Or rather, it drools... on everything.
I didn't realize that teething affects everything. It isn't just pain in his mouth. It increases the acidity, which increases the drool. The acidity makes his stomach upset, which then makes his intestines and diapers worse. What I didn't know is that they can drool for months before the teeth come in. Teeth are also very fickle - they can move around beneath the gums, start to come up, and then change their mind again.
I mean, really??
Poor kid. His lower two front teeth are pushing their way through the gums. I can actually see the gums being split and the sharp little tooth rudely pushing its way up to the air. We've tried Tylenol, Advil, and teethers, and each child responds differently to each. Our little one finally responds well to Hyland's Teething Tablets. They are little white tabs that dissolve in his mouth almost instantaneously. They calm him down, but what do we do at night? Tylenol and Advil (alternate every three hours), nursing, and the occasional tablet if he's awake enough to manage.
Also, we suffer through and tell ourselves, "This too shall pass." And it will, eventually. Lucky me, I've now come down with a small cold and shared it with the little guy. Cold + teething = up every 90-120 minutes. Ah well, at least he's so damned cute. I can't wait until I can take a picture with his two little chompers peeking out at me...
Monday, August 4, 2014
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
I'm a little granola & I cloth diaper my baby...
When I was pregnant and people found out that my husband and I were going to cloth diaper our baby, we were met with disbelief, mockery, and teasing. People didn't believe that we could do it, and if we could do it, it was because we would use a diaper service. If anyone knows me at all, they know that would only encourage me to stick to it MORE than I might have before.
People wanted to know why we are cloth diapering. Only the fully granola cloth diaper, right? Well, we are a little hippy dippy, but what we really wanted to do is save money and keep baby as healthy as possible.
See, there are three reasons to cloth diaper: (1) it's good for the environment (not our #1, but hey, it's a positive side effect); (2) it's more economical (my husband's most important reason; we have spent less than $200 on all our diapers and can use these diapers on our next kids); and (3) it means there are no chemicals against my baby's soft little tush (my most important reason).
We thought briefly about using a diaper service, but in our area, it's $25/week... To us, that kinda missed the point of the economics of it. So we said screw it, and now, here we are six months later, still cloth diapering with no diaper service. It isn't as difficult as even I used to think, though it will be more challenging once ElyZ starts solid food (which we did this week). We will have to spray or scrape off the baby poop prior to washing, but we had to do this his first 5.5 weeks of life anyway when he was being supplemented with formula.
Cloth diapering is actually pretty simple. There's a lot to learn, but it's not so complicated. When ElyZ was smaller (less than 15lbs), we used prefolds and covers and loved them. Once he grew past that weight and started the Mr. Wiggle phase, we switched to pockets and AIO (all-in-ones). So far, we have tried 5-6 different brands and BumGenius pockets are our favorite. They don't seem to leak, though at night we do have to add a third insert to prevent leaking (ElyZ is quite the little pisher).
There are so many Facebook groups and websites dedicated to cloth diapering that I can have all my questions answered, sometimes within minutes, and I can buy used diapers for a fraction of the cost. You just have to know some lingo and buy wisely. No - it's not gross to buy used diapers. It's like buying a used towel. It's no different since people are normally excessively careful with their diapers (using environmentally friendly laundry detergent and line drying the covers).
Once a baby is no longer EBF (exclusively breast fed), his poop changes and gets super stinky (like most of us are familiar with). But the truth is, even disposable diapers are supposed to be scraped and sprayed as well; human waste is not supposed to be thrown out in the trash.
Each baby is different, pees and poops differently, and is shaped differently. A BumGenius that works great on one kid won't work as well as SweetBottoms on another. Some supermoms even make their own cloth diapers. I'm thinking about it, but I don't have a sewing machine, nor do I know how to use one. I'm tempted though.
Learning about cloth diapering does take a little practice, trial and error, and patience. The actual practice of it ain't nothing... But regardless, I know that it's the best thing for my little munchkin, so even if/when it becomes challenging, we are going to keep going.
It's also awesome that the cloth diapers come in different colors and designs and are, quite simply, adorable on ElyZ's bum. For that reason alone, I know we'll keep cloth diapering. Aesthetics and adorableness are irresistible, I mean look at this tush...... YUM!
People wanted to know why we are cloth diapering. Only the fully granola cloth diaper, right? Well, we are a little hippy dippy, but what we really wanted to do is save money and keep baby as healthy as possible.
See, there are three reasons to cloth diaper: (1) it's good for the environment (not our #1, but hey, it's a positive side effect); (2) it's more economical (my husband's most important reason; we have spent less than $200 on all our diapers and can use these diapers on our next kids); and (3) it means there are no chemicals against my baby's soft little tush (my most important reason).
We thought briefly about using a diaper service, but in our area, it's $25/week... To us, that kinda missed the point of the economics of it. So we said screw it, and now, here we are six months later, still cloth diapering with no diaper service. It isn't as difficult as even I used to think, though it will be more challenging once ElyZ starts solid food (which we did this week). We will have to spray or scrape off the baby poop prior to washing, but we had to do this his first 5.5 weeks of life anyway when he was being supplemented with formula.
Cloth diapering is actually pretty simple. There's a lot to learn, but it's not so complicated. When ElyZ was smaller (less than 15lbs), we used prefolds and covers and loved them. Once he grew past that weight and started the Mr. Wiggle phase, we switched to pockets and AIO (all-in-ones). So far, we have tried 5-6 different brands and BumGenius pockets are our favorite. They don't seem to leak, though at night we do have to add a third insert to prevent leaking (ElyZ is quite the little pisher).
