Think I'll get over this?
Happily Overwhelmed
member
This is my first and I'm really pretty lost. Neither DH nor myself have a lot of experience with babies and are researching like mad to try and become a little more up to speed.
People keep asking me what sort of diapers I want. I don't understand this. How will I know until LO is here? I've never understood why people register for mounds of diapers when LO might be allergic, not use as many in the sizes, etc.
Beyond this I watched an episode of "The Talk" that was all about baby products. They talked all about the bleach and chemicals that go into making disposables and possible long term effects for LO. I'm freaked out. I know every new mother is going to go through the "what's best for my baby" thing.
DH and I have discussed cloth diapers. He's anti the concept (mixture or he thinks it's gross and more of a hassel). Then I've been eying brands like the Huggies Naturals, etc that are supposed to be a bit less harsh (as kind of a middle of the road option).
I'm also this way with lotions, washes, etc. I've read some awful things about Johnson and Johnson products.
My SIL is an extreme couponer wants to help me "stock up". I don't want to be rude about it since she's been down the road of having kids and I haven't. But I'm worried about not picking the right products.
Is this just a new mommy freak out? When this child is a month old am I not going to care about all these things?
Re: Think I'll get over this?
I've been there. Actually, I've posted a couple rants on this exact thing. One thing/website says "OMG this is the best thing EVER!!!!" and the next one says "DO NOT USE YOU WILL KILL YOUR KID".
DH calmed me down by saying that in the past, people didn't have access to this much research/feedback. Now it's almost feedback/research overload. Do what you feel is right deep down and go from there.
I've started equating it to decisions we will make on raising our child (discipline, money, etc.). Our choice, our decisions, we do what's best for our family.
I think you are just a little anxious. I was the exact same way and by the time Gigi was like a month old, I had really calmed down. We went from using Huggies PN to Up & Up after a year. I couldn't imagine spending that much more on diapers now but Gigi has only reacted to Luv's so we haven't worried about allergies. Also, we only switched from PN because they could no longer contain her liquidy poops & we were having blow outs constantly. Different shaped babies require different diapys.
They gave us J&J soap in the hospital (and it was what we had at home) and used it without any problems. We didn't use lotion until she was a few months old (per pedi rec.).
My baby is two!!! Baby girl 9/17/09
My other baby is still a baby! Baby Boy 11-30-11
FTR, even Huggies Naturals give DS a rash. The only sposies that we can use are the whole foods brand and they're expensive. Look at te CD board, I promise it's not as gross or inconvenient as you're imagining. I actually touch less poop because disposables can't contain it as well, and I do a load of laundry every couple days; that's it.
At the end of the day, your baby needs something to poop in, something to wear, somewhere to sleep, and something to eat. everything else is frills.
Oh, and a carseat. Cuz, you know, it's the law.
I think you are being smart about not stocking up on diapers. You don't know what diapers will work best on your baby. Different diapers fit differently. My kids leaked through all the brands we tried except pampers. There are a lot of chemicals in diapers, which I found out after we switched to cloth (I did it to save us money). Instead, you could get a gift card to a store you frequent (Target, Walmart, grocery store, etc.) and add to it, and use that for diapers. We went home with plenty of diapers for the first day or so, and either DH would go get some, or we'd all go (I'm not a mom who stays in for days or weeks after baby. We go out right away).
I don't use Johnson and Johnson, I use Baby Magic because I think it smells better.
I think it's a personal choice for each family. Don't listen to what other people tell you, but do your own research so you can make the best decision for your family.
I think all the baby stuff can be very overwhelming. There are so many choices out there. Keep researching, you will be fine!
I don't understand the "stocking up" concept at all. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere and have to take a boat to the nearest store, why is it necessary to buy a year's worth of supplies in advance?
If you are trying to stock up so you don't have to spend money later, then just save your money now and spend when you need to.
Trust me, any excuse to make a target run and a pit stop at starbucks while you leave the baby with someone else for a little while is a good thing.
