Baby Gear: Breastfeeding Edition

I already shared our 0-3 month baby gear must haves, and now I'm back to share our feeding-related must haves.

There are all sorts of ways to feed a baby, from formula only, to breastfeeding only "from the tap" with no need for pumping and bottles, and everything in between. Ava has been exclusively breastfed, but I am a working mom who pumps and makes bottles for daycare, so that's what this list is geared towards.

1. Boppy - The single "tool" Ava and I need for feeding when we're together. It was crucial in the first few months, and we're still using it. Of course, we can mange without it now if we're out and about, but we still prefer to use it whenever we can. We got this cover from Pottery Barn Kids and I really like it, although I mostly feed with the monogrammed side facing down because my nails kept snagging the embroidery.

While the Boppy is good for lots of things as baby grows (propping, then tummy time, then support for sitting), some people don't love it for breastfeeding. Instead, they prefer the My Brest Friend pillow, and I can see that argument. If you're a small person and/or you have a tiny baby, the curve of the Boppy can cause baby to roll into you or away from you and off the Boppy. The Brest Friend has a flat surface, so that's less of an issue. Ava and I never dealt with that with the Boppy though, probably because both of us are plenty meaty. Also, I like how easy the Boppy is to get on and off. You just slide it on, versus the belt on the Brest Friend that you have to wrap around you and snap on the side/back. While I've only used the Brest Friend a couple of times (while working with a lactation consultant), I feel like the belt might get annoying with the number of times a day you're taking it on and off.

2. Breast pads - I bought these washable, reusable pads on Etsy and preferred them over disposable pads or the reusable pads found in Babies R Us.

3. Nursing cover - I have this Hooter Hider and really like it. There are lots of other brands and I imagine they're all pretty similar. I've even heard of some sewing-savvy moms who have made their own.

4. Medela Pump In Style Advanced - Ahhh, my best friend/worst enemy. We spend a LOT of time together these days. I've got no complaints about the pump itself. It's been a good pump and I like the bag for carrying around all of my pumping gear. I was about 4 months too early to benefit from the new "insurance must cover a breast pump" law, but make sure you look into that to see if you can get one for free.

5. Dr. Brown's bottles - Every mom I talked to while pregnant recommended these bottles. Swore by them because they don't give baby gas. Ava's never really been a gassy baby though, so I'm not sure they're necessary for us (or maybe she's not gassy because we use these bottles??). They're a pain to wash because they have two extra parts and you have to use this special little brush to get in the little holes. And they leak (you have to use this "travel cap" disk but they still leak a little if sloshed around). But we still use them, and I'm not sure what other brand we'd use if we switched. So there. I'm sure that "review" was not helpful at all. Sorry.

6. Bottle warmer - This is the one we have. Some people prefer to heat a glass bowl or measuring cup of water in the microwave and then plop the bottle in there to warm but that method was way too slow for us. Two minutes and you're done with the bottle warmer.

7. Fresh Baby ice cube trays - For milk storage I use a combination of Lansinoh storage bags (filling with 4 oz, freezing flat, then storing in a gallon size freezer bag) and breast milk ice cubes. (This was a tip from Mannly Mama.) I freeze the cubes, then pop them into a freezer bag for storage. The advantage of ice cubes is that if you just need an ounce or two, you don't have the defrost a whole bag of milk. Say you need a 5 oz bottle and you only pumped 3 oz. You can pop two cubes into the bottle with the fresh milk and they melt when the bottle is heated (or if you store in the fridge overnight they're thawed by the next morning). I like the Fresh Baby trays, but my one complaint is that the cubes aren't quite one ounce, which is probably only annoying to someone as OCD as me. We're now using the trays for freezing homemade baby food and I love them even more for that purpose.

8. Medela Quick Steam bags - I probably don't sterilize my pump parts and bottles as often as I should, but when I do I like these quick steam bags. 2 oz of water + 2 minutes in the microwave = easy peasy.

