My friend who is doing the Weekend to End Women's Cancers with me came over today to discuss our fundraising efforts. We've decided to hold a Jack & Jill type fundraiser. We'll sell tickets and then people can come play games, drink booze, have some snacks and buy tickets for door prizes. We're going to host a few of those at home parties so that we can use the host dollars to buy items for the door prizes.
I'm very excited about this. Planning these things will give me something to look forward to and work towards. It's nice to have something like that sometimes, you know? Not that being on maternity leave isn't rewarding on its own, of course. I love spending time with my little boy and I am not looking forward to my maternity leave ending. I also have never liked working for a living and I feel like being a Mom is what I was made to do. But it's also nice to have something that is just yours. That you're doing for yourself because you enjoy it, not because someone else wants you to, or because someone is paying you to.
It's funny how when you first have a baby you feel completely overwhelmed, wonder how it's possible that anyone chooses to do this and more importantly, why you chose to do this! But it doesn't take long to get yourself into a groove and realize that you really can do this. Eventually you get to go back to your normal self and you get to do things for yourself, which previously seemed impossible. I think it's important to start to do things for yourself as soon as it is reasonable to do so after you have a baby.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Update on Crib Transition
Pierce has been sleeping so well in his crib by himself! It makes me a little sad that my little boy is ready to be so independent so soon.
He had a good 30 minute morning nap in his crib yesterday and his afternoon nap was at least 1.5 hours! That hasn't happened since he was a newborn, I couldn't believe it. Of course, he was up a lot later than he normally is. He went down for the night between 6:30 and 7:00 and was up once to eat at 2:00 a.m. and then up for the day around 7:00 a.m.
I think the reason he's doing so well is because it's so dark in there. He really likes it nice and dark when he sleeps, just like his Momma. I was looking forward to him sleeping in a bit later since he's on the West side of the house so it would be extra dark, but he woke up earlier than usual.
I will admit that this has been quite hard on me, though. As much as I think that it's great that he's taken the transition so well, I miss being able to just look over and see him sleeping there. It took me a very long time to fall asleep last night both when I went to bed for the night and after I put him back down after he woke up to eat. Pierce is a swaddle addict and he likes to be swaddled nice and tight and I worry that he's going to roll over, not be able to push himself up to breathe and suffocate himself. I know that the chances of that happening are very slim and I'm probably just being an overly worried first time mom, but not being able to look over at him or even hear him breathing is really hard on me.
I want to start weaning Pierce from the swaddle because I think that will ease my mind a bit more, but he's such a swaddle-aholic that I don't know if I want to go through the impending horrible nights of sleep by doing that. And I am not interested in any form of cry-it-out methods of sleep training. Although perhaps I will take a look at The No-Cry Sleep Solution, I've heard that's a good method. I know some parents start by leaving one of their child's arms out of the swaddle and some just go cold turkey, but I don't know if Pierce is ready for either of those options. If anyone has any tips on how to wean Pierce from the swaddle, I'd certainly welcome them.
He had a good 30 minute morning nap in his crib yesterday and his afternoon nap was at least 1.5 hours! That hasn't happened since he was a newborn, I couldn't believe it. Of course, he was up a lot later than he normally is. He went down for the night between 6:30 and 7:00 and was up once to eat at 2:00 a.m. and then up for the day around 7:00 a.m.
I think the reason he's doing so well is because it's so dark in there. He really likes it nice and dark when he sleeps, just like his Momma. I was looking forward to him sleeping in a bit later since he's on the West side of the house so it would be extra dark, but he woke up earlier than usual.
I will admit that this has been quite hard on me, though. As much as I think that it's great that he's taken the transition so well, I miss being able to just look over and see him sleeping there. It took me a very long time to fall asleep last night both when I went to bed for the night and after I put him back down after he woke up to eat. Pierce is a swaddle addict and he likes to be swaddled nice and tight and I worry that he's going to roll over, not be able to push himself up to breathe and suffocate himself. I know that the chances of that happening are very slim and I'm probably just being an overly worried first time mom, but not being able to look over at him or even hear him breathing is really hard on me.
