Categories
Aden + Anais Babies Baby Gear Baby Registry Baby Shower Diapers Gifts Parenting Shopping

Shopping and Baby Registries

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know I love to shop. If this is the first time you’ve come to my blog, now you know. Shopping is my pleasure.. Something I’m very good at. (Much to my husband’s dismay..)

20140127-094359.jpg
When it comes to my children, that is where the bulk of my shopping expertise is put to use. There are a million and one products on the market that all do the same thing.. All at different prices.. All of different quality. Especially for babies.

You must consider a few things when shopping for baby products.

1. Price-point – Are you on a strict budget, or is your budget more flexible?

2. Form or Function – Where does your priority lie? Do you simply want something that does the job, or something you don’t mind being a long-term piece of furniture in your home?

3. High or Low Tech – Are you a gadget lover or do you prefer less complicated gear? Or perhaps you don’t care one way or the other?

4. Brands – Are labels important to you, or do you not care who made it, so long as it works?

Once you’ve answered all of these questions, most shopping comes easy. You’ve figured out which brands are common, which brands are expensive, you can see which products have bells and whistles.. and you can obviously see which products will look like a toy store exploded in your house versus a magazine-esque photo shoot.

Now that you’ve decided on these criteria for yourself and your budget, it’s time to build your registry. Registries are good for more than just telling Baby Shower attendees what you desire. They are a good way for you to keep track of the products you need and want for baby even if purchased on your own. You’ll have a list of what still needs purchased, what has already been purchased and can see in front of you what it all will cost. If you know you will be thrown a baby shower, I would include items of all sizes and a variety of price ranges to easily accommodate your attendees preferences and budgets.

With my oldest, the only registry options were going into a store with the registry scanner and manually scanning each desired item. I thought that was fun at the time and my husband loved the scanner. Since then, I’ve learned. Online registries are so much better! When you create online registries, you have a larger array of items to choose from, you can compare products easier, there is a wider selection of premium brands that often aren’t carried in big box stores, and you can keep track of what is discontinued or out of stock.

My favorite online registry? Diapers.com – I’m on baby number 4 and the first thing I did for him was start my registry. Not for a baby shower per say, (…he is baby number 4..) but as my own shopping list and a place to send people when they ask. Why Diapers.com? First, they have such a wide variety of products, they accommodate nearly all of my very particular tastes of baby gear. Second, once you reach $500 in purchases from your registry, you earn credits. When you’re buying large furniture, car seats and strollers.. The numbers can quickly add up and the credits pay off! Lastly, my favorite part of a Diapers.com registry.. FREE 1-2 day shipping on most items (unless shipping direct from manufacturer which may take longer, but is stated as such) It doesn’t matter if its a crib, a stroller, a bottle of baby shampoo.. No item too big or small, it will ship free. If others are shopping from your registry, they can opt to have it mailed directly to an address you have provided or delivered to themselves. This is particularly nice for out-of-town family that may want to buy a gift for baby but can’t deliver it to you in person. They can even request gift wrapping on many items.

In addition to all of those wonderful features, they provide a “Ship Later” option. Something can be purchased that you won’t need immediately, and shipped to you at a later specified date. Also, a “Thank You Manager” to keep track of who sent or purchased what, and check off when you’ve sent a Thank You note. The “Dollars for Diapers” option allows people to purchase credits that will be added to your account to be used for diapers as you need them! A fabulous feature, which allows you to not over-purchase one size of diaper that baby ends up outgrowing. Just use your credits as needed for the size you need. (They’ll arrive in 1-2 days, after all!) And last but not least is the “10% Registry Completion” perk that allows you to purchase any of your remaining registry items after baby is born at a 10% discount.

Go forth, find your baby gear preferences, enjoy building your registry and start shopping for baby! It’s such a fun process! (Might I recommend adding some Aden + Anais Muslin Swaddle Blankets.. A Diaper Bag Confessions Favorite!)

If you’ve never shopped at Diapers.com, or their sister sites, before — feel free to take advantage of 20% off your first order: Use code SIMP0570 or click the image below.

use code: SIMP0570
Buy Baby Items at Diapers.com

New customers to Diapers.com, YoYo.com or other Quidsi sites only. $20 maximum discount. Subject to change or cancellation.

Note: This post is not sponsored in any way by diapers.com – the opinions I’ve expressed are my own, simply because I love shopping with diapers.com and the registry program they offer.

Categories
Baby Shower Diapers gDiapers Green Review Yah Yah Photography

Change Diapers..

I’ve sat here many times attempting this post, only to quickly realize how difficult it is to put into words my love for a diaper. No, I am not excited about any poop filled diaper. In fact, most diapers instill fear in me. If you have ever experienced a blow-out you know this fear. However, I am googoo over gDiapers.


Photo by Olivia at Yah Yah Photography

I tell the world about my love for these diapers all the time. When my friends are expecting, I show them my diapers. (I’ve converted quite a few, too!) I tell them how easy they are to use. How simple it is to change. How not traditional they are. I am amazed by how many people still think that cloth diapering involves plastics covers and pins. Yes, you can still use those methods.. but why when you don’t have to? When you have something that is as convenient as a disposable diaper, without the guilt.

