I promised to come back with a list of products every expecting mother should have before giving birth.  Sorry it has taken so long.  Things have been super crazy around here the past few days, and sitting down to my computer took a back seat for a while.  (I’m seriously dreading checking me email!)  But here is my list of items that I couldn’t do with out in those first few weeks, and  I am still using.  Hope it helps and feel free to add to the list in the comments!

Infants Mylicon Gas Relief Drops. I seriously thought I was going to run out of this in that first week.  It is safe from birth and so very helpful.  I could always tell the difference between feedings with Mylicon, and without.  You can give it to baby on a schedule, like every four hours, or just with every feeding.  You also have the option to give it to your child oraly, or mixed in with their formula, so great for both breast fed and bottle fed babies.

Desitin Diaper Rash Cream. I’ve noticed I needed this more with breast feeding than with formula, since babies are more sensitive to what mom eats, but still very good stuff.  I had to go buy this after the first week because regular lotion and powder were not cutting it.  When his bum started getting a little raw, this made it much better in one diaper change, and made the rash go away completely in one day.

Aquaphor Ointment. This is a multi use ointment.  I use it mainly for Aidan’s dry skin and craddle cap, but I’ve also used it on his baby acne to make it less red, and to help prevent chaffing when forced to use diapers that are less than ideal.  It doesn’t dry out as quickly as lotion and seems to be less irritating to his skin.  Also works great on my dried out hands too!  It does a fairly adequate job protecting from diaper rash too, so might work well for a baby less prone to rash.

Nursing Pads. Even if you are not breast feeding, it’s a good idea to buy a box or two of disposable or reusable nursing pads.  Though most people don’t mention this when you have a baby, you will leak once your milk comes in.  More so if you are breast feeding.  It can stain your white clothing, and it smells after a while too.  Nursing pads were essential for me after waking up soaked in the middle of the night!

Lanolin Cream. Very important if you are breast feeding.  Especially in that first week you can be very sore.  This stuff is great for soothing dry sore nipples.  It also works great for chaffing and as a skin protectant, though not advertised as such.  One tube is all you need of this.  A little goes a very long way.

Diapers. It doesn’t matter what brand you choose, but trust me when I say it is extremely helpful to stock up on diapers “Before” baby gets here.  Most babies are in a size 1 at or shortly after birth, unless born under 7 lbs.  Your doctor or midwife can give you a good idea of what your baby will weigh.  Buy big boxes, buy different sizes.  To give you an idea, we recieved about 15 packages of diapers as gifts, and I also bought one large box of diapers all in a size 1.  We’re down to our last package this week.  He’s still not into the next size up, so we’ll have to go buy a couple more packages.  It was so very helpful to not have to worry about buying diapers for his first month.  If you don’t buy any of the other products, make sure you stock up on diapers before baby gets here.  Don’t worry about not using them all.  If by chance you don’t use them, you can usually return unopened packages!

So Aidan is 1 month old yesterday!  Hooray!  While part of me can’t believe he’s one month, another part of me feels like he should be older.  It seems like just a day ago that we were in the hospital, but at the same time it seems like he’s  been here all my life.  Must just be those motherly bonds kicking in.  We’ve learned a lot over the past month.  What works, what doesn’t work.  Everything from changing diapers to clipping fingernails.  Here’s a few things we’ve learned that can hopefully benefit expecting moms and mom’s newer than I am!

