Hello everyone and greetings from Maine! We have a few things going on this month and an exciting new product to introduce (I will save the best for last).
Firstly we are running a sale on summer products, some are up to 50% off the original price. This includes some organic summer clothes as well as those awesome California Baby products that I talked about a couple posts ago. It’s a great time to stock up on them for next year too even if the sun isn’t still shining where you live. Our second sale is on both the Thirsties AIO Pockets (version 1) and the Magic-All AIOs. They are $13.50 each and are great diapers ESPECIALLY for that low price. We are almost out of mediums so hurry and get them while they are hot! Our last sale is a special 5% off any order of $50 or more. Just use the coupon code – almostfall (expires September 15, 2008).
The next order of business is the happenings on our site. As some may have noticed, we had been experiencing some technical difficulties several times last month which forced us to change providers and servers and all that technical stuff…so if you are surfing around and have any problems or have any questions PLEASE contact us and ask/let us know – either by phone (1-866-586-MCDC) or email. We are also making changes to help everyone find things better and make the process more streamline and quicker (because we all need a little extra time in the day!)
Lastly our most exciting announcement is that we have added Fuzzi Bunz to our store! These are the new improved version that fits so well and people just love them. Everyone should try some, they really are great – comfortable, great fitting, self containing and you can you stuff them so full for bulletproof nighttime dryness or stuff with just the microfiber insert that is included for a trim daytime option.
As usual we look forward to hearing from everyone, let us know what you like, what you don’t, what you wish we had and any challenges we might be able to help you out with – oh and happy diapering :)
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Decisions, decisions...One-Size vs. Sized Diapers
One of the most popular things that people looking into using cloth on their kids ask us is the pros and cons of sized diapers (sm ,med, lg) vs. a one-size/os variety (e.g. , Bumgenius, Baby Beehinds, Happy Heinys). The idea of only having to buy one set of diapers is not only ideal from a convenience standpoint but certainly from a financial standpoint. We have lots of parents that come to the store with the intention of buying 18-20 os diapers and then recycling them through 2-3 or more kids, which may not be realistic. This seems like a perfect plan before thinking about some of the factors that we want to point out below.
There are several factors that influence that life of a cloth diaper. The most important thing would be your washing routine. If you read the directions for washing on most of our diapers, they say something similar to – wash on hot with a mild, additive free detergent, follow up with a cold rinse and then either tumble dry low or hang to dry (some people like to do an initial cold rinse to help with stains as well). The detergent is very important and if you need recommendations, please ask. Also, depending on your lifestyle and the size of your diaper stash, it may not always be feasible to hang your diapers to dry each and every time. Even if you plan on line drying, also plan on having to use the dryer every once in awhile when you are in a rush! The last factor is the actual number of diapers you have which obviously directly influences the number of times you have to wash your diapers per week which in turn will influence how long they last. For example - a dozen os pocket diapers that are washed every 1.5-2 days for 2 yrs are going to wear out twice as fast than if you had 2 dozen diapers and washed just twice a week (on average that is the difference between 100 and 200 trips through the washer per year).
The next thing to consider is the actual diapering needs of infants v. toddlers. As seasoned parents can attest to, the older the child, generally, the less diaper changes needed. In those early infant weeks and months, when babe is likely needing changing all the time, you will certainly go through twice as many diapers as say a 10-12 month old child. The need to change so often starts spacing out substantially as the child gets older - especially when solids are introduced. We generally recommend 2-3 dozen diapers for a newborn (or more if you don’t like to wash as often), this would be way more than one would necessarily need for an older child – this certainly lends itself to thinking that it might make the most sense to have a separate nb/sm stash of 2-3 dozen diapers and then moving up to a smaller stash of meds when the babe grows out of the smaller collection. This also would allow families of multiple and different aged children to cycle through the sizes – especially if you plan on having several children and using cloth on all of them. The wear on one set of os diapers through 2 or more children is going to be quite substantial and you could be disappointed when they begin to wear out earlier than you had hoped. Although you will most likely get quite a bit of wear out of an os diaper, it may not be feasible to expect any piece of cloth to withstand being washed every other day for upwards of 2 years. Another thing to consider is the resale value. There is a good market for well taken care of, but used cloth diapers – so if you do end up with more in a particular size than you need or if they still have some life in them once your own kids are done with them, you quite possibly could recoup some of your investment.
