Product Review: SuperUndies

Caboodle 3 models a Midnight Blue Bandit
size medium Pull-On (old style)

I have three caboodles. I have been dealing with diapers for 6.5 years straight. Here's the current pottying status in the house:

• Caboodle 1, age 6.5, female: nocturnal eneuresis (bedwetter, nightly)


• Caboodle 2, age 5, male: occasional bedwetting (when he refuses to pee before bed)


• Caboodle 3, almost 3, male: not potty-trained. He will pee when taken to the toilet but will protest half the time. He will not go to the toilet when directed.

We have used all sorts of brands and types of diapers, disposable and cloth. I have used Huggies, Pampers, Parent's Choice, Teddy's Choice, and Kirkland. I've used name brand and generic pull-ups. On the cloth side, we've used Kushies, Fuzzi Bunz, bumGenius, Kawaii, an assortment of WAHM diapers, prefolds/covers, and Monkey Doodlez AIOs. For training pants, I have tried Kushies, Bummis, Imse Vimse, and Blueberry before finally settling on Super Undies.

It starts with a gimmick. Super Undies are worn by potty training super heroes. Your super heroes will defeat those soggy diaper foes and rise dry and triumphant!

Plus you'll save money on pull-ups. Don't get me wrong, Super Undies are crazy expensive. Daytime potty training pants (pull-on and snap-on) retail for $19.95 and up. Bedwetter pants retail for $29.95 and up. Yikes! But! Have you ever looked at the price of pull-ups? A pack of 43 daytime pull-ups is $19.93. How long will that last in your house? Probably about 10 days here. A case of 46 GoodNites (what Caboodle 1 would wear) runs $32.87 at Walmart (as of April 4, 2013). A case of 68 nighttime pull-ups (the smallest size, fewer if you need a bigger size) is also $32.87. Caboodle 3 sometimes wets so heavily he goes through two disposables a night. Caboodle 1 doesn't, but let's do the math.

Caboodle 1 outgrew regular pull-ups and diapers when she was about 4. That's 912 overnight diapers at 46/case, or almost 20 cases, for a total of more than $650. That'll buy you 21 pairs of SuperUndies Bedwetter Pants. We have three. I'll let you do the math on daytime pullups. It is also worth noting that, at least in BC, disposable training pants are now subject to both GST and PST. Cloth is only subject to GST.

Have a look at Super Undies anatomy. Both the Pull-On Trainer and the Bedwetter Pant are built similarly. With the Pull-ons, there is a sewn-in soaker layer and a pass-through pocket through which you can stuff more inserts. I use a variety of microfiber, bamboo, and the occasional cotton prefold. Don't have any? Old face cloths, hand towels, or even t-shirts will do the job -- and that's only if you have a heavy wetter.

Bedwetter Pants are similar, but in addition to the sewn in soaker layer they also have a sewn-on insert that can tuck into the pass-through pocket and get pulled out for a cleaner wash and faster dry. Both models have a mesh liner to help with detergent build-up, which can reduce absorbency.

SuperUndies Bedwetter Pants.
Super hero? The Webslinger!

Bedwetter pants are also trimmed with a broad band of fleece at the waist and leg openings. This provides both extra comfort and helps hold in excess pee at night.

Both of these pictures depict the newest generation of Super Undies. Caboodle 3 has been testing out the new Bedwetter Pants with great success. As I mentioned, this kid will soak through a disposable due to his frequent refusal to pee before bed and his dependence on a nighttime (and sometimes midnight) "doddle" (bottle). I know, I know, but we're talking about diapers, not big boys who still use bottles. The point is, he can last up to 14 hours with no leaks (not even an odour leak) in his Super Undies Bedwetter Pants.

I do actually prefer the previous style of both the pull-on and the bedwetter pants. The old style features a half pocket where you can stuff your boosters without passing your whole arm through the diaper. There's also less pee to touch when you remove them. That said, the old style pull-on is ideal for boys, not so much for girls. The old style bedwetter pant has a half pocket at the back rather than the front. This makes tucking in the sewn-on insert easier, but you can't boost your absorbency at the front where boys need it most. The new style allows you to boost absorbency for boys AND girls. The new style is also more trim, less bulky.

