I am happy to announce that Gabby is officially potty trained.  About 6 months ago, she woke up one morning and decided she was ready to start going on the potty....and she has basically been going on the potty ever since!  Like I've said before, she's the world's easiest kiddo! Okay, we still buy Pull-Ups for bed time and long car trips, but she wakes up dry a majority of the time.  Do you know how AMAZING it feels to not buy diapers anymore?!  For the past 6 years, we've been buying them! I need to put the extra money in our Disney fund.

I thought I would share this awesome coupon with you all- $2 off Pull-Ups or $3 off if you share!  If you're close to a Meijer store, buy there and rack up your Baby Rewards. (Tip: did you know all mPerks rewards are taken BEFORE coupon!?).

Here are some simple tips I have if you're starting to think about potty training:

1. It cannot be forced.  You have to follow your child's lead.  If they're not ready, it's going to be a long and trying process.  As much as you'll want them out of diapers, if they aren't physically and emotionally ready, it's not really worth your time to train.  With the twins, Olivia was ready before Maddie, so no matter how many charts with stickers I made, it didn't matter.  Then, one day Maddie decided she didn't want to wear diapers anymore and she loved her new princess undies.  Voila, she was ready!
2. Head to the library!  We checked out as many fun books about going on the potty.  The ones we loved, we bought.  There are a lot of duds out there, so it's nice to try some out for free.  Our favorites were (Note: while these are mostly girl themed, they have boy ones also!):
• Elmo's Potty Time DVD
• Princess Potty by Samantha Berger
• A Potty for Me by Karen Katz
• Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel
• The New Potty (A Little Critter Book)
3. Toilet Seat vs Toilet Cover.  We've tried both and I think the toilet cover works best.  First of all, it goes right on the toilet, so it saves space.  Also, it's great to travel with and easy to clean. We have two soft seat ones that I traded in Pampers rewards for that are perfect!  They come in a variety of favorite characters...we have a Dora and Pooh one.  If you're going for a seat, make sure it has an easy to clean bowl! 
4. Don't Stress! While potty training is stressful (and messy at times!), keep calm as much as possible.  Yelling make your kid NOT want to go on the potty at all.  (Trust me, I've been upset and it's hard sometimes!).  Be your child's biggest cheerleader and they will love the support.  They sell pom poms at the Dollar Tree.  I may have a few "P-O-T-T-Y GOOO Potty!"cheers.
5. Invest in Wet Wipes.  No, not the super expensive toddler ones...just head over to the regular toilet paper section and pick up the Cottonelle or whatever is cheapest.  You get way more and they always have coupons!

What potty training tips do you have? I wouldn't even know where to start with training boys!

Don't forget to print your coupon while it's available!!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which help support my blog.  Click away my friends and I'll love you forever! All potty related advice is my own....and I have plenty more to share if you're interested!

There's a new diaper in town: Kidgets

I have been buying diapers for almost 4 years now.  Actually, over 4 years!  When we found out we were having twins, we thought "yikes!" and started stocking up early.  Back in those days, diaper coupons were ah-mazing.  Huggies even had $5 off of ONE going around for a bit and Target had $3 off.  You better believe we stocked up!  Even though we lived in an apartment, we had closets and under the cribs stocked up with diapers and wipes. 

Bring us to today and diaper coupons, well, stink.  Every once in a while, there is a great deal.  But for the most part they are pretty lackluster.  Do they really think 20 cents off a wipes container is worthwhile? 

Since there aren't many deals to be found, we've turned to store brand.  They tend to be much cheaper and do the job.  Yes, there are some duds, but we are really liking most.  When I hear about an opportunity to try a new store brand diaper, I jumped on the chance!

Kidgets are a Family Dollar only brand with great prices!  I really loved the wipes, very comparable to the Kirkland brand we normally get.  What makes a good wipe in my book?  Not too dry, not too scented and easily comes out of the package.  The diapers were pretty good, as well.  Gabby did have a few leaks, but she will leak in ANY type.  I'm pretty sure my gals have extra large bladders.  Also, she sleeps like a lion with her feet tucked in.  So, we're giving Kidgets a B+.  Definitely at the top of our store brand list. 

Here's more information for you:

Introducing the newest addition to the family of Kidgets products: Kidgets Baby Wipes!