I want to start weaning Pierce from the swaddle because I think that will ease my mind a bit more, but he's such a swaddle-aholic that I don't know if I want to go through the impending horrible nights of sleep by doing that. And I am not interested in any form of cry-it-out methods of sleep training. Although perhaps I will take a look at The No-Cry Sleep Solution, I've heard that's a good method. I know some parents start by leaving one of their child's arms out of the swaddle and some just go cold turkey, but I don't know if Pierce is ready for either of those options. If anyone has any tips on how to wean Pierce from the swaddle, I'd certainly welcome them.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Transitioning to Crib
We've begun transitioning Pierce to his own bedroom in his crib. This makes me sad and excited at the same time. He turned 5 months earlier this month and I think it's time that he slept on his own. Even though I would love to have him in the bed with us, Mr. B just doesn't feel that it's safe and Pierce sleeps better on his own anyways. I think it's more important that we all sleep well.
Pierce had a late nap yesterday since I couldn't get him to nap at his usual time so he didn't end up going to bed until 6:30 or 7:00! Usually he's more than ready for bed by 5:00. We swaddled him and put him down in his crib, but he was awake and crying within 5 minutes, so we moved him back to our room and he was fine. I have to admit I wasn't too disappointed when it didn't work right away. After I left his room and closed the door I hung out there a little bit and seriously contemplated sleeping on the floor outside his room. I definitely think that giving our children a little bit of independence is more difficult on us than it is on them.
Today I played with him a little bit in his exersaucer and on his play mat and then he decided he'd had enough and sounded like he was ready for a nap. So we swaddled him and Mr. B rocked him and sung him to sleep and placed him in his crib. So far he's been in there for 10 - 15 minutes and he's doing well. Normally I can't get him to sleep during the day unless he's in the swing. There are room darkening curtains in his room so maybe he just needs the darkness to be able to sleep properly. I've noticed that he's been getting up with the sun these past few days, which means he's been getting up earlier and earlier. That may also be why he stayed up so late last night.
I hope this continues going this well. I still need to get a change table for Pierce's room, so we'll be able to do diaper changes in there soon, too, which will make putting him there overnight much easier.
Pierce had a late nap yesterday since I couldn't get him to nap at his usual time so he didn't end up going to bed until 6:30 or 7:00! Usually he's more than ready for bed by 5:00. We swaddled him and put him down in his crib, but he was awake and crying within 5 minutes, so we moved him back to our room and he was fine. I have to admit I wasn't too disappointed when it didn't work right away. After I left his room and closed the door I hung out there a little bit and seriously contemplated sleeping on the floor outside his room. I definitely think that giving our children a little bit of independence is more difficult on us than it is on them.
Today I played with him a little bit in his exersaucer and on his play mat and then he decided he'd had enough and sounded like he was ready for a nap. So we swaddled him and Mr. B rocked him and sung him to sleep and placed him in his crib. So far he's been in there for 10 - 15 minutes and he's doing well. Normally I can't get him to sleep during the day unless he's in the swing. There are room darkening curtains in his room so maybe he just needs the darkness to be able to sleep properly. I've noticed that he's been getting up with the sun these past few days, which means he's been getting up earlier and earlier. That may also be why he stayed up so late last night.
I hope this continues going this well. I still need to get a change table for Pierce's room, so we'll be able to do diaper changes in there soon, too, which will make putting him there overnight much easier.
Monday, March 1, 2010
We took Pierce to the Hospital this Evening
First, he's fine and it's probably nothing major.
A few days ago I noticed some light red/pink in one of the diapers I pulled out of the diaper pail when I was doing some laundry. I also noticed some red on the inside of a diaper cover in the same load of laundry. It was a poopy diaper so the next time I changed Pierce's diaper I checked his bum to see if he had a hemorrhoid, but I didn't see anything.
I asked Mr. B to keep an eye out in his poopy diapers for anything that looked like blood and today as he was changing Pierce's diaper he noticed a little bit of light red/pink again. There is a walk-in pediatrician at the grocery store near me, so we decided to go, but there was a huge line, (you can't get a pediatrician in this area unless your child is sick) so we decided to go to the hospital instead since we knew it'd be a shorter wait.
