Comfy Corner February Calendar

I didn’t mean to be a cloth diapering mom. I kind of fell into it in the same way I became a proponent of other things such as natural birth, breastfeeding, baby-wearing and co-sleeping…these lifestyle choices just made sense. Before I had Melanie, I had visions of being the kind of mom I saw all around me: formula feeding, using disposable diapers, having baby sleep in her own room in her own crib and getting around with a stroller. But as I got bigger with this new life inside of me, I started to envision my future and those things I had thought about no longer felt right for me and this baby. And so I read a lot about everything related to pregnancy, birth and parenting. And I asked a lot of questions, mostly to a great mentor—my wonderful friend Kate—who encouraged me to invest in cloth diapering efforts to help ensure a world for my future child.

Cloth diapering required me to change the way I thought about my baby’s bodily functions. Unlike disposables, cloth diapering notifies you that your child pees frequently or infrequently by how the heaviness of the pocket inserts. You realize what kind of poop she has and that sometimes it’s watery diarrhea while other times it includes undigested blueberry and carrot bits because you have to scrape off the diaper before putting it in the wet bag. I feel more in tune with my daughter’s body and have to be more hands-on during diaper changes than I could have ever imagined. But the amazing part is that I don’t
mind it! Like other aspects of our relationship, I continue to be in sync with her body and her needs—a reminder that this little girl grew inside of me and continues to depend on me for her daily care.

And on top of that, I no longer have that overwhelming sense of guilt about destroying our environment, kind of like when you are somewhere that does not recycle and you end up throwing a plastic bottle in the garbage bin even though you really did not want to. I believe my daughter and her friends deserve a world that is not full of non-biodegradable trash that could have been avoided. I support a movement that promotes a healthy source of diapering that does not utilize chemicals and agents that could be toxic to her sensitive
and intimate skin. My family promotes a lifestyle that is completely our own and does not impose on anyone else’s. Our choice to cloth diaper does not directly affect anyone’s world but nonetheless supports everyone’s future world.

My life as a cloth diapering mom is about sharing what I know when asked. I have never judged others or pushed my beliefs on anyone else. Like styles of parenting, cloth diapering is a choice that moms and dads make. It’s something that each family must support in order guarantee success. And it’s something that is specific to the tastes and habits of each family unit (Pockets? All in ones? Prefolds?). Yet cloth diapering is also something that is so manageable and can be made so easy—once the learning curve is
endured and the initial shock of change is over. Kate, my wonderful friend and mentor that inspired me, served as my “cheat sheet.” She made me realize that it was not as overwhelming as it seemed and not as hard as I thought it would be. In many ways, I know that I could not have become a cloth-diapering mom without a living and breathing example of someone in my immediate circle that did it so naturally and effortlessly. For Kate, it wasn’t a question of how to cloth diaper but rather how could you not? All the resources needed are available: websites, local cloth diapering stores and even public forums. I ran out of excuses not to not try it. And so I joined the party of cloth-diapering moms. And you know what? I have managed to show other moms that it not something only hippies do. That it is not something that only the really rich or really poor do. That it is not something that is impossible for a family to practice. I am proud to say that as of today, I know three (3!!!) other moms that have converted to cloth diapering…and I would even venture to say that I have made them realize how easy it could be.

So life as a cloth diapering mom is wonderful. Easy. Care-free. Responsible. Lacking regret. I have enough to think about when it comes to what my daughter will eat, what she will wear, what activities she will do each day, what time she will nap and all those other things that are constantly on parents’ minds every day. What I don’t have to think about is how to diaper the wonderful, beautiful, curious and strong baby girl that has inspired me to change a significant aspect of our family’s life.

I have tried prefolds and PUL covers, pockets, hybrids, fitteds, and all-in-ones. I have done side-snapping,front-snapping and Aplix. I have used sized and one-size. I have tried micro-fiber, bamboo, cotton, hemp and disposable. All diapers have their pros and cons.  As I thought about what my favorite diaper is, I felt, in order to do an all-time favorite diaper justice, I needed to look at the diapers that I just used over and over, so I could thoroughly weigh the pros and cons.