If you do choose to have a stash consisting mainly of os diapers, you want to make sure that it is large enough that you only wash a couple times a week and really properly care for them to extend their life. Our recommendation is that if you know you want to have 2 or more children, sized diapers may be your better choice – 2-3 dozen nb/sm, 1-2 dozen meds and some kiddies don’t even need large as they potty train before they grow out of the meds. If you are having your children close together, having 6-12 os diapers added to the mix might be good for outings and to streamline a little bit and make the diaper bag easier to tote around! Its important to make sure your expectations for any wear product is realistic – we want to make sure that everyone finds the type of diaper that will suit their family. We welcome any questions - here on the blog, by email or stopping into our retail boutique. We also have several other helpful articles at the bottom of our home page http://www.maineclothdiapercompany.com/. Thanks for reading and happy diapering :)
There are several factors that influence that life of a cloth diaper. The most important thing would be your washing routine. If you read the directions for washing on most of our diapers, they say something similar to – wash on hot with a mild, additive free detergent, follow up with a cold rinse and then either tumble dry low or hang to dry (some people like to do an initial cold rinse to help with stains as well). The detergent is very important and if you need recommendations, please ask. Also, depending on your lifestyle and the size of your diaper stash, it may not always be feasible to hang your diapers to dry each and every time. Even if you plan on line drying, also plan on having to use the dryer every once in awhile when you are in a rush! The last factor is the actual number of diapers you have which obviously directly influences the number of times you have to wash your diapers per week which in turn will influence how long they last. For example - a dozen os pocket diapers that are washed every 1.5-2 days for 2 yrs are going to wear out twice as fast than if you had 2 dozen diapers and washed just twice a week (on average that is the difference between 100 and 200 trips through the washer per year).
The next thing to consider is the actual diapering needs of infants v. toddlers. As seasoned parents can attest to, the older the child, generally, the less diaper changes needed. In those early infant weeks and months, when babe is likely needing changing all the time, you will certainly go through twice as many diapers as say a 10-12 month old child. The need to change so often starts spacing out substantially as the child gets older - especially when solids are introduced. We generally recommend 2-3 dozen diapers for a newborn (or more if you don’t like to wash as often), this would be way more than one would necessarily need for an older child – this certainly lends itself to thinking that it might make the most sense to have a separate nb/sm stash of 2-3 dozen diapers and then moving up to a smaller stash of meds when the babe grows out of the smaller collection. This also would allow families of multiple and different aged children to cycle through the sizes – especially if you plan on having several children and using cloth on all of them. The wear on one set of os diapers through 2 or more children is going to be quite substantial and you could be disappointed when they begin to wear out earlier than you had hoped. Although you will most likely get quite a bit of wear out of an os diaper, it may not be feasible to expect any piece of cloth to withstand being washed every other day for upwards of 2 years. Another thing to consider is the resale value. There is a good market for well taken care of, but used cloth diapers – so if you do end up with more in a particular size than you need or if they still have some life in them once your own kids are done with them, you quite possibly could recoup some of your investment.
If you do choose to have a stash consisting mainly of os diapers, you want to make sure that it is large enough that you only wash a couple times a week and really properly care for them to extend their life. Our recommendation is that if you know you want to have 2 or more children, sized diapers may be your better choice – 2-3 dozen nb/sm, 1-2 dozen meds and some kiddies don’t even need large as they potty train before they grow out of the meds. If you are having your children close together, having 6-12 os diapers added to the mix might be good for outings and to streamline a little bit and make the diaper bag easier to tote around! Its important to make sure your expectations for any wear product is realistic – we want to make sure that everyone finds the type of diaper that will suit their family. We welcome any questions - here on the blog, by email or stopping into our retail boutique. We also have several other helpful articles at the bottom of our home page http://www.maineclothdiapercompany.com/. Thanks for reading and happy diapering :)
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Beach Bum Babies
Happy summer from Maine! Yes we actually have summer up here, for those of you that think otherwise :) We have some exciting new products available for your summer activities, including supplies for the beach and our new Sckoon organic cotton outfits for baby!! I have heard more and more mothers on mainstream boards talking about what is most effective on their babies bums while they swim. The disposable swim diapers sag even though they are not supposed to hold water and you end up changing them so often that a trip to the pool or beach can be very costly in a “sposie” world. More and more mothers that don’t normally cloth diaper are turning to washable swim diapers. Our Kushies swim diapers are awesome, they fit snugly in the leg with extra gussets and both velcros and ties up in the front with no gaps so that nothing “gets out”….if you know what I mean! Perhaps this is going to be the vehicle for spreading the cloth diapering word to the masses - wouldn’t that be great? Think of the environmental impact of even a 20% reduction in diaper waste. Also in our Summer Fun section we have some great products from California Baby - SPF 30 sunscreen lotion, bug repellant and then an awesome repellant/sunscreen combo lotion which saves so much time and hassle - especially with wiggly toddlers. We love this CB combo lotion for our kiddos because it is all natural and made with essential oils - its also waterproof. We also carry a variety of other CB products.
We are excited to show off our new store and expanded products - so stop in if you are in the area or visit us at http://www.maineclothdiaper.com/. Bring the kiddies in to play and we can talk fluff! We are happy to answer any questions you might have either in person, by phone or email and wish everyone happy diapering!
