Over the past year, I've used cloth diapers almost exclusively. I got different brands at different times and they have more than paid for themselves at this point.
I have different brands and my stash is definitely small but varied. Anyway, this is a comparison of what I have and what works better for different situations.
I have Blueberry Econappi, Simplex and prefolds. Grovia AIO, Bumgenius Freetime, Tots Bots AIO, Fuzzibunz OS Elite, Flip OS Covers, Real Nappies covers, Flip organic inserts, Unbranded prefolds and Kissaluvs hemp fitteds.
The Confy One.
My favorites are Fuzzibunz. They have the best fit, they always look perfect, they dry fast and there's always one ready to use. I generally grab the diaper and a couple of inserts and in 10 seconds stuff it, it takes me no time to put it on and the three snaps on each side and waist adjustment make them a total winner.
My second choice is Blueberry Econappi. Not as fantastic fit as the Elites and not as dry due to being all natural, but the bamboo inserts last longer and are less bulky, I just love those diapers.
The Outsider
Econappi most likely will be my diaper to go, and Grovia AIO will be my diaper on the bag. Fuzzibunz tend to have compression leaks in the car and the inserts don't last as long because they are polyester. Econappi will last longer. Grovias are the least bulky, great for tight pants and for bringing in my tiny purse or in the baby carrier, just in case Tiny Guy needs a change and the ordeal is longer than 3 hours.
The Daddy-doer
This one is tricky. If they are ready, the Fuzzibunz are the best choice, and he always put them right. Also a great choice is a prefold in Real Nappies covers, since they are velcro, there is no room for making mistakes, and he doesn't mind that they are not a pocket or an AIO.
The Daddy Impromptu
If there's nothing prepared ahead of time, the Freetime is the one that I've seen best placed on Tiny Guy from all the AIO for a person that doesn't know what he's doing. The snaps are the easiest to put and press and the 2 flaps are easy enough to figure out.
The Trim One
Grovia AIO. Period. I don't think disposables would look as trim, even before the gel fills up.
The Night Cruiser
Trifolded prefolds "girl mode" as inserts of an Econappi. My boys are not heavy wetters, several things and combos work for night time, but that one is the best of them all. Rash free and durable.
The Cutest Print
Tots Bots New York. The only diaper I have bought because the print was just perfect for a baby boy.
The Baby Model
On my sister's wedding day, the photographer went to the house for the dressing part, she saw the baby and started taking shots of him. He was wearing a prefold with a snappi. I immediately went and changed him. Grovia AIO was my first choice in the rush.
The Baby Proof
Fuzzibunz Elite. Why, I don't know, but Tiny Guy has yet to take that one off. He has disposed of every other one.
The Staywet
Blueberry Simplex OS. If it is not wet with urine, it is wet with water. It takes so long to dry and my stash is so short, that it spends more than two thirds of the time wet.
The Staydry
Tots Bots AIO is the dryest. It takes a couple of hours after the spinner and it does not need stuffing.
The Explosion Container
Believe it or not, Grovia AIO has contained every single explosion, even when it doesn't last that long for regular wetting (I change it within an hour). None other holds such an honor (although explosion leaks are very rare in general).
The Leak Proof
Freetime has so far proven to be beyond leaks and in a class of its own on that regard.
The Rash Free
Fuzzibunz Elite and Tots Bots are my to go every time Tiny Guy gets a rash, they disappear by themselves with daily baths and
Showing posts with label husband. Show all posts
Showing posts with label husband. Show all posts
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Celebrating the World Breastfeeding Week 2013 with a Clogged Duct.
Today is the last the of the World Breastfeeding Week 2013. I didn't even think about that 90 minutes ago when I realized the pain on my right breast was not going to go away on its own and Tiny Guy was going to sleep for the rest of the morning. The flag was raised. Clogged Duct.
I am a very fortunate mother that has had the blessing of nursing for quite a while. Little Guy was weaned at 2.5 years due to my advanced pregnancy and 3 months later Tiny Guy was out and around, and drinking lots of breastmilk. In all that almost 3.5 odyssey, only once had I had this problem before, that time I didn't know the name of it, the remedies or how long it would last.
I remember latching Little Guy and having him nurse to no avail, he would be satisfied and I would still feel as if he had not nursed at all. Plus, my breast did not look engorged, but felt like it. After a painful 2 hour non-sleep in the middle of the night, I did what every wife with a wonderful man should do: I called for help.
My husband got me up and threw me in the shower, gave me the head and asked me to point it to the breast. Whatever it was, it needed water and heat. Then he went and asked Mr Google what was going on with me. Eventually the symptoms gave him the answer.
