist with 10 regular snap settings plus 2 crossover snap settings. The diapers have hip snaps to prevent wing droop on smaller sizes. The incredible size range of this diaper fits from 3-45 lbs!

Booty Buns Cloth Diapers are pocket diapers and each diaper includes 2 snap-on microfiber inserts that can be stuffed into the diaper or laid on top with the included cotton flannel liner against your child's skin. The diapers have a waterproof PUL outer and a soft suedecloth inner with dual gussets on the inner lining to ensure everything stays IN the diaper! Booty Buns One-Size Cloth Diapers come in an assortment of bright colors and each diaper includes a matching handmade flannel/terry wipe. You can find out more about the diapers at Booty Buns, or check out the detailed Booty Buns One-Size Cloth Diaper Review at Daily Mothering!

Booty Buns is dedicated to encouraging others to "go green" and "give charity." Shannon, the owner of Booty Buns Cloth Diapers, leads by example. For every diaper that Booty Buns sells, she donates one Booty Buns Cloth Diaper to a child in need in the US and third-world countries. Booty Buns is the exclusive cloth diapers donator for Operation Showers Of Appreciation, and they are also donating diapers to babies that have severe medical issues here in the US. Shannon hopes to donate a lifetime supply of cloth diapers {20 diapers} to every baby in need around the globe. You can join in this effort by purchasing your own set of Booty Buns Cloth Diapers and telling your friends about Booty Buns!

Make sure to stop by and follow Booty Buns via Facebook, Twitter and Blog for news and giveaways!

And now for the giveaway!!

ONE WINNER will receive this gigantic cloth diaper prize pack valued at $546!

And, the winner will get to select their choice of diaper colors!

This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada.

Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter.

Sign in using your Facebook account OR your name and email address.

Click "Do It" for instructions on how to complete each entry.

There is no mandatory entry. Complete as many entries as you wish.

The more entries you submit, the better odds you have of winning!

Booty Buns Cloth Diaper Giveaway *SNEAK PEEK*

Would you like to win a LIFETIME SUPPLY of cloth diapers?!

The Go Green ♥ Give Charity Cloth Diaper Giveaway Event sponsored by Booty Buns Cloth Diapers starts this Saturday, March 24th! Over 175 blogs are coming together to present this fantastic fluffy giveaway hosted by Daily Mothering. Mark your calendar because you don't want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win an entire stash of one-size cloth diapers!

ONE WINNER will receive a gigantic cloth diaper prize pack valued at $546! And, the winner will get to select their choice of diaper colors!

This amazing prize pack will include:

20 Booty Buns One-Size Cloth Diapers (these true one-size cloth diapers fit 3-45 lbs!) 20 matching flannel/terry cloth wipes 40 microfiber inserts 20 cotton flannel liners

(picture does not show inserts or liners also included)

This giveaway will be open to U.S. and Canada.

Come back March 24-31 for your chance to win it all!

WV Residents, I need your input!

Please, take a moment to answer the question below. If you answer "Maybe" leave a comment as to why your answer is maybe.

PollPub.com Vote

Would you be interested in a brinck-and-mortar cloth diaper store?

Yes
No
Maybe (explain in comments)



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FuzziBunz Elite Pocket Diaper Review

Thanks to Jill's Baby Rabies Twitter party about a month (or two? I'm really horrible at keeping track of time) ago, I was able to win a FuzziBunz Elite Pocket Diaper. I have wanted to try FB's for a long time but I was afraid to make the purchase in case they didn't work well for Fuss. The buy 6 get 2 free promotion FuzziBunz did *almost* convinced me to jump in. However, I am glad I didn't because shortly after that promo, FuzziBunz announced the changes to their diaper line. Since I won one of the new diapers from Jill, I went on the hunt for an original on the diaper swap pages. After finding one, I started my observations and comparisons. The following list is what I have come up with so far.

