flip potty training pants review

Barb, one of the moms who works at the Ottawa store, recently reviewed the flip training pants for us. Barb has tried many (many!) nighttime combinations with her child, if anyone's opinion on these trainers counts for something, it's Barb's! We stock a good selection of training pants as it is, but the training pants we have stocked up to this point were generally best suited to daytime use. When parents come into the store looking for an overnight option for potty trained kids, they need something that fits, and more importantly, something that will not leak.

The flip training pants are sold in a boxed set that includes a one-size cover (fits 20-50 lbs), five organic cotton inserts, and set of waist panels (see a video of how the inserts and cover work together here). The cover itself can be adjusted in the rise, the stretchy waist panels allow parents to adjust the width of the cover. Cotton Babies sells additional sets of stretchy waist panels in different colors, they are not sized differently, they are available purely as an aesthetic measure to create different color combinations. The flip training pants (cover and inserts) are manufactured in the United States.

My daughter pees like crazy at night, so much so that she can pee right through a disposable training pant, leaving it a sodden stinky mess, with wet bedding far more often than I would like to deal with. At five years old, and weighing more than 40 lbs, we have had a hard time finding resusable nighttime training pant options that work. I’m quite happy to say the new flip training pants work overnight for her.

I prepped the training pants' inserts by boiling them in a large pot for approximately five minutes with a bit of laundry soap; constant stirring prevented the nylon hook and loop closures on the inserts from resting on the bottom of the pot (the nylon would melt against the hot surface of the pot), followed by a hot wash and machine dry. The inserts took a fairly long time to dry, but that seems to be par for the course for extra-absorbent materials. It’s probably not necessary to prep the inserts before daytime use, but I wanted to be sure the inserts would hold up overnight.

For overnight use, Cotton Babies recommends pairing up the training pants' organic cotton insert with one of their

biodegradable inserts. I used this combination on the first night we tried the flip trainers, I'm happy to report that we experienced no leaks! Since I would prefer a nighttime solution that does not involve a single-use product, the next night I paired the training pants' organic cotton insert with a 3-layer AMP hemp insert. This combination was bulkier, but it also worked really well, the hemp wasn’t even saturated. I have also tried pairing the flip organic cotton insert with a 2-layer AMP bamboo insert, that allowed for a much trimmer fit (shown at left), and still no leaks.

My daughter could easily pull the training pants up and down, which is important for children who are working on daytime toilet training. In terms of the weight range, since we needed to add extra absorbency, I'm not sure she will fit in the training pants as long as the manufacturer suggests. For children at the upper end of the recommended weight range, pairing the organic cotton insert with a disposable insert allows for a much trimmer fit, which would certainly allow the training pants to fit longer.

I’m not wild about the contrast design of having the stretchy waist panels a different colour than the main part of the cover, but I’m really happy to have something that works. I like the fact that I can separate the inserts from the cover for laundering. I would like to be able to purchase additional covers separately, with only one cover in the pack, I have to handwash the cover between uses. Only having one cover is better-suited for daytime potty training, it would be convenient to simply replace the cotton insert with each accident, rather than replacing the entire training pant, especially when you're out of the house.

Overall, I would recommend the flip training pants to parents who are potty training their kids, I will happily continue using it with my daughter.

The flip training pants are introductory priced at $29.95 until December 31st, 2011. Their regular MSRP is $42.95.

Buy Nothing Black Friday

Did you know you're supposed to buy nothing black tomorrow? I kid, I kid. As you may or may not know, tomorrow is Black Friday in the good ol' U.S. of A. For those of you who don't know, the day after American Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday shopping season for our neighbours to the south. Traditionally considered the busiest shopping day of the year, a staggering $6.2 billion was dropped by American consumers online last year. Stories of mayhem and violence are commonplace as consumers compete to take advantage of bargain basement prices. In what might be described as a 'ying' to the Black Friday 'yang', on the same day, some folks observe Buy Nothing Day as a "day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption."

Slowly but surely, the Black Friday tradition has been creeping across the border, to the point where the phrase 'Black Friday' is being applied to sales held by Canadian retailers. Over the past few weeks, I have been mulling over whether or not to participate in a Black Friday sale (which actually translates into a Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday affair for a lot of businesses), in the 11th hour, I've decided I won't.

Although it would be probably be better for my business' bottom line if I did, I try not to encourage our customers to make needless purchases, and following from that, it makes little sense for me to participate in what can only be described as an orgy of needless consumption. As a retailer and a consumer, I identify more with Buy Nothing Day, though as much as the idea of closing our doors for one day might appeal to me, it wouldn't serve the business well to turn away customers in an effort to make a statement.

