Today marks just one week left with my sweet little miracle baby boy before returning to the working world. My rational self says that he will be left in very capable hands and that having two incomes will help us to enjoy things that otherwise we would not. My irrational self says to sell our house and everything in it, find a cheap rental and just live on baby love! Good grief, I am a workaholic that has been detoxed! I will need prayers next Monday to get through the day! The time has went by too fast and he has changed so much already. I am going to miss him like crazy, end of story.
In other news, our little guy went for the weight follow-up appointment and (as we guessed) he is just lower on the charts for weight but is gaining almost an ounce a day like a champ! I should note we added 2-4 ounces of formula for the last feed to stretch out his sleeping and then I pump shortly after he is asleep.
Attn. cloth diaper peeps: Our LO is 12 weeks, 10 lbs. 12 oz. and 24" long... does anyone have a baby around that size that you could recommend an AIO cloth diaper that is fitted? I would like to try it out on the weekends. PC is not totally convinced (probably because he does the laundry) but I think it would save some money, give the little tush a break from disposables, and save a diaper change through the night. So sad that my main reason is not helping the environment... that will just be an added bonus. I've been researching when I can and I need someone to fill in the gaps for me, please. If I use AIO's- the whole thing just goes in the wash on cold, then in the regular wash with a hot/cold cycle, right? If I go with a different kind with pre-folds, the pre-folds come out and are put in a diaper pail (versus a wet bag?) for the same kind of wash cycle? Poop can go in the toilet or on a special liner that goes in the toilet, right? Why do I need a special spray bottle and what goes in it? We use D.reft detergent and free/clear fabric softener... would that be good enough for the wash?
New mom note to self- try out any new lotion on an area of the baby before using it and remove clothing if baby is fussy and nothing else soothes him. We have had two... TWO... allergic reactions this past week. The first one we traced back to a new lotion (so much for fragrance free & hyperallergenic) and the second one we (think) happened from rubbing a little olive oil on his head to help with cradle cap (ha, ha I just corrected myself from typing "cradle crap" which is true as well) and using the same wash cloth for the rest of the bath. Both times he broke out in little red bumps all over his chest and back. These things have made me feel like the worst parent ever! I was just trying to remedy a little eczema and cradle cap. Sorry, please forgive me sweet boy!
❤️American🤍Baby💙
21 hours ago
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I go back tomorrow. i have more or less cried all day tomorrow and am hoping the anticipation is worse than the event itself!
Have you looked into products by Dimpleskins? All natural stuff and I use it on my baby (even her face) with zero allergic reactions so far. Might be worth trying?
I'm so glad he's gaining!! And I'm bummed you have to go back to work, I hope everything goes smoothly for you!
Enjoy this last week with your little man, I know it will be bittersweet. Hopefully it proves to be a smooth transition for all of you though. Wish I had suggestions on the cloth diapers and allergic reactions, but we haven't dealt with either of those (yet).
I've never used fitted, only one size, but the AIOs from Bum Genius (we use the Organic Elemental AIOs)have worked awesome on Stella, even when she had tiny little legs. We have the snaps version.
Also, yes, 1 cold rinse, regular hot wash/cold rinse cycle, then dry. Super easy!
being a new CD user, i'll throw in my 2cents for whatever it might be worth. i am using fitteds with a doubler at night and cover at go up to 12hours fine (he's a heavy wetter) assuming no poop (b/c that has to be changed immediately). all AIO are technically fitted (as opposed to prefolds), but there are plenty of fitteds that are not AIOs and require a cover. anyways, i haven't used any AIOs, but people seem to love the bum genius products. if you're looking for just something overnight, you might want to look at the bumgenius 4.0 that is technically a pocket diaper--like an AIO but can be stuffed with another doubler/insert or two to make it thru the night. also, if your daycare will do AIO (many will since they are just like disposables only they would put them in a wetbag for you instead of the trash) then i would encourage you to jump right in CDing full time b/c doing diaper laundry for only your weekend only stash may be more hassle than PC wants to deal with and might end up not saving much money b/c of the more limited use for the more expensive AIOs if you go that route. as far as washing-regardless of what system you choose--the AIO, the prefold, the covers, the pocket, the fitted--it can all go into a wet bag (just a waterproof laundry bag that hangs on the door or acts as a liner to regular old trash can) and then all the contents of the bag and the bag itself can go in the wash. diaper laundry should be done at least every two days (i do mine every or every other day). i wash cold or warm then hot with an extra rinse or two. you'll have to change what you're using though as everything i've read says dr.eft is one of the worst choices b/c of the extra stuff in it (enzymes, brighteners, etc) that make the diapers not work right (e.g. leak) as does softener-i'm currently using original tide, though i may switch to another diaper specific detergent (which i can also use on all on our clothes). as far as poop--for newborn BF poop, it just washed out so no spraying needed--just put the dirty diaper in the bag then in the wash. however, i'm not sure how the bit of formula changes things down there, so if its still runny you're fine, if not, then yes, you'll have to get it in the toilet before putting in the bag. lots of people use a diaper sprayer-it's like your kitchen sink sprayer that is hooked to your toilet tank. (you can also use flushable liners, but that does add another step and slight cost to the diaper change)anyways, is that the spray bottle you're talking about-the diaper sprayer? if you're talking about the wipes spray bottle for cloth wipes then either water or some type of wipe solution (bought or made) goes in the bottle to get the wipes wet. you don't need that if you don't use cloth wipes, which many people don't after they first switch to CDing from what i've read until they get more comfortable with the diapers themselves (we waited to switch but it is much easier). anyways, to wrap up this ridiculously long comment...i love CDing! i love the money it saves, the cuteness factor and the fact that my kid isn't wrapped in plastic all day (b/c the 6 weeks postpartum i had to wear a pad around the clock sucked and i'd hate to do that for 2-3 years). (and no, sadly, the green of it all didn't really factor in to my decision either, but on the occasions we have used disposables all that daily trash does kind of grate on me b/c i see it was bags of quarters, and not even very cute quarters). anyways...check into bum.genius 4.0 for overnights and maybe considering asking daycare if they'd use AIO (might have to show and tell how easy it would be) to make your laundry easier in the long run and diapering cheaper in the long run too. if you have any other questions, you're welcome to email me (3leftsart @ gmail dot com) and i can point you to some really helpful websites to unscramble all this new information!
