So I encountered my first real nursing problem yesterday: a bleb, or milk blister. Very painful. You don't want one. Anyway, without going into too much detail, it was eventually resolved by a hot shower and lots of massaging. However, once it is gone, you are supposed to keep moisturizing for a few days to keep it from coming back. Which is all to explain why I have been keeping my jar of Motherlove Nipple Cream nearby at all times.
Well, little S decided that Mommy's new thing must be a great new toy and was reaching for it whenever she saw it. I even gave her my phone (her favorite "toy" of all) to distract her, but she still wanted the jar! So I thought, "What will it hurt?" and gave it to her so I could have a few moments of peace. I'm sure you can see where this is going already. I was sitting at the computer, and little S was sitting behind me quietly playing with my phone and jar of cream. Well, quiet except for "tasting" sounds that she always makes when she puts things in her mouth (we are still not yet out of the tasting everything stage). So after maybe a couple of minutes, I turn around to check on her. Somehow (I have NO idea how) she had managed to open the jar. Her hands and face were covered in the stuff and it was all down the front of her pajamas (thank goodness I hadn't dressed her yet)! Then, when I took the jar away so I could clean her up, she just about had a meltdown! I guess she had just found her new favorite snack! I guess I'll be on the lookout for some interesting diapers tomorrow!
Now I'm wishing that I had taken a picture before taking the jar away and cleaning her up. Oh well, I'm sure there will be many more changes to take pictures of little S messes in the future!
*Disclaimer: the cream is safe for ingestion (the main ingredient is olive oil) and she did not seem to have eaten much anyway.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Giggle Life Bamboo Cloth Diapers Review
Even before I knew I was going to have a baby, I had already decided to use cloth diapers. My mom used cloth diapers for my siblings and I so I grew up knowing the benefits. However, I wanted to make sure it would be as easy as disposables because I did not want to give up on my decision due to laziness.
Luckily, we discovered some great and affordable cloth diaper brands that did just that. We have twelve Giggle Life Bamboo diapers, two of each of the colors the company offered at the time we ordered them. They have since expanded their offerings to include some fun prints as well.
They are a great company with a great product. You will be glad you purchased Giggle Life diapers!
Read my full review on Squidoo:
Giggle Life Bamboo Cloth Diapers Review
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Big News!
Our little one slept in her own bed all night last night! Look out, "sleeping through the night," here we come!
I realize how silly being excited about this might be, but for parents, this is a big deal! We weren't really co-sleeping by choice (though I think we probably will in the future for our other newborns), so we did kinda want little S to sleep in her own crib in our room for a while. We definitely did not want her to still be in bed with us when we brought a new little one home, and my husband was keen on having our own bed back for a while before that happened. It would also be ideal if she was in her own room so that she would be able to sleep when the baby was refusing to. However, I wanted to make sure she was ready. Looks like my patience is paying off! I know there will probably still be days that she ends up back in bed with us, but this is definitely a big step!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Nicki's Diapers Haul
My order from Nicki's Diapers arrived
this morning! I always wait to order from this site until I need
enough items to qualify for free shipping, which can be a while
sometimes. This order included a white Imagine brand diaper cover
which I have been wanting ever since we stopped using the tiny diaper
covers from Little Flower and started using the one-size covers. I
am still looking for an inexpensive light pink cover, but this white
one will be very useful in the meantime. It looks well constructed,
though it seems to be a bit smaller than our other covers. It will
be the same size when snapped on the second setting, which means little S may outgrow this one first. The other item that was desperately
needed was the large wet bag. We have a small one that came with our
Little Flower diapers, but we were supplementing with plastic storage
bags that we would throw away after several uses, which almost
defeats the purpose of using cloth diapers (as far as waste and
expenses go). We discovered this flaw over the holidays when we were
out and about for longer periods of time than we had been before. So
yay for large wet bags!
