Holiday Ooga Booga

You can find the Original front opening Promise Pocket diaper in this fun and festive print on our website www.DagnysPromise.com.

We have a great range of holiday gifts here at Dagny’s Promise. Here are a couple to help any of you that are stumped for ideas.

Purple Tie Dye Wubby Woo

What is a Wubby Woo you might ask?? Well it is a fun half  pillow, half play friend for any child. They come in several different patterns and are great for girls and boys.  They make great stocking stuffer and Secret Santa gifts.

LTK Felted Wool Mocs

These are PREFECT for any baby or toddler! They are hand knit from 100% wool yarn and then felted to keep little feet warm and cozy. These are a sturdy pair of mocs that should even stand up well for new walkers.

Also check out our preemie and newborn sizes in super soft alpaca yarn!

These blankets maybe small, but the are big on FUN! Little ones love the feel of the different textures and the ribbon. They are handmade tactile oriented play blankets that are one of a kind. Each one has a unique combination of 3-4 different fabrics to tantalize any toddlers sense of touch.

Hair clips make the best stocking stuffers for the little girls in your life ( daughter, sister, niece, cousin) . Take a look at our HC site and see the 50 styles we have to choose from!

Good Luck finding the perfect gift for that special person on your list!

Gwenn from My Life with Three Ladies and a Gentleman has done the honors of writing a lovely review about our luscious bamboo prefold diapers! Check out how you can get a chance to win one of your very own. This give away ends on November 22nd so hurry and get those entries in!

We have also contributed a prize for the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt!! We are very proud to be a Senior Sponsor this year. There are 14 days left in the hunt so it’s not to late to get started! The hunt is so fun and addicting!! Who doesn’t love a chance to win some goodies why browsing around online cloth diaper shops!  What out for those EXTREME sites, they can be pretty tricky. It is sooooo rewarding when you do finally find that elusive little diaper/owl icon. Check out the hint forum if you need an extra clue to find the icon on our site. Happy Hunting!

Check it out GCDH! Don’t forget to use your GCDH discount code when shopping on Dagny’s Promise Hyena Cart!!

Grand Prize goes to: Nicolle B

First Prize to: Ruth

Second Prize to: Jackie

Thrid Prize to: Justine

Keep an eye on your email for details, and thanks for participating!

I like Twitter. As a busy Mom, sometimes that 140 character update is a quick release and reset. Now, I have reached 1000 followers and am grateful to many of them! They have reviewed my products, supported my charity giving, and chatted about things important and things fun.

So, in celebration of those 1000 followers that Dagny’s Promise now has on Twitter, I thought I would offer up some really great stuff to my new Tweeps! The winners of the DP 1k Celebration will enjoy one of the following:

Grand Prize: Custom Promise Pocket™ cloth diaper or Custom knit felted LTK ™mocs (size newborn – child)

First Place: Trial pack of Cyclez products for Mom or Gift Certificate for 25% off any instock purchase

Second Place: Free Petit Fold™ snappiable Bamboo prefold and Snappi™ Fastener or 1 dozen bamboo velour wipes

Third Place:  6 pack Cyclez organic facial cleansing pads and a Gift Certificate for 15% off any instock purchase.

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To enter, you must comment on this post with your favorite product by Dagny’s Promise

To gain additional (optional) entries please complete any of the following:

Follow Dagny’s Promise on Twitter and post that you follow, with your Twitter Username

Become a Fan of Dagny’s Promise on Facebook and let me know here

Blog about this giveaway, and post a link to your blog post

Share this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter, and post a link to the status update

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Contest is open worldwide. All ineligible entries will be deleted. A winner will be drawn from all eligible entries at 9:00am MST on September 13th. Make sure your email address is valid so I can contact you if you win!

Reduce. It is a simple word, and a simple action, but the one that most people seem to have the most difficulty with. There is no wrong, and no ineffective way, to employ a reduction in your lifestyle. It will often yield rewards that you didn’t see coming, and will almost certainly free up something very precious: time.

Since I am working with a family of six, my natural inclination is to reduce at home. I am here all day, and see (and clean) first hand most of the excess in my own home. Reducing, I discovered, doesn’t at all have to mean giving things up! It can very often just be a simple change in a routine that makes all of the difference.

