Baby Must-Haves 1 month post partum!

Ok, so i'm a few days ahead of myself when it comes to baby being 1 month old (which is really this Sunday) but who knows when I have time to blog again right?!  i can and can't believe Max is 1 month old already! the journey hasnt been fast, but hasn't been slow either...just riding the wave of new motherhood and not beating myself up when things aren't going the way I want them to or coming naturally

Must haves 1 month in:

1) Supportive family network

i mentioned this in my previous post and it still will always be #1 even if i won't always be mentioning it in future posts.  My parents are here EVERY NIGHT for a couple of hours. they get their bonding time with the baby, and for all sense and purposes- mamma gets a BREAK!  Gene is also fulfilling his own role in his own way. he may not be the one that gets up in the middle of the night to feed and soothe the baby (ok, this NEVER happens) but he is the one who chauffeurs us every where, takes long long walks with us around the neighborhood, works with me to figure out dinner, cooks dinner, washes dishes and essentially, has become a low maintenance person (more so than before). Thanks!

2) ERGO baby carrier and infant insert

Max loves being in the carrier! At the beginning when Max was super fussy and i couldn't figure out WTF he wanted, i would just put him in the carrier and he would calm down and fall asleep almost instantly. little did I know that I was practicing the concept of babywearing (click here for info on babywearing)! Im not exactly happy with Max's position on the ergo with the insert as i feel he's in this frog like position for a long period of time and he sometimes slips off the insert which makes me visualize a very uncomfortable straddle or squat position- cant be good for the sacrum and hips. I've limited this sling practice to at least 1 hour during the day (our schedule is at 10am just in time for a mid morning nap) and to a maximum of 2-2.5 hours. Usually by hour 1, he's fast asleep anyways and drooling on me. Then I put him down for the rest of his nap.

3) Bugaboo Chameleon stroller and Graco car seat adapter

Thanks Sarah!



In the last couple of weeks we've been taking baby outside finally to see the world. He loves being in the stroller, and getting in the bassinet leads to another afternoon nap (from around 1-3:30pm). Seriously, this baby cries because i think he's bored at home and hanging out with me! he needs to be outside with noises and smells not found confined in the apartment. We use the graco adapter for the car seat when we're going to a place that needs a car to get there. the bassinet and chassis are just so cumbersome! the car seat, adaptor, and chassis set us up nicely yesterday during our metrotown stroll.

3) Kirkland spaghetti strap tank tops with bra

i literally live in these shirts from costco! if i wasn't doing laundry every 2 days, i would have more than 2 of these tank tops, but so far so good for now. i wouldn't say they're super supportive, but they're comfortable. I'd say though that the price is right and is a super convenient shirt for when baby comes calling for food. I layer them under shirts and i go to bed with them on. ive been peed on and spat up on, and yet they remain the same form and color despite the multitude of washes. I just simply drop a strap, whip out the boob and when done, bring strap back up. im sure there are WAY BETTER shirts out there, i just dont feel like spending a lot of money or time shopping for one. good ol' costco convenience.

4) Lanolin

i bought the Lansinoh brand, but i think the Medela brand is also fine

I can't remember if i wrote about it, but for the first couple or so weeks of breastfeeding my nipples hurt like a S.O.B.! It especially hurt during Max's initial latch and i would seriously wince, say OW or a higher degree of profanity, and countdown until the pain subsided. I remember my shoulders being tense and I had to consciously relax and breathe once the pain subsided. i honestly thought that i may just have to either give up breastfeeding altogether or just settle for a lesser quality of life when it came to breastfeeding...boo! To boot, I think i even noticed a scab forming at a small part of the tip of my nipple- OW!! So i asked around as to what i should do, and Lanolin was highly highly recommended. It's been over two weeks now since i started using lanolin and my nipples are very moisturized and breastfeeding has become soooo much easier. I still wince sometimes, however for only a brief millisecond. i am now more confident in the latch and can adjust Max's position until comfort is reached. I use lanolin about every 3rd feed of the day and definitely post shower/before bed.

5) OXO Tulli Night Light

same as previous post...i still love it and use it to watch baby over night. a charged battery lasts about 8 hours!

******************** no longer using **********************

-My Brest friend:  Ive gotten better with the holding, positioning, and supporting of the baby. I haven't used this since week 2! But highly recommended for the new mom who's just starting to breastfeed

-Medela Swing pump: im sure this will come in handy again, but right now im somewhat wary of using the pump. my breasts are in perfect balance- soft but still full of milk and my body is making what baby needs. i hate hate the feeling of being engorged and my problem before was pumping TOO MUCH that my breast were empty..resulting in my body telling itself to make more milk = more engorged. of course, i can't breast feed exclusively forever..so this will have to come out of box again soon.