KimzKreations Solarveil Ring Sling

So a couple weeks ago I received my KimzKreations Solarveil Ring Sling that I had won at Adventures In Babywearing & I couldn't wait to try it out. I immediately pulled it out, put Haley in & off we went to water the garden.
Now, before I tell you anymore about how it went, I want to tell you about the sling itself. First, this sling was custom made just for us! When I won the sling Kim let me know the rings for the sling were pink & I could pick whatever solarveil material to go with them. After consulting with Hubby, since he wears Haley too, we chose green. I also was able to decide how long or short I wanted the sling, I went a little longer than normal so Jon could wear it too & I like a little extra to cover Haley when she's sleeping. Now, for the best part, Solarveil material blocks UVA and UVB sun rays & it's a very lightweight, breathable fabric which really helps keep you cool. It can also be worn at the beach or pool & if it gets wet it dries quickly. Isn't that so cool!
Anyways, how do I like it? Well, let me tell you, I LOVE it! It's super lightweight, super comfy & pretty darn cute if I do say so myself. Another major plus, Haley seems to like it, everytime I put her in she giggles & smiles at me.

FuzziBunz

FuzziBunz Diaper
style: pocket diaper


FuzziBunz diapers are one of our most regularly used diapers, we have several & we use them everyday. I love FuzziBunz because they are so cute & easy to clean. Jon will even rinse off a poopy FuzziBunz because the fleecey inside cleans so easily. FuzziBunz come in 2 types of diapers, a one size fits all and a perfect fit. We have both. Now, they've made 3 versions of the one size we have the older versions, version 1(no hip snaps) & version 2(with hip snaps), but hopefully soon we'll get to try out the 3rd & newest version(hips snaps with more adjustable levels). So far we love all the FuzziBunz we own & the only problem we've had is if we leave Haley in them too long & they get too full of pee, they will wick around the legs, so we just make sure we change her every couple hours & we're good.
Here are a couple of the one size FuzziBunz we have.
One Size version 1

One Size version 2
What's nice about the one size is they have adjustable elastic in the legs, so you can make the legs fit just perfect on skinny or chubby legs. The only thing I'm not crazy about versus the perfect fit diaper is when the one size diaper is set on a smaller setting, the microfiber insert sticks out the back, you can tuck it in & it doesn't diminish it's effectiveness, it just annoys me.

Here is 1 of our perfect fit diapers. Sorry the picture isn't great, Haley was playing grab & throw the diaper while I was trying to get a picture.

Perfect Fit size medium
The perfect fit diaper is great, the only time the one size worked better, was when we first started Haley in cloth diapers. We started with the medium size, because she was toward the top of the weight range for the small size & in the bottom for the medium size & I wanted her to get the most use out of the diapers. The problem was her legs were a little skinny, so we had a couple leaks because the diaper didn't fit her legs great. Now that she's a little chunker they work perfectly!

soft fleece inside

fluffy microfiber insert

Can you tell I adore the Daisy print!

Blueberries & Swaddlebees

Okay, so I wanted to try & occasionally share with you my opinion on different diapers I've tried, why I like & dislike them. I'm pretty happy with all our diapers, but I do have favorites & I do use different ones for different occasions. I decided to start with one of my favorites.

BLUEBERRY DIAPERS
style: pocket diaper

Oh, how I love my Blueberries, they are sooo soft & super absorbent! Whenever we are going out for a long period of time we use these diapers because they just hold sooo much pee & we've never had any problems with leaking. They've also held in some pretty major explosions with no problems! Blueberries clean up very easily & poop rinses right off the fleece inside. The only negatives with this diaper is it's a little bulkier than some of our other diapers & they are kinda expensive compared to some other pocket diapers. But, in my opinion they are totally worth it & oh so cute!

