I read an interesting article on how to talk to your kids about 9/11 and was all prepared when my young sons asked about it this morning (they wanted to know why there was a commemorative ceremony at the baseball game they were watching on tv). When I started to answer them using the words and tone the article suggested they replied “Oh, the Twin Towers? We learned about that at school.” “Really?” I responded, “When?” “In Art class” they replied. Huh? In Art class? Has 9/11 and the wars that followed so desensitized us as a nation to the horrors of that day that 2nd graders are learning of it in Art? This was the defining moment of my adulthood. Like Pearl Harbor and the Kennedy Assassination that proceeded it, it is one of those days where everyone can tell you exactly where they were, what they were doing and how they felt when they first heard of it. It ended any innocence that remained and caused fear to be a unwelcome companion. Should something this consequential and life changing really be a topic in 2nd grade Art? Upon hearing of our sons’ history lesson, my husband and I sat down with them and provided a bit more detail than I am assuming they received over finger paints and glitter.

So, on this 10th Anniversary day, I will not blog about diapers but I will do a giveaway as we all need something fun and happy to which we can look forward. One of our favorite Made in the USA diapers, Thirsties, has recently added new prints to its diaper cover line. They are sweet and delightful and make me smile whenever I see them. We will give away one of these new covers (you pick the size and print) via a random drawing from the entrants.

In order to enter, please do one or all of the following (doing all four gives you four entries!):

- Comment below on how you discuss 9/11 with your children

- Fan Cottontail Baby on Facebook

- Fan the Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative on Facebook

- Join the Cottontail Baby mailing list

All these colors, Buy 5, Get 1 Free!

It’s back!  The bumGenius 4.0 Buy 5, Get 1 Sale!  Until August 31st, buy 5 bumGenius 4.0 in solid colors or Artist Series diapers and receive one free additional diaper.  You pick the colors and closures.  Purchase your diapers from Cottontail Baby and receive FREE SHIPPING as well.

A great way to enjoy these final days of summer.

bumGenius 4.0 on Sale!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Feeling lucky?  Well, Cottontail Baby and bumGenius want to make you even luckier by discounting the very popular bumGenius 4.0 diapers!  15% off from now until the 20th.  Shop early as supplies are limited.  We have all the wonderful colors in both snap and aplix closure.  If you want something in St. Patrick’s day colors, may we suggest Ribbit or Grasshopper?

Happy Shopping!

Its all about the Machine

If the washing machine is one you trust (that of a family member or close friend), then I say go with it and there are lots of things you can do to make it easier. However, if you are relegated to using a public washing machine, I would say “Proceed with Caution.” While some public washing machine are spotless, top of the line, power houses, many are not. There is nothing worse than washing your diapers in a machine with loads of detergent build up or where the water temperature has been turned down to save money. Coming home from vacation with diapers that need to be stripped and smell as they didn’t get clean enough is no vacation at all. It can make even the most amazing trip memories turn sour quickly.

One issue to be mindful of when using a different washing machine is that the diapers might not smell and feel the same way they do at home. Water quality differs across the country. If you have soft water in your neighborhood but travel somewhere with hard water, there may be detergent build up. Perhaps you generally use the sanitize cycle on your washing machine but the one at your destination is more basic and does not have such a feature. Recognize that you may need to do an extra rinse or two and that is simply part of the adventure of travel. Don’t forget to bring your detergent. We are big fans of RockinGreen and really love their sample sizes for travel.

What else do you need?

If you do have a good washer lined up and want to do cloth, there are some things that can make life easier. Invest in a great wet bag or for a longer trip, bring along a pail liner. Toss a citrus circle or diaper buddy in there in order to keep the smells down. One or both of these really are necessary for trips. You need a place to store all the diapers and the ability to keep any smells out of the hotel room or Grandma’s guest room. There are many great ones out there with my favorites being the whimsical prints of Leslie’s Wet Bags and the bright fun colors of the FuzziBunz wet bag.

My next suggestion is to Embrace the Disposable Liner. Disposable liners can be your best friend on trips. Being able to simply flush away the solids and not foul up the diaper too much with those can be wonderful. We know some people bring diaper sprayers along with them and attach to the toilet where they are visiting. That is simply too much work for us so the disposable liners are a great idea.

