SUPER Skivvies!!! Review & Giveaway

                                       (Image is from the Super Skivvies etsy  website.)

How cute is the Super Skivvies banner?  I just love it!  Steph is one creative and talented woman!  She was also such a pleasure to work with. Very sweet and informative.

I came across Super Skivvies while I was searching etsy for cloth trainers.  I was done with store bought pull ups and using disposables.  I wanted to find a trainer that was cute, functional, and well made.  Kylee is still blessed with cute little chunky legs (although they've slimmed down a ton as she's gotten older) and I didn't want any trainers that were going to leave marks on her leg.  I also wanted a pair that had sturdy elastic in the waist so they didn't slip off of her, but ones that were easy enough that she could take them off herself.  I loved the look, design, and structure of Super Skivvies so I contacted Steph about doing a review.

At first she told me it would be a few weeks before she could get a pair made and out to me.. so I began to wait patiently.  Then, she emailed me a day or two later and said she had a pair to review AND giveaway ready to be shipped to me. That made my day! And a few days later the mailman was attacked greeted by me down at the mailbox!  I tore into the package so quick and immediately went.. "Awwww". So Cute! Immediate love and it was hard to choose which pair to keep and which pair to give for the giveaway.  I let Tim decide and I'm SO happy with the pair he chose.

We reviewed the Springtime in Oogaville pair and aren't they SO cute?!  They are a size Small (2T-3T) and fit children approximately 25-35lbs.  Kylee is right around 30-31 pounds and they fit great with some room to grow!  (Rise: 16.5", Waist: 16.5", Thigh: 11.5")  Super Skivvies measurements are unstretched.  There is a lot of stretch in the waist and thigh area.  So you don't have to worry about any of those painful looking red marks.  Kylee has no indentations or markings when she wears these and I really appreciate that.

"Super Skivvies feature one layer of soft 100% cotton interlock in the body, a rayon (from bamboo)/organic cotton velour liner in the crotch area, 100% cotton interlock waist and thigh bands, and no-roll elastic encased in the waist.

Included is a removable insert consisting of three layers rayon (from bamboo)/organic cotton fleece. Just tuck the insert into the crotch lining, and your undies are trainers!"  (From the Super Skivvies etsy shop product description)

I love the insert that comes with this trainer.  You can leave it in for training purposes or take it out if you want just plain underwear.  And when you wash your Super Skivvies, you do not have to pull the insert out, it comes out during the wash cycle.  I love that feature!  I also love how soft the insert and crotch lining is.  Even after a few washes it still all feels as soft as when we first got it!  You can also purchase additional three and five layer inserts on the Super Skivvies website!


Please note that Super Skivvies are NOT an alternative to diapers.  With the insert in the trainer there are five layers of protection which is enough to contain a single accident.  Kylee has had one accident while wearing her Super Skivvies (not a very big one) and the insert did a very good job of containing most of it and the body of the trainers was barely wet.  


So in finishing, I must say that we LOVE our Super Skivvies and plan on purchasing a couple more pairs!  Kylee really loves the "waindow haws" (rainbow hearts) pair! 


       SOOOO.. lucky readers you.. Steph has offered a little something-something for you guys!  I have a little "package" of goodies to send to one of you!  What does it contain you ask?

 (And a cute little sheet of stickers -- not pictured)

You will get a size small (2T-3T) pair of Super Skivvies, a 10% off code for your next purchase, an informational booklet, and some fun stickers! How great is that??! And how cute is that print?  Bacon, Eggs, and Toast! Yum and Adorable!

Mandatory Entry:

Go to the Super Skivvies website and "Heart" (add to favorites) the shop!

I will check and make sure you did this. Failure to do so will void any additional entries.

