Giveaway for January SoftBums Calendar Bums Limited Edition Print Diaper!

Just can't wait for the newest "Calendar Bums" Limited Edition SoftBums to be released??

Neither can we!!!

Let's have a Giveaway to help pass the time!  Tons of prizes for lots of lucky winners!  Tell all your friends, maybe they can help you win!

Prize #1  NEWEST January "Calendar Bums" Limited Edition SoftBums Diaper!

Prize #2  Another awesome NEWEST January "Calendar Bums" Limited Edition SoftBums Diaper!

Prize #3  6 Pack of Supers!!


Prize #4  ERGO Baby Carrier!!


Prize #5  Haba Baby Ball 

Good Luck!!!

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian Residents! Past winners of any SoftBums giveaways please give others a chance, thanks! Winner will be drawn using random.org. Winner has 48 hours to get back to me after being contacted or a new winner will be drawn.



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SoftBums featured in this article; How to Cloth Diaper a Newborn!

How to Cloth Diaper a Newborn

Written by Guest Contributor on Wednesday, September 5th, 2012

Guest Contributor: Jenny Krout

My daughter, Haley, just recently grew out of the majority of the newborn diapers that I had purchased.  She’s a nice chubby baby, 8 pounds 10 ounces at birth and 12 pounds 3 ounces at 6 weeks, so I didn’t get as much use out of some of the diapers as I would have liked.  I was expecting a smaller baby!  Newborn sized diapers seemed to last us between two and six weeks.  If you tend to have big babies (or just want to know which ones will fit the longest), read on for the diapers that we got the most use out of before we were able to make the switch to one-size diapers!

Happy Heineys MINI:  This is a mini version of their one-size diaper and fits babies between 4 and 16 pounds. It’s got rise snaps that allow it to fit babies within this range. At birth, this diaper fit Haley perfectly on the smallest rise setting.  I’m sure it would have fit her if she were smaller, as well, since we could have made it smaller through the waist. Now at 8 weeks and somewhere around 13 pounds, Haley is wearing this diaper on the middle rise setting.  We can still completely unsnap the rise, so she’s definitely getting lots of use out of this diaper!

Kissaluvs Fitted Size 0: This is another diaper that has a large weight range (5-15 pounds).  Instead of rise snaps, this diaper has 2 rows of snaps.  If you need the diaper to be smaller, you snap it closed on the lower snaps.  If you need it bigger, then you use the top row of snaps.  We loved this diaper when she was first born because of the snap down for the cord.  As I mentioned above, Haley is a heavy wetter and this diaper has been working out great for us overnight (paired with a cover, of course)!

Softbums Echo/Omni:  Now, this diaper isn’t specifically marketed as a newborn diaper, but it gets so tiny that it works!  Their unique slide-2-size system makes this diaper cinch up so small.  I put the elastic as small as it would go and it was TOO SMALL for Haley as a newborn.  I had to loosen it up! It even fit right below her cord so we didn’t even have problems with it rubbing up against it. Paired with their mini-pods this diaper works great AND will last you all the way through potty training!

Even though we are now using our stash of one-size diapers, these 3 are still in our rotation and will continue to be for quite some time!  If you’re worried about spending money on diapers you won’t use for very long or you tend to have bigger babies, I would definitely recommend you check theses ones out!  They’ve lasted us much longer than some of the other newborn diapers and fit just as well, too!

Bio: Jenny is the writer behind the blog, According to Jenny, where she shares her thoughts on being a semi-crunchy mama of 2!  She lives in beautiful Pennsylvania with her husband and 2 kids, Grady-born in 2010, and Haley-born in 2012.  She’s an avid baby-wearer and cloth diaper addict.  You’ll find a little bit of everything over on the blog-reviews and giveaways, too!

