SunBaby Cloth Diaper Review

I have been cloth diapering Milo majority of the time since she was about 5 weeks old. Several people have asked me about the cloth diapers I use. I wanted to put it on the blog so that people can read the full review. I originally used fuzzibunz perfect fit when Milo was smaller. I loved them, but they were pretty pricy. So when Milo outgrew them, I wanted to try and find a cheaper alternative. I found SunBaby and had read good reviews. I wanted to do my own review to help other moms out there decide. Initially when I got them in the mail, I was so excited and spoke highly of them. Since the new has worn off, I have a new opinion. 

SUNBABY

Images from Sunbaby

Let's break it down:

Cost: Amazing! At $60 for 12 Diapers and Inserts it's a steal. 

Look at how chubby milo was. Makes me happy :)

Customer service: Great! I ordered these diapers right before I moved from hawaii. I was nervous they wouldn't arrive on time. She assured me they would and so they did. 

Style: One thing that I really didn't like about other diapers--they were so plain. All solids. These prints are too freaking cute. Hello Kitty, Skull and crossbones, striped....and she keeps adding new ones. 

With Papaw Dave and Bubbles

Fit: I would say that the fit is good on Milo. There are so many snaps that it can adjust to fit pretty much any baby.  The diaper also has a trimmer fit so it isn't too bulky under clothes. The elastic on the leg isn't adjustable like some of the other brands, but I haven't minded. 

Oh yeah. Any rock star would kill for Milo's Hair 

Material/Construction: The Fleece inner lining is very thin and seems cheap... I mean, it is, but you don't want it to feel that way. It also doesn't do a good job at keeping the moisture off Milo's little bottom. I do like that there is a flap over the pocket opening. It prevents any explosions up the back. The back pocket gapes open though. The insert is pretty thin and doesn't seem to hold much liquid--mainly due to the thickness I think. The outer layer of PUL is not very water proof. That, coupled with the fact that the insert isn't very absorbant, means that Milo's clothes get wet if she goes too long without her diaper changed--like when we are out. 

Durability: They seem pretty durable. I've had minimal pilling of the inner layer. I will say that I'm a little nervous sometimes when I unsnap the snaps because it seems that the fabric will rip... but it never does. 

She's making the strangest face here :)

Overall: They are cheap, so if you really want to CD but don't wanna break the bank, this will work.  Or it may be a good one to add to your stash for use just at home during the day.  I will still continue to use them at home even if I do get more diapers. I mean they are super duper cheap!

We used sposies during the move and I am ashamed to admit that we are still using them some of the time. It's not like we've are even settled yet. I feel so guilty every time I throw one of those things away.... the cost, the environmental impact, the chemicals next to Milo's bootie....plus they start to stink. Ewww.  So, in the meantime, I am on the lookout for new diapers that Milo can wear out. I think I want some velcro ones to use at night. I'm not so good at snaps in the dark. Any recommendations???

Oh, looking at the pictures makes me realize how fast milo is growing. These aren't even very old. 

Young and Restless Blog Hop

Hey all you guys and gals, today I'm doing something a bit different. I'm co-hosting a blog hop with Young and Restless. 

This is a great way to find new and exciting blogs and also let people know about your's. 

To Link your blog (or facebook, twitter, etsy, etc...) below, Add the Young and Restless button to your blog or a post, click the link button below and follow the steps. 

Then Hop around and check out the other wonderful blogs. 

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeazy. 

Liebster Blog Award and Baby Led Picnic

You are cordially invited to a mini-pity party….. starting now :) You know they say women speak like a million words a day… well right now I get to have about 15% of that. Being in a new country, not really knowing anyone, and not being able to use Skype or my cell phone to call friends and family….. it gets a little lonely sometimes. I don't even have internet access except from my phone and wifi at starbucks. Occasionally I can pick up wifi at the house, but it's extremely finicky. But if I can plan it out just right, Milo falls asleep on my walk to starbucks and I get to surf the web for about 40 minutes…..and you know what I do. Read Blogs. It's like my adult interaction. I love Milo and JR, but I can't understand the language Milo is speaking and JR can't understand the one I'm speaking. I need a little girl time. So thank you to all of you who blog and give me some much needed girl chit chat. Which brings me to the main topic. 

