Jenn's Thoughts: Cloth diapers are changing things.

Our team is settling back into the office after the excitement of the 2011 ABC Trade Show, one of the largest juvenile trade shows in the industry. This is the show where buyers from retailers worldwide go to see the latest and greatest product innovations. It's always exciting what new things are being brought to the table, we've hand selected some new fun products of all kinds and they will begin arriving at Cotton Babies over the next several months. We were personally thrilled to present the new bumGenius Freetime and Flip Training Pants to retailers as well as giving them a look at our new colors and the Genius Series prints!

The cloth diaper industry has continued to grow over the past several years because as many of you have discovered, cloth diapers are a solution for so many families for a variety of reasons. Jenn Labit has shared her thoughts on where the cloth diaper industry is headed in 2012 on her blog. Jenn's blog is an insightful look at her business, culture, life as a mother, and much more. If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, please take a look at what she's been thinking about lately!

Last week, Jenn shared her thoughts on where the cloth diaper industry is headed in the coming year.

"The cloth diaper industry has a recent history of being a ‘kitchen table business’ with a strong focus on small, home based businesses and female bread winners. At first, it was fueled by entrepreneurs with a strong focus on waste elimination and reducing our dependence on petroleum. As the cloth diaper industry has grown over the past few years, it has become clear that the population buying reusables was widely varied to include:

• the family who can’t afford disposables

• the every day family living on a budget

• the fashionable mom who wants diapers to match her baby’s wardrobe

• the green family who wants to lower their overall environmental impact

• the family who wants only the best for their new baby."

Read more of this post at JenniferLabit.com

Earlier today, Jenn posted "People who make me smile... Judge Jimmy Edwards" in which she shares about a local St. Louis organization that Cotton Babies will be working with in the future to educate young parents about the benefits of cloth diapering. Read more about Judge Edwards and the beginning stages of this project here .

Genius Gear Giveaway!

For today's Tuesday giveaway, we are continuing the fun from our announcements last week. For those who have been around the cloth diapering industry for a while, you may already know that the All Baby and Child Expo will begin later this week. ABC Kids Expo is a trade show for the juvenile products industry and Cotton Babies is proud to be a part of it. Not only do we demonstrate our bumGenius, Flip and Econobum products to retailers, but our Cotton Babies buyer travels the expo hall to find great new products to bring to you, both online and in our retail stores.

Each year, when we show photos from the show, our customers ask for the gear that our team wears to coordinate with our show theme. This year, we've invited you to participate from home even before the show starts. Be sure to check out our "I'm a genius" cold cups, travel mugs and t-shirts.

This week's winners will each receive a free I'm a Genius t-shirt and their choice of a cold cup or travel mug. To enter, leave a comment below telling us what is the most genius thing you've ever done. We've all had at least one great moment in life, so share with us what you are proud of and what makes you a genius.

Eligible entries must be posted no later than midnight Central time, Wednesday, September 21, 2011. One entry per household, please. U.S. Residents only. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary to win. Winners will be drawn at random following close of contest and notified via e-mail. (Please make sure Cotton Babies staff can see your e-mail in your comment or through your Blogger profile page. Note: there may be some delay in winner notification and shipping as several of the Cotton Babies team will be at the show.)

Vinegar, The perfect green cleaning solution!

Guest Post by Liz

I love vinegar and it’s not only the yummy salt and vinegar chip kind either.  (Mmmm and cue mouth watering now.)  I love cleaning with vinegar.  Let me tell you, if you haven’t started using vinegar as a cleaning agent in your house you’ll soon want to.

It all started when Buggie began crawling on our laminate kitchen floors.  He was already into eating solids so our kitchen floor was an absolute sticky mess 90% of the time.  I needed to clean it on a weekly basis but the more I thought about it the more anxious I felt about him crawling on the floor that I had just cleaned with store bought solution that was not natural.  Then the thought of him using his hands to put everything that was in sight into his mouth made me do a quick search on the ‘net for natural (and cheap!) cleaning products.  I happened upon vinegar but a lot of my mommy friends had already been raving about it for months before I too became a convert.

