Saturday, July 17, 2010

Review & Giveaway(CLOSED): Bottombumpers Cloth Diapers

Hello, again! Noreen here, from Merrimack Valley Diapers in picturesque Methuen, Massachusetts.

Once you have decided to start cloth diapering, the next step is to start searching for diapers. There are so many different types and brands of cloth diapers available today that the task of choosing which one to buy for your baby can be overwhelming! Do you go with the better-known, mass-produced brands, or do you take a chance on a lesser-known, WAHM-made brand and hope for the best?In my time as a cloth-diapering mama, I have enjoyed trying as many different brands and styles on my son as I could afford. Finally, after many months of searching, I have found my favorite all-in-one (AIO) cloth diaper - Bottombumpers Side-Snapping AIO cloth diapers!
These diapers are trim! One complaint that many mothers have when cloth-diapering their children is that cloth diapers can be very bulky. This is one of the reasons that I love the side-snapping Bottombumpers diaper. This is the trimmest AIO we have tried... no more oversized fluffy butt here! These diapers even fit under denim overalls - you can't do that with many other AIOs!

These diapers are cute! Bottombumpers come in an array of adorable colors, from girly pinks to boyish blues and greens. Also, Bottobumpers has an option to customize your diapers! The Bottombumpers Custom All-In-One Side-Snap Diaper gives you the option of choosing from 15 different colors of PUL, 23 colors of snaps, and 100 different embroidered designs. That is 34,500 different possible custom combinations!

These diapers are made in the USA! Keeping the economy and the environment in mind, I feel good knowing that my money is going to a company that both sources its materials and sews it diapers in the United States. This keeps money flowing into our economy, jobs in our country, and minimizes our carbon impact on the environment by not having our diapers shipped in from far-away countries.

Truth be told, I would really call this diaper an all-in-two (AI2), rather than an all-in-one (AIO), as it has a snap-out soaker. The benefit of the snap-out soaker is that the diaper will wash cleaner and dry faster than an AIO that has all of the absorbant material sewn together. There is nothing more annoying than folding your cloth diaper laundry and finding out that your AIOs are still damp!

Bottombumpers are also available in a hook-and-loop version, for those who prefer velcro over snaps on their cloth diapers.

_________________________
Now, the fun part!
Merrimack Valley Diapers is giving away one Bottombumpers Side-Snapping All-In-One Cloth Diaper! You choose the size (small, meduim, or large) and we choose the color (boy, girl, or gender neutral). Giveaway ends Friday July 23, 2010. (Giveaway CLOSED)

To enter:
(Mandatory Entry) Visit the Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative 'Locate A Retailer' page and find the cloth diaper retailer closest to you. Visit their website, and leave a comment below with BOTH the name of the store AND what color(s) are in their store's logo. (If you do not complete this entry, all other entries will be void.)

Follow @MVDiapers on twitter and tweet this giveaway. Please tweet, "Win a @Bottombumpers Side-Snapping All-In-One from @MVDiapers! http://bit.ly/diQMwg #clothdiapers http://bit.ly/cdrcoop" Leave a comment below with a link to your status.

You can tweet once each day for the length of the giveaway. Leave a comment below with your status for each daily tweet.

Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect. Leave a comment below.

Become a fan of Merrimack Valley Diapers on facebook. Leave a comment below.

Become a fan of Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative on facebook. Leave a comment below.

Noreen
Follow us on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MVDiapers
Follow us on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MVDiapers.
Helpfull hints and other fun stuff on our blog: http://merrimackvalleydiapers.com/blog
Posted by Noreen from Merrimack Valley Diapers at 12:01 AM 218 comments
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Friday, July 16, 2010

Diaper Sprayers (and a Giveaway!)

Hi! It's Bayla from Soft and Cozy Baby! I want to tell you about one of the best parts of cloth diapering - the diaper sprayer. I LOVE my sprayer! I also love that I can turn the valve off so my 2 year old can't spray down the whole bathroom!

I have heard people say they would not cloth diaper without a sprayer. So what's the deal? How does it work?

When new parents come in to talk about cloth diapering, one of their first concerns is what to do with the poop. For newborns, their poop is water soluble and you just throw their diapers straight into the wash - no pre-cleaning required. But once they start solids, I always recommend a sprayer! There's nothing like trying to clean peanut-butter-consistency poop out of a diaper!

