Play Mat (birth to crawling) Once they crawl the play bar may need to be removed since they try to pull up on
Music Table (Sitting up- pulling up/standing)
Push Toy (Pulling up to cruising)
Showing posts with label Tips for new Mommies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips for new Mommies. Show all posts
Monday, May 17, 2010
Must have toys for babies!
Bouncer (birth until weight limit is reached or they try and flip over)
Play Mat (birth to crawling) Once they crawl the play bar may need to be removed since they try to pull up on
Music Table (Sitting up- pulling up/standing)
Push Toy (Pulling up to cruising)
Play Mat (birth to crawling) Once they crawl the play bar may need to be removed since they try to pull up on
Music Table (Sitting up- pulling up/standing)
Push Toy (Pulling up to cruising)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
C-Sections
For various reasons we ended up choosing to do a c-section. I won't go into all the details, but this was our chossen birth plan. Here are a couple tips/comments to help if you are having one.
1. It is overwhelming. The moment they roll you into the operating room is quite overwhelming, especially if you have never had surgery before. Expect a flood of emotions and try to focus on the end, and holding baby.
2. You will not have your legs for HOURS. I didn't know this. This was THE most frustrating thing for me. I could not move for a long time. I wanted to get up BAD.
3. Make sure you walk the next day! Get up and pee and walk around the hall. Get around as often as you can.
4. Take it easy at home. The worst day was when I leaped right out of bed. OMG it hurt! I forgot about the scar!
5. Keep your stitches dry and clean!
6. You will have a TON of swelling in your legs 2-4 days after c/s. I couldn't believe how much swelling I had in my feet and legs. They pump you full of fluids at the hospital. I weighed more AFTER giving birth because of this water.
7. Drink Water Drink Water Drink Water!!!!
1. It is overwhelming. The moment they roll you into the operating room is quite overwhelming, especially if you have never had surgery before. Expect a flood of emotions and try to focus on the end, and holding baby.
2. You will not have your legs for HOURS. I didn't know this. This was THE most frustrating thing for me. I could not move for a long time. I wanted to get up BAD.
3. Make sure you walk the next day! Get up and pee and walk around the hall. Get around as often as you can.
4. Take it easy at home. The worst day was when I leaped right out of bed. OMG it hurt! I forgot about the scar!
5. Keep your stitches dry and clean!
6. You will have a TON of swelling in your legs 2-4 days after c/s. I couldn't believe how much swelling I had in my feet and legs. They pump you full of fluids at the hospital. I weighed more AFTER giving birth because of this water.
7. Drink Water Drink Water Drink Water!!!!
Lovies/stuffed animals
You will notice around 5 months or so that baby wants to hold on to things. These bring baby comfort and help with sleep. We gave Lilah a stuffed monkey at this stage. This monkey is her best friend and she still needs him to fall asleep. This stage was after the swaddle, when she needed to do something with her hands. She was able to move around a bit, so the worries of toys being a danger was gone. If you are in a stage where you think baby wants to hold something. Give it a try. You will be amazed how it helps. 
Baby Food Making
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ This website is one of the best resources for baby food there is. This site answers so many questions about when to introduce foods, as well as recipes.
So tips I got from other Moms and some of my own are below:
1. Mix foods with breastmilk or formula for extra nutrition. You need something watery for most purees. I would skip water and stick to something they are familiar with taste wise.
2. Freeze homemade purees in ice cube trays.
3. Look for canned foods. I found that Trader Joes sells organic canned pumpkin, butternut squash and sweet potato. I would buy these and mix with breastmilk to thin it out.
4. Regular store bought applesauce. Unsweetened applesauce was one of the best tricks to thin foods out, and the taste is very much loved by baby!
5. Make veggies/buy fruits. I found that the gerber fruits were easy for daycare. Many fruits, like banana and apple brown as they sit out. So I would use the fresh at home, and make my own veggie.
6. Avocado! This is one of the best first foods. You can thin the texture out very easily and the taste is a favorite of many babies. I also found this very easy to freeze. Scoop it right out into a zip-lock or into an ice cube tray, then let it come to room temp and mix with milk/formula.
7. Black Beans. Are a great finger food. They are the perfect size, they are soft, and very tasty. Be careful to pay attention to gassiness though, these may be harsh on the tummy.
8. Don't go crazy buying too much, or making too much food. Purees are only given for a few months, and many of the store bought purees are way too thin once baby is used to eating. I ended up with too much because she started eating finger foods.
