Toddler Topics: Child Proofing

           Let me start with the child proofing in the kitchen which is the most child proofed room in our house.

First we have magnetic cabinet locks, which require a key to open, and little fingers can't
 get in to just undo it. Love that. The brand we have are Safety first. 

                                                    

I use Cleaning strength vinegar to clean all surfaces. 

Where bleach is required we use wipes,

because I drank bleach as a kid it was all a big mess, 

and she would be hard pressed to drink a wipe. 

We have a stove with an oven lock, and the buttons are in the back where children can't reach. 

And there here is the lock on the freezer. 

We installed a 2nd hand rail where she could reach. 

These are on most doors in the house 

there are locks on all the windows to prevent escaping. 

(Solar panels were just installed a week ago) 

This gate keeps everyone out of the kitchen when I'm cooking or in the living room. 

This is a slide lock at the top of the basement stairs. 

These are in all the plus in the whole house. 

Gate that keeps kids from going upstairs on there own. 

We keep the dials off the heaters. 

This is H's play area in the living room, we have NEVER locked her in. Its more to keep toys in and babies away from the big kid toys. 

and last but not least there is padding around the sharp edge of the fire place. 

Toddler Topics: Room Tour

         My toddler will be 3 years old this month, .....when did that happen?? Wasn't she learning to walk yesterday?
          For the longest time the only piece of furniture in her room was her toddler bed. We have recently moved her dresser in to her bedroom and it was the best thing ever, wish I had thought of it months ago because now she comes down stairs each morning already dressed! Its amazing!
         She has black out curtains that have been pulled down by cousin J. many times...
         We had pretty wall paper boarder all around the room.... until cousin J. came over... and now that's gone lol. She also has a night light (Glow me, love this thing) and a video monitor.
       There are no toys in her bedroom, they are all in our living room.

This is what the all paper used to look like lol. 

Glow me night light. 

(Summer Infant Day & Night Baby Video Monitor).  

Curtain that has been pulled down many times, by cousin J.

Extra, toddler mattress tucked under her bed for when cousin J comes over.

I love this fan

missing wall paper

Alva Baby Diaper Review, description, and size comparisons.

   

   Alva diapers are easily the most popular "China Cheapy" diaper in the cloth diapering world, and they are a better quality then most China Cheapys. Because these ship from china they can take up to 6 weeks to come in the mail, which is why a used Alva often sells for more than original price.

   But something about the sizing is lost in translation. When I searched for descriptions of the different sizes of Alva diapers I couldn't find any side by side pictures, or comparisons. So I ordered one of each size and here are the stats! 

        New Born:  (20 colors and prints available in snaps, 16 colors and prints available in Velcro) 

         Which you can find here on the Alva baby website for $4.50 each for snaps ($4.70 for Velcro) this diaper is made for a baby who is less then 12lbs. But most babies will outgrow the absorbency of the insert long before the size of the pocket diaper. 

Newborn Diaper Stats:

• Velcro is $4.95 per diaper, or $4.70 each for more than 20 diapers. 
• Snaps are $4.50 per diaper, or $4.30 each for more than 20 diapers. 
• Comes in both snaps and Velcro
• Come in Suede cloth inner cloth, 
• Comes in Solid color Pul, and Minky prints 
• Solid colors not available in Minky
• Minky not available in solid colors

Newborn Fit:

• Resting Rise
• Large Setting 12.5 inches
• Medium Setting 11 inches
• Small Setting 10 inches.
• Crotch Width: 4 inches. 
• Waist: 9 inches to 17 inches. 

New Born Insert Stats:

• Each diaper comes with 1, 3 layer Microfiber insert.
• Each insert is approximately. 12 inches by 4 inches. 
• Holds 4oz Pre Washed,? Oz after.  (washing now will test when done) 

     One Size 3.0 diaper:  (257+ Prints and Colors available)

         The term one size is misleading though. "One size fits most" would be more actuate. They fit between 8lbs and 35lbs. You can find these here.

         The bottom three rows of snaps (the rise) are for adjusting the size to fit a small (8-15 lb), medium (12-25 lb), or large (20-35 lb) baby/toddler. My current stash is currently made of this size. They fit all of my children quite well. I have a chunky baby B, a thin baby L, and a thin toddler H.

