JuJuBe Addiction

Diaper Parties started carrying Ju-Ju-Be diaper bags a few months ago. If you haven't heard of these diaper bags, you're in for a real treat.  And possible addiction. Here is what I love about these bags.

• Stylish prints.  These are all about mom's style and can serve double duty as purses or weekend bags without a baby or toddler in sight. 
• Light colored linings.  These make it really easy to find what you are looking for inside. 
• Metal hardware. It's going to last. 
• Lots of pockets.
• Machine washable.  This might be my favorite part, after the prints. 
• A range of sizes, styles, and prices.  

I have three JuJuBe bags now, and wanted to share with you how I use them.  

The Ju-Ju-Be Be Quick, which retails for $18, is the perfect bag for running into the grocery store.  

It's a very simple bag, with just one zipper pocket on the inside.  I use it when I think I won't need to do a diaper change, but know there's always a chance.  I also keep this bag inside a larger diaper bag so I can grab and go if I'm out running errands all day.

Here you see the contents of my Be Quick:

• Homemade lip balm
• iPhone
• Wallet
• Flip diaper cover
• OsoCozy Unbleached Flat Diaper with Snappi
• Plastic Bag (for soiled diapers/clothing)
• Planet Wise Wipes Pouch with BumGenius cotton flannel wipes

I like using flats diapers as backups because they can also double as a burp cloth or spit up rag.  They are super compact too. I just fold it before putting it into the bag so it's ready to go! Usually I use a reusable wet bag for dirty diapers, but here I use a plastic one because it's so compact.  This is my set-up for an hour's outing or less.  

  

The Ju-Ju-Be Be Light is the newest addition to my collection.  This is a great bag for a half-day out, and also makes a great large purse.  At $35, it's not a huge splurge to have in addition to a larger bag. 

I have a potty-learning two year-old and a six month old, and this bag is big enough for taking care of both of them. It has everything that I had in the Be Quick, with a couple of exceptions.  The plastic bag is gone, replaced by a reusable wet bag.  The flat diaper remains because of its dual purpose, but I took out the Snappi and cover in exchange for three other diapers.  Here's the breakdown: 

• CJ's BUTTer 1/2 oz pot (warm vanilla cake scent).  This is my favorite diaper cream, and it's cloth diaper safe!
• Lip balm
• iPhone
• Wallet
• Planet Wise Wipes Pouch
• Changing Pad
• Change of clothes for the toddler
• Grovia My Choice Trainer for the toddler
• Water bottle
• Planet Wise Wet Dry Bag
• 2 BumGenius 4.0 One Size Stay Dry Pocket Diapers 
• 1 BumGenius Freetime One Size All-in-One Diaper
• Change of clothes for the baby
• Osocozy Unbleached Flat Diaper

It folds up nice and small!

Finally, we have the Ju-Ju-Be Super Be.  When my son was born, my daughter was still in diapers.  And although I love cloth diapers, they aren't particularly compact.  Now that she's learning to use the potty, I only have cloth diapers for one but I often have to carry around multiple changes of pants (depending on the day--it's a long story).  This is the best bag for all day long, and I will be holding onto it as a weekend bag.  The bag itself is super lightweight, so you can really load it up.  I feel like this bag is the Mary Poppins bag of diaper bags.

A size comparison of the loaded up bags: Super Be, Be Light, and Be Quick

I have the Super Be folded up in the upper left hand corner to show how tiny it can be. It holds:

• Changing pad
• Pacifier Pod
• Water bottle
• Baby change of clothes
• Planet Wise wipes pouch
• Toddler change of clothes
• Grovia My Choice Trainer
• Wrapsody Stretch Hybrid Wrap 
• Six BumGenius diapers (4.0 and Freetime)
• Aden & Anais Classic Muslin Swaddle blanket
• iPhone
• CJ's BUTTer 1/2 oz pot
• Lip balm
• Wallet
• Large Planet Wise wet bag

I can go out for 12 hours with my bag packed like this. I love that I can hold a wrap or Tula in my diaper bag, with room to spare.  The best part about this large bag?  It's only $50 (slightly more for this print because it's a Legacy print).  

