Words of Encouragement for Labor

I found some more song lyrics that got me really excited about having them read to me while I am in labor. This song is about being astounded by the fact that I am one of God's creations and his Grace.  I printed the lyrics off, and we'll see if I find it soothing at all (or who knows? I may find it annoying, but worth a shot).

“Spirit Speaks” by Know Hope Collective

Your Spirit speaks
It moves in me
And I’m awakened to Your love
You’re drawing me
On to my knees
And I’m astounded by Your love

You spoke life into my lungs
You are the air I breathe
You are the air I breathe
Still You move inside of me
You are the song I sing
You are the song I sing Jesus
You cover me
With arms that reach
And I’m amazed by Your sweet grace
You set me free
And You washed me clean
And I’m forgiven by Your grace

With every breath I breathe
With every song I sing
I want to shout it out
Lord I am listening
To every word You speak
I’ll go where You will lead
To love the least of these
My greatest offering

Cloth Diaper Update

I said I would keep you all posted on how the cloth diapering is going, so here goes!

First, I want to talk about issues related to diaper rash:

1) I now have a stash of fleece liners that I use regularly as a wetness barrier with the econobum cloth diapers. Some of them are the Bummis brand and some are ones I made myself out of scrap fleece. I've discovered that it is best to wash these separately from the cloth diapers, since the job of the liners is not only to protect my son from rash caused by wetness, but also to protect the cloth diaper from any ointments or creams we use. (Rash creams make cloth diapers less absorbent over time. If I wash my liners with the diapers, I am essentially washing the cloth diapers with the rash cream!) I "stripped" the diapers of any rash cream with some good old Dawn, hot water and a stiff brush, so we're back to business as usual.

2) I had been having some problems with leaking that I wasn't before. This has partly been remedied by the stripping I mentioned above. At night, even the "night time Pull-ups" are not enough to hold it all, so I've ended up putting "night time" disposable diapers on him at bedtime.

3) The other thing I noticed is a higher incidence of diaper rash with the BumGenius diaper detergent than the FuzziBunz diaper detergent. I'm wondering if my son may be allergic to something in the BumGenius detergent...? These are the only types of detergent I've tried thus far. Another reason I prefer the FuzziBunz detergent is that the package says it is formulated to work with any water type (we have hard water, which can cause mineral buildup on the diapers over time).

So, between changing him often during the daytime (he's 2 and I change him 5 to 7 times), finding the right detergent, and using the fleece liners, I have noticed a significant decrease in diaper rash.

The other issue is cleaning up poop!

Bowel movements from babies who are exclusively breastfed should wash right out in the washing machine. It is ideal (for your washing cycle and the environment) to put bowel movements from solids-fed babies in the toilet. Samson has adult-like poops that plop right out of the diaper and into the toilet...most of the time. The problems arise when there are days that he has very soft stools! My best solution for this has been to keep a flushable paper liner in the diaper during the time of day I expect him to have a bowel movement (his are fairly predictable). Then, I am able to remove most--if not all--of the stools from the diaper by removing the flushable liner and flushing it. When all else fails, I use a grocery bag over my hand to remove as much of the solids as possible, then throw the grocery bag in the trash.

So that is where we are at now. I will be sure to post another update after the arrival of our newest addition. She's due to arrive any day now!