A Brief Reaffirmation of Attachment Parenting

It seems appropriate today to reaffirm our commitments to attachment parenting, breastfeeding, and baby wearing. These are the fundamental ideas that define our family and our business. Parents need the freedom to follow their instincts and parent the way they feel is best for their children. This looks different for every family, and it is unfortunate that the national media has manufactured a crisis this past week which calls those choices into question. In any case, we'll keep doin' what we're doin' and we hope you will, too! 

Visit our parenting links page for other local and national organizations that support and promote attachment parenting.

Our New Cloth Diaper Comparison Chart Helps You Choose the Best Cloth Diapers for Your Family

We've created this chart as a quick way to compare the best features of various styles and brands of cloth diapers we sell. We're often asked, "what are the best cloth diapers?", but we've found that the answer is different for almost every family. These are just our opinions, based on 13 years of experience in helping parents choose the right cloth diapers. See also our recently-created baby carrier comparison chart. Yeah charts!

Our chart will be revised as we add new products, so be sure to visit the chart's official page here.

Confused? Attend one of our free cloth diaper classes!

Cloth Prefolds, Flat, & Fitted Diapers with Covers
1. Prefolds, Flats & Fitteds Cotton Diaper Service Quality (DSQ) Prefolds are designed to be washed again and again. Flat cotton diapers are made out of the same birdseye weave cotton, but must be folded down to each time you use them. Fitted diapers have elastic and snaps built into them and are excellent at containing messes. Each of these styles of cloth diapers are not waterproof and must be used under your favorite waterproof diaper cover.
Product & Material	Ease of Use	Sizing	Cost	Leak Prevention	Durability	Best Feature
DSQ Prefolds Cotton	★ ★	Newborn, Infant & Regular	$	★ ★ ★ (much better with a Snappi or pins)	★ ★ ★ ★ ★	Super durable and also handy to use as burp cloths or changing pads.
Organic DSQ Prefolds Organic Cotton	★ ★	Infant & Regular	$$	★ ★ ★ (much better with a Snappi or pins)	★ ★ ★ ★ ★	Same as our conventional diapers except certified organic.
econobum diapers + covers Cotton + PUL* cover	★ ★	One Size	$	★ ★	★ ★	Inexpensive entry-level cloth diaper system.
Birdseye Flat Diapers Cotton	★	One Size	$	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★ ★ ★	Dries quickly. Best diaper for line drying.
Kissaluvs Fitteds Cotton / microfiber	★ ★	Infant Only	$$	★ ★ ★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★ ★	Soft cotton fleece, contains messes.
Thirsties Duo Fitteds microfiber / fleece	★ ★	Two Sizes	$$	★ ★ ★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★ ★	Microfiber diaper contains messes.
2. Diaper Covers Each of the diapers above require a diaper cover as a waterproof layer. If you're using cotton prefolds, we recommend 6 diaper covers, which can each be used on average 2-3 times before washing. This will give you enough diaper covers so that you can wash every other day.
Product & Material	Ease of Use	Sizing	Cost	Leak Prevention	Durability	Best Feature
Bummis Super Whisper Wraps PUL	★ ★	Four Sizes	$	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	Features a softer, cloth-like feel on the inside.
Bummis Pull-Ups nylon	★ ★	Four Sizes	$	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	Old school classic plastic pants.
Proraps PUL	★ ★	Four Sizes	$	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	Affordable cover with leg gussets.
Thirsties Covers PUL	★ ★	Four Sizes	$	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	Affordable cover with leg gussets in bright colors.
Thirsties Duo Covers PUL	★ ★	Two Sizes	$	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	Two-size system requires half as many covers.
All-in-Two Systems All-in-Two cloth diaper systems offer convenience and fabrics that wick moisture away from your baby's skin. All-in-Two cloth diaper covers can be used more than once between washes. One thing we like to remind customers is that these systems are pretty compatible with each other. A SoftBums insert can be put inside a Flip cover, for example (and vice versa).
Product & Material	Ease of Use	Sizing	Cost	Leak Prevention	Durability	Best Feature
bumGenius Flip PUL cover + microfiber, cotton, or disposable insert	★ ★	One Size	$$	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	One-size system compatible with a wide variety of inserts. Can also be used with prefolds, flat, or fitted diapers.
SoftBums Echo system PUL shell + microfiber or bamboo fiber insert	★ ★	One size	$$	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	One-size system compatible with a wide variety of inserts. Inserts snap in place.
gDiapers Cotton shell + waterproof pouch + cotton/hemp/ microfiber or disposable insert	★ ★	Three sizes	$$$$	★ ★ ★	★ ★	Versatile system can be used with reusable cloth inserts or with biodegradable disposable inserts.
Pocket Diapers Pocket diapers are cloth diapers made out of three parts: A waterproof cover (usually PUL) sewn to an inside pocket made out of lightweight polyester fleece. A removable microfiber insert is the absorbant part of the diaper. Stuff the microfiber into the fleece "pocket" before use and then remove it before washing. It's a bit more work to stuff and unstuff pockets, but we scored them a little higher on ease of use because they're pretty easy once they're stuffed. The advantage of this design is that moisture wicks away through the fleece from baby's skin to be absorbed by the microfiber inside the pocket.
Product & Material	Ease of Use	Sizing	Cost	Leak Prevention	Durability	Best Feature
FuzziBunz® Perfect Fit PUL outer, fleece pocket, microfiber insert	★ ★ ★	Four sizes	$$$$	★ ★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	Sized pocket diaper offers better fit than a one-size.
FuziBunz® Elite One-Size PUL outer, fleece pocket, microfiber insert	★ ★ ★	One Size	$$$	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★ ★	One-size diaper with replaceable leg elastic.
bumGenius 4.0 pocket diapers PUL outer, fleece pocket, microfiber insert	★ ★ ★	One Size	$$$	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	One-size pocket diaper available in snap or velcro.
Rump-A-Rooz Pocket Diapers TPU Outer, fleece pocket, microfiber insert	★ ★ ★	One Size	$$$	★ ★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	One-size pocket diaper uses environmentally-friendly TPU instead of PUL and is designed to contain messes better. Shorter rise than other pockets.
SoftBums Omni System PUL cover + microfiber or bamboo fiber insert	★ ★ ★	One Size	$$	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	One size pocket-diaper that can also be used as a two-in-one shell with snap-in inserts.
All-in-One Diapers All-In-One (AIO) Cloth Diapers are the easiest to use cloth diapers available. AIOs have a waterproof cover and absorbant liner sewn together in one convenient piece. As easy to use as a disposable but much more economical.
Product & Material	Ease of Use	Sizing	Cost	Leak Prevention	Durability	Best Feature
bumGenius Freetime PUL + fleece + microfiber	★ ★ ★ ★ ★	One Size	$$$$	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	One-size All-in-One designed to dry faster than other AIOs.
Rump-A-Rooz Lil' Joeys TPU + fleece + microfiber insert	★ ★ ★ ★ ★	Newborn only	$$$	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	One-size All-in-one uses environmentally-friendly TPU instead of PUL. Excellent fit on newborns.
bumGenius Newborn All-in-Ones PUL + fleece + microfiber	★ ★ ★ ★ ★	Newborn only	$$$	★ ★ ★	★ ★ ★	Easy to use All-in-One that fits very well on newborns.

