My Favorite Things Event at All About Cloth Diapers

All About Cloth Diapers is hosting her 2nd Annual My Favorite Things event. Nine days of giveaways with five days already posted.

Giveaway at All About Cloth Diapers for Sustainablebabyish Bamboo fitted, Scarlet's Naturals Hiney Honey Creme, 2 Thirsties Duo AIOs and 2 Monkey Foot Designs medium single pocket wet bags. There will be two winners, so head over and check it out!

SoftBums Prize Pack-- SoftBums ECHO Good To Go Pack and Rockin Green 45/90 bag of your choice scent and formula. One Winner...ends December 28th.

Flower on Baby's Bum

A recent project that I thought turned out pretty well... Definitely made me realize that I WILL be able to make diapers for J when he grows out of the ones he wears now. The diaper went to a friend who is cloth diapering her 18 month old and her tiny newborn. I was a bit surprised at how well it fit little L and I really need to sew the other one I cut out.

Have you made your own diapers? Any tips?

AppleCheeks Giveaway

AppleCheeks is having a Let's Beat the January Blues giveaway on their blog with 6 winners. Head over and check it out. Ends 2/3

Sprout Change {Review & Giveaway} Ends 1/13

Quick Summery: Sprout Change-a one-size AI2 that fits from 5lbs-45lbs. Made in the USA by a WAHM who has a child with Down syndrome. Hidden adjustments for a true one-size diaper.

Sprout Change is a one-size diaper with hidden adjustments. It fits from 5 - 40 pounds, although I honestly think it will fit most children up to 45 pounds. When we first started using cloth, I thought a AI2 meant a PUL cover (that you could wipe out) and a insert. With most other AI2's that we've tried that hasn't been the case. We've successfully wiped out the cover and used it again.

Pros: truly re-usable; doubles as a swim diaper; reversible-different colors to go with different outfits; fits a larger child; excellent price; holds diarrhea well.

Cons: insert doesn't seem to work as well for a larger child; would be easier to adjust the button settings if there was numbers.

An additional thing that we thought of was that the cost savings would be even greater if the cover was reversible for boy/girl or solid/print.

On the newborn setting:

On the Walker/Potty setting: (with a Super Saver and a BabyKicks hemp insert)

Since starting cloth, I've had my top two favorite diapers for traveling. Sprout Change tops them both. It's so much easier to dump the wet prefold or insert into the wetbag and lay in a new one. Definitely saves on diaper space too. Which is wonderful, since we can really use up space!

Many stores carry The Willow Store products, but I hope to see many more carrying them in 2011. If J decides he's ever interested in potty-training, we'll definitely look into training pants. As well as the waist extenders! y

WIN

Catherine has offered one(1) Happily Southern reader Sprout Change Starter Kit. 

Links: The Willow Store

Facebook

Twitter

Giveaway ends January 13th, 2011

Enter Here

A big THANK YOU to The Willow Store for providing the giveaway and review items! We were not compensated in any other way and the statements within this post are our own and honest opinions.

Cozy Kids

 

Ramblings is hosting a giveaway for Cozy Kids One Size Pocket Diapers ...with four, yes four, winners. This great giveaway ends tomorrow (Sunday) at noon, so why not head over for your chance to be one of the lucky winners?

AMPdiapers

Biehl Adventures is hosting a giveaway for a Duo Pocket Diaper from AMPdiapers. Why not head over and enter this great giveaway?

Cloth Diapering.... #FAIL???

Is it a #Fail when you don't bring enough cloth diapers to last you through an unexpected overnight stay at the hospital? So tell me. Was it?

J had his g-tube out on the 15th and I was thinking we'd be home that night. It was around 9ish, when his surgeon came out to tell us he was done. Then he said that J would need stronger antibiotics than he was previously anticipating. (Oops... forgot about those.) We could give him the antibiotics at home OR we could stay overnight and get IV antibiotics that wouldn't give him a diaper rash.
He also mentioned that J had a bad diaper rash. I was surprised since it looked excellent that morning. In fact, when I changed his diaper after surgery, it looked even better than it had that morning. So, that was a bad diaper rash?!?

