During our meeting ( they are short and sweet usually less then 30 min), numerous topics come up. Pain relief for labour, babywearing ( carriers/ slings/ wraps), places in Ottawa to seek help with breastfeeding, as well as meeting customers while in labour. Over the last year I have gone to 4 meetings where mom was in labour,another meeting had to get rescheduled as she was in pushing stage, and another I was feeding ice chips, and catching vomit.
We are one of the only companies that does in house meetings about cloth diapers. The number one reason we do it, is so that our customers are successful when it comes to cloth diapering. We meet with new "parents to be" 2 weeks before their due date. Showing them how to do different folds,, how to use a snappi, what a booster is used for, and of course answering questions. During our meeting ( they are short and sweet usually less then 30 min), numerous topics come up. Pain relief for labour, babywearing ( carriers/ slings/ wraps), places in Ottawa to seek help with breastfeeding, as well as meeting customers while in labour. Over the last year I have gone to 4 meetings where mom was in labour,another meeting had to get rescheduled as she was in pushing stage, and another I was feeding ice chips, and catching vomit. On another meeting we might be helping a new mom with breastfeeding. Every meeting is different & unique. We also have youtube videos on our website & blog to assist, offer to Skype with customers if they can't meet, and answers all questions via email too. We meet during daytime hours when we are already out on the road delivering diapers. It is not necessary that both parents be at the meeting, the information can be shared with the other one at a later date. If there is no time to meet before baby arrives, we meet with baby. We place baby on change pad/ or towels and do through all the diapers ( usually getting pooped on a couple of times during this process!). The owner of Ottawa Cloth Diaper Service has both Postpartum & birth Doula through CAPPA.
2 words that will have you running for rags and carpet cleaner..or maybe not. Every child potty trains at a different age. I found it frustrating when the child isn't ready. When they are ready, and show a keen interest it is much easier. Using cloth diapers helps with potty training, as the child feels wet. However it is important to note that if you are using a pocket diaper, the fleece inside will wick away the moisture and the child doesn't feel wet. Some signs that show the child is interested in potty training: *mimicking you when you go the bathroom- pulling down pants *sitting on the potty without being asked * having a dry diaper for 2 hours or more *showing cues, and signs when making movements or about having to pee ( think the pee pee dance, or hiding because they have to poop) Girls tend to potty train faster then boys, but again this depends totally on the child. If there is 3 older sisters, then chances are the youngest boy will potty train fast due to wanting to be like the older siblings. You can start off potty training slow, by just placing the child on the potty every night before bath time. The running water noise will also assist in the encouragement of peeing. You can keep a stack of books near the potty to read when sitting on the potty. You can also search on google for potty training ideas..everything from building a racecar for the potty to a throne and castle will be there. We found rewards that worked, and used them until they weren't needed any longer. Some ideas are : smarties, matchbox cars in a bag under the sink, chart with stickers, bag of special toys. You can however get suckered into buying bigger gifts ( ie my son liked Disney cars- so after spending my life savings on ebay buying- mater/ sally/ and hard to find cars), I wouldn't recommend this! (see below for picture) Another tip is to coordinate with your daycare so that you are both on the same page, and tackling potty training together. Try several potties to see which work the best for you. You might also go for the smaller seat on the toilet with a stool. I would suggest to avoid the "singing" potties. Our experience was they go off in the middle of the night. Like 2am.."oh boy you used the potty..yippee and then a song..Sometimes pants and underwear can give children the false feeling of diapers. I personally found it easier to potty train in the summer, where we could let my son run in the backyard with a t-shirt on, and potties on the deck. Keep in mind as well if you encourage your son/ daughter to pee on the trees in the backyard, this will continue at preschool ( yes from past experience). Elimination Communication is another form of potty