Review/Giveaway for a Christmas Print AI2 Diaper by Howler Monkey Bums - a new WAHM Diaper!

One lucky reader will win the cute Ooga Booga Christmas print AI2 diaper pictured above by Howler Monkey Bums. You can also find Howler Monkey Bums on Facebook.

Plus I want to give you a heads up on a great sale! Today only (Monday, 11/28/11) there's a cyber sale. Use the code CYBERMONDAY10 for 10% off your total order!!!

About Howler Monkey Bums:

Howler Monkey Bums is a brand new WAHM run business by Callie Eddy Burton, located in Layton, Utah. Callie is another talented lady from my due date group! Callie is also a 1st grade teacher & Mom of 2 beautiful girls. Callie was inspired to try cloth diapers by Sarah West of Wee Bonnie Botts in April 2011. She was confused about where to begin and extremely frightened with the start up cost. Sarah sent her a few different types to try and gave her some time to decide on which she liked the best. She decided to venture into sewing and selling them herself. Callie's absolute favorite diaper is the AI2. She loves that the shell can be reused throughout the day minimizing the amount of laundry. This also allows her to coordinate her baby's clothes with the cute diaper print. She's a licensed La Di Da seamstress. She sells both AIO & AI2 diapers with PUL. She also makes one size & sized La Di Da Diapers. In addition, she can make the One Size Sprout Snap if you like that fit for your baby's bum. All of her diapers meet and exceed all CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) Regulations.


She offers discounts for starter packages, which will be personalized through her etsy shop.

Callie is super sweet & helpful. She understands feeling confused & overwhelmed since she felt that way herself when first starting out with cloth diapers. She's open to answering any questions that you might have.  

What's an AI2?

By now I'm sure all of you are familiar with AIO's & pocket diapers, but do you know what an AI2 is? It's very similar to an AIO because it has an outer shell, complete with waterproof layer, but the absorbent portion usually snaps in or just lays inside the shell. What makes this so nice is that you can remove the absorbent portion & reuse the shell! This works better with some AI2's than others. I've tested other AI2's & ended up using them like AIO's because the shell became wet as well & I didn't like the thought of putting my baby back in a wet shell with a new liner. I think because Callie's liner is so super long & made of ultra absorbent Zorb, you could actually use this one that way! I will be ordering some extra liners from her once we get past the holidays to see how that works out. I feel pretty certain that if I had a spare when I tested my Ooga Booga Christmas print, & if I'd changed her at 2 or 3 hrs instead of closer to 5, I could've gotten away with reusing the shell & just putting a new liner in.

This brings me to...

My Experience with Howler Monkey Bums:

I just received my AI2 from Howler Monkey Bums in the mail a couple of days ago. My 1st impression? CUTE & very well made! I was unfamiliar with the La Di Da diapers, but I have to say that I'm impressed. It's a nice trim diaper that adjusts to various sizes easily. There's a very long snake like, snap in liner/soaker that you can fold to add extra absorption where needed for your baby.

 Fresh out of the package, snapped down to it's smallest size.

View of the back

 

  

Diaper opened up, exposing the red suedecloth inner.

The very long snap in liner, tri-folded.

This pic shows the super long, snake like, snap in liner. You can fold this in any configuration that works best for your baby.

Callie suggested that I wash the diaper on hot 3 times & dry it in the dryer 3 times to make sure that the holes from her sewing through the PUL were sealed. I don't ever wash my dipes on hot - I always use warm. Plus, I was impatient to try this cute dipe out on my baby, so I kind of cheated in the pre-wash process. I did a warm wash with 2 warm rinses, & dried it twice in the dryer.

As soon as it came out of the dryer I put it on my baby. I nursed her, & she fell asleep in my arms. She slept for a good hour in my arms, & there was absolutely no leakage at all. When she woke up I let her play in her activity center for a while, on the floor for a while, etc. She normally cries when she wets, but she didn't even complain! She wore this diaper from about 4:00 pm to around 8:30 or 9:00 pm before she started to complain. Normally I change her every 2 or 3 hrs, but I was just curious to see if it would leak since I didn't exactly follow Callie's advice about sealing the holes in the PUL. Guess what? Not even a small leak! I was very impressed that she didn't seem to be uncomfortable with a wet diaper until almost 5 hrs went by!

My husband changed her diaper when he came home from work. He's extremely intimidated by cloth diapers for some strange reason, but he managed to get it off easily. I asked him if she was very wet, & he said that he couldn't tell. I know that she was wet based on her behavior before & after the change, but the fact that he couldn't tell means that the Zorb really does absorb liquid well. I've tested diapers with Zorb in the past & they really do perform outstandingly well! Based on this, I haven't even tested the diaper for night use. I know that it will definitely last all night - at least based on my breast fed baby's version of all night, which is anywhere from 5 to 8 hrs of consecutive sleep before waking to nurse.