So, here it is (insert drum roll, please)…

My all-time favorite diaper is the GroVia hybrid diaper! GroVia has come a long way since it began almost two years ago. Their original diaper is very similar but improvements were made based on customer feedback.  That is one super big plus in my book. When I began diapering my second son, GroVia (then Grobaby) had just announced its launch and the diaper was not even available to order. Testers had nothing but great things to say
about the diaper, so I jumped on the bandwagon.  I bought 4 covers ( hook-n-loop was the only option at the time) and 12 organic cotton soakers and boosters.

I’ve used them for almost 2 years, primarily for my younger son from about 3 months until almost 2 years. I used them occasionally on my older son as well. And now my sister-in-law and godson are going to use them! They are first going through a snap-conversion, which GroVia will do for a very small fee. I loved them and I plan to buy a whole new set. Why, you ask?

• They are a great diaper.
• They come in the cutest patterns and colors. Kiwi is by far my favorite solid color (I am a fan of bold colors) and the owls are my favorite pattern. I just bought an all-in-one that they now sell to try out and my 2 year old, who’s still wearing
  diapers at night, always asks for his “owl diaper.”
• They are made out of a great waterproof material that is still so soft both inside and out.
• The elastic is great.
• I love that it currently comes in a hook-n-loop and a snap option.
• It has a Great disposable option!  It holds in everything still and fits so nicely in the cover. I plan to use those when travelling or when my mom is babysitting from now on.
• They are also easy to use (that would be my husband’s main pro for this diaper).

Cons? There are a few.

• They can be a little bit bulky at the smallest setting. It doesn’t bother me, but pants are not always the easiest to get over the diaper at that size.
• My original soakers did not have the waterproof backing, so I needed to throw the covers in the wash more often. (But not really a con, since there is waterproofing on the back now.)
• the hook-n-loop Velcro shouldn’t be thrown in the dryer. We did not go with
  the recommendation to air-dry the covers. We figured it was just a
  recommendation and since I am impatient AND a procrastinator, more often than
  not I needed those covers ASAP or I’d have a naked child. So, in the dryer they
  went and the Velcro curled out and no longer stuck. It was a pain, but it was
  also our fault. I found out through Laura, owner of Comfy Bummy, that you could
  contact GroVia and they did snap conversions.
• If you have a child who is super sensitive to moisture, since it’s cotton, it won’t wick moisture away like micro-fiber or a pocket would do.

All in all, I definitely feel the pros outweigh the cons tenfold, especially since GroVia had solved many of our issues, some of which I did not mention because they fixed them and are no longer an issue. I highly recommend this diaper, but also keep in mind that every baby is different and every parent is different.

* The GroVia Gro-To-Go Summer Sale runs through June 30th!  It’s the perfect opportunity to add GroVia Shells to your stash!

Hi! I’m Jennifer, a mom to two boys – a 4 year old and a 2 year old, with another baby due in a couple months. Cloth diapering has been a journey for me. There are many reasons people choose to cloth diaper, and I am discovering the longer I have cloth diapered, the more I am learning about cloth diapering and all the reasons to do it.

In 2006 as newly married, recent college graduates we were thrilled to be pregnant and
quickly buckled down to be able to afford life on one income so I could stay at home with our new baby.  A search of various parenting websites introduced me to cloth diapering. 
I talked with my husband, Scott, about the cost savings and he was quickly on-board.

After some advice from other cloth-diapering moms we registered for and received
Fuzzibunz Perfect Size Diapers in size small.  When Matthew came along we used disposables for the first few weeks until we felt comfortable switching to cloth. 
The Fuzzibunz fit really well and he looked so cute!  However, he was growing quickly and we realized that the small size wasn’t going to last very long and buying each
size could become expensive.  That’s when we found bumGenius One-Size Diapers.  I
instantly loved the idea of only buying one more set of diapers and my husband loved saving even MORE money!

Within 4 months Matthew was already 20 pounds, shaped like a little basketball and I
had to move the bumGenius diapers up to the large setting. I panicked, thinking I would need to buy another, bigger,  diaper to get him through potty-training. Thankfully, I had my online community of experienced cloth diapering moms to tell me that my child would
more than likely slim down before it came to that. They were right. Matthew wore the Bum Genius diapers up until he potty-trained at 3 years old. They were a diaper that held up well for him and they fit his chubby little thighs. At the time, both Scott and I were convinced Velcro was the way to go. We felt it helped us size the diaper more accurately and could easily be replaced. I also discovered the beauty of cloth wipes about halfway through the process.

