GroVia Diapers - One Year Later

I started using GroVia (then GroBaby) diapers about a year ago when Kirsten was 5 months old. We used other cloth before that, and after being discouraged and burdened by all of the work, I almost gave up on cloth all together. On a whim I ordered these diapers, just to give it a try, and have never looked back since!

Thankfully they came out with new prints and colors recently, and have been working on making new products that are safe and environmentally friendly.

I bought Kirsten a few of the new prints, and really could not resist getting her the airplanes. Of course these are meant for boys, but who are we kidding here, they are TOO CUTE FOR WORDS!



Did you just die? Because I did when I put it on her!

I could keep going about how great I think GroVia is, and how someone who is hesitant about cloth diapering should give them a shot before giving up on the idea of cloth. They are easy to use and I have had ZERO problems with cleaning them. Most of my inserts, about a year later, are still stain free and as absorbent as ever!

The customer service is really amazing and have been there for me in a few pickles. Like the time the snaps stopped snapping or Kirsten's "sick" diaper stains almost ruined a whole batch of inserts.

One year later I am as happy as ever, and look forward to cloth diapering my growing toddler, using my adjustable GroVia diapers that will fit her little butt until she can use the potty.

Thank-you GroVia... and I hope every one is encouraged to give their cloth diaper companies a little hug sometime soon... they deserve it!

Tales of a Poopy Diaper: Shopping

I am pretty certain Mother Nature was on her period last week; because we had TWO count em, TWO poopy diaper blowouts while using disposable diapers. I tried to justify it by using Huggies Pure and Natural diapers (hey, the package says they are environmentally safe!) but she was having none of it.

I wrote about the first episode, where we had poop all the way up the back and then Mrs. Smug Pants Magee decided to just make my day even better!

Well episode number two occurred two days later. I was out and about with the baby, again, trying to shop for various items. I was at an outdoor strip mall, enjoying the weather with Kirsten inside her ERGO baby carrier. She was having a good time, seeing the world from my vantage point, and I felt really good about the day. After the whole dress shopping debacle I was really excited for a good shopping experience.

I was breezing through the home goods section of TJ Maxx when the explosion happened. I looked down at Kirsten and she was red faced and really concentrating on something. I knew it, I know that face far too well. Just then the whole store heard her butt just explode! Thankfully the baby was in clear sight, or else I would have to play the "no it was the baby" game with the people who were standing nearby. An older woman giggled and said, "oooooh someone really had to go! hehehehe" Thanks lady, if it's so funny, how about I pass her off and YOU change the diaper!?

Anyway, I figured she would be pushing for a bit, so I gathered my items and headed for checkout. Things were beginning to get stinky so I tried to face her away from the guy checking us out. He must have thought I was crazy, turning away from him and not making eye contact or giving in to his small talk. Sorry dude, no time to discuss the weather! I have a poo-sposion attached to me torso!

Thankfully there was a Panera Bread next door. I ran inside and began setting up the diaper station, feeling good about being super prepared this time. As I unhooked the carrier and began to take Kirsten off of me, that is when I saw it, she pooped all the up the front, through the front of her pants and ONTO ME!!! (Tori Spelling discussed this in her book MommyWood and when I found out I was having a girl I anticipated this moment. The “poo up the puss” moment. Well here it was, thanks for the warning Tori!)

Dear Karma, THANK YOU!

I never changed a poo-explosion that quickly. I was terrified someone would walk in and think I decided to roll around in my daughter's dirty diaper. Without anything to really do about myself (I was wearing a yellow dress at the time) I attached Kirsten to me and sprinted for the exit. I could only imagine how badly we smelled, or how weird it must have looked to see me run full sprint from the bathroom to the parking lot!

Thankfully we got home quickly and I was able to change us both. Kirsten just giggled and chewed on her hand, her answer to all of life's problems. I chose to soak my dress and pray for a better shopping experience next time.

Cloth Diapering at Night (a review)

I realized I haven't discuss my cloth diapering experience in a while. So here we go, a cloth diaper update!


First, let me just say, we have been having a blast with our cloth diapers. I have yet to really run into a problem, and it has been so easy.



Alright, so what is new with our cloth diapers? I bought my first fitteds and wool covers. I was "followed" on Twitter by a really amazing company named Sloomb (Link) and decided to take a peek over at their site. From the start I was impressed. Small inventory, but I really loved the look of their diapers. The diapers are called sustainablebabyish and come in a variety of snaps and snapless assortments.

