Product Review : Well Beginnings Diapers

Good Morning all! Well, I am finally posting my review for the Well Beginnings Diapers that I was picked to do via Green Moms Meet. 

Now, I am not what I would call a "diaper snob" but I tend to stick with Huggies. I have used Pampers in the past, and I just don't care too much for them. The main reason for me being that the area where the straps are to stick the diaper on is too thin, causing me to rip many a diaper. Also I always felt like they were too tight in that area on my sons upper thigh. To me, a size 3 in Pampers was tighter than a size 3 in Huggies. Huggies diapers are much thicker in the upper thigh area and the part where you stick is as well. I never rip a Huggies diaper. The Pure and Natural is my favorite, but it is more cost affective right now to purchase regular Huggies since I get more in a box for a little bit cheaper price. That being said, I was interested in trying out these new diapers from Walgreens, just to see how they would stand against my number one pick. 

 

WB on left, Huggies on right

The package I recieved was 31 diapers for size 4 ( 22-37lbs). I did not have to pay for these, but I believe they are under 10$. Compared to Huggies Little Movers, the Well Beginnings Diaper was only slightly less thick inside. Right away it reminded me of the Pampers diapers. I thought for sure my son would pee right through this diaper. However, we were actually tested on that theory and not on purpose!! I change my son whenever I feel a large poofy wet diaper. He never goes longer than 1.5 half in one diaper with me. He pees a lot! One day last week I had a bridal shower to go to and daddy got to spend time with his boy. Well, lets just say for someone not used to changing diapers all day long left his son in the same diaper MUCH longer than he should have! Not horribly long that mom would freak out, but certainly longer than I would ever leave him. (longer than 2 hours) My goofy husband just "forgot". Anyways, you would think that he would have been soaking wet since he was peeing in the same diaper for a decent amount of time. He was not though! It was absolutely a full diaper, but nothing had come through. That right there was one big plus for this brand of diaper. Even though it is a little thinner than my Huggies diapers, it still fought against the leak. 

 

WB on left, Huggies on right

The second most important thing was the strap size. As you can see in the picture, the part on the WB diaper where the diaper sticks is basically the same size as the Huggies. Like I mentioned, my son has cute little chubby thighs and I worry about too tight diapers. With the stretchy waist band, it is more comfortable and does not leave a mark on the skin caused by tightness.  I also found that even though there is no "double grib strip" like the alternative, these diapers stay on just fine. I have changed diapers for years (I worked in daycare for many years) and sometimes when changing a chaild I would notice the diaper had come un stuck under the pants. So far this has not happened with the Well Beginnings. He has been wearing these for about 3 weeks now with no issues. 

Lastly, these diapers are hypoallergenic, cotton and soft. The liner contains aloe, vitamin E and natural botanicals. I have researched and haven't found anything stating any added chemicals to the diaper. BIG plus. 

Cost wise, these are pretty affordable. If you CLICK HERE you will find the package I got is listed for 9.49 and if I were to order I could buy one and get one 50% off. That's not too shabby. Also depending on the size you need, the deal is even better. Size 2 diapers come with 46 diapers to a pack (mine was only 31) same price and you can buy one get one 50% off. Right now on amazon.com there is a pack of Huggies 27 count, size 4 diapers listed for $17.62. Now you all know I love my Huggies, but if I am trying to save some money...the Well Beginnings is the way to go. You get more diapers for less money. 

In my opinion, Well Beginning Diapers are just as good as the Huggies I use every day. If the two were side by side in the store and the price was right, I would have no problem choosing the Well Beginnings. They have been put to the test (not always on purpose haha) and have passed. 

I thank Green Moms Meet for allowing me to review this product, I am happy to have learned about it and to be able to share the experience!

Please head over to walgreens.com/wellbeginnings or their Facebook page for more info or if you have any questions!


I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms MeetsSM blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinon on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.


(just a reminder...anything I review is all of my own experiences and opinions. I understand it is not the same for everyone.)

Vote for my kiddo!!!

So I completely forgot that I entered my son in a contest for KIWI magazine like four months ago. It was a contest to see who has the cutest "Green Baby". I had not heard anything for a while and I forgot about it. Well, I got an email today saying that they had narrowed it down to 25 babies. I decided to just see who had been chosen, and to my surprise my son was on the list! I never got notice that he was even considered!! 

The winner of the contest can win up to 1500$, a feature in the magazine among other fun prizes. Three kids will be picked. 

