Red and Yellow and Pink and Green etc. etc.

Not in fact the colors of the rainbow, but of Edward's Pocket Diapers. After his rash cleared up (within 48 hours as predicted by our midwife) and we had rewashed all his clothes, stripping with vinegar to remove old washing detergent residue, then a final wash in Ecos detergent to remove any vinegar residue, we put him back in baby clothes for his daytime activities.

At the same time I switched from the disposables we've been using to pocket diapers. We want to use cloth diapers as much as possible, and the first set I am favoring come in a range of colors, which are much more fun to use than boring white disposables. With pocket diapers there are two parts, a liner and the main diaper, both of which have to be washed after each use. I didn't think I'd go for this quickly, but actually the contents of Ed's diapers, since he is entirely breast fed, are no more offensive to the eye or nose than yoghurt. A quick rinse of the yellowy curds down the sink, separate the two parts, and set aside for washing.

All went fine until mid-afternoon when I had to use a second-hand diaper, all the ones we bought new having been used or still in the wash. When it came time to change Ed, there was a distinct smell of ammonia from his nappy. Now I'm pretty sure that babies can't pee ammonia, so his excreta must have reacted with something in the daiper. Once again, despite our re-washing someone else's washed stuff there was still a residue of detergent, so back into disposables for Ed, and I ran all the suspect cloth diapers through the washing machine, twice with vinegar and a double rinse, and a third time with Ecos detergent. Hopefully after this we will have no more ammonia smells.

I took Ed for a walk round the neighborhood in his stroller after that, and as usual he was calmness itself, not actually sleeping judging from his facial activities, but enjoying the gentle joggle of the stroller.

I tried the Moby wrap after that, with much better success, though it'll still take practise to get us both comfortable.

In the late evening we decided to give Ed his third ever bath. This time he did not complain at all, and lay half in the water as if he were Tom the water-baby, as I squeezed water onto his skin from a flannel. Even wetting his hair didn't faze him, but he did complain when we finally had to get him out and wrap him in his snuggly duck towel.

That's more rainbow-like.