Cloth Diaper Geek's Go Green Pocket Diaper Giveaway!

I was so thrilled to have won a Smartipants (my current favorite cloth diaper brand) diaper yesterday, that I decided to try my luck entering a couple more giveaways. You can't win if you don't play, right??

Cloth Diaper Geek is giving away a Go Green Pocket Diaper. I've looked at the design and the prints, and I have to say, I think they're pretty great looking! They've got some unique prints, I really like the ones with stars, of course! Now, on to analysis of the design:

I know the picture is small, so I'll do my best to describe the deets. :]

The first thing I notice about these diapers is that they close with snaps. I like snaps. But why are they rainbow colored? Oh! For easy sizing! This would be especially nice on a wiggly baby, seeing as how they try to mambo when you're trying to wrap a diaper around them!

Second, I notice that they have the front opening as well as a back opening. This actually makes it more of a "sleeve diaper," called that because the "pocket" that the absorbent insert goes in is open on both ends. Here's what that does: It allows the insert to agitate out in the wash. Meaning, you don't have to TOUCH the icky wet or dirty insert before you wash the diaper! This is a feature I especially love!!

Thirdly, I notice that the legs have a double gusset! That's extra super great for holding moisture and messes in. This is one of the few diapers I've seen with that feature.

The prices are pretty good too!

Disclaimer: I have never seen a Go Green Pocket Diaper in person. I have never used one on my baby, I am only making observations based on the information provided at GoGreenPocketDiapers.com.

Manatee no More

While I am no longer a manatee (what I called myself when I was pregnant), I Stumbled Upon this comic today and it reminded me of how very grateful I am to no longer be incubating a tiny Powerspawn!!

Om-nom-nom. Never trust a manatee.

Peace, Love & cuppy-cakes,
MamaSuperPow

Sweet Cheeks Bum Bar by Lilac Ave

I've been using a Sweet Cheeks Bum Bar that I received as a sample for review made by my good friend Deb, who is the creatrice behind Lilac Ave (link is to her Esty profile). She sent me this:

The first thing I noticed about this diaper cream is it's design. It's in a push up tube!! Genius! I don't have to squeeze the cream out of a tube and smear it all over the baby's diaper area. I don't have to look around for something to wipe my fingers off on while my wiggledy-piggledy 5month old flails about and does her best to kickkickkick me in the stomach from the changing table (a throwback from her womb days, perhaps?). I like the lack of mess A. LOT.





The Bum Bar is made from all natural ingredients, which is not something I actively search for in products that I buy, but it's always a bonus. The scent is light and herbal, not medicinal or obviously scented (like fakey floral or baby powder scents. YUCK). There are only 5 ingredients in this product. I love how simple it is.

Just before I began using it, my daughter had the beginning of a rash, that over about 3 days spread over her diaper area. I grabbed this cream, and the combination of it and more frequent diaper changes (and some free-butt time on a towel), her rash cleared right up!

So. The breakdown:

• I LOVE that it's cloth diaper friendly!! Best part, in my opinion.
• I liked that I didn't have to touch the cream. 
• I didn't like that I couldn't always tell what area I'd already covered, b/c it doesn't leave an obvious visual trail.
• I liked the scent! It was lovely.
• I didn't like that the bar didn't glide as smoothly as I would have hoped. Sometimes I felt as though there was a tiny bit of friction between the bar and baby's skin, and that maybe that was effecting the coverage.
• I had some trouble keeping the bar in the tube, or to keep it pushed up.  I would push it up slightly to use, and when I put it to baby's skin, it would slide back into the tube. So, being a clever mama, I tried holding my finger inside the tube, to provide it with resistance, which simply made it fall all the way through when I turned it over to use on baby. I really don't know if there's anything else I could do to solve the problem myself. I'm good friends with Mama Strick, who also reviewed the bar, and she didn't have this problem. 

Overall, I would give this product 4 out of 5 stars. If I didn't have the problem of the bar sliding in and out of the tube against my will, I would give it 5. It's good stuff!

How To Strip Your Cloth Diapers

The Smartipants Channel on YouTube has really great videos with GREAT information about cloth diapering! This looks waaaaay easier than boiling them all on the stove, which is what I did in a fit of frustration last month, haha

 

I'll be trying this next month when I strip my diapers.

Never Look A Gift Lion In The Mouth

Stella is asleep on me. I really want to go make myself some lunch, but I strongly believe that babies, like lions, should be left sleeping whenever possible.

Also, with the current nap-clime around here, it's really best to let her nap now, rather than be miserable (and thus making ME miserable) later.

The primary reason (I'm assuming here, like all good parents do) for her nap-lackage is that she has recently sprouted a fang. And by recently, I mean it wasn't there on Sunday, but I got hella chomped on come Monday. Today is Tuesday, and I'm wondering if it's next-door neighbor fang is going to make an appearance anytime soon, or how long the misery is going to be prolonged. NDNF isn't showing any signs of interest in sprouting, so I think that misery is going to reign for a while yet.

I do believe that the wee fang'ed beastie and I shall be making a foray out to the Navy Exchange for some more Baby Tylenol and a delicious Starbucks treat for Mama.

