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Tips for new (and some seasoned) Parents...
I thought it would be nice to start a post where those of us who already have kids can list some tips and advice for everything from feeding to diaper changes to laundry for babies. Just something to help out the new moms on here and maybe pick up some tips ourselves.
1. Laundry: In my opinion buying Dreft or other baby specific laundry detergent is a waste of money. Other brands make hypoallergenic detergents that are free of colors and scents that work just as well and cost a heck of a lot less.
2. Stain Removal: This works GREAT for spit up stains (and even pee and poop stains) Mix 1/2 cup DOVE WHITE Dish Detergent with 1/2 cup POWDERED Clorox II. Mix the this into a tub of approx 1 gal of water that is the hottest temperature the fabric can withstand (check the tags). Let the items soak for a couple of hours then take a tooth brush and scrub the stained areas and let soak a little while longer. If this doesn't work, make a paste of the 2 ingredients using equal parts and use the tooth brush to scrub into the stained area....let sit, or replace in the water mixture for a few hours.
(Note: Dove dish det. is getting harder to find atleast around here, you CAN substitute for IVORY ...as Long as it is WHITE or CLEAR. Substituting the clorox II for liquid or generic makes the mixture less reliable. )
3. Diaper Creams: Someone else suggested this (i think maybe blueeyedtabbycat, i can't remember, i'm sorry) Mixing equal parts straight lanolin (like the nipple cream you can buy) with an antifungal cream and using it as a diaper rash cream. I just wanted to say that I tried this. DS1 was getting bad rashes from diarrhea that looked like they were ready to bubble up. I had some Nystatin/Triamcinolone cream and mixed it with some Lansinoh Lanolin cream and used it on his butt and it LITERALLY cleared up the rash completely gone between diaper changes... I'm not kidding. His butt was so raw he SCREAMED when i was just taking his diaper off and was trying his best to get away from me when I was cleaning him. By the NEXT diaper change he was just fine...no sign of the rash. I was completely shocked!!
4. If your baby has diarrhea of sensitive skin, one thing I use to help PREVENT diaper rashes is using the squeeze tube of vaseline...putting a thick layer all over the bottom and around the genitalia and sprinkling some PURE CORN STARCH or 100% corn starch powder over top. The vaseline acts as a skin protectent/barrier while the corn starch powder helps to neutralize the acid in the urine and poop.
5. If you notice small dry/scaly patches that pop up on your newborn, a lot of times they show up in the crease of the legs where the diaper rubs, it's most likely eczema. A little bit of hydrocortisone cream a few times a day usually does the trick. For my kids thought OTC hydrocortisone didn't work too well. I always have my ped give a script for Hydrocortisone Valerate...it's usually thicker and works great.
That's all I can think of for now. Anyone else?
1. Laundry: In my opinion buying Dreft or other baby specific laundry detergent is a waste of money. Other brands make hypoallergenic detergents that are free of colors and scents that work just as well and cost a heck of a lot less.
2. Stain Removal: This works GREAT for spit up stains (and even pee and poop stains) Mix 1/2 cup DOVE WHITE Dish Detergent with 1/2 cup POWDERED Clorox II. Mix the this into a tub of approx 1 gal of water that is the hottest temperature the fabric can withstand (check the tags). Let the items soak for a couple of hours then take a tooth brush and scrub the stained areas and let soak a little while longer. If this doesn't work, make a paste of the 2 ingredients using equal parts and use the tooth brush to scrub into the stained area....let sit, or replace in the water mixture for a few hours.
(Note: Dove dish det. is getting harder to find atleast around here, you CAN substitute for IVORY ...as Long as it is WHITE or CLEAR. Substituting the clorox II for liquid or generic makes the mixture less reliable. )
3. Diaper Creams: Someone else suggested this (i think maybe blueeyedtabbycat, i can't remember, i'm sorry) Mixing equal parts straight lanolin (like the nipple cream you can buy) with an antifungal cream and using it as a diaper rash cream. I just wanted to say that I tried this. DS1 was getting bad rashes from diarrhea that looked like they were ready to bubble up. I had some Nystatin/Triamcinolone cream and mixed it with some Lansinoh Lanolin cream and used it on his butt and it LITERALLY cleared up the rash completely gone between diaper changes... I'm not kidding. His butt was so raw he SCREAMED when i was just taking his diaper off and was trying his best to get away from me when I was cleaning him. By the NEXT diaper change he was just fine...no sign of the rash. I was completely shocked!!
