Affordable Organic Cloth Diapers

This post was contributed to The Cloth Diaper Whisperer in August 2011 and sums up the cost difference between organic cloth diapers and synthetic ones.

When I was new to cloth diapering I was overwhelmed with all the different styles and brands available. There were diapers with Velcro, snaps, velour, and even pockets. All of them were adorable, had different styles and fit, and they were all made with different materials. Some were waterproof with the very popular microfiber inserts, some were cotton or organic cotton, and much to my surprise some were even made with hemp. Growing up in a household that reused and recycled pretty much everything (as in, I got all my sister’s hand-me-downs), my children were destined to have fluffy bums of some sort.

Apart from finding the right closure, style, and fit (which is mind boggling at the beginning, as we all know), I felt like I was also faced with another hard decision: natural or synthetic. For a big part of my life I strived to be green and “go organic”, so my future children and grandchildren have a beautiful world to live in. And, of course cd’s are WAY more eco-friendly than sposies, but I still conflicted with this and had to weigh my options.

The upfront cost of cloth can definitely put a dent in anyone’s budget. So, the price of different diapers is something to take into consideration. There are lots of different diaper packages available that will reduce the cost of each diaper when you purchase a certain amount, so definitely use them to your benefit! You can save upwards of $1.50 per diaper when going this route. With all of this info stored in the back of my mind I compared organic diapers with others made from synthetic materials. I found that, when looking at the big picture, I really wouldn’t be spending that much more if I chose to go with organics. For a dozen organic diapers I would be spending about $60 more compared to diapers made with synthetics. And, that’s the high end, for organic diapers that are about $25 each. There are lots of other options that cost significantly less and are still made with natural and organic materials; you just have to look for them [yay BabyKicks!]. Some retailers, like Kelly’s Closet, also offer a free diaper with purchases over a certain amount. Who doesn’t like freebies? Another great way to get the stash you want without spending a ton of money is to ask for cloth diapers as gifts, or even buy them gently used.

In the end, the key to my organic stash was taking advantage of all the possibilities I just mentioned and the fact I would still be saving a ridiculous amount of money over disposables. I did also have to trade 2 nice dinner and a movie dates with my love, but all in all, it was definitely worth it!

Happy Hemp Day!

Hump Day. We’ve all heard it, said it, or wished it was over at some time or another. And, when it comes to cloth diapers, “Hump Day” doesn’t have much meaning. Why should it? As a new parent most of us are happy to get 2 hours of sleep and all the days run together. On the other hand, as the little ones grow, Wednesday either becomes wash day or not wash day.

We feel the unfairness “Hump Day” has been subjected to by the cloth diapering world is absolutely unreasonable! Therefore, we make a proposal on behalf of all cloth diaper users across the globe:

“Hump Day” will be renamed “Hemp Day” and all fluffy bottoms should be gently (and securely) wrapped in a super absorbent and environmentally friendly hemp diaper to show their support of “Hemp Day”!

So, what do you think? We think everyone should start spreading the word because today is the day!

Happy Hemp Day!

To help us choose the official graphic of Hemp Day, head over to our Facebook Page and like your favorite picture!

“BabyKicks Jingle”

(To the tune of “Jingle Bells”)

Dashing through the snow,
in a BabyKicks 3g!
Happy that I know,
no leaks will pester me!
Trim absorbent hemp,
organic cotton and,
super soft bamboo against my squishy baby’s skin!

Oh! BabyKicks, BabyKicks, BabyKicks 3g!
Air flow gussets battle rash, it’s such a great feeling!
Oh! BabyKicks, BabyKicks, BabyKicks 3g
One size diaper saves money and fits through potty learning!

Honoring & Remembering

I saw something yesterday that prompted me to write this post. It is completely not cloth diaper related, and not something that any of us want to see everyday. But, I think it gives deeper meaning to the holidays. Many families go through hard times and the holidays are when we can truly lean on each other and draw strength. I saw a post about a great way to honor and remember someone special. This was written on Facebook for Karing for Keegan. I edited the original quote slightly to make it a little more personal:

“Had an awesome idea for honoring and remembering [our little one] this Christmas. [He] LOVED Elmo–and what a neat idea it would be if everyone got an elmo ornament to hang on their tree — and each year when you pull it out, you can say a prayer and remember [him]. We’d love to see pictures of your elmo ornaments on your trees! And how fun it will be for [him] to see all those elmos on our trees!”

