There a lot of different sources on hospital lists for mom / baby. I kind of obsessed over our list the first time, then never really packed a bag, and honestly can't remember what we cobbled together to bring to the hospital. Whatever it was, it was fine.
This time, it felt like a different experience because I knew the date and time we would be arriving at the hospital (most likely) and I knew there wouldn't be any labor and delivery time and that I would be recovering from a c-section. So, perhaps a little different ...
In case you care, here is what my list included for a repeat c-section, with some notes about the ultimate usefulness of these items:
Bag for Baby
Bag for Dad / Significant Other
Bag for Mom
(lots of bags, but helpful to have stuff separate and easy to find / bring in from the car when needed. Also, stuff accumulates at the hospital - good to have extra packing room coming home.)
Baby:
Two cute swaddling blankets (never used)
Going home outfit (brought a preemie outfit and a 0-3 month. Ended up with preemie choice for a 7lb baby)
Couple of kimono style shirts and pants (never used)
Baby hats (never used, just used hospital provided)
Boppy (left in the car, never ended up bringing it in)
Breast pump (had ready at home just in case. Ended up using hospital grade pump and a kit of parts they provided)
Gift from baby to older sibling(s) if you want
So ... sounds like baby doesn't need a bag.
Dad / Significant Other:
Whatever he throws in!
Changes of clothes, toiletries, extra charger(s)
Extra pillows for mom and dad with patterned pillow cases to keep separate from hospital
Mom:
Plastic folder / envelope for papers (super helpful. Brought insurance paperwork, hospital directions, copy of advanced directive. Placed all the various paperwork that accumulates during the hospital in one place to bring home)
Robe (didn't use. I'm not a robe person and didn't start now)
No-skid socks (didn't use, had flip flops instead)
Nursing tanks / bras, breast pads (used all of the above - brought Large tanks, could have used XL to account for engorgement. Got lanolin from lactation consultant)
PJ pants, nursing tops with short and long sleeves (I wore my own clothes on day 2 after I showered, was nice to have short and long sleeve options depending on room temp)
Toiletries (lip balm, good smelling travel shampoo, spare toothbrush and toothpaste, hairbands / headbands, extra contacts/glasses/eyedrops, face cleaner wipes). I had packed with spares of most everything and threw in a few essentials at the end. The face cleaner wipes were so nice when I couldn't get out of bed. Wish I brought hand lotion and a small mirror.
Makeup (never used)
Gum - may help with digestion / gas
Going home outfit - just wore the same thing I put on the morning we came to the hospital. Comfy and black, seemed slimming, though not so much.
Underwear and pads - I made sure to get undies that came up over my incision and brought my own thinner pads
Camera / chargers / batteries (we just ended up using our iPhones, so easy! We had 2 chargers, which were in frequent use. Plugs aren't all that convenient in hospital rooms - I read somewhere about bringing a short extension cord, which we didn't do, but you could)
Ahead of time:
Get a pedicure / manicure (I almost never treat myself to this, but it was nice to have pretty hands and feet when the rest was, well, not so pretty)
Put a waterproof crib pad under the sheets on your side of the bed in case your water breaks
Treats for the nurses - 2 batches for day and night shifts. If it's homemade, bring the recipe! We had awesome nurses and the first time we gave them some cookies before we left, but it's nice to have the ability to plan ahead to bring something. They all commented on how nice it was and I'm sure we would have had great care anyway, but it's nice little insurance. :)
Baby-tracker app for phone. I was an obsessive note-taker with Ellen and now I use the "Eat Sleep" app for iPhone and it fulfills all my note-taking desires. :)
Baby books - read up on sleeping or feeding or whatever it is that you've gathered. I always think I'll have time after baby is born, but it quickly falls to the bottom of the priority list. I have a lot of books, but this time around I skimmed Baby Wise and The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems.
Check on your vaccines, especially for fall / winter babies: flu shot for everyone who will be around baby regularly and TDAP booster if you need it.
