About Me

My son Jackson and I are doing our part to save the planet. Welcome to The Cloth Diaper Experiment. Join us from Day 1 as we switch from disposable to cloth. If you are interested in sending me products to review or if you would like to take part in a giveaway, please contact me at TheClothDiaperExperiment@gmail.com

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Hot Deals!

I came across some good deals today while browsing online --

BabySteals.com once again has the 6 pack of Everyday g's gPants for $49.98

AND...I'm very excited about this next one!

Good Mama products are all 40% off right now! PLUS when you spend $100+ shipping is free!
...I smell Christmas presents!

If you've wanted to try either kinds of these diapers, now is the perfect time to do it!

...Now I have to go because I hear Jackson jumping in his crib...he is supposed to be napping.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Bummis Prefold, Super Whisper Wrap and Super Brite Cover Review and Giveaway

As you may have previously read (here), Maggie from Cuddle Wuddle Diaper Co. sent me some Bummis prefolds and covers to try out. She also sent me some covers to giveaway! I also decided to giveaway half of the prefolds she sent me since I've kept you all waiting for a giveaway for so long...

I love the Bummis prefolds, they are super soft and absorbent and we haven't had any leaking issues with them at all. I apologize for not having any pictures of Jackson modeling the prefolds, I find it impossible to snappi them to his wiggly butt these days!

The Bummis covers are also really nice. They are very thick but we have had some leaking issues with them. I am almost positive it is because they are still too big (we are trying out some mediums and the velcro completely overlaps and is still a bit too big in the waist). The medium covers are made for babies 15-30 pounds and Jackson is a very long, skinny baby and is about 17 pounds right now. He can fit 3 month pants in the waist but he needs 12-18 month pants for the length if that will give you any perspective.
I love the prints that the covers come in and the celery dot is my favorite!

I am giving away 3 infant Bummis Organic Cotton Prefold Diapers, 1 small Super Brite Bummis cover, and 1 small Bummis Super Whisper Wrap.
Here are the prints that you are entering to win:
The infant sized prefolds fit babies from 7-20 lbs.
The small covers fit babies from 8-16 lbs.

Please only enter this giveaway if your baby will fit in the prize!

To enter...leave a separate comment for each entry and please leave your e-mail address...I can't contact you if you win if you forget to leave your e-mail address!

Mandatory entry: Head on over to Cuddle Wuddle and find your favorite product. Come back here and leave a comment telling me what that product is.

Extra entries (leave a separate comment for each):
*Follow my blog publicly
*Follow me on Twitter
*Grab my button and put it on your blog, leave me a link
*Tweet about this giveaway, you may do this once a day. Include @TheCDExperiment and #clothdiaper in your tweet! Include the link to your status in your comment please!

Good Luck!

This giveaway will end on December 12th. Random.org will choose the winner who will then have 48 hours to respond to my e-mail. If I don't get a response, a new winner will be chosen!

**Cuddle Wuddle Diaper Company sent me Bummis prefolds and covers to review. I did not pay for them and they did not pay me to do this review. I provided an honest review of the products!**

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Guest Post: Maggie from Cuddle Wuddle

I was extremely excited to find an online cloth diaper store run out of my hometown. Cuddle Wuddle Diaper Co. is run by Maggie and Joe Javins out of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Maggie has been very helpful to me and recently sent me an e-mail about prefolds, I asked her if I could post this for all of you to read and she happily agreed!

Maggie wrote:
I just wanted to share one thing that people might not think about when choosing a diaper system. I, of course, use many types of diapers so I can honestly give my customers feedback on the different brands. I love the simplicity of the pre-folds and they really do require less laundry. I also think when you hear the phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle"- prefolds probably fit that motto best. I don't see myself using any of my pocket diapers for rags- but definately will with the pre-folds. I can use them until there is almost nothing left.

