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Baby Rabies

pregnancy & parenting

  • Start Here
    • About Baby Rabies
    • Baby Registry Top Picks
    • Favorite Pregnancy Apps
  • The Book
  • Pregnancy
    • Birth Stories
    • Perinatal Mood Disorders
  • Parenthood
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • School Age Kids
    • Parenting LOLZ
  • Photography
    • Photography

      6 Stunning Photos You Would Never Guess Were…

      February 11, 2019

      Photography

      Simple Tips For Editing Snow Photos On Your…

      December 13, 2018

      Photography

      I Wrote A Photography eBook And This Is…

      December 6, 2018

      Photography

      Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great…

      November 27, 2018

      Photography

      Learn How To Take And Edit Photos On…

      November 19, 2018

  • Reviews
    • Reviews

      The Answer To Last Minute Holiday Gifting For…

      December 19, 2018

      Reviews

      I Was Never A Barbie Girl Until Now

      October 1, 2018

      Reviews

      Finally! Jeans For My Jean-Averse Kids!

      August 22, 2018

      Reviews

      If Your Kid Loves Dump Trucks & Garbage…

      August 13, 2018

      Reviews

      Nobody Tell My Kids ABC Mouse Is Part…

      September 4, 2017

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Cloth Diapers

Cloth DiapersPhotography

A Peek At Our New Barn-Style Doors & My New Favorite Backdrop

by Jill July 24, 2012
written by Jill

This weekend, Scott finished up a couple barn-style doors on a track that he pieced together completely on his own, based on some inspiration online.

This man. I don’t dare tell him he CAN’T swim the Atlantic Ocean for fear of him actually proving me wrong. I’m ashamed of how little faith I had in him to pull this off. But he’s not a blacksmith, you know?

Anyway, just add it to the long list of things he can hold over my head. “Remember that time you said I couldn’t fix the Jeep/install hardwood floors/bend metal and hang doors from it?? HA!”

For any of you interested in how he did it, we are currently working together to come up with as detailed a tutorial as possible. It will hopefully go up this week. I will tell you, though, this ain’t no beginner DIY project, and you need quite a few tools to pull it off. If you have the time, tools and determination, it shouldn’t be too hard.

Onward to what I really want to show off! These doors are officially my new favorite photo backdrop. Behold the cute that is nearly 19 month old Leyna showing off daddy’s handiwork.

When she ran into the office yesterday morning, she exclaimed “Wook! WhaYisTees??” Which means “Look! What is this?!” in toddler language.

Then she began to climb atop the tiny chair randomly placed in front (by me, for specific picture taking purposes in mind).

Toddlers love tiny chairs. It’s the cutest combo.

 

Leyna’s sporting an Itti Bitti Tutto cloth diaper that I’m so happy she finally fits! I got it from the Haute Green Blogher party last summer, but it was always a little too “itti bitti” to fit all her chub! She’s finally starting to stretch out and slim down a little, and now it fits perfectly. I’m so glad because it’s adorable, and also really absorbent and reliable. This isn’t any sort of official review. Just thought I’d tell y’all all a bit about the diaper she happened to be sporting when I managed to get these pics. 

July 24, 2012 21 comments
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Cloth Diapering Greatest Hits for Real Diaper Week 2012

by Jill April 18, 2012
written by Jill

I realize lately I’ve been all photography this and mommy truth that, and some of my newer readers may not know that I have some pretty educational (if I do say so myself) posts on cloth diapering. Some of them I wrote years ago… before I embraced the importance of brevity while blogging, so brace yourself for a freaking cloth diaper novel. Either way, though, they still have some great links and lots of information about how I got started and the products we use.

While our “stash” has grown over the  years, I still have a lot of the diapers I started out with on Kendall years ago. My favorites are still bumGenius pocket diapers (3.0 and 4.0), followed very closely by FuzziBunz pocket diapers.

Exciting side note! I’ll be blogging for the Cotton Babies Blog soon.

I’ll admit, Leyna wears disposables at Mother’s Day Out (because one time they accidentally threw away a $20 poopy diaper and I was NOT going to let that happen again), and I’m not as stringent about using cloth when we are traveling. But, that doesn’t stop me from changing at least 3 things (cloth diapers) that will not go into landfills most days.