It completely made my day when Crystal over at Mason's Momma awarded me with the Liebster blog award....

GERMAN: LIEBSTER (N.) BELOVED, DEAR, DEAREST, LOVE {DEFINITION VIA}

 CRYSTAL OVER AT Mason's Momma AWARDED ME THE LIEBSTER AWARD. THE LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD IS GIVEN TO UP AND COMING BLOGGERS WHO HAVE LESS THAN 200 FOLLOWERS. LIEBSTER IS A GERMAN WORD MEANING DEAR, SWEET, KIND, NICE, GOOD, BELOVED, LOVELY, KINDLY, PLEASANT, VALUED, CUTE, ENDEARING AND WELCOME.

To keep this award going and pass it along to other new deserving blogs, the recipient must now recognize five other bloggers with less than 200 followers that have really stood out in the crowd.

The rules for the Liebster Award are:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.2. Reveal your top five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too!

Here are my favorite up and coming blogs:

Sam is a wonderful Cave Momma--Little Cave Man Archer is adorable. She cloth diapers, practices EC, had a home birth, lives paleo, and much more. Plus she is an amazing Mom and Friend.

Tairalyn just had her beautiful daughter Sofia in September. I go to her blog for my fashion fix! Her trendiness puts me to shame :) I love looking at all the outfits she puts together and reading about her recommended items. She also blogs about her weight Loss Journey battling the baby bulge.

 

I Love Karly's Blog. She is the Momma to 3 beautiful girls--Afton, Delaney, and Vivienne--all born within 2.5 years of each other. She blogs about her crazy wonderful life, photography, cooking, and random things like these adorable pinwheels she used to decorate her daughter's room. 
I know I am technically not following the rules by only posting three, but let me assure you these are 3 great ones!
Milo Spotlight:
As I have mentioned in the past, I am doing Baby Led Weaning with Milo. Lately, I have met a few snags: She wants to throw her food on the floor and prefers to eat it off the floor. I thumbed through my Baby Led Weaning Book and found that someone wrote in with the same situation. It said they may not view mealtime as fun and may be feeling pressured....so--to take the pressure off-- a recommendation is to have  a family picnic. JR is not the messy type, so Milo and I had a picnic last night. And it doubled as Milo's 9 month old celebration. 
The first thing Milo did was dump everything off the plates 

Love this look. Mind you, I look like this because my husband is a slave driver and didn't give me time to shower... or actually pick out my clothes. We got up as soon as the alarm went off, threw on the first clothes I saw and drove to drop our US car off to get some modifications. 

Let's see, We had roasted potatoes, Baked Mac and Cheese, Roasted Green beans, a burger, raspberries, and blueberries. It was a Leftover feast. You know what I'm talking about. You lay out all your leftovers and it's like a buffet of goodness. 

Her favorite thing was drinking out of her new doidy cup....and pouring the water everywhere. She was actually quite good at it for her first time. You could tell she looked so proud of herself after she drank from it. 

She poured it on herself ones and freaked out a bit because the water was so cold. 

She's My little cutie!

All in all, I think she had fun. It was kinda liberating just to let her do whatever she wanted and not have to keep picking the food up off the floor. 

As an update: Milo stood up the other day....like full on stood straight up for about 10 seconds then slowly sat down. This week is brought to you by the letter G. Goo, Gaahh, Giii, Guuu, etc... are her favorite jabber sounds this week. She's getting so close to saying da da. She's been saying ga ga. She is also getting very scientific. She is picking up the tiniest little pieces of fuzz off the floor and turning it over in her hand examining it. We got her some toys the other day at the boot sale and she has been trying to learn how to stack the wood rings. She's getting smarter and smarter every day. 

