Sharni's Blog

Braden in a Rumparooz One Size Pocket Diaper.

I feel like Nappy Shoppe has “arrived”.  We had our first official photo shoot for the store.  We took Braden and his little girl friend Natalie to visit with Kelli Simon of Photography by Kelli. Heather (Natalie’s mum) and I had large bags full of our favourite diapers, and I had hijacked a couple of new ones from the store’s shelves for the shoot too.  The little ones had not been changed so often in an hour before!  But they were great about getting their diapers changed so often.

What was weird was Braden who is so used to having his photo taken, admittedly by just me, was super shy and took the better part of the session to warm up to being photographed by Kelli.  Thankfully Natalie was not so shy, so we filled the time with getting some great shots of Natalie.

Eventually with the bribe of a lollipop, we got Braden to join Natalie in front of the camera.  Despite all the issues, Kelli got some magical shots of the little ones.

Braden and Natalie -- Note the lollipop we bribed him with near his shoulder.

If you are local to the DFW area, and want some great photos of your little one taken by a super patient photographer, then contact Kelli Simon of Photography by Kelli.  And be sure to become a fan of her Facebook page so you can see what wonderful work she is currently doing.

Natalie in a Blue Berry Minky Diaper

My pail back then looked much like this one, except it was pink with a bunny on it :)

When I had my first child over 20 years ago, I used what is called a wet pail method to store my soiled diapers until I was ready to wash them. It worked well, I kept the pail with its lid on, in the laundry trough/sink. I used a product called Napisan (an Australian Nappy Soaking solution) in the water, and I would wash the diapers every two to three days when the pail was full.  I would empty the contents of the pail into the sink, let the water drain away, and then don a rubber glove and transfer the diapers into the washing machine and wash with no detergent.  I would then line dry my diapers (I didn’t own a dryer until Lauren was well out of diapers!)

So when it came time to cloth diaper my second son, who was born here in the US, I thought that I needed to use the same system.  And this house was not built with a sink in the laundry.  Something I find odd, even my smallest flat (apartment) back home had a sink in the laundry.  I also find the lack of a rotary clothes line in backyards odd to, but that is a whole other blog post. :)

When I had Braden, I used gDiapers with flushables on him, because to me that was a great compromise.  A bio-degradable insert with a reusable cover.  Much less impact on the environment than the standard disposable diaper.  But as I was hanging out on the gDiapers yahoo group, I learned that not only had cloth diapers come a long way, so had the methods used to wash them.  I learned about the dry pail system and the fact I didn’t need to soak my diapers before washing.  That I didn’t need to store soiled diapers in a pail full of solution.

This is my pail. Note how the whole lid mechanism is removable, so that it makes it easy to put the pail liner in it.

The main thing that makes a dry pail possible is the pail liner. I bought a Wahmies pail liner.  And then I took it shopping.  Yes I bought the pail liner before I bought the pail.  This turned out to be the smart thing to do, as I was able to find the pail to fit my pail liner.  No need to sew or get a custom sized one.  I actually found my pail at Lowes for around $13.  It is just a cheap trash can with a flip lid.  The cheaper can actually worked out better than the more expensive ones because of the cheap way the lid worked.  It is simply placed on top of the trash can, rather than attached.  This means that it is easy to place the pail liner into the can.

Worked great, but I quickly found one pail liner does not work.  You really need TWO!  Once you put your pail liner in the wash, then you need to put a clean one into the pail.  So another pail liner was bought.

The beauty of the pail liner, is that once you have placed the diaper into the pail, you do not need to handle it again.  Once the pail is full, we take the diapers out inside the pail liner, and then take the bag down to the washing machine.  We shake the diapers into the machine, and then throw the pail liner in with the diapers to be washed.

I now stock several different brands of pail liners. Different sizes and different qualities of PUL.  I like the elastic of the Wahmies one because it fits my pail well, but you may prefer a draw string for your pail.

If you lack space, a door knob pail liner could be a solution.

