Newborn Cloth Diaper Event Ends

Thank you all for a wonderful Celebration!  

I loved learning more from the other Moms over at

FTM,

Just Add Cloth, 

Mommy's Favorite Things 

and Mama's Baby Cupcakes.  

Some of the reviews and giveaways at the other blogs are filtering over into the next month.

So stop by and check them out!

Thank you to everyone who sponsored, participated and joined us in reading this month.  And in Trophy Wife tradition....here is a hint to the next OTTW giveaway.  It will post next week!  If you stop by Facebook and answer this question correctly with either the company or the product...you'll get an extra entry into the giveaway.

How many of you love Mama and her all natural Angel products?

Mother-ease Wizard Uno Review

We were sent from Mother-ease Cloth Diapers the Wizard Uno AIO cloth diaper in size extra small to use.  I love how the innovative design makes it the easiest AIO to wash and dry.

The insert is sewn into the interior of the diaper like other AIOs.  What makes it different is that the interior is sewn to the outer shell on the top and bottom; leaving the sides open.  This allows for the interior to get washed and dried from both sides, making it easier to clean and quicker to dry.  I also liked how this also made a dual gusset type of protection.

We first used it on Peanut when she was 8 lbs.  It has a scoop in the front that allows for the diaper to sit down below the belly button.  The interior fit snug around her legs even though the outer shell was a little loose around the leg openings.  I was sure that it would leak like the others did because of the gap, but it didn't.  I even kept it on her for 3 hours.  She had a large soupy breast milk poo and it never leaked.  I was so impressed.  I know that we would have been able to use this diaper at 6 lbs even though the outer shell didn't fit snug around her legs.

We continued to use it on her at 12 lbs and it was fitting wonderfully at that point.  It never left a red mark and it was trim underneath her clothes.  It never stained and was very easy to wash.  I still use it on her at 14 lbs.  The rise is a little short, but it still fits well around the waist and legs.  This is one of the longest lasting diapers in our newborn stash!

I was very impressed by the Mothers Ease Cloth Diapers Wizard Uno diaper.  It is one of my favorite AIO diapers.  It comes in multiple sizes too, so you can use the style all the way to potty training.  The only thing that I would add to it is some girly colors and prints too.

FuzziBunz Perfect Size Giveaway! - CLOSED

Greenie Beanie Bottoms is a great little online store.  It has all your needs from cloth diapering babies to Mama things.  I was surprised that I just found this great little store.  I was told about it from my blogger friend, Just Add Cloth.

They have generously offered one lucky OTTW reader the chance to win a FuzziBunz Perfect Size diaper in their choice of available color and size.  Here is my review of FuzziBunz Perfect Size Small.

Greenie Beanie Bottoms

Is it worth it?

When I was looking for newborn cloth diaper choices, I had to ask myself what kind of cloth diaper I wanted to start with.  As I asked for advice, most people kept telling me to just use prefolds and covers because it was the cheapest way to go.  What about the easiest?  Isn't having sleepless nights and a brand new baby hard enough?  I kept hearing from people that they were worried about the cost of using AIO or Pocket newborn sized diapers.  So, is it really worth it?

Little Man at 4 weeks.

I would have to say yes.  The added cost of AIO and Pocket newborn sized diapers is worth it...as long as you get what you need.  The reason it is worth it is because they are so easy to use.  Those middle of the night diaper changes can be done practically in your sleep.  You don't have to worry about folding, tucking, pinning or remembering the cover.  You can get help from others without too much fuss.  Your husband, mother, nurses, or whoever else is around to help won't mind the simple put on and snap (or velcro) shut the diaper....one step, just like a disposable.  There is no intimidation like with prefolds and covers.

Little Man at 6 weeks.

The diapers that I loved the most from day one were the Gro-Via.  They fit perfectly, didn't leak and had a snap down feature in the front that protected the umbilical cord for the first week.  I just wish that they would have lasted longer!  My second favorites were the Bumcessories and Wizard Uno.  They worked from day one.  They were also the easiest to clean.  The diapers that lasted the longest for us were the Bumcessories, Little Smartis, Wizard Uno and FuzziBunz Perfect Size Small.

The diapers are only used for a short time.  Some go for 8 weeks, others can last 12 weeks.  Some you can't use until 2-4 weeks, some you can start right away.  But, because of this...the diapers are not usually worn out after they are done being used.  So, the reason why I think that AIO and Pocket newborn diapers are worth it is because you can pass them on!  You can sell your diapers for a reasonable price and I'd expect that if they were well cared for, you could get 65-80% of what you paid for them.  Or, if you had a friend or two that are expecting a few months before or after you, you could buy a stash together and split the cost!  You can also find some really great rental programs for newborn cloth diapers.  Some of them have just one type of diaper, others have multiple different brands and styles to use so that you can find the right diaper for you.  The rental programs are great because you use the diapers as long as you need them, then you send them back.  It's a fraction of the cost of having a full stash and you don't have to deal with the leftover diapers when you're done using them.

