Baby Tip by Babble Soft – Co-sleeping
Aug 30 2007

I know that people have strong opinions about co-sleeping but we found a happy medium.  I strongly recommend using a co-sleeper that attaches/sits next to your bed for several months after baby is born.  We used the Arm’s Reach Original Co-sleeper with both of our children.  With our son we placed it right next to our bed.  First on my husband’s side because I was recovering from a c-section so when he was hungry my husband would give him to me so I could breastfeed him.  Later we moved it back to my side but I wasn’t able to get any sleep because he moved so much so we moved him back to my husband’s side. 

Our son was in the co-sleeper for probably close to 8 months.  We started transitioning him to the crib around 6 months but it took us about 8 months to get him used to his crib.  For several months he woke up so often that it was easier for us to keep him in our room. (This waking up every few hours sadly continued until he was over 3 years old…he still wakes up to this day.)  

When our daughter was born, we put the co-sleeper at the foot of the bed (because we had a different bedframe and there was no footboard).  This minimized the disturbances from movement that all of us experienced.  She slept so well that we transitioned her to the crib at about 5 months.  She is still a dreamy sleeper.  Thank GOODNESS!  The Co-sleeper also makes a great pack-n-play which we have used often.  We still use it when we have visitors (because they stay in the guest room where her crib is) or when we go stay overnight with people who don’t have a crib or pack-n-play for her to use.  It’s easy to assemble…not so easy for me to break down…but the positives drastically overwhelm the breaking down challenges.  If you are thinking of co-sleeping, I encourage you to get a co-sleeper.  Some people are comfortable sleeping with a baby in their bed but personally, I was downright nervous or shall we say petrified that one of us or the pillows/blankets would accidentally hurt them.

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Note to new readers: these tips are based on our experiences, as well as those of our friends and readers. Please always consult with your doctor before implementing any tip that might impact the health of your baby. If you have a tip you’d like to submit please send an email to babblesoft blogger for possible inclusion. Please check the ‘baby tips’ category to make sure your tip (in some form or fashion) hasn’t already been posted. If it has been, feel free to comment on that post and support the tip. We also welcome respectful challenges to the tips because as is noted in our inaugural baby tip ‘everything is relative!’ We will, of course, give anyone who submits a tip we publish credit and a link back to their site!

Baby Tip by Babble Soft – Birthday Cards
Aug 23 2007

Since this blog is supposed to be about babies, parenthood, and business I figured it was about time to post a baby tip.   Interestingly, one of the top most read baby tips has been the one on Increasing Milk Supply.  I never thought so many people would be searching on “beer and increasing breastmilk supply!”  I was surprised to say the least because I hadn’t heard of drinking beer when I nursed my babies a few years ago, plus I’m not a beer drinker.  I think it has helped my cousin because the last time I spoke with her she was down to one formula supplement a day. 🙂

I was reminded of this tip while planning our son’s birthday party and from attending several others in the last few weeks.   I tend to get birthday gifts a few days before the day of the party and I invariably forget to get a card for the birthday boy/girl.  I think I purposefully forget because I just can’t bring myself to spend $3.00 to $4.00 on a card that will most likely be thrown away (hopefully recycled).  A few years ago I discovered DLTK’s Custom Greeting Cards made by DLTK-Kids.  The site is a bit cheesy at times, but within minutes I can print out a Spiderman, Batman, Princess, Dinosaur, Powerpuff, whatever card with a personalized greeting.  They also have custom matching envelopes.  When we are scrambling out of the door and I realize I need something to put the gift receipt in, I always turn to DLTK.  It’s fast, it’s easy, and most importantly it’s FREE (if you don’t count the cost of paper and ink).

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Note to new readers: these tips are based on our experiences, as well as those of our friends and readers.  Please always consult with your doctor before implementing any tip that might impact the health of your baby.  If you have a tip you’d like to submit please send an email to babblesoft blogger for possible inclusion.  Please check the ‘baby tips’ category to make sure your tip (in some form or fashion) hasn’t already been posted.  If it has been, feel free to comment on that post and support the tip.  We also welcome respectful challenges to the tips because as is noted in our inaugural baby tip ‘everything is relative!’  We will, of course, give anyone who submits a tip we publish credit and a link back to their site!