I also know that there are quite a few Moms out there who would appreciate winning this before Christmas comes & goes, so I want to get the giveaway up! :o) Trust me when I tell you that there was absolutely no leaks at all during the extended time frame that I had her in the diaper!

Look how cute!

 

Look at the great fit!

She can move easily in it (too easily - she almost rolled off the table!).

A closeup of the rear fit.

Callie surprised me with a little bonus! She sent me an extremely cute miniature version of her diaper for a doll. :o) It has decorative snaps, but closes with Velcro to make it easier for little hands to manipulate. Of course, my baby girl is too little for it yet. She won't be ready for it until she's 3 for safety reasons (snaps), but I'll definitely hang on to it for her! It's absolutely precious! Be sure to check out Howler Monkey Bums on Facebook or the etsy shop to see samples of everything she offers, including these adorable doll diapers. 

Look at the cute little doll diaper!

 Tips From Callie:

Callie was nice enough to offer some tips! She says that if baby poops you shouldn't reuse the shell, even it appears to be clean because the smell lingers.

There's a trick to cleaning the snake soaker if you are a Mom that sprays poop off into the toilet. Be sure to leave it tri-folded while spraying it off. Callie said "Maybe I'm just slow but the length of them used to really bother me until I realized that you can keep it folded."

Pros:

1. Fit
2. Function - super absorbent!
3. Cute!!!
4. Ability to customize the shell lining with your choice of suedecloth or velour. 

Cons: 

I really can't think of any.  The snake like liner/soaker might be a little difficult for some to adjust to at first, but I didn't have a problem.

Attention Moms of girls! Please check out this cute, pink, sparkly, flower headband by GiggleBox Boutique! It would make a nice stocking stuffer, & would be super cute in those Santa pictures coming up! The headband giveaway ends on Dec 4 at midnight.

The Giveaway:

This giveaway is slightly different because we're so close to the holidays! Callie wants to make sure that the winner receives their Christmas print AI2 prior to Christmas. Because of that, she's asking the winning bidder to please pay $5.80 for priority mail. She's offering the winner a great bargain too - free shipping if they purchase a diaper in the Howler Monkey Bums Etsy Shop at the same time! You'll just have to contact her for the free shipping code prior to placing an order. The giveaway is open to residents of the US who are 18 & older. It ends Dec 12 at midnight.

Win a pretty pink flower headband by GiggleBox Boutique!

One lucky winner will win the pink flower headband pictured above, made by GiggleBox Boutique. This is a Rafflecopter giveaway, & will end at midnight on Dec 4, so you should receive your beautiful headband just in time for Christmas!

About GiggleBox Boutique:

Allow me to introduce you to GiggleBox Boutique! It's a Mom owned business by Samantha Fryer, another talented Mom from my due date group. :o) GiggleBox Boutique is a brand new business - only open about 4 months now! She says that she's become slightly obsessed & has way too many supplies now, but that can only be a good thing for customers!

I asked Samantha how she got started making her pretty hair accessories, & this was her reply "It was kind of a culmination of things. I am a photographer and have always loved all of the beautiful newborn headbands. Then I had my daughter who has no hair and cannot wear clips. I was obsessed with finding a matching headband for each outfit, so I decided to start making my own. I have so much fun with it and being creative, that I decided to start selling them."

Samantha makes pretty elastic headbands for babies who are a little shy on hair (like my little girl) or those who just want a delicate look, but she also makes traditional hard headbands, as well as clips. She has every style & color you could possibly imagine - all handmade by her.

My Experience With GiggleBox Boutique: 

I was sent the exact same headband that the winner will receive, so I can tell you that pictures just don't do it justice! It's made of pink felt & what appears to be pink organza with little sparkly pink stones & clear glitter all over it. It's done in layers, so it has dimension & isn't just a flat flower. There's a large round piece of felt that covers the elastic & holds the flower to it, but also means that your baby will have a nice soft piece of felt against the forehead area rather than the flower coming in direct contact with delicate skin.

The day that the headband arrived I couldn't wait to put it on my daughter. We had errands to run, & everywhere we went she received compliments.

 Just look how cute it is!