Things to have on hand at home:
Since you won't be getting out anytime soon, grab these things before you deliver:
Slippers to have at home if you don't have any
Some zip up or button up tops that are big enough - just got a few fleece jackets from Old Navy
Extra lanolin - one tube for upstairs and one for downstairs if you need it. Use it EVERY time you nurse / pump
Extra pump parts - have everything on hand and sanitized, including bottles. I pumped much earlier this time than the first time and it was nice to have everything ready to go
Milk bags for freezer if you are breastfeeding (in case you pump - hang on to that stuff!). I think Lansinoh are easiest to use.
Vitamin D drops for baby - recommended if breastfeeding
Pump hand sanitizer in any room you think you'll need it. I'm not generally a germaphobe, but I am with a newborn in RSV / flu season
Gas X for mom - I don't remember this from last time, but my gas pains in the hospital and at home are almost as bad as my incision pain. Tums / antacids won't work.
Miralax if things aren't, ummm, moving (especially if you are taking pain meds)
Pacifiers if you think you'll use them, perhaps a few types (see my pacifier try-out post here). Ellen always liked the Nuk, but started out with the green Soothies pacifier from the hospital. We never got one (or even saw one) this time, and I had the Gumdrops pacifiers at home, which Georgia prefers.
Some kind of swaddle system - blanket / Kiddopotamous SwaddleMe (what we use) / Miracle blanket (have heard great things). I feel confidant swaddling with a blanket in the daytime, but I get nervous that blankets will get loose overnight.
Be aware:
My hands, wrists and feet were CRAZY swollen. I don't remember this the first time, but I also didn't get so many fluids prior to surgery because it was semi-emergency. My doctor suggested it's those first few bags of fluid you hang on to for a while.
If you have carpal tunnel in your pregnancy, it lingers for awhile. Like, almost 3 weeks later, my fingertips are still numb.
Showing posts with label pacifiers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pacifiers. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Monday, March 8, 2010
Bye bye B
Goodbye B.
You were such a friendly pacifier. We all loved you dearly and you served us well. Alas, your time has come. We no longer need you. Farewell, friend ...
We took the cold turkey approach at the suggestion of many friends. It worked well with the bottles, but the addiction to the pacifier seemed to be so much MORE. I suppose we are like most parents who think, "sure, lots of kids are addicted to the pacifier. But our kid? She must be the MOST addicted of all time."
We had discussed which weekend might be best (i.e. anticipating some napless/sleepless days - better have reinforcements) and the Huz just decided we should do it sooner rather than later. I mostly agreed, minus the immunizations on the same day of paci-dropping. Oh well. Timing isn't everything.
It started out reasonably promising. Girly got her paci ("B") in the morning and for her shots. She had it for her nap, which just happened to be POOR. She threw the sole remaining pacifier out of her crib on the floor when she woke up crying (as per usual), so I casually kicked it under her crib into nonexistence. Before her nap, I told her: "When you wake up, we are going to throw your B's away. You are a big girl and you don't need your paci anymore". I'm certain that she didn't know what I was talking about, but I felt better giving her some kind of warning.
It was a beautiful day, so we took full advantage and went to the park after her nap. (Key #1: do something a little out of your routine to keep minds off pacis). She asked about it only once or twice all afternoon and was easily distracted. I just said, "Sorry, no more pacis. Your B's are all gone. You are a big girl and you don't need them anymore."
I had also removed all visual cues to the pacifiers (key #2). We used to keep them on the bottle drying rack in our kitchen window. The rack and pacifiers were all put away during her nap. At bedtime, we used to keep spare pacifiers in her bookcase. Now, that area is replaced with a basket of loveys and stuffed animals.
Bedtime was a little different. She got whiny and asked for her B. I just calmly told her there were no more B's. I offered her a stuffed animal instead to take to bed, which she begrudgingly took. She cried for about 15 minutes while she figured out how to fall asleep.