Funny you would mention the nose frida because that is what I requested when I sent Matt to Wal-mart. But, they didn't have it at Wal-mart so he ended up getting the battery powered nose sucker. Which was crap and I returned it yesterday! I ordered the nose frida over the weekend and it will be here tomorrow. I'm hoping it does the trick...Landon's nose has been so stuffy and I haven't been able to clear it out with just saline.
Also...I use baby aquaphor for the dry skin...so far neither baby has had any weird reaction to it.
Good luck with going back to work! Glad your little guy will be in good hands!!
Sending lots of prayers as you head back to work on Monday! I can only imagine how quickly the time must have flown. Glad to hear he's growing well and thank you for the notes in advance about allergic reactions!!!
About cloth diapering: I *might* be slightly obsessed on this one. I've done tons of research on it and I'd love to chat more via email if you want: babyhopes2003 at gmail dot com.
Here's a quick rundown: for one, I'm a part of a cloth diapering coop on fa.cebook that I'd be more than happy to help you join if you'd like. You can get AIOs, wetbags, liners, etc. for extremely cheap.
Aside from that, here is where we're going with it: we're using AIO's that are basically the ALVA brand. They have rows of snaps that allow you to adjust the circumference as well as the length. There are some tricks to making sure the fit is secure when your baby is smaller, so I can send you some links if you end up going that route.
In terms of liners, etc.: I'm not so up on handling the poo more than need be. So what I'm doing is buying a biodegradable flushable liner (100 for $5.99 on Ebay!). The liner rests on top of the diaper while the cloth insert goes inside of the pocket of the AIO. The liner is kind of a mesh so it catches the poo, eliminating any need for a spray bottle. When you change, just gather the liner with the poo and toss it in the toilet - flush and you're done with that! Next, you take the cloth insert out of the pocket and the cloth insert plus the cloth diaper go either into a wetbag or a pre-wash container. I'm going the route of a pre-wash container with a small amount of detergent and water so that the diapers essentially go through a soak before the wash. When you have enough for a load, pour the contents of the container (diapers, inserts, water and detergent) into the washing machine with the desired detergent and softener and wash. Very easy and even eliminates odors from diapers sitting in the trash or elsewhere.
If you go the route of cloth diapering while you're out and about, you'll want one or two smallish sized bags that will fit in your diaper bag to store used diapers in (you can buy these through the coop as well). When you get home, just throw the bag in with the diapers to be washed.
All that said, I've obviously not cloth diapered myself yet... I've done a lot of research and have gotten a lot of helpful guidance from other moms who cloth diaper, so just passing along the gems that have been shared with me! :)
I'm still building my cd stash and don't yet have a baby to put them on....but I'll second the bumgenius recommendation. Many people recommend them on the babycenter cloth diaper board--(which is a wonderful resource if you haven't visited it yet).
We've been cd'ing for about 18months and use primarily prefolds because 1. they're the cheapest way to go. and 2. they're the easiest by far landdry wise. We throw the diapers and covers in the laundry bag. If the poop will come off, we plop it in the toilet, if not, into the bag it goes. We wash every 2-3 days (sooner if it's getting full). We do 1 hot wash without detergent, and 1 again with detergent. NO DREFT!!!!!! We use All Free and Clear, or you can use a detergent specifically for diapers (i.e. Rockin' Green). What kind of water you use will play into what kind of wash system works best for you - there is no 1 answer. Until baby E was eating any solids (about 7mon) we only did 1 wash cycle and had absolutely no problems. AIO's tend to be a little harder to get/keep clean because they usually have microfiber in them. There are several FB diaper swap sites, where you can get used ones super cheap, which will allow you to use a few different ones and see what works for your little one. Good luck - we LOVE our cloth diapers (even hubby)!
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