Cloth Diaper Terminology

I am currently working on a cloth diaper review and thought it would be a good idea to first offer up a rundown of the different types of diapers and how they work.

AIO-All in One. These basically work like a disposable diaper without the waste. It has all the absorbent material built in and a waterproof outer shell. You just put a diaper on, then when it is soiled, you take the whole thing off and put a new one on. The whole diaper goes in the diaper pail to be washed later. You will want to dump any BM (bowel movement) waste in the toilet before placing the diaper in the pail. You will need enough of these to get through all your diaper changes as most of them are line dry only and need plenty of time to dry. You will want to wash the first half of the days changes in the afternoon so they are ready for the next day.

AI2/Hybrid-All in 2. These diapers consist of a shell (outer cover) and an insert. You can use them with cloth or with a biodegradable/flushable/compostable insert. The disposable inserts are very handy for when you are on the go and don't want to carry around dirty cloth diapers with you. Which ever you choose, you place the insert inside the shell and put it on your baby like a regular diaper. Most cloth diaper covers have snaps or velcro for closure.

Pocket Diapers-These look like the AIOs, but they have a pocket between the cover and liner where you can stuff inserts to increase their absorbency. You need to remove the insert before washing.

Cover/Shell-A waterproof outer shell that covers the absorbent cloth. There is no absorbent material sewn in.

Insert-A rectangular piece of cloth that lays inside the cover or is placed in the pocket.

Disposable insert-These diapers can be thrown away and will break down in a landfill (if they find their way out of the plastic bag they were thrown in :) They can be flushed if you have good plumbing. You do have to tear them open, dump the insides into the toilet, break it up with something, flush it, and then do the same for the outer part. Or they can be thrown into your compost bin if they are only wet with urine.

Tri-fold-Like the cloth diapers of old. These are what most people call burp cloths these days. You fold them into thirds, fan out the back corner, and place it under baby's bottom. Fold the rest up over the front of your baby and fan out the front corners. Place the back corners over the front ones and secure with diaper pins or a Snapi. A Snapi is a closure device that is a rubber T with teeth at each end. You place the top of the T across the corners and then the bottom of the T down the front. This securely holds the diaper closed without any pokey pins. After the diaper is secured you will place a cover over the top. You can also just tri-fold these diapers and lay them flat inside a cover like an insert, but this makes for a bulkier diaper.

Bioliners-These are a must! You will save so much time, energy, and detergent if you use these!!! Bioliners are what I like to call "poop catchers." They look like a big dryer sheet. You just lay them on top of the insert or diaper so they are between your baby's bottom and the cloth. When your child has a BM (works better for more solid ones) the majority of it stays on this liner. When you change your baby you just take the bioliner to the bathroom and dump the BM in the toilet then throw the liner away. I rarely have to rinse my diapers before washing thanks to these amazing little guys.

There are other types of cloth diapers and a few different materials. This post will give you an idea of the types of diapers that are in my upcoming review. Let me know if you have any questions or if any of this is confusing.

Pore Strip

Love the results you get from a pore strip, but don't like the cost? Try using white craft glue! You just spread the glue in a thin later over your blackheads and let it dry. When it is completely dry, just peel it off from one side to the other. Wallah! Beautiful results.

(Thanks "The Doctors")

HAPPYBABY Organic Baby Food

You may have seen baby food in pouches recently. Happybaby is one brand of pouch baby food that you can buy. Here's how they work. The fruit and vegetable pouches have a straw in the top. You can squeeze the food out onto a spoon to feed your infant. When your child gets older and can drink through a straw, they are able to suck the food straight from the pouch. Just like a smoothie! The meat varieties do not have a straw and require spoon feeding.

Here is a short version of the pros and cons, followed by a more detailed review.

Pros
1. Organic and No GEIs
2. Convenient and great for travel
3. Cheapest of the 3 brands I have seen
4. Delicious
5. Many contain Salba (a super grain)
6. BPA free packaging and recyclable lids

Cons
1. Cost more than jar baby food
2. Limited flavor varieties and almost all are a combination of fruits and/or vegetables.

I love the ease and convenience of these pouches. You don't have to pack bowls or worry about feeding from the jar. If they don't finish the food, you just replace the cap and refrigerate. When they are able to feed themselves from the pouch it gets even easier. You don't need spoons or bowls and they can even eat in the car or where ever you go.