4. If your baby has diarrhea of sensitive skin, one thing I use to help PREVENT diaper rashes is using the squeeze tube of vaseline...putting a thick layer all over the bottom and around the genitalia and sprinkling some PURE CORN STARCH or 100% corn starch powder over top. The vaseline acts as a skin protectent/barrier while the corn starch powder helps to neutralize the acid in the urine and poop.
5. If you notice small dry/scaly patches that pop up on your newborn, a lot of times they show up in the crease of the legs where the diaper rubs, it's most likely eczema. A little bit of hydrocortisone cream a few times a day usually does the trick. For my kids thought OTC hydrocortisone didn't work too well. I always have my ped give a script for Hydrocortisone Valerate...it's usually thicker and works great.
That's all I can think of for now. Anyone else?
In my experience it seems you can never overdo it. :)
As far as things like onsies and washcloths go, the more you have, the less often you have to do laundry. If you can't afford a whole lot, I would probably say at least one or two onesies for every day of the week, and maybe 3 or 4 washcloths, towels, stuff like that. You will always want to have plenty of diapers on hand, you can't live without those things. I would say if you start the day with 10 diapers or less you need to go buy some more.
My baby would never wear socks. She was able to pull them off or somehow wiggle out of them at a very early age. So I would suggest in case your baby is like that to not overdo it on the socks.
As far as things like onsies and washcloths go, the more you have, the less often you have to do laundry. If you can't afford a whole lot, I would probably say at least one or two onesies for every day of the week, and maybe 3 or 4 washcloths, towels, stuff like that. You will always want to have plenty of diapers on hand, you can't live without those things. I would say if you start the day with 10 diapers or less you need to go buy some more.
My baby would never wear socks. She was able to pull them off or somehow wiggle out of them at a very early age. So I would suggest in case your baby is like that to not overdo it on the socks.
I thought it would be nice to keep this post going because all moms could ude advice. So my question is, I am getting frustrated thinking about how much of everything i need such as onesies, washcloths, how many diapers I should have on hand at one time, things like that, socks, i just want to be prepared but I don' t want to overdue it and buy too much, or is that possible to overdue it?
Frankly, I've never found otc diaper creams to be effective on any of my kids. I've always stuck with the vaseline and corn starch. I don't even use regular powder. I never thought of the lanolin until (can'tremember) pointed it out. But it works great too. The only ointment I had found that worked aside from the vaseline and cornstarch was this vit. e stuff they gave me at the hospital, but reading the ingredients all contains is petroleum and lanolin.
Ammanda- you know how adults might be able to eat more at dinner than they ate at breakfast? It could be that at that point he was just incredibly thirsty. You can always add 1/2 ounce more until he seems satisfied. Also try burping frequently. You can also try a binky; some babies have a really strong desire to s u c k l e.
LosingYourMindinGA- I agree with the diaper rash creams. They have got some NASTY chemicals in them and are a waste of money. In fact I skip them altogether and just use Vasoline and the corn starch.
And I use ALL Free & Clear for all of our laundry instead of the baby detergent. So good for all of us!
LosingYourMindinGA- I agree with the diaper rash creams. They have got some NASTY chemicals in them and are a waste of money. In fact I skip them altogether and just use Vasoline and the corn starch.
And I use ALL Free & Clear for all of our laundry instead of the baby detergent. So good for all of us!
I think it's pretty normal. My little guy is 4 months now and is all over the map in terms of how much he will eat. Sometimes only 2oz, then wants more an hour later. Other times 4 or 5 oz. (he is small of his age). I agree with the others, it is trial and error. What I do is give him 4. If he is still acting hungry, I make another oz or 2 at a time. I think they just have days where they are hungrier then others. You'll notice when he hits a growth spurt he will up his feedings fairly dramatically as well. Congrats on your little man, he is gorgeous!!
Try giving him another half ounce and see what he does. If he ***** that down and still acts like that try his pacifier, if that doesn't work give him another half ounce. If he eats that start making 3 oz bottles for awhile and see what he does
well he just ate 2oz dry. and he was crying so i changed him, and was still crying. he wont let me put him down, idk if hes still hungry or not, bu we was shoving his hands in his mouth while he was crying
If it seems he isnt getting enough per feeding try uping it to 2 1/2 ounces for a several feeds and see if he drinks it all. If that seems to satisfy him more leave it at that. Otherwise bump it up to 3 and try it. If he's not finishing all of what you put int he bottle you can get a good idea of how much he is eating per feed and adjust the bottles accordingly. Its really just trial and error.
Does he cry when you have finished feeding him the 2oz? If he does he is probably still hungry, try him on the 3oz and see how he goes!
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