Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Wild & Wicked- A Jenn Nixon Novella

A long time ago, in a galaxy-... wait wait. Even this introduction isn't quite right but that's beside the point. Many moons ago (years, whatever passing of time reference you'd like to apply to this works) I was involved in some silly Geekery. That's right folks, I'm a geek. Just thought you all should know. I'm into all kinds of Sci-Fi and Fantasy things. Books, movies, games, RPGs... the list goes on but I'm not embarrassed by it at all. Everyone has their niches after all and mine is the world of the Geek. I go total fan girl over certain things and can be quite intolerable sometimes but most manage to love me anyway, even when I'm hitting their arm excitedly in the movie theatres as a preview for (insert totally awesome film like the newest Star Trek) comes on the screen and a squeal somewhere in the only-dogs-can-hear-me register emits from my being. I've embraced many Geek moments with pure gusto; like watching Return of the King on opening night as Eowyn holds up her sword, removes her helmet and says "I am no man." Every woman in that theatre stood up and did a fist pump in the air while screaming YES! proudly. I was one of them.


I've gone off track horribly now so lets get back on subject. Many moons, galaxies, times, earth cycles, whichever ago I was involved in a pretty sweet RP (Role Playing Game, for those of you that don't know kind of picture a sci-fi version of Dugeons & Dragons) where I met Jenn Nixon. A fantastic writer not only in our RP games but also in book form. Recently she's had a lot of luck in the publishing world so I'm here to introduce you to Miss Nixon and have her tell you a little about her newest Novella Wild & Wicked coming out May 15th! It's a bit of a naughty read so there's no excerpts from the book posted here but there is a juicy blurb about the book itself. ;) Enjoy!











How I came to write my novella: Funny story about Wild & Wicked…while querying another book to publishers, I was fortunate enough to get two yeses, TWO days apart! I accepted publication with the first publisher and emailed the second to let them know. They kindly offered me the chance to submit shorts to them for publication and since I had this steamier idea rolling around in my head for about six months, I decided to actually write it. I submitted it a few months later and they said yes again!

The novella process was a totally new experience for me. I loved every minute of it and surprised myself in the end with a novella that I really, really love. So much so that I had to write a sequel to it!



Blurb: Veronica Chance’s sister has gone missing. In order to find Valerie, “Roni” takes a waitressing job at Foxxes Gentlemen’s Club, the last place her sister worked, to search for clues. First day on the job, the club owner makes her give a lap dance to his VIP guest, Mr. Storm. Veronica’s instant attraction to him spells trouble and threatens to blow her cover.



Former detective Mason Storm can’t deny the connection he feels for the wild and mysterious Roni. During the lap dance, he learns about her missing sister, offers his help, only to be rejected. Not ready to give up, he confronts her again, adding in the fact he’s seen her sister in the club, but she denies him once more.



When Veronica calls, acting rather strangely, Storm finds her at the club, drugged and giving a lap dance to a kid at an illegal after party. Grateful for the help, Veronica comes clean about who she is, and accepts Storm’s offer to help. Together, they unravel the clues surrounding Valerie’s disappearance, uncover the horrible truth behind the illegal after parties, all the while exploring and succumbing to their lustful desires for each other.




Jenn Nixon resides in New Jersey. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Liberty State Fiction Writers. Her love for thrillers and suspense often finds its way into her novels whether they are Science Fiction or Romance. When not writing, Jenn spends her free time reading, absorbing pop culture and current events, and social networking online.



Wild & Wicked from Tease Publishing – May 15th 2011

Visit Jenn Nixon online: www.jennnixon.com or:

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Saturday, March 26, 2011

Paci Fashion Featurette

So not to long ago I was in great search of some universal pacicifer clips that weren't going to cost a fortune for ONE clip! I use MAM Pacifiers and they can be some what difficult to find clips for that actually stay PUT! The ones MAM makes are great, but the plastic clip is super easy for my baby to pull off resulting in full on pacifier AND clip loss. Losing pacifiers in the house to the Mysterious Paci Eating Monster is one thing, losing them in public because my clip failed and there's no back ups in my bag is another.

