Would you like to know what drives me crazy? Product review blogs. They drive me nuts! Batty! Insane! I have poked around a few, and I have received requests from a few moms who ask me to send them (free) product in exchange for a (positive) review. When I receive these requests, they always end with a "I know I'll love it!". Really? You already know that, eh? So why exactly do you need to review it then?
Often times, blog reviewers will offer goodies to give away, if you follow them on twitter (which I still consider a colossal waste of time, mostly due to the fact I just can't accrue followers, but I digress...), post a comment, or whatever other way they can think of to generate buzz for a product - the manufacturer gets exposure, the blogger gets free stuff, everyone's happy, right!? My problem with this setup is that you very rarely see a negative review, no matter how craptacular a product may be. In October, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) established guidelines that will require bloggers to disclose whether or not reviews resulted in compensation (money or freebies). I think this is a step in the right direction in terms of allowing consumers to judge how honest a review is.
Anyhow, what's my point here? I'm a retailer, I blog about the stuff I sell, and I'll admit, I do tend to highlight the positives (and let's face it, I'm awesome, the store's awesome, we do sell a lot of awesome stuff, so what else would you expect?). So here it is. My chance to air out any grievances about the products I sell. I'll give you the good, along with the bad, and especially the ugly!
GroBaby diapers. If you've been following along on Facebook, you know it took a little convincing to get me on board for this particular line of diapers. I'm a hard-core prefold fan. I still can't shake the feeling that GroBaby diapers (or any AI2, for that matter) are just glorified prefolds/covers. I have used the GroBaby diapers with Grace (she was 15 months old when we tried them), and while I had no complaints (the fit was great, it didn't leak), I would still recommend prefolds over the GroBaby system for a newborn. Due to the narrowness of the snap-in soaker, explosive newborn poop will get on the shell, and the mesh lining makes it difficult to spot-clean poop off the shell -- you will have to launder the GroBaby shell more than you would a cover used with a prefold. Once a baby is out of the pooping-every-15-seconds phase, it's a great little diaper.
Booroi covers. OK, for Grace, I really, really like this cover, but keep in mind she's a toddler (she's 18 months old now, can you even believe it?). I think I may have already mentioned that I'm a hard-core prefold fan. At this point, Grace still wears an infant-sized prefold, I fold it in half lengthwise and lie it in a medium Booroi cover. Genius! It's trim, it contains mess well, in fact, come to think of it, whenever Grace wears this cover, rainbows appear and birds sing. But (but!), like I already said, she's a toddler, she doesn't poop so much in diapers anymore (can I get a wut wut for infant pottying?), so that super-awesome gussett that surrounds the entire cover has never been fully introduced to Grace's poop. If she was a newborn, with newborn poop (runny, explosive newborn poop!), that gussett would get soiled, probably with every poop -- like the GroBaby shell, it wouldn't stand a chance! Furthermore, Grace is a girl, so she pees straight down... the overlapping flaps at the front of the Booroi cover can cause leaks for boys, who are built so they pee out front. This issue can be easily solved by pulling the prefold out of the front part of the gussett, ensuring it lies between the baby and the overlapping snaps.
Bravado Original nursing bra. I just don't love this bra. I hate the racer back style, trying to pull it over your head after you've had a shower, when you're still damp, is like a form of Chinese torture. Yes, it's relatively inexpensive, but that's about all it's got going for it. Don't even get me started on the uni-boob caused by the ++ sizes! If you want a nursing bra that accommodates some degree of change in cup size, try on the seamless Body Silk nursing bra, also made by Bravado, but, like, a million times better! It fastens at the back, and it's much more flattering, trust me!
If you've come into the store when I've been working, this is old news to you. I'm very upfront with customers in terms of what I like, and what's worked well for us. Of course, depending on who you talk to, you'll hear different preferences amongst our staff members, but it's always nice to get honest feedback, other people's opinions can be helpful, right? Yes, I still sell the above-mentioned products, after all, when it comes to cloth diapers, it's a matter of 'different strokes for different folks' (and if I really thought something was completely awful, I simply wouldn't sell it)!
