What was your favorite baby item aka tips for Corey and Julie

[Torontogal]

If you buy an electric breat pump, just please be careful and don't get cocky when using it - always use the lower settings - more power/suction doesn't mean more milk will come out quicker. This happened to my girlfriend/former boss, so don't let it happen to you - she tore her nipple halfway off and could feed from that breast again!
Nancy

Good God!

 

[maidenfairy]

First let me say OUCH! to the post above.

Second my advice is for you two to practice swaddling a baby doll. I wish I had done a better job learning that with the first one. And don't be afraid of a tight swaddle. If your baby is a baby that loves to be swaddled it will love a tight swaddle.

Last follow your gut. If you think something is wrong don't stop till you find out what. My youngest at 4 weeks had a cold the dr kept saying, well after an emergency helicopter ride to DC children's hospital it was a bad case of RSV. so listen to yourself. Be confident in yourself.

 

[Jennygt]

Julie,
here is the link to the miracle blanket. I did not use it for the first few weeks but my mom busted it out one night after I had not slept for more than 1 1/2 hrs for 3 weeks! It really worked! I have a nephew the same age and his parents swear by it also. Hope it helps.http://www.miracleblanket.com/

 

[LilGMom]

That Miracle Blanket looks like a little straight-jacket for newborns, lol. Both of my boys hated being swaddled and would fight, squirm and fuss until they had at least one arm poking out of the blanket.

 

[tinkbutt]

If you buy an electric breat pump, just please be careful and don't get cocky when using it - always use the lower settings - more power/suction doesn't mean more milk will come out quicker. This happened to my girlfriend/former boss, so don't let it happen to you - she tore her nipple halfway off and couldn't feed from that breast again! She pretty much stopped breasfeeding as a result. I used a manual Avent and was able to produce about as much as another friend did with her Medela. With the manual, you can really learn where your ducts are and be able to manipulate them to your full advantage. The only drawback is that you can't do both at once!

Buy one of 4 or 5 brands of bottles and test them all out. #1 loved Avent, so I didn't have to worry. #2 was picky and we went through 5 bottles before she finally decided she'd go back and settle for #1 -the Avent.

Nancy

"OHHHHH MMMMYYYY GOOOOOOOAAA"

scary!!!!!!

 

[tlcoke]

Check out the Vanity Fair (VF) Outlet, Kevin mentioned a couple of weeks ago in the Email Pod Cast. They have good selection of Baby HealthTex Clothing items.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

"OHHHHH MMMMYYYY GOOOOOOOAAA"

scary!!!!!!

Tell me about it. We had our kids at the same time and I was nursing #2 and I had to hold my chest for a few minutes when she told me the news.

This was her 3rd child, so she had gotten a little jaded and rushed....

Moral of the story - respect mechanical devices! A lot!

Oh - my #1 had to be swaddled a lot. Most baby blankets just aren't big enough. My husband is the best swaddler out there. He can wrap a baby tighter than new packaging from a store!

Nancy

 

[Jennygt]

That Miracle Blanket looks like a little straight-jacket for newborns, lol. Both of my boys hated being swaddled and would fight, squirm and fuss until they had at least one arm poking out of the blanket.

I know! My cousin and I used to call it the "mummy suit", both of our boys would not sleep as long unless they were "mummified"lolMine was a gift I don't know that I would have bought it on my own, now I give it as a gift along with happiest baby on the block.

 

[Kaler131]

Podee Hands Free Bottle Feeder. You can get it at Babies R Us for about $9. It is a WONDERFUL invention!

 

[aGoofyMom]

The mirrors for the car seat - definately. DD was a little puky - I had large pieces of flannel with baby-friendly prints, Winnie the Pooh included, that I would spread on the floor when she was down there. It gave her something to look at and made it easier to clean up for me. They folded up and she had something familiar to lay on at Grandma's etc.

