Nighttime diapering

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I love cloth diapering.  However, I had been VERY afraid to use cloth at night since Kayla is a heavy wetter and I didn't want to have to get up with her just to change her diaper.

Well, a couple of months ago, when I was finally able to score some RagaBabes (see my cloth diapering tab for reviews), I decided that maybe it was time to give it a try.  (Overnight cloth diapering that is.)  So I bought some extra inserts for their all-in-one diapers.  As a review for everyone, all-in-one diapers have the insert sewn in so all you have to do it put it on the baby and take it off when it's dirty and toss it in the laundry bag.  RagaBabe all-in-ones have a pocket so you can stuff an extra insert in for naptime/bedtime/heavy wetters.  So I shoved another insert into the pocket of a medium.  (In actuality, I tried laying the insert on top to avoid any "roll off" of the pee but this didn't work well since Kayla hates feeling wet.  I actually tired a few ways until we finally settled on an insert stuffed in without a liner to catch any poop.)

This system works wonderfully!  Kayla was getting through the whole night (12+ hours) without any leaks and with some "room to spare" should she pee any more.  We were still waking up 1-2 times a night.  Then that dwindled to just once a night pretty consistently.  Then that became only one wake up after 4 am and she was very easy to get back to sleep.  And THAT progressed to sleeping through the whole night a few times!  F****** FINALLY!!!  (Sorry I'm just so glad this moment is finally close. And I'm crossing my fingers I didn't just jinx myself!)

Now, during this time, we also changed a few other things.  We started using the fan again for white noise.  We weaned her night feeding so she didn't expect to eat if she woke up in the middle of the night.  We changed our bedtime routine slightly.  So since my last diaper laundry load on Friday, I've been trying to avoid using our cloth diapers since we will be driving on Monday/Tuesday and wanted them to be clean for our move.  We also have a bag of "sposies" (cloth diapering community term for disposables) that will probably not fit her for much longer so I figured I'd just use them every other diaper to try to keep most of my cloth clean.  We decided to use a sposie overnight Friday night.  I mentioned to Justin I was kinda worried since she had been doing so great sleeping since we started using cloth at night.  He said, "We changed a lot of things at that time though."  I just shrugged.

She woke up twice.  Once at 11:30 pm and once at 4 am.  I'm totally convinced it's the diaper.  You can bet your bottom dollar that she is in a RagaBabe with an extra insert tonight.  I'll be washing all of our dirty diapers tomorrow and we'll use the dreaded sposie during the day, but I will be using her Rags at night if I can help it.

So any cloth diapering moms out there who are afraid to use cloth overnight, take it from me.  Just try it.  It will probably be even better than using that dang disposable anyways! :)

Newborn Niceties

I have a long list of blog drafts to write and upload this week - wedding festivities this past weekend, 101 list checked off item, pet peeves, etc.  But, I have a high school friend who is expecting and I seem to have turned onto cloth diapers, YIPPEE! :)  And since I love to be a know-it-all in all things I know ;) I wanted to do some research on newborn cloth dipes - for her, my other readers interested, and really my future reference!

First, a quick update on my cloth diapering.  I have tried one Ragababe all-in-one diaper and an Apple Cheeks swim diaper since my last CD post.

The Apple Cheeks swim diaper is super great: a great green color, really thin so water (and pee) just flow right through it (this is normal in swim reusable diapers) and easy to snap in the front.  They come in 2 sizes and for now, Kayla fits into a small.  I will probably need to buy a new diaper next year (and maybe for our family trip to Hawaii in 3 months...woohoo!)

The Ragababe is so far my most favorite diaper.  It's an awesome aqua color; it's easy to close with the hook and loop closure, it's REALLY trim and super absorbent.  So far, I have no cons about this awesome diaper, except for the fact that they are impossible to get my CD addict hands on!!!  If you recall my post from the end of June, I couldn't even refresh the page to buy any at the last stocking, however, last night I scored 2 more all-in-ones!!  I'm hoping for a few more in the near future to review!