So this is your opportunity to comment on anything you've purchased at our store that may not have worked for you. What was it? What didn't you like? How old was your baby, do you have a boy or a girl? Did you prefer something else entirely, or were you able to make it work for you as your baby grew? This is a no-holds-barred opportunity for you to share your experience, of course, if you complain about prefolds, you will be dead to me forever (I kid, I kid). There is no reward for commenting here, just the promise of the cathartic release that comes from complaining in general (you know what I'm talking about!). Have at it!
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This is hands down my favourite blog that you have written- finally somone else who hates those review and give away blogs and isnt afraid to say so!! Weve been using Gro Baby diapers for a few months now (my daughter is now 11 months old). Most changes the shell has pee on it. And with every poop means a new shell too. It is not too often I can resuse the same shell. The soakers also shrink like theres no tomorrow- compare a brand new one to one thats been washed many times- big difference. I know this is expected with organic cotton but you need something big enough to hold in the messes! I do love how trim this diaper is, and I love their velcro, but I just cant seem to make the system work for us.
ReplyDeleteWe have a Booroi cover for my daughter (just turned 2), and we usually love it. BUT, the other day she decided to try having a very messy poop in it, and the poop literally shot out and up her back - plus getting all over the cover. I have never had anything out the back of a cloth diaper before, ever. There was like 1 tablespoon of it, and ALL of it pretty much was on or out of the cover.
ReplyDeleteSo, now we still use them, but only when I'm sure she's got normal tummy and/or pre-pooped (in the potty if I'm lucky). I think that it's also easy to do it up a bit too loosely so that this happens.
At the risk of being dead to you forever... I am going to say it - Prefolds. I was not a fan - same with Grobaby diapers and generally any diapers that aren't pockets (or with a moisture-wicking layer). Our baby is a boy and from birth he needed to be changed the instant he peed! With prefolds and grobaby that resulted in changing his diaper a few times an HOUR! But once we made the switch to pockets: Fuzzi Bunz, Happy Heiny, Blueberry we were off and running!
ReplyDeleteAs with anything, I think its totally a personal preference and all about trial and error for what works best for your baby and family. I know so many people who swear by prefolds and lots of people who are big Gro Baby fans, so I know they are still great products!
Other than that we have LOVED every single product we have purchased from your store!!! And even with the prefolds and grobaby we were able to swap them and get our money's worth so it was no big deal that they didn't end up working for us! :)
Ok, so I once bought a dozen prefolds and only got 6, and was too shy to ask for the other half.
ReplyDeleteAnd I hate the bravado bra too, though I didn't buy it from you I don't think.
But I LOVED that I got an Emma Jane bra from you, it lasted a long time, and it was like 20$ cheaper at your place than at another bra store in town.
Melissa F
The Bravado uniboob. Yep - bought it from you. Mind you, at the time, I don't think Bravado had any other options and you had reccommended it to me - things have changed.
ReplyDeleteOooo, I also LOVE prefolds. Well, actually I loved them for my newborn and up until about 5 months. Then I moved onto pocket diapers. I still fold one of the small pf's into thirds and slip it into a Thirsties cover for a tight and tidy bottom on my one year old during the day, but prefer the pockets for overnight.
ReplyDeleteAs for bras, I second your opinions on the Bravado line. I was given 2 of the original bras (used) and hated how I looked in them. No support and yeah, uniboob. I subsequently bought 3 of the seemless body silk ones and love them. Good looking cleavage, great support and oh, so comfy.
Great blog!
I generally really love my BumGenius pocket diapers but the laundry tabs (soft side) has sort of pilled up so that the "hook" side doesn't grab; so now we have to stick the tabs to the "loop" strip at the waistband. Very annoying, especially since this started after only about 8 months of use. I plan to use these diapers with several more children, so I anticipate having to convert them to snaps.
ReplyDeleteI am also a die-hard pre-fold fan, but recently bought a couple of Fuzzi Bunz just to try something new. There's nothing wrong with them, but I find stuffing (and unstuffing) the pocket a pain in the butt! I'll stick with the pre-folds; they're so much easier! (Though I do wish Fuzzi Bunz would make their daisy prints into a cover).