The doctor that saw us at the hospital was the same doctor who saw me when I went to the emergency after my c-section incision got infected. He's really nice and it was nice to have someone I'd seen before. I showed him the diaper and he looked at Pierce's bum. He told us that he's not convinced that it's blood and he gave us a kit to use to take some samples. We're to take samples on three different days and then return the kit to the hospital's lab. Our family doctor will have the results about a week after that.
I feel a bit reassured after our visit to the hospital today, but I am still worried about what's going on. If it's not blood, what is it? Hopefully just nothing. Please keep your fingers crossed for us that it's nothing serious.
A few days ago I noticed some light red/pink in one of the diapers I pulled out of the diaper pail when I was doing some laundry. I also noticed some red on the inside of a diaper cover in the same load of laundry. It was a poopy diaper so the next time I changed Pierce's diaper I checked his bum to see if he had a hemorrhoid, but I didn't see anything.
I asked Mr. B to keep an eye out in his poopy diapers for anything that looked like blood and today as he was changing Pierce's diaper he noticed a little bit of light red/pink again. There is a walk-in pediatrician at the grocery store near me, so we decided to go, but there was a huge line, (you can't get a pediatrician in this area unless your child is sick) so we decided to go to the hospital instead since we knew it'd be a shorter wait.
The doctor that saw us at the hospital was the same doctor who saw me when I went to the emergency after my c-section incision got infected. He's really nice and it was nice to have someone I'd seen before. I showed him the diaper and he looked at Pierce's bum. He told us that he's not convinced that it's blood and he gave us a kit to use to take some samples. We're to take samples on three different days and then return the kit to the hospital's lab. Our family doctor will have the results about a week after that.
I feel a bit reassured after our visit to the hospital today, but I am still worried about what's going on. If it's not blood, what is it? Hopefully just nothing. Please keep your fingers crossed for us that it's nothing serious.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
How to Care for your Cloth Diapers
Using cloth diapers will only save you money if you care for them properly. Cloth diapers are an investment and if you treat them properly you should be able to use them over and over again and for multiple children.
First of all, if you exclusively breastfeed your baby you don't need to rinse the poop off of the diapers before washing them. Breastfed baby poop is water soluble. If you feed your baby formula, or even supplement with formula, then you will need to rinse your poopy diapers before putting them in the washer.
If you need (or want) to rinse the poop off your diapers before washing them, all you have to do once you've taken the poopy diaper off your baby is stick it in the toilet, hold on tight to one corner of the diaper and flush. Alternatively, they make diaper sprayers that you can install on your toilet if sticking your hand in the toilet grosses you out.
A lot of people believe that you need to use a wet pail (a diaper pail with water in it) when you use cloth diapers, but this is not true. When we take a diaper off of Pierce we throw it directly into our dry pail. When the pail gets full (about every other day) I do a load of diaper laundry.
Zinc oxide is not compatible with cloth diapers. It will negatively effect the absorbency of the diapers, so if your baby has a diaper rash and you want to use diaper cream with zinc oxide, you will need to use a liner to prevent too much zinc oxide coming into contact with your diaper. The Bummis Diapering Kit that I bought to get us started came with three rolls of Bummis Bio-Soft liners and we've also used Kushies liners. They both work well and when we change a diaper, we flush them. Lately, though, when we're at home, we've been using Kushies reusable liners and they have been the best. I found that the disposable liners aren't very absorbent, so when Pierce pooped, they'd cause the poop to go up the back of his diaper and sometimes it'd even get on his diaper cover and his outfit. Gross. The reusable liners absorb the mess, and he hasn't pooped up the back of his diaper since we started using them. We still use the disposable ones when we're out, but once they're gone we'll go to using the reusable liners full time.
There are four main rules about laundering your cloth diapers:
1. Wash them in hot water;
2. Use very little detergent;
3. Rinse, rinse, rinse!; and
4. Absolutely, positively NO fabric softener.
You have to wash the diapers in hot water to kill any bacteria that might be on them. You want to use as little detergent as possible when washing your diapers in order to avoid detergent build-up on your diapers, which will negatively effect the absorbency of the diapers. You need to rinse your diapers very, very thoroughly to get the poop off at the beginning of the wash, and to get all the detergent out at the end of the wash. Using fabric softener will render your diapers ineffective. Fabric softener will make any moisture that comes into contact with the diapers bead up instead of soak in which, obviously, is not what you want with diapers. So you're not going to use any fabric softener. Not liquid in the wash, not sheets in the dryer. None.