My baby girl was born with hair, but very little of it. Much of it fell off in the newborn phase, so I was unable to use cute little hair bows on her. Many flowery headbands that you see are just too overpowering for a baby. However, GiggleBox Boutique is just the right size!Samantha is open to answering any questions that you might have. You can contact her at GiggleBoxBoutique@gmail.com

*Note* This is unrelated, but if you're the Mom of a little girl you might want to enter the Christmas Tutu giveaway that's running through midnight on Nov 23. It really is beautiful! Click here to check it out.

The Giveaway:

This is a Rafflecopter giveaway, open to residents of the US who are 18 or older. It will end at midnight on December 4! The winner will have 48 hrs to respond to my email notification with their details or else I'll have to select another winner.

Win a BEAUTIFUL Christmas TuTu for your little Christmas Angel

 One lucky winner will win the beautiful Christmas tutu pictured above, in a size 3- 9 months, made by Precious Pitter Patter! Giveaway open to residents of the US who are 18 or older. Giveaway ends at midnight Nov 23!

About Precious Pitter Patter

I'm a huge Facebook fan & I was very happy to find out about Precious Pitter Patter on Facebook. Precious Pitter Patter is a home based business run by Amy Grey. She makes the most beautiful tutu's you'll ever see! Amy started making tutus when she saw a picture on the Internet and decided to make one as a gift for a gift exchange she was in.  It just sort of snowballed after that.  People saw the pictures and wanted one, and one of Amy's friends convinced her to make a Facebook page to start making them for everyone that wanted one!  She taught herself how to make all the great things she makes - such as crocheted hats & headbands adorned with flowers, onesies with your baby's age, wreaths, party decorations, & more! She seems to love a challenge, & will try to make dreams come true with her beautiful creations.

My experience with Precious Pitter Patter

I found Amy through a fan page on Facebook called Katie's Fighters. Katie is a sweet little angel born with anencephaly. Katie is truly one of God's miracles. She defied the odds & her Dr's expectations & has survived to three months & is still going strong! Katie's Mom wanted to help other families with babies who have anencephaly, so Katie's Facebook page held a fundraising auction. I bid on & won a sweet little pink crocheted hat with a big daisy on it that was made by Precious Pitter Patter. The sweet little hat arrived very quickly - within days of winning it. (By the way, Katie's Fighters is currently holding another auction. Please check it out!)

Wearing the sweet little crocheted hat

It was so cute on her that I quickly decided that I wanted a tutu to match it for Halloween. As you've probably guessed by the theme of my blog, I LOVE fairies! In fact, my daughter's nursery is decorated in a fairy theme. Therefore, it seemed only natural that I'd dress her as a fairy for her very first Halloween. However, I couldn't make up my mind on the type of tutu to choose - 2 toned petti tutu (the kind with little knots at the ends) or a basic 2 toned tutu with daisies all over it to match her hat. I agonized over my choices & emailed poor Amy over & over again asking a million questions. Amy was ever so patient with me, & offered useful advice on possible color combinations. She told me what she thought would look best & what she wouldn't advise - much appreciated advice since I was having difficulty visualising the end result. 

She outgrew her hat before I decided on what I wanted the tutu to look like, so I asked Amy to make her a headband as well. I stalked Amy's Facebook page while she was making them, & was delighted to see these pictures posted! I got a little preview before they arrived! :o)

 Stunningly beautiful 2 toned pink & ivory tutu with daisies, & a pink crocheted headband with large daisy that has a rhinestone center.

Amy was about to go on a trip to visit family, so I wasn't expecting the tutu right away. However, it was made & put in the mail within a week & a half of me ordering it! When I opened the box up I was very impressed with how she had it packed. Tulle will wrinkle, but it was packed so carefully that could never happen in transit. The waistband was down, with the skirt of the tutu up.

The wonderful packing job

I couldn't wait to play dress up with my baby! I looked for a pair of small wings, & sat her in our front yard to take a few pics.

 My beautiful little fairy

I can't say enough good things about Precious Pitter Patter! Please check her out. She's incredibly creative & does absolutely beautiful work - as you can see. You won't regret giving her your business.

*NOTE* Attention Moms of girls; you might want to enter to win a sweet pink flower headband for your baby. It's super cute! The headband giveaway ends Dec 4. 

The Giveaway:

This giveaway is open to residents of the US who are 18 & older. It ends on November 23, so you'll have this in plenty of time for Christmas! This would make a wonderful gift! Please keep your eyes open for my email notifying you that you've won. You'll have 48 hrs to respond to claim your prize or else I'll have to select a new winner.

Girls just want to have fun, which can be messy. Thankfully Clorox came to the rescue!