Blueberry Deluxe One Size Diaper


Blueberry Minky One Size Diaper - SUPER CUDDLY!!!
adjusted to the 3 different sizes

Soft fleecy inside

One Size Microfiber/Hemp Combo Insert - Super Thirsty


Blueberry One-Size MINKY BAMBOO Velour Diaper
2 layers of bamboo/cotton velour
a little thinner than the other diapers mentioned above & possibly a little less absorbent

Swaddlebees are made by the same company that makes Blueberries. These diapers are very similar, but a little cheaper & in my opinion they are a tiny bit less absorbent
Swaddlebees Econappi One Size Diaper
with inner layer of organic cotton velour
one-size insert made with organic cotton velour and hemp

Baby Love

While researching parenthood during my pregnancy with Haley I started reading The Baby Book by Dr. Sears and came across the section on attachment parenting. Well, the whole idea of being there to love & comfort your child & wearing them to keep them close sounded pretty good to me, so I immediately set out to find the best carrier. Wow, let me tell you there are a TON of different types of carriers out there, not to mention some very expensive ones & I found the thought of choosing "the right one" quite overwhelming. Now, let me tell you I had already been given a Baby Bjorn & the Ultimate Baby Wrap but, I still felt like I needed something else, maybe something I could nurse while wearing. So, I eventually decided on a ring sling by Posh Papoose. I also ended up purchasing a Peanut Shell pouch sling from Craigslist & my latest an Ergo Carrier. So, how do I like them? Let me tell ya...

Since unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of us using it, we'll start with the Baby Bjorn. Jon likes the Bjorn more than I do, mainly because my back very quickly starts to hurt while wearing it. I've also heard it's not great over time for a baby's spine & hips if you use it alot.

The Ultimate Baby Wrap

As you can see, we've used this from the very beginning. This picture was taken when Haley was only one week old & she was cuddled up & sleeping. I usually take it with us when we go for walks, so if she gets tired of the stroller, I can just wrap her up facing out, which she loves & we keep going. The only thing I dislike about this particular wrap is that the material is a little too stretchy, so now that Haley is heavier I find she starts to sag & I'm constantly tightening & readjusting it.

Peanut Shell Pouch Sling


This sling is great at putting Haley to sleep. I just snuggle her in, start walking around & viola! It took me a little time to get her in & out just right, but after watching an instructional video on Youtube I got it down.

Posh Papoose Ring Sling

When Haley was really little, I could never quite get this to fit right & she never gave me a chance. Everytime I would put her in it & try to adjust it she would start to cry, so I just gave up. Finally, a couple weeks ago I tried her in the hip carrying position & it worked great. Since then I've used it more & I've become more comfortable with it & we really like it.

Ergo Soft Structured Carrier


Finally, our favorite! This carrier is AWESOME! It is so comfortable & we love being able to wear Haley on our backs. We've also worn her in front, but my favorite is the back & I can even get her on & off by myself.

So, that's it. I'd love to try a mei tie carrier, but for now, I'm very happy with our stash. I also just recently won a KimzKreations Solarveil ring sling from Adventures in Babywearing. It's in the mail on its way here now, so I'll post about that once we've tried it.

A Day in the Life of Cloth Diapering

*previously posted on my personal blog*
So the following post is LONG & ALL about cloth diapers, so if you are not interested go ahead & skip it. I'm writing this to share our experience & because I've had several people ask me about how we cloth diaper. This is what we have found works for us.

I'll start with Haley's cutie booty stash...

...it includes various Blueberry, FuzziBunz, BumGenius, GroBaby, Thirsties, GoodMama, Sustainablebabyish, DryBees, Knickernappies, HappyHeiny, Gen-y, BabyBeehinds, SoftBums, Rumparooz, RockyMountain, KiwiPie, ImseVimse, Haute, Dream-Eze, BabyKangas, Swaddlebees, Green Acres & AppleCheeks. These are a variety of pocket diapers, all-in-ones, fitted & covers. If I had to pick I'd say our favorites are BumGenius(daddy loves the velcro tabs), Blueberry & Fuzzibunz, but I really do love them all. At night time we use a BumGenius All-In-One with an extra insert & it does a great job of keeping Haley dry.

