Having a newborn baby is one of the most empowering experiences and also one of the most humbling experiences. On one hand, you go through your pregnancy and then the birth and come out of it feeling like you have super human powers. You created life and you survived a most likely painful birth. You then begin nursing and caring for another life. This is where the humbling part comes in. It is scary wondering if they are eating enough, if they are growing, if you are doing things correctly. You monitor thier diapers like they are science experiments. Was it wet enough? Is he eating enough. You learn all sorts of amazing things in such a short period of time. And then there is the lack of sleep. Not sleeping more than two hours at a time for months would shake anyones psyche. Because I am nursing and will continue to nurse my son until he is at least a year, he did not and still does not sleep through the night. I understand that this is normal. Breastmilk does not “stick in their systems” as long as formula. This blog is going to be a list as well. It will be a list of things that greatly helped me make it through the last 7 months with my newborn son and my five year old.
1. Fenugreek. Fenugreek is a herbal supplement available in any healthfood store. My doctor always sort of rolled his eyes at the thought of herbal supplements but I do swear by Fenugreek. I used this from the day my milk came in to help build my milk supply and then stopped. I unfortunately had some problems when Lucas was 6 weeks old maintaining my milk supply as he was going through a growth spurt and I was not getting any sleep at all due to the fact that I could not nap during the day because my 5 year old was also home with me and needed my attention. I began using the Fenugreek again then and my milk supply immediately grew. It helps. The only wierd side effect is that your milk and any other bodily fluids smell like Maple Syrup while you are taking it. Mosquitos loved me during that time. I do not recommend taking it before a camping trip.
2. Close and Secure Sleeper. This product is a small bed made out of plastic framing that is covered with a quilted cover with mesh sides. It is designed for the baby to sleep in between you and your spouse in the middle of your bed. This greatly helped me get more sleep. It has a small light on it also so you can turn it on in the middle of the night to check on your little one. It was very comforting for me to hear him breathing all night long. I also think this helped him sleep better also because he was close to me. It made middle of the night feedings very easy. He only fit into it until he was 4 months old but by then I was ready to have my own bed back. It was a very easy transition to his crib. We simply had him sleep in the Close and Secure Sleeper in his crib for a couple of nights because it smelled familiar to him and then simply removed it.
3. Books. I am very thankful for all of the books written on taking care of babies. Especially in those moments when you are sure they have small pox or malaria or the swine flu or some sort of other crazy disease because they are acting funny. It is comforting to see the facts in black and white. And of course each time its just gas or teething. 🙂
4. Homeopathic Teething Tablets. Thank god for these is all I can say.
5. Chamomile Tea. This not only seems to sooth my nerves and tension but Lucas’s as well.
6. Hand me down clothes. We did buy some nice outfits and items for Lucas but they grow so fast and they barely wear some of them. One of my dearest friends has a boy who I had passed down all of my 5 year olds clothes onto. She is passing them back to me for Lucas. It is so funny pulling them out of the bin and thinking “I recognize this”.
7. My girlfriends. It is lovely when you have not left your house in days, the baby is crying, you have not taken a shower yet, you are exhausted, and lonely and one of your girlfriends drops by with a new shirt for you and a smile. There have been many a time in those first weeks when they let me go take a shower and hold baby for me. Sometimes just the company for half an hour or so is enough to make all the crying seem like no big deal. Thank goodness for them.
8. Babysitters. We have not actually left our kids with “babysitters” but grandmas and grandpas. We do not get the opportunity to do it often but once in awhile it is lovely to go on a date night with out the kids.
9. The Bumbo Seat. There are not enough words in the world for me to sing the praises of the lovely Bumbo Seat. If you are having a baby I do suggest investing in one of these. They are not expensive and they are very helpful. Once Lucas could hold his head up he was very happy to sit in his Bumbo Seat and watch me cook or clean for quite awhile. In fact he still enjoys sitting in it.
