I always had a particularly vulnerable spot in my heart for children in need. I've failed to do much about it so far, using the usual excuse of 'What difference could I possibly make?' I know it's lame and the guilt of being a perfectly capable person who does nothing is wasted. So when I fell upon an opportunity to donate in a really easy way, I took it.
Huggies has a rewards program aimed at promoting exclusive consumerism of their products and tracking where their products are purchased. I know Pampers has a similar program. The Huggies 'Enjoy the Ride Rewards' program bestows upon a consumer points for every product purchased. The Pure and Natural diapers confers 15 points. You go to the website, sign up, and insert your product code. Points are saved on the site and you can earn more points by watching propaganda video, playing games or reading articles.
Points can be used to enter sweepstakes, play games with prizes such as gift cards and coupon books, or toward the purchase of items. I didn't realize until recently that I could donate those points toward providing diapers for a child in need. Considering the public sanitation and individual child health risks associated with not using diapers or reusing old diapers, I thought this was a pretty good deal. By donating 16 of my points I provide a day's worth of diapers. Simple, easy and a worthy use of points that hadn't done much for me otherwise.
This isn't a sacrificial sort of helping that makes you feel good deep down, but it is helping. I get the points by purchasing something I need anyway. Why let them go to waste doing nothing at all, playing silly games or entering sweepstakes, when I can use them toward something that will tangibly help someone else? I bring this up because it isn't the sort of thing a new mom is using energy thinking about. We get so caught up in surviving our day, providing for our families and managing our own wants and needs that we miss the little opportunities to help. I urge you to look into the products you purchase or the websites you frequent and see if there is an equally easy way you can make a difference.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Rash Saga Update
I hate to admit it, but with exclusive use of the Huggies, MLO's rash has all but disappeared. He has a mottled pink look to his entire diaper area, but the rash is a far cry from the raised, red, angry looking skin he had while wearing his 7th Generations and prefolds. Curses! I loved the relative sustainability of the 7th Generation diapers and the prefolds. While I'm afraid we will never return to the 7th Generation disposables, I am determined to find my way back to cloth diapers. Wish us luck and please comment with any recommendations or ideas.
On another note, I purchased some Desitin 'instant relief' cream, thinking that would mitigate the residual redness. After 2 applications his diaper area broke out something awful in a bright red rash. Desitin states clearly on their packaging that their creams are hypoallergenic, so this confirms our suspicion that MLO just has super sensitive skin. Honestly, it may not have anything to do with the Desitin, but I don't want a repeat of this redness so I'll never know. Ugh.
On another note, I purchased some Desitin 'instant relief' cream, thinking that would mitigate the residual redness. After 2 applications his diaper area broke out something awful in a bright red rash. Desitin states clearly on their packaging that their creams are hypoallergenic, so this confirms our suspicion that MLO just has super sensitive skin. Honestly, it may not have anything to do with the Desitin, but I don't want a repeat of this redness so I'll never know. Ugh.
Back to the Grind
We have teeth! Well, we have the very top of a tooth barely piercing the gums and another not far behind. MLO chomped down on my knuckle this morning and I felt a sharp bit. After 4 months of occasional unexplained fussiness, near constant gum rubbing and drooling, I welcome the confirmation of dental development. I never expected the process to take so long.
In the last few days MLO has also started to register the word 'No'....
In the last few days MLO has also started to register the word 'No'....
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Finding Out
Now and again I post something about what our little family has been through leading up to the present. In keeping with that, I wanted to share some thoughts I wrote down a little over a year ago.
If I had remembered that I had a journal titled "The Big Moment Book" I would have made an entry on July 19th, 2009. That was the day I decided to buy a pregnancy test. I didn't think I was pregnant, I just wanted to rule it out so that I could road-trip to South Dakota and drink with my aunts, uncles and cousins. Hubby had been teasing me about my being pregnant for weeks due to a late period and a sour tummy. I kept having these cramps, though, and was positive that my period would come soon. So on July 19th I bought a pregnancy test so that I could drink with a clear conscience.
