The Blog

1.  Prunes make for messy diapers.  And SMELLY diapers.  Not that her diapers weren’t bad before, but they’re NASTY now.  She started with prunes rather than cereal, since she already had a bit of a regularity problem.  She likes the prunes….her diapers just don’t. 

2.  The instructions on the package of the rice cereal are really weird.  1 tbs cereal to something like 4 tbs of formula?  Um.  That’s basically water with tiny lumps in it.  Extremely difficult to get that to stay on the spoon.  Worked alot better when we followed Grandma’s suggestion of eyeballing the formula so that you get similar consistency to the prunes. 

3.  When zapping babyfood….7 sec on 50% power works well.

4.  They have spoons that change color to tell you if the food is too hot.  They’re completely white if you take them out of the dishwasher just after the drying cycle. 

5.  WalMart has the best prices on Gerber.  That sucks, because I hate shopping at WalMart.  So far, I’ve paid the $.10 extra a package to shop at Target.

6.  Plastic bibs are a MUST. 

7.  Stain sticks are ALSO a MUST. 

8.  It is possible to find baby food in weird places…like, say, on my bra.  How THAT happened, I don’t know.

9.  It is essential to keep baby’s hands occupied during feeding.  If not, they go right in the mouth…and then the food ends up in weird places.  Reference item 8.

We’re 1.5 weeks into this baby food gig.  Prunes and rice cereal are what she’s had so far, and no major issues so far.  Sweet Potatoes are next.  I thought that sounded Thanksgiving-y, so we went with that.  (And Target didn’t have enough containers of Squash.)

I registered for all kinds o’crap for the baby.  I did my research, I listed to people, I got the stuff.  Now I have a TON of stuff packed in this storage-challenged condo.  I’m slowly figuring out what I do and do not need to have to handle a new baby, based on what I’m using with DaugtherCat.   Here’s my list @ 6 weeks of age:

Must Haves

1.  Pack-N-Play…with a vibrating bassinet -  OMG, I LOVE THIS.  So often she’s fussy or crabby, we can just lay her down in that bassinet, click on the vibration and the music, and off she goes to dreamland.  Does it work every time?  Well of course not.  Nothing does.  But the more weapons in your arsenal, the great chance of survival, I say. 

2.  Bouncy Chair -  We’ve been using this to keep her nearby during dinner time.  I grew up that the family ate dinner together, so we’re starting her early.  It’s also nice to have in the kitchen so I can plop her in there while I’m unloading the dishwasher and things like that.  Did I mention it vibrates?  It does.  Did I mention we keep forgetting to turn it off when we’re done?  We do.  (she says as she looks in the kitchen and sees it in the ON position.)

3.  Swing – One of my friends called this the “Baby Shutter-Upper”, and she ain’t kidding.  Just make sure your baby isn’t too tiny to use it.  (Mine was the first few weeks.  What can I say?  I birthed a munchkin.  She’s growing now, though.)

4.  BATTERIES - Did I mention the previous items require them?  We got a swing with a cord & plug, but also borrowed one from my mom that was battery operated.  Ugh.  Batteries.  Which reminds me, I need more.

5.  Bottle Drying Rack – Takes up WAY less space than spreading them all over your kitchen counters.  Especially useful since I can’t seem to get the plastic to dry in the dishwasher.

6.  Bottle Dishwasher Baskets – Munchkin makes the ones I have.  They are full and in that dishwasher daily.  I love them. 

7.  Stroller Travel System- I don’t care what the reviewers say.  Graco Travel System all the way baby.  We splurged and registered for a Cadillac of strollers.  It was expensive.  BUT, if you think about it, that is one item that you will probably use the longest.  Kids can ride in them until they’re, what, 3?  4?  5?  Kick the tires.  Pick a good one. 

8.  Crib Soother- This is the thing that hangs on the side of the crib, plays music, and lights up.  We picked up one from the Fisher Price Precious Planet collection.  I admit, I’m drawn to that collection because of the animals.  We have 3 cats and a dog.  We got the dog as our wedding present to each other.  We visit Zoos alot.  I’ve been a member of the World Wildlife Fund.  I usually only donate money to causes that help animals.  I’m getting my kid animal-themed stuff.  But that said…the Soother.  This one plays lullabies, Classical songs, and nature sounds.  On the light-up motion setting it runs 5min and turns itself off.  On the sound-only setting, it goes for 18min before shutting off.  OMG.  USE THIS EVERY NIGHT.  I rock her to sleep, put her in the crib, turn on the sounds, and she’s out.  This thing ROCKS.  It’s in the battery-requiring group of products, but we’ve had it about 3 weeks, used it nightly, and we’re still on the factory included batteries.  So I’m relatively impressed there.