training, but at a much younger age. You can start at any age- some start right from birth other's wait till baby can hold head up, others when baby is 6-7 months old. The method is to communicate with your baby- ie make the peee noise when they are going, ask if they have to go pee, wait 10-15 after nursing/or bottle and hold over potty or sink. Lots of diaper free time, time playing in the shower just in case there is accidents, lots of praise for dry diapers. Also if your baby has a red face & is grunting that is the perfect time to place on the potty, or ie older edge of toilet seat. The extraordinary Baby shoppe holds ECing drop in's/meetings in their basement. Call to see when the next one is. Other tips to remember: *when potty training always get the child to attempt using the toilet before leaving the house *bring a change of clothing for child *children will often be afraid of the loud automatic bathrooms in malls, find places that you can stop that are more comfortable *keep toilet paper/ wipes in your car, often when they are at the park is when they choose to go *have more patience, then you normally have. For me this was a struggle..I already have low patience! Just part of the stash of Potty training rewards.. Wool soakers are excellent as an overnight diapering option. This also allows for the child to feel the wetness. You put a prefold with a booster, or a fitted diaper under the wool soaker. Wool is lanolized so it is waterproofed. You don't need to wash wool after each diaper change, but rather I washed ours ( we used longies) every 3-4 weeks. Photo from NDS Photography Cost breakdown:Cloth diaper service 0-24months (children who wear cloth diapers potty train faster) Regular service: $2,213.71- this includes all your prefolds, diaper pail rental, scented disks, wipes, and boosters. Only add-on's would be extra covers(the above price includes 2 covers) so if you got One size covers 4 x 11.99(47.96) you would be set. Organic service: $2, 948.98- again includes all your prefolds, diaper pail rental, scented disks, wipes and boosters. Also means No chemicals are touching baby as diapers are washed in all natural laundry soap, and hung out to dry in sun. Only add-on would be extra covers if required which are offered at 10% discount to diaper service customers.Average child will go through over 4,000 diapers in 2 years. Keep in mind the first 0-3 months infants are getting changed 10-14 times a DAY. That's right 84 diapers a week. So picture that diaper genie sausage of 84 diapers. Then picture that in Ottawa, it is Bi-Weekly garbage pickup unless you get put on the list for weekly garbage due to disposable. Another myth is that cloth diapers smell. Well considering I spend most of my time driving throughout Ottawa with loads and loads of dirty diapers in my car, I would have to say it is the opposite. Disposable diapers when wet or dirty have a very nasty smell. If you are one of those pregnant moms whose sense of smell increases after having a child, you will agree. Yet another Myth..Cloth diapers aren't as absorbent. Not true. During a recent home visit, where I was explaining how to fold a prefold into a cover, I was explaining how elastics at the back of the cover kept poop explosions in. As I was speaking the new first time parents lifted the infant up as she had been sleeping on her back on a blanket, and there was the proof. From high back(shoulder blades) to the crotch the newborn was covered in yellow/orange poop. And she was wearing a little onsie. Has anyone experienced this where they have to carefully pull the poop covered onsie over the infant's head without it getting in hair/arms/ basically everywhere. The infant was wearing a disposable diaper, as they hadn't started with cloth yet.I recommended changing her in the bathtub or kitchen sink. Cost of child in a disposable: Keep in mind this is an estimate. I calculated the disposable diapers at .10 cents each( which is on the low-end). Average of 12 diapers a day for first 3 months, then 8 diapers a day for 1 year, then 6 diapers for 1 year. So the grand total is $3,768. Keep in mind this does not include diaper genie refills, the times you go and put a disposable on and the tab breaks, wipes, or the times you put a clean diaper on, only to have baby poop right away. Also this estimate is for 27 months...most babies who wear disposable will be in diapers longer as they don't feel the wetness. So you could be adding another 1 year to this estimate. Also this estimate is NOT based on "natural" disposable or the "green" disposable. |
AuthorAnne Loucks: mother of 2 child who used cloth diapers throughout. Archives
May 2020
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