In an attempt to strike a balance between Black Friday and Buy Nothing Day, we're going to donate 10% of all of tomorrow's sales to The Parkdale Food Centre. While some folks have the luxury of buying an Instant Pot tomorrow at deep discounts, others struggle to feed their families.  We are also collecting the Parkdale Food Centre's current 'most needed items', and we're extending a 10% discount to customers who bring in donations:

Canned Fish (Salmon, Sardines)

Canned Legumes (Chickpeas, Kidney Beans, Black Beans, Lentils)

Canned Tomatoes & Pasta Sauce

Peanut Butter

Pasta

Healthy Cereal

Oats, Flour, Barley, Rice

Dried Beans & Lentils

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Milk, Eggs, Butter

Gluten-Free Items

Tooth Paste, Tooth Brushes, Soap and Shampoo

Period Products

Finally, all of tomorrow's purchases will go into a draw, and we'll give out three $25.00 gift certificates to three lucky winners.

Wherever your allegiance lies tomorrow, have a great day!

SkyMall awesomeness

Did you know there's no easy way to get to Louisville, Kentucky? In the span of seven hours, I zipped from Ottawa to Toronto to Cleveland to Louisville. Most of the trip was pleasant enough, however the plane from Cleveland to Louisville was a hot mess, it was absolutely filthy, the flight attendent spilled hot coffee on me (then awkwardly tried to towel it off), and I sat next to a man who managed to spend an entire hour hawking lougies.

But I was okay with all of that, do you know why? I had a copy of SkyMall magazine in my hands. Yes, it had some unknown red substance splashed on the front, and some of the pages were stuck together, but it was mine, all mine! Not to disappoint, the magazine catalogued a vast array of random gadgets and gizmos that somewhere, for some reason, some people must buy to fill some purpose. What purposes, you may ask? Spying on your spouse. Massaging assorted body parts. Growing hair. Not walking your dog. The list goes on.



What caught my eye this time around, you ask?

1. Why go to your beer when your beer can come to you. For realz. If this doesn't scream 'lazy', I don't know what does.
   



2. On a related note, someone has finally solved the age-old dilemma of how to get wine out of a bottle, and into a glass. And holding wine. They solved that problem too. My parties are going to get *so*much better!




3. The only thing better than a head massage is a head massage anytime you want one. Wear it at Starbucks, I dare you!




4. Put $5.00 away five days a week for a year, and you'll have $1300.00! You can only do it with this box. Note: $1300.00 not included.




5. Am I the only one who finds it disturbing that they make this shirt in an adult size?




6. Finally, I can find out what I would look like with a mustache. Finally.




7. Fucking gravity has finally met it's match.




8. Honey, you know what would really pull this room together? A life-sized sculpture of a woman with a lamp on her head.




9. This puts the 'scare' in scarecrow.




10. Temperature Regulating Blanket, also know as a regular, ol' blanket. Color me crazy, but don't all blankets keep you warm?

Not Vegas, baby!

My bag is packed, and tomorrow I'm flying out to the 9th annual ABC Kids Expo, one of the largest juvenile product shows in the industry. I make the trip every year to meet personally with suppliers, and to get a peak at what's new & exciting. It's a fun (albeit exhausting) few days, it's definitely something I look forward to every year. In previous years, the show was held in Las Vegas (baby!), but this marks the show's debut in Louisville, Kentucky. I'll admit that I'm a little disappointed about this year's venue, I'm not a gambler, but Las Vegas is a fantastic place to people watch ("Is that his girlfriend or his grand-daughter?" "Are those real?"). The show's organizers have worked hard to get attendees and exhibitors alike jazzed (yes, I said jazzed) about the show, we'll see if Louisville is everything they promise.


In previous years, my husband has attended the show with me, and what I mean by that is while I'm hiking through rows upon rows of juvenile gear, he's lazing about by the hotel pool drinking margaritas. He's not coming this year (suffice it to say, he was not jazzed at the idea of making the trek to Louisville), he'll be home with the kids as I go it alone. I'm a little nervous and excited at the prospect of being totally and completely alone. In my 37 years on this planet, I have *never* been alone, I basically went from living with my parents to living with my husband, this will be a new experience for me! I certainly hope this solo trip goes better than the last, it will be très embarrassing if I end up crying in public. Again.