I actually became interested in these diapers because we had yet to cloth diaper at night. I read that fitteds and wool soakers were the way to go, and Sloomb was awesome in helping me decide which would be the first to try.

The following is taken from their site (destription for the diaper pictured above): sustainablebabyish overnight bamboo fitteds are soft and beautiful, made entirely of organic bamboo|cotton fleece with the soft jersey side out. perfect for day time use & the answer for nights. now with snap in soakers. each fitted includes a 3-layer bamboo fleece doubler.

They come in four solid colors "natural, sprout, kirsche, and teal." Kirsten is a girly girl so we opted for the "kirsche" or pink color. When it arrived I was honestly so surprised by how soft it was. Seriously, I had NO IDEA cloth diapers could be this soft. I was so excited to try it out, but knew washing was in order first. I ran in through the laundry as I normally do with my diapers (I recently won a free sample of Rockin' Green "Hard Rock" Soap and gave that a try. Amazing product!!!!) by doing a gentle cycle and tumble dry. After two times in the tumble setting it was still a bit damp, so I hung it to dry in our laundry room and it was perfect after a short amount of time. I had to hang the soakers that came with the diaper as well, and those dried perfectly after hanging as well. I may just stick to hanging these diapers and soakers from now on.

Anyway.... these diapers require a cover, and I am not a cover user, so this was yet another realm of cloth diapering that was new to me. The obvious choice was to go with a sustainablebabyish cover, since I already had the diaper. The company was running a sale on their double layer organic wool covers so I snagged one immediately.



The cover came and again I was impressed by the quality. It is thick yet still very soft. I was a little hesitant about wool covers. Wouldn't they be itchy or uncomfortable on the baby? Turns out these are super soft, so I really had no worries. I washed it as I washed the diaper and was surprised by its fast dry time. No need to hang it, even though I may opt to do so since that is how I will be drying the diapers.

So now I was set and ready to try it out for the first time. After Kirsten's bath, instead of strapping a Pampers Baby Dry diaper on her, we placed the cloth diaper on her (by the way, the size small fits Kirsten very well, and even has room to grow, she is about 12lbs). Again, so soft, and much for form fitting than our regular cloth diapers. One major complaint with cloth diapers that I have is the bulk, and these were just as snug and slim as a Pampers disposable diaper.

I then put on the cover, which fit her very well, no gapping and it didn't appear too tight. Since she already had a bottom on, I decided to just place a long sleeved shirt over her. I asked this questions on Twitter, about what to do as far as jammies were concerned while using wool covers, and people told me to use a sleep sack. I really dislike sleep sacks, and so does Kirsten, so I needed another solution. I figured she wouldn't be cold, so the long sleeved shirt was fine.

We did our normal routine after that, and I placed her in bed, snug under her blanket. Now some babies are big night time wetters. Kirsten, however, really doesn't pee too much at night. I was a bit worried that she would feel wet while in a cloth diaper that was thinner than her regular ones, and then a wool cover, no type of liner to catch the pee. When I picked her up 7 hours later though, I immediately felt her bottom and it was completely dry. I felt under her and that was dry too. The outside of the organic double layer cover was dry!

I just took it off, along with the diaper, and put it in our wet bag. First night was a success! Obviously to be able to do this every night we would need more than one of each, but so far it has been fun to use the cloth diapers about every third night, when I get to laundry.

I fully plan to purchase more of the sustainablebabyish diapers and covers. They tend to be a little expensive, but the quality is amazing and worth the price. I really want to try to karate pants (pictured),


so that Kirsten can wear her diaper during the day. I also think the stretch wool covers will be perfect for the warmer weather that is fast approaching!

I am also very curious about how to care for my woolies now that I am investing in them. As I said, they tend to be expensive, so I really want to make sure I take care of them properly. While searching around on the Sloomb website I came across their recommended wool conditioner. It is called Pure Solid Lanolin by bella junction (pictured).

I really am in the dark (like most things) about the up-keep for wool covers, so I fully plan on investing in some of this as well!


I am extremely pleased with the quality of these diapers and really can't wait to try more of their stuff. Again, the fit is amazing and so slim. Kirsten wouldn't look like she has a majorly full diaper every time I put one on her! And I am just assuming she feels more comfortable.