10. Sling. I used the sling when he was a new born when Ezra and I would go on walks. Now he sits up in his sling and it is just as comfortable. He is happy and often falls asleep in it.
11. Music. Lucas is his fathers child. If there is music on he is happy. Sometimes if he is extra upset I can simply turn on some music preferably something with guitar and drums and he will stop mid cry and begin to listen. Way cool.
12. The crib tent. We have a cat. I know that they say that most cats will actually not get in the crib with the baby, but it eased my mind and helped me sleep a little better once Lucas was in his crib.
13. Our camping pop up trailer. We love to camp. I was a bit nervous about tent camping with a newborn baby. We took our first camping excursion when Lucas was two months old. We had bought an older used pop up camper. It was much warmer than sleeping in a tent. My husband says this is because it is off the ground. Hooray for camping with little ones!
14. Homemade room spray. They say that babies attach to smell. I made a homemade room scent for Lucas’s room so that it would relax him and he would know that it is his place by the smell of it. I spray around his crib and the rocking chair with it. It smells wonderful. An added bonus is that the cat does not like the smell so he stays out of there for quite a bit after I spray it. The recipe is easy. You can buy spritz bottles in most health food stores near the essential oils. Fill the bottle 3/4 of the way up with water and fill the remaining potion up with rubbing alcohol. Leave at least and inch at the top of the bottle. You then take whatever scent you want your babies room to smell like in the form of essential oils and add it to the bottle in the form of droplets. Essential oils are very strong so don’t more than 30 droplets. The scents I chose for Lucas’s spray were Lavender and Eucalyptus because they are both calming scents. I add 15 drops Lavender and 10 drops Eucalyptus. Shake it up and spray. I did this with my son Ezra as well with Lavender and he still loves the smell of it. In fact he asked me to make him his very own bottle to spray his own room with which I thought was awesome.
15. Burts Bees. I love this stuff. After the birth of my first son Ezra money was much tighter and I could not afford it but I had been given a small gift pack of trial sizes. I had learned then that the Burts Bees diaper rash cream is the best I had ever used. I willingly would spend the extra money to buy it back then and I certainly do now. It is the best!
16. Another thing that is great that is not pricey at all is A&D ointment. Not the diaper rash cream but the ointment. Lucas gets severe dry skin on his tummy. A little of the ointment and is gone by morning.
17. Sleepers. Up until Lucas was 6 months old I hardly ever put him in actual outfits. What a pain to have to pull of thier pants and then undo the onsie to change thier diaper. Especially when they are little and do not cooperate. Not to mention they have to have their diapers changed constantly, and if it leaked you would have 2 ruined pieces instead of one. I put Lucas in little cotton Sleep and Play outfits most of the time. They were soft and cozy. Thier feet stay covered and you don’t lose socks.
18. Garden outdoor lights. This may seem very strange and wierd and it probably is but I liked it. When Lucas was sleeping in our room with us I bought a package of the hanging patio lights that are in little balls. We have a tall armour in one corner of our room. I plugged them in a laid them in a bundle across the top of the armour behind a big leafy plant. That dim light from across the room was the perfect light to nurse by. I never had to turn on a light in the middle of the night. I could always see him if I woke up, yet it was dim enough that it did not interfere with our sleep at all. I told you it was wierd, but I would do it again if I had another baby.
19. Baby Mum Mums. They are rice rusks. They completely dissolve once saliva comes in contact with them. Lucas loves to suck on them and I do not worry that he will choke at all. They look like styrofoam but do not have anything in them except rice.
20. My husband. I don’t know what I would do with out him. He gets up with the kids on the weekend mornings so that I can sleep in. He helps out by grilling dinner at least once a week. He lets me go catch a movie with a friend. In fact not only does he let me but encourages me not to feel guilty for leaving the kids. ( I often do anyways. I think all mothers out there get the “mommy guilt”)
I am sure this list will be a “to be continued” as there are a million products and things that I am forgetting or have not tried yet. He is only 7 months old now so I have much more to share.