Available exclusively at Family Dollar, Kidgets baby wipes are made with a special three-layer fabric that is Thick, Strong, and Soft!! Available in Unscented and Fresh Scent, they are the perfect addition to your changing table, car, or diaper bag. Convenient press-open lids make on-the-go changes a breeze!

Family Dollar’s line of Kidgets diapers is also second to none. Family Dollar realizes that you want the best for your baby. That’s why they developed Kidgets – a soft, absorbent diaper that’s also a great value. With an ultra absorbent core, strechable grip tabs, and a cloth-like outer core, they are are so sure that you’ll love the Kidgets diaper that they offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee!
Check Kidgets Diaper and Wipes products out today – only at Family Dollar!

Check out that belly!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Family Dollar.  All opinions are my own.

Diaper studies! {update, no longer available}

 This company no longer does diaper studies.  I am soo sad!

Hello!  I know this may not be relevant to everyone, but I know you have to know someone with kids in diapers.  There is a company called Arquest which wants you to sample diapers.  I have done this study 2-3 times and I just love the free diapers!  Depending on the size of your little one(s), they send 20-120 diapers for you to test and in the end of the study you get $10 as well.  As expensive as diapers are, this is so worth it!  Last time I did this study, I got Huggies, but the brand will vary and you may not even know what brand you are testing.


Interested?  Here's the info:

• If you have girls, call: 1-888-342-7372 ext. 646 (there is usually this sweet southern woman you talk to)
• If you have boys, call: 1-888-342-7372 ext. 634
• They may have openings now, but if not they will put you on a list and you will be contacted as soon as you are needed.
• You can always leave a message, but they run on normal business hours, central time

If you are interested in taking surveys, check out my post on the topic!

Guest post: Cloth Diapers

Welcome to my first guest post!  After having twins who are still in diapers, I have started to think about using cloth diapers for my new little lady.  It would save so much money and I am trying to make our lives a bit greener.  Not knowing where to start, I knew that my friend Erin's sister would be a great help!  I asked her to fill all of us disposable diaper Mamas in on the perks and ins and outs of cloth diapers.  Enjoy!
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Rebecca and her husband Mike.  She has an 11 month old son, Hunter, who was exclusively cloth diapered.  She also has a 7 year old step-daughter and one on the way in October! 

I heard about CD (cloth diapers) from my step daughter's mom and I fell in love with just how cute they were and all the colors blew my mind.  Besides the fact of it being very "green" it saved us a lot of money, which these days that seems to be in everyone's mind.

I know plenty of people automatically think that it is gross, but really it isn't any different than what people should be doing with disposables. Technically you are supposed to be dumping any 'poo' in the toilet before you put disposables in the trash. Human waste is not to be in landfills, and with cloth you dump the 'poo' in the toilet and then throw the CD in a wet bag or pail. As far as just wet CD you also just throw them in the bag or pail, and depending on how many CD you use you can wash a load everyday or every 2-3 days. With this always come the questions of "you wash 'poo' in the same washer as your clothes?!" And I really just want to know if your child has a blow out diaper do you throw away the outfit? Probably not!

Let me back up and describe our diaper routine and explain my stash. With a newborn it is recommended to have 16 to 24 diapers, we were lucky enough to receive a 24 pack of Fuzzibunz one size diapers as a baby shower gift. For us, that was plenty of diapers and we probably washed a load every night. After free diapers from orders and sales, and other gifts I fear we near over 60 diapers. I have sworn to my husband I will stop buying them... fingers might have been crossed though.  The recommended stash for a 1 year old is 12 to 14 diapers, and for 2 children momma's have gotten away with 25 CD stashes. To me, that seems like alot of laundry because Hunter is a big wetter and i feel we change him more often than others may have to. He might be changed 8 to 10 times a day and wear a super stuffed CD to bed that will last him through the night.

We roughly own: 

• 2 Bumgenius 4.0 one size pocket diapers
• 4 Tweedlebug one size diaper covers
• 3 Bumwear one size pocket diapers
• 2 Wonder Wrap one-size diaper covers
• 2 Grovia one size diaper shells
• 6 bummis wraps size small (for the new baby)
• 2 Rumparooz one size pocket diapers
• 1 medium fuzzi bunz pocket diaper, 3 large fuzzi bunz pocket diapers, and 35- 40 Fuzzi Bunz one size pocket diapers. 