I've already mapped out a premilinary list of vendors I want to visit, some good, and some bad. It is a little hard to navigate the show virtually, while the vendors are broken into separate categories, with names like Buckley Boo, Piggy Wiggles, Inchbug, and KooChoo, figuring out what I want to hit is a time-consuming process. Outside of the show, I'm not sure what I'll do with my free time, but having zero responsibilites will be pretty sa-weet! I'll be posting pics and uploading videos from the show to our Youtube channel, as in previous years, I'll be giving away the goodies I receive at the show, stay tuned here or on our Facebook group for further details. Giddyup!

Baby Boom (again), baby!

As promised, here is a list of this some of this year's Baby Boom sales to whet your appetite!

Beco Gemini $109.00 (regular price $139.00) This carrier is great for carrying little ones on your front or back, what sets it apart from the most SSCs on the market is how well it allows a parent to wear a little one in a facing-out position. Yes, facing in is ideal, but some babies simply want to see the world. Limited quantities!

Sleepy Wrap $40.00 (regular price $60.00) This is hands-down our favorite carrier for newborns. It provides fabulous support both to the baby and the wearer, and it's 'poppability' makes it ideal for taking babies in and out of the carrier quickly and easily. The sale-priced carriers are in old packaging, they are final sale. Limited quantities!

CountrySave detergent $6.00 (regular price $10.99) This is the top-rated detergent for cloth diapers as suggested by a number of leading diaper manufacturers. It is scent-free, and it leaves no residue. CountrySave contains sodium percarbonate, which is a laundry booster, it makes the detergent clean more effectively. Limit: one box/customer, while quantities last.

Amber necklaces $10.00 (baby), $16.00 (adult) (regular price $16.00, $24.00) Whether or not you believe in their analgesic properties, these necklaces are darn cute! Amber has been used in Eastern Europe for hundreds of years as a natural form of pain relief, if your little one is suffering as her teeth break, this necklace may make life a little easier for both of you. Limited quantities!

Nneka nursing pillows $55.00 (regular price $62.00) Handsewn in Quebec, these pillows are filled with buckwheat hulls, providing firm support. You can shift the buckwheat in the pillow to ensure the pillow helps position your baby properly at the breast, you can even remove some of the buckwheat to help with positioning (you don't need the baby sitting under your chin!). The pillows cotton cover is washable, which is important when you consider how dirty it may get. In addition to using the pillow for breastfeeding, you can use it to support your pregnant belly, or it can be used to help support a learning-to-sit baby.

Piddle Pad $8.00 (regular price $9.99) The manufacturer has redesigned the pad, rebranded it as a 'deluxe' piddle pad, and raised the SRP to $13.00. We're clearancing our remaining 'regular' Piddle Pads, they're a must-have for when you're toilet-training a toddler, they will save your carseat from the inevitable accidents that can't be avoided (unless you avoid the car altogether).

Family Stickers These are new to us, to celebrate their arrival, if you buy two stickers, you'll receive a third sticker for $1.00. Yes, they're kitchy, but they're cute!

Baby Cubes $5.99 (regular price $7.49) These 2 oz. containers (BPA and Pthalate-free) are sold in sets of 8 with a storage tray. They have hinged lids, so you won't have to fumble around to match lids with bottoms.

Fuzzibunz perfect-size diapers $15.00 (regular price $23.95) We have some discontinued colors instock, aqua and sage, size medium only. We have a good number of them, if you're not picky about color, you can build a great stash for a great price. No quantity limits, while supplies last!

bumGenius 4.0 stay-dry diapers $19.00 (regular price $23.95) We just inventoried our stock and realize we have an abundance of moonbeam diapers, with snap closures. If you're considering making the switch to cloth diapers, these diapers are just as easy to use. They are trim, they will keep your little on dry, and they fit up to 35 lbs. Limit two diapers/customer, while quantities last.

Bummis 'Beautiful Basics' prefold set $18.00 (regular price $21.95) We love us some prefolds around these parts, and we're willing to bet you will too if you give them a shot! This set contains three prefolds and one cover. Get your feet wet with cloth diapers for under $20.00, come on, take a chance!



Sales are valid at the show only, we don't want to bring anything back with us, as noted, some items are available in limited quantities (we'd love to pack the entire store, but we just can't).

We have an assortment of other goodies with us, if you're coming out tomorrow, please stop by and say hello! This show is a great opportunity for us to connect with local parents, and it's a great way for growing families to connect with the services and boutiques available in the city of Ottawa. You can find us at booth #1 and #2, we are conveniently located on your way in and your way out!

