Well I'm 32 weeks pregnant now and just counting down the weeks to baby #2. For two weeks in February/March we had Grandma come to stay and help us get more organising and preparation done before the baby gets here. I've started non-stress tests twice a week and will continue to do these until B-day. We're still really praying that we can avoid another c-section and have this baby naturally. Because it's such a short time since Béibhinn's birth they won't induce me so I will need to go into labour naturally as soon as possible. My ob would rather have the baby born at 38 weeks but I'm hoping to hold her off for a few weeks in the hopes that I will go into labour naturally.
Béibhinn had her very first bout of sickness this past week. I decided to join the fun and get sick too (the third time with this nasty cold this pregnancy). Poor Béibhinn was very sick! She had croup and laboured breathing. I spent a few nights on the floor in her bedroom, she only wanted Mama the whole time. She was so sweet and cuddly the whole time she was sick. I'm so glad to see her improving however. She's sleeping so much better and eating us out of house and home again. I'm also very thankful that on her sickest day (and my sickest day) Andrew was working from homeand was able to watch her while I slept. And boy, have I done a lot of sleeping this past week! Not only am I sick but I'm feeling really exhausted at this point. I'm feeling really uncomfortable and my back is hurting big time. I don't remember feeling so uncomfortable with Béibhinn, but this pregnancy has just been completely different to my pregnancy with Béibhinn. Up until now I was ignoring all of the exercises and tips that we learned in our Bradley classes in preparation for Béibhinn's birth. I think I was so deflated by having a c-section after all of that preparation that I'm just fed up and don't want tobother. Now, however I'm finding that a lot of the Bradley exercises and tips, like not sitting on a the sofa, are the only thing that helps relieve some of the discomfort I've been feeling.
I'm also trying to get some of my knitting projects finished! I'm really hoping to get this blanket finished that I'm knitting for the baby. I also have two soakers that need finishing. I was hoping to knit some more but I think that this will be enough! If I want to knit a blanket for each of my babies then I'm going to have to get started much earlier in the pregnancy in future!
The brain is also beginning to fail me these days. Last night totally forgot about my non stress test, I'm really hoping that some day somewhere some of my brain cells will grow back and I'll feel like a new woman again! Until then,don't expect too much of me :)
This week we said farewell to a man who has had a profound influence on my life and, even in the short few years that he knew him, Andrew's life too. We're so glad that he got to meet Beibhinn this summer and a little bit sad that he won't get to meet baby#2. Dear Noel, we will miss you. We are so thankful for your life and ministry. A life and ministry that has, and will have in the future, far reaching effects. We rejoice as we know you are with the Lord and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Yet again it's been a while since I blogged. We're now 27 weeks pregnant and really looking forward to welcoming baby 2 to our home. Even more excited this time because we're actually not moving immediately after the birth. That means that this time we'll have the opportunity to actually get our home really ready for the baby before s/he gets here :)
I've found that this pregnancy had been very different to the last one, based on the evidence of every old wife out there, this means that I'm expecting a blue eyed blonde haired boy with a thick Scottish highlands accent... :D
Anyhow, one of the very different elements to this pregnancy has been energy levels. I have days where I'm bursting with energy! And this has been wonderful especially as we prepare for #2's arrival. With some wonderful advice from my sister in law I've done some serious organising, especially of my kitchen. I'm really loving it and finding my home so much easier to manage. I'm even finding it easier to organise meals and groceries. I'm even able to focus a bit more on healthier eating. On this note I'm going to share some of my favourite shelves with you :)
Fridge trays with labels (very teacher of me :))
Grains, labelled.
Bottom shelf of our bookshelf is Beibhinn's area, she loves pulling out her books and toys.
All the wonderful fruits and veggies that I bought at the farmer's market, yum!
This is not a typical blog post. Not that my blogs are very uniform but this is something that struck me tonight and that I really want to share with anyone who cares to read.