I would love and appreciate any votes we can get! I will post the link and if you do not mind, please find Cameron Y and give him a vote!!! I would love to show him this when he is older!!!

Thanks everyone!!

VOTE HERE!!!

Randomness on a Monday

So, it is a BEAUTIFUL Monday here in my little town. The sun is out, there is a wonderfully warm breeze and I do not want to do anything! UGH, does anyone else ever have one of those days? I am seriously lacking in the motivation department. My one year old is keeping himself occupied with toys at the moment. He is due for a nap very soon. I keep looking out the window thinking I should get up and go for a walk, or sit in the sun with a book, weed the garden, SOMETHING. All I feel like doing though is sitting down with my iced coffee, pinning recipes, or doing work inside the house. I guess I have SOME motivation, but its keeping me indoors doing things rather than taking advantage of this weather before it is gone and we are really stuck inside. I have been doing a lot of stuff in my home, still painting and moving things around. Yesterday I went through all of the clothing that no longer fits my son and separated it into sizes. Keeping things I love and can not get rid of, but selling or giving away the rest. There is SOOOO much. Maybe after his nap I can drag myself out of this funk and we can go play outside. It really would be a shame to waste such a nice day. I am sure there are many people stuck inside today that would love to be able to be out doors. I should remember I am fortunate that way. 

Another thing that I wanted to share was a bit personal. I may or may not have mentioned in previous posts that we had to use fertility to become pregnant with my son. Long story short, 10 years of birth control really messed up my system and I became super irregular after stopping. It prompted me to see a doctor who then informed me after a blood test that I was not producing enough FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) which meant my eggs (if any) were not big enough to become fertilized. How frustrating that was. I was only 27 when we started trying. I did not become pregnant until 29, after the 4th IUI attempt with a new shot introduced. ANYWAYS, I had wondered if maybe after going through the pregnancy if my body would straighten itself out. I was very discouraged and figured if we wanted more kids we could only conceive through fertility help. I still do not know if we would have to go that route. I hope not. My husband had to do his share in the doctors office too if you catch my drift. I feel like if we had to do that again he would be hesitant. I just want it to happen naturally.

So, I stopped breastfeeding my son at ten months. He was pretty much weening himself and I wasn't producing as much. Well a friend of mine has a  daughter who is three months behind my son, still breastfeeding her and had her cycle return about a month ago! Of course I was kinda bummed, I had finished breast feeding for two months and NO sign of a cycle for me. I made a doc appointment because I wanted to talk to him about thoughts on conceiving for a second time and what he could suggest. Should we wait, should we try? I also am not sure we want a second right NOW, but if we have to do fertility...you cannot just wing it. Well, to my surprise, guess what showed up the Thursday before my appointment? I know most women hate when it comes (and actually I'm no fan haha) but for me and what we went through, this was awesome!!! my body finally doing what it was supposed to do, and without medication to start it. It lasted a full week and was horrendous! But, I did go almost a year and a half without it. So (this can get a little TMI, in case you can't handle this stuff) I downloaded the OVIA app which is a fertility app that tracks periods, ovulation, fertile times etc. I figured I need to do this in order to see what my body is going to do. I could still be irregular, I do not know for sure if my period will come in 28 days or if it will be late. I do have to say this though, last week I was grocery shopping and all the sudden I am just standing there (TMI) and I can feel something going on down there. I went to the bathroom and checked and it was clearly cervical mucas. According to doctors and everything I have read, a good way to test if you are fertile is to check your CM. If it is stretchy then that is a good sign that you are. So I checked and sure enough...it stretched. I am sorry for all the info here, but for anyone trying to conceive or that has already gone through this, you get it. There is nothing that grosses me out about this kind of stuff anymore haha. 

My calendar as is appears today

I got really excited not because I think I will get pregnant or anything, but because the thought that maybe my body is getting back to where it is supposed to be is WONDERFUL!!! I do not know if it means my hormones will balance out and I will produce FSH like I should be, but one step at a time. So I marked it down on the app and have been keeping track of the times my hubs and I have sex. According to the app, if I have a normal 28 day cycle, my next period should start around the 28th. Praying for a period or a positive pregnancy test. None of the "un known" anymore!!!

Time to go put my little man down to bed. Maybe Ill head outside and tackle that garden...or maybe I'll just continue blowing up my friends pinterest feeds ;) tee hee hee

Enjoy the day!!

