Mommy FTW

Before Cameron was born my husband and I took an extensive birthing class at Real Birth.  We learned all about the hormones that bond baby and mother, and about how important it is to breast feed.  In fact, now a days everyone says “breast is best” and there is a lot of pressure for new moms to nurse, and not use formula or bottles at all.  I was sold, and when Cameron arrived, I knew I was ready to bond with my baby, and go breast milk all the way.

At the hospital I was dead tired, and after much fretting, I allowed Cameron to be taken to the nursery, where he was given bottles with formula.  I was sure that was the end, and he would never take the breast after that!  Of course, this wasn’t the case.  Once I got over my fear of “nipple confusion” I decided I wanted Cameron to get a bottle once a day from his dad (preferably at bed time) because this is one thing my sleep book had suggested – of course, my plan had been to pump this with my Medela “hospital grade” pump that a friend had lent me.  Unfortunately, things didn’t work out the way I had thought they would.

At first, I was in a LOT of pain – like scream out in pain when Cameron latched on – pain.  I had a lactation consultant come to my home, and she certainly helped getting a good latch, but I still was having trouble producing enough milk.  I wanted to pump to alleviate my pain, but hardly anything came out – maybe an ounce or two, if I was really lucky.

One day I went over to my neighbor’s house – she also had a son who was 3 days younger than Cameron.  She showed me her freezer full of pumped milk and I felt so jealous.  Those bags I had bought for milk storage were mocking me – and I was getting frustrated.  My neigbor had a baby nurse who suggested I try drinking Guinness, as well as taking some pricey herbs which I found at Whole Foods.  Both of them helped some (maybe I got 2, or 3 ounces after a day of pumping – several times)… but I still wasn’t getting any real volume – and certainly not enough to store away.   So finally, I started giving Cameron some formula along with his breast milk.  It began as a “cocktail bottle” – whatever I could pump, plus a little formula, and then it grew from there.

I got a lot of flak from other moms and people in general.  Someone told me it was “such a shame” that Cameron was getting formula.  I was angry, and frustrated, but eventually I got over it.  In my mind, Cameron and I were getting the best of both worlds.  All the benefit of breast milk, plus the ease of formula.  Cameron weened himself around 9 months, and has been on just formula and solids ever since.  I wish he had kept nursing a little, both because of my owns selfishness (I miss it a little) as well as I think it would have helped him fend off some colds this winter.  But you can’t fight progress!  My pediatrician said this is common, and it’s a sign of independence.

Anyways – to sum up – moms out there, don’t feel terrible if you are supplementing with formula.  I’m sure you have your reasons, and I’m sure you are a great mom!

I have put off doing a post on Sleep Training in part because I think it is a sensitive and personal topic, but I saw a thread on PATH recently about sleep training / “crying it out” and it inspired me to post about the book and method I used to help Cameron become an excellent sleeper.

Before I had Cameron, a friend of mine used a the methods in the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child to train her son to be an great sleeper.  He went down easily at bed time, slept through the night by 9 months, and two lengthy (1 hour + naps) every day.  Her success inspired me to use the same book with Cameron.  And while the sleep training was not easy, I would certainly say it was successful – and worth the effort.  Cameron also goes down easily at night, sleeps through from about 6pm to 7am, and takes two naps in the day (although I think we might be transitioning to one soon).

Here’s a few things I learned from Health Sleep Habits, Happy Child:

1)When children are over tired it is harder for them to sleep.  Have you ever forced yourself to stay up to study for a test, or because you were driving somewhere, only to find that when you finally allowed yourself to try and sleep, you couldn’t?  The same thing happens to babies.

2)Babies need to learn to sooth themselves to sleep on their own.  This is a skill that will help them be good sleepers through their lives.

3)Letting your baby “cry it out” does not make you a bad parent.  If your child wanted to ride their bike without a helmet, eat ice cream all day, and stick their fingers in the electrical socket, you wouldn’t let them.  And if they cried about it, you still wouldn’t let them.  Helping your child learn to fall asleep on their own and develop healthy sleep habits is good for them, and you shouldn’t feel bad about it.

4)Your baby will exhibit signs of being tired.  Signs include: Decreased activity, slower motions, being less vocal, appearing disinterested in the surroundings, eyes become less focused, yawning, and eye rubbing.  Watch your baby for these signs and help them sleep when they exhibit them.

5)Develop a soothing routine before naps and bed time, and be consistent with it.  This helps your baby know that it’s time to relax.  I don’t use the same routine for naps as I do with bed time, but I do use the same routine for every nap, every day, and for every bed time.

Health Sleep Habits, Happy Child

The book is separated into two major sections.  The first 200 or so pages are mainly focused on Sleep Theory.  While they are insightful, when I talk to moms about the book I recommend they skip ahead to the second major section which is divided into chapters by age group and focuses on the specific sleep challenges that you and your baby will be facing at that specific time.

Finally, I wanted to end by emphasizing that this book is not all about letting your baby “cry it out.”  It’s about healthy sleep, and how to achieve it.  Crying it out is one method that you may or may not have to use to get there.  Even if you don’t feel comfortable with having your baby cry it out, I think reading this book will give you some useful tips, and help your family get more sleep.  Good Luck!!!

Check out the other post I did on the Books I Found Most Helpful

This past weekend Cameron came down with his first really bad cold – cough, runny nose, fever, and all around cabbyness.  And to make matters worse, my husband had to work all weekend so we were stuck fending for ourselves.  Two things helped us through it – 1) Baby 411, and 2)my fellow mommies and daddies.