There are only a few key differences in the Original OS pocket diaper and the OS Elite diaper:
1) The fit. The Elite seems to be a little smaller overall even though the rise is a little higher than the Original, this makes it super trim. The downside? It may not fit a chunkier baby. Fuss has chubby thighs, but the Elite and the Original both fit her really well. **I will mention that since I bought the old-style FB second-hand, the sizing discrepancy may be due to wear. I am working on correcting that with new elastics soon and will update when I can.**
2) The inserts. The Original has a regular microfiber insert that is quite absorbent, but like most MF isn't very soft. The insert in the Elite is "minky". Minky is designed to be more absorbent with less bulk. It is SOOOOO soft! I really LOVE the feel of the smooth minky fabric of the new inserts compared to the old. Size-wise, they are the same.
3) Snaps. There is an extra snap (4 instead of 3) in the hip-snap area on the Original. This snap is intended to make the leg holes nice and tight for smaller babies. I'd say it would work really well for even a baby as small as 5-6 pounds. However, the Elite doesn't have that extra snap. In my opinion, the reason for this is the leg holes themselves. They already seem to be more snug and have a smaller diameter than the original style which may have negated the need for the 4th snap. That's just my opinion, though. I could be completely wrong!
4) Buttons. The button locations on the Original to adjust the elastics have been said to cause irritation because they sometimes come out of their "pocket" as does the elastic. The Elite, on the other hand, has no exposed buttons or elastic. They have been moved to inside the pocket of the diaper instead.

I really like the elastic adjustments as well. They make the diaper less bulky when cinched to the smallest setting whereas, with snap-based adjustments, there is sometimes added bulk in the front of the diaper. The buttons are also less likely to dislodge while buried in the bottom of your diaper bag or while having a nosy toddler playing with the diaper in Wal-Mart. I also love that the FB comes with an extra set of elastics for replacing worn-out elastic after a few years! To the best of my knowledge, no other diaper company does this.

All-in-all, the Fuzzibunz Elite has become a favorite of mine, especially for tossing in the diaper bag to have for being out and about. It is one of the easiest diapers to travel with thus far. Though, I still love my Original, the Elite is much softer and really does seem to absorb more than its counterpart.

I apologize for the lack of photos on this post. I have about 14 comparison shots but have been having difficulty uploading from my computer. I have been trying for 2 weeks! Hopefully, once I get the new elastics and get ready for my re-review, I will be capable of uploading more than 1 picture at a time and taking half an hour to do just that.

Not Your Grandma's Cloth Diapers: Cheap and Convenient

People ask me all the time "WHY" I started cloth diapering. The answer is simple: Money. I had severe complications at the end of my pregnancy and, while my recovery went rather smoothly for a C-Section, I found I had a baby with "issues". From day 1 she was quite fussy. At first, I thought it was that she wasn't getting enough to eat because she wasn't latching correctly. After that issue was solved  (2 months down the road), we still weren't getting relief. Realizing that her "spitting up" wasn't normal by any definition of the word, I kept after my pediatrician. At 2 months old, Fuss (as she had become lovingly known) was diagnosed with acid reflux. Now, we add medication. She does better for a few weeks and hits a growth spurt. You guessed it, she outgrows her dosage and starts projectile vomiting across my house once again. Week after week this kept up. Doctor, meds, spit up, doctor, meds, spit up, over and over. I started taking her on "shopping trips" to relieve my stress and hers. The outings kept her upright (in a carrier or stroller) and lessened her chances of having a reflux episode. I was beginning to look for work outside the home. Up to the point I was put on bed rest, I worked from home as a telephone operator. I knew this wouldn't work with a screaming child in the background, so I was going to venture outside the home to work. I went back to a previous employer and spoke with them about starting back there while still pumping. No problem. Well, there was a problem. Fuss. By 5 months old, she refused to take ANY bottles. Hubby didn't know what to do and neither did I. Add in the fact that we were still having some severe issues with reflux, knowing she was "high needs", hubby and I decided that I should stay home instead of trying to put Fuss in a daycare environment. Hooray! Now what? We have to make due on his income.

