Wishlist Wednesday----Belated!

Hi my lovely readers!

I apologize for being bad Mama and not having posted my Wishlist Wednesday this week. We've had lots of doctor appointments this week between the little guy and myself (I recently had gallbladder surgery... one of the perks of motherhood!), so I guess it will have to be Wishlist Friday this week!

Anyways... this week I have some super fun things to add to my wishlist! So let's get started.....


1) Chewbeads (Hudson style) 

Isn't it just adorable???? I saw a blog post on Cotton Babies' blog about new finds for parents, and fell in LOVE. I adore the color. I adore the funky-ness of this piece. I adore the price ($36.50). To make this even MORE amazing, Chewbeads were specifically created for mamas with babies who are in that oh so fun chewy, mouthy, handsy phase.  The beads are 100% silicone, just like many pacis and nipples. They're free of harmful ickies such as BPA and are totally safe for babies to do as they please.  Plus, my favorite feature----the breakaway clasp. No need to worry about little Hercules snapping that necklace and breaking it for good! Jewelry for me + a toy for LJ? I'm in! Click here to get yours!

2) The New Clothesline Co. DUO (in lime green)

I found this on Kelly's Closet's website  from the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt and am totally in love with this! My neighborhood homeowner's association does not allow clotheslines. So far, I have just laid my covers out on the patio table, but good old Mr. Wind tends to foil my efforts at drying outside.  For only $19.99, this seems like a great alternative! I love that it folds into itself, since I have a little bit of a clean house fetish and don't like having clutter out when I don't need it.  I also love that it comes in green... can you tell that's my favorite color? This "clothesline" will hold 16 covers, which is a great amount! Get yours here!

Until next week!

Diaper Review--Ones&Twos.

Welcome to our newest diaper review here at The Mama Life.

Today  I will be reviewing the Ones&Twos brand AIO cloth diaper.  I received two of these diapers as my freebies with promo code from Kelly's Closet.  I had not heard much about this brand prior to receiving them, but was excited to add 2 new fluffs to my stash.

Before I go into my actual review, I'll talk quickly about what I liked upon first glace:

• AIO with sewn in soaker--I have 2 BG Freetimes and love them, but I did feel they seemed slightly bulky with the two "flap" style inserts that were attached.  The Ones&Twos has a more streamline appearance and from the looks of it, would seem to be more trim than other AIOs.  
• Extra soaker included---A small, MF soaker (with soft material on the side that touches baby's bum) is included to adjust the absorbency of the diaper.  
• Super soft lining-  I loved the super soft inside of the diaper. 
• Size options- This is an AIO OS diaper, but it is one of the only diapers I have seen that gets so small.  On its smallest setting, with the hook and look to the tightest fit and the rise on the smallest setting, it is SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than any of my others, including Oh Katy, which in my opinion get pretty close.  

Now on to the review.........

Yesterday was day 2 of 24 hour cloth. LJ woke up in his BG 4.0 and I changed him into his Ones&Twos.  We came downstairs and I laid him on his playmat to relax while I made breakfast, let the dog out and other morning chores. These chores took maybe a good 30 minutes.  I ate breakfast and went to pick him up as he was crying, and that's when I saw it.... 

that dreaded telltale leak mark, all up his front and near his legs.  Now, keep in mind that I had adjusted the diaper appropriately, with a snug but not TOO snug fit and the correct rise. When I had dressed him, there wasn't any gap by the tummy or the "bump out" ridge that sometimes happens and drives me nuts trying to avoid.  And for any mamas of boys... everything was pointing in the right direction too! 

When I removed the diaper, I noticed that the front half was totally saturated, especially near the waist. 

Needless to say... I don't think I will be buying any more of these.  To be fair, I will give my other Ones&Twos a go, and then try them again with the additional soaker attached, but considering I do not double stuff any of my pockets and never have leaking issues with the others...this will most likely become my "laundry day" dipe. Keep in mind though, that this is only MY experience so you very well may find them to be perfect for your child! 

Diaper Review--- Flip Diapers

Ok here it is... the first review of my many new additions to my stash!

