LilyPadz

LilyPadz are great for nursing pads. I don't use them so much anymore since I'm somewhat beyond the leaking stage, but I'll definately get them again with the next baby. I think the only time they leaked was when I was pretty full and nursing off of the other side. They really do prevent most leaking! I didn't try them during that beginning sore nipples stage, but they didn't hurt at all when I did try them, maybe after the first month. They did make me a little pointy, though, so I'd be hesitant to wear them alone underneath something.

I still have not found nursing pads or bras that I really like, so, if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Embroidered Bamboo Sleep Bra

I love this sleep bra. It's so soft and fits well. Even when it gets wet, it's still comfortable (not cold and icky like other fabrics). I recommend getting at least two since one's always likely to be dirty.
http://www.motherwear.com/prod.cfm/cid/53/sid/6208

cloth diapers

Several people have recently asked for my cloth diaper reviews since I've tried several different kinds and love cloth diapers. We do elimination communication, so my opinion is probably a little different than someone who wants a diaper that feels dry and holds a lot, but here are all the details of what we've tried.

http://www.cottonbabies.com/ gives 5% off when you sign up for their newsletter and free shipping when you order over $75, and they've had great customer service when I've used them.
You can also buy used diapers at http://diaperswappers.com/.

Here's what we've used:
Bumgenius 3.0 AIO (all in one) pockets for overnight and when we go out. $16.95 each. They soak up a lot and keep the layer next to her dry: http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=1279
I recently (after 9 months of use) returned all 24 of these diapers since the laundry tabs were worn and the velcro was curling to the point of cutting into Little Girl's legs and not staying closed unless she had pants on over them. I had to pay for the shipping to return them, but they quickly shipped me 24 brand new diapers. I expect these to have the same problem after a lot of use, but we don't use them too much at this point. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
10/10/10 update: they now have kits that allow you to replace the tabs on cottonbabies.

Indian or Chinese prefolds when we’re at home. They’re nice and absorbent, so things don’t go all over, but I can tell right away when she needs to be changed. Usually I don’t use a cover on her when we’re home, but this also means sometimes I get wet. $2 each. At about a month old and 12 pounds, she was outgrowing the infant size. The regular size are way too long and not wide enough in my opinion. I was folding them over, but now at 9 months and 23 pounds, we just use them regularly with a snappi, but they're just barely wide enough. Not sure why they are made in the dimensions they are. These are tons more absorbent than the gerber ones you can use as burp cloths or whatever. http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=277

Fitted diapers. These are expensive ($15.75 each), so I only have a few, but I love them. Again you’d need to use a cover if you don’t want to maybe get wet, but they’re more absorbent than the prefolds. http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=98&products_id=895. We also have a couple Thirsties and another brand fitted diapers. They work fine, too, but the bG bamboo are my favorites.

These are the diaper covers we have and I like ($12.95 each). I only have a couple of these since I don’t use them too often. http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=36&products_id=92.

Overnight inserts: We've tried many overnight combinations and finally came up with stuffing our Bumgenius AIOs with a regular insert, a Hemp Babies doubler, and a Kissaluvs Super-Soaker.

Wet bag to put dirties in when we’re out ($16) http://www.theecstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=175&products_id=1978.

Laundry bag: http://www.amazon.com/SwaddleBees-Diaper-Liner-Laundry-PERWINKLE/dp/B000H8AUDW/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3INPF29MULP41&colid=1OQAJ0G3EXLWA
We recently got a second bag so that one could be in the wash and we could keep one in the pail. I like our second bag better. It's http://www.nosugaraddedshop.com/store.cgi?p=Wahmies_Diaper_Pail_Liner&s=800.
I wash the Bg liners separately from everything else so they don't get any oils on them and start leaking (like they did once, and I had to scrub them with Dawn and a toothbrush), so I'd love to have another smaller bag for those, but I haven't bought one.
When I wash the diapers, I dump everything including the bag into the washer, run a rinse cycle, add soap and run a wash cycle, take out the bag and hang it to dry, and do one more rinse cycle. Otherwise some soap seems to get caught in the waterproof bag.

Detergent: http://www.amazon.com/Country-Save-Laundry-Detergent-160-Load/dp/B001561MWS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1242424203&sr=8-1

Wipe solution: http://www.amazon.com/Buns-Up-Wipe-Solution-Cubes/dp/B00169KAFO/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1R5VQQTUUHTMG&colid=1OQAJ0G3EXLWA

For wipes we got a couple packages of cheap baby washcloths. They work great. We just keep a tub of solution, dip the wipe in, squeeze it out, and use it. Now that Little Girl is getting into stuff, we'll need to figure out a way to keep the solution so she doesn't grab it, though.

We use snappis to fasten the prefolds: http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=37&products_id=100. prefold belts have also been recommended to me. I know many people just lay them inside the covers without fastening anything on the cloth. Be careful using a snappi without a cover, though, because they're sharp.

