Showing posts with label diapers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diapers. Show all posts

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Fluffy Mail


Something came in the mail last week...


my bummis diaper kit I won from one of my favorite blogs, Simple Kids!


And look what was inside!


The Dude helped me unpack...


and sampled the goods.


Look at all of this loot! Inside that big box were 18 organic pre-folds, four covers, fleece liners, flushable liners, a wet bag big enough for the diaper pail, and a sample of detergent and bottom cream! Holy cow, it was like Christmas! I have been using pocket diapers and fitted with covers, but I don't have a full set of pockets (around 10, I think) and the fitteds are larges, which are really too big for him right now. I haven't used prefolds in covers since he was a newborn, and wasn't sure if they would be enough for my big wetter. After they were prepped (you need to wash untreated cotton diapers three or four times to fluff the fibers), I couldn't believe how soft they were! I kept petting them, but could never convince my husband to fondle them, too. Go figure. But I must say that I have had no problems with leaks, and although I usually use pockets at night, I have used the bummis pre-fold with one microfiber insert and had no leaks in the morning.

I am impressed by the quality of both the bummis diapers and covers. They have made a velcro convert out of me. Usually, I find that velcro wears out fast and even with laundry tabs, gets stuck to everything in the wash. Three of the four covers in the box were velcro and so far have not stuck to anything except what they are supposed to, and since the Dude is not so laid back during changes anymore, the speed is a definite plus! In the box is also a little booklet about cloth diapering, with details about use and care. Repeatedly, the company urges you to call or email with any questions about use, washing, problems, or questions of any sort. It's an impressive level of customer service, and I think it would be very helpful to first time cloth diaper moms.

If you wash every other day, this one box really has everything you need. It was so much more than I expected, and I am so thankful to Simple Kids and bummis for this fabulous gift! I couldn't resist one more action shot, the Dude in bummis with the snap cover.












Thursday, July 5, 2012

Baby Bits

Quiet around here, I know. The combination of pregnancy and my computer crashing didn't help much. I lost a few tutorials, but fortunately I had a fairly recent back-up so once it was fixed, I was able to recover most of my pictures. Lesson learned - keep the back up drive plugged in!

We are still waiting for the little one's arrival, but I thought I would post a few snapshots of some of my little baby projects.

The changing station. I had a changing table for the first two, but this time we saved space with a dresser top changing pad. I've always had a mobile on the table for distracting squiggly babies, but since I had no sides to clip one to and vaulted ceilings, I needed to come up with a different solution.
We added a small shelf to the wall to hold newborn essentials out of reach, so I simply sewed a piece of one inch elastic together to slip around the shelf, ad sewed three twill tape pieces to the bottom. I added snaps to hold pictures or soft creatures (the ones pictured here were cut from a cute Ikea print and stuffed), that can be easily changed out as he gets older or becomes bored with them.

I sewed about a dozen fitted diapers to start us off with (I also have prefolds), using the Rita's Rump pattern. It is super easy, and if they fit well, I think I will sew a dozen more as pocket diapers using PUL on the outside and adding snaps (these will need a cover as they are not leakproof). I just love all of the cute flannel prints!

For me, a glider is just as essential as diapers. We got rid of ours after the kids got older, but my mother found this one on Craigslist for a great price. The chair cushions came out of the wash looking fine, but the footstool was stained. I recovered it using an Ikea canvas curtain panel found at Goodwill for $5. I didn't have enough material to recover the cushions, so I decided on a racing stripe, instead. It was a little tricky maneuvering the cover under the machine, and I did realize that I had reversed the striped piece on the bottom cushion, but that's what you get for sewing at 11 pm when you're pregnant. I can live with it, and eventually I will recover the entire chair (the cushions look beige in this picture, but are actually more of a yellow cover and don't quite go with the rest of the room).

Last but not least, the activity blanket. The top panel was from a dear friend, who hung it above her own daughter's crib. At first I thought of making it into a quilt, but the bright colors and playful pattern just screamed fun, so it became an activity mat. I cut about 8 inches off of the bottom to use as pieces for the rest of the blanket. The inside has a layer of cotton batting and it is backed with a yellow fleece for comfort, and to keep it from sliding on the floor.
This panel was backed with fleece and edged with ribbon tags, since we all know that babies love the tags best.
The alligator piece is attached with elastic to pull on, and the butterflies are covered with a knit fabric to finger. The dotted panel above opens to reveal a parrot.
There is a second flip panel on the top left, and a peek-a-boo fleece door over the lion. The flowers on the bottom left are actually a strip filled with celophane so they crinkle when you grasp them.

Now I'm just trying to convince the little bean to come so he can enjoy his goodies!