If you are challenged for space and do not really have room for a 13 gallon diaper pail, you can get a door knob pail liner.  You can hang this one from a door knob.  Or you could use large wet bags and hang them from a towel rail, your change table or door knob.  The same principle applies, when full, just take the diapers to the machine and empty the bag into the machine, and throw the bag in afterward.

The pail liner has prevented my diaper pail from getting stinky.  Much better than the disposable pail that my previous son used which reeked so bad we had to keep the door shut to our bathroom where it was stored all the time.  Oh and for the record, the diaper dekor disposable pail actually fits a Wahmies Pail liner in it!  It’s a bit baggy but it works.

So what is your diaper pail system?  Please feel free to leave a comment below.

I have a nappy bag that sits in the car all the time.  I prefer not to cart around a diaper bag all the time now that Braden is older, so for the past year I have kept a bag in the car fully stocked ready to go, and we pull it out when we need it.  That way I am not carting it to and from the house.  The bag is actually one that my quilting friends made me.  We are dragon crazy in this house, so it is a red bag with blue dragons on it.  It is a nice large bag.  My husband actually willingly puts it over his shoulder because it’s not girly :)

So what is in this bag?

• It used to contain an empty sippy cup, but now that Braden is comfortable drinking from a straw, we stopped carrying this one around.  I kept it empty because I didn’t want it forgotten and going mouldy.  That way we could fill it as need be at restaurants etc.
• A spare dummy/pacifier.  Yes I know, he should not be using one of those, but well it helps him sleep.
• A spoon.  Never know when you will need to feed him :)  When he was smaller I had a bib in there too.
• 

  I keep GroVia shells with biopads in my bag.

  GroBaby shells. These days they are called GroVia (same thing with a few little improvements).  I have about 3 shells in this bag.  They take up next to no room as they are just covers.

• About 6 GroVia Biodegradable Pads and 4 gDiaper Flushables.  Why both?  Well the Flushables are actually size small, and I fold them in half if I know I cant change him for a while.  I then put the folded one in the front of his diaper over the top of the GroVia Pad, and that gives me the extra time before I have to change him.  Sometimes when you are in the car a long time, it is nice to diaper him like I would diaper him at night.  And yes this combination did work at night for him.  I put this combination on him after the July 4th fireworks and he was asleep when we got home, and we put him straight to bed without changing, and his clothes were dry the next morning.
• A couple of cloth wipes - dry.  I have contemplated adding a bottle of wash to the bag, but I think because he rarely poops when out, it is not needed.  But I would so do this if he was smaller and still fully breastfed, because you need that kind of thing when changing a lot of poopy diapers.  I would then be able to spray the dry wipes and wipe dirty butt.
• 

  These wipes are great for sticky fingers too.

  A packet of GroVia wipes.  I added these to test the product out, and well I really like the product.  You can read Sara Snow’s review of them here.  They are a good size, they are a good thickness, and they are environmentally friendly.  I use them more for sticky hands than anything else at Braden’s age.  (And on his 7 year old brother, Connor, who is always seeming just as sticky as the baby!)

.

• 

  More than one wet bag is essential in my opinon.

  A wet bag.  I own about 5 wet bags now.  I suggest having at least two, so you can have one in use while one is in the wash.  One I had to make because it matched the pattern of my other diaper bag (a woman can never have too many bags you know!).  But I keep one in this bag, so I have something to put the dirties in when they happen.

• A receiving blanket.  This is very thin and folds up small, so it makes a good change mat if need be.  Can also be used to wipe up messes and so on.

So what is in your diaper bag?  Feel free to comment below :)

Congratulations to 119 – Rachel Neufeld – Winner of the first diaper

Congratulations to 129 – Jill Smith – Winner of the second diaper

The wonderful folk at Sweet Pea have given me two AI3′s to give away to two lucky customers (one diaper each).  It is very simple to enter the giveaway.  Just read my review about the diaper and then answer the questions on the entry form.

The diapers are yellow and indigo.  I will randomly send out a colour to each winner.