I'd found one that I really liked at BabiesRUs that my Mum bought for us on one occassion and it was everything I was looking for. A metal clip that won't budge and a tie on end that made it compatible with everything. What I did not like was the PRICE! 10 dollars for ONE clip!? That's crazy talk!! But it worked so a few weeks later I went to buy more because I wanted to be able to interchange and color match etc, they were completely out.

Annoyed I went home and did an online search. The next I stumbled on was the ZDaisy Bungie Clip with a price point of $11.99. Are you kidding me!? It amazes me what companies can get away charging for things when they're either Baby or Wedding related. It's crazy to me! So on with the search. It didn't take me long to stumble upon Paci Fashion Q Luv It Designs. These had EVERYTHING I was looking for in a Paci!! A tie off end that wasn't just a piece of tiny ribbon I was afraid would break, a metal clip that meant my paci was going to STAY where I put it, and best of all ADORABLE DESIGNS!!!


Here's the metal clip I've been talking about. The top flips up to open and back down to secure it. So far the little rascal hasn't been able to yank these suckers off a bib yet!!






Fantastically enough these clips are removable from these Paci Straps so if you felt so inclined you can trade them out for other straps without having a clip for every strap!!







These are the kinds of tie offs I like. They're durable and not going to break. Thin itty bitty baby ribbon kinds make me feel like they would.






My son sporting my FAVOURITE clip! :) It has skulls on it, of course it's my favourite!!







An example of some of the fantastic prints and colours she has!!! The best part? A single clip cost $3.99. A two pack is $7.49 and Q Luv it Designs also has packages in sets of threes AND fives to save you more money! :) I think I spent a total of $25.00 on 7 clips! If I had bothered to get that many of the ZDaisy ones I would've been over $70 in the hole!








Apparently they're also fantastic to chew on!!!








Here's one more cool thing I have NEVER seen before!! Paci Tie Clips. Oh. My. Gosh!! I haven't bought one yet but I absolutely cannot WAIT to!! You can find them here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/qluvitdesigns?section_id=6570547 (Image borrowed from Q Luv It Designs Etsy!)





So all in all!! A wonderful clip in lots of super cute and fashionable designs at a really great steal of a price!!

Monday, March 21, 2011

RumpaRooz vs Blueberry Covers

Instantly the first time I put my new RumpaRooz cover on my son for night time I noticed something I didn't like. The fit. I have some what of a chunky boy, not very, but a little and fit is a huge problem for us with a lot of diaper sometimes. The RaR fit SMALL. I was disappointed. Where I can occasionally snap down my Blueberry cover to the medium setting depending on what prefold and doubler combinations I have going on under the diaper, there is NO WAY I could have done that with my RaR cover. I used my smallest bulk night time solution when I tried it the first time, very disappointing.




The following pictures are side by side (or on-top of) comparison pictures of a Giraffe Prints Blueberry Coverall and a Whale Tale RumpaRooz Cover.





Here you can see the RaR on-top of my Blueberry, it's a little smaller but there's more elastic in different areas than the Blueberry. While this is handy for keeping more messes in the front, it also means I have to stretch it against my son's tummy and back which means it'll cut in more when I try to get the right fit as opposed to my Blueberry cover where I snap and we're good to go without stretching.






Here is where I discovered it's very difficult to stretch two articles as far as they can while try to take a picture as well. I used the clip from my son's paci clip to hold them together, put my foot on one end, stretched with one hand and took the picture with my other. It was an amusing image I'm sure. Basically what I discovered though is that if you stretch the RaR ALL THE WAY it is the SAME SIZE along the front as the Blueberry cover!!







Leg gussets, they're bigger on the Blueberry. There's at least 1/3 more fabric to the 'height' of the Blueberry inner gusset as there is to the RaR one. You can also see in this picture that unstretched the Blueberry gussets are longer than the RaR. This circles back to my earlier comment that it's great when it stretches but if I have to stretch it sooo far to get the right fit on my son that it cuts INTO my son, we have a problem.







Side by side comparison of the Blueberry and RaR covers on the LARGEST setting next to each other.






