Cloth? Disposable? or Both? - G-diapers

How many diapers have you (your baby) used?

Have you ever counted the number of diapers you've used/tossed away? I did a rough count and for my four month old baby, we've changed her 956 times already! That a whole lot of diapers in the landfill! Our municipality allows tossing of used diapers in the green bin. However, since disposable diapers are made of plastic, it can take up to 40-50 years to decompose! That means when my daughter is my age...her 956+ diapers are still around! 
Going down the route of using cloth diapers seems to be a more environmentally friendly choice (although some would argue that as well...due to the amount of water and detergent used to wash a dirty diaper). Honestly though...after seeing my baby's first diaper, I gave up the idea of using cloth =P I applause those that are able to do it, but it is not for me...at least not for the first few months when I am still trying to learn the routine of taking care of a new born...

Then I discovered G-Diapers. www.gdiapers.ca They are cloth diapers with a biodegradable/flushable/disposable insert. After watching their introduction video, I decided to give them a try. I didn't order their "starter package" as I read some poor review on their new born size diapers...instead, I ordered an "everyday 6-pack" and a couple of inserts to try. (you really only need 6 pants to start as the outer pants hardly ever gets dirty) I still remember how confused I was when I first open the package...the insert seems so big that I doubt it would fit inside the inner lining...but after "stuffing" a few of them, I got a hang of it and it really is simple to use. 

So the big question is: Does it leak? The simple answer is: No for pee pee and sometimes for poo poo!
From my experience of every day use, only the inner lining would get dirty, the outer pants always stay clean and clear! If you wash the soiled lining immediately, everything would come off easily! There is definitely more work involve than using a disposable diaper, but it really isn't that bad!

Other than environmental concerns, are there any other reasons why I choose (and stick with) the G-Diaper? 

1. They are really super cute! I absolutely love the different colours/design they come in and the "G" logo at the back is just so adorable!

2. My baby's bum bum is clear of rashes! Although the inner lining is plastic, the disposable insert is plastic free, super absorbent, and keeps my baby's bum bum happy!

3. Does not leak onto my Baby's clothes! Even with my baby's "Explosive" diapers, the G was able to contain the mess within the inner lining. I haven't had any incident where the mess would get onto my baby's clothes!

My baby has moved from "Small" to "Medium" size in 4 months. We can no longer use the small size pants, liner or insert! I had to order the next size up G pants...another investment...but luckily the next size up inner lining and inserts are good for M/L/XL size. Like most other products, we Canadians pay so much more than the Americans for the exact same product!  If I live in the states, I could buy these inserts on-line at 29 cents each. In Canada though, they regularly sell for 47 cents each! I always keep an eye out for discounts and stock up when I find a good deal =) 

Recently noticed they have a product call "G Cloth Liner", which is a liner for cloth diapers, "Capture the poopy mess while the wetness passes through". Unfortunately I couldn't find much information on this lining...but will definitely be looking for it at the Snuggle buz booth in the Baby Time show this coming weekend and see if I can get more information in it!

Review of the Nap Nanny

"The Nap Nanny Chill is a ground-breaking product designed to comfort babies and improve infant sleep. Made with a durable, yet incredibly comfortable high-density foam, the Nap Nanny Chill® mimics the contours of a car seat, the softness of a baby blanket and the stability of a mattress–allowing your infant to rest and play peacefully." - quoted from www.napnanny.com

Does it really work?is it really worth the $129.99 (amazon price)?
I first found out about this product from a blog of a mother with quadruplets. (Their story is really inspiring! Take a look if you can read Chinese! https://www.facebook.com/aeniquads )
She gave birth to her babies in USA and now resides in Taiwan. The Nap Nanny appears to be really useful in her situation. Her babies uses it to nap, eat, and play! 

I bought ours from Babies r us in Buffalo, NY. I was unsure about this product at first...$$$ for a giant sponge??? Ok...it does have a nice cover on, but to me, it is still only a foam chair! But then I read on the product's packaging that it 'extends sleeping time by 4-6 hours!'...and we would pay anything for longer sleep time at this point, so we decided to picked one up and try it out! ( I am a easy target for marketers I know...)

Since this thing is only a "giant sponge" that cannot be folded, it took up a lot of trunk space in the car when driving back to Canada. Before using it for the first time, I took the cover off and put it to wash. When I saw the inner foam....I honestly felt like it was a rip off....

It has a nice curve to it and I only hope that it delivers what the advertising said. After I put the cover back on, I popped the baby in it to test it out. She seems very happy and comfortable in her new seat. We left her in there for  15-20 minutes and hoped that she would fall asleep. That didn't happen though...guess it just wasn't her nap time. Although she didn't fall asleep in it, she was comfortably sited during our "test time" and didn't fuzz at all! 

