Monday, August 9, 2010

A couple diaper reviews

I thought I'd review a few of the diapers I love to use on my little guy.  For stats, he's about 31 inches and 23 pounds, tall and skinny lol, with a longer rise, so there were a few I tried out that just don't fit him well.  The ones that do fit him are the Flip, SweetPea pocket, FuzziBunz medium and the new BG 4.0.  The one I like best is really the Flip, I use the stay dry inserts, I don't like the idea of him sitting in wetness if we don't have to.  I love that I can swap out the wet insert and use a new one.  The covers are great, they work well with the inserts and also with some prefolds.  I have mine set on medium and love that the snaps adjust to fit his chubby thighs and skinny belly.  I'm not sure how they'd work on a tiny baby, because I started this a bit late, but they works really well on him, and I expect they will for awhile.

SweetPea diapers are great, they are not expensive, they are one size, come with two inserts, and are just so nicely made!  I think they would fit a newborn pretty well, depending how bit the new born is of course.  I haven't had any leaks with these, which is pertty amazing.  He's even gone 4 hours in one with no leaks, through a nap and everything!  I've been using them for a few weeks now and they come clean quite easily.  I like that they keep him dry feeling too, and the inserts really absorb a lot of pee.  I like that they have a liner all the way up, so none of the Pul touches his skin, it's just all nice soft stay dry lining. 

FuzziBunz, I used one during a trial and didn't care for it, but there was a really good deal online so I ordered one, now I've ordered 3 more :)  I think the one I had in the trial was an older version, these new ones are nice and fit him well.  They came with one insert, and it is very absorbant.  I've only had it a week or so, he's worn it three times, and it seems to be his poopy diaper, almost as soon as I get it on him, there he goes!  So it hasn't been worn much yet :)  I do wish I'd ordered a one size to try, I'm not sure the medium will last until potty training, he is a big boy.

BG 4.0 is a good diaper, I like that it is a bit bigger than the older version, it fits well on the medium settings.  It came with two inserts, I use the bigger one on the medium snap and it works well.  I'm not sure I like the opening for the insert, it seems that it could open up and leave the insides to rub on his back.  We'll see how it works.  Also, there is a layer of Pul on the front inside, not sure how that will work for us.  Part of why I switched to cloth is because he was reacting to something in the disposables along his back, it's still pretty rashy (only just getting to using cloth overnight), and I'm not sure Pul would be any better than the sposies. 

So those are the diapers I like, I have a couple others I'm still trying out, I like to try different things, and anything on sale is great :) 

Friday, August 6, 2010

Welcome

This is my story, my journey as a Mom.  I'm a single mom by choice, I have an amazing little boy who was born Dec 9, 09.  It has been an interesting time so far, he's almost 8 months old and I've learned a lot.  The main things I've learned all come down to following my own intuition, doing what feels right to me.  I've done a lot of things that you aren't supposed to do, and so far he's healthy and happy. 
One of the hardest things was during the first few weeks when he was colicy, he cried so much, and hardly slept, it was very difficult.  I finally one night flipped him onto his tummy to sleep, and he slept 5 hours straight!  He's been a tummy sleeper ever since.  Now that he can roll every which way he sleeps all over, on his side, back or tummy.  He really gets into it too, I've watched him throw himself around in that crib...so cute!
He's been a formula baby from the start, breastfeeding was not going to happen.  He has certainly thrived on it, and does love his "baba's"  He's a big eater too, holding steady at about 36 oz a day for the past 3 months or so, somedays he has an extra bottle in there.  We had to try a couple formulas to find one that works for us. 
At 5 months I started him on solids, I figured his having 2 or 3 teeth at that point meant he could eat...he did ok with the purees and cereals but it didn't feel right to me.  Then I read about baby led weaning, and man that just felt right!  Now he eats what I do, and loves it all.  He's got a varied diet and will have steamed veggies and turkey meat loaf for supper, fruits for breakfast, cheese and cucumbers for lunch...all kinds of things.  He even likes hummus!  Ice cream is a favourite, he doesn't get it that often though. 
About 2 months ago I started to really think about cloth diapers, and a month ago I did a trial.  I found a couple in the trial that I really liked, and off we went!  It's actually a lot of fun, and he looks so cute!!  I'm sure I've spent too much money on these things but oh well...I'll have to have another baby to make up the cost.  It was hard to find diapers that fit him in the rise.  So far we like the Flips, SweetPea Pockets, and I have a couple others we're going to try. 
I've carried him from the start, first in a stretchy wrap, then a pocket sling, tried a ring sling and eventually found the ergo and scootababy...love both of those!  I carry him in the stores on my hip, though he's starting to get big to carry, and is starting to grab at things as we go down the aisles...I'm sure we'll work it out.
So there it is, intro to me :)  I'm more of a crunchy mommy than I thought I would be. It's funny that everything I'm doing is labelled somewhere and written up, called attachment parenting, natural parenting, even the baby led weaning that is how I wanted to do things but didn't think I was allowed to.  So I'm trusting my instincts and learning to follow my intuition...and I'm sure we'll both be happy for it :)