Tonight Andrew, Béibhinn and I went to the opening ceremony of the Christkindl Market and the turning on of the lights in Victoria Park in Kitchener. I was expecting a fun festive night in our city. Maybe a bit of Santa here with maybe a nod in the direction of a Christmas Carol or two. I love Christmas and was looking forward to a bit of snow and lights and Christmas spirit. Living in Canada, a country which prides itself in "inclusiveness" (which in my experience usually means excluding God) I was not expecting the night that we had. Yes there was Christmas lights, crafts for children, yummy food and a "toy soldier" on stilts, but the main focus of the night was on the true meaning of Christmas. There were carols, and only carols, sung by the Philharmonic Choir. There were donkeys, Mary and Joseph and Shepherds. There was no Santa, just St. Nicholas soberly dressed in brown and there were prayers! Prayers! In public! It was a celebration of Christmas!
Now I learned that it was done this way because it is a German tradition and apparently it is done the exact same way every year in Munich as well. I know that most of the people there are not being impacted by the Gospel and are there really to celebrate German culture rather than our precious Saviour who was sent to earth to die to pay the price for our sins. What struck me, however, was that if we had gone there tonight to celebrate Irish culture there would have been a very different scene. Celebrating German culture means celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. And why is it this way? Because German culture is rooted in a spectacular movement of the Holy Spirit that took place there many years ago. This revival is commonly known as "The Reformation". The Holy Spirit opened the eyes of many German people during this time and revealed to them the precious understanding of Salvation through faith alone. Germany has gone through a lot since The Reformation and today it seems that it's a country that's more about money and economics than about the Gospel. But you know what I learned tonight, what excited me more than anything else? The marks of revival are not easily lost. When the Holy Spirit does a work in a country like He did in Germany during the Reformation, it is EXTREMELY difficult to shake off those marks. They are etched into the culture of that country. My prayer for Germany and for this city of Kitchener is that God would do a great work there once again, that the truth of Salvation by Grace alone would ring out once more and that Christ would truly be glorified. Now that will be a day to celebrate!
Andrew and Béibhinn with their Christkindl candles
Waterloo Philharmonic Choir singing by the clock tower in Victoria Park
The big question with cloth nappies and cloth wipes is the travel question. Should you just stick disposables on when you're going out? If you're comfortable changing and dealing with cloth on the go how many days are you willing to go without being able to launder them? What about cloth wipes? Is that just too much work? How do you wet your wipes on the go? What about when baby is on solids on the poop is nasty! There's no way to hide that smell!
I've faced these questions many times and I've done different things in different situations. A lot of it depended on where we were going, how long we were going, the availability of laundry services etc...
Day Trips
I've never had a problem bringing cloth on day trips or quick trips outside the home. I've also been happy to use cloth wipes in these situations. A few important accessories:
A wet bag (one with a carbon tag is nice but not necessary for a day trip)
Either pre-soaked wipes in a wipe holder, or a spray bottle with dry wipes. I love the pre-soaked wipes now because they're just easy to grab and use wherever you are. Don't forget to add a couple of drops of lavender and or tea tree oil to the water make your wipes antibacterial and smell good. The spray bottle is handy for those less organised days where you just didn't get around to pre-soaking a bunch of wipes.
Extra covers and extra nappies-you never know!
When you are dealing with nasty poop I strongly recommend using liners when you're out, flushable liners preferably. I only started using my liners when the poop became nasty. I found that the breast milk poop was not an issue at all, the pee smelled worse!
Weekend Trips and longer
This all depends on where you're going. If I'm going somewhere that I know laundry facilities will be available then I have no problem bringing cloth nappies with me. I bring the usual essentials with me as listed above and sometimes I'll bring my own laundry detergent if I'm going to be away for a while, I don't want to mess up my nappies using unsuitable detergent over and over. Recently we went to our in-laws and I just used their detergent because it was just one wash.
If the trip takes you to a place where there are no laundry facilities or where there are a few days without laundry facilities then whether or not you want to use cloth is really up to you.
Recently on a trip to Ireland I just brought disposables with me on the plane as we were on a 7 hour flight and we were landing in Dublin airport which is 4 hours from Cork, I knew it would be a little while before we got to laundry facilities, plus a baby on a plane is enough work and space is limited enough without dealing with cloth nappies. You can however get large sized wet bags with carbon tags that are really effective in containing the smell. I would be happy to use something like this on a camping trip or some trip where we're not taking a 7 hour flight with a baby but where laundry facilities aren't readily available. Another downside to using cloth nappies over a few days where laundry facilities are not available is space. You'll need to bring a lot of nappies with you, and you may just not have the space. Again, it's really up to you.