ALS Ice bucket challenge/my video

My Uncle James (pictured with his sister)  lost to ALS 03/04/05

So this weekend was incredibly busy. I had two parties back to back. I am still coming down from all the planning and prepping. It was a great weekend and we were blessed with beautiful weather both days. Needless to say I had no time for posting. Today I wanted to post about the ALS challenge that I am sure most of you have been seeing around social media. It was started by a man named Peter Frates. He is one of the many unfortunate people out there battling this disease. If you do not know what ALS or "Lou Gerhigs" disease is, basically it is a disease in your nerve cells in your spinal cord and brain that control voluntary movement. As it attacks it shuts down all muscle movement, paralyzing your whole body and eventually stopping your breathing. It is a horrible disease that I have witnessed first hand. I lost my uncle at the very young age of 40 to this disease in 2005. It was sad for many reasons, but more so because this was a man that was always on the go. Always doing something, fixing something, working on something, fishing, hanging out with his kids, etc...one of the nicest men you ever had the pleasure of knowing. My dads best friend and father of two awesome kids. It is hard to even talk about without tears forming. 

The ALS ice bucket challenge was started by Pete as I mentioned, and has swept across this country like crazy. Everyone is doing it, from us small town folk to police stations, fire stations, school teachers and even celebrities! I was nominated by my aunt and of course I accepted. I want to talk about the rules. There is no doubt that this has helped raise awareness as well as money. Fox news reported yesterday that in just 14 days, 1.35 million dollars have been raised for ALS research. In 2013 22,00 was raised in the same time frame. HOW INSANE AND AWESOME!! I have been seeing tons of videos on facebook of people taking the challenge and while it is wonderful, a lot of people are forgetting to explain the rules. This challenge is not just about seeing who will dump the ice bucket before the 24 hours is up. There is more to it.

If you are nominated, you have 24 hours to make a donation of 10$ and dump the bucket. If you decline the challenge, you are supposed to donate 100$. Basically in order to spend less you have to dump the bucket. Really though, any donation you can afford helps out. The ice is just a fun way to get people talking about it and donating. So, if accepted, get someone to film you. Get your bucket of cold water and a bag of ice. Here is the important part...YOU MUST EXPLAIN WHY YOU ARE DOING THIS. Please, do not just say you have accepted the challenge, your nominations and then dump. The whole point is missed. Explain what the charity is for, that you are donating or have donated (and please actually donate) then say who you nominate (at least 5 people) then go ahead and dump away!! 

To some this whole thing may seem silly, but to those that have witnessed what this awful disease can do, this is all so incredible. So, make your donation and then decide if the ice is for you. If you do not plan on donating anything, then do not bother with the challenge, because then it is meaningless. 

If anyone needs a page to donate to, here are two of my family members who will be doing the NH walk to Defeat ALS for the 10th year in a row. I cant believe it will be ten years in March that we lost my uncle. I pray that this disease meets its fate in my life time. Thanks everyone! (My video is posted below)



1.   http://web.alsa.org/site/TR/Walks/NorthernNewEngland?px=3509670&pg=personal&fr_id=10181#.U-pAiKP_mvP

2.    http://web.alsa.org/site/TR/Walks/NorthernNewEngland?px=1395381&pg=personal&fr_id=10181#.U-pAsaP_mvN

Randomness on a Thursday

It is an absolutley beautiful day today. My son is napping, and I decided to sit outside in the sun. The photo above is a shot of the view from my backyard. My chicken coop and the girls...and nothing but fields of corn and woods behind them. I love where we live. I wouldnt mind doing an overhaul on our house however haha. But if it means having THIS as our view, I wont complain too much. Its not even that our house is bad, because it is not. Its just smaller than we like and the layout is like a big box. Its two floors but no hallways, no closets. Just rooms adjacent to eachother. Oh well, we are forunate to have a home and we need to remember that. 

Also wanted to share that I finally recieved my Well Beginnings product review kit. So once I have used them for a few days I will post my review. This weekend is a busy one with the anniversary party for my parents, and then a bridal shower for my friend the next day. I'll get it done though! I won't be doing the baby wash however because I only use one type with my kid and I love it. I'll probably donate that. 

Hope everyone is having a beautiful day as well!!! Summer wont be here for much longer, take advantage if you can!!

Xo

Two week fitness challenge

My motivation for the week!

