Ok, I know the answer to this question- "every baby is different"...I know, I know...but these are just a few things that I WISH someone could have told me before baby Colby arrived...
*** babies have to LEARN to eat and digest...both are difficult at first. Colby was soooo painfully gassy. We tried different bottles until we found one that let in the least amount of air for Colby(playtex dropins), we gave Mylicon after every bottle, we burped him for a long time after he ate, and eventually I think all of these things helped him.
***Mylicon- there is original and dye-free. The original is PINK and will stain everything...get the dye-free...it's clear :)
*** SLEEP when your baby sleeps. (ok, people did tell me this, but I didn't listen) No one cares what your house looks like...and you will need the sleep...desperately...and it's ok to tell people if it's not a good time to come over...seriously...they understand!!
*** along those same lines...the first week or 2, you will be running on adrenaline, and somehow, the sleep deprivation isn't too bad. But starting around week 3, you will be EXHAUSTED!!!! If you get a chance to let grandma spoil that baby, do it!!!! You will be a better mommy for it.
*** babies sleep ALOT the first week or 2, but then they start to fuss and be awake a little more...so don't turn down help when you get it...they don't sleep all day every day forever ( I though it would be really easy to take a shower or clean whenever I wanted to because he slept so much at first, but after a few weeks it became near impossible to do anything)
***Pampers and Huggies are BOTH good...I don't think you have to feel like one is better than the other...
***Huggies newborn diapers are a tad bigger than Pampers, so when Colby was getting too big for the pampers newborns, the Huggies fit perfectly :)
***night time diapers...ok...I'm just now learning about this phenomenon, but apparently there are diapers specifically for night time that are super absorbent. I don't think they make them until size 3 (16 pounds). Colby is only wearing size 1 so far, but I have started putting a size 2 on at night. Then when he wets his diaper, there is more room for the diaper to absorb the wetness...otherwise, the smaller diaper will get heavy and baby will feel more wet and wake up! (This may be a coincidence, but both nights that I have done this, Colby has slept wonderfully!!)
*** breastfed babies may poop every few hours for the first few months and then all of the sudden go days without pooping...and that's normal! (I totally freaked out and thought that Colby was constipated or sick or something...)
***swaddling is wonderful- so...when we brought Colby home from the hospital, we swaddled him at night mainly because they swaddled him in the hospital, so we figured that's what we would supposed to do. I had heard that babies like it because it makes them feel secure just like in the womb. After a few weeks, Colby really didn't love the swaddling anymore, so we slacked off. A few weeks later I learned that swaddling is also important because it keeps baby's arms and legs still. Babies don't have much control over their little arms and legs, and many times their flailing arms will actually WAKE them up...not good!!! So, needless to say we went back to swaddling. If Colby is really tired, he'll let us swaddle him up all the way with no problems, but now that he's getting so strong, sometimes I don't fight to keep his arms swaddled.
***trying to keep baby awake all day won't necessarily mean they'll sleep better at night. Sometimes babies can actually get overtired and overstimulated...which causes them to not sleep as well.
***bath time is one of the best times of the day! Colby loves his baths...he didn't at first!!!...but he does now. If he gets really fussy around 8 or 9, we know it's bath time. The warm water soothes his tummy and he is more calm in the water than he is anywhere else. (we also learned that the easiest way to bathe him is to actually get in with him...I still haven't figured out the plastic tub...
I think that's it for now. We are definitely learning as we go, and like I said at the beginning of this post...every baby is different, so I know we'll have new things to learn with the next baby. What a fun ride this is!!!! :) I can't believe we hit 11 weeks tomorrow!!!! WOW!!
2 comments:
I used to wish Ty came with an instruction manual. I am still learning new things and Ty is almost two. Now it is more about discipling.... I don't like this part:(
Every Mom wishes that someone would have told them all of these things! It is so hard. I have learned that even with baby #2 you are still learning. Kendall was SO different from Connor. Just when I thought I had it all figured out she would do something so opposite of him.
He is happy and healthy and that is all that matters. You two are doing a great job!
And I am with Holly, discipling sucks. But you gotta do it!
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