Nappies discussion

I used disposables all the way with my two daughters, couldn't care less about the planet. By the time you count in the time spent, the detergent and the power used to wash cloth nappies in the washing machine the cost probably is not that much different to if you just used disposables. And the disposables are so much more reliable, not prone to leaks as cloth ones and softer on baby's bum too.
I'm getting a bit sick and tired of the breastfeeding-cloth-nappy-mother-nutrition- -watch Nazi brigade. They and their bullshit is capable of putting first time mothers into a state of PND.

it's no different to the women who insist that the only way to birth is the hippy, no-doctor, no-drugs approach

people seem to insist that once they have done it the "hard" way, then to justify that pain or whatever, everyone else should also suffer

whatever works I reckon!

Donkeycheese wrote:whatever works I reckon!

Most sensible thing a male has said all day.

I'm getting grief from our family because of the way we'll be looking after our baby already and it's not bloody even here.

Waireka wrote:

Donkeycheese wrote:whatever works I reckon!

Most sensible thing a male has said all day.

I'm getting grief from our family because of the way we'll be looking after our baby already and it's not bloody even here.

was watching something recently that said the reason parents start toilet training, often too early, is because they get grief from the grandparents.

Congrats by the way Wai - you will get grief from everyone, everywhere for how you view the way you raise your kids. We made a decision about disposable nappies to ensure that everything was as easy as possible, until we found our groove. Now that we have found said groove, we have number 2 on the way (and I don't mean a dump) so that will change everything.

Donkeycheese wrote:

Waireka wrote:

Donkeycheese wrote:whatever works I reckon!

Most sensible thing a male has said all day.

I'm getting grief from our family because of the way we'll be looking after our baby already and it's not bloody even here.

was watching something recently that said the reason parents start toilet training, often too early, is because they get grief from the grandparents.

Congrats by the way Wai - you will get grief from everyone, everywhere for how you view the way you raise your kids. We made a decision about disposable nappies to ensure that everything was as easy as possible, until we found our groove. Now that we have found said groove, we have number 2 on the way (and I don't mean a dump) so that will change everything.

Oh wow! Congrats!

We're actually moving, about 30 minutes south of here, right by hubbys work and his club 'to make it easier', but I wont lie, a huge part of that decision is so we don't have to raise our baby right under the nose of hubbys family.

My MIL goes on about how her other DIL used to leave the babies in the room to cry themselves to sleep. How another DIL can't breastfeed, but should.

Mind you this is the lady who said I wasn't supporting my husband (and convinced him of this) when I was working 12 hours a day 6 days a week, pulling in a lot more money than him. Apparently after my day at work I was supposed to make a full meal, clean the house and worship him...

Okay... /vent

Waireka wrote:

Apparently after my day at work I was supposed to make a full meal, clean the house and worship him...

Okay... /vent

I get the feeling you see something wrong in what the MIL has said???
Oh the arguments of the breeders! Birthing (drugs, no drugs, c-section, waterbirth), Feeding (only boobs, no boobs, some boobs, someone else's boobs), Nappies (as above), Sleeping (do I leave child to cry or not)?

Whilst we do have our own way, it is only our way because it worked for us. My cousin had twins. She still gets up to them up to 4 times a night - but usually only once per child. Now, that scares me senseless - but my cousin is happy. She doesn't mind at all, and is so laid back with it.

So, what is right? The way that everyone else tells you, or the way that works for you all. I am jealous of the compassion and patience my cousin has. We did things different with Zach not because it was bst for him - but because it was best for my sanity!

We've made those decisions already and we aren't even pregnant... cloth nappies at home, disposables out and about. I figure that if my mother could do it, so can I... but she was cloth all the way. What is "too early to potty train"? I don't know about me, but my little sister was done and trained at 18 months. I am pretty sure that was close to the business for all of us... except Matthew, health wouldn't allow.

Psalter wrote:We've made those decisions already and we aren't even pregnant... cloth nappies at home, disposables out and about. I figure that if my mother could do it, so can I... but she was cloth all the way. What is "too early to potty train"? I don't know about me, but my little sister was done and trained at 18 months. I am pretty sure that was close to the business for all of us... except Matthew, health wouldn't allow.

too early is when kids are pressured into it, and end up having more accidents as a result. Zach's not trained yet - we tried for a while, but he wasn't in to it. We left it as everything he had done in his own time, so we'll try again soon and see what happens.

we only use disposable nappies - we wanted to do what you planned Psalter, but got too lazy. Convenience, when you are pressed for time, is a strong motivator.