I fought the Diva Cup (and the Diva Cup won)

We stock a selection of reusable menstrual products (pads and cups), naturally, customers contemplating the switch to reusables have questions about how everything works. With respect to LunaPads, most women ask questions about how the different pieces fit together. Given the crowd we attract, I usually liken the system to cloth diapers -- you have AIOs and AI2s -- the pad and the liner are akin to a cloth diaper cover and an insert. When women pick up the Diva Cup, they only ask one question, "What's it like to use this?", the question is often accompanied by a raised eyebrow, and a knowing exchange of glances between us. Their real question is: "How does this fit up there?" "Will it get lost?" "Does it hurt?" I am upfront and I admit that while I have not used a Diva Cup personally, I have many friends who do, and they all swear by it, proclaiming:

• it's comfortable to use while playing sports



• you can leave it in for up to 12 hours before emptying it



• it can lessen the cramps associated with menstruation (have I ever mentioned how awesome menstruation is? Women are so lucky. So. Lucky).

For months, I've been meaning to make the switch, but the timing has never worked out. I finally remembered to pick one up at the start of my most recent cycle, and I plucked up the courage to give it a shot, I mean, how hard can it be, right? Right? I figured I'd pop it in, and write a review that went something like this:

"ZOMG, I cannot believe how long I lived without the Diva Cup! It was *so* easy to use, and it works so well! Every woman should have one, why, I'm going to lobby the Harper government to hand them out to every girl as she transitions into womanhood, I mean, it's just so great! So. Great! Long live the Diva Cup, Diva Cup forever!"

Of course, everyone had warned me that making friends with my Diva Cup would take a bit of practice (and patience), however, I was confident we'd hit it off instantly. Sadly, my love affair with the Diva Cup has gotten off to a bumpy start.

When it came time to try out the Diva Cup, I got myself settled into the upstairs bathroom, the kids were downstairs watching TV playing harmoniously together, mommy needed a little privacy to wrap her head around what was about to go down (er, go up?). Like most women, I had my fears about how things would work out. I was worried that once inside, the Diva Cup would float upwards through my innards, like my vagina is a portal to some sort of blackhole and the Diva Cup would get lost for years, never to be seen again until I cough it up like a hairball. The wonderful instructions that accompany the cup kindly explained that my vaginal walls are only 3-4 inches in length, proving my 'lost in space' fears to be unfounded. As an aside, the Diva Cup instructions also pointed out that the average monthly total flow output is in the neighbourhood of 1 to 1.4 ounces -- just enough to fill a shot glass! Total!! Is it just me, or does that estimate seem, well, a little low? Judging from the apparent carnage I seem to suffer through every month, if I were to estimate what my average monthly flow output is, I'd put it closer to a liter, not unlike what must ooze out of a severe gunshot wound, but perhaps that's just me.

So there I am, Diva Cup in hand, I've reassured myself that it's not going to get lost, but now I'm starting to freak out about how big it is. Prior to this moment, I had been mentally preparing myself for the size/fit issue, but I've birthed four babies, one of whom was so big he practically walked out of my vagina with a cigarette in one hand, a bottle of JD in the other, and he was all 'sup, bitches? to the midwives, so really, I've got this, it will be OK. But there I am, doing the Diva Cup origami as is kindly suggested by the Diva Cup instructions, and no matter how I fold the damn thing, it's just so fucking huge!

The Diva Cup instructions, which are starting to get on my nerves, kindly suggest that I should 'relax' my vaginal walls before inserting the cup, and I'm starting to feel like maybe I should have taken her out to an expensive dinner beforehand and told her she looked pretty, because I can tell she's as nervous about this as I am. So I take a deep breath, and shove it all up there, but the cup unfolds before I've got it in place, and the idea of pushing it up further while it's unfolded kind of makes me want to cry. I withdraw, apologize profusely to my vagina, and read the bloody instructions again, which suggest it's completely normal for the cup to unfold while it's being inserted. Oh, well isn't that great, I was kind of hoping that it would unfold after I was done launching it up into my nether regions, but I guess that's too much to ask. I take another deep breath, apologize to my vagina again, who is now about as relaxed as a virgin on her wedding night, and we give it another go, this time with moderately more success. I manage to launch the cup further up into my nether regions than the first time, but I don't feel it unfold. No worries, I'm actually quite OK with that, let's push on, shall we?

I'm not quite finished yet, because now I need to rotate the cup 360°, which at this point, is about as appealing as a root canal performed by a drunk monkey. So I grab the cup's stem, twisting it slowly, beads of sweat dripping off my brow, and I think I can feel my vagina quietly weep each time the cup moves (not that it was particularly painful, but my vagina at this point was decidedly unrelaxed). After the cup has been rotated, I tentatively stand up, and take a few steps. While having the cup in place certainly wasn't uncomfortable, I could feel the sensation of something being up there, quite frankly, it felt like I had a thighmaster launched up my hooha. To say I had the gait of a cowboy who had just rode in on the Pony Express is an understatement, every step I took was more bowlegged than the last, as my brain worked overtime to convince my vagina that it was playing host to an uninvited guest. At this point, my vagina and I decided we'd both had enough, issuing the Diva Cup its eviction notice. My vagina and I both released a sigh of relief as the cup signalled its exit with a defiant 'pop'.

