Many people think of Green Bambino only when shopping for babies.  Did you know that without a doubt, my favorite product at Green Bambino is for adults?  It’s the Chico Vita Reusable Shopping Bag.  I have many other reusable shopping bags but they didn’t get used because they weren’t very convenient.  I’d get to the store and realize my bags got left at home or they didn’t hold very much so I felt like I had to take 10+ bags to the grocery store.  I originally bought the large Chico Vita Bags to try them out at our local food co-op instead of lugging around a huge plastic Rubbermaid tub.  Well, they worked great for that, but I never imagined they would make everyday life so much easier.  We have two flights of stairs from the garage to our condo’s front door, so lugging in groceries and shopping bags has always been fun (even more so now with a little one), but these bags are lifesavers! They fold down super tiny so I always keep them in my car or purse, and they hold a ton!  One on each shoulder and I can carry everything in one trip while still holding my daughter’s hand.  My only regret is not finding these bags sooner!

My favorite product for babies and kids is Sophie the Giraffe.  Every baby and toddler should have one!  I had not met Sophie until I started working at Green Bambino and in the beginning I honestly didn’t get it – what was so special about this teether?  Many, many customers raved about Sophie and even though my daughter had most of her teeth, I decided to bring her home when she was cutting her molars.  I still can’t explain exactly what it is about Sophie, but she worked wonders for my daughter and I haven’t met a baby or toddler yet that didn’t just love her.  Even long past teething when all the other teething toys have been packed away, Sophie still hangs around and gets played with all the time.

 Many people ask what my favorite diaper is and it’s difficult to pick just one, but the Tots Bots Easy Fit by Bummis is definitely at the very top of my list.

What I like about it:

• Ease of use:  It’s an all-in-one so you don’t have to match up inserts and diapers and it’s as easy to put on as a disposable (great for babysitters and other caregivers).
• Great fit:  One size fits most from 8-35+ pounds. Has never left red marks, and is a pretty trim fit.
• Absorbency:  We’ve never had leaks (Bummis says it absorbs 17.6 oz).  The attached liner gives you the ability to customize the absorbency by folding to create up to 6 layers where your baby needs it most.  We haven’t used this diaper for nighttime, but with the pocket opening  you have the option of adding extra inserts for heavy-wetters or for nighttime.
• Washing/wear:  This diaper washes great, dries super fast, and the laundry tabs & velcro really work.  Our tots bots diapers have been washed as many times (maybe more) than all our other diapers and they still look brand new!
• Other pluses:  Bright, fun colors & prints (as well as white) and a super soft bamboo lining inside.

Cons:

• Because this diaper contains some natural fibers (bamboo) it took at least 8 washes to reach its full absorbency and if you line dry you may want to toss it in the dryer for a few minutes at the end or it will be a bit stiff.

My cloth diaper advice to others – keep an open mind and don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.  Almost all the negative things I hear about cloth are said by people who haven’t even tried it.  I was really hesitant to try cloth diapers.   I just knew it was going to messy and gross.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  I actually found it less messy — at least with cloth diapers the mess actually stays inside the diaper and you aren’t changing clothes, blankets, sheets, or having to wash the carseat liner.

When we started with cloth diapers I wanted something easy.  I was against prefolds because they seemed too complicated.  I didn’t want to be doing origami; I just wanted to diaper my kid.  While prefold diapers may not be for everyone, I have to admit I was wrong again.  It wasn’t until we started thinking about potty training that I bought a few to try.  Most of our diapers had stay-dry linings and I thought feeling wet would help my daughter with potty training.  Prefolds are super cheap, soft, wash and dry really well, and don’t have to be complicated.  I love the Better Fit Prefolds that can simply be folded in thirds and laid in a cover – no origami required.

