A couple of little questions - slings, nappies and co-sleeping

[Farie]

Hi :wave:

I now its a little premature to be posting questions in here, but If I'm going to win DF round to crunchy green parenting its going to take time!

Slings - I knew everyone has personal choice but is there a sling you'd all recommend for newborns upwards? I'm 5'6 and a 8-10 (haha at the mo!) if that makes any difference? DF isn't going to let me buy more than 1 to start with. I like Hug-a-bubs, are they god?
If you sling a lot do you have a pram? Do sling babies mind prams?

Nappies - Did many of you use 'sposies for the 1st week or so?
I really want to use reusables but am a bit scared to start straight away.
What is a good number to start with and have you got any fool proof nappy suggestions?
I was thinking AIO's for ease?

Co-sleeping - what sized beds do you guys have? We have a plain old double and I honestly cannot see where bubs is going to fit without getting squished? Also I like the duvet right up round me, wont this cause issues?

Ummm thats all for now - Thank you

 

[lfernie]

I use a wrap and would say they are pretty versatile so great for newborn upwards, plus I've heard great thing about mei tai's too.

I didn't use reuseables till Ry was 3 months but lots of the ladies have done it from day one so they will be able to answer that.

Lastly, we cosleep in a double bed and if you put you LO at you side with his/her own blanket then I think you would be OK with your duvet.

HTH x

 

[thelilbump]

Nappies; i didn't use them from newborn, wish i had though! AIO's are easy to use but they come with down sides too such as the length of time they take to dry, not too bad if u have a dryer but if you are line drying it could take a couple of days. I'm sure the number advised for newborns is 20+, i know it sounds a lot but beleive me (ask squish ) it's not!

Co sleeping, we have a double and bubs slept in something called a snugglenest in our bed. It was a bit of a squish and we had to sleep on our sides with only 1 pillow but rather that than take the risk of rolling on to baba IMO. We just put 2 cotton sheets on her in the nest and we had the duvet as normal (she was oo high up for the duvet too reach her as the nest goes right to the head off the bed)

 

[FemmeEnceinte]

I use a babyhawk Mei Tai, but it wasn't from birth. We had all sorts of carriers until then and didn't like any of them as much. Molly never liked her pram, so we don't bother/ We'll try again once she can sit in the buggy mode but I'm not really concerned, if she doesn't like it... the MT will be fine until she's a toddler - then maybe a toddlerhawk? Haha...

Nappies, We weren't in cloth until Molly was 6 weeks when a friend sent me some gorgeous ittis and, honestly, they're no more difficult than disposables. Not scary at all. I was intimidated beforehand too, but get a few different types and you'll soon see that they're easy peasy before LO is even here.

Co-sleeping... OH is in the spare room atm (He's not a light sleeper and I don't trust him to be aware of her). So, I'm on one side of a king size bed and Molly on the other. On her side is mesh safety guard so she doesn't fall out and if she rolls into it she can still breathe. But, she doesn't really move. She stays on her pillow and I stay on mine! She has a blanket or grobag and I have the duvet half on me, half trailing on the floor...

x

 

[lfernie]

Femme, do you give Molly a pillow? Sometimes I let Ry sleep on a pillow in the morning when I can see him but I think he's a lot more comfortable but HV's always say it's a big no no x

 

[FemmeEnceinte]

I let her sleep on a quite flat pillow and she seems comfier to me too. I was worried when I heard that there's a risk of SIDS but then they use pillows in sweden and they have a lower rate of SIDS so

I guess, it's like anything... co-sleeping carries risks of SIDS and HVs are against that too a lot of the time.

I try to think why it might be a risk and all I can come up with is potential suffocation (It's not a particularly new or fluffy pillow, bless her, it's flat as a pancake) or overheating and I've yet to see her sweaty from sleeping on the pillow so... really no idea.

 

[TigerLady]

Slings:
I had a ring sling with a tail from the start. Loved it. Great for BFing, too. I still use it some. I also have a MT now, but I wouldn't say they are best for newborns. Wraps are very popular, too, and I plan to get a woven one this time around to add to the collection. I only ever used my pram when I went on a vacation and did the "tourist" thing around a big city all day. And then I only used it once. I actually preferred to carry him in the ring sling all day. However, the grandmas have found it useful. Our pram is over at Gram's house now as she takes him on afternoon walks twice a week with it. He does fine in both slings and the pram.

Nappies: We only use fluff part time atm. I plan to try to get the new one in them more from earlier, but will probably wait until all the tarry newborn poo is gone (a week or so).

Co-sleeping: We have a California King. As big as DH and I are, even that is a bit small. My BIGGEST recommendation: An Arm's Reach. Can't speak highly enough of them. LO spends all night in that now. When he does bed share with me, it is between me and that (not next to DH). I also have a snugglenest now that I will likely use with the next one in some way. But will definitely keep using the Arm's Reach with the next one, too.

 

[Lu28]

Hi Farie!!

