Our Cloth Diaper Record in Montreal!

 

What a great weekend we had for Earth Day. At Boutique Bummis we celebrated with the Great Cloth Diaper Change event, which we co-hosted with Baby Auric Diaper Service. We had 93 parents and babies gather together from all parts of Montreal, Laval, Sherbrooke, Trois Rivieres and even some coming from the Quebec City area, all to celebrate cloth diapers. It was so much fun seeing all the cloth diapered babies in the room!

While we counted down to 12:30 exactly, we read some wonderful stories about respecting our planet in honor of earth day.  We followed that with a great parent-baby yoga warm-up with Martina from StudioVie and face-painting and animation by A Painted Bouquet and Lulu the Clown. The the main event was a grand success thanks to our 3 official witnesses: human rights activist, Milton James Fernandes, Jamie Orchard from Global Television, and cloth diaper expert Lesley Everest, from MotherWit Doula Care. They were incredibly wowed with the families that attended and genuinely thrilled to be a part of our event.

 

 

Thank you to everyone who participated and braved that less-than-perfect weather to join us. We’ve been very excited to see photographs posted from around the world in the past couple of days, so we want to be sure to share favorites from our event. See more photographs on our Facebook page.  If you want to re-live the event on video, you can see also us on Global Montreal!

We cannot let this update go out without a big e-hug to all our friends and supporters. Our after-party was catered by Dolce Vita Bakery, all participants went home with amazing gift bags and 27 lucky participants also left with a rockin’ raffle prize too. In total we gave away over $15,000 of swag!  Please take a minute to look at all the generous companies below.  This event just would not have been possible without them.

 

 

Keep your fingers crossed, but once we get word from Guinness World Records about the results of the record attempt, we will be sure to post about it on the event page. All participants can then order official, personalized certificates from Guinness World Records as soon as the official record-breaking count is confirmed, but not a minute before!

Instructions to claim your certificate:

Visit: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/member/orderparticipationcertificates.aspx

Enter Claim ID 372250 and the participation code: jvzb4394JV.

See you next year, but in the meantime… keep spreading the world that WE ❤ CLOTH!

Love ot our sponsors:

Alca Distribution

AMP Diapers

Anoitement

Applecheeks

Baby Hawk

Baby’s Best Designs

Bébénuk

Béké-bobo

Bliss Distributing

BMB Distribution

Bravado Designs

Bumkins

Claudia’s Choices

Cotton Babies

Créations Mantoo

DBA Apparel

Directa Distribution

Dri-line Products

Druide

Feeleez

Fire the Imagination

Healing Amber

Kid Central Supply

Kidstuff Distribution

The Laundry Tarts

Le Duck Distributor

L’écharpe Porte Bonheur

Lesle-Ann Hine

L’OCCITANE en Provence

Luna Pads

Made in Heaven

Mamaluv

Medela Canada

Mothers Choice Products

Mummieslist

Natacha Silber Photography

Omaiki

Oyaco Products

Padraig Cottage

Peapod Creations

Pissenlit et Coccinelle

PuffinGear

Respecterre

Bobux

Sakura Bloom

Sheryl Shore

Signing Time

Smith Farms

Snap To It

Souris Verte

Stoney Mountain Farm

Stortz & Associates

TotsBots

Tuffo

Untangled Living

Westcoast Baby

Wrapsody

How to Talk to a Baby Who Can’t… Talk

I was on the bus the other day, sitting next to a mother with her 10 month old daughter on her lap. All of a sudden the little girl started fidgeting and getting worked up. Her mother responded by making a gesture with her hands, opening and closing her fingers and saying to her daughter “milk?” The little girl wriggled with excitement and attached herself to her mother, who barely had time to unhook her nursing bra. Wow, baby sign language is pretty amazing.

 

Brief History

In the 1980s, two psychologists specialising in childhood development, Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn, observed that babies who were unable to speak used “imitation” signs to designate objects. For example, they might sniff to say “flower”, or flap their arms to say “bird”. As a result of their observations, they came up with a system of signs based on American Sign Language, but using only basic words and no grammar. This simple language has allowed parents and babies to understand one another, and to be much, much less frustrated!

 

When Can I Start?

At the age of 5 or 6 months, when your baby begins to develop an attention span and to imitate his or her surroundings, you can begin to communicate with signs. At this stage, your baby will learn to understand the signs, without necessarily being able to respond with a sign of his or her own. Between the ages of 9 to 14 months, your baby’s motor skills will be sufficiently developed to allow him or her to reply.

