Winners!! Weehugger Review and GIVEAWAY!! -- closed

This giveaway is closed.

The winners of the Weehuggers are Shyana Jacquess and Jill Davidson!!  Congrats!  We will contact you about how to redeem your prize.

Winner, Shyana Jacquess (from Ashley's blog):

Winner #2 (from my blog) is Jill Davidson!

Yes, I said giveaway!!  I'll get to that in a moment...

E showing off his Weehuggers, while his friend Ry plays:)

I recently purchased a Weehuggers cover (size 2) in the cutest owl print! This cover is very versatile, and can be used with many different soakers. E has worn it over a Flip stay dry insert, a hemp/bamboo gFlapper, a Thirsties Duo Fab Fitted (overnight diaper), and a Tiny Tush contour diaper. It is very trim over all of these, with the exception of his overnight diaper.

E playing  drumming with his friends Z and Ry!

In the many times he has worn this cover over the insert of my choosing, it has not leaked once! I like the double leg gussets, that contain the messiest of poo's. The double row of snaps gives it a great fit! If you choose the velcro closure, you would get an even better fit! I did need to change the rise setting, depending on which insert he wore underneath (varying trimness). My favorite combo is the Weehugger cover and a gFlapper. Very trim, yet extremely absorbant.  It was also extremely trim over the Tiny Tush contour diaper!! 

I have heard of some people having wicking troubles with the Weehuggers. But no matter what insert E was wearing, and no matter how long he wore it, it never wicked. Not even close!

Follow this link to see what Ashley, author of Ashley D00dles all the days, has to say about Weehuggers.

This is the best picture we could get of the front of the Weehuggers.  It was challenging trying to get 3 playful boys to be still for 5 seconds!

Now, for the good part! Sharni, owner of the Nappy Shoppe, is giving away 1 Weehugger of your choice (in stock items only please)!! Also, Ashley and I are giving away 1 Weehugger size 2 in the Dot Matrix print!! So you have the chance to win 1 of 2 adorable Weehuggers!! This is only open to the US (sorry!).

Once Ashley and I each reach 150 followers on our blogs, we will draw the 2 winners on random.org!  The winners will be announced on our Facebook blog pages.

You must do these 3 things to be entered:
1.  Follow my blog. Leave a comment here.
2.  Follow Ashley's blog, Ashley D00dles all the days. Leave a comment on her blog, tell her I sent you.
3.  Like the Nappy Shoppe on Facebook. Leave a comment here that you did so with your facebook name.

1 Bonus Entry for each of the following:

• Like Ashley's blog fan page on Facebook. Leave a comment here with your facebook name.
• Like my blog fan page on Facebook. Leave a comment here with your facebook name.
• Follow @ashley_d00dle on Twitter and leave a comment here. 
• Tweet this once per day and leave the permalink for it on a comment. "@ashley_d00dle is giving away 2 weehuggers #clothdiapers with her friend check her blog to enter http://www.ashleyd00dle.blogspot.com/.

And for your viewing enjoyment..... the adorable video Weehuggers put together <3

For another cute video, visit Ashley's blog post to see our boys dancing and grooving in their Weehuggers!

Go Nuts!

I'm continuing my detergent review.  Here is how I am testing each detergent on cloth diapers:

I will test each detergent for 1 month, unless I start having build-up and/or any other issues before that time.  In between testings, I will strip all of the diapers in RLR Laundry Treatment so there is no residue of the former detergent. 

I have an older top loader, with normal water.  I have a large range of types and brands of diapers, as well as a mixture of natural and synthetic materials.  My normal wash routine is: Cold rinse.  Long hot wash plus detergent, followed by one cold rinse.  I typically wash every 3 days.

I first reviewed Tide Original Powder, since that is what I used for a year before testing different detergents.  In that review is also a mini-review of Tide Free & Gentle.

Detergent #2 that I tested was EcoNuts soap nuts.  From the EcoNuts website:

"Eco Nuts™ are an EXTREMELY effective natural wild-crafted detergent with absolutely NO manmade chemicals, toxins or artificial perfumes or fragrances. This natural detergent leaves your laundry marvelously clean and  fresh. Eco Nuts™ are mild enough for delicate fabrics, wool and silks.  Eco Nuts™ are gentle enough for baby clothes but strong enough for cloth diapers. The quick biodegradability of Eco Nuts also make it ideal to use if you are on a septic or gray water system. Eco Nuts™ are hypoallergenic and great for those with sensitive skin, eczema, and psoriasis....All Eco Nuts™ packaging is 100% compostable or 100% recyclable, and 100% plastic-free."

