In the past, as a cloth diaper maker, I wondered what people wanted in a diaper, so that I could create that “perfect” diaper.  Today, I know there is no perfect diaper for everyone, but some do get pretty close.

In your opinion, what makes the perfect cloth diaper?

Update (2010/06/26): Since a couple of people have asked, here is what I consider to be the perfect diaper:

• Hidden snaps
• Not too few and not too many snaps
• Breathable
• Made of organic and/or OekoTex certified (natural) fabric
• Does not leave red marks on the baby
• Very absorbent, but not too bulky
• Not too wide or too narrow between the legs
• Does not create a “bubble” butt
• Does not create wing droop
• The fabric stays relatively soft
• Lasts more than a couple of years

I bought the Canadian-made Grasshopper Bamboo AIO diaper after reading some great online reviews.  Since my daughter outgrew most of her diapers, I was in real need of some trim AIOs for going out.  I didn’t have much time to design and make top-stitched AIO diapers at that time, so I decided to buy a couple online – one Rain Shine Designs and one Grasshopper AIO.

When I first saw this diaper, I thought it was very small and wasn’t sure it would fit my 32-lb daughter for very long.  Once I tried it on her, I was pleasantly surprised.  The diaper fit and there’s still some room to grow.  The elastic is not encased like with most other top-stitched diapers, but it doesn’t bother me.  Actually, my daughter has no red marks on her thighs because the elastic is not encased.

What I like about the diaper:

• Very trim
• High quality
• No red marks on my daughter’s thighs
• Natural fibers on the inside, so no polyester touching baby’s skin
• Sized diaper

What I do not like about the diaper:

• Not sure this diaper can fit up to 40 lbs as mentioned on the site.  I suspect the rise will be a bit short for most 40-lb toddlers.
• Not a very absorbent diaper if you have a heavy wetter.  I think heavy wetters might need a doubler in this diaper.
• The price is quite high.  I think I paid $24.95 CAD + tax and shipping for this diaper which makes it one of the most expensive diapers I’ve ever bought.

Overall rating: 4.25 out of 5

I have not been paid to write this review. The Grasshopper diaper was purchased by me.

Today, I wanted to tell you about a beautifully-made diaper from Rain Shine Designs.  I’ve wanted to try this diaper for a while, but it usually doesn’t make sense for me to buy diapers when I can make well-fitting and cute diapers for my daughter myself.  Sometimes I get bored with my own diapers though, so I do purchase a cloth diaper made by someone else every few months.

Photo courtesy of Rain Shine Designs

When I first looked at the diaper after opening the envelope, I thought it was very cute.  I then started looking at the stitching, fabric, etc. and was very impressed with the workmanship.  Megan, the creator of the Rain Shine Designs diapers, is a very talented and hardworking seamstress.  I rarely see such incredible top-stitching.

What I like about the diaper:

• High quality
• Soft fabric
• Very absorbent
• Cute print

What I do not like about the diaper:

• There really isn’t much I do not like about this diaper.  It’s one of those diapers I wish I had when I first started cloth diapering.  It would’ve made my life a lot easier back then :)  I do think the Large diaper is a bit big for my 32-lb daughter, but I’m sure this will make a lot of moms with big toddlers very happy since a lot of diapers out there fit up to only 35 lbs or so.
• I did find the diaper a little wide in the crotch, but I can sometimes get obsessed about trimness (although I do not like super narrow diapers either since that removes quite a bit of absorbency).

Photo courtesy of Rain Shine Designs

I’ve tried this diaper during the day and at night and we’ve had no leaks or wicking whatsoever even though my custom diaper is made with natural fibers on the inside.  I do add a 3-layer bamboo fleece doubler to the diaper for night-time though.

Update (2010/06/24): I’ve stopped using the diaper at night completely since my daughter was getting some red marks on her legs from it.  Again, I’m very picky about things like that, so it might not be a problem for most people.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5

I have not been paid to write this review. The Rain Shine Designs diaper was purchased by me.

I bought a Large DreamEze AIO Cloth Diaper a while ago after reading some good reviews about how absorbent and trim it was. It took me a while to find a store in Canada or in the US that had it in stock and would not charge an arm and a leg for shipping to Ontario, Canada.  Once I received the diaper, I was really excited and was hoping it would work well for us.  Unfortunately, my excitement did not last long.

What I did like about the DreamEze AIO diaper:
1. Inside of the diaper is organic.
2. The soakers are attached at one end only for faster drying.
3. The front of the diaper is quite trim.
4. The diaper is quite absorbent after a few washes.
5. The side snaps are hidden, so they never caused any red marks.

What I did NOT like about the DreamEze AIO diaper:
1. The soakers are very wide for the diaper. I sometimes had trouble fitting them inside the diaper.
2. The tight leg elastics left red marks every single time we used the diaper.
3. I was always paranoid that too much of my daughter’s buttock would pop out because of how narrow the diaper was at the back.