 

Why Sign?

• To allow your baby to be understood by the people around him or her, by some means other than crying
• To stimulate your baby’s oral development, as signing will help to develop language skills in general
• To help you as a parent to understand your baby’s first spoken words
• To develop your baby’s motor skills, and intellectual and emotional development. It’s also good for your little one’s self esteem, as your baby will be validated for expressing him or herself!

 

A Few Basic Signs:

“Milk”

“Bath”

 

“More”

 

“I Love you”

Original post by Léa J. on the Boutique Bummis blog. Translated and adapted  by Maeghan B.

Summer Sun: Choosing a Sunscreen

We’re experiencing a heat wave right now in Montreal. The temperature today is 32°C (90°F), and it feels like 38°C (100°F) with the humidity. And tomorrow? It’s going to be even hotter! You can have lots of fun in the sun, sure, but it can also turn nasty if you don’t protect yourself. In this kind of heat, protection is a must, especially for little ones with their sensitive skin.

Not all sunscreens are made alike, and not all ad campaigns offer a reliable portrayal of the actual benefits of any given sunscreen. A sunscreen “for kids” is not necessarily the best choice, or without any danger. It’s always best to check the list of ingredients. To help you make your decision, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has put out a list of the safest sunscreens available in North America. These are some basic guidelines to help you make your choice:

Here are some useful tips from the EWG’s website:

Babies under 6 months should not be exposed directly to the sun because their skin has not yet developed enough melanin to keep them protected. Many manufacturers advise against the use of sunscreen on babies under 6 months of age, so shade and sunhats are a must!

Vitamin A (retinyl palminate) is good for the skin when ingested because it stimulates the production of melanin. In regular body creams, it acts as an anti-oxidant that slows the aging of the skin (not of great use to baby, but a little tidbit that might interest some moms). However vitamin A and sunscreen do not mix well. Combined with sunlight, vitamin A develops photocarcinogenic properties.

Sunscreens have either a mineral (zinc, for example), or non-mineral base. The EWG recommends mineral sunscreens, which penetrate less deeply into the skin, and therefore won’t change the skin’s composition. Non-mineral sunscreens may contain ingredients such as oxybenzone, which may act as a hormone disruptor in young children.

In any case, in the eyes of the EWG sunscreen should not be the primary method of protection against the sun’s rays, particularly for children. Best practices include wearing protective clothing, wearing hats, staying in the shade, and avoiding exposure to the sun during peak hours (between 11am and 3pm). When using sunscreen, it’s best to apply the cream one hour before going out, and then every 30 minutes once you’re outside.

And during a heatwave? Well… you might not feel like going outside at all!

Battling Yeast in Cloth Diapers

Yeast. It’s one of those things that comes up occasionally in conversations about cloth diapering. Yeast can continue to grow in your diapers and reinfect your child after the rash is gone. Hard to get rid of? Not necessarily. In fact, this latest time that Malina had to deal with yeast in her household, she were able to keep her son in cloth while treating him and the diapers.

     

     Step One: Identify the Problem

Many rashes look alike, so it’s not always obvious to figure out what you’re dealing with. Yeast often manifests as bright red spots with bumps around them, like moons around a planet. It can look like chicken pox, or pimples, and is often concentrated in the creases and folds of the skin. Yeast often appears after a treatment with antibiotics, since they will kill both the good and the bad bacteria in the body; so if your baby has recently been treated with antibiotics, and has a rash matching the description above, there’s a good chance that you’re dealing with yeast. That being said, it’s important to consult with your health care provider to determine whether that is actually the case.

 

Step Two: Kill the Yeast!

In order to get rid of yeast, you will have to treat your baby’s skin and you’ll have to wash any cloth products that have been in contact with the skin (diapers, liners, wipes, towels, changing pads, etc.). It’s very important to address both issues in order to fully resolve the problem. Read on:

 

Part One: The Skin

You will have to apply a diaper cream at every change. You can try a natural cream that is specially formulated to treat yeast. Or, if natural creams don’t seem to be working, you may need to use a medicated cream prescribed by a doctor. It’s important to use Bio-Soft liners during this time to protect your diapers from the creams you are using, to avoid residue problems. Contrary to what many people think, it is not a good idea to apply powder, as the yeast will feed on the talc in the powder, and it will make the problem worse! You should also try to change your baby’s diaper more often, about every couple of hours.