I used Eco Nuts for one month exactly.  I followed my normal wash routine, but just threw in the bag of soap nuts instead of regular detergent.  I will admit, I was skeptical at first.  I even decided to do a couple of loads on my clothes before trying them on the diapers.  With a positive wash experience on the clothes, I tried them on a small load of diapers.  I was amazed at how clean they smelled!! 

Eco Nuts provides 2 small bags to put 4-6 Eco Nuts in, just toss one of the bags in the machine, and wash.  That's it.  I did have to remember to find the bag before transferring the diapers to the dryer (or to be line dried, depending on the diapers), but that was not a big deal.

While the diapers were clean, Eco Nuts did not remove stains very well.  Nearly all of the inserts are now stained.  I know sunning would take care of this, but with the freezes we had in the month I tested the soap nuts, that is not practical this time of year.  Sharni, owner of the Nappy Shoppe, told me she prefers Eco Nuts in the summer time when it's easy to sun the diapers.  This week will actually be a perfect time to sun the diapers.  Spring appears to be coming early!

Overall, I do like the Eco Nuts.  I think they are a great idea for babies with sensitive skin!  However, in the last 2 loads, I don't think the diapers came out as clean as they had been.  I started noticing a very strong ammonia smell.  I do not believe it is from detergent build-up, since these are not exactly a regular detergent.   I think the diapers (especially the fitteds he wears at night, which are very thick) were just not getting very clean.  It mostly effected the thicker diapers (fitteds and AIO's), and the synthetic materials.  I did not notice ammonia stink in the natural fiber diapers and inserts.  I am in the process of stripping the diapers to move on to my next detergent.

I would consider using Eco Nuts again on the diapers, knowing that I would most likely need to strip once a month, in addition to sunning more often than I normally do.  I will definitely keep using it on my clothes, and the boys clothes.  

The next detergent I am testing is Country Save.  

Doodle Dypes Review



Riley loved this Mickey print!!!

 Before our big trip to California last year to visit my brother and sister-in-law, I just had to have a couple of Mickey Mouse diapers.  We were planning on spending 2 days at Disneyland, and I thought it would be cute for E to show his love for Mickey (even though he was only 6 months at the time).  I put an "ISO" (in search of) post up on a board on babycenter.com in hopes that someone somewhere could help me out.  I got a couple of response, including one for a super cute Mickey Mouse comic strip print made by a new company, Doodle Dypes. 



E's first Doodle Dype!

I bought it and loved it!  I even posted on my facebook page that I was in love with the diaper because of how cute it was!!  I know all of you fellow CD addicts understand that statement.

I soon wanted more Doodles.  I slowly bought more, even participated in a couple of co-ops.  Elijah received 4 Doodle Dypes as Christmas presents!  At one point, E had 18!!!  I sold a few of the older style (I'll get to that in a sec), since his cloth diaper stash is somewhat large, not all of the Doodles were being worn much.  Now he has 14.  I gave the Mickey Doodle to my pregnant sister-in-law, with the stipulation that if I wanted it back it was mine.  I couldn't bear to sell it, since it was the diaper that started it all, but the older style doesn't fit E as well now that he's getting bigger.  For me to have that many of a single brand says a lot!  I love a variety of CD's in E's stash, but love love love his Doodles!

E dancing in one of the Doodles he got for Christmas!

I will do this review for the newer style Doodle Dypes, since that is what is made now.  I will include some pics of E in older style Doodles, though.  Although the older style does still fit him okay, I prefer the fit of the newer style. 

Obviously, this was taken before Riley was potty trained.  I love this photo!!

Doodle Dypes makes mostly AI2's (all in two's -- meaning a waterproof shell with a snap in soaker, only intended for 1 use before washing).  Sandy, the WAHM (actually, grandmother!) behind Doodle Dypes, also makes fitteds, pockets, and Dynky Doodles (newborn dypes).  I have only ever used the AI2's, since I love them so much!  The AI2's are One Size diapers, with a fold down rise.  They fit babies approximately 8-35+ pounds, with a generous 18" rise. 



Folded down for a smaller rise.

 

Unfolded for a larger rise.



The elastic is super stretchy, and the wings have cross-over snaps for a great fit.  Doodle Dypes provides a large, ever growing selection of the most adorable fabrics!  This is one of the many reasons I love Doodles, is the large selection of cute boy prints!!  When ordering customs or co-op dypes, I had the hardest time selecting which fabrics I wanted, since they are all so dang cute!  She also chooses complimentary color snaps for each dype to make it look it's best. 

Snake style soaker makes it easy to customize absorbancy for your LO.

