As I get further a long in my pregnancy I begin to look more and more forward to being able to go through the newborn stage again. Don’t get me wrong…I’m not quite fond of the nightly feedings, but what beats a yummy smelling, cooing, and little grunting baby? I have a hard time remembering some of these precious moments with Trey, because I was so concerned what I was doing right or wrong with him. Was I feeding him enough? Do I have him dressed in the appropriate clothes? Is he sleeping too much during the day? My toughest struggle was breast feeding the first month. These were all things that I thought would just happen naturally…was I ever wrong! I was a nervous wreck. I loved Trey the moment that sweet little boy was placed in my arms more than I could ever begin to try to explain, but I was so busy worrying about what I was doing right or wrong that at times I would forget to just breathe him in. There’s so much stuff that I wish that I would have known going into being a mom and I’m writing this post to offer up some information on some books and items that saved me from my own first time mom craziness! It’s also to help refresh my mind, so that I can be calm and just soak up Brohdy and his sweetness. It goes by so fast people…..really. I’m definitely no expert, so please don’t think that I’m trying to push any of the stuff on you. I whole heartily believe that every parent has to do what’s best for their lifestyle!!! Don’t let other parents tell you that you’re doing it the wrong way…..EVER!! :) Now, I’ll start with a couple of books that were so amazing and helpful, but I have to say don’t overwhelm with yourself with too much information!! I was so guilty of this. I read every book under the sun on sleep habits and breastfeeding that my head was spinning. I suggest going over these books before your baby is born unlike I did, so that you only have to reference these books instead of reading them, while you should be napping. :) After that I’ll just list some of our favorite products that we used with Trey.
• I’ll start with a book that our amazing pediatrician gave us: Mommy Calls: Dr. Tanya Answers Parents' Top 101 Questions About Babies and Toddlers by Tanya Remer Altmann. This book is a simple read that will not overwhelm you with too much information. Our pediatrician told us that she should have written the same book. It answers questions on breastfeeding, illnesses, eating habits, ect….
• Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. This book is a must have for sleep. You don’t realize how precious sleep is until you have a newborn. My friends Stacey and Katie suggested this book to me and it saved our life! Trey was sleeping 12 hours at night by the time he was 3 months old. Trey is still is our all-star napper and night sleeper. He racks up between 12-13 hours at night at around 3 during the day. I like that this book gives you options on how to put and keep your child in bed. It’s not as strict as say baby-wise… Babywise is intense and almost impossible to do when you have a sleepy newborn who wants to sleep after being nursed…oh trust me…its ok to nurse your baby to sleep. :) Don’t be crazy anal with your routine either. I tend to do that during the week, but we definitely push nap times or bed times if a special event is occurring. It won’t wreck them if you do it!!
• Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. This book is so awesome if you have the time to make your baby’s food. I did with Trey and had so much fun! It gives you a lot of helpful information on portion sizes, when to start food…ect.
• Cloud B Gentle Giraffe Sound Machine with Four Soothing Sounds was awesome for when Trey was a newborn. We now use an I-Pod and play nature sounds all night long to block outside noises out.
• Trey hated to be swaddled, so we used a sleep sack with him. You can find them at Target or pretty much anywhere that sells baby stuff. We were also super anal about not letting him have a blanket until he was pretty much one, so these kept him warm. :)
• If you plan on nursing I would suggest a great breast pump for when you plan on leaving your baby or want to have dad give baby a bottle. I used a Medela similar to this one Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump with On the Go Tote and loved it!
• A good bottle is Dr. Browns. They have a great airflow system that reduces colic and gas.
• A good front pack or sling is helpful! We used the Bjorn Sport with Trey and loved it! I've heard great things about the Ergos too!
• Pampers Swaddlers are the best diapers for newborns. They are so soft!
• You will need a lot of burp cloths. I was blessed to have my good friend Jess make me a bunch.
• A&D ointment works awesome to prevent diaper rashes!