9. iPhone and Baby Nursing app - Ok, I lied earlier. The other necessity when nursing besides the Boppy is my iPhone. During the first month, you spend so. much. time. nursing. I can't imagine being trapped under baby all of that time with nothing to entertain you or connect you to the outside world. HOW DID MOTHERS NURSE THEIR BABIES BEFORE IPHONES? I will never know. I spent so many hours Googling random issues, shopping online, checking Facebook and Twitter and reading books on the Kindle app. I also downloaded an app (Baby Nursing) to help me keep track of everything (which side I nursed on last, how long I was nursing, baby's weight, etc). Now I only use it to log her weight at her check-ups but during those first months it was very helpful for my fried brain.

10. Breastfeeding Support Group - Money can't buy it, but it's the most important item on this list. A wonderful coworker invited me to WakeMed Cary's Breastfeeding Support Group and that group of women (led by two lactation consultants) has been invaluable to me. They're knowledgeable, supportive, non-judgmental, and have now crossed over the line into friends. I can't make it to the meetings anymore now that I'm back at work, but we have a very active Facebook group. If you're planning on breastfeeding, or find yourself in the midst of struggling with breastfeeding, get thee to a support group. If there's not a group that meets in your area physically, find one online or just seek out friends or acquaintances who have successfully breastfed. Chances are, they're happy to talk breastfeeding with you and provide support (I know I am!). Our support group is the number one reason we've been able to breastfeed this long, and for that I am forever grateful to them.

If you're a mom-to-be, I hope you find this list helpful.

Nursing mamas, what else would you add? Formula feeding mamas, what other items do you have in your arsenal?

Ava: 6 Months

I'm over a week late this month. That's probably because I'm in denial that I now have a 6 month old. Here we go...

Clothing: Mostly 9m and 6-12m. We'll likely need to move from 9m to 12m soon. Still in size 3 diapers.

Eating: She's taking in the same amount of milk as last month, but we've increased to two solids "meals" per day -- once in the morning at daycare and once in the evening at home. She's getting better and better at eating from the spoon, but she still doesn't seem to love solids. We've only done purees at this point -- sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, bananas, pears and apples. Sometimes I mix them with rice cereal to give them a little more substance and give her some iron. She's seemed to like the pears and apples the best so far. Looking forward to trying to add in some "finger foods" soon.

Sleep: Still getting up once in the night to eat. I know it could be much worse, but I'm going to try my best to wean that feed this month because I know (and the pediatrician confirmed) that she doesn't need it. She has an off night here or there where she's up multiple times and needs comforting, but overall things are much better than a month or two ago.

Illness: We haven't had as much luck in this arena. She's had a bit of a cold/runny nose/congestion almost all month, which led to her first ear infection. We did amoxicillin for 10 days and assumed it got better. Then I took her in last week for an eye infection and the ear infection was still there. So now we're on a 10-day course of a different antibiotic. The eye infection is gone, but not the ear infection, so she didn't get her shots at her 6 month checkup this week. We go back in two weeks to follow up on the ear infection and (hopefully) get her shots. The cold and runny nose is finally gone now though, so I'm hoping that will help the ear clear up.

Activity: She's actually jumping in the jumperoo now, instead of just standing in it, and she can really go to town. She loves playing with her feet, pulling her socks off, and can now get her feet in her mouth (her big Buddha belly prevented that for a while). We read books together, but she's usually more interested in eating them (and she helps me turn the pages). She can sit unassisted for a few minutes now, but I have to be right there with her or she'll bonk her head. I usually sit her on the floor with the Boppy surrounding her and lots of toys to reach for and she'll be entertained for a good 10-20 minutes. Her new favorite: measuring cups/spoons and the SPATULA! I think she loves chewing on the soft silicone.

Milestones: She is so alert these days, watching everything that's going on very intently and reaching out for everything. We've started letting her ride shotgun in the shopping cart and holding her on our laps at restaurants (instead of staying in the infant carrier) and she loves looking around and reaching for anything dangerous she can find (hot plates, glasses of water, knives). She can pass objects from hand to hand and generally has pretty good hand-eye coordination. And she's really started being more vocal this month. Lots of oohs and ahhs, starting to throw in some ga's and ba's, squealing and just generally testing out her voice.

I know I say this every month, but she's just the sweetest. We are blessed by her every day and I can't wait to see what the next six months brings us (although I can't bear to start thinking first birthday thoughts just yet).

And now, some pics from this month.