I go back to doing my normal daily routines: Dishes, laundry, walks, etc. I work hard to find ways to save money wherever I can. We are still getting behind. This is where the serious talks of cloth diapering come into play. I knew Fuss used between 8-10 diapers a day. Huggies Snug 'N' Dry (or Little Movers/Snugglers) were the only diapers Fuss could wear on a regular basis without having a severe rash. I ended up buying boxes of 264 diapers at Sam's Club for $39.98 in size 1-2. I'm going to be using Wal-Mart's prices for comparisons here though. So, a box of SnD at Wal-Mart is around $40 for 264. That comes to $0.15/diaper. Each size gets increasingly expensive (even though baby does wear fewer diapers per day as they grow), and the size 6 is a whopping $0.32 per diaper! [Comparison note: Even Parent's choice diapers start out at $0.15 cents each and go up to $0.23 each.] Okay, so further math: average 9 diapers a day at an average cost of $0.24 and you'll get $2.16/day x 7 days = $15.12/week. Four weeks in a month = $60.48. Twelve months in a year = $725.76/year! We couldn't afford to buy a lot of diapers all at once, so we split up our initial investment. I purchased a Flip Day Pack: Stay Dry One-Size system with 2 covers and 6 inserts for $49.95. Cotton Babies is wonderful to start out with as they have excellent customer service as well as they are very knowledgeable about all of their products and can match you to the perfect diaper for you! So, I start out with the Day pack. I then bought a dozen prefolds at a cost of $31.99 and one more Flip Day Pack for $49.95. Total cost up front was $131.89. I started out doing cloth part time as I just wanted to get the feel for it.

A couple months roll by and I buy some pre-owned diapers from a good friend for $20 for 2 covers and 6 inserts and I won another diaper from a giveaway. At this point I am buying 1 small pack of disposables for use when out of the house or when someone else watches Fuss. I exclusively used cloth at home. When my mother and mother-in-law saw the new diapers, they were really impressed! They used cloth with me and my husband and couldn't believe it was as easy as putting the cloth in the cover and snapping it when they used pins. I had already proven to them how great the new CDs were, now it was on to my friends and other family members. After acquiring 3 more diapers (2 free and one for $10 off a swap) I went to cloth full-time! I have been able to show off Fuss's fluff to many people while out running around and she'd need a change. The last diaper I purchased makes my grand total $211.84. I have also SOLD diapers that I didn't like to gain some of my investment back! And since switching to cloth, I have saved $997.76 to put toward our other bills. If you add in the cost of the diaper sprayer I use to wash the poo off, I will still have saved $957.81. That is how much of my husband's hard-earned money DOES NOT go in our trash! And after I get done with this batch of diapers, I will put them away for our second, saving us $1451.52 with no out of pocket cost! I am also thankful that we switched due to the fact that Fuss developed a very bad blistering rash after Huggies changed their formulation and that left us with only "organic" disposables to use, which are TWICE as expensive as regular ones! Cloth is pretty much hypoallergenic!

We are currently working on potty training Fuss which, generally, happens earlier when a baby is in cloth diapers (thus potentially saving even more money). She knows as soon as she's dirty and tells me "butt". I certainly get some strange looks from people when she does that, since she is tiny and looks to be about 1 but acts like she's 3! She also tries to tell me "potty" but usually doesn't get there in time. She will get it in time, but I'm not rushing her. I don't "need" to rush her! Admittedly, I still buy disposables now and then, but it's more like once every 3 months I buy a small pack for $6. I do prefer the use of snaps on my diapers, however, there are ones with Velcro-like closures on them that are JUST LIKE disposables to put on and take off! Many of the diapers now are all-in-ones that are a "cloth disposable." You put it on, you take it off. End of story. The only difference is that instead of dropping it into a trash can, you can wash and reuse the cloth diaper! My 15-year-old cousin watched me change Fuss's diaper at a family party one day and said, "That is so cool that you're doing cloth diapers. It keeps it all out of the landfill and you can reuse it! I think I'll use them too one day." Thanks to my pocket diapers, even my 15-year-old cousin sees cloth diapers as easy and cute!


These are so far from your "Grandma's Cloth Diapers" that Grandma wouldn't realize they really were cloth until she touched them! Let me tell you, some of these diapers are SOOOOO soft that you can imagine how great they feel on your baby! Plus, now, they come in great colors and prints that you can match to any outfit your little one owns. There are even people who make custom diapers specifically to match a particular outfit! From bright colors to florals and animal prints, they really have it all now. Cloth diapering has come a very long way from prefolds (which are very handy to have around still) and "rubber pants" and they're becoming more inventive and versatile as each day goes by. Cotton Babies has even come out with a really awesome training pants system that is designed to fit from 20 to 50 pounds! That's sizes 3-6+ in a regular Huggies. (I say 6+ because the Huggies box states that the size 6 fits 30+ pounds, but my nephew outgrew them at around 40 pounds.)