(In case you are curious about the prints, the Super Be is Marquess, the Be Light is First Lady, and the Be Quick is Royal Envy.  Marquess and First Lady are Legacy prints, which cost slightly more and have a gold label rather than a stitched label).

Whatever your diaper bag needs, Ju-Ju-Be is certain to have the right fit.  What appeals to you about these bags?


Note: I am a Diaper Parties consultant and work on commission.  These links are all affiliate links, and it helps me out if you purchase through these links and select me as your consultant at checkout!

Announcements and More

Hello readers!  I know it's been awhile. There've been some changes around here.  As much as I enjoyed working with other moms to sell their products with Green Mama Life, I needed to make a change.  I am now a cloth diaper educator and sales consultant with Diaper Parties.

Here is why I love Diaper Parties: when I look in my kids' rooms and diaper bag, I see products that Diaper Parties carries.  My two year-old wore BumGenius 4.0 and Freetimes cloth diapers until she was potty trained.  I've wrapped both my babies in Aden & Anais swaddle blankets. We pack our lunches in Planet Wise snack and sandwich bags.  Since joining the Diaper Parties family last spring, I've been introduced to some fabulous new brands and products.  I'm madly in love with my new Ju-Ju-Be Super Be diaper bag (more on that soon).  We're trying out the Best Bottoms training pants for those days when my toddler is a bit too distracted to remember to get to the potty in time.  I'm loving my new Zen Rocks teething necklace.

Our customers get rewards points AND the individual touch of a personal consultant, all while paying standard retail prices for great products.

So, what's going to happen with this blog?

I'm going to continue sharing about green living and family life, with a sprinkle of information about Diaper Parties products.  Most Diaper Parties information will be on our Facebook Page.  Shopping is in the Diaper Parties store.  Just remember to select my name as your consultant at checkout!

Coming soon: the story of my adventures at MommyCon Philly!

Cloth Diapering a Newborn

Over at my old personal blog, Townhouse Homestead, I wrote a post about why we decided to start cloth diapering and why we love it so much. Since now I'm starting a store, I've decided to continue the series on this blog.  I'll begin with how we cloth diapered our own newborn, and leave all the definitions and terminology up to the many other brilliant sites who have already covered that information.

In the hospital, we stuck with disposable diapers. They were free, we were learning the ropes of caring for a newborn, and I wasn't ready to worry about diaper laundry.  I've also heard mixed information about staining from meconium, the tarry nightmare that comes out of a newborn baby's behind.  We decided not to risk staining our diapers and waited until the meconium was an icky memory.

When we arrived home, we started out with newborn prefolds and covers. (Prefolds are what our moms and grandmoms used). Newborns go through an astounding number of diapers in a day, and prefolds are a very economical way to start out.  DH (Dear Husband) did all of the early diaper changes, especially at night, since I'd had a c-section.  He opted for disposables at night instead of trying to mess with folding and Snappis (which, if you haven't heard of them, are the awesome modern alternative to diaper pins).

We had a beautiful stash of pocket diapers all ready to go, and I was impatient to put something colorful on Abby's bum. We chose pockets for our main diaper system because of the removable inserts.  The removable insert makes the diaper dry faster, and the pocket can accommodate extra inserts for added absorbency.  When they are assembled, they are as easy to change as a disposable diaper. We also opted for one-size diapers to maximize the amount of time we could use our diapers.  In our stash, we had mainly two kinds of one-size pockets: Fuzzibunz Elites and BumGenius 4.0.  Looking at our barely eight pound baby, the BumGenius looked much too wide.  They adjust in rise (length) through snaps but the width remains the same. The Fuzzibunz, on the other hand, have hidden adjustable elastic both in the waist and in the legs.  We had them on the recommended newborn size setting, and they worked for us before Abby was even a week old.

Abby at 3 days old in a Fuzzibunz OS Elite

There are newborn diapers, often with a notch to accommodate the umbilical cord.  Stephanie over at Abby's Lane has found that this is often unnecessary.  Newborn diapers are adorable, and have a great resale value, but we wanted to avoid that upfront investment.  My dear readers, what have you done to diaper your newborns?