Accessorize August {a giveaway}

Welcome to the 3rd Annual Accessorize Your Stash in August Giveaway Hop, hosted by the Blogging Mamas Network.

If you’re ready to accessorize your cloth diaper stash, you’ve come to the right place! A fabulous group of bloggers have come together to help you do just that – with Cloth Diaper Accessory Giveaways! If you love cloth diapering, then you’ll love hopping around to see what each blog has in store for you! Don't miss the Grand Prize which includes two cloth diapering must-haves: a Hanging Wet/Dry Bag and a Diaper Sprayer!

I have teamed up with Planet Wise and Diaper Dawgs to offer two of my favorite cloth diapering accessories! One winner will receive a Wet/Dry bag from Planet Wise AND a pack of Double Dooty Wipes from Diaper Dawgs!

No baby in diapers? No problem! You will still find hundreds of other uses for both of these products! You can read my full review of the Planet a Wise bag here and the Double Dooty Wipes here. 

Be sure to hop around to the other blogs and see what other cloth diapering accessories the other bloggers love! And don't forget to connect with the sponsors of my giveaway to keep up with all of their news and special offers! 

Planet Wise - Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Diaper Dawgs - Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

a Rafflecopter giveaway So Easy Being Green, Viva Veltoro, the Blogging Mamas Network, and the Accessorize Your Stash in August participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.

Out and About with Planet Wise {a review}

Disclaimer: Planet Wise provided me with a Wet/Dry bag for review purposes. All opinions are honest and my own. I would not recommend a product I wouldn't use myself. 

Cloth diapering while out and about means storing dirty diapers until you get home. It is one aspect of cloth that makes disposable diapers look slightly more appealing (change/toss vs. change/carry), but with a good wet bag you won't think twice about it!

A wet bag is a waterproof bag that you place dirty diapers (or wet bathing suits, messy clothes, gym clothes...you name it) in to contain the mess. They come in a variety of sizes to fit your needs, small enough to tuck in your diaper bag or large enough to hold everything until wash day.

Planet Wise was kind enough to send me one of their Wet/Dry bags in Teal Chevron (they have a HUGE selection of prints to choose from!) to review. I found it to be the perfect size (12.5" x 15.5") for packing in our diaper bag or to use AS the diaper bag while out and about. Because it has a "dry" compartment in addition to the "wet" (waterproof) compartment, you can store all of your diapers in one handy bag! Clean diapers on one side, dirty on the other. Genius. 

You can feel the quality in this wet bag. Seriously. It is extremely sturdy and very well made. The "wet" side of the bag is crafted from a PVC-free waterproof layer and cotton fabric. It zips shut and TRULY keeps the stink in. I found the zippers to be very sturdy and easy to use. They are on the smaller side, but if that bothers you, you could easily add a piece of ribbon or string as a "pull". (The zippers are also lead free. Did you know that some zippers are still painted with paint that contains lead? I had no idea!) The handle has a sturdy snap which enables you to hang the bag just about anywhere. I love to strap it to our stroller handle and save valuable space in the storage area! 

In addition to this Wet/Dry bag, I have been using two large Planet Wise wet bags (not review items, I purchased them myself) for the past 6 months. I started out with just one, but soon found that two would be much more efficient (one in the wash, one in use). Both of them have performed beautifully and I would buy a third (if needed) without hesitation. The fabric has held up brilliantly to heavy washing and the waterproof layer has yet to fail me. These bags have hung in our bedroom since day one and not *once* has stink escaped (until you open them of course!). On wash day I dump the diapers out of the bag and throw the wet bag in too. I always line dry my wet bags to prolonge their life, but you can machine dry them on low. Because the waterproof liner turns inside out I find they dry rather quickly. 

If you are in the market for a wet bag, or any other waterproof storage solution, check out Planet Wise! In addition to buying quality products you will also be supporting a family business based in the US! That's always a huge plus to me! You can currently purchase the Planet Wise Wet/Dry Bag from most cloth diaper retailers for $21.00. A great value, especially since this bag can be repurposed once your little one is out of diapers! 

You can connect with Planet Wise on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram to keep up with all of the latest Planet Wise news! 

Do you use wet bags? What other uses have you found for them besides cloth diapers? 