I think this is an awesome idea to remember loved ones, and I think its a great tradition. If you have loved ones that you would like to honor, what better way to do it than with an ornament on the Christmas tree? We will start doing this, this year… with Elmo :).

You can find more about Keegan’s Elmos here, who is the inspiration for this tradition.

3000 “Likes” Giveaway pt. 3!!! (closed)

The final part of our awesome giveaway is LIVE! It will run until 11/30/11 and we will have 5 winners. Yes, you read that right… 5 WINNERS! We will be giving away a 3g Pocket Diaper, Organic Fitted Diaper, Hemparoo Prefold, Bamboo JoeyBunz Inserts (these are a limited quantity and not available for retail), & a Receiving Blanket w/3 Washies!

Follow this link to enter on the easy Rafflecopter form and keep spreading the BabyKicks LOVE!

GOOD LUCK!

Our winners are:

3g Pocket Diaper: Entry #496 Alyssa Western

BabyKicks Hemparoo Prefold: Entry #977 Amanda Britton

Hemparoo Receiving Blanket & 3 Washies: Entry #395 Amy Menzies

3000 “Likes” Giveaway! (closed)

GIVEAWAY!! 3g Pocket Diaper in your choice of color & 5 Hemp Wipes!

Mandatory Entry:
Check out our “BabyKicks 3g Pocket Video”. Then come back here and tell us something you learned about the diaper. It can be anything!

If you think these diapers are awesome then for extra entries TWEET this (one entry per day):
Natural #clothdiapers that fit newborn to potty learning! I want to #win a 3g Pocket Diaper from @BabyKicksUSA! http://youtu.be/rbChy9M_hXM

If you really dig our diapers, for an extra entry, SHARE the video with your friends on Facebook, because they need to know how awesome these diapers are, too! (Make sure the post is public and tag us, so we can see it!) We have a post on Facebook already if you want to go to our page and “Share” it from there.

That’s it! Ends Sunday 11/20/11 at 11:59pm eastern. This is part 2 of our 3000 “Likes” Giveaway. There is 1 more after this one GOOD LUCK!!

BabyKicks “HOLLA-ween” Fest!! (closed)

It’s that time of year! The little ones can be just about anything they want spooky or cute. And, since there’s nothing scary about BabyKicks’ diapers, we chose to go with CUTE! Check out the little trick-or-treaters here, with BabyKicks 3g Pocket Diaper as part of their costumes. Make sure you look at each one, they are adorable! Here’s a preview:

Don’t you just love it! Doesn’t it make you want to get your hands on some BabyKicks diapers? YOU CAN! As part of our “HOLLA-ween” Fest, BabyKicks is giving away (2) 3g Pocket Diapers to one lucky winner! It’s super easy to enter, too.

Here are the details

Mandatory Entry- “HOLLA!” at BabyKicks and include a link to BabyKicks “HOLLA-ween” Fest Photo album on Facebook

To “HOLLA!” on Twitter (copy/paste/tweet)- 1 entry once per day:
#ClothDiapers aren’t scary! @BabyKicksUSA “HOLLA-ween” Fest! http://on.fb.me/v2VwTZ #bkhollaween

To “HOLLA!” on Facebook (share/copy/paste)- 1 entry once per day:
“Share” BabyKicks “HOLLA-ween” Fest photo album on your wall with the post below (copy/paste)-
Cloth diapers aren’t scary! Check out “HOLLA-ween” Fest from @BabyKicks

Extra entries (once per day for each extra entry):
- Blog about BabyKicks”HOLLA-ween” fest (3 entries)
- Post your own “HOLLA-ween” photo with a cloth diaper (any brand) as part of their costume (5 entries)

The mandatory entry must be completed for extra entries to count. BabyKicks “HOLLA-ween” Fest ends on October 31, 2011 at midnight. Open to US & Canada. Winner will be drawn via Random.org and posted here. Winner has 48 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours another winner will be chosen. (p.s. This giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook whatsoever.)

Now, it’s time to win some fluff! Get to sharing those cute little baby bums in their adorable “HOLLA-ween” cloth diapers!

Congrats to our winner, Bridgette R!!!

Natural Babies Photo Contest (closed)

We know that little ones everywhere kick around in BabyKicks Diapers everyday. And, we love to see them! Since BabyKicks is a green company we would like to sponsor a photo contest to see BabyKicks Babies in nature. On green grass, smelling flowers, or feeding ducks are a few examples;  but, feel free to use your imagination!

