Heather's Naturals Heavenly Hush Review

I was given the opportunity to try out a new amazing bath product! Heather's Naturals Heavenly Hush is a blend of lavender essential oils and oatmeal. It leaves your child's skin soft and has a wonderful scent to it! When I first got the package the smell of lavender was powerful. I was a little worried it would be too strong (I don't like too many scents especially strong ones) but it wasn't strong once I added it to the bath. 

The directions say to add one teaspoon to the bath water and let it dissolve. I added one teaspoon but I couldn't smell anything so I ended up adding one tablespoon instead. The oatmeal never fully dissolved, however there were only small pieces left in the bath.

My son loves it! He likes to try to pick up the little bits of oatmeal and splashes around a ton. I really like this product and would recommend it to everyone! I thought it would leave more of a scent on him but it didn't. I was kind of hoping the lavender would help calm him for bedtime but nothing calms him down before bedtime. (He's always a very hyper, active boy.) The only thing I wasn't too fond of was that it left a few little bits of oatmeal (very small) in his hair. His hair is kind of long but it brushed out and wasn't a problem. I really love this product and will continue to use it at every bath! 

Thirsties Duo Fab Fitted Review and Giveaway (Sponsored by All About Baby Boutique)

All About Baby Boutique asked me to review a Thirsties Fab Fitted and I gladly accepted. I have heard great things about these diapers. I received a size 2 (which fits 18-40 pounds). The outside of the diaper is a super soft cotton velour. The inside is mircofleece which is a stay dry material. The soaker is microfiber topped with mircofleece. 

Here is a picture of it snapped down on the smallest setting. 

Here it is on the largest setting all the way unsnapped. 

The inside!

A side view of the inside. You can see that the soaker is not fully attached. I love this feature because that means it dries faster and it's easier to add an additional insert!

My son has the rise snapped down all the way. He is about 25 pounds (I am totally guessing. I actually have no clue, but he's pretty small).

This diaper is SO absorbent. I love this diaper. I'm mostly an All In One kind of girl but we do have a few fitteds. This one is by far the most absorbent one we own. I love that there are two sizes to choose from and it's not your standard One Size diaper. We never get a good fit with our OS diapers but we got a perfect fit with this diaper! It is a little bulky but it doesn't bother me or my son.
I'm very confident that this diaper would be great for nights too! If you added a really great hemp insert under the opening and paired it with a great wool cover, it would be bullet proof!
Want to buy it? The awesome Thirsties fitted is only $17! Buy it here.
Want to win it? All About Baby Boutique is sponsoring a giveaway for your chance to win one for yourself! Please remember to say a big thank you to AABB for sponsoring such an awesome giveaway!

*All opinions are my own.

Eco Sprout Review

Washing diapers can be a very frustrating thing to do. There are lots of mamas out there who are struggling with the 'stinkies'. I was one of them almost from the beginning of cloth diapering. We have super hard water. When we first started cloth diapering, we had an OLD top loading washing machine. At first we used Arm and Hammer Essentials which got 3 out of 5 stars on this site. I only had about 3 diapers at the time and we used it for about a week or two at the most. It seemed to work pretty good at first but out of no where BAM! Ammonia stinks. It was awful.

I immediately bought some Rockin' Green because of all the wonderful things I've heard about them. I did soaks and I was happy with all the junk that came out of our cloth diapers and the things around our house (sheets, towels, etc.). At the time, we had all microfiber diapers. RnG worked pretty good at first. I was still trying to figure out my routine because I was new to everything. I read lots of things online about the best way to wash diapers. I did a cold rinse, hot wash with detergent, and 2 extra rinses. I hung my diapers up outside to let them get 'fresh air'. They didn't get much sun but I thought that would be better than drying in the dryer. About a month or so later the stinkies came back. I bought Tea Tree Oil because I heard everyone rave about how good it is. That didn't help much. I did extra rinses and even went to extreme measures like boiling all my inserts. (I didn't boil anything with PUL in it. That can ruin diapers.) I thought maybe it was my washer. Since it was so old and the apartment we lived in was older, the water never got very hot. I tried adding a pot or two of boiling water in the washer before washing them.

I kept with the RnG for a little bit longer. I bought two bags and didn't want to waste the other bag before buying a new kind of detergent. Before I could even get through my last bag, I caved and bought another detergent. Everyone raved about Lulu's in the Fluff so that was my next route. It worked great and the stinkies went away! I was so happy! Finally no more stinky diapers. There were a few times where my routine would change (traveling or I would forget a step like adding the TTO) and the stinkies would start coming back. I would soak and soak and they would go away again. Until I got into my third bag. Then BAM! They came back full force.