 Dressed up for Valentine's Day:



Consignment shopping:



One of my favorite outfits:



First time in the shopping cart (I promise she was happier about it than she looks):



Trying out hats for summer:



Celebrating being six months:



And passed out at dinner:



Her friend Harper greets her every morning at school:



Saturday morning snuggles:



Ready for the Duke game (even if the Heels weren't):



Spatula!



And helping Daddy celebrate his birthday:

Baby's First Snow

Love this sweet snow baby!

Ava: 5 Months

Ava is 5 months old! (Well, she was last Thursday.) No official check-up this month, but from my best guess this little chunker is weighing in right at 18 lbs. No clue on length.

Clothing: A mixture of 6m, 9m and 6-12m. And we moved up to size 3 diapers this month.

Eating: I upped two of her daycare bottles, so now she's taking two 5-oz. bottles and a 4-oz. bottle, plus nursing in the morning, evening and usually once overnight. And, we started solids this month! We started out with rice cereal mixed with breastmilk and she did ok, although we're still getting the hang of it (I have to be careful to make sure she's not tired, too full or too hungry or it doesn't go so well). We made a batch of homemade sweet potatoes this weekend and she seemed to like those. She's just getting one meal a day at this point (in the evening) and it's hard to say exactly how much she's actually eating, but probably only a tablespoon or two.

Sleep: Still working on it, but it's gotten much better. We started sleep training at 4.5 months and while it was ROUGH at first, we saw results really quickly. She was pretty consistently sleeping 7p - 6:30a with one dream feed around 9:30 and an overnight feed at 1:30. I think a little bit of a cold has thrown her off though, because the past week or so hasn't been as consistent, with some 3 or 4am wake-ups thrown in there. Naps are still all over the place. An hour here, 30 minutes there, with no real predictable pattern.

Illness: She's had an occasional stuffy/runny nose here and there, but thankfully nothing else to report! (Spoiler alert: we've already started out month 6 not being so lucky.)

Activity: She's still liking her jumperoo, playmat, and good ol' laying on the floor with toys. She found her feet this month and loves playing with them. Grabbing her feet has allowed her to start rolling over onto her side, but she hasn't rolled completely from back to belly yet. (I think homegirl is just not a fan of rolling in general and may just skip that phase.) Still doesn't like tummy time, but is doing really well at it and will tolerate it for pretty long spans of time (especially when she's being entertained by mommy dancing, being silly or blow-drying her hair). We also put her in her high chair a lot with some toys on her tray so she can watch us make dinner or clean the kitchen. We've started using the big stroller for walks now and I think she likes facing out and being able to see everything. She's not a big talker/babbler at this point. She'll give us some oohs and ahhs, but not too many consonant sounds yet. And she went through a phase where all she wanted to do was growl. It was cute and somewhat disturbing at the same time!

Milestones: Just in the past week, she's started being able to sit up. Not for long and of course she needs close supervision, but she's getting pretty good at the "tripod" position. And I swear she's waved a couple of times. Could be total coincidence, but when I walk into the room and she raises her little hand, I have to assume she's waving at me, right?! She's also started reaching up and touching my face, while I'm nursing, rocking or holding her. That little hand on my cheek is the sweetest. thing. ever.

She really is a sweet baby -- happy, smiley, and content. Daycare always comments on how good of a baby she is.

And now, some pics and videos from month 5.

Baby laugh montage! (Please try to tune out my weird 'heh heh' sounds. That's the only way I can get her to laugh for the camera.)



First forays into solids. This happy/unsure/unhappy rotation is generally how it goes:









Tummy time:



Play time in the high chair. She hates when I put these wrist rattles on her, but I love watching her figure out how to get them off!



In the big stroller:



Sitting like a big girl:





Love this lump of sugar!

Baby Gear: The Early Months

1. Mamaroo - This thing is the Cadillac of baby swings/bouncers. It has settings like "car ride" and "tree swing" and you can even plug in your iPod to play music (although we've never done that). I think it's probably like every other swing or contraption in that sometimes she just DID NOT want to be in it and nothing would substitute for being held. But this thing saved us during many a witching hour when it would put her right to sleep so we could get laundry done and dinner made.

2. Ubbi diaper pail - Really happy with this purchase. Because it's stainless steel, it keeps the stink completely contained (unless you leave the lid open). Plus it looks great. It was more expensive than traditional diaper pails, but it uses regular trash bags, so no spending money on special refills.

