Showing posts with label cloth diapers overnight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cloth diapers overnight. Show all posts

Monday, September 20, 2010

The 411 on fleece covers and a giveaway (closed)

Congratulations Jen & Andy!
You are the winner!

Hi! LeAnn from Giggle Britches here again. With the fall season and cooler weather on the horizon, fleece sleepers and pants are hitting the racks in all your favorite department stores. Cloth diapering moms know fleece is a big time material in the cloth diapering world. Many wonder if these items can be used as covers. As long as they are 100% polyester, they can! So what makes fleece so great? Read on!

What is fleece?
Polar fleece (usually just referred to as fleece) is a synthetic material meant to mimic wool. Made from 100% polyester, fleece is designed to allow moisture to transfer through the fabric, or wick moisture through the fabric. When used as a cover, the moisture is pulled away from the diaper to the outer surface of the cover. It spreads out and evaporates into the air.

Benefits of using fleece as a cover:
  • Highly Breathable
  • Lightweight
  • Easy to care for and clean
  • Fast drying
  • Very soft and comfy
  • Great for heavy wetters and nighttime diapering
  • Less expensive than wool
Cons of using fleece as a cover:
  • Bulky
  • Synthetic material, unlike wool
  • More likely to retain urine smell than wool or PUL covers
  • Compression leaking
Don't forget - any cover is only as good as the diaper underneath it! Fleece diaper covers can be used with any prefold or fitted diaper. A good fleece cover paired with an absorbent fitted diaper make the perfect nighttime combination. I really like using the Tiny Tush Hemp fitted or the Happy Hempy pocket fitted with mine.

With winter soon approaching, I have pulled out our stock of the Stacinator fleece covers in this adorable snowman print. I am giving you the chance to win one in a size newborn (6-10 lbs, 13" waist, 6-8" thighs, runs a little big). Don't have a tiny baby - this make a great gift too! Giveaway ends 10-4-10.
WIN IT!!

Mandatory Entry
(1 entry) Comment on whether you have used fleece as a diaper cover, and if so, what you have used (i.e. Stacinator, Old Navy Fleece Pants, etc.)

For extra entries do any or all of the following. Leave a comment for each you do.

(1 entry) Follow @cdretailercoop and @GigglBritches on twitter and tweet this giveaway. Please tweet, "@GigglBritches and @cdretailercoop are giving away a Stacinator Fleece Cover! http://bit.ly/b9E8Nm #clothdiapers #giveaway" Leave a comment with a link to your status.

You can tweet once a day for the duration of the contest. Leave a comment with your status for each tweet. 1 entry per day.

(1 entry) Follow this blog. Leave a comment.

(1 entry) Grab our button and post it on your blog. Leave a comment.

(2 entries) Blog about this giveaway and link to it. Post a link in your comment (leave two comments).

(1 entry) Like Giggle Britches on Facebook. Leave a comment.

(1 entry) Like Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative on Facebook. Leave a comment.


LeAnn

Follow us on Twitter - http://twitter.com/GigglBritches
Join us on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/Giggle.Britches
Posted by LeAnn at 12:01 AM 124 comments
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Saturday, September 11, 2010

A Different Kind of Back to School (and a Giveaway!)




Happy September! I am Kathleen, the owner of Cottontail Baby and her sister site Mamaclothonline. We live in gorgeous, green, lake-filled Minnesota where, as if on cue, the moment Labor Day weekend and the Minnesota State Fair were over the weather turned cold with brisk winds and crisp air. Summer is done and it is time to turn our attention to more serious pursuits like school and the Vikings. I love the Fall. Maybe it is all those years of going to school with new notebooks and paper and freshly sharpened pencils but it seems more a season of new beginnings to me than Spring ever does. A chance to begin again and make good choices and succeed and write new chapters.

One issue we struggle with at Back to School is sleep. Weaning our school age kids off their summer bedtimes and into school bedtimes is a significant challenge in our home.

As if psychically knowing exactly what our family is experiencing, the Science Times this Tuesday was full of articles on kids and sleep and school and studying. I thought this blog post was a good opportunity to share a couple things I read. The first has to do with kids and sleep and weight. We all know there is an obesity epidemic in this country. We also all know that there is a correlation between getting adequate nightly sleep and weight issues later in life. The Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine entered the dialogue with another study linking lack of adequate sleep in young children to becoming overweight or obese later in life. According to the study, children under 5 who did not receive at least 10 hours of sleep each night (naps do NOT count) were almost twice as likely to be overweight or obese later in life than those kids who did get the sleep. The belief is that sleep affects hormones that regulate hunger and appetite. Fortunately for the children of the world, sleep is an easily modifiable risk factor.