When we started cloth diapering I started researching diapers & I was surprised at how many different types there were & of course I wanted to try as many as I could. So that is why Haley has so many different types of diapers and of course because they're so darn cute!

Changing Diapers:
We have also started using cloth wipes, I tried a couple different types, my favorite is the FuzziBunz Double-Sided Wipes. I leave the wipes dry until it's time for a change & then I wet them as I need them with a squirt bottle filled with Baby Bum Drops wipe solution.


Once Haley has a new diaper on I take the insert out of the dirty diaper & toss the diaper, the insert & the wipes into the diaper pail. The diaper pail is a trash can with a BumGenius Diaper Pail Liner.

If Haley has any hint of diaper rash, I use Northern Essence Diaper Salve for Sensitive Skin. It's safe for use on cloth diapers, it works great & oh it smells so lemony delicious!

For those pesky poopy diapers, I place the dirty diaper & wipes on a BumGenius Microfiber Towel & carry them into the bathroom.


Then I pull out the insert & spray off the wipes & diaper into the toilet with our BumGenius Diaper Sprayer. Once the majority of the poop is rinsed off, back to the diaper pail, where I toss the towel along with everything else into the diaper pail.

Laundry Routine:
I usually do diapers every other day. I start in the morning by emptying the diaper pail liner bag into the washer including the pail liner. Because we have really hard water we have to use Calgon Water Softener to get our diapers clean without getting a build-up causing the diapers to stink & repel. I also use Planet detergent because it is safe for cloth diapers & it works with our hard water. I tried Charlie's Soap, but because of our hard water it didn't clean very well.

So, I start with a cold wash with Planet filled to the 0 line inside the cap(very small amount) & 1/3 a capful of Calgon. Next, I do a hot wash with the same amount of Planet & Calgon. Finally, I do a cold rinse. Every 2-3 months I take all the clean inserts & wipes & do a hot water wash with a 1/4 cup of Bleach & then a couple more hot rinses. This strips the inserts of any build-up & keeps them thirsty. Do not use Bleach on the covers as it can destroy the PUL which keeps the diapers water-proof. Finally I put the diapers outside on a clothes line to dry.

The sun does an amazing job of getting rid of any stains on the inserts, diapers & wipes. Once the diapers are almost dry I throw them in the dryer on medium heat for 20 minutes just to give them that soft, fluffy feel.
Then in the afternoon or evening while Haley is playing I stuff all the diapers. Haley loves to "help", she really just loves to throw my nicely stacked piles of diapers & wipes around! So, this is the laundry routine that works for us & keeps our diapers clean, fluffy & thirsty.

Travel:
First, whenever we are going out for awhile I line Haley's diaper with a Bummis Bio-Soft Flushable Liner to make for an easier clean up if she poops.

In the diaper bag I have a GroBaby Diaper with an extra snap-in and a Planet Wise Wet Bag.


I also have a small bottle of wipe solution, a couple of cloth wipes, a Bummis Flushable Liner, biodegradable doggy poop bags & some disposible wet wipes. If Haley has a wet diaper I just use a cloth wipe with solution & place the diaper & wipe in the wet bag.

If she has a poopy diaper, I dump the Bummis Liner into a doggy poop bag along with any disposable wipes I use, tie it shut & toss it. I use disposable wipes while we're out and about on poopy diapers for easier clean up. I don't flush the liner because I have heard liners can cause plumbing problems with older pipes & anyways, when we're out & about I don't usually change her diaper by a toilet, so it's also more convenient. I put a new diaper on with a new Bummis liner & the dirty diaper goes into the wet bag. Once we get home I just empty the wet bag into the diaper pail, toss the wet bag in & it gets washed along with everything else.
So that's it! I can't say enough about how much I love cloth diapers & I'm so happy our family made the change to have a fluffy bottom baby!