When I wash our diapers, I dump them into the washer and then I run a full cold wash cycle without any detergent. When that is done, the diapers are free of any poop that was on them before I put them in. Then I run them on a hot wash cycle with one tablespoon of detergent. (Yes, I measure it.) I use Arm & Hammer Essentials detergent with no scent. You need to use a detergent free of enzymes, fragrance, dyes, optical brighteners, fabric softeners and bleach on your cloth diapers. Check out this table for information on which detergents will work for your cloth diapers. When the hot wash cycle is finished I run another cold wash cycle so that I can be sure that all the detergent has been rinsed out of the diapers. Then I throw them in the dryer and they're done!
I would love to be able to line-dry my diapers, but first of all, I live in Canada and it's not exactly optimal at this time of year to be line drying clothes, second of all, we live in a third floor condo and don't have anywhere to line dry them. As soon as we get a place with a backyard I am installing a clothesline. Also, if you get any stains on your diapers, you can get them out easily by placing them in the sun. The sun will bleach them right out, so there's no need to use anything extra to get out those stains. (And really, stains won't hurt your diapers, they just make them not look nice, so if they don't bother you then you don't have to worry about doing anything to get rid of them.)
Using cloth diapers really is so easy and I hope that I've inspired some of you to use cloth on your next child. Disposable diapers take 400 years to decompose. I don't want to have Pierce's great-great-great-great-grandchildren cleaning up after what he pooped in when he was a baby.
First of all, if you exclusively breastfeed your baby you don't need to rinse the poop off of the diapers before washing them. Breastfed baby poop is water soluble. If you feed your baby formula, or even supplement with formula, then you will need to rinse your poopy diapers before putting them in the washer.
If you need (or want) to rinse the poop off your diapers before washing them, all you have to do once you've taken the poopy diaper off your baby is stick it in the toilet, hold on tight to one corner of the diaper and flush. Alternatively, they make diaper sprayers that you can install on your toilet if sticking your hand in the toilet grosses you out.
A lot of people believe that you need to use a wet pail (a diaper pail with water in it) when you use cloth diapers, but this is not true. When we take a diaper off of Pierce we throw it directly into our dry pail. When the pail gets full (about every other day) I do a load of diaper laundry.
Zinc oxide is not compatible with cloth diapers. It will negatively effect the absorbency of the diapers, so if your baby has a diaper rash and you want to use diaper cream with zinc oxide, you will need to use a liner to prevent too much zinc oxide coming into contact with your diaper. The Bummis Diapering Kit that I bought to get us started came with three rolls of Bummis Bio-Soft liners and we've also used Kushies liners. They both work well and when we change a diaper, we flush them. Lately, though, when we're at home, we've been using Kushies reusable liners and they have been the best. I found that the disposable liners aren't very absorbent, so when Pierce pooped, they'd cause the poop to go up the back of his diaper and sometimes it'd even get on his diaper cover and his outfit. Gross. The reusable liners absorb the mess, and he hasn't pooped up the back of his diaper since we started using them. We still use the disposable ones when we're out, but once they're gone we'll go to using the reusable liners full time.
There are four main rules about laundering your cloth diapers:
1. Wash them in hot water;
2. Use very little detergent;
3. Rinse, rinse, rinse!; and
4. Absolutely, positively NO fabric softener.
You have to wash the diapers in hot water to kill any bacteria that might be on them. You want to use as little detergent as possible when washing your diapers in order to avoid detergent build-up on your diapers, which will negatively effect the absorbency of the diapers. You need to rinse your diapers very, very thoroughly to get the poop off at the beginning of the wash, and to get all the detergent out at the end of the wash. Using fabric softener will render your diapers ineffective. Fabric softener will make any moisture that comes into contact with the diapers bead up instead of soak in which, obviously, is not what you want with diapers. So you're not going to use any fabric softener. Not liquid in the wash, not sheets in the dryer. None.