ReplyDeleteI have a question re: using the infant prefolds on a toddler - do you have any issues with the prefold shifting in the cover? If so, what do you do about it? I'm still using the infant size (trifolded) with my 13 month old, and am wondering when I should switch to the larger size (I have 2 dozen sitting in my daughter's closet, just waiting to be used. The infant size are still working just fine for us (some shifting in the cover but no leaks), but I feel like someday I should make use of the larger prefolds. Any suggestions?
I hate the Bravado Body Silk bra with a passion. I hate, hate, hate it. I hate how it squashes and squishes me, and the only time I've had plugged ducts with this baby are the days after I wear the Body Silk. I hate how it doesn't hold my breasts up where they should be. I hate how it opens up all the way to the back when you open it to nurse. I hate how the clip shifts and rolls over while nursing so that you have to use two hands to get it straightened out before you can reclip the nursing opening. I hate how the lower ribbed band rolls up.
ReplyDeleteI should have gone with my better judgement and stuck with underwire nursing bras. I know that I prefer lift and separation. I know that I've never had a problem with plugged ducts with an underwire despite what the experts say.
But you know what? I thought that since I hadn't found any negative reviews or opinions of the bra, maybe, just maybe I would like it.
I did buy it at your store, but that certainly has nothing to do with my problems with it. It is sold at lots of other places in town, and I just happened to be near your place that day. And your stocking it, I'm sure, is simply you responding to consumer demands and suppliers expectations of their retailers.
PS. re: our conversation this week about this topic. I've written plenty of negative reviews of books of which we've received review (free) copies. In fact, one review that I wrote of a galley copy (without the cover) sent to us by the publisher, I gave a very negative opinion of it and wrote about a dozen factual errors that I found in the text. In the second print run of the book they fixed the errors. And the fact that it went to a second print means that my negative review didn't affect the titles sales. On the other hand, I've written one review so bad that the author got mad and insisted that we not print the review and she pulled her novel from our store. But, 5 years later, she agrees with my criticisms of her book and has revised it.
So, perhaps, this tendency of trading favours and under the table agreements is just a facet of the baby product world or perhaps the blog-o-sphere in general.
I purchased a Sugar Peas wool cover recently from the Waterloo shop. It was on sale, and seemed like a good option as I wanted a breathable cover. I gotta say, I'm so not impressed. I really needed another cover to add to the rotation and this one just doesn't cut it. It doesn't hold any moisture. Basically as soon as she peas I have to get the thing off her or her clothes get wet. Awful! I just gave it a Eucalan soak and hopefully that helps (it's still drying). Otherwise I gotta go and buy another cover!
ReplyDeleteWe bought Gro-Baby diapers for our son before he was born, because we liked the look & feel of the diapers. At the same time, we also bought a stash of prefolds, since we knew the Gros would probably be too big for him for the first while, even though they're billed as a one-sized diaper.
ReplyDeleteOh, but I can't tell you how much we regret spending money on the Gro-Baby diapers! Over & over we say to ourselves, "Why, WHY did we get starry-eyed over the bright colours? Why did we think prefolds would be so much more complicated to wrap around our little guy? WHY?!"
Our baby is now 13 lbs, and gets poop on the Gro covers every time. EVERY TIME. We change his clothes more often when he wears those diapers, because they leak pee, and we scrub those covers after each change. The prefolds are absolutely the opposite, and I wish so much we just had a big stash of those instead!
We will continue to use the Gro-Baby diapers, since we've invested so much in them, and we will hope that as he grows, he'll fill them out more & they'll become more reliable.
But now we know: Prefolds all the way!
Webwench, have you lanolized the cover? If you have Purelan or Lasinoh, you can use that.... a Eucalan soak won't lanolize the cover... was the diaper soaking wet?
ReplyDeletesusie ;)
Tina, sorry you didn't have luck with the Bodysilk bra, it is far and away our bestseller... do you mind if I ask what cup size you are? We stock an underwire bra (Anita) in K-W, I've debated stocking the new Bravado underwires in Ottawa, perhaps I should just take the leap! Underwire scares me...
