Monday, January 30, 2017

Remembering the Little Things + Our Favorite Diapering Products

image via pexels
I have a pretty bad memory. I’m not sure if it’s just my personality, if it’s because I generally have my head in the clouds (or my nose in a book), or if it might even be related to my vision problems, but I just don’t remember things that other people seem to recall with ease. I try not to let that bother me too much, but as a new mom I really want to hold onto as many memories of my son as possible.

There are a lot of big moments with a baby and child that tend to stand out as we look back but they only tell a tiny part of the story. I mean, in the early days, you mostly spending your time feeding them, changing them, and attempting to get them to sleep. I didn’t want all those everyday moments to just fade into a blur in my mind as time went on—I wanted to remember them, at least some of them, because those are the moments that truly make up the reality of our days together as a mother and child.

It may seem silly to think about making memories out of diaper changes, but I really think it’s all about perspective. We can view these routine chores as just that—routine chores—and do them on autopilot while our minds are someplace else. Or we can be a little more mindful, be present, and actually enjoy what we’re doing even when it’s not the most pleasant of tasks.

My son is almost a year old and while I can’t remember every diaper change or even most of them, what I do remember is that I tried to make even those mundane moments as special as possible for him. I take time to gaze into his sweet blue eyes, tickle his toes, and sing him silly songs. Someday when he’s all grown up I hope I can still remember the sound of his giggles and the jolt of pure love that hits me when we make eye contact. At the very least, I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that I did my best to be present and enjoy this fleeting time with him.

On a more practical note, I've learned a lot about diapering products since my son was born. (I changed my first diaper in the hospital literally moments before we left to bring him home so when I say I was a total newbie, I am not exaggerating.) I thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you.

Diapers
We've been using Pampers Swaddlers and have been happy with them, although if we had a little more room in our budget, I'd really like to switch over to a more natural chlorine-free diaper like the ones from The Honest Company. I've heard great things about them and they come in the most adorable prints! And just like the Pampers we have delivered through Amazon Prime, The Honest Company will ship their diapers and other products right to your door.

Wipes
We usually use Pampers Sensitive wipes, but again, I'd really like to get into using more natural options. I've tried the ones from Honest and liked them and I also like Water Wipes, which are about as simple as you can get with a disposable wipe. I've also considered using washable wipes at home, but it's hard to beat the convenience of disposables,

Diaper Creams
One of the (many, many) things I didn't know before I had a baby is that diaper cream isn't just something you use once your baby already has a rash--it's good to use it regularly as a preventative measure. And if you're going to be applying something to your baby's skin a daily basis, don't you want it to be as natural and non-toxic as possible? We've been using two that I really like. One is Burt's Bees Baby Bee 100% Natural Diaper Rash Ointment, which is zinc-oxide-based. It's a white paste that looks similar to the more conventional Desitin. I also really love The Honest Company's Organic Healing Balm. It's a clear salve, similar in texture to petroleum jelly, but made with natural, organic ingredients that I feel much better about using.

What about you? Do you have any diapering products that you'd recommend? Are there ways you choose to make the everyday moments of parenting into special memories? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Disclosure: I was invited by The Honest Company to participate in their conversation about making everyday moments special, but I received no products or monetary compensation for this post. All products were purchased by me and all opinions are my own.

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