Cloth Diapers Update {23 months in}

I started my blog, originally, to blog mostly about cloth diapers, then I changed to be about all things G, then it become just all things parenting / my life.

I can't believe, however, that's it's been SO long since I posted about cloth diapers. I figured I should do an update, seeing as how I've got nearly two straight years of experience (From newborn to toddler) using a variety of of cloth diapers in a variety of situations.

Winner: Swaddlebees Cloth Wipes

The Swaddlebees cloth wipe (and wet bag) giveaway has ended. I appreciate everyone who read the review & entered the giveaway. There were 142 people who entered and 3119 total entries after bonus entries were counted.

The winner is:

Thank you to all who entered!

Please consider entering the Babies First Birthday Blog Party giveaways that start next Wednesday :-)

Swaddlebees Cloth Wipes Review & Giveaway

The switch to cloth wipe event continues! Prior to these wipes, I had never tried any Swaddlebees cloth products, but I had swooned over their top quality cloth diapers and accessories. I was super excited when they agreed to be part of Letters from Momma's switch to cloth wipes. I was able to review both the bamboo wipes and the baby cloth wipes--in addition to receiving a wet bag! Check out the review below.

Bummas cloth wipe WINNER

I am really excited about announcing the Bummas' winner because there 148 entrants! That's a great turnout :-) I'm pleased so many people are interested in cloth wipes. After bonus entries were counted, there were 3277 entries. The most ever, to date, on a LfM giveaway!

Winner: Planet Wise Cloth Wipes / Wipe Pouch

What a great turnout we had for the Planet Wise wipes and wipe pouch giveaway!! I'm so excited to give this awesome prize away. There were 168 unique entrants (most ever for a LfM giveaway), and 3189 entries after bonus entries were counted.

The winner is....

Congratulations to her and thank you to all who entered!

The Bummas wipe giveaway is still going on until 1/19 at 11 pm central; with daily tweet bonus entries!

98% cloth wipe using household!

I'd say the 'switch to cloth wipes' is complete! We now use cloth wipes about 98% of the time. I will occasionally finish up with a disposable wipe at night to make sure G is completely clean, because we only turn on a tiny night light for midnight poopscapades (because they are white so if I wipe and it's still white, I know there's nothing left). We may also use a few when out and about (although I'm getting good at taking cloth). We bought what I hope is our last big box of disposable wipes at Target two weeks ago. I am forcing us to stretch that until G is potty trained.

Bummas Cloth Wipe Review & Giveaway

Swap your commercial wipes for some eco-friendly, soft, terry cloth diaper wipes that will last beyond the days in diapers. -- Bummas website

Through the research I've done during our switch to cloth wipes, I found one company that makes only cloth wipes--Bummas. Because they specialize in awesome resusable wipes, I just had to try some--and share them with you, of course! I love that they are made in the USA (California) and come rolled up in a bundle displaying all of the edge colors. Bummas also reduced their price for 2012--instead of $16.99, they are now only $15!

Forgotten cloth diapers

No, no...I haven't stopped using cloth diapers, I literally forgot about some when we left for Christmas with our families.

When we travel, I always leave the diaper pail empty. I do laundry right before we leave and take the few dirty diapers with us. Who wants to come home to a smelly bathroom and days old diapers? Not this clean freak, that's for sure.

Well this past Tuesday, that's just what we did. We left town the Thursday before Christmas, and it took me about an hour to remember we forgot the dirty diapers in the pail. It was almost worth turning around to get them, but my husband isn't the type to go back. He has even left his cell phone at home for a weekend, despite only being 2 minutes away when we realized it.

Planet Wise Cloth Wipes / Wipe Pouch Review & Giveaway

"Planet Wise Inc. products are eco-friendly and designed to replace disposable items you use every day. Not only will they help reduce your waste, but you can save money and look good doing it!" 
-- Planet Wise Product Guide

I first saw Planet Wise at my local cloth diaper store, while shopping for my pre-baby stash. Their bags were super cute, and felt like they were made of quality materials. I went home and did some more research on Planet Wise, and found out pretty much every cloth diaper mom loves them! I went back to the store and bought a medium wet bag for our diaper bag. I love it because it truly keeps the moisture AND smell inside, so that nothing else in the diaper bag is affected from dirty diapers. During my cloth wipe research, I found out that Planet Wise also makes cloth wipes! I was really excited when they offered me the opportunity to review a pack of their flannel wipes and a Planet Wise wipe pouch. A lot of cloth diaper brands offer wipes, but not many sell a pouch for storing them.

We've been using sky/lime Planet Wise flannel wipes and the owl Planet Wise wipe pouch for a few weeks now. Check out my review below and be sure to enter the giveaway at the end!

Thirsties Accessories WINNER

What a GREAT giveaway!! The Thirsties Fab Wipes, Booty Luster, and Booty Love giveaway has closed. There were 107 unique entrants, and the total number of entries (including bonus entries) was over 3100!!! I cannot believe how successful this review/giveaway was. I'm really grateful to all who entered. You made this the most popular review to date on Letters from Momma!

VIDEO: Our Cloth Wipe Routine {so far}

I haven't really done much research on the proper method for using cloth wipes. I'm actually kind of going into it blindly. I'd love to hear your suggestions or personal routine, though, so feel free to leave me a comment.

We've been using our Thirsties cloth wipes for over a month now, but we have still been using disposable wipes, because we obviously don't have enough cloth ones yet. Although 10 Planet Wise wipes did arrive in the mail Friday, though, so now we have 16! Woooooo!
I was going to type out how we are using cloth wipes, but then decided a video would be a better idea. Here's what I've been doing at diaper changes when using a cloth wipe:

Switching to Cloth Wipes...not as easy as it doesn't look.

When I decided to use cloth diapers, I never even considered using cloth wipes. My list looked something like this:
Using cloth diapers? cute, eco-friendly, frugal.
Using cloth wipes? gross, not easy.

Thirsties: Fab Wipes / Booty Luster / Booty Love Review & Giveaway

The great switch to cloth wipes is upon us... and by us, I mean me, because my husband still doesn't seem fully committed. I'll write more in a separate post about the apprehensions we are feeling and the challenges we are facing, along with the perks and positives from switching to cloth wipes. This review will focus on the specifics about the Thirsties brand cloth wipes and accessories, not just using cloth wipes in general.