I Can't Blow My Nose Because...

The baby is sleeping. Taking up the ENTIRE couch, might I add. But, she didn't nap for more than 15 mins this morning, so I'm just going to have to dab until she wakes up on her own. This is the very definition of unpleasant. Heaven help me if I have to sneeze.

Muh-muh-muh-muh-muh Muffin Top

Found this awesome parody video on MommyShorts' blog. I know what's going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day... Enjoy!

 

Cloth Diapers Reviewed By a Cloth Diapering Daddy

I found this video quite humorous, but the information is still valid. It's a video that cloth diapering mama recorded, in which she makes her husband review Fuzzibunz and Smartipants diapers. If you don't cloth diaper (yet), I hope you learn something, and if you already are familiar with these brands, I hope it amuses you as much as it did me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EBbENyLu2Y

Peace, Love and Fluffy Baby Bottoms,
MamaSuperPow

Diaper Demo

So, it looks like there will be a cloth diaper demo taking place in my dining room tomorrow evening! I'm not going to say too much about it until it's over, and I can post pics and say how it went, but I am SUPER excited about it!

Ok, I lied. Here's the plan:

So far, it looks like I'm going to have Flips, BumGenius, Fuzzibuns, prefolds, Thirsties Duowraps, Gro-Babys, a Kissaluv, gDiapers and Smartipants from my own stash. I don't actually use each of those anymore, but I figure it'll be good to show the options, and talk about pros and cons of each, based on what the guests are looking for. I also have some of the disposable inserts for the Grow-Babys, and gDiapers that I will show.

My awesome friend Mama Strick from In My Humble Opinion is going to be bringing a bunch of different kinds that I don't own to show as well.

SO EXCITED ABOUT FLUFF!!
I feel similarly to wee Angus in this video clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx_aMZX5iio&NR=1

Kauzbots

I heard about Kauzbots on the Dooce website. I think it's a neat idea, especially since kids generally collect way more stuffed toys than they actually love/play with anyway. I also like that they're a fairly gender neutral toy (made in different colors, for different causes), but that boys would especially love.

Here's the Dooce post:
http://dooce.com/daily-style/2011/03/09/kalvin-and-kaprice

Cloth Diaper Class

I think I'd like to teach a cloth diapering class. It's really overwhelming to try and figure out all the different types and designs that pop up when you do a web search. I have a couple of friends who have expressed interest in CDing over the last couple of months, but haven't taken the next step yet. I think that it'd be good if they could see and touch and manipulate some of the different kinds for themselves. I think it would help to be able to ask questions and get answers from someone with experience using several different brands. Especially from someone without real agenda. I would of course, like to encourage them to jump right into CDing, but I'm not affiliated with any store or website.

I have prefolds, Flips, Fuzzibuns, BumGenius, and a Kawaii diaper that I use regularly. I have some Smartipants on the way (super excited!!). I hope to order some Econobums soon, also. I have a close friend who cloth diapers her son, who would *probably* be willing to bring a few other kinds from her stash and help out with questions. That'd be great because she and I have had different issues and experiences!

I really hope I can pull this together soon. It would probably actually be more of a demo than a class. It's just an idea right now, but the more I think about it, the more excited I get! My dining room needs a major cleaning overhaul before I could bring this idea into action. I'll keep you posted.

Breastfeeding Support Basket

I breastfeed. Exclusively, for 21 weeks, and 2 days now. Not that I'm counting. It has been one of the hardest and most exhausting things I've ever done in my life. Many times, especially in the early weeks, I thought "I can't do this." My across the street neighbor is out-to-here pregnant, due in about 2 weeks, and she's said that she wants to breastfeed. So I put together what I call a "Breastfeeding Support Basket" for her! I hope that she doesn't experience the anxiety and pain that I did. I hope that she has a magical, wonderful, bonding experience with her baby! But if she doesn't, I hope that the things I've put together can help her stick with it anyway. Here's what I put together:












Reusable breast pads, a Lansino goodie bag with a tube of lanolin creme, a nursing cover, a reusable water bottle, a nursing reminder bracelet, a granola bar, a nursing footstool by Medela, and a My Breastfriend nursing pillow. I also included a small notebook full of tips! I asked a few of my friends that are nursing, and on a Mommy forum I'm part of to give me tips/advice they wish they'd had at the beginning. I'm pretty pleased with what I put together, and I hope it all serves her well.


Here are pictures of some of the pages in the notebook:
(yes, I have horrible handwriting.)

















Peace, Love and cuppy-cakes,
Mama Powers

Beyond The Nausea, Into The Wild New Yonder

After an almost 5 month hiatus, I am back. Back how often? That remains to be seen, but rather than remain buried under the guilt and pressure to complete http://thenauseachronicles.blogspot.com I have decided to start fresh, and post what I can, when I can. We have moved beyond (faaaaar beyond) nausea, and are well into the land of spitup. We breastfeed exclusively, we cloth diaper. We are 5 months (on Thursday, March 10th) into this, and there is no turning back.

The Spitup Diaries are born.