Hiatus

Hi folks-

I have found myself (and the Eskimo) out of town for family related reasons. We are going to be away from home until the middle of June and I will have less-than-regular access to the internet. I'm going to try to post every so often, but don't be shocked by long gaps.


I also realized that while I posted about the Rump-a-Roos as a great overnight solution (these are still working, by the way), I never did post about the other solution we found! I ended up getting a SBish wool cover (it's ok to be jealous) off of Diaper Swappers and it's amazing. It's gorgeous for starters, but the best part is that it works. We put the Eskimo in a Bamboozle with an extra insert, put the SBish cover over it and his pj's are dry in the morning! I tend to alternate between the RaRs and the SBish cover now and have had to do a LOT less changing of sheets. It's wonderful. :)

The advantage to the RaRs is the super-soft fleecy lining wicks the moisture away from baby's bum. The fleece feels dry to the touch in the mornings, even though I could literally wring out the inserts. This would be a great thing to try if you had a baby who was prone to rashes. The disadvantage is the bulk. While RaRs fit great with only one insert in them (for daytime use), by the time I stuff three inserts in there for overnight, the Eskimo's butt is HUGE. I don't know that there's a good solution to avoid this problem.

The nice thing about the SBish cover is that you only have to wash it once a month. :) I mean, you can't beat that. And you can stuff almost anything you want under that thing to contain the moisture. So, if your baby has tough skin like mine, this might be a great solution for you. You'll probably need two covers so you have a backup for those days when your little one gets poop on the cover and manages to puke all over it. I promise this will happen at some point. Because they do need to be line dried, try to wash it in the morning so it has all day to dry before you need to put it on your baby for night time. I find that even with running it on a spin cycle in the washing machine to remove moisture, it can still take a good 24 hours for the cover to dry. What can I say, good things are worth waiting for, right?

Hope this info is helpful to some mamas. And if anyone else finds great overnight solutions, let me know! I love an excuse to spend some money on new fluff. :)

Dry baby!

I'm so excited that we found an overnight solution, that I have to write two posts today! Kanga Care had a big sale a couple of weeks ago and I ordered three of their Rump-a-Roos pocket diapers. Let me start by saying their patterns are adorable and the inner lining of the diaper is quite possibly the softest material I've ever felt in my life. I have been stuffing three of their microfiber inserts into the diaper at night, and so far it has kept the Eskimo dry! This does make for a hugely bulky butt, but the Eskimo doesn't seem to mind and he's not exactly entering any fashion shows at bedtime. When I get him up in the morning, all three inserts are completely soaked, but his pj's and sheets are still dry.

At this point, I'm stalking their website, waiting for their hemp inserts to be in stock. I'm also thinking of ordering some more diapers, but may have to have a bit of a sell-off here first. Diaper Swappers, here I come!

Speaking of Diaper Swappers, I also bought a SBish wool cover from another mama. These suckers are pricey new, but I'm willing to try one out used. It arrived in the mail yesterday and I'm going to give it a go tonight, probably over a bamboozle and an insert (or two). A review to come soon. Wish us luck!

Illness strikes again

Apologies for the hiatus. Once again, a cold has wiped out the adults in the family, though the baby is healthy as can be. Makes me a little jealous that he gets all those yummy antibodies. (Side note: I wonder if drinking my own breastmilk would shorten the life of my cold.) I finally made my way to the doctor yesterday, which is an indicator of just how sick and miserable I am. I haven't been to ANY doctor since my postpartum check up. I've lived in Austin for 5 years now and I still don't have a primary care physician. I just don't do doctors. But, my trip to the doctor yesterday confirmed what I already knew: I have a severe sinus infection. The good news is that my doctor was able to recommend some medications that are safe to take while breastfeeding and gave me some antibiotics and nasal spray.

This leads me to the meat of this post. I started feeling sick last Thursday. I suffered for three days, assuming that I couldn't take ANY medications because I was breastfeeding. This is completely false, and if I had been in my right mind, I would have run over to kellymom.com at the first sign of symptoms and seen what was safe. As it turns out, there are quite a few medications you can take while breastfeeding. You can find the information here:

http://kellymom.com/health/meds/index.html

In my old life, before the Eskimo, I took the shock and awe approach to being sick. I blasted my body with every kind of cold medicine available in an attempt to drug the cold right out of my system. However, having a child has made me much more aware of what's actually in all of those medications and what they can do to your body. If it's not safe for him, how can it truly be safe for me?

Ideally, I'd like to treat all illnesses naturally and let my body heal itself. But sometimes you really do need help. On those occasions when you do need medication, make sure your doctor knows that you are breastfeeding and that this is a priority to you. I made it very clear yesterday that I was unwilling to take any medication that would impact my son. By maintaining an open relationship with your doctor and making sure your voice is heard, you can usually find a solution. But be sure to do your homework too, because not all doctors are as educated as they should be about breastfeeding. Good luck, Mamas!