When Matthew turned 1, we found out we were expecting our second baby, Mark. As the
months of my pregnancy quickly flew by and there was little hope of my first potty-training before my second was born, I realized that 14 diapers was just not going to work well with 2 babies. I looked into several other types and decided that I wanted to try out prefolds and covers this time around. They were inexpensive and made from cotton, so were good for my child’s skin and an all-natural fiber. My mother-in-law bought us 2 dozen Indian prefolds, 2 new born covers and 2 small covers. I was a little nervous as I began to prep them because Scott was not enthusiastic at all. His thinking is and always has been, “If it aint broke, don’t fix It,” and the Fuzzibunz worked well for us.

I enjoyed the prefolds and covers, but decided to continued my search. Grobaby (now called GroVia) had just announced their launch of their hybrid diaper and I found wonderful reviews about this diaper from testers. I was intrigued, and I loved the look and the colors of the diapers! Plus, being able to use the covers multiple times before throwing them in the wash mimicked what I loved most about using prefolds and covers, as well as the organic cotton being so gentle on the skin. Also, GroVia diapers appeared to mimic the pocket diapers I had and that made ease-of-use more positive and more enticing to my husband. I talked it over with Scott and we decided to go for it – I preordered our first
set of 4 covers with an additional 8 organic soaker pads. We’d now have 14 diapers for Matthew and 12 diapers for Mark.

Mark was built the exact opposite of Matthew – he was very petite and tiny. The GroVia diapers fit him very well, being a trimmer diaper and I loved being able to reuse the covers. Scott liked them as much as the Bum Genius and gave them two thumbs up.

About 4 months after we began using the GroVia diapers, Comfy Bummy opened up in Naperville. As soon as I heard the news, Scott and I ran over to check it out. We bought one more diaper cover and organic soaker. I was excited to find a place where I could go if I ever wanted to check out more diapers and get advice. Because our primary reason for cloth diapering was to save money, I held back the temptation to buy more and different diapers at the time.

Matthew potty-trained right after he turned three and Mark potty-trained less than a year later. They both still wear diapers at night and since I have begun working for Comfy Bummy, I have been able to try out new diapers with them that I am finding I like equally or better than the types/brands I’ve owned in the past. I have discovered more things such as hemp and bamboo and as a seasoned cloth-diaperer would love to try diapering systems that used to overwhelm me like wool covers.

Since Scott has seen that we have saved thousands of dollars with our two kids already, and since our current diapers are in need of major repair, we’ve decided to add to our stash for this baby. I am excited at the prospect of trying out more and finding even better
diapers. I know there is no such thing as the perfect diaper, but I am also seeing that there’s a benefit to not having just one single system, especially when I have a husband who prefers “less work” diapers (aka pockets/AIOs), a grandma who prefers the ease of a disposable (GroVia Biosoakers, here we come!) when she watches my kids 2-3 days a week, and I am becoming more brave and more educated. I plan to cloth diaper when we travel from now on and now that I’ve had two drastically differently-shaped children, I’m seeing the benefit to having a variety as my future children go through various growth stages. Like I said before, cloth diapering is a journey for me and I’m loving (almost) every
step of the way!

If you have ever visited or called the store about nighttime leaking, you’ve
probably heard me ramble on and on about nighttime diapers. My precious Peanut
is one heavy wetter. Early on we began having nighttime leaks so I made a beeline
to Comfy Bummy! I was educated about natural fibers and how they are so much
more absorbent than any man made material.

I’d be the first to admit that I was skeptical. The first thing I tried was hemp inserts.
They were so thin! I was amazed at their absorbency. Although I was happy with
the inserts, I quickly began a quest to find the perfect nighttime diaper.

As we all know, a “perfect” diaper may be a myth but my newest go-to nighttime
diaper is the closest thing I’ve found to perfect. When our Bummis rep asked me to
try a Bamboozle Tots Bots Easy Fit Diaper I was intrigued. I was already head over
heels for the Tots Bots Easy Fit. They had become my go-to nighttime diaper and I
could not imagine that there was something better out there.