We didn't have enough diapers for the entire stay and used pull-ups. It turned out good, since J decided that if you can't eat, apple juice works. He drank approx. 20-4oz boxes of juice Monday afternoon/evening.

We arrived home late Tuesday and guess what??? Yep, J has yet another diaper rash! I wonder what his surgeon would think of this one.

Fluffdom Express: Charlie Banana {CLOSED}

Charlie Banana - The one diaper that has it all... okay, except for aplix tabs. But as long as the snaps don't get stuck in the dryer, I don't mind! {smile}

Charlie Banana Size Diaper Is Hybrid. 

While traveling, or for any occasional situation the ability to us a disposable insert is sometime necessary. You now have both options. When using Charlie Banana you can use reusable insert or disposable ones. Of course we recommend that you use the reusable inserts most of the time.

They have a One Sized diaper as well as sized ones: XSmall, Small, Medium and Large. Great colors and prints and attractive packaging. Of course, the fact that they also have a sizing guide on their packages for sized diapers is an added attraction!

Charlie Banana is a pocket diaper with the opening in the front. The one-size diaper have elastic that is adjusted with little buttons. On the largest setting for the elastic, the OS diaper fits J well. I asked a friend who also cloth diapers to try a OS on her 15 month old little girl. It fit very well on her, although it was a bit bulky with 2 inserts. She didn't have any leaks except for once when the insert rolled to one side.

There is wider elastic in the back and in the legs, which has been wonderful for keeping messes in. The other thing that is different about the Charlie Banana sized diapers is the three snaps on the tab and an extra snap to cross over for those skinny waisted toddlers. The Charlie Banana inserts also seem to be much more absorbent than our other microfiber inserts.
Another bonus is Charlie Banana makes and sells disposable inserts. These work great for protecting the diapers from any non-cloth-diaper-friendly cream. And for traveling since these are inserts. They're also very absorbent, even with just one.

Their color choices are fantastic also. They have your basic colors including black and they're adding in some prints which are adorable. I'm very excited about Charlie Banana diapers and look forward to see what else they'll add to their great line. Of course, I'm hoping for more of their great pocket diapers in larger sizes and perhaps a fitted diaper as well!

Right now Amazon and Baby R Us are the only places that carry Charlie Banana diapers yet.

WIN IT: Charlie Banana has offered one (1) very lucky reader of  Happily Southern their package of OS 2-in-1 diapering system.

***Giveaway CLOSED***

winner is: #104: Madeline

 

A big THANK YOU to Charlie Banana for providing the review and giveaway items! We were not compensated in any other way and the statements within this post are our own and honest opinions.

The Cloth Diaper Foundation and Extra Entries Opportunity!!!

Recently I heard of The Cloth Diaper Foundation which helps provide families with cloth diapers so they can build their own stash as slowly as they need to. Right now, they're short on diapers and are trying to get 1200 diapers donated, so that when they reopen for applications, they will be able to provide cloth diapers for 100 babies.

Do you have more diapers than you currently need for your child? Visit their website to see if you can donate them to help other families.

Since I can't help by sending in diapers right now, I want to help spread awareness for the Dozens Diaper Drive and this is where the extra entries come in.

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If you blog about this cause and grab their button, you can have 15 extra entries to put in one giveaway or divide up into several. (Just leave your blog post url in a comment on this post)

Donate your extra diapers to The Cloth Diaper Foundation: Dozens Diaper Drive. 15 extra entries to put in one giveaway or divide up into several, whichever you'd prefer.

Share on about the Dozens Diaper Drive on Facebook and with your cloth diaper mama friends (15 extra entries to put in one giveaway or you can divide them up into several giveaways.

If you do any of these options, please leave a comment on this post!

Spread the FLUFFY love!

Fluffdom Express: Mothering Grace: AppleCheeks {CLOSED} Plus a Coupon Code!