There was a second kids and weight article in the Times this week. This one did not have to do with sleep being a risk factor but the mother's weight. Yes, again, it is always Mommy's fault. According to this study, excessive weight gain in pregnancy can lead to larger than average infants who are prenatally programmed to become overweight adults with all the health issues associated with excessive weight (diabetes, heart disease, cancer). According to the National Academy of Sciences, fewer than 40% of women gain ONLY the recommended amount of weight during their pregnancy. The other 60% pack on too many pounds. Piggybacking on this phenomenon is that most women do not lose all their pregnancy weight before entering into another pregnancy causing them to start off heavier and gain more each time.

A similar study of British children found that at age 9, kids of women whose weight gain exceeded their physician's recommendations were fatter than other kids, more likely to become overweight and had multiple risk factors for heart disease as well as poorer immune function. In an editorial associated with the publication of this study in Circulation, Dr. Neal Halfon from the Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities at the University of California, Los Angeles said "You can't turn around in the nine months of pregnancy what's been going on for many years of life. The preconception period is critical to placing pregnancy on a healthier trajectory."

I really liked this quote as it seemed to encapsulate what we are trying to do here on the Cloth Diaper Retailer Blog. Help families lead healthier lives for themselves and their children. We help not only by selling the tools to a greener and cleaner lifestyle but also by giving tips and hints and advice on how to make it easier and not onerous. For example, the posting a week or so ago Simple Steps to Start Canning giving tips on how to can fresh vegetables from your garden. Not only does this help in saving money at the grocer but it also allows your family to eat pesticide free produce that has not been frozen wrapped in chemical laden plastic or canned in sodium rich tin.

So, what do you think? In this season of new beginnings what changes are you going to make to help your family lead a greener and healthier lifestyle?

Giveaway

I spent some time thinking of what would be the best item from our inventory to giveaway to readers. Something that incorporated this posting's theme of new beginnings and learning and healthlier lifestyles and it became clear. A trainer! We are huge fans here of both the Happy Heiny's trainer for kids in the early stages of potty learning and the Imse Vimse trainer for kids who have mastered potty learning but still have occasional accidents.

For this month, I believe we will go with the Happy Heiny trainer. We love the Happy Heiny for being so customizable. With the Happy Heinys Pocket Trainer you can pick the color and snap option (no snaps, snaps on one side, snaps on both sides) that works best for your child as well as stuff it with as much or as little as you need. We will giveaway one Happy Heiny's pocket trainer in any regular size, color and snap option the winner desires.

In order to enter (Please leave a separate comment for each entry. If you already are a fan or already subscribe, leave a comment saying so):
1. MANDATORY entry: Stop by Cottontail Baby and check out the selection of Happy Heinys products. Tell us what you like most about the brand.
2. Follow this blog for an entry.
3. Become a fan of Cottontail Baby on Facebook.
4. Become a fan of CDRC of Facebook.
5. Join the Cottontail Baby mailing list
6. Follow the Cottontail Baby blog, Clothdiaperonline.

Thanks!


Posted by Kathleen@cottontailbaby.com at 5:00 AM 50 comments
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Monday, August 16, 2010

How will you get those pants over that diaper?! And a GIVEAWAY!

Hi! I'm Bayla from Soft and Cozy Baby and I wanted to share one of my amusements of my cloth diapering journey.

One of the funniest challenges (if you want to call it that!) of cloth diapering is the adorable bubble butt kids get! As a newborn lying on your chest with their bottom sticking up in the air and as a toddler with layers of hemp, cotton, or microfiber under wool longies - I have to smile when trying to get pajamas over that super-duper, bulletproof nighttime diaper.

So what's a mom or dad to do? Children's clothes were made trim and not with the extra room to fit over cloth diapers. Disposables are super thin as they have chemicals to absorb the liquid and dont need the requisite layers that a nighttime diaper requires to make it until morning.

