Monday, February 21, 2011

I'm no Expert BUT...

I'm no baby expert. I mean Sonny is ONLY 4 months, but in that 4 months I've learned a few things. For all my friends- pregnant, trying or with little ones up to Sonny's age here is some stuff I have found very helpful.

1) You don't need 98% of baby marketed items- No baby bath (use the bath tub with a folded up towel down making it cushy, No changing station (anywhere can be your changing station, just keep all the needed items in wrapped in your changing pad we use this one and put it on the bed or floor or sofa). A wipe warmer. Nope. It gets cold by the time it reaches that baby's butt. Nursing Pillows. I tried the Boppy and the Brest Friend and didn't care for either. Some people I know love one or the other but I found it more of a hassle that a help.


2) Baby nail clippers are terrible. Cutting a baby's fingernails is difficult enough without having to introduce "safe" nail clippers into the equation. "Safe" just means dull and it takes 5,000 x's longer to cut their nails with them.


3) Nasal aspirator bulb is bad, NoseFrida is good. Sonny is constantly stuffed up and we used the bulb everyday for 2 1/2 months, then a pediatrician told me about the Nosefrida and I like it sooo much better. It is easier on us and Sonny. It isn't magic though, he still cries but not as bad.


4) Swaddle Me. We received these Aden + Anais blankets (thank you estee) and they are great for naps and other things. BUT if you want a sounder slumber then i find Swaddle Me's are the way to go. We said goodnight to Son-dini (his arm would pop out no matter how tight we wrapped him in the blankets) when we found these (thank you Marcie)


5) Bottles. When we started to give Sonny breast milk in bottles we tried a few kinds, Medela, Lifefactory and others. Our favorite though is Prince Lionheart. They are silicon and the best part is that they collapse as the babe drinks and it cuts down on the air they swallow by A LOT which = less gas. And Sonny needs that. He wears more farty pants then anyone I know.


6) Diaper cream. So annoying to find one that you like and that is readily available AND non-toxic. I rec'd a few different kinds and so far I like Angel Baby Bottom Balm. I used the Stretch oil throughout my whole pregnancy and loved it. I'm sure I would love the baby wash and lotion too, but josh doesn't like the smell (orange creamsicleish). I ordered a different brand of baby stuff earlier this week and haven't received it yet, I'll let you know how I like it later.
Ok, so say your baby get diaper rash and you don't want to put any cream on them and just want it to heal fast. Two things to use 1- breast milk. Squirt the bum with some milk and it will help a lot. 2- Organic pure coconut oil. We had some in the cooking cabinet and I read to put it on diaper rash. I tried it out on his overnight diaper and in the morning his bum was no longer red AT ALL. just pink and soft the way a baby's butt should be.


7) ANYTHING YOU PUT ON YOUR BABY- From #6 you can see I like to use natural products. I know they can get expensive BUT I do HIGHLY recommend that you check what you are using/plan on using on your baby with Skin Deep. I check everything on here and you would be surprised to see how some "green/natural" products rate. This is very important to me. I pick my battles and this is probably my number one cause. Educate yourself on what you are using.
I also like this site by a NYC Mom.
My cousin also has a really great site you should check out for baby essentials.


8) Diapers. Oh! The perils of NYC living = No washer and drier in the home. If I did have one, I would surely do cloth diapers. But I don't. and I'm too cheap to use a cloth diaper service. SO...I try all the different "green diapers". I've tried: 365, Seventh Generation, Attitude, Earth's Best, Nature Babycare and Tushies. When Sonny was size one, I liked Tushies and Nature Babycare just fine. Now that he is a little bigger though I like Seventh Generation. Tushies are the only gel-free ones. I like them, but I think Sonny is just between sizes. Size 2 runs big. And they are kinda stiff but not in a crazy kinda way. Nature Babycare is a little leaky and Attitude isn't cutting it. The last month he has only used Seventh Generation and I'm happy with that- as happy as I can be with disposables. I have some gDiapers to try when he is a little bigger; next month perhaps.


9) Get a Yoga ball. Forget the rocking chair (unless you have the space and want a fancy nursery). All you need is a yoga ball. From day one we would bounce Sonny to clam him down. It still works. You can sway, bounce and rock all on the same ball while relaxing your spine and getting a little movement yourself. It's great.


10) Clothes. This is a hard one. I love to shop for cute clothes, but they really do grow so fast and it's a pity to spend a lot on an outfit they'll wear only a week. I bought a bunch or Gerber Organic Onesie's in all sizes and the Newborn ones I hardly used. You might need 2. If they get a tiny bit of poo around the leg and you catch it soon enough, eh, NBD. No need to change the whole outfit. Size 0-3 maybe one pack depends on what other undershirts you have or how often you wash. Size 3-6 I'm using these now and Sonny wears one almost every day.
If you do want to buy super soft cute clothes (*Ok, so they are mostly bamboo and the jury is still out on the real green factor of using bamboo. Growing bamboo is "green" but the process to create a bamboo viscose may not be) then I like the following: Sckoon, Kicky Pants (i LOVE the one pieces from here), Baby Soy (the kimono onesie's are great), Katie Quinn (like the body suits). There are a few others I like and most you can find and shop for on Wilddill.com and Cutelittleclothes.com (<-- my favorite EVERY brand I just mentioned plus more are available for ordering here). 11) The Ergo. I think everyone should have an ergo.

This is part one. I'm sure I will think of other things. And if you have anything to add of your MUST haves or HAVE NOTS please PLEASE let me know.

Now here is a SHORT video of Sonny this morning with my stuffed animal from when i was a baby. He just found his inner Eagle scream yesterday.


3 comments:

  1. this is GREAT! i hope you keep it up, or I will be stalking you for more info :)

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  2. I love posts like this. We all discover different things & it's so fun to swap notes.

    Amen to the changing station. Q's diaper is always changed on our living room floor. :)

    And nail clippers - our favorites are little tiny scissors from Ricky's. They're amazing.

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  3. Love your blog! Someone at the wedding pointed me to it b/c your birth story was supposed to be "amazing." So sorry to just randomly creep you out- but I was curious.

    Agree with most of what you said. Once my son was about June's age he was so squirmy the changing table was totally unsafe- so we ditched that idea pretty early on, anyway. Yes, lots of dumb ideas for baby products.

    We use 7th Generation for our son and I'm an "Amazon Mom" using "subscribe & save" and they are half of what they'd be in stores that way... and shipped to my door. Anyway, wanted to throw that tip your way in case you weren't already doing it.

    Your son is really really adorable...but I'm sure you already know that!

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