I told Huz that it was kind of sad. I'm clearly not opposed to crying it out - but, I felt like this was something we had forced on her (I should use 'force' lightly - she was a big fan of the paci from the start) and then took away.
The first night was great - not a peep during the night, which was a pleasant surprise since I feared she might wake up and not know how to get back to sleep. The next day's nap also took about 15 minutes of crying, and was extra sad because now, instead of just crying, she can yell out "mama, mammaa, MAMA!!!!" Ugh. Saturday bedtime was about 10 minutes of crying, then Sunday nap was just a few minutes and Sunday bedtime was just a whimper and then to sleep. Or, that may have had something to do with her fever. Again, timing isn't everything.
She continued to ask for B here and there, but we just told her "the B's are all gone" and moved on with our business. I am proud of her and proud of us. I saved all the pacifiers up in the cabinet and I was prepared to give it back to her (restricted to bedtime) if we ran in to a disaster. I'm glad I had the contingency plan and I'm extra glad we aren't going to use it.
I'll tuck away a couple of the B's for memory's sake, but I'm glad they are just that ... a memory.
You were such a friendly pacifier. We all loved you dearly and you served us well. Alas, your time has come. We no longer need you. Farewell, friend ...
We took the cold turkey approach at the suggestion of many friends. It worked well with the bottles, but the addiction to the pacifier seemed to be so much MORE. I suppose we are like most parents who think, "sure, lots of kids are addicted to the pacifier. But our kid? She must be the MOST addicted of all time."
We had discussed which weekend might be best (i.e. anticipating some napless/sleepless days - better have reinforcements) and the Huz just decided we should do it sooner rather than later. I mostly agreed, minus the immunizations on the same day of paci-dropping. Oh well. Timing isn't everything.
It started out reasonably promising. Girly got her paci ("B") in the morning and for her shots. She had it for her nap, which just happened to be POOR. She threw the sole remaining pacifier out of her crib on the floor when she woke up crying (as per usual), so I casually kicked it under her crib into nonexistence. Before her nap, I told her: "When you wake up, we are going to throw your B's away. You are a big girl and you don't need your paci anymore". I'm certain that she didn't know what I was talking about, but I felt better giving her some kind of warning.
It was a beautiful day, so we took full advantage and went to the park after her nap. (Key #1: do something a little out of your routine to keep minds off pacis). She asked about it only once or twice all afternoon and was easily distracted. I just said, "Sorry, no more pacis. Your B's are all gone. You are a big girl and you don't need them anymore."
I had also removed all visual cues to the pacifiers (key #2). We used to keep them on the bottle drying rack in our kitchen window. The rack and pacifiers were all put away during her nap. At bedtime, we used to keep spare pacifiers in her bookcase. Now, that area is replaced with a basket of loveys and stuffed animals.
Bedtime was a little different. She got whiny and asked for her B. I just calmly told her there were no more B's. I offered her a stuffed animal instead to take to bed, which she begrudgingly took. She cried for about 15 minutes while she figured out how to fall asleep.
I told Huz that it was kind of sad. I'm clearly not opposed to crying it out - but, I felt like this was something we had forced on her (I should use 'force' lightly - she was a big fan of the paci from the start) and then took away.
The first night was great - not a peep during the night, which was a pleasant surprise since I feared she might wake up and not know how to get back to sleep. The next day's nap also took about 15 minutes of crying, and was extra sad because now, instead of just crying, she can yell out "mama, mammaa, MAMA!!!!" Ugh. Saturday bedtime was about 10 minutes of crying, then Sunday nap was just a few minutes and Sunday bedtime was just a whimper and then to sleep. Or, that may have had something to do with her fever. Again, timing isn't everything.
She continued to ask for B here and there, but we just told her "the B's are all gone" and moved on with our business. I am proud of her and proud of us. I saved all the pacifiers up in the cabinet and I was prepared to give it back to her (restricted to bedtime) if we ran in to a disaster. I'm glad I had the contingency plan and I'm extra glad we aren't going to use it.
