.JPG)
David and I often exclaim over the baby-centric things we wish we'd known earlier. Things like, if she starts crying in the middle of the night, no amount of binkie re-application will make it better--she needs to EAT. But no, we had to pay our dues, I guess. I can just imagine Rachael thinking, "man! When are they going to figure me out?!"
So here's a few bits of advice to new parents out there who might encounter some of the curveballs we've experienced. These will be elaborated upon in my new book, "What To Do When Your Baby Does Weird Stuff." ;-)
1. Your baby will not sleep laying down.
We had fun (not really) with this. Lay Rachael down, listen to her scream. We finally figured out that she'd sleep in her car seat (which apparently is dangerous, I learned later) or in her swing (not ideal but at least not flat-out dangerous). So Rachael slept in a swing or a car seat for about three months. What I wish we'd known: Rachael just wanted to be swaddled. We got her a Swaddle Me
(it's a straitjacket, essentially), and as soon as she was swaddled up nice and tight, she slept in her crib just about all night. If you have this issue, get to the store immediately and buy a Swaddle Me. It will be the best $10 you will ever spend. And don't worry about thoughts of your baby being 21 and needing you to still swaddle her at night--one day Rachael just decided that she didn't need to be swaddled any more, so she kicked out of it and slept with full access to her limbs. :-)
2. Your baby is a fountain of spit up.
By the time Rachael was three weeks old, our house had a very noticeable change in fragrance...eau de vomit. She spit up a large part of everything she ate. Breast milk, formula...didn't matter (so back off, La Leche people!). Her doctor told us she had reflux (GERD) and that we'd just have to wait for her to outgrow it. Well, when she was 6 months old and still spitting up a storm (to the tune of 2-3 outfits a day), I called the doctor back and demanded a better answer than "she'll get over it." She'd already been on Zantac and we weren't noticing much improvement. What I wish we'd known: she needed formula with added rice starch. Her doctor suggested we try Enfamil AR (for 'added rice') and the difference was incredible. The spitting up wasn't gone entirely, but it was certainly cut by well over 60%, I'd say. Now, at 9.5 months, we have her off the Zantac and are managing the reflux just with diet. I really wish we'd known to try this formula months ago! All of us would have been more comfortable (and my house wouldn't smell like vomit).
I'll stop here. I know now why so many parents feel compelled to write books...one feels like *someone* should benefit from the learning curve we were on! Maybe this will help some frantic parent out there who right now is dripping in spit up or holding a screaming baby at 2am wondering why she won't sleep anywhere but her swing. Good luck!
So here's a few bits of advice to new parents out there who might encounter some of the curveballs we've experienced. These will be elaborated upon in my new book, "What To Do When Your Baby Does Weird Stuff." ;-)
1. Your baby will not sleep laying down.
We had fun (not really) with this. Lay Rachael down, listen to her scream. We finally figured out that she'd sleep in her car seat (which apparently is dangerous, I learned later) or in her swing (not ideal but at least not flat-out dangerous). So Rachael slept in a swing or a car seat for about three months. What I wish we'd known: Rachael just wanted to be swaddled. We got her a Swaddle Me
(it's a straitjacket, essentially), and as soon as she was swaddled up nice and tight, she slept in her crib just about all night. If you have this issue, get to the store immediately and buy a Swaddle Me. It will be the best $10 you will ever spend. And don't worry about thoughts of your baby being 21 and needing you to still swaddle her at night--one day Rachael just decided that she didn't need to be swaddled any more, so she kicked out of it and slept with full access to her limbs. :-)2. Your baby is a fountain of spit up.
By the time Rachael was three weeks old, our house had a very noticeable change in fragrance...eau de vomit. She spit up a large part of everything she ate. Breast milk, formula...didn't matter (so back off, La Leche people!). Her doctor told us she had reflux (GERD) and that we'd just have to wait for her to outgrow it. Well, when she was 6 months old and still spitting up a storm (to the tune of 2-3 outfits a day), I called the doctor back and demanded a better answer than "she'll get over it." She'd already been on Zantac and we weren't noticing much improvement. What I wish we'd known: she needed formula with added rice starch. Her doctor suggested we try Enfamil AR (for 'added rice') and the difference was incredible. The spitting up wasn't gone entirely, but it was certainly cut by well over 60%, I'd say. Now, at 9.5 months, we have her off the Zantac and are managing the reflux just with diet. I really wish we'd known to try this formula months ago! All of us would have been more comfortable (and my house wouldn't smell like vomit).
I'll stop here. I know now why so many parents feel compelled to write books...one feels like *someone* should benefit from the learning curve we were on! Maybe this will help some frantic parent out there who right now is dripping in spit up or holding a screaming baby at 2am wondering why she won't sleep anywhere but her swing. Good luck!
1 comment:
Only two pieces of advice!!! I was hoping for a whole list of at least ten things you've learned...! We are realizing some of the silly mistakes we've made as well - I guess somethings you can only learn the hard way. Thanks for the tips!
Post a Comment