And now on TOP of each other!!





Comparison of the smallest setting on top of each other. This is where the RaR could come in handy for an itty bitty baby. It would definitely be able to fit your trimmer or smaller baby better than the Blueberry.







Smallest setting side by side!









Here's something else nifty I noticed!! The Blueberry's snaps (Of which there are 10 for waist and thigh as opposed to RaR's 8) are slightly off set between the two rows allowing more adjust-ability between thigh and waist. Someone at Blueberry got it right when they realized that thighs don't fall the same as the waist when they did it and I love that!! They designed it TO BE SET on different ones and even helped you out a little! :)







Here's an image where you can see both snap rows. It's difficult to tell due to angles and my not having 8 hands to take the pictures the way I'd REALLY like to, but the first and second row of snaps on the RaR cover line up where Blueberry's are slightly off.





Booty Elastic between these two diapers is almost identical! They have about the same amount of stretch to them when pulled. If there's a difference it's undetectable by me.










So my sum up of everything is that the Blueberry Cover, for me, is better. For a chunkier baby it works the best. RaR has something going for it with the belly elastic but personally I'm not a fan of it at all. Having to pull it along with everywhere else to get the fit I need makes putting it on my darling a little more difficult. Neither cover leaked at night, which I was very happy about, but all in all the RaR just isn't going to cut it. Maybe if Liam was younger or not quite so chunky we'd be good to go so this would be an excellent cover for someone with a petite and trim Little One, but I think I dislike it enough to include it in my next Destash. I need roomy and roomy it is not! :)

Monday, March 7, 2011

Things I Can't Do

I can't do sad songs or some very random things while my husband is deployed. The silliest things make me start to choke up. Daddy's with their kids out and about is a recent one. If someone is crying on TV I get teary. (I still don't know what's up with that one, that started while I was pregnant!) I can't do shows like Coming Home, I cried the entire preview commercial I saw for it. Yes it's a happy occasion for these people but for me it's just a reminder that our own homecoming is a long way off still and it's entirely a possibility that we won't have one.

I know it may sound pessimistic to those of you who aren't related to military in some way but to those of us who are it's more just a fact of life. You never really think you'll be 21 the first time you have to talk to your husband about what they'd like their funeral arrangements to be. I know for a fact 21 wasn't when my husband thought he'd be having to think about it either. I remember days before he left for the first deployment he went on having to cover this situation and all I could do was try to crack jokes. They were some morbid jokes to say the least, but it's the only way I could cope with the situation at the time.

I can't watch the news. It bothers me to hear about all the conflicts going on, not just in the area my husband is serving in but everywhere. It's a fact that you'll worry ten times more than you normally would too if you try to keep up with the current affairs in the area you're husband is in. Every little thing will have you wondering if they're ok. Needless to say I have NO idea what is going on in the News world while he's gone and whenever someone tries to ask me about something I'm usually clueless. What little news I do receive is via military communities and some of it is extremely heartbreaking.

There's sort of a fall of how certain things work though and how you feel about them. When you're Military, ANY branch of military, you're this giant family. You knock each other all the time, wrestle and argue, but when it's time to get down to business you have each other's backs. It's easy to have an instant camaraderie with someone once you find out you're both involved some way. The other branches are sort of like your cousins, you don't always have to like them but you've got to recognize that you're related. Your branch, it's like your more immediate family, aunts and uncles and the like, the people you have a close relationship to. Your job field and more specifically your unit, those are your brothers and sisters.

When something happens to the cousins you don't really know or talk to, you get upset. When something happens to your aunts and uncles you get heartbroken. And when something happens to your brothers and sisters you feel a great sense of loss.

The shootings that happened recently in Germany were a great example of these stages for me. Finding out that individuals from the US Military were involved was upsetting to me but not something I would necessarily dwell over. Just something I would accept with sadness. Finding out they were Air Force, 'my' branch, was heartbreaking because instantly the possibility of knowing those involved increases a little. Finding out they were from my husband's career field put me and many other wives I know on edge. Instantly you're waiting to see if your phone will ring, waiting for the names to be released, just to see if you know who anyone might be. The realization that that could have been your own husband there makes it worse. It makes it hit closer to home and it's like feeling the bullet whiz by without hitting you. My heart hurts for the wife and families of Senior Airman Nicholas J. Alden and Airman 1st Class Zachary R. Cuddeback.