So if you’re new around here and want to read more about my journey into cloth diapering, here are some posts to check out:

Yes, I use cloth diapers. No, I don’t wear Birkenstocks.

Cloth Diapering: The specifics

Cloth Diaper Q&A

From Prefolds to AIOs: A Cloth Diaper VLOG

Cloth Diapering 2 Years Later

You can read the rest of the posts in my Cloth Diapers category if you’d like to see all of the reviews I’ve done over the years on various brands.

And while you’re at it and all pumped and excited about cloth diapering, consider participating in the Great Cloth Diaper Change when people all over the world (from 16 countries!) attempt to break the world record for the most cloth diapers changes at one time. Also, be sure to check out all the other great posts about cloth diapering that are linked up for Real Diaper Week, happening right now, April 16th through the 21st. 

April 18, 2012 28 comments
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This Cloth Diaper Is A Game Changer

by Jill February 22, 2012
written by Jill

And I’m giving 4 of them away! (Stay tuned for that at the end of the post.)

This is the all new ones&twos all in one cloth diaper in action.

Adorable, fun colors, great fit, great customizable absorbency, GREAT price.

There’s really not anything not to love about this diaper.

Here’s why it’s a game changer:

All-in-one diapers are the closest cloth diapers come to going on and coming off like disposable diapers. When people email me to say they have a caretaker or parent who is hesitant to use cloth diapers because of the “extra hassle” or “all the time” it takes to put them on and take them off, I recommend all-in-ones. (Though, really, the “extra” work is pretty minimal with all cloth diapering options. It just takes time to get familiar with them.)

However, there have been a couple down sides to the all-in-one route. First, most of them are pretty expensive, more expensive than pocket diapers. Also, they tend to not be as absorbent as pocket diapers.

The ones&twos (okay, let’s break for a moment to acknowledge how cleverly cute that name is)… anyway, you can adjust the absorbency of the ones&twos diaper without losing the convenience of an all-in-one.

So you just lay the soakers on top of the diaper, if needed. No need to stuff or unstuff them.

Now, I will say that I tried Leyna in the diaper without any soaker a couple times, and we had leaks after just a couple hours. I always lay the one included soaker on top of the diaper before putting it on her now, and we haven’t had any issues. For us, though, this would not be a nighttime option, just because I have other diapers that I stuff with hemp doublers that are so trusty I don’t feel the need to experiment or replace them.

Newborns may get by with no soakers

For daytime, though, for daycares and babysitters, or even for new parents who want to dip a toe into the sea of cloth diapers without feeling overwhelmed, I feel like these are a FABULOUS option.

The cost? Around $17. The Green Nursery has them for $16.95. Most other popular all-in-one diapers start around $20-$25. When you’re building a stash, that’s a substantial savings.

So, while I don’t think ones&twos would replace any of my beloved diapers in my stash, they are certainly an awesome addition, and I will confidently recommend them to anyone interested in an “easy” cloth diaper option from now on.

Bet you want to win one now, dontcha?

Not only will one of you win ONE ones&twos from the manufacturer, one of you will win a THREE PACK of ones&twos from TheGreenNursery.com. 

Just follow the directions in the fancy Rafflecopter box below. Don’t be scared! I know it’s a change, but hopefully this thing helps me run giveaways a little more efficiently. It should be easier on us all.

This contest is open to U.S. and Canada residents, though the winner of The Green Nursery 3 pack must be from the U.S. I was not paid for this review, but I did receive the diaper at no cost.

 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

February 22, 2012 39 comments
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Cloth DiapersReviews

Rockin’ Green Jingle Bell Rock Giveaway, Featuring Red Hot Apple Cider!

by Jill November 24, 2011
written by Jill

I am thrilled to be one of the very first to help Rockin’ Green Cloth Diaper Detergent help announce this year’s LIMITED EDITION Holiday Scent.

Red Hot Apple Cider

I mean, I know it’s detergent and all, but YUM. If I were pregnant (and craving rocks and soap), whoo boy!