I'll tuck away a couple of the B's for memory's sake, but I'm glad they are just that ... a memory.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Worth noting
Just a few things that I thought were worth mentioning, in case I haven't yet ...
1. Our Girl loves her pacifier. It will be a sad day for all involved when it comes time to get rid of it, which is really any day now. I may have mentioned way back that I had read about a perfect window of time where it is (relatively) easy to get rid of the pacifier, sometime around 6-9 months. I will say, in retrospect, that this was definitely true. She had a very "take it or leave it" attitude about the whole thing. We persisted, and now she is addicted. Oh well.
Another tip from a very wise Mom friend ... at bedtime, Girly gets one pacifier. We tried really hard not to play the "replace the pacifier" game, but until your baby has the searching skills to find a pacifier in bed and put it back in their mouth, you have somewhat of a dilemma. Once she could do it herself, we would load up the crib with tons of pacifiers, and she would proceed to throw every.single.one on the floor. Then scream. So, now she gets just one at bedtime. Later in the night, I go in her room to check on her and put several more in her bed. That is it until morning, when she throws every.single.one on the floor, as if to say "come and get me!".
2. We moved up to Overnight diapers a month ago or so. We never really had a problem with soaking through, but when it happened 2 nights in a row, I knew we needed a change. Cold, wet PJs and sheets don't make anyone happy. We are using the Huggies Overnights on a recommendation from a friend, but I know there are other types. She is usually in size 3 diapers, but these are size 4 because that is all they had at Target. I don't know if they make them smaller or not. It has worked like a charm! I have also known babies who wet through the Overnight diapers. If this is the case, I guess the next bigger size diaper might work, or I think you can also buy diaper liners that go inside the diaper for some more absorbency power.
3. Sippy cups. We are struggling with the milk-in-a-sippy-cup transition. I'll report back on my trials and tribulations, but in retrospect I might have done things a little differently. There are so many kinds of sippy cups and I think a lot of kids will have a preference for one or another. I started her on the Tilty cup at 6 months, and now she does very well with it. I picked this cup because it doesn't have a valve, so fewer parts to keep track of and more like drinking from a normal cup. We also use the Take and Toss cups because that is what she uses at school, and they are very similar. (Note: if your daycare uses one particular kind of sippy cup for all the kids, ask about that earlier rather than later. I had no idea until recently. It wasn't a big deal, but might have been nice to know). My point: Girly does great with these cups if the liquid inside is clear or purple. Not white. I know this really isn't because of the cup design, but I wish I would have worked harder with her on a straw, at a minimum, so we would have more options to try at this point. She won't drink from a sippy cup with a valve or one with a soft spout. In the long run, I think this will help her drink from a real cup, but in the short run it is driving me crazy.
The end.
1. Our Girl loves her pacifier. It will be a sad day for all involved when it comes time to get rid of it, which is really any day now. I may have mentioned way back that I had read about a perfect window of time where it is (relatively) easy to get rid of the pacifier, sometime around 6-9 months. I will say, in retrospect, that this was definitely true. She had a very "take it or leave it" attitude about the whole thing. We persisted, and now she is addicted. Oh well.
Another tip from a very wise Mom friend ... at bedtime, Girly gets one pacifier. We tried really hard not to play the "replace the pacifier" game, but until your baby has the searching skills to find a pacifier in bed and put it back in their mouth, you have somewhat of a dilemma. Once she could do it herself, we would load up the crib with tons of pacifiers, and she would proceed to throw every.single.one on the floor. Then scream. So, now she gets just one at bedtime. Later in the night, I go in her room to check on her and put several more in her bed. That is it until morning, when she throws every.single.one on the floor, as if to say "come and get me!".
