Baby Gear

Looking for a great baby gift? Are you trying to be more green and environmentally conscious these days? Check out www.greenkits.com. they sell reusable natural or organic grocery bags, environmentally friendly household products and fresheners. They have a ton of amazing items for you and your household to save money and help the environment.

They even have a baby green kit. Perfect for a baby shower or new baby gift, this kit is everything a new mom would need. It includes everything an ecologically aware parent needs to ensure that only pure, non-toxic ingredients touch baby. The kit includes:
Non talc baby powder- No talc means no danger to baby’s breathing
Baby shampoo and body cleanser- this tear free soaps are natural and sulfate-free
Calendula baby lotion- Made with sweet almond oil and organic jojoba oil
Diaper Cream- mineral balm with natural zinc oxide blended with organic almond and sunflower seed oils
Baby laundry wash-Plant based and non-toxic
Baby wipes-These do not contain alcohol or synthetic ingredients
Travel baby wipes

All this for the same price of $55.00. You can also get it placed in environmentally friendly gift packaging or placed in a personalized tote. Very cute, very earth friendly and a gift any new parent, new grandmother or new baby would love!

Do you use earth friendly products in your household? Do you think it is important to use plastic free, recyclable and green products around your children?

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I am not a huge fan of high priced online retailers. Especially high priced kiddy items that I know I can find cheaper elsewhere. I, like many moms, cannot afford nor do not want to spend $100 on one outfit for my children, unless they can wear it for at least four years!

So I hesitated to even check out thesillywagon.com, but I did, just to check to see if they had something interesting and affordable for my readers. I am nice like that.
I came across this item, the Piggy Story Carry All Caddy. Lined with nylon waterproof material, the Carry-All-Caddy is perfect for outdoor or indoor use. They have suggestions for use such as gardening, for beach toys or just to carry toys around.

What first came to mind when I saw this item, that although it would be great for kids, I want it for myself. I think this would be perfect to tote around all the diapering stuff I will need when the baby comes. I have a two story home, so instead of carrying the baby up and down the stairs many, many times a day I thought I would keep a supply of diapers, wipes, cotton balls and creams downstairs and make my life slightly easier.

With a large inner compartment and six additional pockets it would be perfect for a diapering caddy, don’t you think? It would also be prefect to keep everything organized on the changing table itself. Cute and functional. I will have to order one ( or two!) before the baby arrives!

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There are so many baby lotions, shampoos and creams on the market it is hard to find one that is right for your baby. I never liked anything that was overly perfumed or heavy. the one brand I found myself keep returning to was Aveeno Baby.

Aveeno baby is tear free and gentle. The baby wash and shampoo rinses clean and is made with natural oat extract. They make a creamy wash for dry skin or eczema which I have used for my daughter’s dry skin patches. My favorite of all these products is the soothing bath treatment which is made with natural colloidal oatmeal. I have used this for my kid’s diaper rash, bug bites or rashes and it works.

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The Patemm Pad is perfect for when a diaper bag is too much to handle. A large, round diaper changing pad with pockets to store diapers, wipes, creams and spare clothes. A must when you don’t need to lug around a ton of bottles and other garbage. It’s so easy to fold, carry and generously sized. If your squirmy baby wiggles, she will stay on the round pad.

They come in different sizes small with no pockets to large with pockets and in different fabrics. It is a unique and different idea that every mother would love.

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Do you live in an apartment? Is space an issue for you where you live? We all know babies are small but all the stuff they need is not. I have found a perfect changing table for you if your space is limited.

The Cariboo Folding Changing Table is functional, modern and folds flat for storage or travel. Made from sustainable New Zealand radiata wood and it comes in two finishes teak and mahogany.
They also have a matching bassinet!
At $309.00 it is not the cheapest changing table, but it is perfect for New York City apartment living.

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We are all aware how terrible disposable diapers are for the environment. I mean they sit in landfills and do they ever break down? I would love to be able to never use disposable diapers again but the alternative, cloth diapering, seems such a daunting task.
Maybe there is an answer though, gdiapers.