In addition, traveling with pre-folds can be way easier. We experienced this first hand on a trip to Chicago. I drug my diaper pail, all my pocket diapers, and my detergent to the hotel where we were staying. I did a load of diapers every morning on the slowest machines I had ever seen in my life. (The hotel had a washer and dryer for guest use). It literally took 3 hours out of every day. I was glad to spend the time as opposed to using disposables- but it was a hassle. Just for curiosity, when I arrived home, I called one of the diaper services in Chicago. They would have dropped off clean pre-fold diapers before we arrived at the hotel and picked them up after we left. This was something they had done many, many times. It would definately been worth the $30-$40 dollars. After hearing my story- a customer of mine took advantage of the diaper service in Denver, CO on a recent trip. She was going to stay for a week with friends. It is a big awkward to ask someone if they mind you using their washing machine everyday or every other day for a week. So insteady she called ahead to the local diaper service and set up service for a week. You usually need to give them 2 weeks notice- but they are almost always willing to oblige. If you at least have some covers and pre-folds as part of your "stash" of diapers, you can more easily use a diaper service when traveling.

I just wanted to throw my two cents in. You sometimes don't think about traveling with cloth until you are reading to get in the car and go!

Thanks,
Maggie

Maggie agreed to take part in Prefold Week (well...Prefold half of a month) and sent me (actually, her husband, Joe delivered straight to my door...WOW!) 6 Bummis prefolds and some Bummis covers to try out. I love the prefolds with the Bummis covers, they are just a little hard to use right now on my bull-headed, extremely active baby! The easiest way to use them right now is to trifold the prefold and stick it in the cover and use it just like that. No Snappi or pins needed!

Look for the Cuddle Wuddle Diaper Co. sponsored giveaway tomorrow!

Thanks for the great advice Maggie!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Holiday Guide Preview: CSN Stores

The Holidays are right around the corner and I have spent a lot of time doing some online "window" shopping.
One of the websites that I have recently spent a ton of time on is CSNbaby.com
On the CSN baby site, there is a special section with a ton of green products and I love browsing through them and getting ideas for Jackson for Christmas!

CSN contacted me to do a review and giveaway with them so one of you will get a little help with your Holiday shopping (check back in December for the review/giveaway!)
CSNbaby.com has everything from crib bedding (there are some GORGEOUS sets!) to toys and clothes. There is no way you won't be able to find something for the little ones in your life!

Confessions

A crawling, wiggly, stubborn baby does not equal an easy time with prefolds, that is for sure!

I've been trying to get Jackson to cooperate with me so I could get pictures of the different kinds of folds but he is having none of it! I am going to have to end up using a teddy bear as my model I think!

It has also been a struggle to get Jackson into prefolds with a snappi, he is just moving too much now and I have resorted to grabbing the pockets or using a prefold with only a cover and no snappi or pins. (I guess I could take and post a video, I'm sure that would provide entertainment for all of you!)

I should have done Prefold week about 4 months ago, lesson learned!

I do love prefolds but they are hard to use at this very active stage of Jackson's life!
Any advice on how to make it easier? Please?

Monday, November 16, 2009

Blogger Fail!

Hey guys!

I'm so sorry that I haven't posted in awhile. I have a lot more to post for prefold week but I just got really busy over the weekend -- I have a very, very part time job that I was extremely busy with over the weekend. I was out of town and didn't get the chance to make the posts that I had planned.

...Prefold week will resume tomorrow...

Sorry again!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Reader Contributed Prefold Advice

Laura C - I have some folding advice: either trifold lenth-wise and pull out the edges to the left and right at the waist to snappi, or just lay the prefold in the cover flat, and then trifold the front of the prefold as you bring it up in front of baby's butt. That's the way my husband and I both found ourselves doing it after a while. Extra material can be folded down in front before you snappi/pin. If the prefold is too tight/small to snappi, don't worry about it. The wrap-style covers are tight enough to hold it in place without any fasteners, which means you can use it for a long time!