I also have started to try using cloth wipes.  I bought some Ragababe wipes (you can most definitely make your own and save some money but I kinda wanted to try these).  I made my own solution with water, baby shampoo/wash and olive oil/baby oil.  I actually didn't have the oil at first (it's to help the wipe glide over baby's bottom easier) which caused Kayla to have some serious redness.  So far I find cloth wipes to be easier to use with cloth diapers since I just toss them in the laundry with my diapers.  I will update my cloth diapering page as soon as I get some time.  

Ok, onto the newborn cloth diaper research.  I have tried to post some links (some to pages with reviews) and if you don't want to read through all my crap, scroll down to the links below to dirty diaper laundry video reviews!

All-in-one diapers: no stuffing (for the most part) most similar to disposables, need to buy sizes as baby grows. (NB diapers recommended to me are in BLUE.)

1. Ragababe NB AIO (newborn all-in-one): I honestly think these might be the best to buy.  They are very absorbent and trim and very easy to use.  There is a pocket if you need/want to have extra stuffing for overnight or a heavy wetter.  A big downer to these diapers is that they are pricey and basically impossible to get at this moment in time, until Joy and the RagaTeam are able to increase their production and open up full time.  Link
2. Bumgenius XS: I have BGs one size diapers.  I like them but they wouldn't be small enough for a newborn I don't think depending on baby's size.  Link
3. GroVia NB AIO:  Again, I have a GroVia one size hybrid diaper and I love it, but I can't speak about these diapers in particular. Link 
4. Rumparooz Lil Joeys:  Again, I have a rumparooz one size diaper.  I like it because it has internal gussets.  Lots of moms LOVE this lil joey diaper (it has a snap down for the cord.)  Link

Pocket NBs:  have to stuff an insert in, may be quite difficult to stuff those tiny pockets, AIOs probably easier for NBs.

1. Fuzzibunz XS:  Another CD mom favorite is fuzzibunz..I think the biggest downfall would be stuffing the teeny tiny pocket.  Link
2. Thirsties Duo Size 1: I literally know hardly anything about this diaper but tons of people like their Thirsties. Link

Other dipes:

1. Kissaluvs Size 0 with cover:  I think when I CD my next baby I'll probably get some fitteds or flats with covers for that newborn phase since I have mostly one size diapers or diaper that grow with baby for once they get bigger.  Link
2. Sustainable Babyish fitted or flats with cover:  see above!  Link
3. Ragababe 2-step size 0:  This diaper will grow with the baby at least a little bit, and you already know my love hate relationship with RagaBabe. :) Link

Sometimes I feel like I have too much to say about cloth diapers and it comes out making no sense at all. So if you got anything from the above...congratulations you are probably the only one! :)  I have linked some awesome reviews below but here's what I would probably recommend/what I will probably do.

I would definitely stick with all-in-one diapers and/or fitted/flats with covers for a newborn.  You will be changing their diaper so often and they are so tiny that I think all-in-ones would probably be the easiest.  Put it on, take it off, toss it in the laundry.  No extra fuss or anything with that.  Flats/prefolds can be great however because you can fold them to whatever size you want and slap a cover over them.  Also, later on you can use them as burp rags or as inserts to other diapers and covers you have!

I really can't do this review justice without linking you to these amazing reviews at dirtydiaperlaundry.com (a great blog).  They did an extensive (and I mean extensive review) you can see here and here.  These reviews are seriously awesome.  She talks about whether or not they are cord friendly, leaks/absorbency, overall rating and whether she would use them again and THEN she discusses the diapers versus their one size counterparts.  I would definitely say though that all babies are different with cloth diapering too.  A diaper that works well for my baby might not work as well for yours based on their size - thighs, skinny/chubbiness, length of torso, etc.

Please leave me a comment, message me, whatever if you have any questions.  I seriously love talking about cloth diapering and if I don't immediately know the answer to your question or what to tell you, I'll gladly point you in the right direction on where to find the answer after I do some research!!! :)

So many things to post about!

