I have serious verbal issues.  If there was one thing I’d like you to know about me right off, it’s that I have certain conversational needs that just aren’t met at home with my toddler.  It’s not a big deal; we do lots of playing and dancing and ‘ride a pony’ instead.  I’m perfectly happy; but like a dam redirects a certain volume of water, this conversation back log can only go so far.  Eventually the dam’s going to break and the words are going to come out.  Usually all at once.  Usually at Green Bambino.  You might come in to ask about a diaper funk issue and get the VERY VERBAL SALES MOM.  You might want to just drop in for a sec, but end up talking with me for several minutes.  You might leave Green Bambino thinking, “That Heather… She’s a talker”.  I’ll apologize in advance.

I chose to cloth diaper my son because, in my opinion, cloth diapers are less offensive than paper diapers.  When I began, I had absolutely no idea of the environmental impact of paper diapers or the cost of paper diapers or the chemicals packed into paper diapers.  I was just skeeved out by the diaper left in the parking lot at The Generic Big Box Store that survived over a week of 100+ degree temperatures.  Something about the very full plastic lump on the hot asphalt just made me want to gag, and I swore to myself that I would not use that mess on my children.  This incident happened while I was in college over 10 years ago… before I married my husband and very definitely before I had any immediate plans to have a family.

I’ve been cloth diapering my son for two and a half years now, and I’ve had two babies in cloth diapers for the last 11 months.  Buying and using cloth diapers has changed a lot about how I live my life.  As I’ve said, I didn’t choose cloth diapers for economic or environmental reasons.  I didn’t want to use gross disposable diapers so I started doing some research, and found the number of chemicals in disposables a bit daunting, and a good excuse to do what I really wanted to do and invest in cloth.  I think I may have used economics to sell my husband on the cloth diapers, but that’s the extent of my thinking on the subject.  This was a decision that was made by my gut, not my brain.

Once I began, I was introduced to a whole new way of thinking about reusable items versus disposable items.  I started to see that stinky week old diaper in my paper towels, in my disposable wipes, in the paper changing pads we used while out and about.  I started thinking about all of my purchases as long term investments instead of short term conveniences.   I started to think about every single thing I put into the trash can.  Hubby’s old t-shirts aren’t just something to fight over anymore… they’re cut up for diaper bag wipes.  I’ve cut up old greeting cards for diaper swap price tags.  I plan to use the two huge pads of completely crayoned paper for wrapping and for Christmas cards this winter.

Cloth diapering may have not begun as an environmentally or fiscally responsible act, but I’ve found that it has helped my family to live in a way that is sustainable.  We don’t spend money every week on diapers or wipes or formula or baby food.  I use cloth diapers, nurse and make almost all of our baby food.  This has made it possible for our family to absorb the birth of an unplanned second baby with much less impact on our budget.  I’m a stay at home mom with a fun Saturday job.  I love going to Green Bambino and sharing my knowledge and enthusiasm for all things reusable.  I love everything about the Mom Club, and working at Green Bambino is like getting paid to talk with friends… if you come in I may talk your ear off, but you’ll walk away with a bit more information, and maybe even a friend for life.

Hello, all! Vanessa here with my top 5 favorite products that you can get at the Green Bambino.

1. The Chico Messenger bag! For less than what most people spend on a purse that’s not nearly as functional, this bag fulfills my every need when it comes to carrying all of my junk. Since my only kiddo left in diapers is 2 ½ now and doesn’t requiring changing nearly as often I can stuff a couple diapers, a wet bag, an extra pair of pants (for him..not me..wanted to clarify), all of my junk, sometimes my camera, and two water bottles all in the same bag. And when I have to carry something bigger when we’re out all day if stuffs itself into a nifty little pouch that’s sewn inside of the bag so I can just unfold it for running into the store really quickly. I also love that it’s gender friendly. While my husband probably wouldn’t be likely to carry mine being that it’s purple, I’m considering getting him one in black for his birthday. (If you’re reading this sorry I spoiled your surprise, Honey.) It would be especially handy for him since he’s still a full time student who bikes to class.

