Product Review: AppleCheeks Diapers

Update: my daughter is now 3 months and about 17 pounds. We switched to size 2 diapers a few weeks ago after experiencing leaks with size 1 as a rise issue and there have been no leaks since.

I tried a handful of diaper combos out and my favourite for this girl has definitely been AppleCheeks. They don't leak and come clean when I wash them. I use the 2 ply bamboo inserts along with the purple stay-dry bamboo booster. I use Nature Clean All Purpose Cleaning Lotion to wash them in. I do a cold rinse, followed by a hot wash with a tiny bit of soap, followed by another cold rinse.

I actually only have 4 covers right now and probably around 12 inserts. This works out perfectly because I wash every other day (this is just when my small washer happens to have the right amount of diapers in it). So I use only about 2 covers every day and change the inserts. I do not use cloth at night because 7th Generation disposables just work better for us than having the hassle of changing baby in the middle of the night.

My daughter has never had a diaper rash (knock on wood) and we've never used any creams or powders on her. I love using cloth diapers, but as I like to travel light, I don't use them when I'm out and about. I just let her wear the cloth diaper she has on and bring disposables for if she needs a change.

I am absolutely loving the fact that AppleCheeks has been doing all of this work releasing special edition diapers and new colours. It adds an element of fun and fashion, not just butt covers.

 As a side note, if you buy these at Baby On The Hip in Leslieville with your Toronto Live Green card, you get 10% off and these diapers don't seem to go on sale. For convenience (but higher prices), well.ca is also carrying them now.

Welcome to Old Town

First off, let me start by saying I think the 'Old Town' neighbourhood label seems to be a kind of BIA marketing thing. That being said, it seems to have been needed because where I live doesn't appear to be quite a part of any of the surrounding neighbourhoods like St. Lawrence, Moss Park, or Corktown. Old Town basically encompasses Front to Queen, Parliament to Church. The St. Lawrence BIA has created a community website that outlines the premise of Old Town as a neighbourhood and tourist destination.

If I were to take a guess at the demographics, I would see a lot of young professionals living in the condos that line King Street, Adelaide, and Richmond. But you can't forget the family housing that exists just to the south of Front Street along the Esplanade. A lot of those seem to be co-housing facilities and probably represent the highest concentration of cooperative housing, in the truest sense, in Canada. By this I mean housing that is a mix of incomes, not necessarily subsidized, where people genuinely want to have a sense of community and work with rather than alongside their neighbours. I was surprised to find that the building my husband and I moved in to has a very friendly and community-oriented attitude. What a nice change from living north of Toronto! They even have a facebook group where people communicate with each other daily.

So even though most people don't move into a 650 square foot condo downtown less than 2 months before they have their first child, that is what we did and this is the journey. I feel confident in my neighbourhood and proud to bring a new person into the world here.