Now, you can go purchase this lovely scent over on RockinGreenSoap.com today, as part of the Jingle Bell Rock Holiday Gift Bundle. So if you really, really want it, you better get there pronto. This stuff (limited edition holiday bundles) typically sells out in just a few days.

If you’re too late to order it before it sells out or you want to try to win a Red Hot Apple Cider Holiday Bundle, then I’m your favorite person right now! Because I’m giving one away.

Here’s the scoop. (Get it? Scoop? Detergent… scoop? Ha! Turkey makes me… amusing to only myself.)

Includes:
One bag Rockin’ Green Soap in the limited-edition Red Hot Apple Cider or Bare Naked Babies (unscented)
One Melody odor neutralizer and air-freshener room spray in Red Hot Apple Cider (not sold separately, only included in bundle)
One limited-edition red laundry detergent scoop
One reusable Rockin’ Green tumbler
One Rockin’ Green ornament
One Rockin’ Green reusable tote bag
One gift tag
Retail Value $44.95 

To enter:
Tell me why you want to win a Red Hot Apple Cider Holiday Bundle!

Extra entries if you:
Follow @BabyRabies on Twitter
Like Baby Rabies on Facebook
Like Rockin’ Green on Facebook

Please leave a separate comment for each entry. I’ll use Random.org to draw a winner on Friday, December 2nd. Only open to people with US mailing addresses.

Let the holiday fun begin! Rock on.

** Contest Closed. Congrats to commenter #114, as chosen by Random.org, Jacklyn!***

November 24, 2011 346 comments
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Let’s Get Ready to Party! #FuzziBunzElite

by Jill October 4, 2011
written by Jill

 

Today’s the big day! I’m going to be on Twitter tonight (@BabyRabies), along with @FuzziBunz and ambassadors @HeirToBlair, @Tottums, and @EFFBlog to talk about the new #FuzziBunzElite cloth diapers at the Meet The Elite Twitter party. We’ll be introducing party attendees to 3 new lines from FuzziBunz!

If you haven’t yet, please RSVP over here. Only attendees on the RSVP list will be eligible to win one of the FIFTEEN prizes we’ll be handing out. Everyone who RSVPs will get a free copy of the FuzziBunz Potty Training Guide.

The party starts at 8:30 CENTRAL time, and will go until we draw the last winner.

If you’re looking for an easy way to participate or even just watch WITHOUT a Twitter account, go to Tweetgrid.com/Party.

Then, enter the following in the boxes:

Hashtag: #FuzziBunzElite

Hosts: @BabyRabies, @FuzziBunz

Your Username: @FollowedByYourTwitterName 

If you don’t have a Twitter account, you can still use this, and leave the Twitter Username box blank. This way, you’ll still be able to read what is being said. However, you will NOT be able to win any prizes this way since you won’t be able to participate in the party.

Keep an eye on me, @BabyRabies, for official party questions, but also feel free to chime in and ask and answer questions of others using #FuzziBunzElite.

I hope that all made sense! I’m going to be honest with you all and say this is the first Twitter party I’ve hosted, and I’ll be learning a lot tonight. I’ll work hard to make it go as smoothly as possible, though. I hope you all have a great time.

Feel free to comment below, but make sure you RSVP on the official list here!

October 4, 2011 4 comments
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Save The Date! I’m Hosting a FuzziBunz #ClothDiapers Twitter Party

by Jill September 22, 2011
written by Jill

I’ve always wanted to have a big party with all my cloth diapering friends. No really, I have! Cloth diapering is one of those things you almost have to learn by having others teach you, and I love having my questions answered and hearing others’ experiences. I also love helping others get started.  I’ve had many an “In Real Life” friend over for a face-to-face tutorial over coffee before, and I’ve shared my tips and tricks for cloth diapering online, too.

Well, now I get to host an actual PARTY with one of my favorite brands of clothdiapers, FuzziBunz! They’re unveiling three new lines and I get to be one of the first to tell you all about them. How fun is that?

So, obviously, you’re all invited. It’s a Twitter party, so you need to have a Twitter account. If you don’t yet, you really should. Not just because I want you to come to our Twitter party, but because, I swear to you, Twitter has changed my life.

If Twitter confuses you, here’s a great link from Mashable with a list of Twitter tutorials and FAQs, from very basic to advanced.

