1+ to advocate for that aquarium! We used it FOREVER with DS and I sure hope this LO likes it just as much (we took it on all of our vacations... and I can also 1+ on the need for spare batteries)!
I have a similar attitude as @chiquita928 when it comes to laundry. Toss it all in (no sorting lights/darks like I do for my own laundry) and whatever survives, survives. DS clothing has enough wear and tear on its own that he ruins it before I ever get the chance to.
@GlitterFish did you use normal settings or delicate? I have been doing everything baby related on delicate (both wash and dry) and haven't noticed any issues yet. And I totally feel you on line drying. My sister line dries all her baby/kids clothes and I don't understand how lol
I have literally the most basic W/D that Home Depot would deliver, so I only have 4 dryer settings: High Heat, Low Heat, Timed (High Heat), and No Heat. I used Low Heat. In the washer, I think I did the regular cycle on cold, because the primary objective was getting a stain out of a hand me down crib comforter. Thankfully that seems to have come out!
Although I didn't get as nasty water as I expected, I will try to add the photos of my bathtub deep clean for anyone else using hand me downs - SOAK THEM! Such a pain, but yuck!
I saw a picture on Facebook of someone who did a bathtub soak of baby clothes that had been hand me downs from a family that smoked...it was insane.
Excuse my ignorance but what is the difference between soaking and running a sanitize cycle on your washer? Do you add detergent to the soak water?
I may be wrong but on my washer I think the sanitize option is to actually sanitize the machine itself, not any clothes. I would bet it varies by washing machine though.
Excuse my ignorance but what is the difference between soaking and running a sanitize cycle on your washer? Do you add detergent to the soak water?
I used the deep clean instructions from fortheloveofclean.com Minimum of 4 hour soak in hot water with detergent, oxiclean, enzyme cleaner, and I also added Biz and Dawn.
I also pre-treated the stains with a dawn/peroxide/baking soda paste.
ETA: I don't have Sanitize on my washer, but I think it just uses the hottest water - if the washer doesn't have a heating element, it's just a longer hot water cycle, I believe.
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@GlitterFish omg!!!!! That is seriously crazy. Now I want to soak all my preowned clothes, even though I've already washed them.
And with the exception of the bedding from my sister, these were all bought at Once Upon a Child, so we're not talking bags from a yard sale or thrift store donations - you would think they would be reasonably clean!
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I was just thinking that- I'm the the dye from new clothes would make the water look similar. So grossed out...but still a little too lazy to do this with all the clothes I've already washed and hung... come on nesting, im counting on you to help me out!
Just ordered 2 of the aquariums since they're on sale on Amazon for $25 instead of $47!
Omg......runs off to order it this very second!!! Thank you.
@GlitterFish my sister gave me TONS of hand me downs for this baby girl. My niece is 5 years old so some of her stuff has been in storage tubs for YEARS. I will be doing this soak, thank you. Also, my sister was sad a few of her nice infant sleepers(Kissy Kissy brand) has pale(I mean very faint) stains. I'm still going to use them for at the house and sleeping because you can hardly tell. But I'm wondering if this mixture will help on a few of them it happened to?! Also, I'm doing the mixture, do I have worry about separating colors?? Might be a dumb question, sorry!
@LoveLee85 As you can see, I didn't separate any colors, and the whites and yellows appear to be perfect.
I had a big yellowish stain on the white part of the comforter and one of the white/yellow onesies, so I did the dawn/peroxide/baking soda mixture, and that removed the stains. I didn't realize the crib sheet had the same stain as the comforter, and that did NOT come out in the soak - I only saw it afterwards. So I'll have to redo that at some point.
Highly monitored internet and no cell service in the office, so I'm postin' and ghostin' while I'm workin'
1+ to advocate for that aquarium! We used it FOREVER with DS and I sure hope this LO likes it just as much (we took it on all of our vacations... and I can also 1+ on the need for spare batteries)!
