Bradley Birth: A few labor tips

Warning: This post contains some "gross" topics or facts concerning labor. If you dont want to hear about specific bodily details, then dont read! Now dont say I didnt warn you...

One article we got during my Bradley class was focused on teaching you to notice outward signs of how far dilated you are without doing a vaginal exam. Allowing too many vaginal exams can really discourage a laboring mom (what I am not past 4 yet??!!) and invite bacteria in each time. 

So here are some tips it gives on how to assess the progress you are making during labor:

1. Sound: During early labor, you can still talk normally and chat in between contractions. Once active labor starts, you probably wont talk during contractions and seem in your own world in between as well. Once you get to transition, you will completely be in your own world and oblivious to those around you. This means you are about to start pushing. 

2. Smell: There is a smell that comes around the end of dilation. It is a mix between mown hay, semen, and dampness. 

3. Irrationality: This is a sign of hitting transition. You will begin saying things that make no sense or are the exact opposite of what you were saying. Its a good sign that you will be pushing soon. 

4. Feel: When your uterus starts thinning and dilating, the muscles of the uterus bunch up at the top of it. During a contraction, at the beginning of labor, check how many fingers you can fit between the fundus (top of the bump) and the bra line- you will prob be able to fit 5 fingers. When you can fit 3 fingers head to the hospital, you are prob 5 cm dilated. And at 1 finger you are fully dilated. 

5. Look: There is a shadow that extends from the anus up towards the back along the crease of the buttocks, which is called the 'bottom line'. It begins at 1 cm and lengthens to 10cm, and its length coordinates with cervical dilation. 

6. Gooey Stuff: The bloody show. (This is different than the mucus plug.) Usually this happens around 2-3 cm dilated and then a 2nd time around 8 cm dilated. It is up to a couple tablespoons in quantity, and can be clear but is usually streaked with pink, brown, or bright blood. The 2nd show means labor is very near. 

7. Opening of the Back: This is the spot above the tailbone and it will bulge out just before pushing. 

So there are some ways you can try to assess how your labor is going. Do not get caught up on numbers but instead look for other signs that your body is doing what it needs to do to get that baby safely out! 

39 week OB Appointment

Back to the doctor again today! We are still healthy and looking good. Griffin's heartbeat was 156 today! But I had been running around before so I had him all excited.

I am 3 cm dilated and 90% effaced now. He is pretty sure baby is in the posterior position (which is the one you want, meaning the baby is facing my back). So everything looks good and ready except that baby has not dropped. His head is low, but not fully engaged. So he is still floating some. Dr. Gass thinks it will still be a little while, unless my water randomly breaks (which you can never really predict).

So that's where we are folks. Although you just never know, we are thinking he will prob go after his due date. And that is fine with us! Griffin knows when he is ready to make his debut, so we are just gonna let him do his thing.

Next week we see Dr. Stice (Dr.Gass will be on vacation) and will do our first non-stress test. This just means they will strap me up to two monitors and observe for 20 minutes. It will monitor any contractions and baby's heartbeat. Just to make sure everything still looks good. Dr. Gass was sweet today and kept saying he hoped he didn't miss the delivery! Me too, so I am hoping he either comes this weekend or waits till the 11th. But I know we have no control over it.

So now we just wait and enjoy this time. And surprisingly I really am!


- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

39 Weeks and Counting...

• How far along: 39 Weeks
• Total Weight Gained: 34 lbs (started 107, currently 141) 
• Sleep: Doing ok. I am really tired and can fall sleep in a moments notice! But I still wake up numerous times a night...  
• Best Moment of the Week:  Probably Monday night. It was just great quality time with my Pate boys. We put up the clothes line and hung our diapers for the first time, Whitney brought us a yummy dinner, and we went to Wal-mart to pick out paint for Dustin's new classroom. It was laid back and fun.  
• Movement: Yes yes, little Griffin is still moving often. He moves all day, but typically when I lay down he kinda goes nuts! Ha!     
• Food Cravings: Not much this week. I had a weird and unhealthy eating week. Ick.    
• Food Aversions: N/A
• Symptoms: Huffing and puffing, cannot bend over, waddling majorly, sore tailbone, tired tired tired, pee all the time... 
• What I miss: Being able to bend over! Ha!
• What I'm looking forward to: D-Day (as in delivery day!)! There are no more events and we are all setup, so now it is just a waiting game till Griffin decides it is time to make his debut! 
• Other news: 
• We got the clothesline put up and the diapers are now prepped and ready to go!
• We had a Starbucks Shower at Yuki (a sushi place in town) and it was so fun! Thanks guys!
• It is VBS time at church. We have VBS Monday-Thursday of this week, so we have been gearing up and decorating for that. This year I am not teaching or leading anything and it has been kinda strange. But I am looking forward to it!
• Last week I had a movie night with Gary and Becky and it was wonderful! We watched Harry Potter: The Deathly Hollows Part 1, and man does that thing end abruptly! Glad I didn't see it last year and have to wait a whole year to see the rest! It was a really good time chilling and catching up with them. Now that we have everything ready I feel like I can just use this waiting time to spend quality time with friends and family, and thats a blessing!
• I am just now starting to review my labor notes from class (just in time right?) and I am hoping to do some posts on that this week. 
• I have some of the baby book planned and printed so now I just need to put it together. Maybe that will get done this week?? But with VBS I am not so sure.
• I am still not sick of being pregnant. Things are definitely more difficult to do (I am slower) but not uncomfortable. It is difficult getting used to everyone looking t you like you are miserable and having to constantly answer if you are so over being pregnant. I love it. It is the neatest experience ever. I am still a week out from my due date, but people are treating me like we are 2 weeks overdue. I am trying to just smile and move on, but it is gettin on my nerves! Ha! I know they mean well though! 
• Everyone that sees me in person thinks my belly is really big. One friend told me it looks way bigger than in the photos. It feels the same to me though!
• Gender & Name: It's a Boy! Griffin Alan Pate

Milestones:
According to Babycenter.com : Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Wow, 39 Weeks! This time has just really flown by! I cant believe he will be here so soon!

38/39 week OB Appointment

All along my doctor has counted my appointments on the week I am about to enter into, bc they are always on Thursday or Friday and I switch weeks on Saturday. I have been counting them as the actual week I am on. Confusing.

So yesterday I went to the doctor again. My blood pressure was 118/62 (which is goo but the top number is higher than I normally am). Griffin's heartbeat was 150. So maybe we were both just a little more excited than usual? Dr.Gass did a cervical check again and I am almost 3cm dilated and 75% effaced. So progress is being made in there.

Baby is at a -2 station, which is how they measure how far down the pelvic bone they are. It is measured going from a -3 to a +3 with -3 being at the top of the pelvic bone and +3 being the bottom of it.

Exams are uncomfortable. I just want some of you to be aware. There is so much pressure when they are pushing into to you and feeling baby's head. During your yearly exam they always say you may feel some pressure, and I never do. So I thought this would be the same way. Nope! Just a warning. One more reason not to do this every single week! Ha!

I go back on Wednesday for my next appointment. Goodness.

We talked to Dr.Gass some about labor. He still feels confident that my body is going to be able to do this just fine and naturally! Yay! We randomly started talking about due dates and going late. I was very late (4 weeks) which sounds nuts today! But Dr.Gass said when they had their daughter (2 weeks and a few days late) their doctor said if you haven't had the baby in 2 more weeks we will induce you. Which would have been 44 weeks. That used to be common. But now everyone is begging to be induced before their due date. When we started saying 37 was full term, people started believing that almost as a due date. I mean people keep saying things to me like "is he ever going to come out?" "any day now" and "do you have an induction scheduled soon?". It's as if they think Griffin is super late- and I am still a week from my due date! I know at this point some people are so uncomfortable and struggling, I get that. But as a society we are just programming ourselves into wanting shorter and shorter pregnancies. That could get dangerous!

Off the soapbox.

So things were good at the checkup. My body is gearing up to deliver my boy and someday in the not distant future I will have a son! Until then it is time to keep waddling along!


- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

This takes the cake...

Awhile back I posted some creepy baby shower cakes... but today I came across one that totally takes the "cake" as WORST BABY SHOWER CAKE EVER!

I mean really?? OMG!

New addition

Thought I meant a baby? Ha! Not quite yet : )

I am referring to a new addition to our nursery. Can you tell what it is?



