So while I love my giggle life diapers so far, we ran into a snag LA takes after daddy and has tiny thighs.  The giggle life are an awesome cloth option for a family on a budget, which we are, but they have a drawback for smaller babies, they don't have hip snaps so the legs can't be adjusted small enough.   This has lead me on a hunt for an inexpensive replacement until LA gets a little chunkier.  I was thankfully added to a local Facebook group who deals with all things cloth.  Through the group I found a few new brands of diapers to try out and got them for a really good price.  I purchased two sun baby diapers, two glowbugs and a handful of alva's from a local mom who was super nice and knowledgeable.  

The Sunbaby diapers are size one with two size adjustments in red and the other is white and blue plaid.  I tried these on LA last night and I can't get over the fit! They are perfect! I think we will have to double stuff at night though as one soaker wasn't enough.  I am wanting some more of these two is just not enough!  You can check out sunbaby diapers here: http://sunbabydiapers.com/

The Glowbug diapers are super cute one is black with grey fish print and the other has little glow bug prints.  These diapers came with two inserts that snap into the diaper.  They also have an extra row of rise snaps, which makes them adjust super small.  They also have hip snaps, double leg gussets and waterproof flaps front and back.  I tried these on LA and they work really well, at first I thought we were going to have the same leg issues with them, because the first had some leaking out the side but upon further inspection I believe that was because I didn't get it snapped on the smallest setting for the hips.  Second time around they worked awesome with no leaking.  I am hoping to get my hands on some of the cute girly prints but don't have the funds to purchase one of their sets right now so maybe I'll find some second hand.  You can find the diapers here: http://glowbugclothdiapers.com/

Last but not least Alva's.  These diapers have super cute prints!  I am in love with the little tiger bum.  Some of the outer fabrics are super soft! Again with adjustable rise and hip snaps.  These diapers fit well and are super cute! The only thing I am not a fan of is the pocket opening, I find it a little small which makes stuffing time a bit slower.  Here is the link to check out Alva's:http://www.alvababy.com/

I am so happy with these  new diapers! Unfortunately it's made me want to buy more! Eeek! Well I'm off to look for diaper deals.

Later Dayz

Brandi

Hello everyone,

Today I am looking for suggestions from you.  My mom is a fantastic lady who worked hard for alot of her life to provide for us kids and help anyone out she could.  I know most people would say that about their mom but I really feel that often times my mom went way out of her way to help someone.  An example of this is the other day I passed one of her neighbours from the next road over broke down on the side of the road. I stopped to see if he needed anything and then I messaged my mom just telling her and she said to me " Should I go down? maybe he needs a ride."  Another is our friends, my mom never turned a kid away from a meal or staying over if they didn't feel comfortable going home or if myself or one of my sibs just dragged them home without asking,  one of my close childhood friends lived with us for a time and my mom helped him get hockey gear he couldn't afford. 

My mom broke her tailbone a long time ago and now she is on disability for it and some other health issues.  That being said her house which like pre dates Canada is just falling apart at the seams and she can't afford to fix it and even if she could is really in too much pain daily to put the work in to do so.  I of course am of little help either physically or financially as I am on mat leave and having my own health issues, however if we somehow manage to get all the materials I am going to help as much as I can.  One of the main issues at the moment is the floor, the neighbours idiot son (hes like over 30) came to my moms and while there for reasons unknown he thought it would be funny to throw a cherry bomb in her toilet.  At the time it didn't seem to cause any problems.... about a year later moms bathroom floor is messed right up and upon further inspection the toilet is found to be cracked, so the floor and the toilet need replacing and her kitchen floor is super punky due to water in the basement when the sump pump broke down on a number of occasions.  These are the things that are safety concerns. Other than that she needs a new kitchen cabinet/ counter.  But we really just want to get the bathroom safe and functional and the kitchen floor at least patched up.

That being said what do you suggest we could do for help, does anyone know any programs that might help or non profits or heck even tv shows?  I really think my mom deserves this!  Or would you be willing to donate to our worthy cause or purchase something I made to help out?  I was thinking about headbands or bows or something small and easy, so I could do lots of them.  And if I did something like that what would you be willing to pay for such an item knowing it was going to help out my low income mom?

If you have any suggestions or want to purchase an item or just donate send me a message or leave me a comment or you can email me at brandi.leigh@sympatico.ca.

