Why We Use Newborn Sized Cloth Diapers!

Within minutes after birth my son is in his first cloth diaper.  You can see his umbilical cord is clearing the cover.  The cover is a Prorap newborn size, which has a dip for the area.  He is 8.5 lbs 22.75 inches long.

     I am an advocate of using newborn sized cloth diapers.  This post is just to convince you of their greatness, not to discuss the different styles of newborn diapers, etc., which I'll do soon.

     I knew without hesitation I was going to cloth diaper from birth so I invested in a small number of newborn sized diapers.  With the birth of my second baby this September, I purchased a full supply of newborn sized diapers since I know how much I enjoyed it the first time around. 

 Here are the basics about newborn sized cloth diapers:

*  they fit better than all-in-one diapers, and therefore better contain leaks

*  they fit better around the umbilical cord stump to allow for healing in the early days

*  because they fit better, they are generally easier to put on a tiny newborn

*  while they can be an expensive investment, given they usually only fit for the first few months, the above reasons prove their worth and the short-term usage usually leads to fairly good resale/reuse value--plus, you can always use a service that provides a newborn sized cloth diaper.  Or, you can also simply put disposable (biodegradable) inserts into a newborn size diaper shell if you want to go a middle road.

     As far as "types" of newborn sized diapers I'm talking about--these usually include newborn sized all-in-ones, prefolds, and contour/fitted diapers. If you are new to cloth diapering, check out my breakdown of these types here: (put link here when it's ready!).  Larger flats or adjustable folding style diapers can be folded down to size, but they, too, are often a bit on the bulky side so I'm not including them. 

Above you can see the difference in the newborn sized (bottom row) compared to the larger sized/one-sized fitted diapers.  On the left is Kissaluvs' organic cotton/hemp snap fitted diaper, which has a newborn cord dip snap-down; and on the right is a discontinued (but beloved in our house) Imse Vimse terry cloth contour diaper, which is secured with a snappy--but has no newborn cord snap-down. These all need covers to be waterproof.  We used newborn sized waterproof covers as well as wool covers.

Why not just use one-size diapers, which are "supposed" to fit from birth to underwear?  

     Newborns have tiny legs and itty-bitty bodies, especially in the first few weeks.  One sized diapers often don't get small enough for diapering from birth. Even if they fit, they are usually super bulky and are ill-fitting so prone to leaks.  When you are exhausted and changing 20 diapers per day, the last thing you want to deal with is leaking.   I also credit much of the success I had with my wool covers to the absorbant, fitted diapers I used which helped keep messes from leaking out.  

     Newborn diapers for use from birth--before the cord has healed--should have a good umbilical cord dip, or a way to adequately fold down material so it's not too bulky, to allow for healing in the early days.  Even once the umbilical stump falls off, the area is still very delicate so you want to keep it clear.  Most one-size diapers don't have an umbilical cord dip, or one that's good enough for very small babies.

Above is the Kissaluvs' newborn fitted organic cotton/hemp diaper with the umbilical cord snap in place.  Notice that while the Kissaluvs has this snap down, the Imse Vimse newborn does not, so you cannot use it until the cord has healed.  Not all newborn sized diapers are created equal.

     Ease of dressing and diapering a newborn is important to your sanity. After what feels like the 50th diaper change, at 3am, the last thing you want to be doing is fumbling around with adjusting an ill-fitting too-large diaper or having to change an entire outfit and sheet set because of a leak.  

Other considerations: 

    You might have heard about meconium, the tar-sticky black newborns poo out in the first few days or week, and that it doesn't wash out of cloth diapers.  I did not find this to be true at all!  We just threw them into the wash right away and they all came out clean.  We used a little organic olive oil on his tush and that helped wipe it off his skin.

     As a side note to using organic olive oil--and other oils like coconut works just as well--we used a wonderful herbal healing powder on his cord site that really helped it heal quickly, despite taking him in the bathtub with me every other day after birth! It's called Wish Garden Cord Care.

  http://www.confidentbeginnings.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=190

Concerns about purchasing newborn sized diapers:

The expense!! We probably spent nearly the same amount of money on our newborn stash, which we used for about two months, as we did on our larger diapers which he has been wearing for the past year.  But with no regrets!