Baby Tip by Babble Soft – Increasing Milk Supply
Aug 9 2007

When helping my cousin with her new baby during my trip to NYC, I was reminded of some tips to increase milk supply.  When my first was born, my milk didn’t come in until over 10-14 days later.  I was recovering from an emergency c-section and was exhausted.  I was so distressed that I wasn’t able to provide enough food for my son that I often broke down in tears.  When he was a week or so old, my mom, husband, and I took him to a local mother’s store and with the help of a wonderful lactation consultant I weighed him, fed him, and weighed him again.  I freaked out because he weighed exactly the same as before!  Talk about feeling like a bad mommy.  However, after a few minutes we all realized that we had forgotten to put his socks back on when we weighed him the second time, and he had actually gained some weight!  Phew!  I can laugh about it now but boy at the moment…

Well-meaning lactation consultants and nurses told me repeatedly that I shouldn’t supplement.   I felt guilty (ugh!) about doing it, but I had to and I’m glad I did.  A few weeks later once my milk was in we no longer needed to supplement.  When my daughter was born, I had no qualms about supplementing the first couple of weeks of her life because I knew with certainty she would breastfeed exclusively and it gave me some time to recover a bit faster.  This time my milk came in within 3 to 5 days.  So here are some ideas from my experience and my cousin’s:

Fenugreek. This seed is commonly used in pill form to increase milk supply.  Fortunately for me, it is often used in Sri Lankan and Indian cooking and since my mom was here the first couple of weeks my kids were born I got to eat lots of tasty curries cooked with fenugreek.  I’m convinced this is what helped bring my milk in faster.  I’ll never know for certain but it was a yummy endeavor nonetheless!

Dark beer.  My cousin was advised to drink dark beer to help increase her supply.  We were both discussing how it was too bad that she wasn’t advised to drink a lot of red wine…which we both love.

Garlic.  I also ate a little more garlic than normal in the curries my mother made, but I have heard that some people will eat so much that their milk starts smelling like garlic!  They say that babies like the flavor/smell of garlic in their mother’s milk so they suck harder and eat more.  Go figure!

Whole grains/Oatmeal.  I’m not sure how this works but it’s probably related to why dark beer is helpful.

Rest. Sleep. Warm Showers.  Although it’s very hard to get any rest those first several weeks home, it’s probably what the body needs most to help stimulate milk production.  When you sleep, relax, and rest your body has time to make milk without added stress.  Stress has been shown to decrease milk supply because your body is using it’s energy for things other than making milk!

Aruni

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Note to new readers: these tips are based on our experiences, as well as those of our friends and readers.  Please always consult with your doctor before implementing any tip that might impact the health of your baby.  If you have a tip you’d like to submit please send an email to babblesoft blogger for possible inclusion.  Please check the ‘baby tips’ category to make sure your tip (in some form or fashion) hasn’t already been posted.  If it has been, feel free to comment on that post and support the tip.  We also welcome respectful challenges to the tips because as is noted in our inaugural baby tip ‘everything is relative!’  We will, of course, give anyone who submits a tip we publish credit and a link back to their site!

Baby Tip by Babble Soft – Babies (or Snakes) on a Plane!
Jul 30 2007

I was reminded of this tip during my trip to NYC.  I’ve only recently begun traveling more without the kids.  So far my husband and I have always been together when traveling with them making it more manageable.  While on the flight to NYC there was a baby boy who looked anywhere between 14 and 21 months old flying as a lap child.  He was screaming and crying non-stop for the first 30 minutes of the flight resulting in looks of annoyance from nearby passengers.  Those of us who have kids looked on with sympathy. 

