Kinderstuff Review and Giveaway!

I've been taking a break on product reviews/giveaways lately to be able to focus a bit on my new business, plan for the Great Cloth Diaper Change, and spend time with my family. But, when I was approached by this company about reviewing their product, I couldn't resist. It was such a great concept that I had to spread the word. 

The company is KinderStuff. It's a kids clothing line with products made of only organic cotton and non-toxic materials. According to their website they:

 "decided to produce KinderStuff to the highest standard in German and American factories and use only the best organic cotton and non-toxic materials. This is how we make sure that everything we produce is 100% sustainable." 

Photo Courtesy of Facebook

Wow, sounds expensive right? Wrong! They deal direct to consumer only and have limited designs and quantities to prevent overproduction and excessive inventories. By eliminating the middleman and bringing the product right to you. You end up saving the money! Nothing on their website is over $23.00.  They only carry sizes up to 24 months at this time, but are planning on expanding their sizes and designs over the next six months. I can't wait to see what else this company comes up with!

So what do you do with these awesome clothes once your child outgrows them? Take them to a consignment shop, sell them at a rummage sale for $1? Nope! You contact KinderStuff, they provide free return shipping of your worn items, and in turn give you a discount towards your next purchase of sustainable clothing! Yes, your used, worn clothes are completely returnable for a future discount. Those clothes are either donated to charity, re-sold as "hand-me downs" or recycled. Now, not only are you saving time and gas by not  having to drive from store to store to try and get "top-dollar" for your used clothes, you're also helping get quality clothing into the hands of others! 

Have I gotten you excited yet? Kinderstuff wanted me to truly test their product rather than just write about it, so I did. They graciously sent me an item of my choosing for B. I picked out this cute sneaker t-shirt called "Tippy Toe" in size 18-24 months. Now, knowing B is a bit small for his age of 18 months, but I figured this shirt would shrink a bit in the wash, so I went with the larger size rather than the 12-18 months. 

Here's what I received in the mail: 

I was immediately blown away by the softness of the fabric and the vibrancy of the colors. I, oddly, couldn't wait to wash it convinced it would fade a bit or get roughed up since we don't use fabric softener. 

We're working on smiling :)

When I took it out of the wash, it looked identical to when it went in! The colors didn't change, the shirt didn't shrink, and the fabric was still super soft! I was impressed! Because B is thinner for his age I have no doubt this shirt will last through the summer and then some! I'm tempted to send it back at the end of B's use to try out their other clothes, but part of me wants to hold on to it for the next baby too! I can't wait to try out their bodysuits for the little one on the way. How cute would they be with a fluffy bum underneath and some baby legwarmers? Something this soft definitely needs to be next to a baby's skin!

 
Now, who's ready for some clothes for their little ones? KinderStuff has generously agreed to sponsor a giveaway where the winner gets to pick a product of their choice! Simply fill out the Rafflecopter below and cross those fingers!If you want to increase your chances of getting your hands on one of these beauties, you can purchase them here. AND because KinderStuff is awesome, they're giving you two ways to save! Take 15% off your first purchase by using the promo code "GO-TEDDY324" AND take $5 by using code "GO-TEDDY328"

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**Disclosure: Thank you to KinderStuff for providing the review item. The opinions stated are my own and may differ from yours. No other compensation was received**

Great Cloth Diaper Change 2013

It's that time of year again! The Great Cloth Diaper Change is approaching! What is this? It's a Guinness World Record attempt to change the most cloth diapers at the same time. The event happens at 11:00 am local time and is a great way to meet other families in the area, be a part of history, and score some pretty sweet prizes!  

Since Phoenix is such a large area, there are multiple events going on. I'll be participating and co-hosting the event in Chandler, but there are also events in Scottsdale, Tempe, and Central Phoenix. Below is a list of all of the event sign-ups. Obviously, I'd love to have you in Chandler so I can meet you, but any event is an opportunity to be a part of the record and raise awareness around cloth diapering-which is the most important part after all! 

Those of you not in AZ, please check out the Great Cloth Diaper Change website to find a location near to you participate. Can't wait to see the numbers this year!