Weekly meal planning sounds like a tedious chore, but once you see the rewards, I am pretty sure you will find that it is a super effective habit and pretty easy to do.  It is a simple process, that can take just ten minutes a week, and can save you time, money, aggravation, food waste, space waste, and groaning kids at mealtime! Oh, and let’s not forget those emergency trips you are making to the store in the middle of the week so you can throw together a meal. Now you are saving even more money, more gas, and more time.

The Purge ( as it is called around here) is another excellent way to reduce quickly, and save your time and frustration. Purging your things doesn’t have to be drastic or painful. Taking one room a week, zip through and pull out things that you are no longer using or are no longer working for your home or wardrobe. You can also pull aside things that you DO want to keep, but don’t really need to have out all of the time. Ridding yourself of these things can be fast and painless, too. You can drop them at charities (or have them picked up), have a garage sale, or offer them up for free or sale. Belonging to your local FreeCycle group or signing up for an account at CraigsList.org are simple and work wonders! Imagine, only having to type an email to rid your life of clutter.. and filling someone else’s need or want!

Finally, reduce your routine! If you have to get children off to school and yourself off to work, and remember to drop off the mail and pick up some dry cleaning, and fill the gas tank, and call the dentist.. then your day and mind are cluttered, too!  A great way to reduce all of that listmaking and doublechecking, is to set up a family calendar.  We use Google’s calendar, with everyone in the family able to view and add, and noone is left in the dark about what needs to be done and when. It will send you a daily agenda each day as a reminder to your email address or phone, too!  Delegate, plan your routes, and combine outings to reduce the amount of time, energy, and gas you spend on the boring stuff, and you will find yourself with a cleaner home, a bigger budget, and more time for fun!

Please leave comments with other ways you reduce, we would love to chat about it more! Do you have any favorite places to donate unwanted items? Do you have a routine for de-cluttering that you can share? Tell all!

Don’t forget to check back soon for Part 2 – Reusing in ways that are actually practical and fun!

I have a cause that is very near and dear to my heart. It is near and dear to millions world wide. Why? Because it is an amazing organization that educates about and treats one of the most common, and easily treated birth defects.

Clubfoot, or talipes equinovarus, occurs in approximately one in 1,000 live births.  I was born with extremely severe bilateral clubfoot, and my youngest daughter was born with moderate unilateral clubfoot. The birth defect itself is where the similarities between my daughter’s clubfoot and mine end.

My clubfoot treatment was long and painful. It began at the age of three months and consisted of a total of 9 surgeries and years of wearing casts, braces and special shoes.  The correction of my clubfoot was never 100% complete or correct, and while I enjoyed relatively normal childhood and teenage years, the incomplete correction began to take its toll as I got older. Now, at the age of 35, I am legally handicapped and in pain a good deal of the time. I will never again know what is like to walk around the mall or hike, or go dancing without pain, sometimes severe pain, at the end of  my days.

My daughter, on the other hand, was treated using the Ponseti Method of clubfoot correction. She has had no surgeries, no pain, and her correction is 100% complete. She will have no scars, no memory of her treatment, and no pain later in life because of her birth defect. I am tearfully thankful for Dr. Ignacio Ponseti every time I see my two year old hiking up a mountain with her father and siblings, and running ahead full speed to play. The gratitude that a parent feels when they know that their child will lead a normal and pain free life, despite a birth defect, is overwhelming. In addition to my gratitude, is the complete awe that Dr. Ponseti turns 95 this week and is STILL SEEING PATIENTS!  He is a true testament to the power of healing, and what it can do for the healer as well as his patients.

I decided long ago that I would do my small part in spreading the word about this incredible treatment method and do all I could in helping to further the education and use of it. To that end, Dagny’s Promise hosts an annual fundraiser for the Ponseti International Association .

We host the fundraiser at our online store during September (both my and my affected daughter’s birth month), and usually have a wide variety of goods for the home an family up for raffle, auction and purchase. If you are interested in more information on our fundraiser, or would like to donate, please email me at info@dagnyspromise.com .

If you would like more information or to talk about clubfoot and the things you can do to make caring for an infant with clubfoot easier, you can email me anytime at all!  Below are some other fantastic resource and support links for the parents of a child with clubfoot:

http://www.ponseti.info/parents/

http://www.clubfootclub.org/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/nosurgery4clubfoot/

First, you should know that there are quite a few different types of cloth diapers, and each one has its benefits and drawbacks. I will, in brief, cover the majority of them and hopefully offer enough basic information for you to figure out how they will or will not fit into your lifesytle ( all without having to follow a hundred links all over the internet!)