To tell you the honest truth, my daughter, has done the vast bulk of all the diaper reading, research, studying, use and washing. It is a real blessing to me to have a daughter who can and wants to help me this way. I have pretty much asked questions, tried to understand and trusted my daughter along the way, providing the credit card, when necessary. For a primer on diapers, she took me to Mothering Grace. I like the way Sara has set up her web site. She has lots of full descriptions and then notes at the bottom from a mom who uses the products about how to benefit most from each one’s features.

It was Sara’s Mothering Grace site that helped me to understand the diaper lingo that my daughter was using to tell me about all the great products that are available for cloth diapering nowadays. And it’s to Mothering Grace I return when I need a refresher or reminder!

Sara also has two SUPER features on her store site that I LOVE. The first is her guide for cloth diaper newcomers called ‘Getting Started with Cloth’. In her guide, Sara lists four steps with links to helpful information to lead us newbies on the path to figuring out modern-day cloth diapers.

My second favorite feature is a link from the first ‘Picking your [diapering] personality’ is a quick way to narrow down your cloth diapering philosophy and see what diapers and accessories fit with that philosophy. I went back and read all the sections, so I could understand each one better and my daughter and I could figure out what was best for us, for J, for our family and our budget. It’s a tremendous resource to any cloth-diapering mom.

Finally, the best feature about Mothering Grace is Sara. She has the BEST customer service! When my daughter won her first Apple Cheeks diaper from Mothering Grace, we thought we wanted one thing and after talking to us about what we were really looking for, she suggested something else, that has worked out better for us (including cost-wise!). When we were looking for larger sized diapers for J, Sara offered to special order them for us at a discounted price. And when J’s surgery was scheduled about a month earlier than we anticipated and we had to order things right away, Sara worked with us to ensure we chose the right shipping method and received our ‘special fluffy delivery’ in time to have all we needed in the hospital. ***One Southern Momma***
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AppleCheeks diapers are very different from any of the other diapers we’ve tried. Because of the elastic in the front, back and legs, the AppleCheeks seem to hold in more mess as well as being trim-fitting. Even double-stuffed, the AppleCheeks still looks trim on J. There are 4 sets of snaps on this diaper and you can adjust when you snap the diaper, to get a looser fit on the waist and a tighter fit on the legs, if that is what you need.

Some of the benefits for the AppleCheeks diaper are: the inserts agitate out during wash, and the ability to reuse the cover as a AI2 (all in two) and thus get more uses out of it. Newborn prefolds also work very well as a insert for a AppleCheeks diaper, not to mention they’re pretty inexpensive.

L: largest setting R: smallest setting with a prefold on top of the microfleece: AI2

While AppleCheeks don’t seem to fit in the Special Needs category, an accessory that AppleCheeks also makes, helps them to squeeze on in! Waist extenders is a rectangular piece of PUL/microfleece with added snaps with allow another 2” on room on the waist. While they’re $7.75 for a pair, if you don’t mind if the extender and diaper are different colors, it’s definitely less than buying more diapers. ***One Southern Girl***

AppleCheeks

Size	Size 1 - Small	Size 2 - Large
Pounds	7 - 20	18 - 40
Rise	11 - 15	13 - 19
Waist	9 - 22	14 - 26
Thigh	5 - 12	6 - 13

Coupon Code: get $5 off your purchase of $75 or more at Mothering Grace with the code ‘SOUTHERN’ till August 31st, 2010

WIN IT: Sara has generously offered one (1) reader their own AppleCheeks Envelope Cover and Bamboo insert from instock sizes and colors.

***Giveaway CLOSED. Winner is Madeline Miller***

This contest is open to the US only and ends August 28st, 2010 at 12:00 PM EDT. The winner will be chosen by Random.org and notified by email as well as announced on Happily Southern. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen and notified

A HUGE THANK YOU to Mothering Grace for providing the giveaway item! We won an AppleCheek diaper and insert and purchased more later. We were not compensated in any other way and the statements within this post are our own and honest opinions.

