I'll admit it... I went a little nuts on black friday this year. I stayed up until midnight stalking diaper retailers and my favorite detergent, Rockin' Green.
The best part? I wasn't alone.
Thousands of us crunchy mommies (and daddies, to be fair) sat awake at our computers waiting for the turn of the hour to descend upon the websites. The result? EPIC CRASH. Sites overloaded and angry tech support workers were forced to stay up all night fixing websites.
I have to wonder if some of these tech guys were wondering why the heck everyone was so excited about diapers and detergent.
Was it worth it? Absolutely! I got my black friday fluff in the mail a few days ago. It took two full loads to wash it all. We are almost set for diapering until Cora potty-learns! Of course, that doesn't mean I'll be finished buying diapers...
What does this mean for you? Reviews are coming your way! Here's what will be reviewed in the coming days and weeks:
BabyKicks JoeyBunz hemp inserts (size small and large)
BumEssentials Bumbino
bumGenius 3.0 Deluxe AIO (medium)
bumGenius 4.0 Artist Series pocket
bumGenius Elemental AIO
Cloth-eez organic prefolds (Green Mountain Diapers, red-edge)
Crankypants longies size 6-12 months
Ecobum cover and prefold
Flip system with disposable inserts
Green Mountain Diapers 3-layer sherpa doublers
Kissaluvs size 1 fitted
Kiwi Pie one-size fitted
Rockin' Green Funk Rock ammonia bouncer
Thirsties Duo diaper
Thirsties Duo insert size 2
Thirsties Duo Wrap size 2 with snaps
Weehuggers bamboo insert
Workhorse Fitteds (Green Mountain Diapers, size small and medium a.k.a. yellow-edge and red-edge)
...told you I went a little overboard! I'm still lusting after some organic bamboo fleece fitteds and snapless-multis from sustainablebabyish. We'll see if I end up making a purchase :)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Going 'poo free
Never heard of it? I hadn't either until I happened across the term on my favorite green parenting board and thought, "What the heck? Is that about making babies not poop? That sounds horrible!" Thankfully, I was quickly set straight.
For those who don't know, the 'poo in 'poo free is shampoo. The idea is to stop using shampoo to clean your hair, because it strips out many natural oils and causes an overproduction as your scalp tries to replenish them. I'd heard of something similar, using conditioner to wash your hair, but had brushed it off as "weird." But this time I figured that if we're trying this green thing we should give it a shot, so a month or so ago my husband and I started using baking soda and vinegar to wash our hair.
It sounds like a chemistry experiment. Mix 1 tbsp of baking soda with one cup of water, dump over your hair and massage. Leave it for a minute or so, then rinse well. Repeat with 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of water. Simple, right?
NOT!
We're currently in the detox stage of going 'poo free. Apparently it doesn't happen for everyone, but some of us are just lucky enough that way. When your hair is detoxing, your scalp creates tons of extra oil that just build up and looks nasty, and all you can do is wait for your scalp to take the hint that it needs to stop that crap. It sucks.
So thanks to my desire to care for my hair in a greener way, I will be sporting a ponytail for the next month or so. Let's hope this is all over with quickly!
Interested in trying it yourself? Check out the guidelines here at Babyslime.
For those who don't know, the 'poo in 'poo free is shampoo. The idea is to stop using shampoo to clean your hair, because it strips out many natural oils and causes an overproduction as your scalp tries to replenish them. I'd heard of something similar, using conditioner to wash your hair, but had brushed it off as "weird." But this time I figured that if we're trying this green thing we should give it a shot, so a month or so ago my husband and I started using baking soda and vinegar to wash our hair.
It sounds like a chemistry experiment. Mix 1 tbsp of baking soda with one cup of water, dump over your hair and massage. Leave it for a minute or so, then rinse well. Repeat with 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of water. Simple, right?
NOT!
We're currently in the detox stage of going 'poo free. Apparently it doesn't happen for everyone, but some of us are just lucky enough that way. When your hair is detoxing, your scalp creates tons of extra oil that just build up and looks nasty, and all you can do is wait for your scalp to take the hint that it needs to stop that crap. It sucks.
So thanks to my desire to care for my hair in a greener way, I will be sporting a ponytail for the next month or so. Let's hope this is all over with quickly!
Interested in trying it yourself? Check out the guidelines here at Babyslime.