2. Earth Mama Angel Baby Mint Herbal Lip Balm. I’m addicted to all things mint or menthol related. Menthol infused tissues? Buy me a box and they’ll be gone in a day’s time. Mint chocolate chip ice cream? It’s a problem. While neither one of these are related to lip balm in any way, I thought it was important for you to know because part of the reason I love this stuff so much is because of the mint in it. It’s also not goopey at all like your run of the mill chap stick or carmex. I’m one of those people that are turned off by odd textures which is why I can’t stomach raw tomatoes. But this stuff i just nice and smooth. It glides on so nicely and I really do think it heals my chapped lips and doesn’t just act as a 10 minute band aid.

3. The Ergo Baby Carrier. I bought my first ergo nearly 7 years ago and it remains one of my favorite products of all time. While I loved my moby wrap and still use my ring sling to carry my giant 2 ½ year old, the ergo is what I use the most often. The support that it gives is unlike any other baby carrier that I’ve tried. And they’re extremely durable. Even with the constant use and abuse my first ergo has seen, it’s still in amazing condition. While some people are scared away by the price, I have never once regretted buying my ergos. I have two of them.. and would have a third in a Petunia Picklebottom print if it didn’t get vetoed on a consistent basis by my money savvy husband. The fact that they last forever, save my back, and have made it possible to chase two children while knowing the third is strapped safely to my back all make them more than well worth the money.

4. Mother-Ease Diapers. All of them. I started my cloth diapering adventure with Mother-Ease fitteds and air flow covers. They still remain some of my favorite diapers many years later. Their Sandy’s Fitteds are some of the softest diapers around, even with all the wear and tear we’ve put them through. And their absorbency was at times the only thing that would give us a full night’s sleep. I think they’re one of the most under rated diapers, just because they don’t have all the fun prints or bells and whistles, but don’t just write them off without trying at least one.

5. Rumparooz Wet Bag. I love this bag! While part of it is vanity’s sake and I have a weakness for robot prints, it’s also because of the way it’s shaped. With it’s round shape, it holds a massive amount of diapers..especially when compared to most other medium sized wet bags. It’s actually big enough that it can hold a full two days worth of diapers for my 2 ½ year old. With the snappable hook loop on the back I can just hang it from a hook in my laundry room and it’s the perfect size for using as a diaper pail, yet it’s small enough to cram into my bag for day trips outside of the house.

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.

The best cloth diaper advice I can offer:  Prefolds and Covers! Rather than spend a lot of money on the “newborn” or “preemie” sized diapers, as cute as they are, use prefolds and covers.  Especially for newborns, it’s important to use cloth rather than disposable diapers which can be so irritating to a new one’s skin.  Then later, the newborn prefolds can be used as boosters with larger prefolds or as soakers in pocket diapers.  I find that my best night time diaper is a pocket diaper with a microfiber insert, plus a small prefold.

Second best cloth diaper advice I have: forgive yourself for using disposables occasionally.  When going on vacation, rather than pack your stash and have to use the laundromat or your host’s washer, use either the Nature Baby Care disposable diapers or the GroVia disposable inserts (which can be used in any pocket shell or cover).  Both use biodegradable corn-based products instead of petroleum, and do not use the same chemicals as the big brand disposables that are so irritating to baby’s skin.  By using cloth the rest of the time, and doing the best you can, I think it really is okay to use eco-friendly disposables where the situation warrants.

-Missy

Hi, I’m Missy.  =)

As a child of the 70s, I fondly remember the “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute” campaign, the push to make Earth Day a thing, and the earlier stages of the movement to start living more greenly.

That said, my primary motivation for cloth diapering was frugality.  I’m so cheap I can pinch a penny until it screams.  Okay, not really, but I do hate spending money on something that will, in very short order, be in the trash can.  I’ve never been a fan of disposable napkins or paper towels, and I wouldn’t dream of using disposable plates or cutlery in my home.  So, as a stay at home mom with two small children, I revisited my idea of using cloth diapers.

I started slowly.  I sat down with a calculator and my trusty legal pad and crunched the numbers.  Unfortunately Green Bambino wasn’t open when I stared on this path.  So, I ordered a couple of diapers from a couple different sellers on Etsy.  I figured it would be worth the $40 to find out if this was something I could do.  I had mixed success with these initial diapers, but the main thing was that I found out that, Yeah, I can do this.

When Morgan opened the store, I was one of the first people through the door, eager to feel and hold the many kinds of diapers I’d only seen on the internet.  I have learned SO MUCH from Morgan and my own trial and error, and I am genuinely gratified to share my experiences and to help other parents start their own journey into cloth.