9.  Play Gym – This floor mat thing is awesome.  We’ve used it with DC every day.  She’s just started to really notice and try to interact with the creatures on it in the last week.  (Yes…it’s animal themed.  Seriously, I need to get her some educational letter/number stuff, and not just educate her on animals.  I don’t want my kid to be a one-act show.  Then again, if she grew up to be a veterinarian or something….)  Anyways, she loves it, though I think she’s not so keen when we do tummy time on it.  But besides that, she loves it.

Can Live Withouts

1.  Crib Bumper Pads- I thought we needed these.  So far I haven’t.  They don’t really fit convertible cribs all that well.  At least, not with the mattress at the highest level.  Perhaps my response will change once we lower the mattress a level. 

2.  Mobile - I was told I had to have one.  I wasn’t going to get one.  A) I couldn’t find one I really liked, B) Babies can’t see that far to really see them at first anyways, C) I thought they were kinda dorky myself.  But I got one.  Hmmm.  She doesn’t pay attention to it.  It’s motion is kinda loud.  And the music is loud even on the lowest setting.  I know she can’t use it once she can stand up, so I’m really not seeing a use for this one. 

I have a TON of things that I still haven’t used with her yet.  So I’m sure these lists will change and grow as DC changes and grows.  Stay tuned…

Just a few things I’ve learned about feeding a baby, 6 weeks into this whole motherhood thing…

1.  Nursing is fine but only really works if you produce milk.  Otherwise, you just have one pissed off and hungry baby.   Couple that with one tired and overwhelmed new mom, and that’s just a recipe for disaster.

2.  When bottle feeding a baby, let them tell  YOU when they’re hungry.  None of this waking them up to feed them at specified times.  I don’t care that the baby class told you they can’t go more than 2 – 3 hours to eat.  They will tell  you if they are hungry.  Otherwise, you could just overfeed them, which is all sorts of bad things.

3.  Overfed babies build up bacteria in their tummies, which produces gas.  Gassy babies want to suck on things and thus seem like they’re hungry.  It’s a vicious circle and a no-win situation.

4.  When using a bottle warmer, check that the bottom of your bottle is tightened before putting it inside, if you’re using a Playtex Ventaire bottle.  Leaked formula in the bottle warmer is nasty and annoying.  It’s especially annoying if you have to throw together another bottle and heat it old-school while the baby is screaming.  (Welcome to my morning.)

5.  Bottles and formula are EXPENSIVE.  Sign up for the websites of the manufacturers, so you can get coupons.  Keep in mind…coupons will lead to a convenient excuse to get a new coupon holder for your purse.  I picked up a snazzy, fabric covered, magnetic-closure coupon organizer at Target yesterday for $5.  I am all levels of geeked out by this.  I’m now wondering if I can sign up to get coupons from the cat food manufacturer.  They should do this for more than just baby products.

6.  When bottle feeding….pause at least once part-way through to BURP the baby.  No they don’t tell you this.  The bottle package doesn’t mention it.  The “What to Expect” books don’t mention it.  The hospitals don’t mention it.  But DO it.  3oz doesn’t seem like a lot, but apparently the amount of air they can swallow in that time can make their tummies EXTREMELY unhappy.  You’ll be happier and get more sleep if you just stop-and-burp. 

7.  All the aforementioned sources provide tons of info on nursing, and next-to-nothing on bottle feeding.  This is a diservice to the new first-time parents.  Some of us go into this with full intentions of nursing, and nature just doesn’t cooperate.  It is better to have all the facts and know-how beforehand, so that in the heat of the moment, if we have to switch, we know what to do.  It’s like with only teaching kids abstinance.  Seriously, there’s no one right way to do anything, and the powers-that-be should provide ALL facts and leave the course-of-action decision to the person in question.

8.  When dealing with a gassy baby…Mylicon drops are the BOMB.  Buy some.  In fact, buy stock in the company or something.  That’s how awesome it is.

Now that I know all this, and have this bottle feeding down….I’m terrified of moving to baby food.  I’ll be starting all over again.  Seems like that’s all I do is start all over again learning something knew in this process.  Stay tuned…