Another more eco-friendly, pocket-friendly solution to travelling with cloth nappies is the hybrid nappy. One of the many things that annoys me about disposables is that they always come in big packs (I really don't need 24 nappies for one short trip) and they come in different sizes, so you feel under pressure to use up the nappies before the baby grows out of them and I would rather use just what I need and not waste money on excess nappies. Hybrid nappies are the answer! There are three types of hybrid nappies that I know of; gdiapers, charlie banana and flips. These are basically nappy covers with cloth inserts to soak up the pee and catch the poop. The beauty of these nappies is that they are usually one size, the inserts are one size and you can also purchase disposable inserts which are also one size! And they work wonderfully! So no more buying a huge batch of disposable nappies that I won't need, instead for those times when I am on the go without any laundry facilities (or even if I don't want to burden a babysitter with cloth then I simply slip in the disposable insert instead of the cloth. I will never need to buy another Huggies, and that makes me glad!
I've been struggling. For a long time. I have a lot of very bad housekeeping habits. I'm messy. I leave things lying around. I'm easily distracted by...anything. And unless someone is breathing down my neck (like a boss or a mean scary husband -which I don't seem to have), I'll let things slide. And I find excuses for everything!
When I have a new space I love setting it up and organising things. My Montessori instinct kicks in, and I have a place for everything and everything in its place. I did this when Andrew and I returned from our honeymoon to our first home together, our lovely little apartment in West LA.
However once I started work and life got busy, the apartment wasn't so tidy...it was okay, but our bedroom became the dumping ground. My excuse was work.
Then I got pregnant. I took the summer off work and I started to improve the house a little bit, but I went back to work and then we moved. I finished work and tried to tidy our new place a bit but then we realised that we were moving to Canada-what was the point? We're moving, I'm huge and I'm tired. So that apartment went to pot. Then Béibhinn was born...and we moved countries...and I never had time to organise anything...and I had a tiny baby...and our new house remained in a state of permanent pot... And I'm not planning on going back to work, I'm planning on being a full time mum and housewife and I'm pregnant again and breastfeeding and I'm hoping to have more than two children and I'm pretty sure I'll have ample excuses for many years to have a messy house in a state of permanent pot... So things need to change. I need to be a decent housewife, if not a great housewife, I need to kick these habits. So three weeks ago I determined to develop a new habit and to give myself two to three weeks to develop this habit, one habit at a time. And I've chosen a time in my life when I have MANY excuses not to do these things. I have a nine month old baby, I'm breastfeeding, I'm in my first trimester, I'm exhausted, I have morning sickness, Béibhinn has stinky cloth nappies, I have diabetes. So many excuses, but I am determined with the help of the Holy Spirit to change my ways and to develop one new habit at a time. The past three weeks I started with making my bed every morning (yes my bad habits are many and my house is VERY messy).
I think I'm there. I do my best to make the bed AS SOON as I get up in the morning. This means the bed SHOULD be made no matter how busy my day will be. Andrew has really loved this new development and he said that having one thing in a room done makes it feel like the room has been taken care of. I don't fuss too much over the bed. I just make sure it's presentable. Here is my newly made bed this morning - woohoo!
This week I've moved on to habit #2. Making sure our dining table is clean and tidy after each use. This is will be a habit I will work on for the next two to three weeks. Here's hoping and praying that over the next months I will slowly but surely develop simple habits that lead to a generally clean home and a happier wife, hubs and baby.
Today Béibhinn is 9 months old and I'm 9 weeks pregnant. That's right baby #2 is coming this May, God willing. I'm feeling kinda ugh today so I'm camped out in my bed resting while Béibhinn is rolling around on the bed beside me just playing with whatever she can get her hands on. She's such a happy little girl as long as somebody is within sight, she'll play away until she gets tired or hungry. This is such a blessing right now because at this moment in time I think I'm the sickest I've been since discovering the pregnancy.