I have a similar attitude as @chiquita928 when it comes to laundry. Toss it all in (no sorting lights/darks like I do for my own laundry) and whatever survives, survives. DS clothing has enough wear and tear on its own that he ruins it before I ever get the chance to.
We don't even sort our own laundry. Unless it's super gross/special, everything gets mixed in together with some detergent and oxiclean on a cold cycle, and dried on normal. I will occasionally pretreatment certain stains (like using peroxide on blood or dawn on grease), but other than that, nope. DH does all the laundry, though, so the simpler the better.
1+ to advocate for that aquarium! We used it FOREVER with DS and I sure hope this LO likes it just as much (we took it on all of our vacations... and I can also 1+ on the need for spare batteries)!
I have a similar attitude as @chiquita928 when it comes to laundry. Toss it all in (no sorting lights/darks like I do for my own laundry) and whatever survives, survives. DS clothing has enough wear and tear on its own that he ruins it before I ever get the chance to.
We don't even sort our own laundry. Unless it's super gross/special, everything gets mixed in together with some detergent and oxiclean on a cold cycle, and dried on normal. I will occasionally pretreatment certain stains (like using peroxide on blood or dawn on grease), but other than that, nope. DH does all the laundry, though, so the simpler the better.
Same here, unless I know something bleeds. But DH and I also do our laundry separately - he keeps a schedule bc he only has so many clothes, while I typically let it pile up for weeks!
Highly monitored internet and no cell service in the office, so I'm postin' and ghostin' while I'm workin'
On the topic of newborn laundry- how much weight do you all give detergent designed for babies? Marketing ploy or necessary? We use Tide Free and Clear detergent and Downy fabric softener. Neither Dh nor I have skin issues when it comes to detergent so hopefully LO doesn't either.
Also I realized my question earlier was misleading. My washer does have a sanitize function for clothes. I use it for dog blankets, and on occasion bedding and towels. I think @GlitterFish is right that it just does clothes on really hot water and agitates the cycle longer. The machine has a separate function to clean the washing machine drum.
ETA- anyone have suggestions for washing baby carriers? We got an Ergo carrier from a neighbor that needs to be cleaned. I was thinking soak, hand wash, line dry?
@oheliza44 I think it's mostly a marketing ploy. I wouldn't use full scent detergents on baby clothes, but if you're already using Free & Clear, I'd use that. For DD we used store brand's baby detergent, but it was basically just scent-free stuff - it was cheaper (but still good quality) than name brand so we went with it. I will use scent-free this time too, whatever I find in store that works.
Married 8 years - Aug 23/08 DD - 6 years old, March 17/11 #2 due July 19th! (It's a boy!)
@oheliza44 Yea, as long as you are using a gentler detergent (like the free and clear) I think you are solid. I put some baby detergent on my registry, because why not. But for now we are just using target brand of the free and clear.
@oheliza44 I've been using that same detergent and I really miss my laundry having some nice scent:( I switched to Meyers and I think it gave me a terrible skin rash...way too much fragrance ... I haven't had any issues with Tide. My derm told me to use "All Clear" il try that next.
I think I'm going to clean my hand me down blankets this way now. The clothes are all new so it probably isn't necessary, but the blankets are quite old.
Re: detergent. I'm just using the same thing that DH and I use, but a slightly better version of it (aka stronger but still not scented). And getting a water softener, but that's because my water is terrible and I'm using cloth diapers.
Hubby and Me Friends since 2008 Started dating: July 1st, 2013 Engaged: July 1st, 2014 Married: July 1st, 2016 R born: July 8th, 2017 N born: June 30th, 2019 Baby #3 Due: July 7th, 2022 (maybe I only ovulate in October XD)
@oheliza44 I've always used Free & Clear detergent, so I didn't get anything special for baby. I've never heard anyone who likes the baby detergents. Most reviews I've seen say they don't clean as well.
I wash baby/kid stuff separately from our stuff, but I don't sort it unless I have enough for 2 loads. I soak in oxyclean if there's a stain, then wash in warm with Free/clear detergent, then dry with no dryer sheets.
