bumGenius AIO Organic Diaper Review

I bought Ladybug the bumGenius AIO Organic diaper to try out, and I am finally ready to share my thoughts about this diaper!

Look how cute it is!!!!! Yes, that IS important!!!


Here's what I like about this diaper:

• The snaps, I have a few dipes with snaps now and these are by far my favorite snaps. They are the easiest to work with.
• It is all in one (AIO), which means no insert to remove and insert! Makes it much easier and faster!
• It dries in the sun fairly quickly. A bit longer than the pockets and inserts, but much faster than my other all in one (Monkey Doodlez).
• MUCH more trim than other dipes I own.
  

What isn't all that great (although it's not that bad either)...

• This diaper leaked the first several times she wore it!!! I then learned that I was supposed to prep it by washing it 3-6 times before it would "work". Once I did this it was fine and hasn't leaked since.
• The interior is more rough feeling. Yes, it is organic, but it is not soft at all, compared with all of my other dipes.

Will I be buying more?

No. Mainly because it is more expensive and for me the soft fabric on her precious bum is important. I do love the snaps and the way it looks, the ease of it being AIO...but for the cost, I will stick with the regular bumGenius.


Remember if you decide to order from Squishy Tushy, we both get credit! Be sure to mention my name! I continue to love ordering from Teresa!

Fluff Stash

My bloggy friend Katie wrote this awesome post showing her "Fluff Stash" and writing her detailed thoughts. If you have any ?s about cloth diapering at all, check out her great post!

I want to get a neat photo like hers but for now, here's our written details!!!

Our Fluff Stash to date:

1 Knickernappie One Size
3 FuzziBunz One Size
1 Monkey Doodlez (sized)
1 Happy Heiny One Size (snaps)
1 bumGenius Organic One Size (snaps)
19 bumGenius One Size

Total: 26 (my stopping point is 36, I still have fun buying about 1-2 per month now!)

Favorite: bumGenius One Size, then Knickernappie (this one wouldn't be good for a wiggly baby though-see my detailed review here)

Least Favorite: Monkey Doodlez, then Happy Heinys

~My detailed reviews of these are all to come ;)

Still hope to try: Wahmies, Rocky Mountain, SmartiPants, Rumparooz, Antsy Pants. If anyone has any opinions about any of these, please let me know or direct me to other reviews on other blogs please!!!

I have also purchased additional supplies (wet bags, wipe solution/bottles, cloth wipes, etc.) Here is my savings spreadsheet, which I update every time I do laundry! If you enlarge it, you can see how often I do laundry and exactly how much I have spent.

Total Spent so far: $551.86 (includes all diapers and all additional supplies I have purchased)

Total Saved so far (she is almost 5 months old): $106.90 (25 cents per diaper, 5 cents per wipe)

If you do some simple math in your head you can see that even if I do purchase more cloth diapers/supplies, I will still come out way ahead than if we used disposies!!!

Don't forget if you order from Squishy Tushy, we both get credit!!! I have already received $15 credit so far!!! Thanks to whoever it was that ordered and gave Teresa my name!

Nursing Mommy Celebration!!!

My bloggy friend Angie is hosting a TON of giveaways in honor of breast feeding Moms!!! Head on over to her great blog and try to win!!! The various giveaways end from 8/31-9/4 so hurry on over!!

What I Love About You ~ 19 weeks

19 Weeks

I love...

• tickling you under your arms and getting your neck to hear your sweet giggles.
• the fuzzy stick-up hair on your head.
• your chubby thighs and legs. I love your many rolls!
  
• seeing you love on your baby dolls. You stare at their faces and have begun to snuggle them a bit, SOOOO cute!
• how absolutely adorable you are in your Bumbo looking all around at the chaos in our house!
• that you FINALLY gave me a big ol grin for your weekly photo...
• seeing you with the many people who love you, especially your Daddy and brothers.
• how amazing you were while we were at our annual staff retreat. We stayed in a cabin at a camp and you were way out of your usual routine and you handled it perfectly. You are so amazing!

I love you Ladybug!!!!


~I have begun to see more "What I Love About You" posts floating around on some of your blogs and I LOVE them!!! I started doing this weekly so I would be able to copy it into her baby book and always remember sweet little things about her. It makes me remember to record those moments I sometimes would otherwise forget. If you are writing What I Love About You posts for your child (any age), and would like to link up, I would love to see what you love! Seeing a Mommy share her love for her child is so special.

I will add a MckLinky each time I post (which is usually on Tuesday's but sometimes I am late, like today). You are also free to use the header button if you'd like! Just be sure to link to your exact post, and not the homepage of your blog. If you'd like to link back to Lil Ladybug, that'd be awesome too! For the title of your link for MckLinky, if you could put the name and the age of your child like this... (Ladybug ~ 19 weeks) that would be cool.

Juicing with my kids

I originally began to juice for me, for my health. My boys just happened to be out of town visiting their grandparents when I began so it was just me for the first few days. As soon as they got home they were both very interested in the new silver thing on the counter! It didn't take long for me to realize that including them would be a wonderful thing for so many reasons.

We now have a routine of juicing together every day (when we are home) around 10:30am. The boys look forward to this and so do I. The peace I get knowing that all of us are getting our healthy foods in us each morning makes me feel so great!

Keep in mind we are novice juicers and are still trying things out and reading to learn. This is our current process, which very well could change as we learn more! For now, here's how we do it...

1. The boys help me get the produce together, we talk about the different kinds of veggies and fruits we use. After selecting with me, we place it all (unwashed) in a big silver bowl.
   