3. Aden + Anais swaddle blankets - Probably on every mom's must have list, and for good reason. So many uses, and they're soft and adorable. Skip the traditional receiving blankets and get these.

4. SwaddleMe swaddles - We didn't use the Aden + Anais blankets much for actually swaddling though. No matter how tight we wrapped her, she'd always wriggle free. Instead, the SwaddleMe's are where it's at. Easy to put on, hard for her to get off.

5. Stroller blanket - We got this one (personalized with her name) and love it. It's been on her car seat pretty much every day from day one. At first, we used it to cover up the whole car seat when we took her out (to minimize germs and help her get some rest). Now I throw it on her for warmth after she's buckled in, since big bulky coats in the car seat are a no-no.

6. Sleep Sheep - People have mixed opinions here. Because it cuts off after 45 minutes, some people prefer a sound machine that stays on indefinitely. My opinion: it's great in the beginning. We used it every night when she was in the bassinet in the room with us. Did it help her sleep? Who knows. But it didn't hurt and I liked that it provided a bit of white noise for us too so that we couldn't hear her every move. Also? It's adorable. Now that she's in her nursery, we basically use her humidifier as white noise, but may buy a sound machine down the road.

7. Video monitor - We got this one and love it. I think a video monitor in general is a good investment -- I can check to make sure she's still breathing, see if she's awake but not making noise yet, or just stare at her in whatever cute sleeping position she's in. And it was essential during sleep training because I could look to see that she was doing just fine, even though she was wailing away. This one has a nice big screen, can pan and zoom, has a two-way voice feature, and even shows the temperature in the room.

8. Car seat/stroller - We chose the Chicco Keyfit 30 seat and stroller frame and have been pleased. I was given advice to forgo the travel system stroller in favor of just the frame and I'm glad we did. Even though the travel system seems like more of a deal money-wise, I'm not a fan of the strollers that come with the travel system. They don't look that great and can be heavy and bulky. The stroller frame is light and was super easy for me to manage on my own from the very beginning. We also got a regular stroller (this one) for when she outgrows the infant car seat, but have only used it a few times so far, so I'll update you on how we like it later.

9. Petunia Picklebottom diaper bag - Overall I really like this diaper bag. It's big, it looks good, it has easily wipeable water-resistant fabric, and I love the built-in changing pad. Two negatives though: if you stuff it too full the flap won't close completely and it's messy looking. And the velcro on the front flap is LOUD. Like wake-the-baby loud. Not good when you're out and about and she's napping and you're just trying to grab your wallet or water bottle.

10. Boon drying rack - I hand wash ALL of our bottles, pump parts and accessories. Every single day. Some people probably think I'm crazy and swear by the dishwasher for this task, but for some reason I prefer to hand wash (I think it's because everything's all wet coming out of the dishwasher so I'd just have to lay them out to dry anyway). That being said, the Boon Grass drying rack was (and is) a must have for me. In fact, eventually the Grass wasn't enough room so I upgraded to Lawn. But instead of swapping Grass for Lawn I just kept Grass out too and now use them both! I also bought Stem and Twig for small pump parts, nipples, pacis, etc. Love love love.

I also recommend:

+ Burp cloths - Lots of them. We have some pretty/personalized ones, but plain, old fashioned cloth diapers serve the purpose just as well.

+ Waterproof quilted pads - We have these. They're great to put down on the changing pad so that if they get messy you can just throw it in the wash instead of having to wash the changing pad cover. Also great to use if you need to change baby on the floor, a bed, etc.

+ Gripe water - Instantly cures hiccups. It's magic! You might think hiccups are no big deal, but when your baby gets them 8 times a day and can't fall asleep because they're too busy hiccuping, you'll swear by this stuff.

+ Baby Aquaphor - This is my diaper ointment of choice. I registered for and received a ton of Boudreaux's butt paste but barely used it. The first time Ava got diaper rash the doctor recommended Aquaphor and we've been using it ever since. It's also good for all of baby's other rashes, dry patches, scratches, etc. My recommendation in general when it comes to baby wash, lotion and diaper cream is to not stock up until you know what you like and what works for baby. We have about 5 different kinds of baby wash, but because she has a bit of eczema we now have to use boring ol' Dove Sensitive body wash (although I did really like Burt's Bees Baby and hope we can get back to using it again eventually).