ReplyDeletesusie ;)
Rebecca, I still use the infant prefolds with Grace, but I don't trifold them, I fold them in half lenghwise, so they fit the cover end-to-end. Super-trim, and they don't shift around for us at all.
ReplyDeletesusie ;)
ElizabethFD CottonBabies provides free hook & loop replacements, I can get some in with our next order. We do have a snap press we rent out, if you want to convert the diapers yourself, or we can do it for you.
ReplyDeletesusie ;)
MelissaF, come get your missing 1/2 dozen prefolds!
ReplyDeletesusie ;)
great! i bought an gro baby thinking it was 'cool' and staff member said it was great. i think ill wait to use it with our baby until he/she is older..
ReplyDeletei think im going to have to go and get some prefolds now! which are best!!???
I could be the only one out there who doesn't love Thirsties covers. I produce baby girls with big bellies and the top of the velcro rubs their bellies and makes it red and raw. I recently switched to Booroi for my 5 week old and love it so much more. No red marks. And I love my Green Mountain Prefolds with it. And I have no blow-out issues, even with newborn poop.
ReplyDeleteI also HATE the Bravado bra - but LOVE the Elle Macpherson maternelle bra I got at your store. I thought I was the only one who hated the Bravado original. You got it exactly right about trying to get it on after a shower. Just torture.
I love my Sleepywrap (baby is sleeping in it right now), but hate my Hotsling pouch I got from you years ago (pain in the NECK)!
I have a love-hate with the hazelwood necklace: it works great for my toddler who always complained of sore ankles before (and was checked out by every professional you can imagine, but nothing was apparently wrong). She hasn't complained since. I got one for myself though at the end of pregnancy for heartburn and it didn't work at all.
OK - that should do it! Merry Christmas, though!
I really don't like my mayawrap sling.
ReplyDeleteive used it a handful of times but i just didn't find it comfortable at all. I should have just skipped it altogether. My kids never liked it.
Also the hotslings for the kids.. Lilly's dolls never fit in it.. We could fit small stuffed animals but that was it.
But i love your KW store and love all the staff members :) Ive made some great friendships and love how everytime I go there, i learn something!
I don't love my BumGenius diapers, despite the many, many positive reviews about them all over the web. They are just so stinking bulky on a newborn...and on my petite babe, they're still too bulky at 6 months! It's the classic one size problem that you've mentioned a bunch of times on here. Ours virtually never get used, and they make pretty expensive dust collectors.
ReplyDeleteWe love our prefolds though, and after trying out a FuzziBunz (that I won in a contest on here), we promptly bought a whole bunch more. I am totally in love with our FuzziBunz and we use them more than our prefolds now. I was in the KW store just 2 days ago with my sister-in-law, who wanted to buy some in the next size up for our daughter as a Christmas present!
I'm also not in love with our Manduca, although I would never admit it to my husband, who simply couldn't believe a baby carrier could cost so much. I love it in theory, but in practice, I just can't seem to get it comfortable for both baby and me. I recently bought an UpMama sling secondhand, and I haven't touched the Manduca since. I keep swearing I'll try it again, if only to justify the cost...but I haven't gotten around to it yet!
Although I like prefolds, I got some as hand me downs to pad my own stash and the old ones are much nicer. The ones you used to sell are white and super soft but the new ones are still not as soft even after two kids. I also don't like the big big toddler size. My daughter never grew into them so this time I cut down the toddler size ones to a similar size of the medium green mountain prefolds. I wish you sold the super soft sized prefolds.
ReplyDeleteI love my bravado body silk bra because it prevents me from looking nipply. The other bras I have show my nipples and I hate hate hate this.
Also, one of your staff told me that if I used Eucalan wash on my wool covers I didn't have to lanolize. However from your previous post that is not the case. Plus, your staff was not helpful with a solution for my super heavy night wetter so I did use disposibles at night with my first.
All said and done, I love your store and suggest it to my friends for good products, good service, and good advice.