©2012 Peapods, Inc.

*PUL is an abbreviation of Polyurethane Laminate.

New Cloth Diaper Washing Instructions

What microfibers look like up close. This design makes them incredibly absorbant, but it takes a lot of water to rinse clean.

We've recently updated our cloth diaper washing guidelines based on new research conducted by the Real Diaper Association. Thanks to the RDA, we've been learning a lot about different cloth diaper fibers and how to clean them best. (Did you know that microfiber under a microscope looks like a hollow tube with pie-shaped wedges?) The biggest change is that we are now recommending a warm water cycle for the first washing instead of a cold water cycle. And on the second wash, be sure to use plenty of hot water with the correct amount of detergent. (Even with microfiber, using less detergent will not lead to cleaner diapers.) RDA created a handy pdf that simplifies everything and a Laundry Science page with more in-depth answers for solving cloth diaper laundry problems. As always, stop into the store or give us a call if you have questions!

A few products that help keep cloth diapers clean:

Bac-Out Odor Eliminator	Bum Genius Diaper Sprayer	Rockin Green Classic Rock Remix Detergent

Our Best Travel Toy Recommendations

We've been working on developing a list of our best travel toy recommendations, which is something we get asked about a lot in the store.

What is a good travel toy? A good travel to should be self-contained, portable, small, lightweight, safe and fun. Our recommendations are based on the age of your child, since their interests and abilities change dramatically over time. In general, younger children need lots of little interesting items while older kids enjoy portable activity kits designed for longer play. Explore our recommendations for ages 0-3 years, 3-5 years, and 5+ years.

