I know a few people having their first babies, which gives me the chance to give advice - everyone loves to give advice, right? My main advice is to have the birth you want, and if that doesn't happen, accept the birth you have. i was lucky to have a great pregnancy, great labor (although she almost arrived before the midwife), great birth. and i know my way of birthing is not for everyone, but i hope that some of the advice i can give could help every new mama. for example, no one needs a changing table and how uncomfortable is it anyway to change a baby sideways?? it also gives me a chance to share my absolute favorite (and not so favorite) baby products.
favorites:
1. earth mama angel baby - anything. particularly the nipple butter. its safe for baby, so you can put it on and breast feed right away, and it doesn't make you stick to breast pads (OW! lanisoh does), it smells pretty good, and it isn't super gunky like lanisoh where you have to wash your hands and get all the greasy off. i also found their bottom balm to be a major life saver. we don't need to go into details, but common sense: something large comes out of something small and you end up incredibly sore, among other issues. this stuff smells minty good and is super cooling, like sitting on an ice pack. or like icy hot without the hot and without the funky smell. loves!
2. burts bees baby bath - i just got a little package of it for xmas but it smells so nice, i want to bathe in it always. same for the arbonne bath soak - it reminds me of the post-birth bath my midwife made for me (full of cloves, sea salt, and secret ingredients!) and baby and i can both bathe in it! the earth mama angel baby bath soak is pretty nice too!
3. california baby diaper cream - i like this much better than desitin or bourdeaux's butt paste. it doesn't have that weird butt paste smell or color and isn't super thick that you can't smear it on easily. and it works. granted, her lack of any sort of real diaper rash ever may be due to the cloth diapers (and she gets changed much more frequently b/c she absolutely can't stand being the slightest bit wet), but we've never had a diaper rash problem. but if we do - we are ready to go with hospital grade triple paste.
4. little remedies cradle cap lotion - it kind of smells, but you wash it out right after and it gets rid of the cradle cap really easily (which is good, b/c otherwise i pick at it. and you're not supposed to). and its almost completely natural. i found it while i was looking for gentle naturals cradle cap lotion, but couldn't find that anywhere. this is probably the same ingredients and works well.
*almost everything we put on her i try to keep organic, all natural. but, we do occasionally go for the medicinal - a friend at the hospital gave us some anti-fungal power bc/ she had terrible sores in her neck rolls where milk would get in and stay wet (gross, right? it smelled really bad too), which got rid of it almost immediately. we're crunchy, but not to the point of risking her well-being or comfort even. tylenol goes a long way with a teething baby. but so does clove powder and glycerin rubbed on her gums.
things i wish i had known about:
1. lily pads - they're like breast pads that never leak. leaking milk is by far the worst thing ever. and on occasion still happens to me. like saturday at a party with about a billion strangers around and no change of clothes. embarassing? yes. but i used the baby as a human shield for the wet spot and luckily had on a black shirt. crisis averted.
2. hands-free breast pump - i guess i knew about it, but didn't think i would need/want it? or maybe i thought it wouldn't last. but the ability to do things without having to hold onto bottles while pumping would be so nice.
3. temporal thermometer - i knew about it, i just didn't get one. and now i'm wishing i had. bc/ the crappy little underarm thing we got sucks. its slow. she doesn't want to be forced to hold her arm down. its not precise. i hate it.
other things i hate:
1. johnsons and johnsons - anything. i think they're lotion stinks. i realize its the classic "baby" smell, but i don't like it. but maybe i'm biased b/c i prefer all natural stuff. not that i think they have tons of chemicals in their products, i mean, people have used them for years! but maybe THATS the cause for the rise in autism. right? anyway, i just have some weird mental bias against it.
2. lanisoh - boob cream and wipes. but i think i made that clear.
i'm on a quest for a good skin lotion for her. she's starting to get chapped from drooling. i've heard weleda is good, so i might try that out.we've been using arbonne for baby (ABC) sunblock. i don't really have any complaints, but its really thick, so hard to rub in (especially on her bald little head), but i used it on myself and like it - less greasy and no sunburn! but i'm thinking she and i might need something a little stronger than SPF 30. she's already been sunburned once, i'd hate for it to happend again.especially with soccer starting and the weather being so nice - she'll be outside a lot. hopefully her father remembers to lotion her up!
my computer is working again, so i can start adding pictures (yea!). hopefully next post....
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