Now, I'm not saying that prefolds and covers are not a good choice.  You could always have half a stash of prefolds and half of AIOs.  You could also choose to just use prefolds and covers too.  Prefolds and covers are easier to wash for the most part and they are more economical.  They can also be intimidating to use because of the extra steps.  I have to admit that I haven't given prefolds and covers a good try, but I am hoping to get the opportunity to soon.

The other side of the coin is to go with one size diapers.  That is what we did with Little Man.  This is the most economical choice of all.  The biggest downsize is that they are so bulky on a little one.  You have to use a size larger clothing to accommodate all the extra fluff.  Plus, many of them are not easy to use on a baby before 6 weeks.  That is where newborn sized diapers come into play....to bridge the gap.

I'd love to hear about what choice you make!

FuzziBunz Perfect Size Review

FuzziBunz have always been one of my favorite brands to use.  Their OneSize diapers were the first cloth diapers that I purchased.  I was sent a FuzziBunz Perfect Size diaper in Small.  It is a pocket style diaper with snaps.  Since we were anticipating a regular sized (possibly 8 lbs) baby, they sent us the small instead of the extra small to try on her.

We started using them on her when she hit 8 lbs.  They just looked a little too big before that point.  When we started using them, they were very high in rise.  They went up to the bottom of her rib cage!  But, they fit very well around the waist and the legs!  I really loved how well it fit on her.  It wasn't bulky like the FuzziBunz onesize was.  It seemed pretty comfortable.

Like all my experiences with FuzziBunz, there were no leaks.  They were very easy to wash and dry.  They fit wonderfully.  What I really love about having the small size is that we are still using it.  Even though the rise was really high to start, it works perfectly now.  The small size diaper worked well at 8 lbs, 21 inches and is still going at approximately 13 lbs, 26 inches.



**Thank you to FuzziBunz for providing me with a small perfect size diaper.  All opinions are my own based on my personal interaction with the product.  I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.  All pictures used are property of OTTW.  Use of any information or pictures is strictly prohibited without consent from OTTW.**

Little Smarti Smartipants Review

As most of you know, I am a big fan of SmartiPants onesize diapers.  I love working with SmartiPants.  Their designs are so unique and their quality is always top notch.  They sent me a Little Smarti to try out with Peanut.  Little Smartis are made specifically for newborn babies.  They are different from the regular SmartiPants because they are sized for newborns.  They are also an All In One (AIO) diaper, meaning that they have a waterproof cover sewn to the microterry inner and they are stuffed with an insert that is not removable.  They are closed with Velcro instead of snaps.

Peanut first wore this diaper at 6 lbs 10 oz.  It fit very well around the waist, but like most of the newborn diapers we tried, there was a little gaping around the legs.  Luckily though, this gap didn't cause too much of a problem because the absorbent core soaked up everything and there were no leaks.  I liked how the waist fit comfortably.  Even though it was up over her umbilical cord, it was soft enough to not cause irritation.  I also liked how easy this was for other people to use.  Just like a disposable; no inside to stuff or snaps to adjust.

At 8 lbs, there was still plenty of room left to grow into these diapers.  I accidentally forgot to change her after one feeding and she was in this diaper for 2.5 hours.  It was stuffed when I went to change it!  There was a little wetness around the leg openings of her onesie, but it held in all of the solids...and for a breastfed baby, that's quite the accomplishment for any diaper!  It was fitting very well around the legs and still fastened tight around the waist.

The Little Smarti was the last diaper that we were able to use out of our Newborn specific sized diapers.  It fit well up to 12 lbs and 23 inches.  The rise was starting to get short, but she is a very long baby.  I really loved how easy it was to launder too.  It never stained, everything washed out of it easily.  It also dried just as fast as my empty pocket diapers.  This diaper is probably the easiest to use and wash that I've found.  I guess there's a reason why SmartiPants diapers already has the Trophy Wife's Seal of Approval!

Check out Smartipants Diapers right now.  They are having a great sale!

Teene Comforts Review

Teene Comforts is a WHAM that makes many great cloth diapering products.  She makes the cutest longies and I really love her diaper and trainer designs.