We also now have large tubs of CJ's
BUTTer. The Plus formula has been great for curing at the first
signs of diaper rash, so we bought the biggest size container that
they carry. We also ordered two scented ones, the lavender for
bedtime and the Little Bee Buttermilk for whenever. The Little Bee is
a soft, sweet scent that we really love to put on her. Along with
the lotions we also decided to get some wipe solution concentrate
since we will be starting solid foods soon and water may not be
enough to keep her clean. We do use disposable wipes occasionally but
it will be nice to have the cloth wipes solution.
We already have a dozen of the Imagine
prefold diapers in a small size (I believe it is infant) to use as
our back-up diapers. They are great quality and the little one is
getting bigger everyday, so it was time to order some more in a
bigger size. These diapers are smooth, soft cotton and have yet to
show any wear where we pin them, so I am happy to have the next size
available for when we need them! We also received three flannel
wipes with our order, since Nicki's Diapers sends free gifts
depending on your order total. All in all, I greatly recommend these
products and this company!
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Reflux and Co-Sleeping
We went to the doctor today because little S is having issues sleeping in a horizontal position. It seemed to us that it was reflux that was waking her up, so we wanted to get a professional opinion and maybe a prescription to help soothe her stomach so she could sleep. Because I was not getting much sleep since I'm having to hold her at an angle all night. Apparently her symptoms are not bad enough for medication. I'm not really all about medicating children, but I wanted to fix what was going on and get some sleep; whatever, I can accept that they didn't want to medicate her. The nurse practitioner (I guess doctors aren't there on the weekends) suggested that we keep her bassinet at an incline so she could sleep better...and this is where we made the mistake of telling her she was actually sleeping more in my arms than the bassinet. So we were commanded to quit co-sleeping because it kills babies. This is where I started glazing over...I have done plenty of research. Co-sleeping is not for everyone, but it works for us, and we do it as safely as possible because I was afraid of it at first.
We had mentioned that she was pretty gassy but that it had gotten some better as the sleeping horizontally had started becoming an issue. So she told me to cut dairy out of my diet for two weeks to improve the gassy-ness.
She also said we needed to make sure S burped after we told her that she often wouldn't burp after eating. How? By telling her "You better burp, or else!"?
As we were getting ready to leave, she found out that we did not use a pacifier. So she also told us that we needed to get her one. Because she needed non nutritive sucking. When my husband mentioned she had found her hand, she said, "Well, you can let her find her hand or thumb that she will still have when she's two, or you can give her a pacifier that you can throw away when she's two." But the thing is, she usually only sucks on her hand when she's hungry. So her comment did not motivate me at all. However, I had never heard of the benefits of non nutritive sucking, so when we got home I promptly did a Google search to find information on it. I found two scholarly articles on the subject, the first that studied the benefits of using pacifiers to help transition preterm babies from feeding tubes to the breast or bottle. Awesome! Pacifiers have their uses after all! The second study, however, looked at the development of the mouth and how it was affected by using pacifiers (or not) in addition to either the breast or bottle. Turns out, the mouth is least likely to develop incorrectly when breastfeeding without a pacifier and most likely to have problems when using a pacifier with bottle feeding. I felt justified. To round everything up, I also found an article that says breastfeeding babies use both nutritive and non nutritive sucking, anyway. I felt even more justified.
Oh, and we called one of our midwives to ask her opinion about what we were told. She said that the incline while sleeping was still a good idea...and that we might want to look into a chiropractic adjustment. Of course. We could have avoided this whole ordeal. Oh, well, you live and learn, right. I'll let you know how the adjustment goes. :)
We had mentioned that she was pretty gassy but that it had gotten some better as the sleeping horizontally had started becoming an issue. So she told me to cut dairy out of my diet for two weeks to improve the gassy-ness.
She also said we needed to make sure S burped after we told her that she often wouldn't burp after eating. How? By telling her "You better burp, or else!"?