How would you like to try out some diapers from BumGenius  by Cotton Babies? Just leave me a comment telling me WHY you would like to cloth diaper, or why you do already, and what you are interested in about the BG's. This post is being entered into a contest to win 12 BumGenius diapers for you as well as for myself! *I have received no compensation for any statements in this post from Cotton Babies or its subsidiaries. All opinions expressed are my own and should be taken as such.*

Blogging Opportunity for Cloth Diapering Mamas!

Midnight Mommy is looking for cloth diapering and blogging moms to host some reviews and giveaways! Just go HERE to check out the requirements and fill out the form for entry into this awesome event. I can attest first hand that the mommy behind this site is great to work with. She's also a lot of fun. I hope you get to participate in this great event!

SmartiPants One Size Diaper Review

SmartiPants One-Size Diaper Review

I have been using the SmartiPants diaper in my cloth diaper rotation for about 2 weeks now. So far I really like it. It is designed to fit babies from 7 to 35 pounds, and fits my 23-pound Fuss quite well. The snaps are AWESOME! They are very, very strong and tough for little fingers to pry apart. Of course, this can also be a problem for Mommy given the short length of the tab past the snap. That is my only complaint with this diaper! I would like to have a little bit of “grip room” at the end of the tabs. There are also hip snaps to prevent "wing droop" when the little one is running around. The hip snaps even add an extra layer of protection to keep quick fingers from completely removing the diaper.

                      

Next: The interior. This is an extremely soft stay-dry lining with an unusual pocket style for this type of diaper. The pocket opening is open on both ends! Why is that? It is to allow the insert to remain inside when soiled and then agitate out in the wash. I was skeptical about how well that would actually work, and was pleasantly surprised when it lived up to its claim! The other bonus to having an opening at both ends is that my husband, who wears a size 13 wedding band, was able to stuff the pocket by pushing it halfway through and finishing by pulling it through the other side. His hands are too wide to stuff most pocket diapers. Despite the fact that there is an opening at both ends, the pocket “center” actually covers the entire insert. This means none of the insert touching a sensitive bottom and causing irritation. It also doesn’t shift or bunch with physical activity.

The insert is microfiber (polyester-nylon blend according to SmartiPants.com). It is soft and fluffy and VERY absorbent. I have no problem going 3-4 hours without a change while out and about and still have no leakage with this diaper insert. Overnight, I used 2 inserts and had NO leaks! The inserts seemed completely saturated, but when I took them out (I wanted to rinse them because of nighttime use) and rinsed them with my sprayer, they still HELD MORE! I am impressed! Fuss even woke up with a nice dry bum thanks to the layer of stay-dry material that the pocket is made out of.

Overall, the SmartiPants Pocket diaper is a very well-made and well thought out diaper. I would happily recommend this diaper to anyone looking to try an easy pocket diaper. Honestly, the most complicated part of this entire diaper would be the rise snaps which, as long as you pay attention to the row you're working on, aren't hard to master either!

Questions? Comments? Feel free to leave me your feedback! Here are a few "action shots" of my Fuss wearing her SmartiPants diaper!

 **Originally posted August 9, 2011 over on Bunny Berry Blog. Thanks to BunnyBuryBaby for providing me with this diaper to review!

Stripping...Your Diapers!

This question gets asked a lot on cloth diaper advice boards: "How do I strip my diapers?" As a favor to one of my new followers, I am posting this short tutorial on stripping. I hope it helps!

What is stripping?

- Stripping (diapers, not the kind involving a pole and dollar bills) is simply the process of getting all the "gunk" out of the fibers. Sometimes the gunk is merely detergent residue from using too much detergent. *Guilty* Other times, the gunk is from the diapers not getting clean in the wash cycle. Either you're not using enough soap or the soap you are using isn't working with your type of water. *Also guilty* Either one of these situations is not good.

How do I know I need to strip?