Note for all the rest of you: I am very biased, so when I say my kid is the best, I mean it

Donkeycheese wrote:too early is when kids are pressured into it, and end up having more accidents as a result. Zach's not trained yet - we tried for a while, but he wasn't in to it. We left it as everything he had done in his own time, so we'll try again soon and see what happens.

My nephew trained himself... I blame the SIL for not using the toilet door.

Mind... this is the kid who took off his nappy, looked at his crap and promptly vomitted all over it. Adorable.



^^ That's him.

Ah, I'm very sure about the convenience thing... very sure. I already go out of my way and do inconvenient things for the sake of our planet though... I don't begrudge people who don't, I just am internally motivated somehow. On our honeymoon we visited spirit bay up north for about an hour, I spent the whole time picking up rubbish (4 shopping bags).

I'm kind of a geek.

Thankfully, those years are well and truly behind me, and at the end of them, the best advice I ever give a new Mum is to do whatever is right for YOU, within reason of course!

With my first child, I was one of those 'La Leche League' Mum's, determined to breast feed on demand, and used cloth nappies. With my second child, I was a wee bit more realistic, but still bogged down with breast feeding on demand. By the time I got to my third, still wanted to breast feed, but wouldn't do so just when he demanded it. Instead, I tried to get him into a reasonable routine, which did involve having to let him cry at times, and I would use a combination of disposables and cloth nappies. I was pretty much the same with my fourth child, but when it came to the twins, that was a whole 'nother ball game! It was a case of having to be realistic!

Yes, I breastfed them both for about 4 1/2 months, but I also gave them one bottle each week (during the night so my hubby could get up to them instead of me) so that they would be used to one if I got to the point where the breastfeeding was too much for me, which it eventually did. The transition from breast to bottle was a simple one as a result, and it is something I would recommend to all breastfeeding Mum's ~ one bottle a week isn't going to do any harm and will not impact on their ability to suck properly. Dang, that sounds like an odd thing to say

It was also disposable nappies all the way with the twins, with cloth nappies only there as a backup for times when I might run out of the cloth ones.

Regarding potty/toilet training, it was something that I always let the child do in their own time, but with encouragement from myself, not pressure.

When it comes to actually giving birth, all methods have their drawbacks, with a lot of pain being the obvious one for natural birthing. Pethadine (sp?) is probably only good fairly early on in labour, Gas can sometimes make you nauseous/vomit, and the Epidural can affect your ability to push, which can lead to the use of forceps. I think the most important thing you can do is to have a birthing plan which covers all possibile scenarios, including if a Caesarian is needed, and what you want to do in each scenario. Having said that, don't get too adamant about the birthing plan, otherwise you can feel disappointed when you end up not following it.

Gawd, I've waffled on too much already! As you were!

Tikva wrote:Thankfully, those years are well and truly behind me, and at the end of them, the best advice I ever give a new Mum is to do whatever is right for YOU, within reason of course!

With my first child, I was one of those 'La Leche League' Mum's, determined to breast feed on demand, and used cloth nappies. With my second child, I was a wee bit more realistic, but still bogged down with breast feeding on demand. By the time I got to my third, still wanted to breast feed, but wouldn't do so just when he demanded it. Instead, I tried to get him into a reasonable routine, which did involve having to let him cry at times, and I would use a combination of disposables and cloth nappies. I was pretty much the same with my fourth child, but when it came to the twins, that was a whole 'nother ball game! It was a case of having to be realistic!

Yes, I breastfed them both for about 4 1/2 months, but I also gave them one bottle each week (during the night so my hubby could get up to them instead of me) so that they would be used to one if I got to the point where the breastfeeding was too much for me, which it eventually did. The transition from breast to bottle was a simple one as a result, and it is something I would recommend to all breastfeeding Mum's ~ one bottle a week isn't going to do any harm and will not impact on their ability to suck properly. Dang, that sounds like an odd thing to say

It was also disposable nappies all the way with the twins, with cloth nappies only there as a backup for times when I might run out of the cloth ones.

Regarding potty/toilet training, it was something that I always let the child do in their own time, but with encouragement from myself, not pressure.

When it comes to actually giving birth, all methods have their drawbacks, with a lot of pain being the obvious one for natural birthing. Pethadine (sp?) is probably only good fairly early on in labour, Gas can sometimes make you nauseous/vomit, and the Epidural can affect your ability to push, which can lead to the use of forceps. I think the most important thing you can do is to have a birthing plan which covers all possibile scenarios, including if a Caesarian is needed, and what you want to do in each scenario. Having said that, don't get too adamant about the birthing plan, otherwise you can feel disappointed when you end up not following it.

