Ouch... What do you do when baby bites you?

N has grown two teeth in the matter of a couple weeks. He is now working on number three and he has started to bite. OUCH,! That hurts.

Whats a girl to do when a precious babe becomes a bit of a terror? Baby bites you say ouch, and if your baby is like mine they will laugh at you. Here is what I do. It worked great for my daughter. 

As soon as baby bites unlatch them.  Either turn them away from the breast or if it doesn't cause them too much stress, put them down and go do something else. When baby fusses or acts hungry latch them back on. If they bite again repeat. If baby starts to immediately fuss as if hungry, give them 1-2 minutes then re latch. After a few times they will start to connect that making mom jump and say ouch, will make the food go away. As i remember it R took only a few bites before she learned it was not worth it. Even with a mouth full of teeth I did not suffer too bad.

N is still mostly nursing. He is 5 months and only eats solids from time to time. He is teething and teething babies due nothing better then gnawing away at things, including mom. Try to stay calm and react as little as possible. As always babies feed off your energy. 

Good luck!  Feel free to share your idea about how to stop biting and ask any questions you might have.......

Kawaii Baby Diaper Review

Here is our three week review of our Kawaiis.

I do not like the original square tabs. They do not fit N right. There is not as many adjustment possibilities, and I just cant get a perfect fit.

However my go to nighttime diaper is the mom label bamboo. They fit N great, nice and snug, yet still look comfortable. They are super soft both inside and out. They are a bit thicker and heavier then Alva bamboo. 

I did not think I was going to like the pocket closure on the Kawaiis, but they actualy work great. I will also do a you tube video for these later.

They hold up really well. There is less pilling on the fleece then Alvas. They are so easy to snap, but hold really well. 

           

  Difference between alva and Kawaii bamboo

     

Alva Baby Diaper review 3 weeks in....

Alright so we are hitting that three week mark and I wanted to update on how I am liking my Alvas.

I am still loving them. So far I still have no PUL issues and they just fit N great. They are soft. The fleece does a great job wicking away the moisture. And the opening makes for easy stuffing. 

My top favorite Alvas are the bamboo. I wish I had ordered more. They are extra soft, both on the inside and out. I also feel that they are. Little lighter, and have a little extra give. I will post a youtube video about it.

This a picture of the bamboo Alva....

                                                     

       

                                                  

Stocking up on a budget my ideas......

             

    

I wish I would have cloth diapered sooner. I know one thing that might be holding others back is the start up cost. If you go the cheap way and spread it over time it wont seem like such a hard hit. 

Okay lets say your pregnant. Now you need to keep your caffeine intake as low as you can bear. So instead of spending 3 on a cup of coffee but a 3 pre-fold or flat. Just by one or two a month. So six bucks a month, to give you 18 by your due month. Then every 2-3 months buy a cover cheap brands run about 5 bucks. Thats 5 covers. Your costs will be about 5-15$ a month  seems a little more friendly doesn't it. Also ask for cloth diapers you never know what you might get at your shower.

Total cost after 9 months is .... 45- 135 dollars

With pocket it would be ....60-150 dollars for cheaper brands 

If you got to have more expensive diapers hold to the same idea 1-2 diapers a month. 180- 360 dollars

The other item you will have to purchase are....

A container to put dirty diapers there are a ton of options. 5-50 dollars

Safe laundry detergent varies. I spent 13 dollars on mine and it sould last a few months. 10-30 dollars

Easy one time buys just pick up or stock up whenyou find a good deal. 

That covers the basic needs there are a million add ons but this will get you started. This last month i have purchased 16 diapers, two wet bags, and bio-liners all for about 200 dollars. 

Great places to buy diapers....

Alvababy.com

Theluvyoubaby.com

Kellyscloset.com

Diaperjunction.com

Superstash.net is a personal favorite 

         

   

 

Dirty laundry, the skinny on ...our... My laundry routine.

Probably the biggest concert that comes with cloth diapering is the laundry factor. I do not enjoy doing laundry, we always have a constant pile of cloth to fold on our couch. But my diapers are not included in this. So here is how my laundry cycle works.

First I change N from his nighttime diaper. Because of my small stash I have so far been washing every day. I have enough for almost two days now. So after changing I take the night time diaper and throw it in the washer. I add the previous days diapers and the wet bag to the wash. 

                                              

                                                    This is a load of about 12-16 diapers

I run a cold water rinse.