After a while, I passed up a mostly empty box of white tic tacs which when shaken miraculously calmed him down.  It was the only thing I had in my purse that I knew my kids loved to play with.  My kids are old enough to eat them now, but we often used them as mini-shakers when they were younger to distract them.  His father passed it back after a while when the baby had gone to sleep, but I don’t think he or his wife realized it came from me.  Of course after the baby woke up he started screaming again just before we landed.  I again passed the tic tac box up and again the baby calmed down.  I did not receive the box back and the family I guess decided to take the box with them which I was hoping they would do given it worked for their baby at least two times.

Other easy things to do or keep handy when traveling with a baby (especially on take off and landing to help them clear their ears):

• breastfeed or bottle feed (my husband helped me breastfeed on a plane by holding up a blanket or re-positioning it if the baby kicked it off, which happened often)

• give her/him a pacifier

• give him/her a small lollipop to suck on (only if they are old enough to eat hard candy!)

Happy flying!

P.S.  In case you are not in the US and didn’t see all the hype about the movie Snakes on a Plane, rest assured I was trying to be funny when I say (or Snakes) in the title. 😀

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Note to new readers: these tips are based on our experiences, as well as those of our friends and readers.  Please always consult with your doctor before implementing any tip that might impact the health of your baby.  If you have a tip you’d like to submit please send an email to babblesoft blogger for possible inclusion.  Please check the ‘baby tips’ category to make sure your tip (in some form or fashion) hasn’t already been posted.  If it has been, feel free to comment on that post and support the tip.  We also welcome respectful challenges to the tips because as is noted in our inaugural baby tip ‘everything is relative!’  We will, of course, give anyone who submits a tip we publish credit and a link back to their site!

How to Swaddle a Baby: Baby Tip by Babble Soft
Jul 23 2007

Learning how to properly swaddle a baby can make life much easier in those first several weeks after your baby is born.  When we were in the hospital, the nurses could practically swaddle a baby in their sleep.  If the baby wasn’t hungry they would almost instantly calm down after they were swaddled.  It took us a few weeks to master the technique because our kids always seemed to wriggle out of their swaddles but after a while we were pros.  You’d think we would remember the fine art of swaddling after having our first but with 2 1/2 years between them we had to re-learn the technique.  After a few months, they would break loose because they did not want to be swaddled anymore.  Parents.com has some nice illustrations on how to swaddle your baby using The Quick Wrap or The Burrito Roll style.  If you are looking for some great blankets to swaddle your baby in, check out Mr. Bobbles’ Blankets!  From now until the end of July you will get a coupon code for 10% off of purchases at Mr Bobbles’ Blankets with any purchase of a Baby Manager subscription!

Our daughter with a professional nurse swaddle a day or so after she was born:

 Our daughter in her co-sleeper at home with a not-so-professional swaddle.�
We called her the one armed sleeping bandit. 🙂
 

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Note to new readers: these tips are based on our experiences, as well as those of our friends and readers.  Please always consult with your doctor before implementing any tip that might impact the health of your baby.  If you have a tip you’d like to submit please send an email to babblesoft blogger for possible inclusion.  Please check the ‘baby tips’ category to make sure your tip (in some form or fashion) hasn’t already been posted.  If it has been, feel free to comment on that post and support the tip.  We also welcome respectful challenges to the tips because as is noted in our inaugural baby tip ‘everything is relative!’  We will, of course, give anyone who submits a tip we publish credit and a link back to their site!

Baby Tip by Babble Soft – Sleeping – July 16, 2007
Jul 16 2007

Learn how to sleep standing up.  Just kidding!  I found that when I was tired and our son didn’t want to be put down right after feeding, that laying him on my chest would relax us both.  I was always nervous wherever he slept when he was a newborn but when he was on my chest and I knew he wasn’t going to fall off I could rest a bit easier.  I’m not sure I ever really fell asleep but I knew that if he needed me I was right there. 🙂

Aruni

Picture my husband took of me and our son when he was just a few weeks old:

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Note to new readers: these tips are based on our experiences, as well as those of our friends and readers.  Please always consult with your doctor before implementing any tip that might impact the health of your baby.  If you have a tip you’d like to submit please send an email to babblesoft blogger for possible inclusion.  Please check the ‘baby tips’ category to make sure your tip (in some form or fashion) hasn’t already been posted.  If it has been, feel free to comment on that post and support the tip.  We also welcome respectful challenges to the tips because as is noted in our inaugural baby tip ‘everything is relative!’  We will, of course, give anyone who submits a tip we publish credit and a link back to their site!