GCDC Locations in Arizona: 

Chandler, AZ hosted by Zoolikins with Bump to Rump
Scottsdale, AZ hosted by Zoolikins
Tempe, AZ hosted by GoGo Natural
Phoenix, AZ hosted at Midwives Rising
Phoenix, AZ hosted by Babymoon Inn
Tucson, AZ hosted by Green Baby Elephant and Rockn Babies
Yuma, AZ hosted by Baby Bump & Beyond

Please feel free to comment below with any other events that you know of or where you plan to attend! 

**If you're a family-friendly business that would like to donate prizes for any event, please feel free to contact me at bumptorump@gmail.com**

**If you'd like to volunteer to assist with the Chandler or Scottsdale events, please click here**

Cake! Everybody loves cake!

As many of you know I've started my own business recently. I've created a maternity conceirge service for naturally-minded parents. Those that question the "must-haves" that big-box baby stores tell you "need" for having a baby,  parents that want to be a little more green and eco-friendly but don't really know where to start. Sure, you've heard of a doula, but what do they do? What's a midwife? What's a birthing center? How can I successfully breastfeed? The internet can be an intimidating place for first time parents; not to mention first-time CLOTH parents. There's almost too much information out there, that it's hard to know where to start. That's where I come in.:) I'll tailor (primarily local) resources for your based on your concerns/needs and then help guide you through the unknown.

Anyway, enough about that, here's the fun part. As part of my services, I want to offer diaper cakes for baby showers. Showers inevitably bring an abundance of diapers, wipes, and cute little outfits. Why not make those reusable, and into a fun cake! Buying an entire diaper stash can be expensive, but if you register for one, and have it presented in a fun way, it becomes a great way to introduce others to modern cloth and help steer them away from bringing boxes of disposable products!

This is my quest. I'm still learning and needing to play around a little bit with different shapes and sizes, but I think I'm off to a great start! Here's my first attempt at a cloth diaper cake!

This little beaut is a great first-time cloth option for a parent planning to start cloth in the newborn stage. It contains 23 diapers total! Primarly indian cotton prefolds, but also has 4  Bumkins AIO diapers, 3 Fuzzibunz pocket diapers, a receiving blanket, a t-shirt and a onesie! Oh, and one lonley Thirsties Fab Wipe, but hey, it's just a start! I plan to tailor the cake to what is on the new parent's registry, but thought this could be a good "generic" start!

Any tips from those of you that have made your own? What would you look for in giving/receiving a cloth/green diaper cake?

A progressive new insert!

I always tell people when they start cloth diapering to expect a learning curve. It takes a couple tries to figure out a good wash routine, which style of diaper you prefer, which brand etc. And then the inevitable happens; baby changes and a new trial and error period begins.

Part of these changes (hopefully) involve baby sleeping longer. When baby starts sleeping longer, you'll start to enter the world of inserts. There are so many choices these days: natural vs. synthetic, then there's microfiber, hemp, hemp/cotton, charcoal bamboo, minky, and I'm sure I'm missing some here and there but you get the point. I used to obsess about making the sure right insert went with the right diaper. Meaning whichever insert came with said diaper would be the only insert to EVER go into that diaper. Yes, it's obsessive. But, I'm working on it, and in my quest for the "perfect insert" I was introduced to these little gems by Bumkins.

PUL backed minky inserts. Um, what? Yes, PUL backed inserts. Having the extra layer of PUL on the back of the insert gives you an extra layer of leak protection without adding bulk to your diaper. Putting this alone in my pocket diapers gives me easy 4+ hours without any leaks, and adding it with any other type of insert is a great nighttime option! We all struggle with getting pants over our little one's fluffy bums so having a trim diaper is important, especially for daytime.

Front and back. Soft AND Smooth

The minky is super soft so if it pokes through the top of the pocket and touches baby's skin, there's no issue. I would not recommend laying it on top of a pocket because the extra PUL layer would create a sandwich-like effect with the stay-dry top layer. Picture: minky, PUL, fleece, PUL. It would kind of defeat the purpose. Plus, it only takes one wash to prep and is super quick to dry. At only $9.95 for a 2-pack, you really cant go wrong! Check out Bumkins, and get a set to try for yourself! :)