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Flats - Remember those? Probably not. Your grandmother (and maybe Mom) probably used plain cotton gauze flats with diaper pins. Flats are exactly as the name implies: a flat piece of fabric that you fold and pin in place. While this may sound like a huge pain, flats are extremely versatile and are very handy to have on hand. They are generally very affordable and come in many fabric choices these days. You can still find traditional cotton gauze flats at many large stores like WalMart, Target and BabiesRUs. Now you can find flannel flats, bamboo flats and organic flats. They come in an undyed white or natural, or in gorgeous hand dyed colors. They can be pinned or kept on baby with a Snappi fastener. They can also be used as extra absorbency in other diaper styles, make very handy burp cloths, and awesome cleaning rags later. Hubby would LOVE them for buffing the car to a gorgoeus shine. 

Upside:  fairly inexpensive, easily made if you choose to make them yourself, have a long and useful life and dry very quickly.

Downside: there is a learning curve to getting a good fit, and you could end up needing two or three on an older baby. They also, in general, do not have much of a resale value ( not including the newer organic or bamboo flats.)

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Prefolds – Prefolds are , also, as the name implies. They are a flat diaper, prefolded for you. All you essentially have to do is find the most effective way to put it on your baby, add a closure and a cover, and you are done. Prefolds are relatively inexpensive and have a very long life.. even after diapering.  Putting them on baby involves a small learning curve, because there are a few methods of fitting them to your baby, but they are really simple to use. You can still close them with pins, but most cloth diapering Moms use something called a Snappi Fastener. It is a “Y” shaped piece of rubber with little plastic gripping teeth in three places. It goes on quickly and easily and holds the diaper on remarkably well. They are generally made from a cotton twill in layers and fluff up when washed. Now, you can also find prefold diapers made from organic or sustainable fabircs, too. They are  all absorbent and make great doublers later on and even better cleaning rags down the road.

Upside:They are affordable, easy to find and have some resale value. They can be dyed and embellished in almost any way imaginable if you don’t like the natural color. They are also versitile in how you put them on, so that you can make sure the fit is best for your baby. They have plenty of uses, even after you are finished using them as diapers.

Downside: If you buy them new, they need to be washed 5 – 6 times to reach maximum absorbency before use. They take awhile to dry in the dryer and require a separate closure (pins or Snappi). They also require a separate cover and the resale value is not that high, especially if you have to ship them. They are heavy!

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Fitted Diapers – If you are looking for a reliable, squishy diapering system ,that is relatively affordable**, then fitteds may be for you. They are shaped like a diaper should be, and almost always have either snaps or a velcro-type closure. They are highly adjustable, usually very absorbent and come in a style and size range to fit any baby. Some are marketed as a “one size fits all”, where there are adjustments that can be made to the rise ( overall length of the diaper from back to belly button). Fitted diapers are very popular among those wanting to use more natural or sustainable fibers, but who do not want to have to deal with adding a Snappi or pins. Fitted diapers, no matter h0w they are made, have one thing in common: they need a waterproof cover!

Upside: They are effective and easy to use, since you do not need to worry about a separate closure. They come in every possible fabric combination, pattern, and sizing that you could possibly want. Depending on pattern, style and manufacturer, you have a better than average chance of getting much of your investment back from the resale of fitted diapers. **Pricing depends on several factors, and can be both a pro and a con when it comes to purchasing and reselling fitted diapers. Fitted diapers can be made for a relatively low cost from recycled materials and with less sewing skill than you might think! Used fitted diapers are readily available all over the internet!

Downside: Fitted diapers need a cover to make them waterproof. This can sometimes add bulk and make finding clothes that fit over both the diaper and the cover difficult. Many people have gotten around this by using their covers AS clothing! Hand knit and sewn wool diaper covers are very popular and often serve as both cover and clothing! Fitted diapers also have a WIDE price range. I have purchased used fitteds for as little as $4 each, but have also seen some of the more popular and sought after ( see my post on cloth diaper addiction!) go for more than $50!

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All In One Diapers – All In One’s ( AIOs ) are the cloth diapering world’s answer to the ease of using a disposeable diaper. They are a wonderful choice for those who would like to use cloth, but want to keep it as simple as possible for themselves and others who may be changing diapers. AIOs are usually an absorbent inner with a water proof outer layer and close with either snaps or a velcro type closure. They are quick to go on, like a disposeable, and are *almost* foolproof. Some AIO diapers are sold with a doubler, to add absorbency, if you need it.