Overall I've actually been less sick than I was with Beibhinn, able to eat a much more varied diet and more able to do stuff around the house. The past couple of days haven't been so great though, I'll be glad to see the back of this first trimester! I'm also still nursing Béibhinn so I really have to keep on top of my carb intake and make sure I'm eating properly. Tonight will be an easy night because last night we had our "adopted" students over for hot pot and there's left overs! Woohoo!! I always feel so happy when I don't have to worry about dinner. Poor Andrew however needs to worry about his own lunch and breakfast these days, I'm not feeling like the greatest wife around at the moment!
With Robin and Andy
Tomorrow Andrew is going on a fly fishing trip with a friend from church; Ryan Clark (he's related to the owners of Clark's shoes by the way :P). His wife Christina's going to come spend the day with me. I'm looking forward to having some adult company-yay!
Oh how I love my cloth nappies. I was trying to figure it out the other day...why do I love it so much? I think I just get such a kick out of saving money and I just love all the new nappies they have out there to make our lives easier! Anyway I've decided to write a little bit more about my cloth nappy experiences because I seem to learn more and more as Béibhinn gets older and she hasn't even reached a year yet!
Recently Béibhinn has taken off with eating solids. She LOVES her food! She eats three meals a day including a half cup of oatmeal/porridge for breakfast. While I'm very happy for her new found love of solids, I've found that solids poop is a whole other kind of poop! I was very spoiled with 6 months of pure breastmilk poop, then another couple of months of about 80% breastmilk poop. In the space of a couple of weeks we started getting full on stinky, lumpy, sticky, solids poop! Did I ever wish I could toilet train her!
At this point I was still using Flat Fold Nappies and Mother-ease Sandy's Fitted Diapers. Andrew installed a diaper sprayer to our toilet. This means that every time Béibhinn has a dirty nappy (which is pretty much every time) we need to take the nappy to the toilet and spray the poop off it. Pros: her nappy bucket never smells too badly and the poop goes where it's supposed to (down the toilet, not in the dump), it makes me clean my toilet bowl more often because I find myself staring at it a couple of times a day. Cons: it's a little bit horrible (quote: Naomi O'Sullivan) and it's just extra work.
Because of this I decided I was done with Flat Fold Nappies. I figured I was doing enough work washing, drying, stripping and now spraying nappies, having to fold them before putting them on the child was just too much. I also knew that she was growing out of them and that in a few months she'd be growing out of the Sandy's fitted nappies. It was time to try out some of these new nappies I've been hearing about!
Recently I joined a group on facebook for cloth nappy users in Ireland. Yes, I know I don't live in Ireland anymore but can't a home sick girl just pretend? On this group I kept hearing about all kinds of different nappies. Pocket nappies and flips being the predominate ones. Also, on our recent trip to Ireland I found myself using disposables on the plane as we traveled to and from Cork. It made life much easier to use disposables but the cost and the waste annoyed me. One Sunday during a conversation with a friend of mine she mentioned the cloth nappies that use inserts (flips, gnappies, gdiapers, charlie bananas). These nappies are known as "hybrid" nappies and they're really cool because they're slim fit and you can use either a cloth or a disposable insert (no need to buy a bunch of disposable nappies -yay!)
So I found a very cool baby shop in Waterloo,(http://www.extraordinarybabyshoppe.com/) and went to check out their hybrid nappies. I decided to buy some flip nappies. 5 nappy covers, 12 cloth inserts and a packet of 18 disposable inserts all brand new with added tax $160-not bad!
I started using my flips straight away and I love love love them. They're soft and comfy for Béibhinn, they've great absorption, and they're one size, so they work from newborn to potty! I highly recommend these nappies. Now I haven't used them on a constantly peeing newborn but I'm pretty confident that they would work really well and it's really easy to just double them up whenever I need to.
One other yucky side affect of Béibhinn's love for solids is a nasty nappy rash. Coming home from Ireland she was pooping every hour and we couldn't keep up with her! By the time we got home her little bum was red raw and getting worse. I went to the pharmacist and he recommended mixing some hydrocortizone cream with a stronger nappy cream. I used this for about 2 weeks and while sometimes the rash seemed to improve, every now and then it would flair up again to the point of bleeding! I couldn't seem to kick this rash and poor little Bei Bei was very distressed. Finally I decided to try what a lot of my crunchy mommy friends have been recommending forever: coconut oil. I was very skeptical, I thought if the hydrocortizone doesn't work why on earth would coconut oil work? I was desperate though and willing to try anything. I bought the coconut oil and started using it less than a week ago. Béibhinn's rash stopped getting worse and now it is slowly but surely clearing up. I couldn't believe it! All I can say is, if your baby has a bad rash you've got to give this a go, it's really fantastic!
