Maple Sugar Designs Wet Bags

What do you do when you’re out and about?  At first, we used disposables, but then I decided that I wanted to commit to cloth diapering full time. At first, I just grabbed a plastic sack and put the used cloth in it just as I would have a disposable.  It didn’t take long for that to gross me out just a bit, so I went to my local cloth diapering store and picked up a wet bag.  I loved it and swore there was nothing that would beat it.  Being the completely unperfect mom that I am, I can admit when I’m wrong!

When I checked the mail and found my Maple Sugar Designs wet bag, I couldn’t wait to try it!  Well, life had other plans and we spent a while where someone was always sick and I was trying to keep Bubs at home as much as possible to minimize the chances that he’d get sick.  The entire time, my new “toy” sat on the desk, taunting me, begging me to put it to use!  Finally, the day came when we had somewhere to go, so I packed up, carefully folded the bag, and put it in the diaper bag, promising that its day had come.

Unlike my fully functional bag that I bought locally (and only considering price), this bag has a fun fabric outer.  I’ve quickly learned that awesome prints make everything in life better!  The Procare liner is a bit thicker than PUL liners, which makes me feel a bit more comfortable when I’m going to put the bag back into the diaper bag.  This bag has a loop at the top which helped me as I tried to hang on to a dirty diaper and open the bag which was incredibly helpful!

If you’re in the market for a wet bag, I highly recommend going to Michelle’s site and browsing her shop.  This is now our go-to bag.  Even my husband knows which bag to grab when he packs the bag and he’s “corrected” my mom when she grabbed the wrong bag. I have a feeling that before long, I’ll be talking to Mr. Unperfect to see if I can get a hanging wet bag for Bubs’ room!

Want a chance to try a Maple Sugar Designs wet bag for free?  Leave me a comment with which print you’d choose.  Want another entry?  Tell a friend to stop by.  If they say that you sent them, you will receive a second entry.  This giveaway will be open through November 9th at 9:00pm CST.  At that time, I will choose the winner at random.  Please be sure to leave a way for me to reach you in your comment!

Short Rounds Winner, FINALLY

Sorry this is so late! I found a new addiction and it’s clouded my brain! More about that later. For now, it’s time to announce the Short Rounds winner!

This week’s winner is mom24babes

Congrats!!!!

I’m going to take this week off from a giveaway since I have two treats I just got in the mail that I’m trying out. Be sure to come back next Monday for the next offer!

Short Rounds Fitteds

Another week has passed, therefore, it’s time to share a bit more of my stash!  The bad thing about resolving to try as many WAHM diapers as possible is that every week, I have a new favorite.  It doesn’t mean I love the others any less, it’s more like I feel guilt for thinking there MUST be something wrong, something I don’t love.  Either I’m incredibly lucky or the cloth diapering community has begun weeding out the bad ones, because I have yet to put a mommy-made diaper on RJ’s bottom that I wouldn’t scoop up more of!

This week, I tried out a side-snapping fitted from Short Rounds.  I wanted a snapping fitted because my hubby won’t pick up anything that requires a snappi or pins.  I like the fit of our side-snapping pockets, so this seemed like a logical choice.

Jen is a newer WAHM, but you’d never knowing it looking at her diapers!  The sewing was professional, the snaps are secure, and the elastic is perfect from what I can see and feel.  The outer is absolutely adorable, even if it wasn’t one of my “must have” prints and the inner compliments the outer well.

When my fluffy mail first came, I wasn’t sure about the bright yellow color of the inner, but once I soaked it in for a bit, I don’t think any other color would do.  I think I’m so used to white or neutral inners that it took some getting used to.  Other than that, I had no complaints.

Bubs had spent a few days in disposables and had a case of monkey butt when we put this on him, so his “review” may be a bit skewed.  He was a changed boy as soon as his bottom hit the soft cotton velour.  Once the diaper change was done, he was grinning from ear to ear.  I think he liked it!

I was a bit concerned because there was a bit more of a gap in the front, between the diaper and his skin, than I’m used to with other diapers.  When I looked closer, I think that’s just because RJ is at the small end of the medium size.  Because of that gap, I was worried about what would happen when it was “christened”.  The answer, absolutely nothing!  The soaker did it’s job perfectly and absorbed a good amount, to the point where the outer was barely damp.

Would you like to try out a Short Rounds fitted of your own?  If so, leave me a comment with the size your little one needs along with your “must have” fabric choice.  I can’t guarantee the fabric you want will be available, but I will do my best to order your diaper in a fabric you’re sure to love!

Want more entries?  If you post about this week’s giveaway on Facebook or Twitter and leave another comment with the link, you’ll receive another entry.  If someone posts that you sent them here, you’ll also receive a bonus entry.

This week’s winner will be posted sometime early next week.  I will shoot for Monday, but that will depend on the demands of being mommy!

Week #2 Winner

This week’s winner is Rose Plummer (#4)!!!

Being a mom has interrupted my blogging momentarily.  As happens when you have kids, I don’t have this week’s review ready, but it will be up tonight.  Be sure to check back for your chance to win some squishy softness of your own!

Diaper of the Week #2

First off, congrats to the brand new owner of a Bugga Bugga Boutique amazingly awesome diaper!!!  This week, Tracy will be getting some fluffy mail, courtesy of the completely unperfect family!

This week goes hand in hand with last week.  When you do cover a fitted diaper, what do you use?  Seriously, this is still one of the most overwhelming choices for me!  There are a billion PUL covers out there in both colors and fun patterns.  Then you have wool and fleece shorties, longies, soakers, skirties (okay, we don’t consider this option, but it’s there), etc.  At a later date, we’ll tackle wool and fleece, but for now, we’re keeping it simple.

