My son as of June 5th 2010 is 7 month 27lbs and 29ish inches. This is my attempt to go a little greener, but am finding it difficult to find diapers that will fit my son till potty training. So this is for my fellow momma's with large babies! Follow my journey of trying out different cloth diapers. Also my opinions on other baby/mommy items.
*He's now 16 months 31 pounds 21" waits and 14" legs.
*20 months and 35 lbs same measurments
This blog is to help all parent who are raising a large baby. My main focus is about cloth diapering, but will include clothing, feeding, car seats, and much more!
Hey mama's! If you are reading this you are probably a follower of my blog or on the B/S/T Review page on Facebook. For most of you, the group on facebook is to stay safe. A lot of mom's have gotten scammed or ripped off from their diapers. I am sick of that. Here is my way of making things right to those mama's!! OR if you know of any mom that is just AWESOME! and deserves more diapers and recognition to her awesome-ness (example: volunteers, donates items to charity. ect)
Here are the RULES (Sorry, every giveaway has them)
1. YOU CAN NOT NOMINATE YOURSELF. It's required that you provide your Facebook URL and the mama's FB URL.
2.You can nominate multiple people, but one individual mama can only me nominated once (I'll delete any extra entries)
3. Please don't nominate friends that don't really need anything or doesn't fit the criteria of Awesome (see our definition above. Please don't get offended. I had to make a cut off point somewhere.)
4. You have to tell us why she should be nominated.
5. You must be a member of Cloth Diaper B/S/T Mama Review or Envibums Paypal Refund group. If you nominate a mama outside of those two groups, make sure she is a new member. I will be checking both groups for the winners. It makes it easier for us to get a hold of them and to claim their prize.
First off, lets just say It's been an adventure cloth diapering the past couple months. Oliver has hit his toddler stage and with that comes sizing differences. He no longer is my CHUNKY monkey. Now he is tall, tiny waist, pot belly, and chunky thighs. It's weird, I know. So we have been doing a major over haul on almost all of his diapers. The only diapers that are the same on him are his Fuzzibunz diapers. I had to sell his Oh Katy's, and Thirsties. Sad day. I loved both of those brands.
But that means I get to try out more diapers :D I'm super happy about that. So my latest diaper to try is the Go Green Champ diaper. I LOOOOOVE them!!!! Holy cow I love them. Wish they had more prints that I like (I'm picky about prints and colors) but the ones I love are soooo worth it. At $15 per diaper, it's not the cheapest nor is it the most expensive diaper that I have coveted, but it will last Oliver for a really long time. He is currently on the SECOND snaps out of 5. That's a lot of growing!
They fit his chunky thighs! I can get an excellent fit in the waist, and the rise is perfect. And guess what my favorite part is! The double gusset!!! But it's not like any double gusset I've seen. It's in the suede cloth! It's perfect for those super poopers!
Not only that but there is another AMAZING thing you can do if you want. An Adapt-a-snap! So for you mom's that want or need the ease of hook/loop, you can snap on this set of hook and loop to make your snaps diaper a daycare/babysitter/dad/arthritic hands friendly!
Pictures used from gogreen.com
Pictures used from gogreen.com
How awesome is that? I've also seen it work on other diapers, not just GoGreens! So go and buy one now! I'm serious. Do it.
Oh Katy is an amazing diaper. It looks small compared to other diapers, but O can actually fit in it for quite awhile. The pictures show that on one side he's two snaps in, but on the other side he's three in. I tried today and he can actually go three in on each side. O has been thinning out, but is still super chunky.
Why do I like these so much? They are decently trim. GREAT for longer periods of time. I use both new born and large insert (has snaps on it so you can make it smaller too) for optimal protection. I especially love these because no matter how many times I would tell my daycare not to, they would keep O in a diaper for way to long. So both inserts are amazing!!
But I think my all time favorite feature of Oh Katy diapers is this:
If you have quick run to the store our to a neighbors house, they are designed to "roll up" like a disposable would, in case you forgot your webag, you can just roll it up and everything will be safe.