We have a travel size wet bag for the diaper bag and a small Rubbermaid trash can with lid, with a pail liner in side which is lined with PUL to hold in dampness from dirty CD. We also have 30 pre-folds, that we use for extra stuffers for long trips and we fold them up inside the covers, shells, and wraps for bed time (at least two pre-folds in each). We also have random doublers and inserts. PLEASE NOTE: this is extreme and a lot is not needed, most of this is trial by error and just trying out different brands.

By far the best diaper to me is the Fuzzibunz one size diapers. These grow with your baby and are good from probably 9lbs to 40 ish lbs. They are the most economical diaper, as it will grow with your baby and you wont NEED to continue buying more (that does not mean you wont WANT to!). There are fitted CD that start at XS and go to Large, but as your baby grows you will have to buy more. The perfect one-sized Fuzzibunz are about $20 each, which is $5 more than the sized diapers.  Since they last longer, in the long run money is saved.

Washing routine:

1. When our pail is full, we take the inserts out of the CD and wash them and the covers first in a cold rinse, and then a hotwash with 1/4 of the reccomended detergent. 
2. Some people do an extra rinse, we stop there.
3. We have a drying rack hang dry our diapers, saving some more money. BUT if you do dry them, they can only be dryed on low temp. Otherwise the PUL will melt or pull away from the diaper and they will leak!

As for wipes, you can use cloth wipes which people just get damp and use and wash along with their CD, but those aren't for us and we make wipes from paper towel.  

I promise it isn't gross to use cloth diapers and remember ONE disposable stays in landfills for up to 500 years!! Please consider switching over!

I'm sure there is plenty i missed, but I'll be happy to answer any questions!!

*NOTE* I would recommend "like-ing" Diapershops.com on Facebook which is more specifically Kellyscloset.com for purchases. Check out the diaper dollars!!

Thanks for the read!! 

Becca

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As you may know, I am 6 months pregnant and I will be looking for more guest posters in the near future.  If you have any interest, please email me with a writing sample (or a link to your blog) and a topic you would like to write about.  I will need any extra help I can get!  Plus it is a nice way to expand readership!  

Ashleigh

Diapers.com- is it worth it?

I have always been intrigued by Diapers.com.  I always see ads in my magazines and the idea of having diapers mailed right to me for FREE is very tempting.  At the age the twins are at right now, its so hard to get out and run simple errands like for diapers.  On a side note, a few weeks ago I got a message from Huggies saying I won the diapers for a year daily drawing, but I have yet to hear from them again...I have my fingers crossed! 

So earlier this week, I was browsing my Pampers rewards and I saw that I could get gift certificates for Diapers.com.   With just over 1500 points, I was able to get $27 in certificates, plus I had a code for an extra $10 off with free shipping.  So basically, I could fill my cart with $37 of stuff for FREE.  I found many pros and cons with the website.  (I would love some feedback from people who use this site, since I am a newbie!)

PROS:

1. You can mail your coupons in and they can credit your account.  If you know you will mostly buy a certain brand (Pampers, Huggies), this would be a great option!
2. They have a lot of different offers and FREE shipping (mostly on orders over $49)
3. They price match any website for the exact same item.  Strangely, when I tried to price match some diapers from Amazon.com, they disappeared from the website.  Coincidence or not?  

CONS:

1. The prices are WAY above what I normally pay at Target or Walmart.   Without the extra deals, it would not be worth it to even check this out.  It is a matter of if the few dollars extra per pack outweigh the price of gas and struggle to get to the store.

I ordered the diapers on Wednesday and I got them first thing today (Saturday), not bad! Unless I find another great deal, I don't really see myself shopping there much, but it was a different experience.  I got almost 200 diapers for $14.  That is a great deal!  All in all, it was something I just wanted to try, but I love my Target runs wayyy too much to give them up.  Believe it or not, a late night run to Target once the girls are asleep is my little break for the day.

Want to check it out?  Here's the website: Diapers.com and use my referral code: ASHL0574.   

Let me know what you think!

XOXO

Ashleigh