*Baby Corner*

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

Thats what I was thinking about the Ready feed bottles, a little more expensive but prob worth it if your not using formula often. I would bring whateve Sebas eats in a 6hr period plus 1 extra. We used drop ins and numerous times I would bust the bag or something.

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Thats what I was thinking about the Ready feed bottles, a little more expensive but prob worth it if your not using formula often. I would bring whateve Sebas eats in a 6hr period plus 1 extra. We used drop ins and numerous times I would bust the bag or something.

Thanks! This really helps

Saludos,

Caro

[Susita 175]

Caro ~ I think it's normal to want to get everything organized in your brain for daycare. The boys went to daycare and I remember the easiest for me was to make the bottles the night before and pack a cooler bag and leave it in the fridge, that way you can just grab and go in the morning. Same thing with the diapers and clothes. Getting up and out of the house in the morning was interesting.... lol

I have a whole new dilemma... I will be working 6-2:30 M-F and Luis will be working nights 7pm-1am 6 days/week. He's going to be home with the baby in the morning (the boys will be in school during the day so I figured morning would be easier for him with just the baby to worry about). But, he's never taken care of a baby before, ever. I guess it will all work out and I can call my grandma if he has a baby emergency, but I'm still kinda nervous.

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Caro ~ I think it's normal to want to get everything organized in your brain for daycare. The boys went to daycare and I remember the easiest for me was to make the bottles the night before and pack a cooler bag and leave it in the fridge, that way you can just grab and go in the morning. Same thing with the diapers and clothes. Getting up and out of the house in the morning was interesting.... lol

I have a whole new dilemma... I will be working 6-2:30 M-F and Luis will be working nights 7pm-1am 6 days/week. He's going to be home with the baby in the morning (the boys will be in school during the day so I figured morning would be easier for him with just the baby to worry about). But, he's never taken care of a baby before, ever. I guess it will all work out and I can call my grandma if he has a baby emergency, but I'm still kinda nervous.

Thanks!

Are you taking maternity leave? that would give you some time for Luis to learn how to take care of the baby. When Justin and I had Sebas, we were both completely clueless...I'm talking never-changed-a-diaper-in-my-life, how-do-you-put-a-bottle-together clueless, but we learned...kind of I love babycenter.com because they articles on all the basics, like how to change a diaper, how to bathe a baby, 10 top reasons why babies cry and how to solve them, etc

Saludos,

Caro

[Susita 175]

Yeah I get 8 weeks of maternity leave... so he should have some time

Luis is really great with the boys but he's only been with them since they were 3 and they were already out of diapers and stuff, but I'm sure he'll be okay with the baby and I know I probably shouldn't worry.

Another thing I'm nervous about is BF. I had a really hard time with the boys, they were born premature and one of my sons was sent to another hospital for surgery, while the other one was incubated. I was a complete trainwreck so basically it just never happened. Luckily, they are completely healthy kids & Jonathan had to be put on soy formula anyway so it worked out. Since this time it doesn't look like there will be any complications (other than a c-section) I am going to go for it though & have no idea what the heck I'm doing. My mom didn't BF either so I have no point of reference.

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Yeah I get 8 weeks of maternity leave... so he should have some time

Luis is really great with the boys but he's only been with them since they were 3 and they were already out of diapers and stuff, but I'm sure he'll be okay with the baby and I know I probably shouldn't worry.

Another thing I'm nervous about is BF. I had a really hard time with the boys, they were born premature and one of my sons was sent to another hospital for surgery, while the other one was incubated. I was a complete trainwreck so basically it just never happened. Luckily, they are completely healthy kids & Jonathan had to be put on soy formula anyway so it worked out. Since this time it doesn't look like there will be any complications (other than a c-section) I am going to go for it though & have no idea what the heck I'm doing. My mom didn't BF either so I have no point of reference.

Don't worry about it - the nurses teach you how to BF ...in fact, they are all over your case about it...they came to our room every 3 hours to follow up on BFing...even at 3 am when we were all sound asleep, including the baby . In my experience, if you stress about it, the much harder it will be. Just relax and if it happens, it happens, and if it doesn't you know the baby will be just fine anyways. Go buy formula, or just hold on to those samples you'll probably get in the mail. Even if your baby doesn't ever touch a drop of it, just having it there will help you relax knowing that you have backup.