The one and only downfall I think to this diaper is the one that makes it so unique. For boys I usually don't recommend a front opening pocket, just because that is where boys pee whereas girls pee in the middle. BUT I can show you and easy way not to get your fingers dirty while taking out the inserts.
First stick your fingers in the farthest corner. Usually if its a day time use, pee hasn't gotten this far over.
Flip flap over so it has a GIANT pocket opening
Turn upside down and shake out. Shaking is how I usually get my inserts out without touching anything.
So if I had another chunky baby, would I buy more Oh Katies?? You bet I would!
**Oh I forgot to mention with O being chunky, I did have gapping in the front. BUT I figured out that if you use both inserts, put the smaller one slightly down on the larger insert. Like so:
So I was VERY hesitant to try bumGenius 4.0. They have an amazing reputation, but their sizing was the thing. O at the time was still very chunk (he is still, but not as much). They say 35+, but the plus is what I'm always hesitant about; they could very well mean a pound or two. But I was pleasantly surprised. The rise is perfect (Ollie is now 32" tall) and it's on the largest setting. He has an inch worth of growth left on the velcro. I do want to try out the snaps to see how well they fit and how much growth or use he has in them.
I also like their hook and loop. I feel that it will keep going for quite awhile. If you have a chunky child you know that if they move around to much the hook will start to come apart from the loop. I have yet to hear that iconic sound of it coming apart while he plays. (TIP: I usually will put pants on O when he plays and wearing hook and loop to make sure that they stay on. But when trying a new diaper I leave the pants of to "test" out the strength of the hook and loop tape)
I also love how there is a folded down section of PUL on the inside of the diaper.
Why do I like this? Well I have never had a leak if I left the diaper on to long (I admit, I'm not perfect at being a mom) Also if you take out the insert like me (shake it out. NOT a fan of touching the wet insert) I don't have to touch any wetness because I can hold onto the PUL :D
So for a chunky toddler I would buy more bumGenius!!
Welcome new Large Bummies followers!!!!! I'm super excited for you all to be here! Soon I will be doing reviews on Oh Katy Diapers, Blueberries, and Bum Genius. I will also post a link to another post that I'm writing for Robert's Crafts. And guess what! It's a diaper sewing post! Soo you could learn how to make your own! How great is that?
I really truly apologize for not writing lately. I have been co-starting Cloth Diaper Utah- Utah County. I have been making my friends who are switching to cloth some diapers for their newborns :) and suprisingly I thought I would have more time now that I don't have a job. . . I now have less. How that happened I have no idea. But I swear I will be writting more :D
PLUS there might be a new blog to start following :D Hope you all stay tuned!!
Sorry that I have been MIA. I have just been working on sewing cloth diapers to start selling. Soon I will be having a good friend do a review on her blog, brookiesbabybargains.blogspot.com on my diapers. I will post when she does that. There will even be a chance to win one.
Right now I am working only on a fitted diaper. Hopefully soon I will be making AIO. I think I like offering the option of either. I'm trying to think of if I want to start making a stock pile of my dipaers, or make them custom for each person. Right now of course due to funds, it's only custom for the customer, but am trying to think long term. But this is all just me rambling right now.
What do you think of my diaper prints so far?
Dreamcycle
Brown Argyle
Grey Argyle
Mod Flower Power
So far these are the only prints I have. I have a few pieces of fabric that I will list, but I want to get more fabric of it before I do.
Hello! So today's video is about fitted or countors as some are called and fleece covers. Please forgive my voice. Literally all of the plants have decided to set off pollen bombs, and that is what I'm most allergic to. Yaaay! And again, forgive my focus crazy camera.
**Edits- You can also use fitteds with a fleece cover, not just flats and prefolds.
So Rockin'Green put out a cattle call for guest bloggers on Facebook. I of course jumped at the chance to participate. I wrote one that got a little personal and you got to know me a bit better. It's title is From Disgust to Obsession. I'm soo excited for you all to read it! I soo can't wait. It will be live the 14th and you bet your bottom dollar I'll be linking it here!
