what are you planning to have on-hand for your NB? - Page 3

[lrlittle]

DH still laughs about the time he walked in the room and I showed him how I had every possible bodily fluid on or around me and the baby. There was blood, drool, breastmilk, pee, and poop. Niiiiiiice.

Which reminds me...if you're going to use a Boppy, have an extra cover for it, also. Mine got really messy and stained.

[Julia24]

OMG - you guys have me laughing SO hard over here. That's the perfect way to summarize- should you laugh or should you cry? :Lol

ENJOY IT!!!!! I promise you you'll look back at that time with such warm feelings - even though you are probably a mess during that time. (I remember bursting into tears, bc baby spit out like 1 tbsp of milk and I had so little supply - it was like GOLD! Or the first time I tried to pump and it was on 'high' and I didn't know it - THAT was an amazing moment...to see the milk squirting on high volume - YIKES! ) I guess I should be thankful? I didn't have leaky boobs?????

[dani76]

This a great thread. I second the witch hazel pads for afterwards. Aaahhhhh. And eating fiber rich foods and drinking tons of water so when you poop for the first time, it will be somewhat easy. I remember being so scared to go to the bathroom. LOL But I had a few stitches.

Change them quickly too. I took my time once, and Eleanor ended up shooting poop onto the wall. That was funny. Clean under their necks regularly (a lot) as the spit up and milk will collect in there. And it is stanky.

[texmati]

oh gosh! I've been away for a few days and missed all this!

My mom has been insisting that I stay with her for a month after the baby is born. I didn't think I needed to... but I think you all are changing my mind.

[pageta]

I guess I'm in the minimalist clan.

I use fitted cloth diapers, so the only time poop gets on clothes is if I'm not careful when I do the diaper change. With sposies (when I've used them on vacations), every time my child poops they leak and the entire outfit needs to be changed. You so could not pay me to use disposables full-time.

As for other clothing changes due to bodily fluids such as breastmilk or spitup...I love premie Indian prefolds as spitup cloths. A dozen was sufficient for us, and we had spitters. I've never changed clothes because I had spitup or breastmilk on them. It just looks wet. My 2-year-old slobbers on me all the time. I always put on fresh clothes when I go to town. In the morning on days when I'm at home, I put on fresh clothes if there are spots I can see on my clothes from the day before. I hate wearing clothes that look like they've been washed a hundred times so I only wash my clothes when they look dirty.

So two or three sleepers and two or three onsies plus any gifts we get are about all I have to start out. My first outgrew 0-3 months stuff around 6 weeks, my second lasted until 8 weeks. With this baby, by then the season will be changing and they're not selling winter stuff here right now. So I'll buy what I need once I see how quickly baby is growing and once the clothes I'll probably need are in season and available in stores.

If I find good deals at garage sales this summer, I may buy a little more. But I'm not going to have clothing in quantities that some people on this thread have recommended.

[lisa_nc]

I've also read that eating placenta can cut down dramatically on PP flow.

[octobermoon]

Originally Posted by lisa_nc

I've also read that eating placenta can cut down dramatically on PP flow.

i'm so not sure i can do this. sorry but ewww.

[texmati]

Originally Posted by octobermoon

i'm so not sure i can do this. sorry but ewww.

count me in on this one... I've heard that it's like eating meat :, and it can help with ppd, but I'm a vegetarian and the whole things grosses me out.

is it that it has a lot of iron? Can I just take a pill instead?

[kismetbaby]

: Same here. I'm a vegetarian, but even if I weren't not sure I could do it. I know its not killing an animal or anything, but the thought just kinda freaks me out. I've heard it tastes like organ meat, so if you like liver. . .

Anyway. . .as for the NB stuff. I don't know yet! I think I will be visiting my mom the end of July and having a baby shower while there, so I don't want to buy too much before then. But then again it seems like a long time to wait till July to know if I have everything on hand. The clothes at least, I think others will want to buy (everyone loves baby clothes! and I will likely end up with cute but useless outfits. . .maybe I need to discourage this somehow).

