Newborn essentials- first week

amother

White

Fri, Jun 16 2023, 4:10 pm

amother Anemone wrote:

Your caregivers who are taking care of you should always know all the medications you are taking and know when it was given. There are no situations when it should be different. It is dangerous for people who are giving you medications to not know what you are taking and when.

How dangerous does Motrin get? Have we really lost the ability to use our own sechel?

DVOM

Sat, Jun 17 2023, 6:51 pm

I look for good reading material in my last trimester and save it for after I give birth. Having something to read helped me relax during day feedings, keep awake during night feedings.

amother

Cognac

Sat, Jun 17 2023, 7:30 pm

DVOM wrote:

I look for good reading material in my last trimester and save it for after I give birth. Having something to read helped me relax during day feedings, keep awake during night feedings.

I like this one! Any good recommendations?

amother

Crocus

Sun, Jun 18 2023, 6:10 pm

amother OP wrote:

Ok, another maybe stupid question:

If I'm planning to exclusively breastfeed, in what scenario would I need a bottle? I know many people do use them, but I'm trying to figure out when exactly I would be giving baby a bottle vs breastfeeding.

Thank you all so much, btw. I don't really have anyone IRL to whom I can ask these questions.

There are a lot of reasons you might need to give a bottle even when exclusively nursing. Here's my personal story: I nursed my first for 9 months. We had a really tough time in the beginning- she couldn't latch well, and also was jaundiced and tired very easily and couldn't fight as she needed to in order to nurse, so she was then getting weaker and weaker, and I got engorged which did not help things, so I spoke with a lactation consultant to help me get thru it because I 100% wanted to make it work, I was not ready to give up and go to formula. One of her recommendations was that I pump until I was not so engorged, then try to nurse like regular, and then feed my baby the pumped milk by bottle, to keep up my supply while we worked on helping her latch on better. BH it worked, and I was able to nurse her for the next 9 months. We still gave the occasional bottle though- sometimes I would run an errand without her and get home later than I planned and it was good that my husband was able to feed her from some pumped milk in the freezer. Also, she started going to a sitter when I went back to work, so I would pump each day at work and she would have the milk the next day at the babysitter. Once in a while my parents or in-laws would watch her in the evening so we could do date night- they were able to give her a feeding while we were gone. Like someone else said, if we were driving, it was good to be able to feed her as we drove.

There's also the idea that you want your baby to have the skill of drinking from a bottle, even if you always, always nurse them. What if something happens to you and you're not available to nurse, do you really want your baby being thrown into a situation where they literally don't know how to eat? With my second, she nursed great from the start and I never gave bottles, and then the few times I wasn't home yet when she was ready to eat, even when she was 4/5/6 months old, she would screech hysterically but absolutely refuse the bottle, my husband would go crazy from it. It's not a fun situation to be in. So since then I always make sure my babies know how to take a bottle, even if I'm nursing exclusively.

amother

Copper

Tue, Jun 20 2023, 4:33 am

There is an amazing product called the silverette nursing cups. They are little nipple covers made out of pure silver. Silver has healing, antimicrobial properties..,. You put them on your nipples between feedings. They were a huge game changer when I found out about them for my last baby. Nursing is always painful for me and I often get sore .... These things helped heal between feedings and was way way more effective than any cream I've used. They are pricy but soo worth the money.
Anyone who I've recommended them too loved them too!

amother

Forestgreen

Tue, Jun 20 2023, 6:09 am

Can someone please post a link to those milk collector shields to wear in place of nursing pads?
I’m seeing many options on amazon, and I’ll love a tried and true recommendation.
Tia!

bsy

Tue, Jun 20 2023, 6:22 am

It's important for baby to be able to drink from a bottle in case of emergency. I ended up in the hospital and had emergency surgery and was away from my baby for about 48 hours. What would have happened if he couldn't take a bottle?!

amother

White

Tue, Jun 20 2023, 6:29 am

amother Forestgreen wrote:

Can someone please post a link to those milk collector shields to wear in place of nursing pads?
I’m seeing many options on amazon, and I’ll love a tried and true recommendation.
Tia!

These are the best (tried and true and highly recommend)

https://www.amazon.com/haakaa-.....ss_tl