- You will know it's time to strip when 1 of 2 things happens:
    1. Your baby gets a rash. The rash will be pretty solid and be in the shape of your diaper. If your baby wears a fitted, baby will have a rash everywhere the diaper touches from back to front. If you use a diaper with inserts like a Flip your baby will have a nice square rash in the diaper area. *I found that out personally*
    2. The instant your baby's diaper is soiled you know it because it smells like stinky gym shoes/swampy. Sometimes you  can tell BEFORE you put the diaper on your baby because it smells like this as it comes out of the washer and/or dryer. *The time this happened to me, I was using a new wash routine with a different soap and the diapers smelled gross the second I took them out of the washer.*

- If neither of these is the case, but your baby is getting a rash that is splotchy OR you are switching from one brand of soap to another, it's a good idea to strip just in case. Oftentimes switching brands will cause issues due to the different compositions of the soaps conflicting with one another.

How do I strip?

- First, you get a pole...Oh, wait! Wrong strip! ;-)

- Go out and buy some plain blue Dawn dish liquid. "Original" formula. Anything with lotions, moisturizers, scents, etc. is a no-go.
- Wash your diapers with your regular wash routine. Seem crazy? If you start with "clean" diapers, the Dawn has less work to do overall.
- Fill your washer with hot water. The hotter the better! I have heard a lot of people actually turn the heat level up on their water heater specifically for this purpose then turn it back down as soon as they're finished.
- Add your Dawn. This amount will vary from person to person and article to article, anywhere from 1 Tbsp to 1/4C. I, personally, take the bottle and squeeze for a count of 3-5 seconds...probably somewhere close to a Tbsp. Just remember: The more soap you add now, the more you have to WASH OUT later!
- Run your diapers through the wash cycle.
- Rinse. Rinse. Rinse. Rinse. Rinse. *Note: This may or may not be the amount of rinses you will need. I put it that way to illustrate the point.* Keep tabs on your diapers and check to see if there are still suds in the water. If you can't tell, pull a diaper/insert out and rub it together. If it sounds "soapy", rinse some more.
- Once you are certain you have run your water bill up a sufficient amount and wasted enough time staring at the washing machine AND your diapers have no more suds, you can finally dry them in your preferred manner.

- If you only have a couple of inserts or other non-PUL-lined diapers that may need stripped (say you bought them off a swap), you can do the alternative method: Boil them. Take your inserts and put them in a large pot of boiling water. DO NOT LEAVE THE POT. EVER. Any residue will make bubbles and could cause the pot to boil over. Each "batch" should be boiled approximately 10-15 minutes. Then rinse under cold water. If the water is clear, you're good to go. If it's cloudy, dump the "diaper soup" and boil again for another 10-15 minutes. This method is not safe for PUL.

As a side note, be sure that if you have a new washer you check your manual. Some manufacturers will not honor your warranty if you use something other than laundry detergent in their machine. In this case, you will want to use something like RLR and follow their specific instructions for stripping. The hoses on front loading machines have also been known to melt with extreme heat, so be careful there too. *Makes me glad I have an old top loading washer!

Levels of Hippie

This is just for fun, so I hope no one gets offended! My husband made the comment to me the other day during a conversation that I was a "little hippie", but that it was okay. I'd hope so...otherwise he and I are in trouble! He's actually a "little hippie" too, honestly. So I thought I would share a list of the different levels of hippie. Thanks to my dear friend Jillian Courage for helping me name and describe all the levels! *Jillian is probably the "crunchiest" person I know.* This was too much fun!

Level 1: Buttered Toast
-You do a few things to be green such as recycling, but you still prefer the conventional way of doing things.

Level 2:  Wheatgrass
-You really try to be environmentally friendly. You breastfeed, buy local/organic, and use the more natural cleaning products. You may have also begun cloth diapering.

Level 3: Hemp
-You baby wear instead of using a stroller. You may be choosing to use unpaper towels and reusable shopping bags in order to reduce the waste you put into a landfill. You avoid using harsh cleansers and believe that a little dirt never hurt anyone.

 Level 4: Trail Mix
-You are well on your way to being "green" and some may already consider you a "hippie." You are choosing to use homeopathic medicines instead of Western medication. You also may be using home made soaps and composting. You have begun to make your own baby food in lieu of buying commercial. Perhaps you have begun to use mama cloth or menstrual cups as well.