Wool was the other category of diapers that I just didn’t think was for us.  The washing instructions seemed so intimidating and I always thought wool was itchy.  As my daughter became older, we found ourselves changing sheets a few times a week after she’d sleep her twelve hour stretch.  Many people told me how great wool was for nighttime, but I wasn’t convinced.  After changing sheets one too many times, I decided to give it a try.  The result – LOVE!  Not only is wool breathable and SOFT, it’s actually pretty easy to care for (Eucalan No-Rinse Wool Wash is great).  My daughter is now potty trained and only wears a diaper to bed.  When she gets up I just turn the wool cover inside out and let it air dry until we are ready to put it back on.  The sheets are dry and the cover only has to be washed every couple of weeks.  What could be better?

There are many options in the cloth diaper world.  My advice is simply to keep an open mind.  What works best for one person may not be the thing for you and your family, but you’ll never know unless you give it a try.

I am blessed to have one daughter, Audrey, who is almost three years old.  If you would have told me three years ago that we’d be using cloth diapers and I’d working at a cloth diaper store I probably would have said you were crazy.  I am a registered nurse and worked in the neonatal intensive care unit.  I returned to work full time after Audrey was born, but then slowly began cutting back my hours.  I eventually decided the thing I wanted most was to take some time off and stay at home with my daughter while she was little.  So what is a registered nurse turned stay at home mom doing working at Green Bambino?

When my daughter was born we started out using disposable diapers.  At the time I thought diaper options meant Pampers vs. Huggies.  I didn’t know anyone who used cloth and Green Bambino didn’t exist yet.  As my daughter neared her first birthday she began having horrible diaper rash.  She’s always had sensitive skin, but we’d never had any problems with diaper rash.  After trying several brands, and a couple of visits to the pediatrician, we determined she was allergic to the dyes used in traditional disposables.  I did some research on our options – dye free disposables (a little pricey for using all the time) or cloth.  I was really hesitant to try cloth because I imagined it to be really messy.  I’m a nurse – I can do blood, but my gag reflex when it comes to other things is really quick!  I honestly wasn’t sure cleaning cloth diapers was something my stomach could handle, but in an attempt to save a little money I decided I’d get just a couple of cloth diapers and give it a try.  I figured if it didn’t work out I hadn’t lost much and at least I’d tried.

I didn’t have the challenge of convincing my family to switch since my daughter’s allergy was the reason for the change, but I decided since everyone was used to the convenience of disposables, my cloth choice needed to be very easy and user friendly.   My first cloth diaper purchase was 2 GroBaby (now GroVia) shell sets along with a pack of their biodegradable disposable inserts.  It quickly eliminated all diaper rash and I was shocked at just how easy cloth was.  For me, tossing a load of diapers in to wash was easier than running to the store to buy disposables or constantly taking diapers to the garbage.  I built my stash with user friendly all-in-ones and hybrids like GroBaby (GroVia) and Flip, and later added a few Rumparooz pocket diapers.

My daughter’s allergy inadvertently opened up a world of really great options.  I never imagined cloth diapers to be so easy or that I would care enough about them to work in a cloth diaper store.  It felt great not to be going out to buy diapers every month that just ended up in the trash.  One of the reasons I love being a part of the Green Bambino team is so I can share my family’s experience and let other families like ours know about their options and just how simple it can be.

Since we started using cloth diapers, my family has explored other ways we can be environmentally friendly.  We also started line drying clothes.  Do you know about the magic stain lifting powers of the sun?  It’s amazing!  It wasn’t until I had a child that I fully understood the need for stain-lifters and it wasn’t until I started drying cloth diapers outside that I learned the sun could be a stain-fighting superhero!  Just place your clean wet items outside in direct sun, and by the time they are dry the stain are gone!  Not only will the sun help keep your diapers looking white, it works wonders on baby and toddler clothes too.

We also use energy saving light bulbs and appliances when possible along with greener cleaners and detergents.  We now use reusable shopping bags (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Chico Vita Bags) and food containers (Plantwise Sandwich Wrap & Lunchskins).  Another green move for us was eliminating buying bottled water and using a filtering pitcher instead.  The result was very similar to our switch to cloth diapers – “This is so easy!  Why didn’t we try this sooner?”  We still have lots of room for improvement, but we feel better about doing our part with each small step.