I like using leggings rather than pants for easy diaper changes (and especially because I don’t usually have her water-proofed at home. http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?products_id=802

And we got this diaper sprayer for around $30 on cottonbabies, although I don’t see it right now. It’s easy to hook up. http://www.amazon.com/bumGenius-890077002003-Diaper-Sprayer/dp/B000ZKHVMU. Here’s the diaper sprayer. I don’t know why I couldn’t find it yesterday. It’s more expensive than I thought, though: http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?products_id=1228. I use it more for washing out her potty than her diapers, though.

We're just using a basket for a diaper pail. I'd love to have an actual pail to use, but we haven't bought one. Let me know if you have any recommendations for keeping cloth diapers. I want something that may stay closed when Little Girl decides to try to tip it over.

We were given a Happy Heiny's AIO diaper. I don't care for it as much because it doesn't feel quite as dry next to her skin, has thicker velcro that gets in the way of her belly, and doesn't have a fold-over pouch for the insert (so the insert could stick out the back if you didn't get it all the way in). http://www.comfybummy.com/cgi-bin/item/HHP/search/Happy-Heiny%27s-Pocket-Diaper

By the way, I love cloth diapers. We've used disposable on a couple of vacations, and I was surprised to find that I did not like them at all. I wonder why so many people use them. We had to guess how many diapers she'd go through and which size, and need them when a store was open. They leak poop--a problem I've never had with cloth but experienced I think every time she pooped in the disposables. They stink when she peed. And they irritated her skin. They did allow her pants to fit a little better with their slimmer fit, though. I also like being able to pay once for diapers we'll use for all of our kids. I like saving money!

My Review of Fisher-Price Space Saver High Chair - Tan

Toys R Us

The Space Saver High Chair is designed to provide a full-size feeding experience for a small-size home. It has all of the features of a full-size high chair without taking up the space. It easily straps to most kitchen or dining chairs. It has 3 height adjustments, 3-position recline plus a full-si...

Fisher-Price Space Saver High Chair - Tan

not for BLW babies

1 5

I had read and heard good recommendations of this chair, but it does not work well for us. My daughter is chubby, so the tray has to sit on the farthest setting, which means that she has lots of space for dropping food at her sides since the tray doesn't curve, and she can't reach the end of the tray. She can also push the tray off when she pushes hard. We removed the chair cover because it was just a mess to clean and food got stuck underneath it. We do baby-led weaning, so we may use the chair a little differently than most people. She didn't start eating food other than breastmilk until after 6 months. When she did start on food, we didn't spoon-feed; she picked up and ate regular food herself. The tray was up to her armpits, so we piled some towels underneath her. The recline didn't make any sense to me until recently (at 9-months) she has fallen asleep while eating a few times, and then i could tip her back and let her nap. The tray says it's dishwasher-safe, but it's too big to fit in any normal dishwasher. The seat and tray are easy enough to wipe clean, though. We have a smaller seat that folds up and we keep in the car for when we eat out.

cribs

The one piece of furniture we bought for Evalana’s room is a crib. Now I’m wondering why we got that. The play yard thing seems to work so much better. I can’t leave Evalana in her crib unless I know she’s sound asleep, because she’ll stand up so quickly and then she’ll fall over in the crib and hit her head against the wood sides. Why do people use cribs? I just don’t get it. Is there a reason a play yard wouldn’t be better? What am I missing?

baby shirts that fit

I found some cheap t-shirts that fit over evalana's head and belly! The Children's Place outlet at the Great Mall had several shirts and sweaters for $3 each. Yea!
We still haven't found any jeans that fit her cloth diaper and belly, though (I didn't even look at Children's Place while we were there, though). My mom had found some at Walmart that seemed to fit around the waist, and she hemmed them up, but she's already outgrowing those.

t-shirts

I don’t understand onesies. Why would you want to put snaps over a bottom that you have to get to every hour or two to change? Just pulling pants and diaper off sometimes seems like too much work to me. I love t-shirts and baby leggings. Why is it so difficult to find baby shirts that aren’t bodysuits? And what am I missing about why people like onesies so much?

pumping bra

While pumping milk, I use a great invention that I've realized a lot of people don't know about. Without a pumping bra, most people need both hands to hold the pump on. With a pumping bra, you have both hands free (yea!). Here's what I like: http://www.easyexpressionproducts.com/index.html. I think I got mine from ebay.

milkshare

As I type this, I’m pumping milk for a friend who has a baby about Evalana’s age. Her milk supply just dropped, and her baby is needing some more milk while she hopefully gets her supply back up. Besides just personal connections to friends who have extra milk or need more milk, I use an internet group called Milkshare to connect with moms who need breast milk for their babies. I highly recommend this group for anyone who can pump a little extra or is unable to produce enough milk for their baby.
http://milkshare.birthingforlife.com/

the wrap

Joshua and I think this might be our favorite and most used baby item--our Sleepy Wrap. I use it for her naptime during the day, when I take her to work with me, when we go to the dog park, and when we go to the grocery store. And Joshua and I both use it. It's not girly-looking, and it's one size. When she was little, I was easily able to breastfeed her in it and keep myself covered, but I haven't quite figured out how to do it now. I also love my ring sling, but we use the sleepy wrap more.
http://www.sleepywrap.com/
11/5/10 update: here's a coupon code for 10% off: Unique