2. We moved up to Overnight diapers a month ago or so. We never really had a problem with soaking through, but when it happened 2 nights in a row, I knew we needed a change. Cold, wet PJs and sheets don't make anyone happy. We are using the Huggies Overnights on a recommendation from a friend, but I know there are other types. She is usually in size 3 diapers, but these are size 4 because that is all they had at Target. I don't know if they make them smaller or not. It has worked like a charm! I have also known babies who wet through the Overnight diapers. If this is the case, I guess the next bigger size diaper might work, or I think you can also buy diaper liners that go inside the diaper for some more absorbency power.
3. Sippy cups. We are struggling with the milk-in-a-sippy-cup transition. I'll report back on my trials and tribulations, but in retrospect I might have done things a little differently. There are so many kinds of sippy cups and I think a lot of kids will have a preference for one or another. I started her on the Tilty cup at 6 months, and now she does very well with it. I picked this cup because it doesn't have a valve, so fewer parts to keep track of and more like drinking from a normal cup. We also use the Take and Toss cups because that is what she uses at school, and they are very similar. (Note: if your daycare uses one particular kind of sippy cup for all the kids, ask about that earlier rather than later. I had no idea until recently. It wasn't a big deal, but might have been nice to know). My point: Girly does great with these cups if the liquid inside is clear or purple. Not white. I know this really isn't because of the cup design, but I wish I would have worked harder with her on a straw, at a minimum, so we would have more options to try at this point. She won't drink from a sippy cup with a valve or one with a soft spout. In the long run, I think this will help her drink from a real cup, but in the short run it is driving me crazy.
The end.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Pearls
Of wisdom, that is.
Start as you mean to go
Progress is a spiral
In my short 17 1/2 weeks as a parent, these are two major parenting themes that I have come to really believe in. I definitely can't take credit for these - I've read them several places. It is no secret that I am a big fan of Babywise, and the Chronicles of a Babywise Mom blog has helped me a lot. Also, I've just read The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems and I really like it. Many of her ideas are quite similar to Babywise.
Time allows you to reflect and I really feel that these principles, in a large part, guided us to the happy and rested Girl we have today.
As a first-time parent it is definitely challenging to figure things out with no point of reference. I tried, to the best of my ability, to really mull over "major" decisions. Where would our child sleep? Crib or bassinet? Our room or hers? Start as you mean to go. My end goal was to have her sleep well, in her crib, in her room. We started there. Use a pacifier or not? Put it back in her mouth a million times or not? I felt that a pacifier was a good thing for her and replacing it once seemed reasonable. I did not want to find myself in the habit of replacing it over and over until she could do it herself. So we didn't.
This will have many more applications moving forward with starting solids and feeding behaviors. It is important to have a long-term view .... what is the ultimate goal? Start working on behaviors that will get you there.
It may be hard to admit, but any behavior your baby has that you don't like is a direct reflection of your parenting. (How about that for guilt!) Babies aren't born with "bad" behaviors - they learn them. Guess who teaches them? This is not to say that parents teach bad habits intentionally - it is a side effect of the learning process as a new parent. It does; however, mean that it is your job to un-teach those behaviors. (To clarify: I am talking babies here, I don't know crap about older kids. And, I'm not talking temperment - some babies are easier than others, but they all can learn habits, good and bad).
To that point, Progress is a spiral. This was especially helpful in our sleep training with the Girl. I didn't expect miracles and I knew it would take time to form the new habits we wanted. Just when you had one good night, the next night or two would be challenging. Again - take the big picture view. You are always moving in the right direction and spiraling toward the goal (not spiraling out of control!). Some days you are closer to your goal, and some days you are farther away, but you are always making progress and will eventually get there.
Easier said than done sometimes.
Now, though, we have a daughter who is an excellent sleeper at 17 weeks. (Ten hours last night - Hallelujah!). I have confidence that our early decisions resulted in the desired outcome over time.
As someone who likes things to be predictable, I have now grudgingly admitted that we need to move her schedule around again. The 3-hour schedule isn't ideal for a 4-month-old, so I hope my planning again gets us to the new desired goal. The only predictable thing about parenting is that it always changes.
Stay tuned ...
