I am drowning in coupons for Huggies diapers and wipes after somehow getting on their mailing list.

Anyone use this brand? Want the coupons?

We’ve been diehard Costco diaper users since Lucy was born, and find them near identical to Huggies. Still hating Pampers with their smell (more chemicals? really?), and Wal-Mart’s have offered nothing but leaks on Alice (and we have to laugh that the character on them is Garfield and Odie. Now who is THAT marketing towards? Certainly not the kids IN the diapers!).

Currently we’re in love with Teddy’s Choice, the store brand from Zehrs/SuperCentre/Loblaw’s. They are super cheap, and work super well.

But nothing, I repeat NOTHING is better than Costco unscented wipes. Nothing is a thicker or absorbant or better priced (and trust me, we’ve tried every brand. Twice.).

Anyways. Want coupons?

Alice has had a diaper rash almost since she was born.

We’re not sure if she’s just got sensitive skin, or what, but there’s always been something: Yeast, irritation from a particular poop, then the milk allergy.

It seemed like we’d get one cleared up, be great for a few days, then she’d be red and raw all over again. It’s been very frustrating. Thankfully she has rarely complained about any discomfort or pain.

No cream seemed to work. Off the top of my head, here’s what we tried:

• zinc cream of every brand (Life, Gerber, Zincofax, Destin) and concentration (10% – 40%)
• Sudocrem (hated it, from the texture to the smell, plus it never stayed put)
• Bordeaux’s Butt Paste (disliked for same reasons as Sudocrem)
• Various all natural creams that worked great on Lucy
• Nothing at all — but this would most certainly lead to some flare-up, and we realized she needed some sort of barrier cream
• Different diaper brands, which seemed to make no difference

After a bath one morning, on a whim, I grabbed Lucy’s bucket of raw shea butter. This is the only substance that clears up the dry spots on her cheeks, and keeps it from returning. We smear it on at night, and presto! Gone in the morning.

I put a generous layer on Alice’s cute but red tushie, secured her diaper and went about our day.

Just a few hours later, her bum was completely cleared. Absolutely NO redness whatsoever. That was three weeks ago, and we haven’t had a single flare-up. I’m absolutely amazed. We just put a thin layer on at each diaper change (thicker before bed).

The brand we have is from Shea Terra Organics, but I’m sure any pure shea butter would work. And not a cream with shea butter in it — I mean the raw, natural, unscented, original stuff.

On a side note, shea butter is fabulous for any rough dry spots on the body: hands, elbows, feet. We love it.

Lucy’s potty training was going fantastically — hardly any messes, consistent peeing in the potty and sometimes even on the toilet — but leaving the house was a huge problem.

My loud-noise-fearing daughter refused to even discuss going pee-pee on a toilet in any restaurant or store. You know those toilets with the long silver handle that don’t have a back tank and flush right into the floor? Generally pretty loud because of the bottom suction?

Lucy’s been terrified of them since she was wee. So the thought of sitting on one was panic-inducing for my poor girl.

This resulted in a few awful public accidents: After repeated asking around potty time if she needed to go, are you sure you don’t have to go, you must have to go?, Lucy would just…pee herself. And pee? Not in a diaper? Soaks everything. So we were back to a full diaper bag, with multiple sets of clean clothes, socks, even shoes.

But one day at the zoo — after many trips to public washrooms with me showing not ALL toilets were loud, and those that were we didn’t have to flush when she was in there — she built up enough courage and trust to go. And I tell you…the celebration in the squeezed toilet stall was epic. I didn’t care who heard me or the looks I’d get, my girl went pee-pee on a big public potty, and damnit she knew how awesome that was.

After reaching that milestone, the hunt was on to find a traveling potty seat. I found it a few days later in Sprawl-Mart: The (gotta love this…) Cushie Tushie Traveller by baby U. Around $12. Folds up well, is padded, comes with a washable bag. Did I mention the damn thing is padded?! Geesh.

It works perfect, and Lucy has never complained about being pinched or fallen in or anything. An excellent investment that will easily carry into the next baby.

Our next potty training challenge: Getting her to poop in the potty, and not in her nap time diaper. Suggestions?

Right when the weather started to turn warm, we discovered the persistent and reoccurring diaper rash Lucy was battling was not, in fact, a rash, but eczema.

Our daycare provider, Julia, diagnosed it. Her son suffered from the exact same rash in the same spot when the heat kicked in.

We weren’t terribly surprised, as Eric has small patches, and it, too, flares up in heat/humidity, as opposed to winter. Different water and soaps can exacerbate it, too.

But, man, is eczema ever a pain to treat in the diaper zone. Mostly because it’s almost always covered up. Moving to underwear has made a big difference, but Lucy’s still in a diaper for nap and overnight.

We’re currently treating it with some hydrocortisone (sparingly) when it’s REALLY bad, but mostly with a thin layer of our favourite All Things Jill Baby Bum Balm. This acts as a barrier to seal in moisture, and helps lessen the irritation from acidic poops.

But even when the patches aren’t red, they’re still raised, and can flare up from the smallest thing.

Does anyone have other treatment suggestions? Creams? Procedures? I’d really appreciate any suggestions.

On the advice of my friend Other C, a few months ago I picked up The Potty Book for Girls.

Other C said it really helped connect the dots for her daughter — who is just a month older than Lucy — and solidify the concept of potty training.

I have to say she was absolutely right.

The little girl in the book, Hannah, is about Lucy’s age, loves hot pink, and is still quite content to do her business in her diaper. But once she starts sitting and trying and having accidents, she realizes how great and freeing it is not to wear diapers anymore.

