{hours after birth - 5/12/13}
At 7 weeks old Baby J is starting to recognize B and I, at times rewarding our greetings with a smile. Although she likes the pacifier, she has found her thumb and, to my dismay, loves it.
On the up side, she's also finding all sorts of objects (like the mobile over her swing) that have been part of her surroundings for over a month, but now appear to her new and fascinating. This week she moved from the bassinet to the crib, but her sleep schedule is still somewhat unpredictable (at its best 4 hours from 8pm- midnight followed by 2-3 hour intervals).
Having Baby J has been an amazing, wonderful, consuming experience, that I don't think either of us would trade for anything in the world. That being said, this newborn thing is no joke. Seriously, with all of the hype about labor and delivery, you'd think someone would have mentioned what, for me, has been the most difficult part of the entire pregnancy/birth/baby experience, taking care of our new little bundle of joy. So, although there will be many a future post detailing the eats getting B and I through our now relatively sleepless existence, I want to dedicate this post to new parents and parents-to-be with a list of the top 5 things that have made my life easier in the hope that someone can benefit from our struggles :)
5. Invest in a noise machine from day one.
When I was 9 months pregnant we were feverishly reading all of the childbirth and breast feeding information we could get our hands on. Unfortunately we neglected to read any of the baby care books we'd purchased, thinking that those were more appropriately saved until after Baby J had arrived. Big mistake. Little did we realize caring for the baby hits you like a ton of bricks and the last thing you want or have time to do when you've gotten no sleep and have a day old baby to care for is catch up on your reading. One of the things we'd have found if we'd done our homework in advance is that a noise machine is a key ingredient to soothing a newborn to sleep. When you consider the noise a little one lives with in the womb, it makes sense that she would have a hard time suddenly trying to fall asleep in complete silence.
We started out with the on the Go Sleep Sheep, but it quickly proved problematic because you're not able to run it continuously. It is battery powered and as a result made to automatically shuts off after a period of time (you can select 25 or 45 minutes) to save on power. Until we found a better alternative we were relying on the Sleep Pillow iPhone app, and I was just putting my phone in the bassinet every night, but we eventually purchased the DEX Products Sound Sleeper SS-01. It plugs into the wall so it can play continuously, but it also has a timer option. Although it is a tad too quiet to completely block out sounds from outside the nursery, I'm not sure I'd be able to use a louder setting in any event because at top volume it is already on the verge of drowning her out on the monitor.
4. If your baby is being breast fed, invest in Bamboobies nipple pads.
Let me start by saying, although I've chosen to breast feed my baby, I think it is a personal choice every mother has to make. There are pros and cons for both options, and in my opinion cultish breast-or-bust advocates who try to shame parents who choose to bottle feed need to mind their own business.
If you have decided to breast feed your baby, you will most certainly need to invest in some nipple pads (or plan to walk around prepped for a wet t-shirt contest). I found that the disposable ones were very irritating on my already extremely tender bits, and not super absorbent (which meant changing a lot, which meant purchasing a lot). The Bamboobies pads, on the other hand, are very soft, do not irritate even when wet, and are washable so you can simply throw them in with one of the 5000 loads of laundry you'll be doing a week once baby arrives and you're good to go. I ordered three sets so I didn't have to wash them every day and, in my opinion, it was money well spent.
3. Invest in a good breast pump from the start, and don't be afraid to get your money's worth.
Any breast feeding mom will tell you, it's hard work. At first you're practically feeding the baby every hour, and even at seven weeks Baby J nurses every 2.5 hours, so I really only have 2 hour windows of time to be away for her, or sleep for that matter. While being attached at the hip is great for bonding with baby, sometimes mommy needs a little alone time. That's where a good breast pump can be a game changer. At around a month I started pumping 4-5 minutes per breast after Baby J was finished nursing. After a few days this resulted in about a 4 ounce bottle a day for me to store in the freezer, so I was prepared with a small stockpile of breast milk when we were ready to introduce a bottle.
I have the medela pump in style on the go tote, and I love it, but there are a few comparable options on the market and some insurance companies are now covering all or part of the cost of certain pumps, so I would definitely contact your provider and check it out before purchasing. Whichever pump you select, make sure you are armed with adequate storage containers. If you have a medela pump, I recommend the medela storage solution set (I received one at my shower and purchased another a when Baby J was 5 or so weeks old) and/or the medela pump and save breast milk bags (the storage solution set comes with 20 bags).
2. Don't wait too long to introduce the pacifier and bottle
One of the things that you read about in nearly every breast feeding book is the potential for nipple confusion - namely that your newborn, who has just figured out how to latch and feed without trouble - will suddenly forget it all and refuse to breast feed once you introduce a pacifier and/or bottle. We had a little trouble with breast feeding at first, so I was especially terrified at the prospect of nipple confusion. All of the books recommend waiting until at least 3 weeks, or until breast feeding is well established, to introduce the pacifier. At exactly 3 weeks, and after a couple particularly fussy days, the potential for assistance in soothing my baby was too great and I decided to roll the dice. On advice of my pediatrician I used the Soothie brand pacifier because the nipple of the pacifier is nearly identical to the nipple on the medela bottles (thought being baby will only have to learn one alternative means of sucking), and Baby J took to it immediately and, thankfully, without confusion.
{first pacifier - 6/2/13}
A couple weeks later, again at the recommendation of our pediatrician, we started giving Baby J one bottle a day to get her used to it. Our pediatrician instructed that it is best to introduce the bottle during baby's second month because apparently waiting too long can result in the opposite of nipple confusion - baby develops such a strong preference for the breast that she refuses the bottle. The first couple nights Baby J fought the bottle a bit, but now she switches back and forth between bottle and breast with no problem, giving mommy the opportunity to miss a feeding if needed without issue and giving daddy a little bonding time with baby girl.
{baby's first bottle - 6/16/13}
1. Invest in a medicine ball.
At a wedding a couple weeks back we were talking to a couple friends who have a 9 month old baby. We were lamenting that despite being a pretty easy baby even Baby J had an inconsolable period every night around dinner time, and our friends suggested we invest in a medicine ball because their daughter loved to have them hold her and bounce on the medicine ball. We were skeptical but decided it couldn't hurt (and worst case I could use it to try to regain my prebaby abs lol), and low and behold our friends were right. Baby J absolutely loves to be held while one of us sit and bounce on the medicine ball. With all the fancy baby stuff on the market its hard to believe that all you need is a $20 medicine ball, but I would trade all of the swings, vibrating seats, toys, etc. for this ball.
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