Hey all! Before we even found out that we were expecting our sweet bundle, we knew we wanted to use cloth diapers (nappies). I had seen some friends use them for their children and was hooked! In a world that uses mostly disposable dipes, we get a few questions about why we use cloth, so I thought I would share why we use them and my thoughts about our journey with them so far.
Firstly, we use LittleBloom pocket diapers. I got them on amazon for fairly cheap. We have about 30 diapers, which lasts us 4 days (but I wash every 2 so that we never run out!).
Why do we use cloth?
For starters, anyone who knows me knows that I like a bargain and that I save money in any way I can. For me, the cost of washing cloth diapers is far less than buying disposables. This was the number 1 reason for choosing cloth, but I've gained some other reasons on our journey thus far.
Cloth diapers are made from (mostly) fleece with PUL outer shells. After doing some research, I found that disposable diapers have chemicals in them that make them super absorbent, etc and I didn't know how that would affect our girl as both hubby and I have sensitive skin. Sure enough, in Julia's first few weeks of life (when we had to use disposables as she was too small for cloth), Julia broke out in god-awful nappy rash, even when we were using protective cream! Ever since going to cloth, she has never had another outbreak.
Cloth diapers minimise any 'messy diapers'. We've only had one messy diaper incident that required a whole new outfit change and that was when we were in Canada and Julia was in a disposable diaper. Oh the mess...enough for me to not want to use disposables on the regular!
Natural 'protective cream'. You can't use normal nappy rash cream with cloth diapers as the cream sticks to the diaper and doesn't wash off. It reduces the cloth absorbency and then you have basically wasted your money. After some quick research, we discovered the power of organic coconut oil. We use this. It may seem pricey at first, but we bought a jar when Julia was 3 weeks old and are only about a quarter of the way through it. A little really does go a long way!
You may have noticed all the snaps on the diapers if you had a look. These things will last until Julia is potty trained! Woo!
Washing isn't so bad. We manage to fill a wet bag or two and then chuck it all in the wash. We use a system of rinse, wash, rinse to ensure that they get a good clean. A lot of websites advised using special detergent but, to be honest, we use the cheapest Kirkland brand and it does the trick just fine! Someone once told me that if you have sensitive skin, buy the cheapest soap you can find because it doesn't have any other perfumes and additives to make it fancy. The Kirkland brand is great!
The cost of washing? Unnoticeable. Considering I'm doing laundry every day for someone, whether it be myself, hubby or Julia, the associated cost with washing the diapers can't be seen.
Our journey with cloth has been great. I'm a complete lover of them and would not use disposables if I had the choice. We do use disposables during trips so that we don't have to worry about washing our diapers, but that's a small price to pay for the benefits of using cloth at home.
Tuesday 31 March 2015
Saturday 14 March 2015
Baby-Led Weaning
Well, our sweet girl is six months old. Where did the time go? Seriously, it's been the fastest six months of my life. I've laughed, cried (sometimes simultaneously), learned and unlearned. But you know what? These have been some of the best months of my life. Julia is a bubbly, lively baby who wears her heart on her sleeve. I just adore her and would not have my life any other way.
Anyways enough with the mushy-gushy 'I love my child' talk. Today was an interesting day. We started baby-led weaning about 2 weeks ago. It's been a blast watching Julia explore different textures, how to move her hand to her mouth and the look on her face when she experiences a flavour she wasn't expecting.
I want to talk about why we chose baby-led weaning. We had decided this well before Julia was born. Knowing the problems I faced with my fertility issues, and how good I felt on Paleo, I knew that I wanted to start my child off in that general direction. Add in that BLW aides gross and fine motor skills at the same time, and I was ready to commit.
One of Julia's first meals was ground beef, sweet potato and carrots. For the most part she just sucked on whatever got onto her hands, and that's how most of her meals have gone. Until today. Today, Julia demolished a quarter of a banana. Her hand-to-mouth coordination and her grip have improved tenfold so she was able to get a lot of the banana into her mouth. The only downside? We think Julia may be intolerant/allergic to bananas. I know, right? Of all foods...bananas?