Here is the *almost* part of the statement above: In the last six or seven years, the Pocket AIO diaper has become increasingly popular. It is the answer  to many a cloth diapering Mom’s prayers! It is an AIO style diaper, but rather than having an absorbent soaker built into the diaper, you add an absorbent insert into a pocket! The diaper itself is a trim and lightweight shell, usually just two layers, with an opening called a “Pocket”, hence the name!

Upside: AIO diapers are very simple to use and remove. Almost anyone can do it with no training and they are the closest thing to using a disposeable, as far as the mechanics go. They are widely available 0nline and have a better than average resale value. AIOs are simple to launder, because they are all one piece (except for Pocket AIOs, of course). Pocket AIOs are fairly easy to launder and prepare for use, but the trimness of them makes laudering and drying times SUPER fast.

Downside: AIOs are typically more expensive. Even Pocket AIOs are are the high end of pricing ( although generally a little less than traditional AIOs). Pockets may dry quickly, but tradional AIOs do not as a rule. If you use AIOs exclusively, you may find it best to have enough so that you launder less frequently, or hang them to dry!

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I hope the information above is helpful, but be sure that it doesn’t cover every option for cloth diapering that there is. Many families find that their likes change as their child changes and that they end up using a mix of types rather than one system for the entire time their child is in diapers. Some find that they only want to use organic, or recycled materials and choose their system accordingly. I am always more than happy to chat about cloth diapers, so please feel free to email me or find me on Twitter , if you have a question or comment!

The fun is in the trying… of them ALL!

Don’t get me wrong. My wonderful mother and I have gone through all of the normal phases of a mother / daughter relationship, but now we are here. Best friends. I cannot pass a day without speaking to her. I call her when life is good and when it is bad. I call (often) for recipes and suggestions on how to deal with the kids and ideas for hard to clean stains. I call her for everything, almost.

My mother has been in attendance for the birth of each of my four children. She has stayed to help clean and cook and bathe and rock cyring newborns so that I could shower or sleep. She has seen me through a divorce and a new marriage. She has been by my side, no matter how far away I lived, with every good decision and every bad one that I have made. More than a rock, she has been shelter and pillow and antiseptic when I need it. She has pushed, even shoved, when I needed it. Simply, she is MOM.

The birth of my fourth child brought more than the typical newborn challenges. Aside from already having three children, two of which were toddlers, I had to take a crash course in dealing with a special needs newborn. We were incredibly lucky, in that her birth defect was common and treatable, but it is still devestating for a parent to learn that their child will not be “normal”. I had been born with the same birth defect. My mother had been through it all. And she was there to guide, push, and help my family through it, too.

I had the resources of the world, in the internet, at my fingertips, but it was Mom who I turned to when I needed help. It was she who told me how to bathe a baby in casts. It was she who told me how to tape the top of the cast so that it wouldn’t chafe my newborn’s delicate skin. It was she who told me what to look for in case something went wrong. And it was she who cried with me when I was so completely overwhelmed.  It was MY MOM who held it together for a frazzled, exhausted and frightened daughter. 

These days, as I take a look at my day to day, I realize that I am the rock in my home. I am the one who calms, the one who plans, the one who has the answers. I do not do everything exactly like my mother, but it is her example that is before me when I kiss a hurt child, or when I talk about the budget with my husband and when I sit and help my son with his homework. It is Mom that I think of when I am planning healthy meals and activities for children. It is the image of her keeping a clean house that I have in my mind when mine seems too overwhelming.

I have always valued her. In more ways than she could know. We have had our differences, but my adimiration for the composed, strong, caring, honest woman that she is has never wavered. In the last few years, I have learned so much from her, and I continue to learn.. and to become more and more like her.

Boy, do I love you, Mom!

WE CAN END DEATHS FROM MALARIA!

By now, I am sure you have heard of ( or been a part of) Ashton Kutcher’s Twitter race against CNN to reach one million followers. I would love to believe that it was not only his celebrity status that led to him winning that race, but his pledge to donate 10,000 bed nets to help end malaria related deaths. 

