Saving the Littlest Bums

Alrighty now, I still want to give away these two jars of Diaper Goop.

So...let's try this again, shall we?

Leave a comment indicating you're interested in trying out Diaper Goop, and I'll choose two random winners on Wednesday, April 9th. In the contest already are the previous comments from Margaret, Amy, Rachel, and Jen so you four are already entered.

The following post (linked below) is from Thursday, which I had removed because of all the negative energy it was bringing to my blog and also my computer. I have clarified some particular elements of the previous posting because clearly the way I wrote it before was giving people--people who don't actually know me or my blog, but people nonetheless--the wrong impression of life in the Creature Bug household. I will chalk up the whole experience of...whatever that was...as a small bump on the road of an otherwise wonderful blogging journey.

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I am reposting this entry because (1) I feel committed to Parent Bloggers Network and Diaper Goop to do a legitimate review, (2) I have nothing to hide (except chocolate from my kids, and a post-baby tummy from the world), (3) I like giving stuff away, and (4) I spent time on this post, doggone it, and I want to keep it.

I am not reposting this entry because (1) I'm being spiteful or (2) I'm looking for drama (do you hear the girls in the background fighting over a plastic spoon? that's enough drama for me).

FYI: No baby bums were harmed in the making of this review.

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There is one cardinal rule in our house: Momma doesn't get out of bed before 7 am unless it's absolutely necessary.

Things that fall under the category of "Absolutely Necessary":

• fire drill (hasn't happened yet, and hopefully never will)
• realizing the garage door is open (happened earlier this week)
• scared child (happens to Sydney at least once a week)
• dog with a full bladder (drat you Daisy!)
• sick child (poor Jules has even more teeth coming in! If only 12 were enough...)
• going to the airport to catch a flight (preferably to Camden, Maine, or Lihue, Kauai)

I am not a morning person, and in fact I'm writing this post on Wednesday night and having it post Thursday morning. If you ever see an early morning post on this blog, no doubt it's because I wrote it the night before. I hate getting up early. I'm even one of those people who even enjoys the spring forward Changing-of-the-Clocks, where the hour jumps ahead because it means the girls sleep in later. Sydney still sleeps in until nearly 8 am, and I love it. No need to tell her that she used to wake up at 7 am.

For the most part, Jules is a good sleeper. When she was just a tiny baby I read in a book somewhere that babies will wake up at 5:30 am, but the best thing to do is put them right back to bed. Just like the book said, Jules started waking up around 5 am, the happiest littler camper you ever did see. I would give her a hug, a kiss, and put her right back to bed. She'd cry a little but then she'd fall back asleep until 7:30. She is quite different in temperament than Sydney on this point. Sydney always knew we'd come for her, even if it meant she had to cry for a couple hours (hence us finally giving up on letting her cry because it broke my heart). Jules gives up after a minute. Persistence isn't always a virtue.

At this point in life, Jules sleeps through the night; Sydney generally doesn't. I have no doubt that this has to do mostly with who they are and not what technique we used. But the technique probably didn't hurt Jules either.

The other trick we use to help her sleep through the night: her bedroom is not next to ours, and no baby monitor in her room. She's just down the hall, so it's not like we can't hear her at all, but that baby monitor was keeping me up all night long. She'd roll over in her crib and I'd be wide awake. At 15 months now, she rarely wakes up at night. Thank goodness. I suffered through 2 1/2 years of not sleeping through the night with Sydney, and even now she doesn't usually sleep through the night. That's why we have a playpen in our room: it's Sydney 2nd bed. It's better for everyone if I get sleep. And it's better for them to learn how to sleep.

However, there is one little snag to this whole plan. Jules is a nighttime pooper. I know, you might be thinking, "Really? You're writing about poop? Ick." No. I'm not. I'm writing about the problems that surface with Jules' habits. Specifically, the rash bummer on the bum.

Sydney hardly ever had diaper rash, but a combination of Jules' skin type and her nighttime routine had her suffering from diaper rash all the time. I always knew when she'd wake up with a poopy diaper because she'd cry, try to put herself back to sleep, and then start crying again. Tuesday, I got up at 6:30 to change her diaper and ended up holding her for 30 minutes before I decided to get breakfast going. Wednesday, I didn't initially wake up when she started crying, so the poor dear cried some before I could finally rescued her. (Note to the hand wringers: in the earlier post I used the phrase "I just couldn't get out of bed" to rescue Jules, which was meant to be a way of saying "I just didn't wake up because I'm perpetually exhausted from my daily routine of parenting." This was meant to be a self-deprecating, exaggerated, so-ridiculous-it-can't-be-true style of writing that most people understand as humor. Clearly you all thought it was hilarious. (See what I did there? I incorporated the well-known technique of sarcasm. Very few parents are perfect--there's that sarcasm again--and as a survival technique we incorporate such phrases to make light of such shortcomings.)

