sort of green baby (so far)

updat on how things sre going on the green baby front:

1. love love LOVE my baby toiletries, especially the bum cream. her poor little crack was getting so red and rashy and in thirteen years she will probably die of embarrassment that her mother mentioned her bottom on the internet. the bum cream came out just the way i wanted it, soft and creamy and hallelujah IT WORKS. she still has a bit of rash (something i am attributing more to the 'sposies than the cream, more on those in a moment) but the majority of it cleared up within a day. i also love the lotion, it is nice and light and not greasy or anything. her feet were a little flaky for some reason and the lotion is very nice on them. and she got her first bath the other day with mom's lavender soap and i am happy to say her skin is as sweet and soft as before. (the evils of soap is a myth perpetuated by cosmetics companies, imho.)

2. love love LOVE her cloth wipes. we have been using them with solution sometimes and just water sometimes, and both i love. sometimes i microwave them for 20-30 seconds so they are warm on her bottom. my mother made them out of an old flannel sheet she had, just cut out squares and serged the edges. they're like little soft washcloths and much more effective than store-bought wipes, maybe because they have a little more texture. the solution i put in a spray bottle for easy dispensing, i also got a mini spray bottle for the diaper bag. so convenient. the only thing with the solution is, i started leaving the calendula oil out of the recipe. i know the idea is that it makes the wipe a little slippery (and thus suposedly easier to use) but it doesn't seem to get on the wipes anyway and they seem to be fine without it. unless i could figure out how to keep it in solution with the water, i think it will stay out. normally one would use polysorbate 20, but i'd rather stay away from the synthetic stuff for the moment.

3. not completely discouraged by breastfeeding, it's getting better. i tried pumping yesterday for the first time and can i just say, GET A HANDS-FREE PUMP. i have a medela pump in style which i thought worked pretty awesome, granted i have only used it the once but DAYUM i got 4½ ounces out of it in the one sitting. maybe that is not awesome but it was to my uneducated mind. i was so proud to see that little bottle sitting there in my fridge. my, how my priorities have changed. but, HECK. how in the world are you supposed to change the settings et cetera if you are holding both bottles to your boobs? i only have so many hands, people. jaimey, i am taking your advice and cutting up an old bra.

4. cloth diapers. ohh, sigh. not loving them. i think it is more the style/pattern of the diaper than the fact that it is cloth. my mother has been making them and if we are going to continue to use this pattern it is going to need some major tweaking. more elastic in the legs and across the back, but especially in the legs. a bit wider in the crotch, to accomodate the "pad." and the ones she made with plastic liner just don't work... if any flannel gets wet outside the liner, the moisture just seeps all across the outside. the minky/pul ones she made work WAY better. or maybe we just have to find another pattern. i'm not ready to give up on cloth just yet, even though brian insists he "cannot" change her when she is wearing a cloth diaper. in the meantime we are using these new huggies pure & natural 'sposies. as far as 'sposies go i rather like them. they're just so soft. i don't want hannah to wear anything i wouldn't want to wear if i were a baby, and these are just so soft and gentle against her skin.