I was passed from family to family before I ever came to be with my mom and dad.  Very little discipline had been in my life, and talk of Jesus and who he is never happened.  My husband, while not in the adoption system, also had an unstable beginning.  He was raised primarily by his grand parents in the first couple of years, and his mother left.  His Dad stepped up after accepting Jesus and raised William the best a single father could.  He was later adopted by his step mom when his father remarried.  His dad and step mom are wonderful people, just like my mom and dad, but the emotional baggage that comes with a child with unconventional beginnings can be hard on any family.

Children in these situations will often develope attatchment problems.  I know for myself, before I was adopted, I associated mother with female.  I called every woman “mommy” because I had no concept of what I mother should be until my mom came into my life.  So I was hard on my mom growing up.  I didn’t know what she really meant to me, and the affect she had on my life until I was much older.  What she taught me, what she showed me about life, and most importantly her faith.

I think about my son through all this.  How he has his mother and his father.  What we will teach him.  What he will see in our lives.  He has a much better start in life than many children get, and even better than my husband or myself ever got.  Does it make a difference?  My husband and I turned out okay.  Will Aidan be better than we were growing up?  Will he love God just as much if not more?  Will he have a greater chance of being successful in life?  Will he get into less trouble?  These are all things running through my head today.

What ever happens, I know he has a great start in life.  He is loved.  He is surrounded by his family.  A family that is not going anywhere, and will be with him his whole life.  A family who loves God.  I know that has got to count for something, and I am so greatful for the life I can give my son.

Back in my b5media days, I wrote a post over on Mother Earths Garden about a really great lotion for extreme dry skin, Skin MD.  You have to keep applying it the first day every couple of hours, then as needed after that.  Really great stuff.  It sold over the counter at some drugstores like CVS in their pharmacy department.  You can also order it online.

Newborn:

• Sleep a total of 16 t0 20 hours a day
• Sleep for 1 to 4 hours at a time
• Should wake up overnight to feed every 2 – 4 hours
• Usually only takes approximately 20 minutes to settle down to sleep
• Usually not awake for more than 1 hour between sleeping

3 to 6 Months:

• Sleep a total of 14 to 18 hours a day
• Sleep for 2 to 3 hours at a time
• Should sleep through the night at least 6 hours
• Sometimes takes up to 1 hour to settle down for sleeping
• May be awake for 2 to 3 hours between sleeping

6 to 9 Months:

• Sleep a total of 12 to 16 hours a day
• Sleep for 1 to 3 hours at a time
• Should sleep overnight at least 8 hours
• May take up to 1 hour to settle down to sleep
• May be awake for 2 to 4 hours between sleeping

9 to 12 Months:

• Sleep a total of 10 to 14 hours a day
• Sleep for 1 to 2 hours at a time
• Should sleep through the night at least 8 hours
• May take up to 1 hour to settle down to sleep
• Usually only sleeps 2 or 3 times during the day

By the time your child is a year old, he or she should have fallen into a pretty regular schedule as far as sleeping goes.  It’s not a good idea to change sleep times on a regular basis, as this can cause some unstability in their mood and developement.  Try to go to bed at the same time every night, and don’t force a baby to stay awake during the day in hopes they will sleep better at night.  They need lots of sleep, so don’t worry if they spend most of the day napping.  Enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts!

• White Cloud
• Huggies
• Luvs
• Pampers

We preformed a liquid pour test to see how well and how quickly each brand absorbed moisture.  Be sure to check the video if you haven’t seen it yet.

And the over all winner as far as value for your buck:

White Cloud!

While not the softest or most padded diaper in the bunch, it didn’t chafe or pinch.  It did the best out of all of them in keeping babies bum clean and dry.  It also held up to the other tests by staying in place, having a proper fit, and keeping what is suppose to be in the diaper, in the diaper!  It’s much cheaper than the name brands, so sacrificing a bit of comfort in the material seems worth the money you save in the long run.

If you’re wanting to go with comfort over cost, I’d recommend the Pampers. It covers more of babies bottom with out getting all bunched up or using lots of elastic.  It also seems to do better if your baby is like mine and has more sensitive skin.  I’ll probably be buying and using a bit of both brands.  In fact Aidan is wearing a White Cloud diaper as I’m writing this post.  We’ll probably switch to Pampers for bedtime since momma won’t be changing his diaper quite as frequently during the night.

I hope you have enjoyed this little experiment, and found it helpful.  I’d love to hear your opinions and experiences with different diapers.  Send them my way in an email or a comment!

