Tag Archives: pacifier

favorite baby products!

Fri 04.23.2010

Alright, becoming a mom has catapulted me into a whole new, crazy world of baby products.  There are so many things out there!  I definitely recommend doing some research on pros and cons of moms favorite products as you can easily spend a small fortune!  Having a little one in a large family that hasn’t had a baby for quite some time had its advantages, I definitely got hooked up at my baby shower!  Here are some of my favorite baby items during our first 6 months….  . .

  • Video Monitor -  We have the BestView™ Handheld Color Video Monitor by Summer.  Awesome!   It zooms in, out and you can move the camera using the monitor!  As a new mom (and a worrier) it gives me a sense of peace  to  just be able to check the monitor when I hear a concerning noise (especially since our master bedroom is downstairs and the baby room is upstairs).   It’s so helpful when putting her down to sleep and not having to run in when I hear her cry to make sure everything is okay, I can just look on the monitor and let her fuss it out if needed!  Not to mention it’s quite entertaining to see what she does in that crib when not sleeping! (And you can add more cameras if so desired)
  • Itzbeen™ -  Okay, I’m not OCD and I wasn’t a completely crazy “baby scheduler” or anything like that….but I have come across this baby timer, itzbeen, that seriously helped me keep track of things during those first few months.  I wasn’t getting a lot of sleep, I tend to be a bit scattered at times to begin with and was thankful for any reminders and help I could get.   It’s a little device you can clip onto your baby bag or whatever and keep track of when the baby last ate, napped or had a diaper change.  I did end up using it mostly to track our feeding “schedule,” very helpful to me as I tend to lose track of time (especially when I”m out)!
  • Pacifier - I know some kids don’t take to them and everyone has an opinion on this, but Adeline loves her binky.  There is nothing like soothing a miserable baby with a device that allows him/her to suck.   If your child is waking up in the middle of the night every time their pacifier falls out and is beyond addicted to this little device…there may be room for concern.  But using it as an aid to calm and soothe your baby makes for a happy baby AND mommy :-) Our favorite – Gerber NUK pacifiers.
  • A Favorite Blanket & Baby Music – there is nothing like cuddling your baby in their favorite, soft and comfy blanketwhile singing them to sleep (or humming…).  Adeline received a beautiful pink/brown plush blanket with her name embroidered on it as a gift. It’s soft, easily washable and doesn’t look worn.  Best blanket ever.  Her favorite music is Praise Baby Collection (Praises & Smiles). Such a sweet collection of praise songs, creates a soothing and peaceful environment for all of us!
  • Baby Seats – I quickly learned that for the first few months babies really don’t do anything at all and when they are not sleeping or eating – you’re holding them.  So when I’m in the kitchen trying to make dinner and the baby is up, I need a place to put her.  Two seats I have and love 1) My Little Lamb™ Infant Seat by Fisher Price 2) BABYBJÖRN Babysitter Balance.  Both are great.  My Little Lamb seat is very plush and has options to play music/vibrate.   Great place to sleep, rest and snuggle…seriously, I wish they made one for adults.  I did get much more long term use from the Babysitter Balance.  It has 3 different positions and folds flat (convenient when storing or throwing in the car for grandmas).  Adeline loved to bounce herself in this chair as she got older and I used it for the majority of her first year.
  • Boppy™ Pillow – I love to nurse Adeline on her Boppy Pillow.  It provides great support and comes in a variety of cute covers for options.  Its also a great support when learning how to sit!
  • Activity Baby Playmat – Great toy for infants.  Provides lots of amusement for the little ones especially when they start reaching.  Also a great item for tummy time! I have the “Skip Hop Outer Space Activity Playmat” and loved it.  It’s a great colorful and fun playmat.  It came with a little pillow and a variety of hanging toys, including different sounds and a mirror.
  • Baby Carrier – We have the BABYBJÖRN Baby Carrier Air.  I have heard that this one puts too much pressure on the shoulders and back instead of the hips, but I have nothing to compare it too.  As she got older it did get heavy, but then again Adeline was a big baby!  We loved this because it was great for traveling, walking the dog, going to the market and the beach – got good use from both my husband and myself!
  • Rainforest™ Jumperoo™ by Fisher-Price.  What a fun jumping seat!  This item provided our little one with such great entertainment.  In the beginning she would just look and reach for the colorful objects – including the parrot and frog hanging above her head.  Slowly she began to move in it and eventually discovered how to bounce – it was awesome to watch her learn and discover items in this toy.  Now that she is older and crawling we can still get away with placing her in this when we need her to stay in one place – but only for short periods of time =)
  • Infant Car Seat - we initially didn’t get a infant car seat and just used a convertible car seat.  We borrowed an infant car seat from a family member while out of town and realized how convenient it can be.  Carrying the baby in when visiting someones home, to take grocery shopping, being able to bundle a child inside before taking outside (when cold) and especially for traveling! A consequence of infant car seats however is that infants often fall asleep and parents allow their child to spend extended periods of time in the seat due to the convenience.  Studies have shown that this is a health risk for infants and sleeping flat is the ideal method.  I preferred to keep Adeline in a bassinet attachment for our stroller when taking extended walks/trips but definitely used the infant car seat often due to the convenience!  We used the Graco SnugRide® 32 Infant Car Seat.  Definitely wished I had done a bit more research this area because I believe there are better infant car seats out there…but this worked, it was roomy and appeared to comfy for my little one – but I wasn’t crazy about its appearance, bulkiness and what a pain to carry (especially with a BIG baby!)