For the Ergo... I've never cleaned mine, but yeah I'd think hand wash and line dry would be the way to go.
I have a friend who washed her and her hubbys clothes in Dreft as well as the baby's because the baby would be on them. I thought it was wayyy overboard. We don't have skin issues and we've always used All free and clear so I just continued using that. Then DS came out and turns out he had excema and we had to buy dreft. We were using Johnsons in the bath and had to switch to California Baby products for bath time too- he grew out of it for the most part by now but we still have to use Aveeno in the bath or he will break out. So I think it's smart to have a small container just in case!
@oheliza44 I've always used Free & Clear detergent, so I didn't get anything special for baby. I've never heard anyone who likes the baby detergents. Most reviews I've seen say they don't clean as well.
I wash baby/kid stuff separately from our stuff, but I don't sort it unless I have enough for 2 loads. I soak in oxyclean if there's a stain, then wash in warm with Free/clear detergent, then dry with no dryer sheets.
For the Ergo... I've never cleaned mine, but yeah I'd think hand wash and line dry would be the way to go.
+1 on this, though I wash sweaters separately.
I have heard not to use dryer sheets or fabric softeners with baby stuff, but don't remember why exactly. Sorry, I know that's not helpful.
We use general eco-friendly detergent for the whole family (Germany's version of free/clear), rather than deal with baby detergent. We buy it in bulk.
I have washed baby carriers on gentle in the machine and then line dry. Ergo and Björn and Moby. They come out totally fine.
Re: baby poop stains - it will blow your mind how fast they will disappear if you lay the stained clothes out in the sun to dry. Just rinse with water and lay flat in the sun. It's magic.
@oheliza44 it's a marketing ploy up until your baby has sensitive skin. (Dreft smells nice but it's not free of the 'bad' stuff (from an eco friendly and skin irritant perspective) though it is gentle.) We used to use free and clear for our clothes but it irritates the heck out of my son's skin. My son has hypersensitive skin, mild eczema, and food allergies so we treat his skin very delicately. I hope no one has to go down the rabbit hole of figuring out what irritates baby and doesn't etc. I think it is good to play it safe and to just start out with something gentle in the early months and then see how it goes from there. We use soap berries to wash our son's clothes - the journey to this place was harrowing. Absolutely no fabric softeners and no dryer sheets - they smell great but create a build up of irritants for sensitive skin. In our newborn care class, the nurse spoke a lot about baby's skin being a bit more permeable and not as 'sealed' as adult skin so to limit the use of skin products with added scents and nonessential components. We used Charlie's soap for a while with no issue. +1 on the magical sun for poop stains - we cloth diapered so this was amazing though we also found that immediate soak and wash worked well too.
I always get All Baby detergent, maybe 5. When I run out I use whatever detergent I use on my clothes, which is arm and hammer with oxi clean. I wash all newborn and 0-3m sizes on cold and gentle then tumble dry low. 3-6m and up I just wash on cold and normal setting then tumble dry low. I've never had a problem with something happening to any of the baby clothes I've ever had. Now of they come from a consignmentshop/garage sale/someone I don't know I was on hot and gentle then tumble dry low. The way I see it, they're just clothes and baby is going to grow out of them.
@oheliza44 I have always used Tide free and clear and never had issues. I occasionally buy Ivory baby (Canadian version of Dreft) but only because I love the smell.
+1 to the Free and Clear. I use Purex and OxiClean, and have had no issues, even with our Irish skin. I do use bounce dryer sheets, because they have a free and clear version of that, too. I think it's best to start out with something like this, and them try other things if you want to as baby gets older. I personally felt like the baby detergent has a baby scent which defeated the purpose of being gentler on the skin. I think that originally baby detergents were specially designed to not impact the flame retardants in baby clothes, which many companies have stopped using, anyway. Don't quote me on this.