The diapers you bring with you can determine how much work you do. I am a big fan of the new hybrid diapers such as the Flip by Cottonbabies for travel. They offer several choices of inserts with the disposable being the easiest to use for travel. Just take out and toss the insert and put in a new one. Easy. Even if you choose to use the stay dry or organic insert, they are easy to wash and take up very little space in your luggage. The covers can be rinsed in the sink and hung to dry. So simple it is almost fun.

What not to bring?

Wool covers, while great and when properly lanolized, extremely waterproof, are hard to dry. They must be dried flat and can take a long time, particularly in humid weather. They do not tend to be a great traveling option. In addition, we have found that if being line dried, bamboo diapers can take a bit of time to dry in humid weather.

Whatever you do, have a safe and fun trip. Remember, the most important thing to bring is your senses of humor and adventure.

Happy travels!

Giveaway

Of course we have a Giveaway! We love Flip Diapers for travel and want you to try one too! So, a Flip diaper will be given away on Feb 25th to a randomly selected entrant. In order to enter look to the Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative blog for all the necessary information.

Ironically, I am NOT Made in the USA

We have been getting lots of questions lately regarding which of our brands are Made in the USA. Almost all of them are with a few big exceptions.  The very popular Mother-ease, Aristocrat and Bummis diapers and covers are all made way up north in Canada.  Imse Vimse (fun fact: Imse Vimse means “Itty Bitty” in Swedish) is a Swedish brand and Snappis, like the amazing World Cup we all just witnessed, come from South Africa.

Here is a list of some of our absolute favorite diapers, covers and accessories proudly Made in the USA.

But I am!

All Together

Baby Kicks

Drybees

FussyButt

Happy Heinys

Happy Tushies

Kissaluvs

Leslie’s Boutique

Mommy’s Touch

Rocky Mountain

Sheepish Grins

Stacinator

Swaddlebees

Thirsties

Wahmarama

Wahmies

Fussybutt Pads in Berry Colors

Happy 4th of July week! The 4th of July is always the best weekend of they year in Minnesota. It is our reward for putting up with the never-ending, freezing, snowy winters. Glorious weather, cool refreshing lakes sparkling in the sunshine, fireworks lighting up the sky….small town celebrations (sand castle building contests, popsicle socials, bike parades behind the firetruck) at their finest.

I was all set to write my blog post themed on the4th of July. Just as our Founding Father’s freed us from the tyranny of England’s rule I want to free my fellow soccer/baseball/chess club moms and dads from the Tyranny of the Snack. If you have young children involved in any activities, you know about the Tyranny of the Snack. A parenting phenomenon no one tells you about until after you are mired in it (Teletubbies, anyone?), is the snack. It is everywhere and it just won’t go away. Apparantly, Somewhere Very Important, someone Very Important came up with this ridiculous rule that whenever two or more children are gathered together for any type of activity, said activity must conclude with a snack. Is there anything more unnecessary in our obesity-ridden culture than feeding a 6 year old a Ho-Ho at 8:30 at night after a soccer game? Followed by a HFCS, artificial-color laden drink? I HATE it and fight it and rail against and am always defeated by the other parents who say “All the other teams will be doing snack so we must as well.” If their child said “All the other kids are playing with matches, so I must as well” would they do it? And yet, I succumb. I hate myself for it and wonder what happend to the idealistic young adult I once was who protested apartheid and marched on Washington. THAT lady would fight this in ways more direct than a diaper blog and not back down but the mom I have become lets it slide and then hates herself later for doing it. Anyone who has let their child watch Sponge Bob knows the feeling…..

That is what I WAS going to rant and ramble about, until the great ladies of the Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative whom I admire so very much, decided that this summer should be the season of Giveaways. Somehow, armed with that knowledge, I was able to tear myself off my soapbox and switch topics to….reusable menstrual products! Yes, a far cry from the Ding Dongs and Cheetos (why doesn’t anyone but me bring apples and bananas?) on which I was going to pen my screed.

So, reusable menstrual products. Free yourself from the Tyranny of the plastic tampon! Yippee! Fun, fun, fun. They don’t have quite the adorable and just too precious for words quality of their cloth diaper counterparts but they are just as important! If you make the decision to use cloth on your child (for environmental, financial or whatever other reason) why not use cloth for yourself? All the nasty chemicals and dangers found in sposies are present in tampons as well. The names have become all too familiar….Bleach. Dioxin. Toxic Shock Syndrome. Plastic. Why put them next to your skin or even inside your body? While disposable tampon applicators and pads are smaller, they fill landfills just the same as diapers and take the same time to decompose. In fact, the average child only uses diapers for 2.5 years. The average woman uses tampons and/or pads for 35-40 years….approximately 500 periods. At 5 tampons or pads a day for 5 days that is 12,500 chemical infused pieces of cotton and plastic next to our bodies and deposited in our landfills. Nasty.