• I loved my jogging stroller! It was so nice to be able to get out and get fresh air. Nothing beats a BOB people....nothing! :)
• Breastfeeding can be hard. I bold this, because this was a HUGE struggle for me at the beginning. A lot of times lactation consultants make it out to seem like you just instantly start nursing and your baby gets it the first time. Well, I’m sure this happens for some lucky women, but for me and I know many others, it didn’t. Newborns are sleepy. They fall asleep at the breast…they don’t latch properly so, you’re left with blisters. They lose weight at first, because your milk isn’t in, so you’re left to worry if you’re feeding them enough. I was a wreck. Want to know how big of a wreck? Just ask my poor husband. I wanted to breastfeed more than anything. Trey lost weight at the beginning (which almost every newborn does); because my milk hadn’t come in and of course I thought it was my fault. Instead of having us supplement with a bottle of formula our nurse sent us home with a Supplemental Tube, which is basically a feeding tube that you hook (actually Jason would hook) onto your breast and feed your baby. Oh my goodness. I was literally in tears, because it was so hard! Needless to say we will be using a bottle if Brohdy needs a little bit extra boost in his weight gain until my milk comes in. It won’t cause nipple confusion to give him one or two bottles if he’s jaundice and he needs calories to control it. I wanted to give up after two weeks, luckily my husband encouraged me to stick with it and guess what? It got much easier and enjoyable. :) I would pump a lot of extra milk and was able to go on an occasional date with my hubby, because we gave Trey one bottle a day. I suggest introducing at least one bottle a day when they’re around two weeks or even younger, so they’re able to breastfeed and take a bottle if you plan on ever leaving your baby for more than two hours at a time! Babies tend not to take bottles if you wait too long to introduce them. This is only coming from people I know experiences. Trey was a pro at nursing and taking bottles. I was so blessed and didn’t even realize it! I was still insanely neurotic about Trey’s weight gain and even purchased a scale, because I was concerned that my milk wasn’t enough for him. That is one product that I will not be using this time. I was so focused on his weight gain instead of just realizing that Trey was happy and healthy. I quit breastfeeding around 6 months and I could just kick myself for it, because it wasn’t because it was going bad, but because I thought that he wasn’t gaining enough weight (though he was….perfectly…) I was comparing him to other kids instead of just focusing on Trey’s happiness. Trey was a perfect weight…he was striving….and HAPPY. :) I sound a little bit like a crazy woman, don’t I? Sometimes being a first time mom almost takes you there, which is why I’m writing this post!
Like I said…please don’t take all of my information to heart. These were just some things that I wish that I would have known about before I became a mom. I would have been able to breathe and fully enjoy Trey’s newborn stage if I had this knowledge. You have to do what works for your family and what makes you relaxed and happy! It’s all about staying calm and realizing that you’re the mom and you know what’s best for your baby not your friends…not your parents…just you! It is nice to have a friend who already has a baby to go to for questions though. I was so blessed with a great group of girls who never made me feel dumb about my questions and were always there to reassure me that everything was fine. :) Thank you friends!
Just remember, it will all be ok and the craziness does fade away! You can’t get the newborn stage back, so please try to savor it, because it’s one of the most precious times in your life.
• I’ll start with a book that our amazing pediatrician gave us: Mommy Calls: Dr. Tanya Answers Parents' Top 101 Questions About Babies and Toddlers by Tanya Remer Altmann. This book is a simple read that will not overwhelm you with too much information. Our pediatrician told us that she should have written the same book. It answers questions on breastfeeding, illnesses, eating habits, ect….
• Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. This book is a must have for sleep. You don’t realize how precious sleep is until you have a newborn. My friends Stacey and Katie suggested this book to me and it saved our life! Trey was sleeping 12 hours at night by the time he was 3 months old. Trey is still is our all-star napper and night sleeper. He racks up between 12-13 hours at night at around 3 during the day. I like that this book gives you options on how to put and keep your child in bed. It’s not as strict as say baby-wise… Babywise is intense and almost impossible to do when you have a sleepy newborn who wants to sleep after being nursed…oh trust me…its ok to nurse your baby to sleep. :) Don’t be crazy anal with your routine either. I tend to do that during the week, but we definitely push nap times or bed times if a special event is occurring. It won’t wreck them if you do it!!
• Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. This book is so awesome if you have the time to make your baby’s food. I did with Trey and had so much fun! It gives you a lot of helpful information on portion sizes, when to start food…ect.
• Cloud B Gentle Giraffe Sound Machine with Four Soothing Sounds was awesome for when Trey was a newborn. We now use an I-Pod and play nature sounds all night long to block outside noises out.