Gdiapers consist of a washable, cotton outer pant and a plastic free flushable refill. They are made of breathable material so babies stay dry and are less likely to get a diaper rash.
When the baby is wet or dirty, take the lining out, flush it, throw it out (it has no plastic so you can) or garden compost the wet diapers, they will break down in 50-150 days. Cloth inserts also work with the gdiapers.

The gdiaper fits snug but with a comfy elastic waistband, has no elemental chlorine, no perfumes, no latex and is machine washable.

They have a starter pack on the website as well as a great choice of colors for the gdiaper.
Has anyone tried these and do they work well?

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When I first heard of the diaper pail system, specifically the Diaper Genie by Playtex, I thought it was genius. I had to have one when I had a baby. I got one, but although I loved the concept of it I rarely used it.

The Diaper Genie uses special bags to roll the diapers into sausage links. You plop the diaper in the pail and twist it, so the diaper and the stink that is in it is no longer just on top of the garbage can. Good in theory but I found it hard to use and always felt it was just easier to put very stinky diapers into a bag from the grocery store tie it and then put it into our household garbage which is taken out almost every day anyway.
I may have felt differently if I wasn’t living in a one story home at the time though.

Now they make a different one the Baby Trend Diaper Champ. This system lets you use any small garbage bag so you do not have to buy refills. It also hold both cloth or disposable diapers which is great since so many more people are cloth diapering these days.
This one seems to have much better ratings then the Diaper Genie.

If you live in a two story home where you think this would be a good item for your nursery then I say buy one. I would check all of them out to see which one you think is the easiest to use with one hand and to clean, the most important aspects of the diaper pail!

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I, like so many other women, love purses. I have many in different colors and styles some designer and some are from the gap. When I was looking for a diaper bag I didn’t want a big oversized pooh faced bag that screamed “I HAVE A BABY” I wanted one that looked cool and wouldn’t tip that carriage over with its huge girth.

I love these bags from jplizzy.com This messenger bag is cool enough for any mom and doesn’t scream baby. It has various pockets on the interior and exterior, comes with a changing pad and even has a key clip. It is made of quilted microfiber and is easy to wash. Believe me this is important in a diaper bag!

This tote is adorable too. It is roomy and fashionable. It doesn’t have a ton of pockets so maybe it is better for an older child. They even have tote sets if you need more room. These bags come in rocking colors.
These diaper bags are not cheap but could always double as a pocketbook or a beach tote after your little one is done with diapers. You could use these for years.

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At first glance you might think this is a typical messenger bag, but it has a double duty, it is a diaper bag for dudes.

This bag has lots of compartments for diapers, wipes, cell phones and keys. It is cool looking for that dad who is just not comfortable with carrying a pooh diaper bag. It can hang over his shoulder, or on the stroller.
It comes in four colors, camo, black, gray and navy.

I don’t think it is just for dads either, I would carry this bag.
When the baby gets older, it can go to being just a plain old messenger bag.

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I just found a beautiful diaper bag from Calliope! The Chocolate Ice Tote Set and Diaper Bag is simply gorgeous and looks more like a purse then a diaper bag.

Description: Change your priorities - maintain your style. This incognito diaper bag is built for function with just the right amount of pockets and space. The Classic Tote Set is the quintessential bag, sized perfectly for all your gear. The Classic Tote comes with coordinating accessories, including a changing pad, cosmetic bag and wristlet bag to keep you organized and chic no matter what kind of day lies ahead. Features include quilted micro fiber easy-clean wipeable fabric, zipper closure, coordinating changing pad, cosmetic bag and coin purse, a large zippered interior pocket, two open interior pockets perfect for sippi cups or to keep your drink nice and cool, two adjustable interior bottle pockets, two exterior side pockets, and metal feet on base.

This is one cool diaper bag for one cool mama!

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This is an age old parenting concern….how do you get rid of that stinky diaper smell? All kinds of cool diaper pails have been invented to address this situation but there may be a much smaller solution.