5 Things I Learned About Cloth Diapering a Newborn

Cloth diapering a newborn can be intimidating. Heck, cloth diapering ANY baby can be intimidating. Especially if you don't know a soul "in real life" who uses them. I know. I've been there. I was overwhelmed with the choices and decisions, but I was determined to use them. I made some mistakes along the way, but I learned a lot as well! So pull up a chair, pour a cup of something and learn from my rookie mistakes! (Not that you won't make your own!)

1. Those One Size Diapers Aren't Gonna Fit

Unless you give birth to a baby gorilla, one size diapers ain't gonna cut it (for the most part). Sorry to be the one to break it to ya, frugal mama. I was right there with you. Not a single newborn or sized diaper in my pre-baby stash. Nope. I dismissed them as a waste of money and unnecessary. Silly, silly me. I struggled for several weeks trying to make the one size diapers (which are usually sized for 8 or 9lbs+) I had work. My SoftBums and Rumparooz were the only ones that made the cut and that gave me a grand total of FIVE diapers. For a newborn who pooped every 37 seconds. Yeah, you do the math.

2. Velcro is Your Bestie

Another huge mistake I made pre-baby was investing exclusively in snap closures. They were touted to last longer and be harder for an older baby to remove. Makes sense. Until you are trying to get that diaper on a squirming, screaming baby at 3:47 AM in a postpartum, sleep deprived haze. Velcro makes ALL the difference in that scenario. It also enables you to get a better fit on those one size diapers that DO fit a skinny newborn. Snaps are set intervals, there is no in between. With Velcro you can customize the fit SO much better.

3. Buy All of the Diapers

I wasn't kidding when I said newborns poop every 37 seconds. Okay, maybe it's closer to every two hours. Or every time they eat. Regardless, it's a lot of diapers. I started with five one size diapers that fit and added ten newborn diapers and three more SoftBums a few weeks in. It was tight, but it was doable. I was also washing my diapers every evening. If you plan on washing every other day you will need A LOT more diapers.

4. Don't be Afraid

Seriously. Don't be. It takes a couple of days, but once you get the hang of it you will wonder what the heck you were so worried about. And you will never look back. Until you go on vacation. Or the grocery store. Or when ever you have had it with laundry. It's OKAY. This is not all or nothing. This is what works for YOU.

5. Prefolds and Flats Are Awesome

This is one area I really could have done better in. I was terrified of prefolds and flats. I had six newborn prefolds to use in my SoftBums but they really didn't see a lot of use until she was way out of the newborn stage. Please buy some prefolds and/or flats. And for the love of Pete, buy a $3 Snappi. My prefolds would have seen so much more use if I had JUST bought a Snappi!

Have you cloth diapered a newborn? What would you do differently if you could do it again?

Glow Bug Cloth Diaper Review

Disclaimer: I received a diaper from Glow Bug Cloth Diapers for review purposes. The following review is my own, honest opinion of the diaper. 

The first time Glow Bug Cloth Diapers caught my eye it was for one reason. The prints! So. Many. And SO cute! But they aren't just cute diapers! They are also an affordable and effective cloth diapering option. 

Glow Bug Cloth Diapers began with two moms, Neta and Sarah, who wanted to design better cloth diapers for their own children. They did just that and soon, Glow Bug Cloth Diapers was born! The first Glow Bug diapers were offered for sale in 2011. 

Glow Bug has a unique business model. They only offer their diapers for sale as complete packages of 12 or more diapers. They believe that if parents are fully equipped, they will be more likely to succeed at cloth diapering. Just "trying" cloth diapers can lead to frustration and failure. The packages also enable Glow Bug to offer their diapers at a much lower price. 

I received a Glow Bug pocket diaper and two inserts for review purposes. I was immediately impressed with the quality and unique features of the diaper. Glow Bug diapers are a one size diaper, meaning they are designed to fit from 7-35 pounds. They have three sets of rise snaps so that you can customize the fit to your baby. My daughter is currently 6 months old and weighs 20 pounds. The diaper fit her beautifully on the second set of rise snaps. She still has lots of room to grow! 