That night we went to Chili's with my in-laws and I had a gloriously large Margarita. After dinner Hubby's parents went to my brother-in-law's house while he and I went home to finish packing. We were to set out on our 1500 mile road trip the next morning. Once I had completed packing, I went to take my test.
I suddenly felt nervous. The digital stick was supposed to flash 'positive' or 'negative' when the analysis completed. There was a strong part of me that wanted it to flash 'positive', but I hadn't prepared for what that would mean. This was not planned. So I peed on the stick, set it aside to analyze and busied myself with other things. I glanced over once and it was still flashing a results pending sign. When I looked again the display was no longer flashing. The stick had processed my urine and now presented its result. It didn't blink or fade, but had settled resolutely on its answer for me. I stared, shocked, at the bold 'positive' spanning the display. I was pregnant.
I opened the bathroom door and took in Hubby's figure, back turned to me, methodically packing a bag. He didn't even know I had purchased the test. I just started talking. In a shy, rushed, and mildly panicked tone, I said, "So, I bought a pregnancy test today and I just took it..." at this point he stopped packing and turned around to face me with the best deer in the headlights impression I've ever seen, "...and it says I'm pregnant." There was only a moment before he broke out in a huge smile and came to hug me. He was so happy, and I was so happy and relieved that he was happy.
We didn't think I could be that far along, but we wanted so badly to tell our parents. I called mine right away and we told Hubby's folks as soon as they returned. So apparently this is how we do things: we got engaged on a whim, married on a weeks notice, and conceived a child with no prior planning. Go us.
So that brings me to today (October 23rd, 2009). For the last couple of weeks I have been feeling flutters and nudges and my belly has become noticeable. I am now 20 weeks and 1 day along (further than we thought) and we had the immense pleasure of watching our son make chewing movements and roll lazily in my womb. Today was a big day, even bigger than when I first heard his little heart beat so fast on my first visit to the OB. There is no sound better, though, than the sound of his heart. I could listen to that all day. I love this little stranger, and I can't wait until the day I get to hold him in my arms.
Wow. Look how far we've come!
If I had remembered that I had a journal titled "The Big Moment Book" I would have made an entry on July 19th, 2009. That was the day I decided to buy a pregnancy test. I didn't think I was pregnant, I just wanted to rule it out so that I could road-trip to South Dakota and drink with my aunts, uncles and cousins. Hubby had been teasing me about my being pregnant for weeks due to a late period and a sour tummy. I kept having these cramps, though, and was positive that my period would come soon. So on July 19th I bought a pregnancy test so that I could drink with a clear conscience.
That night we went to Chili's with my in-laws and I had a gloriously large Margarita. After dinner Hubby's parents went to my brother-in-law's house while he and I went home to finish packing. We were to set out on our 1500 mile road trip the next morning. Once I had completed packing, I went to take my test.
I suddenly felt nervous. The digital stick was supposed to flash 'positive' or 'negative' when the analysis completed. There was a strong part of me that wanted it to flash 'positive', but I hadn't prepared for what that would mean. This was not planned. So I peed on the stick, set it aside to analyze and busied myself with other things. I glanced over once and it was still flashing a results pending sign. When I looked again the display was no longer flashing. The stick had processed my urine and now presented its result. It didn't blink or fade, but had settled resolutely on its answer for me. I stared, shocked, at the bold 'positive' spanning the display. I was pregnant.
I opened the bathroom door and took in Hubby's figure, back turned to me, methodically packing a bag. He didn't even know I had purchased the test. I just started talking. In a shy, rushed, and mildly panicked tone, I said, "So, I bought a pregnancy test today and I just took it..." at this point he stopped packing and turned around to face me with the best deer in the headlights impression I've ever seen, "...and it says I'm pregnant." There was only a moment before he broke out in a huge smile and came to hug me. He was so happy, and I was so happy and relieved that he was happy.
We didn't think I could be that far along, but we wanted so badly to tell our parents. I called mine right away and we told Hubby's folks as soon as they returned. So apparently this is how we do things: we got engaged on a whim, married on a weeks notice, and conceived a child with no prior planning. Go us.