Monday, November 22, 2010
GEN-Y Universal cloth diaper cover review
I got my GEN-Y covers in the mail 2 days ago, and since the timing was off a bit, I had to wait a day to wash them. The company's website recommended washing the covers once in hot water to prevent the colors from bleeding in the regular diaper laundry, so I threw them in for a hot wash with my towels. I was very excited to try these covers, since I've read tons of rave reviews online! This was also the first diaper that my husband was just as excited about as I was... he is in love with the Oh, Gnome print. :)
These diapers have a hefty feel to them, like the Weehuggers. They also have a separate PUL inner layer and cotton outer, and the prints are adorable! I have to give GEN-Y some mad props for having the most awesome prints available in popular diaper covers. The inner PUL is exposed, which I like for the ease of wiping it down and reusing after a pee explosion (if it's poop, it still goes in the wash). The elastic on these seems to be a bit stiffer than I'm used to, but it may just be that it's heavier-duty than my other covers. The prints I ordered all have a colored elastic cover on the gussets, which is a feature I appreciate since it won't show stains as easily. The flaps inside are very similar to the Weehuggers flaps in that they can hold a trifolded prefold or other insert in place, and are very nice and soft up next to baby's skin. They're also 100% cotton, which we appreciate since Cora has some super-sensitive skin.
As for the fit, I found myself unfortunately underwhelmed. This cover seems much smaller than both the Weehuggers size 1 and Thirsties Duo size 1, even though they all claim to fit to around 18 pounds. I had a more difficult time than usual fitting my prefold into the cover. A GMD yellow-edge prefold just barely fits with a lot of maneuvering... these same prefolds fit easily in my Weehuggers and Thirsties! The side-snapping closure is something I'll have to get used to. I'm sure it's not actually more difficult than normal snaps, but in my inexperience I have had a seriously difficult time getting my wiggly baby snapped into these covers! I love that I can adjust the waist and thighs on this cover separately, making for a better fit on my skinny babe with some seriously chunky thighs. My main problem with this diaper cover is the rise, which seems to be a lot shorter than my other covers with the same weight range. These claim to have a bigger rise than the Weehuggers by an inch, but to be honest, I'm not seeing it! This cover just looks a bit funny on my baby... it has an odd front bulge that I'm not used to seeing. So far we haven't had any issues with wicking or leaking, but this cover has yet to endure the poop test... however, I think it will do just fine!
All in all, I'll admit I was a bit disappointed in this cover. Don't get me wrong, it works wonderfully... but the rise and look are a bit strange on Cora. I will absolutely keep using this cover and hope it grows on me, since the fabrics are just too cute not to!
Baby's dimensions at time of review:
weight - 14.5 lbs
length - 27 in
build - long and skinny, large thighs
These diapers have a hefty feel to them, like the Weehuggers. They also have a separate PUL inner layer and cotton outer, and the prints are adorable! I have to give GEN-Y some mad props for having the most awesome prints available in popular diaper covers. The inner PUL is exposed, which I like for the ease of wiping it down and reusing after a pee explosion (if it's poop, it still goes in the wash). The elastic on these seems to be a bit stiffer than I'm used to, but it may just be that it's heavier-duty than my other covers. The prints I ordered all have a colored elastic cover on the gussets, which is a feature I appreciate since it won't show stains as easily. The flaps inside are very similar to the Weehuggers flaps in that they can hold a trifolded prefold or other insert in place, and are very nice and soft up next to baby's skin. They're also 100% cotton, which we appreciate since Cora has some super-sensitive skin.
As for the fit, I found myself unfortunately underwhelmed. This cover seems much smaller than both the Weehuggers size 1 and Thirsties Duo size 1, even though they all claim to fit to around 18 pounds. I had a more difficult time than usual fitting my prefold into the cover. A GMD yellow-edge prefold just barely fits with a lot of maneuvering... these same prefolds fit easily in my Weehuggers and Thirsties! The side-snapping closure is something I'll have to get used to. I'm sure it's not actually more difficult than normal snaps, but in my inexperience I have had a seriously difficult time getting my wiggly baby snapped into these covers! I love that I can adjust the waist and thighs on this cover separately, making for a better fit on my skinny babe with some seriously chunky thighs. My main problem with this diaper cover is the rise, which seems to be a lot shorter than my other covers with the same weight range. These claim to have a bigger rise than the Weehuggers by an inch, but to be honest, I'm not seeing it! This cover just looks a bit funny on my baby... it has an odd front bulge that I'm not used to seeing. So far we haven't had any issues with wicking or leaking, but this cover has yet to endure the poop test... however, I think it will do just fine!