But I'd like to have 6-12 sleepers (I kinda assume baby will live in these the first few months), two hats, dozen socks, a few onesies, 2-3 outfits, 6 receiving blankets, lots of diapers (yep, I 'm using sposies), wipes, spit-ups clothes. Haven't bought any nursing bras yet, but I will at least get some of the sleeping kind that will accommodate growing breasts.

A boppy and/or my breast friend pillow, and I assume I will be mostly home in yoga pants for a couple months. I told a friend I wouldn't leave the house till I had lost most of the pg weight. . .but I am sure I will get stir-crazy before then. We have a nice little shopping area a couple blocks from us, so as soon as I am up to it, I am sure I will be walking over there for a Jamba juice or to rummage at Ross.

[preemiemamarach]

just want to remind everyone that YOUR PP experience and YOUR baby will be different from everyone else's- my boobs never leaked, for instance- it felt like they would explode if I didn't pump on time (was an EPer, see sig), but I never needed breast pads. I also stopped bleeding before my son came home from the NICU, so no more than 2 weeks.

one thing is a constant, though- I really think babies soil clothes MUCH faster than you could possibly anticipate.

[confustication]

Honestly, I woldn't invest much in clothing for the nb period, they are out of that stuff really fast! I'm kind of a minimalist about tiny baby clothes- I just plan to do a wash every day or so. I cloth diaper as well, and never really had a problem with blowouts- it just takes some practice- I use prefolds and love a bikini twist with a decent cover.

I do suggest extra outfits for you (comfy without restrictive waists etc- the stuff that fits you now through month 7 will seem about right for most people.) Don't bother worrying about prepregnancy clothes- most women can't wear them comfortably for a while (mine fit ok within about 8 hours, but I still can't tolerate anything without stretch around my waist- I find myself wanting to LIVE in yoga pants.) Also, you may want to invest in some good breast pads, and some really ugly (but totally comfy) granny-panties.

Moving right along.... DS was born in July, he often hung around in just a diaper. If it's still hot at that point we'll likely do the same. (He was usually in a sling or wrap, adding nother layer was uncomfortable for him.) When he was dressed, it was usually in a onesie or sleeper- I didn't give a second thought to the umbilical stump, and unless I notice signs of infection, I won't again. Cleaning it seems unnecessary to me...


Have your husband start doing the laundry now so he's comfortable with it later on, and while it's nice to plan to not do anything for 2 weeks straight and just be with the baby- they sleep- a lot. Sometimes it's nice to get little things done.

[lisa_nc]

Originally Posted by octobermoon

i'm so not sure i can do this. sorry but ewww.

It grossed me out at first too, but I am going to try. My husband is gone and coming home on R&R when the baby will probably be about a month old. I kind of feel like if eating some makes me have less PPD and (hopefully) less flow, it will be worth it. I read the eating your placenta thread and some of the women have great sounding experiences. You see it in nature all the time, so it sort of makes sense to me. Worse comes to worst, I'll try it and it won't work out.

[KayleeZoo]

Honestly, I woldn't invest much in clothing for the nb period, they are out of that stuff really fast!

Totally depends on how fast your babies grow All 3 of mine wore newborn size clothes for longer than 3 months. They were in 0-3 till past 6 mos, esp. DS. I always wondered what it would be like having a baby who fit into 0-3 stuff right off the bat

The one size diapers don't fit my kids for at least 2 months after birth, either. We're the family of skinny, chicken legged newborns

[mommam]

I can't believe I forgot these two ESSENTIAL items in my earlier post:

Swaddling blankets - all babies love being swaddled in the beginning, and if you end up with a colicky baby (prayers that you don't but be prepared for it after the first 2 weeks JIC) they are godsends. Get a real swaddling size - at least 40" by 40". My mom made great ones by cutting a queen size flat sheet in 1/4s and sewing simple hems around. But you can buy pretty ones, though they are expensive. Flannel (light flannel is good even for warm weather) is best because it grips. Again, don't think regular size baby blankets will work, too small to be effective.