Glow Bug diapers are only available in snap closures. And for once, I love snaps. They are not hard to snap and unsnap like some diapers are. I was equally impressed that the rise snaps were not quick to pop open when I was fastening the diaper on my baby. There are crossover snaps for a smaller baby who needs a smaller/tighter fit.

Other things I loved about Glow Bug...

1. Trim Fit - I was quite impressed with how trim this diaper fits. Even when stuffed with two inserts, it was not overly bulky. 

2. Two Pocket Openings - I absolutely LOVE this feature. Stuffing is a breeze because you can reach in and pull the insert to the front while smoothing it out from the back. Once the diaper is dirty you have the option of removing the insert from the FRONT which is normally not messy (aka poopy)! This is such a great feature on a pocket diaper! 

3. Insert Snap - At the front of the diaper there is a snap to keep the insert from moving around. This is not a common pocket diaper feature and I absolutely love it!

4. Overall Fit - Amazing. Really! I was extremely impressed with the fit of this diaper. It fit my chunky monkey with no gaping or red marks. 

5. 360 Degree Gusset - I am a huge fan of internal gussets and this diaper has an amazing, patent pending, 360 degree internal gusset. The gusset does a great job of containing blowouts.

6. Overnight - I am *always* nervous about changing up my overnight routine. I generally use a pad folded flat with a booster of some sort. With the Glow Bug stuffed with the two inserts my baby went 9 hours with NO leaks! The inserts are also designed to snap together! An added bonus for overnight use or just doubling up! 

Overall, I was extremely impressed with Glow Bug Cloth Diapers. From the customer service, to the diaper itself, they did not disappoint! I would happily add a package to my current stash should the need ever arise.

You can currently purchase 12 diapers, 18 inserts and 1 wet bag from Glow Bug for $127.00. That brings each diaper and the wet bag to just $9.77 each! For $127.00 you could buy 5-ish boxes of disposables that will last a few weeks or you could buy 12 cloth diapers that you can use until your baby is potty trained! You do the math. :-)

You can connect with Glow Bug on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the latest news. They are constantly offering sales and giveaways so it "pays" to connect with them!

Buying Diapers {When You're on a Budget}

I recently found myself perusing the disposable diaper aisle at Target. Not a place I frequent these days (the diaper aisle, not Target.), but our vacation was coming up and we had decided it would be easier to use disposables while on the road. 

Hello, sticker shock! I even texted my husband in disbelief. Something along the lines of, "come hold me while I cry." I left without any diapers that day. (And found some a few days later on clearance. Shew!)

My little adventure into disposable land got me thinking...could you cloth diaper for what you would spend on a few weeks of disposables? Absolutely. Will it be fancy? Not really. Will it get the job done? Yep.

 

A box of diapers runs about $25. I know all of the coupon queens out there can snag them for much less, but for the average Alice, $25 is what will be shelled out. $25 can go a long way to cloth diaper your baby. Multiply that six times and you are suddenly in the cloth diaper business and never need to buy a disposable diaper again. I like that. 

Here is what I would buy with $150.00...

1.) Twelve Flat Cotton Diapers - Why flats? Because they are cheap, easy to clean and customizable. They dry FAST so you don't need as many. They are the original "one size" diaper and can be folded to fit just about any baby. You can read all about flats here. 

2.) Six One Size Diaper Covers - If you are planning on cloth diapering a newborn, make that NEWBORN covers. One size covers won't cut it. You can buy six newborn covers now and the one size covers down the road. And guess what? You can sell those newborn covers to fund your one size covers. Cloth diapers have excellent resale value! 

3.) Two Medium Wet Bags - You can cloth diaper with only one wet bag. I did it for about four months. But two make life so much easier, one in the wash and one in use. Easy peasy. 

4.) One Small Wet Bag - This is for when you are out and about. If you don't plan on cloth diapering on the go you can skip it. But can I just say? Cloth diapering on the go is not that hard. Give it a chance before you count it out. 

5.) One Snappi - This handy device is a must. It's cheap and well worth the investment! Diaper folds can be intimidating, but with a little practice and a Snappi they are no big deal. 

6.) 30ish Cloth Wipes - The cheap flannel wipes are what I started with. Six months in and they are still going strong. If you're really crafty you can even make your own. I'm not crafty. So I bought some. 