Rose - We found that in the early days with our baby, the twist and snappi method worked best for us. Then as she grew we started doing tri-fold, and now that we've moved up in size we are back to the twist! Looking forward to reading more about pre-folds, although we are in a phase of using lots of AIOs because she doesn't like to sit still for a diaper change!

Pumpkin Bear - My best prefold tip is to try different folds and different covers. I was surprized by what worked for me and I actually do my own version of a fold and it seems to work great!

Stephanie - My advice is #1--Get some snappis, they are SO great! #2--Buy lots of preemie prefolds for those first few weeks/days. Little Luke is up to 7.5 lb & we are still using exclusively preemie prefolds w/ a cloth wipe as the doubler! Love them!

clm817 - Yay! I've only used prefolds and they are not as scary as people think! You can't get any simpler than trifolding a prefold and laying it in a cover. My son complains about snappi's so this is the go to way for him.

dotcomkari - My advice, invest in Snappis! they are so much more easier then pins and safer too as they will not prick your baby badly! :)
Also....
Gerber brand prefolds found at Walmart make better burp rags then prefolds.. instead stick to chinese prefolds or nicer brand ones found online... or a cloth diapering store.
Save money, skip the newborn prefolds and go straight for infant sized they last longer... and while they may be big at first, you just have to fold them over...:)

Karah - Prefold advice!
Chunky babies/babies with chunky legs, definitely try the Bikini Twist. I've found it to be easiest to use for us and the best with my chunky legged LO's.

Bethany - My secret to using prefolds at night with no leaks is to do the basic fold and fold them around a doubler. I have a skinny baby so I love the bummis super brite wraps because they have extra protection around the legs, oh and as everyone else has said snappis are awesome!

Laura C. - Re Snappis: We have two and have only ever used one. We used them mostly when the prefolds were on the big side for baby, to hold it in place while we fastened the cover on top. Now that she's bigger, the corners of the prefolds won't overlap enough for us to Snappi, and the wrap-style covers hold on a folded prefold just fine on their own. When she moves up to a larger prefold, I expect to go back to using the Snappis again. They're fantastic, much less pokey than pins. I can think of several instances when baby wiggled in a way that I expected her to be scraped by the Snappi, but she wasn't at all. If it had been a pin...

If you're just trying prefolds, maybe try 12 prefolds and 3-4 covers (Thirsties Duo Wraps are my fave cover, because they're adjustable size and because the leg gussets hold in messes and work better for a baby with big thighs and a small waist). A full stash in my mind is 24 prefolds and 8 covers (6 would be fine, but I always keep a couple in the diaper bag).

As far as getting husband to use them: I know a husband who won't use anything but AIOs, and I guess you pick your battles ;) BUT My husband will ONLY use prefolds because
1) You can toss the prefold in the pail without touching it!
2) You can reuse the cover, which is more efficient and makes for less bulk in a diaper bag.
3) They never leak! We use Thirsties Duo Wraps with Green Earth brand cotton DSQ unbleached prefolds. (Note: the thread color just tells you what size the prefold is.)

For nighttime, put a hemp insert under the prefold in the cover for extra absorbency. We never have leaks with just the prefold anyway, but it does get pretty soaked and hemp traps some of that extra moisture. We've got a 5-month-old, but she's a heavy wetter. Pockets leak EVERY TIME on her unless they're also doubled up with a hemp insert (try Thirsties hemp inserts for a go-to insert, or Joeybunz for a bigger one. Also, FYI, it took me awhile to figure out that hemp inserts are thicker than hemp doublers. I just went with the inserts, even though they're bulkier, so I won't have to buy a thicker hemp item later.)


Thank you for all of the great advice ladies!

I'm working on the questions that were posted and will get them up by tomorrow night. Also, check in for a post with different folds for prefolds (with photos)!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

How to Prep Prefolds

When you buy new prefolds, they are flat and stiff. They will be coated with oils and waxes, especially if you have unbleached prefolds. Before you can use the diapers, you must prep them by washing them several times before use.