A side table and lamp! I wanted a table next to the chair so when I am nursing I have somewhere to put stuff. I told Mr. Pate I just wanted to get a used one at a thrift store and paint it. Cheap and easy right?

Not quite. We got the table cheap, but Mr. Pate had to sand it down a ton to get it to take paint. And in the end it still didn't take it well, but it turned out to give it a distressed look that I love! We decided in white legs and an orange top for some color fun. I love it! Thanks for the hard work honey! You are the best babydaddy ever!




- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Prepping it up... Continued

After getting the prefolds ready yesterday, I decided to get the pocket diapers and inserts done today. Mr. Pate and the other Mr. Pate (Dustin) put up my clothesline for me! Yay!

Pocket diapers do not need much prepping. It is good to wash them for cleanliness and to fluff up the fibers though. So I unwrapped and unsnapped all of my diapers, pulled all the inserts out and folded any Velcro into the laundry tabs (I don't have very many Velcro).





Once I had it all in the basket i realized it was a lot! Anyhow, I put them in the washer and did a cold cycle with 2 tbsp rockin green. Then I added one extra rinse cycle at the end. Once they were done, I put all the inserts into the dryer on medium heat. And Mr. Pate and I hung up all the shells outside:





How cute! Ha! So now I am about to stuff them and put them away until Griffin is around 10 lbs or more, so he can fit them well. Yay for cloth diapers! And yay for being ready... We have very little still on our to do list and I am very pumped about that!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Prepping it up

Yesterday I began prepping our cloth diapers. What's that mean? Cloth diapers need to be washed before you use them so they are ready to be absorbent. Different types of cloth diapers must be prepped differently. Anyhow, I wanted to get this done before baby arrives because I am sure life will be plenty busy then!

So I started with our prefolds. (click on cloth diapers under the subject menu to see my posts about the different types of diapers) I got 12 prefolds and a few diaper covers to have on hand when baby needs to use diaper cream, I am running low on pockets or whatever. They are cheap. Prefolds are the old school diaper that people used to use with rubber pants! : )

So this is how they looked when they arrived:





Very stiff and flat. Which apparantly means they are not absorbent. Prefolds require lots of washing and drying to get them to fluff up and be absorbent. They also cone with natural oils that you need to wash out. So in they went




With some Rockin Green (thanks Emily!). I washed and dryed mine 4 times total, and here is the finished product:








So as you can see, they fluffed and quilted up a whole bunch! Check another thing off the to do list! Woo hoo!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

38 Weeks and Counting....

• How far along: 38 Weeks
• Total Weight Gained: 35 lbs (started 107, currently 142) 
• Sleep: Doing ok. I am really tired and can fall sleep in a moments notice! But I still wake up numerous times a night...  
• Best Moment of the Week:  This weekend Mr.Pate and I got to spend lots of time together just enjoying each other and finishing up last minute things. It was nice to get the time together, because I know it is going to be way different very soon! 
• Movement: Yes still lots of it. He constantly pushes out and has hiccups often. When I lay down my belly has waves going on and he likes to move his head too- which is a weird weird feeling.     
• Food Cravings: All along I have said I didnt really have any, but I guess I have had a few things I have definitely wanted more than others all along: tacos, salmon, mac n cheese, pep hot chocolates from starbucks, ranch burgers and mandarin oranges. And last weekend I actually had a craving for a blizzard! Which I havent had in forever, so we went and got some. It wasnt as good as I was hoping, but oh well.   
• Food Aversions: N/A
• Symptoms: Cant breath, tire very easily, waddling, sore tailbone, pee a lot... 
• What I miss: Being able to bend over! Ha!
• What I'm looking forward to: Meeting our baby! And this week is a Starbucks Party for us! Yay! 
• Other news: 
• We definitely had a productive week around here. We got everything but the clothesline done, and if the weather would cooperate it would be done too! Though there are still little things to do, it feels so weird knowing that we are ready and the baby could come anytime. It may be today and it may be 3 weeks from now. We are hoping for later instead of sooner just so we get everything done and he has the most time to develop and grow in there. 
• It is sooo strange and kinda sad to think about not being pregnant anymore. I have loved this experience so much. It has been a sweet time for me and Mr.Pate to bond over the preparation of a child, without dealing with the reality of it 24/7. And that is son to change. I am so excited to meet our child and start that journey, but there is a part of me that is mourning the end of such a sweet phase of our lives. It will be sad to not be able to feel Griffin pushing me anymore, because that is such a neat and special thing that only I get to feel. He is soooo easy to take care of right now : ) and that will soon change too. The reality is setting in and I am both soooo excited I cant stand it and sad about the changes. Maybe Ill blog more on that later. 
• Anyhow, things seem to be progressing. I wasn't sure I was going to share this, and if you are a boy or dont want grosser details stop reading right now! I lost my mucus plug last week. That means that my cervix is opening up and can no longer hold it in. So its a good thing. But it could mean labor tomorrow or 3 weeks from now! ha! I am encouraged to know that my body is getting ready and I feel confident it knows what it is doing. We just need to be patient for Griffin to come on his own time. I haven't experienced any contractions that I was aware of, but I am dilated and effaced so Dr.Gass says I have obviously been having some. Interesting. 
• I went to the Thyroid Doctor this week and everything is right on track, so thats good news! I have been surprised with how well keeping my thyroid levels stabilized during this process has been. I am attributing (my dr is too) most of it to continuing to be active and eat healthy. Woo Hoo!
• I also went to a breastfeeding class Tuesday night with my momma! It was good and very informative. I am praying that nursing goes smoothly- please do the same! 
• This week I am hoping to get the diapers prepped, a baby book started, and review my labor notes from class. 
• I am still working. I plan to work until I have Griffin, so I can use all of my time off with him. And even though I love my job, I am over working everyday! I want so badly to just sit in a pool all day and sleep! Ha! 
• Gender & Name: It's a Boy! Griffin Alan Pate