After the rinse is complete I add about 3/4 tablespoon honest laundry detergent.

                                                 

 I run a heavy load wash, with an extra rinse. 

        

I do a hot wash with  two cold rinses. We have a front load HE  washer. If younhave a standard washer you will want to use more detergent. A good start is half of the recommended amount.

I dry on tumble dry low. So far no issues

I pull the covers out after one drying cycle. I also remove any inserts that are dry, and continue to dry the rest on medium heat.

When all the diapers are done I sit next to N on the floor, sometimes he sits on my lap some times he lays on the floor cuddling and hugging the diapers he can reach. It takes me about five minuets to stuff my diapers.

The laundry does not take that long at all. Most of the time you are just waiting, so other things can be done in the mean time. If I can do cloth diaper anyone can. I work full time on nights, and watch my kids when my husband works during the day. I am also waking up every few hours to nurse N. 

Cloth diapers are so much better for the environment. If you do a little research you will find that it takes 400 or more years for a disposable to decompose! Even the bit of extra water used to wash is no where near the impact as a couple years worth of diapers rotting away. Modern diapers have made it so easy so why not add one extra load of laundry... Maybe two if you have a bigger stash....it's laundry you do laundry anyways .......

Rebranded Alva baby diapers review and review of that brand- you will want to read this

 I decided to cloth diaper on a whim. I did a bit of research but not a ton. I then found the website clothdiapers.us.com. I made the assumption that they sold Alva babys in the US.... After making a slightly hasty although well planned out order. I did some more browsing on their web page and I did not like what I found.  The diapers where indeed sent from China. Oh well no biggy right. But after nearly a week had gone by and money had been withdrawn from my account, I started to wonder if I had been scammed. so I found them on face book. 

I had already written an email, but received no answer until I wrote on their Facebook page. I was told that the delay was due to one of the diapers I ordered being out of stock. There had been nothing to tell me of this, or I would not have ordered that diaper. I asked if that item could be subbed for an identical item of just a different pattern. The reply was that they could sub a diaper of lesser cost and add a insert. They also added an insert because of the trouble. Ok again not a big deal. 

Until the package came. I had ordered 5 diapers. I received 3. I snapped a picture of what I had received and spent the next several days trying to get the last 2 diapers sent to me.  I placed my original order 6-13, and I am still waiting on the last two diapers to arrive. 

          

  

Cloth diapers.us.com is brand new, they have no idea what they are doing. They are kind and generous, but it is not worth the mistakes. My one order had 2 issues that I spent about a week each emailing to get resolved. I do not recommend ordering from them at all. They did correct their wrong doing but they are just not worth it. The diapers do not come with inserts, there is no packing log in your package and they are just had to deal with. Order Alvas direct or from a company like superstash.net or a buy sell trade group on Facebook. 

Now on to my review of the Alva diaper. So far I really like them. They have a wonderful feel. Slightly like a satin not rough or sticky like I was expecting. The snaps have plenty of options to fit a wide range of sizes. I get a great fit every time. The minky is soft and cuddly. The one thing I am not sure of yet is that the elastic seems thin to me. My little guy has less red marks with the cloth diapers then he gets with disposables, so it has not been an issue. The inner fleece is soft but after just about 2 weeks it is pilling, normal though. 

 

So heres a quick break down of so far the pros and cons.......

PROS

- soft fabric, is very touch able

- easy to use snaps that seem sturdy 

-so many patterns :) 

- great fit for my baby at this time

- inexpensive

- no leaks yet

CONS

- thin elastic doesn't seem like it will last ( i will keep you posted)

- ships fromChina/ made in China

- not the best fleece

Stay tuned and I will keep you updated as time goes by as to how these hold up for us.

Honest company expanded review

This week we received our first full Honest order. We just ran out of the sample of healing balm and it worked so well on my son I wanted more. So here is a review of what i ordered.

laundry soap

- I ordered this for the cloth diapers. So far no issues. The larger bottle seems to have less scent then the sample did. I have used it on a few loads of diapers and so far no issues at all. It is very concentrated, and i have to use very little on my stash.

Healing balm

- now has a new formula. The only difference I have noticed this far is a change in color. The consistency is the same and my sons legs still look better then without use.

Bubble bath

- great smell and makes great bubbles. I may sound crazy but I think it actually made the water feel softer.  And it did not stress me out as my 2 year old ate the bubbles. 