Additional Entries:

1.  "Like" Super Skivvies on Facebook (1 entry)

2.  Follow by blog publicly via Google Friend Connect (2 entries)

3.  Add my button to your blog.  Please leave a link to where I can find it. (2 entries)

4.  Follow me on Twitter. Leave your Twitter ID in your comment (1 entry)

5.  Tweet about this giveaway.  Include @Mommacrissy and a link back to this post in your Tweet. Leave link to your Tweet in your comment. 2x per day and at least 3 hrs apart. (1 entry per tweet)

6.  Buy something from the Super Skivvies website sometime during the giveaway (10 entries)

7.  Blog about this giveaway. Leave a link to where I can find it. (3 entries)

8.  Subscribe to my blog via email.  (1 entry)

(ALL entries of the winner drawn will be verified.  So please be honest or a new winner will be drawn.)

Giveaway ends Sunday, September 19th at 10:00PM .(CST). I will use random.org to determine the winner and notify the winner via email. The winner will also also be announced on this blog. You will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

An AppleCheeks A Day Keeps the Rash at Bay!

Many many months ago, Ilana, of AppleCheeks diapers was looking for blogger mommies to review her diapers.  I had been drooling after her super cute St. Lucia diaper for as long as I could remember. So..naturally.. I jumped on the opportunity.  I stalked the mailman pretty much every single day   waited sooo patiently for my diaper to come in the mail.  It wasn't the St. Lucia.  I was bummed.  It was Coriander.  BUT.. after trying on said diaper, I was in love! It looked great with Kylee's skin tone and it was really cute!  My diaper came with a one size rayon from bamboo insert which can be folded into thirds (hello six layers of protection!) and a booster as well! 

"Rayon from Bamboo is perfect for the heaviest wetter as it retains twice as much moisture as cotton alone for its weight! And plus rayon from bamboo's antimicrobial properties make it the healthy choice for your baby's bottom. Rayon from Bamboo is the cloth diapering choice!" 

I am that cloth diapering mama who is scared of anything that is not bulky.  I feel like bulk = a lot of absorbing action going on.  So I was kind of nervous about using only the inserts I received.  But.. I had a job to do.. must review this product.  So after doing my prepping of the diaper.. I put it on her for nap.  3 hours later.....

NO LEAKING! I was amazed!

(She gets her dancing moves from her daddy..)

Another issue I have with diapering in general is the fact that my girl has some chunky thighs and that usually results in her getting red marks on them from the diapers.  AppleCheeks? They passed the test! No marking on her legs! 

One of the REALLY awesome things about AppleCheeks is that you can use the envelope cover as just a cover or as an entire diaper.  So stuff it.. or don't stuff it.. and you still get great use out of it!  But whatever you do.. don't unstuff it! (Because the inserts come out in the wash all on their own!)

Got a super chunky cute baby?  Well.. fear not.. AppleCheeks to the rescue!  Enter.. waist extenders!

"AppleCheeks™ Waist Extenders allow you to get even more life from your gorgeous AppleCheeks™ envelope covers. Sold in pairs, simply snap one on each side of your trim fitting diaper cover and, voila, you get up to approximately 2 inches of extra space for baby's cute rolls! Available in all 10 permanent collection colours, can be mixed and matched with other colour envelope covers for ultimate cuteness."

Are you getting the picture yet? This is an AMAZING diaper system! You really can't go wrong.

I was also sent a Size 1 storage sac to review.  I love it!  It can easily hold 8 diapers or more (depending on how full you pack your storage sacs).  It's easy to wash and I just hang it to dry. Simple. Easy. And it has some great stretch to it!

My final test to my oh-so-cute AppleCheeks diaper was overnight use.  And some of you may be saying oh what's the big deal? Well my friends.. my daughter pees. A LOT! At night! And we use uber thick inserts for nighttime because she pees so much.  So.. I put her in her AppleCheeks and I added one additional bamboo insert.. put on some fleece longies... and prayed as I put her down to sleep.  I expected to hear screaming at 4am for a diaper change.  I expected to get her up in the morning and find a bed soaked in urine.  I expected to regret my AppleCheeks overnight decision.  Boy was I wrong. She was wet in the morning but not soaked and we had no leaking!  I was one happy mama and so was my baby girl! 

