I hope you all had a fantastic weekend, and were able to celebrate the fathers in your lives. We had a great day surrounded by family, and Harper got to finger paint (I made edible baby safe paint) for the first time as part of her gift for her dad. She loved squishing her hands in the paint, and smacking her palms against the paper hard then dragging them to make trails in the paint. I’m really excited to review today’s diaper from TushMate because this is our first time using a hybrid and we love how versatile it is! We mostly used it as an All-In-Three or as a cover with flats, though we tried every option except disposable inserts (because I don’t have any right now). When I received my TushMate shell, fleece liner, and pair of hemp/organic cotton inserts, I was a little intimidated. They arrived in [...]

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⟩⟩⟩ Since there is a new version of the bumGenius Elemental I knew the people (you guys!) would want a new comparison video.  A cloth diaper video maker’s job is never done, eh?  I made a pretty fabulous video for this one so you have to watch it.  There will be far more information in the video but a brief run-down is below. The main difference between the three diapers comes down to the insides- the outsides are virtually identical except the leg elastic on the bumGenius Elemental.    is explained in depth in another video: bumGenius Elemental {New vs Old} so I won’t beat a dead horse.  It is still an all-in-one, still has an organic cotton soaker, still attached at both sides, still doesn’t come in aplix-only snaps, and still uses the same sizing.  The changes: there is no longer a layer of cotton beneath the soaker and [...]

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Each year after the Flats and Handwashing Challenge I ask all of the participants to take a survey. The reason for this is to see how many of those who started ended up finishing, what aspects were considered the easiest, the hardest, and would participants say this is possible for others? The answers to those questions and more are below. There is an infographic and also graphs following that show more answers to the survey. Now for answers from our participants! So what do these numbers all mean? Well, one thing is clear- it is possible. If we are to suggest this option to other people the data tells us a few things. Expect to be washing every day for at least 30 minutes per day based on the answers of the survey. People should have, at minimum, 10 flats and 4 covers but really, double to allow for a [...]

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As Harper grows she is sleeping longer stretches at night, and though she still wakes up to eat we try to avoid having to change her until morning as the process makes her very frustrated and she has a much harder time falling back asleep afterward. Because of this, we’ve actually been on the lookout for a quality nighttime diaper with natural materials and excellent absorption. I was thrilled when I learned we’d be reviewing an organic fitted and organic wool cover from This is Sew Me Organics. The fitted I’m reviewing has a straight stitch edge, but it is also available with a surged edge. As a WAHM, the founder of This is Sew Me is really passionate about choosing quality materials for the products she offers. She also sells all-in-two diapers, wool longies, and mama pads. I love that her diapers are organic, one of the main reasons [...]

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This review is courtesy of DDL contributor Katrina- an experienced babywearer and mom to three under 5.  She is the perfect person for this review since she lives in sunny Florida and enjoys lots of waterpark and pool fun with her kids each summer.  Stay tuned for the giveaway at the end of the post too! Summertime is here and for our family that means we are at a waterpark or pool several times a week. Juggling and keeping everyone safe around water is a daunting task on my own with our three kids, (4yo, 2yo, and 6 months old). When I was asked to review the Beachfront Baby™ Water Wrap Carrier, I was so excited! Hands free in the pool? Why hadn’t I considered this option earlier?! Beachfront Baby™ was founded by Diane, mother to four who like many of us needed extra hands during the summer activities. The [...]

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The Softbums Omni system has a lot of bells and whistles- a pocket, an All-in-Two, cover, and even a fully adjustable One Size system that will fit all babies at any size!  It is certainly one of the most versatile and unique diapers that I’ve ever tried and reviewed. Squishy Tushy has offered to give a Softbums Omni and Stay Dry Pod to one lucky DDL Reader today! Squishy Tushy is a cloth diaper and natural parenting store that has a store front in Blissfield Michigan and an online store.  They have just about everything you need as a new parent, including a wide selection of cloth diapers, including the Softbums brand, and accessories.  Their store offers free shipping on orders over $45.00, and as we all know, that is an easy target to hit when buying fluff! For those of you who have been searching for pull-up style trainers [...]

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Little Beasties is a WAHM made diaper with a shop on Etsy. They carry beautiful and unique diapers with hidden PUL and fun embroidered designs. The diapers are available with either snaps or touchtape. I’ll be reviewing a snap diaper. Ease of Use ✩✩✩✩ The snaps on this diaper are strong and secure, it makes changing my wiggly infant so much easier. This pocket diaper comes with a generously sized insert made of three layers of microfiber sandwiched within soft flannel. They come in really fun prints which makes my nightly routine of stuffing diapers more interesting and brings a smile to my baby’s face. The inserts feature a snap down design that bumGenius users will be familiar with, it allows a perfect fit on any rise. The diaper also boasts a very wide opening in the back where you can stuff the insert. I was initially wary when I noted [...]

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My latest furniture project was turning a gross, nicotine stained mid century style dresser into an ombré painted beauty!  I’ve been keeping my eye out for a dresser that would work for my son’s room.  Since we moved in his clothes have been stored in two rubbermaid sets of drawers in the closet.  Fletcher has picked up a real sense of fashion lately and has a lot more clothes than would fit in those so he needed an upgrade.  After seeing the amazing ombré dresser on Young House Love I’ve wanted to do one but had to wait until finding the perfect dresser.  Thanks to the 50% off sale at my local thrift shop and a perfect fit for this project I came home with this guy for $34.50.  I purposefully chose a dresser that wasn’t super nice because I would hate to ruin something that would be more suited to [...]

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and I didn’t have answers to either one of those questions.  With my first son the weaning came first because I was pregnant again and gently led him to that decision over the span of a few months because the pain was increasing.  Since he weaned fairly early at 18 months I never considered I would nurse past potty training because that event was so far off for us. This time things are different.  I’ve gone past 18 months with Everett, then we hit the two year milestone… that is when I started thinking “Am I going to be nursing a ‘child’ wearing underwear?”  The thought is a bit uncomfortable and certainly a foreign one to myself and most Americans.  I’ve only seen babies wearing diapers at the breast.  Nowhere except the sensationalized Time cover have I seen what is obviously a child capable of using the toilet on his [...]

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Starting Monday May 20 all participants (over 400 of them!) swtiched to only using flat cloth diapers and handwashing those diapers for 7 days.  They will continue to do so until their baby goes to bed tonight.  For our last blog post and link-up the topic is “What did we learn?”  This is a chance to reflect on this experience, offer hard earned lessons, and share our opinions on whether this is really an option for other families or if it just isn’t possible in a modern world. I know that many who started this journey ended it for various reasons.  Many were valid- their families caught a stomach virus and everyone, including the mother, was too sick.  Some were recovering from previous surgeries and the physical activity of washing caused more pain than they could manage so they wanted to go back to using their machines.  Others were just [...]

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