Another theory

Connor's rash is almost all gone again. I came up with another theory on what is causing it. I really don't think it's regular diaper rash just because of where it is and how it looks. Plus switching to disposables gets rid of it. I really think it's his pee reacting with the soap because it's happening right where his diapers get the most wet. We change him at MOST every three hours because that's as long as he sleeps.

But like I said, I came up with another theory. We use cold water in our washing machine. That's it, just cold, no hot at all because it's not even hooked up. Well, cold water doesn't rinse as well as hot water, which means that no matter how many times I rinse, there could still be soap on them. Chris has extremely sensitive skin and I have a mild allergy to soap just like my mom, so this makes sense.

In any case, two women offered to send me some all-in-one and pocket diapers that their babies have grown out of. These are better because they have a layer in them that pulls the moisture away from the skin and they aren't as bulky so no wet fabric is touching his thighs. So we'll try these for a while and see what happens, and Chris will hook up hot water to the washer. In the meantime, I'll be going to the laundry mat to do an extra hot rinse with all of the diapers. We have a big enough stash so I only have to do laundry every 3 or 4 days, so this won't be a huge deal. They have a front loader there that will hold as much as I can carry. In a pinch I can even rinse them myself in the sink or shower, plus we still have disposables on hand.

Yes, I am insanely dedicated to cloth diapering. I know you all think I'm crazy, but these bumps in the road are worth it to me. Besides, you love me anyway. ;)

One more thing. I'm going to be selling the rest of his newborn clothes on craigslist probably tomorrow sometime. If anyone wants first dibs, I think I'm going to ask $25 for the whole lot. It's a Target bag full of boy stuff (onesies, rompers, sleepers, and sleep sacks), most of it was never even worn. I would just give it away, but I already gave away all of the gender neutral stuff and I really need a few more things in 3-6 month size for him. I have enough to get by until laundry day, but I really do need a few more pieces. So that's the only reason I'm selling them instead of just passing them down. If you want them or know someone with a newborn boy, these are some seriously great clothes.

Another bathtime picture:

One of his new cloth diapers:

Big boy, eating habits, smiles, and cloth diapers

In just about 12 hours Connor will be a month old. I can't wait until his appointment on the 17th to have him weighed. His has grown SO much. A friend of mine has a baby who is 6 weeks older than Connor, and they are almost the same size. It's crazy.

He is really moving along developmentally too. He is holding his head up really good. He doesn't have a lot of control over it yet, but he is really trying. He's starting to play with his toys too. If we put a toy in his hand he will shake it around to make it make noise. If we put one near him when he's laying down, or hold it above his head, he bats at it. He's been doing this for about a week and a half now. He focuses on us and even follows us around with his whole head if we walk by. He's even really watching things across the room even though everyone says he can only see 18 inches in front of his face.

He's really starting to smile too. At first I kept telling everyone it was gas or sleepiness because I didn't want to get my hopes up too high. But I've seen a couple of them that were clearly smiles. His whole face lights up. It's really amazing to watch. He hasn't found his feet yet, but his hands are a constant source of entertainment.

We did end up moving to a bottle. Part of me is sad, but it was just too much for me mentally. I know that I could have struggled through it, but I felt like I was missing those first weeks of him that I would never get back and it was making me very sad. But now we're both much happier and he is obviously VERY healthy! We're using Enfamil Lipil with iron, and he almost never spits up with it so we got lucky with the first brand we tried. He eats like a champ too. He's up to about 4 ounces per feeding now, and he's eating at least every 3 hours.

We hit a bump in the road with the cloth diapers, but I'm pretty sure we're past it. We've been making our own laundry soap for over a year now, and I read somewhere that it was good for diapers. (Some soaps clog up the fibers in cloth diapers and make them lose their absorbency) Well, it looks like something in the soap was reacting with his urine and gave him a nasty burn-like rash on his thighs. Poor little guy. I stripped the soap out of them and we have a new laundry detergent now that I've heard good things about from dozens of cloth diapering moms. So, since he looks all healed up now, we'll be going back to cloth tomorrow.