Boppy Pillow story:
Also - DD was "colicky" for months from about 9 or 10 at night for up to 4 hours on bad nights. Basically she just had bad gas on a schedule. They always say to put infants on their back to sleep. We discovered that she was "relieved" by sleeping on her belly until it passed. DH would set up in his recliner with the boppy pillow once she started, and put her down on the pillow on her tummy, in his arms. She was leaned up against him and she would occassionally suck on his finger to fall alseep. He could "doze" because the recliner kept her at the angle to lean towards him, and not roll off as he relaxed. Corey - he "napped" like this before bed almost every night for months! And because she was puky & I was able, I made mulitple pillow cases for the boppy pillow because we couldn't be without it for cleaning at all.

One more cleaning thing - Johnson's Head to Toe baby wash gel - the ONLY good use for this stuff is getting rid of tomato stains. It is excellent as a stain remover.

Wow. I am planning her 7th birthday party and this stuff seems like a lifetime away.

 

[JeemaRee]

Hey, I just realized, potty training is waaaay far off for Julie & Corey

What?! Julie and Corey aren't potty trained yet? Yikes!

 

[JeemaRee]

The #1 thing I could never have made it through the first three month's of motherhood without was caraway seed tea. No, not for me. I was the proud mother of THE most colicy baby on earth. Thank goodness I was so in love with her! Caraway seed tea was the ONLY thing that stopped the crying. I'd crush up a teaspoon full of the seeds (which wasn't easy 'cause the little buggers have a really hard shell!) and boil them in two cups of water. Once the mixture cooled to room temperature I'd put it into a bottle and feed her a bit and "voila! She is fixed".

Hopefully Julie and Corey won't have to worry about that, but I was SO glad someone shared the secret with me that I swore I'd pass it along whenever I could.

Oh, and caraway seeds are also really helpful when put in sour kraut. No Gas! especially helpful when at picnics or cookouts...

 

[JeemaRee]

Oh, one more thing.

I would subscribe to notifications for recalls. If you Google "recalls" it will give you several different notification options to sign up for. You'd be amazed at the number of recalls for children's products that you NEVER see on the news (online or TV) or in the paper!

 

[LilGMom]

Oh, and caraway seeds are also really helpful when put in sour kraut. No Gas! especially helpful when at picnics or cookouts...

I need to start feeding my DH caraway seeds with everything!

 

[MenashaCorp]

Oh, and caraway seeds are also really helpful when put in sour kraut. No Gas! especially helpful when at picnics or cookouts...

I need to start feeding my DH caraway seeds with everything!

STOP THIS INSANITY!!!! No Gas!?!? What next? No football??

 

[Disneybridein2k3]

STOP THIS INSANITY!!!! No Gas!?!? What next? No football??

J/Kim -- Something else to add to your packing list for the cruise? You know how Pete feels about gassy people!

 

[DSNY4ever]

Wow great thread everyone- I have taken many notes on what to buy...and what not to buy! And I was traumatized by the breast pump story. Thanks for the tips, hopefully after of our next Disney trip this December my husband and I will have a new little Disney fan on the way...there is no way I want to try now and miss out on my first ride on Expedition Everest!

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Wow great thread everyone- I have taken many notes on what to buy...and what not to buy! And I was traumatized by the breast pump story. Thanks for the tips, hopefully after of our next Disney trip this December my husband and I will have a new little Disney fan on the way...there is no way I want to try now and miss out on my first ride on Expedition Everest!

Sorry about the trauma. Cautionary tales do that, unfortunately! And don't worry - by the time you have one on the way, there will be 2700 new eco-friendly, child saving, "have this or your child will surely meet no good" products on the market by then! Most of ours will be recalled and there will be no less than 800 new books on how someone else's method of raising a child is better than yours will ever be!

And then we'll start all over for you, too!
Have fun. Everest and that swirly drop is way too much for me!!! I'm happy hanging out and having a snack with my little Fairies wannabes and watching for Daddy to go by! (Wouldn't a wooshing rollercoaster smilie that runs along the bottom of your text be good to have right now? )

Nancy