Whether you’re a seasoned pro who’s cloth diapered 6 kids, a pregnant first-time-mom, or even a parent who is thinking of giving part time cloth diapering a try, you should definitely join in. There will be plenty of knowledgeable people who can answer questions for you, and there will be prizes! Yay prizes!

Here are all the details you need to know:

Meet The Elite Fuzzibunz #ClothDiaper Twitter Party

Date: October 4th
Time: 8:30 pm CST
Hosts: @BabyRabies  & @FuzziBunz
Ambassadors: @Tottums  @heirtoblair  @EFFBlog 
Official Hashtag: #FuzziBunzElite
Prizes!: There will be 15 prizes given out (from 3 NEW product lines that I can’t really say much about right now), and all attendees will get a FuzziBunz Potty Training Guide (hint, hint!)

There are other details that I’ll add as we get closer to the date. Just consider this your Save The Date. If you plan to make it to the party, please go ahead and RSVP by entering your information in the box below. Winners at the party will only be chosen at random from the official RSVP list, and you must be present (on Twitter) during the party to win.

I hope you can make it.


September 22, 2011 285 comments
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Cloth DiapersReviews

Earth Day Everyday! Fuzzibunz Giveaway

by Jill June 6, 2011
written by Jill

This giveaway for a limited edition FuzziBunz Earth Day diaper was supposed to happen back, you know, around Earth Day, but then we tore our house apart and all chaos ensued. The good news is the diaper itself states that it can be Earth Day every day, so that really works in my favor. Lets just say I planned it this way. Right? Okay.

Up for grabs is one super cute, super functional, very limited, Earth Day FuzziBunz One Size Pocket Diaper. I know you cloth diaper collectors are all oohing and ahhing over it right now like it’s that Garbage Pail Kids/Pokemon/Swatch Watch you always wanted.

It's the perfect accessory for her back chub.

Even those of you who are not diaper collectors as much as just plain ol’ diaper users will still like it’s reliability and the way it fits babies from 7-35 lbs. We’ve been using some FuzziBunz with Leyna since she was born and I am super impressed. I love the way they fit, no leaks, and their colors are great!

To win, leave a comment telling me one thing you or your family does to be kind to the earth.

Extra entries include any or all of the following (please leave a separate comment for each thing you do, allow time for moderation):

Follow FuzziBunz on Twitter
Like FuzziBunz on Facebook
Like BabyRabies on Facebook

This is open to US and Canada residents. I will use Random.org to draw a winner next Monday, June 13th.

Disclosure- FuzziBunz sent me the Earth Day diaper at no cost to review. All opinions are my own.

Closed! Congrats to Melissa B! Random.org chose comment #6.

 

June 6, 2011 605 comments
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Cloth DiapersReviews

Love Me A Cute Diaper! AppleCheeks Review & Giveaway

by Jill May 31, 2011
written by Jill

Oh, and it’s functional, too. But really? Super CUTE! I’ve been able to expand my fluff stash considerably since having Leyna, and it’s so exciting to try out new diapers. This size 2 AppleCheeks in cherry tomato (and the size 1 in raspberry sorbet before it) did not disappoint. It was the perfect outfit for a hot Memorial Day yesterday.

I love those little ruffles that stick out the back and around the legs! Turns out they’re pretty good at keeping messes in. Not a single blowout or leak in this diaper. Not one.

The inside of the diaper is super soft, lined with micro-fleece. The outer shell is extremely flexible and soft, too. In fact, I’ll admit that, at first touch, the diaper seemed a little… flimsy. As I mentioned before, though, it’s done a super job, has been really durable, and I actually love how thin and light it feels now.

A unique feature of the AppleCheeks pocket diaper is there is no need to unstuff! Really. I swear. I’ve never once taken it out of the dryer and found an insert crumpled down in one end, not clean or dry. I’m a little spoiled by it.

The only downside, for me, about AppleCheeks is they aren’t one-size-fits-all. There are 2 sizes. Size one fits up to 20 lbs, size 2 fits 18-40. Leyna was actually busting out of her size 1 by the time she was 3 months old. BUT, let’s all remember, she’s a beast. 99% of babies will not grow out of size 1 that fast.