I bought a few of the Thirsties brand fitteds and covers, due mostly to my obsession for cute patterns. I have only used them once, and so far like them a lot. I'll be able to write more on it later once we really give them a try!


I mentioned earlier about using Rockin' Green Soap. Here is a LINK to their product. If you have hard water like we do, they have a new solution for it, it's called Hard Rock!

The Outdoor Life & Organic Changes

Spring has sprung in Pittsburgh and we took full advantage of it!

Took Kirsten and the dog, Pete, to the park!



And then we hung out in our backyard. Todd and I were able to get a game of "washers" in too!!!

This makes me so excited for summer... the pool, zoo, parks... it'll be so much fun experiencing it with the baby!


I've been making a few more "organic" changes around the house as well. We switched all of our cleaners to safe/chemical free products. Mostly BabyGanics and Seventh Generation.

What I have been most impressed with so far is the "bottle and dish" cleaner from BabyGanics! It comes in a foaming wash, we keep it on the sink, and just squirt it right into the bottles. So easy and so convenient!

I also really love the All Purpose cleaner from Seventh Generation. I wasn't impressed with their diapers or wipes, and haven't tried any of their other products, but the All Purpose cleaner is really great! And smells fresh! Anyone care to share their thoughts on their products?

More importantly, I have been up in the air about switching our disposable diapers. What do you use? We use Pampers, and really love the Swaddlers! They are so soft and fit really well. We haven't had any leaks or problems! I'm almost afraid to switch, especially since we only use a few a day since we are using cloth diapers. I felt the Seventh Generation diapers and they just feel rough. The Huggies natural diapers feel the same way, and I heard they really aren't that environmentally safe (something about the contents inside the diaper). What about Earth's Best diapers? Maybe I'll pick up a pack and give them a shot!

I also bought about a dozen cloth wipes from this Etsy shop. I really am not crafty at all, and am waiting to see how it goes before making more on my own. I will probably go to a craft store or Walmart and get cheap (but soft!) material and cut it up into squares.


My only problem... should I buy a solution and dilute it with water to make a large batch (pictured is the California Baby Diaper wash solution, which can be made into a larger batch with water. Sold for about $11)? or just make a homemade recipe? Which is easiest? I am hearing many different opinions, and even a lot of "just use water" suggestions from people. Perhaps I will try both and see which is easiest for me!

Finally, we switched from Johnson & Johnson Baby washes and lotions to California Baby! What an amazing product! So gentle and smells really fresh and nice. Only downside I can really tell is that the bottles are all small, and rather expensive.

Poop and Easter Baskets

I really had no other way to divide this entry into two topics without making the title sound a bit silly. So no fear... I'm not talking about poop IN the Easter basket!

First things first, the poopy diapers. I dealt with my first poopy cloth diapers yesterday! We have been going part-time with the cloth so we had yet to run into the dreaded poopy diaper, but yesterday was the day! And boy did Kirsten go big! She had 4, yes count em, 4 poopy diapers yesterday, girl was on a roll!

We were out of the house when the first two occured. I was terrified! What in the world would I do with a poopy diaper while not at home?? Luckily, I had my Planet Wise wet bag with me (kisses their butts repeatedly). I had stacks of clean diapers inside the dry section, and was excited to finally use the wet section for something other than pee diapers!

I layed Kirsten down and unsnapped the diaper (for the record we were using the Smarti Pants at the time). Inside was just globs of poo. I thought to myself, "how in the world will I deal with this? The instructions online all say to just dump it out and put on a new diaper??" In theory reading about dealing with a soiled diaper seemed very easy. Every site only mentioned dumping out the diaper, put the insert and shell away, and place a new diaper on and GO! This all seemed to easy to me, until I had to deal with the first real poop diaper!

So there I was, trying to figure out what to do with poo that in no way would just "dump" out of the diaper. I remember reading somewhere about scraping it off. Without any proper scraping devises I simply reached for my wipes and began wiping off as much as I could. I tossed out the wipes and just folded up the diaper as neatly as possible. I then tossed it into my handy dandy wet bag!