When I wash our diapers, I dump them into the washer and then I run a full cold wash cycle without any detergent. When that is done, the diapers are free of any poop that was on them before I put them in. Then I run them on a hot wash cycle with one tablespoon of detergent. (Yes, I measure it.) I use Arm & Hammer Essentials detergent with no scent. You need to use a detergent free of enzymes, fragrance, dyes, optical brighteners, fabric softeners and bleach on your cloth diapers. Check out this table for information on which detergents will work for your cloth diapers. When the hot wash cycle is finished I run another cold wash cycle so that I can be sure that all the detergent has been rinsed out of the diapers. Then I throw them in the dryer and they're done!
I would love to be able to line-dry my diapers, but first of all, I live in Canada and it's not exactly optimal at this time of year to be line drying clothes, second of all, we live in a third floor condo and don't have anywhere to line dry them. As soon as we get a place with a backyard I am installing a clothesline. Also, if you get any stains on your diapers, you can get them out easily by placing them in the sun. The sun will bleach them right out, so there's no need to use anything extra to get out those stains. (And really, stains won't hurt your diapers, they just make them not look nice, so if they don't bother you then you don't have to worry about doing anything to get rid of them.)
Using cloth diapers really is so easy and I hope that I've inspired some of you to use cloth on your next child. Disposable diapers take 400 years to decompose. I don't want to have Pierce's great-great-great-great-grandchildren cleaning up after what he pooped in when he was a baby.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Busy Day!
Today was a very busy day for Pierce and I.
In an effort to get some exercise in, get out of the house, and encourage Pierce to take a nap, I've decided to take up "mall walking." For those of you who have never heard of this, basically you go to the mall really early before the stores open and walk around. It was lots of fun, and although Pierce didn't nap while I walked, he did enjoy looking around at the stores as they passed by. He only got fussy twice. The first time I leaned over while walking to put his soother in and he was fine, the second time the soother only pacified him for a little while, but that was okay because we were leaving shortly anyway. I was there for half an hour and I only did 3 laps around the mall. There is definitely room for improvement.
When I got home from the mall I had to take a shower because I was all sweaty from the walk. I didn't think I'd break a sweat, but I did! Then it was time for Babyville. Babyville is a group for parents and their infants aged 0-12 months to meet and discuss everything related to being a mom and having a baby. It is facilitated by a public health nurse. It was our group's last meeting today, and it was pretty sad for me. This has been something that I've looked forward to every week for the past 7 weeks. I really hope we continue getting together because this is a great group of girls. One of the girls said she'd have us over at her house next week at the same time, so I'm looking forward to that.
Pierce was pretty fussy at Babyville and I had a bit of time to kill before we had our Rainbow Songs class so I drove around a bit and he had a little nap in his car seat. Then it was time to go to our class. This was our first class (it was actually arranged by one of the women in my mommy group, so it was a one time thing and free, which is always nice) and I wasn't sure about how Pierce would handle it because he'd been so fussy earlier and because of his age. Rainbow Songs is a group for babies and their caregivers aged newborn to four years and they're new in my area. We sang a bunch of songs and I helped Pierce do some of the actions and did some of the more complex actions myself. It also incorporated some sign language, which I thought was really cool. I learned the sign for P, Daddy, Rooster, Cat, Cow, Tree and a whole bunch more. Pierce had a great time...I was so surprised! He was smiling, laughing and giggling the entire time. It was great! Luckily there's something like this available at the Ontario Early Years Centre close to me and they run their programs for free. I'm going to try and register us for that so that I don't have to spend the money.
On a completely unrelated note I weighed myself today and the scale is reading a lower number than it has been. Very exciting. The weight I'm at right now is very close to what I weighed in high school. Although I've had a child since then, so my body looks nothing like it did at this weight previously...but it's still my high school weight and I'm still proud of myself. I can't wait to see what my weight will be at the mid-point Biggest Loser weigh-in!