We are excited to show off our new store and expanded products - so stop in if you are in the area or visit us at http://www.maineclothdiaper.com/. Bring the kiddies in to play and we can talk fluff! We are happy to answer any questions you might have either in person, by phone or email and wish everyone happy diapering!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Reflections on 2007, Changes in 2008
It has been a great year for MCDC! We would like to thank all of our customers!
We have a new addition to our family, Hanna Genevieve. She arrived the autumn dawn of October 9th and has added great joy to our lives. Our other children, Kaden and Audrey are very happy to have a new baby sister. Shortly following her birth, we moved into a larger retail space. It is located in the same building, next door to the smaller cozy space we once occupied. This has allowed us to expand our inventory and offer more products to our customers! We have also extended our store hours to accomodate our customers. We have also added more WAHM products from our local talented mom's. We continue to carry wonderful products from Woolly Bottoms - Recycled Wool Soakers and Half-Moon Baby Slings. We have added Blue Bird Baby outfits. These are super cute and the pants provide a custom fit to go over cloth diapers. We also have added a new line from LizzieDoo's. She has provided us with some adorable Jester Hats, Recycled "Flower Pot" Hats and soft-soled baby shoes. We also plan to add some of her beautiful smocks. These mom's continue to astound me with their talent!
Some brief changes that will occur in 2008 are: new Maine-Made wooden toys will be added to our store. We are planning some new diaper package deals, including "ready made" packages in our retail location. We also have the latest and greatest diapering products. We are going to have some cloth diaper and baby-related classes. Any suggestions for this coming year are welcome! We want to provide our customers with a convenient and accomodating store for our customers to get their natural and quality baby products.
All our best to your families and a Happy New Year!
We have a new addition to our family, Hanna Genevieve. She arrived the autumn dawn of October 9th and has added great joy to our lives. Our other children, Kaden and Audrey are very happy to have a new baby sister. Shortly following her birth, we moved into a larger retail space. It is located in the same building, next door to the smaller cozy space we once occupied. This has allowed us to expand our inventory and offer more products to our customers! We have also extended our store hours to accomodate our customers. We have also added more WAHM products from our local talented mom's. We continue to carry wonderful products from Woolly Bottoms - Recycled Wool Soakers and Half-Moon Baby Slings. We have added Blue Bird Baby outfits. These are super cute and the pants provide a custom fit to go over cloth diapers. We also have added a new line from LizzieDoo's. She has provided us with some adorable Jester Hats, Recycled "Flower Pot" Hats and soft-soled baby shoes. We also plan to add some of her beautiful smocks. These mom's continue to astound me with their talent!
Some brief changes that will occur in 2008 are: new Maine-Made wooden toys will be added to our store. We are planning some new diaper package deals, including "ready made" packages in our retail location. We also have the latest and greatest diapering products. We are going to have some cloth diaper and baby-related classes. Any suggestions for this coming year are welcome! We want to provide our customers with a convenient and accomodating store for our customers to get their natural and quality baby products.
All our best to your families and a Happy New Year!
Monday, July 2, 2007
New products...
We have several new products arriving that I am very excited to carry in my store. Here are a few of them:
*Thirsties Fab Fitted Diapers - new, trim fit and fun colors
*Dream-Eze Organic Fitted Diapers- Super absorbent and AFFORDABLE organic diaper.
*LoveyBums Sherpa Fitted Diapers and Wool Covers (in retail store only). These are super absorbent, fun colors and excellent, soft wool covers.
...and one more...Stay Tuned for our latest product line.
If you are looking for an excellent more breathable cover for summertime, I would either recommend wool (yes, wool-it breathes better than the PUL covers) or the Sckoon Cotton Cover. My friend recently "tested" the Sckoon Cotton cover for waterproof-ness and it works like a charm. It is her favorite cover right now! It is super light-weight, washes well and is cool on baby.
Enjoy these wonderful summer days and if you plan to visit the coast of Maine we would love to see you in our retail establishment in Damariscotta, Maine (located close to Boothbay Harbor).
Happy Diapering!
*Thirsties Fab Fitted Diapers - new, trim fit and fun colors
*Dream-Eze Organic Fitted Diapers- Super absorbent and AFFORDABLE organic diaper.
*LoveyBums Sherpa Fitted Diapers and Wool Covers (in retail store only). These are super absorbent, fun colors and excellent, soft wool covers.
...and one more...Stay Tuned for our latest product line.
If you are looking for an excellent more breathable cover for summertime, I would either recommend wool (yes, wool-it breathes better than the PUL covers) or the Sckoon Cotton Cover. My friend recently "tested" the Sckoon Cotton cover for waterproof-ness and it works like a charm. It is her favorite cover right now! It is super light-weight, washes well and is cool on baby.