Back in the beginning of July, I decided to take my remaining diapers.com gift card and purchase one of each of a few different cloth diaper brands, including: Flip, Oh Katy, Fuzzibunz, BumGenius 4.0 pocket and Freetime.  I did a "cloth diaper day" to see which ones I liked best.  To be entirely honest, I loved all of them except for the Fuzzibunz. Maybe it was just my son, but even on the suggested setting, and even on a smaller one, the leg openings still were too big. Plus, he soaked the soaker with one pee.  They're cute, but I liked others better.

Flip system appealed to me for a variety of reasons:

• Diaper bag friendly---Because I'm the type mama who likes to always be prepared, I tend to over pack.  This is/was one of my major concerns with cloth diapering, as they definitely take up more space than your typical sposie.  I never leave my house without 5 diapers (disposable), so how on Earth could I do that with cloth?  The answer is Flip.  The covers are reusable (if poop gets on a cover, though, you will want to change it) so 2 in the bag is usually a safe bet. They're rather thin and you probably could carry 4 or more in one pocket of a diaper bag if you wanted.  As for the inserts, I have both the stay dry micro fiber ones and some of the organic cotton ones.  The organics might be a bit bulkier, as they are more of a typical prefold look, so I chose to travel with my stay dries.  I was able to fit three in the bag, but could have fit more if I wanted.  
• Flaps to keep the insert down:   There is both a front and a back flap to help secure the insert. It doesn't snap in, which might have been nice making it more of an AI2, but I have yet to have bunching or moving issues with the insert.   My little guy is starting to be a big wiggler, and the inserts stay in place just fine! :) 
• The fit:  For those who are BumGenius fans, these have the same design as other Cottonbabies brand diapers, including, my personal favorite...the stretchy tabs.  Other fluff out there have crossover tabs, but the actual tabs don't have much stretch making it difficult to get a "just right" fit. With Cottonbabies, both the hook and look and snap dipes feature a slight stretch to the tab, allowing for a more customized fit.  With my little guy, this means I can prevent leaking through the leg openings, while also getting a snug and comfy fit at the waist.  

After using the one Flip I had purchased, I knew I would want to buy more when I went on my fluff spree.  I decided to buy a Day Pack from Kellyscloset.com which features a build your own pack including 2 covers and 6 inserts. The base price, with 6 Stay-Dry inserts, is $49.95, but you have the option of selecting the organic inserts instead for an additional $1.66 per insert. 

I purchased mine in Mirror (LOVE this color!) and Moonbeam.  

Today, LJ has worn his BG 4.0, his Oh Katy, and his Flip. We actually took him to go see a movie and I decided to take the Flip for a second test run. This time, he wore it for almost 4 hours (yes, bad mama.) without even the slightest complaint. He will almost ALWAYS scream as soon as he feels wet, so I take this as a great sign that the Flip Stay-Dry inserts do a good job wicking away moisture.  With all of our errands, I did not get to find a place to change him until we got back home. When I did, the insert was saturated, but did not leak in the slightest.  My little guy is a heavy wetter too most of the time.  

All in all, while I love pockets, I would definitely say that the Flip diaper system is going to become a staple in my diaper bag and will definitely become my new "on the go" cloth solution! 

Wishlist Wednesday

It's Wednesday, which means it is WISHLIST day! Each week, I will put together a wishlist of 3-5 items that I'm currently drooling over. If when I end up buying these products, there will be a link to the review :)

First up:

1) Blueberry Wet/Dry Tote Bag (in "dino)

I might have a little obsession with dinosaurs. Sure, this may stem from how adorable LJ looked in his newborn onesie with the dino feet that I miss dearly, or it may just be because, well, dinos rock. I have a diaper bag that I love (the JJ Cole Satchel, review to follow) and keep my Planet Wise "Owl" medium wet bag inside, but now that we are transitioning over to all cloth, and mostly pockets or AIOs, I think this would be a neat addition for longer day trips.  Plus, with the dino pattern, I can see Hubby actually being OK with holding this bag :)

While you can find these bags on Amazon with Prime shipping (which I LOVE!), I also found it at Nicki's Diapers for $28.95. Find yours here.


