There are several people in my family who are bottomless pits. Hubby, Big Brother (if it's something he wants to eat) and now... Froggie!
Because sometimes my "mommy brain" is worse than others I frequently forget things. Usually it's something like where I put my phone/keys/kindle/etc. Well, today I left Froggie's wet bag full of today's diapers on the counter at work. Since today isn't a wash night it wouldn't have been an issue if it weren't a Friday because I'd of just used the same bag tomorrow and then brought it all home. However, it IS Friday and I couldn't leave 3 dirty diapers sit all weekend. I couldn't ask any of my coworkers to take them home either, simply because I would have felt horrible for sending them a bag full of smelly diapers.
I also didn't realize that I had left said wet bag until we were getting out of the car at home, 15 miles away from work. Hubby (very awesomely) volunteered to take Big Brother and head back up to pick up the diapers.
While they were out Froggie joined me at the table and enjoyed a snack while watching clips from Disney movies while I pumped. It's been awhile since we had offered her any "snacks" but she's pretty good at picking stuff up. I'm also a big believer in "if you don't let them try they'll never learn" (also you'll never know what they're able to do). So I stuck a couple yogurt bites and some puffs on her tray and let her play away. She concentrated pretty hard but quickly got the hang of picking them up. She didn't get the idea of putting them in her mouth quite as quickly and a bunch ended up all over the table.
I guess this means we will have to buy some more snacks and have them readily available and in the diaper bag. Maybe I'll hunt out some recipes online and see if I can make any of my own.
Recently Hubby's aunt spent the morning texting me questions about cloth diapers for a friend of theirs who was expecting. I'm not really surprised about being asked questions, We're asked A LOT of questions. We also get a lot of looks and some people who just don't get it.
There were a variety of reasons we opted to use cloth - primarily that I thought it was cost effective and limited our waste. We had purchased some cloth diapers when Big Brother as little but didn't follow through with using them. When Froggie was born I had pushed to use them again.
Let me stop here and mention types of cloth diapers. Yes there are different kinds. No, you don't need diaper pins (unless you want to use them) and no they're not just boring and white. We typically use prefolds with a cover (what you think of when you think of cloth diapers), pocket diapers, or all in one (AIO) diapers.
With the prefolds you fold them in thirds and then set them into the cover, velcro/snap around baby, voila! Pockets have a microfiber insert (or 2) that need to be stuffed in between a soft layer and the cover before use but then you just velcro/snap around baby and voila! AIO's are the easiest by far, you just put them on!
Next question, how do you wash them. Answer; in the washing machine. Seriously though, you just stick them in there ever other day with a dye free detergent and run a double rinse and they're clean. We need to strip our diapers soon which means we'll just run them without detergent. We also typically add Oxyclean free and clear to help with the staining as well. We hang the covers and AIO's to dry since they have a plastic-y lining and the rest goes in the dryer. I know a lot of people who hang everything, I think it's just a mater of space and preference.
I should probably also mention that we use cloth wipes. By cloth wipes I mean I found a TON of clearanced out baby wash cloths for like a quarter a package at Wal-Mart and bought them out and now we use those. They work well and since we spent so little on them I'm not heart broken if they go missing or get ruined. I think this was a better idea than buying actual cloth wipes simply because they're expensive. People also make them out of the flannel of extra receiving blankets which are nice but I don't have the equipment to do this and make them last.
Lastly, what happens to the poop? Well this may be the most complicated part of using cloth. As newborns everything really just goes into the wetbag and then into the washer. If you rinse them they probably get a little cleaner in the wash but we never rinsed Froggie's infant diapers. Once you start solid foods you just have to shake the diaper over the toilet. We don't have a diaper sprayer but may invest in one; they attach to the toilet and are like a little hose that you use to rinse the diaper before you put it in the wetbag.
Well that's about the extent of my knowledge regarding cloth diapers. Hope it was helpful for anyone who wanted to know.
While not harness related this rant is definitely Froggie related. It has to do with breastfeeding. It also has to do with dealing with "the public".
If you keep up with my posts about Froggie you know that we had to re-learn how to breastfeed once we got the harness. You also probably read about the stares we get about the harness and the sometimes brave individuals that do more than stare. If you read the post about diapering you know we use cloth diapers, and I have mentioned in more posts than not that we love our carrier!