• Trey hated to be swaddled, so we used a sleep sack with him. You can find them at Target or pretty much anywhere that sells baby stuff. We were also super anal about not letting him have a blanket until he was pretty much one, so these kept him warm. :)
• If you plan on nursing I would suggest a great breast pump for when you plan on leaving your baby or want to have dad give baby a bottle. I used a Medela similar to this one Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump with On the Go Tote and loved it!
• A good bottle is Dr. Browns. They have a great airflow system that reduces colic and gas.
• A good front pack or sling is helpful! We used the Bjorn Sport with Trey and loved it! I've heard great things about the Ergos too!
• Pampers Swaddlers are the best diapers for newborns. They are so soft!
• You will need a lot of burp cloths. I was blessed to have my good friend Jess make me a bunch.
• A&D ointment works awesome to prevent diaper rashes!
• I loved my jogging stroller! It was so nice to be able to get out and get fresh air. Nothing beats a BOB people....nothing! :)
• Breastfeeding can be hard. I bold this, because this was a HUGE struggle for me at the beginning. A lot of times lactation consultants make it out to seem like you just instantly start nursing and your baby gets it the first time. Well, I’m sure this happens for some lucky women, but for me and I know many others, it didn’t. Newborns are sleepy. They fall asleep at the breast…they don’t latch properly so, you’re left with blisters. They lose weight at first, because your milk isn’t in, so you’re left to worry if you’re feeding them enough. I was a wreck. Want to know how big of a wreck? Just ask my poor husband. I wanted to breastfeed more than anything. Trey lost weight at the beginning (which almost every newborn does); because my milk hadn’t come in and of course I thought it was my fault. Instead of having us supplement with a bottle of formula our nurse sent us home with a Supplemental Tube, which is basically a feeding tube that you hook (actually Jason would hook) onto your breast and feed your baby. Oh my goodness. I was literally in tears, because it was so hard! Needless to say we will be using a bottle if Brohdy needs a little bit extra boost in his weight gain until my milk comes in. It won’t cause nipple confusion to give him one or two bottles if he’s jaundice and he needs calories to control it. I wanted to give up after two weeks, luckily my husband encouraged me to stick with it and guess what? It got much easier and enjoyable. :) I would pump a lot of extra milk and was able to go on an occasional date with my hubby, because we gave Trey one bottle a day. I suggest introducing at least one bottle a day when they’re around two weeks or even younger, so they’re able to breastfeed and take a bottle if you plan on ever leaving your baby for more than two hours at a time! Babies tend not to take bottles if you wait too long to introduce them. This is only coming from people I know experiences. Trey was a pro at nursing and taking bottles. I was so blessed and didn’t even realize it! I was still insanely neurotic about Trey’s weight gain and even purchased a scale, because I was concerned that my milk wasn’t enough for him. That is one product that I will not be using this time. I was so focused on his weight gain instead of just realizing that Trey was happy and healthy. I quit breastfeeding around 6 months and I could just kick myself for it, because it wasn’t because it was going bad, but because I thought that he wasn’t gaining enough weight (though he was….perfectly…) I was comparing him to other kids instead of just focusing on Trey’s happiness. Trey was a perfect weight…he was striving….and HAPPY. :) I sound a little bit like a crazy woman, don’t I? Sometimes being a first time mom almost takes you there, which is why I’m writing this post!
Like I said…please don’t take all of my information to heart. These were just some things that I wish that I would have known about before I became a mom. I would have been able to breathe and fully enjoy Trey’s newborn stage if I had this knowledge. You have to do what works for your family and what makes you relaxed and happy! It’s all about staying calm and realizing that you’re the mom and you know what’s best for your baby not your friends…not your parents…just you! It is nice to have a friend who already has a baby to go to for questions though. I was so blessed with a great group of girls who never made me feel dumb about my questions and were always there to reassure me that everything was fine. :) Thank you friends!
Just remember, it will all be ok and the craziness does fade away! You can’t get the newborn stage back, so please try to savor it, because it’s one of the most precious times in your life.
I mean, really....look at this kid. :)
Nice post babe. Everything aside, you did a spectacular job! Just being around our son confirms this, and then some.
ReplyDeleteWell said! It's so true, you get really caught up in making sure everything is 'right' you miss those special moments.
ReplyDeleteThat picture makes me want a newborn around... :-)
Thanks Babe. We have a sweet little boy. :)
ReplyDeleteRight, Cari? I'm so looking forward to not being a crazy, spaz this time. :) I think that you need a newborn! ;)