Ashton will be continuing his efforts on World Malaria Day, with plans to rally the Twitter community to tweet the following message:

Every 30 seconds a child dies from Malaria. Nets save lives. Support World Malaria Day = https://give.malarianomore.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=356&srcid=246 RT

If this effort works as well as the challenge to reach one million followers, the call to fight malaria will reach a vast majority of the 19 million+ Twitter users by days end!  We will be doing our part, and hope that our followers will do theirs. 

Please visit Malaria No More for more information about their goal and how you can help end the needless deaths caused by malaria around the world. You can also follow @malarianomore and Ashton Kutcher @aplusk on Twitter for updates and information

You can follow Dagny’s Promise on Twitter @DagnysPromise

Tweet ya tomorrow!

So, you decided to use cloth diapers. Whatever the reason, be it financial, or eco-impact, or for babies health, your reason is good enough. Then you start to do a little research or talking to friends. Typing the words “cloth diaper” into Google hits you with a mountain of information that ranges from reviews to pricing to benefits, and hundreds upon hundreds of places to buy them.  And so the addiction, errr habit… uhm affinity begins.

After long nights in front of your computer, you think you have decided which diapering system you want to use. Maybe you got some referrals from friends, or read some ( read: hundreds) of reviews, or maybe you made up your mind that you are doing this to save money, so cheap is the way to go. You buy a diaper, or two, or maybe an entire stash to get you started. The diapers arrive, and since you have done your homework, you throw them into the wash immediately and run off to post somwhere (your blog? one or more of the more prolific diaper chat boards? an email to the friend that got you started on cloth or even Twitter) that your diapers have finally arrived!

If you are lucky, you are still expecting and you just spend the next few weeks or months petting and arranging your new fluffy purchases, starting you off slowly in the direction of diaper obession. If you have a child in diapers, then they are immediately stripped of the old paper diaper and fitted into all of that warm fluffiness ( please, PLEASE tell me that you allowed the new diaper to cool from the dryer before putting it on!). You stand back to check it all out. Yep, it is soft. Yes, it sure is cute. And, it has stopped at least one disposable from entering a public landfill. You have done a great thing! Time to celebrate?

And that is when it REALLY happens. You are HOOKED. You see, for a cloth diaper addict, celebration means a new diaper. Maybe one you have been stalking ( yes, we stalk) or a diaper that has a bunch of new great reviews. Maybe you just want more of what you have got, what works for you and your now fluffy bottomed little one.  And so the search begins and you purpetuate the addiction that will soon fill every available space on your changing table ( and beside it and under it and in the closet…). Oh and the cost. Take a seat, please.

What does a cloth diaper addiction cost? Well, first there is all of the time you spend surfing around for deals and reviews and stocking information. Then there is the stress of stalking ( again, yes… we stalk) that diaper that you watch sell out immediately after stocking. And then, the monetary cost. I have seen diapers, CLOTH DIAPERS, sell for as much as $70 each. ONE DIAPER. And, there was probably a fight for it! Have you ever tried to get a hold of an Elbee Baby fitted? Or how about a Mosaic Moon knitted diaper cover?  I have. Got a few, too ( neener! neener!!)

The good news is that once your child is out of diapers, you can pass them along or resell them… and move on to other addictions. Like hand made clothing and adorable hand made leather shoes. Which remind me, all three of my girls need new slippers, and out there on HyenaCart or Etsy, the perfect pairs are waiting!

Congratulations to Lauren!! Thank you for helping Mother Earth, and we hope you love your diapers!!

Earth Day is Aprill 22nd, and we want to know how you will be honoring Mother Earth! We are working hard, every day, to make our own little corner of the Earth notice our existance as little as possible, and think we can help you do the same!

Our Earth Day offering is a pair of scrumptious Petit Fold snappiable bamboo prefold diapers in Infant size. These perfect little diapers are made from sustainable, silky bamboo and the softest organic cotton on the top and a sturdy blend of bamboo and cotton on the bottom. Each is hand cut, sewn and inspected to make sure that they will keep your little Earth dweller comfy and will last to pass along. We will even include a Snappi fastener or pair of pins ( winner’s choice).

How do you get these sinfully soft diapers for your little one? Simple! Let us know how YOU will be celebrating Earth Day in a comment below. Please make sure you include an email address so we can contact you if you win. Additional entries are earned by following Dagny’s Promise at Twitter. Contest runs from April 16th until midnight MST on April 22nd. A winner will be chosen, at random, by my oldest child on the morning of April 23rd.

Yummy Bamboo Prefolds!