Baby Stuff (human baby!)

I have been debating the carseat/carrier/stroller/sling issue for a bit with DH, it's so redundant to get them all, and NOT cheap.

That being said, right now we're ultimately aiming to get them all. The carseat/carrier for the reasons listed - quick stops, easier to put into stroller etc. I imagine DH using the stroller more/easier than doing the carrier, although he's very open to a carrier (I'm inclined to think he'll only use it when I'm *with* him and will use the stroller when he's alone). I want to get a carrier and a wrap because we hike/walk/train outside a LOT. I am assuming for IPO training I will often be wearing baby when DH is going (I am his spotter/clicker) and will swap when I'm going - so wearing will be easiest. But, I want the option of the stroller anyway (and we're getting an infant car seat that goes into the stroller...we think, right now haha).

We're going the infant route because it's so much lighter/easier to get into and out of the car/more maneuverable. I'm super short and drive an SUV so I want something easy. DH was a 10+ lb baby and his brother was 12 lbs...we're resigned to getting a convertible later. Plus, if they're going to expire anyway, I'd rather have the ease of the infant seat and then the price of the convertible than the price of two convertibles!

I imagine that's the route we will go too. Keep me posted on how wearing the baby during your activities goes; I REALLY want to do the same thing and think it would be so much easier to exercise the dogs while baby wearing. Plus easy to breastfeed and comfort the baby when fussy during these activities.

I'm really looking to keep things as simple as possible. I know a baby is going to rock our world, but I'm looking to do some of the things my parents did. They were in their thirties when I was born and they lived far away from family. They were very unconventional but I really admire the way they raised me. They did what made sense to them and were very attachment type parents during a time when it wasn't well known.

I didn't di hard core dog stuff while wearing the baby but most of the early days with my son were spent with him nursing in the carrier while I pushed my daughter in the swing and played fetch with Marley. I felt awesome doing three things at once easily and it was relaxed. (And yes I often got my phone calls in durning these times as well lol as both kids were content and happy)

From seeing the parents in my IPO club with their kids, they often would hand their child off to be held when they were wee and needed to work a dog. It worked quite well, so I suspect the wearing will be even better. One of my friends wore her daughter when running tracks with no issue.

Once they were a bit more mobile, a blanket on the ground with toys and someone to keep a light eye on them did the trick. Now we have a handful of kids under 5 entertaining themselves during practices with little needed input from parents.

Another friend of mine used her jogging stroller as home base for her daughter while training and then wore her basically everywhere else. Now she can hike 3-5 mile trails with minimal carrying at 3yo.

No baby here any time soon, lol, but probably a stupid question... how do cloth diapers work? Like, is it just similar to underwear, but how do you... wash the poop out? You can't just throw the whole thing filled with poop in the washer right? /stupidnonbabyperson


But anywho, wanted to say congrats on your upcoming new addition!

you rinse off the poop first

I think they make attachments you add to your toilet to rinse off poop off diapers?

The older ones expired after 5 years, but the newer models (since 2011 I think) appear to have expirations 7-9 years out. That certainly changes things a bit.

I used the diaper liner( bamboo maybe) that caught solids so no poo went Into the washer. I keep saying I am going to go back to cloth 100% because it is supposed to make toilet training easier but disposable really is easier for me! I will in a few months though.

We even have cloth diapering services around here. I have pocket diapers. Several different brands. No real favorite. There are all kinds though.

Interesting! I could definitely see it being a big money saver.

I'm still not sure it's that much of a money saver, frankly (especially not those cloth diapering services)... I used generic diapers for a long time, then only stocked up with coupons, so it wasn't always outrageous... Plus you have to account for detergent and washer/dryer wear (I already had to do laundry all the time, and we've seriously had to replace 3 of those already in the last 6 years, granted it was from two different houses, but still, that's close to $2000 right there) and TIME. Staying on top of laundry was a nightmare already, I couldn't even imagine adding diaper loads for two children. Not worth the stress for me at all.

But cloth diapers are super cute and kudos to people who do it, lol.