I was fearful of mastitis, I always am. Thanks to it, my mom stopped breast feeding me after only 10 days, and the unfortunate chain of events that took of make my first year's survival a miracle. Clogged ducts need attention immediately to avoid an infection, and unless the pain is unbearable or the fever reaches a high point, it is better to stay home with the baby and hopefully somebody else (I have my disabled husband that painfully can take care of me sometimes)
I am a very fortunate mother that has had the blessing of nursing for quite a while. Little Guy was weaned at 2.5 years due to my advanced pregnancy and 3 months later Tiny Guy was out and around, and drinking lots of breastmilk. In all that almost 3.5 odyssey, only once had I had this problem before, that time I didn't know the name of it, the remedies or how long it would last.
I remember latching Little Guy and having him nurse to no avail, he would be satisfied and I would still feel as if he had not nursed at all. Plus, my breast did not look engorged, but felt like it. After a painful 2 hour non-sleep in the middle of the night, I did what every wife with a wonderful man should do: I called for help.
My husband got me up and threw me in the shower, gave me the head and asked me to point it to the breast. Whatever it was, it needed water and heat. Then he went and asked Mr Google what was going on with me. Eventually the symptoms gave him the answer.
Of course, he was on the right path with the shower, and I was too with the extracting. The problem is that Little Guy was almost 2 and only nursed in mornings and nights. I had to have him help me. Invited him to do it at every occasion, skipped lunch, cooked things that he doesn't like much, anyway, he nursed all day long.
I was fearful of mastitis, I always am. Thanks to it, my mom stopped breast feeding me after only 10 days, and the unfortunate chain of events that took of make my first year's survival a miracle. Clogged ducts need attention immediately to avoid an infection, and unless the pain is unbearable or the fever reaches a high point, it is better to stay home with the baby and hopefully somebody else (I have my disabled husband that painfully can take care of me sometimes)
Between the frequent nursing, manually extracting before the nursing and the heat applied, it was gone within a day. I've been a hard advocate for manual extraction ever since, I think that's why it only happened once with Little Guy (and now once with Tiny Guy).
2 hours ago, I got up, drank whatever was left from a water bottle (with Little Guy's help) and manually drained the breast. It was not much, maybe an ounce, but it did a huge difference. At least the pain is resting. 600 mg of Ibuprofen later, the fever is coming down and the shivers with it. I may be able to sleep for the next hour, with my milk bottle ready for another discharge and Tiny Guy ready for another feast.
Remember. If it happens to you, drain, nurse, drain, nurse. Drain before every feeding, hot showers, heat and pain killers will help getting you through the day.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
My Boy Has Long Hair
I have two beautiful boys: Tiny Guy and Little Guy.
Little Guy is over 3 now and at this point, mostly out of diapers. He is a very singular one, with things done at his own pace and by his own way.
Due to my husband's beliefs, we didn't cut his hair when he was little, and then, kinda forgot about it. What came out was an amazing straight hair and bangs that he loves waving.
We do have a person that cuts his hair and leaves it long in a boyish fashion, but she lives very far, and due to Tiny Guy's arrival, we have not been able to see her, so Little Guy's hair is really long! We'll give it a cut when we see her, but in the meantime we're just trimming the bangs. We tried someone here and gave him a girl's cut (yuck!)
So, as you may think, I get all kinds of comments, I get the "what a gorgeous hair" and, most of the time the "you SHOULD cut his hair". Combined with the more polite "do you think it would be a good idea to cut his hair?" and my favorite: no comment at all, just a pedantic sign of cutting your hair in front of me in my own house, done to somebody else.
Why don't I do it then? well, by starters, I don't think it's someone else's business what I do with my child's hair. It's, more than our business, his. And let me tell you something, he may be delayed in his speech, but he can comunicate, and he has stated very clearly that he loves his long hair and doesn't want it short.
Moreover, my husband has long hair. My son does not understand that long hair is supposed to be "for girls", he doesn't understand gender issues very well, he knows he is more like Daddy than like me, and Daddy has long hair, so why wouldn't he?
Which brings me to gender issues. I have always stated that I have a boy, but never told him so. I have never told him the difference between boys and girls or showed him specific toys. He sees pink as one more color and does not relate it to girls. He is 3 and learning 2 languages, but he is, in all aspects, a boy.