Spending time with friends and family can lead to fun and memorable moments, but also some very messy ones. The messiest moment I'll always remember is with my Girl Scout Troop. About two years ago we were in the process of moving into our house. While the house was still mostly empty I invited a couple of girls from my Troop of Junior Girl Scouts over to make homemade Twilight New Moon T-shirts because they missed our last meeting. We did the 1st round of the T-shirts at my church's fellowship hall where we held our meetings, but a couple of girls couldn't make that meeting so we finished them at my house. As it turns out, it was a good thing we finished the T-shirts at my house! It was a lot of fun, but verrrrry messy! 

I received information about Clorox’s Bleach It Away campaign and am sharing my messy moment for the chance to win prizes from The SITS Girls. To learn more about the messy moment program, check out www.BleachItAway.com.  Sharing your story on the Clorox fan page gets you entered for the chance to win $25,000 and daily prizes, and you can grab a coupon for Clorox® Regular Bleach.

As you've probably learned from reading my blog posts, I don't go far without my camera! I always take plenty of pictures, so fortunately I have some to show of the messy fun we had - though not of the mess itself (unfortunately). 

Note to self: This is how NOT to make a mess:

My daughter & my T-shirts (done at Church). We were super careful there & put a plastic table cloth down, & placed cardboard in between the 2 sides of the T-shirts. The other shirts were done the same way, so there wasn't a mess.


Note to self: This is a SURE FIRE way to make a mess (& memories):

 2 of the girls at my house. Unfortunately, this was very last minute so I forgot the plastic table cloth & cardboard. MAJOR oops!

 The paint was already starting to get on the counter. See it to the left?

 The paint was going on thicker & thicker. The girls were having lots of fun, & I wasn't thinking about the fact that there wasn't cardboard in the middle of each shirt.

As you can see, LOTS of paint! (Even more was on the counter underneath the shirt!)

Blood, blood, & more blood! (And a big red spot on the counter underneath).

They each had to buy their own T-shirts, & I supplied the fabric paint. They came up with their own designs & used my kitchen counter to paint their T-shirts, which we later used to wear on a field trip to watch the movie together. 

It took several days for the T-shirts to dry because our gas hadn't been turned on yet & the house was cold. The T-shirts sat for about 3 days drying. Once they were completely dry, I lifted them up to fold them....... that's when I noticed the paint caked on the counter. I tried scraping it off & for the most part it worked. It was the red paint that was particularly troublesome. Even after the paint was scraped off, a red stain remained. That's when I reached for the Clorox. Success! It vanished before my eyes. I'm only sorry that I didn't take pictures of that. The Twilight New Moon messy fun didn't end there.

I'm a HUGE Twilight Saga fan, as is my daughter, & almost every other tween & teen. The Troop New Moon T-shirts were part of a huge circle of events I had planned around the movie. My daughter's 12th birthday was going to be a New Moon party, complete with Bella's Birthday cake, "blood" in bottles to drink, mushroom ravioli for dinner, & Twilight shown on a big screen with a projector. The girls played pin the kiss on Edward (blood red lipstick was applied, a scarf was tied on their head, they were spun in circles, & then had to kiss a plastic covered Edward poster. The girl who kissed closest to his mouth won the poster. I hadn't counted on the red lipstick kisses on my wall though! LOL. We also had some non messy games - trivia about the movies, a wolf pack race, & more.

More messes came at the party. What was I thinking with all of the "blood" in my theme?!? 

All of these pretty bottles of "blood" to drink were spilled & left a sticky, nasty, red mess.

Not a very good picture, but this was the buttered blood popcorn we ate during the movie. Do you want to guess what the girls wiped their greasy red fingers on? I'll give you a hint - it WAS NOT one of the New Moon napkins! 

You see the girls pointing to their kisses, but what you don't see are the couple of kisses that missed the poster & hit the wall. :o) 

With all of that red, I didn't even bother with other household cleaners. I went straight to the Clorox because I needed bleaching power! It didn't let me down.

I won't even get into the apple fight the girls got into after my husband & I went to bed........... Let's just say that our coffee pot & ceiling lost the fight.

November is National Prematurity Awareness month

As a Medela Mom Maven, I felt this was very important to pass along! 

This November, in recognition of National Prematurity Awareness Month and to help raise awareness of the value of human milk, Medela is hosting a Virtual Milk Collection Campaign. For every person that registers, one milliliter of virtual human milk is collected. When you register you can vote for your NICU to win $5,000 in Medela product to support the use of human milk.

Go to www.MedelaPreemieAwareness.com for more details and to place a vote for your hospital to win! Let's see how much virtual human milk we can collect!

