Cloth Diaper Q & A! {Diaper Rash Creams}

Just like detergents, some diaper rash creams are not the best to use with cloth diapers. A lot of diaper creams leave residue that messes with the absorbency of cloth diapers and can cause them to leak or repel. Some diaper creams can also cause yucky stains on your cloth diapers that are hard to get rid of. Today I'm going to let you know what kind of diaper rash creams to watch out for and what creams are ok to use with your cloth diapers!

Diaper Rash Creams to Avoid

You are going to want to avoid pretty much all the major, well known diaper creams on your cloth diapers. This includes Desitin, A & D ointment, and other similar creams. These creams work by creating a barrier between your babies skin and the diaper but that barrier will also cause your diapers to not absorb like they should and leak. 

Sometimes when Isaac gets really bad diaper rash, these major brands are the only thing that will really help, because they do create that barrier. So when that's the case I use a liner of some sort ( you can make your own or purchase liners) or I just put him in disposable diapers until the rash clears up. This is a good option if you are really struggling with diaper rash and need to create that barrier between your baby's bum and the diaper. 

Diaper Rash Creams That Are Safe to Use with Cloth 

Most creams and ointments that are safe to use with cloth diapers are made with all natural ingredients and will usually say that they are safe to use with cloth diapers. Here's a few of my favorites!

Balm Baby- Balm Baby Diaper Balm is one of my favorites. It seems to work the best on my son when he gets diaper rash. It is made from natural ingredients like organic coconut oil, chamomile, and tea tree oil. I can usually lather my son up in some of this stuff before bed and by morning his rash is completely gone!

California Baby - Before I discovered Balm Baby I used California Baby all the time! California baby has ingredients like tea tree and aloe vera in it and although it does have a few ingredients that may not appear to be cloth diaper safe, it washes out very well in the wash, so it doesn't create any buildup or repelling. 

CJ's Butter- This is another favorite of mine! CJ's treats not only diaper rash but a number of different skin issues! It's made with a ton of essential oils and they have so many scents you are bound to find one you love! I love putting CJ's on my little guy when he has a rash because he smells so good after! 

Angel Baby Bottom Balm- Angel Baby Bottom Balm is another great cloth diaper safe ointment. This balm is made with natural ingredients like olive oil and infused with natural antibacterial and antifungal herbs. So it also protects baby from things like yeast! It has also been tested and says right on the website that it is safe to use with cloth diapers!

These are just a few of my favorite cloth diaper safe creams! If you have questions about whether or not a rash cream is cloth diaper safe you can usually check right on the bottle or website! If you have to you could always email the company as well to ask! 

If you already use cloth diapers, what is your favorite cloth diaper safe rash cream that you use? Do you switch it up for certain rashes or have just one that you love? 

Have a cloth diaper question you'd love for me to answer in this series? Just email me at mommyferg02(at)gmail(dot)com!

Eating Veggies Can Be Fun With New Earth's Best Veggie Purees!

Vegetables provide so many great benefits yet sometimes it can be so hard to get your little ones to eat them! My three year old thinks that any food the color green is nasty! That's what he says anytime he sees a green vegetable on his plate! So then I have to convince him that it is not nasty, and to at least try it. It takes quite a lot of convincing. He used to love vegetables as a baby! When we first introduced solid foods to him he needed no convincing!

Some things to remember about introducing vegetables to little ones is to keep your expectations low. At first they may spit it out and seem like they don't like it. But try again in a few days. My doctor once told me that kids will hate something once but then like it the next time you give it to them. So he said keep trying with foods they don't like because they may eventually grow to like them. Also, your kids are more likely to eat what you eat. So if you don't eat your vegetables they aren't going to want to either. Be the good example that they need. Also, don't put too much pressure on them to eat the vegetables. Studies have shown that kids who are pressured to eat foods they don't like, end up being even pickier than before. What I do with Noah is try to get him to at least taste the food once. If he likes it, great! If he doesn't then I let it go and try again another day. 