I was frustrated to say the least. Maybe I just had no luck. Or maybe everyone secretly went through this and just didn't want to admit it. Either way, I was about to throw in the towel. I loved cloth diapering but didn't want to have to deal with such a hassle. Rockin' Green came out with a new product around this time (Funk Rock) and I hesitantly bought a bag. I soaked my diapers overnight and hoped they would be stink free in the morning. I rinsed and rinsed until my washer sounded like a helicopter was coming through my house. Nope. No luck.

We moved into a new apartment and I bought a new washer. It was another top loading washer but it was an HE machine. I was hesitant about getting an HE because of how little water they add. With washing cloth diapers, the more water you wash with, the better. We continued our battle. I bought samples of other detergents to try and there was no change. Until we came to one sample.

I had heard everyone raving about Eco Sprout. Again, I was VERY hesitant to try it. The last detergents I tried, everyone raved about them, but they failed. Miserably. But our old detergent wasn't cutting it so I switched. I soaked our diapers in the tub overnight (and caused our neighbors below us to flood, whoops!) and rinsed like a mad woman. I was nervous to try it on my son. I couldn't handle any more stinky or red bums. I kind of sniffed his bum after an hour or two to see if it stunk. Nope! I was happy but still nervous. We used it for about a month with great success. My bag was getting low and I knew that meant the stinkies were on their way once again. Maybe I would just have to switch detergents every other month to keep them at bay. We finished the bag and started onto our second. No stinkies still!

It has been almost a year since we started using it and I couldn't be happier! I never have to soak, strip, or do anything crazy to my diapers anymore. I moved into my parents house and it took a while for me to get a nice routine down (she has a front loading HE machine that does NOT add hardly ANY water) but now that I have a nice wash routine, everything is perfect. I can not believe it took me so long (and so much hassle!) to find a detergent that works wonders. Again, I have really nasty hard water. I recommend this detergent to everyone!!! It's amazing.

My wash routine: (With a front loading HE machine)
Warm or cold prerinse with a few drops of Tea Tree Oil. I've heard people say warm is better for getting out stains and some say cold is better for stains. I kind of flip flop and just randomly choose an option : )
Hot wash with 1&1/2 to 2 Tablespoons of Eco Sprout. The more diapers in the load, the more detergent I use. (But never more than 2 Tablespoons) I wash with the longest setting I can.
The washer does two rinses and I usually do an extra warm rinse because I'm a rinse freak.
 I try to hang up my diapers as much as possible but sometimes I do dry them in the dryer on ultra low heat. Super easy routine!
You can find more tips here!

*I was not paid or endorsed for this review. I simply wrote it because I love Eco Sprout and wanted to share my success with everyone. Just because a detergent didn't work for me, doesn't mean it won't work for you. Everyone will have different success with different detergents and wash routines. I did not write this review to bash or talk bad about any company. I just wrote my story and what worked and didn't work for me : ) *

Oeko Popo Review and Giveaway!

Oeko Popo diapers are an All In Two and a cover! They also have a sleeve to make it a pocket diaper. It is very versatile.
I was impressed when I first got the diaper. The cover is well made and is soft. They have a little white stripe around the leg gussets which help prevent leaks. The insert is soft as well and has a PUL layer on the back of the diaper to help prevent leaks. The insert is made of 3 layers of microfiber and topped with a stay dry lining. It comes in two sizes. Size one is for newborns and the early months of a new babies life when OS diapers don't quite fit yet. It fits 5-18 pounds. Size two which is more like a One Size diaper. It fits 8-40 pounds. It is such a unique diaper. I love that!

Here is a great video from the company which explains the whole diaper.

I don't usually buy OS diapers because they just don't seem to fit my LO right. I have about 2 or 3 OS diapers that have a snap down rise. I did not get a very good fit on my son. The middle setting seemed too big and baggy but the smallest snap setting was way too little all though it wasn't baggy. I really liked the insert and the idea of this diaper. It was very absorbent and worked great even though the fit was a little bit big (I have a very small baby)! The insert is a OS insert so you might have to fold it down if your baby is on the smallest snap setting.

We also used this cover over our fitted diapers. It worked great. We have never had a leak while using it! We tried our Nifty Nappy and BSRB diapers underneath. One of my Nifty Nappies is a larger cut so we used the cover all the way unsnapped and it worked great. I like that they have hip snaps but you don't have to use them. The hidden snaps are ingenious.

Using the diaper as a cover over our NN

I would definately recommend this diaper to anyone! They aren't expensive compared to other AI2. They range from $11.95 to $20.95. They offer embroidered diapers which is why they go up to $20.95. They have some seriously adorable colors and options! You can buy the diapers here.

