Baby E - First solid Poo

Baby E has had his first solid poo. Strike up the band, grab a drink and celebrate. It happened at the weekend and was quite a memorable event. I had been anticipating this moment for a while, and was quite excited about it happening. In my mind it means the end of leaky nappies, no more poo running onto clothes, car seats, laps or floors. I will never forget the time I took Baby E to the cinema and thought his nappy had leaked poo on my leg. This is not ideal in any situation, and especially pertinent when you are in a dark environment and you have to squeeze past half a dozen other mums with wriggling babies to make your way to the changing facilities. Thankfully, on that occasion it was just a pool of baby sick in my lap, I was relieved it was not a repeat of Christmas Day when his nappy leaked all over my finest clothes and my mothers table linen!

Despite this, I was apprehensive about the conversion from runny poo to solid poo. I had recently witnessed my friends little boy straining and stressing about his solid poo. The poor baby had to squeeze out mini boulders from his small bottom. My friend 'Man Bag' and his wife spent most of a day with their screaming constipated baby. This was not on my agenda of things to do this spring, and I am pleased to say we have not had to join them yet in the game of how to get giant poo out of a tiny baby's bottom. Ouch!

Baby E had not given me the delights of his morning poo on Saturday, so I was expecting the largest, widest spreading poo in the world ever. A poo that was far reaching from his knees up to his neck, and when he finally made his usual grunting noises after his 4pm feed I prepared myself. Fearing this may be a poo requiring two adults to start the clearing up process (one for the head end to stop the grabby hands from smearing poo all over his body, and surrounding furniture), I ventured upstairs rather despondently on my own to the changing mat. It was a bank holiday weekend so my Fabulous Boyfriend had volunteered to take some things to the tip (what else would he rather do on the hottest day of the year???). I was pleasantly surprised to find a little lump of soft poo in Baby E's nappy, and not the fast moving korma like poo that is normally there. This would be easy I thought. A quick little wipe with some washable wipes and we were finished ... or so I thought.

'Good Boy Baby E' I said smiling, 'you have done a big boys poo ... have you finished?'
As I reached for a new clean nappy he silently squeezed out more poo onto the changing mat.
'Good boy, you had some more poo' and I wiped this up with the washable wipes again.
'Good boy, you had some more poo', and I am sure you can guess what happened next ... more poo!
This little game went on another 4 or 5 times, until I had a neat little pile of washable wipes with lumps of poo on them. Baby E looked so proud, he was able to please Mummy now with both pooing and weeing on request. It then occurred to me and my small baby brain that washable wipes may not have been the wisest choice for solid poo. What am I to do with little towelling wipes matted with poo? I was not sure my 10 year old washing machine would cope with something so well formed.

Ah, I remembered something I had read. The washable nappies and wipes are made so the poo just 'falls off' if you stretch them over the toilet. With Baby E dressed and safely sat in his floor rocker, I began the simple task of stretching shaking the wipes over the toilet. This was easier said than done, and resulted in soft poo splattered all over the toilet bowl, and rather unfortunately my hands. I had not bargained for this. It is one thing to get the sweet smelling runny baby poo on my hands, but a whole other matter when it is solid grown up poo, even more so when it is solidt rown up poo that is not your own!

Sadly my small baby brain did not learn from this, and today we had our second grown up solid poo incident. This time I learnt my lesson and used disposable wipes, however at the time of pooing, Baby E was wearing a washable nappy. 'It will be OK' I thought, I just have to stretch and shake the nappy over the toilet. It will be different than the wipes as the organic velour lining was made especially so the poo would just fall off. Who was I trying to kid? The result of course was more poo on my hands and not so much in the toilet. I tried using some toile paper to pick off the poo but this was no more successful and so I was beaten once again. I need a plan. Clearly I do not want to use disposables all the time, and it is not always possible to predict when Baby E is going to poo. I need to find a way to solve the solid poo in washable nappy situation. I most certainly do not want a repeat event of poo on hands again. I am hoping the answer is flushable nappy liners. So far they have not porved very successful, however maybe with solid poo they will come into their own.