So that brings me to today (October 23rd, 2009). For the last couple of weeks I have been feeling flutters and nudges and my belly has become noticeable. I am now 20 weeks and 1 day along (further than we thought) and we had the immense pleasure of watching our son make chewing movements and roll lazily in my womb. Today was a big day, even bigger than when I first heard his little heart beat so fast on my first visit to the OB. There is no sound better, though, than the sound of his heart. I could listen to that all day. I love this little stranger, and I can't wait until the day I get to hold him in my arms.
Wow. Look how far we've come!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The Great Diaper Rash Saga
Don't get me wrong, there is nothing great about diaper rash. Red hot skin spanning the entirety of MLO's diaper shrouded nether regions means unhappy baby and guilty feeling parents. We tried Aquaphor, Desitin, Boudreaux's Butt Paste, aloe with lidocaine, anti-eczema lotion, 1% Hydrocortisone and Nystatin (the latter three on recommendation by the Doc) all to no avail. During our battle with this ailment we tried the Huggies Pure and Natural diapers, the 7th Generation diapers and the cloth diapers with the Bioliners (when we used creams) and nothing seemed to work.The rash would subside for a few days only to return with a vengeance. At times it seemed that the creams actually made things worse.
Sitting for a period of time in a car seat, or even just the high chair for a meal, exacerbated the inflammation. In addition to the redness, he had areas of dryness around where his Bummis cover touched his thigh. After I noticed this, I was careful not to let that junction get too tight, but the dryness and irritation persisted. I also noticed that this seemed to become an issue after he learned to crawl and sit. I suspected that some of the irritation was due to chafing, as the areas of redness were not confined to his bottom, but also coincided with places the diaper might rub.
While we switched up the diapers during trips out of town, we never decided to just try the Huggies by themselves for an extended period of time. As you may know from my other posts, our standard was to use the prefold diapers provided by our diaper service at home and the 7th Generation diapers when we were out or travelling for days. Now and then we would sprinkle the Huggies in there, but we never used them exclusively. Hubby and I began to suspect that the relative roughness of the 7th Generation diapers and possibly a component in our diaper service's detergent were the culprits behind this irritation. Being scientists, we decided to experiment.
I got a package of the Huggies and have used them exclusively for the last 8 days. Within a few days the rash was gone. He had some lingering redness and the dryness around his thighs persisted, but the severity has greatly decreased. In the last couple of days his redness as worsened, but it is less generalized and less intense. Throughout this diaper switching I have been applying the anti-eczema lotion when and where he seemed dry at every changing, and of course after every bath. I started to use the Boudreaux's yesterday, although it didn't seem to help. I also have reason to believe he may have a mild allergy to it, so I need to get some Desitin and try that instead.
Now that we seem to have a handle on this issue, we need to decide how to proceed with our original desire to cloth diaper. The first step is to contact our diaper service and let them know about our problem. They may have experienced this kind of issue before, and may have an alternative detergent we could try. However, I suspect that chafing caused as much of a problem as the possible allergy, since exclusive use of the 7th Generation diapers never eased his irritation. Possible alternatives include purchasing very soft prefold diapers or pocket diapers and washing them ourselves using detergent we know works for us. I fear that after making that investment (particularly if we choose the pocket diaper route), the issue will return and we'll end up using the Huggies again. To mitigate our losses, we could buy a day's worth of diapers and try that for a week (doing laundry every night). In that case we will have still purchased 7-10 diapers, and that many pocket diapers would run me close to $200. I find it hard to believe that a day's worth of diapers could cost that much money. Used ones are an option, although then the quality may be low (due to irresponsible use and care) and we've spent money for nothing. Ugh.
Do any of you guys have a recommendation on how we should proceed?