There is one entry per person.  You can however earn a second entry by blogging about the giveaway.  Just put your URL in as the second entry where the answer to the question goes.

Entrants will be put on a list here, and given a number. The drawing will occur on July 25th.  I will use random.org to select the numbers of the winners.

Chances are you have heard of an all in two, which is generally a cover with a pad/insert that is often snapped into place or laid into place.  The Sweet Pea AI3 is denoted such because it’s pad is actually a two part system in itself.  But in reality, I use it like an AI2 when I use it on Braden.

A customer recommended the Sweet Pea AI3 to me, so I decided to try out their diapers, and I like them.  They are a Canadian made diaper, one that to me is better that some of the better marketed brands out there.

It is one size.  We did find it a little big on newborn Rylan (we tried it at around 6-7 pounds), so I don’t suggest it for a tinier newborn.   But then most one size diapers are not the best choice for tinier newborns.  It does have a great rise on it so that it is good for larger babies, and should do well up to the suggested 35 pounds.  Braden is wearing it on the medium setting in the photo below.  Braden is nearly 30 pounds at time of writing.  If I use it at night with an extra insert in there, then I put it up to the larger setting.  Braden is kind of in between the two settings right now.  It is really nice that there is room to grow in this diaper.

It is snap closing, which means no hook and loop diaper trains in the wash, and snaps are more durable.  But it is one that my husband the snap phobe will not use.  However, if you are comfortable with using snaps, this diaper is no different or harder to use than any other snap closing diaper.

The cover is made of PUL and as such can be easily wiped out if lightly soiled.  The cover is designed to be re-used with just the pad being washed most of the time.  The pad doesn’t snap directly on to the cover like most AI2 diapers, but rather on to a flap that is sewn into the seam of the diaper.  It does snap directly at the front where there is extra PUL for the sizing snaps anyway.  This minimizes the risk of snaps pulling through the PUL.

I love that there is a hook on the back of the diaper for easy line drying, and even storage.

The pad is a good one too.  I know my inserts, and I know what fabric combination’s work well together as the maker of the G-Flapper.  I did a lot of testing with Braden when I was trying to make good inserts to work for him as he is a heavy wetter.  I like this insert because it uses the magic hemp and microfiber and microfleece combination.  There is three layers of hemp on the bottom layer of the pad.  The pad is sewn so it is curved.  There is a microfiber pad topped with microfleece pad that snaps on to the hemp pad, so if you didn’t want to use either of the pads, you do not have to.

I have tested this pad system at nap time with Braden and it passes. It passed the night time test too, but Braden is not as heavy at night as he once was, so it might not work for a super heavy wetter.  But that being said, you could always add in a G-Flapper insert to the combination at night.  The pad did shrink a little over time, and I found that it makes the diaper pucker a little when both ends are snapped up.  I solved this by just snapping it in at the front.  It doesn’t shift of anything inside the cover once it is done up.  The pad just gets more absorbent with washing too.

This diaper is pretty trim, of course that comes down to what you put in it.  Add more padding, and you will get more bulk. But when using the pad it comes with, it is nice and trim.

The diaper retails for $18.95 and it comes with the cover and one pad.  You can buy more pads separately.  The cover will also work with gDiaper flushables, Gro-Via biopads, G-Flappers and flip inserts.  I have even put a Thirsties Hemp Pre-fold in it.  Oh and it will work over a fitted too :)

Thank you everyone for your wonderful words of encouragement as Nappy Shoppe grows into this new space.  It has been a lot of work, and I am incredibly tired yet happy at the same time.  I have had some great help from my daughter and her friends, my brother in law, and my friend Heather in setting up the space.

So to follow is some photos of the progress we are making.  There are other articles I wrote recently about the move and more details.