Easy? Yes. Caboodle 1 can stuff her own diapers and then remove the inserts and place them in the appropriate laundry receptacle in the morning? Caboodle 3 can remove and put on his Super Undies himself. The sizing is spectacular. Size smalls will fit your petite early potty trainer. Mediums will fit your average potty trainer. Larges are for kids who take a big more time, or are BIG kids. But then you move into the realm of nocturnal eneuresis and older children with special needs. Super Undies standard sizing comes up to XXL, or a max of 85 pounds/age 13. They've also started to make adult sizes.

Training Pant Comparison Chart

	Bummis	Kushies	Imse Vimse	Blueberry	SU pull on	SU bedwetter
Waterproof	Yes	Sort of	Partial	Partial	yes	yes
Lasting Power	1 small pee	1 small pee	1 small pee	1 small pee	Several pees	Hours of pee
Look	Bubble butt	Bubble butt	Trim fit	Trim fit	Trim fit	Bubble butt
Outer fabric	PUL	Nylon	Cotton knit	Cotton knit	PUL	PUL
Inner liner	Cotton flannel	Cotton flannel	Organic cotton	Cotton velour	Poly-Lycra blend	Poly-Lycra blend
Trim	Poly Elastic	Knit Cotton	Knit cotton	Knit cotton	Poly Elastic	Fleece
Origin	Montreal	Canada	Europe	Arizona	California	California

I'll leave you with a final comment from Caboodle 3.

Convinced? Head on over to our sister site, Mama's Retreat, where we're selling all of the products reviewed today - on sale!

* Super Undies Secret Headquarters International provided one pair of SuperUndies Bedwetter Pants for the purposes of this review. I purchased Caboodle 1's three XL bedwetter pants and Caboodle 3's three M pull-ons for my own use, long before I planned to write a review.

Inspire Your Walls

My owly new friend watches over me at my desk
and greets customers with his friendly demeanor.

Local visitors will have already been introduced to my owly new friend who watches over me at my desk. He was sent out from the folks at Inspire Your Walls.

His presence above my till has been awesome. Every customer sees him there and most comment. Many of them touch to see just what he’s made of, and every single one reads the sign. From a business perspective, this is an absolutely amazing product. With the countless designs offered by Inspire Your Walls, including custom work, any business could use this as a means of advertising virtually any product, sale or event, or just decorating the walls.

When I placed the remaining speech bubbles in my home, it was a great way to engage my children in dinner plans. We update the bubbles daily and when they see what is written, and can read it themselves (sometimes with the aid of a drawing), they are more excited and willing to eat dinner.

Chalk board decals are semi-permanent – easy to apply, they stay on the wall indefinitely, but peel off easily enough (with the aid of a blow dryer) when you’re ready for a change. It’s not limited to wall applications. Inspire Your Walls also makes chalk board labels for applying to your jars and containers at home. Mark with chalk, but erase with ease when the contents of the container changes.

With this promotion, we are also giving away a set of chalkboard labels AND two speech bubbles. What will you use it for? Show us! To enter, take a picture of why you need the product – either the place where you’d put it, an example of your disorganization demonstrating a need for labelling, or get creative. Entries will be judged on creativity, popularity, and a wee bit of randomness. Entries will be posted on our Facebook page for everyone to see. Email your photos to photos@mamasretreat.com between now and Friday, June 1, at 8pm (Pacific time). We'll post them in an Uninspired Walls folder on Facebook. On Saturday, we'll vote on the winners!

My Hikes Review

My Hikes™ Pant Cuff Fasteners make your child's cuffed pants look like cleverly accessorized clothing instead of clothing mishaps.

When I received the My Hikes™ pant cuff fasteners in the mail, my son’s attention immediately gravitated towards this fun accessory!
My 2.5yr old now loves showing off his choo-choo and in a few occasions I found Leo wearing his My Hikes™ on his shirt or clipped on his side pockets, where he can see and touch it!
Kids love the whimsical, rubbery, 3-D touchable art that looks adorable on their pants.

My Hikes™ Pant Cuff Fasteners will help you adjust the length of your kids’ pants in a fun and useful way.

• Kids can start wearing the next size up without damaging the new pant cuffs! Using My Hikes™ will actually help you buy a little bigger and get more wear out of your kids’ pants.

• Kids can roll pants just off the shoe for cooler weather, for wearing with boots, double-roll capri-style when the weather heats up, for water play, when a pant size becomes embarrassingly short, or when kids just need to roll up their pants.

• And the best about My Hikes™ is that kids LOVE to wear them!

Avon Bubble Bath and Body Paint Review and Giveaway

I’m behind the times. My Grandma was an Avon rep briefly way back when. My knowledge of Avon was limited to teeny tiny lipstick samples we sold at a garage sale once and the endless tubes of Avon roll on deodorant my aunt gave every member of my family for Christmas (that we later sold, unused, at a garage sale for decent money!).