• Absorbency – Didn’t do the best in the pour test, but wasn’t the worst either.  It does seem to be more absorbent in the front than the back, even when he is wearing them.  This may be an issue if he is sick, just like with the Luvs, but his bottom stays dry with out having dried out poop on his bum!
• Leakage – There was no leakage out the sides or back, but I do notice that his bowel movements go right up to the edge of the elastic around his legs.  This could be because the diaper doesn’t absorb moisture as quickly in the back as it does in the front, so it has time to travel out a little bit.  This makes clean up a little more of chore, but still much better than the Luvs in that department.  Bowel movements stay in the area of his bottom and don’t spread to other areas.
• Comfort – Very soft to the touch, feeling like fabric inside and out.  Not as much padding as Huggies, but enough to seem comfortable with out bunching up.  The elastic on the leg openings also feels like fabric and I notice no chaffing or pinching between diaper changes.  The fasteners are made of a stiffer material so some babies might not like the feel of rougher material on their tummies.  I’ve noticed that my son’s diaper rash is always better when wearing this brand, so it may be more hypoallergenic than other brands.  He also seems less “wiggly” when wearing them, so the material may feel  less scratchy or bunchy to him.
• Fit – This brand seems to fit my son the best, but all babies are a little different.  There is extra fabric on the front and back, so it covers him higher up his waist than the other brands.  It’s also wider so it covers more area.  It has some extra room in the bottom area, but not too much.  The side fasteners are wider than the other brands so it covers more on the sides as well.  It uses less elastic than the other brands in the legs and back but still fits snugly and doesn’t fall down due to the extra fabric on the front, back, and sides.
• Cost – Name brand diaper with the price that goes along with it.  Along the same lines as Huggies here, worth it if you can afford it, other wise you might want to start digging in the couch cushions!

That’s it for the results of the individual brands.  Stay tuned for my final conclusions of the experiment, as well as the winner for best value for your buck!

• Absorbency – The pour test proved Luvs to be comparable to Pampers in it’s quickness to pull wetness away from babies skin.  It was more absorbent in the front than the back, which makes sense when you think about where most of the liquid is going to be.  However this might be an issue if my son ever gets sick and has diarrhea.  While wearing the diapers I did notice his bottom seemed a little damp to the touch even though the diaper felt dry.  It could be his sweat, but none the less, it seemed to do a poor job keeping moisture from building up and staying on his bottom.
• Leakage – No leakage was observed outside of the diaper while he was wearing them, but clean up was a bit of a mess.  Where Huggies and White Cloud seemed to contain his bowel movements effectively, when changing the Luvs diapers it got everywhere.  I had to used more wipes and clean a bigger area.  It got into the folds and creases of his legs and skin.  At first I thought he was simply using the bathroom more, but after using them through four diaper changes I realized the amount hadn’t changed, it just seemed to spread more easily in this diaper.
• Comfort – They looked, felt, and sounded like plastic sheets.  Inside and out.  They were the thinnest diapers in the group, with very little padding.  There were red marks around his legs and waist and he seemed uncomfortable while wearing them.  Squirming and kicking his legs.   His diaper rash got worse while wearing the Luvs and cleared up after changing to a different brand.  While he might have had an upset stomach, he seemed to settle down when I switch on to the next brand of diapers.
• Fit – Extra roomy in the bottom area, (almost too much room) and it fit snugly around his waist.  The leg holes seemed smaller than the other brands though, and looked like they were too tight.  These seemed wider than the Huggies and White Cloud brand, covering more area but limiting his movement when combined with the smaller leg openings.
• Features – When I first pulled out a Luvs diaper, I noticed it smelled really good.  Like baby powder, only better.  I counted this as a plus until his diaper rash.  Whatever makes the diaper smell good could also be contributing to the rash.  Probably not a good bet for newborns or babies with sensitive skin.  I also found it harder to tell if he needed his diaper changed.  The other brands bulk up due to absorbing all the moisture, so it’s easy to tell he needs changed just by the look or feel.  I found myself needing to look into the diaper or take it all the way off to see if it needed changed.
• Cost – A little more than the generic brands, but still much less than the name brands.

While many moms will continue to give Luvs diapers rave reviews, I have to say that for me and my son they just don’t cut it.  Every baby is different, and some might have no problems with this brand.  Perhaps I’ll try again when my son is older and his skin is less sensitive, but for now I’m going to stick with other brands.

Only one more brand to go in the experiment so stay tuned!