Level 5: Granola
 -There are different levels of Granola. This includes at a minimum everything listed in the previous levels. In addition, but certainly not limited to: the "no poo" method, Elimination Communication, the oil cleansing method, family cloth, delayed/selective/no vaccinations, extended breastfeeding, extended rear facing, and using homeopathy instead of traditional medicine.

Battling the Yeast Beast

Well, here we are yet again, battling yeast. My Fuss has such sensitive skin that even teething (and the subsequent frequent bowel movements) will upset her skin's natural balance. I am so frustrated! Right now, she is in 'sposies until we're done with the Nystatin cream - in about 5 total days. I am going to start using probiotics in some of her foods to see if that will help keep her more in "balance." I currently have all of her cloth diapers ready to be washed. Half have already been bleached and are awaiting the day we can finally use them again. The other half are clean, but I want to be sure they weren't infected with yeast before I noticed the rash. So, they are waiting to be bleached.

Sunning is a wonderful option to help sanitize diapers that are infected with yeast. However, this week we have had rain on all the days I would have been able to keep an eye on them. (I live in the city and use a portable drying rack that I MUST pay attention to in order to be sure my neighbors' dogs don't eat them or knock the rack over.) I normally use tea tree oil (aka TTO) in my wash to help prevent yeast and other infectious agents, but every now and then bleach is essential. I recently found out during a Twitter party with Charlie's Soap that TTO isn't recommended for baby boys. Who knew!?

The other thing you have to watch for with yeast is to NOT use disposable wipes. The ingredients in most of them will feed the yeast and make the infection last longer. A good wipe solution with grapefruit seed extract will help to kill the yeast quickly. GSE is a very wonderful thing! As is coconut oil. Coconut oil has natural antibacterial properties and is a great cloth diaper safe rash cream.

If you've had experience with yeast and yeast rashes, feel free to comment below with any advice I may have missed!

Punkin Butt Prefolds and Diaper Pins

Audrey over at Punkin-Butt sent me a Newborn size prefold and a set of 2 diaper pins. Since my Fuss is no longer a newborn, I couldn't use the prefold as a full diaper on her. However, I was able to use it as a doubler in my Flips and as an insert in my pocket diapers and Fuss's new trainers. One thing I noticed right away about the prefold I was sent was the color. It was white. Not that there is anything wrong with white prefolds...they work exactly the same as the natural/unbleached ones. It's just that, well, generally unbleached is better for the environment. Then, I did some research and found this on Audrey's site: "Concerned about chlorine bleach?  Our white prefolds are whitened with Hydrogen Peroxide instead of Chlorine Bleach making them a healthy alternative to traditionally bleached prefolds for the earth, the manufacturers and your baby!" Pretty cool, huh?! It is quite absorbent and has worked really well as an insert in Fuss's Happy Heiny trainer. The prices are really great on these as well at under $2 a piece, making them excellent for someone on a budget. Here is a comparison pic of my toddler prefold (unbleached) and the newborn prefold from Punkin Butt.

I used the diaper pins on my toddler sized prefolds with the Bikini Twist. The pins have a slide-down brass cap that is attached to the pin and keeps it closed so baby doesn't get hurt. Once it is on, it's NOT coming off! Being that I'm not used to using pins, I found them a little harder to use than other methods. BUT they held great and I think that, given practice, I could get them on much tighter than I did on my first few tries. The brass cover was really easy to pop up so the pin could be opened, adding no extra time to the diaper change in that respect. Fuss was being cooperative while I tried these (thankfully), so I didn't stick her or myself in the process! LOL. These are a great option, though, and I am glad that I have them in my cloth diapering arsenal in a pinch! 

Are there any other questions you might have about the diapers or pins that I haven't answered? Leave me a comment!

Happy Heiny's Heiny Spray Review

You read that right: Heiny Spray! So, what exactly is it? Complicated answer: "A unique, all natural and organic spray which will gently cleanse and refresh the entire diaper area with no harsh chemicals." ~Happy Heinys Heiny Spray bottle. *Side note, you can also find the ingredient list at the link!* Simple answer: Something to spray on your baby's butt as an alternative to mainstream wipes and is often used with cloth wipes or wash cloths.