Sitting for a period of time in a car seat, or even just the high chair for a meal, exacerbated the inflammation. In addition to the redness, he had areas of dryness around where his Bummis cover touched his thigh. After I noticed this, I was careful not to let that junction get too tight, but the dryness and irritation persisted. I also noticed that this seemed to become an issue after he learned to crawl and sit. I suspected that some of the irritation was due to chafing, as the areas of redness were not confined to his bottom, but also coincided with places the diaper might rub.
While we switched up the diapers during trips out of town, we never decided to just try the Huggies by themselves for an extended period of time. As you may know from my other posts, our standard was to use the prefold diapers provided by our diaper service at home and the 7th Generation diapers when we were out or travelling for days. Now and then we would sprinkle the Huggies in there, but we never used them exclusively. Hubby and I began to suspect that the relative roughness of the 7th Generation diapers and possibly a component in our diaper service's detergent were the culprits behind this irritation. Being scientists, we decided to experiment.
I got a package of the Huggies and have used them exclusively for the last 8 days. Within a few days the rash was gone. He had some lingering redness and the dryness around his thighs persisted, but the severity has greatly decreased. In the last couple of days his redness as worsened, but it is less generalized and less intense. Throughout this diaper switching I have been applying the anti-eczema lotion when and where he seemed dry at every changing, and of course after every bath. I started to use the Boudreaux's yesterday, although it didn't seem to help. I also have reason to believe he may have a mild allergy to it, so I need to get some Desitin and try that instead.
Now that we seem to have a handle on this issue, we need to decide how to proceed with our original desire to cloth diaper. The first step is to contact our diaper service and let them know about our problem. They may have experienced this kind of issue before, and may have an alternative detergent we could try. However, I suspect that chafing caused as much of a problem as the possible allergy, since exclusive use of the 7th Generation diapers never eased his irritation. Possible alternatives include purchasing very soft prefold diapers or pocket diapers and washing them ourselves using detergent we know works for us. I fear that after making that investment (particularly if we choose the pocket diaper route), the issue will return and we'll end up using the Huggies again. To mitigate our losses, we could buy a day's worth of diapers and try that for a week (doing laundry every night). In that case we will have still purchased 7-10 diapers, and that many pocket diapers would run me close to $200. I find it hard to believe that a day's worth of diapers could cost that much money. Used ones are an option, although then the quality may be low (due to irresponsible use and care) and we've spent money for nothing. Ugh.
Do any of you guys have a recommendation on how we should proceed?
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Sleep Wars: A New Hope
Well MLO skipped his 1 AM wake-up two nights in a row. This change occurred after I let him complain through it a few nights back. I felt dead tired and just didn't have it in me to go down there and change him. The more I thought about it, the more I resolved to simply let him figure it out. Interestingly, he didn't take long to quiet down and drift to sleep: maybe 20 min. This was the first time he has started to fuss in the night and not spend close to an hour complaining. Notably, he didn't scream and ball, he just sort of complained until he didn't. At 4:26 he woke again and I figured he would go back to sleep. He did not. We listened to him whine or ball for an hour before I went down and fed him. That wake-up has been reproducible within the minute for the last couple of nights and he hasn't seemed receptive to working through that. I refuse to listen to him whine and cry for the better part of an hour, so I've decided not to fight that wake-up. He has awakened at that hour fairly consistently over the last couple of months, so I assume he needs to nurse at that time. Considering he eats somewhere between 5:30 and 6:30 in the evening, 10-11 hours between meals seems about right.
As I look back on the last 8 months and our sleep (or lack there of), I realize that MLO and I slowly dropped a feeding at a time when he was ready; when I tried to push it things went sour. I broke out of sleep deprivation in about the 4th month, and have been working toward a solid 6 hours since then. It seems we have finally made it, although things could change, especially considering that he hasn't started to cut teeth yet. Obviously, I'll keep you posted.
As I look back on the last 8 months and our sleep (or lack there of), I realize that MLO and I slowly dropped a feeding at a time when he was ready; when I tried to push it things went sour. I broke out of sleep deprivation in about the 4th month, and have been working toward a solid 6 hours since then. It seems we have finally made it, although things could change, especially considering that he hasn't started to cut teeth yet. Obviously, I'll keep you posted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)