Once upon a potty

I admit when I first read through the concept of EC (Elimination Communication) and diaper free methods I scoffed and kept it moving, the cotton diaper aisle was as far as I planned to tread when it came to 'alternative' diapering options. Somehow though I did find myself reading more about EC'ing which basically is learning your baby's potty need cues and putting them on a baby potty seat to catch the results. It seemed logical and sometimes the more off topic something is the more intrigued I become.

However practicality won over my curiosity for its two simple reasons, time consuming.

Now here we are month 7 and counting and curious developments are taking place in the world of output (aka poop / pee):

With more solids it has become more, well, solid. I find it interesting that more often than not mothers start cloth diapering when their babies were older and not as newborns. I found threads few and far between that discussed cloth as early as the hospital and several cloth diapering moms advised not to start until after the meconium passes or later because I wouldn't feel like doing all that in the early weeks plus it would ruin my lovely diapers. Naturally I didn't understand because the concept of keeping the diapers pristine seemed contradictory, I used liners and that was all I needed to combat the meconium phase. The water soluble state of ebf poop and the scentless pee has been the easiest maintenance, even the blowouts and meconium followed by first weeks period of a dozen diapers a day. Messy, yes, but dump whole lot in clothes bag, wash and diaper looks like nothing dramatic, if at all, happened.

Now we have a mud like consistency and sometimes formed output. Since she's still breastfed I suppose that's the reason for this intense err...situation, we have in clean-up. We use biodegradable diaper liners for her pocket diapers because of all the aquaphor we have to use on her skin but I see these are ideal also for this more extensive poop period and onwards. Once soiled the liners are pulled and tossed in the toilet. I've eyed my diaper sprayer and I see this is possibly going to come in handy now too. I'm unsure of the combo of rinse and/or use liners approach but we'll see. My understanding is that once the poop becomes more solid the common steps are to shake the diaper into the toilet, spray with an enzyme like Bac-out or similar to fight stains then toss in laundry bin until wash day. I see our routine is changing but I'm determined to see this through.  

Cue in Bjorn potty, the sweet mini commode now installed our bathroom. While I never did the EC I was seeing the signs of when she might be going. It’s a hit or miss but the same cues that told me she was wet etc. are the ones I honed in on and am seeing more of especially now with this change in consistency. I've also noticed that instead of cleaning up a wet/night drenched diaper that she has been dry and then starts to go only after I start the changing/dress process in the morning so these are the signs amongst other reasons to introduce the potty. My mother, thank the lord, has been a wonderful no nonsense resource in the potty training world. We went to the store together and she suggested I bring Winter. We then pulled out the potties available and let her pick. And pick indeed she did, it was clear which one seemed most comfortable for her. I now immediately put her on the potty once she wakes up and I let her hang out there for about 10 minutes but not so long that she gets agitated or cries. Nothing has made it in so far but as time passes and we get a routine going I do see how eventually the little throne will catch some sort of output.

Wish us luck.

A little more, a little less

I go through Winter's closet and drawers every other week to weed out anything too small, no longer used etc. The steady flow of bags going to donation, to Craig's List and Freecycle has left me with plenty of opportunities to take stock of what was a waste (for us) and what worked so far.

If I had to do it over again, here's my list of a little more a little less:

1) Knitted 'going home' outfit for the hospital
In my euphoria I did succumb to the picture lady before check out and a sweeter looking gender neutral outfit, instead of the prison getup I had on hand, would have been ideal. Which brings me to...

2) A white/cream starter layette
I searched high and lo for gender neutral newborn clothing but there was very little to pull from. Now that I know the various baby clothing brands with more depth perhaps I would have done better but even still having a few more outfits upon arrival home would have been helpful. In retrospect I should have just gotten a layette of all white and cream to start.

3) More bibs
I eyeballed our initial stash of approx. 20 and actually thought that was too much. Little did I know Winter rivaled Old Faithful and until she was about 5 months having closer to 50 on hand would have been the most convenient.

4) Receiving blankets, can't have too many
I've actually used them as nighttime diapers, an extra layer for the bed, the changing table, the boppy, the floor, as a nursing cover, as a wipe, as a towel and the list goes on.

5) Forget the diaper bag
In my case aside from the newborn period the diaper bag has been collecting dust for a good 4+ months. I had gotten 2 others, one to use with my carrier and another I used as my pump bag and I've abandoned those to. I now use my purse to carry my pump and supplies and a regular canvas tote when we go out on the weekends etc for longer periods of time. The tote was $20 on Etsy and though not waterproof etc it is washable. I could have saved the $100 spent and closet space on the other bags had I known this.

6) Snuggle nest
I thought I needed this for co-sleeping and it proceeded to collect dust in the closet for about 6 months until I found another mother who wanted it. Winter's spot of choice is right next to me, no special mini bed needed.

7) Any jumper with feet over 3 months
Completely annoying when you have a long baby with larger feet. I avoid these at all costs.

8) Newborn clothing with snaps
Wished I had more, so convenient.

9) Pacifiers
Boycotted in our home upon sight. I offered, she wasn't interested. More $$$  wasted in getting different ones for her to try.

10) Reusable nursing pads I really enjoyed the Lanacare danish wool ones for the beginning and I should have gotten 2 pair and PLENTY of wool wash to begin with and called it a day.
Instead I tried other brands and did not ever have enough wash or pads to keep them up as often as I needed which resulted in my using the cloth wipes. Not a bad thing but between our cloth diaper wipes and the danish wool pads as a nice back-up that was all I needed.

11) Nursing bras
MAJOR waste in my case. I got one of the nicer brands spending $50+ and a cheaper one around $20 both were uncomfortable and just downright bizarre. The concept seemed necessary and an ideal coping mechanism but it wasn't for me. I'm sure if I kept testing I would have found ones that worked but I started wearing my own usual bras and have never looked back. I don't have the fancy snaps etc but I just fold down and that's that. I'm sure all the handling is wearing them down faster but its a small price to pay for a return to comfort and normalcy.

Just a few observations on the look back.

Peas please?

For such a huge milestone its incredible how little guidance in starting solids there seems to be beyond "begin rice cereal". I suppose if you are buying store bought baby food there is a greater chance at feeling a sense of direction in how to begin because it's labeled by stages etc.

I've chosen to make my own baby food and so far at the end of week one I found applesauce, sweet potatoes and banana were GREAT first foods because they blend smoothly and easily.

Our nemesis at the moment is peas. Such a shame because they are in season at the farmer's market but after 2 batches I admit it just doesn't seem to be coming out fully pureed no matter what. Batch 1: I pulled out everything I had in the arsenal, steaming, blending, food mill, straining, boiling all of it still left me with a lumpy mess I wouldn't serve without my hand hovered over the mobile ready to dial 911 upon entry. But tonight we are closer; I steamed, then blended with water and went ahead and froze the puree that resulted however pausing to serve it because it still had a few soft partial peas throughout.

I just don't get it.

Or maybe I do and just don't realize that's well...as good as it gets.

Thank goodness for 2 very helpful resources:

The Starting Solids forum at Diaper Swappers and a site called Wholesome Baby Foods.

Of course asking friends, family, and other moms etc. will help. I also think it’s interesting how much culture affects this important milestone too and in having a few conversations with moms recently about what they served first etc. it was incredible the range of answers I received. Every one of them were what they felt were right for their baby so I guess with this it’s like everything on this journey. Find your groove and find what's best for you and yours.

So about those peas...is the 3rd try the charm? To be continued...