Names

I was reading a post about how what we name things influences how we think about them and what they are.  Since I'm a SAHM, I started thinking about this in relation to parenting topics.  For example, I love that cloth nappies are referred to as "real nappies" here.  By comparison, then, disposables would be considered somehow less "real".  Now, I don't think people often really think of them in these terms, but it's what the language indicates.

I also see a disconnect in the language regarding SIDS.  In England, SIDS is referred to as "cot death", which would seem to indicate that it is an event happening when the child is in a cot, and yet it is bed-sharing that is vilified.

I guess my thoughts on this are that our language should reflect the thinking on something, yet it seems, at least with these examples, that there is a disconnect between what the language says and what the perception is.

I Never Knew

I never knew how addictive cloth nappies could be when we first got them.  I've exercised great restraint, and didn't get any more until I was pregnant with C.  We had 25 of the bumGenius 2.0s with K, and they're holding up well.  Our only complaints with those are that they were too small for K at first (but he grew into them by 2 weeks old;  the picture is when he was about 9 months), and the velcro and elastic are starting to wear.  But after 3 years, I can't really complain.  They aren't anything exciting, just plain white, yellow, green, and blue, but they work.  bumGenius do have prints now, though.

When I was pregnant with C, we decided we should get some more so she could wear cloth from the very beginning, since we assumed she'd be a similar weight to K.  As it turned out, she could've gone straight into the bumGenius, but I'm still glad we got more.  A friend of mine is a consultant with Lollipop, so we got 20 of their fleece nappies, and I absolutely love them.  They're a mint green, and the covers are green with white stars - too cute.  This was my first experience with prints, and I can definitely see how they can be so addictive!

Once she outgrew those, I thought we needed just a few more, so I found a lady online who was selling some of her old nappies that were just lightly used.  They're different brands, with 3 minky (great for naps and overnight!) and then a handful of others that had poppers.  Some are prints and some are solids.  I hadn't used nappies with poppers before, but I'm sold.  I definitely prefer them to velcro, especially since C can undo velcro very easily.  Partly because of that, I've been wanting to try out some Fuzzibunz, and a friend who works for eLeMeNO-PEE just sent me one.  And yes, I'm excited.  Can't wait to see how it works out on C.