As we were getting ready to leave, she found out that we did not use a pacifier. So she also told us that we needed to get her one. Because she needed non nutritive sucking. When my husband mentioned she had found her hand, she said, "Well, you can let her find her hand or thumb that she will still have when she's two, or you can give her a pacifier that you can throw away when she's two." But the thing is, she usually only sucks on her hand when she's hungry. So her comment did not motivate me at all. However, I had never heard of the benefits of non nutritive sucking, so when we got home I promptly did a Google search to find information on it. I found two scholarly articles on the subject, the first that studied the benefits of using pacifiers to help transition preterm babies from feeding tubes to the breast or bottle. Awesome! Pacifiers have their uses after all! The second study, however, looked at the development of the mouth and how it was affected by using pacifiers (or not) in addition to either the breast or bottle. Turns out, the mouth is least likely to develop incorrectly when breastfeeding without a pacifier and most likely to have problems when using a pacifier with bottle feeding. I felt justified. To round everything up, I also found an article that says breastfeeding babies use both nutritive and non nutritive sucking, anyway. I felt even more justified.
Oh, and we called one of our midwives to ask her opinion about what we were told. She said that the incline while sleeping was still a good idea...and that we might want to look into a chiropractic adjustment. Of course. We could have avoided this whole ordeal. Oh, well, you live and learn, right. I'll let you know how the adjustment goes. :)
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
My Least Favorite Baby Items
This list contains items I thought or was told would be more useful than I have found them to be.
Onesies
"You can never have enough Onesies!" says, well, everyone, it seems. I have used maybe four. In the last two months. And three of those were as undershirts for dresses that were a bit too bare to keep my little girl warm enough. The other one was Classic Pooh, and I am defenseless when it comes to Classic Pooh. Otherwise, rompers and dresses are much cuter and just as easy. For nighttime, Gowns are much better because they have long sleeves. So don't buy too many Onesies. We have a huge pile of Onesies, most of which will likely never be used. Though I can see how they might be better for older babies, once they start moving around, if you want them to wear pants, since they won't ride up.
Newborn Size Clothes
This may just be because my little one is a big baby, but she grew out of her newborn clothes before she even got to wear most of them! Like I mentioned before, she wore mostly gowns at first, and once we started putting her in "real" clothes, she was wearing mostly size 3 months. So don't invest too much in clothes this size.
Co-Sleeper
It is a great bassinet! But she will not sleep without being in my arms. She will sleep in it up to an hour, so we still use it for some naps. At night though, we simply co-sleep. So the Co-Sleeper bassinet might as well be a plain bassinet. If you end up having the same problem, make sure you read up on how to co-sleep safely.
Swing
The swing is starting to be more useful, but for at least the first month we could not put the baby down anywhere without her crying. The reason the bouncy seat made it to the other list and not this one is because at least the bouncer is portable and quite a bit smaller. If you only want one, get the bouncer. The swing is nice to have (I've been told it actually lulls babies to sleep...not ours yet) and we do use it now, but it is not necessary if you don't want to spend the money (or don't have the room for it).
I am still glad we have some of these items, but like I said before, they just did not turn out to be as useful as they were supposed to be. There are probably fewer items on this list because I tried to do research and limit the number of items we bought for baby. Of course, some of those were then given to us as gifts, but what can you do about that other than be grateful for the love? Oh, also, as of now, we also have way too many blankets. She was a summer baby, though, so maybe they will get some use this winter.
Onesies
"You can never have enough Onesies!" says, well, everyone, it seems. I have used maybe four. In the last two months. And three of those were as undershirts for dresses that were a bit too bare to keep my little girl warm enough. The other one was Classic Pooh, and I am defenseless when it comes to Classic Pooh. Otherwise, rompers and dresses are much cuter and just as easy. For nighttime, Gowns are much better because they have long sleeves. So don't buy too many Onesies. We have a huge pile of Onesies, most of which will likely never be used. Though I can see how they might be better for older babies, once they start moving around, if you want them to wear pants, since they won't ride up.
