Who We Are - A Brief History

They came from different corners of the country, Mike was raised in Newfoundland and Jill started in Alberta and her family moved to Kitchener when she was 8. The story gets more complicated from there, but not to drag things out, essentially they fell in love, got married and moved out to Alberta as a confirmed family of three. The third of course being Kooper, their adored Golden Retriever. Then as fate would have it, they were pleasantly surprised to find out that their lives would include a beautiful daughter, Charlize Violet Rayn: born on Halloween 2005.

So how did cloth diapers come to be such a big part of their lives? No, they weren’t environmental extremists. But, as all parents find out, the more comfort you can bring to your child, coupled with love, the better everyone is. Charlize wore nothing but cloth from the moment she was born, since all hospitals in Edmonton use cloth diapers on newborns. They had a pre-birth supply waiting for them at home from a diaper service in Edmonton. The convenience of not having to run out to get diapers was amazing, since fresh, soft clean diapers seemed to mysteriously arrive at the door every week. Even better, was not having to get the baby dressed for -30, warm-up the van and drive across town to get them, because disposables were at least $4.00 more at the drug store down the road.

Both Jill and Mike became enthralled with the service and how good their daughter was doing with no diaper rash and snuggled in cloth softness. Mike, an avid hockey player told all the boys on the team how great these are compared to any disposables he’s ever put on a baby. Now ladies, that’s an accomplishment – anybody ever hear of a father loving diapers??? Ok, not loving diapers, but the process anyway. This is why – the snaps – he knew she was on the second snap on each side, that way the diapers were never too tight or too loose. Also, after advice from a fellow diaper service user they used baby face cloths for wipes, the cheap ones 20 for $3.00 with warm water, this is better for baby and easier to clean up a lot of poo. Anything that quickened that process was a winner in Mike’s eyes! ? (Try this compared to cold wipes and you’ll never go back).

Why Kitchener? Jill’s parents are here, Mike’s brother and family are here and of course priorities change when a little baby arrives, family comes first. They were all prepared to start anew, with the house sold in Edmonton, moving van waiting…. “What no diaper service in the tri-cities???” Well, there is one in Toronto that will deliver pre-folds, but after being spoiled with elastic legs, and snap closures, folding diapers didn’t seem very appealing. Also, once they started researching the millions of tons of disposables being used each year, and what potentially is happening to our children who wear them, they couldn’t fathom putting little Charlize in them. There was no choice but to keep using cloth diapers. So - what the heck! With both having entrepreneurial parents, Jill with a financial services and marketing background, Mike with journalism and warehouse management, they took the plunge into poo! And haven’t looked back since!

Isn't it time for a change?


Telephone: 519-634-8600     diapers@bearbottoms.ca     Toll Free: 1-877-423-2726