In an effort to get some exercise in, get out of the house, and encourage Pierce to take a nap, I've decided to take up "mall walking." For those of you who have never heard of this, basically you go to the mall really early before the stores open and walk around. It was lots of fun, and although Pierce didn't nap while I walked, he did enjoy looking around at the stores as they passed by. He only got fussy twice. The first time I leaned over while walking to put his soother in and he was fine, the second time the soother only pacified him for a little while, but that was okay because we were leaving shortly anyway. I was there for half an hour and I only did 3 laps around the mall. There is definitely room for improvement.
When I got home from the mall I had to take a shower because I was all sweaty from the walk. I didn't think I'd break a sweat, but I did! Then it was time for Babyville. Babyville is a group for parents and their infants aged 0-12 months to meet and discuss everything related to being a mom and having a baby. It is facilitated by a public health nurse. It was our group's last meeting today, and it was pretty sad for me. This has been something that I've looked forward to every week for the past 7 weeks. I really hope we continue getting together because this is a great group of girls. One of the girls said she'd have us over at her house next week at the same time, so I'm looking forward to that.
Pierce was pretty fussy at Babyville and I had a bit of time to kill before we had our Rainbow Songs class so I drove around a bit and he had a little nap in his car seat. Then it was time to go to our class. This was our first class (it was actually arranged by one of the women in my mommy group, so it was a one time thing and free, which is always nice) and I wasn't sure about how Pierce would handle it because he'd been so fussy earlier and because of his age. Rainbow Songs is a group for babies and their caregivers aged newborn to four years and they're new in my area. We sang a bunch of songs and I helped Pierce do some of the actions and did some of the more complex actions myself. It also incorporated some sign language, which I thought was really cool. I learned the sign for P, Daddy, Rooster, Cat, Cow, Tree and a whole bunch more. Pierce had a great time...I was so surprised! He was smiling, laughing and giggling the entire time. It was great! Luckily there's something like this available at the Ontario Early Years Centre close to me and they run their programs for free. I'm going to try and register us for that so that I don't have to spend the money.
On a completely unrelated note I weighed myself today and the scale is reading a lower number than it has been. Very exciting. The weight I'm at right now is very close to what I weighed in high school. Although I've had a child since then, so my body looks nothing like it did at this weight previously...but it's still my high school weight and I'm still proud of myself. I can't wait to see what my weight will be at the mid-point Biggest Loser weigh-in!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Introduction to Cloth Diapers
Yes, I am one of those people who use cloth diapers. Before you come to the conclusion that I am a crazy hippy and close my blog never to read it again, I ask you to give me a chance to explain why cloth diapers are not only better for the environment, but also better for your baby.
In the next few posts I will be telling you about the benefits of cloth diapers.
First, allow me to give you a quick overview of the possibilities that cloth diapers afford parents. Well before Mr. B and I decided to have children (probably even before we were married) I had decided that I wanted to use cloth diapers. Yes, I am a hippy, and I am proud of it. But there are so many different kinds of cloth diapers available and so much information on the internet that it can be very overwhelming. It took me a long time to decide on what I wanted to use.
There are three basic types of diapers, plus one really cool new one that I will get to after I explain the following three.
Prefolds
Prefolds are basically pieces of fabric that you fold in different ways, wrap around your baby and put a cover over. They are not to be confused with flat diapers, which are just one or two layers sewed together. Prefolds have different layers of fabric in different areas. They are separated into thirds length-wise and generally have four layers of fabric in the two outside thirds, and in the middle they have either 6 or 8 layers. When you look at them on cloth diaper websites, you will see something like 4x6x4 or 4x8x4. This tells you the thickness of the diapers.
Once you've folded the diaper around your baby you use a Snappi to fasten it and then put a cover over top. When you put the cover on you must take care that the diaper is completely covered around the waist of the baby and also around the legs. This will keep the baby's clothes dry when he pees or poops.
Prefold diapers are the diapers that we use on our son and they can be folded many different ways. This is the way we fold our diapers. We use Bummis brand prefold diapers. They have starter kids you can buy. I would recommend the infant size kit for parents just starting out with prefolds, but the baby sized kit has a lot of the same stuff in it anyways and we just bought the bigger sized diapers and covers instead of buying another kit. We purchased 36 prefold diapers and 5 covers and I do laundry every other day. When Pierce was smaller we still had 36 prefolds but I only did laundry every 2nd or 3rd day. I think that's because the larger sized prefolds fill my diaper pail faster than the smaller ones.