Newborn Size Clothes
This may just be because my little one is a big baby, but she grew out of her newborn clothes before she even got to wear most of them! Like I mentioned before, she wore mostly gowns at first, and once we started putting her in "real" clothes, she was wearing mostly size 3 months. So don't invest too much in clothes this size.
Co-Sleeper
It is a great bassinet! But she will not sleep without being in my arms. She will sleep in it up to an hour, so we still use it for some naps. At night though, we simply co-sleep. So the Co-Sleeper bassinet might as well be a plain bassinet. If you end up having the same problem, make sure you read up on how to co-sleep safely.
Swing
The swing is starting to be more useful, but for at least the first month we could not put the baby down anywhere without her crying. The reason the bouncy seat made it to the other list and not this one is because at least the bouncer is portable and quite a bit smaller. If you only want one, get the bouncer. The swing is nice to have (I've been told it actually lulls babies to sleep...not ours yet) and we do use it now, but it is not necessary if you don't want to spend the money (or don't have the room for it).
I am still glad we have some of these items, but like I said before, they just did not turn out to be as useful as they were supposed to be. There are probably fewer items on this list because I tried to do research and limit the number of items we bought for baby. Of course, some of those were then given to us as gifts, but what can you do about that other than be grateful for the love? Oh, also, as of now, we also have way too many blankets. She was a summer baby, though, so maybe they will get some use this winter.
Friday, September 14, 2012
My Favorite Baby Items
I recently got sidetracked on several videos people posted to YouTube about baby stuff they couldn't live without and ones they regretted buying, so I thought I'd start off this blog with my own lists. These are the items I have found the most helpful in the last two months:
Wipes Warmer
I noticed that almost everyone, including friends I have talked to, feel the wipes warmer is not needed/practical. We actually love it. The problem my friends had was it tended to dry out the wipes. So far, we have been using flannel wipes with only distilled water, so when they get a bit dry, we just add more water. I would think this would probably work for anyone using disposable wipes as well...granted, they would have to constantly replace the water and wipes, but the water is actually really cheap. In order to prevent the brown burn stains, we just put a disposable wipe on the bottom and then one of my least favorite wipes (one that was free with an order of diapers) before stacking the ones we actually use. It works great, and I actually feel sorry for her when we are not at home and have to use a cold wipe on our little girl! Our warmer is one we picked up at a resale shop for only a few dollars, which makes it that much more awesome.
Bouncy Seat
I always thought these were a bit superfluous, but when one of our best friends gave us one, I gave it a try. It wasn't that useful at first, but now it is one of the best places for the little one. It is upright enough that she can look around the room easily, so she isn't always upset when I put her down. The vibration setting is really good when she is gassy, and has been known to soothe her to sleep as well. Sometimes she will even sit in it long enough for me to take a shower!
Gowns
The only article of clothing she wore before she was 6 weeks old (save for the two outings for her checkups). They are amazing! She still wears them at night because they keep her warm, but it is super easy to change a diaper while wearing them. I have heard complaints that they don't do a great job of keeping the feet warm, which brings me to the next item...
Receiving Blankets
Another item I often see people complain about not being useful. We thought they were (and still are!) wonderful. Yes, she squiggles out of her swaddle, but that's just what babies do. We just re-swaddle her. It was probably time for a diaper change anyway! Now that she isn't swaddled all day, they make great light blankets, because she is now regulating her temperature very well and doesn't need very much other than her clothes. When she was wearing gowns all day, the blankets kept her feet warm so there was no need to mess with socks that won't stay on her feet!
Changing Table
Definitely not necessary, but very convenient! Ours is a combo changing table/bathtub (though we haven't used the tub part yet) sometimes called a bathanette (like bassinet, only bath).
Puj Tub
This is what we are currently using to bathe her. It is a flat foam piece that folds into a bathtub using magnets to keep its shape. It then goes in the sink so you can bathe the baby in the sink without them slipping all around or being up against cold ceramic or metal. It works very well!