Wow! It's been a while since I've updated my blog. What can I say? I'm a facebook girl. It's so easy! Use my phone to take a photo and immediately upload it to facebook with a caption-takes 30 seconds. So much easier than blogging. But blogging gives you the opportunity to write a bit more, so write a bit more I will do.
Life has been quite a roller coaster over the past few months. Before I wrote this I decided to reread my post "A Month in Kitchener". I realised after reading this, how much more we've settled into Kitchener, and how the Lord has answered much of our prayers since that time.
We left LA when Béibhinn was two-and-a-half weeks old. I've stopped counting the weeks...right now she is six-and-a-half months old! I can't believe how time has flown. She is now rolling over like a crazy baby whizzing around the room to her heart's content. She's attempting sitting but seems to be kind of lazy about it. I think rolling is too much fun for her. We nursed exclusively for six months and on her six-month birthday we introduced her to her first solids. Andrew and I were ridiculously excited about it, Béibhinn was curious and now seems to be pretty interested in expanding her cuisine. It's a lot of fun. Two weeks after we arrived in Kitchener, Béibhinn weighed about 11lbs. At her 6 month check up she weighed 15lbs 14oz. She's a fatty fat fat.
Eating breakfast
Tiny Béibhinn when we first moved to Kitchener
Béibhinn these days
Béibhinn's belly dance
After writing the “A Month in Kitchener” post, I continued my quest for a family doctor. I was looking far and wide, willing to drive far if that was needed. Andrew’s cousin, Joyce, who’s a doctor herself, was about to refer us to an endocrinologist (for me) and a pediatrician (for Béibhinn) because we couldn’t connect with any of these doctors without a doctor referral and we couldn’t persuade a drop in clinic doctor to give us one. I knew Béibhinn didn’t need a pediatrician, that a family doctor would do, but I was beginning to get desperate. Béibhinn needed her vaccinations and I really needed to get connected with a doctor who could supervise my diabetes management.
A week after moving into our new home, Andrew, Béibhinn and I visited a church in Kitchener. While there, a lady asked us if there was anything they could do to help us in our transition to Kitchener. I immediately mentioned that we were really in need of a family doctor. She said “leave it with me”. Later that week I received an email from her saying that she knew of a doctor taking new patients and would it be okay to pass on my contact details to them. I agreed, not expecting much. A couple of days later I received a phone call from the office of Dr. Alarakiah to set up a meet and greet appointment for us just in time for Béibhinn’s 2 month birthday (when she was due her first round of vaccines). We couldn’t believe it. We met with Dr. Alarakiah and we loved him. Béibhinn has been receiving all the medical care she needs for her first year. Dr. Alarakiah provided my post-natal care (didn’t even realise I needed that) and he also referred me to an endocrinologist. I had been told that I wouldn’t see an endocrinologist for months but I have already met with him and have my first diabetes nurse appointment tomorrow. When people ask me now about whether we have been able to find a family doctor, they are always surprised that we found one so easily. I’m not surprised. God is faithful!
Béibhinn charming Dr. A.
We are really
loving our new home. It’s been
recarpeted and a dear friend from our church, Jerry, has been painting it and
will continue to do so over the next few months.
It’s feeling more and more like home these days and we are slowly but
surely setting up new furniture and unpacking boxes (yes, boxes still need to
be unpacked).
We have also found a church home at Harvest Bible Chapel Waterloo Region. We are so encouraged to have found a church home where the word of God is preached without apology, where we are challenged by the ministry of God's Word, and by accountability in our small groups. We have joined a small group connected with the church and have been blessed by new friendships within this.
So have we settled into life in Kitchener-Waterloo? A friend told me the other day that he and his wife have found that it takes about two years living in a place to truly feel at home. I have found this to be true - it does take time to really put down roots, to get to know people, and build relationships. Andrew and I felt a bit like "displaced persons" during our first few months in Kitchener. I found myself quite lonely for Ireland and Los Angeles until very recently.