Whoever says that little children don't know about gender identity have never had one. My little boy has not been exposed to gender related propaganda, yet he likes toy cars, trains, climbing, red, blue, green, Cars (the movie), Thomas the Train, running around, balls, etc. He doesn't care about how he looks and usually picks bright color T-shirts and jeans for outside (and nothing for inside). He climbs what you put in front of him, he is independent and determined. He doesn't care much about dolls, only once in a while he will get a stuffed animal and hug it. So, he has let us know that he is a boy, in every aspect, including the hair.
So, next time you see a child, before looking at the hair, look at what the child does and what the child is wearing and the child's behavior. The other day at a doctor's office, the conversation went like this:
-What a gorgeous boy you have
-Thank you.
-At first I thought it was a girl, but then I saw the cars and how he was playing and noted that his outfit was definitely boyish.
-I'm glad, people take him for a girl a lot.
-People just don't think.
So, use your brain for more than half a second. There are several children out there that are not what you pictured in your brain, mine being one of those.
Little Guy is over 3 now and at this point, mostly out of diapers. He is a very singular one, with things done at his own pace and by his own way.
Due to my husband's beliefs, we didn't cut his hair when he was little, and then, kinda forgot about it. What came out was an amazing straight hair and bangs that he loves waving.
We do have a person that cuts his hair and leaves it long in a boyish fashion, but she lives very far, and due to Tiny Guy's arrival, we have not been able to see her, so Little Guy's hair is really long! We'll give it a cut when we see her, but in the meantime we're just trimming the bangs. We tried someone here and gave him a girl's cut (yuck!)
So, as you may think, I get all kinds of comments, I get the "what a gorgeous hair" and, most of the time the "you SHOULD cut his hair". Combined with the more polite "do you think it would be a good idea to cut his hair?" and my favorite: no comment at all, just a pedantic sign of cutting your hair in front of me in my own house, done to somebody else.
Why don't I do it then? well, by starters, I don't think it's someone else's business what I do with my child's hair. It's, more than our business, his. And let me tell you something, he may be delayed in his speech, but he can comunicate, and he has stated very clearly that he loves his long hair and doesn't want it short.
Moreover, my husband has long hair. My son does not understand that long hair is supposed to be "for girls", he doesn't understand gender issues very well, he knows he is more like Daddy than like me, and Daddy has long hair, so why wouldn't he?
Which brings me to gender issues. I have always stated that I have a boy, but never told him so. I have never told him the difference between boys and girls or showed him specific toys. He sees pink as one more color and does not relate it to girls. He is 3 and learning 2 languages, but he is, in all aspects, a boy.
Whoever says that little children don't know about gender identity have never had one. My little boy has not been exposed to gender related propaganda, yet he likes toy cars, trains, climbing, red, blue, green, Cars (the movie), Thomas the Train, running around, balls, etc. He doesn't care about how he looks and usually picks bright color T-shirts and jeans for outside (and nothing for inside). He climbs what you put in front of him, he is independent and determined. He doesn't care much about dolls, only once in a while he will get a stuffed animal and hug it. So, he has let us know that he is a boy, in every aspect, including the hair.
So, next time you see a child, before looking at the hair, look at what the child does and what the child is wearing and the child's behavior. The other day at a doctor's office, the conversation went like this:
-What a gorgeous boy you have
-Thank you.
-At first I thought it was a girl, but then I saw the cars and how he was playing and noted that his outfit was definitely boyish.
-I'm glad, people take him for a girl a lot.
-People just don't think.
So, use your brain for more than half a second. There are several children out there that are not what you pictured in your brain, mine being one of those.
Friday, March 22, 2013
I Washed a Disposable!!!
2 nights ago, I restored cloth diapers at night for Tiny Guy, but still used a covered disposable for Little Guy. Last night, Little Guy wore a trifolded prefold with a cover, and woke up without rash and without ammonia smell. All was well and good. I had a ton of diapers to wash this morning, so I emptied the bag, collected Little Guy's and tiny Guy's used for the night and started the "soapless" prewash agitation.
Later on, I came to drain and fill with hot water, when I noticed small "drops" like cristaline, in the diapers. Didn't pay much attention, but then, I realized the water was not getting drained and the pump was suffering. All of a sudden, I saw that cristaline thing again, and then, surprise surprise, it was SAP!!!!!!!
I located the diaper that Little Guy had used 2 nights ago, I totally forgot to toss it in the trash and totally forgot that he had used one, just had taken the cover and tossed it in the wet bag. My nightmare was just starting. I had a tub, a stash of diapers, and a bathtub full of SAP in my hands!!!!!