As soon as I got my hands on the Bamboozle I was smitten. It’s super trim,
luxuriously soft, and oh so cute! Again, I was skeptical. I’m a snaps girl and the
Bamboozle only comes in Velcro. It’s so thin that I doubted it could be as absorbent
as I needed. (I had always used an extra hemp insert with an Easy Fit.) It is made of
bamboo, which was a new fiber to me, but I loved that it’s a renewable resource that
is quickly replenished.

With my Bamboozle washed, I diapered Peanut and put her to bed. I fully expected
that I would wake in the night with a soaked baby. To my surprise she awoke completely dry!

Besides being trim and super absorbent, it is the softest diaper in my stash. I’ve
washed it a dozen times already and it stays remarkable soft. We even have
incredibly hard water. The Velcro is top notch and I’ve seen no signs of wear and
tear. The Bamboozle comes in 2 sizes, which provides a great fit for you child, no
matter what their age. Like all Tots Bots, it’s Oeko-Tex certified to give parents
peace of mind.

If you are looking for a great nighttime diapering option the Bamboozle is a great
choice! Stop in the store. I’d love to tell you all about it.

*My daughter is modeling the Bamboozle. I wanted to show what it looks like on.
Please note that this diaper needs to be worn with a cover over it. And pardon our
disheveled look. Mommy was snapping pictures and Blythe was longing for bed!

To enter a contest for a chance to win the Bummis Bamboozle Fitted Diaper click here!

I consider our house nontraditional in our diapering because we have multiple brands and styles to meet different situations and needs.  When Blythe was born we used lots of prefolds and covers.  I loved the Thirsties covers with their double leg gussets and it was so inexpensive.  They were convenient and did a great job of absorbing but by the time Blythe was 4 months I was done with prefolds.  I wanted an easier option.  I had acquired several pockets and used a couple of different brands but wasn’t in love with anything I had tried.  At 6 months I began working at Comfy Bummy and took the advice we give all of our families who want to try cloth.  I bought one of several different types of diapers.  This changed our entire diapering experience!  I can honestly say that I’ve tried everything in the store. It’s one of the perks of working there. I quickly realized there were brands that I loved and other brands that I was willing to pass on to friends to try when they just didn’t work for us.

So here’s our stash:

I wish that I was always this organized but the reality is I’m often fishing for a matching insert and cover from the clean laundry basket.  When Blythe is home with my
husband, she is normally in Grovia Shells with the Organic Soaker Pads.  He loves Grovia so I try to save those for him.  When we have a sitter I like to have a pocket diaper (Bum Genius or Fuzzi Bunz) or AIO (Grovia) because they are easy to use.  For night time we only use some form of hemp.  Our stash includes Baby Kicks organic fitted diapers and Bumbo Pockets, a Tots Bots with an extra hemp insert or the Thirsties Duo Diaper.  When I’m home I use hemp inserts or fitteds and Thirsties covers.  When we travel or
are dealing with the dreaded diaper rash, we use Grovia Biodiapers or BioSoakers.  I know that some families love one brand and buy an entire stash of one diaper style.

I love the flexibility of multiple diapering systems.  Each brand offers features or
colors and patterns that I want in our stash.  One of the great things about cloth diapers is
that there is something for every family.

Whether you try one brand or a dozen, it’s worth finding the right brand for you and your little ones.

What needs does a new mom have?  Most will say more time, more energy, and more sleep (not to mention an owner’s manual for their little cutie!).  Exercise can help with all of these issues.  Exercise gives you more time by increasing your energy levels and helping you sleep more restoratively (so, you need less).  Corporate fitness research has proven that for every hour, up to one hour daily, productivity increases by that hour, plus an additional hour.  So, exercising 3 hours per week will give you those 3 hours back, plus an additional 3 hours!

Exercising regularly also helps lower the instance of postpartum depression and decreases stress levels, which in turn leads to happier babies.  So, if you can’t do it for yourself, do it for that precious little one!