Bummis sent me an Organic Cotton Cloth Diaper Kit for review purposes. I am using the diapers from that kit to show you how to prep them.
Here are the diapers straight out of the box, notice how stiff and flat they are.
The user guide that came with the kit told me to wash the diapers on hot at least three times. The diapers should be dried in between washes to help them shrink and quilt properly.
Make sure you use a diaper safe detergent!

Here is a prefold after being washed one time.
I washed and dried these prefolds 4 times. They are soft, absorbent, and ready to use.
To check the absorbency of your diapers, pour some warm water onto one of them. The water should absorb into the diaper immediately. If it beads up, wash and dry the prefolds

One important thing to remember when prepping prefolds is:
You MUST prep prefolds separately. The oils in the diapers could affect the absorbency of your other diapers. After the initial prepping of the diapers, you can wash them with all of you other diapers without a problem.

The great thing about prefolds is that they get softer the longer you use them.

Prepping prefolds is really easy and hopefully this post will answer some questions that you might have had. If I missed anything that you are wondering about, just leave a comment and I'll be sure to answer you!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Back to Basics: Prefold Week

There are so many different kinds of cloth diapers in this day and age. I, personally, know that I overlook my prefolds which is sad because they are a great, inexpensive way to cloth diaper.
This week is going to be all about using prefolds. I will show you how to prep them, fold them and different ways you can use them.
There are also going to be a few prefold related giveaways so make sure to check back often! What is the big prize this week, you may wonder??
That's right! Bummis has donated an organic Diaper Kit in the size that you need for my big giveaway this week!
There are also some covers donated by Cuddle Wuddle and even more covers from Thanks Mama! So, if you are in need of some covers or want to start out cloth diapering, definitely enter the giveaways!

Leave a comment in this post with any prefold questions or advice you may have. You will get one extra entry into the giveaway of your choice. I will be closing the comments on this post on Wednesday so you should hurry!


Gro Baby Bio-Soakers Review

Gro Baby sent me a bio soaker intro pack for blogging about it a couple of weeks ago. We went out of town this weekend so I thought it'd be the perfect time to give them a test run. I LOVE them!
Jackson was in the bio soakers with gro baby shells exclusively from Wednesday night until Sunday night. They did great, are easy to use and are much better for the environment than regular disposable diapers.

We used the bio soakers during nap time and overnight with absolutely NO LEAKS. I seriously am so impressed by how much the inserts hold.

The only thing I don't like is that if you try to pull the soaker off of the diaper too quickly, it rips and the sticky part stays on the diaper. If you put it aside and let it cool down for a second then pull it slowly off it is fine.

While they are a little pricey at 19.99 for a box of 50, I love them and will continue to use them when we are out and about.

The Gro Baby Bio-Soakers definitely passed our experiment with flying colors! Way to go Gro Baby, keep coming out with awesome products!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Could you Do me a HUGE favor?

Hi!
I just got word that Jackson is a finalist in the DiaperLab.com "Strut Your Fluff" Photo Contest!
If you could please take a second and vote for him here, I would GREATLY appreciate it!!
Jackson is wearing a green Gro Baby diaper and is rocking a faux hawk. He is on light wood floors. :)

Thank you so much if you take the time out of your busy day to do this for us!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Everyday G's on sale today only!

While gDiapers and I didn't get along in the beginning of our relationship, we have since come a long way. Jackson FINALLY fits into the mediums right and I'm loving them with the cloth inserts!

If you have wanted to try gDiapers, today is your lucky day! You can get a 6 pack of the Everyday g's (3 vanilla, 3 orange) for $49.98 on BabySteals.com today! That is over 50% off of the normal price!

If you want to take advantage of this deal, move quickly because BabySteals always sells out pretty quickly!

I'll try to update if I notice they have sold out!