Enjoy these wonderful summer days and if you plan to visit the coast of Maine we would love to see you in our retail establishment in Damariscotta, Maine (located close to Boothbay Harbor).
Happy Diapering!
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Announcing new RDA Meeting
I would like to announce our new Real Diaper Association Circle will start on March 16th at the Skidompha Library Children's Room in Damariscotta, ME at 9:30 am. The meeting will be a brief introduction to RDA and cloth diapers in general-different styles and options available in today's ever-growing cloth diaper market. I will be co-facilitating the meeting with fellow RDA Business Member, Jennifer of Buzzie Bee Diapers, cloth diaper service and supplies (Rockland, ME). We plan to alternate monthly meetings between The Skidompha Library in Damariscotta and The Bookland Cafe in Rockland. The meetings will be held on the second Friday of each month.
The Real Diaper Association is a non-profit organization advocating cloth diapers. More information can be obtained here: www.realdiaperassociation.org . I became a member and leader 2 years ago and I think this group has wonderful potential to help people learn more about cloth from experienced members and leaders. All are welcome to attend the meeting- it is free of charge. Bring a friend and learn or help others learn more about the cloth diapering community.
Please contact me at christy@maineclothdiaper.com for more details.
The Real Diaper Association is a non-profit organization advocating cloth diapers. More information can be obtained here: www.realdiaperassociation.org . I became a member and leader 2 years ago and I think this group has wonderful potential to help people learn more about cloth from experienced members and leaders. All are welcome to attend the meeting- it is free of charge. Bring a friend and learn or help others learn more about the cloth diapering community.
Please contact me at christy@maineclothdiaper.com for more details.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
What is the best diapering system?
I frequently have customers ask me, "What is the best diapering system? What would you choose?" This question is hard to answer, because I feel diapering systems are such a subjective choice. First, I usually find out what are the reasons a person is cloth diapering, i.e. cost, environmental, health, convenience. This helps a little when choosing a system. Obviously if you are doing it more for the health and environmental reasons and not so much for cost, most of these individuals are interested in a more natural system-organics and wool. A lot of people will also ask, "What is the easiest and most convenient?" I look at this in a couple of different ways. A lot of individuals believe prefold diapers are "easier" because of the simplicity and versatility they offer. Others believe pocket diapers are the "easiest and most convenient", because there is no folding of the diapers (which is actually VERY simple). Pocket diapers do require you to stuff the insert, which some may find to be not convenient and others like the convenience of having the diaper all ready to go before putting it on baby. I guess the bottom line is, we all interpret meanings of words in different ways and what I may think is a convenient diaper, another may not. I can offer suggestions and explain the pro's and con's of each diapering systems, but a diapering system really comes down to personal choice.
I personally like a variety of diapers in my "system". Wierd as it is, I get bored with the same type of diapers and I feel a mix of diapers works well. Each type works better for different reasons, absorbency, convenience, night-time, etc. I like pocket diapers for night-time and on the go. I also like All in Ones for on the go. Both of these diapers typically offer a trim fit. I prefer prefolds because of their simplicity, absorbency, trim fit and cost-and you can ALWAYS use prefolds for several purposes-diaper, stuffing a pocket diaper, doubler, and my new favorite-my kiddo's spills on the floor (SUPER absorbent!). I like fitted diapers for their absorbency for night time and ease of use when a baby is going "cover-less".
Some individuals like a consistent system, to keep all the diapers the same type. And that's fine, too. I would suggest trying a few different types and seeing what you like best. You can always sell or donate the diapers you decide you don't like as well. A great place to sell diapers is on the forums at www.diaperpin.com . When in doubt, give me a call and we can discuss your options. I think it is sometimes easier to discuss the options and help sort it all out rather than spending hours (as I did) trying to figure it all out online. Cloth diapering is simple and easy!
I personally like a variety of diapers in my "system". Wierd as it is, I get bored with the same type of diapers and I feel a mix of diapers works well. Each type works better for different reasons, absorbency, convenience, night-time, etc. I like pocket diapers for night-time and on the go. I also like All in Ones for on the go. Both of these diapers typically offer a trim fit. I prefer prefolds because of their simplicity, absorbency, trim fit and cost-and you can ALWAYS use prefolds for several purposes-diaper, stuffing a pocket diaper, doubler, and my new favorite-my kiddo's spills on the floor (SUPER absorbent!). I like fitted diapers for their absorbency for night time and ease of use when a baby is going "cover-less".
Some individuals like a consistent system, to keep all the diapers the same type. And that's fine, too. I would suggest trying a few different types and seeing what you like best. You can always sell or donate the diapers you decide you don't like as well. A great place to sell diapers is on the forums at www.diaperpin.com . When in doubt, give me a call and we can discuss your options. I think it is sometimes easier to discuss the options and help sort it all out rather than spending hours (as I did) trying to figure it all out online. Cloth diapering is simple and easy!
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