And while this is how it feels with a situation I could easily call a 'near miss', I can't even begin to imagine how it would feel to be the one getting the bad news. I am terrified of men in Blues coming to my door. When I first got married and was living in base housing I was woken by the door one day by two people in ABUs, and while I had just gotten out of the bed my husband was still laying in I have to admit my heart stopped for a moment when I opened the door. It took me a moment to process that A) These people weren't in Blues and B) My husband was asleep in bed, but you can see how it sits with me. I've had some of my husband's co-worker pop by the house while in uniform and have seriously yelled at them for scaring me. They think it's hilarious, obviously me? Not so much.

But since I'm talking about all the things I can't do, I'll try to end this on a more positive note. There are a few things I can do: I can miss him with all my heart and love him with all my heart so that when he comes home it feels like the deployment wasn't as long as I thought and instantly just becomes a faded memory. I can cherish every phone call, letter, and email enough that it almost feels like he's not so far away. And I can love our children enough that they will lack for no love while he is gone.



Please say a prayer for SrA Alden and A1C Cuddeback's families tonight.


Defensor Fortis.

Friday, February 25, 2011

CuteyBaby Diaper Review

So after a few weeks of testing and using these diaper (I have two) in my cloth rotation there are several things I like and one thing I really dislike about this brand. I'm going to go through all the features so you all can see, however here is a quick run down on them from the CuteyBaby website! :)








One of CuteyBaby's main features is the attached insert. This insert stuffs easily into the elasticized inner and stops you from having to figure out which insert came with what diaper. I don't know about anyone else but I have NO idea which micro-terry inserts belong to what diaper anymore because very few companies actually label their inserts. Charlie Banana and FuzziBunz are two of the only ones I know of out of what I own.






The attached insert is also two separate layers, very similar to Kickernappies LoopyDo and SuperDo inserts which means extra fast drying for YOU! This insert is very absorbent and very soft. (I'm talking rub on your face soft even after several washings!)





This is just a picture of the inside and how the insert looks while stuffed. It's also easy to add additional inserts and doublers to maximize your absorbency if you want to. The other wonderful thing about having the elasticized inner is you don't have to unstuff to wash! The insert just falls out while washing so no dirty hands! It also acts like gussets so that messes are more inclined to stay IN the diaper!






Despite the looped insert the diaper still fits pretty trim which is nice. I myself am NOT a fan of the bulk.






Another feature I really like is the hip snap which helps customize the fit of the diaper even more. This diaper is a Large for babies 20-40lbs and the hip snap is what really makes it able to fit my 22lbs chubber. :)






Do you hate diaper chains? CuteyBaby has added REMOVABLE velcro to completely eliminate the diaper chain. Unfortunately this is where we start to run into problems with this diaper. Either the velcro square isn't large enough or it's just a flawed design but I have several problems with it.







The tabs end up sitting fine but you can see on the right side how it isn't quite laying flat against the body of the diaper. This drives me nuts. I am constantly redoing the closure trying to get it to sit right so that it doesn't bother me while my son squirms and gets frustrated that I'm taking so long to get him back to playing.







THIS is what it looked like after just FIVE MINUTES of my son moving around and playing. The diaper is still securely on. That velcro isn't going anywhere and it's a little hard to get it off when you're getting ready to put it in the pail, however I want it to lay flat and despite my best efforts it never ever does. If you can live with this then I'm sure these diapers will more than please you, I'm just picky I guess. :)






All in all I love the diaper but the fact that the tabs don't lay flat is going to be it's down fall. I'll be sending them both out in the next few weeks to have them Snap Converted to solve the problem. Then I don't have to worry about diaper chains OR removable velcro giving me a hard time. However these have made it through the two hour naps and then some of a 10 month old who's crawling, moving, and shaking with no leaks. Frankly anything that doesn't leak is good in my book!