The cloth diapers she makes are called "Chloe's Toes".  They are designed by Catherine Decker of Cloe's Toes Boutique.  I love the brief style and the fact that they snap too.  They are an All-In-One (AIO) cloth diaper.  They are made with a PUL cover and microfiber on the inside.  They are stuffed with a layer of flannel and three layers of hemp fleece.  The flannel helps the hemp to absorb.  I would suggest washing at least 3-4 times before use to make sure that the hemp has been stripped of it's natural oils to increase absorbency.  They are made to be durable and long lasting.  I'm sure that they could be used again for other babies too.

Premie size in Butterfly and
Newborn size in Lavender

Inside

Outside

When I received these, I thought that they would be my most favorite to use.  Peanut's very first cloth diaper was the Butterfly Preemie.  She was 6 lbs and 20 inches.

They fit her very well around the belly.  The inside stuffing was bulky and stiff, which made it difficult to tighten the waist enough to fit around her skinny legs.  There were big gaps around the legs.  This caused them to leak.  I wasn't sure at the time if they just weren't prepped enough and were repelling or if the large gap in the legs caused the leaks.  I thought that once her legs chubbed up a bit that they would fit better.  But, this was a preemie size and I've never seen a preemie with chubby legs.  At that time, I would suggest to change them so that the leg openings have a more stretchy elastic and have smaller openings.

These pictures were taken at 9 lbs and 23 inches.  Her legs were getting more chubby, but she was getting very tall too.  We were using both the Preemie and the Newborn sizes at this point.

In the Butterfly Preemie, the gaps were better but still there.  I couldn't tighten the waist enough to make the leg openings smaller because of the stuffing.  At this time, I thought that the stuffing could be too long for the inside.  If it were shorter, I could have tightened the waist, which would have made the leg openings smaller.  I had the same problem with the Lavender Newborn.  I could see that the inside stuffing was too thick and keeping the leg openings from laying against her legs.

I still really love the design and shape of the diapers.  Maybe a second gusset or a stretchier elastic around the legs could solve the problem.  I really love the scoop in the front.  It never irritated her tiny belly button.  They were very easy to use when she was first born because there was no worry about rubbing her umbilical cord area.  I know that if Peanut was like her big brother or sister, she would have had no problems at all with these leaking.  They both had very chubby legs at one week old.

I am still very impressed with Teene Comforts.  I would suggest their cloth diapers for older or chubby babies.  They are made to be very durable and very absorbent.  The quality of how the diapers were made is exceptional.  She also makes wool longies and skirties that look amazing.  If you like to use wool, I would send you her way!  I am also very interested in trying her trainers with Little Man in a few more months.  They have a great design for toddlers and also made to be absorbent and durable too.



**Thank you to Teene Comforts for providing me with two cloth diapers for this review.  I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion. The opinions in this review are mine alone and were formed from my experience with this product. My personal experience and opinions of this product may differ from your own.  All information provided cannot be copied or reused without credit. Use of photos without consent is strictly prohibited.**

Wee Little Changes Review and Giveaway! - CLOSED

Wee Little Changes is one of my favorite online stores.  They were an integral part of my cloth diapering experience.  When I first started thinking about using cloth diapers when I was pregnant with Little Man, I got most of my information from their blog.  When we decided that we were going to use FuzziBunz Onesize diapers, they were where I found the best deal too!



They have great Newborn Diaper Rental packages.  Babies are only that small for a short time, so sometimes it can be very difficult to justify spending so much money to buy diapers that you'll only use for 6 weeks.  Their rental packages include 24 of your choice of FuzziBunz XS, Bumgenius XS or GroViz Newborn diapers to be used for 90 days and you get a $40 coupon when they are returned!

I love how easy their site is to navigate.  Everything is all laid out and organized.  I also love that they have free shipping and they usually have a discount code for different events and holidays.  They also have a really great rewards program.  There are a ton of different ways to earn 'points' that you can redeem for products or a discount on your next order.  They host some great giveaways on their own blog too.

One thing that stands out about them is how easy they are to work with.  Their customer service is absolutely amazing.  I was able to get copies of my original sales order from them almost a year after my purchase.  Any questions that I've had have been answered in a timely manner.  They are so great about communicating with their customers.

Wee Little Changes provided me with a GroVia newborn AIO diaper to review for this event.  I will be posting that review later on.  They are also offering a lucky reader a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to their online store!

Decisions in diapering

There are many decisions that have to be made when you are anticipating the arrival of your baby.  One of those decisions is how to diaper your baby.  When I had to make this choice, I sat down and thought about what was important to me and what my needs were.  There are so many choices to make when it comes to diapering your newborn.  You can use disposables full time.  You can also decide to cloth diaper full time.  There are also many different ways in between too.