So tips I got from other Moms and some of my own are below:
1. Mix foods with breastmilk or formula for extra nutrition. You need something watery for most purees. I would skip water and stick to something they are familiar with taste wise.
2. Freeze homemade purees in ice cube trays.
3. Look for canned foods. I found that Trader Joes sells organic canned pumpkin, butternut squash and sweet potato. I would buy these and mix with breastmilk to thin it out.
4. Regular store bought applesauce. Unsweetened applesauce was one of the best tricks to thin foods out, and the taste is very much loved by baby!
5. Make veggies/buy fruits. I found that the gerber fruits were easy for daycare. Many fruits, like banana and apple brown as they sit out. So I would use the fresh at home, and make my own veggie.
6. Avocado! This is one of the best first foods. You can thin the texture out very easily and the taste is a favorite of many babies. I also found this very easy to freeze. Scoop it right out into a zip-lock or into an ice cube tray, then let it come to room temp and mix with milk/formula.
7. Black Beans. Are a great finger food. They are the perfect size, they are soft, and very tasty. Be careful to pay attention to gassiness though, these may be harsh on the tummy.
8. Don't go crazy buying too much, or making too much food. Purees are only given for a few months, and many of the store bought purees are way too thin once baby is used to eating. I ended up with too much because she started eating finger foods.
Tips on Pumping
Giving breastmilk to Lilah was a huge priority to me. But we never got the latching thing down. It just didn't work. So I began to pump and give her breastmilk in a bottle. It isn't the ideal, but we made it work for us. I decided to type up some tips that made it do-able for us.
1. Supportive Husband, who could do feedings, and entertain baby if need be
2. Extra Pump if you can. We had been given a hand me down pump, a Medela PIS. But I realized another one was a must. I combined all the coupons I could and ended up getting almost 50% off a Medela Freestyle pump at Babies R Us. I felt like I won the lottery that day! This is a handsfree pump that was great at home. I could walk around the kitchen and take care of some things at the same time. I would not use the handsfree kit that came with this pump, it was too complicated.
3. Handsfree bras are a MUST. I couldn't believe how sore my arms were from holding the shields for the first few weeks. My product rave is the Easy Expression Hands Free Bra.
4. Multiple Parts for the pumps! I had enough spare parts for a whole day of pumping. I would put them in the dishwasher at night. You can also place the pump parts in a ziplock in the fridge between pumps and not have to rinse/wash. This is a great tip too!
5. Lanisoh freezer bags are the cheapest and best to use. Freezing flat helps save room in the freezer too.
6. Keep a schedule that you can follow. More than 5 pumps a day makes things VERY complication. But 3-5 is actually managable. 15 mins at a time. I would try to pump right after Lilah went to bed, try to get up before her in the morning and pump. And I would pump at work and in the car to avoid having to juggle baby time.
Doing all of the above for 8 months gave me a supply for over a year for Lilah. I was blessed with a good supply. But pumping early got it all going.
1. Supportive Husband, who could do feedings, and entertain baby if need be
2. Extra Pump if you can. We had been given a hand me down pump, a Medela PIS. But I realized another one was a must. I combined all the coupons I could and ended up getting almost 50% off a Medela Freestyle pump at Babies R Us. I felt like I won the lottery that day! This is a handsfree pump that was great at home. I could walk around the kitchen and take care of some things at the same time. I would not use the handsfree kit that came with this pump, it was too complicated.
3. Handsfree bras are a MUST. I couldn't believe how sore my arms were from holding the shields for the first few weeks. My product rave is the Easy Expression Hands Free Bra.
4. Multiple Parts for the pumps! I had enough spare parts for a whole day of pumping. I would put them in the dishwasher at night. You can also place the pump parts in a ziplock in the fridge between pumps and not have to rinse/wash. This is a great tip too!
5. Lanisoh freezer bags are the cheapest and best to use. Freezing flat helps save room in the freezer too.
6. Keep a schedule that you can follow. More than 5 pumps a day makes things VERY complication. But 3-5 is actually managable. 15 mins at a time. I would try to pump right after Lilah went to bed, try to get up before her in the morning and pump. And I would pump at work and in the car to avoid having to juggle baby time.
Doing all of the above for 8 months gave me a supply for over a year for Lilah. I was blessed with a good supply. But pumping early got it all going.
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