****** Additional Info: Because the question of how to get your diapers snap converted has come up, I'll cover that here really quick. You can do them yourself if you have the tools to do so and feel comfortable with it. I don't have a snap press personally but I know some really GREAT Work at Home Moms who snap convert diapers for a living! :) One of my favourites is Lauren's Little Lovies.

You can find her on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/LaurensLittleLovies1

Friday, February 18, 2011

Fluff Isn't Just Good for Your Wallet

Today I experienced something that proved to me Fluff was for more than just your Wallet. It was for more than just your Baby's Bum. It was more for more than just the Environment. And while these three things are the main selling points of Fluff and what really drives the market and campaign for a better world. Fluff is also good for the soul.

I always understood the concept of being excited to get mail. Real physical tangible mail. I think in a day of technology, where it's so easy to send a text message or email, the whole idea of physical mail has been lost on us. Instead of running to our mail boxes to see what we've gotten, we slog down the path in dismay of what bills we have received. Because really that's the one thing we know is going to be in that mailbox. Bills. And no one likes bills. Bills ruin the day and remind you about all of your adult responsibilities and that really is just no fun.

Sure we order things for our selves and we are happy to get them. But the feeling is different when it's a Fluff package. I can't explain what makes these packages just so unique and soul healing than any other package. They are just so much... MORE! Maybe it's the promise that they contain. The promise that your baby's bum, which is attached the child you will lay down your life for, is going to be wrapped in the best stuff possible. The promise that you're helping pave the way for a better future for your child. I'm not sure what it is, but it touches your soul in a special way.

I know part of what makes Fluff so exciting is finally getting to see your purchase in person. Each cover, prefold, diaper, and insert is so different and unique. They all snap, velcro, and fold differently. And we all know the pictures on your screen are always a little different from the actual thing. I've shopped for Fluff in stores before and have never gotten quite the same feeling about it as I do when I receive it in the post!

So when I had a horrible day yesterday, as I was reminded of bad things all day that I wanted for forget about, I reminded myself before bed that I would have Fluff coming in the mail. I fell asleep with this promise and at 1PM this afternoon was happy when that promised was fulfilled. On my porch was a pile of packages and in some of those wonderful packages was my Fluff. It was like opening a treasure chest or Christmas present. And as I oooed and ahhed over my wonderful purchases, showing them to my ten month old who tried to eat them, a little piece of me healed.

My pile of treasure!

Kangaroo Care: Why it's so Important

NICU Can be the Four Most Terrifying Letters




We were ecstatic when we found out we were finally pregnant. After two years of trying to conceive I had been starting to go to the doctor to have fertility tests done. Normally after six months they say you should get checked but it didn't really start to worry me until about a year and a half later. The funny thing is I never really got around to the advanced rounds of testing. Almost like magic on our 2 year Anniversary we found out we were expecting. I can still remember the almost dreamlike state I was in. I couldn't believe it had finally happened. At this point you don't worry about all the things that can go wrong. And while I know my NICU experience wasn't as long and as devastating as many others, those five days and the week following were scary enough for any first time mom.

My pregnancy went perfectly until 13 weeks when I began to have problems. Spotting had me rushing to the OBGYN (when it's your first baby you'll jump and go over the littlest things), however upon examination they said there was no active bleeding but that clearly there had been some earlier. Speculation was it was my body expelling what had probably never been a viable embryo, something that never would have popped up on the ultrasound, but that my other child was doing very well. Basically I had lost a twin.

After this I started having contractions and cramping that were severe every month when I should have been having my period. I never spotted again but it was enough for me to raise concerns. The doctors I went to told me not to worry about it even though research said I was 13-20% more likely to have a pre-term baby because of these events. At 20 weeks I was diagnosed with mild placenta previa that managed to resolve it's self by my 26 week check up that would have placed me on bed rest. Still I continued to have signs of preterm labor. At 34 weeks my labor had to be stopped with three shots and a prescription for Terbutaline. At the end of 35 weeks I was having every adverse side effect of the drug and was taken off of it. Needless to say I was told it'd be less than a week before I'd be having my child and I knew it was still too early.