So when a local Avon rep approached Mama’s Retreat, I have to admit I was sceptical. Then she brought in a catalogue. O.M.G. It’s not just make-up and deodorant! That’s still there, for sure, but there are all sorts of products from skin care to clothing. I was still sceptical, so she gave me a few samples.

Let’s start with the Bubble Delight bubble bath. I hardly ever use bubble bath because it leaves me and the kids itchy, but it was pina colada scented and it’s hard to go wrong with a pina colada. I told the kids Mummy was having a bath and it was a bath for just Mummy. Ran the tub and poured in my bubbles, then sank in to steaming hot water (it has to be hot – it discourages them from joining me).

But then they saw the bubbles. These weren’t just ordinary bubbles. These were thick, foamy bubbles that made excellent hats, beards, and discreet cover-ups for photos. First the two-year-old came to me, tugging at his shirt and muttering something unintelligible. He’s pretty cute and I figured he was born in the bath tub, so why not? He climbed in after an agonizing wait for it to be cool enough and immediately decorated himself with bubbles. NOT his hands, though. Bubbles on his hands were scary.

Then the four-year-old, already naked as he often is, discovered his little brother in a tub full of bubbles. Not fair! So in he came. Shortly thereafter, their sister discovered she had no playmates left. She hasn’t discovered modesty yet, so in she went and out I came. My bath was short-lived, but luxurious all the same. And the kids? The female child is usually left itchy after a bubble bath, and no itchiness resulted from this one. The three of them played and splashed and splashed and played until they were eventually extracted for bedtime, and those bubble were still there.

But the bubble bath fun doesn’t end there. The Avon rep told me of seemingly endless other uses for Avon bubble bath.

1) Bubble Bath - Zillions of bubbles that leave NO bathtub ring.
2) Vehicle Wash - Does a beautiful job on washing cars, mobile homes, RVs, and boats.
3) Laundry detergent - You won't need fabric softener.
4) Hand washing delicates.
5) As a pre-soak - Use on heavily soiled laundry - GREAT for ring around the collar and greasy work clothes.
6) Window Cleaner.
7) Wash appliances.
8) Wash no wax floors.
9) Liquid Dish Soap.
10) Pet Shampoo (along with SSS Bath Oil).
11) Clean bathroom fixtures and mirrors.
12) Shampoo carpets (whole room or a spot).
13) Wash walls and ceilings.
14) Use bubbles and sponge to shampoo furniture or vehicle interiors.
15) Cleans chandeliers and light fixtures.
16) Cleans china, windows, etc. (all glass).
17) Wash your plant leaves, they will shine. Then pour into soil as a fertilizer.
18) Upholstery stains come out by rubbing with a damp cloth dipped in full strength bubble bath. Do not wet the sponge with water. Water may leave a stain, the bubble bath won't.
19) Clean your jewellery - even costume jewellery.
20) Splatter grease (butter too) on a good blouse? Put straight bubble bath on the spot, let sit a few minutes and wash. No spots!
21) Wash Venetian blinds.
22) Wash paneling - no rinsing, no streaks.
23) Clean your eyeglasses.
24) Put some bubble bath and a bit of water in your potpourri burner.
25) Clean your painted or real wood cupboards

Now I’m not that into cleaning so I didn’t test each and every one of these uses, but I did have some troublesome windows at the store. No matter how many times I scrubbed (inside and out) the fingerprints and grime would NOT disappear. What did I have to lose? I had instant success with the Avon Bubble Bath, and no streaks despite my using far too much (half a capful diluted in water).

My new Avon lady gave me two products to try, though – the bubble bath AND Naturals Kids Bath Time Body Paint.

You think I had trouble getting the kids in the tub for this one? They rolled it ALL over each other. The only challenge I had was with rolling it on wet skin, as per the instructions on the bottle. It didn’t exactly roll. Worked GREAT on dry skin, though. When they were all colored up, they simply lathered up and rinsed off, completely unaware that I’d just tricked them into getting CLEAN, too.

Of course there is more to this than just a review. We like to share the love, and so we’re giving away an Avon kids gift pack! The lucky winner will receive at 700mL bottle of Bubble Delight Jelly Bean Bubble Bath, two 50mL bottles of Naturals Kids Bath Time Body Paint, one 250mL bottle of Naturals Kids Body Wash, and one blueberry kids’ bath sponge.