Here’s what I learned:

1) A fever is a good thing.  It means Cameron’s body was busy fighting the intruder.  Also, fevers are naturally higher in the evening than the morning – so don’t be surprised if your baby is 100 in the AM and 102 at night.  Once the fever was gone, I knew Cameron was going to be out of the woods and recovery was on the way.

2) Baby Ibuprofen lasts longer than Baby Acetaminophen (6-8 hours vs 4 hours) so if your baby is over 6 months, give it a try – especially for overnight.  It will give your baby (and you) longer relief.

3) Get yourself a cool mist humidifier.  I don’t recommend the one they sell at Walgreens – it is kind of noisy.

4) Before bath time, run the shower to really steam up the bathroom.  This is good for helping the baby breathe.  Don’t give your baby a cool bath if they have a fever – this is only something you do if the baby is SUPER hot – like 107.  Would you like taking a cold bath when you were sick?

5) Use a Saline Mist to help loosen up all the snot that your poor sick baby is producing.  Then, if you feel comfortable with the idea, use a booger sucker (nasal aspirator) to suck out the snot.  Both of these things will make your baby hate you for a minute, so be prepared for tears and protest.  Also keep a kleenex at the ready to wipe up the snot, and tears.

6) Give your baby extra opportunities to sleep – try putting them to bed 30 minutes early for bed times and nap times.  When you’re sick, doesn’t extra sleep make you feel better too?

Baby 411 - my savior

Check out Baby 411 for more info on colds and other viruses, and don’t forget to ask your fellow parents for help.  I used facebook, and got some really great info as well as support!  Good luck mommies!

I’ve loved Huggies Overnights from the first time we used them.  But recently we started getting some leaks.  Even though the package says that the size 3 is for “16-25 lb” babies, and Cameron was only 18lbs and change a month ago at his 9 month check up, I decided to move up to size 4’s (22-37lbs).  And now, no more leaks!  I plan to move up to size 4 for his regular diaper as soon as I run out of size 3’s.

We’ve been doing some traveling this summer, with more to come in August, so I had invested in a Baby Bjorn travel crib after much research.  Any product on Amazon that has over 70 reviews with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars makes me feel pretty confident.  So, despite it’s steep price tag, I went for it.  I was not disappointed!  This crib is super comfy for Cameron, sets up and folds up extremely easily, weighs only 11lbs, and fits into it’s own handy dandy carrying case.  A must have for parents who travel with their little one!

the BEST travel crib

A friend of mine who is about to have her first baby just asked me what books I found most helpful when planning for Cameron to arrive.  These three were recommended to me by a friend who had already had a baby (my baby guru), and I found them all to be very useful.

Baby Bargains

Baby Bargains: I’m one of those people who reads reviews obsessively to find the perfect product.  This book had great no nonsense reviews for all kinds baby related paraphernalia.  This info, combined with the reviews people post on Amazon, made me feel like I was making educated decisions.

Baby 411

Baby 411: Why is my baby’s poop black?  What developmental milestones are coming up? What is Mastitis?  How much should my baby be eating?  Do I really need to boil everything to sterilize it?  The answers to these and many more questions you never thought of but soon will are in this book.  For a first time parent, this book is extremely useful.  It’s not something you read cover to cover, but use more as a reference text, looking up questions as you come up with them.  A serious must-have!

Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child: My friend who was my baby guru (she has a 2.5 year old) recommended this sleep book, and used this method with her son.  It’s a bit dense to read (you might feel like you are back in college!) but I think it’s really informative when it comes to sleep and babies.   We’ve been using Dr. Weissbleuth’s methods with Cameron and people always comment that he is one of the happiest babies they know.  When he is awake, is is very observant as well as calm.  It is certainly an effort to do sleep training with your baby, but in the end both you and your baby will get more rest, and be happier for it!

Living in New York almost always means living in a small apartment, which can make being quiet while a baby is sleeping quite challenging.  I originally got a set of wireless headphones for our TV in the bedroom so that I could go to sleep and my husband could stay up and watch TV without bothering me.  But when Cameron came along we moved the headphones out to the living room so that I could watch TV in the daytime while he was napping and not make a peep.  It works out great – a must have for people who live in tiny apartments!

Wireless Headphones

Hallelujah!  For the first time ever (with hopefully many more times to come,) my 7.5 month old baby boy has slept through the night – from 6pm to 6:20am.  Let me tell you, this mommy is ecstatic!  Of course, we have been working on this for a long time, but I think a large part of this victory is due to two things.  1) My sleep training book “Healthy Sleep Habbits, Happy Child” by Dr. Weissbluth and 2) Huggies Overnight Diapers.  I think on this post I’ll focus on #2, since #1 is a huge topic in itself.

In the past few weeks Cameron has become a tummy sleeper.  Overall, he seems to sleep better on his tummy than his back – and for longer stretches of time.

Cameron the tummy sleeper

Except, we now had a leaking problem.  He had been waking up wet almost every night, and every morning.  This was totally new to me – I’ve always been a huge fan of Pampers, and never experienced many leaky diapers.  Obviously doing all this extra laundry was not cool, so I investigated “Overnight Diapers.”

Huggies Overnites diapers

The reviews on Diapers.com for Huggies Overnights were glowing, so I decided to give them a try.  Indeed, they worked.  I highly suggest them if you have an overnight leak problem.  Mommy FTW!