Oh and locals are loving it.  Quite a few have turned up to check out the space.  I think they love the fact that there is a cloth diaper store locally even if it is only by appointment :)

I bought a commercial garment rack to hang the wet bags on.  In this photo we have just started hanging the wet bags on the rack.  We have over 300 bags in stock, most of which are made locally for Nappy Shoppe by my quilting friends.  We did finish hanging all the bags today (photos to come).  And they look great on there and it will be easy to find the pattern a customer has ordered, and easy for locals to choose the one they want :)

I “stole” the shelving out of our game room and used it to store bolts of interfacing, microchamois etc.  It is just out of the picture.  What you see here is bolts of cottons resting on top of it between 2 storage units I picked up at Target a few years ago.  In each of those canvas bins is scraps waiting to be turned into half inserts and g-scraps.  Those bags on top of the bolts contain the die cut aplix tabs for diapers.

We made isles of garage shelving that I already had in my old storage units.  It was fairly cheap from Lowes.  It works great for holding diapers.  On top of the shelves are canvas bins I got from Ikea that hold things that do not shelve that great.

The garage shelving manages to hold the weight of the Rockin Green etc.  The corner gets dark.  I am going to have to invest in more lighting for the back corners.  This is the brightest it has ever looked and that is thanks to my camera flash :)

Where we could we sorted diapers by colour and size to make it quick and easy to fill orders.

The sewing room is pretty much set up since this photo was taken.  The black shelving and desk unit for the sergers is from Ikea.  You can see flappers in various stages of construction on the brown shelves.  The colourful drawers above are my snaps all nicely sorted.  And then the fabric to the right is for diaper bags and wet bags.  We will likely have to find another solution to store the cones of thread.  They keep vibrating off the shelves onto the sewers below!

The office/packing room/show room will be all set up thanks to Ikea again.  (Love that store for affordable practical furniture).  Poor Lauren has assembled so many pieces of furniture for the new space.  It is now almost all set up now.  A corner unit is missing from this picture.  Three local photographers will be taking pictures of babies in diapers for the walls.  My view will be soooo pretty :)

Front room of the office/warehouse filled with boxes.

Moving is so tiring.  I did it so much when I was younger, but I have actually been at this house for nearly 10 years.  So it has been a while since I did any kind of moving.  It feels like moving the “shoppe” is as bad as moving a three bedroom house.  We had two storage units full of stuff, which actually was the easier stuff to move.  And then we had all the goods in my master bedroom, in the game room, in shelves in the hallway.  All of these rooms are upstairs, which just made it all the worse.  And then the biggest move of all, the sewing room!  I am splitting my sewing room up.  Business stuff is going to the warehouse, and keeping my personal at home so I can get back to sewing for fun.

While we were doing all this, it was 100 degrees F outside!

As at writing its been two days of moving and things are still not all there and not unpacked.  Hopefully it will only be another day or two of hard work.  My daughter and her room mates have been a great help, as has my brother in law.  A friend and local customer also came to unpack and sort diapers and detergents.

I am a day or two slower shipping things out, so until we are all settled, I am going to keep the lowered free shipping minimums in place.  See the front page of the website for details.

Despite the aches and tiredness, it has been very exciting and satisfying to do this and get everything in one place for organisation!

Ryan, my daughter's room mate helping set up shelving in the warehouse part of the "shoppe".

Let’s face it.  Poop stinks! And while, I find my bathroom rarely stinks using cloth diapers than it did when I used disposables on my older son, there are times when the pail can be a bit on the nose.  Right now I am using the Rockin Green Shake it Up Pail Freshener on my pail, so I asked my friend Heather to test out the Fluff Dust and review it.

This is what she wrote:

“I was a skeptic as I have tried other pail deodorizers and they did nothing.  I first started using the Knickernappies Fluff Dust I followed the directions and sprinkled it over the pail after ever diaper.  When I went to wash my pail didn’t have the blow me away smell it normally does.  So far so good!  Then next time I only sprinkled it after the night time diapers and dirty ones and I had the same great results.  I loved opening the pail to put a diaper in and not having to quickly slam it shut to keep the fumes inside.   I didn’t notice a difference after washing them which for me is a great thing.  I have had other pail deodorizers stay in my diapers and cause repelling but not this one.  The directions also gave me other ideas about carpet deodorizers, trash cans, between the sheets etc.  So I sprinkled some in the bottom of my trash bag to see if it would help control the smells and let me fill up the whole bag.  Well even with chicken in there it did a great job.  I sprinkled it on my carpets before I vacuumed to refresh my house too.  I have the Tea Tree Oil scent because I wanted to antibacterial property of the Tea Tree Oil.  I think everyone should have some of this stuff, even if your not cloth diapering.  It overall is just a great deodorizer.  Thanks Sharni for stocking another great product.”