Milestones:
According to Babycenter.com : Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.
Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Teepee

A Pee-pee Teepee that is! Every since I saw one of these on a tv show, I knew if I had a son I wanted one. Well we just ordered this set from amazon and got them in this week:



Perfect for Mr. Pate's son right? Ha! I know it's a totally frivalous baby item and we could totally exist without it, but I think it's cute and worth trying to not get peed on!

We expected it to be made out of plastic or rubber, but it is actually Terry cloth inside and cotton on the outside. Which that totally makes sense, but wasn't what I expected. We got a pack of 5 for under $10 so it's not that frivalous I suppose. Here are some close ups:







Anyone ever used one of these?

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Progress progress

We have been all about getting things done around the Pate household! Here is what we accomplished this week:

- put the stroller together (wheels on really)
- got the carseat out and installed the bases in our cars
- cleaned the sunroom and got it looking normal again (better than normal actually, it got an upgrade)
- cleaned out the pantry (it is amazing the food that hides in a pantry for three years!)
- reorganized a cabinent so there is room for bottles etc
- cleaned the kitchen
- cleaned and restored our bedroom (all the extra stuff from the old guest room had been living in here with us)
- started preparing Joey (I'll do a whole post on this one)
- finished thank you cards (other than actually mailing, which I am determined to be on top of!)
- Mr. Pate installed my diaper sprayer (thank you so much babe!)
- went to another breastfeeding class

Busy bees!! My "must be done before Griffin comes" list is almost complete! Woo hoo! Today I am going to actually clean the house and finish putting a few things away, then all we have is our clothesline, prep diapers, get a side table for the nursery and we may be good to go.


- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

37 week OB Appointment

Back to the doctor we went yesterday. These weeklys come up so fast! I am over peeing in a cup every week and waiting forever for a ten minute appointment!

Anyhow, everything looks great. My blood pressure is 92/60, so Dr.Gass is very happy with it still being so low. Griffins heartbeat is 141 still. I am measuring on time. And that's the extint of the update really. The appointments are pretty fast now bc he just saw me and there aren't many questions. Just a waiting game really. I didn't get checked this week but will next week since I will be a week from my due date.

Now it's just a waiting game. I am still hoping he waits till his due date. I want his little brain and lungs to develop as much as they can in there instead of out here where it is harder.

Mr. Pate thinks he will be born sometime the last week of June (which happens to be when we have VBS at church). What do you think??


- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Abide

From My Utmost for His Highest today:

"The Spirit of Jesus is put into me by the atonement, then I have to construct with patience the way of thinking that is exactly in accordance with my Lord. God will not make me think like Jesus, I have to do it myself; I have to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. "Abide in Me"- in intellectual matters, in money matters, in every one of the matters that make human life what it is."


- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

37 Weeks and Counting...

• How far along: 37 Weeks
• Total Weight Gained: 33 lbs (started 107, currently 140) 
• Sleep: With Mr. Pate being gone this week, it was not a good week for sleep. Friday we slept for 15ish hours! Ha! I still wake up a lot, but I can usually get back to sleep quick. 
• Best Moment of the Week:  Mr. Pate coming home! Laying on the bed and watching Griffin make my belly move in crazy ways. 
• Movement: Yes still lots of it. He constantly pushes out and has hiccups often. When I lay down my belly has waves going on and he likes to move his head too- which is a weird weird feeling.     
• Food Cravings: N/A  
• Food Aversions: N/A
• Symptoms: Swelling when outside, tiring very easily, huffing and puffing, having to pee constantly, cannot roll over and have a harder time getting up from a sitting position, sore tailbone.  
• What I miss: Energy and getting things done! 
• What I'm looking forward to: Getting the house put back together, a breast feeding class this week, and the big arrival!   
• Other news: Well there is still quite a lot to get done in our house, so thats our focus this week. I am officially "full term" so baby should be fine to come anytime. I cannot believe we are 3 weeks away from my due date. This journey has flown by, but at the same time it feels like finding out in October was forever ago! I am still working on all the thank you cards, and hopefully I will get those done this week! I need to review all my Bradley notes on labor since we are getting so close. And we are going to rig up a clothes line this week and then I will prep the diapers! Yay! 
• Gender & Name: It's a Boy! Griffin Alan Pate

Milestones:
According to Babycenter.com : Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)
Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

36 Week OB Appointment

Yesterday I headed to the Dr for my weekly appt. The weeklys come fast! Ha! Anyhow, I realized I didn't share about my 35 week appt either so here is the summary:

At my 35 week appt we met with Dr.Stice since Dr. Gass may not be there for the delivery (he will be out July 5-10 and my due date is the 2nd). Stice was very nice and agreed to everything on my birth plan. We don't like him as much as Dr.Gass, but we feel comfortable if he is who has to deliever Griffin. Other than that this visit didn't have much else going on. My BP is still low, heartbeat is still 140 and measuring right on time. weekly appts are very quick. Oh and I do not have Group B strep! Yay!

At my 36 week appt I wet alone. This is the first appt Mr.Pate missed. Anyhow my BP was 110/60, Griffins heartbeat was 141 and I am measuring on time. He went ahead and did another exam since it had been 2 weeks and I am dilated 2 cm and 50% effaced. I won't do another exam until I am due unless something strange is going down. Everything looks good and we are just truck-strike that- waddling right along! Ha!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Happy Saturday morning!

It has been a very long week in the Pate household and I am very glad to welcome Saturday!

- Mr. Pate was actually gone all week to Youth Camp, leaving me here with just Joey and Zoey all week. I didn't think it would be wise to publicize this info incase any weirdos are reading this blog.
- I am pretty terrified of the dark, being home alone, and sleeping alone. I have only successfully stayed home without him one other time.
- Considering that, I did pretty well! I made it all five nights without having to go stay somewhere and I even slept a little.
- He got back yesterday and both of us slept from 5ish in the afternoon till 8 this morning! I woke up a bunch of course, but man it felt WONDERFUL! He is still going strong : )
- I am officially 37 weeks today. Wow.
- I am heading down to Gallatin all day to celebrate my youngest niece's bday. We will be cruising around in a limo dressed to impress and getting all girly- nails, hair and decorating cupcakes I do believe. Happy 7th Bday Livvi!!
- This week is going to be busy! We have 2 softball games, I have my thyroid dr appt, a breastfeeding class, and church.



- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Cloth: My Kawaii's

Kawaii Diapers are another brand I found through a review on a cloth diaper blog. They are not as well known and are very cheap! They run $6.99-$10ish and all come with 2 inserts. $6.99?? Sign me up! I was hesitant at first, but the reviews on the blogs all said they were very good and held up well. Then my friend Amanda got some and has been using them with her kids. She loves them and is getting more, so that sold me on them!