The inner of the waterproof shell of the AI2 is made of microchamois, which is oh-so-soft, yet helps prevent wicking.  The snake style soaker is made of all OBF (organic bamboo fleece), unless you specify that you want it topped with OBV (organic bamboo velour), CV (cotton velour), or Microchamois.  The great thing about the snake style soaker is that you can customize it to your child's needs.  For example, for my son, I fold it towards the front so it is most absorbant there.  But for a girl, you can fold it so it is most absorbant in the middle. 

Old styles.

Current Style.  The leg elastic ruffles, which helps prevent wicking.

The elastic is very stretchy for a great fit!

Doodle Dypes are incredibly absorbant!  E can wear them for hours without leaking through.  He has not worn it overnight, but it is great for naptime.  I'm sure if I added more absorbancy to it (such as a hemp insert), it would be ok for overnight, but I prefer to save these super cute dypes for daytime use.  The older style Doodles do leak/wick if he is in them for too long (+2 hours), but the new style does not.  They also contain some of the nastiest teething poo's. 

So here I am raving about this amazing diaper, but that's not even the best part.  Sandy provides the best customer service!!  I can not tell you enough how much she cares about her customers.  If there is ever a problem, she does what she can to help you fix it.  Communication is also prompt.  She appreciates every customer. 

photo by
Surely Sweet Photography

Doodle Dypes is currently celebrating their 1 year anniversary!  I'm not surprised at how popular Doodle Dypes are, since Sandy makes wonderful diapers and provides 5 star customer service.  However, with the popularity, it is very hard to "score" a Doodle.  You need to "stalk" her website and be ready to click "buy now" the millisecond they are up or you miss out.  Sandy stocks her Hyena Cart every Wednesday afternoon.  It is actually a lot of fun trying to "win" the Doodle! 

To sum it up:  top quality, adorable fabrics, and amazing customer service make Doodle Dypes one of my favorite cloth diapers!

E with all 18 Doodle Dypes (before selling a few)!!

Wordless Wednesday

Again, not completely wordless (for those who know me know this is no big surprise;) and I'm posting it a day early since today feels like Wednesday to me!

This is an old photo (obviously, since Riley was still in diapers!) but one of my favorites!  It's one of the few moments Riley and Eli were still long enough to get a cute picture. 

They are both wearing Doodle Dypes (older style).  I will be doing a review on Doodle Dypes (one of my favorite diapers!!!) soon.  For now, though, you can go vote on this pic to help E win a custom Doodle!  They are celebrating their 1 year anniversary with a photo contest!  All you need to do is "like" the photo in their album.  The photo with the most "likes" will win a custom Doodle Dype!  If I win I may decide to spread the Doodle love and do a giveaway........

Minky Softness

The Minkie One Size Pocket Diaper is incrediblly soft!  I loved letting Elijah run around in just this diaper so when I picked him up I could feel the softness!  It has a waterproof hidden layer of PUL, with stay dry microsuede against baby's skin.  This diaper does not come with an insert, so I just used some extra ones I have.  The pocket opening is quite small, though it does stretch to stuff it. 

This is a OS diaper, and says it will fit approximately 10-35 lbs.  I think it is best for older or chunkier babies, though.  My 15 month old, weighing 25 lbs and 30" tall, is able to wear it on the smallest rise setting.  He is right in between the small/medium rise.  This would have fit him perfectly a year ago.  He was a chunker, nearly 21 lbs by 4 months old.  I had to look for OS diapers that were slightly larger, and this would have been perfect!  It fits him great now, and I believe will fit through potty training.

Side by side comparison:  Minkie OS Pocket Diaper (NS) and a BumGenius 3.0, both on the smallest setting.

Both diapers on the largest setting.  You can see clearly the Minkie is larger than the BG.

The pocket opening is a bit small.

Becuase it is a pocket, it is very versatile with which inserts you wish to use.  I used either a bamboo/hemp gFlapper or 2 microfiber doublers (extras that are just sitting around).  You could even use prefolds.  No matter what was in the pocket, this Minkie diaper never leaked!  The opening for the pocket is a little snug, so it is easier if you don't have larger hands to stuff the pocket.  My husband wouldn't be able to put an insert in it (good thing he doesn't stuff the pockets anyway!).

Many minky diapers are more expensive, but this is a great affordable, super soft diaper!

This was the best action shot I could get of E.  He's been a bit of a rebel lately when I try to take pictures of him in his diapers.  He's very patriotic, though, in his camo diaper and American flag Babylegs!

Wordless Wednesday

Ok, maybe not completely wordless.  I couldn't decide which photo to use, so you'll get a bonus!

