For Mom and Keiki - Week 1 Spotlight

For Mom and Keiki is based out of Yorktown, VA (close to Williamsburg).  For Mom and Keiki is a  place that values motherhood as the most important job a woman will ever have.  They carry a huge assortment of products that range from cloth diapering to dryer balls to stuff for the Mama.  They also carry one of my favorite brands of cloth diapers, FuzziBunz (the gateway diaper)!!!    They have a wonderful website that is easy to use and find what you are looking for.  You can also find them on Facebook. 

When I first emailed the wonderful owner of For Mom and Keiki, Gloria, she quickly responded and was more than generous to agree, not only a giveaway but also a review of one of the wonderful products she carries (you will have to wait until Wednesday to find out which one).  Gloria has been wonderful to communicate with through the whole process.  She has been quick to respond to all of my emails and sent out my review item within 24 hours.  I started communicating with Gloria 7 days ago and have had my product to review on Friday.  I can tell how a store's customer service is by communicating with them about a review and giveaway.  Their 1st priority is their customers (as it should be), but their last priority is about giving stuff for free.  When a person is so generous and does it so quickly, I can only imagine how wonderfully they treat their customers.  I was lucky enough to find Gloria and her wonderful store through Facebook and have been very privileged to work with her on this giveaway.  I hope that next time I am down in the Historic Triangle I have the chance to meet the lady behind the store!!

Now for a little about For the Mom and Keiki from the owner:

Have you cloth diapered any of your children (I'm assuming yes) and how many?

Yes, I have and all 4 with Prefolds and covers and pins!  My oldest is 21 and my youngest is 13. Prefolds were basically all that were available, though I did use some of the precursors of what is on the market today. I can honestly say that Prefolds are not difficult, and my older children and hubby had no issues with changing diapers or using pins. Of course, today, there are snappies, or you can go without either pins or snappies.

Why and how did you get into cloth diapering?

I started from day one with my first. It was just a natural off shoot of how I(we) lived. Before there was crunchy, there were tree hugging hippies--and that is me! I am an environmentalist. This is what I do! There was no question ever about whether or not I would cloth diaper. I also did all of this while traveling (we are a military family) and this before there were wet bags and all of the fantastic accessories available today to help with cloth diapering. 

Why did you start the business?

When I began about 14 years ago, I was renting and selling breast pumps and selling nursing bras and slings. This came about through my work with breastfeeding moms. Back then, my priority was to help moms and babies. This has not changed even with my expansion into carrying cloth diapers and accessories, about 4-5 years ago. It has just evolved into wanting to help families live a healthier and environmentally responsible life.

Where did the name came from?

I have spent half my life in Hawai'i. Keiki is Hawaiian for child.

What is your favorite item you carry and why?

This is difficult. I love everything! Right now, I would have to say--something I am personally using....

I love wool dryer balls!

I also love the mama cloth pads! They are soft and comfy! And easy to use! How can you cloth diaper and not take the next step for yourself?! I am glad I did, and wish that I had done so sooner!

For items, I no longer use as my children are older....

The slings and Boba wraps. Oh, and I wish the TummyTub was around when my kids were babies!

How do you chose the items you carry?

Many of the items I choose to carry I have either used myself in the past with my own children or am using now for my family and myself. I will also bring in items at the request of my customers. I will check into all requests, and the items that I think are good, ethical products and "green," I will bring in.

What are your dreams for the company?

For the first time, I am thinking about opening a "Bricks and Mortar."  At the moment, I am online of course, but I also see local customers out of my home office.  My business has been growing, and not everyone is comfortable coming to a "home store,"  so I think it is time to start looking. Hopefully, there is something out there that is affordable!

I would like, no LOVE to thank Gloria for the wonderful store that she provides to not only CD families but "GREEN" families.  Thanks you so much Gloria for your wonderful selection and your gracious generosity to the fans of SAH Cloth Diapering Mama.

 

Virginia Spotlight!?!?! What is this?

Over the next, at least, 3 weeks I will be spotlighting Virginia based stores and a WAHM.  I will not be telling anyone in advance who/what these spotlights will be :)  You will have until I post the Monday part to guess on Facebook who it will be.  If you guess correctly (at anytime, any of them) you will receive an extra entry into that giveaway.  Your guess only count until I have announced the company.  You will just have to wait and see.  I do have to say that I am a Pennsylvania girl at heart, born and raised.  Especially a Pixsburgh (Pittsburgh) girl!!!  But I now live in Virginia and am very excited and honored to help these VA based companies get the recognition they deserve.