Prefold diapers are the cheapest cloth diaper option available.
Fitted Diapers
These are similar to prefold diapers in that you wrap them around the baby and then put a cover over top. The difference is that you don't need to fold them first. Also, most of the time these diapers come with either snaps or velcro attached so you don't need to use a Snappi with them.
The benefits of these diapers are that they are easier to use than prefolds because there is no folding involved. If your significant other isn't completely sold on the idea of cloth diapering, but your budget for cloth diapers is not huge, then this might be the option for you. They're easy to use, and while they're more expensive than prefold diapers, they're still pretty cost effective. You don't need any more covers with fitted diapers than you do with prefolds, either, so you could easily have 36 fitted diapers and 5 covers like we do with prefolds.
All-in-Ones
These are the Cadillac of cloth diapers. They are just like disposables, but made out of cloth. All you have to do is put the diaper under your baby's tush, and close it up with the attached snaps or velcro. No folding or cover needed. They come in different sizes based on the weight of your child, or they come in "one-sized" options with snaps on the front to adjust the rise of the diaper as your baby grows.
They also have the option of coming fully stuffed, or having "pockets" that you use to stuff the diaper with as many inserts as you wish before you put the diaper on your child. Pocket diapers are handy if you are one of the lucky ones whose baby sleeps for long periods during the night and you want to make sure he stays dry. You just stuff the diaper with as many inserts as you need. Of course, you can always lay extra inserts on the top of an all-in-one without a pocket, too.
These are the most expensive of the cloth diaper options, but they are also the easiest to use. If you have a significant other that is really opposed to cloth diapers, these are for you. These are also the easiest diaper for your daycare provider to use.
Hybrid Diapers
Sometimes these diapers are referred to as All-in-Twos, or even prefold diapers, but there is a distinct difference between the prefolds I discussed above and these diapers. These diapers are so. cool. Unfortunately they came out after Pierce was born. If they had come out before and given me a chance to research them, I would've chosen these hands down.
The way these diapers work gets me so excited. They are covers, called "shells" by the company that makes them, with "soaker pads" that snap in, and then a "booster" that you lay over the soaker pad if your baby requires more protection. Then you close them up over the baby.
I know what you're saying, "Devon, they work the same as the prefolds or all-in-ones you described above." And I say, "But wait! There's more!" in true infomercial fashion.
This is what makes them so cool. They have biodegradable soaker pads that also snap into the shells so that if you are traveling and don't have access to laundry facilities, you don't have to buy those chemical-filled disposable diapers that just go into the trash. These biodegradable shells can be put in the trash, flushed down the toilet or they can even be composted! (But don't put the poop in the compost, okay?) How incredibly cool is that?!
These diapers are in line cost-wise with other all-in-ones, and sometimes even more expensive, but since they are very new to the cloth diaper scene, I am hoping they will come down in price as time goes on.
I want these diapers, but I can't justify the price, especially since we have already spent money on prefold diapers that work just fine. If we ever travel with Pierce, though, I would love to use these in place of disposables.
So that is it with regards to our introduction. In my next post I will talk about how to care for your cloth diapers.
In the next few posts I will be telling you about the benefits of cloth diapers.
First, allow me to give you a quick overview of the possibilities that cloth diapers afford parents. Well before Mr. B and I decided to have children (probably even before we were married) I had decided that I wanted to use cloth diapers. Yes, I am a hippy, and I am proud of it. But there are so many different kinds of cloth diapers available and so much information on the internet that it can be very overwhelming. It took me a long time to decide on what I wanted to use.
There are three basic types of diapers, plus one really cool new one that I will get to after I explain the following three.
Prefolds
Prefolds are basically pieces of fabric that you fold in different ways, wrap around your baby and put a cover over. They are not to be confused with flat diapers, which are just one or two layers sewed together. Prefolds have different layers of fabric in different areas. They are separated into thirds length-wise and generally have four layers of fabric in the two outside thirds, and in the middle they have either 6 or 8 layers. When you look at them on cloth diaper websites, you will see something like 4x6x4 or 4x8x4. This tells you the thickness of the diapers.