To enter, leave a comment on this post (not an anonymous one! we won’t know who you are!). For a bonus entry, like us on Facebook. For yet another bonus entry, share the contest with your friends and have them like us on Facebook. Make sure the share is public so we can see it. You’ll get an additional entry for each friend who communicates with us in some way that you sent them.

Ingrid & Isabel BellaBand and Belly Leggings Review

Oyaco sent me a couple of awesome Ingrid & Isabel products to try and here is my opinion:The BellaBand – the most versatile maternity accessory you’ll get.
You start using the BellaBand right in the beginning of your pregnancy when the belly starts to grow and you need to unbutton your regular pants. Then it comes in handy as a pseudo under shirt to hide the belly and your plumber butt that insists in making the appearance when you are preggers! The final stage is nursing, you use the BellaBand to cover your tummy when you lift your shirt to nurse your little bundle!

>> How To Wear
Wear throughout and after pregnancy
Seamless construction
Specifically designed to expand and recover for pregnancy
Adjustable; wear full-length or fold for extra hold
High-density, ultra-soft knit blend
Fabric won’t pill, fade or lose elasticity
New stay-put silicone strip offers more hold/keeps Bellaband from riding or rolling up
New longer length for extra coverage and flexibility
The Belly Leggings – by far the most comfortable leggings I’ve ever had (even comparing to my “non Pregnancy” leggings!)
Ingrid & Isabel have found the softest fabric for leggings I’ve seen! This is a full-length legging with a tall, seamless waistband  that comes all the way up to just below the bra (it has seams in the inner legs but it didn’t bother me at all). You can wear it high or folded at your hips, depending on the type of support you need and your personal comfort, pregnancy stage and style.
Before I received this product my previous leggings would slide down as I moved and I felt I needed to watch my movements. Now I don’t have this problem anymore! I used my leggings during my 2.5 year old Easter egg hunt and the leggings stayed right where they should!
Details:Wear throughout and after pregnancy
Seamless fabrication for immense stretch and recovery
Technically designed to embrace a changing body
Woven to create a high-density knit for coverage and comfort
Fabric won't fade or lose its elasticity
During Mama’s Retreat sale, I had the chance to see and feel other Ingrid & Isabel products (shirts, skirts and dresses) and I have to say they are top quality. The fabrics they use are amazing and their products are made to last!

EZstringer Review and Giveaway

Just as I was making my son and husband matching PJ pants! I received a set of EZ Stringers to review!
The EZ stringer is so much easier to use than trying to rethread a drawstring with a safety pin! All you need to do is slip in the drawstring and feed the plastic tube through the drawstring channel and the string follows along.

• They are a hard plastic tubing with a self-feeding opening for easy threading of drawstring. Comes in three different sizes for different drawstring thickness, weight of fabric and sizes of channel openings.

The EZstringer was incredibly easy to use:
1. Feed the drawstring into the EZstringer.
2. Guide the EZstringer through the garment to replace the drawstring.
3. Slide the EZstringer from the garment, leaving the drawstring in place.
Then I decided to try a couple of other options and use the EZstringer to put the elastic on one of the pants I was sewing. I just had to fold the elastic to make sure it wouldn’t slip out, and guess what? It worked too!
The EZstringer comes with three size options so you can easily use with different size drawstrings. For my son’s pants I tried my own draw string and I used the orange EZstringer.
Usually I am a skeptical about the products we se on the “as seen on TV” ads but I can say I am very satisfied with the results.
Shipping from USA to Canada was super fast
Definitely a great little product to keep with your sewing kit!
GIVEAWAY: EZstringer has offered a pack of EZstringers for two lucky Mamas! To enter simply leave a comment on this post and/or on our Facebook Giveaway Thread! You have until Apr/01/12 to enter!
Check out their infomercial to see more of the EZstringer in action!

Ben Bat Travel Friends, Total Support Headrest

One of my favorite Canadian Distributors, Oyaco, sent a sample of their latest addition for me to review, a Ben Bat Travel Friends!

It’s the cutest neck support I’ve seen, the fabric is really nice and they come in a variety of colors and styles. Ben Bat Travel Friends have a different design for each age category, which makes sense as those little bodies go through a lot of changes.

My son is 23 months, we received a 1-4 years Mouse design. I love it! To get my son used to his travel friend, I gave his new mousie friend for him to play with during short trips and the first time we used it I waited for Leo to sleep and then I put his travel friend on.