Meagan
p.s. Oliver has been teething 3 molars so that is why I haven't posted any new diaper posts. I like pictures to go with them, and my room has the best lighting, but that is where Oliver wants to be (in my bed and arms).
Ok so here is my post on different fabric types and prepping. It probably might be an overload, but It's what confused me the most so I hope to un-confuse new cd'ers.
Natural fibers have oils. Especially organic or non-bleached fabric; but bleached still do have oils in them, but not as much because they had to be washed during the bleaching process. So when you first get any natural fiber products, you want to wash them. A lot. Not just wash, but wash then dry and repeat it several times. The first wash I do with detergent then the rest of the washes no detergent. I usually do 5 cycles of washing and drying. There is an easier way. I will talk about it after the not natural fibers (videos included!) Natural fibers are kind of special. The more they are washed and dried, the more absorbent and fluffy they become.
Here is a sampling of my natural fibers. (left to right) On the bottom is Osocozy unbleached prefold, on top: bleached prefold, Grovia (I can't remember which one, but i has natural fibers) soaker, hemp doubler, Fuzzibunz hemp doubler
See the difference between the two? Sorry it's a little dark. I can never find good enough lighting in my house.
Not natural fibers include (but not limited to) Fleece, microfiber, microsuede, PUL . . .I'm sure there are others, but I can't think of them. For me, I don't feel the need to wash more than once. They don't have any oils, but they do have plenty of dirt from manufacturing and being in transit. For these diapers and inserts I would just wash once with lots of hot water and an extra rinse or two. This is my opinion though, others I have read like to do several washes. Which I think is unnecessary since non-natural material doesn't have oil and wont fluff up/get more absorbent with washing. So it's really up to you on this one.
BOILING METHOD????
Yup that's right. Boiling. As in boiling water to make spaghetti!! This is a super quick way to get rid of most oils in natural fibers. AND it's a great way to strip diapers that have detergent buildup or ammonia stink. The way I'm demonstrating in the videos is with microfiber inserts WITHOUT SNAPS. Again I repeat, WITHOUT SNAPS. If you boil something with snaps, they will melt. Fair warning to you all. Luckily, this hasn't happened to me, but I read about it :( poor, poor diapers. RIP.
Step 1A. Wash your diapers. You really don't want to boil soiled diapers. . . that just sounds nasty.
1B. Also get your pot of water starting to boil.
1C. Get an empty dry pot out and tongs, set to the side.
Step 2A.Put clean diapers in boiling water.
2B. Set timer for 20 minuets.
Step 3A. (Sorry, every one came home so it became a mad house, so no video for step 3)
Grasp tongs firmly in your hand (left or right, your preference) and take out one piece at a time. Let the water drip out as much as possible.
3B. Put the piece into the empty pot.
I strangely can't find the boiling pictures from today. Oh well! This works too!
Step 4. Load into washer and do a couple of rinses. I did two today, just because I was stripping them, and wanted all the gunk out.
Now that was for microfiber. For natural fibers I would add a tablespoon (or a good squirt, I never measure) of Dawn BLUE Original dishsoap. I don't know why it has to be the blue Dawn, but everyone says to only us it. So I will go with the crowed on this one. Boil for the 20 minutes, (keep an eye on the pot. My first try I got preoccupied and it bubbled over. That was a lot of bubbles) then instead of two rinses like above, I rinsed till I didn't see anymore bubbles when i stopped and looked into the washer mid cycle. Some people do one more rinse, just for good measure, but I don't have the time to. Then dry :D
So that is boiling. Not hard. I find it's easier than washing, drying a billion times. I always forget to go switch them around. Then I usually stop after 3, so it's not getting the optimal fluffing.
Don't forget to go and enter to win a Thirsties Fab fitted! I'll draw the winner on Jun 10th!
Well I had an absolutely amazing review of Fuzzibunz diapers, but then the maintenance to blogger I guess deleted it. Sigh! So I'm writing it again, and I hope you forgive any mistakes I make. I just had my wisdom teeth removed and i'm on some intense pain medicines.