We will have 2 WINNERS!

1- The photo with the most “Likes”

2- One of our voters (YES! If you vote, you might win!)

The Details:

Little ones must be visibly wearing a BabyKicks diaper (3g Pocket, Organic fitted, or Prefold) and photos will be placed in an album on our Facebook Page. Our fans will be allowed to vote for the winner!

• The deadline to submit a photo is Saturday August 20th at midnight.

• Voting will be open on Sunday August 21st and will close on Saturday August 27th at midnight.

• To vote for a baby simply “Like” their photo. The photo with the most “Likes” at the end of the contest wins!

The Prizes:

Photo

1 BabyKicks 3g Pocket Diaper

1 BabyKicks Hemp Prefold (your choice of size)

1 Premium JoeyBunz

Voter

1 BabyKicks 3g Pocket Diaper

To Participate:

Images must be emailed to gina at babykicks dot com to be uploaded into the contest album (Facebook does not allow tagged images to be moved into albums) *Note* images sent in by participants will not be used for anything other than this photo contest, and all rights belong the submitter. To keep things fair we can only accept one entry (photo) per family.

Or, just VOTE! Winner for our “voters” will be chosen by placing names into a numbered spreadsheet and winning number drawn via Random.org.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!

BabyKicks Game (closed!)

Our next contest is easy and FUN! You may or may not be familiar with our very own BabyKicks Game that we created for some fun between all the cutes and dirties of cloth diapering. It’s a simple game that most younger children get the hang of fairly quick and find enjoyable. At the beginning of the game you choose whether you would like a boy or girl baby. Both babies are already wearing a BabyKicks 3g Pocket Diaper in White w/multicolored snaps. Then, to play, use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move your baby. The baby has to jump onto little tufts of grass, collecting flowers on the way. As the level increases, your baby will earn a new 3g Pocket Diaper in a variety of colors. The scenery will change, too, until your baby is in outer space as an astronaut!

Now that you know how to play the game, here’s how the contest works! Simply email a “screen shot” (how-to is below) of your ending score to [info at babykicks dot com]. After the contest closes and all entries have been accounted for we will giveaway 3 prizes:

1) Highest Score
2) Highest Level
3) Highest # of Stars (flowers)

Participants can only win ONE prize. Meaning, if you have the highest score and the highest level, whichever category is highest- compared to other participants- will be the category you will win. The other category prize will go to the person with the next highest score.

Prizes:
1 BabyKicks 3g Pocket Diaper (in winner’s choice of color)
& a $10 Gift Certificate for BabyKicks.com

Here’s how you get to the game: BabyKicks Game

Here’s how to send a “screen shot”: While on the screen showing your score press ctrl + prt sc. Open a new mail message and paste or hit ctrl + v. Your screen image should then be pasted into the new mail message. Send the image to [info at babykicks dot com] and you will receive a confirmation email.

Contest starts today July 12, 2011 and ends on Saturday July 23, 2011 at midnight. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!

FIFA Women’s World Cup, Go USA!

            The 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup is upon us!  The United States played their first game June 28^th, beating Korea, and we at BabyKicks are rooting them on as they make their way to the knock-out rounds of the competition.  Around the world, millions of passionate fans are captivated by the tournament, and citizens unite in support of their nation’s team.  The constant drumming of fans adorned in their team’s colors, while waving flags and blowing their vuvuzelas, keeps excitement and anticipation running high.

To show our support for the U.S. Women’s team we decided to diaper some of their smallest fans in red, white, and blue for a video shoot.  We headed out under clear blue skies onto beautiful plush green soccer fields for a day of fun!  Of course, things didn’t go quite as planned, but does it ever when making an attempt at getting multiple babies to do anything in unison?  However, no worries! We still got a lot of great shots of those sweet faces and brightly colored bums chasing tiny soccer balls and waving the American flag!

The United States Women’s Team has won the FIFA World Cup twice and we hope they can add a third title to the list in Germany (as long as the U.S. refrains from eliminating the host nation from the tournament).  Here’s the link to see our diapered fans in action!

http://youtu.be/ncgLY1gQaSQ

Oh yea, BIG thanks and shout out to Crown Sports Center in Fruitland, MD for letting us use their awesome fields to shoot the video. You guys rock!