Earth's Best is now offering vegetable purees in four awesome flavors! The choices are Sweet Potato and Beets, Carrots and Broccoli, Pumpkin and Spinach, and Squash and Sweet Peas! These can make a great meal for infants or a great snack for toddlers! These purees are full of healthy vitamins and are organic, just like all the other Earth's Best products! 

We received a package of Earth's Best products to review for this month and it included the four new veggie purees! Isaac loved the Carrots and Broccoli and I even got Noah to eat the Squash and Sweet Peas! 

Buy It!

Find a local retailer here: http://www.earthsbest.com/about-earths-best/store-locator

Win It!

One lucky reader will win a prize pack of all the new Earth's Best Vegetable Purees! 

Must be 18 years or older to enter. Only one entrant per household. Giveaway is open to US residents only. 

Taylor Joelle Designs Review & Giveaway!

I love dressing my boys up in cute clothes! Sometimes they go out looking better than I do! Children's clothing is so adorable and super stylish these days too! When I was given the opportunity to review a products from Taylor Joelle Designs I was so excited because they have the cutest children's and baby clothing! 

Taylor Joelle Designs has baby and children's clothing that is fresh, fun, and fashionable! Best of all, at great prices! They have adorable outfits and accessories for babies all the way up to children's sizes! 

We were given the opportunity to review a tie for Noah! It is the plum striped tie and it is adorable! I plan on having him wear it to church on Easter Sunday! It's the perfect spring colors and will look super fashionable with his button up shirt and dress pants! There is just something so adorable about a little boy in a tie! He looks like a little man wearing it! I love it!  The tie comes in four sizes: 6m-2T, 2-4 years, 5-8 years, and Daddy size! So daddy and son can match if you want them too! These ties are perfect for special occasions like weddings, church, parties, and more! 

The tie is super easy to put on because it attaches together with velcro! I don't have to learn how to tie a tie to have my boy look super handsome! That's a big plus, considering I don't know how to tie a tie! Enough talk...the pictures do the talking! Isn't Noah so handsome in this adorable plum striped tie?!

Don't want a tie but want to dress your little man up nice? How about a bow tie? These are so adorable too! 

Taylor Joelle also has adorable dresses, rompers, headbands, and more for the sweet little girl in your life! How cute is this chevron skirt?! 

Buy It!

You can purchase the tie like I received or any other adorable outfit or accessory at www.taylorjoelle.com

Win It!

One lucky reader is going to win a $25 gift certificate to Taylor Joelle Designs!

Giveaway is open to US and Canada only. Must be 18 years or older to enter. Only one entrant per household allowed. 

Wordless Wednesday- My Little Shopping Buddies!

Mercola Coconut Oil Review!

In the past year I have discovered the amazing benefits of coconut oil! It is so good for you and there are so many great ways to use it! I was given the opportunity to review some Mercola Extra Virgin Coconut Oil and I jumped on the chance! I love coconut oil that much!

Coconut oil is a great alternative to other oils that are not quite as healthy. Coconut oil promotes heart health, is great for your immune system, and can give you energy! Plus it tastes great! 

Coconut oil is also really great for your skin! You can even use it as a daily moisturizer like you would any lotion! I use it for my skin and my boy's skin a lot! Noah has really dry skin and gets flaky patches on his skin sometimes. All I have to do is rub a little bit of this coconut oil on him and the patches disappear withing a matter of days! Coconut oil helps reduce aging and can even be used as an eye makeup remover! I've used it to remove eye makeup before and it works really great! Even better than some other eye makeup removers I have tried! I have even recently used it as a lip balm! My lips were feeling chapped and I couldn't find any chapstick so  I saw the coconut oil sitting on the counter and decided to give it a try! It worked great! It gave a nice light feeling on my lips, yet relieved the pain from my lips being chapped! 