Nursing Pillow
I knew it would be nice, but I didn't know just how helpful it would be! I use it all the time!
Play Gym
I thought this item was ridiculous. But we were given two. So we tried them out. We ended up replacing the toys that hang from it, but once we did that, we really liked it! She learned how to bat at the toys very early, and she still likes to bat at them and look around the room while laying there. Once again, not a necessary item, but I admit it is nice to have.
Sling Carrier
I have yet to use my (beautiful) Ring Sling, but I use my Pocket Sling every day! It is wonderful to be able to do other things while holding her. She is actually sleeping in it as I type now! She is a very needy baby, always wants to be held, so this is a perfect solution for us.
Those are all the items I can think of right now that I really love. I hope this helps someone decide whether or not they would like to try out one of these items. I will do another list and maybe some reviews on specific items soon.
Wipes Warmer
I noticed that almost everyone, including friends I have talked to, feel the wipes warmer is not needed/practical. We actually love it. The problem my friends had was it tended to dry out the wipes. So far, we have been using flannel wipes with only distilled water, so when they get a bit dry, we just add more water. I would think this would probably work for anyone using disposable wipes as well...granted, they would have to constantly replace the water and wipes, but the water is actually really cheap. In order to prevent the brown burn stains, we just put a disposable wipe on the bottom and then one of my least favorite wipes (one that was free with an order of diapers) before stacking the ones we actually use. It works great, and I actually feel sorry for her when we are not at home and have to use a cold wipe on our little girl! Our warmer is one we picked up at a resale shop for only a few dollars, which makes it that much more awesome.
Bouncy Seat
I always thought these were a bit superfluous, but when one of our best friends gave us one, I gave it a try. It wasn't that useful at first, but now it is one of the best places for the little one. It is upright enough that she can look around the room easily, so she isn't always upset when I put her down. The vibration setting is really good when she is gassy, and has been known to soothe her to sleep as well. Sometimes she will even sit in it long enough for me to take a shower!
Gowns
The only article of clothing she wore before she was 6 weeks old (save for the two outings for her checkups). They are amazing! She still wears them at night because they keep her warm, but it is super easy to change a diaper while wearing them. I have heard complaints that they don't do a great job of keeping the feet warm, which brings me to the next item...
Receiving Blankets
Another item I often see people complain about not being useful. We thought they were (and still are!) wonderful. Yes, she squiggles out of her swaddle, but that's just what babies do. We just re-swaddle her. It was probably time for a diaper change anyway! Now that she isn't swaddled all day, they make great light blankets, because she is now regulating her temperature very well and doesn't need very much other than her clothes. When she was wearing gowns all day, the blankets kept her feet warm so there was no need to mess with socks that won't stay on her feet!
Changing Table
Definitely not necessary, but very convenient! Ours is a combo changing table/bathtub (though we haven't used the tub part yet) sometimes called a bathanette (like bassinet, only bath).
Puj Tub
This is what we are currently using to bathe her. It is a flat foam piece that folds into a bathtub using magnets to keep its shape. It then goes in the sink so you can bathe the baby in the sink without them slipping all around or being up against cold ceramic or metal. It works very well!
Nursing Pillow
I knew it would be nice, but I didn't know just how helpful it would be! I use it all the time!
Play Gym
I thought this item was ridiculous. But we were given two. So we tried them out. We ended up replacing the toys that hang from it, but once we did that, we really liked it! She learned how to bat at the toys very early, and she still likes to bat at them and look around the room while laying there. Once again, not a necessary item, but I admit it is nice to have.
Sling Carrier
I have yet to use my (beautiful) Ring Sling, but I use my Pocket Sling every day! It is wonderful to be able to do other things while holding her. She is actually sleeping in it as I type now! She is a very needy baby, always wants to be held, so this is a perfect solution for us.
Those are all the items I can think of right now that I really love. I hope this helps someone decide whether or not they would like to try out one of these items. I will do another list and maybe some reviews on specific items soon.
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