I hadn't heard any of the chemicals until pampers came out with drymax. Now I'm reading all sorts of stuff. Like diapers that are bleached contain dioxin (or something like that) which is one of the biggest cancer causing agents and banned in nearly all countries but the U.S. (correct me if I'm wrong, I just read it somewhere recently, I'll see if I can find it).
My husband wasn't at all on board at first either, but he realized I really wanted to try it, so he included a diaper category in our monthly budget. I think most men think it's going to be more difficult than it really is, but it's not. You can go simple and use pockets or all in ones that go on just like disposables (which is what we like). It's not like old-school cloth diapering with pins and rubber pants. People do like prefolds (I don't) and covers, but if you can get him to agree, I'd go with whatever is the most simple for him to use. My DH now will talk about the savings we have with cloth (he even rinses the poopy diapers in the toilet!). Get him going on the savings of cloth diapering and breastfeeding, and you may not get him to shut up! Some men will see the plus side of cloth more if you do some research about the cost a year. We spent on our supply of diapers what we'd spend on a year and a half supply of disposables. Some men need numbers. See if that would work. And see if you can show him just how simple cloth is nowawdays.
I am a researcher, and did a ton of reading about diapers and baby products when I was pregnant with my daughter. What I found out about chemicals and disposable diapers kind of pissed me off and disgusted me. When I discussed what I had read with my husband, I had already decided we were going to use cloth, even if I ended up changing every single diaper. He surprised me by being 100% behind the decision. We have primarily used cloth for almost 2 years, and we'll use cloth for this baby too. When we do use disposables we use Huggies Pure & Natural or 7th Generation.
I would never use J & J's baby shampoo. Not only is it full of not-so great chemicals, it also contains an artificial acid that I am really allergic to. We use California Baby. It is very gentle and natural, and a little goes a long way.
I know there is a ton of information out there, and it seems like there's a ton of decisions to make. Don't worry about it. You'll learn as you go along. Just go with what you think will work best and adjust from there.
This is exactly my issue. Saving money with cloth is fabulous and seems to be why most people are doing it. I just don't like to hear about all the chemicals that go into making disposables. I'm not at all worried about what they are doing for baby...what about when baby grows up? These chemicals are sitting on LO 24/7 for 2 years. It just makes me nervous. Part of me says everyone is doing it and why freak out about something no one else is...but the other part of me is just the opposite. Same goes with the bottles of baby wash, lotions, creams, etc. I hate turning those bottles over and not being able to read what the ingredients are. As a licensed cosmetologist I know some of them can't be good. And others...I have no idea. I just keep thinking of all the products, etc that have changed since I was a baby and is life getting better? I swear I'm not a hippie! lol.
To each their own by all means. I don't judge those who love J & J and disposables. I'm just fighting with myself on whether it's going to be my families way of life.
Totally with you on the whole diaper stock-up thing... The only brand that DD didn't either leak through or react to was Huggies Supreme... Same for wipes - Pampers looked to almost burn her skin. The exact opposite was true for my niece. Pampers were the only brand she didn't leak through or cause a reaction...
The only thing we used cloth diapers for was for burp cloths. But I could never bring myself to use cloth diapers after potty training one kiddo and the sheer amount of laundry and what happens if you don't have enough to throw them in right away, etc. etc. etc. (plus we can't use bleach given the hardness of our water)... I'll take my chances with the disposables...
As for lotions, you won't need those unless you're washing your baby literally every single day. We still use J&J Baby wash with DD for her baths and she's 6.5... never had any issues.
The thing is, at some point you have to live life and start assessing your risks. Whether it's "natural" or not, it's STILL a chemical. Whether the vitamin is organic or not, it's still in a chemical form. Same goes for the discussion of detergents. A lot of companies spend a lot of money on fantastic marketing campaigns to get you to believe that one product is better than the other. The reality is that your baby is going to be snuggling up to you and your clothes, so why make more work for yourself. The thing we really took into account when making decisions is what would we choose for a first child and what would we do after a fifth child. If it makes sense with five then it makes sense with one...