We sell a lot of reusable menstrual products at Cottontail Baby and even more at our sister site, Mamaclothonline. We sell pads, cups, sponges and all the accoutrements that make them easy and fun to use (the Black Calaveras pad bag from Leslie’s Boutique is one of my absolute MUST HAVES).

One of our favorites is the Fussybutt pad. Only someone as supremely cool, ironic and fun as Christy could come up with the name Fussybutt and her personality comes across in her pads. Christy hand dyes, crafts and sews each one of these pads and they are both extremely absorbent and absolutely beautiful. The pads, which come in five sizes (thong, liner, regular, long and Xlarge) are all organic bamboo fleece or organic bamboo velour with an organic wool jersey backing and organic cotton fleece soaker. Not the ugly chemical laden boring white disposable pads you find at Target. These come in gorgeous colors liketurquoise with a lime backing or raspberry with purple backing. Stunning. Who knew something with such a high Ick Factor could be so attractive? Kinda makes you WANT to have your period (I said “kinda”). Plus, besides being beautiful, they are so comfortable and soft and just…dare I say it?…fun to wear.

As part of Giveaway Summer, we will give one Fussybutt pad and one Leslie’s Wet Bag pad bag (winner can choose the size and color of pad and print of wet bag…approximately $40 value). The Giveaway ends on July 24, 2010 so enter early and enter often. There are several ways to enter:

1. Follow the Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative blog
2. Join the Cottontail Baby mailing list
3. Fan Cottontail Baby or Mamaclothonline on Facebook
4. Leave a comment on this post indicating you did all that
5. Double entry for those who link to the Cottontail Baby or Mamaclothonline web site in their comment

Am I the Tie That Binds?

I was all set to site down and write a blog post about swim diapers. After the “Poo in the Pool” fiasco of Memorial Day during which our local pool was closed for an hour, in 90 plus degree weather, due to an unfortunate disposable swim diaper that did not work, I was fired up and ready to write. Just buy a reusuable swim diaper. Imse Vimse are good. They work. They don’t inconvenience your neighbors. They are cheaper in the long run and better for the environment. Plus, they are cute! I had it all planned out. Then, I sat down and read the Sunday NYT Styles section…..

In the Sunday NYT section, tucked away behind an article on the gorgeous, classy Iman, the Gore’s marriage implosion, and the tall lady from Glee marrying a woman from my alma mater, was an article about a French Intellectual (their term, not mine) who opines that some of the tools of motherhood that I espouse, cloth diapers, breastfeeding, natural childbirth, are just chains that are keeping women from achieving their full potential. Elisabeth Badinter, as she outlines in Conflict: The Woman and the Mother (Le Conflit: la femme et la mere) believes that the advances of modern times, disposable diapers, the plastic (now BPA-free glass) bottle and epidurals which were designed to help free women and keep them independent and liberated are being discarded in favor of greener, more eco-friendly, and she would say, harder choices. Choices that are rolling back years of feminist advances in favor of a lifestyle that chains women to motherhood.

So, as you can see, not what I wanted to read on a happy, peaceful, Sunday morning. Mommy Wars a la Francais. Unlike the US based Mommy Wars which seem to focus mostly on the Working Mom vs. Stay at Home Mom dynamic, this was all about the movement toward a greener, cleaner lifestyle. She classifies the heightened eco-awareness amongst many of today’s moms (and dads!) as just a passing fad and one, that left unchecked, is going to derail decades of advances for women.

After I got over my initial anger and frustration at what I believe to be this woman’s limited point of view, I guess I understood a bit of what she was saying. Yes, women are making different choices than perhaps their mothers would have made. I can see how the women who blazed the trail for working women (moms or not) would be upset or frustrated that so many who follow are choosing different paths and perhaps not fully appreciating their struggles and sacrifices. But, isn’t this okay? Isnt the beauty of where we are in society that it is okay that we have a choice? Bottles might allow women to return to work sooner but breastfeeding is cheaper and easier for many (not all, as my own experience would attest). Cloth diapers are better for the environment and our pocket books. So many live their lives in a medicated state, isn’t it okay and rather cool that some (once again, not all, as my crash C-section would attest) choose to experience a major life event drug free and clear? Why are these things bad?