Added by DiaperShops.com

When selecting a newborn diaper option there are a few key things to remember:  

• Newborn birth weights average anywhere from 6-10lbs so your experiences with diaper selection should consider the expected birth weight of your child.  Some newborn specific diapers begin fitting as small as 4lbs.
• Newborn diapers can be reused later if you plan on having additional children.  They also have a very good resale value.
• Your baby will likely grow out of the diapers functionally before they out grow them in size.  As your baby grows and their pee frequency and quantity increases you may start to notice leaking or full diapers after just 1-2 pees.  This may be a good time to begin using a larger sized or one-size diaper.
• Looking for an affordable newborn cloth diaper option?  Don’t rule out prefolds and covers.  A newborn bundle like the Bummis Newborn Pack begins at around $42.  With covers you can typically wipe them clean and reuse them again on the next diaper change by replacing with a clean dry prefold.
• How many newborn cloth diapers will you need?  Newborns pee regularly and may need to be changed more frequently, some as often as every 1-2 hours in the beginning.  Your newborn may go through 12-15 diapers each day in the first few weeks after birth.

Additional resources for helping you decide on the right cloth diaper for your newborn:

Dirty Diaper Laundry blog – video reviews of one-size and newborn cloth diapers

Cloth diaper terminology – learn the lingo!

Visit us on Facebook (or one of our other social media outlets) to ask questions about newborn cloth diapering.  Our fans may even weigh in on their recommendations as they share what has worked for them.

 

Photos used with permission by Jenny Krout, According to Jenny. 

Felt Christmas Tree Project! Fun and Easy!

A Playful Christmas 

This is reposted from our friends at  Wild + Wee Blog

My pin-to-do ratio on Pinterest is ridiculously bad. But this one just had to be done.

A play felt Christmas tree the wee could decorate over & over again? Yes, please.

The idea is floating all around Pinterest. Some of my favorite versions are here + here + here.

It's perfect to keep toddlers busy at play & away from your real Christmas tree. Plus it's super fast, easy + inexpensive to make - my perfect project!

I spent an enjoyable half hour cutting out the felt Christmas tree + making ornaments while listening to Christmas carols by our real Christmas tree. Easy peasy.

When the wee saw it his whole face lit up in smiles. He was so excited to play with "his" Christmas tree! He especially loved the candy canes, nibbling on them & sharing them with us. It was so cute.

The next morning when he woke up he immediately went to give his little play Christmas tree a hug. We have a tree hugger! *Swoon*

What You'll Need:
• 1/2 yard green felt
• various squares of colored felt for ornaments
• glue gun
• 3M double sided tape to hang

Step 1: Cut out your tree shape from the 1/2 yard of green felt. I freehand drew the shape on the back of the felt using chalk.

Step 2: Cut out various pieces of colored felt for ornaments & the presents, using the glue gun to glue pieces on top of each other for interest. I again freehanded the shapes, cutting them as I went along. The candy canes were cut from a piece of white felt with scrapes of red cut to make stripes. You can also use sticky backed felt if you don't have a glue gun.

Step 3: Hang the felt Christmas tree on the wall using double sided 3M tape (the kind you use to hang posters). Then decorate your tree with the ornaments + presents & let the kids re-arrange to their hearts content. *Felt sticks to felt* so you don't need to use velcro or anything to hang the ornaments.

Total cost of project: Less than $5
Total time to make: 1/2 hour

You can find yards of felt at most fabric stores like JoAnn Fabrics for less than $5/yard. Use a coupon and it's even cheaper! I used extra scrapes of felt leftover from other projects; felt squares can be bought for around 30¢ a square or less at Benjamin Franklin or Michaels.

Kid-friendly, easy on mom + guaranteed to add lots of Christmas cheer.

Merry merry!

Nothing like Brownies made from scratch!

VEGAN BROWNIES

 How can you resist??!!

We add Pecans to ours, and Whole Wheat flour so they at least have a teensy bit of nutrition for the family!

With so many ads for Holiday Baking, I just had to give in and make me some homemade Brownies!  We don't eat dairy or eggs in our house when we all share due to my dairy sensitivity, and my daughter's severe egg allergy, so we've learned over the years how to substitute for almost every dish and we never feel deprived!  This recipe if for a GIANT pan of brownies, and they are the best!

Vegan Brownie recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup smooth tofu,(or if non-vegan 4 large eggs)
• 1 1/4 cups Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup Coconut oil, or margarine(Or, for non-vegan add 2 sticks butter)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 cups chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS: 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan

2) Add tofu into a bowl, and beat with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth.