So I was wondering how things are here, not a lot of experience with doctors here up till now. I know patients give their doctors presents sometimes to show gratitude(my dad is always getting presents) and I would love to do the same but not sure if it's done here(USA) ... is there any situation where that could be taken badly? Or any rule where your not allowed?
So I was wondering how things are here, not a lot of experience with doctors here up till now. I know patients give their doctors presents sometimes to show gratitude(my dad is always getting presents) and I would love to do the same but not sure if it's done here(USA) ... is there any situation where that could be taken badly? Or any rule where your not allowed?
I haven't gotten anything for my doctor specifically, but I did get flowers and baked a large batch of cookies and took them into the practice for everyone; I think they were appreciated. I asked around to my Dr/Nurse friends and they said something basic and shareable would go over well.
We had to go in the night before my induction to have them put in the cervadil and then get a "good nights rest" in a hospital bed- yeah right. But my mom came the next morning and I asked her to bring donuts and quite a few people came in to thank us! As of a gift after I don't think it's necessary. You're going to have SO MUCH going on and you'll be more exhausted than you've ever been in your life-a gift for the doc will be the last thing on your mind.
Is the $10,000 payment (or whatever it ends up being) not enough? Haha
I've thought about getting donuts or cookies for the nurses while in I'm the hospital. I've heard the nurses where I'm delivering are great, but they're REALLY great when you bring them goodies!
@nktrodden826 I could ask my mum to do something like that at the time. I personally don't want to forget so I'm going to get what I can earlier on and keep it with me. Let's see! @Xath thanks!
random thought - if you are going to take some sort of baked good or treat in, I would do store bought over homemade. Sounds backwards, I know. But these people don't know you - and I know I personally wouldn't eat homemade goods from a stranger.
When my dad was in the hospital we would take coffee/donuts in once a week for the nursing staff. They seemed to appreciate it and it definitely does go a long way. When he moved from the hospital to a nursing home, we also got a few of our 'favorite' nurses at the hospital Starbucks gift cards and made sure to give good reviews to their supervisors.
I wont be be making anything homemade for that same reason, and I wouldn't like to give them something I don't eat myself. I'm planning on asking my mum to bring chocolates on her way from England for the staff here and for the doctor I'd like to give a nice present (perfume or something like that).
random thought - if you are going to take some sort of baked good or treat in, I would do store bought over homemade. Sounds backwards, I know. But these people don't know you - and I know I personally wouldn't eat homemade goods from a stranger.
When my dad was in the hospital we would take coffee/donuts in once a week for the nursing staff. They seemed to appreciate it and it definitely does go a long way. When he moved from the hospital to a nursing home, we also got a few of our 'favorite' nurses at the hospital Starbucks gift cards and made sure to give good reviews to their supervisors.
I'm always so surprised that more people don't have an issue with this!
Highly monitored internet and no cell service in the office, so I'm postin' and ghostin' while I'm workin'
Re: Big Dumb Questions Thread
I have a similar attitude as @chiquita928 when it comes to laundry. Toss it all in (no sorting lights/darks like I do for my own laundry) and whatever survives, survives. DS clothing has enough wear and tear on its own that he ruins it before I ever get the chance to.
Minimum of 4 hour soak in hot water with detergent, oxiclean, enzyme cleaner, and I also added Biz and Dawn.
I also pre-treated the stains with a dawn/peroxide/baking soda paste.
ETA: I don't have Sanitize on my washer, but I think it just uses the hottest water - if the washer doesn't have a heating element, it's just a longer hot water cycle, I believe.
Highly monitored internet and no cell service in the office, so I'm postin' and ghostin' while I'm workin'
Highly monitored internet and no cell service in the office, so I'm postin' and ghostin' while I'm workin'
And major ew @GlitterFish.