So there has to be SOMETHING wrong with this diapering system, right? Well.. I was going to say the price.  AppleCheeks cost a tad bit more than diapers I usually buy.  BUT, I really feel they are worth the money!  So.. my only wish for AppleCheeks is more color options and maybe some prints??  Because this mama here loves her some cute prints!

(If anyone wants to donate a St. Lucia to us.. that would be totally rad... just sayin!)

Kissaluvs Antibacterial Pail Liner!

So.. about a month ago I was having some SERIOUS issues with my cloth diapers.  They were getting really funky smelling.  Not just stinky...not just smelly... they were down right FUNKY!  The ammonia smell was ridiculous!  So I finally had to break down and strip my diapers.. again.  It doesn't help that Nebraska is cursed with hard water. 

In my head I begin to wonder WHAT IN THE WORLD is causing these issues.  I mean yes.. we have hard water.. but I know for a fact we're not the only inhabitants of the entire freakin' world cursed with hard water!!  I was my diapers every other day.  I use the appropriate amount of soap.  I do an entire cold wash cycle, HOT wash, cold rinse..yadda yadda.  So what's the deal?!?!  So I begin reading and researching.

I read that pail liners can be a cause of the stinks.  They hold odors and bacteria just like diapers do.  My current pail liner (at the time) was about a year old and had housed MANY a disgusting diaper..especially back when I didn't have a very good wash routine.. oops.  SO.. I started looking around for a pail liner that could help me out with keeping the stink under control.  That's when I came across Kissaluvs Antibacterial Pail liner!   I contacted Kissaluvs and had the pleasure of working with Heather who offered to send me a liner to review!

The Kissaluvs Antibatercial Pail Liner is " Made from a high quality PUL (poly urethane laminate) fabric with a special anti-microbial effect*, the Kissaluvs Antibacterial Pail Liner lets your diapers sit another day or so, worry free, without collecting gunk! The special finish also helps reduce unpleasant odors and protects against the spreading of health hazardous bacteria which can sometimes collect on soiled diapers."  So I tested it out by using it straight out of the packaging.  After tossing in 2 days worth of diapers, it was wash day.  BUT.. I didn't wash the liner!  I wanted to put it to another test.  Could it.. WOULD it really not smell after having 2 loads of diapers in it without being washed?  Well... 2 days later I did another load of diapers and after tossing the diapers in... I stuck my nose down into the liner and believe it or not.. I still have my sense of smell!!  (Now with my other pail liner I wouldn't dare do that!)

So what makes this liner so different??  It has been specially treated with SILVERPLUS® antimicrobial effect!

Moisture in diapers is ideal biosphere for bacteria, which exploit the organic content of the moisture. The degradation of this exploitation is associated with unpleasant odors. SILVERPLUS® silver ions which are embedded in the fabric in a resistant-to-washing and dry-cleaning manner, without using a binder or adhesive system, protect against the spreading of health hazardous bacteria and form a reservoir to counteract odor. Many products with antimicrobial effects migrate from the textile onto the skin to then attack it. SILVERPLUS® has developed its antimicrobial effects exclusively on the textile surface. The hygienic effect develops on the textile, leaving the skin fully functional. This has been confirmed by the independent test institute ITV Denkendorf.

Likes:
Leak-proof
Durable
Lots of room for those stinky, wet diapers (can hold several dozen diapers)
Affordable (costs less than $15)
Keeps a lot of the smell associated with dirty diapers away! (I dig that!)

Dislikes:
The liner is only available in white  (I'm a woman who loves bright and bold colors and prints)

As you can see.. there's not a very "valid" dislike that I have with this liner.  I recommend it to anyone who asks about liner recommendations and I will always sing praise of this liner to any listening ear.  So get one. You won't regret it!

Thank you Kissaluvs and Heather B (of Kissaluvs) for allowing me to review such an awesome product!  All words in italics are from the Kissaluvs website (http://www.kissaluvs.com/antibacterial_pail_liner.php) and all other words are my own and of my own opinion.