I personally didn't know how I would feel about BFing...the idea always seemed weird to me, but I thought I would give it a try and see...and I ended up liking it. It is such a nice moment when the baby looks up at you and gives you a look so full of love, so content because they get so much comfort out of it. It's a great bonding time

Saludos,

Caro

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Wanted to add: there's a bunch of videos onyoutube about bfing- ifound them creepy, but check them out and see what you think. Now what I did like and found very helpful is a little booklet that came on the enfamil's first visit packet (got it at my pedi's office) called " nursing - the first two months". Ask your Pedi or hospital for it. Other than that, just sit on your rocker with your baby, a boppy and a water bottle and give it your best shot

[Anna C. 4]

Caro: What pump do you have? My medela pumps directly into bottles... Is it a double pump? That would make it easier and quicker... I would pump a night before or whenever it works for you and put the prepared bag into the fridge with bottles you like, in the end filling it from the pumping bottle into the eating bottle isn't that much work. Cleaning nipples is a whole other story! So much work with bottles... Make sure daycare knows how to handle breastmilk. Some nurses even at a hospital where we stayed for 2 days thought it was ok to microwave breastmilk (and that were pediatric nurses, they should know better!). Oh boy! Maybe you can give them a bottle warmer to make sure it gets properly reheated?

susita: you can take classes now, make sure you have the contact number of your local La Leche League (they provide excellent breastfeeding support for free). Are there international board certified lactation consultants near by? They are the best. They are RNs that do an extra education on top just for breastfeeding. We had them. First of all, neither my grandmothers nor mother ever breastfed, so I had no clue how to do it - and we had no family around anyways when Jona was born. That's why I made sure to have those knowledgeable people around. We nursed right as he was born, but very soon, jaundice set in pretty strongly and he couldn't suck anymore. Jona stayed with me all the time, I was instructed by the nurses to have him with me as he had troubles keeping his body temperature (he was 5 pounds 10 ounces only) and the best way to keep baby's temp is to stay with mom. So he was with me and we tried a lot of latching, and it was frustrating, but didn't stop me from trying. When Jona was 6 hours old, the IBCLC brought in the pump and we double pumped every 3 hours, filled the milk into a medela SNS system, which is a small silicon tube that you attach to your finger and let baby suck from it. This way, they learn how to suck and get stronger at it. Every three hours we pumped, fed him (and it was a little colostrum only, like so little like a teaspoon) and it took 15-20 minutes for him to eat that, then clean all the stuff, store leftover milk with the nurses... It was quite exhausting. After 3 days, he couldn't latch just yet, and the ICBLC suggested nipple shields and he could latch on right away. We kept on the schedule to pump every 3 hours, 5 minutes, then he would nurse, then 5 minutes of pumping again. We did that for 2 weeks and saw the ICBLC 3 times, she supervised the feedings (like weighing him before and after down to the gram to determine how much he ate) and then helped weaning off the nipple shield. Jona never had anything else but my breastmilk and learned how to nurse by himself at age 3 weeks, when he hit is real due date. It was quite a journey, but so worth it! Jona nursed and I established an adequate supply of milk (well quite a lot!)... Our fridge was a dairy farm

Long story, but I think some hospitals just have lactation consultants, but they are not ICBLCs. Bad consultants can ruin your nursing relationship and give you bad advice. Like it takes up to 3 days before you will have milk, you only have an iota of colostrum in the beginning and that is enough, yet some hospitals will push formula (either have no good consultants or have contracts with formula companies, sadly) and that will harm your milk supply. That's just why I advise to find good consultants beforehand!!! I think I owe much to my ICBLC. We even still send Christmas cards to her!

Edited December 27, 2009 by Anna C.

[JVKn'CVO 11]

I have a Medela swing pump (single). I think it's less bulky (easier to carry) and Sebas nurses one side at a time anyways, so I would be pumping one side at a time too

I called the day care today to confirm everything. They told me to bring one change of clothes, diapers, wipes, and his bottles. They said they have a bottle warmer which fits the drop ins (which is what we're using). I asked about rules for formula and they said that they can mix it, as long as everything is pre-measured (water + powder). I will send his bottles for the day of pumped milk and one empty bottle and a can of ready to feed formula. I think that will work best.