All in all, I'll admit I was a bit disappointed in this cover. Don't get me wrong, it works wonderfully... but the rise and look are a bit strange on Cora. I will absolutely keep using this cover and hope it grows on me, since the fabrics are just too cute not to!
Baby's dimensions at time of review:
weight - 14.5 lbs
length - 27 in
build - long and skinny, large thighs
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Weehuggers cloth diaper cover review
I recieved my Weehuggers cover in the mail just 3 days after ordering it... pretty good shipping turnover! Shipping was hefty compared to some other diaper brands (over $5 for one cover), so in the future I may order these covers from a retailer as part of a larger order to save a bit on shipping. I was very excited to try it, and threw it in the wash right away to get it ready to go.
Just holding this cover, if feels like it will last quite a while. As much as I love my Thirsties Duos, I always worry that they'll wear quickly because of how thin the PUL fabric seems... definitely not a problem with the Weehuggers! These covers have a separate inner PUL and outer cotton print layer, like the GEN-Y covers. I also love that the fabric covering the elastic on the gussets is a dark color, so it won't show every single poop stain like the white fabric on the gussets of my Thirsties do. The Roundabout pattern is vibrant, cute, and gender-neutral, an essential for us since we plan to use these covers for future children. Moving inside, the "stay-put" flaps are very soft on the outside, so nice up against baby's bottom. I love that I can tuck my trifolded prefold under these flaps without worrying about wicking, unlike the Thirsties.The inner (under the flaps and in the rest of the cover) is wipeable, something that I look for in my covers because I like being able to wipe them down and reuse if a little pee escapes the insert.
Now on to the fit on baby! A trifolded yellow-edge GMD prefold fit perfectly in these with the rise unsnapped. It took a little fiddling to get the prefold to lay flat and where I wanted it, but I expect this with any cover. I ordered the snap version rather than the adorable mitten-shaped hook and loop; I like not having to worry about laundry tabs coming undone and ruining my other diapers. The snaps were about as difficult to snap as any other snap closure cover on a wiggly baby. I like that the top snap comes in further than the bottom one, as this makes for a great fit on my long, skinny girl with chunky thighs. This cover fits her like a DREAM! I worried that the heavier-duty elastic on the gussets would leave even nastier red marks on her thighs than the Thirsties, but found myself pleasantly surprised that the leg openings are wider in the Weehuggers. No nasty red marks on my baby! After a bad experience with an Ecobum cover I worried that this cover might leak because of the extra room, but thus far we haven't had a problem.
All in all, I love this cover! It's cute, feels sturdy, has all the features I love and fits my girl perfectly. I could definitely stand to have an entire stash of these!
Baby's dimensions at time of review:
weight - 14.5 lbs
length - 27 in
build - long and skinny, large thighs
I've been a bad, bad girl...
I did a bad thing a few nights ago: I let myself indulge in some fluffy retail therapy. I ended up ordering a few Workhorse fitteds and sherpa doublers from my beloved Green Mountain Diapers (GMD), some GEN-Y Universal and Classic covers, and a Weehuggers snap cover.
The good news is that this means reviews! I'll be reviewing each product as they come in and are washed/prepped and put into use. Come on USPS, I want my fluffy mail already!
The good news is that this means reviews! I'll be reviewing each product as they come in and are washed/prepped and put into use. Come on USPS, I want my fluffy mail already!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Introduction: the long and short of it
Short version:
Hi, I'm Barucha. I'm 23 years old, married, and have a 4 1/2 month old daughter. I'm kind of crunchy. I want be be crunchier. I started a blog about trying to create a greener life for my family.
Long version:
Hey everybody, my name is Barucha. I'm 23 years old and have been married to my best friend since June 2009. Last October we got a surprise: my IUD failed and I was pregnant! Our little surprise came into the world in June 2010, a little over a year after our wedding. I'd always been interested in living a greener life, but for some reason bringing a child into the world brought that desire from passing fancy to a priority.