What exactly is a spotlight?  It can be many things but this is how I am going to do it :) 

Monday- A post about the owner/company including info about them, why and how they got started and whatever else is awesome about them :)

Wednesday-  A review of a product either made by them or given by them for review

Friday-  GIVEAWAY DAY!!!!  This will be a giveaway sponsored by the company/person of their choosing.  It might be the product that I review, another product, or a gift card to them.

Please help promote this special series I am doing in the month of March through Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog.  I would like to get these special and generous ladies as much attention as possible and I believe our word of mouth can do wonders!!!!

Giveaway from Scarlet's Naturals

The owner of Scarlet's Naturals, Desiree, was kind enough to sponsor a giveaway.  She has chosen to let the winner of the giveaway chose which product they would like!!!  That means you have 7 products to chose from!!  Your options are Hiney Honey Bites, Hiney Honey Cream, BugBee Gone, Honey Wash, Honey Lotion, Suds, or Lip Honey.  Thank you so much Desiree for your kindness, generosity, and wonderful all natural products.

Scarlet's Naturals Honey Lotion - Review

I contacted Scarlet's Naturals about a month or so ago to see if they would be interested in doing a review and or giveaway.  The owner of Scarlet's Naturals, Desiree, was willing to do both!!  Yippee for us :)  Desiree asked me what I would like to try.  I really wasn't sure at 1st so she suggested their Hiney Honey Cream but I said no since Baby K has yet to have a rash.  So I asked if I could try their Honey Lotion.  I knew it was something that I could try on 3 out of the 4 people in my house (Hubby is NOT a lotion person).  Desiree agreed that it would be fine for me to try.  At the time when we were communicating she was actually out of the country but as soon as she got back she whipped up a batch of her wonderful lotion and sent it straight to me.

I was super excited when I received my lotion in the mail!  I could smell the wonderful scent (Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey) as soon as I opened my mailbox.  I soon found out I could smell it so well because the unreliable post office/man had busted the top of my bottle and squeezed most of the lotion all over the inside of the bag.  I contacted Desiree and sent her a picture of what I received.  She could not believe how careless the mail was and immediately sent me a new bottle in the NEW packaging (not the picture on the site).  This time when my package arrived it was in pristine condition and there was a nice little note on the back of the business card she added.  Desiree had wonderful customer service with my postal mishap and by no means had anything to do with the way it was packaged.  The post office just isn't careful with the mail (have you seen the stuff they send packages through?)

Now to the wonderfulness that is Scarlet's Naturals Honey Lotion!!  I have never used an all natural lotion like this before so I really wasn't sure what to expect.  The 1st time I used it I put on way to much and my hands looked greasy (but didn't feel it).  So I washed it off and was extremely sad.  That afternoon I talked to one of my friends about it and she said, "They are all like that.  You just have to let it soak in."  She has been using a different type of all natural lotion so she had more experience with them than I did.  I went home that evening and tried again :)

This time I did not use as much as the time before and I gave it a minute or to to soak in.  After a couple of minutes my hands no longer looked greasy, they smelled great, and were SO soft!!!  I used it again the next morning and that afternoon I saw a friend and showed her the lotion that I received.  She loved the smell.  Then I had her feel my hands....she said they were really soft.  Then I told her that I used the lotion that morning and have washed my hands about 15 times since I used it.  Then she couldn't believe that they were STILL that soft!!!

I am usually pretty cautious about what I use on my children so I tried the lotion on myself 1st.  The next time I gave A (my 3 year old) a bath I used the lotion on her afterwards.  She loved the smell and is a real lotion freak :)  After I finished lotioning her up she then wanted to lotion me so I let her do my hands.  When i woke her up the next morning she still smelled like the lotion.  I couldn't believe that the scent lasted that long.  Her dry little legs were still silky smooth and so were her elbows and knees.

I have since used it on Baby K also and love how she smells when I am done applying the lotion.  You do not need to use as much of the Honey lotion as you do regular lotions.  This is extremely thick and I would almost consider it more of a cream than a lotion.  The lotion comes in 3 different scents as well as unscented. Not only does Scarlet's Naturals sell lotion but they also carry 6 other products.  Plus all of their products contain ingredients found locally to them including honey and beeswax from their own hives!  Also all of their products are Cloth Diaper SAFE!!!  Ceck out Scarlet's Naturals website to see all the product's that they sell and check the out on Facebook to see everything that is going on plus deals and promotions.     

All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.  The lotion was provided by Scarlet's Naturals for review.  No additional compensation was accepted for this review. 