• Absorbency – The pour test proved it to be the worst compared to the other three diapers.  It took the longest to absorb and pull moisture away.  However, I noticed no problems during the course of the day while my son was wearing them.  The amount of time it takes to absorb may be more of a problem when he starts being more active.  By then they have a different style of diaper though, so it may be better.
• Leakage – No leaks while wearing the diapers, despite the leakage in the pour test.  There seemed to be an excess amount of elastic in the legs, and some extra elastic in the back that the other diapers don’t have, which did an amazing job at keeping liquid right where it was suppose to be.  And his bottom was dry and very clean when pulling the diaper away, so no dried poop stuck to his bottom.  Clean up with this diaper was a breeze.
• Comfort – By far the softest diaper in the group.  Extra padding in the bottom, and very soft to the touch.  Extra roomy in the butt area.  Because they seem to be designed for bigger bums, and all the extra elastic in the leg and back, I thought it would leave some chaffing or some pinch marks in the legs.  No marks or rubbing and the elastic felt like cloth.
• Fit – These fit my son a little akwardly since he is average size.  All the extra padding and room in the bottom tend to bunch up on him if he’s wiggling around a lot.  It stays snug but not tight around his legs and waist though, and the fasteners are longer than the other diapers so coverage on the sides is better and more secure.
• Features – The extra long, elastic fasteners are definitely a plus.  It makes securing the diaper much easier since I don’t have to stretch the sides out in order to get a proper fit.  The fasteners seem to be a different material than the rest of the diaper though, and feel scratchy to me.  This doesn’t seem to bother Aidan, but some babies might not like the feel of the fasteners on their tummy.  I also like all the extra padding and soft feel in the bottom.  It just seems like it is more comfortable.  I know I some times wish I had some extra padding on my bum during the day!
• Cost – Name brand diaper, name brand cost.  Lets just say it’s worth the price if you can afford it, otherwise start saving up those coupons!

• Absorbency – Surprisingly the pour test proved White Cloud to be the best among the four brands in pulling away moisture quickly.  As soon as the water hit the diaper it soaked it right up and was dry to the touch.  This is important because excess amounts of moisture against babies skin for any extended length of time can lead to or worsen diaper rash.  It also prevents leaking if liquid is absorbed quickly.
• Leakage – The fact that I change my baby’s diapers regularly combined with the quick absorption of this brand, there was no leaking, and it wasn’t all over his bottom, so clean up was a cinch!
• Comfort – The diapers felt like soft paper to me, but not scratchy.  Plenty of padding in the bottom, though the inside felt like paper as well.  I didn’t notice any marks or creases where the diapers may have rubbed or pinched his skin, and Aidan seemed content and happy while wearing them.  So not the softest diaper in the bunch, but tolerable.
• Fit – The way the sides wrapped around was a little akward.  Honestly I can’t decide if there was too much material or not enough.  Once i figured it out though, it fastened snugly around his waist and didn’t fall down.  It covered his bottom well with just enough extra room.  It fit a little too loose for my taste in the legs, which might have been an issue if he had had diarrhea or if he was crawling.
• Features – I actually like the fact that it doesn’t have well known cartoon characters like Elmo or Winnie the Pooh printed all over the diaper.  Don’t get me wrong, I like Sesame Street and Winnie the Pooh, but some how I think it steals some of the cuteness of a baby just hanging around in his diaper.  The fasteners were more comfortable feeling, so it doesn’t scratch against  babies skin. They felt more like cloth than the rest of the diaper does!
• Cost – About half the price of name brands, so definitely a cheaper way to go.

This brand did better over all than I expected.  We’ll see how it compares to the rest of the bunch.  Be Sure to stay tuned for the results of the other diapers!

Facts in the Experiment

Each brand will be worn by my 2 1/2 week old, 8.2 lbs son for at least two diaper changes each.  All diapers are a size 1.  Each brand will also have a liquid pour test done by pouring a 1/3 cup of water directly to a clean diaper to check it’s absorbency.  That’s roughly the amount of pee in one diaper change for most babies.  Here’s what I’ll be looking for in each brand:

• Absorbency – how quickly does it pull wetness away from baby’s skin
• Leakage
• Comfort – how soft is the diaper and do I notice any marks or creases in my son’s skin
• Fit – since all diapers are the same size, they should all fit relatively the same as far as ability to move and how well they stay on
• Features – Highlighting features of each brand that I like or don’t like
• Cost

When all is said and done, I’ll be sure to mention which diaper does the best overall as far as cost compared to effectiveness.  The scientist in me is coming out and I hope you will stay tuned for the results of my experiment over the next 24 -36 hours!

Image Source: Lil Sugar