At 36 weeks and 3 days my son demanded it was time to come into the world. Children born after 34 weeks but before 37 are considered late preterm. They often look like healthy full term babies but can be very deceiving and be very sick. My son was born with a nuchal cord, respiratory distress, an insanely high Bilirubin count, and suspected abdominal sepsis. They placed him on my chest for only a moment before rushing him down to NICU. I barely had time to say hello. Four hours later I was finally wheeled down to see my child. A scalp IV, cords everywhere, and nasal cannula terrified me but the fact that he wasn't on a ventilator was a blessing. However his vitals still weren't that great. I was only able to spend 15 minutes with him before they wheeled me away to my room.

The next time I saw him he was in an incubator. No one had bothered to call my room to inform me of the change in his condition and it was clear to the first nurse who saw me staring at my baby through the plexi with a terrified look on my face. She was able to explain that it was for photo-therapy and that it was nothing to be too worried about but honestly you can sometimes only think the worse when you're caught off guard like that. It was this visit that I noticed something amazing. When I took my child out of the incubator to hold him after a few moments I happened to look at his vitals. They had gone up. I'd only heard of Kangaroo Care in passing before this and seeing it actually working before my eyes was the most amazing thing on the face of the planet.

Every opportunity I had after that I spent with my baby in my arms. I was loathe to hand him over to anyone else but did so reluctantly when requested. My husband having noticed the difference also took to holding our son without his shirt on. Despite my son's difficulties, his fighting spirit pulled him through faster than all of the NICU Doctors and Nurses had expected. After the first two days he stopped crying like a NICU patient and really showed off the set of lungs he'd been given. The nurses constantly joked that he certainly didn't SOUND like a NICU baby. They also said he was one of their fastest recovering patients to date. When we brought him home his Bilirubin counts were still on the high side but with plenty of sun and a LOT of cuddle time in the Moby Wrap he recovered perfectly within the week.

Because of how much baby wearing and Kangaroo Care have helped my child advance from the premie he was to the healthy ten month old he is today I recommend it to anyone I can. Baby wearing and skin to skin Kangaroo Care has been a blessing to my little family and I'm not sure we would be where we are today without it.




Spending some quality time with Daddy




Mr. Happy Go Lucky at Ten Months!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Rockin' it with Rockin' Green

So most of us Cloth Diaper experienced Mamas know how awesome and fantastic Rockin' Green Detergent is on our Cloth Diapers. A good chunk of us even use it on our regular clothes too and don't even bother with other kinds of detergent at all. However some of you may not know that Rockin' Green has lots of other AWESOME purposes when it comes to getting stuff clean that doesn't just apply to your basic laundry.

One of my favourites is an alternative use for Funk Rock.

I don't know about anyone else, but I have one cat that's a bit stuck up when it comes to how pristine his litter box is. IE: One cat used it before me, it must be scooped again now before I can use it even though you just scooped it before they used it. This leads to a few problems and the particular feline in question often pees on things I really wish he rather wouldn't. Items including my child's car seat.

Prior to cloth diapering and RnG I would try OxiClean and various other products to get the particular cat smell out of items. Because of the frequency of the problem I've become very sensitive to THAT particular smell. Other family members haven't been able to smell it on freshly wash clothes when I have and it drives me crazy!

Finally I was staring at the car seat one night and happened to think of the Funk Rock, something that was specifically made to remove the ammonia smell from Cloth Diapers. On a whim I threw it in with the car seat cover and let the washer do the work while I made up almost a paste out of it to take to the straps and apply with a wash cloth.

One wash. ONE! That's all it took and I was no longer smelling ANYTHING but nice clean and fresh car seat. ONE! This was almost shocking to me and made me so happy I began doing a dance around my kitchen where my washer is. I had previously washed the car seat in another Cloth Diaper detergent and didn't have anywhere near as good results as I had with this wonderful product. The straps? They were perfect after I rinsed the RnG Funk Rock paste I'd made from them. I was blissful and decided I needed to attack other items in my house now because of this.