Three things actually.  :)

#1 Happy Easter!  Kayla is wearing her Easter outfit today.  We did not put a basket together for her, which I feel a bit guilty about, but Justin and I joked, "What would we put in it? A bottle of breast milk?" :)  She received to little lamb stuff animals on our trip to the midwest so I guess that is her Easter gift for her first Easter! :)





#2 The remainder of our midwest road trip went pretty well.  We drove out to Columbus OH to spend some time with family, a gathering at my mom's cousin Kathy and Harvey's house on Friday, a wedding reception on Saturday for my 2nd/3rd cousin Alex and Virginia, his new bride, and a baby shower for my other cousin's wife Leslie.  A busy weekend for us and Kayla but she was a champ.  She was very well-behaved on our trip considering all the travel.  We were glad to be home however everything has been SO off this week with Kayla.  She isn't sleeping nearly as well at night, she was so fussy during the day, she isn't eating as well and as usual isn't napping great.  It's been rough, but we are getting through it.  She's 3 months old now!!! And hopefully this potential growth spurt, possible teething cranky period will be over soon.  Last night, she slept for about 5+ hours so that is a step forward!



#3 and what I really wanted to blog about was my cloth diapering experience this week.

So far, it's going pretty well (minus the first day when I put one of the inserts in the wrong way and he gave her some serious bum rash).  Here's is a quick review of a few of the diapers I have tried:

Bum Genius 4.0s: One size pocket diapers.  I have 6 of these, all you do is stuff an insert into the pocket and it snaps on just like a normal diaper.  These are super easy and no explosions out the diaper thus far.  I have them in blue, green and a yellow color.  Con: they are a bit bulky and kinda annoying to stuff.

FLIP system: This is a hybrid one size diaper.  I have two covers and 6 inserts.  The inserts are basically a rectangle that you tuck into the front and back of the diaper and the snap just like the BumGenius do.  So far, these are my least favorite.  They are pretty easy and if Kayla only has a wet diaper, you can just switch the dirty insert with a new clean one.  However they are the most bulky of all of my bulky diapers and the poop by no means stays off of the cover.  These were the least expensive of the diapers though so that is a plus.  I think I will like them more when Kayla is a little bigger so they don't rise up so high on her back.  They also have disposable inserts to use when out of the house which is nice but I haven't tried them yet!



Fuzzibunz:  Another one size pocket diaper.  (Most of these one size pocket diapers come with two sized inserts so I'm not even going to bother adding that as a pro or con.)  This is my favorite one size pocket that I have right now.  Instead of snapping smaller and larger up the front of the diaper, the leg elastic is adjustable to fit to your baby's size.  I only have one of these as I bought it with the cloth diaper one size trial package so I'd really like to get a couple more of them but for now, what I have is working.  I think these are the least bulky of all the diapers I have which is another reason I like them.



Rumparooz:  One size pocket diaper.  Very similar to the BumGenius but has extra gussets in the lining.  Really not much different to say about this one.  Again, I only have one and it's pretty bulky and I probably won't buy any more of these.



Happy Heiny's:  Another one size pocket diaper.  Very similar to all the other ones.  This one seems SLIGHTLY less bulky and is therefore higher on my list of ones to grab when in need.  Same snap up the front and around baby to adjust size.  Oh, however, a really great pro to this diaper is that the snaps around baby can cross over in the front, unlike all of the other diapers, which is nice when you have a skinny minny like Kayla! :)


Kissaluvs: A one size diaper.  I haven't tried this one yet as the way you adjust the size is folding down the front flap and it seems it would be ENORMOUS on Kayla.  But I can say I can't wait to give it a go when she's a little bit bigger and there is no pocket to stuff and the print is SUPER cute (and the inside is super soft!)



GroVia: One size, hybrid diaper.  Kinda similar to the FLIP system but a million times better!  They are still a little bulky but here's why I really like them.  Although I don't mind the snaps, but these have snaps up the front for sizing but they have hook and loop closure (most similar to disposables) around Baby.  Also, the insert snaps into the inside and it has extra gussets to help keep poop under control.  I only have one of these and I'd really like to get a few more covers and a few more inserts because I really liked them.  These also have disposable inserts for outings.



Lastly, Econobum.  Another one size hybrid very similar to the FLIP system.  I didn't like this one at all.  The insert is hemp and all organic, etc, but Kayla wet it through so fast and she was screaming because of it.  Needless to say, this diaper will be going to the back of the drawer!



