Rejoiceevermore
Member
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 1 Tim. 2:5
Posts: 67
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Post by Rejoiceevermore on Nov 29, 2005 15:05:10 GMT -5
Hello everyone, In two months we are going to have our first child a little baby boy. We are so excited! We definatly going to brestfeed, but I was wondering if I should use pacifiers and bottles also? I also heard that cloth diapers are better for the babies skin, but it seems like they cost so much. I looked around and found the cheapest organic cotton ones start from $9.99/diaper. Even though I can wash and reuse them over and over again how many do I need to have in stock? If you used regular diapers on babies how did you prevent rashes and redness? It looks so panfull. Thanks a lot. Amy  |
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Post by mommy4evr on Nov 29, 2005 15:37:11 GMT -5
Dear Amy,
I am happy for you that you will soon have a new little boy! I also breastfed my babies (4) and had a difficult time in doing so. I don't tell you this to discourage you .........but to encourage you because it can be done even if you do use bottles to help you. Don't get me wrong I am a big advocate for breastfeeding!
We used pacifiers for 2 of our babies. One didn't want anything and the other baby sucked his thumb. There are no set rules.
I also used disposable diapers. Just the thought of having to clean out poopy diapers is gross to me. However I do admire those who do. I made my own baby wipes with my last 2 babies and they NEVER had diaper rash! My first 2 did, and sometimes very bad. I used a roll of paper towels (not cheapies either- Bounty or something like that) cut in half and remove the cardboard center. Then boil 2 cups water for @ 5 min. After it is finished boiling turn it off. Add 2 TBSP baby shampoo, 2 TBSP baby oil and @1/2-3/4 Tbsp of grapefruitseed extract. Mix well and pour liquid over the paper towels that are already in a resealable container (tupperware or something like that) and keep the lid on so they don't dry out. A word of warning do not put grapefruitseed extract directly on the skin unless it is diluted. It will burn you. I never had any problems using it in my wipes though. We even used these on my husband's grandma when she was bedridden for a year. She never got any bedsores and the visiting nurses were amazed! Hope this helps.
Michelle
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2005 17:49:52 GMT -5
Congradulations of the upcoming birth. Breast feed in definitely the way to go. I breast fed my daughter for 11 months. She weaned herself when she started walking. I didn't have any problems and it was a joy to take time just to sit and relax and let her nurse. There are benefits for mom and baby My daughter used a pacifier until she discovered her thumb. You can find cloth diapers cheaper than 9.99 each, that's outrageous!! There is a thread in the Sisters Section specifically on Cloth Diapers, check it out for more advice. Cloth diapers are much better for the babies skin because you have to change them more often, so diaper rash isn't as big a problem and the only thing next to the babies skin is cotton, not a plastic diaper full of chemicals. Here is the address of an Amish store that sells many kinds of diapers. They don't have a website so write or call for a catalog. Gohn Brothers Box 1110 Middlebury, IN 46540 1-800-595-0031 My catalog is a couple years old, but the most expensive diapers listed were 15.98 per dozen. You would need about 3 dozen to start out. Hope that helps and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy. Beverly |
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Rejoiceevermore
Member
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 1 Tim. 2:5
Posts: 67
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Post by Rejoiceevermore on Dec 1, 2005 14:33:47 GMT -5
Thank you ladies for useful information. I never thought to make my own baby wipes that would be a fun project to try. I called Gohn Brothers and ordered their catalog, thanks sister Beverly for providing that. I like Amish products it's all natural. There are so many companies on the internet that buy from Amish and sell their products for unbelivably expansive prices. It's probably best to buy from them directly.
Thanks again. God bless.
