(no subject)

[ocelot]

I hate it when I feel the need to be productive and can't do anything about it. So you get me being frantic here, instead.

The local diaper service sells packs of retired diapers (DSQ prefolds, obviously), dyed lavender, 6 for $3.75. Not recommended for diapering - I don't know if that is an actual quality issue, or because they have a conflict of interest. I should order a pack and see what sort of shape they are in and if they'll let you specify size (if they don't, a co-op of some sort might work... Or just save the too big ones for later). Because that's really cheap. Also need the check the price on prefolds at the local baby store. I assumed they were expensive, but realized that the lack of shipping cost might make up for it.

I'm tempted to switch from motherease diapers to kissaluvs on our registry. They're not that much more expensive, a lot nicer, and size 1 should fit long enough to be "worth it". They would have fit Leif from about 2 months - 18 months or 2 years. But he can still wear the motherease now. Not that I really expect anyone will buy them, anyways.

I'm going to bet someone does get us the Pack-N-Play, which is the lowest priority thing on the registry, just because they so desperately want us to have something even vaguely crib-like. Not that I'm complaining, really. I wouldn't have put it on there if I didn't want one. I'll just be highly amused.

Leif fell and split his lip today. Poor dude. Amazingly, especially given his monkey tendencies, I think this is the worst he's ever been injured. And it really isn't that bad - bled a lot at first, but the cuts are small.

What should I do with this nice useless crib bumper I have in my posession? It's all yellow and gender neutral and stuff and I hate to throw it away. But it really is useless in its current form. Even if we were doing the crib thing, they're a safety hazard. And it takes up space.

Edited at 3 months: * = what we're actually using. ** = not using currently, anticipate using it on a regular basis in the future. - = stuff I haven't used much, if at all, and don't expect to use in the future.
What we have:
Sit'n'Stand stroller
*Infant car seat for stroller/home use (not necessarily safe for car)
*Jogging stroller (useless for baby until 6 months or so, but can sling baby and use it for Leif)
-NoJo sling
Sling lent to friend (didn't get it back)
*Maya Wrap sling
*Homemade wrap carrier
**Mei tai carrier in storage
*Small supply 0-6 month clothing
More clothing in storage (unknown quantity)
*Avent Isis pump with a few bottles
**Bottle sterilizer (if we ever get the distilled water it needs)
*2 dozen infant prefold diapers
**3 dozen or so premium prefold diapers (too big until 6 months or so) spread between storage and various family houses (Hmm. Wonder what happened to the stuff I left at mom's. Damn family drama)
*5 motherease fitted diapers
*Bouncy seat
*5 snap bibs + possibly some in storage (Snap bibs are the best. Velcro bad)
Some toys
-Crib sheet (aka spare fabric) and that damn bumper
*Boppy-type pillow (big - it's like giant boppy from hell! But that probably makes it more useful) (It was wonderful for the first while - I stopped using it around 2 months or so)
*Probably some cloth wipes in storage (made some out of old flannel pants)
-Some sort of weird dollar store baby bath thing of questionable usefulness
Possibly 95% of a tube of lansinoh, if I didn't throw it out. (Used on one occasion, will use more if I ever do wool covers)
-A medela lactina/symphony parts kit, sealed, probably useless to me unless I go work for the university. Any of you all need it?
Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper (might use the playyard portion later. Who knows)
**Pump In Style pump+backpack+parts+bottles
**Various other bottles
(All that was obtained for under $20 total, disregarding stuff used first with Leif)


What we need:
Convertible car seat
*Smaller cloth diapers (or diapers of some sort, anyways) (Found a bunch of old prefolds)
*Covers
*Diaper rash cream
**Milk storage bags or something
*Pads for me to bleed all over (I know, TMI, sorry)
Halloween costumes!

What we don't need immediately but would like/use/need in the future:
*Infant car seat (maybe cheap secondhand just to use with stroller and around the house)
*More clothing
*Receiving blankets (can just cut up and zigzag stitch some of our many old flannel sheets)
Ergo carrier and accessories
Baby hammock (may make as a joint project) (Don't want anymore)
Wet bag or 3
Large wool blanket to lanolize and use as bed pad. Wool sweaters to felt and make into covers (hopefully more successfully than my last attempt)
*Different jogging stroller, or better stuff carrier for existing one (hmm... Check online, might be able to buy replacement)
**Bike trailer with better suspension, but that's totally a luxury since we already have a few other bike options for when baby is old enough
**Bike helmet for when baby is old enough
Pack-N-Play with bassinet (co-sleeper instead).
The One True Diaper Bag that will carry baby stuff, a change of pants or two for Leif, and my stuff, which can be used with either a sling or two-shoulder carrier. (Maya wrap with pocket has been working very well for this)
Better pump (might need later, might not)

Comments

[geminigirl]

What are your diaper/cover preferences other than "cloth"?

