I have some questions for you. Use your wisdom and experience to answer:
1. At what point (baby's age in weeks) did you start working toward getting baby to sleep through the night? How'd you do it?
2. Was your baby breastfed (if so, for how long)? Formula-fed? Both? Did you ever have the urge to just pump milk into a bottle b/c it was easier than trying to get a good latch? (Can you tell I have guilt about that last one?)
3. Did your baby have spit-up problems? Any recommended formulas for this?
4. How do you feel about swaddling?
5. For those of you with boys, did your boys ever pee through/around/over their diapers? Any recommended diapers for this conundrum?
6. How frequently did you bathe your baby in the first couple of months? Did you use lotion, oil, or powder?
7. For those of you who breastfed, did you keep a schedule during the nighttime hours, or give yourself a break and sleep straight through for a few hours?
8. What do you think about bottles and pacifiers? Do they really sabotage a good latch?
9. What do you think about vitamin supplements for babies?
10. Do you think it's more important to keep baby cool or to keep baby warm?
That about does it for now. ANY help you can offer on any of these topics will be much appreciated. If you don't feel comfortable posting and you'd rather email me, my address is steph_bentley@yahoo.com. HAPPY FALL!
1) If you have time, you should go back and read my early posts on my blog (with comments). It was all about Will's sleep! That and breastfeeding have to be the hardest things about babies. The truth is, you should have no expectations for the first 12 to 16 weeks. I had high expectations and it stressed me out so much that my milk supply decreased, which stressed me out even more. People told me not to worry about it, but I didn't listen. I really should have because nothing is normal or regular for a long time--things start to get a little better around three months and start to feel normal around five months. I was so stressed out about getting him on a schedule (mostly because of my impending return to work) that I wasted a lot of that precious newborn time worrying and I really regret that now. The short answer is that Will was not on a schedule (and I was all about the schedule, being a big Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child fan) until around five months. We got him on a regular sleep schedule with naps and sleeping through the night (except for a couple of feedings) by crying it out. When you read my blog you will find that that is about the only thing that worked for moms with kids who weren't good sleepers . . . and a pox on the moms of good sleepers :)
ReplyDelete2) Breastfeeding was just as stressful for me as non-sleep was. And I wanted to give up MANY times beginning when he was 2 1/2 weeks old. Finally at three weeks I gave him a bottle. I was going to give him formula, but I had enough breastmilk to give him that. La Leche would tell you that a bottle messes up a breast-fed baby's latch--it did not bother Will at all. They recommend that you introduce a bottle after breastfeeding is "well-established," which is around four weeks. You should also introduce the bottle before six weeks or they may never take one. I just had Brent give him a bottle in the evening whenever I didn't feel like doing it. Use the smallest hole nipple you can; you want them to have to work for it so they won't get lazy at the breast. And you wouldn't want to give them more than one bottle every day until they are more than six weeks old. And YES even thinking about formula made me feel incredibly guilty because I wanted the best for my baby, but I HATED breastfeeding. Him being able to take a bottle was an unbelievable relief to me. I didn't even have him take one every day, but I did when we were having trouble--which we did often. And it gets easier--I'm still doing it and he'll be nine months old November 1st.
3) He spit up terribly for a little while. I never gave him formula, but it stopped eventually.
4) Swaddling was the only way he would sleep when he was little, but it was also very frustrating because he would fight you while you were trying to swaddle him and he would wiggle out of the swaddle often. We used Swaddle Me blankets, which are great for a fast swaddle, but not as wiggle-proof as the standard blanket can be if it's big enough. My friend just bought a couple of Miracle Blankets. I don't know if they work, but the video looks great.
5) We used Pampers Swaddlers while he was little and tried to make sure that he was pointed down when we changed his diaper :)
6) Once a week. I was nervous about handling the slippery baby and our doctor said a once a week bath is fine for the first year. We do it almost every night now, but it's just part of our bedtime routine, not for cleanliness.
7) I fed him every three hours, but I would not wake him to feed him. If he woke up in three hours I would feed him, if he slept for five, so would I, but that didn't happen very often.
8) Pacifiers and bottles do not ruin a good latch. The breastfeeding Nazis would have you believe that they are to be avoided at all costs, but sucking is soothing for babies. Will NEEDED something to suck on and it was either a pacifier or me. I was very resistant to the pacifier--my mom actually bought them for me because I felt like a terrible mother for wanting to give him one, but it was love at first suck for him. And he has been very adaptable. He will take three different kinds of pacifiers and a bottle and still nurses just fine. I think if you stay on your nursing schedule you can introduce pacifiers and a once-a-day bottle for the next couple of weeks they will adjust just fine. At least Will did.
9) Wouldn't do it unless my doctor told me to.
10) I never thought about it, I just wanted to keep my baby asleep! But I do think he slept better and longer when he was warm.
Hope that helps!