Amy
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Post by benshelpmeet on Dec 2, 2005 12:53:39 GMT -5
In two months we are going to have our first child a little baby boy. We are so excited! We definatly going to brestfeed, but I was wondering if I should use pacifiers and bottles also?I would not suggest that you use a pacifiers or a bottle. A pacifiers is not necessary and when it gets lost...how frustrating!  When it drops on the dirty ground...how frustrating! When another child picks it up and puts it in their mouth yuk!  I have noticed over the years that a pacifier is more trouble than it's worth. A baby should learn intertain himself and not have to have an artificial stimulant ( the child becomes dependant on it ) I have had 8 children and I've never used a pacifier, and I am glad I made that choice long ago. And suplimenting with a bottle causes your body to make less milk, it's very unnatural. It's very rare that a mama ''can't'' nurse their baby. I've heard mothers say my milk is bad or my milk isn't enough for my baby. I hear this alot and I know this is not true. God made a woman to nurse her baby. Milk supply works off of supply and demand. This means your body will up it's supply with the feeding demand of the baby. If your baby nurses more your body will supply more milk. Good nutrition is important, but if it is not possible to eat a really healthy nutritious diet the body will still nurish the baby and supply an ample amount of milk. drinking plenty of liquids is important ''purified water is best'' The body will take the nutrients from the mothers body to provide for the baby ( god made it that way) If the mother does not eat well it will deplete her health and the quility of the milk will be less but the baby will have milk and not die. In Africa the nurseing babies live and the older todlers that do not nurse die more often. The babies often die too because of disease and poor care. I have noticed in pictures that the nursed babies fair pretty well because it's Gods way. Supply and demand. There is a good tea to build healthy milk called Mothers Milk ( you can get this from a health food store ) I have nursed all my babies full term with little trouble. Any problem I have ever had was easily worked through. If you need more milk, or your baby is sick, or even constipated you should up your nursing to every two hours , even for the older child this is good during sickness I would not feed every 2 hours but up the number of times you feed. ( you will nurse every two hours in the begining, but after a while your feedings will be further apart, and further inbetween, only for sickness or constipation, or drop off in milk supply will you need to increase your feedings. ) Nurseing is natural and Gods perfect will, I am so glad you chose to nurse your precious little one. I enjoyed cloth diapers, the only minus is others in the church nusery do not apreciate them and some other friends and family and another draw back for me was the plastic pants that you put over caused a moisture effect that caused Benjamin ( 18 now ) rashes.  They make diaper covers out of other materials now days. I know they also still make plastic pants too, I would not suggest them. We lived in hot Florida with no air condition, maybe that had something to do with it. I enjoy huggies or Sams brand disposible diapers myself. It's been a long time sence I've used cloth. Those were sweet memories though, washing them and hanging them out to dry in the sun on the clothes line, then folding them and the pins I used had little bears on them blue and yellow even white. Love your friend and sister, ~ Darlene ~
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Post by debbiehigginbotham on Dec 3, 2005 16:06:02 GMT -5
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Post by debbiehigginbotham on Dec 5, 2005 8:15:50 GMT -5
Dear Sister, I started cloth diapering because our first son had allergic diaper rash from the disposable diapers. They do have chemicals in them to make them more absorbent (we learned this from experiments we did with an Eli Lilly chemist). We also had little money and cloth diapering is much cheaper in the long term. I purchased two dozen cloth diapers, 6 vinyl covers, a package of diaper pins, and a pail for the same price as it was costing us for one month's worth of disposable diapers. Considering those supplies lasted us for the 2 1/2 years he was in diapers (actually longer - some supplies lasted into other babies), that was a lot of savings!!! Plus it was much healthier for him. Disposables have only been used for the last about 40 years. For thousands of years, moms have been using cloth and/or doing early potty training. For a diaper pail, I first purchased one from the store for around $10-15. It broke only months later. Next I spent $2 on a used pickle bucket from a fast food restaurant. I still use the same one 17 years later!! They are heavy duty and inexpensive. I keep ours in the garage to keep the babies and toddlers out of it; it can be dangerous if they would fall in. You