I actually received my Fuzzibunz Perfect Size Large months ago. I'm talking probably 8 months ago. But I guess this means I have full knowledge for the product. I love them. End of story. I love how the entry to the pocket is in the back (I have found some that are in the front.Weird), which I like so I don't have to touch anything gross to get the inserts out.
The fit is amazing. He has plenty of room to grow, especially since he is thinning out. I haven't had any issues when it comes to leaks. It has held up with the worst of his tummy issues and what ends up in the diaper. At night it can hold multiple inserts because of the generouse sized pocket. I can also put my hand in with out difficulty.Some other brands my hands (which aren't huge, average women hands) feel like they aren't going to fit all the way and eventually pop a seam because of the small pocket size.
One thing I have noticed, the microfiber layer on top of the PUL seems to hold stains very well. Which I'm generally not overly worried about stains, but now that our daycare is allowing us to cloth diaper, I don't want to gross the girls out any more than I have to. And with our very little sun that we have had, it's been hard to try and sun the diapers to get them white. So I did multiple strips and soaks with different type of soaps and RLR; none of it helped. So finally I broke down and added a little bit of bleach to the wash. Now they are practically new looking!
Speaking of daycare, my son's teachers love the Fuzzibunz. They love the snaps! They aren't a fan of hook and loop because they feel that it wont stay on. I also like the snaps for daycare because they like to wrap the diaper up like a disposable so when they do that with hook and loop, it attaches to the outer layer and kind of destroying it (I have told them about the tab on the inside). Snaps are great that way because they don't have an option of sticking the Velcro to to run print or color.
So Fuzzibunz Perfect Fit are great. End of Story. Perfect for daycare and daddy friendly, and on the go. I highly suggest stuffing them right out of the dryer so that you don't have to worry about stuffing them while in the midst of changing a diaper. Have a Happy diapering day!!
Ok, after days of not being able to upload my videos I finally decided to try uploading on youtube then embed it here. And after 77 minutes of loading a 6 minute video, IT FINALLY WORKED!!
Please forgive my camera for constantly auto focusing. This is my first "Vlog" and I hope to get better as I do more!
This is a vlog to better show you the differences between prefolds and flats. Later this week I will show you pockets, AIO, and hybrids!
Also if you haven't heard, I'm goind a Thirsties Fab Fitted Giveaway! Click on the link and it will send you to the giveaway and the instructions!
Ok everyone, I'm trying to get some videos loaded to show you the difference between the different kinds of diapers. I have some friends still kind of confused about the different types.
Our wonderful blogger keeps having issues with uploading, so hopefully soon I'll be able to get it up soon.
In the mean time who wants to win a Thirsites Duo Fab Fitted Size One?? I'll be posting my review of them soon, but who wants to win??
Like my blog and Cloth Diapering Mommies on Facebook and leave a post here saying you liked both (I will check the winner if they liked CDM and my blog) your email so I can get a hold of you and why you love cloth diapers!! A winner will be chosen at random on June 10th at 10 p.m. Mountain Standard Time!
Love,
Meagan and Ollie
p.s. If any of you are having trouble posting a comment, email me lights 106 at yahoo dot com and I'll post for you!
Here is the diaper! New-I did wash it once. I'm not sure why I did.
Ok so I wrote a decently good post promoting The Modern Cloth Diaper. Well with bloggers maintenance it was lost. So I will attempt to write it again. Please be patient with me and hopefully it will be even better that the first version!
But here is a picture from this weekends adventures. We went to a small Mountain Man Rendezvous and Oliver would not stop playing in the Pat's bags!
Oliver LOVES dogs. He goes crazy whenever he see's one!
Oh gdiapers where have you been all my life?????? Ok, well more like my son's cloth diapering life??
If you can't tell, I really like gdiapers.
Lately I have been in a slump when going out and about with cloth. I usually broke down and used the dumb disposables that we have to use for daycare. So I then started looking for an easier way. Long story short, I was reminded about gdiapers. I never really understood the need for a hybrid diaper. . . till now.