The second time around we waiting for her to fall asleep, then place her in the Nap Nanny to see if she would sleep longer than her usual time. In our case, she didn't stay asleep longer than usual. At this point I thought to myself...great....money wasted....but then very soon I discovered many more uses of this product! Because it is so light weight, you can move it anywhere in the house easily! I can kick it downstairs (with out the baby of course!) when my hands are busy and need to move it downstairs. I can leave my baby in it in the washroom while taking a shower so she can see me. I can bring it over the parent's house so she gets a comfortable place to sit...countless possibilities! 

Another plus is that it doesn't have weight restrictions! (after all it is only a sponge) When my baby outgrown all the other battery operated seats (bouncers, swings etc.), she can still use this Nap Nanny! I can easily get 4-5 years of use of of this! All a sudden the price tag isn't so ridiculous anymore =)

In conclusion, after owning the Nap Nanny for one month, I found that I have used it the most out of all other seats we have at home (bouncer, Mama Roo, bassinet/play pan). My baby would stay in it (calmly) for the longest time! For that I'd give it a 5* rating! 

http://www.snugglebugz.ca/brand/nap-nanny.html
$159.99 (Canadian Price on-line)

*Always follow the manufacturer's instruction on how to safely use the product*

Nursing On the Go!

Lets face it! Not everyone is comfortable nursing in public and not every where you go to will have nursing facilities. So what do I do? Should I restrict my travelling to only those places with nursing rooms? or time my outings so that I can rush home to feed my little one?  

Nope! Instead, I've setup the back seat of my car to be my nursing room on the go!

I live and travel in "up town" so there are usually lots of free parking spaces around plazas, malls, side streets etc. I'd just park my car further away from the crowd and feed my baby in the back seat! I was really nervous about this at first as you never know who is watching. But in reality, no one is! However, just to be sure that no one can see, I'd keep a flat sheet in the car, a few laundry clips, and create my own "covered" nursing room at the back seat.  

I found a "fold down" mini table to attach to and use in the car (see below picture)! This is great as I can keep my phone (I use an app to keep track of feeding time), nipple shield, wash cloth etc. right in front of me for easy access! 

My Hello Kitty Fold Down Tray for use in the car!

Yes...I know it's our right to nurse anywhere in Toronto....I don't need to hide myself at the back seat...but it is way more comfortable and if I am relaxed, I get the job done much faster =) 

P.S. What is the front seat for you ask? It's the diaper changing station! ;P

Markville Mall - Markham

This mall is currently going through major renovations. They haven't touched the washroom/nursing room yet, but who knows? May be they will transform this room as well?

Right now, the nursing room is located inside the women's washroom in the old food court area (where Best buy is). It is separated from the rest of the washroom area by frosted doors. Equipped with four wide chairs, one change table, a sink and a microwave. Room is spacious, but the lighting is not the best. Also, there seems to be speakers on the ceilings right outside the nursing room and the music is always blasting! If your baby gets distracted easily, the music may bother her. 

Don't worry if someone is using the change table, there are two additional ones in the washroom area! They also have a few large family size washrooms! Very baby friendly I'd say =) Maybe this is why the mall is full of mommies with strollers! I only wish the mall has more elevators for us to get up and down! 

Microwave and sink

Change table to the right

Extra change tables in the washroom area

Entrance to the nursing room on the left, extra changing table on the right.

Hillcrest Shopping Mall - Richmond Hill

I was at Hillcrest Mall the other day getting some candies for baby's 100th day celebration from Bulk Barn.  It has become a habit of mine now to check out the nursing room where ever I go! and I'm glad I did this time around! The nursing room in Hillcreast is separated from the washroom area behind closed doors. A sign on the door clearly marks: for Nursing Mothers Only, please respect their need for privacy =) 

This spacious room has three nursing chairs with side tables. One changing station. One sink. A microwave and a family size washroom! It wasn't busy when I was there but I did notice the same issue as the mother's room in Promenade mall...mall staff using the microwave to heat up their own lunch...It's not really a big deal, just kind of strange~ you would think the mall would have a separate lunch room or rest area for people who work there...guess not =P

Overall I was pleased with this nursing room. However, I've been back a few time since my first visit and noticed that it is not always as clean as it should be.  Last few times I found half eaten lunches on the side table and spilled pop on the floor...just my bad luck I guess =)

Small sink and change table

Family size washroom inside the  nursing room

Relaxing environment

Please respect our need for privacy =)

Located beside EB Games (close to where the food court is)

Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls

The Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls are just minutes from the boarder and is very popular among Canadian shoppers! That's why you will notice that at least half of the parked cars have Ontario licence plates!  Prior to becoming a mommy, my favourite brands were Juicy and Kate Spade. I still like those brands, but this time around, I spent all my time browsing through children's clothing store like: Carters, Gap, Gymboree, Old Navy, Osh Kosh B Gosh and Children's Place. 

