Disclaimer: If you don't care about baby "stuff", you may just want to skip this post. I am asking for some advice, and would appreciate your help!
started my baby registry yesterday. I was less than enthusiastic about it for a few reasons, one of them being that I was overwhelmed! And of course in the first ten minutes I started to cry. HA. What the h is wrong with me?
Technically, I started the route backwards, beginning with all of the "little" things. Strange how the little things could be considered the most important. Had I finished my list over there, perhaps I wouldn't have had my meltdown.
Anyway, I only requested one starter set of bottles, and I chose the Tommee Tippee because they are well rated and well, cute. Some people have suggested that I try a few different types of bottles, while others tell me just decide on one and your baby will learn to like it. So of course, after getting home, I tried to read up on the Tommee Tippee and I saw mixed reviews. But I recognize there isn't any individual product out there that everyone likes!
So question 1: Should I just try to make it work with the ones that I registered for, or should I add a few different types to my registries?
Second topic I'm confused about: if I am nursing, how many bottles do I need? I am going back to work 2 1/2 days per week after 12 weeks. I think I'm more overwhelmed about the "thing that comes naturally" more than anything else. Once again, some people say that if you just work at it, every new mom can breast feed. Others tell me that I'll need to use formula too, and that's just the way it is. Good golly, I need a support group or something.
Topic/question 3: Do you or anyone you know use a cloth/hybrid diaper? Or have you tried it? I am strongly considering taking this route for several reasons. There is a place that actually offers a $25 two week trial with like 6 different styles....I think that sounds like a good idea.
I think I've come up with my main question. What worried/worries you as a mom or mom to be? Do you think I'm getting worked up for no reason?
If you have suggestions and cannot comment on the blog, feel free to email me at emily.ringnalda@gmail.com
Thank you for your help, friends.
Oh, it is SO overwhelming with the first baby!! I was the same way. Do you have Baby Bargains?? That book helped me immensely as I was 800 miles away from close friends and family. I would have been lost without it as a starting point.
ReplyDeleteThoughts on your Qs:
1) My boys never complained about bottles/nipples. They were happy with whatever. Some babies are pickier. I think it's a toss up!! Sorry I have no better answer than that. A starter pack of bottles is just that, a starter, you may find out that you need to try different options once baby is ready to start taking a bottle but no need to worry about that yet :)
2) BFing is a tough job but So. Worth. It. If you're committed. If you're not willing to work at it (it is TOUGH at first!!) then it's not going to work out. It is supposed to be so easy and natural but it is a *job* at first. One more BFing comment, only bc you asked. People will push formula on you. Nurses, Drs, friends, family...you just have to make up your mind how against it you are and how hard you want to work to BF. It is supply and demand. If your milk "isn't coming in" or baby "isn't getting enough", put baby on the boob. It will make milk. Very few women (in my reading, experience, whatever) have actual medical or physical things that prevent them from making enough milk. You can do it!! Baby Beloved is a WONDERFUL resource you Grand Rapidians have access too that I am very jealous of. I have many mom friends that swear by them.
Braden had oral motor issues we didn't know about until he didn't talk at 2 years old and we saw several speech therapists. We never got nursing down and at 5-6 weeks, I gave up on the pain and started pumping. I pumped exclusively for him for 8 months. We had around a dozen bottles or so. But that was only because I didn't like hand washing them every stinkin day :) Keegan was much easier once we got through the first tough few weeks and he rarely took a bottle (I know this is different as you'll be working PT) but we only had...three?? I think. So, maybe somewhere in between there??
3) We CDd Braden for about a year but had some issues due to skin sensitivities (and a crappy washing machine!!) that caused me to give it up with two boys under two :) I want to look more into it for Baby #3 when we get there.
Worrying is just part of the job. I hear it lasts for 18+ years :)
Hang in there!!
Okay, here is my two cents. Take it or leave it but it comes from my own experiene a year into motherhood :-)
ReplyDelete1. Bottles. We have TONS. We gave Belle a botttle every night(well Paul did), so that I could give the boobs a break. Eventually she decided she hated my boobs at 3 months and we both cried through a month of trying really hard to do the breast feeding thing and it didn't work. So, we both moved on and were much happier for it, thus I used 6 bottles a day, give or take. I would say that if you are going back part time you might want more. Needless to say, I really don't think there is such a thing as too many bottles. If baby is travelling to a sitter's house on the days you work it is inevitable you will lose some. I just started my internship a month ago and am down about 4 bottles already.
Overall, I would suggest to get a ton of them because you will have more children and you will lose bottles in the process.
As far as types, Belle loved any bottle. My sister, Cricket, registered for the nice Avent bottles and Owen would only take the cheap-o Gerber bottles. So, maybe start with one brand of a couple and don't open other packages until you know for sure that baby girl likes that brand.
2) My overall opinion on the breastfeeding thing is to do what helps you keep your sanity. Like I said, after crying through a month of frustration with Belle, I felt like a better mom and much more relaxed once I let go of the "mommy guilt" that if I quit breastfeeding I was a bad mom. Fact was, we were both more relaxed and happier when the feeding issue was finally over. Breastfeeding is hard. It is good for the baby, but hard. In my opinion it is a very personal choice and you should do what works best for you physically, mentally, and emotionally. No child ever died of formula. I had a lot of mommy guilt in this whole area of motherhood, so I finally just put aside what everyone tells me I am "supposed" to do, and just did what was right for Belle and I.
3) Power to you if you cloth diaper. I think it's a great thing do to. I, personally, am not the kind to stick with it. I would rather just keep the poop in the diaper and straight to the garbage. I hear it saves a lot of money, and there are really cute dipes out there. AGain, I think it is what works best for you and your baby.
4) Worrying will never end, unfortunately. I think we as moms want to do what is best. My big thing, that I seem to keep talking about, is to not let the "mommy guilt" get to you. I always felt like I wasn't doing enough here or enough there, and eventually I had to quit worrying about what people tell me I should be doing and just do what felt right. There really is a motherly instinct, so go with it when it kicks in. I guarantee that all of us make the wrong decisions here and there when it comes to our kids. Don't stress yourself out too much.
My biggest worry with Belle when she was teeny tiny was when she was fussy. I just couldn't always pinpoint what was wrong. I called the doc. A LOT. It helped ease my mind and they didn't care (or maybe they talked about me with all of the other nurses when they hung up the phone!).
Okay, I'll quit typing :-) That's a glimpse into my one year of experience. I'm sure I missed the boat on some things, but hit others spot-on...I hope, right?
Thank you, girls! Sometimes it just helps to have someone reaffirm what I had been already thinking. It's going to be tough, it's going to be overwhelming, and that's okay. :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously. Thank you!