Shows you how much I pay attention, i'm not even sure what kind of seat we have. It's a Graco I think infant to 35lbs? with the bases in each vehicle so we can just click them in and out. Got the stroller that the car seat fits into as well which was nice.

started with cloth, switched to disposable. Cloth are probably more doable at this point now that his almost a year and it's nothing like it was the first 8 months, but between the clothes and the diapers, laundry was running constantly here. 2 hours was way too long and if he ****, everything needed to be cleaned. I know some people didn't have that issue, but nothing was ever small with this kid

But we got rid of the cloth stuff and are not going to reinvest in it at this point.

He was held a lot, but not a lot of baby wearing. We had a baby bjorn, worked well, but really it was just as easy to spend time with him holding him and giving him all our attention and when it was time to do other stuff, let the other take over, or do it while he was sleeping, or just set him down. But there were a few times I strapped him in to do stuff around the house or outside and he'd just fall asleep

Now we have a Kelty backpack carrier for hiking and stuff, definitely buy used. they're like 300+ new and you can get them barely used for 50 bucks on CL. Not for "baby wearing" but great for getting out and doing stuff. That was a few months down the line.

Things you need? Diapers that's about it. Swing was nice for the first few months because I could set him in there and he'd sleep while I did stuff. But bouncers and walkers were a no go in this house, i wish they'd just do away with them, but people can make their own choices.

for the first 4 months he slept with us in a recliner we'd take turns at night and he'd sleep about 3-4 hours at a time that way. We also co-slept too after a while. By 6 months he was sleeping thru the night on his own.

we got so many hand me downs in terms of clothes and toys we needed to build an addition. Most of that is just a blur for me.

around 4 months we started solid foods, at first we were going to blend everything ourselves and make all our own food. Blend it, pour it in ice cube trays, thaw, feed, etc. That lasted a week and then we just gave him food, regular food that we were eating. I preferred that way because their nutrition is still almost exclusively breast milk anyway and this was teaching him to eat by eating. Using his hands, hand eye coordination, chewing, swallowing etc. By 6 months there wasn't anything he wasn't eating on his own other than really soft stuff we'd have to spoon for him. It's very nice just making food for us and he eats with us.

Pack and play was only used when we traveled and even then he usually slept with us anyway if the beds were big enough. Camping we brought it for when we were making food and stuff and for napping. I would get a changing table too. I like it, but my wife seems to prefer to just change him with a mat on the floor.

We got a wipe warmer from someone and ditched that after a few days. All it did was dry out the wipes though they were always kept closed. We got every teether imaginable, and the chewy banana was what he liked best, but everyone has one their child liked best. It's probably why everyone ends up with 100 of them before they're done. He wasn't a fussy teether anyway, so that was nice. He doesn't have them all, but he has at least 8 now and has for a while. He'll be turning 1 in a few days.

I think were were kind of lucky and I think we kind of created this too. They're babies, they need breast milk, attention and lots of diaper changes. The rest is just fluff we didn't have rigid rules that he needed to be out of our bed by a certain age. he would absolutely NOT sleep on his back, ever. and as soon as he was strong enough to roll on his stomach he did. immediately when he was laid down. So we didn't stress about it. We didn't keep set schedules for napping or bed times. Just pay attention to your baby, they'll tell you what they need. You train dogs for a living, trust me, you can pay attention to a child and figure out its needs and wants. it's amazing how similar things can be.

Enjoy it all, it goes by really very quickly.

Oh yeah I forgot that most infant seats go to 35 pounds now... Yikes. We had a 22 pound limit one but as I said, switched at 8 months, I can't even imagine carrying a 35 pounds baby/toddler in a bucket :rofl1:

he only gets carried in it from the garage to the house and vice versa. Anywhere else we go, he comes out of the seat and it stays in the vehicle and he's not 35 lbs. when he's that big, I'm sure he will have outgrown this lengthwise anyway. He's practically there already.

I know we've been talking already, but I figured I'd reply in here too with more information for anyone who is interested Nora's napping at the moment so I have a little bit of time.

We've been using cloth diapers and I am really happy we made that decision! We started with Bumgenius Newborn AIOs and now use Bumgenius 4.0s. They "recommend" having 18-24, but we have 30+ because Nora pees so often. She hates the feeling of being wet, so we change her as soon as she pees. I swear she goes through 20+ daily. At night we use Pampers Swaddlers disposables in order to get her to sleep through the night.