I ended up putting the diaper up for sale and the leg elastics were the main reason for that.  The fabric is really bunched up in the leg area, and the waterproof fabric is not exactly the softest thing in the world, so there is no avoiding red marks.  I’m one of those people who hates seeing red marks on my baby, so this was a big no-no for me.

UPDATE: This diaper is an older version of the DreamEze AIO.  I recently found out that the newer version has better elastic.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5

Recently, I have started to make my own peanut butter.  I wanted to be able to control what is in our peanut butter since I give it to my daughter every day and it’s important for me that it be as healthy as possible.

Ingredients:
1½ cups (organic) unsalted roasted peanuts
1-2 tablespoons oil (for example, peanut oil)

Directions:
1. Pour the peanuts into the food processor and add oil.
2. Process the mixture until quite smooth.
3. Store the peanut butter in a sealed container in the fridge. It should be good for up to 2 weeks.

From Linda Byerline, CEO of Happy Heinys:

We have been very saddened to hear that due to the recent earthquakes in Haiti in the Port Au Prince area, a couple of the orphanages we have worked closely with over the last fews years have been completely devastated. Through the years we have not only sent them diapers and clothing for these babies but also toys and help with food. When we work with any orphanage in any third world nation we work closely with missionaries who actually travel to the orphanages and personally bring our donations to the babies in need. We opt to work this way because sadly we have found that when attempting to donate directly the goods do not always arrive to the proper place due to the civil unrest of many of these countries.

With this recent devastating series of earthquakes there is already a lot of donations and requests for donations out there. Many are requesting items to be given to the Red Cross which is a wonderful organization and will truly help many people. Unfortunately those many orphanages are on the outskirts of town and therefore tend to receive less if any help. These orphanages are now in dire need of new/good condition used reusable diapers. By us providing them with reusable diapers we are ensuring that a baby who has just learned to sit in not placed on a toileting pot for 10-12 hours per day in order to prevent messes.

We are also going to take donations of new or good condition used baby clothing and small items. Most often these items we donate are actually brought over in suitcases so we need items that will fit in suitcases. Again, there is a lot of wonderful support that is heading out that way, people bringing food, water, medicines, and clothing but this is all going to the main population. We need to get diapers and clothing to the orphanages as quickly as possible.

If you would like to make a donation of diapers or baby clothing please send as quickly as possible to:

Happy Heinys
1529 N Cuyamaca St
El Cajon CA 92020

please mark box for donation If you would like to be so kind as to help out financially so that we can afford to send out more new diapers and new clothing as well as shipping costs and costs of extra luggage for those who are flying out to Haiti.

Please send any donations to us through paypal, please be sure to clearly mark the payment in the subject box as Donation for Orphanages in Haiti and select the Personal option for sending the money so there is no extra charges applied.

You can send funds through paypal to: lbyerline@cox.net

You can send funds using a credit card or cash. If you would like to send checks please mail them to the above address and make the check out to Happy Heinys but please make sure the subject is clearly marked as Donation for Orphanages. All funds collected will solely be used for purchasing of new items and the costs of shipping. Any left over funds will be directly donated to those in need. Thank you for helping us to carry on our mission to insure that as many babies as possible have dry cloth on their bottoms, clean clothes to wear, and food in their belly.

Cheers,
Linda Byerline CEO
MLB Industries Inc
www.happyheinys.com
www.babyfrenzy.com

I have finally decided to write a post on potty training after trying to potty train my 27-month-old daughter for more than a month without much success.  Partly, I did not want to write about it because who wants to write about your child failing to potty train when you know a few people whose two-year-olds have been potty trained for a while.  In the end, I decided to write it because I’d love to hear any suggestions you might have.  Also, I’m hoping this post will help some of you out there, who have been through something similar or who are planning on potty training your little one(s) in the near future.

One day, when my daughter was 25 months old, I decided to start toddler potty training after reading that you should do it as soon as your child turns two.  I decided to try the three-day method which almost ended in disaster.  Basically, with this method, you put your child in underwear and you have take her to the potty every 20 minutes or so.  After a few hours your child is supposed to start understanding what she has to do.  Well, the first day was full of accidents on the floor and no signs of my daughter understanding.  Second day was almost exactly the same, but I was definitely starting to get a little frustrated.  By the third day, I was more than a little frustrated and my daughter was starting to hide from the potty.  After less than three full days, I knew I had to stop using the three-day method or we both would have gone insane.  I later read online that a lot of people had problems with the two or three-day methods and that some of the toddlers even ended up having psychological issues.  I am so glad I stopped using the method before causing some major damage.

