Cloth Diaper Week: Surprise Reveal!!!

Today is the BIG day!!! Seriously, I am so excited to be a part of this. I feel like we should have a drumroll...



Today is the day that Rock-a-Bums releases their PRINTS! I have been so excited about this day for so long! And to celebrate they are hosting a MASSIVE giveaway. Are you ready for this?

Rock-a-Bums is giving away a "From Birth to Potty Learning" stash of 9 covers (prints or solids, winners choice), 18 inserts, and 60 hybrid inserts.

If you have been considering cloth diapering, have a friend that wants to cloth diaper, or want a whole new stash (so basically EVERYONE) you need to enter! Tell your friends...this is something that just has to be shared it's so fun.

Head on over to their HUGE giveaway and then come back here for more info on why we big puffy heart Rock-A-Bums...don't worry...I'll wait...

Welcome back! Now let's go over some of the new features of the 2.0. We LOVED their 1.0 so you can bet the 2.0 is amazing.

FABRIC: It’s proprietary to Rock-a-Bums and is quick to wick away moisture and is hospital grade hypo allergenic. You guys. It is black. This is genius when you are talking about a DIAPER that gets poo on it all the time. No need to worry about stains!

VELCRO: Although I am a self proclaimed snap lover...I sure do love their high quality velcro when I am trying to change a wiggly boy in the middle of the night.

TUMMY PANEL: The RAB's now have an extra layer of fabric in the front of the diaper which helps for tummy sleepers and for boys (this is now something I have to think about you know). 

TWO OPENINGS: Although we typically only use our RAB's as an AI2, we have been known to use the pocket for overnight. For those of you that use it as a pocket diaper, you will love this feature. This makes it so easy to get inserts in and out!

NEW SNAP ARRANGEMENT: This time around they did away with the hip snap so now you only have two rows of snaps to work with!

And as always, Rock-a-Bums still can be used 5 different ways. Curious? They thought you might be so they posted a video explaining each one of its uses.

Clearly, Rock-A-Bums are a favorite around here. Now, make sure if you haven't already, to head on over to their giveaway!

And, because I am OBSESSED with their new prints. Let's just take one last look at them, shall we?

(from top to bottom:  blue velvet, zanadu, punk plaid green, & punk plaid pink)

Which one is your favorite? I am thinking Israel needs to be rocking some guitars...but that plaid sure would look so great on him too.

*All opinions are my own. 

Cloth Diapers: Round Two!

One more day until the big reveal! I can hardly wait! But, as promised, I am back with some more info on our 3rd year of cloth diapering. I decided to keep the party going because let's face it...I am a novelist and I just could not fit everything I needed to say into one post. Today's topic will be an overview of what we are using now. I also have a controversial post coming...it is going to shock a few people...but it needs to be said. So, yeah, that is coming later on this week!

Okay by now we all know I might as well be a hippy because let’s just be honest, I like all things natural. Cloth diapering was no exception. Now, something I have learned over the years (3.5 to be exact) is that cloth diapering is not always the easiest solution. We love it and love the benefits so much that we never wavered in our decision, but more and more I am finding people that go into cloth blindly thinking that it’s all going to be wonderful and easy. This is where I picture people holding hands and skipping through fields of daisies. Is cloth worth it? You betcha! I just think you need to know that it will take some trial and error and you may not love it right away.

Let’s start with types of diapers. There are lots of them. We started with an All-in-One system, the BumGenius Elemental. That diaper was EASY. We never had to explain how to use them to any other caregivers, they were so much like disposables. However, we aren’t using them with Israel. Why? Sadly, over time, the natural fibers broke down to the point of them being unusable. I believe this happened because we did not have a large rotation of them so the fibers naturally break down (just like any piece of clothing) and we also had some bad bleaching advice (more on that another time). The other thing to note is that with Eden, the BGE’s fit perfectly from 10 lbs all the way until she was potty trained. Unfortunately, their fit is just not as great with Israel’s body type. So, do note that different diapers fit babies differently.

So, what are we using this time? Since the BGE’s we have tried MANY different diapers. We have narrowed down our “stash” to SoftBums, RockaBums, and Grovia shells. Our system of choice? All-in-twos. The way this system works is you have a shell (the outer layer of the diaper) and an insert that attach together. When you go to change the diaper, you put the wet insert into the pail, but you keep the shell out to reuse multiple times. We fell in love with this system because it was similar to what we were used to with the all-in-one diapers, but more cost effective since you get to reuse them which means you don’t need as many shells. This was extremely important for us since we were at a place financially where we just could not afford a whole lot. We do miss the ease of our AIO’s (Josh does especially), but these are pretty awesome. Each brand has reasons why we love them. I am not going to do a review on them at this point, but if you want to hear my opinions on all the ones we have tried I would be happy to fill you in...and trust me...I have tried A LOT. 

So, the moral of the story is, one diaper does not fit all. Every time someone asks me what my favorite diaper is, I ask them what their needs are. If you are contemplating starting cloth, but don't know where to start, write a list of things that are important to use. Ease of use, cost, snaps vs. velcro, etc. Then, start asking around. Get ready for LOTS of opinions. We cloth diapering folk sure like to express our love for the brands we use. Also, if you happen to have a local cloth diaper store, ask if they do demonstrations. This is a great way to get your hands on the diapers and really see what you think. Tomorrow I will fill you in on the diaper that I feel fits all of the criteria we looked for in a diaper and why I think it's a good fit for most everyone. 

 

A Little Tease

You guys. I get to be a part of something EXCITING on Wednesday. It is HUGE. It has to do with one of my very favorite cloth diaper companies and I just can't wait. Tomorrow I will be posting a little bit about our cloth diapering journey now that we are 3.5 years into it. A LOT has changed for us as we experiment with different brands, wash routines, detergents...you know, all the fun stuff we cloth diapering moms love to talk about. Come back tomorrow for the dirt on our latest diapering changes (ha!) and definitely DO NOT forget to come back Wednesday!