Besides, you can't beat how CUTE cloth looks!

_DSC9280.jpg by Chihuahuaesque, on Flickr

Cloth diaper, shirt, leggings... outfit made and changes are so easy!

Our water bill hasn't gone up at all. I spend maybe ~$10 on detergent for them every month (I use cloth diaper detergent). The time spent is just turning dials on the washer and dryer (1 cold wash, 1 hot wash, 1 cold rinse, then transfer to dryer). However, I am a stay at home mom and I'm not sure I would do cloth diapers if I had a child in daycare. It doesn't take much time for me to wash/stuff them, but I have the ability to do it throughout the day.

I wear Nora for at least a couple of hours each day, and it has saved my sanity. I LOVE babywearing. I don't ever use our stroller because it's so much easier to strap on my carrier. I'd recommend an ergonomic carrier (one with a wide seat) since it will be more comfortable for you and the baby. Many people get carriers like Bjorns which aren't ergonomic and get uncomfortable past a certain weight limit.

foxy by Chihuahuaesque, on Flickr

My carrier of choice is Tula. I've tried Ergo and it killed my neck/back within minutes, but I know a lot of people like them. Sometimes you just have to experiment to see what works for you. I keep debating trying wrapping, but I honestly love my Tulas so much and they're just so easy. The wraps I like are all $150+ so I'd rather just buy more Tulas!

Hello, my name is Taqroy and I have a babywearing problem so this is going to be wordy. /bow

I have/had all the carrying devices. Out of all of those we use the stroller the absolute least. I think we've used it 5+ times, tops. When Falon was small it was more fun and more convenient to use a carrier, now that she's bigger she rampages until she's tired, or rides in the cart, or gets carried (depending on where we are).

We started wearing with a mei tei and a ring sling. Moved on to woven wraps and SSC's (Soft Structured Carriers). Matt prefers the structured carriers - he used the ring sling sometimes but he won't wrap. I loved the mei tei and ring sling but she outgrew both of them by six months, I can't deal with having all of her weight on one shoulder with a ring sling and the mei tei we have wasn't designed for a bigger baby.

SSC's, I highly recommend a Tula (we have the gender neutral gray one) or a Kinderpack. You can use them fairly early and we are still using the Standard Tula at nearly 2 years old.

Wraps - there are so many varieties that it really comes down to personal preference. If there's a babywearing group near you I highly recommend attending a meeting after your small fry is here. They're generally very welcoming and they'll have a lending library that you can borrow wraps out of. For a beginner wrapper I'd recommend a Girasol in your base size (not necessarily from Marsupial Mamas, they were just the first place that popped into my brain). I'm guessing that your base size is a 5 or 6 but there is a guide here.

You can wrap for quite awhile. I just bought a hemp blend and big pink puffy heart adore it for Falon. She's nearly two and 26 pounds and I wore her comfortably for an hour over the weekend.

NatiWrap-7477 by taqroy, on Flickr

Feel free to message me (here or FB, but I'm better at responding on FB) if you have questions or just want to talk about baby stuff.

So much this. I'm glad that I got into dog training before I had a kid, there's a lot of crossover.


ETA: I put Falon in the ring sling and went out to play fetch with the dogs when she was two days old. Babywearing made doing kid/dog things way easier in the beginning. I think it would work great to swap back and forth when you guys are out and about practicing (you'd probably want an SSC for that, they are way faster to get in and out of).

I will say, I started using the stroller (without the baby seat of course) more when they were older and we were doing longer outings. I still needed to carry stuff, diapers etc and carrying that and the toddler got old lol. SO I used the stroller to hold my stuff and then the toddler rotated in and out of the stroller, carrier, and walking. Especially when I had my second, I did need some extra space.

Well...I spent probably about $100-$150 in cloth diapering stuff? And using disposables about half time or slightly more now with day care I spend about $25/month on disposables and even more on wipes...the cloth diapers could pay for themselves in less than 4 months. Water bill, I'll be totally honest, I live with my family and don't pay it so I have no idea what it is. Detergent isn't a big expense. Washing them takes a little time but it never seemed too bad to me. I don't mind laundry. I air dried them so no wear on the dryer and no issues with the washer.

