The Flats and Handwashing Challenge May 23-30

I saw this Flats and Handwashing Challenge and thought it was interesting. It's a very basic way to experience one of the most cost-friendly ways to cloth diaper. I thought about participating, but since I don't have any flats, making a purchase is still purchasing, making it not as cost friendly! But I have handwashed pockets and fitteds to dry over night -- the heat in the house dried them up in one night; and I've handwashed to dry outside -- in fact, yesterday, I washed up the 3 dirty ones to hang out in the sunshine, one of the few super sunny days we've had!

Wahmies All-Day Wet Bag Review and Giveaway!

Ever cloth diapering mommy needs a wet bag, and Wahmies along with The Cloth Diaper Market have one ready for you! They're providing an All-Day wet bag approximately 16" x 20," great for all day outings or spending the day at Grandma's. It also comes with a webbed handle for ease of carrying or hanging on a door knob.

This is actually the first wet bag I've personally handled, and I'm quite happy with it! First of, it's large, almost the size of a regular pillow case! The outside is a soft, cottony cover and lined with water-proof polyester laminated fabric. It can also be machine washed and dried, which makes clean-up so much easier! It's also PVC and Pthalate free.

But It!
You can purchase a Wahmies All-Day Wet Bag The Cloth Diaper Market for $20.

Win It!!
This contest is open to U.S. only. To enter, you must Like Discovering the Me in Mommy on Facebook and tell me what else is of interest to you at The Cloth Diaper Market ! This is required and must be done before the extra entries count! PLEASE leave your name and email address with your entry.

EXTRA ENTRIES!
You can do any of these things for an extra entry. Make sure to leave a separate comment for EACH thing you do along with you email address.

1- For ONE extra entry, Follow Discovering the Me in Mommy via GFC.

2- For ONE extra entry, Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway.

3 - For ONE extra entry, Follow The Cloth Diaper Market on Facebook and leave some comment love!

4 - For ONE extra entry, Enter any other active giveaways.

5 - For ONE extra entry, Subscribe to my blog via email.

Contest ends at 10pm EST on Sunday, March 6, 2011 when I will draw a winner at random. PLEASE leave your email address in your entry. I will notify the winner, and s/he will have 36 hours to respond!


****This is not a paid post. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. Thank you to Wahmies and The Cloth Diaper Market who supplied the products for the review and giveaway!****

Monkey Toe Diapers

Susan at Monkey Toe Diapers sent me a yellow Nykibaby One Size Diaper with black suede cloth lining to review. The Nykibaby One Size Diaper should fit little ones 8 - 40 pounds, and the snaps make it possible to get the perfect fit.

Smallest Sizing

Largest Sizing

The size and fit reminded me of our beloved Fuzzibunz Perfect Fit. The Nykibaby One Size Diaper also has a unique welt-style pocket opening to make stuffing and removing the insert even easier. It comes with a micro fiber towel -- to stuff, fold each corner into the center, and then fold into thirds to give 6 layers of absorption; you have the option of upgrading to a Hemp Bamboo insert for an additional $4.

Susan bought Sugar Plum Baby to have her own diaper label and pattern, after starting to sew cloth diapers for her son (about 5 years ago), naming it Monkey Toe, after a game her husband played with their son. She can custom make a newborn, one-size, or extra-large diaper in various colors, specializing down to the snap and lining colors. You can also choose the suede lining or a chamois -- suede is easier to clean messes off of, but it seemed to inhibit air flow and irritated my daughter's skin (Update: It's been about 3 weeks, and my daughter is now fine with it! Not sure if it was her or the diaper.)


I like the construction of the diaper. It functions very well, and we had no problems with leaks or a proper, comfortable fit. I also appreciate Susan's craftsmanship -- it is extremely well made! It's a very trim diaper, and the only bulk is from the terry insert, unlike other brands which tend to be fluffier. Overall, I'd give it a 9.5, because of the issues with suede we personally had (but I'm considering trying one with the chamois or fleece for better breathability).

Susan is graciously offering a 15% discount off her Monkey Toe Diapers with coupon code MEINMOMMY, valid until August 2011.


****This is not a paid post. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. Thank you to Susan for the review product!****

Knickernappies Review and Giveaway!

The Knickernappies One Size Side Snap Pocket Diaper is wonderful! It stuffed like a normal pocket diaper; there is elastic in the outside cover as well as the lining in the "pocket." I made it a "medium size" and had no problems with leaks. I can see how it could be more bulky for newborns -- I'd have to give you an update on this later; since my daughter is on the older and leaner side, we had no problems fitting into her regular sized pants.