Breastfeeding Tip: Use Two Boppy Pillows – Baby Tip by Babble Soft
Jul 9 2007

Here’s a tip on breastfeeding a newborn:  Use TWO boppies.  When I had my son in 2002, I received a boppy (breastfeeding pillow) at my baby shower.  I really liked using it but discovered that I often had to put cushions or pillows beneath it to get our newborn son at a comfortable position for feeding.  The cushions would slip out or somehow (I don’t know how) he would kick them out.  I would then find myself hunching over and my back aching a bit after a while.  When my daughter was born in 2005, I received another one and happened to try stacking them and putting them both around my waist.  It was great!  Since I’m a bit short-waisted having the two breastfeeding pillows made me sit up straight thereby forcing me to maintain good posture (a plus).  Having two boppies was helpful to me in the cradle, cross-cradle, and football positions.  In the football position, I would put both boppies stacked on each other to my right or left and then I would place my daughter with her head toward me and her body/feet behind me resting on one of the sides of the boppy.  I used two for the first probably 12-16 weeks of her life.

Of course it’s not that easy to take a boppy with you when you are breastfeeding/nursing-in-public so on those occassions I propped them on our big, fat diaper bag because I always had it handy. 😉

If you can’t afford another boppy, try to find a really sturdy/hard cushion that you can place under the boppy for the football position.  You’d have to find two slightly firm cushions if you want to use them for the cradle and cross-cradle positions.  You can also ask a friend if they are done with their boppy…I just gave one of ours away to a friend.  We also used our boppy for tummy time, sitting support, and all sorts of fun things that I’m sure you are not supposed to use it for. 🙂

Aruni

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Note to new readers: these tips are based on our experiences, as well as those of our friends and readers.  Please always consult with your doctor before implementing any tip that might impact the health of your baby.  If you have a tip you’d like to submit please send an email to babblesoft blogger for possible inclusion.  Please check the ‘baby tips’ category to make sure your tip (in some form or fashion) hasn’t already been posted.  If it has been, feel free to comment on that post and support the tip.  We also welcome respectful challenges to the tips because as is noted in our inaugural baby tip ‘everything is relative!’  We will, of course, give anyone who submits a tip we publish credit and a link back to their site!

Use a Liner When Changing Diapers – Baby Advice by Babble Soft
Jul 2 2007

For the newbie parents out there, here’s a tip on diaper changing: use a liner on top of your changing pad/cover for those inevitable messy situations.  It will help you avoid having to wash your changing pad cover 5 times per day.  We had 2 changing pad covers (terry cloth) with our son and 3 with our daughter and let me tell you if you don’t have a liner you will be doing laundry twice a day!  We used PeeWees Disposable Multi-Use Pads and found them to be thin enough to put on top of a changing pad, easy enough to take with us when we were traveling, and very cost effective.  They were so useful that you might even want to check out the 3-pak because you’ll probably need them for at least the first 6 months of baby’s life.  😯

Aruni

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As a reminder, these tips are based on our experiences, as well as those of our friends and readers.  Please always consult with your doctor before implementing any tip that might impact the health of your baby.  If you have a tip you’d like to submit please send an email to babblesoft blogger for possible inclusion.  Please check the ‘baby tips’ category to make sure your tip (in some form or fashion) hasn’t already been posted.  If it has been, feel free to comment on that post and support the tip.  We also welcome respectful challenges to the tips because as is noted in our inaugural baby tip ‘everything is relative!’  We will, of course, give anyone who submits a tip we publish credit and a link back to their site!