And, as with all her cloth diapers, even the largest size is getting a little snug due to her massive leg chub. The good news is they sell these waist extenders, which add an additional 2 inches of wiggle room. While I’m really hoping we won’t need them until she’s much older, it’s nice to know we have that option to extend the diaper life a little longer for big kids.

A Little Bundle, which includes a cover and insert, is $28.71.  Any order over $40 gets free shipping.

AppleCheeks wants to giveaway a $30 credit to their online boutique. (Please note the winner will be responsible for any remaining balance and shipping if applicable.) All you have to do to win is comment below, telling me what your favorite color AppleCheeks is (so many GORGEOUS colors!). You’ll get an extra entry if you do any of the following:

Follow the AppleCheeks blog
“Like” AppleCheeks on Facebook
“Like” Baby Rabies on Facebook
Follow @BabyRabies on Twitter

Please leave one comment for each one you do and allow time for moderation. I’ll draw a winner using Random.org next Monday, June 6th. Good luck!

Disclosure- AppleCheeks sent me the diapers to review at no cost. All opinions are my own.

Contest is closed. Congrats to commenter #81, Jillian Britz, chosen by Random.org!

May 31, 2011 299 comments
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Cloth Diapers

Cloth Diapering 2 Years Later

by Jill December 23, 2010
written by Jill

This post will wrap up my Cloth Diaper Week and a Half. I’ve had a great time chatting with you all and answering your questions. I’m going to try to get a little more in depth here and address some of the common concerns and questions I seem to be receiving. Look at this as sort of an update to my original cloth diapering posts I wrote 2 years ago, a retrospective on cloth diapering a baby from infancy through potty training.

First, let me be honest with you all and say that my 2.5 year old who is now daytime potty trained is wearing *gasp* disposables for nap time and night time. It’s just the best option for us. He’s only using 2 diapers a day, and 75% of the time he waits to poop until he goes to sleep. The poopy diapers needed to be laundered every 2-3 days, but I only ever had 4-6 at a time to wash. It was either wait longer and let the stink sit longer or do a wasteful load on a few diapers. Plus, he’s now 39 lbs, and while the  bumGenius 4.0s and Fuzzi Bunz one size pocket diaper fit him still, they are getting a tad snug. So I hung up my cloth diapering hat for the time being.

However, we did fully cloth diaper (with the exception of travel) Kendall for a good 2 years.

Some Lessons Learned

1. I will never, ever use the Imse Vimse diaper liners again. Many times they wound up in the wash and became tangled and pilled up in my aplix. I blame these for me having to completely rip up and replace all my bumGenius 3.0 aplix tabs. (I like these liners instead.)

2. Kendall had a few really bad rashes that were reactions to foods around the time he turned one. We had to use prescription creams to clear these up, and even though I was diligent about lining his diapers to keep the cream from coming in contact with the fabric, it still built up on our diapers and caused many leaking issues. In the future, if I have to use a prescription cream for a similar reason on the baby, I’ll go ahead and switch her to disposables until we’re done using it. It’s not worth the frustration of stripping our diapers.

Speaking of diaper cream, a lot of you want to know what kind we used. We never had issues with Burts Bees and Aveeno. From what I understand, you want to avoid anything with cod oil or any fish oils in it. Here’s a helpful link.

3. I’m glad I have more snap closures in my stash now. While it was great to have the ease of an aplix (like Velcro) closure when Kendall was squirmy, it was frustrating once he could reach down and rip it off himself. There are few things more frustrating than picking your baby up from his nap only to discover he’s undone his own diaper (through his pants!) and there are turds scattered about the crib. I would recommend having a good mix of the two, or at least enough snaps to use for night and nap time.

The Wash Routine

A lot of you expressed hesitation about washing your diapers. I promise it’s not difficult! The biggest, most helpful tip I have for you is use cloth diaper friendly detergent. The brands I’ve used without issue are Charlie’s Soap (our mainstay, which we use for all our clothes), Crunchy Clean (smells so GOOD!), and recently I’ve tried Rockin’ Green Soap. All of these work in HE washing machines, too.