I'm not going to be too much help to you as I started with all of this stuff a bit late in the day to be honest.

We have a mei tai which is great and I've seen some videos on youtube on the best way to have a newborn in one. Otherwise, I've heard great reports of moby wraps for newborns - if you want both, just buy the material for the moby yourself, no sewing involved and then you can get away with buying a mei tai too!

We also have a pram but I hardly use it now. The last time I did, Aisling moaned the whole time, could have been a coincidence mind you. I just thought it was important to have one if someone else was looking after her, I don't think it's fair to expect someone else to wear her if they'd prefer a pram

I'm no help with newborn nappies and we never really coslept except for when we both passed out while bfing so no help there, sorry

 

[bky]

I had to sell my OH on cloth as well, but I was thinking and talking about it before this baby was even started. I showed him the videos on the BumGenius website (there are also tons of videos on youtube etc) on how easy reusables are to use. I still haven't totally manged to sell him on reusable wipes though...
For the setup we have here I chose pocket nappies (not BumGenius, some semi-generic brand with good reviews) so I'll probably be doing the prepping and laundry of those. I mainly chose those as the weather can be funny and I don't want to have to rely on the dryer so anything that separates and dries fast is a winner for me.

 

[Rachel_C]

I can't actually remember when we got our Babyhawk mei tai but it was when Leyla was young enough for the instructions to say she should be in the froggy position (upright against my chest with her legs tucked up) but she seemed to hate it and kept trying to straighten her legs, so I had to narrow the bottom of the carrier with a ribbon and let her have her legs out. I'm not sure how a mei tai would fare from just born if your LO didn't like the froggy position, but I've seen other newborns in them and they've been fine. I do love the babyhawk - it's very comfy, looks great and is easy to use.

We used sposies until Leyla was about 10 days old I think. I was waiting until the meconium was gone and then we had some problems with jaundice and breastfeeding issues so I was too stressed to change to cloth. I felt better as soon as we did though - it was a big boost to know that something was going right! If we had another baby and everything was ok, I would probably have just one or two packs of sposies and then have cloth ready. If you change your mind and want to use sposies for longer, every supermarket sells eco disposables and everywhere sells normal ones, so it'd be no hassle to get more. If you wanted to switch to full time cloth in one go, I would have a variety of nappies to try - different types and different makes because you can't know what will suit your LO. For your first baby, I think it's a good idea to start off part time and try a few types at once so you don't end up with loads of nappies you don't use/don't work for you.

We only co-sleep in the mornings when OH has gone to work, so our double bed is fine. Sometimes Leyla comes into bed with us in the morning at weekends but then one of us is mostly awake and we squish up to make room. When Leyla was very small, I laid her on top of the duvet and put her own blanket over her. Now she's bigger, I chuck OH's pillows on the floor and have her right up at the top of the bed. I like my duvet up by my ears but as she's higher up, it only reaches the top of her tummy.

 

[vanessayogini]

i have a moby wrap and a babyhawk. the moby was a great newborn carrier for us. she was cozy and cuddled up to me and fell asleep very easily in it. now she likes to ride on my back the most and so the babyhawk mei tai is what we use. both are awesome!

evelyn didn't wear any diapers (or clothes! we kept the heat way up) for the first 3 weeks of her life, we just carried her around with prefold cloth diapers underneath her bum. she was happy, we were happy, it was easy. at around 3 weeks we cloth diapered her and it's been easy from there. we are also practicing elimination communication (we are both getting really good at it).

we have a king sized mattress on the floor. she currently sleeps between us in a next we made of comfy blankets. she likes to sprawl out. when she was smaller she slept between us or next to me swaddled in this wedge thing to keep her from moving around,or she just slept right on me or OH or in the crooks of our arms. for you in a double bed i'd recommend looking into a co-sleeper. they are great, you put it right up to your side of the bed and it's like she's in bed with you. at first you can sleep with her on you, i'm sure your LO would like that best.

congratulations!

 

[Farie]

Thank you all

Ok, another quick Q
would these nappies need a wrap?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MamaBless-Bamboo-Cotton-Size-Nappy/dp/B002IRSRSU/ref=pd_sim_sbs_by_7

 

[saraendepity]

OMG OMG OMG Aimee i;m sooo sooo happy for you !!!! (i'm having a little cry here) you both must be so happy!!! ..i might not have read your OP as i realised you were preggo and got waay too excited massive congrats hunni

 

[saraendepity]

it looks like those nappies would need a wrap....have you thought about wool tho much prettier and breathable too ..OMG i'm sooo pleased for you hunni

 

[Lu28]

it looks like those nappies would need a wrap....have you thought about wool tho much prettier and breathable too ..OMG i'm sooo pleased for you hunni

You're as bad as me when I found out Sara, I kept crying too!

 

[saraendepity]

Hi :wave:

I now its a little premature to be posting questions in here, but If I'm going to win DF round to crunchy green parenting its going to take time!

