Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

One Size Diapers and the size of YOUR baby

BROUGHT TO YOU BY SIMPLE WONDERS DIAPERS

I often get asked, "which one size diaper is the best?"

My answer usually depends on their baby. Most cloth diapers fit each baby just a little differently. One size cloth diapers are no different.

So how do you decide? Here are a list of the one size diapers that Simple Wonders Diapers carry and a description of how they fit skinny babies, average size babies and large babies/toddlers. These are my opinions (as opposed to the manufacturers) based on my experience with my own kids and the many children I have helped to put in cloth diapers over the past 5+ years.

bumGenius One Size Diapers (Pockets, AIO, and FLIP): Tend to fit skinny babies and average size babies well. Tend not to fit larger babies and toddlers well, although that fit is much improved with the new 4.0 version. Start fitting well around 8-9 lbs. One of the most popular one size diapers out there. They fit trimly and are very easy to get on and off.

Happy Heinys One Size Cloth Diapers (both aplix and snaps): These fit the entire range really well. They start fitting well around 9-10 lbs, but certainly fit babies and toddlers at the upper end of the weight range (35 lbs) and I've seen toddlers even a little bigger fit well into the Happy Heinys One Size diapers. If you have a very large baby or toddler, I suggest either going with the Happy Heinys or Knickernappies One Size.

Knickernappies One Size Diapers: These are another style of one size diaper that fits the whole

range well. They start fitting around 10 lbs. The major bonus with Knickernappies one size diapers is that they actually do fit up to 40lbs. By far, the longest fitting one size diaper.

Rocky Mountain One Size Diaper: These fit well on the smaller end of the range. Unlike other one size diaper though, these fit 7lbs very well. I find the Rocky Mountain One Size Diapers to fit very well on newborns (after the umbilical cord falls off).

Wahmies One Size Diapers: These tend to fit very true to their statement of starting to fit

around 7lbs and up to close to 40lbs. As a bonus, they come in both the hook closures and snaps. Although the hook closures are a little tricky at first, they do get much easier with time. An added bonus of hte hook closures are that they are the ONLY closure a curious toddler cannot get undone.

Fuzzi Bunz One Size Diapers: LOVE these one size diapers! The internal elastic adjustments on them ensure a nice trim fit even on the smaller range of the weight spectrum. They have elastic in both the waist and legs so they can adjust to 8 different size settings rather than the 3 or 4 in most one size diapers that adjust via snaps in the front.

Rumparooz One Size Diapers: The only diapers with the internal gussets that I adore. They will

start fitting at 6.5-7 lbs. If you have a baby that stays on the smaller range of the spectrum, they are wonderful. However, if you have a very large baby that gets even larger as a toddler, you may need fit problems as your toddler reaches the 30 lb mark.

Softbums One Size AI2: Another of my absolute favorites. These get so teeny tiny, it is amazing. Similarly to the Fuzzi Bunz One Size diapers, they adjust via elastic in the legs. However, they have a toggle on the elastic allowing for the ultimate in adjustability. Rather than Softbums fitting into a small, medium and large, it is simply a continuum of fits. Great concept and wonderful fit!

Lollidoo One Size overnight diapers: truly the ultimate overnight solution. However, I also like

the classic lollidoo and the lollidoo diaper covers. All one size! Lollidoos adjust with elastic in the legs and fleece is rediculously stretchy. Fits smaller babies and toddlers well.

Thirsties AI2: choose from a prefold or stay dry duo insert. These are actually 2 sizes - size 1 fits 6-18 lbs and size 2 fits 18-40 lbs. Another nice AI2 system.

Overall recommendations:

If you have a skinny/small baby: you can choose from most any of the one size options. BumGenius, Rumparooz, Softbums, Fuzzi Bunz, Rocky Mountain, Wahmies and Lollidoo Diapers will all work very well for you.

If you have an average size baby: BumGenius, Happy Heinys, Knickernappies, Wahmies, Softbums, Fuzzi Bunz, Lollidoo, Thirsties diapers will all work very well for you.

If you have a larger/very chubby baby: Happy Heinys, Softbums and Knickernappies are wonderful for the cute little chubby legs.

Please keep in mind, these are my opinions after being in the cloth diapering business 5+ years. Do you have any one size diaper tips that you would like share? Just post your response or email it to me at info (at) simplewondersdiapers.com

Friday, August 20, 2010

Prefold meets Fitted and a Giveaway (closed)

Congratulations Lindsey Galvez!
You are the winner!