2. The boys go play in the living room while I prep the produce for juicing (peel carrots, wash produce, etc.)
3. I then place it into 2 piles for the boys to help me put into the juicer...
4. They then take turns with me putting it in, while we name every piece!
5. Our usual juicing produce is: cucumber, celery, green leafys (spinach, romaine, etc.), carrot, apple, a few purple grapes, tomatoes, cabbage. We don't use all every day and try to mix it up. We have also juiced sweet potato, green pepper, and broccoli. We use all organic produce too, which is all washed in Veggie Wash.
   
6. Once the juice is ready we move over to the blender, which I prepared while the kids were in the living room playing (better to have it ready I learned). I always add 1 banana and the rest is variable. We use any of the following things to mix in (not all at the same time, I vary it up from day to day)...berries (fresh or frozen), flax seeds, Wheat Grass Powder, Coconut Oil, coconut milk, plain yogurt.
7. I pour all but about 8 ounces of the juice into the blender along with the mix for the day and the kids help me blend it up for them. I drink the plain 6-8 oz of just juice myself, and then a bit of the kids' smoothie also.
8. The boys guzzle it down...no matter the color (usually deep green or dark orangish-green). K, my 3 year old begs for more with a huge mustache all over his lips. He seriously can't get enough, I have to stop him!!! My 7 year old likes it, but doesn't beg for more!

Juicing with my kids is way more fun than I thought it would be. I am not a big fan of cooking with the kiddos (I know, horrible mom I am), but this process has been so much fun! I love that I am teaching them so much through this process and nourishing their young bodies. It is really a neat bonding time for us too, and something they now really look forward to. When Daddy is home, he will drink our juices and smoothies too!

Pesticides...

I am reading an excellent and informative post about pesticides, reinforcing things I have learned and explaining things well. The post is here on SafBaby.

What I Love About You ~ 18 weeks

I Love...

• the little hairs sticking up on the top of your head.
• the sweet drool on your chin, and the adorable bibs (made by Nanee) you wear to catch it.
• seeing you sit with ease in your Bumbo seat...

• still that cute thumb in your mouth...
• seeing K cuddle with "him" ~ yes he still calls you a him sometimes!

• your easy going nature. You will usually just fall asleep if you need to, just about anywhere. If you don't get your usual naps, you're still pretty chill about it. You are nothing like your brothers were!
• that you got to go to the zoo for the first time. You were SO good too, we barely even knew you were with us other than your sweet giggle and smiling face!
• your laughter. I can now tickle you pretty hard and you love it and just cackle!
• watching you roll over. You can now get from back to belly by yourself but you don't do it every time. We all sat around you cheering a few nights ago when you completed your roll for the first time!!
• your snazzy new colors of diapers (we recently got orange, red, and black!).
• the way your hand lays on my skin when you are nursing. I absolutely love our cuddling/nursing times together.

I love you sweet bug!

What I Love About You ~ 17 weeks

I Love...

• SOOOOO much about you. I am really having one of my majorly in love with you weeks!
• your enormous smiles and giggles that you give out so often now.
• the way you squirm and giggle when you are tickled in just the right spot.
• your new thumb sucking habit. I know I may not always love this, but for now it is absolutely adorable...

• your stylin clothes, I am not much of a girly-girl myself, but I do enjoy dressing you up way more than I thought I would!

• your little drooly, bubbly lips. Even though you have to wear a bib sometimes now to not get your shirt soaked.

• your ability to rebound quickly. Right before this pic of you and K was taken, he had fallen on you - pretty hard- and you screamed louder than ever. I was really worried he had hurt you badly. But nope, after some initial screams for a minute, you were back to your happy self and ready for "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to" snuggles from your bro!

• how cute you look in your saucer ;). You are beginning to enjoy it and reach for the toys a bit. Mostly you like looking around at your new view!

• just being with you. I love every moment with you. You never stress me at all, I always want to see you, hold you, snuggle you--anything. I am so incredibly in love with you.

• how you have grown. Looking back at all of these weekly shots just brings me so much joy. You've only been in my life for 17 weeks and you have changed me forever. I look forward to our life together sweet Ladybug.

I'm a Juicing Momma!!!

When I began cloth diapering, I thought I was nuts, now I can't imagine not doing it. When I began reading my friend Jill's book- Breaking Free ~ Truths for Healthy Living, and began to explore the idea of juicing, I thought I was a little nuts too. Anyone who really knows me is probably still thinking I am a bit nuts.

Nuts or not, I decided to give it a try, I went out and bought the juicer Jill recommended (which I LOVE), I made a big trip to Trader Joe's and stocked our fridge with TONS of veggies and fruits. I made a commitment to juice every day for at least 30 days.

I am very happy to say I have juiced every day for 10 days so far!!!! Honestly, I think I will probably juice for a very long time, I am in LOVE!!!! How else can you be sure to eat at least this amount of healthy veggies, and be sure your kiddos are getting them too???
I will be writing more posts about juicing from here on out, to share what works and what doesn't. I am truly so glad to have found this new addition to my life and diet.

Here's the juicing books I have so far, to continue to learn and juice!!!

Stay tuned for my next post to see what my boys are thinking of all this juicing!!!!

What I Love About You ~ 16 weeks

I Love...

• your precious giggles.
• the way you can entertain yourself with just your hands.
• your little piggies...

• the way your hair swirls on the top of your head...

• your big wide mouthed grins...

• the little bubbles that come out of your adorable plump lips...

• how wonderful you were this past week while I did tons of housework and ministry work. You were SO easy!!!
• seeing you reunite with your big brothers when they got home yesterday after a week away!
• the way the top of your head smells.
• the way you grab my shirt and hold it with your tiny hand when you nurse.
• how sweet you are with your brand new Tiny Bit blankee that your Nanee made for you. You bundle it all up in your hands, play with the tags, and even chew on it!
• the way you look when I catch you sucking your thumb...although I hope it's not a habit forming!
• seeing your cheerful face when you wake up from sleeping!