The 1-4yr and 4-8+yr Travel Friends have a unique feature to: a magnetic closure on the “paws” that provides chin support, making the Travel Friend stay in the right place and keeping your kids’ head from falling forward!

Here are some photos to show how great it works!

Leo was so comfy he was drooling

Travel Friends are total support headrests designed specially for “on-the-go” time, making every trip a pleasure no matter how far you go

GIVEWAY CLOSED: Click here for a chance to win a Ben Bat Travel Friends (size 1-4 years)

Oyaco

Lovey’s a TRULY natural baby care!

I received Lovey’s products and was looking forward to trying them out the next time my son got a diaper rash!

The Tushi Stick, Lovey’s Natural diaper ointment is made in Canada with only natural ingredients. It has a gentle and yummy natural smell and it doesn’t feel greasy or sticky.

The diaper rash finally showed up and I loved how that when applying the Tushi Stick I didn’t have diaper cream under my nails! Tushi Stick’s comes in a handy stick perfectly sized for little bums. Some other diaper cream sticks come on “deodorant size” sticks and I find them a bit awkward to apply.

I found Lovey’s Tushi Stick VERY effective… it got rid of my son’s diaper rash in only a couple of diaper changes!

The Tushi Stick is also great to fight eczema, windburns, scrapes, chaffed and dry skin too! So I suggest having a Stick for the bum and another for everything else!

I also tried the Shoo-Foo, a disposable & biodegradable compressed bamboo wipe. They are pretty big (12″ x 20″) after you run under water and I found it didn't need too much water for them to open up. Shoo-foo is a great helper for when you are on the go and have a big mess to clean up!

These bamboo wipes are so nice I didn't want to throw them out and it was sturdy enough to rinse and re-use.

Lovey’s products are a must in my diaper Bag!

To Enter Lovey’s Giveaway click HERE

loveys.ca —

Review: The Perfect Sippy Cup

How many Sippy Cups does a baby have to go trough? Here is my journey to find the Perfect Sippy Cup!

My son’s first sippy cup was the Mighty Grip® Spill-Proof Cup by Munchkin

.This fun-to-grip contoured cup makes it easy for little hands to hold and drink. Tipping won’t spill this leak-proof cup with its built-in valve. The valve is made of soft silicone so it’s very comfortable for your growing child. This is one unique cup with a mighty big advantage.
An experienced mom, gave us the Mighty Grip as a baby shower gift and it was really great. My son had no problems using it at about 9 months to drink water but my sippy cup problems started when my son gave his Mighty Grip to our dog who chewed to bits and I couldn't find a replacement locally so I started trying new cups.

Playtex^® Lil' Gripper^® Straw Cup

This cup has great pros:
Spill-Proof, Leak-Proof and Break-Proof Guarantee*
Straw promotes mature mouth movements
Slider keeps straw clean when closed
Child-Proof Guaranteed* straw stays attached and secure and cannot be removed from the cup
Liquid flows easily when child sips
Lid interchangeable with all Playtex® cups
Dishwasher safe

Now the cons:
I lost the straw section that goes inside the cup, now my son had to figure out how to drink from a straw having to bring the bottom of the cup up. So when we had a regular cup with a straw in a restaurant for example, he would pour his drink all over himself.
I later learnt a friend had the same problem.

Playtex® Coolster® Tumbler Cup

This is my current favourite cup!
Insulated and shaped like mom or dad’s coffee cup, the Coolster® tumbler is designed for older kids who are “too cool” for a sippy cup, but still need Guaranteed Spill-Proof protection.
This cup not only looks great, it also works great.
I purchased one for about $6 and my son and I loved so much I didn’t hesitate to buy a 3 pack at Costco for a bit over $10

EIO Kids Cup

Starting with glass canning jars, EIO’s unique design offers a spill-resistant (not spill proof)toddler training cup designed for convenience and health benefits. The EIO Kids Cup is designed to transition young children properly from bottles to real glass dinnerware. Sippy cup spouts and valves necessitate a bottle-like sucking motion, but EIO’s unique cap promotes correct sipping, quickly and with less mess.

My Son is doing great with his EIO and I believe it helps to transition to a regular cup. My only problem is that my son has too much fun at dinner time and EIO cups spill and can break so currently give drinks on his plastic cups.
My son also likes to carry his drinks around, especially during warm days so I don't feel safe leaving him freely with a glass cup.

Still, I give this cup 4 stars because it does what it is designed for!