I started with the tub. Passed all the diapers to the spinner and turned the drainer back on. Fortunately I have paper towels at arms reach from there, so I started getting all that gel out with them. Boy, that mass is sticky and hard to reach. The gel was preventing the water from draining, so the water itself was making my life harder. Another thing is that I didn't know what SAP would cause in the drainage, but I was in no interest to find out, so I put the hair stopper in the bathtub, so that it would not make it there.
I had to go through the whole thing, fold a paper towel and clean all the edges, and not leave a single bubble of gel around. By that time, I was already exhausted, the kids were relentless and my husband was wondering what had happened to me.
So I came back to the leaving room, told him what had happened and saw his face of "poor little thing, you have a lot on your hands". Believe me, I would have much rather had him saying "ok, I'll take care of the bathtub, just finish the diapers", but no such luck.
So, after having taken a brake, came the cleaning of the diapers. I decided that the better and faster way would be to hose them. So I placed them in a plastic bin, right besides the washer's big tub. Took the shower hose, placed it in high pressure and turned it on. Started with the inserts and wipes. One by one, making sure there was no trace of gel in any of them.
By the time I had done like 5, my shoulder was already hurting and the tub was already full. It was going to be a loooong day, so I took another break. Repeated this a few times. The situation got a little more complicated with the wet bag, then came the dreaded pockets and the Simplex.
I had to hose them, hold them and turn them upside down and hose again. One by one, the wet bag too. I was done after 6 PM with severe arthritis pain and still a bathtub to go.
I left it sitting for a couple of hours and made sure the tub was out of water and then went for the easy solution: the vacuum cleaner. It was a tough bet, since gel is not solid nor liquid. After 4 minutes it started smelling weird and I topped, it did most of the job, but I don't know the consequences as of yet. Finished with a paper towel. Took the vacuum cleaner out, there was a big black spot on the rug, so now I'm washing the rug too. Diapers seem ok, had to use some dawn and extra stripping.
As I've said, it was a very long day, don't try this at home.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Husband Evolution IV
I don't know if it was the lack of smell, the lack of leaks or conquering the fear of the unknown, but my husband has gotten to be very fond of cloth diapers, and now he calls them a crowning success.
I still need to keep the subject coming and the education ongoing. He has no idea of any lexicon regarding the CD world, and accidentally threw a snappi in the garbage. Plus he won't deal with the aftermath of any explosion, so I have opted for leaving an empty clean wet bag for him when I'm out, so that if there's any solid waste material that needs disposing, I don't have to dig through a day's worth of wet inserts.
I totally vote for snaps over velcro. Even if I'm only using prefolds and a cover, if I leave them ready to put on, I'm sure he'll put them fine, snaps are always in the same place, they make sure the position is alright and look cuter. But I do prefer leaving Little Guy and Tiny Guy using prefolds or AIOs when I leave, so that when he changes them, they just get tossed in the bag. I don't like digging for pockets to unstuff.
Yesterday I left without having changed Little Guy, didn't have time, so I said before leaving that he needed a change ASAP. Unfortunately, I could only express 2 ounces of milk for Tiny Guy. That ended up being an almost quasi catastrophe. Less than an hour after my departure, he calls me in total distress saying that Tiny Guy was crying for food and and gone through the ridiculous supply already. I hung up the phone and thought for a minute. Most likely I was going to abandon and probably lose my job, but I could not have a baby suffering for food for another 3 hours. Then I remembered I had an emergency 4oz bag in the freezer, so I called him back and told him so.
Well, that saved the day, I came home to find Tiny Guy happy, with clean pajamas and Little Guy asleep. All seemed fine, so I relaxed for a bit. Then, some 30 minutes later, out of the corner of my eye, I saw All the diapers I had left prepared for Little Guy unused. With all the stress of the milk situation, he forgot to change that diaper I had asked for.
Results? well, no leaks (prefolds are awesome), but several hours exposed to humidity left a very red rash in his butt. I had to put neosporin on him and leave him wearing disposables for the rest of the evening. At night, all the ointment was gone, so I put him on Swaddlebees Econappi's (which I normally use for his brother) so that he would stay dry. He's healed now, but still wearing pockets for the rest of the day.
So, my husband is evolving and growing into them, but, we still have lots of work to do.
I still need to keep the subject coming and the education ongoing. He has no idea of any lexicon regarding the CD world, and accidentally threw a snappi in the garbage. Plus he won't deal with the aftermath of any explosion, so I have opted for leaving an empty clean wet bag for him when I'm out, so that if there's any solid waste material that needs disposing, I don't have to dig through a day's worth of wet inserts.