Win a $20 gift card here!! Giveaway will end on the night of December 24th at midnight. 

Top 10 Favorite WAHMs!

I've been thinking about some of my favorite WAHMs (Work At Home Moms) lately and wanted to share my top 10 favorites. It was hard to narrow it down. (There are SO many wonderful moms out there!) There is no particular order. I am not including diaper makers because that would make the list even harder!
1.) Crafted By Cassie. She is an awesome WAHM who makes some wonderful things. Everything she makes is high quality and she has such a big heart. Some of the things she makes are chalkboard mats (I bought my son one for Christmas! I'm so excited!!), cooking aprons and chef hats that match (they are adorable), custom nap mats, and so much more! Everything is so unique and adorable. You can see all her albums of everything she makes here.
2.) The Ruffled Cupcake. She makes some of the *cutest* headbands, bows, and hair things ever! They are not the normal kind of hair accessories you see on Facebook. They are fancy, classy, and vintage. I've bought a few things from her (I'm actually wearing one of them right now!). They are high quality and not expensive (and not just for babies!). She makes a wide variety of  items. You can see all of her amazing things here and her Etsy page here.
3.) Educated Mama Decals. She makes car decals (or decals for windows and walls). I have 3 decals (and plan on ordering 2 more soon!) and I love them!! They are made very well (I've had my first decal on the car for months and they look great even through the weather and all the dirt roads I drive on.) and are fairly priced. You can see all her customs here and her HyenaCart page here.
4.) OrangePiggy's LittleDog. She makes custom wool knit pants, shorts, sweaters, and more! I found her forever ago and won a little bear. My son loved it! It was made so well. If I had the money, I would totally buy some custom longies from her. (They are on my wish list) Everything she makes is so pretty. You can see her work here. (Aren't they gorgeous?)
5.) Sugar Sweet Baby. She makes bamboo baby carrier wraps (like a Moby wrap but super cute and comfy). Someone gave me one when I was pregnant and man oh man! It was such a life saver. We went out when my baby was 3 days old. I wrapped him up and he slept the entire time we were shopping. Everyone commented on how cute the wrap was and how crazy I was for going out and about after just giving birth 3 days ago. We used it for 9 months. Almost every single time I wore him, he would fall asleep. I wore him almost all day long at our family reunion (when he was about 4 months old). It was so amazing to be able to make sure he got his naps during the day and not have to leave so he could nap. There were lots of parents there (we have a HUGE family) who had to leave so their kids could nap. He was being held and was happy the entire day. The mama behind the business is awesome as are the wraps. They are SO soft and cute! She has tons of cute prints and colors. You can see pictures on her Facebook page here and her website here.
6.) Ever Sew Clever. She makes a ton of awesome things. Some of the things she makes are reusable bowl covers (They rock. You can see my review of them here), reusable snack bags (I have one and I love it!),  a ton of cute toys for the kids, and more. Everything is made very well and is reasonably priced. She also does FFS giveaways (usually on Fridays).You can see more of what she makes on her Facebook page here and her Etsy page here.
7.) Little Lady Designs. I know I don't have a girl but I have bought many things from her. She makes cute little bows and clippies for girls (and moms too!). I have given some of them to my nieces and even worn some myself (I totally rocked a turkey clippie for Thanksgiving last year. Everyone loved it). They are well made and are pretty cheap. She always does sales and even has a monthly giveaway on her Facebook page. You can see all her work here.
8.) Pink 'n Yellow Butterfly. She makes adorable hats and custom knit things. I won a custom hat last year and I'm SO glad I did. It's gorgeous and SO well made! Everyone loves his hat and always acts where I bought it. She's one talented mama! You can see all of her custom work here  and her website here.
9.) Bouncing Woolies. She makes dryer balls. I rave and rave about how wonderful they are all the time (you can see my review of them here). She does some AMAZING custom work! (She needle felts them by hand, no tracing or outlining. Done all by imagination.) I have said in my review about how well they are made. I've had mine for about a year and a half with no problems. (I have her older 'yarn wrapped' styles and they are still going strong!) She's an awesome mama who puts a lot of love and time into her products. You can see her products on her Facebook page here and her website here.
10.) Cotton Cheeks. I know I said I didn't include diaper makers and even though Cotton Cheeks does make diapers, she also makes a bunch of other great things! She makes my favorite mama pads (You can see my review here), fleece pants/shorts/covers, wet bags, trainers, and some adorable dresses (her mom makes them). Everything is very reasonably priced and SO well made. I love everything she makes. You can see custom work here and her HyenaCart page here.

There are just some of my favorite WAHMs! Who are your favorites? I love finding new shops. Feel free to post a comment here or on our Facebook page and let me know who your favorites are.