Happiest Baby on the Block book - read it, watch DVD if you find it; learn how to properly swaddle your lo BEFORE they are born, practice on a doll or something. I don't agree with all the doc's theories but man oh man are his soothing techniques lifesavers. And book is so short and easy to read, and make sure hubby reads it too, and anyone else who will be there helping out on a regular basis.

In case you couldn't guess, my ds1 was colicky, and these things really really helped, but I didn't find out about them until a few weeks into the hell period. They won't get rid of the colic, but will help you soothe your child no matter what they are dealing with.

Also we found infant probiotics to be very essential to treating his gas and easing colic symptoms, not to mention cutting out dairy for me - and there is no food allergy history for either of us. This time my stocked freezer (another thing I found the hard way, because you will be starving with no time to cook - forget hot meals for a while, baby senses it ) will be full of non dairy slowcooker/oven friendly food for hubby to heat.

And last, in this way too long post , check out the homebirth supply list. Long sticky in Homebirth forum, but has lots of tips for pp supplies, like honey and seaweed to help heal tears, frozen diapers for sore areas, etc.

[Julia24]

I just have to second Kaylezoo's post - my kids are ABSOLUTELY SWIMMING in 0/3m stuff for several months after birth - hell, Grace is 3.5 and still wears 18m bottoms some of the time!!! She even has some 12m shorts that still work

[confustication]

Originally Posted by KayleeZoo

Totally depends on how fast your babies grow All 3 of mine wore newborn size clothes for longer than 3 months. They were in 0-3 till past 6 mos, esp. DS. I always wondered what it would be like having a baby who fit into 0-3 stuff right off the bat

The one size diapers don't fit my kids for at least 2 months after birth, either. We're the family of skinny, chicken legged newborns

lol- I have to admit that DS wan't out of nb for ages- but he was a tiny/preemie sort of baby who barely fit into nb to begin with.

[acemama]

Didn't anyone tell you first timers that the newborn phase is such a sexy time for mama? With leaky diapers and spit up from baby and leaky breasts and bleeding from mom? I've never felt so better about myself as when I'm leaking, baby is leaking and I can't even get a shower in for the day Oh, I can't wait!

[mkksmom]

Wow! With my daughter, Newborn stuff fit for mybe a coupld of weeks. She was out of 0-3 months by 2 months old, she was in 6-9 months by the time she was 5 months old, and was in 12 months by the time she was 7 months old. Then she stayed there until after her first birthday. She was in 18 months until she was 2 and is now going to be 5 in June and wears a 4 T, but some 3T's still fit. They are so unpredictable!

[bright_eyes]

I still laugh at my experience with ds and newborn clothes. People told me that newborns will be swimming in 0-3 month size, so to make sure I bring clothes that say 'newborn' on them to the hospital. So all I brought to the hospital was newborn clothes and ended up having a 10 lb baby that didn't fit into anything we brought!! I had to take ds home in the gown that they provide at the hospital! It's a good thing he was a July baby!!!

I'm really hoping for a tiny baby this time around!!! One that might fit into the newborn outfits that I had gotten when I was preggo with ds, even if it's only for a couple of weeks!

[bright_eyes]

Originally Posted by mkksmom

Wow! With my daughter, Newborn stuff fit for mybe a coupld of weeks. She was out of 0-3 months by 2 months old, she was in 6-9 months by the time she was 5 months old, and was in 12 months by the time she was 7 months old. Then she stayed there until after her first birthday. She was in 18 months until she was 2 and is now going to be 5 in June and wears a 4 T, but some 3T's still fit. They are so unpredictable!

I totally agree- they are so unpredictible! Ds started out in 0-3. I can't remember when he grew out of those but he was in 12 month clothes when he was 6 months and stayed in them for well over a year! It was nice to get so much use out of 12 month clothes.