So, I have not been in the mood for writing lately...which is probably not something a blogger should admit. I have to believe we all get there sometimes though. There had been a lot going on around here lately. My brother and I are planning a whopper of a 30th anniversary party for my parents and it is happening this weekend. It is down to the wire and just trying to finalize the guest list rsvps, food, decorations....it's like planning a wedding all over again haha. That right there has been the focus of the last few weeks. On top of that, I have been feeling like junk b/c dear old Aunty Flo has shown back up in my life. After stopping breastfeeding for over two months she is finally here. It is bittersweet, b/c lets face it. NO ONE enjoys when she is here, but for me...it took a while to get pregnant with my son because my system was so out of wack. I was not getting my flo for months and months post birth control. I was actually worried it would continue that way and that we would have issues becoming pregnant again. The fact that my body did this all on its own gives me a little relief and a sense of hope that MAYBE we wont have to use fertility to help with baby number two. Fingers crossed. So needless to say, this week has been a little BLAH. 

On a positive note, the feeling of blah has helped motivate me to get off my butt and start exercising again. It has been years since I went to the gym. I try going for walks or runs with the stroller but honestly I hate it. Especially when it is muggy or just straight up hot. I don't care for jogging with the stroller. I don't mind a nice leisurely walk, but for breaking a sweat purpose...I don't enjoy it.

A friend of mine invited me on Facebook to her two week fitness challenge. She is starting out as one of those Beach body Coaches and this must be something she has to do. Basically what it is, is a series of exercises you do every day. Each day has a different set. You are supposed to factor in about 30 minutes of cardio as well, your choice how you do so. The exercises are not really difficult, I assume next weeks will be. Every day you do your exercise and then you post that you completed it. There are rewards also. If you post a photo of you doing the exercise, a video, a recipe or a motivational photo you can earn points. At the end of the two weeks the person with the most points gets a prize. Not sure what, but who doesn't like something for free? Anyways, I decided to do it. It helps that many of my friends are in on it too and we can support each other to finish it. I also decided to start at the gym again. So yesterday I completed Mondays work out and then hit the gym at night. I just finished Tuesdays routine. I will skip the gym tonite to give the muscles a day to relax, and then go again tomorrow. 

Of course during this you must watch what you eat and drink a ton of water. I am horrible at drinking glasses of water, but if I have bottles I can drink a ton. So I bought two huge Smart Water bottles and have just been refilling. ( I know plastic is horrible, but right now its the easiest way for me to chug)

I thought I would share the workouts for those of you that may want to try this. I know Monday is done, and Tuesday is today...but you can obviously start these any time and just do in order. Or perhaps you can start fresh next Monday! I do not expect to become ripped from the gym or this challenge, but if I can slim my hips/butt area thats what I want. I lost all of it after the baby was born and because I did not maintain it, I gained it right back. I would not say I am way overweight, I usually fluctuate between 130-140. Right now I am 145 and only 5'4. I would like to get back to the 125-130 range. I also would like to have a second baby in the near future and I think being as healthy as possible will help. 

So if you are interested...here are the workouts for this week. Feel free to start whenever you can. I am doing it during my sons nap times:)

You can refer to YouTube for any exercises you may need demonstrated :)

Organization Love...lets help out!

So I read an interesting article about an organization that is helping babies in need. I found it via KIWI magazine. The organization is called, Loved Twice. What they are doing is taking gently used baby items and packing boxes that will help a baby in need for the first year of their life. It is great because if you have or had children, then you know that usually you have an over abundance of clothing for your little ones. At least I did. I have so many clothes that my son never wore because he grew too fast, as well as clothes he only wore for a short time. I decided that I wanted to help out, so in my area I will be collecting as many items as I can to give to the charity. If you are interested in helping, what they are looking for is : gently used (or new) infant clothing size 0-12 months. Socks, bibs, hats, board books and blankets.

Check out the link for more information. http://lovedtwice.org/

It sounds like such a wonderful idea, and I am all about helping people. However, I have a soft spot for the babies. They are just so new, helpless and so innocent. The thought of a mother not being able to properly cloth her baby is heart breaking. If we can help in any way that why wouldn't we. 

There are a few ways in which you can help. You can host a mini fundraiser, donate money, donate clothing, volunteer or host a baby clothing drive. You can also collect donations and then pack your own boxes and bring to a local shelter/center/drive. If you are outside the local bay area (I am) then all they request is a note telling them where you dropped off your donations. I am sure there is a way to send your donations over to the organization itself, and they will go through it all and pack and ship. 

Either way, I am a fan of random acts of kindness, and I think especially with the winter months approaching, this is a good way to practice. So, check out the link and read up on ways to help!!! I hope that at least one person who has read this post will do so. 

Take Care!!

xo