• It is not necessary to pack up the entire house to go to the store. You should have seen my first diaper bag!  Could hold an entire package of diapers plus changes of clothes for both mom and baby, three or four bottles, two packages of wipes, not to mention all the little bottles of lotion and powder, and baby toys.  Should I continue?  It was big enough for an overnight bag for a three night stay.  Come to think of it I think my husband and I used it for just that before the baby got here!  We have since narrowed down our “necessities” and switched to a more reasonably sized diaper bag.
• Always have an extra diaper or two handy when doing diaper duty. Little boys make messes.  It’s handy to have a “shield” between you and baby while cleaning his bum.  Not to mention the many times my son decided he wasn’t done pooping when I took off the diaper.  It’s a good idea to have an extra you can slide underneath.
• Always pack a change of clothes for baby. The number of extra outfits you pack is up to you.  I remember the first time we took Aidan out of the house, I packed three changes of clothes and he went through them all.  Either spitting up, or bad diaper episodes, and sometimes both at the same time.  At the end of the day we faced the prospect of going home in his diaper.  Since then, I pack three onsies, a sleep and play outfit, and an extra pair of pants every time we go out.
• Don’t buy too many Newborn sized items. Unless you are a 100% sure your baby is going to be less than 7 lbs, and shorter than the usual 19 inches, than they will grow out of newborn size clothing and diapers  in a matter of weeks.  Fortunately I knew this information ahead of time, and I only bought 5 outfits in this size.  These still ended up being too many combined with gifts I received in this size.  He never even used the newborn diapers I bought.  He was too big for them the moment he was born.
• Bubbles are bad. This is a very odd statement for my friends who know how easily I am amused.  Usually bubbles are a quick source of entertainment.  But when it comes to feeding Aidan, we quickly learned that bubbles in a bottle of formula meant a mess at one end or the other.  After mixing up a bottle to supplement, if there are bubbles I leave it sit on the counter for five minutes to let the bubbles dissipate.

Stay tuned for a list of must have items every new mom should know about before baby arrives!

I posted a while back that I was having some trouble breast feeding.  Well, things have not improved.  The prescription helped at first, in combination with some special herbal meds too, but in the end it only helped improve my let down, and did very little to increase my supply.  About a week after posting about my delima, we stopped feeding at the breast all together.  Starting each feeding at the breast, and then supplementing with formula afterward was turning into two hour feeding sessions.  That coupled with the fact that my son eats every three to four hours, I was literally doing nothing but feeding all day.  So we switched to pumping before each feeding, and sometimes between, in hopes that my supply would come in soon.  This was a bad idea, as it decreased my supply more.  Now, instead of the two ounces I was pumping off in between feedings, I only produce about one to two ounces the entire day.

I’m starting to resign myself, but not just yet.  I invested, through the help of gifts from family and friends, in a Medela Swing  Breast Pump.  This should be easier to use than the manual pump, meaning I can pump more often during the day.  Not the first choice for my situation, as there are other pumps designed more specifically for Low Supply.  But this is all I had money for, and is still much better than the manual pump.  I’ve been doing reading on breast feeding problems, and supply is directly related to demand.  If your milk is emptied five times a day, then you’ll produce enough to feed five times a day.  Like wise if you’re milk ducts are adequately emptied ten times a day, the result should be that your supply will increase to that amount as well.

We just started using the pump.  I’m attempting to use it every two hours for ten minutes on each side.  So far I haven’t noticed an increase, but it’s too early to tell yet.  I’d greatly appreciate prayer and encouragement in this.  It just doesn’t make sense that I don’t have enough milk.  If I was living in the time before formula was available I suppose my son would be dead by now.  Which is why it makes no sense to me and is completely frustrating and discouraging.

Breast Pumps can not be returned, so here’s hoping that something happens soon!

This was sent to me from my friend Kris Craig in facebook.  Enjoy!

I’m finding myself getting more and more confused.  My son Aidan keeps changing schedules on me.  He’s sleeping more through the night.  Sleeping in five and four hour segments now.  Great!  I get more sleep at night now.  The draw back is he’s awake more during the day.  This wouldn’t be such a problem,  but he’s a huge cuddle bug.  If I’m not in sight, or not holding him he’s crying.  Not an issue when he was sleeping 20 hours a day.  I’m starting to wish he was big enough to start interacting with toys, tummy time and sitting in the swing aren’t enough anymore.  I can’t seem to get anything done during the day now!  As soon as I put him down for just a moment, he starts whining and sometimes screaming until I pick him back up.  So I’m sending out distress signals into the cosmos.  Any tips on entertaining a 1 month old with out driving my self bananas?  I’ve tried just about everything I can think of.  Love to hear any and all stories or suggestions!  Lets get a talkin’  ladies.