Hi! This is LeAnn from Giggle Britches again. My very first cloth diaper was a prefold that I trifolded inside a cover. My daughter was about 18 months old at the time. My only disappointment was that my covers would get dirty so easily. Wouldn't it be nice if those prefolds were shaped similar to a fitted diaper?

One of the best features that a prefold has to offer is the soft, absorbent, 100% cotton they are made from. They are easy to launder and very durable too. Without the worry of

detergent build-up on synthetic material, almost any detergent works. So, to blend the advantages of the cotton prefold with the convenience of a fitted diaper seems only natural!

There are many different makers of prefold fitted diapers. Adding some elastic, trimming the length of the prefold, and extending the tabs, turns the prefold into a more convenient, yet still very economical alternative. Most are made without any type of fastener like snaps or velcro. The user decides to Snappi, pin, or just lay inside a snug fitting diaper cover.

Recently, Giggle Brtiches p

artnered with a wonderful WAHM seamstress in the design and manufacture of our own prefold fitteds. They have been tested by some great moms, a few of which are members of this Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative! Made from unbleached indian cotton prefolds, they are super soft and absorbent.

Would you like to win one? Here's how! Hurry, giveaway ends 9/3/10 at 11:59 CST.

Mandatory Entry
(1 entry) Visit Giggle Britches online store and comment on your favorite product they carry.

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 Giggle Britches prefold fitted! http://bit.ly/cJyrIR #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

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Raising Green Kids- Finding Secondhand Treasures

Reusing items is one of the best ways to keep them out of the trash. Buying good quality secondhand items is both green and economical. Follow these tips on your secondhand treasure hunts and you wont be disappointed.

Safety Issues: Make sure to be aware of product recalls. These can be found at manufacturer websites, and at the Consumer Product Safety Commission Potentially dangerous secondhand items include (but are not limited to) mattresses, cribs, car seats, strollers, playpens, baby gates, baby walkers. These items have changed greatly over the years and older versions may not meet current safety standards. Car seats can be especially dangerous if you do not know the history of the car seat. If a car seat has been involved in a vehicle collision it must be replaced, even if the child was not in the car at the time of the accident.

Great secondhand buys: clothing, newer non-electronic toys, books, movies and sturdy furniture. Clothing, especially baby clothing can be reused through several children before it wears out, as they grow so quickly that some outfits are only worn a handful of times. With 3 kids we buy 90% of our clothing from Value Village, a second hand thrift store that donates their profits to the Canadian Diabetes Association.

Bargain Hunting Places: garage sales, swap sessions, friends, family, coworkers, newspaper classifieds, thrift and consignment stores, internet sites (such as ebay, craigslist, kijiji, freecycle).

Twice a year Moms and Bums participates in a great Mom to Mom sale here in Brampton, Ontario. The next one is coming up October 9th. Watch our facebook and twitter for details to come!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Cloth Diapering On The Go!

Hello! Noreen from Merrimack Valley Diapers here. (The following blogpost was written by my dear husband, Wes.)

Our family goes out for dinner every Friday night. We’re not looking for anything fancy, just not drive-thru. For the past two weeks, our 16 month baby has waited for us to place our orders and then delivered something hot and fresh but definitely not on the menu. This is unusual because he is normally a morning pooper.

Thankfully, dear husband has volunteered both times to carry the little stinker to the car for an emergency change. Last week he took an Olive Garden napkin with him, but that’s another story. As he returned, he mumbled something about, “those diapers with the two snaps on either side – those are good.” He was talking about Bottombumpers Cloth Diapers. Dear husband is helpful with the diapers but not exactly conversant with brands and styles!

Everybody has a diaper that they find easy to use. When you’re home with a calm baby, you can experiment with a wide selection of different styles. But the real test of a diaper’s ease-of-use isn’t when you’re at home, it’s when someone else has to change a dirty baby in a cramped hatchback without a spare set of clothes and far away from the nearest sink. That’s when you’ll find out which diapers you’ll want to have with you a pinch.

One more lesson from that evening – don’t forget a wetbag for the offending load or it will be a long drive home.