One size 3.0 Diaper Stats:

• $5.59 per diaper, or $4.80 each for more than 20 diapers. 
• Comes in only snaps on website
• Come in Suede cloth inner cloth, (or bamboo for 6.99 per diaper)
• Comes in Solid color Pul, print PUL and Print Minky. 
• Solid color Pul are a bit cheaper at $4.79. 

One size 3.0  Fit:

• Resting Rise: 
• Large Setting 14 inches
• Medium Setting 12.5 inches
• Small Setting 12 inches.
• Crotch Width: 6.5 inches. 
• Waist: 12 inches to 20 inches. 

One size 3.0  Insert Stats:

• Each diaper comes with 1, 3 layer Microfiber insert.
• Each insert is approximately. 12.5 inches by 5 inches. 
• Holds 5oz Pre Washed, ? Oz after.  (washing now will test when done) 

         Big Baby size: (18 Prints and Colors available)

         Can be found here. These are more expensive at 7.50 each. They fit 20lbs to 40-45lbs. These are great for older children who have bed wetting issues, and chunky toddlers. I think I will be needing more of these when baby B gets Older ^_^. 

Big Baby Diaper Stats:

• $7 per PUL diaper, 7.50 Per Minky Diaper or $6.80 each for more than 20 diapers. 
• Comes in only snaps on website
• Come in Suede cloth inner cloth.
• Comes in Solid color Pul, and Print Minky. 

Big Baby Fit:

• Resting Rise: 
• Large Setting 16inches
• Medium/large setting is 14inches 
• Medium Setting 13inches  
• Small Setting 12inches
• Crotch Width: 7 inches. 
• Waist: 15 inches to 32 inches! 

Big Baby Insert Stats:

• Each diaper comes with 1, 4 layer Microfiber insert.
• Each insert is approximately. 14.5 inches by 6.5 inches.
• Holds 9oz Pre Washed, ? Oz after.  (washing now will test when done) 
•  

Pros and Cons of Alva baby diapers

Pros: 

• Fits many different sized babies this brand goes from preemie to kindergarten. 
• Great for both skinny and chunky babies. 
• Slippery Pul, great for stuffing and unstuffing. (NOT a good thing in a cover, but a great thing in a pocket) 
• 100’s of pretty colors and patterns in the one size.
• New born size has a full Velcro top, great for getting a good fit.
• Can dry in dryer on low. 
• Can get all 3 sizes without a Co-op. 
• If you order more than 20 diapers and they will express ship them for free in 6-10 days! 

Cons 

• Even when ordering from the company directly most of your diapers will not have Alva tags on them. (they are really Alva's though) 
• Velcro is only an option in the newborn size, not in the larger sizes without a Co-op.      
• The Newborn insert isn't very absorbent, not a problem for new babies but an issue for bigger ones. 
• Order fewer than 20 diapers and you will get your diapers in 2-6 weeks.
• You practically have to fight them to get a tracking number. Repeated emails are necessary.
• The best time to reach the company by email is midnight to 3am EST.

Here are the 3 sizes next to each other, as you can see the sizes are dramatically different. 

Here are the inserts for size comparison.

And here are the diapers and inserts next to each other for size comparison.

A series: Are all Minky with suedecoth inners 

B series: Solid color PUL with suedecloth inners

C series: aka 4.0 or DG. double gusset.PUL suedecloth inner and snap in MF insert

D series: minky with suedecloth inner, except D14

E series: E1-E2=suedecloth, E03-E13=fleece, E14-E18=seudecloth, E19-E22=fleece, all are PUL outer except E1, E2, E14, E15, E16, E17, E18, which are minky.

F series: PUL with suedecloth inners

G series: all are fleece inner, all PUL outers except G03, G04 & G12 which are minky 

H series: H01 & H02 are minky, the others are PUL, inners are all suedecloth

J series: J02 & J03 are PUL/fleece, J01 PUL/suedecloth

Y series- Y01, Y04, Y08, Y09, Y10 all PUL with suedecloth, Y05, Y06, Y07 are minky withsuedecloth

M series-minkywith suedecloth

N series-PUL with suedecloth
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