Knickernappies One-Size Pocket Diapers have some great features:

• Four size adjustments to fit your baby best -- Small, Medium Short, Medium, and Large
• Tested to fit babies from about 8 lbs to 40 lbs
• Two microfiber inserts with every diaper, sizes small and large, and the inserts are Made in the USA!
• A scooped tummy panel and topstitching for best fit under chubby baby bellies
• Elastic on both sides of the pocket opening to hold the insert in place
• Very gentle Lastin elastic in the leg and waist - no red marks!
• Lastin elastic is long lasting and can't "go out" like regular elastic
• Two Year Guarantee on elastic and snaps.

our perfect fit!

And I totally agree with Knickernappies -- what they've promoted proved true for us. And I've heard that when we start potty training, this diaper can also function as trainers, with the child being able to pull it down and up again. My favorite things about Knickernappies are the super soft lining, gentle elastic, fun colors, and one-size fit. Some have found the side snaps awkward, but it didn't bother me at all. I give it a 10!

This review and giveaway is provided by The Stork Wearhouse, a WAHM-owned and run store based in Prairie City, Iowa. It specializes in modern cloth diapers, baby carriers, and other natural parenting products. You will find a great selection and pricing, as there are Facebook specials every Friday -- I just got 15% off my order this past Friday!

She also has great information on her website. There's Cloth Diaper 101 for novices and those interested in knowing more about cloth diapers -- she also has her own chart for how much money is saved using cloth, a lot more accurate than my estimation!

There is also a new rewards program for, obviously, your purchases. But you can also earn point by posting reviews on their website, "liking" on Facebook, and recommending friends. You can read more about MyRewards here.

But It!
You can purchase a Knickernappies One-Size Side Snap Pocket Diaper from The Stork Wearhouse for $19.95

Win It!
Amanda at The Stork Wearhouse is giving away a Knickernappies One-Size Pocket diaper! This is open to U.S. To enter, you must be a Facebook Fan of Discovering the Me in Mommy and Facebook fan of The Stork Wearhouse! This is required and must be done before the extra entries count! PLEASE leave your name and email address with your entry.

Extra Entries!
You can do any of these things for an extra entry. Make sure to leave a separate comment for EACH thing you do along with you email address.

1- For ONE extra entry, Be a Google Friend Connect Follower (and you don't have to be a blogger to sign up)

2- For ONE extra entry, Follow me on twitter and tweet "I’m entering to #win a #clothdiaper from @knickernappies, & @DiscoveringTheM: http://tinyurl.com/4qebytj "

3 - For ONE extra entry, Subscribe to The Storksblog!

4-For ONE extra entry, Subscribe to my blog via email.

5 - For ONE extra entry, Post by blog or event button and tell me where I'll find it.

6 - For ONE extra entry, Tell me your favorite color choice!

Contest ends at 10pm EST on Tuesday, March 1, 2011 when I will draw a winner at random. PLEASE leave your email address in your entry. I will notify the winner, and s/he will have 36 hours to respond!


****This is not a paid post. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. Thank you to Amanda at The Stork Wearhouse for the review and giveaway products!****

Thirsties Duo Diaper Review and Giveaway

I've heard a bit about Thirsties and was excited about the fun colors and designs! I've also enjoyed learning about the company. (From the promotional material) Thirsties® is a small (but growing!) cloth diaper company committed to greener parenting and Eco Friendly solutions, not to mention 100% USA Made quality! Erin, founder of Thirsties, started this business with an old sewing machine and $100 5 years ago. Through her hard work and diligence, the company is now one of the leaders in the cloth diaper industry. The diapers are now made by work at home mothers, and very close to our warehouse, reducing our carbon output. Customer service reps are also experienced cloth diapering moms, and offer knowledge to retailers and customers alike. Thirsties provides a variety of products for your diapering needs; catalogs are available for your perusal.

I was sent the Duo Diaper with Aplix (velcro) tabs to review, but the Duo Diaper does come with snaps I apologize for projecting new design concepts -- the snaps are on the Wraps! The Duo Diaper comes in two sizes: size one (6-18 lbs.) and size two (18-40 lbs.), with an adjustable rise for a custom fit. I was in love with the Blackbird pattern and the two openings of the soft, microfleece pocket (making it a sleeve). I also liked how the two inserts (two layers of serged microfiber terry and five serged layers of hemp jersey) snapped together, and because of the "sleeve" construction, the insert does not need to be removed from the diaper before loading into the washer (although I have no problem removing it before)! There's also really cool leg gussets (that work like a trough), to keep messes in -- we did have an issue with an explosion, but that was after the diaper had been washed twice, as you need to wash it 3-4 times to really get normal absorption.