A hybrid is exactly as it sounds. A two in one, crossover, "green" and efficient. Gdiapers can be used with either a pad that can be flushed down the toilet (for you greener folk-composted!) or you can use a cloth insert instead. I have yet to try out their cloth inserts, but the disposables have been wonderful so far!
See the little blue mark on the top left? That is where you tear
.
The pad will fit into the liner that snaps into place. It's kind of a cool system. I didn't think I would work out, but I was wrong!
Using the biodegradable inserts sounds awful when you first read the instructions, but so was using regular cloth diapers. What you have to do when it needs to go down the toilet, you rip a side off the insert (I find it's easier with two sides or top and a side are ripped off), and shake the innards out. The absorbing innards need to be separated from the outer shell when you flush them, unless you want a clogged toilet. Then by all means, flush as one giant pad. You do need something to "stir" the innards around with to make it so it's not one giant clump of material. I use of all things, a drinking straw. It was in the garbage next to me and it has worked just fine for us.
Ok so you just might be wondering how my (or yours if your wondering it) toilet could handle flushing all of that. Lets just say my toilet sucks when it comes to the flushing power. It seriously lacks that oomph that a toilet needs. But it handles the gdiapers decently well. Sometimes if I feel that the toilet needs a good break, I'll flush the innards separately from the outer shell. I have yet to come across any problems so far.
What about going out in the world and not at home? Well so far I have only been to places where there was the industrial toilets with max flushing power. I didn't have my handy straw stirrer, so I just flushed to see how well it worked. Went down with no problems. How about the fit? The fit is awesome! It's super trim like a disposable! And we all know how badly Ollie suffers from cloth butt! I could use O's "skinny" jeans just fine while using the gdiapers. There were hardly any red or pink marks, which are notorious with cloth diapers. So going out on the town was nice and easy. Plus I didn't have to carry around a ton of extra diapers. Just a few pads and a different cover. NICE!
**Ok since writing the first part of this post, my son went through a stomach bug that manifested itself as mostly diarrhea. It was a glorious weekend, I can tell you that. After using the gdiapers during that whole fiasco, I am glad Ollie now has more solid of poop that can be flushed with ease. I think this is a great diaper for those with less solid poop, especially when going around town. This way you don't have to take care of the diapers when you get home. Just throw the dirty cover and lining in the pail. But I would make sure you have extra covers (they call them gpants) and the liners (the white think that holds the pad in place) in case of leakage! Hopefully I can review their cloth inserts soon!
Don't forget! If you have any questions, I would love for you all to ask away!! I love to help where ever I can!
Ok so here is my final review of Thirsties Duo size 2. I love them!!! I really wish I could rewind the clock and go back and just keep sticking Thirsties out. They really have TONS of room till Oliver will grow out of them! I don't know what I was thinking with my first attempt. I'm guessing that at that time I was using the wrong detergent and there was some build up, which is why they were leaking. Right now I have both snaps ans hook and loop closures. And I'm pretty sure I'm a big fan of the hook and loop. Don't get me wrong, the snaps are great, but with Oliver and his still large size, I need/prefer the ability to choose the best spot for the diaper to close.
I also use Thirsties Hemp prefold. LOVE THEM! They are so trim, but absorbs so much! If I feel that Oliver needs more than just the hemp prefold, I have plenty of room to add more inserts. I also love that I can put them in Fuzzibunz pocket diapers and they add a ton of absorbency to them. So all in all I'm a Thirsties gal.
I finally did it. I bought a cloths drying rack. I really wanted the iconic clothes line now that we have (knock on wood) settled into out latest house with a huge backyard. I love the look of clothes drying on a line. So beautifully iconic and what a wonderful throw back to the simple times. But since I am not going to be living with my parents (knock on wood again) for much longer, I wanted something I could take with me where ever I went. And maybe someday I can have my icon in my backyard.