Start as you mean to go
Progress is a spiral
In my short 17 1/2 weeks as a parent, these are two major parenting themes that I have come to really believe in. I definitely can't take credit for these - I've read them several places. It is no secret that I am a big fan of Babywise, and the Chronicles of a Babywise Mom blog has helped me a lot. Also, I've just read The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems and I really like it. Many of her ideas are quite similar to Babywise.
Time allows you to reflect and I really feel that these principles, in a large part, guided us to the happy and rested Girl we have today.
As a first-time parent it is definitely challenging to figure things out with no point of reference. I tried, to the best of my ability, to really mull over "major" decisions. Where would our child sleep? Crib or bassinet? Our room or hers? Start as you mean to go. My end goal was to have her sleep well, in her crib, in her room. We started there. Use a pacifier or not? Put it back in her mouth a million times or not? I felt that a pacifier was a good thing for her and replacing it once seemed reasonable. I did not want to find myself in the habit of replacing it over and over until she could do it herself. So we didn't.
This will have many more applications moving forward with starting solids and feeding behaviors. It is important to have a long-term view .... what is the ultimate goal? Start working on behaviors that will get you there.
It may be hard to admit, but any behavior your baby has that you don't like is a direct reflection of your parenting. (How about that for guilt!) Babies aren't born with "bad" behaviors - they learn them. Guess who teaches them? This is not to say that parents teach bad habits intentionally - it is a side effect of the learning process as a new parent. It does; however, mean that it is your job to un-teach those behaviors. (To clarify: I am talking babies here, I don't know crap about older kids. And, I'm not talking temperment - some babies are easier than others, but they all can learn habits, good and bad).
To that point, Progress is a spiral. This was especially helpful in our sleep training with the Girl. I didn't expect miracles and I knew it would take time to form the new habits we wanted. Just when you had one good night, the next night or two would be challenging. Again - take the big picture view. You are always moving in the right direction and spiraling toward the goal (not spiraling out of control!). Some days you are closer to your goal, and some days you are farther away, but you are always making progress and will eventually get there.
Easier said than done sometimes.
Now, though, we have a daughter who is an excellent sleeper at 17 weeks. (Ten hours last night - Hallelujah!). I have confidence that our early decisions resulted in the desired outcome over time.
As someone who likes things to be predictable, I have now grudgingly admitted that we need to move her schedule around again. The 3-hour schedule isn't ideal for a 4-month-old, so I hope my planning again gets us to the new desired goal. The only predictable thing about parenting is that it always changes.
Stay tuned ...
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Pacifiers
I wasn't sure about using a pacifier, but the tiny piece of plastic has become a new best friend. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends them to reduce the incidence of SIDS, but also says to wait to introduce them until 1 month of age if mom is breastfeeding.
We started with the Soothie pacifier (at about 3 weeks) because the hospital uses them and I heard that a lot of people loved them. While the Girl sucked on it just fine, it is pretty heavy and kept falling out of her mouth. We quickly got to playing the game of putting her to sleep with the pacifier and it falling out seconds later. Plus, it is round and easily rolls out of the crib and on to the floor.
We had been given other pacifiers as gifts and I was contemplating trying another one when some good friends confirmed that babies really need a "pacifier try-out". They told me to buy several different kinds and have the Girl try them - they said she would just "slurp" in the one she liked best. Who knew?
At 8 weeks we finally had the trial. We started with the RazBaby Keep-it-Kleen because we had them. A HUGE improvement over the Soothie, but kind of hard to put in her mouth with only one hand. After trying the Mamm, Avent, Gerber and Gerber Nuk .... the winner is ... Gerber Nuk!
It used to be that the Girl would wake up around 5:00am and we would try to give her the paci to buy a few more minutes of sleep. It might have worked for 3 minutes. The first morning with the Nuk, it bought us over an HOUR. Worth a million bucks!
