Hi there!
Benji is about 7.5 weeks old. It's been almost 2 whole months since he was born. It's hard to believe that so much time has passed already. Looking back on his earlier pictures, I'm struck by how much he has changed already. He's been a joy at every stage. While I miss some things (how his tiny little peanut self curled up into a little ball when we'd put him on our shoulders), he's captivating us with new and exciting skills.
Over the past few days, he's rediscovered his hands. He hasn't been examining them yet, but he's very interested in how they taste! He's also been "talking" more than ever. He does talk to Ed/Alex and I, which makes us feel very special...until he has an extended conversation with the ceiling fan...then we feel a little less special! He loves bathtime more and more every day, and is finding out how much fun it is to splash the water when he kicks. He's a very happy baby. More often than not, if he's awake then he is smiling, cooing, and happily kicking his little legs.
People ask me how I'm liking motherhood...and my answer is always an unequivocal, "I love it." And it's true. I can't imagine life before Benji. That's not to say that being a newbie Mommy isn't difficult. I have days where I doubt everything I'm doing, and when the lack of sleep starts to really take it's toll. But I still wouldn't trade it for the world.
I mentioned that I might do a little "Adventures in Cloth" post. If I were to really get into it, I'd have to make it a separate blog, so I'll just give you the "short story."
Ed/Alex and I decided to use cloth for a few different reasons. While we can't claim any awards for being "green" we do try to do what we can, and we felt that this was one way to reduce our portion of landfill waste. Granted, we're using more water to wash the diapers, so one could debate how green we're being, but we try not to be wasteful in general. Also, we weren't completely comfortable with all the chemicals in the disposables. That said, he's had "sposies" on in the hospital and a few times when Mommy was behind on the laundry, and we'll likely use them when we go on trips.
Ed/Alex was interested in the Blowout Prevention Potential (BPP). The fact that he has actually seen the cloth diapers contain what would have otherwise resulted in poop on furniture has made Ed/Alex a proponent of cloth! Lastly, we wanted to save money. Disposable diapers are expensive. And babies will often pee/poop on a clean one as soon as it's put on (or in Benji's case, in the process of it being put on).
We use the old-fashioned prefolds, primarily (the cloth diapers most people are familiar with). However, we don't have to use pins or those oh-so-sexy rubber pants. We use convenient (and often cute) cloth diaper covers, and we've had good luck just folding the diaper in the cover. Alternatively, we can use a little rubber device called a "snappi" in lieu of pins.
This is the least expensive cloth diaper system, but also the most time consuming. The covers don't have to be washed with each change, only if they are soiled. However, the poo of an exclusively breastfed baby quite often leads to a soiled cover. Having to buy a few more covers so that we can wash the diapers every other day, on the other hand, is much nicer than having to deal with messy blow-outs. The covers are great at containing all that poo, whereas he's almost guaranteed to cause a huge mess if he's in a disposable diaper.
Lately, we've been trying out a few of the more convenient styles. These are all-in-one diapers or pocket diapers which go on and come off much like a disposable diaper (no fussing with the cloth and then the cover). These are nice when out and about, and will also be useful when Benji starts daycare.
Overall, it involves a lot of trial and error, as well as research, in order for it to work. Certain detergents and/or washing routines can cause the diapers to lose their absorbancy, etc, so you have to know what you're doing in that regard. The most commonly used diaper creams are a no-no with cloth as they can stain the diapers (not a huge deal unless you're planning to sell them later), or can cause a fish-market-like stink (bigger deal unless you want your kid to smell like trout). Also, no one diaper system works for every kid or every family. Families differ in their preferences, and kids come in all shapes and sizes, which affect the fit and effectiveness of various diapers. It takes patience, but so far we've found it to be worth the effort.
I have to say, though, that the best thing about this experiment...has been the cloth wipes! They clean that stinky tush so much more thoroughly and quickly! If I ever gave up the rest of cloth diapering, I'm pretty sure I'd stick to the cloth wipes! And, we haven't had any stink issues
from the diaper pail (just a flip top trash can with a waterproof liner that goes in the wash with the diapers).
If you're curious about how it all works there are blogs devoted to cloth diapering all over the internet which are full of great information.
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