Highly monitored internet and no cell service in the office, so I'm postin' and ghostin' while I'm workin'
@GlitterFish my sister gave me TONS of hand me downs for this baby girl. My niece is 5 years old so some of her stuff has been in storage tubs for YEARS. I will be doing this soak, thank you. Also, my sister was sad a few of her nice infant sleepers(Kissy Kissy brand) has pale(I mean very faint) stains. I'm still going to use them for at the house and sleeping because you can hardly tell. But I'm wondering if this mixture will help on a few of them it happened to?! Also, I'm doing the mixture, do I have worry about separating colors?? Might be a dumb question, sorry!
I had a big yellowish stain on the white part of the comforter and one of the white/yellow onesies, so I did the dawn/peroxide/baking soda mixture, and that removed the stains. I didn't realize the crib sheet had the same stain as the comforter, and that did NOT come out in the soak - I only saw it afterwards. So I'll have to redo that at some point.
Highly monitored internet and no cell service in the office, so I'm postin' and ghostin' while I'm workin'
Highly monitored internet and no cell service in the office, so I'm postin' and ghostin' while I'm workin'
Also I realized my question earlier was misleading. My washer does have a sanitize function for clothes. I use it for dog blankets, and on occasion bedding and towels. I think @GlitterFish is right that it just does clothes on really hot water and agitates the cycle longer. The machine has a separate function to clean the washing machine drum.
ETA- anyone have suggestions for washing baby carriers? We got an Ergo carrier from a neighbor that needs to be cleaned. I was thinking soak, hand wash, line dry?
https://www.fortheloveofclean.com/laundry-love/special/strip-deep-clean-or-sanitize/
Highly monitored internet and no cell service in the office, so I'm postin' and ghostin' while I'm workin'
Married 8 years - Aug 23/08
DD - 6 years old, March 17/11
#2 due July 19th! (It's a boy!)
Re: detergent. I'm just using the same thing that DH and I use, but a slightly better version of it (aka stronger but still not scented). And getting a water softener, but that's because my water is terrible and I'm using cloth diapers.
Friends since 2008
Started dating: July 1st, 2013
Engaged: July 1st, 2014
Married: July 1st, 2016
R born: July 8th, 2017
N born: June 30th, 2019
Baby #3 Due: July 7th, 2022
(maybe I only ovulate in October XD)
I wash baby/kid stuff separately from our stuff, but I don't sort it unless I have enough for 2 loads. I soak in oxyclean if there's a stain, then wash in warm with Free/clear detergent, then dry with no dryer sheets.
For the Ergo... I've never cleaned mine, but yeah I'd think hand wash and line dry would be the way to go.
I have heard not to use dryer sheets or fabric softeners with baby stuff, but don't remember why exactly. Sorry, I know that's not helpful.
We use general eco-friendly detergent for the whole family (Germany's version of free/clear), rather than deal with baby detergent. We buy it in bulk.
I have washed baby carriers on gentle in the machine and then line dry. Ergo and Björn and Moby. They come out totally fine.
Re: baby poop stains - it will blow your mind how fast they will disappear if you lay the stained clothes out in the sun to dry. Just rinse with water and lay flat in the sun. It's magic.
I know patients give their doctors presents sometimes to show gratitude(my dad is always getting presents) and I would love to do the same but not sure if it's done here(USA) ...
is there any situation where that could be taken badly? Or any rule where your not allowed?
DS1 - 7/2011, DD 12/2012, DS2 - 4/2014, MMC - 12/2015
I've thought about getting donuts or cookies for the nurses while in I'm the hospital. I've heard the nurses where I'm delivering are great, but they're REALLY great when you bring them goodies!
I personally don't want to forget so I'm going to get what I can earlier on and keep it with me. Let's see!
@Xath thanks!
When my dad was in the hospital we would take coffee/donuts in once a week for the nursing staff. They seemed to appreciate it and it definitely does go a long way. When he moved from the hospital to a nursing home, we also got a few of our 'favorite' nurses at the hospital Starbucks gift cards and made sure to give good reviews to their supervisors.
I'm planning on asking my mum to bring chocolates on her way from England for the staff here and for the doctor I'd like to give a nice present (perfume or something like that).
edited to add:
@ginger1228 hah you always make me laugh
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