(put link here for other newborn cloth diaper posts--several to come!)

Pinwheel Christmas Tree Topper

What Christmas is complete without a tree?  Part of what I love about Christmas is how decorating the tree brings a family together.  Old ornaments are revisited, new ones added, and lights are lovingly strung up. Like a cherry on a sundae, the tree topper finishes things off with a flourish. 

This was my son's second Christmas.  At age 21 months he is starting to grasp the concept of it all, and so we wanted to make it special for him.  My mom sent me some of my childhood ornaments, but we still needed a topper.  

I thought his favorite pinwheel from World Market would do nicely as our tree topper, with its sturdy translucent plastic petals, and would convey the fun childhood spirit I wanted to capture.  I stuck it down the top center, stake and all, and used twist ties to secure it inside the tree.  Then I placed a few of the lights behind it and secured those, too.  The result was a lovely warm and colorful glow.  The whole family loved it and I think a tradition has been started.

 My tree was in a corner, but if you want to try this with a 360 degree tree, maybe you could put two pinwheels back to back, or even four of them with a bunch of lights in the center. You want to be sure that the pinwheel petals let enough light through to get the effect you want.  

Next year, I plan to try and attach a motor to the back of the pinwheel to get it to spin!  That would be very cool!  And our pinwheel, at $1.99, ended up as the most affordable, priceless ornament we could have asked for!   

Welcome to Blue Hippo Baby!

 Listen to the Mustn'ts
Shel Silverstein

Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
      Listen to the DON'TS
      Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WONT'S
      Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me-
      Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be

 

When we decided to have a baby, I knew right away that I'd want to have a home water birth, and that I'd want to do everything as organically as possible.  We had a lot of people telling us we couldn't do it, we shouldn't do it, and that it was all a bad idea.  But we forged ahead with our instincts! This blog will chronicle our adventures in raising our child, one MUSTN'T at a time!

Happy 37 Weeks!!

Wow we are at 37 weeks today!  Baby had a huge growth spurt over the past week and my midwife estimates he gained about 1 pound in the past week alone.  The estimate is that he is about 7 pounds at this point, but I hold out hope he is still a wee bit smaller and is just long and skinny! 
As a result I've felt extremely ill the past week--very nauseated, exhausted, and heartburn prone.  It reminded me how horrible my first and most of second trimesters were!  I'm starting to feel better, so perhaps he has calmed down a little bit! 

It's very difficult to bend over......

I can't button anything! 

We are all ready to go to the baby shower my office is throwing for me!
At this point, I feel like I'm a combo of The Venus of Willendorf and Tik Tok, the rotund waddling machine from Return to Oz!


I'll try and update soon about the nursery and set up for the home water birth! 

Week 33

I'm getting huge in the home stretch! I have so much to catch up on and do before our baby arrives. I have been wonderfully overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and generosity of my friends! Thank you. My shower was a memory I will always cherish. If you haven't heard from me yet you should be very soon. I also recently had my 35th birthday! January was very busy, and I'm still trying to catch up to December. Pretty soon, though, I won't have time for anything other than the arrival of my little one!

On the pregnancy front I've been having a better time with the last trimester than the first two. Sure I suffer from the typical complaints of sore and stretched ligaments (I can't really walk far, or lift anything!), sleep disturbances, and heartburn--but overall I'm enjoying this phase much more. I have more energy and really enjoy communicating with my little one. I know he's still in the belly, but we already have a connection and I well up with tears thinking about how much I can't wait to meet and love him!

I'll post pictures of the shower and other news soon!!

Birth dream

Last night I dreamed I prematurely birthed my baby in the kitchen.  For some reason I wasn't panicked, and the labor was easy.  I was a little surprised to discover my infant was in fact a winter root vegetable, with a nubby red-brown top.   I carefully placed him into a container with cold water, blanketed him with fresh romaine lettuce, and then placed him at the back of the sink and left to go tell my mother.