We asked our followers on Facebook to share their favorite travel toys, too. Their recommendations include: Books, masking tape; a spiral-bound drawing pad and crayons/ colored pencils; books on CD; coloring sets where you fill the "marker" with plain water; rocks, sticks and plastic hotel cups; "Scratch & Sketch" books; "Guess and Know" books, Travel Bingo; a tray for the car seat or lap; and Sakol velcro blocks. More great ideas!

Here's some of our favorite travel toys:

Box Set Airplane and Airport Portable Wood Playset	Airplanes Magnetic Design Set by Mudpuppy	Educo Train Magnetic Maze
Baby Paper	eeBoo Elodie & Naomi Musician & Artist Paper Dolls	Sophie the Giraffe

Press Release: Great Cloth Diaper Change on 4/21 -- World Record Attempt

Local Businesses Team up to Break World Record in Support of Cloth Diapering

ST. PAUL, MN: On Saturday, April 21, local business owners and cloth diaper advocates will team up with over 305 other sites in 16 countries around the world in an attempt to break the record for the most cloth diapers changed at the same moment.

The event, dubbed The Great Cloth Diaper Change, seeks to promote the environmental and health benefits of cloth diapering. "Cloth diapering has been a growing trend for several years", said Brittany Kubricky, co-owner of ,BabyLove an Eagan business which teaches classes about cloth diapering. "Parents are looking for ways to be more environmentally-friendy," she added, "and cloth diapers are a big part of that."

Peter Allen, owner of Do Good Diapers in Minneapolis, a cloth diaper service, agrees. "Whether you have clean diapers delivered by a service or wash them yourself, they're a lot easier than they used to be." Allen, who also serves on the board the Real Diaper Industry Association, a national trade group of cloth diaper businesses, added, "Once they get started, parents really see the benefits of cloth diapering. Not only are they greener, but they're a lot more affordable than disposables".

Millie Adelsheim, the owner of Peapods Natural Toys and Baby Care, the host of the event, said, "We're really excited to host the Great Cloth Diaper Change. We see it not just as a world record attempt, but as a celebration of cloth diapers. We hope it'll be a lot of fun." Adelsheim, who's been selling cloth diapers at her St. Paul store since 1999, added, "Cloth Diapers have come a long way in the past 13 years. We have so many more great choices available now."

Other participating local businesses in the diaper change event will be Amanda Erickson, owner of And All That Scrap, a local cloth diaper maker; Jenene Johnson, owner of Sign2Say, a Baby Sign Language educator; and Megan Crown of Megan Crown Photography, a local birth, child, and family photographer. Interested participants should preregister at http://www.peapods.com/page.cfm/GCDC.html.

Baby Carrier Comparison Chart - 2012

We've created this chart as a quick way to compare the best features of the different baby carriers we sell. These are just our opinions, based on 13 years of experience in helping parents choose the right baby carrier. Let us know if you have questions; we can (and do!) expound upon every check mark in this chart.

	Optimum Ages*	Quick on/off	Best for Long Periods of Use	One Size Fits All Adults	Use While Nursing**	Baby Can Ride Facing Forward	Toddler Can Ride on Back	Best Feature
Slings & Wraps
Sakura Bloom Ring Sling	Birth-2yrs							Very Versatile
Moby Wrap	Birth-12mos							Very Secure & Balanced
Boba Wrap	Birth-12mos							Very Secure & Balanced. Springs Back to Snug Fit
Baby K'Tan Wrap	Birth-12mos							Easier to Use Wrap Style Carrier
Structured Carriers
Ergo Baby Carrier	6mo-3yrs younger w/ infant insert							Comfortably Distributes Weight to Hips
Boba Baby Carrier	Birth-3yrs No special infant insert needed.							Built-in support for young babies, stirrups for toddlers.
Beco Gemini Baby Carrier	Birth-3yrs No special infant insert needed.							Adjustable seat expands carrier as baby grows.
	Optimum Ages	Quick on/off	Best for Long Periods of Use	One Size Fits All Adults	Use While Nursing	Baby Can Ride Facing Forward	Toddler Can Ride on Back	Best Feature

*Many carriers can be used over a much longer range--these are the ages when we think they're at their best.
**Body shape and size will affect your ability to nurse in any baby carrier. It may be more difficult for some than others.