So far, I don't have much to say regarding differences in the diapers as it has only been a week, but I'll keep you updated.  So far, BumGenious, Fuzzibunz and GroVia are my favorites!  I am getting some of another brand called Oh Katy in the mail this week which are supposedly "trimmer" but I'll let you know when I try them out!

P.S. Laundering is super easy with my washable pail liner and all.  The hardest part is using disposable wipes since I can't just wrap them up in the diaper.  I'm actually considering cloth wipes since it would almost be easier to just toss them in the wash with the diapers, but for now, I'll just focus on the diapers!

Today (and many days)...

I am reminded of a Barenaked Ladies song, "Who needs sleep?"  Sunday night and Monday night, we fed Kayla between 7 and 7:30 and proceeded to put her to bed.  Now granted, she usually doesn't go right to bed and it takes a few times to get her down for good, but she fell asleep by 9:30 on Sunday and by 8:30 on Monday.  Then, a miracle.  She slept for almost 7 hours straight, both nights.  And here I am thinking, sweet I figured out some sort of timing that may work.  So last night I bathed her and we fed her at 7 pm.  She was totally passed out while eating and Justin put her down.  Then at about 8:15 or 8:30 she's crying.  We try to let her lay there and get herself to sleep.  I pick her up, she falls asleep immediately.  I put her down, she's crying.  This continued for about an hour until she finally fell asleep around 9:30.  That's ok I'm thinking...wrong.  She was up at 11:30.  And then 3:15.  And then 6.  And then 8.  NO consistency.

This would be ok, but she doesn't nap during they day for more than 45 minutes if I'm lucky.  This means Mommy gets like NO sleep.  Not to mention my husbands snores like a chainsaw and Kayla isn't exactly the most quiet sleeper.  I'm surprised I am as chipper as I am during the day with her.

In cloth diapering news...

I ordered about 5 or 6 more cloth diapers of different brands so we can decide which ones we like.  I think we are getting a GroVia hybrid, a Rumparooz, a Fuzzibunz, a Kissaluvs and a Happy Heineys.  I just love the names.  Then if I really like one of them maybe when we have some more cash I can get a few more.  I'm totally dedicated to the cloth diapering now.  We have the diapers, the pail liner is on the way, I know all the benefits and I'm in!  And excited! :)

In other news...

Mom and Dad had a night out with friends while Aunt Meg babysat on Saturday.  I am personally starting to get very lonely at home and it was so nice to feel like a normal human being and not just someone's mom if only for a few hours.  Even though I talked about Kayla, birth and babies the whole time with my friend Christy who is due any day now!  I also wore heels and pre-pregnancy jeans and I felt awesome!

Tomorrow we leave for our very first road trip.  I'll try to update while we are there!  I can't wait...wish us luck!

What the heck?

Spring?!?  I'm really tired of this crappy cold weather!  It's almost April.  That's enough with the snowy forecasts!

I want to take my daughter out for walks and such, but it's too cold.  Now, we just hang out with the space heater.

Speaking of cold, I think the temperature of the room really affects how well Kayla sleeps.  Last night, we didn't have the space heater in the room and she woke up every three hours...which she has rarely done before.  She did fall asleep at 7 pm last night though so although I fed her I think 3 times last night, she slept well and we finally got out of bed at about 8:45 this morning.

I can't talk much about my cloth diapering quite yet because I would really like a diaper pail so I have somewhere to dispose of the stinky things instead of just leaving them to permeate the house.  So far, I have 6 Bum Genius 4.0 one size pocket diapers and 2 Flip hybrid covers with four cloth inserts and a pack of disposable inserts.  If anyone that reads my blog cloth diapers, do you have a kind that you have really liked?  The one time I tried a couple, I was afraid I would have to change her constantly as she was fussy, and I couldn't tell if it was because she was wet or just fussy.  I really want to try again though so next purchase will hopefully be a diaper pail.  (I'd also like a snap and go stroller for our road trip but we'll see.)

Happy Hump Day!