With what I have to assume is the worst of it out of the way, I will give the Diva Cup another go next month, things can only get better, and besides, I like a challenge. The idea of using the cup is so appealling, perhaps the next time we attempt to make friends, I will buy my vagina a box of chocolates and a dozen roses to help her relax beforehand.

(la la la la la la) Tonight.

Sooo, the big day is here. What big day, I'm sure most all of you are asking? Tonight is the long-anticipated (for me, anway) NKOTBSB concert in Ottawa. Originally, there was no tour date scheduled in this fair city of ours, and like a lot of other people middle-aged women (enough of us, anyway), I whined about it, and the powers-that-be listened, and they managed to fit us in at the end of the tour. Sooo I wrangled up a group of friends, bought a block of tickets, and since February, I've been looking forward to today. As the day has drawn closer over the past few weeks, I will admit, I've sort of been puzzled about what to expect. You see, my last experience at one of these events occurred almost twenty years ago. That's T-W-E-N-T-Y years, aka, a really long time, ago. Two decades, if you need further clarification. Between now and then, the times have a changed.


Twenty years ago, I would have spent the night before the concert sleeping over at my friend Tammy's house with a posse of hardcore NKOTB fans. My homies, if you will. We would have laid out our best NKOTB paraphernalia (tour jackets, t-shirts, the whole nine yards!). The binoculars would be packed (not for watching the concert, but for stalking Danny, Donnie, Joe, John, and Jordan), we were our own personal paparrazzi -- unsuccessful as we were, we tried our best, we didn't have tmz.com back then!. The day would start very early as we'd stake out our spot around the concert venue, hoping to catch a glimpse of our idols outside of the show (we never did, I assume they had better things to do than mingle with their worshippers). Inside the actual show, I can't remember specifically what we did, but I think it involved swaying, screaming, and quite possibly biting nails. Not really sure, to be quite honest, it's all a blur. I do recall the sensation of ringing ears that I left every show with, it's a wonder we all didn't end up deaf.


Of course, today, I won't be lollygagging about like I used to pre-concert, I simply can't. I have to make the kids' lunch, get them up, get them dressed, make them breakfast, take them to daycare, go to work, pick them up from daycare and bring them home, do some laundry, tidy the house somewhat for the ladies who are coming over tonight, order some pizza, and make margaritas. Pre-concert rituals aside, I wonder what will happen inside the actual concert venue. What kind of crowd will be there? Young people (God, no! The horror, the horror!)? Will we all just sit there, and kind of sway a bit? Will it be awkward? Far from making me feel young again, tonight's concert has really just served to remind me of how different my life is now as opposed to twenty years ago. It doesn't help that the members of NKOTB have hardly changed, like Peter Pan, they all seem to be frozen in time, the years have certainly been kinder to them than I.


On Twitter last night, Jordan Knight tweeted (I hate saying that, it's such a ridiculous expression!) that there will be an afterparty in Ottawa tonight. Basically, it's a chance to pay to mingle with Jordan Knight and Donnie Wahlberg at a local bar after the show. Tickets range in price from $40 to $150 for 'unlimited access' (I'm guessing the promoter's idea of 'unlimited access' would vary from my idea of 'unlimited access'). I entertained the idea of buying a ticket to the aftershow for an entire millisecond, but quickly decided against it for a number of reasons:

• it requires driving down to the market, parking my mini van, and going to a club after 11pm at night. The insanity!



• the bar advertises a 'stylish and sophisticated' dress code, whatever the hell that means. Specifically, they advertise a policy that (among other things), bans loose clothing, which pretty much bans my entire wardrobe.



• the idea of paying to be in someone's presence kind of horrifies me. Given how my one and only experience of meeting a celebrity went, I'd be wasting my money, clearly.

Today has already started like any other day starts, and it will likely end as any other day ends (with the exception that my husband is in charge of bedtime, that alone is reason enough to celebrate). I am looking forward to spending time with a group of lovely ladies this evening, while the 18 year old in me still harbors a tiny bit of hope that one day my path will cross with Danny, Donnie, Joe, John or Jordan, the 37 year old in me recognizes tonight for what it is -- a sweet trip down memory lane.