No I hadn't lanolized it. The staff member didn't tell me I needed to when discussing it so I assumed I didn't need to! I'll have to pick up some lanolin next time I'm in there, I only have eucalan.
ReplyDeleteThe diaper wasn't "soaking" just wet. The cover feels moist pretty quickly after she pees.
Webwench, some covers don't need to be lanolized (like Aristocrats), but colored covers should be lanolized, I think the coloring process removes the lanolin. Do you have Purelan or Lansinoh at home (nipple creams)? If so, you can use that to lanolize the cover.
ReplyDeletesusie ;)
I have to admit that I love my Maya Sling Wrap - I wouldn't have survived without it. I also love my Ergo. I was convinced to buy both, although I didn't like them at first until Susie showed me to use them properly. Wow once you know how to actually wear it it's wonderful. Did I say how I wouldn't have survived without my Maya. My daughter who is 4 1/2 years old still goes in it sometimes. My son who is 20 months old almost lives in it.
ReplyDeleteI like my BumGenius, although as already mentionned they no longer stick to the backing. (Susie if you are ordering pieces, please order 18 for me.)
Never buying bras from Thyme Maternity again. They do not fit properly and are overpriced. The sales person couldn't believe that I wanted to buy more than 2(that's all they have in stock in my size - ever, they don't carry a lot of any one size). Of course I want more than 2!!!
Tip for people out there - find out when Susie is working in the store and visit during those hours. I always find her advice so much better than anyone else out there. Not trying to get brownie points, but I do have to admit I will purposely make a trip down on Tuesday morning rather than any other time knowing that you will provide me with the right advice.
Belinda
I am disappointed by the Gro Baby as well. I have a boy who is a HEAVY peer (18 months) and he is constantly wet in these. Also, at first I loved the AMP pockets but I was just using them at night. For some reason, if I use them during the day, he leaks! The diaper isn't even wet. At night, he doesn't. Must be how the pee hits the diaper in the different position!
ReplyDeleteThe other night, I finally did a water test on my different diapers. I poured (slowly and with time passage) 2 cups of water on each of the following diapers: 1. Large prefold 2. Large Bamboo Sandy's 3. Gro-Baby with 1 doubler 4. 2 Mother-Ease cotton doublers (according to ME's website, two should be the equivalent of 1 one-size diaper). What won? The prefold. I probably could've put another 1/4 cup of water in there. Next was Sandy's then the 2 doublers. The gro-bably was DRENCHED with water still in the bottom of the bowl. Not a very scientific experiment but I was happy with it.
I'm still considering keeping the gro-baby for another baby as I like the slim fit. Forgot about explosive poops though - perhaps I'll sell these on kijiji!
Great post!
ReplyDeleteWell I've got to say I was disappointed with a Thirsties Duo Wrap. I needed an extra cover in size small and it was recommended that I could purchase a Duo size 1 as it would replace an extra-small or small. It didn't. My daughter had already outgrown it!
I also find the Thirsties Duo to fit really small - my 3 month/14 lb daughter has already outgrown them. Glad I only bought two. So good in theory, so tiny in practice!
ReplyDeleteIn the grand scheme of love/hate, I have to say I really dislike Kissaluvs (fitted, I think... they snap up but need a cover over them). I wanted to love them since they are so soft and lovely colours, but I found the whole entire diaper would get drenched in a short amount of time and then my baby would be wet everywhere the diaper touched (around the legs, up the belly)- yuck! I have 6 I keep meaning to sell...
One thing I have to admit that I don't like - when things don't have prices. I don't like having to ask how much things are (especially a few times). I have bought a couple of things at the store that were nice, but how I known how much they were I probably wouldn't have bought them. I feel like I am hounding the salepeople asking about prices over and over again.
ReplyDeleteSorry
Belinda
Belinda,
ReplyDeleteThe pricing thing will be remedied shortly, I finally completed an order for price gun stickers today (I thought I was smart buying the price gun online, ha, guess again! Can't buy stickers locally, have to order them from BC!). Signage for diapers is also in the works, finally found a solution that works with the current setup! Asking for prices in stores drives me nuts too!
susie ;)