Once you've folded the diaper around your baby you use a Snappi to fasten it and then put a cover over top. When you put the cover on you must take care that the diaper is completely covered around the waist of the baby and also around the legs. This will keep the baby's clothes dry when he pees or poops.
Prefold diapers are the diapers that we use on our son and they can be folded many different ways. This is the way we fold our diapers. We use Bummis brand prefold diapers. They have starter kids you can buy. I would recommend the infant size kit for parents just starting out with prefolds, but the baby sized kit has a lot of the same stuff in it anyways and we just bought the bigger sized diapers and covers instead of buying another kit. We purchased 36 prefold diapers and 5 covers and I do laundry every other day. When Pierce was smaller we still had 36 prefolds but I only did laundry every 2nd or 3rd day. I think that's because the larger sized prefolds fill my diaper pail faster than the smaller ones.
Prefold diapers are the cheapest cloth diaper option available.
Fitted Diapers
These are similar to prefold diapers in that you wrap them around the baby and then put a cover over top. The difference is that you don't need to fold them first. Also, most of the time these diapers come with either snaps or velcro attached so you don't need to use a Snappi with them.
The benefits of these diapers are that they are easier to use than prefolds because there is no folding involved. If your significant other isn't completely sold on the idea of cloth diapering, but your budget for cloth diapers is not huge, then this might be the option for you. They're easy to use, and while they're more expensive than prefold diapers, they're still pretty cost effective. You don't need any more covers with fitted diapers than you do with prefolds, either, so you could easily have 36 fitted diapers and 5 covers like we do with prefolds.
All-in-Ones
These are the Cadillac of cloth diapers. They are just like disposables, but made out of cloth. All you have to do is put the diaper under your baby's tush, and close it up with the attached snaps or velcro. No folding or cover needed. They come in different sizes based on the weight of your child, or they come in "one-sized" options with snaps on the front to adjust the rise of the diaper as your baby grows.
They also have the option of coming fully stuffed, or having "pockets" that you use to stuff the diaper with as many inserts as you wish before you put the diaper on your child. Pocket diapers are handy if you are one of the lucky ones whose baby sleeps for long periods during the night and you want to make sure he stays dry. You just stuff the diaper with as many inserts as you need. Of course, you can always lay extra inserts on the top of an all-in-one without a pocket, too.
These are the most expensive of the cloth diaper options, but they are also the easiest to use. If you have a significant other that is really opposed to cloth diapers, these are for you. These are also the easiest diaper for your daycare provider to use.
Hybrid Diapers
Sometimes these diapers are referred to as All-in-Twos, or even prefold diapers, but there is a distinct difference between the prefolds I discussed above and these diapers. These diapers are so. cool. Unfortunately they came out after Pierce was born. If they had come out before and given me a chance to research them, I would've chosen these hands down.
The way these diapers work gets me so excited. They are covers, called "shells" by the company that makes them, with "soaker pads" that snap in, and then a "booster" that you lay over the soaker pad if your baby requires more protection. Then you close them up over the baby.
I know what you're saying, "Devon, they work the same as the prefolds or all-in-ones you described above." And I say, "But wait! There's more!" in true infomercial fashion.
This is what makes them so cool. They have biodegradable soaker pads that also snap into the shells so that if you are traveling and don't have access to laundry facilities, you don't have to buy those chemical-filled disposable diapers that just go into the trash. These biodegradable shells can be put in the trash, flushed down the toilet or they can even be composted! (But don't put the poop in the compost, okay?) How incredibly cool is that?!
These diapers are in line cost-wise with other all-in-ones, and sometimes even more expensive, but since they are very new to the cloth diaper scene, I am hoping they will come down in price as time goes on.
I want these diapers, but I can't justify the price, especially since we have already spent money on prefold diapers that work just fine. If we ever travel with Pierce, though, I would love to use these in place of disposables.
So that is it with regards to our introduction. In my next post I will talk about how to care for your cloth diapers.
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