2) Aden & Anais Muslin Sleeping Bag (in "elephant")

My little guy is a sweatball.  When we first brought him home from the hospital, like every new mama, we would put him in his stretchy at night and then swaddle him nice and tight before bed. By the time the first feeding rolled around, however, we would wake to a baby with his hair plastered to his head and an actual wet spot on his clothing from his sweating in his sleep (nope, it wasn't pee!).  We switched him to just a swaddler and a diaper, since he still needed the secure swaddled feeling to stay asleep.

Recently, though, he's developed his most recent trick.... rolling onto his tummy during the night.  He has great head control and props himself up all of the time on his belly, but he has yet to master the roll BACK over. Considering I cannot be up all night to flip him back over, I want to be sure he has use of his arms during the night now. I have the A&A receiving blankets and love them, so I am sure these would be great too!

Nicki's Diapers has them on sale for another hour for 10% off the normal price of $32, making them only $28.80. Find yours here.


3) Bummis Bio-Soft Flushable Liners

LJ isn't on solids yet, but will be starting soon. Since I exclusively breast feed now, it's been wonderful just being able to toss any dirties straight in the wash.  I'm already dreading the day when this changes, but have heard great things about flushable liners.  I'm sure these would also be great for when LJ starts daycare in the fall, so that I won't be sent home with a bag of super stinky poop (well, at least not AS stinky!).

They're the deal of the day at Kelly's Closet today for only $6.96. Find yours here.



Well folks, while there are about a million other things on my wishlist... that will have to do for now. Until next time!

A spree of the fluff variety!

The other day I went on a fluff spending spree. It was a spree of the best kind...using gift money we had received from LJ's birth.  Now that the little guy is big enough to really wear his OS dipes, I decided it time to finally build my stash.

When I was still pregnant with LJ, the mamas in my birth board on BBC introduced me to the wondrous world of cloth diapering.  Of course, my family all thought I was think I am  crazy, but I loved the idea and spent hours stalking cottonbabies.com, kellyscloset.com, nickisdiapers.com and several others.  I started my stash with Thirsties Duo Wraps in Size 1 with Indian prefolds, and was super glad I had done so, as little man ended up being a tiny guy compared to what I had been expecting.  Being that I nurse, I love that I can just put the dipes into the wet bag and not have to worry about any other prep work prior to washing.  Prefolds and covers were nice, but ultimately I knew I would want to invest in pockets and AIO OS dipes, as a large part of my reasoning to go cloth was to save money and I liked that I could buy diapers that would fit him from birth through potty training.

I started by buying a few Alva and Lovely Pocket diapers, as I did not want to spend a lot upfront.  I found that they both did a good job at keeping everything in, with no leaks after an average of 2.5 hours of wear.  The Lovely Pockets did fit larger than the Alvas, and I found myself wishing for a bit of a snugger fit in the waist, but overall I liked them.  When LJ officially fit well into the Alvas, I took the remainder of our gift card  and bought a variety of individual fluff to try out before building my stash. I bought:

• Fuzzibunz Elite
• BG 4.0
• BG Freetime
• Kawaii
• Oh Katy
• Flip
• Imagine AIO 
• Imagine pocket

I'll make a post reviewing each of these brands later, but overall my favorites were cottonbabies brand (BG and Flip) and Oh Katy.  I LOVED the stretchy tabs on BG and Flip, they allowed me to get a more secure and custom fit for LJ. I also loved Oh Katys, with their inside hip snap, allowing for a better leg opening fit.  

Ok, enough about my preferences... what did I end up buying????

Being a couponing mama, I wanted to get the best bang for my buck.  I found Kelly's Closet, and saw they were offering a promo for a free AIO OS diper with a $69 purchase.  They also had the Oh Katy promo going, for Buy 4 get 1 free for about $72.  I immediately jumped on this! 6 diapers for $72?! Yay!  

The promo code (FREEAIO), is still available through today, and you are able to use it twice (in separate orders).  I ended up doing this with a FLIP day pack and wet bag purchase too, spending $98 (with shipping)  for 2 Flip covers, 6 inserts, a large hanging wet bag and the free AIO dipe.  You also get free shipping for orders over $49, but I chose to pay for the UPS shipping.  

I also found a great deal on BG 4.0 through Cottonbabies.com... they ran the $86.90 special of buy 5 get 1 free, but also had a promo code for a free BG 4.0 with a $75 purchase :) 

I feel quite accomplished! :)