Baby Food and Diapers

Common advice given to writers is "write what you know." Since I am a mother of two, I happen to know quite a bit about diapers and baby food and thought I'd pass some observations along to my readers. I should clarify, I know a lot about disposable diapers, but if you want information about cloth diapering, check out Crunchy Christian Mom.

Obviously every baby is different. Although there are similarities between Xylie's infant days and Zayden's there are a lot of differences. One difference comes in diapering. For Xylie, just about any old diaper would do the trick. Although we favored some more than others, our budget did the talking and she more often than not wore generic diapers or if we found a really good coupon she'd be sporting Pamper's Cruisers.

Zayden's been a bit trickier. When he was a newborn the diaper that best suited his little bottom was Huggie's Supreme. It just happens to be the most expensive diaper on the market. Even the Pamper's Swaddlers, didn't work for him. The Swaddlers stuck to his bottom and the other brands left him with a bad rash.

Once he turned three-month's old we decided to try less expensive diapers and found that Luvs and generic brands worked just fine since he had passed the ultra sensitive stage of his babyhood. But then we were in for a new surprise. It seemed that no diaper could hold Zayden's deposits except for the Huggie's Supreme diapers and even those were challenged. Weary of laundering his crib sheets and clothing twice a day, we bit the bullet and began buying the expensive diapers until this stage passed us by.

Fortunately, the blow-out phase of Z-man's babyhood has passed and he is cruising about. Our favorite cruising diapers are, in fact, the Pampers Cruisers. But as I wrote earlier, they can be pricey. In last Sunday's paper we found a coupon for 2 jumbo packs of cruisers for $16. That's a major bargain of which we were happy to take advantage. But when such deals do not present themselves, here are a list of my favorite generic diapers.

• CVS Explorers - very similar to the Pampers Cruisers.
  
• Walmart's White Cloud
• Luvs (not generic, but priced as such)

Let's move up from diapers to baby food. I have found making our own baby food to be quite simple and it saves us a lot of money. However, I'm not a purist in this regard and do buy jar foods as well. Jar foods work great when traveling and also when I realize that I don't have frozen peas in my freezer.

If you are looking for a guide to baby foods, I recommend Super Baby Foods, by Ruth Yaron. Napp and I have found this book extremely helpful and she has fantastic and easy recipes for homemade cereals that my babes have loved. No book is perfect so I would like to mention some words of caution. Yaron recommends nuts much earlier than pediatrician's do. I tend to err on the side of caution and will not introduce nuts until toddler-hood. She can also be on the extreme side of organic. Now, if you are reading this and thinking "What does she mean extreme??? I have an all organic diet and am convinced it is the way to go" please hold your fire. I would love for us to be on a 100% organic diet, but honestly, we are as organic as we can afford to be right now and that is not even close to 100%. I mean only to encourage readers who are in the same boat as me. Please don't think that you are not feeding your child well if his diet is not all organic. Just aim for nutritional value.

Another good read is Feeding your Child for lifelong Health by Susan B. Roberts, Ph.D. and Melvin B. Heyman, M.D. This book introduces some wise strategies for building healthy eating habits. It also give advice about foods to boost IQ, bone strength, and immune systems. Additionally it offers diet solutions for colic, constipation, hyperactivity, and poor sleeping habits.

As a mom, I am always learning something new and open to new experiences. So, please, if you have some food and diapering advice for me, leave me a comment. I'd love to hear from you.