Gawd, I've waffled on too much already! As you were!

Zach was routine baby!!! 4 hours - and he is still a bloody alarm clock. His Mum was a bit on the dry side when it came to milk, so we bottle fed as well. I got to do the 10pm one myself, which was when I got him all to me.

If anyone is in Auckland and thinking about a c-section, there are lectures/talks at Auckland Hospital - free - and they have a doctor talk to you. It was hilarious watching all the people show up with their preconceptions that had been drilled into them from their hairy-hippy antenatal classes!

Birth Plan = we wrote one, and were told to take it to the hospital and throw it away on the way in, as no one ever sticks to them anyway!!

Donkeycheese wrote:it's no different to the women who insist that the only way to birth is the hippy, no-doctor, no-drugs approach

people seem to insist that once they have done it the "hard" way, then to justify that pain or whatever, everyone else should also suffer

whatever works I reckon!

Madie (SC) comes to mind when reading that.

Both mine were natural, first time because I was being a stubborn bitch and by the time I gave it up...it was too late anyway, and considering it went for 23 hours, I should have just taken the damn drugs when I had the chance. Second, well...I was just glad I didn't have to give birth the car park like my midwife was insisting that I should, because she didn't think I would be able to get to the delivery suite in time, and a car is better than pavement apparently. The arse of that though, was that I had to get a spinal AFTER having her naturally. Fair? I think not.
Birth plans are useless, I was told to use them as a guide, but don't really have too many expectations, you never really know what's going to happen and when it feels like the baby is taking an axe to your insides, all the romantic "birth is a miracle, I am woman, I have a vagina, hear me roar, blah blah blah" ideals about natural birth get chucked out the window anyway.

Having kids seems to place you into a group where every other person (with kids or without) can comment on what you're doing. My (ex) MIL made snide comments when my first was put on a bottle at 3 months, and then also got her tits in a twist when I breast-fed my second, and whinged that she couldn't feed her a bottle. Can't win.

Blah blah blah.

I did cloth nappies twice until I couldn't be bothered any more... (kid 1 got too active and they loosened up too easily at about 8 months old and I went back to work earlier with kid 2 and didn't want to do extra washing/folding, plus I had more money for buying disposables). I'm assuming with kid 3 (due in a couple of weeks) it'll be the same. If we ever get round to buying any cloths that is!

Breastfeeding... kid 1 had a bottle at night because I wanted to sleep and the bottle made her less likely to wake up (lol) and the rest of the time I breastfed... until she bit me too often - bout 6 months. Kid 2 was breastfed exclusively (not on demand - what are you nuts?) until I got sick of waking up at 3am to express before work, and then he got formula. Kid 3... who knows. Time will tell.

Just go with the flow, says I. AS long as all decisions are informed ones, eh?

canterella wrote:I used disposables all the way with my two daughters, couldn't care less about the planet. By the time you count in the time spent, the detergent and the power used to wash cloth nappies in the washing machine the cost probably is not that much different to if you just used disposables. And the disposables are so much more reliable, not prone to leaks as cloth ones and softer on baby's
bum too.
I'm getting a bit sick and tired of the breastfeeding-cloth-nappy-mother-nutrition- -watch Nazi brigade. They and their bullshit is capable of putting first time
mothers into a state of PND.

I always looked forward to being the mum who hung out all the nappies on the line with the little singlets and socks etc...I think that lasted less then a week, and disposables it was, and never looked back...No rashes, leakages etc...Back then (1984), they were about 8 bucks for a pack of 20, and they were the basic range...

I have a few friends who followed the major rules from a book about pregnancy...Those friends were horrified that I ate chicken and fish and everything else that was a no-no for them, whilst carrying, and these same friends brought their babies up according to someones book...I wanted to slap some of those friends at times for their ludicousy...

Blank

Oh gawd, that takes me back a few years, Diaz!!! I intensely hated those kind of discussions with other mothers, where all it seemed they wanted to do was one-up each other. I was never one of those mothers who would join any of those groups specifically for them either. If I made the effort to get myself organised to go out, it would be to do something I actually enjoyed, not get together with other Mums to talk about the same thing I was living on a daily basis. I'd much rather get out and talk about anything BUT motherhood and kids.