In the back of my mind I thought, this is surely not going to fly each time! How could I walk around with soiled diapers and will the poo ever come off the diaper? Well we had one more poo diaper while we were out, and I followed the same proceedure as before, and just merrily went about my day with two poopy diapers in my bag. *for the record, I never smelled the diapers at all when they were in my bag!

I got home later that day and decided I needed to deal with the diapers that evening, I didn't want poopy diapers sitting around waiting for the next wash. We had three at the time (2 Smarti Pants and one GroBaby), and a few pee diapers, so I just tossed everything into the washer machine. I opened up the poopy diapers before putting them in the wash, and added the detergent. I used Greenworks Free and Clear detergent. I ran the washer on warm and hoped for the best.

When I moved everything from the washer to the dryer they appeared to be clean. I saw no stains. After tumble drying twice, I opened the dryer to find all the diapers were as good as new, no stains at all! I was so shocked! I expected some stains, since I didn't do a great job of scraping off all the poo and just tossed them into the wash!

Hopefully my luck continues with this, because Kirsten already soiled yet another diaper!


And now for the Easter basket portion of the post! (good transition eh?)

I was extremely torn about what to get Kirsten for Easter. She's a baby, so she really won't care what she gets, but I wanted it to be something she would enjoy using soon.

I have been doing research lately on organic toys. I realized everything we had was hard and plastic, and I wanted her to have something maybe a little safer. She is already shoving her little fists into her mouth so it's only a matter of time before she gets ahold of toys and puts them in there.



I found an Etsy shop that sells really awesome felt toys. She makes baskets full of letter and numbers made of felt, and they are beyond cute!

I also bought her some fruits and veggies made of felt too. Baby's first garden!

Planet Wise wet bags

I think I have found THE BEST wet bag out there! Thanks to my friends over at Pittsburgh Cloth Diapers, I have made this discovery! They are Planet Wise wet bags!

Really it all began with me just not being able to resist things made in fun fabrics and patterns. And these wet bags come in really amazing patterns! And the fabrics are great! The bags also come in various sizes. So a larger one would be perfect for trips or daycare! I like to hang the large bag from our changing table for quick and easy changes, and have a smaller bag for our diaper bag.



The concept behind the bag is that there are two pouches. The pouch in the front is the "dry" section where you can keep inserts or diapers that have not been used. This is awesome for organization and keeping things clean. I tend to just stuff everything into my diaper bag, so this is a really nice solution. And I don't have to worry about things that are floating around in my bag getting all over the inserts.

Next part is the main section, the "wet" pocket. This is the largest part of the bag and has a special liner for soiled items.

The wet section is super durable and keeps the mess in very well. From experience, it safely kept 3 poopy diapers inside, mess free! The liner is very easy to wipe down if you were out and about, unable to wash the whole bag too.

This concept is awesome because if baby is staying somewhere for a long period of time (daycare or vacation) everything can be organized and easy to find/use!

It is advised to wash the bag before use!

Here is a list of retailers so you can get your own Planet Wise wet bag!!!

Cloth Diapers - Week 2

So here we are in week two of using the cloth diapers. As seen in the photos below (well maybe not that clearly) Kirsten is wearing her Smarti Pants diapers. I am really digging these diapers! They are really soft and super easy to put on her. So far no leaks either! Only complaint, as mentioned before, is that you have to stuff them and use a new shell every time. But really, it hasn't been that bad. I bought 3 more shells so now we have 6... enough to get us through a day!

I ordered another brand to try, and am really enjoying these as well! I went with the rave reviews all over the internet and decided to purchase some GroBaby diapers!



I ordered them from Pittsburgh Cloth Diapers (link at the very bottom of the page) and they came super fast in the mail! I was really pumped to try them out but knew that a lot of prepping was in order. As advised from @GroBaby on Twitter, "PREP PREP PREP!" I really had no idea what prepping really meant in the cloth diapering world, but soon found out that it meant, WASH WASH WASH! GroBaby diapers require a few washes before use to get the best absorbency out of the inserts. I went ahead and washed/dried them twice before using them. According to the site however, after 10 washes are the inserts truly at their peak performance!

Did I mention that these diapers come in the CUTEST designs??? Seriously they are really adorable!