Snow, Pancakes, and a Bullseye

After 3.5 days of being iced in, I told Ryan I wanted to go to IHOP.  So after bundling up, we ventured out.  We decided to go to Target while we were out.  We were almost out of milk, and could use a few other things since it was, after all, my normal shopping day.  Here is our trip in pictures.

driving down our street

he decided not to wait for a fork.

coming home

having fun in the snow!

Echo!

The SoftBums Echo Dry Touch cloth diaper is an AI2, with a snap in snake style soaker.  The outer shell can be used for mutiple changes.  There are multiple "pods" (soakers) available.  Dry Touch Pods with 2 layers of microfiber topped with soft microfleece.  SuperDry Touch Pods have 3 layers of microfiber, topped with microfleece.  Mini Pods (in either microfiber or organic bamboo) can be used as a doubler.  There is also an Organic Bamboo Pod, made 70% of organic bamboo, and 30% organic cotton. 



This is a One Size diaper, but it has a unique way to adjust the rise.  Inside the diaper is an elastic drawstring, that you pull to adjust it to your LO's perfect size, setting it in place with a small toggle.  The great thing about this feature is there are no "in between" rise settings that can sometimes be an issue with snap down rises.  I now only have 1 child in diapers, so I could easily adjust the rise for Elijah and leave it there until he grows.  But when I had 2 in diapers, I liked OS diapers with a snap down rise so they could both wear the same diapers, with just a quick easy adjustment.  I do not think I would have used this diaper for both kids, since adjusting the rise isn't as quick and easy as a snap down rise.

Adjust the rise by sliding the toggles to exactly where you need for a perfect fit.

Most OS diapers are best for about 10-35 lbs.  The Soft Bums diaper, I believe, is truly a one size fits all!  Because of the unique Slide2Size rise setting, it becomes very tiny, great for a newborn!  The Mini Pods (in either Dry Touch microfiber or Organic bamboo) are the perfect soakers for the newborn size.  The regular Pods are too big when the SoftBums Echo shell is at it's smallest setting. 



Smallest




Largest



One thing you need to be careful with, is to make sure you fold the DryTouch Pod under itself, so only the soft microfleece is touching baby's skin.  As you may know, microfiber is so absorbant it pulls all mositure from baby's skin, which can cause a major rash.  So be sure to fold it the right direction.  The great thing about snake style soakers is that you can fold it in just the right place for extra absorbancy for your LO (typically in front for boys, in the middle for girls). 

Elijah never once leaked while wearing this diaper.  I normally change him every 2 hours, but as a test, left him in this for 3 hours one day.  Though the soaker was very wet, I know it would have lasted longer if I had left it.  But 3 hours was the max I wanted to leave him before changing him. 

The SoftBums Echo has a hook & loop closure, which overlaps.  The hook & loop is very sticky, and seems very durable.

Overall, I think this is a great diaper!  An added bonus is that it is made in the USA!



Easy Goin'

The Tots Bots Easy Fit One Size Diaper is a great innovative pocket diaper.  The snake style soaker is sewn into the diaper, but folds inside the pocket.  This makes it easy to adjust the abosrbancy to where your LO needs it the most.  You could also add extra inserts for super soakers or overnight.  The soaker is made of ultra soft rayon made from bamboo fibers and 100% polyester microfiber.  Elijah has not had a single leak in this very absorbant diaper! 



The snake style sewn-in soaker.

   Another great feature to this diaper is that the soaker will agitate out in the wash!  The only diapers I have seen do this have 2 pocket openings, one in front and one in back.  Even though the Tots Bots has only one opening, the sewn in soaker agitates out easily and never stays bunched up inside the pocket.  And because the soaker is sewn into the diaper, you do not need to search through all of the inserts to find the right one!  I am slightly OCD about matching diapers and inserts.  If a diaper came with an insert, that is the only insert I use for that diaper, unless I add a doubler.  This one is easy to find!  To me, it is basically a hybrid between a pocket and an AIO.

I'm normally not a fan of hook & loop closures.  I prefer the durability of snaps.  However, the hook & loop on this diaper is fantastic!  Very sticky, and good for the long haul!  Even the laundry tabs are very durable. 

Elijah is about 30" and 25 lbs, at 15 months.  He wears the Tots Bots on the medium rise setting.  He has plenty of room to grow!  The OS is good for 8-35 lbs.  They also make a Teeny Fit, which is good for newborns (5-14 lbs).

Eli, acting shy and being a very uncooperative model.  He wears the Tots Bots on the medium rise setting very comfortably.