Fluff dust is available as a refill so you can keep using your shaker and reduce waste.

The first office space will be shipping and show room, the second will be sewing, and product will be stored in the warehouse.

By the end of June, all going well I will be moving most of Nappy Shoppe out of my house into a warehouse office space.  When I started Nappy Shoppe in August 08, I didn’t think it would grow so fast and so much!  It has been a fun ride!  In October, I finally got a 10×15 storage unit for the fabric rolls so I could give Braden back his bedroom.  This allowed me to add detergents to my store line up.  Then a month or two ago, we added another 10×10 storage unit in which I store diapers.  This allowed me to add more brands.

I still have shelves from Ikea in my master bedroom that stock a lot of the diapers, shelves down the hallway that stock G-flappers, and shelves in the game room that stock covers and training pants.  Then there is all the shipping materials!

So after much hunting, I found an office/warehouse space that I could actually afford!  It is part of a storage unit facility that is only a mile further away than my current one.  While it is not a storefront (I do not wish to man a storefront because I want to be there for my kids), it will allow for locals to come and pick up and check out diapers before buying by appointment.  The whole thing is climate controlled, and we plan on moving most of the sewing there too, which means I may be able to get to making quilts again in my sewing room!

Here are some “before” shots of how I have crammed things into the house and storage unit.

This is just part of the shelving in my master bedroom. I have two sets of this!

Rolls of fabric on the stand my husband and father in law made.

Shelving in one of the storage units.

This was BEFORE the second storage unit.

Braden in his room BEFORE the first storage unit!

We are having a “We don’t wanna move it!” sale.  Check the front page of the website for details on the free shipping offers are having.

When I saw someone post the Dapper Snapper to one of my cloth diapering groups, I knew I just had to stock them even though they are not really diapering related.  My two older boys are like their dad, long and lean. Finding pants to fit them has always been a challenge.  If I find pants that are long enough, they are always too big in the waist.  If I find them fitting at the waist, they might as well be wearing capris!

While they say they fit sizes 1 – 5, I have to disagree.  I am using this item on my 7 year old, Connor, just fine!  And there is talk of adult sizes soon!

Connor in pants that constantly fall down, BEFORE we put on the Dapper Snapper.

So just how does the Dapper Snapper work?  Well it will only work in pants that have belt loops.  And so far I have had to do it for my son, Connor, as he cant put it through the loops once his pants are on.  Once he puts on his pants, I thread this thing through the back loops of his pants and snap at each end and this tugs his pants nice and tight for him.  In this picture, I put the snaps on one side on one setting, and on the other side tighter in.  I was able to get a good custom fit for my skinny boy.  He loves this.  He often has his hands in his pockets just to hold up his pants!  The first time I put it on him, he came home from school, doing his usual holding his pants up with his pockets.  I put the Dapper Snapper on his pants, and he lifted his arms up and was jumping up and down excited that his pants were not falling down.

If he was wanting to put it on himself, he would have to put it on the pants before he puts them on.

And yes, we have tried belts, but the boys do not like them as they make going to the bathroom more difficult for them.  The beauty of the Dapper Snapper is they do not have to undo it to undo their pants.  The only thing I have to watch for is that it comes off his pants before they go in the wash.  Yes it will wash just fine, but I want it to put on other pants.  I can see myself getting more of them for that reason though.  And he has already asked me for other colours …

The Dapper Snapper is made in the USA.  It is a good quality Elastic available in a large variety of colours.  It uses durable metal snaps to close it.