Easy for You to Say right?
We know that exercise has terrific benefits and in theory sounds like a great idea, but how do you make sure it happens?  I have three kids, 7 years, 4 years, and 2 years, so I definitely understand the obstacles that go along with making it happen.

My first bit of advice is to have a plan, a back-up plan, and a back-up, back-up plan.  That way, if something gets in the way of my original plan, I still get some sort of exercise in.

I personally found that the absolute best way for me to exercise when my children were babies was to do something I could do with my kids.  Running or interval workouts with the jogging stroller were my favorite.  There are many companies that offer classes such as Stroller Fitness (Boot Camp style workout with the kids in tow) that help moms workout without daycare and the kids actually have fun as well.

Another time I liked to exercise when they were babies was immediately following the afternoon nap.  Since there were things I needed to get done while they were napping (quiet things), I did not really like to workout during their nap.  I would put my workout clothes on right after I put them down and do as much work as I can while they would nap.  When they would get up from their nap, they were usually in a good mood and would keep me company in their swing,  saucer or Johnny Jump-Up.  The workout entertained them as well!

Now that my kids are a little older, I find that working out first thing in the morning (in my case 4:00 or 4:30am since my kids get up around 6am) is the best time for me.  Even though it’s early, I have so much more energy and my workout is out of the way.  It takes a little while to get used to it, but once you do, it’s amazing how much better you feel.  I get more done before 8am than most people do all day!

written by guest blogger, Tiffanie Sperling, Owner and Founder of Big Belly Fitness

Let me start by introducing you to Comfy Bummy and give you some background of our company.  Comfy Bummy has been online and in the cloth diaper business for over 10 years!  We specialize in finding the cloth diapering system that meets each individual families need.  We have many high quality products ranging from unique and special gift items for the new baby, natural baby care items, cloth diapering accessories and even potty training essentials for when your child is ready for that stage of life.  We don’t forget mom either with our ever expanding line of nursing care essentials.

My husband, Andy and I own and operate the company.  I work on Comfy Bummy full-time and he provides the love, support, and muscle that every small business owner needs!  We have three children,  Olivia (15), Noah (13) and Emma (12) and as you can see by their ages, way beyond the cloth diaper years.  I’m teaching Olivia and Emma how to cloth diaper so they can babysit for other cloth diapering families.  Noah does his share by helping me in our retail store.  Speaking of which, we are not only a web based business, we also have a brick and mortar store in downtown Naperville, IL.    So if your ever in our area, please stop by and see us!

We have a great team at Comfy Bummy.  Many of you may have met and talked with them over the years.  They are all mom’s (many who cloth diaper full time) who do a great job balancing their families while supporting Comfy Bummy.  Some work once a month, some work every day, and some work anything in between.  We try and are flexible with everyone’s schedule so we can have the best of both worlds…taking care of our families and pursuing our passion of cloth diapering and natural parenting.

We know cloth diapering and natural parenting isn’t easy and it requires a lot of education.  So, that’s what we are going to bring to you. Informative, fact based news and lots of educational based material.  Take a look around our blog and see what we have to offer.   Here are some of the highlights!

• We have a weekly question and answer section where we will address your questions and concerns.  This will be a great way to really find out what’s on your mind and what you may need help with.  We will do our best to get you the best answers.
• Our comfy corner area is our education center.  Here you will be able to find the latest information about cloth diapering.  We will provide text as well as videos and we will keep updating it as much as needed.  Washing tips, buying guides, product information, and just cool things we think you should know will all be housed in this area.
• Want to quickly follow us on facebook or twitter, simply just hit the icon’s on the home page and join us as a friend or follower.
• Local families, just hover over the store information bar and see our store information.  Our store hours, address, and contact information is all right there for you to get quickly.
• Love a product review so much you want to try the product?  Then just click through the online store icon and you’ll be transported to our ecommerce store.  Stay tuned for our website to be revamped and supercharged for easy use!
• Finally, our blog wouldn’t be complete without our comfy contests!  There is already one posted there, so hop on over and you could be a winner!

There’s lot’s of other great features for you to check out as well.  Take a look around and let us know what you think.  We hope to build a virtual community where we can share information, educate and socialize with like minded parents.  Please join us on this journey of conversation and connection.  We’d love to hear from you, so check back often or sign up to receive an email when we post something new.