There are so many Facebook groups and websites dedicated to cloth diapering that I can have all my questions answered, sometimes within minutes, and I can buy used diapers for a fraction of the cost. You just have to know some lingo and buy wisely. No - it's not gross to buy used diapers. It's like buying a used towel. It's no different since people are normally excessively careful with their diapers (using environmentally friendly laundry detergent and line drying the covers).
Once a baby is no longer EBF (exclusively breast fed), his poop changes and gets super stinky (like most of us are familiar with). But the truth is, even disposable diapers are supposed to be scraped and sprayed as well; human waste is not supposed to be thrown out in the trash.
Each baby is different, pees and poops differently, and is shaped differently. A BumGenius that works great on one kid won't work as well as SweetBottoms on another. Some supermoms even make their own cloth diapers. I'm thinking about it, but I don't have a sewing machine, nor do I know how to use one. I'm tempted though.
Learning about cloth diapering does take a little practice, trial and error, and patience. The actual practice of it ain't nothing... But regardless, I know that it's the best thing for my little munchkin, so even if/when it becomes challenging, we are going to keep going.
It's also awesome that the cloth diapers come in different colors and designs and are, quite simply, adorable on ElyZ's bum. For that reason alone, I know we'll keep cloth diapering. Aesthetics and adorableness are irresistible, I mean look at this tush...... YUM!
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Another Mommy Blog?!
What!?!?! Yet another mommy blog... Eesh.
There's so many mommy blogs out there; why do I think mine is special? It may not be (but you'd be wrong)... Then again, perhaps it will appeal to you. I will try to keep it as interesting and funny (or, at least, helpful) as possible. And FYI, Ima is pronounced "ee-mah" - it's Hebrew for Mom. See what I did there?
Let's move forward. My name is Talya Woolf and I have a five month old baby boy nicknamed ElyZ. He's my pride and joy, even when he's annoying, frustrating, teething, trying to get over a cold, etc. He's adorable. YES. I am biased, but hey, it's also the truth.
Here's a little about myself. I'm 36, Jewish, an artist, attorney, and middle child. I've been married for a year and a half. I met my husband on Facebook (but I knew his sister, aunt, uncle, and cousins so it's not that weird).
I am a business and contract litigation/research attorney who works extremely part-time from home (between 2-8 hours). I am pretty lucky as well; my boss allows me to work at his office and bring the baby in! Granted, I am literally 1/3 as efficient, but it's something. My husband does web development for a men's online suit warehouse (The Suit Depot). We don't make a ton between us, so we have to be frugal with our fundage. This will come in handy for YOU... I'll give you tips and tricks on how to save money, where you can save money, and where you shouldn't (the whole 'get what you pay for' thing).
I'll be sharing what we go through with our little guy (a.k.a. Booboo Man, Booboo, ChukChuk, Tinoki Matoki). Trust me, when you know that something your baby is going through is normal, you breathe a lot easier. I have a few mommy groups on Facebook that I am a part of and THANK GOODNESS. We commiserate, share stories, frustrations, photos, laugh and cry together.
I'll probably also throw in some random stories, jokes, pictures, and complaints -- whatever I feel like. If you don't like an entry, don't read it. :D
If you have any questions, comments, or arguments, please feel free to share. If you have any suggestions as to how I can be even more frugal and smart, please let me know! I'll appreciate it, and I know my husband will as well.
Let's begin.
There's so many mommy blogs out there; why do I think mine is special? It may not be (but you'd be wrong)... Then again, perhaps it will appeal to you. I will try to keep it as interesting and funny (or, at least, helpful) as possible. And FYI, Ima is pronounced "ee-mah" - it's Hebrew for Mom. See what I did there?
Let's move forward. My name is Talya Woolf and I have a five month old baby boy nicknamed ElyZ. He's my pride and joy, even when he's annoying, frustrating, teething, trying to get over a cold, etc. He's adorable. YES. I am biased, but hey, it's also the truth.
Here's a little about myself. I'm 36, Jewish, an artist, attorney, and middle child. I've been married for a year and a half. I met my husband on Facebook (but I knew his sister, aunt, uncle, and cousins so it's not that weird).
I am a business and contract litigation/research attorney who works extremely part-time from home (between 2-8 hours). I am pretty lucky as well; my boss allows me to work at his office and bring the baby in! Granted, I am literally 1/3 as efficient, but it's something. My husband does web development for a men's online suit warehouse (The Suit Depot). We don't make a ton between us, so we have to be frugal with our fundage. This will come in handy for YOU... I'll give you tips and tricks on how to save money, where you can save money, and where you shouldn't (the whole 'get what you pay for' thing).
I'll be sharing what we go through with our little guy (a.k.a. Booboo Man, Booboo, ChukChuk, Tinoki Matoki). Trust me, when you know that something your baby is going through is normal, you breathe a lot easier. I have a few mommy groups on Facebook that I am a part of and THANK GOODNESS. We commiserate, share stories, frustrations, photos, laugh and cry together.
I'll probably also throw in some random stories, jokes, pictures, and complaints -- whatever I feel like. If you don't like an entry, don't read it. :D
If you have any questions, comments, or arguments, please feel free to share. If you have any suggestions as to how I can be even more frugal and smart, please let me know! I'll appreciate it, and I know my husband will as well.
Let's begin.
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