could also get a special screw on lid from www.breadbeckers.com. We use those lids for our wheat buckets to keep out the bugs (and the children!). I fill the bucket 3/4 full with warm water and 1/2 cup borax to soak the diapers. You don't have to soak them, but it extends the life of the diapers greatly because the urine breaks down the fibers otherwise. Soaking also makes them easier to wash. I use old plastic Wal-Mart type bags to store soiled diapers in my diaper bag when I am away from home. Then I just put the diaper in the pail, throw the bag away and get a fresh plastic bag for my diaper bag. I use olive oil on little bottoms after each diaper change/washing. It works great. It heals and prevents diaper rash. It also prevents the stool from sticking to their skin. If the diapers have stool that sticks, I soak them for a short time in the toilet, swish them, wring them, and then put them in the pail. If it does not stick (when the babies are older), the stool can just be dumped into the toilet. If you don't want to do that, you can purchase disposable diaper liners. You can also purchase a clothes pin device that has a hook on it to hang on the side of the toilet. That way you don't have to get your hands dirty. I have seen this in catalogs that sell cloth diapers. One note: I do use only disposables when the babies have meconium stools for their first few newborn days. It is very hard to wash out properly, and mom is tired anyway! To wash the diapers, my husband or my oldest son dumps the heavy bucket contents into the washer. Then I run the spin cycle to eliminate the dirty water. Then I wash the load with hot water, detergent, and borax to help sterilize them. I don't use bleach. The babies can be sensitive to that. It also wears out the diapers much faster. I just don't worry about it if they are stained. If the weather is fit, I hang them to dry in the sunshine which helps sterilize them. Otherwise, I over-dry them in the dryer to sterilize them. Home educating mom Mary Carney has "Simple Living" workshops at our Indiana conventions. She has a booklet titled, Cloth Diapering without the Yuck. You can contact her at: Box 174, Advance, IN 46102-0174 to get a copy. Your Sister in Christ, Debbie H. |
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Rejoiceevermore
Member
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 1 Tim. 2:5
Posts: 67
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Post by Rejoiceevermore on Dec 8, 2005 16:10:25 GMT -5
Thank you sisters. This is all helpful. Thank you sister Darlene for your input. I wanted to hear from someone who never used pacifiers and I am glad to know that it's not necessery. Did you use bottles to give baby water? Sister Debbie it's nice to hear from someone who did it for 17 years. I really do want to try cloth dipers for two reasons to help with family finances and save my babies bottom from chemicals. Thank you for the website on how to make diapers it looks simple. I might try to make my own. I ordered a catolog that sister Beverly recommended from Gohn Brothers, but now I wonder if I want to buy which kind is the best. There are pinless, prefolds, gauze is one better then the other? Thanks. God bless you all.
Amy
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Post by ep210 on Dec 8, 2005 19:57:58 GMT -5
Dear Sister Amy,
I have used cloth diapers for all of our children atleast for part of the time. One of the best places to find out about cloth diapering is a website at www.diaperpin.com
it is absolutaly the best place to find out all that you need. They will let you print up charts on cost assesment and will also give you list of what you do need. As this is your first baby I would buy some infant cloth diapers and also some of the next size up. Do not open the infant ones until after the baby is born. All of our babies are to big for the infant but it sure would be handy to have them there if you need them. 
I do know that some mothers use disposable for the first little bit as those first diaper changes are so messy and you do go through the diapers so very fast.
I do not like any of the pull on covers. There is nothing worse than pulling them down only to get the mess all the way down the leg. My favorite cover is the bummis super wisper wrap. They are industrial strength. And unlike most covers you can throw them in the dryer and it does not ruin them. I have four that have lasted for three babies. The cost is a bit more but they have worked out so well that to us it is worth it.
You do need to decide if you are going to use pins or if you want the velcro. The pins are what we used and I have always liked the quality of the Chinese profold it is so absorbant. Please email me if you want links to diaper pages I think half of my favorites have to do with cloth for mama and baby. If you wish I can PM you about the mama cloths. I really like them.
I am going to try out a new diaper called the wondaroo it is designed to fit any size baby depending on how you snap it. Sounds good to a mama who is soon to have three in diapers.