Baby Sleep Ideas – Baby Advice by Babble Soft
Jun 25 2007

Many seasoned parents probably know this: When all else fails to calm your baby down (i.e., mylicon drops, gripe water, walking around the house a million times (with your baby next to your chest, in a sling, on your shoulder, or on your back), putting your baby on a running clothes dryer, standing by the refrigerator in a semi-comatose state, yelling at your partner, yelling at yourself, yelling at your baby, all sorts of herbal/homeopathic medicines, giving him/her a pacifier, giving him/her food (bottle or breast), and/or pinching yourself, try a) putting your baby in the car and driving around or b) walk outside.

Several people will tell you (they told us) that putting your baby in a car and driving them around would create bad sleeping habits.  We finally figured out we were screwed no matter what we did since our son (who is now 4 1/2) was born with the questionable ability to sleep so driving him around so that he could fall sleep would calm us down and in more cases than not put him to sleep so we wouldn’t totally lose it.   Driving around in the car was a much better solution for us than being in the same room with him while we were extremely sleep deprived and irritable (caution: don’t drive when you think you too might fall asleep!).  If you feel sleepy and your baby has fallen asleep stop the car somewhere safe and take a nap yourself.  If you are close to home see if you can take your baby out of the car (keep him/her in their car seat), bring him/her inside and crash on the nearest couch.

Several well meaning folks might also tell you that you shouldn’t take your baby outside when it’s cold.  Here in Texas it doesn’t get cold too often, but we found even on cold days taking him outside for 2-5 minutes made him look around and calm down.  The only trouble with this tactic is he would cry for a bit when we first walked outside making us (or mainly me) worry about waking the neighbors!  Thankfully, our daughter was born a wonderful sleeper because otherwise I might not have survived to write this tip!

Aruni

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As a reminder, these tips are based on our experiences, as well as those of our friends and readers.  Please always consult with your doctor before implementing any tip that might impact the health of your baby.  If you have a tip you’d like to submit please send an email to babblesoft blogger for possible inclusion.  Please check the ‘baby tips’ category to make sure your tip (in some form or fashion) hasn’t already been posted.  If it has been, feel free to comment on that post and support the tip.  We also welcome respectful challenges to the tips because as is noted in our ‘inaugural’ baby tip ‘everything is relative!’  We will, of course, give anyone who submits a tip we publish credit and a link back to their site!

Listen to Yourself: Baby Tips and Advice by Babble Soft
Jun 18 2007

I have been thinking about publishing a series of interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, hopefully useful Baby Tips by Babble Soft for quite some time.  Now that I’ve started to get the hang of blogging, I thought this would be the perfect time to start.  Keep in mind these are based on our experiences, as well as those of our friends and readers.  Please always consult with your doctor before implementing any tips that might impact the health of your baby.  If you have a tip you’d like to submit please send an email to babblesoft blogger for possible inclusion.  Please check the ‘baby tips’ category to make sure your tip (in some form or fashion) hasn’t already been posted.  If it has been, feel free to comment on that post and support the tip.  We also welcome respectful challenges to the tips because as is noted in our ‘inaugral’ baby tip below ‘everything is relative!’  We will, of course, give anyone who submits a tip we publish credit and link back to their site!

Now here comes the inaugural Baby Tip by Babble Soft:

No matter what advice, tips, coercing, guilt trips, or loaded suggestions you receive, trust your gut/mind/heart above all else (unless of course you have a track record like George Costanza on Seinfeld and in that case do the opposite!).  In 99% [not verified, just something I thought would emphasize the point] of cases, new parents wish they had followed their thoughts/feelings about a stressful situation instead of acting blindly on the advice of friends, family, strangers, health care professionals, or innocent bystanders.  You and your baby are unique, the situation in your home, the situation with your spouse, and the situation with your family is also unique and there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution.  So if all the books in the world tell you to let your baby cry his lungs out and your gut tells you ‘this doesn’t feel right,’ then pick him up.  On the other hand if all the books in the world tell you to carry your baby 24/7 and you are about to have a nervous breakdown, put her down and take the break your mind/body is telling you that you need.  Make sense?  This tip is probably the hardest to implement and follow…but try to keep it in mind in between feeding, napping, eating, going to the bathroom, cleaning dishes, pumping, doing laundry, and changing diapers. 🙂