And, of course, I am not a terrible mom.

Fortunately, Jules' bum hasn't suffered the ill effects of my sound sleeping and has found a hero to protect it from the perils of diaper rash: Diaper Goop. Over the past few years, we've had an assortment of diaper creams make their way into the house. My favorite has been baby powder scented Balmex because it always worked fine on Syd (on the rare occasion she needed it) and it smelled good. With Jules though, it would work, but only after repeated uses.

When Parent Bloggers Network gave me the opportunity to try another diaper cream, I was all for it because having a bum rash is no fun. Diaper Goop comes in a nifty 2 oz. jar, and even though 2 ounces may not sound like a lot, it is. It uses natural ingredients, and a little bit of ointment goes a long ways. When I first opened up the jar, the scent reminded me of the tube of Lansinoh (that stuff moms use when they're breastfeeding) I still have sitting in our medicine cabinet. That's because Diaper Goop and Lansinoh share the common ingredient of lanolin, a hypoallergenic ointment that is readily absorbed into the skin and can be used to treat all kinds of skin irritation like chapped lips and dry elbows.

And rashy bums.

In fact, Diaper Goop can be used instead of Lansinoh which is super handy for new moms. How about that? An ointment that's good for mom and baby and the rest of the family too (probably even the family dog...maybe...). In addition to using it on Jules, I've taken to using it on my feet, and Sydney has even had opportunities to put the soothing properties of Diaper Goop to use. No poopy diapers for her, but let's just say that toilet paper can be very tricky to navigate for little kids. Leftover paper in the buns? No fun.

I admit it takes a bit of getting used to not having the baby powder scent, but it works so well that I've decided it's worth it. And did you notice in the pictures of the diaper cake I made for my friend's baby shower? I included a jar of Diaper Goop as part of the present. It's great stuff. I apply it every night to Jules' sweet little derriere so that even though she might still wake up with a poopy diaper, she doesn't get a diaper rash. And, in fact, I think Diaper Goop helps her sleep better through those not-so-fresh nighttime adventures. That, as Martha Stewart would say, is a very good thing.

Diaper Goop isn't available in stores yet, but the makers are hoping to get it in stores soon. It's available online for $6.95 (minimum two jar purchase). Parent Bloggers Network is giving away two jars, and I also have two jars to give away. Leave a comment indicating you're interested in trying out Diaper Goop and I'll choose two random winners on Wednesday, April 9th.

PS: Thank you for all your kind emails, comments, and phone calls to brighten my day. I had a great talk with my youngest brother last night, and he totally got me laughing about Thursday's experience. Because really, it's just so absurd when I think about it, so I just have to laugh.

PPS: Thought I'd let all you know that I did have one person apologize for offending me with her comments, which actually meant a lot to me and was very considerate of her. I'm still waiting to hear from the rest of them.

PPPS: I will not publish any mean or inflammatory comments. This is my playground, and bullies will not be tolerated.

:)

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(c) Creature Bug 2008. All rights reserved.

Comments

[Margaret]

It sounds interesting to me, and I have very dry feet. I hope to be able to try out a jar! (but not on my derriere)

*this comment has been republished from an earlier post*

[Amy]

We would love to try it on Anna's little bum! :) She's starting to sleep through the night and I'd like to prevent the diaper rashes! I don't blame you for sleeping while she crys. I'm all for teaching them how to fall back asleep on their own!

*this comment has been republished from an earlier post*

[Rachel]

Sounds like something I'm going to want to buy! Sawyer has the most sensitive skin ever...and I don't expect any less this time around. Thanks for testing it!

*this comment has been republished from an earlier post*

[kristan]

I would LOVE to try this product. Little boys pee so much during the night that it causes them to have a diaper rash.

[Karen]

So it's not for me, but my cousin is 6 day's past due with their 1st little girl. I would love to be able to add it to a diaper cake like you did. I think she would love love love it!!!!

[becca banana]

ADD ME! It sounds like a great baby product.

Also, after reading your post, I had thought, "DUH, self!"
Why did I get up at 5:00 a.m. every day on Spring Break assuming it was going to be my last sweet sleep? My 7-month cheery-eyed Abigail calls out routinely at 5:00 or 5:30, so.... this morning I decided to try a more ideal version of Saturday, and put her right back down after an initial wake-up and quick feeding at 5:00. My lovely day then got "started" around 8:00. Thanks for enlightening me, Stephanie!!

[Katie]

Include me as well. Baby #2 is on the way and seeing as though we had a few really bad diaper rash experiences (as if there are any good diaper rash experiences!) with baby #1, I would love to give Diaper Goop a try.

[Sam]

Sorry this post brought out the meanies. I'm catching up on you! My sweet boy never gets changed in the middle of the night, unless it's a dire emergency, but he's also not a night pooper. I'm very thankful! He's more of a "interrupt Mama's first cup of coffee" pooper. :)