If you decide to cloth diaper full time, I would suggest to have your stash prepped and ready to use by Week 32 of your pregnancy.  That way everything is ready for your little one to make their debut.  Also check with your doctor or your hospital to see if they will allow you to use cloth diapers in the hospital (I will talk more about that later).  Some people decide that they will use disposables those first few days until the meconium stools are done; those are the first few stools that a newborn has that are dark and thick.  If you decide to cloth diaper through that time, I would also suggest using some flannel or disposable liners in your cloth diapers to avoid staining.  Some people only use cloth diapers during the day and disposables at night.  By part time diapering, you don't need as big of a stash and you aren't spending as much money on disposables.

So, what you need to decide is what is most important to you.  This is what I asked myself when making this decision:
Why do I want to use cloth?  Is it to save money?  Is it to be more "green"?  Is it to protect my child from chemicals and rashes?  Maybe a combination of all of these reasons....
Why do I want to use disposables?  Is it for convenience?  Is it because I think cloth will be harder?  Is it because my daycare says I have to?  Is it because that's 'the norm'?

There are many more variables and questions to ask.  If you are unsure of what you want to do, I encourage you to give both a try.

Welcome to the Big Event!

Happy New Year to you all!  To celebrate the year to come, I am inviting you all to join me all month long for a big celebration of newborn babies and newborn cloth diapering.  I have invited some really amazing bloggers to join in on the fun, so make sure that you are checking in with them too.  We all will be talking about cloth diapering a newborn baby.  We all have had our newborns or are just about to have a newborn.  Every week you will find some great information about newborn cloth diapering and you will also get a chance to read reviews about some amazing newborn cloth diapering products.  There will also be fun giveaways on each blog.  There are easy links to everyone on my sidebar.  Also, check out my Event Tab to see links to my sponsors too.

May the next year bring you much joy and prosperity!

Ringing in the New Year

I will be taking some time from now until January 1st, 2012 to catch up with family and to do some finishing touches for the BIG Event coming the month of January.  Look for our last Giveaway of 2011 coming on Thursday.  Anyone who posts the Event Button on their blog or website before January 1st, 2012 will get 5 extra entries into all of the Giveaways on OTTW during the event.  Just leave a comment below with a link to where I can find it.

I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season.  May the New Year bring peace and joy to you all.

Getting your new stash ready!

I am at 38 weeks now and the nesting phase has come and gone.  We are officially to the 'Get this baby out of me' phase.  While trying to be patient for Peanut to make a Grand Debut, I have gotten our new stash of Newborn Diapers all ready to go.  Prepping brand new cloth diapers can be easy.  I am excited to share with you how I do it.

The first thing that I do is learn more about the brand of diaper.  Most microfiber pocket diapers can all be prepped and washed the same, but there are little variations that can make prepping them different.  Some use different types of waterproof fabric (PUL or TPU), or a different interior than microfiber.  I always check to see if is a specific way that the brand suggests to prep their diapers for first use.

To prep new cloth diapers that don't have specific instructions, I just do a hot wash cycle on heavy with an extra rinse.  I love to use Dropps for my detergent.  I think it does a very thorough job of getting any residual shipping chemicals off of the diapers. Then I dry them in the dryer on low to help set the laminated fabric.

There are exceptions to this.  Cloth diapers that have hemp or bamboo need to be prepped by themselves.  This is because there are natural oils in these fabrics that will stick to your microfiber and cause repelling.  Once prepped though, they can be washed with everything else because the oils will be gone.

Prepping hemp and bamboo diapers is the same process as other diapers.  The one difference is that you need to put them through at least 3 wash cycles.  When I only have a couple of these diapers (not enough for a small load), I just put them in with Little Man's clothes or baby blankets.  I make sure that they make it through 3 or 4 different loads with the Dropps detergent.  If you have hemp or bamboo inserts that have no snaps, you can boil these for 5 minutes in a pot on the stove in plain water.  This will release all the oils too.  I don't suggest doing this with the diaper shells though.

You can also do an overnight soak on your diapers if you want to make sure that they have a really deep clean too.  When it comes to diapers, I don't think that you can over wash them.

I also am very proud to announce a Big Event that is coming up in January!

The Newborn Cloth Diaper Celebration!!

I am so excited to get a chance to tell you all about the great newborn diapers that I will be using from Day One with Peanut.  I have invited some really amazing fluffy bloggers to join in the fun.  We will be talking about cloth diapering newborns and other great information.  We will also be sharing some great reviews (and Giveaways!!) for some pretty amazing sponsors.  These are not just limited to Newborn diapers; we will also be showcasing some one size diapers and accessories too.  So don't worry if you don't have a Newborn anymore, we don't want to leave anyone out.

Keep an eye out for more information.  Feel free to grab the Event button so everyone can join in the fun too!

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