The fit of the diaper was a little bit disappointing. I couldn't get the top to cinch as neatly as some of the other diapers -- perhaps I would have done better with snaps. But that did not inhibit the function of the diaper -- since the early blowout, we haven't had any leakage issues! It's comfortable to my daughter -- no tight leg marks. Overall, I give it an 9 out of 10!


Buy It!
You can purchase a Duo Diaper for $18.50 each for solids or $19.50 each for prints.

Win It!

Thirsties is giving away a Duo Diaper! This is open to U.S. and Canada. To enter, you must be a GFC follower and comment with the Duo Diaper size and color you'd choose if you won! This is required and must be done before the extra entries count! PLEASE leave your name and email address with your entry.

EXTRA ENTRIES!

You can do any of these things for an extra entry. Make sure to leave a separate comment for EACH thing you do along with you email address.

1- For ONE extra entry, Like Discovering the Me in Mommy on Facebook.

2- For ONE extra entry, Follow me on twitter and tweet "I’m entering to #win a #clothdiaper from @thirstiesinc, & @DiscoveringTheM: http://bit.ly/h0eOiL "

3 - For ONE extra entry, Follow Thirsties on Facebook.

4 - For ONE extra entry, Enter any other active giveaways.

5 - For ONE extra entry, Subscribe to my blog via email.

Contest ends at 10pm EST on Tuesday, Mar. 1, 2011 when I will draw a winner at random. PLEASE leave your email address in your entry. I will notify the winner, and s/he will have 36 hours to respond!


****This is not a paid post. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. Thank you to Thirsties who supplied the products for the review and giveaway!****

I wish I'd known...Cloth Diapers!

When I was pregnant, I debated about whether to use disposable or cloth diapers and asked around for different opinions. Most everyone I knew used or uses disposables because it's plain convenient -- disposables are frequently advertised on tv and can be purchased at the grocery store, drug store, and online with so many coupons available for use! And the ones that had any experience with cloth discouraged me from it because they said it was troublesome and about the same cost as disposables. Unfortunately, I had no friends with recent experience with cloth diapers -- because now cloth is more simple and efficient than years past, and I didn't know about the wealth of information in the blogosphere from veteran moms!

I happily used disposables for several months, only recently reconsidering the debate again when our beloved FuzziBunz Perfect Fit moved into our home. I was so surprised at the ease of use and how my daughter didn't seem to notice a difference -- it never leaked, no matter how wet or stinky it got! And cleaning it wasn't much of an issue as I was able to rinse it out (since I don't have a diaper sprayer) and throw it into the wash; I was so impressed when it came out of the wash looking brand new again! I rested a bit more comfortably knowing that her diapered areas got a break from all the processed material of a disposable too.

So many people tout about its cost effectiveness, but I never sat down to figure it out. . . until today. In my estimation, purchasing 20 cloth diapers at $18, doing laundry every other day, would be a total of $360. I normally purchase my disposables for around $6 a Jumbo pack which lasts about a week, now that my daughter's older. Attempting to factor in the lower amount of diaper changes as babies grow, I think cloth diapers would pay for themselves in one year. For a lot more investment upfront and a little more investment in cleaning and washing off poop, that's a good investment even if you had one child, and a great investment if you have more than one child!

As I did more investigating, I was blown away with the many companies and their many types of cloth diapers and decided to request samples. As it turns out, many of these businesses have also allowed me to present giveaways here! So coming soon (maybe even next week) will be my series of my Cloth Diapering Experience, with a Mother-Ease system, Thirsties Duo, Knickernappies, and Super Skivvies for you!

Please help me spread my excitement of this event by posting this event button on your blog -- you'll also earn extra entries by ! (I'm also excited that after a few hours, I learned how to create the button myself!)