My mom pointed out that he might get cold-- he might, in fact, need to be incubated.  Oh Panic!! I rushed back over but the container was gone!  Some house guests were eating the lettuce, and told me they threw my root-infant into the trash!  Alas, I could not find my baby-root in the trash!

Luckily I woke up at this point, before grief had a chance to settle in.  However, I have been worried about premature birth lately, and was also fantasizing about something my friend Sara posted on Facebook: 

My mother in waking life told me it reminded her of how ginger was sometimes human shaped, and I was reminded of the mandrake root.  Interestingly, mandrake roots are also symbols of fertility--making an appearance as early as The Bible.  In fact many myths and superstitions surround this funny little root--and who could not love J.K. Rowling's use of it in Harry Potter's Herbology lesson?  I've decided my birth of the root baby is a sign of good luck!! 

Here are some lovely medieval illuminations of the mandrake:

Why we want a home water birth

A lot of people have questioned our plan for a home water birth.  It's something that really feels natural for me and I actually look forward to it.  The idea of rushing to a hospital, being admitted, waiting around there under the harsh lights and strange smells....it just never appealed to me.  My cousin in Holland delivered both of her children at home, and I think hearing stories of those births as a teenager instilled an early confidence in me that a home birth was a positive thing to experience.

Home births are often "safer" than a hospital birth, if you have a healthy pregnancy,you have an experienced *certified* midwife and have done your research.  I can't emphasize this enough if you live in the United States, because it is not supported by the medical community at large the way it is in other places such as Europe.  Read through this report on Homebirth in the UK by Midwifery Today.  Another good place to start is the infamous Ricky Lake's documentary The Business of Being Born (also a book!).

My mom forwarded me a great blog post about another family planning one, and I really liked the summary of why they are doing it:

Here are our main reasons:

• Water promotes deeper relaxation. When the mother is relaxed, the birthing process is less of a struggle and the natural hormones kick in to aid in a better delivery.
• Water minimizes pain. So much so that many mothers do not need any pain killers while delivering the baby, which is good for both mother and child (and father’s nerves!)
• Immersion in water lowers blood pressure. Immersion in water feels good to the body, allowing the heart to be more relaxed, all good things for the stress levels that are already elevated (especially for first time pregnancies).
• Greater comfort. Water allows the mother to re-adjust herself more easily, which enables her to get into the most comfortable position easily and effectively
• Lowers anxiety levels. People have used water to aid in relieving stress across many applications, and the soothing feeling of water surrounding the body helps put the mother at ease, helping her to focus less on pain and discomfort and more on the task of delivering the child.
• Allows the father to take a more active role. With the mother having less stress, the father is able to help out more often without feeling like he is causing more trouble than he is worth. This helps the family unit bond better than if the father is just making things harder.
• Assists in dilation. Water helps the muscles relax, and by relaxing, the natural dilation process happens much more quickly. Quicker dilation = faster delivery!
• Empowers the Mother. With a healthy, relaxed, and present mother, the delivery becomes a much more spiritual experience, allowing for all the emotion to set in, devoid of drugs or pain to mask the true feelings.

I'm not sure I entirely buy that the warm water is going to completely obliviate any pain I might have and want for pain killers!! I plan on taking a class to help with this (like hypnobirthing).  In fact the pain is definitely one thing that has me a little bit nervous.  Despite the fact that Gisele Bunchen said her water birth was "pain free" I do know what she is describing.  That the pain was not "pain" as we regularly know it.  I also have always regarded childbirth pain as a different kind of pain than, say, breaking your ankle pain.  "Natural pain"--perhaps--and I know that doesn't mean it will hurt any less!  I hope my focus and the training I might get in advance from something like HypnoBirthing might help.

Like the family blogging about their planned water birth, we also live less than 10 minutes from two world-class hospitals.  So long as when the time comes I'm still healthy and deemed "a go" for a home birth, we will stick to our plan to birth at home.

In the meantime...plan B will be meeting with an OBGYN and establishing a relationship, and picking a hospital...just in case I do end up needing to deliver in hosptial setting.