Sidenote: Hubby is actually mildly intolerant to bananas and mashed potatoes. When he eats them, he gets a tingly feeling in the mouth for a few seconds, but it goes away quickly. That said, he still eats these foods regularly, as he has no other ill-effects from them.
Back to Julia. About 30 minutes after breakfast, Julia started to get really cranky, had a runny nose and really watery eyes. She was constantly trying to rub her eyes and started to fuss a lot. If you know Julia, you'll know that she is a morning bird so it is unusual for her to fuss so early in the day. When I was previously researching BLW, I had read about symptoms of allergens/food sensitivities, so I knew that the whole runny nose/watery eyes combo could be a sign of a sensitivity.
The symptoms have stayed throughout the day, so we didn't give Julia any more to 'eat' as we didn't want to (potentially) make her feel any worse.
I'm aware that Julia could just be getting a bug - she could have caught a cold. Or she could have hay fever as we have been having some slightly warmer weather. The thing that perplexed me though, was that these symptoms started about 2 hours after getting up and only 30 minutes after eating the banana. Couple that with the fact that she actually ate the banana today and I'm a bit skeptical.
Where do we go from here? We are going to wait until tomorrow to see if Julia's nose and eyes are still bothering her. I've read that foods can bother you up to 48 hours after consumption so if her eyes/nose clear up within the 2 days, we will steer clear of bananas for a month or so and then try to reintroduce them.
Other than today's instance, Julia is loving baby-led weaning. She has already learned that when she gets put in her chair, she is going to get something that she can eat. Hubby and I are enjoying it too, and I am glad that we are able to enjoy this phase just as much as Julia.
Anyways enough with the mushy-gushy 'I love my child' talk. Today was an interesting day. We started baby-led weaning about 2 weeks ago. It's been a blast watching Julia explore different textures, how to move her hand to her mouth and the look on her face when she experiences a flavour she wasn't expecting.
I want to talk about why we chose baby-led weaning. We had decided this well before Julia was born. Knowing the problems I faced with my fertility issues, and how good I felt on Paleo, I knew that I wanted to start my child off in that general direction. Add in that BLW aides gross and fine motor skills at the same time, and I was ready to commit.
One of Julia's first meals was ground beef, sweet potato and carrots. For the most part she just sucked on whatever got onto her hands, and that's how most of her meals have gone. Until today. Today, Julia demolished a quarter of a banana. Her hand-to-mouth coordination and her grip have improved tenfold so she was able to get a lot of the banana into her mouth. The only downside? We think Julia may be intolerant/allergic to bananas. I know, right? Of all foods...bananas?
Sidenote: Hubby is actually mildly intolerant to bananas and mashed potatoes. When he eats them, he gets a tingly feeling in the mouth for a few seconds, but it goes away quickly. That said, he still eats these foods regularly, as he has no other ill-effects from them.
Back to Julia. About 30 minutes after breakfast, Julia started to get really cranky, had a runny nose and really watery eyes. She was constantly trying to rub her eyes and started to fuss a lot. If you know Julia, you'll know that she is a morning bird so it is unusual for her to fuss so early in the day. When I was previously researching BLW, I had read about symptoms of allergens/food sensitivities, so I knew that the whole runny nose/watery eyes combo could be a sign of a sensitivity.
The symptoms have stayed throughout the day, so we didn't give Julia any more to 'eat' as we didn't want to (potentially) make her feel any worse.
I'm aware that Julia could just be getting a bug - she could have caught a cold. Or she could have hay fever as we have been having some slightly warmer weather. The thing that perplexed me though, was that these symptoms started about 2 hours after getting up and only 30 minutes after eating the banana. Couple that with the fact that she actually ate the banana today and I'm a bit skeptical.
Where do we go from here? We are going to wait until tomorrow to see if Julia's nose and eyes are still bothering her. I've read that foods can bother you up to 48 hours after consumption so if her eyes/nose clear up within the 2 days, we will steer clear of bananas for a month or so and then try to reintroduce them.
Other than today's instance, Julia is loving baby-led weaning. She has already learned that when she gets put in her chair, she is going to get something that she can eat. Hubby and I are enjoying it too, and I am glad that we are able to enjoy this phase just as much as Julia.
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