On another poo note, Baby E has a new 'I'm pooing' face. Gone are the grunts and strains of runny poo that we all think are rather unnecessary. The new solid poo needs a silent more controlled pose with pouting lips and a stare fit for practicing the yoga relaxation golden thread breathing. Maybe all those weeks of practicing yoga while pregnant have rubbed off onto Baby E as well. And relax!

Leaking Nappies

I love using my Washable Nappies. I feel good knowing what I am putting next to Baby E's bottom. He has been free from nappy rash, and never had any problems.

Some days, no matter what type of nappies he is wearing, washable nappies or eco-friendly disposable nappies Baby E seems to have leaking nappies all day. Yesterday was one of those days, where it seemed that every washable nappy he wore leaked. We had four leaking nappies throughout the day, and to go with that four changes of clothes, and four period of unhappy crying Baby E.

Each leaky nappy could not have come at a worse moment.

Leaky Nappy 1. During Baby E's morning nap. This meant waking him up early as he was wet and cold.
Leaky Nappy 2. During a lovely walk around the country lanes. This meant crying baby who would only stop if he was carried all the way home, this is not easy as I still had to push the push-chair. This could have been solved by taking spare nappies out with me!
Leaky Nappy 3. During Baby E's afternoon nap. Oh no! Not again! This time Baby E woke early from his nap and was not impressed with being wet.
Leaky Nappy 4. During play time. This was minimal as Baby E just had to wait a moment to be changed and then he could carry on playing with his lovely toys.

I am hoping it was just one of those days, and am grateful it was only a full wet nappy and not a dirty nappy.

Maybe now Baby E is eating more, and drinking more he will be filling his nappies quicker. Only time will tell.

Real Nappy Week

Real Nappy Week seems to have passed me by. Real Nappy Week 2009 ran from 27th April - 3rd May. I had every intention of picking up some bargains in the sales and discount offers that some of the websites were offering.

I already have about 18 washable Nappies, however there is a part of me that thinks I need more. I have some that I love more than others, and I think this is my motivation to purchase more Washable Nappies so that I don't have to use the ones I am not so fond of.

I keep running over in my head the reasons why I should buy more Washable Nappies
1. I have only 12 Washable Nappies that I enjoy using and this is not enough to use Washable Nappies full time.
2. One of these Washable Nappies is a small size, and Baby E will soon be too big for it. The rest are 'Birth to Potty' Washable Nappies so will always fit.
3. I have 3 Nappies that I prefer not to use. They are big and bulky and do not provide the level of absorbency and containment that you would expect. They are always used last when the other Washable Nappies are in the wash.
4. Baby E is going to the Childminder full time from the middle of July. I do not have time to wash my Washable Nappies as much when I am at work all day. I will need more for Baby E to stay in Washable Nappies when he is at the Childminder, so I can wash them less often.
5. I will be buying more Washable Nappies for my next baby, so it will be more cost effective to use them on Baby E as well therefore saving money in the long run.
6. I can claim some of the money back from my local council who have a grant scheme for people who buy Washable Nappies.

Then there are the reasons why I do not need to by more Washable Nappies
1. I have managed for 5 months with the Washable Nappies I have, so there is no reason why I need more.
2. I buy Eco-Friendly Disposable Nappies Nature Babycare Nappies which are 100% biodegradable. We currently use these at night or when we are away on holiday. We could use these at the Childminders if the Washable Nappies are in the wash.
3. My income is now down to SMP, so we have less money to spend on extravagant purchases like more Washable Nappies. We need the money to buy food!
4. I can apply for the local council Nappy grant to help pay for the Nappies I already have.
5. Missing the fabulous discounts available for real Nappy week is a sign that I should not be buying more Washable Nappies. I have saved myself money.