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

In the absolute ideal world, the diapers that mactavish linked the other day. But those are expensive even before shipping from England :)

I think I am going to register for half kissaluvs size 1 and half motherease one size diapers, or something like that.

If we end up buying them ourselves, prefolds. Cheap and they work just fine.

For covers - heck if I know. With Leif we basically just did cloth around the house, without a cover, so I don't have much experience there. Motherease claims their covers work best with their diapers, but of course they'd say that. It sounds like we're being loaned some bummis, and those should do just fine. I'd also like to get some fuzzibunz or other pocket diaper once baby gets past the fast growing stage, mainly for use while out.

[geminigirl]

I've heard the same thing about the motherease covers, as well, from people who actually used them, not just from the Motherease website. I gave some Bumkins AIOs as a gift to my sister in law-she had asked for AIOs for when her in laws were changing the baby-apparently with her first, she had lots of diaper issues when her in laws took care of him.

If you tell me which size and color you want, I'll send a couple of fuzzibunz or other AIO/pocket diaper as my baby gift.

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

That would be greatly appreciated, but I'll get back to you about the color after we find out what the baby is :)

[geminigirl]

No problem.

I'm happy to wait. Though I can't imagine that you're the kind of person who would have an issue with putting a little boy in a pink diaper.

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

Not particularly, and I probably wouldn't choose pink regardless, but it would be nice to have some things chosen with the sex in mind, especially since we probably won't get a size that can be used immediately (I'd rather wait a few pounds and get a longer life out of them).

[barelyproper.livejournal.com]

I'll run out to the storage unit and see if I still have the half of a huge bag of super absorbancy pads... I cant use them, and the person who bought them died a few years ago, so we have just been storing them.

I'll let you know what I find out there.

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

My reaction to this ties in quite nicely with your horoscope - my initial thought was along the lines of "Ew, a dead person's pads. They might be haunted!" (No disrespect meant - I realized when typing that out that this person might have been important to you.) But that's just kind of ridiculous, and I'll happily take you up on the offer. Thank you.

[barelyproper.livejournal.com]

I found my self giggling and then outrught laughing when I read this.

I hesitated offering because I had just that same reaction.

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

In that case, I'll make the less respectful comment.

If they are haunted, I can sell them on ebay!

[fleckerbug.livejournal.com]

Donate it to a hospital.. they use them in NICUs. No risk of babies suffocating with all the monitors.

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

Looks like I found a home for it, but that's a great idea. I'll remember that for if I see it come up in the future - I've seen several "What do I do with this crib bumper that came with my bedding?" questions.

[telemicus]

Dude. I so wish we lived closer! We have 3 now-unused infant car seats (they were super cheap at yard sales so we kept buying them.) I have 2 bassinet type things, one converts into a mini-packnplay. Some 0-9 month clothes too small for Basil. A bunch of leftover adult diaper things (easier to use than pads, not too bulky, here's some more TMI: when you are on blood thinners there is no pad on this earth that's gonna absorb enough pp, unfortunately. I bled profusely for 7+ weeks). We have lots of big blankets in storage that we don't need but I can't bear to throw away. I have at least 2 90% full lansinoh tubes somewhere too. All these things are going to be stored or just be donated once I get around to it.

What is a wet bag?

We have been bulk-buying the diaper rash cream online (pmsi_med at ebay seems to be the cheapest) because we go through so much of it and it's cheaper that way.

I wish you luck with the registry, people tend to ignore those things sadly!

If you don't find a home for the bumper we'll take it! The current one on the crib doesn't cover enough and poor Basil has bumped his noggin twice now on the bars when his sitting-up fails him and he falls against the side of the crib :( (we don't leave him sitting up on his own, but we failed to catch him fast enough those 2 times) so we need to pad it more the whole way around. He has never actually slept in the crib, much to D's parents chagrin since the crib was their birthday present for me last yr, so the safety issue shouldn't matter too much.

I want an ergo carrier too, those things look great! Next (hypothetical) baby I have 2 things on my wishlist: some kind of sling or carrier, and a sleigh bed style arms-reach co-sleeper.

I should just mail you the lighter stuff I guess?

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

I'll mail you the bumper and crib sheet sometime this week (Yay! I was feeling guilty about taking it, but it was part of a freecycle thing from someone who wanted one person to take everything). Are you in need of bigger clothing? If so, what sizes? Once we get stuff out of storage, I can send you the larger stuff we've saved if you're interested, since I'll be going through it all anyways.

The 0-3 month clothing would be wonderful, as well as anything reasonably gender neutral that's larger. If you don't feel like sorting through, that's fine too - I just figured it would save on postage. The pads would be great if it doesn't cost more to ship than buy new, as is anything else relatively light. We almost certainly have enough big blankets - I wrote this post way too late last night and wasn't quite thinking clearly.