Saludos,

Caro

[tnh9479 1]

Finally got off my ####### and got the evites done for the twins first birthday party in about 3 weeks! I can't believe how quickly time has flown by!

[Staashi 371]

Finally got off my ####### and got the evites done for the twins first birthday party in about 3 weeks! I can't believe how quickly time has flown by!

OMG, Twila - I just saw that your hubby's citizenship interview is on Monday - how awesome! All the best with that. Does WPB do same-day oaths??? You can also do a citizenship/birthday party.

Oooooooh, one other thing - for a gift for your hubby, have a flag flown over the US Capitol for him. It only costs like $20 and it is the coolest thing. Then you can get a flag box at Michael's and give him the certificate that comes with it. If you are interested, contact your US Representative. My hubby loved his.

[Anna C. 4]

Staashi, good idea, mine would love that too....

@ Caro: We have the same pump! I think for pumping more than occasionally you might want to get a double pump though... Depending on how it is going. The first pump I had from the hospital was professional and it was like a dairy farm. Easy peasy to get 10 oz out of there in no time!!!

[Autumnchik 6]

Happy Birthday to the twins!!! (I am heading to FL in January and wanted to get my bday wishes in now!!!)

@ Caro - When I was at work and pumping, I used a Medela double electric pump and it really was great .... much easier to pump quickly in my office with that. Just an FYI

Yay Vi to going to Peru. Hope you have a wonderful trip!

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Hi Mommies!

Thanks for the advice about pumping. I don't know if I want to spend in a new pump since my BFing goal is 6 months, but as long as Sebas keeps getting better with the bottle and how well he does with a sippy cup. I'll see how it goes

Happy Birthday to the twins!!

Vi, did you get Sofia's passport? when are you flying out?

I have a bunch of questions this morning:

1-how long does it take a baby to cut his first tooth? Sebas has been fuzzy, drooling, biting, tugging at his ear for over a week now. I definitely think he's teething, but it seems to be taking forever. Is this normal?

2-He doesn't seem very interested in rolling over, but while laying on his back he pushes up (like if he was doing a sit up) trying to what I think is sit up. Is this normal too? how can I help him?

3- He is sticking out his tongue and curling it, does this have to do with teething or why does he do that?

and last 4- Did they ever do away with BPA in formula cans? anybody know of any developments on this issue?

CNN: Group sounds alarm on infant formula cans

Saludos,

Caro

[Anna C. 4]

@ Caro: Nestle still has BPA in their cans. Do a little bit of googling for brands that do not use BPA. I have no idea since we never used formula.

My initial goal was 12 months, as recommended by the AAP, but then I read the WHO recommends 24 months and I read about it and it made sense... I'm at home so I don't have to worry about pumping, which makes it way easier. I would loose a valuable tool if I had weaned Jona. It relaxes him, calms him down, gets him through a cold (one so far). I don't have to spend money on pricey formula, bottles and so on. I had never thought I would go down this road, but I'm glad I did. My mom feels that it is easier to nurse a child than to formula feed (all three of us were formula fed), she said wow it takes way less time and is less of a hassle. She just had no support back then.

here is some info on BPA in formula (apparently never use ready to feed, always has BPA!): http://www.ewg.org/reports/infantformula

this is what my relative uses who cannot breastfeed due to a tumor: http://www.naturesone.com/dairy/?gclid=CIW...CFQJaagodg0r9Ug

It has no BPA. http://www.naturesone.com/dairy/frequent-questions/

Teeth... Oh well, it is different from tooth to tooth already! Jona's first three teeth were a breeze. he was a little fussy, but that was it. The next three teeth (they always appeared in groups of three) were hell. He was in a lot of pain and nursing constantly helped tremendously. Then we had a break, and the premolars appeared. It was fussy, but manageable. Then came the molars, not fun, it took weeks, drooling, fussiness, crying.... The canines topped it all with a lot of pain, but then we were good. At 14 months he had 16 teeth... Now he is cutting his 2 year molars (he's quick with teething) and it's less of a pain, but lots of drooling. The drooling can cause a diaper rash as well from time to time. But it is different for every child. I know of children who never had teething pains, then I know my niece for whom every tooth was hell.

Edited December 29, 2009 by Anna C.