The diaper sprayer is similar to a sink sprayer except it hooks up to the tubing behind your toilet. (By the way, this is a great "dad gift" or a way to get dad into the whole cloth diaper thing. There's nothing like telling dad, "I'll pick out the diapers - you hook up the sprayer." They love that!) Plus it's super easy to hook up. It comes with detailed directions. My husband did it in just a few minutes. And hey, if he can do it, anyone can!

You can then use the sprayer to spray all poop remnants into the toilet. Whoever came up with this was a genius!

I now keep my diaper pail in the bathroom. I just carry all wet diapers to the pail. Dirty diapers I spray into the toilet and then drop them into the pail. This way I dont have to carry dripping dirty diapers back into the nursery.

Many cloth diaper brands have put their name on a sprayer that they sell. I found the Sigma Sprayer early on. It works superbly for a much cheaper price! Who can beat that? Name brand is nice - but for a sprayer? Plus I've found the Sigma company great to work with.

Here's what Sigma says about their sprayer:

Here's what we have to offer that you won't see in any of the competitors.
  • We engineered our product from scratch to build the very best experience for our customers. A combined 14 years in the diaper sprayer business among our staff puts us at the top of the list.
  • We guarantee a leak free design. How can we do this? By an anti-backflow device that is unique only to Sigma Products diaper sprayers.
  • Our sprayers contain everything you need to install them. All you need are a pair of pliers and 5 minutes. We include the sprayer, all hoses, bracket, and mounting supplies.
  • All of our sprayers have a variable flow knob that lets you adjust the spray to your preference, or you can turn it completely off after each time to keep curious toddlers from dousing the bathroom!
  • You're doing your part to stay green and help the world. We here at Sigma Products back you 100% by maintaining a virtually paperless company and keeping packaging to a minimum.
So buying a sprayer is a great investment. But now you have the chance to win one!
Here's how:
1. Follow the Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative blog
2. Follow the Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative on Facebook
3. Follow Soft and Cozy Baby on Facebook
4. Follow Soft and Cozy Baby on Twitter
5. Visit Soft and Cozy Baby and find one exciting new product on our website.
6. Add yourself to Soft and Cozy Baby's mailing list
7. Retweet or share on Facebook about Soft and Cozy Baby or this giveaway

Rules:
List each thing you did in the comments.
A winner will be chosen at random from the legitimate entries.
The contest ends July 30 at 11:59 pm

Happy Spraying!

Bayla
Soft and Cozy Baby
www.softandcozybaby.com
Posted by Bayla at 12:01 AM 268 comments
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Thursday, July 15, 2010

Review: Thirsties New Hemp Prefolds (and a giveaway!)

The Green Baby Store Reviews the new Thirsties Duo Hemp Prefolds.



We LOVE them! It's that simple. They are the best insert I've used--hands down! They are so versitile anyone can use them.

First, I have to say these prefolds are super absorbent. They work great on my super-wetter 2 1/2 year old. She can wet through almost anything. In fact these prefolds are one of only two inserts that work for her without leaking. And these prefolds are so much trimmer and softer than the other hemp inserts out there. They can be worn in her pockets or are soft enough to trifold and sit against her skin in a cover (in a hybrid system). Best of all: they were this absorant after minimal prepping (only one hot wash) and have just gotten more absorbant with each wash.



Look how trim in a pocket diaper! The size 2 Duo Hemp Prefolds fit perfect in one-size diapers on larger settings as well as medium and large sized diapers. The size 1 Duo Hemp Prefold fit great in size small and as well in one-size diapers on smaller settings. This is a size 2 Prefold in a Medium FuzziBunz Pocket Diaper on my 2 1/2 year old.





They also can be snappied or pinned to help keep messes contained and then covered with a diaper cover. This hemp prefold is snappied on a 9 month old. But the easiest way to use them is as part of a hybrid diapering system. Just tri-fold the Hemp Prefold and lay it in a cover and secure on baby.


Easy to use and super absorbent--the perfect combination! Be sure to pick some up today!


Want to win a free Thristies Hemp Prefold?


Follow us on facebook and leave a note below. You'll need to be registered on blogger or leave us a way to contact you in your comment (we may be able to contact you via facebook message if your profile allows). We'll choose a winner on July 23rd, 2010!


Post by Melissa of The Green Baby Store

http://www.thegreenbabystore.com/

www.facebook.com/thegreenbabystore

thegreenbabystore@yahoo.com


Posted by The Green Baby Store at 12:40 AM 79 comments
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Sunday, July 11, 2010

Tyranny of the Disposable (Giveaway)



Happy 4th of July week! The 4th of July is always the best weekend of they year in Minnesota. It is our reward for putting up with the never-ending, freezing, snowy winters. Glorious weather, cool refreshing lakes sparkling in the sunshine, fireworks lighting up the sky....small town celebrations (sand castle building contests, popsicle socials, bike parades behind the firetruck) at their finest.


