The 'Onya' One For Me

Yes, I had to throw in a silly play on words with the baby carrier brand name Onya. But it IS the only one for me. It is a wonderful (over-priced) baby carrier and I adore it! Let me count the ways:

1. It is comfortable.
I loved my sling ($20 from Target) and it was my go-to carrier with my first, but it did make my back tired. After lengthy use, I would get a little pinch in my back. I fixed it by reversing the cross of the sling, but that's no longer a problem. The Onya sits evenly on my back, so no back ache for me.

2. It fits well.
The Onya has the availability to do criss-cross straps on the back. With my slender build, some backpacks and carriers don't lay right. The Onya fits every body type.

3. It's versatile.
I carried my newborn in it and loosened the straps to carry my almost 4 year old in the same outing. Yes, the same outing. I ended up carrying the baby in my arms and my 40 pound daughter "backpack style" in the Onya (quite a spectacle). But aside from me, it's husband worthy. I don't know how I lucked out with a husband that has handled and grown with me in my crunchy momma ways, but he is supportive and adorable. Is there anything more handsome than a baby-wearing husband? I submit there is not! Plus I hear it works as a chair seat for babies that can sit up. When my lil' peanut gets bigger, I'll let you know how it works.

4. It's stylish.
I don't feel silly when I use it. Most baby carriers look okay, but the Onya was my favorite. I chose the beige and green with the waterproof fabric. It makes it a little more "outdoorsy" than the regular fabric and that's why I chose it. (And I know it's silly, but I liked the packaging as well.)

5. It's easy.
It's still a baby carrier and requires a quick tutorial. But as far as carriers go, I think it is more intuitive than most. Other brands take a video tutorial and some serious practice to get used to. This just clicks in and you're done.

I didn't buy my Onya through Kelly's Closet (I chose a local retailer instead) but I know they currently carry it. The price is steep, but I really have enjoyed it worth the price already in 4 months. I plan to use it for a long time with my son and future children as well, so it's a worthy investment. It might be right for you too.

Bio: Alicia is an 8th grade English and Drama teacher and is a pretty crunchy momma. She shares her Arizona home with a wonderful husband, energetic 4 year old, sweet 5 month old, 1 crazy dog, and 6 happy chickens.

The 'Onya' One For Me

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Poop Tales: Cloth Diapering a Medically Complex Kiddo

“Not again!” I muttered as I changed my son's diaper for the ninth time one afternoon. With that back-breaking straw, I decided to take the plunge and finally buy some of the cloth diapers I had researched for so long. From day one I was in love with everything about them! I loved not having to throw a dozen diapers away every day. I loved that I would be able to use these same diapers on baby #2 (whom I was pregnant with at the time). I loved not having to chase diaper sales and store huge boxes of diapers. It was a dream come true!

As my pregnancy progressed, I excitedly looked into newborn cloth diapers. I purchased cute newborn pocket size diapers, newborn inserts, prefolds and newborn covers. We planned to have everything we would need to cloth diaper our bundle from day one.

That fall we welcomed our second baby boy into the world. He was (and still is) beautiful and perfect, we couldn’t get enough of him. Sadly within hours our sweet baby started to get sicker and sicker. Tests revealed that his intestines had never connected to his bowels. The Doctors life flighted him to a bigger hospital where he underwent a 4-hour surgery, in the hopes that the problem could be fixed with ease. Unfortunately, surgery to connect his bowels and lower intestine was unsuccessful, so our sweet boy was given a colostomy. We were sent home; told that we would be changing poopy bags not poopy diapers. I mentioned our cloth diaper plans to the Neonatologist who told us that he didn’t see how we could make cloth diapering work. Being scared NICU parents, we took his word for it and put our cloth diapers away.

After a few weeks of using disposables we realized that there had to be a way that we could make cloth diapering still work. We started trouble shooting. It was a bumpy ride, but in so many ways cloth diapering turned out to be the best thing we could have done for our medically complex son.