A fresh scent for your diaper pail! Odor deodorizing wafers called Citrus Circles for the diaper pail with a fresh, clean citrus scent. They actually work well for for any smelly, contained space, like garbage cans and bathrooms. Made of the same blotter paper as deo disks, with a oil based citrus scent applied. Nontoxic, but of course they should not be ingested. Circular shape, these fit well in 54 quart pails, and most other pails. These really work and last aprox. 3-4 weeks. They are individually wrapped to ensure freshness and are made in the USA.

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Okay well I have never tried a gDiaper. I guess that is because I do not have public sewer service…I have a septic tank that if broken would be on my dime to repair. So the thought of a flushable diaper scares me just a bit. I have to admit also that as a die hard cloth diaper user I was not so enchanted when I first heard of gDiapers either but have since changed my opinion. That being said I can now say that I love the the idea behind the product, the environmental issues that these products address, and the amazing people behind the company. On my cloth diaper blog I have posted a few reviews that people submitted to me and amazingly enough both owners of gdiapers have posted useful comments on the blog to help my readers understand these products a bit better. That level of customer service and dedication amazes me.

If not for my septic tank concerns I would not hesitate to try these products just because the owners seem to be such good people and how often can we say that about the products we use. I think I may just have to order some so I can use them when I get back to my place in Ohio this summer.

So what is a gDiaper? As their web site says “Imagine taking your baby’s soiled diaper and simply flushing it down the toilet. No more smell. No more diaper. No more diaper pail. You’re putting waste right where it belongs, in the toilet. Not in a landfill. That’s exactly how gDiapers work.”

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I just wanted to share a great baby product that I use at home.

My one year old baby boy loves to run around testing out his new walking skills and pants just get in his way. Then I remembered a product I used for him when he a newborn in freezing cold Ohio. BabyLegs! I used them on his legs to keep them extra toasty in below zero weather but they would also work great at protecting his legs and arms against nasty rug burn when he falls and keeping his legs warm without having to wear pants. They are perfect for summer too, when he is wearing just a diaper most days to keep cool.

Reason why you need BabyLegs:

Make diaper changes a breeze
Protect soft knees from harsh surfaces
Keep legs (and arms) warm year round
Provide light weight sun protection
Make EC’n & potty training easier
Jazz up any dance class
Make a fun fashion statement with styles for every occasion

Parker is wearing rainbow BabyLegs on his legs and Jester BabyLegs on his arms. Oh and that adorable cloth diaper is a Deco-Doodlez from Monkey Doodlez in case you were wondering.

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When many people think of cloth diapers they still think of those thick, towel like diapers that we now use as burp rags, diaper pins, and the plastic vinyl pants that go over top of them. Well, the cloth diapers you might find today are far cry from that. There are smarter options for cloth diapered bottoms these days. Just take a look at this ingenious diapering invention…pun intended.

Bum Genius cloth diapers by Cotton Babies are designed to make cloth diapering easy for every-day people - like your babysitter, grandparents and even dad! Using a BumGenius cloth diaper is just like using a disposable, but you don’t throw it away! Just wash it and they’re ready to go again. They come in a variety of beautiful colors like Blossom Pink and Grasshopper Green. You can even get a soft bamboo fitted diaper (a spearate cover required). You can get a pocket diaper that allows you to use the type of insert that meets your absorbency needs, although the included microfiber insert should be sufficient. An AIO or All-In-One diaper is also available, which is a one piece diaper that most closely resembles a disposable. Bum Genius diapers also have neat stretchy tabs that make diapering even the most wiggly babies a snap!

The best thing about theses diapers by far is the fact that they are a one-size diaper. They will fit babies between 6 and 35 pounds so there is no need to buy a bunch of diapers in different sizes. AND if you are not happy with your purchase you can return them with in 14 days. Ingenius!

If you need with general cloth diaper care information, like laundering tips and trouble shooting, you can turn to The Diaper Jungle - A Cloth Diaper Mega Information Source. Happy Diapering!