Wordless(ish) Wednesday: Bed Head

This is what I usually see when I roll over in the morning. Talk about bed head. I couldn't think of a better way to start the day

Yes we wake up at 8....that way Milo goes to bed at 8pm and gets to spend time with daddy

We both have bed head.... but I don't think I really need to post a picture of mine. It's not nearly as cute :) Happy Wednesday. 

Boot Sale!

So today I got a little taste of home…and by home, I mean Tennessee. Isn't it funny how I haven't lived there in 5 years, but I still call it home. I love being from the south. It kinda makes me sad that Milo won't be a "southern Belle" :( But I guess she gets a little better story :) Anyway. It was beautiful. I just wanted to throw out a big fluffy blanket and have some snacks and take a nap in this beautiful field.

They aren't lying when they say the english countryside is amazing….

But I couldn't really lay out and lounge because this was on the other end of the field. 

This weekend we went to a boot sale. Not for actual boots. I wish. It was like a trunk sale. People drive their cars to this big open field, pull all their stuff out, and sell it. Seriously this thing was the size of at least 3 football fields... Hundreds of cars. 

It was kind of a mix of a thrift store, flea market, antique sale, and yard sale all in one. They had everything….clothes, toys, antiques, furniture, junk, strollers, tools, CDs, Records… I mean the list goes on. 

These are some things we scored. 

Cost Breakdown: 

Abbacus: £1

Stacking rings 50p

Cup: £1

Farmer Joe: £3

Old piggy banks:£24

Train Toilet sign: £10

Burlap Bags: £2 

The burlap bags are not pictured. I was too lazy to go get them out of the craft room to take  a picture. They are really cool printed, like coffee bean bags. I plan to make a pillow or tote out of them. 

A Bickiepegs Doidy cup. They are tilted so its easier to see the liquid---making it easier for little ones to drink out of. 

 

Milo loves these things already

 

I collect knit/crocheted toys for Milo and our future kiddies. Honestly, I haven't let Milo play with this yet. I'm afraid she is going to break it. I guess that defeats the purpose of it being a toy.... She just stares at it as it sits on the shelf saying ooooh ahhhh. Plus I'm afraid she will eat the little potatoes. I mean, seriously,  how cute is this thing? 

JR saw these old piggy banks and fell in love. You lay the coin in the monkey's hand and pull the lever and it drops into the organ. Then the other one you lay the coin on the gun, pull the trigger, and it's supposed to shoot into the tree. It doesn't actually work....but it's still cool. These are heavy cast Iron.

Then I bought this sign for our bathroom--an old train sign. Its cast iron as well. I think it's my weird sense of humor, but I think its great. 

Here are some more pictures from our fun filled day. 

Notice they call it candy floss.... not cotton candy 

Cool old tiny sewing machines. 

A tiny play stove then a strange serving man. 

 This is a rocking horse from the 1950s. We seriously contemplated getting it for Milo, but it was pretty tall. I mean she wouldn't be able to use it until she was 5 or so. But it's still cool. 

So that is one of the fun things we have done lately. And here are some pictures I've been meaning to put up for a while. 

This is our first time driving on the wrong Left hand side of the road. We drove about 2 hours up to the nearest base to pick up our car. 

Freaky isn't it. 

The next pictures were taken from a moving vehicle... 

All in all the trip went well. Milo was not happy about being in her car seat that long. Since we take public transportation or walk everywhere, she hasn't had to ride in it for a long time. 

Oops. Milo knocked over the telephone booths. 

So here are some more moving day pictures. Milo was such a good sport. She got sleepy and took a nap.....on a nice fluffy cushion. 

a couch cushion

The movers just kept bringing stuff in. She was out. We use the white noise on our phone to drown out the noise. 