Recently some new unpleasant surprises have further rocked our boat. We were already finding it difficult to settle here. As if the waters weren't choppy enough, this added challenge should have capsized us, right? WRONG! I love it when we're WRONG, oh so WRONG.
When things became the MOST difficult, the Lord reached down and met every need-isn't this typical? In the past couple of weeks, our church family has circled around us to encourage us. Sweet new friendships at church, work and in our neighborhood have proved edifying and refreshing. Old friendships have been rekindled. Most importantly, we feel like we're home. This is where the Lord would have us for the foreseeable future and we're excited for what He has in store. If this blog bears witness to anything, it's the fact that God's plans are far wiser than ours. What a blessing it is to trust in a Sovereign God.
This post has been requested by a friend. We use cloth nappies (I'm Irish we say "nappies" :) ) on my baby rather than disposable nappies. My main motivation for this? Saving money! I am no expert on cloth nappies, I have many friends who know a whole lot more on it, but over the course of my pregnancy I did extensive research into cloth nappies via the internet and cloth nappy using friends and now I have almost 2 months of cloth nappy using experience under my belt and I feel like I've learned a lot since then. I will share with you what I know of the pros and cons of using cloth nappies, my own experiences with them along with some of the systems I use to make it work for me.
Cons
I think I'll start with the cons of using cloth nappies, mostly because I think there are so many pros that if I start with them I'll be tired of writing by the time I get to the cons!
It involves extra laundry
Slightly more pee and poop may need to be handled
They can be expensive initially depending on what kind of nappy you use. And there are A LOT to choose from.
Pros
It gives me such joy to walk though the shops and ignore the highly priced nappy section (and because I also use reusable wipes, I can ignore those too)
There's something empowering about using cloth nappies (for me I think it's related to saving so much money)
Using cloth nappies has become so popular recently that there are endless resources available to make the whole process of using them really easy.
If you have more than one child you can save even more money-cloth nappies can be used over and over and over!
If your child has any skin sensitivities cloth nappies irritate the skin a lot less than disposables, babies who use them can have less nappy rashes. Also reusable wipes and water (or your own wipes mix) give you more control over what you're using to clean your baby's little bum.
If the environment is a concern for you, then cloth nappies are definitely environmentally friendly.
It saves money even if you have only one child.
You don't need to shop for disposable nappies (saves a little bit of time-and gives you such joy, as mentioned above)
You can have a lot of fun with the cute nappy covers and wool soakers.
It's so much fun! (maybe I feel this way because I'm weird)
Baby pee and poop ain't that bad.
Types of Cloth Nappies
I use three different types of cloth nappies: prefolds, flat fold and fitted. There two more more called the "all in one" and pocket diapers. The "all in one" one tends to be the most expensive. With my focus primarily on saving money, I gave these ones a skip. I have heard from other mums that these ones are extremely convenient and work really well and even though they're the most expensive, you still save A LOT of money using these. I may use the pocket diapers in the future when Béibhinn grows out of her present nappy stash. If you click on each of the nappies it will bring you to a link that describes them. I will write about my experiences with the ones I'm using.
Prefolds
When Béibhinn was newborn I started with prefold diapers. These were the cheapest nappies that I was aware of at the time. I bought them at Green Mountain Diapers. These were recommended to me by a friend for use with a newborn. Because newborns move less the prefolds work as well as any other nappy. I found these to be as good as any disposable (I used disposables on and off during the move as laundry facilities were not always available). The key to the success of the disposables and all of the nappies I've used so far are a good nappy cover. To keep the prefold fastened, I used snappy fasteners. Easy peasy, even my brother John was changing nappies after one demonstration.
I like to use snappies with the prefolds because I feel like it secures the nappy a bit better around the baby. Liners are optional and will be discussed later.
Flat Fold Nappies
I came upon flat fold nappies by chance but I have to say that flat folds have become my favourite kind of nappy to use with Béibhinn, I don't know how well they'll work when she's more active but right now they're very absorbent and not too bulky. These nappies were bought for me by a friend of ours back in Ireland who had heard that I was planning on using cloth nappies. She spotted a packet of unopened flat fold nappies in a charity store and bought them for me. My mum brought them over when she came to visit and Béibhinn was almost a week old. At this point I was using the prefold nappies. When I opened the package and saw these square sheets of fabric first thing that came to mind was "terry nappies" and "am I really going to use nappies that I need to fold?!" It seemed too much. However, internet and youtube lover that I am, I decided to do some research into folding nappies. I came across this amazing fold called "the bat fold".