We started with the Soothie pacifier (at about 3 weeks) because the hospital uses them and I heard that a lot of people loved them. While the Girl sucked on it just fine, it is pretty heavy and kept falling out of her mouth. We quickly got to playing the game of putting her to sleep with the pacifier and it falling out seconds later. Plus, it is round and easily rolls out of the crib and on to the floor.
We had been given other pacifiers as gifts and I was contemplating trying another one when some good friends confirmed that babies really need a "pacifier try-out". They told me to buy several different kinds and have the Girl try them - they said she would just "slurp" in the one she liked best. Who knew?
At 8 weeks we finally had the trial. We started with the RazBaby Keep-it-Kleen because we had them. A HUGE improvement over the Soothie, but kind of hard to put in her mouth with only one hand. After trying the Mamm, Avent, Gerber and Gerber Nuk .... the winner is ... Gerber Nuk!
It used to be that the Girl would wake up around 5:00am and we would try to give her the paci to buy a few more minutes of sleep. It might have worked for 3 minutes. The first morning with the Nuk, it bought us over an HOUR. Worth a million bucks!
Nipple Confusion
My general opinion is that nipple confusion is a bunch of hooey. I'm not a doctor or a lactation consultant, but I think the majority of children will be able to transition between the breast, bottle and pacifier if given the opportunity at the right time. (And my pediatrician agrees, thankyouverymuch).
I've certainly read and heard about kids who refuse all bottles, or only take one obscure bottle or pacifier, but I don't think that will be true for most.
Let me tell you about my experience with the Girl (or, a case series of 1).
We didn't start a bottle or pacifier until about 3 weeks old. We chose not to give her a pacifier in the hospital, but really it was just a snap decision. "Do you want her to have a pacifier or not?" they asked. Not, we said. There was no good reasoning behind this decision. It did help, however, that the Girl was so content and didn't require much pacifying.
We were fortunate that she latched and fed well pretty quickly. By the time we were home from the hospital most feedings went OK, and by the end of the first week we were on our way.
We introduced the bottle at about 3 weeks. Despite much hemming and hawing on my part, she did just fine - sucked it down. She did fine when we changed bottle types on her about a week later - didn't even act like she noticed. Once baby is feeding effectively (baby is gaining weight and peeing and pooping well), I wouldn't hesitate to introduce a bottle. My breastfeeding class said for Mom to leave the house when Dad gives the first bottle of breastmilk because the baby can smell the Mom. Again, I vote hooey.
I held off on the pacifier until after the bottle. Again, not for any good reason, but because she didn't really seem to need it. Eventually it came to be that the Girl liked to wake from her naps early and it was a little difficult to get her back to sleep. The pacifier really seemed to help with these sleep transitions.
She still transitions among all three with ease.
I've certainly read and heard about kids who refuse all bottles, or only take one obscure bottle or pacifier, but I don't think that will be true for most.
Let me tell you about my experience with the Girl (or, a case series of 1).
We didn't start a bottle or pacifier until about 3 weeks old. We chose not to give her a pacifier in the hospital, but really it was just a snap decision. "Do you want her to have a pacifier or not?" they asked. Not, we said. There was no good reasoning behind this decision. It did help, however, that the Girl was so content and didn't require much pacifying.
We were fortunate that she latched and fed well pretty quickly. By the time we were home from the hospital most feedings went OK, and by the end of the first week we were on our way.
We introduced the bottle at about 3 weeks. Despite much hemming and hawing on my part, she did just fine - sucked it down. She did fine when we changed bottle types on her about a week later - didn't even act like she noticed. Once baby is feeding effectively (baby is gaining weight and peeing and pooping well), I wouldn't hesitate to introduce a bottle. My breastfeeding class said for Mom to leave the house when Dad gives the first bottle of breastmilk because the baby can smell the Mom. Again, I vote hooey.
I held off on the pacifier until after the bottle. Again, not for any good reason, but because she didn't really seem to need it. Eventually it came to be that the Girl liked to wake from her naps early and it was a little difficult to get her back to sleep. The pacifier really seemed to help with these sleep transitions.
She still transitions among all three with ease.
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