Baby things & crafts revisited

Rhiannon asked if I'd used any of the cloth diapers I made before Esme was born. I thought this would be a good time to recap the baby things I found most useful, both handmade and store-bought.

First, on the diapers, yes I've used every one that I've made. I wish I had made more than three or four, because I definitely don't have time to make many more ;) We mostly use disposable diapers, but the cloth ones are good to have around in case I'm certain Esme has 'more coming' but also want to get her cleaned up quick. The generic diapers are just as good as all the rest, especially when the baby is young (less quantity more frequently) I use the burp cloths to put under Esme while I'm changing her because they're small, thick and can easily be tossed in the hamper if they get dirty (without the bassinet blankets or Esme's clothing getting dirty).

Out of the handmade things the burp cloths and bassinet quilts get used every single day. The little shoes didn't fit very well because Esme was so big - but I did get some use out of the red pair. Ditto with the blue pants and hats I made - they were all just barely fitting when Esme was born and don't fit her well now.

The star of our store-bought items was the co-sleeper bassinet. It has all those pockets in the side, and is very easy to grab Esme out of during the night and put her back in. I can drag it around the room really easily. I keep diapers in one side, and a wipes container in the other, and can get Esme changed without getting out of bed. The diaper genie we bought was actually a really good buy. It did take a bit of practice to learn to use it correctly. Baby washcloths and receiving blankets are washed at a frightening rate. You can get by on fewer clothes that fit at each stage if you have easy access to a washer and dryer.

I think breastfeeding is much more simple than formula and bottles. The first couple of days were torture before there was any milk, and breast shields are necessary to get anything done. However, when Esme is hungry I can feed her without going through a huge process to go to the kitchen and get something ready for her. We did try to do the whole bottle sterilization thing a few times and save some breastmilk for later feeding - but I found it much more difficult than just taking out the time to feed Esme every few hours (which is possible because we work from home).