Mercola Fresh Shores Extra Virgin Coconut oil meets all the requirements of a better coconut oil! It's certified organic by USDA standards, no chemicals or bleaching added, made from fresh coconuts, and made without heat processing. You can purchase Mercola Coconut Oil in three sizes; a gallon, a quart, or a pint. I have the pint size one and it is great for in the kitchen! It lasts a really long time too so even with the smaller amount, I have it to use for a while! 

You can purchase Mercola coconut oil now at a great price at www.mercola.com!

Do you use coconut oil? If so, what's your favorite use for it? 

New Earth's Best Loyalty Program!

We love Earth's Best products in our home! The kids enjoy them and I even enjoy some of their snacks! Plus their products are completely organic and I love that they are healthy and safe for my kids! We purchase a lot of Earth's Best products. The Walmart that I usually shop at has a huge variety of Earth's Best baby foods, meals, and snacks! So I am super excited that Earth's Best has just started an Awards Program for purchasing their products!

With the new Earth's Best Awards Program you can earn points and use those points to get discounts and prizes! All you do is sign up at earthsbestrewards.com and then any time you make an Earth's Best purchase you have 48 hours to enter the UPC code to earn points! You can do this on your computer, smartphone, or any other mobile device so it's really convenient and easy! You can also earn points by sharing with your friends, reading articles by Earth's Best and doing other fun things! Once you have accumulated enough points you can redeem them for coupons, discounts, and free stuff! 

There are other chances to win also like $500 in free Earth's Best products and discounts on other brands like Little Remedies and Tiny Prints! 

So what are you waiting for?! If you love Earth's Best products and you love getting free stuff than you will love this new loyalty program! Go sign up today! 

Chances to Win!

Aren't these such cute hats? I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I made them! I made them for two sweet little boys, one who isn't even born yet! I so enjoy making these crocheted items for people and love how happy people get when they receive one of my products! It really makes my days! 

But don't just take my word for it! Check out this review from Leetle Baby on the Mickey Mouse hat I made for her son! 

You have two chances to win some really great items from my Etsy Shop!You can enter to win a custom infinity scarf and custom beanie in any size on this blog in the Time To Get Crafty Giveaway Hop! You can also enter to win a $25 Gift Certificate to my shop over at Leetle Baby for the Handmade from the Heart Giveaway Hop! 

So get enter for your chance to win! Maybe I'll be making YOU a custom item that you will love! 

Cloth Diaper Q & A: Cloth Diaper Terminology!

Once you get into cloth diapering and join the forums and "like" the Facebook pages of different cloth diapering stores and businesses, you'll start to see some different abbreviations and terms that you may not understand at first. So I've decided to make you a list of some common terms used in the cloth diapering world! 

AIO- stands for all-in-one. It is the kind of diaper that is all connected and does not have any inserts or pins to add. 
AI2- stands for all-in-two. It is the kind of diaper where the inserts connects and disconnects to the cover of the diaper. 
BG- abbreviation for cloth brand Bum Genius.
CD- abbreviation for cloth diaper

EBF- abbreviation for exclusively breast fed 
FB- abbreviation for cloth brand Fuzzibunz.
Fitted- the type of diaper that fits snuggly around baby and usually needs a waterproof cover. 
Fluff- another term for cloth diapers used by many in the cloth diapering community
OS- abbreviation for One-Size
PUL- abbreviation for polyurethane laminated. It is a waterproof material used in a lot of cloth diapers.
Snappi- A device used instead of pins to fasten cloth diapers. 
WAHM- abbreviation for Work-At-Home-Mom


Did I miss any? Let me know if I did! Did you know what all of these terms stood for when you first started cloth diapering?

Have a cloth diaper related question you'd like to see discussed in my weekly Cloth Diaper Q & A? Ask below in the comments or email me at mommyferg02(at)gmail(dot)com!

Wordless Wednesday: My Week In Instagram Photos!

