Cloth Diapering Update #2 the Nighttime Solution

Right around 4 months (when I wrote my last cloth diaper update), we started having trouble with nighttime diapers.  She was waking up in the middle of the night soaked with wet PJs.  You can probably easily figure out that changing a diaper, PJs and sheets in the middle of the night when you're trying to get your baby to sleep through the night is not ideal.  I went straight to the internet to find a solution - and got very discouraged because I found many other CD mamas were having this same problem and had switched to disposables at night.  I checked out our local cloth diaper store (which is awesome), Basic Baby to see if they had any sage advice for me.  Their recommendation was to try out fitted diapers, which is basically a diaper where the entire thing is made out of absorbent material, and then you use a separate water proof cover over it.  The idea is that having the entire diaper be absorbent means you get more absorbency (obviously) and then the water proof cover being separate gives you better protection from leaks.  I bought a Grovia Kiwi Pie fitted that day and a blueberry PUL cover.  I liked this system but didn't love it.

GroVia Kiwi Pie Fitted:
Likes: The diaper is cute, can be used with or without the two soakers, is made of natural fibers, is trim and did do the job as far as absorbing everything. (I used an additional hemp booster)

Dislikes: It was pricey, and the fit is a little small - I'm not sure if she is going to be able to wear this until she is out of diapers.  The rise is low on her and with added boosters it fits funny around the legs.

Blueberry Cover:
Likes: Double gussets, fits well, can be re-worn many times before washing and haven't had any leaks

Dislikes: It's PUL and it smells.  Back to the good old stinky pee problem - I'm beginning to think that Kate's pee just stinks, but this cover does accumulate a funk even after a couple of days, I can't really tell what about it smells either because it is just the plastic cover.

Overall, the system was working way better than pockets at night, so I decided to buy a couple more fitteds.  From reviews on line, and because I wasn't blown away by the GroVia fitted, I purchased two Thirsties Fab Fitteds and I LOVE them.

Thirsties Fab Fitted:
Likes: so soft, fit well, are stay dry (I think she doesn't feel as wet in them), very absorbent

Dislikes: Not all natural (which I shouldn't even list as an issue because that's the reason they are stay-dry), take a little longer to dry

I was fairly satisfied with rotating these three fitteds (a hemp doubler) and the blueberry cover, it definitely fixed the problem of Kate waking up wet, she was sleeping through the night and all was well.  I didn't even know what I was missing! 

We went through a couple of weeks with a fairly serious diaper rash that just kept coming back.  I could tell that it was getting irritated overnight and therefore wasn't really able to heal well, but I didn't know what else I could do to fix the problem, until a friend of mine suggested I get a wool cover - that's right wool like a sweater.  I had heard of wool covers before and knew people liked them, but I just couldn't jump on that wagon - I couldn't imagine that they were waterproof and just thought it was weird.  Well I took her advice and purchased a handmade upcycled wool cover from this etsy shop: myecobaby, which was very reasonably priced and oh so cute.  After a couple of nights in wool (this is still over the fitted diapers), I never wanted to put another cover on her.  The magic of wool is that it breathes, so she wasn't waking up with clammy, wrinkly skin from sitting in a wet diaper all night.  Wool is also naturally odor resistant, antibacterial and it wicks the moisture away from Kate.  Her diaper rash issues are almost gone, we have had no leaks, it's adorable, works well with just a t-shirt for summertime PJs, only needs to be washed 2x a month and it doesn't smell like the PUL cover.  So bottom line, we LOVE the fitted + wool cover combo for night time diapering, and I highly recommend you try it out if you are looking for a solution.  I just bought another cover and two more Thirsties Fitteds to decrease the frequency of laundry, however I was doing just fine with 3 fitteds and 1 cover.

Here's my little model in the Thirsties Fab Fitted

 And then with her wool cover added on top, she's getting this modeling thing down.

Sidenote: We have NOT been having any stink issues since switching to the Rockin Green HardRock + Funk Rock, I don't even strip as often - just 1 time in the last 3 months.

Also, Burts Bees Diaper rash cream is amazing - it was the only thing that worked on our serious rash and it has not affected the diapers.

Birthing Class Play Date

We took the traditional, hospital offered birthing class before Kate was born.  Our instructor was a little nutty, and I'm not sure if we actually got any information that we didn't already know, but we were lucky to have been a part of a very small class, five couples total.  Which means we got to know each other pretty well and have kept in touch ever since.  This is especially nice, since, aside from one of the babies that is a couple weeks older, the remaining four were born in the same week!  I have used these ladies as a resource so many times, and am definitely thankful to have them around! We hosted a bbq/playdate at our house this weekend and had a lot of fun catching up and of course, playing!

 Group shot .. all the babies were looking at Baxter and Emily :)

We missed Autumn and Flynn

Ahh we're crawling!

Kate started crawling last night!  She has been so close for a couple of weeks, getting up on her hands and knees, doing downward dogs and planks, moving her legs and scooting backwards but she just hadn't gotten down moving her hands.  Well last night Baxter carried his food bowl over to where she was and she started using it as a drum.  He was not going to have any of that, so he picked it up and took it across the room, she was furious and just went after him.  I think she got the hang of it because she wasn't thinking too hard about it!  She hasn't looked back since.  All other moms can laugh at me, but holy moly is crawling a game changer.  I am going to be pretty worn out very quickly!

Side Note: we also have a bottom tooth!

7 Months

On this side of 6 months old, I feel like we are spiraling down to one!  We are going to have a very busy summer, so I know it is going to fly by and we will be planning a first birthday party very soon!

Month 7 was just as pleasant as last month for Miss Kate.  She is fairly consistently sleeping about 10 hours a night, with the exception of one rough week.  We think either her teeth bothered her that week, or she was experiencing some separation anxiety because we had trouble putting her to bed which has never been an issue.  Aside from that, she continues to be laid back and happy.  We are enjoying the "spring" weather (it's still chilly!), taking a lot of walks outside and playing in the back yard.  Kate has learned how to clap, is more interested in being read to, loves toys that make sounds (rattles, bells, etc) and is soo close to crawling.  She gets on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth, she also gets in a plank position and tries to move forward with her feet.  She can turn herself around in circles and moves backwards but just hasn't gotten the forward motion thing down yet.  She has teeth just below the surface of her gums (top front and bottom front), but nothing is peeking through yet.  She is still napping well, and has proven to be pretty adaptable to crazy schedules.  We have traveled a couple of weekends and had friends visiting which meant we didn't always make it home for nap time.  She will sleep well in the Ergo, so we have been taking advantage of nap times on the go, which is awesome.  She absolutely loves the dogs, she laughs at them, pets them, kisses them and likes to share her food with them.  She is still doing well with solid food, and gets breakfast and dinner.  Her favorite is by far sweet potatoes, but she does well with most fruits, loves mangos and is ok with carrots, broccoli, peas and green beans.  She is also starting to eat some finger foods.  She can't quite use her thumb to grasp foods, so she does this adorable thing where she picks up the food in her fist and then uses her other hand to move the piece of food on top of her hand then shoves the whole thing in her mouth.  She also eats with her left hand, I'm not sure if that is telling of anything though.

We have had a very rainy and cloudy spring, so I had trouble getting good light for her 7 month pictures, and Baxter decided he needed to be right in the middle of everything, although a tutu makes anything better!

This picture is blurry, but I still love it.  Kevin was napping because he had worked overnight, Kate was so happy and surprised to see him when he woke up.

This is also not a great picture, but she makes this face all the time where she looks away and smiles really big, its my favorite .. her hand clasping is also adorable.