What we had to do differently:
Our baby's stoma (poop hole on top of his abdomen) was much lower than most colostomy patients, so we had to put the diaper very low on his belly. Secondly, our son’s bag needed emptying; so we emptied it into the diapers. The diapers would then get laundered as “normal” poopy diapers.

What didn't work:
Most Pockets/All in Ones- We simply struggled to get them to fit low enough on his belly. As he got older we got a few brands to fit by folding down the area above the waist snaps or folding the velcro strip in half down into the diaper.

What worked best:
We finally found success with prefolds and low rise covers (flats also worked too). Below is how we folded the prefold in order to get them low enough for him.

How Else Cloth Diapering Helped Us:
Our cloth diapers not only went on our baby's bum but we ended up using them on his belly. Babies with colostomies and similar procedures often get skin breakdown around their stoma sites. We ended up occasionally using cloth diapers on his stoma to give the skin time to breathe and heal. We used a snappi to attach a prefold. It worked like a charm.

Cloth was also a blessing after our son’s colostomy reversal. He, like most children who undergo intestinal surgeries, experience bowel incontinence for weeks to years post surgery. We ended up using 15 diapers a day at least. This would have been a huge financial burden had we been using disposables.

Ultimately, cloth diapering our son did not go as we had envisioned it. But with some creativity even a child with special health challenges can be cloth diapered. Don't be discouraged by like feeding tubes, ostomies, low birth weights, older children with diapering needs etc. Every baby and family can benefit from using cloth diapers. There are enough cloth diaper brands, styles and sizes to ensure that every baby can sport a fluffy bum and a smile.

Bio: Charlene lives in UT with her adorably geeky husband and the two cutest baby boys in the Northern Hemisphere. She is a cloth diaper enthusiast, baby sling connoisseur, overall rockin' domestic engineer and avid blogger at cgmrb.blogspot.com

Poop Tales: Cloth Diapering a Medically Complex Kiddo

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How to Discretely Nurse in Public

Breastfeeding your child is a beautiful experience. Not only is breast milk best for baby, but there are a number of benefits for the nursing mom as well. Nursing in the privacy of your own home is one thing, but some mothers feel intimidated by nursing in public. We can't stay in the confines of our homes forever, and expressing breast milk to bottle feed during outings is both time consuming and potentially damaging to the breastfeeding relationship (such as in the development of bottle preferences).

While some mothers have no issue feeding their babies in any situation, any attire, and around any company, other mothers prefer to keep the fact that they are nursing more discrete. A modest mother may be tempted to seek privacy in public restroom stalls: a practice that is both unsanitary and uncomfortable, and serving as a detriment to the nursing relationship. Instead, nursing mothers should be able to find products or solutions to enhance their breastfeeding experience, and allow them to nurse comfortably and discretely in public when necessary.

Nursing Shawls: A nursing shawl offers great coverage while nursing, without drawing attention to the nursing mother. The shawl can be worn over any shirt for an outing, but may work best when paired with shirts that have loose fitting neck lines (or those that button up). You can wear your nursing shawl over a nursing tank top to make feeding even easier.

Nursing Tank Tops: A mother can select to wear a nursing tank top underneath of her shirt for outings. When baby needs to feed, the outer shirt is lifted to provide access to the breast, while the tank top covers the stomach and back. The outer shirt can be used to cover the breast while baby is feeding. Tank tops are relatively inexpensive, however you may need to purchase several of them.

Decorative scarves: Try pairing a button-down dress shirt (or a shirt with a wide neck line) with a decorative scarf. The dress shirt can be unbuttoned when baby needs to feed, and the scarf used as a cover.

Nursing Covers: There are a variety of different nursing covers available on the market today. Many covers are developed so that the nursing mother can easily see the nursing baby. While covers offer the benefit of completely covering the baby, covers may be difficult to use in warm weather. Other mothers feel that nursing covers draw more attention to the fact that they are nursing.