So soon I will be showing you all the gdiaper! I'm super excited about this one! I have been really lagging on cloth diapering while out and about. So I decided I would try something that would make going out easier, and lighter in my diaper bag. But for now here is a picture from out latest photo shoot with a really great friend of mine Ruth Naomi Carlstrom. Click on her name for the link to her website. O and I are on there! YAY!
So I was exploring gdiapers website and I came across this link: gdiapers.com/plasticfree.
Please check it out. I found out with the part my forced part time cloth diapering, I am saving a lot. Not as much as I would like, but a lot. Here are my stats.
I saved:
684 quarts of oil
328lbs of plastic
1094lbs of Co2
So I know my son no longer uses swaddles, but I'm still going to review the one I had used when Ollie did.
I love The Woombie!! It basically was a peanut shape sack.
-It seems like it wouldn't be able to hold the baby down from squirming.
-Well that's right! Babies naturally wiggle in their sleep. This allows them to still wiggle, but not let them hit their faces. Which them hitting themselves is what really wakes them up. It was a lightweight cotton knit so you could layer underneath or if it was hot you could just to a diaper and then the Woombie. I didn't know about this product when my son was first born otherwise I would immediately have bought it. A girl needs to sleep. I got it when he was 3 months old and when his other swaddle (it was the Summer brand one-pictured below) didn't hold him in anymore.
5 Seconds after this picture he woke up. That was fun. Anywho, I love The Woombie. It was great! Easy to wash, use, and wean off of. When I have another baby, I will most defiantly be stocking up on more of them.
I have seen on their website that they have new versions of The Woombie. It looks like better ones than the one I had! One has flaps on the arms that when it comes time to wean, then all you do is open the flaps. There even is one with legs so that you can use it in strollers. They also have one with both legs, and the arm things so that when you are out and about, you can still use it. (Only use with the babies arms out so that the straps will properly fit over the baby if using in the car seat or in stroller. Safety first!) So I'd highly suggest this product!!!!
So I tried to potty train Oliver, but his body has decided that it wants to still pee every time I'm not keeping a 100% eye on him. So we are going to try again at 18 months. In the mean time I'm still going to be putting him on the potty every night, and morning, even after naps. Sooo He's now 17 months, so soon!!
Go and check out my Burpkerchiefs!! They are burp clothes that I can monogram like a handkerchief. I thought it was a very cute and adorable idea to mix modern prints with an old fashion idea. These are great for gifts and something a mom wouldn't mind taking out into public! Has a layer of 100% cotton fleece and a 100% cotton soaker pad in the middle.
I can also customize it to be a prefold diaper cloth! I can insert more soaker pads, even a hemp to make it more absorbent. Let me know. I'll be uploading more prints that I have. But here is the one that is currently up on Etsy
So today I lost my job. Joy of all joys. But that means I can be home with my boy more until I can find a replacement job. In the meantime I want to start potty training Oliver. This should be lots of fun, and hopefully will get me to post more! This week I'm also off from school, so I have tons of time on my hands.
I've just ordered Blueberry Cloth Trainers and Diapeze Traineze. I'm super excited to get both. The Traineze wont be done for another 3 weeks because she is a work at home mom and is quite popular. She can also have her print anything on PUL. I want to try it out sometime! You should check her our on Facebook. I love how she has a discussion every night where we can ask any question and get responses back from other CDing mom's. It's great and has helped me out a lot. Oh I should also mention she uses measurements, not just weight! Great for our large bummed babies!
So I think tomorrow will be spent cleaning and starting to potty train little O. In the mean time here are some of Blueberry's Trainer colors and prints. I'm getting the stripes and blue ones. . .I think. I should find out. Not that it matters. Like blue one's hold in more than the stripes!
Ok so as previously posted before, they stopped working well with Oliver. I'm sure it was because he was 30 pounds but looked like he was 50. So much chub. Well now that he is thinning out, I have decided to try them again. I love the blackbird print to much. I know, silly reason. But hey, that's me. So I placed the order two days ago and am waiting for some to come! I'm super excited! Especially since I know more about cloth and the normal Thirsties worked so well for us. Cross our fingers it will be here on Monday!
