Comments on: Preparing for baby

By: Amy

Amy — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 06:03:22 +0000

Just a little thing I learned from a friend that I thought I would pass along. She used cloth diapers and couldn’t figure out why baby wasn’t sleeping at night. After a few months she realized it was because the baby can feel when it’s wet much easier in cloth diapers and it kept it up all night. She suggests to use cloth diapers all day long, but when it comes to putting baby to bed, use a regular diaper so you can get some sleep!

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:31:41 +0000

I just wanted to add a breast pump made my sister’s breast feeding experience much easier, even working 45 hour weeks while caring for her 2 daughters – now ages 4 and 2. When you consider some babies will take 45 minutes to eat each time, every 2-3 hours, you will spend alot of your day nursing without a pump.

A friend got up early to spend a while cuddling with her daughter while she nursed first thing in the morning, she pumped twice the rest of the day. You can freeze the milk and save some up. The use of a pump increases your milk production too. The rest of the day, the friend just bottled fed her daughter pumped breast milk.

By: Kristin

Kristin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:57:03 +0000

I just found your blog and ran across your first baby post. I had my 2nd baby in January so I have a few tricks I’ve learned. I was induced with my first, big mistake, but that experience led me to have a homebirth, best decision ever! I was very nervous about the pain so a friend of mine told me about Hypnobirthing, loved it!! Check it out. I agree with contacting Le Leche League group. I had a hard time producing, everything else was great from my baby’s perspective, but momma just wasn’t producing. I never made it to full time but I did the best I could. So go into it with an open mind and don’t stress about it, just do what’s best for you and your family and give it your best try. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I also cloth diaper, we started with prefolds and covers, those can me a little messy and annoying but they are economical. We also use Bumkins All In Ones, LOVE them. Check out craigslist and other cloth diaper resale sites to save even more money. If you have a diaper store near you go in and have them show you the options. There is a good one in Phoenix, wildflowerdiapers.com and one in Virginia Beach, softclothbunz.com that are very helpful and would be happy to talk to you on the phone. There is so much to research, but a lot of things are just things and really don’t make your life easier. Here’s something to add to your list, vaccinations, start now cause there is A LOT. Here are some money saving things I do, shop at thrift stores, yard sales and craigslist, I have found amazing things for super cheap!! although you probably already know this :) Blessings to you as you discover just how amazing being a mom is. And something to keep in mind, know that the decisions you make for your baby and family are the best decisions, even if later on you may think it wasn’t the best, it was at the time based on the information you had….and you still have a beautiful family to love and cherish.

By: M

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:05:12 +0000

Sorry, I certainly didn’t mean to offend anyone with my comment. Obviously, the epidural isn’t a choice for everyone. Carla, the “marathon” running analogy is a good one, but an even better analogy, is the 18 plus years of raising your child. That’s the REAL marathon. Childbirth is like the 100 yard dash — very intense — relatively short — in the grand scheme of parenting. We’re talking about two different finish lines. Birth vs. parenting. I completely support any woman’s choice in how she wishes to give birth. To Kacie, it may help to consider some other perspectives: I’ve got twenty plus years on you, and the “medal” I hope for is the one for guiding my kid into great adult and contributing citizen. That’s the point I inarticulately, was trying to make. Good luck, Karen, and best wishes.

By: Carla

Carla — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 06:42:09 +0000

Kacie gave you some good info about the risks of epidurals, and Anne shared a perfect example of the number one side effect of epidurals, a drop in Mom’s BP which causes baby’s heart rate to drop.

Here’s the thing about the whole no medal for doing it naturally theory, you can get in a car and drive to the end of a marathon. You still finish the race, but do you feel as empowered as you would if you ran the whole way?

And I have to say, I just love OB’s who want to talk induction and “other options” before you’ve even felt the baby move. How stressful a career that must be, believing that something will always go wrong.

Sorry for the negativity, I’ll blame it on my lack of sleep. :op

By: Karen

Karen — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 04:01:58 +0000

Anne – Thanks so much for sharing your story. It has definitely reinforced my plan for a natural birth. You never hear these stories since the epidural become such a routine part of childbirth! I think the choice to have an epidural or not have one is absolutely every woman’s prerogative, but I also think a lot of women take it for granted as the only way.