We spent a good three hours at the outlets and I didn't even buy one thing for my self! Hard to believe huh?! 

After checking with the information desk, we found out that this mall does not have a nursing room or family washroom. However, they have us nursing moms covered...well...kind of....

The solution was...a chair inside the handicapped washroom! Yikes!  I never feel comfortable nursing in a public washroom. I don't eat in the bathroom myself, so why would I feed my baby there? We ended up finishing shopping real quick and get back into our car =)

Welden Galleria Mall, Buffalo, NY

Shoo~I'll let you in on a little "secret" =)

This mall does not have a nursing room. You can try to breast feed standing up in a family washroom (j/k) or go back all the way to your car if you are not comfortable nursing in public...or...

Head over to Macy's! Right outside the women's washroom on the second level, there is a nice siting area you can use for nursing. Not too private...as people walk in and out...but the chairs are comfortable! And if you positing your stroller the right way, you can block off a lot from people's views!

Babies R Us at Buffalo, NY

I have been busy with my baby's 100th day celebration these past weeks so I am a little behind on my blogging =P  Let's continue with my shopping trip to Buffalo!

Babies r us at 1569 Niagara Falls Boulevard, Buffalo, NY  is a definite stop when shopping for baby stuff in Buffalo! They always seem to have way better deals than our Canadian store! I was there at the right time as they had a "buy one, get the second half off" deal on a lot of the stuff around the store! Plus they were giving out free Tommee Tippee bottles, which was great cause that is the brand we use with our baby!

Unlike other Toys r us store where they only have a "baby section". This whole store is dedicated to babies! You can find everything you need here! (Well...almost ;P)

The best purchase we've made was the Nap Nanny (see review on my other post) which is not available in Canada. 

You can easily spend a couple of hours here, so guess what? Nursing time again! hee hee

Their nursing room is located at the back of the store (towards the right hand side as you enter the store)....

Mother's room are separated from the washroom so it's nice and quiet!

Large comfortable sofas. Private setting.

This nursing room is equipped with a change table, bottle warmer, diaper disposal bin and two sofas. Nothing too fancy but definitely enough for our needs! The room is quite large and lighting is soft! I hate it when they use super strong spot lights in the nursing room (most newly renovated rooms does) as it makes the room super hot and babies often get distracted by the strong light!  

Ok..one down....next up is Walden Galleria Mall!

Duty Free Shop at Lewiston-Queenston Bridge

Cross boarder shopping always involve waiting in line for customs. With the favourable exchange rate for Canadians these days, many are crossing the boarder to shop. That includes us! We planned a one day shopping trip in the Buffalo region specifically for baby stuff! 

You never know how long the wait is to cross the boarder, so it's always a good idea to make a quick stop at the washroom before you enter the line. 

At Lewiston Bridge, there used to be a small building in the middle of the road with the washrooms. We were surprise to see that the building is now gone! Replacing it is a brand new duty free shop on the right side of the lane.  I didn't need to change  or fed the baby but decided to go in and take a look at the facilities to see if it is at all possible to nurse there!

This brand new duty free shop is quite impressive, with LED displays around the shop! I headed straight to the washroom....and for the first time...saw a stainless steel changing table! LOL Now that's fancy! Unfortunately there isn't a nursing room/chair available, but nevertheless, this is still way better than the old washroom ;)

Canada One Outlet - Niagara Falls

With the birth of our new baby girl, we were fortune enough to have relative visit us from all over the world =) In mid September, the family did a weekend trip to Niagara Falls region. This was the first time travelling with our baby girl! Travelling by car from Toronto to Niagara Falls region takes just under 2 hours. This means that by the time you arrive at Niagara region, it's time to feed baby! 

Our first stop at the area is the outlet on the Canadian side: Canada One Outlet located at 7500 Lundy's Lane, Niagara Falls, ON. This outlet is on the smaller side and doesn't really have any of my favourite brands, but they do have Carter's OshKosh , so if you are not planing to cross the border, you can still get some decent deals on children's clothes here! 

Since this is an "outdoor" outlet mall, they don't really have a room dedicated as the mother's room. However, there is a family room you can use for nursing purposes. It is located in the same area as the regular washrooms (beside the security office, close to the food court, and at the back of the building). I was there on a week day so the mall was not busy at all. There were very few visitors/shoppers, so there was not a line up to the washroom. However, since there is only one family washroom, I can image that it would be quite busy on the weekend! When I entered the room, I was surprise by how neat and clean it was! It didn't have that "public washroom" smell and was quite spacious!  Instead of going back to the car to feed my baby, I decided to get everything done there! There was no chair for you to sit on, but there are plenty of counter space ;)

Once baby was changed and fed, we have another 2-3 hours to spend at the next destination ---LUNCH for mommy & daddy! Yeah!!

Bench outside the washroom area