Knowing When It's Okay to Throw in the Towel

There is nothing more healthy or natural than a woman nursing her baby.  Breastmilk is engineered to be perfect food for our babies. It drives me crazy when a mom says that nursing just isn't for them, or that it's disgusting, or that it makes their boobs sag.  No, I'm sorry- being pregnant makes your boobs sag.  At least give it a try and you may find that it is relaxing and an easy way to bond with your baby.  I found it enjoyable.  My baby wasn't gassy, and they didn't spit up.  It agreed with them.  If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

My first baby was a few weeks premature, and had a latch issue.  We saw a lactation consultant for a month.  We tried nipple shields and supplemental nursers, and nothing we could do would make her latch.  I pumped, but she refused to eat what I pumped, and as a tired first time mom, I just couldn't do it anymore, and I put her on formula.  She was so colicky.  I remember being awake in the middle of the night and crying right along with her.  I just couldn't figure out what was going on.  Looking back now, I'm sure it was more than just colic, and probably reflux.  She would projectile vomit after most of her bottles.  I wish I'd have tried harder, but I didn't, and thankfully, she is a beautiful, healthy, smart 6 year old. 

My 2nd baby, was a latch pro.  The only bump in the road was a thrush infection on my nipples around week 2, but a trip to the lactation consultant and we got it all cleared up.  I nursed her until she was 8 months old when I started having supply issues due to my birth control. 

My 3rd baby was smooth sailing.  It was easy in the beginning.  I had nursed a baby before, and had no problems with supply or latch.  Then, I got mastitis, another nipple yeast infection, and a urinary tract infection (all at the same time).  I ended up going to the hospital for my 104* fever that wouldn't go down.  It was like the absolute worst case of the flu ever.  I don't wish that on anyone!  My right breast was completely clogged from the mastitis, and it was excrutiating to nurse him on the left side with the thrush.  Coupled with being alone (my husband was stationed in Illinois, and I was home in Charleston) and a serious case of post partum depression, it got to the point where I didn't want to feed him.  I dreaded when he was hungry.  I gave him a bottle of formula because it was just physically painful.  By the time the infection cleared up, my supply had all but been depleted.  I know that I could have gotten my supply back with work, but that's when knowing when to throw in the towel is important.  My mental health is the best thing for my children.  Is breastmilk best for my son?  Absolutely.  Is formula going to kill him?  Absolutely not.  I tried to get my supply back up.  But I would let him nurse for 20 minutes on each side, then I would pump 10-15 minutes on each side, and then I'd have to supplement with a bottle.  By the time I was finished, it was time to start all over again, and I had two other kids to take care of and no help. 

Having to quit nursing feels like a loss.  I am still grieving the loss of that relationship with my son.  For the longest time, I felt like I needed to justify my decision to my other nursing friends. I'm slowly coming to terms with the decision to quit nursing, and my friends have been so supportive.  Most importantly, though, I am happy and my baby is healthy and happy.

What the Smell??

I've been cloth diapering for 3 months now.  2 of those months were in Charleston, and we had pretty normal water.  Then we moved to a town out in the middle of nowhere about a month ago, and oh my gosh- I've been been in a battle of the stink since. Our water is VERY hard.  My showers take me twice as long because it takes 4 extra rinses to not feel like I've bathed in a tub of slime.  I've been using Rockin' Green Classic Rock because I had 3 bags when we moved.  I've never had a problem with it, my diapers come clean and it gets the stinkies out.  I've been trying my hardest to use up what I've got.  I bought some funk rock- Rocked and overnight soak, then soaked with the funk rock, and rinsed, rinsed, rinsed, and then rinsed some more!  My diapers came out fresh, and didn't smell after he peed in them. 