Go Green Champ 2.0 Pocket Diaper Review/Giveaway by Jack Be Natural

A month & a half ago I received a cute little diaper in the mail from Jack Be Natural. It was a cute little red diaper with white hearts all over it - very fitting since my baby was originally due on Valentine's Day (she didn't get that memo & was evicted on Feb 21 due to Gestational Diabetes)!

One lucky reader will also win a Go Green Champ 2.0 Pocket Diaper from Jack Be Natural! Jack Be Natural will select the color or print based on the gender of your baby. As usual, the giveaway will be at the end of the review. It begins tonight at midnight & will end on November 18, 2011. The winner must respond to my email within 48 hours or I will have to select a new winner.

 Included is a nice sized liner for you to snap in.

About Jack Be Natural

Started by middle class parents with two children, who were obsessed with their health & well being. Many parents aren't aware of the numerous hazards in baby & children products. Jack Be Natural strives to use natural & organic products, while remaining grounded & separating facts of what is safe & what isn't. They explored better alternatives for everyday products & combined their passion for natural products with their entrepreneurial spirit, which resulted in Jack Be Natural. Their mantra is to educate other parents on the advantages of natural baby products while providing them at fair & affordable prices.




The Review

Jack Be Natural has a good selection of the Go Green Champ 2.0 Pocket Diapers available. Just click on the link & look at all of the cute prints & colors! I love the different names of the prints too! Bunz' N Roses (pictured at the top), Shiny Hiney, etc. He He.

What makes this diaper different is that it has openings at both the front & back of the pocket that allows the liner to come out in the wash! I have to say that I feel like Go Green has solved a major flaw in pocket diapers with this feature! I can't speak for others, but personally I hate both stuffing & having to unstuff wet/dirty liners!  With openings at each end, the stuffing process is MUCH easier & you don't have to bother with unstuffing.

Here is both pocket openings open, exposing the liner. The opening at the back is nice & roomy, making it super easy for you to stuff.

This pic shows where the liner snaps to the shell/cover.

As you can see, there's a nice overlap of lining fabric to cover the openings at each end.

It has the traditional snaps in the front to adjust the rise, as well as snaps at the waist, & hip snaps to adjust the leg openings.

 My baby sporting her Go Green Champ 2.0. It fits her VERY well. I had no trouble at all customizing the fit - even with the generously sized liner inside.

I've tried this diaper out several times, & it's very soft, fits well, & functions well. I would recommend using it as a daytime diaper as it comes, but if you get an extra liner/soaker you can use this at night too. You might need an extra soaker if you have a heavy wetter too, but I haven't experienced a problem with leaking at all. In fact, my baby had a pretty major blow out in her 2.0 Champ & the gussets contained it all - no mess to deal with on her clothes or mine!

I have to say that this is one of the best priced cloth diapers on the market too! In these tough economic times that's definitely a major bonus! Jack Be Natural sells the Go Green Champ 2.0 Pocket Diaper for a very reasonable $15.95 with FREE shipping!!!

I should also mention that Jack Be Natural is giving away a FREE item on all orders over $75!!! Click here for more details. They also have a fantastic rewards program called Jack's Cash, where you get $1 in store credit for every $15 you spend!!!!

Features:

• They have both fuzzy & silky leak proof exteriors in a nice variety of patterns & colors.
• A soft suede cloth lining.
• Dual gussets.
• Dual pocket openings, so that you don't have to remove wet/dirty insets because they come out by themselves in the wash! (This is my FAVE feature!)
• Hip snaps for better sizing (new feature).
• Front pocket cover made of PUL to prevent leaking (new feature).
• Back pocket opening cover 
• Includes one snap-in liner made of 3 layers of microfiber.  

Pros:

1. Price - extremely affordable!
2. Dual pocket openings to make stuffing easier & unstuffing unnecessary!
3. Dual gussets to catch exploding poop!
4. Cute, cute, cute!
5. Super easy to adjust the size.
6. Snap in liner, & it comes with the liner!!! This is a plus because some pocket diapers require you to purchase the liner separately.

Cons:

1. I wish it came with an extra liner for night use or heavy wetters, but this isn't a huge issue. They aren't expensive to buy from Jack Be Natural.

The Giveaway:

This is a Rafflecopter giveaway, open to residents of the US & Canada who are 18 & older. It will end on November 18, 2011. The winner must respond to my email within 48 hours or I will have to select a new winner.

Attention Moms of Girls!

I have another giveaway running through midnight of Nov 23 that you might be interested in. You can win a beautiful Christmas Tutu in a size 3-9 months from Precious Pitter Patter. Please click here to enter the giveaway!