My New Favourite Cloth Diaper!

When Noodleman was quite small, I discovered the rainforest babies diaper. It is a diaper cover that comes with a snap in liner. Daddyman and I fell in love with this system. The diapers dried fast and so did the cover. I bought quite a few! My only hang ups with this diaper would be:

1) The company has gone out of business or stopped making them, or something. I only ever find them on Olivia Place, and then it's a nice discount.

2) They are a sized diaper. So Noodleman will eventually grow out of them.

3) The hemp liner that came with them (they also come with a microfiber liner), has gone all gross! It is thin and not soft and I don't like to use it unless I have too.

But all in all, they are still our go to diapers.

Now recently, the store has started selling Best Bottom Diapers. I will admit, I didn't try before we started selling them. I figured they are so much like the rainforest babies, I would love them. So, the other day I ordered the Hoot. Well it finally came and I prewashed it (which by the way is the thing I hate the most about all cloth diapers!). I hate having to prewash. I want to take it out of the package and throw it on Noodleman's bum. Anyways, back to the diaper, so I prewashed it, threw it on Noodleman and guess what? I frickin' love this diaper!! I love that when he needs changing, I just take out the insert and put in a new one (wiping down the inside of the cover too). When we go out, this is my new go-to diaper. I pack a couple cloths and a couple inserts and it takes up no space at all. I can even fit it in my regular purse! The most amazing thing is, the insert fits in a Ziploc bag, the sandwich kind! I have a wetbag, but I occasionally forget it :(. I also love that it is a one size diaper, so he can wear it for a while and then if we have another baby, I can use it for longer.

Here is the one I bought:

I don't have any pictures of it on, as we are also ECing part time, so Noodleman really only has a diaper on when we leave the house.  I bought 3 of the stay dry liners to go with this diaper and that seems to be a good number. I don't want to use it for more than 3, as I think it would get stinky in there! However, having not tried it, I don't actually know. 

Now here are the things I don't like about this diaper...there's only 2. First, the inserts are sized, so at some point I will have to buy more. However, this is nice because Noodleman is small and is currently in the medium size, so there is no bunching and it fits like a sized diaper. The second thing I dislike about it is, one day he will be out of diapers and I may have to sell it! 

There are so many patterns of the Best Bottom diapers, I might have to buy a few more. I am excited to try the over night liners. We have doubled up with inserts before, but it is so nice that these snap together. It would mean no more bunching and moving around. I will try to catch a photo at naptime, with his little bum up in the air, then you can see how incredibly cute this diaper is. I am excited to get a Moo-licious one as well. We have been in the solid colours for so long, I can't wait to explore more prints!!

**While I do sell them, this is a personal account of my experience with this style/brand of diaper. The company does not/did not pay me for this, I had to purchase this diaper myself for my son. 

Rainy day play!

Yep, it's true. I am THAT mom. It's pouring outside, and there I am in my raincoat, pushing a stroller to the park! I have always been a firm believer that children need to experience the outdoors. We live in Victoria, BC, and let me tell you it rains here. It rains more than anything; so instead of spending all our time indoors, sometimes we venture out. 

I believe that children need to have a connection with nature. I think they need to feel the earth beneath their feet and the wind in their hair, the sun or rain on their skin. I think, much like plants, they need this to grow. I think trips to forests, beaches, park and fields should be a mandatory part of growing up. 

But something happened today that made me stop and think about why I think being outside is so important. I have my beautiful little Noodleman to thank for this lesson in parenting. 

Today, I stood still. Instead of running around after my darling little man, I watched him. He was puddle jumping, and he stopped. He was looking down at his feet. He would stomp one foot in the puddle and then watch. Then he would do it again. I can only assume he was watching the ripples of water moving away from his foot. Slowly he looked up and stared at the puddle beside him that had rain falling into it. He stomped on that one as well, then stepped back and watched it for a minute. Then he ran to another puddle and did the same thing. Then he looked around at the court we were in and watched for another minute. And then as with all 19 month olds, he was off and running!

And this, my friends is why I think children need to experience outdoors. Today my son learned something that I may eventually have taught him, but would never have thought to. And you know what even if he wasn't learning about puddle ripples; he was learning that people don't melt in the rain!

Now we didn't spend the whole day outside, it is January and a little cold. This afternoon we made cookies! I love baking with my son. It requires a little extra planning, mostly because there is another child as well as Noodleman here most days, but also because they are toddlers. One of the great things about baking with toddlers is that you get to satisfy their need to dump thing, because that's really all baking is, dumping and stirring.

The best way (for me) to bake cookies with 2 toddlers, is to plan a little ahead of time. While the boys are sleeping, I portion everything out into easy pour containers. Here is the recipe I used...

Pineapple Coconut Drops

1/2 cup Margarine/Butter

1 Egg

3/4 cup Sugar (I only used 1/4 cup and they turned out fabulous!)

3/4 cup drained, crushed pineapple (I used canned, but would love to try fresh)

1 Tbsp. Pineapple juice (reserve from can or when you drain your fresh one)

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/4 tsp. Salt

2 cups Flour

3/4 cups Flaked Coconut (sweetened will only make them sweeter)

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add egg, beat thoroughly. Stir in crushed pineapple, juice and vanilla. Stir in baking soda, powder and salt. Gradually add flour. Fold in coconut and drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.

I put the sugar, margarine, coconut, flour and pineapple into their own containers, but I mixed the egg with the pineapple juice and vanilla, and the baking soda, powder and salt all went together too. I split the flour into 2 containers, so each boy had one. It was so much fun watching them taste everything (except the egg), the sugar was a huge hit, but no one really liked the baking soda mix. When the dough was well mixed I let them drop a few cookies onto the sheet and then whisked it all away and replaced it with snack. Noodleman was a little upset that he didn't get to keep flicking cookie dough at his friend and Mama, but was happy when he saw soy cheese on his plate! Both boys were also excited to watch the cookies baking. The great thing about these cookies is you can place them close together because they hold their shape.

Maybe tomorrow it will snow!