I wish that doctors presented natural birth as an alternative rather than only offering natural births to women who plan it themselves! These days, unless you fight for it, it seems that natural birth is very difficult in a hospital setting. I’m so sorry you went through that, and I hope you have better luck breastfeeding your third! When are you due?

By: Anne

Anne — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 02:56:40 +0000

I have to second Kacie’s information about epidurals. I was highly uninformed about non-medicated births with my first delivery. All of my friends had an epidural and I had thought that was just how it was going to be. I had been in labor for 24 hours before I received the epidural. As soon as I received that epidural we were rushed in for an emergency c-section because mine as well as my daughter’s heart rates dropped to startling lows. We had a hole slew of complications going on already prior to the epidural but looking back on it, I wished I would have not opted for it and waited till they said I had to have a c-section because of the other complications, if that would have come.

I also believe that because of the drugs was the major reason breast feeding was not successful for my first nor my second for me. Neither of my daughter’s were able to latch on properly and the hospital(s), despite my request, gave them bottles before I was ‘allowed’ to hold and start breastfeeding. With my first I gave up after about 2 months of very little weight gain and very little support. With my second, I stopped trying to breastfeed after 2 weeks and went to exclusively pumping. With my third, since it’s going to be a c-section as well, I plan to attempt to breast feed but am prepared for pumping 100% of the time if we need to.

I don’t harbor any hard-feelings towards anyone who decides to go for the epidural. But I wanted to post my little story in support of Kacie’s comment. As it is true. An epidural can have lasting effects and these effects have not only followed on from my first or second child but are likely to follow on to my third child as well, at least we are prepared for it. If I could go back, I would opt out of the epidural in a heart beat if I knew then what I know now. I also would have made sure I was much more informed about different birthing options versus just relying on what all my friends had chosen.

By: Kacie

Kacie — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:02:52 +0000

To M — “However, no-one gives you a medal for doing it without drugs.”

You are totally missing the point. Choosing to give birth without drugs is NOT some thing moms do for some sort of glory. It’s really discouraging to hear these sorts of things.

Moms who choose to go med-free are doing it because EPIDURALS ARE NOT 100% SAVE FOR MOM AND BABY. Long-term effects on delivering with a cocktail of drugs are not yet known (because these days, epidurals, Pitocin, extra fluids, and plenty more will be in mom and baby’s system).

Yes, plenty of moms and babies come through it fine.

But some babies respond horribly and need to be delivered via emergency c-section. Had the mom gone without the epidural, that perhaps could have been avoided. It’s tough to say.

And sometimes the epidural affects the mother poorly, too.

In addition, epidurals can interfere with the baby’s ability to breastfeed in the early hours because they are more lethargic. Some of them never fully master the latch because of it. They have adult-doses of drugs in their system! So it makes sense.

I’m sure you didn’t mean harm by that comment, but SO many moms who want to go med-free hear comments like that, and it’s actually really really discouraging for them.

Oh, and Karen will wash her own diapers, so no worries about chemicals used in a diaper service.

By: Lindsey

Lindsey — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:11:50 +0000

Hey! Congrats! Sorry you’re feeling so crummy. Ginger is your friend. There is a product available called preggo pops (or something close to it) that are wonderful for really bad nausea. Ginger Ale is fantastic as well.
About cloth diapering with the prefold system, we did that too! I would suggest using a snap cover, as the velcro on ours wore out rather quickly. :-) If I had to do it over again, I would totally do snaps. Bummis brand seemed to be the most frugal option for us as far as covers go.

By: M

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:34:16 +0000

Good for you. I’d support any womans’ decision on how she wants to give birth. However, no-one gives you a medal for doing it without drugs. Good advice to consider the alternatives as well. Good for you for doing cloth, however, a lot of the “services” use so many chemicals to clean the diapers that it is just as bad for the enviro. You may also want to keep on hand a few disposable diapers when you are out and about. No, you do not need all the “stuff” the books say you do. Also babies grow so fast in the first year, they will outgrow clothes in a heartbeat. You can get great second hand clothes in thrift stores and in good shape. Also great toys as well that you can easily sterilize. My advice with breast feeding is you can never “pump” enough…Sorry you are still feeling so crummy. Hopefully it will pass soon..