Blankets: A thin swaddling blanket can make a perfect nursing cover. Either cover baby completely, or lightly drape the cloth over baby's face while nursing. Thin blankets can also be used for wiping up drips of milk or burping the baby after a feeding.

These are only some of the solutions that will allow a mother to discretely nurse in public and provide confidence to those who are just beginning their breastfeeding relationship. It is often difficult to spot a mother nursing in public: usually bystanders are oblivious that a “sleeping baby” may actually be nursing. I still remember one instance where a woman approached me as I was nursing my son in public. She walked up to us and pulled back the blanket covering his face before I could warn her. She simply smiled and said, “Oh, he’s eating. He’s so beautiful! You are so blessed!” That woman made me feel proud to be a nursing mother.

Bio: Nissa is a researcher and writer working in the life sciences. In her free time, she enjoys writing about natural parenting, cloth diapering, and eco-friendly living at Cloth Diaper Guru.

How to Discretely Nurse in Public

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StreptoWHAT?

It began as a simple rash. We'd dealt with these before. I was a pro. I have extremely sensitive skin and I often get rashes when the weather is changing, when I try a new product or, basically, whenever I breathe. The rash on my 2 and a half year old son's bottom looked just like the kind of rash I get on my legs where my pants rub and I just assumed his skin was suffering from the dry Colorado weather like mine does every.single.year.

I slathered the rash with all kinds of creams from calendula, GroVia Magic Stick to CJ's BUTTer. We tried air time, changing to pull-ups at night instead of cloth diapers. We even tried coconut oil.

But the rash got worse. The spots started to bleed. I just assumed that was because he just wouldn't stop itching. We couldn't kick it.

And then my daughter got a weird sore on her neck. Little pimple like sores started popping up on her legs and face and then finally on her diaper area. In a matter of mere hours, the rash went from something that looked simple and manageable to a site that truly scared me. I decided it was time to go see the pediatrician.

The answer, "Streptococcal." StreptoWHAT?! I'd never heard of it but I knew I was David and this rash was Goliath. She prescribed a topical antibiotic, as well as an oral antiboitic, for both kids.

I thought that things would start to clear up. Little did I know that the battle had just begun and this Goliath was laughing in my face. Things got worse. I came down with Mastitis and an eye infection which made it impossible to drive or go out into sunlight for several days. I was put on an antibiotic eye drop but decided to flush the mastitis out without antibiotics.

YIKES! Although there is no real way to say that these things are all related but I'd never had either issue.

Here is how we beat Goliath.

1. Normally our kids take a bath together but I started bathing them separately.
2. I washed all of our diapers with bleach and rinsed them over and over again in hot water. I packed them away until I was sure the rash was completely gone.
3. I bleached the tub after every single bath. And bleached the toilet every time my son went to the bathroom.
4. We applied the diaper rash cream as prescribed.
5. I put my son in a onesie as often as I could so he wouldn't itch the rash and touch anything.
6. I made sure to wash my hands, my son's hands and my daughter's hands as often as possible.

If you are dealing with a rash that isn't familiar or isn't going away, it is a good idea to reach out to your pediatrician. If you have multiple children, do your best to prevent the rash from spreading between them (use separate towels, different sets of diapers, different bathing times, etc).

Also, the wonderful ladies at Kelly's Closet and The Cloth Diaper Whisperer are an amazing resource for solving any cloth diaper related issue, including how to clear out the bacteria in your diapers from these yucky Goliath type rashes.

Don't allow yourself to be intimidated by or defeated by this giant. You don't have to give up cloth diapers just because your child gets a bad rash.

Mindy is mommy to two spunky kids who have both been clothed diapered mostly from birth!  She can often be found stalking kellyscloset for no reason or trying something “crunchy” like washing her hair with baking soda!  Follow along (when she has time) at neckdeepinlove.blogspot.com.

StreptoWHAT?

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