+ OxyClean - I've just discovered this as the only way to get poop stains out of clothes. Mix a scoop full in a bucket of water and soak for several hours. Works better than anything else I've tried.

Books:

+ Baby Whisperer - Has some good information on listening to your baby's cues and getting them on a "schedule." Although we never had much success with the schedule she prescribes, it was still nice to have a guideline to aspire to.

+ Baby Play Book - It may seem silly to buy a book to tell you how to play with your newborn, but if you're like me you'll suddenly find yourself looking at your baby on week 2 of maternity leave thinking "what am I supposed to do with you all day?" This book gives tons of ideas for little activities for you and baby to do, organized by age. Some of them are as simple as "peek-a-boo" and "itsy bitsy spider" but sometimes mom-brain can make you forget everything you ever knew, so it's a helpful refresher. I'm still using it for the 3-6 mo activities (it goes all the way to 12 months).

+ What to Expect the First Year - This one is cliche but I really do find it useful. I read up each month on milestones to expect and issues that might arise. It also starts out with helpful information on newborns: feeding, bathing, diapering and what's "normal." My advice though: read this section before the baby comes, or you'll frantically be reading up on how to bathe baby or clip her nails just as you're about to do it. Not smart. (Or maybe you're thinking "everyone knows how to bathe a baby, why would I need to read up on that?" in which case you can just ignore my neurotic-first-time-parent tendencies and move right along.)

Things I would've done differently:

- The glider in the nursery. I'd get the exact same one, except with the reclining feature.

- Bumbo. I like the concept of the Bumbo just fine, but there have been some concerns about its safety (it was recalled after we received it and we had to request and install safety straps). My biggest gripe though is that I find the tray really hard to get on and off (I like to use the tray for toys so she has something to play with). Had I known about the Mamas & Papas Baby Snug I probably would have gotten it instead.

- Thermometer. We received a high-tech temporal thermometer, but when they're that young doctors only consider a rectal temperature to be accurate, so we just use the boring thermometer that came in a health & safety kit.

- Car seat handle cushion. I just had to have one but never ended up using it. Same goes for the car seat cover. We ended up throwing her stroller blanket over the car seat (it's much more versatile) so I returned it.

- For what it's worth, we never got a wipes warmer and have never missed it. I can't imagine it would be anything but aggravating. Something else I was told we didn't really need was a bottle warmer, but we did get one of those and we do use and like it.

Hopefully this little roundup will be helpful to some expectant mom out there. But of course, different things work for different people and it seems like everyone has a different opinion when it comes to what you need and don't need. So you just have to trust your gut at first and then figure out what works for you with a bit of trial and error.

I decided to split breastfeeding/feeding must-haves into a separate post, so look for that coming soon. And this post covers the 0-3 month range, so I'll try to post another gear list for when baby is a little older -- like toys, high chair and stroller -- once we've used our stuff enough to be able to recommend it or not!

iPhone Download, vol. 4

It's been WAY too long since I did an iPhone download post. Over 2 months to be exact. So bear with me while I catch up.

First Thanksgiving:



Golf cart ride on the farm:



Snoozing on a walk:



Bathtime:



Santa DOES rock:



New stocking for our new girl:



Daddy snuggles:



Happy Saturday morning at Aunt Erin's:



This is how she wakes up (most) every morning:



Bath bunny!



Laid back:



Getting her started on chores early:



Finally getting better at tummy time:



This look is called "Sunday afternoon, still in PJ's. Daddy had the flu all weekend. Mom was playing the role of single parent. Ava was modeling her new Santa hairbow."



At daycare:



Testing out her new high chair:



Caught them snoozing together:



Breathing treatment at the doctor's office :(



Rocking with Gram:



Topless tummy time:



New hat:



First art projects from daycare:



Napping while Mom and Dad were out at dinner:



Is this the same baby?!



This one's for Aunt Erin:



Cute shirt from the Harrisons:



Snuggling Sophie at her 4 month checkup:



First time at the dinner table:



Found her feet at 5am:



Snowbunny is hoping for snow!