Follow me on Instagram! My username is mommyferg02!

Baby Babu One-Size Pocket Diaper Giveaway!

Who doesn't love a fluffy giveaway?! The people at Baby Babu Cloth Diapers have generously given me the opportunity to give away one One-Size Pocket Diaper to one lucky winner!

Baby Babu has an awesome variety of cloth diapers and diaper accessories! They are at a very reasonable price and they offer FREE shipping on all orders! I did a review of a Baby Babu OS pocket diaper when Isaac was an infant! You can see that review HERE. 

Now let's get to the giveaway!!

Win It!

One lucky reader will win one Baby Babu OS pocket diaper in their choice of boy, girl, or gender neutral!

Must be 18+ to enter. Only one entrant per household allowed. Giveaway is open to US residents only. The winner will be chosen and emailed. The winner will then have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. 

Waiting for Answers

So I just wanted to give you a little update in some things going on in our life right now. I feel like I don't update ya'll on the boys enough so I'm going to work on doing that more. 

So anyways, last Tuesday I brought Isaac to the doctor for a well checkup with our new doctor (we switched insurance so we had to switch doctors). I had a few concerns that I wanted to ask the doctor about going in to the appointment. The main one was Isaac's groin area has been swollen for the past few weeks, ever since he got sick with an upper respiratory infection. Noah has a condition called hydrocele, which is basically where the hole between the abdomen and the scrotum didn't close up like  it's supposed to in the womb. So fluid sometimes drains into the scrotum causing a heavy, uncomfortable feeling. Noah's often gets like this when he is sick. So I assumed that this is what was wrong with Isaac, but I wasn't sure why the swelling wasn't going down like Noah's does after he's better. 

To make a long story short, the doctor examined him and diagnosed him with a hernia. This is basically where part of the intestine protrudes through a hole or weak area in the abdomen wall into the scrotum area. The doctor also told us that he would have to have surgery to repair this. He referred us to a pediatric urologist to have a look at him and schedule the surgery.

We are now waiting for the phone call to schedule the appointment with the urologist. I am so worried about surgery but I know this is the only way to repair it. The doctor let us know that if Isaac ever gets inconsolable and is crying in pain to take him to the ER immediately because the hole where the intestines have gone through can squeeze that part of the intestine and cause a lot of pain and even cut off that part of the intestine! So I worry about that too. Every time he cries I get nervous. The other night he woke up screaming and I went running! He was ok though, thank goodness! 

So now it's just a waiting game. We wait to make the appointment, and then we wait to see the doctor, and then we wait to do the surgery. They usually try to do the surgery fairly quickly after they discover it, so that makes me feel a little better. I just want some answers. I want to know the details of the surgery and how long he will be out and what his recovery will be like. It's so hard not knowing. 

That's where we are right now. Noah may also need surgery to repair the hole he has, but it's not as immediate as Isaac's will need to be. So keep us in your thoughts and prayers and I will update you as I find out more information!  

Cloth Diaper Blog Hop! {Why I Love Cloth Diapers!}

It's time for the weekly Cloth Diaper Blog Hop hosted by My Cloth Diaper Stash!This week's topic is a fun one- Why I Love Cloth Diapers!

There are plenty of reasons why I love cloth! My first reason and the reason I started cloth diapering is simple, it saves us money! Instead of buying a box of disposables every two weeks, that costs me over $20 just to throw away, I only have to buy disposables once every two months or so! (We still use them occasionally). That is saving me a ton of money! Money I am happy to spend elsewhere!

Another reason I love cloth diapers is they are beyond cute! There is nothing cute about a baby in a disposable diaper, sorry but it's just not cute! But put a baby in cloth and they look adorable!! Seriously how cute is Isaac in these pics of him in cloth diapers?! 