When your baby is in the newborn stage and is only eating breastmilk, you can just throw your diapers, poop and all, into the wash. Once you start them on a drop of formula or solids, that’s out the window. It’s at that point (or actually before) that you need to decide if you’re going to use liners or a diaper sprayer or some other method to remove the poop from the diapers before washing. I liked the liners, but had issues with ones that weren’t big enough to catch all the poop. Make sure that they really cover a vast majority of the inside of the diaper, especially during the transition stage from breastmilk poop to solid poop called peanut butter poop. Also, I think this time around we’ll go ahead and install a diaper sprayer just to clean up any messes that get left behind by the liners.

Yes, this is the “icky” part of cloth diapering. I’m not going to lie, it’s not pleasant, but as I’ve said in the past, poop is a part of parenting, no matter what kind of diaper you use. The upside to cloth diapering is I promise you will deal with far fewer poopy blowouts. It really all balances out in the end, I think. (Someone mentioned being afraid to put poopy cloth diapers in their nice washer and dryer. Let me tell you, poop will end up in your washer with or without cloth diapers.)

So, assuming you’re past the breastmilk only stage, the first thing you do is remove the poop. Then you can toss your diaper in your pail (still loving my white, step lid trash can from Target, lined with an XL Bummis Tote Bag). I aimed to do diaper laundry every 3 days. I would throw the whole load into the wash, toss the Bummis bag on top and start with a rinse. Then I followed with a hot wash and whatever soap I was using at the time followed by at least one more cold rinse. Then I tossed them in the dryer on medium heat. (I have a retractable line that I intended to air dry our diapers on, and I’ll confess I hardly used it.)

Every now and then I stripped my diapers if they started to stink or leak. I did this by adding a couple squirts of Dawn dish liquid to a HOT wash and then rinsing as many times as it took to make the suds disappear. There are also great instructions on various ways to strip your diapers here. (Please feel free to chime in below if you have a method that you love and works for you, as I’m not convinced mine is the best.)

As for the time aspect of the laundry, I never found that it was that much of a burden. It was one extra load every few days. The most time consuming part was re-stuffing the pocket diapers which made up 95% of our stash. I was always able to do that while watching TV or hanging out with Kendall, though. It really didn’t take much more than 10 or 15 minutes. And I assure you I don’t stay up on other laundry very well. Our closet floor usually looks like a Macy’s vomited all over it. But the diapers were just never that much of a hassle.

Getting Started

I write these posts and answer questions in an effort to try to simplify things, but the reality is cloth diapering is very overwhelming in the beginning. There are just SO many options, which is great because you will hopefully find something that works perfectly for you and your family eventually, but I understand completely how daunting it is to try to figure out just what that option is. That’s why I really recommend starting out with some sort of inexpensive/rental newborn solution.

You all know I love the Kissaluvs Size 0 Newborn Rental from SunshineDiapers.com.  If you want to do something that’s not a rental, I’ve heard great things about using prefolds and covers with newborns, too. (And many times you don’t even have to pin the prefolds, just fold them in thirds and put them in the cover.) This is a great way to jump right into cloth diapering and still give yourself a chance to figure out what’s going to be a good long term solution.

Some argue that cloth diapering a newborn is too overwhelming, but I disagree. You’re still (supposed to be) changing your baby’s diaper every few hours. The only thing you’re adding to your day is a load of laundry (since they go through so many diapers in the newborn stage, you will likely be washing every 12-24 hours). But think of the time you’re saving not rushing to the grocery store in the middle of the night to stock up when you suddenly discover you’re out of disposables! Really, it’s not that bad, but that’s just my opinion based on my experience.

While you’re learning the cloth diaper ropes with the newborn diapers, you can look ahead to some other options by buying one of a few kinds/brands that interest you, or you could go a step further and try out a rental package that includes a variety of options, like Sunshine Diapers Test Drive Set or check out JilliansDrawers.com (I would link you, but right now their website appears to be down). Hopefully after trying a few different diapers, you’ll find what works best for you, or at least well enough to get started. You can always add to your stash down the road.