I totally vote for snaps over velcro. Even if I'm only using prefolds and a cover, if I leave them ready to put on, I'm sure he'll put them fine, snaps are always in the same place, they make sure the position is alright and look cuter. But I do prefer leaving Little Guy and Tiny Guy using prefolds or AIOs when I leave, so that when he changes them, they just get tossed in the bag. I don't like digging for pockets to unstuff.
Yesterday I left without having changed Little Guy, didn't have time, so I said before leaving that he needed a change ASAP. Unfortunately, I could only express 2 ounces of milk for Tiny Guy. That ended up being an almost quasi catastrophe. Less than an hour after my departure, he calls me in total distress saying that Tiny Guy was crying for food and and gone through the ridiculous supply already. I hung up the phone and thought for a minute. Most likely I was going to abandon and probably lose my job, but I could not have a baby suffering for food for another 3 hours. Then I remembered I had an emergency 4oz bag in the freezer, so I called him back and told him so.
Well, that saved the day, I came home to find Tiny Guy happy, with clean pajamas and Little Guy asleep. All seemed fine, so I relaxed for a bit. Then, some 30 minutes later, out of the corner of my eye, I saw All the diapers I had left prepared for Little Guy unused. With all the stress of the milk situation, he forgot to change that diaper I had asked for.
Results? well, no leaks (prefolds are awesome), but several hours exposed to humidity left a very red rash in his butt. I had to put neosporin on him and leave him wearing disposables for the rest of the evening. At night, all the ointment was gone, so I put him on Swaddlebees Econappi's (which I normally use for his brother) so that he would stay dry. He's healed now, but still wearing pockets for the rest of the day.
So, my husband is evolving and growing into them, but, we still have lots of work to do.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
The Minky Taco and the Grovification
After a full 2 day load, I was folding and stuffing while talking to my husband and having Little Guy jumping all over. We were going to get out of the house kind of early on one side and, on the other, I found myself in front of a Swaddlebees pocket and a Fuzzibunz insert.
I had already talked about this combo before. It works nice for a couple of hours, but those lovely minky inserts don't last long. I had also used prefolds in "girl mode" to stuff them, and I found out it is the right size of an insert for that specific pocket, in the smallest setting.
Having a mexican inspiration (did I ever mention I'm a proudly from Guanajuato?), and knowing in the back of my mind that there was going to be an adventure, I decided to have some fun and placed the minky insert on top of the prefold, and made the pad folding afterwards, leaving that insert inside the prefold tortilla.
Results? Great! what can I say? Baby lasted some 4.5 hours outside. He was happy to come back to trimland and slept through a Grovia afterwards.
On another subject, we had a non diaper related incident in the car. My husband likes coffee, a lot, specially in the morning. Since we didn't have time to finish it, we brought it in. It usually is never a problem, except that this time, he didn't close his thermus properly and after hitting the brakes, off it went, down his pants, the seat and everything else.
I was trying to help him cope with the situation when I remembered I had brought a Grovia AIO in my sling's pocket (I'm a light carrying mama). Well, we ended up placing it face down in the seat. Not only did it protect his butt from sweet moisture, but when we arrived, it was considerably wet. So now you know, it is possible to use AIO's in order to clean car's messes (will test for survival tomorrow, but no signs of coffee when it came out of the washer)
I had already talked about this combo before. It works nice for a couple of hours, but those lovely minky inserts don't last long. I had also used prefolds in "girl mode" to stuff them, and I found out it is the right size of an insert for that specific pocket, in the smallest setting.
Having a mexican inspiration (did I ever mention I'm a proudly from Guanajuato?), and knowing in the back of my mind that there was going to be an adventure, I decided to have some fun and placed the minky insert on top of the prefold, and made the pad folding afterwards, leaving that insert inside the prefold tortilla.
Results? Great! what can I say? Baby lasted some 4.5 hours outside. He was happy to come back to trimland and slept through a Grovia afterwards.
On another subject, we had a non diaper related incident in the car. My husband likes coffee, a lot, specially in the morning. Since we didn't have time to finish it, we brought it in. It usually is never a problem, except that this time, he didn't close his thermus properly and after hitting the brakes, off it went, down his pants, the seat and everything else.
I was trying to help him cope with the situation when I remembered I had brought a Grovia AIO in my sling's pocket (I'm a light carrying mama). Well, we ended up placing it face down in the seat. Not only did it protect his butt from sweet moisture, but when we arrived, it was considerably wet. So now you know, it is possible to use AIO's in order to clean car's messes (will test for survival tomorrow, but no signs of coffee when it came out of the washer)
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