If I had twins or used a laundromat it'd be a whole different story lol

Same here, we have goals of this. I am very happy with how I was raised and hope to do as good of a job with our child.

That's awesome to hear! My dogs are both idiots so baby will be handed off to hubby while I'm handling. He's so open to it, I'm really hopeful that it will work well with our routine and we can do it.

Do you not have fire ants there? I would not be able to put a baby on the ground, even with a blanket, here. It's very encouraging to hear that multiple people have done it in your club though Ours is a pretty....non-kid friendly club but since the Founder/President/Training Director/Helper is the one having a child, I am finding people are a little more open minded hahaha

The 3yo can hike 3-5 mile trails?! I was thinking the same thing in regards to the stroller...bring it to training/outings as an alternative if wearing isn't working for whatever reason. Also, I melt here in GA for summer, so I'm going to need some options. I'm a MI girl...

We've started a list of things that we NEED before baby is here, regardless of what a baby shower brings. It's incredibly short LOL Made me feel guilty until I'm reading all of these. We already bought the carseat, diapers are next, and we're considering a few different options for next to/attached to the bed. Undecided as of yet.

We are not registering for ANY clothes. We're also not finding out gender. hehe Everyone in my family is already complaining they don't know what "color" to get - but for the important stuff, color doesn't matter LOL I don't want 15 pink girl dresses or 25 blue hats.

I know some parents have good ideas and they all get tossed when baby comes home, but we're planning on being laid back parents. We have 5-6 dogs in our home - I am not having everyone sterilize feet and hands when they come in, baby is going to be allowed to crawl around on floor, and the dogs are going to be allowed upstairs etc. Things I know some parents freak at, we've already discussed the major things and have the same goals. I was raised with pets, and drinking out of the hose outside LOL I would like my children to learn some freedom and fun too, as I did.

Everyone that is NOT into dogs, has told me raising a pup/dog and a child are not at all similar. Everyone who is into dogs to a serious level, has told me they are It's awesome to hear. My belly is barely starting to show and we're both getting more and more excited.

Tula is on our short list, I haven't seen anyone complain that they don't fit/wear well. Can I get the standard and make it into an infant/newborn one with the insert? Am I reading that right? Jessie - this is aimed at you too

Again, couldn't enjoy hearing this more!

they are so much alike it's not even funny seriously, a puppy screams in a crate, you give it clues to what you want, quiet, and when they do reward. It works. at 3 mo's old, my wife thinks they're nothing alike.

He would scream at her for bottles, maybe not scream, but yell. He knew what was going on, I could tell by his focus on what we were doing (getting bottle ready) or if he saw it by then, he really knew. She'd let him yell right up to feeding time.

I on the other hand, would get it ready, and he'd yell at me. At 3 mo's I didn't think he could hold it that long so once it was ready, I made a calming voice and when he quieted I gave him what he wanted. Took about a week and when he'd yell I'd just look at him and easy calm voice and he was quiet and waiting anxiously He follows me while I make his food or get bottles ready now and his as quiet as can be and of course at first, it was 1 second of quiet and reward and build from there. I"m such an evil parent, everyone thought I was nuts, but it worked and even my wife admitted as much. That says something. She didn't think there was any way a 3 month old would understand anything, but I could tell he was. I don't know how, but focus, intensity, body actions told me, he doesn't look like a puppy, but a lot of it was the same.

I interact with him a lot, he gets free reign of most everything and at the same time, everything is watched. I trade him things for stuff that is dangerous. He rarely gets told "no", but when he does, he doesn't protest much and moves on. It's a balancing act like just like raising a puppy. Tell them no all the time and it means nothing and they never get to experience anything. let them have a free for all with no rules, that doesn't end too well either. and sometimes I'm doing stuff and he has to entertain himself, which he does well, with an eye to make sure nothing is dangerous, he just gets to explore and get into things too.

I even play fetch with him now he was walking before 10 months and he loves bringing me stuff to roll or toss across the room to get and bring back, tell me they're not like dogs