Fluffdom Express: Happy Heinys Pocket Diapers {CLOSED}

We were already using cloth diapers full time, when I first heard of Happy Heinys Pockets diapers. The B Keeps Us Honest was hosting a giveaway for Happy Heinys and I saw that Happy Heinys had diapers in L, XL, XXL, fitting a child up to 60 pounds.

I did some looking around and didn’t find a retailer for Happy Heinys that carried them in the larger sizes and in boy or gender neutral colors. The week before J had surgery, we were shopping for more diapers for him and I went through almost all of the Happy Heinys retailers for one that had Large and Extra Large diapers in boy colors and couldn’t find any.

We were able to order the Happy Heinys directly from the company on Tuesday, after sending a message and asking if there was a retailer that had Larges and X-Large or some other way to we could get them by that Friday. They got here that Friday and we were able to wash them and pack them in time to go.

After his surgery, I was a bit concerned about his loose stools coming out the legs. Since then, we have experienced some ‘major’ blowouts and the Happy Heinys do great holding it all in! Happy Heinys are also great, when there isn’t a changing table in a restroom and you have to change a diaper and put on a new one standing up.

Pocket Diapers

Size	X-Small	Small	Medium	Large	XLarge	XXLarge
Pounds	5.5 - 10	8 - 16	14 - 25	23 - 35	30 - 40	40 - 60
Rise	13	14.5	18	20	21	25
Waist	8 - 12	11 - 15	14 - 21	17 - 25	18 - 25	25 - 33
Thigh				6 - 15	9 - 16

***As you can see, I don’t have all the Thigh measurements for the diapers, so if you have any of the other sizes, would you please let me know the measurements so I can add them in.***

In preparing for the event, I did actually come across a retailer that carries Happy Heinys in every size, Squishy Tushy in SE Michigan. At her store, the Happy Heinys are $16.95 unless you get the XXLarge and those are $17.45 each in Solids.

WIN IT: Linda has very generously offered three readers their own Happy Heinys Pocket diaper in their color and size choice.

A big THANK YOU to Happy Heinys for providing the review and giveaway items! We were not compensated in any other way and the statements within this post are our own and honest opinions.

***Giveaway CLOSED***

Winners are:  

#520: jdeemarie; #701 Owen's Mom; #1104 Jessie

AMP OS Duo Pocket Diaper

Karen at The Mommy Times is hosting a giveaway for a AMP one size Duo pocket diaper. Why not head over and enter this great giveaway! Ends 8/10

Lil' Joeys

Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative is hosting a giveaway for a 2 pack of Lil' Joeys in gender neutral colors. Having a baby? Then stop by and check out this great giveaway! Ends August 10th.

AppleCheeks

Liz Has A Life is hosting a giveaway for an AppleCheeks diaper sponsored by Bellalojo Baby. They have sustainable|babyish fitted diapers as well... too bad that the only large is in pink! Why not head over and enter this great giveaway! Ends 8/3

Katydid

Liz Has a Life is hosting a giveaway for a Katydid cloth diaper. Why not head over and enter this great giveaway! Ends July 31.

Best Bottoms

Mama B is hosting a giveaway for a Best Bottoms shell and 3 inserts from Nicki's Diapers. Why not head over and enter this great giveaway! Ends August 4th.

GroVia AI2 Shell Set

Arizona Mama is having a giveaway for a GroVia AI2 Shell Set from The Baby Store Plus. I so want to try a GroVia diaper on J. (I think I might have fluff addiction here! lol!) Do you want to try one? Ends August 14th.

Nifty Nappy SwimEaze

HappilyDomestic is hosting a giveaway for a Nifty Nappy SwimEaze diaper. Ends 7/25

BumGenius

Fitted and pockets and snappis, oh my! (don't you just love that name!) is hosting a giveaway for two BumGenius 4.0. One in velcro and the other in snaps. I'd love to try some BG's. How about you? Why not come over and enter this great giveaway!

Ends 7/28

AppleCheeks

I love AppleCheeks diapers! Serendipity Mommy is hosting a giveaway for a Little Bundle! Why not head over and enter this great giveaway! Ends July 24.