This fold works really well, the centre piece really absorbs all the pee and poop really well and folding the legs inward keeps everything inside. Again, the liner is optional I think. And snappies are the greatest invention ever! What I also love about these flat folds is that they fit for a lot longer than some of the prefold and other kinds of nappies. While Béibhinn has already grown out of her newborn size prefolds, she is still using the same flatfolds she was wearing at one week, now, at six months.
Flat Nappy using the bat fold
Using the snappi fastener
Fitted Cloth Nappy
I chose to buy Mother-ease Sandy's Fitted Diapers. These were recommended to me by my friend Abby who was my 'go to' girl for all things nappy related. I bought one size small nappy and the rest were bought as gifts by friends and family. I started using these when Beibhinn was about 6 weeks. These are very easy to use as there's no folding or maneuvering of snappy fasteners. You just snap them on at the sides. I do recommend nappies with snap fasteners rather than velcro because I think they're more durable. I have needed to place a trifolded prefold nappy inside these nappies at night because Beibhinn appears to be an epic pee-er. These nappies work really well and I'm really happy with them.
Covers
All of the above nappies require some kind of waterproof cover. I have used wool soakers and PUL covers as well as some other plastic covers. The wool soakers were perfect when Béibhinn was newborn. The wool soakers were soft for her new little body and it was easy to fold them down to keep things away from her umbilical stump. The best waterproof cover with no exception is a PUL cover. Since Béibhinn was about 6 weeks I have found these to be the most successful for preventing any leaks and I still love these covers. I find the covers with velcro fasteners the best because it's easy to tighten or loosen them to fit various sizes of nappies.
Cloth Wipes
I love using my cloth wipes. Most of my wipes were given as gifts and I bought a few more myself. I am finding though that I really need more wipes than I have especially for those weeks where I fall behind on laundry (and there are many of these weeks!) I hope to buy some flannel in the next few weeks and cut them into wipes-so cheap!
I have a little wipes station set up in Béibhinn's room. I fill a coffee carafe with warm water, soap, lavender oil and tea tree oil. I place a wipe in the bowl then spray it with the water mixture, easy to do with one hand, which is useful when changing a squirmy baby.
Dealing with Poop
Until Béibhinn started on solids at six months, poop was really not an issue. I would just throw the nappy into a dry nappy pail and throw them in the wash, no problems. Now Béibhinn is on solids so it's whole other story. There are a couple of options for dealing with icky poop. One of the favoured methods is the liner. Nappy liners can be bought and placed in the nappy, when the baby poops, the poop is caught in the liner then you just throw the liner in the bin or the toilet (depending on whether or not it's a flushable nappy liner) This can be a very easy way to deal with icky poop except for two small things. Liners cost money and the liners often don't catch all the poop. A lot of liners can be wasted by wet nappies too. A friend of mine passed on a smart tip to me. If you use disposable wipes (and sometimes I do), just throw the wipe into the wash with your nappy and reuse the wipe as a liner later on. I've also actually reused the wipe as a wipe also.
Another way to deal with poop is to attach a specially designed shower head to your toilet, a diaper sprayer. When you change your baby's nappy spray the poop off the nappy into the toilet and then place the nappy into the nappy pail. This can save a lot of stinkiness and the diaper sprayer is pretty easy to install.
I think that's all I have to share at this point with regards to cloth nappies. I'm enjoying the adventure and looking forward to learning more as Béibhinn gets bigger and more active. It's a road I'm glad I took.
Below are a few links to sites that sell diapers and diaper accessories, enjoy.
For the first year of Béibhinn's life, Andrew plans on taking a photograph every day and uploading it to this flickr album. Andrew updates it every few days after he has edited the shots. It's fun to look at-I see her every day and I still enjoy this album, but then I'm a bit obsessed :) I'll try to post this link with each blog. Enjoy Béibhinn's first year!
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