Thanks everyone

Later Dayz

Brandi

So as I mentioned in my previous post there is a little issue with a few snaps on a few of the diapers.  I emailed giggle life originally about possibly letting me do a giveaway or test one of their bamboo diapers and briefly mentioned the issue in passing.  The customer service rep was really nice and advised me at the moment they had a few reviews and giveaways going on but would keep my info on file should they do some more.  They also asked me about the issue I was experiencing with the snaps.  I explained the problem as best I could and they said no problem send them back and we will send you our some new ones  The problem I have been having is with the rise snaps, after washing I set the snaps up to the setting they need to be on and stuff them, but when I am putting them on Lynda-Ann they are occasionally coming unsnapped.  Like when you are trying to tug a little to adjust the diaper under baby, if anyone knows what I mean they will just unsnap.  It's not all of the diapers and it's not all of the time and really it's only kind of annoying but I figure if it's an annoyance now it could very well become a major problem down the road. So now that I have all the info I just have to get them sent back, the only problem I see is that my stash is rather small and not having a few of the diapers may affect how often I have to wash.  Hopefully this doesn't cause any further issues.  I should also mention that the customer service rep I spoke with wasn't required to deal with the snap issue, as they have another email/ department to deal with it, but I had mentioned it in passing and said that I would go through the proper channel to fix the problem.  Very helpful company and I would really love to try their bamboo diapers

Pretty much before we ever got pregnant, I knew that I wanted to try and cloth diaper our baby.  I did loads of research and talked to other moms that cloth diapered and from this decided that one size pocket diapers were likely the best fit for our family.  However that didn't stop me from picking up a bunch of freebie sized pockets that needed work done to the elastics and a bunch of fitteds and AIO's for $50.  I just couldn't salvage the sized pockets however repuposed the PUL to making some reusable breast pads.  They turned out ok, but I leak alot and after awhile I leaked through the seams, so I only use these when I am at home or staying in where ever I am in case of accidents.  The fitteds and AIO's are waiting to be tried out once LA gets up to approx 22 pounds, which at the rate she is growing seems like it will only be a month or two from now lol.

What I did salvage from the busted pockets were their liners,  I use these outside of the pocket to minimize how many diapers LA goes through in a day.  Most days I can get away with one or two diapers just by switching these liners out at changing time. I use a large one and a smaller terry one on top near the front for extra protection.  I am not sure what the larger pads are made of but I'm pretty certain its not microfibre as it is smooth to touch, whereas I find microfibre grabs at my skin.

While some family members haven't embraced using cloth with LA, my sis Steph knew what I wanted and she and her family purchased me a starter set from Giggle Life for my shower present.  They are one size and come in a variety of colors, they also had 2 liners per diaper and came with a couple cute pairs of baby socks . So far I love the diapers, although I do mean to contact Gigle Life as some of the snaps are not the greatest and come unsnapped occasionally, also  LA has little legs and so occasionally we get some side leakage while sleeping or breast feeding.  The liners for the Giggle Life diapers are microfibre so I am unable to use these on the outside as of yet but I am thinking about making like a little cover for them should the need arise. 

I believe total I have about 15 one size pocket diapers between the ones my sister purchased and the few I purchased off the internet. Today I tried just using them with the liner in the pocket and had no issues aside from a bit of leak and almost some poo out the leg as again LA has tiny thighs.  We went through approx 4 diapers today so far.  That being said if she averaged 6 a day that means laundry every other day. LA is strictly breast fed so really no major rinsing or shaking is required as of yet, our routine so far is just to separate the liner from the outside and put in a wet bag.  When laundry time comes just dump the contents of the bag into the washer and then toss the bag in too. 

As for wash routine I usually let them soak in hot water and baby washing liquid then wash on hot for longest cycle time, use vinegar instead of fabric softener and then either toss in dryer or line dry.  So far it works beautifully and have had no stink issues, and only minor staining on some of the liners not on the diaper outers themselves.  Mind you it has only been a week or two of solid cloth diapering so this could change.  We got two diaper cakes as shower gifts and so used the diapers up out of those first, though I did have to buy some diapers as LA didn't fit her cloth or the diapers we got as gifts but I think that was only about $30.  We are using up the last of our disposable wipes and did use some of our reusable ones today, they work fantastically.  I mixed up a bit of wipe recipe  that a WAHM had made and sent me and placed it in the little squirt bottle that you get at the hospital.  Perfect

While I am a little disappointed that some family members won't even try the cloth diapers, it is their choice and I have agreed that if they wish to use them and they are willing to buy them ( as I will not) then it is ok for LA to occasionally be in disposables.  As for us I think we will continue with cloth happily.  Though Aaron has never changed her butt yet so no idea how he will react.  I look forward to any input on cloth diapering or different washing ideas.  LEave me a comment That's all for now.

Later Dayz

Brandi