3) In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the margarine or coconut oil, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Or simply combine the oil and sugar, and heat, stirring, until the butter is melted. Continue to heat (or microwave) briefly, just until the mixture is hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating the mixture to this point will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.

4) Add the hot butter/sugar mixture to the tofu/cocoa mixture, stirring until smooth.

5) Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth. Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the baked brownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips.

6) Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9" x 13" pan.

7) Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving. 

These are awesome warm, with vanilla ice cream on top, and served with hot cocoa!

Nutrition information

Serving Size: 1 brownie (63g) Servings Per Batch: 24 Amount Per Serving: Calories: 260 Calories from Fat: 130 Total Fat: 17g Saturated Fat: 8g Trans Fat: 0g. Cholesterol: 55mg Sodium: 130mg Total Carbohydrate: 36g Dietary Fiber: 2g Sugars: 27g Protein: 3g.

SURPRISE MYSTERY LIMITED EDITION SOFTBUMS!!!

      MYSTERY SOFTBUMS

LIMITED PRINT GIVEAWAY!!

  FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER ONLY! 

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ORDER ANY CALENDAR BUMS PRINT

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CHANCE TO:

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HERE'S HOW YOU CAN ENTER TO WIN YOUR VERY OWN!

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December Calendar Bum Giveaway

Win your very own Baby Safari Calendar Bum!  

Each and every month this year, we will be introducing a new limited edition color or print as part of our "Calendar Bums" campaign. Click HERE to see past months.

This month we are featuring an ECHO shell with a fun gender neutral print. Covered in jungle animals BABY SAFARI will quickly become your little one's favorite! They're available for purchase now in ECHO with Velcro or Snaps at www.SoftBums.comor from your favorite SoftBums Retailer!

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December Calendar Bums "Baby Safari"

Calendar Bums Continues!

Each and every month this year, we will be introducing a new limited edition color or print as part of our "Calendar Bums" campaign. Click HERE to see past months.

This month we are featuring an ECHO shell with a fun gender neutral print. Covered in jungle animals BABY SAFARI will quickly become your little one's favorite! They're available for purchase now in ECHO with Velcro or Snaps at www.SoftBums.com or from your favorite SoftBums Retailer!

BABY SAFARI is available now for a limited time only in Echo from www.SoftBums.com or from your favorite SoftBums Retailer!

Great Gift to Yourself

It's funny, as I get older I want to know more and more about where I came from, my genealogy my history and my parents.  

Going through this life, even at the young age of 29, I feel like I have learned a lot and yet know I have a lot more to learn.  

I know so much that I want to teach my children already, which has me thinking, what are my parents holding back and not telling me?

One random day I was at a botique and since I have some weird obsession with journals (even though I hardly write in the 500 I have), I found myself gazing through these journals, called "between you and me" from Journals Unlimited.

They are designed to be given to the person designated on the cover, and then that person fills it out and returns it.  I know, I know, giving homework as a gift...tacky, but these can be held onto forever!  The questions are great, not too sappy, but very interesting.  I look at it as a way to hold onto part of my parents if something were to happen to them.  A little piece of them I can hold, and read again, and again.

So this is the gift I am giving to myself this Christmas.  Take a look, they have them for many family members!  Maybe give one for them to fill out and one you filled out for them!  

What absorbs faster?

What absorbs faster?  Natural or Microfiber?  You may be surprised!

25 things I want my son to know-blog post

Girls are sweet

Boys are sweet

There are unique and special connections between each parent and each child, those connections are different  and have different dynamics based on many things, gender being one of them.

I want a lot of things for each of my children, each holds a sacred spot in my heart.  This post I found was so sweet and I LOVE it.  It will make you tear up a bit!  

http://newhealthom.com/2012/01/31/25-things-i-want-my-son-to-know/

What's in your diaperbag??

Here's what's in mine!!

1st Pic, From left to right:

First row; Extra clothes, toy, blanket, blue sling
Second row; mom stuff(keys, gum, purex, rash cream, etc), wetbag
3rd row; 5 extra Pods, 2 presnapped ready to use Shells, 3 extra Shells. (That's 7 diaper changes total)

Second Pic:
All packed in my OiOi bag except the sling which I just tuck on top in case I need to grab it quick.