I have used this spray with both "normal" wipes (name-brand disposables) and with my infant wash cloths that double as cloth wipes. First thing I noticed, or maybe I should say didn't notice, was that there is NO FRAGRANCE. For a Mommy with asthma and a baby with sensitive skin, this is a true blessing. The second thing I noticed was the width of the spray. There was a full and wide spray from the fingertip sprayer, allowing me a better coverage area than other fingertip sprayers I have used. Why is that such a good thing? Peanut butter poop. For those unfamiliar with the many consistencies of baby poop, peanut butter poop is exactly what it sounds like. It's poop that is the same thickness and consistency of peanut butter. Gross? Yes. Normal? Most definitely. Really annoying to deal with? Absolutely! Disposable wipes have a very difficult time removing said poop from baby's bottom without serious elbow grease and possible irritation of your little one's sensitive skin. Adding the Heiny Spray helped 1,000 times! Instead of an average of about 8 wipes, I was able to cut back to around 4, and remove all the poop without making my daughter's skin raw. While using the cloth wipes, I could choose to spray the cloth or my daughter. Honestly, the spray works best when applied directly to baby's bottom.

It worked very well for us and I was pleased with the lack of reaction from my daughter's sensitive skin. The bottle is large, and I have barely made a dent in it even after using it for more than 2 weeks with my daughter teething. It helps keep her irritation free and I can only assume feels very refreshing when applied based on my daughter's reaction with each use!

Oh! I almost forgot...I also used the spray to sanitize my daughter's thermometer since the Heiny Spray is also anti-bacterial. :) Further questions? Comments? Drop me a line!

**Original post by me can be found HERE**

Why Cloth Diapers?

I get asked “Why do you do it?” when people find out I am cloth diapering. Sometimes it’s condescendingly other times it’s simple curiosity. Our original reason for choosing cloth was simple: cost. Why pay $30 per large box of Huggies diapers which were the only brand our Fuss didn’t have a reaction to per week and sometimes twice a week, when I could pay $40 for 2 covers and 6 inserts I can use “forever”?  Yes, we would have to do a couple extra loads of laundry per week but that didn’t even increase our water usage enough to increase our bill!

Secondly, we like the idea that we’re not throwing away our money and creating a ton of waste. As a newborn, our girl went through about 80 diapers a week. Yes, that decreased over time but at 15 months we still go through around 40-50 diapers a week. Even though I still use disposables occasionally for family and friends or when I have to use prescription creams on my overly-sensitive-skinned child, I have cut back to less than one 36 pack a week (sometimes 2 weeks!). I will also admit that I don’t always dump the poop from my disposables into the toilet like you’re supposed to. Think you’re not? I currently have a bag of disposables sitting beside me and it clearly states: “IMPORTANT: Shake soil into toilet. Wrap diaper inside its back sheet before discarding.” And just in case you didn’t know, it’s actually illegal to throw ANY untreated human waste into the garbage. It’s not really something we think about, in general. After all, how many times have you seen someone dump poop from a ‘sposie into the toilet before rolling it up? I don’t think I EVER have! It does, however, keep the nursery from smelling badly when you do it!

In all honesty, I don’t consider myself a “hippy” by any stretch of the imagination. I have become quite passionate about my fluff! I really enjoy cloth diapering. There have been a few hiccups along the way that made me wonder if I had made the right decision. One example: Ammonia. Overnight diapers would smell terribly of ammonia when I took them off in the morning. It took some research and pooling all my resources (mostly internet friends) to figure out that I have hard water, needed to rinse the nighttime diapers before putting them in my pail, and make sure to use enough water when washing. I also added a few drops of tea tree oil to my wash routine. I really don’t mind the plopping and rinsing. And the benefits far outweigh any inconveniences. A major development recently that I can attribute to my use of cloth diapers is that Fuss is starting to potty “train”.  She knows already understands the difference between clean and dirty, can tell us when she needs changed, and likes to try to use the potty. We aren’t pushing her to potty learn/train, but we figure as long as she’s showing an interest it’s not our place as parents to hinder her progress.