Here are the ways I use vinegar to clean in my house:

• Floor washing solution – I’ve already mentioned this but I use it to wash my floors.  I simply mix 1 part warm water and 1 part white distilled vinegar into a large spray bottle.  Then I simply spray it on the floor and wipe it up with a reusable Swiffer pad and my Swiffer.
• Cleaning my dishwasher – I don’t know if this has happened to you or not but sometimes after I’ve run my dishwasher there’s this nasty white chalky film on my dishes.  It’s disgusting.  Bleh!  Even thinking about it makes me want to wash my hands.  Well, apparently it’s a calcium build up or something like that (really it doesn’t matter THAT much what it is – it’s gross) and guess what can get rid of it?  White distilled vinegar!  That’s right.  Simply fill a bowl full of white distilled vinegar and place it upright into the dishwasher.  Then run your dishwasher for a full cycle.  You can do this monthly to help clean your dishwasher of soap buildup and calcium deposits. This can be done with either an empty machine or full of the filmy dishes.
• Cleaning my garbage disposal – They get yucky with all that stuff we shove down them.  So…I simply pour ½ cup of baking soda down the drain and then I add ½ cup of white distilled vinegar to that.  It makes this lovely bubbling sound.  I like to imagine the guck and grime fizzing off. Let it sit for five minutes and then rinse it down with hot water.
• Cleaning toys – It’s a safe and non-toxic way to clean toys.  Fill the sink with soapy water and add the white distilled vinegar to it.  Soak, rinse and that’s it!
• Cleaning my beloved coffee maker – The instructions in the manual say to do it!  Duh!
• Cleaning mirrors, windows and any other kind of glass – I don’t know why but my vinegar solution consisting of water and vinegar is an awesome glass cleaner!  No waxy streaks left behind.
• Cleaning my stove – I have a smooth top electric range and my little spray bottle does a great job making it sparkling clean!
• Cleaning the counters in my kitchen – We eat off of them…enough said there.
• Cleaning the funk out of my diapers – Because of its acidity vinegar is a great neutralizing odor eliminator for cloth diapers.  I use it in my cold rinse cycle.
• Cleaning the microwave and refrigerator – Again, if you eat stuff that touches it why would you not use something natural to clean it?

I hope this sparks the inner June Cleaver in you and you become a vinegar cleaning fool!  Do you use vinegar when you clean?  If so, what are your uses for it?

Elizabeth (aka Bert) Anderson married her college sweetheart in 2005, and started her journey into motherhood in 2008 with the birth of her son.  She started blogging in 2009 as a way to keep track of her thoughts on being a first time mom, especially her struggle with postpartum depression, and as a way of reaching out to other moms who are struggling with the same things.  This July, Bert had another first in her motherhood travels - a little girl!  Even though she's newly a mother of two, Bert maintains that no matter how many children you have you will always be a "first time mom" because there's a first time for everything!  Visit her blog, at FTM. Bert is a contributor for She Thinks Media.

Cloth 201: Diet changes can mean laundry changes

As your child grows and their diet changes, their output changes as well. For a cloth diapering parent, this sometimes means that you have to adjust your laundry routine as well.

We often hear from parents that are confused because their laundry routine that has worked well for many months suddenly is not working, and they are battling with issues like stains or smell.

If your little one has recently started trying new, solid foods after being exclusively breastfed or formula fed, the diet change could be the cause. You may need to adjust your laundry routine using one or more of the following troubleshooting tips:

• Rinse your diapers well right after use, before placing in your pail or wet bag.
• Instead of using a pre-wash cycle at the beginning of your washing routine, use a full cold wash with detergent to eliminate all the yuck before the hot wash cycle also with detergent.
• Add bumGenius Odor Remover to your routine. For best results, spray bumGenius Odor Remover after rinsing your dirty or overnight cloth diapers before placing in your pail or wet bag. bumGenius Odor Remover quickly eliminates the source of odor-causing bacteria in cloth diapers.

New Product Coming Soon: BumGenius FreeTime Cloth Diaper!

BumGenius, one of the most innovative cloth diaper manufacturers is a leader in the industry.  Constantly innovating and reinventing, they aim to please!  Now they're releasing a new product, the BumGenius FreeTime Cloth Diaper!

• One step cloth diaper - no stuffing!
• Semi-attached inserts dry faster.
• 3×3 snap down design* adjusts the sizing to fit small, medium and large sizes (approximately 8-35+ pounds).
• Trim, snug and comfortable stretchy tabs* provide a custom fit.Available in both snap and hook & loop closure.

Best of all, it takes less time to diaper a baby... we don't think you should have to give up any time in your day.

That's why Freetime has all the features of an all-in-one diaper, with a carefully designed interior that makes one-size diapering simple and fast.

MSRP: $19.95