Would love to hear about your favorite baby product during those first few months!!

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those first few weeks

Thu 08.27.2009

After three days in the hospital we were happy to be heading home.  Two of my sisters (I have three) came to help out with this process.  I didn’t really bring much, but I sure had a lot leaving (take all the freebies with you as you go through things within days!).  Crazy feeling leaving the hospital with three people instead of two. I remember how nervous I was just putting her in the car seat and driving home, we were completely 100% responsible for this precious cargo!!  We had a really sweet surprise once we arrived home,  my family had prepared a clean house, welcome banner and announcement sign (thank God for wonderful family!) I have 3 sisters, 3 nieces, 1 nephew, 1 grandma, and 1 set of parents that ALL that live within a 1.5 mile radius from my home – it’s pure madness but amazing at the same time. Anyways, the husband quickly kicked everyone out of the house (he enjoys his peace and quiet) and we settled in to enjoy our new life. That lasted maybe about 2 hours…

So I heard that the time you spend in the hospital is a “honeymoon” period during which your sweet baby eats wonderfully and sleeps all day.  Well we did discover that this lovely period was over that first night home, I think it was probably  one of the worst nights we had.  It couldn’t have been more than 3 hours after my dear husband kicked my sisters out when we were calling them to come back and help.

We (or rather I) was all of a sudden having a difficult process with nursing.  I was able to finally calm her down, nurse and go back to sleep only to run into the same problem later that evening.   It is the worst feeling ever to have this little baby cry her heart out and you can’t make her stop.  My goal was to breastfeed 100% due to all of its benefits, but sheesh, apparently my milk came in that evening and the whole process was miserable.  Adeline couldn’t latch on and it was just an overall a painful, uncomfortable, horrible experience for me l – definitely nothing “natural” about it.   I finally ended up pumping a bit and bottle feeding her – it worked great.  It took some figuring out (and a visit from my sister),  but we were finally able to feed and calm down this little princess successfully. I would like to take the time to note that my husband somehow learned how to sleep like a rock that day and hasn’t changed ever since.  All of a sudden he can sleep through screaming, feedings, fussing and not even nudge – how amazing and convenient all at the same time – ha!

But overall the first few weeks were tough.  Adeline got the breastfeeding down but it was still a painful process for me (thank goodness for Lansinoh).  She was also gassy A LOT with tummy aches.  We were constantly burping and carrying this little girl around to ease the fussiness.  I remember calling my mom a few times and asking “Since when do babies cry so much for no reason? No one tells you this.” She seemed to get particularly fussy around 6-7 pm in the evening.  You would just have to hold and soothe her till it passed.  During the day I would put her for naps on her tummy and that seemed to help her a bit.  Someone gave us baby gas drops at the baby shower, the first time we used them it was fabulous, really seemed to work right away.  Other times it didn’t seem to do anything at all.  Then we discovered the pacifier and it worked wonders with Adeline.  She really like to suck so she taught herself to use the pacifier and sooth herself when something was bothering her.

So all in all, those first few weeks – probably the first six (for us) were tiring, busy and stressful.  Getting up in the middle of the night for feedings was tough due to the obvious lack of sleep and I am not a big napper. But I really can’t complain too much as from the beginning Adeline would mostly only wake up once for a nightly feeding.  I had a co-sleeper bassinet right next to the bed, which made things much easier.  Personally, one of the hardest things was recovering from the C-section.  Those first few nights it was difficult to even sit up or walk around.  My dear hubby James would have to change her diapers and bring her to me for middle of the night feedings.   It was difficult to deal with as I’m used to being pretty active and independent.  I would say experiencing delivery and then those first few days home with my husband,  has definitely made our relationship stronger in a whole different sort of way.

So overall – here is what I learned those first few weeks as a first time mom:

  •  C-section recovery is extremely painful and disabling

  • Breastfeeding is a lot more painful and difficult (in the beginning) than I expected

  • Babies will sometimes just cry for no reason

  • Family and sleep are extremely valuable

  • I love people that bring me food (I actually always love this but it became especially significant those first few weeks)

  • Coffee is the best thing ever (but not too much)

  • Never change a diaper on your bed without a changing pad underneath

  • Babies spit up a lot

  • Your hormones are not quite yet stable

  • It’s still a crazy and surreal feeling that you’re a mommy to this little person

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