2003-08-11 - 1:30 p.m. - Cycle day: 37 weeks, 1 day

Went to my first La Leche League meeting last week. The women were all very nice, and there was some good information provided (the week's topic was Nutrition and Weaning), but I just about went berserker by the end of the meeting. I just wasn't acclimated to being around that many active children at one time, especially in a small room. The noise level was way above my comfort zone, plus it made it hard for me to hear what the other adults were actually saying. When it came time for me to talk about something, I felt like I was moving my mouth but no sound was coming out. Plus some kid hit me with a water bottle.

I'm not ruling out the possibility that I'll go again, especially because it gave me a chance to meet like-minded moms who live very close to me, but I'll have to better prepare myself for the environment. There's also an informal weekly breastfeeding support group that meets at a local parenting store that I will likely check out. Only problem is, both groups meet in the middle of the day. Working at home does make it a little more feasible to try that, but it will still be a challenge once I'm back full-time and want to use those spare moments for really crucial, time-sensitive things ... like napping.

In other news, I'm officially full-term. Zoinks! How did that happen? We've been in a bit of a frenzy over here lately. I've been eBaying my fool head off, trying to assemble a cloth diaper stockpile so I can avoid the disposable temptation right off the bat (although I did also buy one pack each of two different "eco-friendly" disposables).

My reasons for wanting to use cloth are the usual, although probably not in the usual order. In order of priority, they probably go 1) cost, 2) environment, 3) comfort. Budget is always a big thing with me. I've spent about $200 total, including shipping and such, for a cloth supply that should last at least a few months. From what I can figure, that's what about 6 weeks of dispoables would cost. On the eco issue, my scope is pretty small - not that I don't care about trees and petroleum dependency and all, but when it comes right down to it, the idea of putting poop in the garbage icks me out. I feel guilty enough throwing out the cat litter. I don't know why it seems so wrong to me, but it just does. I know landfills have all sorts of other bacteria crawling around, but tossing in human waste just seems especially unclean. And as far as comfort goes, I know that I personally can't stand to wear a pad for a few days a month, so I can't imagine being stuck in a puffy, plasticky-papery diaper all the time. As a baby, I was actually allergic to disposables (sorry, Mom), so when people give me a really hard time about wanting to use cloth, I just tell them that I have an allergy and don't want to be exposed to disposables all the time. Plus I think they smell gross. I've figured out that the two baby smells I find most offensive are disposable diapers and diaper rash cream. So cloth should take care of the sposie smell, and I just ordered some Weleda cream in the hopes that it won't have that familiar oily odor.

And yes, I know that this is what all the idealistic hippie moms say, and that I could well be elbow-deep in Pampers and Desitin by the end of the first week. I accept that. But in the meantime, I'm doing my best to set myself up to succeed. I figure having everything I need in the house before the baby comes is the best first step I can make.

Oh, I've also created a new baby name poll, linked to here and over on the left there. Pleeeease vote - we're in a total quandary over here, and time's running out. (Did I mention that I'm FULL TERM?)

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