Some may call me a hippie, others "crunchy" or "granola", and some will say I'm just flat out weird. I'm ok with all of that, I'm also ok with those who aren't "brave" enough to do anything but stare. One thing I don't think I would handle well is being told I can't meet my daughter's needs because someone else is uncomfortable.
Yes I nurse Froggie in public (usually with a cover) and thankfully I've never been told I can't feed her wherever it is that she decides she's hungry. I've fed her at work, in restaurants, at the park, while walking aisles at the store, at the doctor's office, at church and on occasion in my car. In an effort to keep Froggie's attention I use a cover when feeding her if there are distractions (people or things to look at, grab for, play with, etc.) The use of a cover, in my opinion, is like hanging a sign on yourself saying "my chest is sort of exposed under here, stare at me", not to mention the older Froggie gets the less tolerant she is of the cover and tries to take it off (this could also be due to the fact that it's the middle of summer).
I have people stare at me but it's hard to know when I'm breastfeeding in public if the funny looks are because my daughter is eating or because she's wearing something that is obviously NOT a fashion statement. I typically ignore those around and continue doing what I'm doing whether it's talking to those I'm with, eating, shopping or working. The way I see it I'm caring for my child in the best way I possibly can.
This was not always my opinion. I did not always just "whip them out" and feed my child. When Big Brother was an infant I would pump and tote along bottles of breast milk. I was able to hand him off to be fed by another person and then go lock myself away someplace for the duration of his feeding. He was terribly distracted when I did try to breastfeed him and it was a frustrating experience; primarily because I wanted to nurse him but I was "chicken". So instead I became best friends with my pump and missed out on a lot of conversations and cuddle time with him.
I'm not one for wasting time... So if I can just be confident in the decision I have made I can continue to eat my dinner, do my shopping or whatever it is that I'm in the middle of. I can give Froggie whatever she needs without having to excuse us and hide.
This rant came about not because I was finally approached by someone after 5 months of feeding Froggie wherever (though I'm sure my bubble will burst eventually and someone will get brave enough to say something to me), but because of a video circulating on Facebook.
Holli McNish is a poet who released a video of her take on the shame breastfeeding mothers experience for nursing in public. She's very talented (and british so her experiences come from the UK but I believe they are still relevant)! Her rant was pretty catchy and I listened to it twice while nursing Froggie during Big Brother's nap time.
WAY back when I started the blog I had mentioned doing an entry about diapering. When looking through the blogs "stats" I noticed that I recently got two pageviews from people searching Pavlik Harness and diapering - I guess that's as much of a sign as any to do this entry.
Much like feeding and playing with Froggie changing her diaper around the harness has become routine. It happens numerous times a day and given the fact that I work in a day care I'm a pro at changing diapers, I just needed to change my approach a little.
When Big Brother was an infant I made the push for cloth diapers. I had a whole list of reasons why I wanted to use them. I had little support from Hubby at that time to follow through, so we eventually abandon using them and packed them up in a box. When Froggie was about a week old we went to her first appointment with our family doctor knowing that our first appointment at Shriners Hospital was a week away. At this appointment our family doctor noted that he was glad we had an appointment and said that we may be advised to "double diaper" Froggie in order to hold her hips more openly. (Of course that was not the case but it was nice to have some idea of what to expect.)
Shortly after coming home from that appointment we dragged out the box of cloth diaper covers and inserts and started using them because they were thicker than the disposable diapers. And I started ordering pocket diapers and wet bags to support our continued use of cloth diapers!
Depending on which type of cloth diaper you use getting them on and off is much like using a disposable diaper. All in One and Pocket diapers seem to be the most like disposables but this entry is about inserts/covers. We use Flip covers and Econobum prefolds when we aren't using pocket diapers or All in One diapers.
Here's how we change Froggie's Diapers Step 1. Start with a cute little baby that needs a new diaper. Have on hand an insert and whatever you use as wipes (we just use water in a spray bottle and wash cloths).
Step 2. Take off the dirty diaper and clean baby's bottom.
Step 3. Put on the new diaper. Make sure you aren't pulling their ankles together to get the diaper off and on. I typically place my hand under the small of Froggie's back and lift up her entire bottom half. Then weave the top tab of the diaper underneath the top strap of the harness.
Step 4. Weave the tabs under the bottom and top strap of the harness. ** If you fasten the diaper OVER the straps of the harness the harness can absorb urine and cause rashes on the baby's skin.**