Alas, it didn't last for long, the stink came back.  So, I read where someone put funk rock into a spray bottle with some water, and gave their diapers a spritz before tossing in the pail.  I tried that for a few rotations, and it didn't help, and they just keep getting stinkier.  Last night I put him into a brand new super cute soaker from Wild Child Woolies, and this morning the smell knocked me on my feet.  I thought he had pooped, but it was just the horrible ammonia smell from the prefold he had been wearing, and now my pretty new soaker needs a wash :(

So, here's to getting rid of the stinkies.  I'm about to order Rockin' Green Hard Rock and email the company and get some tips- maybe change up my wash routine. (My current routine is regular wash rinse, in cold w/out detergent, hot wash with detergent, and 4 rinses- it takes forever!!!).  I'll use it for 2 weeks and let y'all know how it goes!

No need for words :)

Thought I'd share this!  This is my adorable 3 month old, Sebastian- better known as Baby Bass.  He's wearing a fuzzibunz perfect size diaper that I had embroidered at a local store in Charleston.

An International Problem

I've been reading a lot of articles lately about parents who cannot afford disposables and are reusing their dirty diapers or keeping their babies in them extended periods of time.  It breaks my heart that these babies are suffering like that.  It's not safe to reuse a disposable or to keep dirty/wet diapers against baby's skin for extended periods of time. If only these parents had access to and were educated about cloth!  Then I came across this: http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/take-the-flats-and-handwashing-challenge-may-23-30/ The Flats and Handwashing Challenge.  I love a good challenge and this one is definitely a worthy cause.  So here's the deal:
For one week I will use only flat diapers and covers.  This isn't really the hard part, as my go to diapers are usually a pre-fold and Blueberry cover.  I'm only allowed 5 covers in my rotation.  Again, not that bad.  I usually wash every other day and maybe use 3 covers at a time.

I will HANDWASH and AIR DRY my diapers- this is where it gets tricky!  But, the point of this challenge is to advocate cloth to lower income families that may not have access to a conventional washer and dryer in the home.  I realize I am beyond blessed to have a washer and dryer in my home, and thankful to not have to go to a laundromat.

I CANNOT use my diaper sprayer.  I have to go back to dunking and swirling.  Again- to advocate cloth to EVERY family.

At the moment, I do not own any flat diapers, but I will be purchasing them within the week.  One dozen flat diapers run from $15-20.  Much, much, much cheaper than disposables in the long run!

I'm excited about this challenge and will be updating along the way!  Wish me luck!

"You want to do WHAT???"

... the first statement out of my husband's mouth when I told him I wanted to start cloth diapering.  My 2nd child was only a few months old, and I decided that I wanted to use cloth diapers.  There was a mom in my MOPS group that used the softest, fluffiest diapers on her little boy's bum that I had ever seen.  They were cute and soft, and I HAD to have them for my baby.  My husband was shocked and could not believe I would want to use something so "inconvenient." Then there was the initial sticker shock.  $500 start up (on average) for a complete supply of one-size pocket diapers was definitely not in our budget.  But then again, neither was $20 a week for a box of disposables.  I wasn't really sure how it was going to work, but I thought I would figure it out.  My first purchase was 5 Bum Genius 3.0s.  I bought 2 of them at Target (when they actually carried them in store) and 3 online with a wet bag.  I was determined that I would wash every day if I had to.  Needless to say, my husband was not supportive of my decision, and we ended up stopping after a week.  I gave 2 of my diapers to a friend and stored the other 3 (for reasons I don't know).

A little later on, all of my friends are having babies and they're all putting them in all these adorable, soft diapers. Playdates at the bookstore were full of talk of diapers and wash routines and what diapers were working for their babies; brands like Applecheeks and Rump-a-Rooz, Fuzzibunz and WAHMS- brands I didn't even know exsisted! I made a decision that if I were to have another baby, I would use cloth, no matter what!

Some people cloth diaper to save money, some people do it for the environment, for the health of their babies, and the cute factor.  I cloth diaper for all those reasons!  It has become something I'm very passionate about, and a boarderline obsession!  I'm always looking for a new cute print to add to my stash.  My husband rolls his eyes whenever I read a cloth blog, or am looking at sales online, but he's 100% behind my decision, and has even learned to fold a pre-fold!