February Randoms

thinkpositive2017 · March 2020

@bluehydrangea17 I can totally relate! Yesterday I was told I barely look pregnant, today my mother-in-law commented that I'm getting really big. It all depends on what I'm wearing. I find both comments annoying but brush them off! As a STM, two things I know better now are 1) never comment on a pregnant woman's size (or anyone's size really!) and 2) don't ask if a newborn is sleeping through the night yet.

JessiBride · March 2020

thinkpositive2017 said:

@bluehydrangea17 I can totally relate! Yesterday I was told I barely look pregnant, today my mother-in-law commented that I'm getting really big. It all depends on what I'm wearing. I find both comments annoying but brush them off! As a STM, two things I know better now are 1) never comment on a pregnant woman's size (or anyone's size really!) and 2) don't ask if a newborn is sleeping through the night yet.

My go-to comments for a pregnant woman/new mom: 1) You look great! 2) They're just precious 3) You're doing a wonderful job.

pourmeanothermocktail · March 2020

Just an fyi for everyone Dreft is a very very slightly reformulated Tide, they switch out one enzyme for another, and change the scent. Personally, I hate the scent, but if you love it, great. It's actually really really good at getting stuff clean (almost 4 years of cloth diapering here, and my diapers are stain free and white, laundry is my thing!!), but you definitely don't have to use it.

All Free and Clear (All the brand that is, not every single detergent that's free and clear) has a particular coconut derivative in it that can tend to coat the fibers in your laundry after long term use. This is A+ awesome for allergy sufferers, as coated fabric tends to not attract or trap floating allergens in it. However, it tends to coat stains and make them SUPER FREAKING HARD to get out. And, ruins absorbency of cloth too, so really not good long term for cloth diapers (or burp rags, towels, menstrual pads, etc). I have one friend whom I cannot accept hand-me-down clothes from because even though I can typically get out old set in stains from other people, the All Free and Clear she uses I just can't get it all out of. Very sad.

So pluses, and minuses.

Both my generally skin sensitive (but not terribly sensitive) kids with eczema started from day 1 with plain old Tide powder. It's expensive, but I get it on sale at Costco, and I can get away with only using to line 1 for a full dirty load of clothes (I use more on diapers, because they're SUPER GROSS) and it gets stains out just fine.

Keep in mind the hospital likely uses some sort of super strong detergent to wash all those hats and blankets and sheets and everything they put on baby.

Not every kid can use Tide but a surprisingly large number can use pretty much any regular commercial detergent. They generally rinse out clean. Free and clear detergents, as well as plant based detergents can be helpful for kids who DO react to regular detergents. But, they have less of, or weaker versions of the cleaning agents in there, so usually you need to use quite a bit more for extra messy clothes and stains and stuff, and they might not get the worst stuff as clean as a traditional detergent.

It's up to you to figure out what works best for you and your family of course. But I figure it helps to start with basic info.