Slings - I knew everyone has personal choice but is there a sling you'd all recommend for newborns upwards? I'm 5'6 and a 8-10 (haha at the mo!) if that makes any difference? DF isn't going to let me buy more than 1 to start with. I like Hug-a-bubs, are they god?
If you sling a lot do you have a pram? Do sling babies mind prams?

i would recommend a Moby..i've never heard of a hugabubs ..will have a look and see what they look like

Nappies - Did many of you use 'sposies for the 1st week or so?
I really want to use reusables but am a bit scared to start straight away.
What is a good number to start with and have you got any fool proof nappy suggestions?
I was thinking AIO's for ease?
we used Sposies for a couple of weeks just till we get into the swing of things...while bubba is tiny the best thing would be terry's and muslins as you can very rarely find anything that will fit properly for the first 5 or so weeks our first 'proper' nappy was BG v3's and Fuzzibunz

Co-sleeping - what sized beds do you guys have? We have a plain old double and I honestly cannot see where bubs is going to fit without getting squished? Also I like the duvet right up round me, wont this cause issues?

we have a normal double and we manage ok ..tho we only c sleep parttime (if she wakes and wont go back off and when she gets up she comes into bed for her first BF..she used to come into bed from about 4 am when she was tiny and it was fine....you can get side-car cribs so LO is kinda in bed but not IYGWIM
Ummm thats all for now - Thank you

 

[Kota]

Hi :wave:

I now its a little premature to be posting questions in here, but If I'm going to win DF round to crunchy green parenting its going to take time!

Slings - I knew everyone has personal choice but is there a sling you'd all recommend for newborns upwards? I'm 5'6 and a 8-10 (haha at the mo!) if that makes any difference? DF isn't going to let me buy more than 1 to start with. I like Hug-a-bubs, are they god?
If you sling a lot do you have a pram? Do sling babies mind prams?
I bought my LO home from hospital in a home made moby, it worked fantastically and since then we've got a proper branded moby, an ellaroo and a Mei tai. I would def recommend the moby for a NB and that will easily last a few months giving you plenty of time to convince your OH that you need more then one!
We wear F/T, we did have a 2nd hand pram that we bought but it broke the other week and we can't fix it, in the 9wks we did have it, it prob got used a dozen times and each time we had to take a wrap as well with us and P. would end up in the wrap before the day was done. I'm still very undecided if we'll get another pram, for us right now, wearing is much easier.


Nappies - Did many of you use 'sposies for the 1st week or so?
I really want to use reusables but am a bit scared to start straight away.
What is a good number to start with and have you got any fool proof nappy suggestions?
I was thinking AIO's for ease?
Can't help here as only moving over to cloth at the moment

Co-sleeping - what sized beds do you guys have? We have a plain old double and I honestly cannot see where bubs is going to fit without getting squished? Also I like the duvet right up round me, wont this cause issues?
We have a double and LO sleeps in his sleep bag, in the crook of my arm, over the duvet between me and my OH. so the duvet goes over me, under baby and then back up over OH. we tried the snugglenest or having LO on the other edge and nothing else works for us except this way. it does mean the duvet can't come up quite as high as I used to have it but I have got used to it very quickly and we all get good night sleep these days.


Ummm thats all for now - Thank you

.

 

[JayleighAnn]

Slings - I knew everyone has personal choice but is there a sling you'd all recommend for newborns upwards? I'm 5'6 and a 8-10 (haha at the mo!) if that makes any difference? DF isn't going to let me buy more than 1 to start with. I like Hug-a-bubs, are they god?
If you sling a lot do you have a pram? Do sling babies mind prams?
I'd recommend a woven wrap, it will take you from newborn to toddler as their very supportive, Halen hates his pushchair, but we do have one that we use very rarely lol
Nappies - Did many of you use 'sposies for the 1st week or so?
I really want to use reusables but am a bit scared to start straight away.
What is a good number to start with and have you got any fool proof nappy suggestions?
I was thinking AIO's for ease?
We've never used sposie's, we started with 20 shaped terries and 4 wraps and they did us for the first 16 weeks
Co-sleeping - what sized beds do you guys have? We have a plain old double and I honestly cannot see where bubs is going to fit without getting squished? Also I like the duvet right up round me, wont this cause issues?
We have a plain old double and we get on fine, it's a bit squished sometimes if Halen spreads out but I just rearrange him if it's too much for us, but if we could afford it I would of got a king sized

 

[Farie]

Ok, now to bore you more

Here are my short lists! Opinions pleased!

Wrap
Moby
Heart to Heart

Nappies
BG
Babycheeks What do you think of these?
Little pickles Like these are they have a 4 layer liner
Easyfit Like these as they are one size so will last
Ittibitti Read good things about these?

As for Co-sleeping we have decided that for us a crib beside the bed or a baby hammock would be best, with bub coming in if he/she cannot sleep and in the morning after DF has left for work and there's more room.

I'm still kind of pram shopping tho .. there are Soooooo many nice ones!

 

[Jetters]

There's no reason why you can't have a pram and a sling! I'm getting both