Please let me know if you have any questions
God Bless you
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Post by glenda on Jan 1, 2006 18:24:31 GMT -5
We also used cloth diapers for all five of our children. We started out using them due to cost. Honestly with five children all under the age of five we could not afford to buy throw away diapers. Something you might want to think of is this yes cloth diapers do cost more at the start however we had some of our diapers for all our children. That is a huge saveings. As far as the plastic underware we did use some however when we were at home we did not. It was just a waste of time for me. We also used pins they did not wear out like the velcor would. now as far as baby wipes here is what we did. I took old towels and cut them up and sewwed them so they did not have a rough seem. Then placed them in a plastic container with a lid I used a recipe for homemade baby wipes i will get it and post it. I then poured the liquid over the wash clothes and i had reuseable baby wipes. All i had to do is wash them out and throw them in the wash. And redue them as needed. It keeps stuff out of the land fills and well it also saves money. Our first two children were 10 months and 1 day apart so we needed to save as much as possible.
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Post by learningtosubmit on Jan 2, 2006 16:43:09 GMT -5
I wanted to add to the breastfeeding end of this conversation. I breastfed all of our babies and loved it! It is not easy at first, but very much worth the effort.
Starting out, soreness is an issue. There is an ointment called "Lansinoh", which is basically pure lanolin. This is a wonder cream. Use it after nursing to help heal any sore, or even cracked skin. It is all natural and does not have to be washed off for the next nursing. It is also very concentrated. One tiny little dab is enough. The trick is to soften it by rubbing it between your fingers before applying it.
I also used something that I think are called "breast shields". They are like plastic caps that go over your breasts, but they have holes in them to let air through, and do not touch the area where you would be sore. This lets the air help heal any soreness and keeps fabrics from irritating the area.
Sister Darlene recommended a very effective tea called "Mother's Milk". It works really well. If you don't like the taste of the tea (I didn't), they also make a capsule form of the herb that is in the tea: Blessed Thistle or Milk Thistle. I took these with my first baby and it helped to increase my milk supply greatly.
There are so many benefits to breastfeeding, and it can be a wonderful mothering experience. That said, my sister's boy's are both adopted. The first came home the day after he was born, and the second, my sister was in the delivery room for his birth. They are healthy, well adjusted, and loving, all-boy, boys, who never knew anything but a bottle.
New motherhood is a huge adjustment. Please, do not add to your load by feeling guilty if you are not able to breastfeed. Do the best you can, seek out advice from experienced moms (like you have), and let the Lord lead you in what is best for you and your precious little baby. Some moms give up too soon on breastfeeding, and I know of some who didn't get the help they needed soon enough.
I pray that all will go well for your delivery.
Sis. Shanna
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Post by christena on Jul 8, 2006 16:32:34 GMT -5
Congrats on a new baby coming ......editted to add I just saw the date and umm your baby should already be here so might not be relavant now...but hey I am slow sotimes on the uptake.LOL Breastfeeding is so simple we ladys often make it idfficult overthinking I think or preparing but here goes my suggestions. Mom needs to drink plenty of water and eat a well balanced diet and biggest secret here is for mom to relax so her milk can letdown for that hungry baby. I always nursed from one side then moved to the next midfeeding. Feed your baby when he'she appears hungry and try to learn his/her cues . Somtimes they need a change or nap and not necessarily to eat (little blessings will attempt to use mommy as a pacifier). Enjoy the precious nurisng experience..its a wonderful thing to make milk that feeds your baby and the experience will bless you! AS far as cloth diapering...think I coudl create a book theres so much information out there now. I suggest you search online and read some of the cloth dipe websites..they have wonderful information and options. Unlike in my grams day and age we have many different cloth diapering meathods. From grannys meathod of pin and prefold and plastiv cover to fuzzibunzs a pocket style dipe that is stuffed and snaps to oh I could go on and on ..try this website for starters maybe..www.naturalbabies.com Be comfortable with the body God Gave you and the process...babys are such a blessing and to fully experience it for al its worth will make such sweet memorys for you to think back on when thye are grown Sis. Christena |
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When it drops on the dirty ground...how frustrating! When another child picks it up and puts it in their mouth yuk! 
I have noticed over the years that a pacifier is more trouble than it's worth. A baby should learn intertain himself and not have to have an artificial stimulant ( the child becomes dependant on it ) I have had 8 children and I've never used a pacifier, and I am glad I made that choice long ago. 
They make diaper covers out of other materials now days. I know they also still make plastic pants too, I would not suggest them. We lived in hot Florida with no air condition, maybe that had something to do with it. 