The Cost

Yes, cloth diapers are a substantial up-front investment, but don’t be afraid to ask for help! Start a cloth diaper registry, let it be known to all your friends and family that you’d love an Amazon gift card, which could be used to buy diapers and supplies, or hint at having them throw you a cloth diaper shower. The money savings is real, even with the first kid, and becomes HUGE by your second. If you’re only having one baby, or this is your last baby, keep in mind you can still recover some of your costs by selling your diapers after you’re done with them.

It’s all a matter of perspective. I nearly have a heart attack now when we have to buy a case of disposables for Kendall to wear, and he’s only going through 2 a day! I can’t imagine having to make that purchase weekly. One case costs us as much as one new pocket diaper.

Our stash with Kendall only ever consisted of 21 diapers at a time (beyond the newborn stage), and that was plenty to get us through 3 days before washing. It is easy to get sucked into the world of expensive, fancy cloth diapers, and that’s when cloth diapering can lose out at being an economical option. The key is to find what works for you, get enough to get you through, then STOP. There will always be newer, cuter, softer, snazzier diapers coming out, and it’s fun to indulge in a new one every now and then, but listen to me when I say STEP AWAY from the online diaper shopping once you have a decent stash built up. (If you want to save money, that is.)

Was It Worth It?

Absolutely. While I’ll admit there were times I got frustrated with our diapers, like when the prescription cream caused leaking issues or when Kendall began tearing them off, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The money we saved, the chemicals I kept away from my child, the minimal waste made it all worth it.

And now I’m downright giddy heading into it a second time around. I’m happy that Kendall is mostly potty trained and has been since a little after turning 2. I guess I can’t say for sure that the cloth diapers had anything to do with that, but they didn’t hurt. And I found that the older Kendall got, the easier cloth diapering became. For one, he wasn’t going through as many diapers toward the end of his second year, meaning fewer changes and fewer loads of laundry.

Now that I’ve got this experience under my belt, I’m looking forward to an even smoother experience with cloth diapers this time around. I can’t wait to show off pictures of baby girl’s fluffy butt (if she ever freaking decides to get here). We will be starting her out in disposables until her umbilical cord falls off and she’s passed all the meconium because I’m not cleaning that black tar off our pretty, fluffy diapers.

I hope this week has answered some questions for you, introduced you to some great companies and products, or at least sparked your curiosity about cloth diapers. Please, please ask any questions you have below. I will do my very best to get back to you at some point or find someone who can help you.

Kendall is 2 years and 7 months old and I’m 40 weeks pregnant!

December 23, 2010 35 comments
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Cloth DiapersReviews

Cloth Diaper Week and a Half Awesome Continues! Giveaways

by Jill December 19, 2010
written by Jill

I’ve got a couple more amazing giveaways, as promised in my Vlog post here.

Up for grabs are a FuzziBunz one-size pocket diaper (as featured in the Vlog), and a FuzziBunz wetbag.

Another lucky winner will receive a set of 6 hemp doublers (also featured in the Vlog) from Artsy Fartsy Foo Foo.

(For those interested in purchasing the AFFF doublers, she stocks her Hyena Cart shop every Wednesday at noon, Eastern. She’ll be stocking this week, but then will take some time off for the holidays. The best way to stay up to date is to “like” her on Facebook. So worth it!)

How to enter?

1. Tell me what you like the most or what intrigues you or scares you the most about cloth diapers.
2. Follow @FuzziBunz on Twitter
3. Like Baby Rabies on Facebook
4. Like Artsy Fartsy Foo Foo on Facebook

I’ll draw 2 winners on Wednesday, the 22nd using Random.org, unless I’m in labor. Only open to those with US shipping addresses. Please leave a separate comment for EACH entry. Also, remember I moderate comments and yours may not show up right away. Give it a few hours before trying again, please.

Disclosure- I was sent a couple FuzziBunz diapers for review earlier this year, I purchased the AFFF doublers myself 2 years ago. I have not been compensated monetarily for this post or giveaway by either company.

**Entries are closed. Congrats to commenter #105, Fawn, for winning the FuzziBunz diaper and wetbag. Also, congrats to Heather, commenter #232, for winning the set of Artsy Fartsy Foo Foo hemp inserts! Both were chosen by Random.org.

December 19, 2010 240 comments
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