Shampoo and body wash

- yup i decided to give the new formula a try. Still not impressed. It is great for the babies but i have way too much hair to spend 10 bucks on a bottle of shampoo that probably wont last me two weeks. It was much thicker then the sample I received but still just didn't cover as much as I needed it to. I do like it as a baby wash.

Hand sanitizer

- i got the two pack. And I love it. They come in spay bottles. You just spray and let dry. Perfect size for the diaper bag. And it is fun too, just ask the toddler. It also has a great smell. You smell a bit of the alcohol but its very mild and pleasant overall. 

Ventures into cloth diapering.

About a week ago we recieved our " China Cheepies" diapers. I ordered some basic Alva babys from secondary site. I wont go into the headache that caused but I do want to talk about the cloth diapering experience.

It has been wonderful. I am really loving it. I bought just enough diapers to get an idea if I would be able to handle the process or not. I also received a couple of sample diapers from Kawaii baby. Both diapers have fit differently but they are both a cheaper option then other pocket diapers. 

I have enjoyed cloth diapering so much I plan to slowly expand our stash and do it 3/4 time. So far we have been doing 1-3 cloth diapers a day. We have had no leak issues at all, even when my husband managed to put a diaper on completely backwards. 

When i first thought of doing CDs i wanted to try it because baby boy has sensitive skin and diapers left so much marking on him. I wanted to try cloth for at least his overnight diaper, since he was pretty much sleeping through the night. Worked like a charm. We have some marking but not nearly as red or angry looking as with disposables. 

second the laundry process is so easy! Just do a load of diapers. The load takes a little longer then your clothing does but it is not bad and really nothing fancy. Then you just stuff the diapers and have them ready to go. 

We are using pocket diapers. So easy! Just stuff. I have tried 3 types of inserts. Bamboo is my favorite!  I have also used Microfiber and pre folds. All three work great. For night time I use the bamboo and a small microfiber. Even fully soaked there is 0 leakage at all.

Next OMG there are so many cute covers and pockets. They are also soft to touch and just seem much more comfortable. I have a new addiction to shopping for cloth diapers. 

I really have yet to have an complaints. It is not that hard of a change at all. Here are some video links that helped me decide to try cloth. As always ask questions and leave comments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gE-BrxgVYQ&feature=youtube_gdata - Video Tube for YouTube - iPhone/iPad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_Xs6hbBF8M&feature=youtube_gdata - Video Tube for YouTube - iPhone/iPad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EqjrArLr4I&feature=youtube_gdata - Video Tube for YouTube - iPhone/iPad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN75DGGshnw&feature=youtube_gdata - Video Tube for YouTube - iPhone/iPad

The diapers we are using are ...

Alvababy.com. - alva babys

The luvyourbaby.com. - kawaii baby diapers 

I will write a review for each later.....

Mysterious little bump.

About two weeks ago I developed a sore nipple. " what nipple pain after 4 solid months of easy nursing? That was crazy to me. So i began to do research as to what was going on. After all my research I figured it must be caused by having had a bad latch. I am pretty sure it happened while dozing off while nursing in bed. I developed a small red bump on my nipple.  Through the two weeks the pin has gotten better. It also has gone threw several phases. At first it was a little whitish bump, but turned red after not nursing for awhile. It then almost looked like a scraped knee, with little red spots on the greater red area. Now it is just a red bump. The pain is pretty much gone and only bothers me now and then at the initial latch. 

I thought it might be several things. Mastitis, or a milk blister. However it just did not have the same characteristics as either and it has got better on its own with little treatment. Basically I have just let any milk dribble dry on it, instead of wiping it off. And i have let it air as much as possible. 

Milk blisters are skin grown over milk. Kinda of like a clogged duct but milk is stuck in a pore. This did not seem to be what i had as the sore was not hard like a blister, it did not seem "swollen" and the skin was not thicker. This seems to me what i would make to be a blister, based on my own experiences. Also i had no pain prior, neither with nursing or pumping. It just suddenly struck.

Mastitis is very serious but most of the information I looked at seemed to case it in the breast not usually the nipple. Although there is usually associated nipple pain. 

Had the issue continued to bother me I would have contacted a consultant for help. But for the most part I think us mommies can do a pretty good job of knowing what is wrong with our bodies. Just follow your instincts.