I often volunteer, when given the opportunity, to work in the gDiaper booths at trade-shows. Telling people about gDiapers is simple there. I show off my baby’s g-Clad bum and then talk about how simple it all is. I am able to answer new parents’ anxiety-filled poop questions. Tell them about how gDiapers has helped reduce my carbon footprint. I get to explain about my kids’ sensitive skin and how gDiaper’s has never given them a rash. I get to brag about how I have never had a blow-out in our gDiapers and I can explain all the differences in using gDiapers with their flushable/biodegradable/compostable insert, using gDiapers with their cloth insert –or– using plain old disposable diapers. (Currently, I am a biodegradable only user. I did cloth inserts with my middle son.. and my first son was a ‘sposie kid. Eep! I know the ins and outs of it all) Yet, to write it all out here? The words don’t flow. So, I am going to attempt to SHOW you how wonderful, adorable and simple gDiapers are. If there is one thing I have a lot of, it’s pictures of my kids in g’s.

Starting Out Tiny..

Let’s start with the TinyG’s. Rated for Newborns (Or, more accurately 6-10 lbs) these diapers are all one piece with a soft cotton exterior lined with a water resistant lining. Please observe, gDiapers all close in the back. While this takes a little getting used to with a wiggly, squishy newborn.. you will thank them for it as your child gets older and can start attempting to remove diapers that close in the front. (Trust me..) They recommend that these newborn diapers only be used with the biodegradable liner. Which, for newborn poop, I recommend using that particular liner anyway. There are snaps in the front to allow you to lower the rise as to not get in the way of a drying/healing umbilical cord and they are so sweet to look at. All of the TinyG’s come in this print and I couldn’t get enough of it. My baby was in the TinyG’s for longer than most (about 3.5 months) but he was less than 6 lbs at birth and only 8 lbs when I moved him into the smalls.

Some babies will never wear the TinyG’s, but if you can get your baby in them, even for a short amount of time, I recommend it. It is a wonderful way to get into the routine of gDiapering and a great learning tool. You can get the TinyG’s in packs of 6 or you will find them in the gBaby Bundle. (The gBaby Bundle is, in my opinion, the best value.. even if you don’t use the Tiny’s for long. You get 12 TinyG’s, 6 size smalls and 80 of the Biodegradable Refills.)

 

 

 

Getting Bigger:

As you Transition into the small gPants, (Small gPants rated from 8-14 lbs) there is a little bit more of a learning curve, as you will now have 3 pieces to your diaper. The soft and adorable cotton exterior, a nylon snap-in liner (or “pouch” as they are often referred to.. Each diaper comes with this pouch but you can buy extra) and then your choice of cloth or biodegradable insert. While this might seem slightly intimidating or complicated, it is definitely not. I typically pre-prepped all of my diapers and then switched them out at each change. If he was just wet, I would simply toss or flush the biodegradable insert, let the diaper and snap-in liner dry out and put a new diaper on him until the next change when I would go back to the previous diaper. Often only using 2-3 diaper exteriors and snap-in inserts per day.That is, unless I wanted to put him into a different color. Which, sometimes happened often. Especially during the summer when I used his diapers as part of his outfits.  I think the thing I loved most during this period of time, compared to when my oldest son wore disposables at this age, is that I never had an outfit ruined by “blow-out” — My g’s have always contained the mess and protected his clothes. (Unless of course, I was 1/2 awake and put the diaper on wrong. But, that never happened. Nooo..) I kept my babies in small gPants (I have gDiapered two babies) until they reached about 12 pounds.

Growing Up:

The transition from Small to Medium was a little bit more interesting. Width wise, my baby still needed the small.. but length wise, the rise was too short. (Medium gPants are rated from 13-28 lbs) Thanks to the amazing community of gParents, I was guided into the “Small to Medium Transition Phase” of using a size Medium gPant (The cloth exterior..) with a size Small snap-in liner and biodegradable insert. This worked perfectly until he was about 14.5 pounds and able to fit the Medium snap-in liner more appropriately. The practice, by this point, will be second nature and there is no difference in gPants from Small through Extra-Large except that the Small gPants have a thinner waist band than the Medium, Large and Extra-Large. I’ll be honest, though. I have never used anything larger than the size Medium. When my first gDiapered baby was ready to potty train, he was only 25 pounds and still in Mediums at 2.5 years old.

  

An Addictive Collection:

Now that I’ve explained the basics, Let me talk about my addiction. As if the cute array or colors aren’t enough, gDiapers releases Limited Edition gPants and also gStyles Sets (that are also Limited in production) Often, these styles sell out promptly which has caused me to be “victim” of a lack of adorable gPant on a couple occasions. Often, they will throw out hints here and there on their Facebook Page to let you know that these diapers are coming soon, so I often plan accordingly to budget in one or two of them.

 

 

 

While these Limited Edition diapers have an excellent re-sale value, I have never been able to part with mine. I mean, what if I had another baby?? The thought of not having these adorable diapers makes me sad. You’d be surprised that, while all gPants have adorable names (Most appropriately starting with g’s..) most people will call out the name of a Limited Edition or a gStyle faster than you can even remember what your child’s name is. It’s a slightly (okay, not slightly..) addicting diaper obsession.

There are SO many amazing things about gDiapers that I can’t even begin to tell you all of them on a simple (yet adorable..) blog post, so I definitely urge you to go to the gDiapers site to see what they are all about. The community is strong and helpful. The staff is amazing.. and most of all, you will see that g’s are, above all other gWords, Genuine..

If you have any questions about gDiapers, if you use gDiapers, or just want to tell me how adorably cute these things are… Feel free to comment here. gDiapers quickly became more than just a purchase for me. They became a passion.

Note: These products were not provided to me. We bought them, we love them, our children love them, so I am showing them to you in the hope that you will love them too.