Another reason I love cloth diapers is that they are better for my baby! Have you ever read what disposable diapers have in them?! There are a lot of chemicals in those things! I don't like the idea of sticking chemicals on my baby's bum! With cloth, he gets a comfy and safe diaper to wear that is chemical free! 

One more important reason I love cloth; I'm not harming the environment by using cloth! I find it extremely disgusting that it takes 500 years for one disposable diaper to decompose!  GROSS! By not using disposables on a regular basis I am keeping less out of our landfills and out of the precious ground we walk on! 

Why do you LOVE cloth diapers??

Comment below or blog about it and link up! 

Cloth Diaper Q & A! What About Poop and Stains?!

One of the first questions I get asked by people when they find out I use cloth diapers is "what about the poop?!" People who have never used cloth diapers have trouble understanding what happens with the poop once a baby soils the diaper! So I then explain to them that no, I don't just throw the diaper in the wash with poop in it. There are a number of ways to get rid of the poop before washing your diapers. I'm going to explain a few for you!

How to Get Rid of the Poop

If you have a baby who is exclusively breastfed you may have a hard time "dumping" the poop into the toilet since it's not really solid. A little swish or rinse will do the trick for ebf baby poop. 

If you have a baby who is on formula or solids their poop will be more solid and will need to literally be "dumped".  You can do this a number or ways. Simply dump it into the toilet, swish and flush, or use a diaper sprayer. 

A diaper sprayer is a device that hooks to your toilet and works sort of like a shower head. It sprays water out of the handle so you can use the pressure from the water to rinse your diapers clean and rinse the poop into the toilet. I personally have never owned a diaper sprayer. I know people that swear by them and say they wouldn't use cloth diapers without it. But I've just never felt the need to have one. I've never had problems with the dump and swish method so that's what I stick with. I've even heard of people using a plastic spoon to get sticky poo off of diapers without a diaper sprayer. I've never had to do that either but would if I needed to! 

How to Get Rid of Stains

Even if you get as much poop as possible off the diapers, sometimes they just create stains. It's no fun to have stains on your cloth diapers. My tried and true method for getting rid of stains is the sun! Yep, that's right, the big thing up in the sky during the day gets rid of stains! The sun works great as a disinfectant and stain remover so in the summer and when it's nice out I love to hang my diapers out to dry in the sun! 

To sun diapers you don't even need a clothesline. I don't have one. I bought a $10 folding rack at Walmart and use it to hang my diapers to dry, both inside and outside. When I sun my diapers I just take them out of the wash still damp, hang them to dry with the inside facing the sun, and let the sun do all the work! Most of the time the stains come out the very first time! Sometimes it takes a few sunning sessions, but I've never had a stain that the sun didn't get rid of! 

Some people like to put lemon juice on the damp diapers to help remove the stain. I personally have never done that and never had any issues with the stain coming out after a few sunning sessions. 

Some people also use bleach to remove stains from their inserts. I've done this once or twice but I still prefer to use the sun. 

If you use cloth diapers how to you get rid of the poop? What about stains? 

Have a cloth diaper questions you'd love to see answered here? Leave your question in the comments or email me at mommyferg02(at)gmail(dot)com!

It's Time To Get Crafty Giveaway Hop! #craftytime

Welcome to the It's Time to Get CraftyGiveaway Hop, hosted by the BloggingMamas Network. With the colder weather keeping us inside,it's the perfect time to get crafty! I’ve joined with over 40other bloggers to bring you great products to keep you or your kids busy thisseason.

This event will run from February 6-20 and eachblogger in the hop has a great prize, worth at least $25, to help you becreative or to admire someone else's handmade creations. Whileyou're hopping, be sure to check out the Grand Prize for this Event - a6 month subscription to Green Kid CraftsAND a $100 MichaelsGift Card!

Enter the Grand Prize

I am so excited for this event because here at The Not-So-Secret Confessions I am self sponsoring as a new work-at-home mom! In January I opened up my shop Two Brothers Blankets! I specialize in custom crocheted baby blankets, hats, apparel, and more! 