I have several types of their diapers:

 I have 3 (one is not pictured) of their Snazzy Minky diaper. It is a soft minky on the outside. These two have sports all over them, so I just had to get them bc of Mr.Pate! 

 I have 2 Round Tab Snap pockets. 

 2 Goodnight Heavy Wetters, arent they cute?

 2 Pure and Natural pockets, which are newborn to 22ish lbs. 

 1 Snap Fun Print in Camo

 5 Original Cross-Over Snap 

 2 Ultra-Soft Cross Over Snap

 4 Diaper Covers

The biggest downfall to these diapers is they are often out of stock on their website! So you have to wait around and stalk their site to get a good order in. O well.

Cloth: My BumGenius

As mentioned before, one of the brands we have is bumGenius 4.0 diapers. These are a very well known and popular pocket diapers. They are $17.95 and come with a newborn insert and regular size insert. Here is an excerpt from their website:

• NEW! Generous sizing accommodates larger babies.
• NEW! Easily replaceable elastic keeps your diapers fresh.
• 3x3 snap down design* adjusts the sizing to fit small, medium and large sizes (approximately 7-35+ pounds).
• Trim, snug and comfortable stretchy tabs* provide a custom fit.
• Waterproof insert stopper* prevents leaking at the tummy.
• Diapers are bundled with two inserts: a newborn insert for newborns and a one-size insert for your older baby.
• Wide slot opening makes it easy to stuff and remove insert.
• Slot cover* protects your baby from wetness.

I have tons of friends that use these diapers and love them, so I knew they were a safe bet on quality and performance. I just am not the biggest fan of the price compared to some of the diapers I have. Luckily I did get mine when they were on sale! Yay!

We also got 2 bumGenius All-In-One diapers in size XS, so basically 2 newborn diapers. They are not pockets, but a diaper that has the absorbency built in. So they work just like a disposable, except you wash them. They are tiny and cute!! Thank Trycia!

Ok, how many of you have bumGenius??

Cloth: My GoGreen's

I follow several cloth diapering blogs, and I really enjoy how many of them do reviews of the different brands and types of cloth diapers. One such review was for GoGreenPocketDiapers. Their pocket diapers run from $8.99-$14.95 so I was immediately intrigued because that is cheaper than most.

The review was for their "Champ" diaper. Here is a brief description from their website:

The Champ™

Our innovative new pocket diaper! The Champ is a premium one-size pocket diaper with the convenient feature that you don't have to remove the soiled inserts - they come out by themselves in the wash! The Champ also boasts AI2 functionality. We've added an additional snap to both the diaper and the insert that allow the insert to be secured outside of the pocket! No slipping, no bunching. This snap also conveniently keeps the insert and diaper attached in the wash whether you choose to use the insert in or outside of the pocket - no more sorting laundry! The Champ features an extended sizing range, and truly will fit from birth to potty (and beyond!). Our Dual Gussets™ barrier provides superior fit and containment - no leaks on even the smallest of babies. Visit our products page to see our full line of Champ and regular diapers!

So the things that made me super interested in this diaper was that they claimed it would fit from newborn to potty training. Some other diapers so that, but then the weight really means several weeks after birth. These claim preemies could even wear them. Also the double leg gussets. This is supposed to further prevent leaks. And they have a pocket opening in the front and back, so really they have a "sleeve" instead of a pocket. Bc of this, the insert is supposed to come out on its own in the wash.

So I ordered two and I am excited to see how they do. They do snap down smaller than the others I have and the leg gussets look good. But they only come with one insert and most others come with two. Ill let you know how they work once Griffin is here! Now on to the pics:

 I ordered the cow print and black. Love the cow! 

 A view of it open. 

A close up view of the double leg gussets. 

Anyone ever heard of these diapers or tried them?

The Full Stash

We officially have all of the diapers for our "stash"! Yay! I wanted to have 24 diapers total, which would get us through two days in the earlier days and more as he gets older, and I am happy to say we have reached that goal (thanks to my mom mainly!). So here is what our cloth stash is made up of:

• 33 diapers total
• 25 One Size Diapers
• 4 Newborn Diapers
• 4 Diaper Covers
• 9 Bum Genius, 21 Kawaii, 2 GoGreen Pocket diapers, and 1 Happy Heinys

The complete stash

I will post individual pics and info of each kind soon.