Check out this picture. You will notice all the tupperware that milo pulls out every time I am in the kitchen. She just wants to help. and she is eating...wait, Whats that green thing on her shoulder? Well, Milo scratches her head when she gets tired. She was eating some brussell sprouts and reaching back to scratch her head and left her brussell sprout on her shoulder...lol... Too funny. 

Get Your Priorities Straight

Before I get into the meat of this post, I wanted to tell you about a package I got in the mail. My Grandmother--Milo's great grandmother--Sent us a package in the mail with some silk long johns and a snow coat and bibs for Milo. They are great and I am so thankful.....She also sent some Onion Goggles.  Yes Onion Goggles. I love cooking. I love onions. They evidently don't love me. Unless their love is blinding--in that case they love me real good. I am super sensitive to whatever awful chemical they release. Their survival mechanism is potent--but I always power through. My grandmother knows this and got me some certified onion goggles. They may be dorky as all get out, but You better bet I am going to wear them. 

So. On to the actual post. I will be the first one to admit that I have faults. I am moody. I have expensive taste (I swear if the price is right had a game to guess the more expensive Item, I could win. I always pick the more expensive thing--without even looking at the tag). I am indecisive. I am critical.  I have extremely high standards for myself.  I am a perfectionist on some things.  I get stressed out about getting everything just right. 

 I have many more, but these are the things that I have become more and more aware of. These are things that I don't necessarily want Milo to pick up from me. I want to be happy with the person I am.  Not worrying about every little detail and stressing about losing weight or looking perfect.  A few months back I had a talk with JR and told him what was important to me. I want to have a lot of babies and stay at home with them. I want to have a good kitchen (cooking is one of my favorite things). I want to grow as a family (emotionally, spiritually, in every aspect). I want to enjoy my children. And I want to live a healthy lifestyle.  To make this attainable, I set a sort of Mantra for my life. Anytime I find myself stressing about things or trying to make a big decision, I ask myself these questions....

What does God say?

Now, let's be honest. I'm not perfect. I wish I could say that I am in a place in my life that I read the Bible everyday and have immense faith, but I can't….. But I do strive to get better in that area…. Part of growing in that area is me asking myself this question. 

I started reading Radical by David Platt and it talks about how everything in life in temporary…. that perfect outfit doesn't really matter in the long run.  Being cool or liked isn't going to help you get into heaven. I think taking a Biblical look at situations really helps me with prioritizing. 

How does this affect my Health?

Should I spend a little extra money buying fresh ingredients to cook at home? Sometimes doing things that are good for you is hard. Especially if they are more expensive… I just know that I want to lead my family to a healthy lifestyle. 

How does it affect my family?

If you get down to it, family is most important---Everything else is the icing on the already wonderful cake. I get the itch to go back to work sometimes, but I feel that its best for Milo if I devote my time to her. (I understand this scenario is not always possible financially or emotionally, each family knows what's best for them) 

Is it important to me? 

There are things that we do simply because we enjoy it or we like it. I love cooking. Not the rushed, gotta get food on the table, whip up whatever type of cooking….. but the recipe hunting, farmers market, fancy grocery store, leisurely, yummy cooking. I think we need those types of things to enjoy. 

I find myself falling back into my same habits of over stressing about things…. When I realize it, I take a beat and ask myself these questions.   It may seem silly, but I feel like I tell myself I need be so much….Pretty, fashionable, thin, healthy, perfect mom, aware parent, loving wife, knowledgeable, cultured, 5 star chef, avid Christian, craft goddess, home decorator, and a million other hats that I think I should wear.  By trying to be so many things at once, I end up failing at them all. If you are still reading, you get brownie points….The take home message is… We don't have to be perfect. Find out what's important to you and devote yourself to those things……now that I say it like that, it sounds simple. I can't believe I wrote a whole post on it. Well its not simple for me :) 

This post was inspired by a post I read over at O My Family.