So these are the things I've decided I'd really hate to live without.
*The following list is by no means exhaustive.
Number 1: Pacifier
Three words: Aptly. Named. Device.
I was hesitant to give one to him, and I made it about a week, but the turning point came when he was in his lightbox and would get fussy and we weren't able to take him out and console him. I broke down once or twice. Now that we're home we're not so strict with it...though it's still a last resort. But like I said...it definitely is not misnamed. :)
These next two items go hand-in-hand and we use them often since eating is one of only about three things we do anymore. Number 2 is my Medela Harmony Breastpump. It may be my new best friend. I'd bought one...and then my lactation consultant, Paula, gave me one so I actually have two. This means I can always have a disinfected one on hand. I use it after feedings when Frazier falls asleep or stops short of adequately draining one breast. From my research I understand that failure to do this often can contribute to infection. That also means he isn't getting the hindmilk, which Paula calls "the cream". So pumping the rest serves two purposes. It also means that by nighttime, I have at least one full bottle on standby so that Josh, who is a nightowl anyway, can do the 11-1 am feeding (one usually falls somewhere in those two hours) so if I go to bed by ten or so I have the potential to get six hours of sleep in a row. He naps when he gets home from work sometimes, then sleeps from his midnight feeding until 6:30. So we're both getting very decent amounts of sleep in.
Josh's feeding is where the bottle warmer comes in...pic number two. It's made by Munchkin and works like a charm! You add water in different amounts depending on how much is in the bottle you're warming up and basically it steams the bottle warm. It's never too hot and there are never hotspots to worry about. This fits baby food jars too...so we'll be able to heat them later. Plus it comes with a pacifier basket for steam cleaning pacis!
Next up is the Itzbeen. There are four timers on this thing- one for diapering, one for feeding, one for sleeping and a bonus one. It's pretty easy to keep up with those things in my head when it's just Frazier and I here but when we're out somewhere (this thing was essential during our hospital stays) or when there are lots of people around it's a Godsend. We used the bonus timer to keep up with my meds. You just push the buttons each time you do any of those three (or four) things and it begins a count of how long "it's been" since you did so. There's also a little reminder switch at the bottom for breastfeeding- you can mark which breast you nursed from last.
I don't know how long these things have been around, but it's ingenius: diapers with an indicator strip. These turn blue-green when they're wet. So there's no guessing game. Brilliant.
Pee Pee Tee Pees...they're not just cute...they're clothing and wall and changing table pad and diaper savers. Who knows where we'd have tee tee with out these things? I know where we have it despite these things and that's bad enough!! Wish we had more than six...I keep having to wash them. :)
The other thing I know I absolutely couldn't do without is the monitor we got. It's an Angelcare Bebe Sounds set with movement sensor. I couldn't take a picture of it because it's all set up and some of the pieces are covered up or plugged in and stuff. So I'll just describe it. As far as the monitor goes it's just like any other...there's the unit you leave with him and the parental handheld, but it's the movement sensor I bought it for. It goes under the mattress or mattress pad or sleep positioner your baby sleeps on (it looks like a big plastic mousepad) and hooks up to the monitor. The way we have it set, a light blinks to indicate he's moving and if he stops for 30 seconds an alarm sounds. I know I may be paranoid, but I don't think I could sleep without it. I fall asleep every night watching that little blinking light!So that's the end of my list for today. Like I said, by no means exhaustive. We've found there are lots of things we're glad we have...and a few things we might could've done without. But that's another post. ;)
Times have changed a lot in 27 years! We had a pacifier that my baby refused to use. All the rest of these things would have been much appreciated. I thought the bottle warmer was awesome on Sunday. I never used bottles too often so we just put them in warm water....the pee pee tepe would have been a HUGE help. :-) I finally figured a way to keep disasters from happening, but can't remember what ingenous method we came up with. The timer is just the coolest. The three of you are so blessed.
ReplyDeleteHa, Mary Lou has the same monitor and I tease her and call it the paranoia monitor. Theirs malfunctioned one night and kept going off every 45 minutes whereas she would sprint across the house and find her daughter just fine:)
ReplyDeleteI love my Itzbeen. I didn't get one at first because I thought I didn't need it, thought they were stupid but I soon learned that I needed it!!! Especially in the beginning when, a lot of times, he would just eat off one side and be done...which side did I feed him with last? Genius.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post. I've been looking for a great recommend on a pump and trust everything else you've said. Looks like our "need to get" list just got longer. You're wonderful!
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