Noreen

Helpfull hints and other fun stuff on our blog: http://merrimackvalleydiapers.com/blog

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

http://www.softandcozybaby.com/

Baltimore, MD

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Should it be a law?

It is a simple question.

Should breastfeeding for at least 6 months be mandated by law?

Giselle Bundchen, the gorgeous supermodel with the hunky husband and the glamorous career just became a mom. Apparently, pregnancy and childbirth (at home...good for her) were a breeze which is great. Glad it was problem free for someone. She has embraced motherhood full on which is also wonderful. And, with the passion of the converted, she has taken on breastfeeding. In a comment she recently made that has gotten a ton of press she stated that there should be a world wide law mandating breastfeeding for the first 6 months of a child's life.

It was recently World Breastfeeding Week and so I thought this was a good topic to bring up in our Cloth Diaper Retailer Blog. What do you think? Should it be mandated? Should women who choose not to breastfeed or are unable to breastfeed be prosecuted? Who should stand in judgement of these moms?

Obviously, we should support breastfeeding women wherever they are. At least I think so. There are so many ways to do this. Provide long maternity leaves for working women. Make breastfeeding more acceptable by providing places for women to quietly breastfeed their children in public (breastfeeding room at Target!). Spaces for women to pump at work for those who choose that path. Destigmatizing the entire process.....

My own experience with breastfeeding is long and tortured. Prior to becoming a mom, I was a Maternal and Child Health Policy professional. I even sat on Federal Breastfeeding Support review panels. As crazy as it sounds, one topic of conversation I had with my future husband on our very first date was breastfeeding. When I was pregnant with our first, we attended child birth classes, infant CPR classes and breastfeeding support classes. Both of us. I was ALL about it. WE were all about it. Then, my precious little guy arrived and he would not latch. Just wouldn't do it. How can this be? Breastfeeding was what I was supposed to do. We hired lactation consultants. I drank the teas. I pumped 14 times a day in order to supply him breast milk. We did everything to make this happen and spent a FORTUNE in the process. And, in the end, he still would not latch. Finally, my wise and wonderful OB told me that "There are many ways to be a good mom. You don't need to check every box. Stop trying." Ultimately, reluctantly, with tears and regret, I did stop trying.

I shared this story on a very active and dynamic message board populated by other like minded, natural parenting moms. Within 30 minutes of posting, I got a very nice, but direct, note from the moderator stating that they were deleting my post as they do not allow postings that discuss a path other than breastfeeding. Huh? Like I was somehow no longer a member of the club because of the one thing I could not do. It kinda pissed me off.

Under the gorgeous Giselle's law, I would be what? Thrown in jail (and removed from my child)? Fined? Given probation?

At Cottontail Baby, we sell a lot of products that assist moms in breastfeeding. In addition to all the nursing pads we sell, we also sell some wonderful nursing necklaces, both in stock and customized. Even though we were never able to join their ranks, we at Cottontail Baby support breastfeeding moms. We just don't think those who can't breastfeed, for whatever rason, should be prosecuted. There are LOTS of ways to be a good mom.

Giveaway details....

We will giveaway one custom nursing necklace to a randomly selected winner. Enter by August 25, 2010.

Mandatory entry: Give us your opinion on the whole mandated breastfeeding debate.

Additional entry: Fan Cottontail Baby on Facebook

Additional entry: Join the Cottontail Baby newsletter

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Help RDA's Anniversary Fund Drive

The Real Diaper Association will be turning 6 years old this month! The RDA works hard to promote cloth diaper advocacy and support channels. Just this year, they've launched 3 parts in their 100% Reusable Cloth Diapers campaign: night diapering, using cloth while traveling, and now wash routines. For each part, cloth diapering parents are able to submit their personal tips for success. Tip sheets can help to support many cloth diapering families in the future!

Some, but not enough, moms have a local Real Diaper Circle. These groups help cloth diapering families to connect and share. They also help to spur on more local advocacy and more families moving to cloth!

In order to help further these programs and keep its executive director, the RDA has launched a $3500 in 35 days campaign. This campaign ends on August 11. It started out strong, with a Twitter party to help raise funds and awareness. Snooty Booty Diapers was proud to donate a portion of its sales from July 16-23 to help the fund drive. With just a few days to go, there's still money to be raised. You can help by becoming a member of RDA. If you're already a member, make a donation. Any amount helps. Membership and donations are tax-deductible, so don't delay!

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