After I stopped using the three-day method, I decided to put my daughter back in diapers, but that did not last more than a day because she just did not like diapers anymore.  After talking to some great moms on Twitter, I started taking it easy and my daughter relaxed quite a bit as well.  This more relaxed approach is definitely easier on both of us, but more than a month later, she’s still not potty trained.  Most of the time I don’t complain, but once in a while I’m tired of changing her pants 3-4 times a day since the underwear she wears most of the time does not hold much.  Sometimes, I wonder whether she thinks of underwear and trainers as diapers. She did wear comfortable cloth diapers after all.  They were a bit thicker than underwear, but still quite comfortable.  I suspect it would have been a bigger surprise to her if I had switched her from disposables to underwear, instead of cloth diapers to underwear.

Thanks to the relaxed potty training, I have noticed some improvements:

• My daughter urinates less during the day now.
• Her night-time diaper is usually dry or slightly wet in the morning.  Before we started potty training, her diaper was soaking wet in the morning.  I suspect her diaper would be dry more often, but we’re a bit lazy in the mornings and do not get up right away to take her to the potty when she wakes up.
• Once in a while, she’ll totally surprise us by going to the potty herself and actually pee in it.

Have you been or are you potty training your own kids or someone else’s kids?  Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you in advance for leaving some comments!

Picture by jbird (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbird/ / CC BY-NC 2.0)

One of the gifts my daughter received this Christmas was a pair of Padraig slippers. Up until this Christmas she has been wearing her Robeez slippers, but because we keep the house a bit cooler this winter, we needed something warmer for her. When I found out about Padraig slippers, I just had to get a pair for her.

The Canadian Padraig slippers are made with pure New Zealand wool. They are dyed and crocheted by hand and are fitted with a soft sheepskin lining and leather soles. I have been looking for wool slippers, so I was very pleased to see that a baby store in my town was selling these.

The slippers are not cheap, but nothing made with wool is. If I wanted something cheaper, I could have gone with slippers made of fleece or something similar, but I really wanted something more natural and healthier for my toddler. That reminds me – I still need to find a wool hat for my daughter. If you have any recommendations, I would be very happy to hear them.

So far the slippers have been great. My daughter has loved them since the first time we put them on her feet. They seem to be very comfortable and her feet are always nice and warm. In addition, whenever my daughter has an “accident” and some urine gets on the slippers, I just let them dry because they are made of wool. Those who cloth diaper and use wool soakers are familiar with the wonderful properties of wool.

The only downside of having wool slippers is that they do pill a bit. So, after a few days of use my daughter’s slippers do not look as good as new. The pilling does not bother me much though maybe because I am used to pilling wool thanks to some hand-knitted wool soakers that I used a lot in the past.

Courtesy of SuperFantastic on Flickr

It seems that everyone around me has been baking a million things for this Christmas.  I’m the only one that has made NOTHING so far.  A lack of time is partly to blame for this.  Another reason is that I just do not have great recipes, except for one, a Dutch Shortbread recipe.

If you have any good cookie recipes, I would really appreciate it if you left me a comment or send me a message via the contact form.

Thank you so much and Happy Holidays!

Just as most cloth diapering people, I occasionally use disposable diapers. Since plastics and the chemicals found in disposable diapers are a concern for me, I do try to look for diapers that contain as few of those chemicals as possible.

Over the past few months, I’ve tried diapers such as, Nature Babycare, gDiapers with gRefills, Moltex OKO, Seventh Generation and PC Green. With every brand of these “eco” diapers, I found something lacking. Then I discovered Broody Chick diapers, the first 100% compostable diaper on the market. So far this diaper is my favourite disposable diaper.

When I received the diapers in the mail, I was very surprised by the packaging.  The diapers are sold in a cardboard box which I have never seen before.  I’m used to seeing disposable diapers in plastic or compostable bags.  The other thing that surprised me was the expiry date.  It makes me think that there’s something more natural in those diapers.  Unfortunately, I do not know all the details of the components making up this diaper.

What I like about this diaper:
1. Chlorine free
2. More “breathable” than diapers with plastic components
3. Fragrance free
4. Diaper and packaging are fully compostable
5. Created by a Canadian mom
6. The diaper does not smell as bad as other disposable diapers when dirty. Whenever my daughter wore disposable diapers in the past and peed in them, I thought she pooped the smell was so bad. I suspect that those who use disposables all the time are used to that smell, but to me that smell is quite strong.
7. No leaks even overnight.
8. No marketing on the diaper itself.

What I don’t like about this diaper:
1. The tabs are not stretchy. Even though I did get used to this, I still hope they will change those tabs.
2. Contains SAP (Super Absorbent Polymers)
3. Cost – I can’t find the diaper locally, so I have to pay to get it shipped from British Columbia

Overall, I really like this diaper and I even ended up using it for night-time for a bit because my daughter was such a heavy wetter at night that the soaking wet cloth diapers affected her sleep. Since last night, I’m back to cloth though because she wets her diapers a lot less now at night than she used to.

If you’re interested in purchasing this product, please check them out at the Ecobotts store. In case you decide to purchase from Ecobotts, please check their Facebook fan page for coupon codes.

I have not been paid to write this review. The Broody Chick diapers were purchased by me.