So for now I shall be resisting my urges to buy more Washable Nappies. I will keep reminding myself that I don't need them, and at the moment I don't have enough money to justify buying them. Maybe when I go back to work!

Baby E Typical Day at 16 Weeks

At 16 weeks old Baby E's current typical day is below

6.30am - 7.00am Wakes up and plays in crib.
7.30am Nappy Change (wet and dirty). Breast Feeding, supplementing with formula if required (rarely required)
8.00am Playing
9.00-10.00am Nap
10.00am Nappy Change (wet), Breast Feeding, supplementing with formula if required.
10.30am Nappy Change (Dirty and Wet)
10.45am Playing
11.30 Walk in the pushchair usually taking a nap
1.00pm Nappy change (wet), Breast feeding, supplementing with formula
1.30pm Playing
2.00pm Nap
3.00pm Nappy Change, Playing
4.00pm Breast Feeding, supplementing with formula
4.30pm Playing
6.30pm Bath
7.00pm 7oz Formula Feed and Bed
10.30pm Nappy Change, 7oz Formula Feed and back to Bed



Playing

Play involves kicking, sucking, chewing on hands and toys (both his and anyone Else's), tummy time, sitting up (supported), singing songs (row row row your boat, teddybears picnic, I know and old lady), naked playing (rolling around), reading books (that's not my bear, Ten in the Bed).

My Washable Nappies

Early on in my pregnancy, I made the decision to use Washable Nappies on Baby E. I knew very little about them, but knew I wanted to limit landfill and use the most natural products on Baby E's bottom. I am not the most adept user of the Internet, and so enlisted the help of my sister-in-law R who was on maternity leave.

Together we embarked on a journey of discovery into the world of Washable Nappies. I quickly learned there are many types of Washable Nappy to chose from, and with so many on the market I wanted to ensure I bought the best for Baby E. I found lots of websites giving good information and advice, however it all seemed quite alien to me. I had never changed a nappy in my life, and so reading about Washable Nappies could be quite confusing at times.

I found lots of reviews on-line of Washable Nappies, however nothing to tell me which I would prefer. In choosing which Washable Nappy to use, I decided to buy lots of different brands of Washable Nappies to see which one I thought best. I am glad I did this, as the performance and fit is quite varied.

Here is a list of the Washable Nappies I purchased. I did not want to be a part time Washable Nappy user, intending to start from when Baby E was born, therefore I bought the below Washable Nappies which the web-sites told me were small enough to use from birth.

1. Easy Peasy Quick Dry Bimble
2. Nature Babies - Diddy Diaper
3. Bambinex - Teddy
4. Minki Huggle
5. Hip Hip Baby - Real Easy Nappy (AIO = All in one washable nappy including of waterproof wrap)
6. Swaddlebees Organic Sized Nappy

Most of the above Washable Nappies need a Waterproof Wrap, I bought the below types.

1. Motherease Airflow Wrap
2. TotsBots PUL Wrap
3. Nature Babies Wrap

Being careful with my money, I wanted to get the maximum use out of my Washable Nappies for the money I spent, therefore I chose to buy AIO Birth to Potty Washable Nappies. These Washable Nappies have adjustable poppers which give the perfect fit from 10lb to potty training. I bought the below types.

1. Hip Hip baby Wonderoos.
2. Bumgenius 3.0
3. Blueberry Minky
4. Swaddlebees Econappy
5. Modern Baby
6. Nature Baby Stuffable
7. Tiny Touch Elite
8. Mommys Touch

Not being the type to stop at Washable Nappies, I also bought some washable baby wipes.
1. Value Wipes
2. Minky Wipes

Finally I finished off with some Washable Breast Pads
1. Swaddlebees Washable Breast Pads
2. Avent Washable Breast Pads
3. Mothercare Washable Breast Pads

Watch this space to see how I get on using them, and what I thought of the reviews!!!!