A wet bag is a reusable bag for storing wet/dirty cloth diapers while you're out (and they make larger ones to stick in the diaper laundry basket). Then you can just wash them along with the diapers. Not really a "need" because we've used plastic grocery bags for this many times without problem, and because we may have fabric that would work well for making our own.

We always used the Burt's Bees cream. It's more expensive, but it works really well, and we never needed it much (I really hope that remains true!). In fact, we needed it so infrequently that I never carried it around, so our main problem was that we had to go out and buy a new tube whenever we needed one. I think this time I'll take some small little containers (lip gloss pots or something) and stick a little bit in them so I have a more manageable size to carry with me.

We'll probably be heading down to Southern California around Thanksgiving. I don't know for how long, but one way or another we should be able to get together. If we don't have anything by then, we can take the convertible bassinet thing then if we don't receive/find one first. On the other hand, if you don't feel like hanging onto it that long, please don't feel obligated :)

Thank you!

[koyote.livejournal.com]

there's also the possibility of family heading up from sand diego. most especially for the immediately after the birth phase. So a car might leave from eastern LA or SD swometime soon anyhow.

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

Yes, I forgot about that. I was going to suggest that I know we probably know someone (or know someone who knows someone) who is going to be traveling by car between Davis and LA at some point in the nearish future, but didn't even think about my own family :)

[rubbrduckage.livejournal.com]

The local diaper service sells packs of retired diapers (DSQ prefolds, obviously), dyed lavender, 6 for $3.75. Not recommended for diapering - I don't know if that is an actual quality issue, or because they have a conflict of interest.
We're customers if you'd like me to get a pack of these next week to check out. (I know they charge delivery fees if you're not a customer...)

Also need the check the price on prefolds at the local baby store.
I remember thinking they were pricey before A was born, but that was before he was born and I didn't know any better :) I want to say they're in the $25ish range for a dozen, but I don't know for sure.

Sling lent to friend
I still have this and don't use it much. Let me know when/where I can return it to you. Thanks for letting me hold onto it for so long!

5 snap bibs + possibly some in storage (Snap bibs are the best. Velcro bad)
Where did you find these?!? I *HATE* the velcro ones, but can't find anything else. :(

What we need:
Covers
Milk storage bags or something
Pads for me to bleed all over (I know, TMI, sorry)
I have all of these if you want to borrow the (Bummis) covers/have the rest.

What we don't need immediately but would like/use/need in the future:
Infant car seat (maybe cheap secondhand just to use with stroller and around the house)
More clothing
I've been scouting the yardsales in Woodland lately and there's a lot of this type of stuff out there. If I find a carseat (I'm assuming you're ok with a used bucket to use around the house and want a new convertible?), do you want me to pick it up? Let me know, I'm always happy to have a yardsale goal :)

Let me know if there's anything I can do for you guys.

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

Ack, can't copy and paste right now.

Go ahead and get a pack if you're curious too. Otherwise, I have a local friend who uses the service who I can ask. What do you think of them? I guess my friend is happy with the service, since they've been using it for 2.5 years now :) We're considering it temporarily for the first little while so we don't have the added laundry stress.

Don't feel bad about the sling - I certainly haven't needed it :)

I found 5 snap bibs at a garage sale last weekend and told the mom she was my new hero. We stumbled upon various others when Leif was drool bib age and probably kept them since they're so much better.

I would love to borrow the covers. That would make life easier if no one ends up buying them for us. The rest would be great, too.

Don't worry about looking at garage sales - I'll be doing that myself. Pretty much the only reason we don't have one yet is because I decided to go with a secondhand infant seat just last night.

Thanks for everything :)

[silkensteel.livejournal.com]

The "not for diapering use" disclaimer might be because they're dyed and therefore not absorbant "enough."

I've still got the NoJo sling; It may be the "short woman" size if they're sized (which means I can use it for babywatching as needed without messing up the adjustments on yours.)

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

People sell dyed prefolds all the time, so I'm guessing that it can't change it too much, unless they use a special dye or something :)

I'm guessing that lavender is a universal "this is a diaper service reject" sign or something like that, so that they can't easily be resold.

My only real worry would be that they use some dye that can cause irritation or something.

[koyote.livejournal.com]

I'm late, so most people won't even see this.

I'm going to post that:

the official website url

and:

we are probably having a sorta kinda baby showery type of party with backyard grilling type stuff or something (sorry, not doing the chocolate fudge poop in a diaper eating contest yupppie official baby shower thing, it just doesn't seem to be possible in our lives, having the husband say "BBQ, BABY, come over" is all you can get) sometime after the move in, tentatively like on the 9th, I guess.