And then — oooohhh, the climax! — Hannah goes pee-pee AND poop on the potty and her parents take her to pick out her own underwear! Eeeee! Can you feel the excitement, people?!

Lucy loves it. Whenever we talk about the potty and being a big girl and wearing underwear, she always says, “Like Hannah!” or, “Lucy did it just like Hannah!” Obviously the book has really made an impression with her.

The book came with an animated version of the story on DVD, along with a bunch of great songs (there’s one for boys, too). We watch this a lot, as well as Elmo’s Potty Time. The Elmo movie we’ve had forever, and certain parts have really stuck with Lucy: The boy trying hard to pour milk but making a mess until he finally gets it, the kitten climbing up the big stairs, the girl washing her hands. A great tool.

As for the type of potty, we had one misstep along the way. The first potty I bought a year ago had little handles on the top to help toddlers…hold on? brace? push? and Lucy’s chubby little butt would get stuck when she tried to stand up. The poor kid would be all hunched over, staggering, with a plastic seat stuck to her arse. It was absolutely hilarious, but obviously not working. Thankfully the good ol’ people at Sprawl-Mart took it back no problems — albiet with some shared snickering as Lucy sat in the cart looking at us blankly.

I broke down and invested in much more sturdy, multi-use, no-handled one with a padded seat no less: The Comfy Cushy from Safety 1st. It comes apart to go onto the toilet, and can also be used as a step stool. The padded ring has a built-in, uh, splash guard for the male species, but flips over for girls.

Well worth the money — I think I paid around $30? — for its ease of use, functionality and longevity for multiple kids of both sexes.

Any books or tools or tips to share? We are by no means settling on just this. I’ve liked that so far we haven’t had to use any “things” — treats, candy, stickers — to get Lucy to use the potty. Talking about being a big girl who doesn’t need diapers anymore — unlike her soon-to-be-born little sister, who will — is a huge help. We just haven’t reached that level of coercion need yet, but lordhelpus we have yet to broach the subject of pooping…

Check this out, new from Pampers:

Change the Wetness – Not the diaper!

When you’re out and about, it’s often hard to find a good place to change your baby’s diaper. Finally, a simple, clean way to keep your baby dry on the go. Introducing New Pampers Change ‘N Go, with the 1st ever replaceable Slip-In that pulls wetness away from baby’s skin and helps lock it away. The ultra absorbent Slip-In holds as much as a full size diaper and makes changes easier than ever. No changing table required! You only change the whole diaper for messy changes.

I’d have to see them and hold them to understand exactly how they work (you can see videos of them “in action” here). Somehow the idea of one piece of…stuff that you insert with cardboard doesn’t seem sufficient. But with the amount of research and development that goes into this sorta stuff, I can’t see them bringing them to market if they didn’t somehow work…

I’m a bit of a clean freak when it comes to diaper changes, though, and always use wipes even with a pee. Obviously these wouldn’t work for a poop either. And really, disposable diapers are so ridiculously absorbent, I dunno when this would ever be needed.

I’m not sure I’d spend the money, either: $4 for four diapers and slip-ins, or $11 for 16 — pricey!

I do, however, like the idea of not needing a change table. And we all know what happened that one time…

Thoughts?

(Thanks to reader Sarah for sending this in — especially because she uses cloth diapers…)

My sister-in-law’s best friend, Sarah, has a daughter just a few days older than Lucy. Sarah’s been reading here forever (hi Sarah!), and last summer nominated Durham Region Baby to the Just Mommie’s Top 100 Mommy Blogs 2007.

And wowee, lookiee here: We’re number 31!

Sweet.

Thanks so much, Sarah!

p.s. — Sarah is a huge proponent in cloth diapering, and recently started selling them via the innovative Diapering Decisions. Check them out. I am seriously considering trying them for subsequent babies.

A few weeks ago, Shelby from Natural Earth Tones in Oshawa emailed asking how to get his delectable baby-mama themed products featured on the site.

After I picked myself up off the floor from a fit of flattery, I asked if he could send me some stuff to try. After all, I wasn’t just going to throw stuff at y’all, especially products you might consider slathering on your baby n’ you.

And get this: he did!

A package arrived with an All Things Jill Welcome Baby gift set ($30), jar of shea terra Certified Organic Shea Butter ($18), and two bars of all natural soap ($3.75 each or 3/$10.25).

Read the rest of this entry »

One of the things that drew me to the internet before Lucy was born was trying to figure out what to have ready when she arrived. I went mostly by the Babies R Us catalogue, which provided a checklist of items, but of course it was biased and tailored to their stock.

Other moms were really helpful, too, but it got to the point where my head was overloaded. (And then the half-naked chili episode happened and I got caught snarfing Timbits and all I could think about was food.)

So filed under the “What I wish I’d known before Lucy was born” category, I present the Essential New Baby Gear Guide (or, What Else to Buy Besides Diapers, Kleenex for the Sleep-Deprived Weeping and A Whole Other Wardrobe for the Post-Partum Body):

Read the rest of this entry »

Lucy, in the days after she was born, lived in this clear plastic basinette at the hospital. Underneath the basinette was an open-faced drawer. And in that drawer were the worst baby wipes I’ve ever used.

And they weren’t from Bo-Bo’s Butt Beautifiers or some other no-name company, either, but a huge, multi-national, decades-old business that should just know better than to make such a horrendus piece of slimy paper then foist them on horomonal just-gave-birth women in a free goodie bag.

Read the rest of this entry »