The prices (at my Target) range from $1.09 to $1.29ea. This is cheaper than the Happybaby website and BabiesRus. I am willing to pay the extra money for the convenience, health benefits, and quality of this brand.  I wish they had more individual flavors since I want my children to eat fresh vegetables when they get older and not require fruit to be mixed with them. For instance; I have only been able to find one green vegetable pouch and it was green beans, pears, and peas. I would love an option for only green beans, only peas, etc. I have also only been able to find 2 meat varieties in the store. One with chicken and another with turkey. Since the flavors are limited, I buy other organic jar brands to make up for anything that is missing.

http://shop.happybabyfood.com/our-products/happybaby-pouches-1.html?p=2

Emergen-C Drink Mix

One word, AWFUL! I couldn't even finish it. It tasted like I crushed up a Flintstone Vitamin and dissolved it in water. I only tried the Very Berry. I haven't gotten up enough nerve to try the Orange one.
I was really dissapointed. Hopefully they can improve on the taste soon.

Mineral Fushion Brush-On Sun Denfense SPF 30

I recently won a full size sample of Mineral Fushion Brush-On Sun Defense. This is a mineral based, translucent powder sunblock. You just click the button to dispense powder onto the built in brush and brush it on your face. Pretty simple.
Mineral Fusion uses natural ingredients that, according to their website, "offer flawless coverage while giving you the benefits of UV and antioxidant protection. All of our products are noncomedogenic and provide moisture balancing benefits, allowing the skin to function normally. mineral fusion™ is your solution for skin conditions such as acne, rosacea and hyperpigmentation, providing healing and calming benefits."
I will admit that I was a little skeptical about using a powder sunblock, but I am loving this product. My skin looks great and I haven't had any sunburns. The reason I would choose this product over SPF lotions is that you don't get the greasy effect of the lotions. You can apply make-up right on top and it stays on! This makes it a lot easier to apply sunscreen every day like you should.
To encourage others to use sunscreen like they should, I am giving away a $3 off Mineral Fusion coupon to a reader. Just leave a comment on this post, and a random post will be chosen on June 27th to win the coupon. Score additional entries for each way you follow my blog (facebook, google reader, email) just leave a seperate comment for each one. Share this with your friends so they can enter too.

Zone Perfect Sweet and Salty Bars

I have tried several soy bars in the past and many of them ended up in the trash. I can't get used to the flavor. Last night; however, I received a free Sweet and Salty Zone Perfect bar in the mail. I ate it for breakfast this morning and loved it. It had cashews and pretzels in it! Not only did it taste great, it filled me up. I wasn't as hungry at lunch time as I usually am. I would definitely recommend these to people looking for a healthy option.
Right now you can get a free one for yourself and a friend on their facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/ZonePerfect?ref=ts

Hevea Pacifiers

I was in the market for a pacifier that my son would use in order to encourage some self soothing. He was and is very dependent upon me to soothe him and would often try to nurse in order to soothe or go to sleep. I definitely do not want to teach my children to eat in order to calm down when they are upset. We all know that natural and organic products are the way to go when it comes to our children. Unfortunately they are not always easy to find, especially when it comes to pacifiers. So I bought all the regular brands and tried them out. He not only wouldn't take them, but would scream hysterically if one was ever placed in his mouth. It was harder to calm him down from the pacifier than from what had originally upset him. When I received a natural rubber pacifier to review from Hevea, I was anxious to try it out. The one I received had a bulb shaped nipple which is unlike any I have seen. I sterilized it per the instructions and pulled on all the pieces to make sure there were no cracks or defects. I determined it to be in good shape, but it still had the strong "new rubber" smell. I laid it near my son's face while he was nursing so he could get used to the smell. When I offered it to him the first time he didn't scream. Huge success! He even tried to keep it in his mouth. My son is tongue tied (meaning the frenulum under his tongue goes all the way to the tip, preventing him from lifting it very high) so when he would try to suck on the pacifier the bulb would re-inflate and it would shoot out of his mouth. I emailed the company about this and asked if they had any advice for me. They immediately sent me out their orthodontic style pacifier to try. How's that for customer service?! He liked this pacifier and was able to keep it in his mouth a little better. He is still not a pacifier baby, but he does like to use the Hevea pacifiers when he is happy (don't dare offer him any type if he is upset!) He also loves to turn them around and use the handle as a teether.
Here is the product description given by their company;
The Hevea pacifier is made of 100% pure natural rubber from the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis.

• 100% natural rubber latex
• Hygienic one piece design – no joints, cracks or edges
• Soft material and ergonomic shape – soft and gentle against baby’s face
• Doesn’t leave marks, prevents vacuum around the mouth
• Sustainably produced
• Recycled and biodegradable packaging materials
• Meets EU standard EN1400, US regulations CPSIA & AUS regulation AS 2432-1991
• No PVC, no BPA, no phthalates, no artificial colors

The company also sells teethers, lanyards, and travel bags.
Update: We had my sons tongue clipped after I originally posted this on my previous blog. What a huge improvement. He was able to nurse easier which eased his frustration (and no more intense pain for me) and he began to use his pacifiers more often.
Also, the company recently added bath toys to their available products. They are SO CUTE! I can't wait to get them all!

Check them out at heveababyusa.com and on facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/heveausa.