I decided to ask some mommies for suggestions of what to look at to post here.  The first response was Adorabumz covers.  When Cassie suggested this, she was raving about how wonderful Rachel’s customer service is and what a sweet lady she is.  That’s just the type of person I am hoping to spread the word about, so I hopped over to her site.

The Dr. Seuss cover caught my eye immediately.  Seriously, who isn’t in love with Dr. Seuss?  He was a great writer for kids, the characters are incredibly goofy, and it’s fun to pass on to the kids.

After making any purchase online, the long wait begins.  I hate waiting!  Great news for anyone who is like me, my new cover was here within 3 days (maybe even the second day after I ordered), waiting to greet me when I got home from work.  Cassie wasn’t lying when she said Rachel has awesome customer service!  Within 20 minutes of placing my order, I had an email from Rachel thanking me for my order.  Between great communication and fast shipping, I was inclined to recommend her to others without seeing the cover.  I’d never do that, of course, because there are probably people out there who are fast and friendly without being skilled.

After opening the package, another benefit fell into my lap.  Rachel includes care instructions with her covers.  This may not seem important to veteran cloth mamas, but to someone who has been scared of using options that require covers, it was a welcome addition to the cover.  She also included a business card, another welcome non-essential item.  Business cards make it easier for me to remember who I ordered what from so I can order again!  I’ve started writing a description of the items on the back of the cards and putting them in a little box so I have them for reference.

As soon as I finished washing and drying the cover per the directions, it was time for a test drive!  For a snap cover, it had a great fit.  The print was even more adorable in person than it is on her website.

If I had to choose something to cut the sugar level a bit, I’m not sure if I like fold-over elastic (FOE).  This is nothing against the cover, it’s a personal preference thing.  If I find something that has a print I can’t live without, FOE won’t keep me from buying it, but I’d have to have more experience before deciding if I’d buy something in a solid color with FOE. The edges on the flaps didn’t lay quite as flat as I’d like, other than that, the FOE was a cute trim.

Overall, I’d say I would definitely buy more Adorabumz covers!  Would you like one of your own?  Leave me a comment to be entered in this week’s drawing!  If you tell others to visit my blog and they mention that you sent them when they comment, you’ll BOTH receive an additional entry.  Next Monday, sometime after work and before dinner when the little man is sleeping, I’ll choose the winner.  Please make sure you leave your email address or blog address so I can contact you if you win!  Because this is a fitted cover, please also leave what size you would  need in the comments.

Diaper of the Week #1

Yes, I’ve fallen victim to cloth diapering!  It can be an incredibly economical way to diaper a child, but I see now that it can also be incredibly expensive!  When we started using cloth, I swore I would not be one of “those moms” who went insane over certain diapers or prints.  I was going to keep is incredibly simple.

I’m not going overboard, I still have some restraint within me.  There are certain diapers I don’t understand the hype over.  On the other hand, there are some diapers that may not get a ton of hype, but they should!

When we were looking at cloth options, fitted diapers seemed like a waste.  Why buy an adorable diaper if you have to cover it?  The first thing pointed out to me was that we buy cute undergarments for ourselves and cover them.  Okay, point taken.  But why buy them when you have to put a cover over them and then put clothes over that?  How about the fact that if you’re paying attention, you don’t necessarily HAVE to cover them when you’re at home!

Yes, I attempted to make my own fitted diapers, but to be honest, I could never compare with diapers like this one from Bugga Bugga Boutique.  It’s a one size, snappiable or pinnable diaper.  What does that mean?

Well, one size is pretty self explanatory.  By folding over the front of the diaper, it will fit a newborn and it will last through potty learning.  The nice thing about this diaper is there’s no guess work trying to figure out which set of snaps will achieve the necessary size.  That also means there are no snaps to come undone when you are trying to put it on a wiggly baby!

I wasn’t too keen on the thought of having to use a Snappi or pins to close a diaper, but decided to give it a try.  This is one of those things to file in the “shattered I’ll nevers” box.  I LOVE my Snappi!  Unlike snaps, I can always get the right fit.  Yes, Aplix (velcro) will give you the correct fit, but having to untangle a wad of stuck-together diapers is no fun!

As if all of that wasn’t enough, can you beat this print???  I’m not one to stalk prints, but I’ll admit any boyish Ooga Booga is a weakness of mine!  It seems like there are many more girly prints than boy prints and the monsters on this can’t be beat!

Besides being beyond adorable, my Ooga Booga Bugga Bugga (come one, it’s fun to say!) is well constructed, quick drying, and does its job holding everything in.  Sure, the whole thing gets wet if Bubba has a huge pee in his Bugga (okay, I may need to be stopped), but that’s what happens with fitteds.  The first time he wore this one, his little tummy was upset and everything stayed where it was supposed to.  The hubby was sure there was no way a cloth diaper would hold in a less than solid poo, so I was glad this dipe proved him wrong!

If you haven’t tried the Bugga Basics One Size Fitted, leave me a comment telling me why you’d like to try it!  Next Monday, I will announce the brand new owner of a BBOFS with cotton knit outer, bamboo interlock inner layers, and a lay-in soaker.  Please make sure to leave your email address so I can contact you for your address in the event you win!

Want more chances to win?  Leave a comment in this thread when you do each of the following:

1. Follow this blog
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3. Comment on another thread
4. Suggest a product to be reviewed