I do agree somewhat with one point she makes. That we, as a society, have idealized what the “perfect” mom does (cloth, breastfeed for 12 months or more, natural childbirth) and those who opt to not do these things or, even worse, try and cannot succeed in doing these things are left feeling like a failure. As if they did not check off all the “Good Mommy” boxes and are not as dedicated as the moms who do. So, what do you think? Are women who choose cloth and breastfeeding and natural childbirth rolling back decades of feminist advances? By making these choices are we reducing our freedom and limiting our professional options? Are the women who choose to not incorporate these elements into their parenting portfolio “Imperfect?” Or, in the end, is the “Perfect” mom one who loves her child and does the best she can in her own individual way taking into account her own, individual circumstances?

Kissaluvs Marvel in Mocha

Just read an interesting statistic from the Clean Air Council. In America, 570 disposable diapers are thrown away every second. That is 49 million a day. As a country, we pay $350 million annually just to pay for them to be disposed and they will still be essentially intact, in the landfill, polluting ground water 300 years from now. I am not writing this to be depressing, although it undoubtedly is. I am writing this to be encouraging. So, on these cold, snowy days during a winter which has already seemed unnecessarily harsh and long, I know the last thing I want to do is another load of laundry and drying of my diapers. It would be so easy to bundle up and head to Target and get a box of sposies and just be done with it. However, as small as my contribution might be, in the end, it does matter. So, stay strong and keep cloth diapering. It really IS important.

A pretty pocket diaper

Pocket diapers seem to be all the rage these days.  Pocket Cloth Diapers are cloth diapers that have a waterproof outer with a soft inner that wicks moisture away from babies skin.  There is a “pocket” opening where you place a pocket insert or something absorbent.  Pocket diapers will not function without an insert or some kind of pocket stuffer.  Some people have found that prefold diapers make wonderful pocket inserts.  They are economical and superbly absorbent.  They may increase bulk, though, so this depends on your personal tastes.

There are many choices in pocket cloth diapers.  Among our favorites are the following:

bumGenius 3.0

bumGenius in Grasshopper

The bumGenius 3.0 is the work horse of the pocket diaper category.  The best selling bum Genius 3.0s have a waterproof exterior, a soft, non-piling inner, natural gussets which contain even the gnarliest messes and stretch to fit tabs just like the disposables have.  They come in wonderful colors and are great all-around diapers.

Fuzzi Bunz

Fire Engine Red Fuzzi Bunz

Fuzzi Bunz makes a terrific pocket diaper.  It has a super absobent insert, a soft fleece layer, adjustable snaps, stretchy leg elastic and a soft waterproof exterior.  The Fuzzi Bunz comes in multiple sizes as well as one size allowing you to find the perfect option for your child.  In addition Fuzzi Bunz are offered in a vast array of colors from gorgeous pastels to vibrant bold hues.

Rocky Mountain Diapers

Rocky Mountain Diaper in Berry and Lime

Rocky Mountain Diapers are wonderful pocket diapers proudly made in the USA.   Rocky Mountain Diapers innovation is an internal adjustment system that allows for a trim fit tailored to each child’s body type.  This system is similar to that of children’s waist bands in their jeans.  There is soft suede on the inside next to baby’s skin and fade resistant PUL on the outside to keep them waterproof.  The sizing adjustments allow parents to use the same diaper from newborn to potty learning.

Happy Heinys Pocket Diaper

Happy Heiny's in Cow Print

Happy Heinys Pocket Diapers use only custom milled fleece. There are no leg casings which allow for better fitting diapers and contain messes better without leaving red marks.  The Diapers are available in a variety or solid colors and fun prints.  These diapers have been tested for 12 hours or more at night with absolutely no wicking for most babies.

Thirsties Duo Diaper

Duo Diaper in Mango

A recent entry into the Pocket Diaper category is the Duo Diaper from Thirsties.  This diaper copies the technology of Thirsties best selling Duo Wrap diaper cover.  This diaper’s fit technology is such that two sizes should take the average family from newborn to potty learning.  Like its competitors, the Duo Diaper combines a waterproof outer with a soft and absorbent inner.  These diapers have a microfiber terry and hemp combo insert amounting to 7 layers in all.  Like other Thirsties products, these diapers come in simply spectacular colors and are made in the USA.

These are all wonderful diapers that are welcome additions to any cloth diapering parent’s stash.  All can be purchased at Cottontail Baby an online natural parenting store run by a committed to organics and all things natural WAHM.