When my son, Dovy, was an infant, I always wanted him to be snug in a onesie so his belly wouldn't get cold while he slept. But my favorite nighttime diaper was (and still is) a Happy Hempy with SuperDo under wool longies. It looks pretty ridiculous to snap a onesie OVER the longies! And you can't snap it under because then it will obviously get wet. Plus, snapping it over can result it putting pressure in one area which may cause leaking or uneven diaper coverage. We did end up just putting a sweatshirt on with longies without the onesie due to logistics.

I have found though that I often have to size up on pants like jeans and dress pants. Shorts, stretchies, and sweat pants usually fit without a problem, as my son is thin and tall. But tighter pants are a little too snug over that bubble butt.

For those of you with the onesie quandary, I've discovered these great Onesie extenders that give you some extra room around the diaper but still allow the onesie to close comfortably. It also allows you to get some extra wear out of onesies that are getting too small to close but still fit.


These Onesie extenders by iPlay come in a pack of 3, each with a different snap configuration, so that you should have one that will fit any brand of onesie!

We are giving away a pack of FREE Onesie extenders to TWO lucky winners!

To Enter:

1. Follow Soft and Cozy Baby on Facebook

2. Follow Soft and Cozy Baby on Twitter

3. Follow Cloth Diaper Retailer Coop on Facebook

4. Find your closest CD store using the "Locate a Retailer" page on this website.

5. Post your funniest "bubble butt" story here or post a picture on Soft and Cozy Baby's Facebook page!

Each entry should be a different posting. Contest ends August 30, 2010
Bayla
Soft and Cozy Baby
Baltimore, MD
Posted by Bayla at 7:02 AM 84 comments
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Sunday, June 27, 2010

Cloth Diapers For Overnight, Seriously?

I know you may be thinking to yourself, “cloth diapers are ok for the daytime, but could never hold up overnight.” However, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy cloth diapering at night can be! The key to cloth diapering successfully through the night is all about absorbency. In general, AIO’s (All-In-One’s) are not going to get babies or toddlers through the night unless your child is not peeing much during the night. The type of material you are stuffing your diaper with will make all the difference. When considering what to use as an insert, keep in mind that hemp is far more absorbent than microfiber. In fact, I have not met any babies or toddlers who can make it through the night with only 1 microfiber insert. A combination of the 2 materials is great as you will see below.


Check out a few of the great options for cloth diapering through the night.


1. Lollidoo Overnight Eco Pocket – this is my personal favorite overnight solution. Lollidoos are not only perfect for overnight, but the single most environmentally friendly diaper out there. They are made from recycled beverage bottles and most everything on them is recycled including the metal used in the snaps. Even better, each Lollidoo diaper is made by WAHM’s in the U.S. (eastern Washington, specifically). You have the choice of a stay dry layer next to the baby or an organic cotton layer next to the baby. This is a pocket diaper and you have the option of choosing to purchase a Lollidoo Eco Pocket with innies (their inserts) or purchase one of your own. I personally use an overnight Lollidoo Eco Pocket Diaper with a super-do insert on my super heavy wetter for 13 hours at night. We’ve never had a leak! Plus, Lollidoo Eco Pockets are a one size diaper!


2. Since the key to cloth diapering overnight is the absorbency, you can stuff any of your pocket diapers with a super-do insert. Super-do inserts are the #1 rated insert on Diaper Pin and amazing for absorbency. They have 6 layers of hemp terry covered with 2 layers of microfiber. The microfiber does a great job of absorbing liquid quickly and the hemp holds it for long periods of time. Super-do’s will fit in most pocket diapers.





3. If you are still having leaks with a super-do in a regular pocket diaper, try putting a diaper cover over the super-do stuffed pocket diaper. That will give you just enough of a boost in coverage to keep the diaper from getting clothes and sheets wet. You could also put a hemp stuffin underneath the super-do in the diaper for an extra boost of absorbency.


4. Do you have a ton of hemp or thick cotton prefolds left over from a previous diapering time? Try using your prefold in your pocket diaper! Need more absorbency than the one prefold? You can wrap a hemp stuffin in your prefold and use that as your pocket diaper insert.
As you can see, there are many great cloth diapering options for overnight. The level of absorbency you will need will depend on how heavy of a wetter your child is at night. Have questions? Please ask!

Posted by Sultana at 12:00 AM 4 comments
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