I started researching cloth diapers during my first trimester. It was overwhelming; why couldn't someone just tell me what was the best cloth diaper? The more I found out the more I wanted to know, and I was anxious to try all the different diapers on my own baby. I initially won my husband over with the promise of saving thousands of dollars, but in the end he's become just as obsessed with them as I am. My husband Matthew and I attended a swap at a local cloth diaper boutique and bought a variety of used diapers, and filled the holes in our stash with new diapers and accessories. I waited anxiously for our baby to arrive.
I filled the rest of my time with research on breastfeeding, babywearing, cosleeping, and all manner of "crunchy" parenting choices. I switched my prenatal care appointments from an OB-GYN to a midwife in hopes of having a natural labor and delivery. Really, I had no idea what I was in for. I had a difficult labor that ended in a c-section. I'm not happy about that fact, but in the end my little Cora made it into the world safe. I'd love to have a VBAC... we'll see how that goes.
In the insane weeks that followed Cora's birth I was really just treading water. We ended up moving 300 miles for a job. We found out about and learned to deal with a cow's milk and soy protein intolerance. Thank goodness breastfeeding came easily... I might have gone insane!
In the end, parenthood has been nothing like I expected. No, I can't explain what I mean by that. If you're planning to have kids you'll understand what I mean soon enough. It took me three months to feel some sense of normalcy in my life again, and when I did, my desire to live a greener life kicked back in full-force.
I asked my husband what he thought about family cloth, and to my surprise, he was fine with it. We switched, and when that went well I was able to convince him to make the jump to unpaper towels and cloth napkins. I learned to make my own cleaning products. We've even recently ventured into going 'poo-free. It seems like we've made so many changes, but I want to keep this ball rolling.
That's why I started this blog. Here I'll blog about any and all aspects of bringing our little family towards a greener existence. That may include recipes, how-to's, product (and especially diaper) reviews, and general info. There will probably also be a hefty dose of me just chatting about life.
So who's ready to get started?
Hi, I'm Barucha. I'm 23 years old, married, and have a 4 1/2 month old daughter. I'm kind of crunchy. I want be be crunchier. I started a blog about trying to create a greener life for my family.
Long version:
Hey everybody, my name is Barucha. I'm 23 years old and have been married to my best friend since June 2009. Last October we got a surprise: my IUD failed and I was pregnant! Our little surprise came into the world in June 2010, a little over a year after our wedding. I'd always been interested in living a greener life, but for some reason bringing a child into the world brought that desire from passing fancy to a priority.
I started researching cloth diapers during my first trimester. It was overwhelming; why couldn't someone just tell me what was the best cloth diaper? The more I found out the more I wanted to know, and I was anxious to try all the different diapers on my own baby. I initially won my husband over with the promise of saving thousands of dollars, but in the end he's become just as obsessed with them as I am. My husband Matthew and I attended a swap at a local cloth diaper boutique and bought a variety of used diapers, and filled the holes in our stash with new diapers and accessories. I waited anxiously for our baby to arrive.
I filled the rest of my time with research on breastfeeding, babywearing, cosleeping, and all manner of "crunchy" parenting choices. I switched my prenatal care appointments from an OB-GYN to a midwife in hopes of having a natural labor and delivery. Really, I had no idea what I was in for. I had a difficult labor that ended in a c-section. I'm not happy about that fact, but in the end my little Cora made it into the world safe. I'd love to have a VBAC... we'll see how that goes.
In the insane weeks that followed Cora's birth I was really just treading water. We ended up moving 300 miles for a job. We found out about and learned to deal with a cow's milk and soy protein intolerance. Thank goodness breastfeeding came easily... I might have gone insane!
In the end, parenthood has been nothing like I expected. No, I can't explain what I mean by that. If you're planning to have kids you'll understand what I mean soon enough. It took me three months to feel some sense of normalcy in my life again, and when I did, my desire to live a greener life kicked back in full-force.
I asked my husband what he thought about family cloth, and to my surprise, he was fine with it. We switched, and when that went well I was able to convince him to make the jump to unpaper towels and cloth napkins. I learned to make my own cleaning products. We've even recently ventured into going 'poo-free. It seems like we've made so many changes, but I want to keep this ball rolling.
That's why I started this blog. Here I'll blog about any and all aspects of bringing our little family towards a greener existence. That may include recipes, how-to's, product (and especially diaper) reviews, and general info. There will probably also be a hefty dose of me just chatting about life.
So who's ready to get started?
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