I was all set to write my blog post themed on the 4th of July. Just as our Founding Father’s freed us from the tyranny of England’s rule I want to free my fellow soccer/baseball/chess club moms and dads from the Tyranny of the Snack. If you have young children involved in any activities, you know about the Tyranny of the Snack. A parenting phenomenon no one tells you about until after you are mired in it (Teletubbies, anyone?), is the snack. It is everywhere and it just won't go away. Apparantly, Somewhere Very Important, someone Very Important came up with this ridiculous rule that whenever two or more children are gathered together for any type of activity, said activity must conclude with a snack. Is there anything more unnecessary in our obesity-ridden culture than feeding a 6 year old a Ho-Ho at 8:30 at night after a soccer game? Followed by a HFCS, artificial-color laden drink? I HATE it and fight it and rail against and am always defeated by the other parents who say “All the other teams will be doing snack so we must as well.” If their child said "All the other kids are playing with matches, so I must as well" would they do it? And yet, I succumb. I hate myself for it and wonder what happend to the idealistic young adult I once was who protested apartheid and marched on Washington. THAT lady would fight this in ways more direct than a diaper blog and not back down but the mom I have become lets it slide and then hates herself later for doing it. Anyone who has let their child watch Sponge Bob knows the feeling.....


That is what I WAS going to rant and ramble about, until the great ladies of the Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative whom I admire so very much, decided that this summer should be the season of Giveaways. Somehow, armed with that knowledge, I was able to tear myself off my soapbox and switch topics to....reusable menstrual products! Yes, a far cry from the Ding Dongs and Cheetos (why doesn’t anyone but me bring apples and bananas?) on which I was going to pen my screed.


So, reusable menstrual products. Free yourself from the Tyranny of the plastic tampon! Yippee! Fun, fun, fun. They don’t have quite the adorable and just too precious for words quality of their cloth diaper counterparts but they are just as important! If you make the decision to use cloth on your child (for environmental, financial or whatever other reason) why not use cloth for yourself? All the nasty chemicals and dangers found in sposies are present in tampons as well. The names have become all too familiar....Bleach. Dioxin. Toxic Shock Syndrome. Plastic. Why put them next to your skin or even inside your body? While disposable tampon applicators and pads are smaller, they fill landfills just the same as diapers and take the same time to decompose. In fact, the average child only uses diapers for 2.5 years. The average woman uses tampons and/or pads for 35-40 years....approximately 500 periods. At 5 tampons or pads a day for 5 days that is 12,500 chemical infused pieces of cotton and plastic next to our bodies and deposited in our landfills. Nasty.


We sell a lot of reusable menstrual products at Cottontail Baby and even more at our sister site, Mamaclothonline. We sell pads, cups, sponges and all the accoutrements that make them easy and fun to use (the Black Calaveras pad bag from Leslie's Boutique is one of my absolute MUST HAVES).



One of our favorites is the Fussybutt pad. Only someone as supremely cool, ironic and fun as Christy could come up with the name Fussybutt and her personality comes across in her pads. Christy hand dyes, crafts and sews each one of these pads and they are both extremely absorbent and absolutely beautiful. The pads, which come in five sizes (thong, liner, regular, long and Xlarge) are all organic bamboo fleece or organic bamboo velour with an organic wool jersey backing and organic cotton fleece soaker. Not the ugly chemical laden boring white disposable pads you find at Target. These come in gorgeous colors like turquoise with a lime backing or raspberry with purple backing. Stunning. Who knew something with such a high Ick Factor could be so attractive? Kinda makes you WANT to have your period (I said “kinda”). Plus, besides being beautiful, they are so comfortable and soft and just...dare I say it?...fun to wear.


As part of Giveaway Summer, we will give one Fussybutt pad and one Leslie's Wet Bag pad bag (winner can choose the size and color of pad and print of wet bag...approximately $40 value). The Giveaway ends on July 24, 2010 so enter early and enter often. There are several ways to enter:

  1. Follow the Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative blog
  2. Join the Cottontail Baby mailing list
  3. Fan Cottontail Baby or Mamaclothonline on Facebook
  4. Leave a comment on this post indicating you did all that
  5. Double entry for those who link to the Cottontail Baby or Mamaclothonline web site in their comment
Posted by Kathleen@cottontailbaby.com at 4:09 AM 88 comments
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