My baby girl turned one last month. The time has flown by. It seems that just
yesterday she could do nothing but sleep and today she won’t stop moving. More
than a year ago my wife and I were hard at work preparing our home for the coming
little one that was about to invade our lives. As we shopped and found the best
crib and I picked out the coolest toys, my wife broached a topic I thought I would
never have to consider. Diapers were not on my radar in the least. In my mind you
went to the store, bought diapers, and then put them on the baby. This three-step
system seemed fool proof yet horrifying to this soon to be dad. My wife, however,
dropped some knowledge on me about the true nature of diapers. There were so
many options that had to be considered. She had been reading up on this new world
of cloth diapering. Admittedly, it was not a new world to lots of people, but to me it
was not an option that I had ever considered.
We started our process by venturing into a store called Comfy Bummy. This
store contained things I had never seen before! There was not merely one type of
cloth diaper, but options upon options.. The diapers were all different types, had
different folds, and all the color choices were more than I could handle. I walked out
of Comfy Bummy the first time having less knowledge about cloth diapers then
when I walked into the store. I still had no idea about cloth diapers but my wife
persisted in her research about the topic. We went into the store several more
times (I don’t want to even think about how many), and over time I got acclimated
to this idea. It was not a passion in my life, but I thought maybe I could get used to
the idea. So we took the plunge. We bought some diapers and continued to wait on
the arrival of our daughter. The wait seemed to take forever.
When my daughter was born I had never changed a diaper by myself. The
hospital room became my classroom, not just about diapering, but so so so many
other things I had never considered. I got into the groove with diapering. I will tell
you, I never think to myself, “Oh sweet! I get to change a diaper!” but I have gotten
to the point that it is no longer completely horrifying. Let’s be honest. The life of the
dad, like that of a mom, is far from glamorous. Dads do the stuff no one else wants
to do. Cloth diapering does not change the content of the diaper in any way. It is
still no pleasant task. However, I can tell you that I have cut my trips to the
dumpster with a bag full of diapers to almost nil these days (Trust me no matter
how awesome the diaper genie appears to be, it still smells and looks horrible). We
are at a year now and I have fully acclimated into dad mode. I carry a daddy diaper
bag, continue my reign as the fun parent, and I change diapers—which goes with the
territory. I never thought that this little person would change my life so drastically,
and that I would be here writing about diapers. I am not “that guy,” but here I am
writing about my experience. I look forward to sharing more about cloth diapering
from a dad’s perspective in future posts.

The nature of the work leads to a unique level of intimacy. If you’ve ever visited the store
you probably know what I’m talking about. We will talk about cloth diapers to anyone who
will listen. Most families that are considering using cloth diapers have lots of questions.
My first interaction with customers can take 30 minutes to 2 hours. That’s where my
relationship with families starts. There are so many couples that I’ve talked cloth diapers
with before they have even conceived their first child. They often joyfully return to the
store to share their good news of being pregnant. We create registries, wrap gifts for their
showers and eagerly anticipate their child’s first trip to the store. I think that I see most
families 6-8 times before their child ever enters the world. Although I know peoples names
and have a freakish ability to remember the brand of diapers that most of our regular
customers use, I don’t have a relationship with customers outside of the store. I don’t
know their friends and families, which often leads me to even more knowledge about a
family. Since I don’t know anyone they know, I’m often let in on the gender of the their
baby that’s a secret to the rest of the world. Or the beautiful name they’ve chosen for their
baby that they are waiting to share at Baby’s arrival. They want to share their news with
someone and who am I going to tell! We watch babies grow as their mom’s come monthly
to Mommy Café or just trips to the store to pick up necessities. It’s a joy to watch families
have success with their cloth diapers and then watch as once timid customers encourage
new parents with tales of disasters and triumphs.

So yes, I work at a retail store that sells cloth diapers. But it’s so much more than that. I
am a part of a cloth diapering community. I’ve made friends and watched babies grow. I
spend my days discussing all the different cloth diapering options and trouble shooting
with customers about laundry issues and leaking diapers. I can’t imagine loving what I do
any more!