Sunday, March 02, 2008

Squeak: Sleep and diapers

In other news, the reason we've taken the coming week off is because we're TIRED. Squeak, as much as we love him, is a pain in the butt when it comes to sleeping. He's still nursing, and still waking up every 1-2 hours to nurse. All. Night. Long. And it takes him about 1 hour to fall asleep to begin with. We're not the let-them-cry-it-out kind of people, so that means one of us is in there with him while he unwinds from the day...for an hour. Naps usually take about 15-30 minutes, which isn't too bad, but could be better. He just doesn't fall back to sleep on his own. We've read the No Cry Sl33p Solution and are implimenting many of her suggestions, so it's gotten a teeny bit better, but we're still running on a full year of sleep deprivation. Which started shortly after the year of sleep dep we had with Ms. Niblet (who qualified for EI, initially, because of how poorly she slept).

And, as I'm sure you know, when you're tired, the rest of your life goes down the crapper. The house is a mess, we've both been messing up at work, we forget important things, etc. Chronic sleep dep is a torture technique for a reason, folks. It's driving me crazy, that's for sure.

This week is an attempt to catch up on those things - sleep and housework. Hopefully it will be worth it.

The one thing that makes me smile, besides Squeak himself, are my his diapers. We cloth diaper, and ever since I started researching them, it's become something of a hobby for me. I like to know what's out there, how to troubleshoot, etc. We initially got them for Niblet, which was great because we used a couple months of her diaper allotment for the investment and then ended up with free diapers! They were great for her, except for overnight, and they're great for Squeak. I ended up having to sell our original ones because Squeak was irritated by the polyester lining, and I replaced them with similar ones with cotton lining. And I spent the money getting kickass nighttime diapers for him, as well.

So, since the other day was a rare one where ALL the diapers were clean at once, I decided to take a picture. Here are my lovely pocket diapers, plus one of the night diapers and it's cover (top left). Not shown are a few night diapers and a bunch of prefolds.
You can also see Squeak's tub o' Vanicream off to the right there. We slather that on his body a few times a day to keep the eczema at bay.
And, to prove that we are, in fact, radical, commie dykes, here's a picture of our Red Diaper Baby.
I'll end with a question for all you fellow cloth users. What do you use at night? We've been using Very Baby Simply Nights with a Bummis Super Whisper Wrap cover. When that started leaking, we added a wool wrap over the whole thing. That's been working pretty well, but the diaper is still soaked in the morning. It would be nice to keep his butt a little dryer overnight. I've got a bamboo VBSN coming in the mail, so maybe that will help, but what do you all use?

12 comments:

Kikilia said...

Where do you find Vanicream. I've been trying to find it for my daughter's eczema- but haven't had any luck. We use cetaphil cream currently.

Oh, and I love the pic of his red bum... so cute.

FosterMommy said...

we just recently found it for a good price at hocks.com. We use the pump cream on his body and the lotion on his face.

If you want it from a brick & mortar store, we've found that RiteAid will order it for you through the pharmacy. They can get it next-day, usually.

Daisy Dreams and Doodle Bugs said...

Delurking to say...

Cut up a piece of fleece (I think it's called micro fleece?) and use it as a barrier between his bottom and the dipe.

I LOVVVVVED cloth diapering and now that my daughter is 4 it feels sooooo long ago.

Gosh I think I still have a ton of my stash. LOL I just couldn't let go. It was a total passion.

Laurie

StarfishMom said...

I have read up on skin conditions and such and found that many times eczema is linked to allergies. Has Squeak been tested??? I applaud cloth diapering but I am a sissy! Disposables are so much easier. If I were more organized and could get a load of diapers done every day I think I could but I'm too scared to try!! Kudos to you!!! :)

Clare said...

Hi - i was just going to say what qotc said. (we cloth nappy too btw but use a (in)disposable at night! But Al had dreadful eczema and he is completely clear now that he (and his mama) have given up eggs and wheat which he turns out to be allergic too. It is worth having him tested if you haven't already ....

Amanda said...

I use Kissaluvs with Bummi Whisper Wrap at night, but am having serious sopping wet nighttime diaper issues too...

Are those Haute Pockets, BTW? I have a ton of them and love them - Lily had an issue with the lining in the BGS... she's so sensitive.

ANd I am borderline obsessive about cloth at this point. It's kind of sad, really.

Susan said...

We use two prefolds with a super whisper wrap. LOVE my cloth!

Tricia said...

I miss cotton. We used them for most of the kids- but we also used a diaper service. I loved them.

Julie said...

So glad your back! I have checked weekly to see any news- :) Glad Niblet is doing well and Squeak is growing up! :)

Kerry said...

Feeling the cloth addiction over here as well.

I forget what I used with my son over night, but this time I use a larger pocket stuffed with a toddler prefold and a doubler. The only leaking issues we have had are with paper diapers. Yuck.

With my son I wanted to try everything, but now what I like best are simple prefolds with simple covers. Although I'm still knitting wool covers like mad.

Boo said...

From up above . . . I have seen Vanicream at Costco.

Nice to see you posting again.

Jessa Fee said...

IMHO, there is only one cloth dipe that will do at night: IMSE VIMSE, with any cover (I like Bummis Super Snaps I think they're called?).

Just found your blog and am devouring it albeit in self-interrupted chunks. I can barely stand to read about Niblet and scamper away with my tail between my legs, but come back, practically covering my own eyes.

Thank you for blogging.