Guest Review - BumGenius Freetime from Eight Days a Week

A little while ago I had the Mama who runs the blog Eight Days a Week contact me and see if I would ever like to post some of her reviews here. That was a simple question....YES!!! The more reviews the better. Plus why not see a product through someone else eyes (every once in a while) instead of just mine :) Savannah from Eight Days a Week emailed me her review of the BumGenius Freetime. Please check out Eight Days a Week and let her know I sent you :) 

SAVANNAH'S REVIEW:

Let me just start by saying how lucky I am that my neighbor routinely checks her Facebook during the day and is generous enough to let me know what is going on in the cloth diapering world while I am at school. Thank you!

A little over a week ago our local cloth diaper and natural baby store in Honolulu, Baby Awearness, advertised that they were looking for two people to do reviews for the new bumGenius Freetime diaper. My neighbor called them within minutes of their posting, and then I called within minutes of her telling me about it. That’s how dedicated we are!

(By the way, if you live on Oahu and are interested in cloth diapering or already cloth diaper and would like to actually go into a store and touch products rather than order online, go to Baby Awearness! It’s friendly, fun, the atmosphere is great and there is even a small area for the little ones to play. Besides cloth diapers they also sell carriers, local and handmade toys, hats, shirts and onesies, cloth diaper detergent and second hand clothes and small baby items. Go check them out!)

Here is the review.. 

This is my first official experience with bumGenius and I am really impressed. I have two children, ages 2 and 9 months, girl and boy respectively. The Freetime worked for both kids, meeting each of their needs.

The Run Down: The Freetime is an All-In-One One-Size diaper from bumGenius. The 3x3 snaps on the front allow you to adjust the diapers size from infant to toddler. The Freetime features bumGenius’s new patent pending butterfly closure system: the diaper has two inserts partially sewn in at the front and back of the diaper which can be folded or laid flat. 

 

On the Job: My daughter often sleeps on her stomach with her butt up in the air and has a problem with pee running down her front. This had become such a problem that for almost a year I had been using disposables at night, so I was really hesitant when I put her down to sleep in the Freetime. I folded the insert attached to the front twice to help soak up any potential leaks and made sure it was on nice and tight. It worked great, no problems all night long! Wow!

   

I did pretty much the same for my son, except I only folded the front insert once. He still wakes up at night to eat so I changed him partway through the night. The diaper was wet, but not soaked, and his skin was dry. I usually use a prefold inside a pocket diaper at night for him, and although they are very absorbent, often when he wakes up his poor bum is wet and sticky. Even though I changed him half way through the night I feel that the diaper could have held on till morning.

Ease of use: Although it looks a little frightening at first, both my daycare provider who only has experience cloth diapering my children, and my neighbors sixteen year old daughter who helps me out on the weekends, were able to figure it out with little to no instruction.

I appreciate that the snap version has two rows across the top. If you are unfamiliar with snaps, they can easily come “untucked” at the hip if there is only one row. This also helped in getting a nice fit.

Nitty Gritty: I have to be honest, I was pretty worried about my first poop experience with this diaper, and I have to say I’m glad it was with my son and not my daughter. My daughter is notorious for messy, not so solid, poopsies; luckily she is potty training and only wears a diaper during nap time and bed time so we were able to skip a #2 with her. My son has poops that easily knock into the toilet, and with the Freetime I had no problems there with him. I would be concerned about big messes that need a lot of swishing, since the inserts are only partly attached it’s kind of difficult to maneuver without getting your hand mucked up.

What I love: The fit. This diaper is trim and fits beautifully on both my children who are built very differently. My toddler is a skinny mini and my son I lovingly refer to as “chunkers” and “ham hocks”. Yet the same diaper had a trim fit on both.

Because of the style of the inserts the Freetime dries completely in one cycle. Other AIOs can sometimes come out a little damp still but this was not the case with the Freetime.

Problems: I really don’t think there is anything wrong with this diaper, bumGenius knows their fluff! The only thing I can report is I don’t own a lot of velcro diapers, so when I put my two year old down for a nap in the Freetime velcro, with no pants on, I didn’t think much of it. She’s potty training and iffy about wearing diapers sometimes, so when I went back in an hour later she was passed out on her bed, naked butt, diaper on the floor. Obviously this isn’t the diapers fault!

There is also my worry of messy poops. I can definitely see a diaper sprayer coming in handy for a really dirty job. However, all kids are different and a lot of times it’s the breastmilk poop that is the messiest and that dissolves in water, so a cold wash would work just fine.

Overall impression: I really like this diaper! It fits nicely, it’s adjustable, dries quickly, and is versatile! For the level of performance the price is very reasonable. In fact, I think I’m going to go buy a couple more next paycheck! I would recommend this diaper to anyone who cloth diapers or is interested in it!