 

Part Two: The Diapers

To properly rid your diapers, liners, wipes, towels, changing pads, etc. of yeast, you will need to switch to a more rigorous washing routine using oxygenated bleach until your baby’s rash disappears, and for five days afterwards, as follows*:

1. Fill machine with hot water
2. Add the maximum recommended amount of oxygenated bleach, stir until dissolved
3. Add diapers etc. and soak for 15 minutes
4. Wash on hot, with oxy bleach (same quantity as above) + detergent
5. Rinse well, with lots of water
6. Dry in the sun if at all possible (it really helps to disinfect), or in the dryer.

*Please defer to your diaper manufacturer’s recommendations if they differ from these.

Some people choose to use disposable diapers while treating their baby for yeast. If this is what you choose to do, you will still need to complete the routine described above once, and then to put your cloth diapers aside until your baby’s rash disappears, and for five days afterwards, to ensure that the yeast is completely gone. If you continue to use cloth diapers, wipes, change pads, etc. while treating your baby, you will need to follow this routine at every wash.
Part Three: Advanced Troubleshooting for Stubborn Problems

If you follow the above routine and you are still unable to get rid of the yeast, you can try chlorine bleach instead of oxygenated bleach. It is much harsher, but much stronger. Follow the same steps, but you can use warm water instead of hot if you wish.

If you have prefolds, you can try boiling them to kill the yeast. We do not recommend boiling any other type of diaper, or any type of wrap, as the elastics and PUL are not likely to stand up well to this intense process!

  

     Alternative or Additional Solutions

Some people swear by grapeseed extract or tea tree oil as remedies for yeast, so you can try one of those instead of oxy bleach if you wish. You will need to use between 20-100 drops each time you wash. You can also make a bum wash solution with grapeseed extract or tea tree oil to help disinfect at each diaper change.

Some people swear by acidophilus as a treatment for yeast infections. If you are breastfeeding, you can take it yourself and it will transfer to your baby through your breastmilk. If not, it can be given directly to your baby. This article is more specific to breastfeeding and thrush, but is also applicable to yeast infections and diapering, and offers acidophilus treatment ideas.

This blog post is the result of a collaborative effort between Malina, Shirley and Maeghan.

Mastitis: Go Away and Don’t Come Back! — By Jennifer Welch

This article a the first of a series by our Guest Blogger Jennifer Welch, Lactation Consultant. Stay in tune over the next few weeks to read her great insights on breastfeeding and lactation!

So, you’re starting to feel the telltale signs of mastitis:  you’ve developed a painful lump in your breast and you feel a bit of a fever coming on.  You’re not sure yet whether it is just inflammation or a full-blown infection.  Not to worry, you will soon find out!  If you have an infection, there will be no doubt.  Your fever will spike up high and you will feel very, very sick, much like when you have the flu.  The good news is that there is a lot you can do at home to make yourself well again.

 

Now what?  How do you make it go away?

Strategies for mastitis are much the same, regardless if it is infectious or simply inflammatory:

• Most importantly, keep the milk moving.  Nurse often, starting with the affected side.
• Massage the sore spot and apply brief heat before your nurse (5 minutes max!).
• Reduce the inflammation by applying cold packs after you nurse.  Ibuprophen is also great for reducing inflammation and is compatible with breastfeeding.
• Rest, eat well, hydrate. Snuggle in with your baby in for a nursing staycation and be sure to eat nutritious foods and drink lots of water.
• Consider seeing a IBCLC and your doctor.  Inflammatory mastitis should clear in 3 days or less but if it lasts longer or you are really sick with a high fever, there is a good chance you have an infection and will require antibiotics.  An IBCLC can increase your odds of clearing it quickly.

How can I make sure it doesn’t come back?

Mastitis is caused when milk is not draining well.  If there also happens to be bacteria present, then you’ve got the makings of an infection.  A bit of sleuthing may be required to figure out why the milk is not moving well.  Be sure to consider the usual suspects:

• Poor latch or positioning
• Oversupply
• Infrequent or irregular nursing/pumping
• Pump problems (your shields are the wrong size for you or they were poorly positioned)
• Something pressing into your breast (ill-fitting bra or baby carrier, heavy bag/purse strap)

Still stumped?  Back again?  Since they are trained to consider all aspects of breastfeeding, an IBCLC can help pin-point the cause.

For more information on mastitis check out this link:  http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/mastitis.html

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me!

Jennifer Welch, IBCLC
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant
jennifer.welch.ibclc@gmail.com
514-296-8073