I've been enjoying crochet since I learned when I was pregnant with Isaac! I started getting requests for items I had been making, and decided to open up an etsy shop to share my work with others and help out financially while I stay at home with my boys! I absolutely love crocheting and it is such a joy to see others enjoying my work! 

For this giveaway hop I am super excited to give away to one lucky winner a Custom Infinity Scarf (up to two colors) and a Custom Beanie ( up to two colors)! That's a $30 value! 

The winner can choose any size beanie ranging from newborn to adult! Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Only one entrant per household. Giveaway is open to US only. 

Coupon Code!!

Use code CRAFTYTIME13 now through February 20th and receive free shipping on any US order placed in my etsy shop! 

Now hop along to all the other blogs for your chance to win some more amazing crafty items!


Disclosure: According to Jenny, SoEasy Being Green, and the Time to Get Crafty participating bloggers are notresponsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.

Green Kid Crafts Review!

Noah loves to do crafts! He doesn't have a lot of patience yet, but if you get him into a good craft he stays content for quite a while and really enjoys doing them! I was really excited when I was given the opportunity to review Green Kid Crafts because of how much Noah loves to do crafts! I knew this would be something he enjoyed! 

Green Kid Crafts is a mom-owned business that uses green products to create activity boxes for kids to make their own crafts each month. They have a subscription program where each month you receive a Discovery Box. In that box are items to create three different crafts. The crafts are appropriate for ages 3 to 8. Each month has a different theme relating to the environment! The theme for the month of January was "Nature" 

The box comes with all the items you need to do the crafts as well as some fun items for learning and cards that tell you how to do each craft! It also comes with a Discover More guide with ideas for additional crafts, related reading, and some fun facts!

This week on a very rainy day, Noah and I did one of the crafts in the Discovery Box and had so much fun together! He decided he wanted to make the pine cone bird feeder. So we followed the directions on the card and made the easiest, cutest bird feeder! The box had all the items we'd need, all the way down to the peanut butter! It was very simple for him to do with just a little help from me. He had so much fun making it and was so proud of himself! I loved watching him do it himself and learn new things while he created this bird feeder! He looks out the window every day to see if there are any birds eating from the pine cone! There usually are, so we get a chance to check out more nature by watching the birds! This week since the weather will be nice we are going to go outside and look for some leaves and things to decorate his bag with! He's really excited to do another craft about nature!

I love the monthly Discovery Boxes that Green Kid Crafts provides with their subscription program! I'll admit, I'm not very creative myself and have a hard time coming up with fun, educational things for my kids to do while we are home. Green Kid Crafts helps me with these ideas and provides the products I need for them! At only $19.50 a month I am seriously considering subscribing so we can receive a box each month! It's great fun that teaches kids about the world around them! 

Green Kid Crafts is going to be sponsoring the Grand Prize for the "It's Time To Get Crafty" giveaway hop starting tomorrow so be sure to check back for your chance to enter to win a 6 month subscription to Green Kid Crafts!

Fourteen Beautiful Months!

My sweet little Isaac is 14 months old now. He is growing up so fast and learning so many things so fast now! Here's a little bit about him at 14 months old: 

• He's about 21.5lbs 
• He's still in 12-18m size clothes
• He's walking and starting to run even!
• He can say " mama, dada, papa, nana, uh oh, bye bye, and woof woof" 
• He's learning the names of his body parts..right now he can only point out his belly, but we are working on nose too!
• He loves to play with his brother! They chase each other and play cars and do puzzles together and everything! I love seeing them play together now. They are best friends. 
• He is no longer breastfeeding. The day he turned 14 months was the day he stopped. It was bittersweet but I'm totally ok with it. We had a wonderful 14 months of nursing! 

Babies grow up so fast! It is so bittersweet but so fun watching them grow and learn! How old is your little one? What's their latest milestone or accomplishment?