Okay back to using the diapers... the insert simple snaps into the diaper, which is really easy and convenient! Before snapping in the insert, you have to adjust the size of the diaper by snapping the outside layer to make it smaller. I used the middle snap because Kirsten certainly is no longer a newborn. This size fit her perfectly (Kirsten is about 11lbs)! After adjusting the size and snapping in the insert, it was now the easy part, placing the diaper on the baby! Thankfully she cooperated and it was easy to do! I put it on her like any regular diaper and just pulled the tabs tight and the Velcro tabs fit it on very snugly!

One really major PLUS for these diapers is the Velcro tabs! I really had no idea that they could be that easy! Just velcro it right on, and the fit is really great. The other systems I have used have snaps, which work great at well, but the Velcro was much easier to adjust. And much easier for a beginner. I could see this being easier on the go. Again though, the snaps really weren't a big hassle on the Smarti Pants, just having the ability to adjust with Velcro is so much easier, you aren't confined to snap placement.

GroBaby also has Bio Soaker pads that are disposable! You can toss them out when you are on the go, so you don't have to bring a bunch of regular pads with you! I'd imagine they would be easy for daycare or vacation! We haven't used them yet, but bought a box today and plan to try them soon!


I'm really enjoying this experience. It has been fun and really educational. The community behind cloth diapering is really amazing as well. I have met and talked to some really great and helpful people. It's amazing how kind everyone can be and eager to lend a helping hand to a clueless cloth diapering mama!!!

Cloth Diapers - Take One

So here we go! Cloth diapering, take one!

I decided to give it a try the other day. Finally, my diapers came in the mail and I could not get them on Kirsten fast enough!

I began with the Best Bottom Diapers. The first thing I was really confused by was that these diapers do not come with instructions! Wouldn't instructions be great? I didn't really have the time to run to my laptop to check out the site for directions (which their site really has none) so I was left to figure it out on my own.

I did enjoy that snap-in insert. That was really handy. I just snapped an insert inside the diaper and began to strap it on my baby. She wiggled and tried to resist the diaper, but I was so determined to get it on her! The fit was a problem though... I probably was doing it all wrong, but it either appeared to be too loose (causing gaps by her legs) or WAY too tight around her belly. The poor thing couldn't sit without it looking as though it was cutting her in half!

I then took the diaper off of her to change after about 2 hours. She insert was absolutely soaked, back and front, and felt a bit heavy. I took it out and the inside of the shell felt a bit wet too. I simply took a cloth and wiped it down, then snapped in another insert. Very easy and very convenient. That is the major pro to these diapers, they allow you to just snap and go! No stuffing or messing around with inserts.

Again, I messed around with the fit, assuming I was doing something wrong, but it all looked very correct! And with no real information and a poor website, I was really lost.

So I moved on to diaper number 2, SmartiPants....




These diapers felt so soft the moment I took them out of the packaging. The pricing was also extremely economical! I bought a starter 3-pack and received 3 shells and 3 liners. I also purchased a set of 10 liners for a really good price. I am basically set! (to go exclusive I would probably need about 3 or 4 more shells).

As I said the diaper itself was really soft, I liked it from the start. Also, unlike the other diapers, the packaging came with instructions! GREAT!

I stuffed a diaper and proceeded to put it on my poor child, who only wanted to be left alone! I placed it on her and very easily snapped the buttons. Much easier than the previous diaper and the fit seemed to not cut into her or cause gapping around her legs.

I however ran into a problem... upon further inspection I realized... I HAD THE DIAPER ON BACKWARDS! I felt like such a fool! I remember making fun of Todd early on about putting a diaper on Kirsten backwards, and thinking to myself, "oh he is such a newbie!" When really... I only knew how to do it because I had done it before! So here I was, a newbie myself to cloth diapering, and I made such an easy mistake! I quickly flipped it around and stared proudly at my work! Kirsten looked comfortable and happy!

Only con to these diapers is that you have to stuff them, which means you have to use an whole new diaper each time baby pees or poops. Whereas, with the other diapers, and types like it, you can change the liner and keep using the shells as long as it is clean.

However, I toss away a disposable diaper after each use so what is really the difference?


I would say the first day went well. I used the SmartiPants again today and have washed my first load. Laundry is very easy. I used a free and clear detergent, washed on warm, and tumble dried. So easy! And all of the diapers kept their shape and do not seem to be effected by the laundry process. The liners are all fine too!

I am excited to keep trying and see how this works! I will give my first experiences a C!


The site I used to purchase my diapers: Nicki's Diapers