Sorry for the delay!
6. We have an old faded lava lamp on at night in JJ’s bedroom. I think I may have been given it as a 21st present. But it’s perfect – puts out just the right amount of light so JJ can see where he is if he wakes up, and I can see well enough to feed and change him in the middle of the night without turning on the bright light and waking him up too much. No need to go and spend money on a fancy nightlight for baby’s room (although there are some very cool nightlights out there).
7. Socks. We have inherited several pairs of booties, and were knitted one very cute pair (by someone who I’m 99% sure won’t read the blog!) – but I’m afraid to say booties just don’t stay on, so we don’t bother with them. On the other hand, we have been given lots of socks, by the Oldhams and Rachel Fromont – and they’re magic! So if you want to make sure baby’s feet stay warm, don’t bother with booties, go for elasticated socks all the way.
8. Now that I’m getting out and about more with JJ and breastfeeding in public fairly often, I have to say every new mother should have at least a couple maternity singlets. You can breastfeed discreetly and the bottom bit of the singlet hides your wobbly post-baby belly :-) I have 2 (thanks Mum and Dad!) and plan on getting another 3 or so because I can tell I’m going to live in them come summertime. The other breastfeeding essential has been washable booby pads from Foxybots because I have, shall we say, a plentiful supply, and need something a bit more substantial than the disposable breast pads. Plus I figured if I’m going to be doing this for a year or so, and washing all the time with the nappies anyway, then it makes sense – and works out much cheaper – to be using cloth pads!
9. The internet! I don’t know what everyone did before information was so accessible. In particular I never knew YouTube was such a mine of helpful baby information, from how to settle a baby by swaddling and rocking, how to use a hairdryer to settle baby (it really works! So do a vacuum cleaner and running taps), the cutest and cosiest way to swaddle a newborn, to how to understand babies cries (Dunstan Baby Language, highly recommended, even if you only learn the ‘I’m hungry’ cry!).
(Disclaimer here – the best way of settling a baby is to learn tired and hungry signs, so you feed them when they’re hungry, make sure they have a clean nappy and aren’t too hot or cold, and put them down to sleep as soon as they’re tired. But if they’re overtired and scratchy, then white noise is great.)
Plus countless websites giving information on everything baby related, and website forums where I have gotten to know other mums with babies the same age as JJ – so helpful to share information, know that everybody goes through the same stuff, and have people to chat with any time, even the middle of the night when more than one of you are up feeding a newborn. I’m not telling you which baby website is my favourite because you might find our chat thread, and us girls share some pretty personal details with each other :-)
10. Last but definitely not least, the other absolute baby essential is being able to rely on your friends and family. Having meals in the freezer ready to go (thanks Tania, Anna, and Karen), having some help around the house be it tidying books (thanks Bridget and Kelly) or cleaning the yucky bathroom (thanks Clare), or adult company, even just the occasional supportive phone call, email or text message (thanks everybody!), it really makes a huge difference to how you cope.
JJ-specific update: He is now 5.4kg and 58.5cm long. He continues to be a happy and healthy baby. We took him away for the weekend for the first time with very little drama, although he pooed three times as often as usual (just because I decided to continue using cloth the whole time, except in the car), and refused to sleep in his car seat for the 4 hour drive both there and back, so got a bit overtired and grumpy by the end of each car trip. We have a little routine going, I think JJ and I understand each other quite well! Best of all he consistently sleeps at least 7 hours overnight and usually longer (last night’s 10 hours was a new record).
6. We have an old faded lava lamp on at night in JJ’s bedroom. I think I may have been given it as a 21st present. But it’s perfect – puts out just the right amount of light so JJ can see where he is if he wakes up, and I can see well enough to feed and change him in the middle of the night without turning on the bright light and waking him up too much. No need to go and spend money on a fancy nightlight for baby’s room (although there are some very cool nightlights out there).
7. Socks. We have inherited several pairs of booties, and were knitted one very cute pair (by someone who I’m 99% sure won’t read the blog!) – but I’m afraid to say booties just don’t stay on, so we don’t bother with them. On the other hand, we have been given lots of socks, by the Oldhams and Rachel Fromont – and they’re magic! So if you want to make sure baby’s feet stay warm, don’t bother with booties, go for elasticated socks all the way.
8. Now that I’m getting out and about more with JJ and breastfeeding in public fairly often, I have to say every new mother should have at least a couple maternity singlets. You can breastfeed discreetly and the bottom bit of the singlet hides your wobbly post-baby belly :-) I have 2 (thanks Mum and Dad!) and plan on getting another 3 or so because I can tell I’m going to live in them come summertime. The other breastfeeding essential has been washable booby pads from Foxybots because I have, shall we say, a plentiful supply, and need something a bit more substantial than the disposable breast pads. Plus I figured if I’m going to be doing this for a year or so, and washing all the time with the nappies anyway, then it makes sense – and works out much cheaper – to be using cloth pads!
9. The internet! I don’t know what everyone did before information was so accessible. In particular I never knew YouTube was such a mine of helpful baby information, from how to settle a baby by swaddling and rocking, how to use a hairdryer to settle baby (it really works! So do a vacuum cleaner and running taps), the cutest and cosiest way to swaddle a newborn, to how to understand babies cries (Dunstan Baby Language, highly recommended, even if you only learn the ‘I’m hungry’ cry!).
(Disclaimer here – the best way of settling a baby is to learn tired and hungry signs, so you feed them when they’re hungry, make sure they have a clean nappy and aren’t too hot or cold, and put them down to sleep as soon as they’re tired. But if they’re overtired and scratchy, then white noise is great.)
Plus countless websites giving information on everything baby related, and website forums where I have gotten to know other mums with babies the same age as JJ – so helpful to share information, know that everybody goes through the same stuff, and have people to chat with any time, even the middle of the night when more than one of you are up feeding a newborn. I’m not telling you which baby website is my favourite because you might find our chat thread, and us girls share some pretty personal details with each other :-)
10. Last but definitely not least, the other absolute baby essential is being able to rely on your friends and family. Having meals in the freezer ready to go (thanks Tania, Anna, and Karen), having some help around the house be it tidying books (thanks Bridget and Kelly) or cleaning the yucky bathroom (thanks Clare), or adult company, even just the occasional supportive phone call, email or text message (thanks everybody!), it really makes a huge difference to how you cope.
JJ-specific update: He is now 5.4kg and 58.5cm long. He continues to be a happy and healthy baby. We took him away for the weekend for the first time with very little drama, although he pooed three times as often as usual (just because I decided to continue using cloth the whole time, except in the car), and refused to sleep in his car seat for the 4 hour drive both there and back, so got a bit overtired and grumpy by the end of each car trip. We have a little routine going, I think JJ and I understand each other quite well! Best of all he consistently sleeps at least 7 hours overnight and usually longer (last night’s 10 hours was a new record).
Photo of the day: international baby (the bodysuit in this pic came all the way from Norway, courtesy of my parents' exchange student and her family)
1 comment:
I seem to remember that Suzanne and Scott gave you that lava lamp for your 21st, Rachael. I think they would be delighted you are using it in Jeremy's room!
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