<a href="http://discoveringthemeinmommy.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt=" Discovering the Me in Mommy" src=" http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff459/discoveringthemeinmommy/pink-1.jpg" /></a>

Thoughtful Living Tuesday

Before I delivered my daughter, I had thought about cloth diapering but ended up writing it off because of the hassle. But reading about ways to live healthier lives, I realized that even though disposables are much easier, sometimes cheaper (with sales, coupons, and the drugstore game!), there are chemicals in those diapers, and those chemicals are up against my baby's skin (pretty much) constantly. Since I know very little on the subject, I asked Allyson at Go Long! Go Green! to write a guest post about her cloth diapering experiences.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I just assumed I would use Pampers! It wasn't until a friend at church told me she cloth diapered that I was aware "modern" cloth diapering existed! For the last 3 months of my pregnancy, I researched cloth diapers, cost savings, energy costs (our water bill only went up <$1/month), prices, etc! You name it, I looked it up! It was pretty easy to convince my husband with the cost savings alone! He also wasn't bothered by the fact we would be washing the diapers at home (as opposed to having a diaper service)! My first purchase was a starter kit of prefolds and wraps, snappi, diaper sprayer, and a large wet bag! I also received some Bum Genius One-Size Pocket diapers at my shower.

When we brought our daughter home from the hospital, we had tons of newborn Pampers Swaddlers, so we used those up! At about 3 1/2 weeks, we started our cloth diapering journey with prefolds and covers! My husband and I really enjoyed cloth diapering! We washed diapers every 3-4 days. The only drawback to the prefolds was the bulkiness in her clothes. Lots of times I had to buy the next size up in pants so they would fit!!

When time came for her first diaper rash, I scrambled looking for something to use to protect the diaper. When you cloth diaper, you don't want the diaper rash cream to touch the diaper because it will stick to the diaper, be very difficult to wash off, and eventually ruin the diaper by decreasing fluid absorption! I ended up heading to Hobby Lobby and purchased fleece scraps, cut them up in strips and laid them into the diaper so the cream would only touch the fleece! I wash my fleece strips as well, so we use them over and over again!

Over the course of our first few months diapering, we slowly built up our stash of Bum Genius One Size Pocket diapers. We found we really liked these diapers the best! They were easier to put on (especially for other family members), less bulky, and overall easier ... however with a price tag of $17.95 each, it took awhile to build up a supply! We would always use our BG diapers for our nighttime diaper! We found it held so much fluid and was easier to change in the middle of the night! At about 8 months, she started leaking through the two standard BG microfiber inserts. I found some BabyKicks Hemparoo Joeybunz hemp inserts. These are so trim and very each to stuff in the pocket diaper!! Another perk of a pocket diaper over a prefold, you can always stuff more inserts to increase the absorption!

Eventually, I had enough BG (#22), so I decided to sell all of my prefolds and covers. I wanted to get my money back for the diapers I was no longer using! Would you believe, I almost got back 90% of what I paid!! Plus it gave me a few extra $$ to get a few more BG! Currently my stash includes 22 BG 3.0 OS (the 4.0's came out recently), 1 SmartiPants Pocket diaper, and 1 Applecheeks Pocket diaper!

We still use Pampers at church in the nursery because I don't want to hassle the nursery workers (and I fear they will throw out a cloth diaper!)! We always use cloth when going to our parent's house and also we try to travel with cloth when going to a relative's house. We also used cloth during our summer camping trip!! I NEVER leave home (for overnight) without my trusty nighttime BG pocket diaper fully loaded (2 microfiber, 1 hemp, 1 cotton insert)! At 21 months, Sophia started leaking through her 3 inserts at night (most likely b/c she is holding her pee in the evening and waiting to go till bed), so we moved to 4 inserts! No more leaking problems!

I LOVE cloth diapering! It is actually even addictive ... I am constantly entering blog giveaways to win more diapers and cloth supplies! I love checking out the newest pocket diaper online! There are some other great brands as well! Cloth diapering takes a little planning (but what doesn't these days as a mother?) and thinking ahead (gotta remember to wash diapers so you don't run out), but it is so worth it! I love the fact I am doing my part to save the earth and preserve it for my children's children, but I will be honest with you ... saving $$$$ is a huge reason why we cloth diaper!! You might be thinking, how can you save money when 1 BG diaper is $17.95? To which I say, you can get 20 BG for less than $350. You will have all you need from newborn to potty-training in that one diaper (b/c it is a one-size, grows with the child). A typically family spends $50-60/month on Pampers ($600-700/month). You will have paid for all your diapers in the babies first 6 months of life! If/When you have additional children, your savings are HUGE because you don't have to put any money upfront!

Remember, every family is different and everyone has their favorite cloth diaper or two! You don't have to spend $17.95 on a diaper -- there are cheaper options! However, we found pocket diapers (specifically Bum Genius) worked best for our family!!

If you have any cloth diapering questions, please don't hesitate to email me allyson dot long at yahoo dot com