My futon cover and futon had long been a lost cause and were on the verge of being disposed of. No longer! Putting Funk Rock into the cleaning solution in my Bissel Little Green Machine fixed the problem in a snap! Loads of laundry on items that had residual stink from cat urine were now wonderfully clean again. After recommending this solution to a few other people I know they had success in getting pet stain smells out of their carpet using my idea too!

My house is now back into blissful happy smelling land for the most part! (I need to order more Funk Rock now that I ran out! Haha!) And I have the wonderful Rockin' Green Company and their Funk Rock to thank for it!

So if you want to make your life a little simpler, throw a few tablespoons of Funk Rock in before you start your cleaning ritual when it comes to Pet Mess Clean Up! It'll help a ton! :) I hope you all have as much luck with this as I do.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Sbish and Then Some Giveaway

To get the ball rolling Pandora's Cardboard Box is hosting a giveaway! Prize items will include a set of Sustainablebabyish Organic Bamboo Fleece Doublers and few fun sample items!

****So the prize was supposed to be 3 OBF Doublers from Sbish but since I think Mami's and Papi's is out it looks like the prize is going to be upgraded to either a Large SBish Flat and goodies OR a SNAPLESS MULTI-FITTED! Everyone Ooooo and Ahhhhh now! :)*******


And the winner issss!! Jessica DeJarnatt!!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Pre-Fold!


Some of us Mommas have been talking about Over-Night Cloth Diapering solutions for those of us with babies who re-enact Niagra Falls in the wee hours of the morning. Prior to discovering the solution I'm about to impart I had been solving the problem with a Pampers Baby Dry disposable and a Cloth Diaper Cover of ANY kind over it. It could be a pocket diaper without the inserts, a Blueberry cover. Anything worked. But I wanted an ALL CLOTH solution, not just what I'd been doing.

I'd tried pockets with extra inserts, pockets with a prefold inserted, covers with a babykicks flat, covers with just an Sbish flat, covers with an Sbish flat and an insert. I was running out of ideas. Finally I bought some Sbish Doublers that I had been hearing amazing things about!

When they arrived that night I decided to try something. I'd been told hemp was more absorbent than most others so I chose my BabyKicks pre-fold. I placed my Sbish doubler in the middle, folded it around the baby, put on a Snappi, topped it off with a Blueberry cover and said a prayer as I put my son to bed that night.

Come morning, no leaks. And we haven't had a leak once since I started using this combination for overnights!! I'm exstatic to say the least!! So I'm including some pictures as to how I folded this all since some Mommas were interested!!



Step 1: Place your prefold down and put your doubler down the middle.




Step 2: Fold the excess prefold over the doubler. Some of you may not need to do this depending on the sizes of your prefold and doubler and how they fit your baby. I do.





Step 3: Tri-Fold. You want the back to flair out so you can wrap them around your baby as the 'wings' of your diaper.





Step 4: Place baby on your folded diaper and bring the front up. This is where you can see the great advantage of how I've folded this diaper for a boy. As the front is the biggest wetzone for boys the extra folded over layer really helps increase how much absorbency can be achieved here.





Step 5: Pull your wings around and apply your Snappi to keep everything in place! This may require a little fiddling until you get it just right but you'll get better and faster with it every time you do it. Trust me, I screamed in frustration the first four times. Hahaha!






Step 6: Put your favourite cover on the baby!! For this solution I highly recommend the Blueberry cover. Make sure the cloth isn't peeking out around the cover anywhere so it won't wick!! Blueberry is really great because of the inner gussets which prevent prefolds especially from peeking around the diaper and wicking onto clothes.




And you're done! :) You now have a happy Overnight cloth diapered baby!!! I hope this solution works for some of you Ladies out there with Niagra Falls Wetters!!


**** For those of you wondering here exactly is the list of items used!****
X-Large Babykicks Prefold
Large Sustainablebabyish Organic Bamboo Fleece Doubler
Red Snappi
One Size Snap Blueberry Coverall in Blue Summer

The model in the pictures is my 10 month old son, Liam. :)