That's it. Really. With those items you can cloth diaper your baby full time and never look back. If I could talk to my pregnant self this is exactly what I would tell her to start with. Pregnant me was terrified of flat diapers. Now? I love them. Along with about 15 other cloth diapering options. Ahem. 

Prefolds to Potty Training Event and Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Prefolds to Potty Training Event and Blog Hop, hosted by lo-wren.com and Change-Diapers.com! This event began as a one year cloth diapering anniversary celebration for Lauren last year, but has grown into a celebration of the journey from diapering through potty training. Join us for two-and-a-half weeks of cloth diapering and potty training guest posts, introductions to some amazing products (to help get you through the diaper-potty training journey), two amazing grand prize packages, and a blog hop with fifteen other bloggers giving away cloth diaper and potty training prizes! Be sure to check out (and thank) our amazing grand prize sponsors, and "hop" on over to the other participating blogs via the linky at the bottom of this post.

Disclaimer: I did not receive any compensation for this post. I will be reviewing a cloth diaper from Glow Bug in the future and they will be providing me with said diaper in exchange for my honest review. 

Glow Bug Cloth Diapers is generously offering one Home Sweet Homemade reader a Glow Bug diaper! The winner will have the choice of a girly, boyish or gender neutral diaper! Glow Bug has some of the CUTEST prints! They are a pocket diaper with a revolutionary 360 degree internal gusset designed to contains the messiest explosions.

Glow Bug is unique because they do not sell diapers individually. They believe that for parents to be successful in cloth diapering they need to have everything they need from the start. Right now you can buy 30 diapers, 42 inserts, and two wet bags for just $277.00! That is just $9.23 a diaper (without including the wet bags or inserts in the calculation!). Incredibly affordable. Especially when you consider the cost of disposable diapers!

You can connect with Glow Bug on Facebook and Twitter or visit them at GlowBugClothDiapers.com and place an order today! Be sure to enter for a chance to win below as well!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Summertime Meal Planning

If summer has one redeeming quality it's the abundance of local fruits and vegetables it brings. Otherwise? Meh. I'm not a fan of sweat. Or sunburns. But let's not get sidetracked hatin' on summer. 

With the scores of fresh produce available, I tend to scale back my meal plans. I never know what great deal I am going to come across at the produce stand or what is actually going to survive in my garden (it's a short list this year). I tend to have a couple of main courses in the back of my head and fill in the cracks with lots of vegetable salads and sautes. 

{fresh peaches at my favorite roadside stand this week}

So instead of a meal plan this week (because I don't even have one) I am going to share some of my favorite summertime recipes with you.

Squash Casserole - This is my favorite squash casserole. I make it once a week. No joke. It's ah-mazing! But what isn't amazing with cheese and sour cream? PS. I never use the crackers. Just hold back a little cheese and sprinkle it on top. 

Zuchinni and Squash Au Gratin - I stepped out of my Squash Casserole comfort zone and tried this last week. It's a keeper. 

Buttery Patty Pan Squash with Basil - Because, you know, more squash. And butter. Lots of butter. 

Broccoli Salad - Just a good old summertime staple. That just happens to include bacon. 

BLT Grilled Cheese - I lived off of these last summer. 

Fresh Salsa - For when you can't possible conceive of eating another tomato sandwich. Even if it does have bacon on it. 

Bacon Squash Quiche - Quiche is a perfect way to use up some more of that abundant summer squash. And it's delicious too. 

White Beans with Veggies - I'm actually making this tonight. I'm going to skip the couscous and serve it over leftover rice. 

Strawberry Trifle - Because everyone needs a treat. Just not one loaded up with Cool Whip and Jello pudding mixes. 

Another favorite is a simple squash/tomato/whateveryouwannathrowinit sauté. No recipe. Just start with some butter in a sauté pan and taste as you go. I love adding a splash of balsamic vinegar and Italian seasoning. You could also just use Italian salad dressing. A sprinkle of cheese is great at the end. There is no right or wrong here. This is about serving squash for the fourth time in a week without your family complaining. Have fun. Be adventurous. Add some bacon. Can I get an amen?

This post is linked up at The Homestead Barn Hop.