Baby Must-have’s, Nice-to-have’s, and Shouldn’t-have’s (Part 3)

(Last part, and it doesn’t seem like I don’t have any “shouldn’t have” yet…)

Baby swing / bouncer
CC is very different from most babies. He hates the baby swing. We ended up have to return our faulty Fisher-Price Zen Collection swing and got a bouncer. At 3 months, he sometimes like the bouncer, so that’s not exactly that worth the money either.


Verdict: It may work with other baby, but not really necessary with CC.


Baby carrier
We got two Ergo carriers from friends. They do feel quite comfortable when we use them. But, we don’t really go out that much like most parents either, and when we do, at almost 14lb now, we hardly ever wear CC. I have to say though, the few times I do wear him to go to restaurants, it does keep  him calm and warm.

Verdict: Depends on how much you think you’ll wear your baby. I say it’s a nice-to-have.

Music mobile and play gym
At 3 months, we still haven’t really used the music mobile we got for CC. At first it was because it’s in the way when we try to put him down in bed, and he doesn’t seem to be interested at all. Now we just sort of forgot about it. But he does start to take an interest in things hanging from above him now. We received a play gym and he absolutely loves it! We just put the play gym on the livingroom floor, and he can amuse himself for almost 30 minutes!

Verdict: Must have if you think you’ll spend a lot of time on the floor with your newborn. Otherwise, wait until the third month.

Swaddles
Yes, YOU SHALL ALWAYS SWADDLE. Don’t worry if they put up a fight while you are trying to swaddle them. Don’t worry if they look like little dolls in strait jackets. Don’t worry if they still fuss after swaddled. The truth is, they all love it! We learned from the Happiest Baby on the Block about the concept of 4th trimester and we are firm believers of that. So for a while (and still does), we try to create an environment as similar to the womb for CC as possible. Including tightly snuggled in swaddle. It’s magical, but sometimes he somehow get his arm(s) out and that’s when he wakes himself from his sleep! Not kidding.

So back to the swaddles themselves. We tried a few types. There is the square blanket the hospital used and taught you to use; there is the Miracle Blanket, there is the velcro Kiddopotamus, and there is the Halo Sleepsack Swaddle.

The hospital square blanket is great simply because you want to teach yourself to learn how to use it, in case that is all you have at hand. Also, since it’s just a piece of cloth, it’s easier to adjust to different baby sizes by folding them. Much more economical. But let’s be honest, who wants to be doing the left-in-left-up-right-tug at three in the morning, when they told you  to “keep the lights low so baby won’t think it’s daytime!” Nobody that’s who. So there are the other ready made alternatives.

We were given two Miracle Blankets and have heard people swear by them. They are great because it has additional internal flaps to secure the baby’s arms. However, after securing their arms, you need to wrap the outer flap around the baby twice! Between keeping his arms tugged and lifting him and wrapping him, it’s usually a 2-person task. It does keep their arms in nicely better than the other two, although I have learned a trick on solving that problem too, with the other two options.


So next, the Kiddopotamus. Instead of two internal arm flaps and one outer large flap, you get two flaps that has velcro on them. Simply wrap and velcro, and you’re done! Wonder wonder for night time. Also, it comes in micro-fleece, so it’s great for winter babies. One problem is if you have a Houdini baby who always manages to get his arms out, it’s not as ideal. BUT, I did notice that when you dress them in long sleeves, due to the friction between his clothes and the swaddle, it’s harder for them to get their arms out. Do remember to buy the correct size though. And yes, like any baby clothing, they outgrow them pretty fast.


Last, Halo Sleepsack Swaddle. I don’t know why I never knew of this before. It’s a sleep sack that has a velcro-on flap for the arms only! So when baby is awake, you can keep him in the sleep sack and not have to worry about his feet gets cold. When it’s time for sleep, just put on the velcro arm swaddle flap and you’re ready! The center zipper zips from the top down, so you can open from the bottom and change the baby without even taking them out of the swaddle! Halo’s swaddle part has very large areas for velcro, so it’s more forgiving for baby growth and easier for parents. 

Verdict: Swaddle is a must. I would go for Kiddopotamus or Halo though. And yes, get them before baby arrives and learn to use them.

Bath essentials  and grooming kit
Well, yes and no. At 3 months, we have only used the all-purpose J&J bathing gel with CC. Didn’t even open the shampoo or diaper powder or anything else. We did have to use the baby oil and brush/comb to get his cradle cap out. We now bath CC every night, but only 2-3 times a week do we use bath gel.

As for grooming kit, they need it. Especially nail filer, nail cutter, and brush/comb. Of course, if you have one that has slow growth in nails or have no hair, then don’t worry about it.
Verdict: It’s not something you need to get before baby or even immediately after. Even if you need it, you can always get them at any grocery store, Target, or Amazon.

Parenting books
Yes you can pretty much find everything from the Internet. But with a baby in tow, you can’t possibly always have time or hands to go online. I happen to have Kindle which allows me to read my books on my iPhone. So I bought a few parenting books. In all honesty, they don’t say much other than common sense. But as first-time parents, our parenting common sense just isn’t enough, or we just fear so. Here are a few books I’ve bought. Oh, I would suggest buying them and reading them at least once PRIOR to the baby. Because it’s hard to read when you are sleep deprived. :) You can always reference back later.

Also, please also note I am NOT a supporter of Cry-It-Out method and therefore my opinion on parenting books is very subjective.

• The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer, by Dr Harvey Karp – I tend to like this book the most. It preaches the concept of “4th trimester”, which makes a lot of sense to me. And we have used many of his techniques with our fussy CC and they all worked! One very key point is, you have to recognize sometimes it takes more than one techniques, more than 10-15 minutes with those techniques, to change a baby’s state of fussiness. In short, be patient. Note, this also comes in DVD, which many sleep-deprived parents prefer.
• Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child , by Dr. Marc Weissbluth – This book come highly recommended by our pediatrician, but boy was it difficult to read. I felt like I’m reading JAMA rather than a parenting book! Lots of statistics and experimental details, which I feel parents could be spared of. It puts me to sleep before it puts the baby to sleep! (Maybe I should read this to CC then?!) One key take-away is, have a routine for your baby, but NEVER let your baby/toddler be awake for more than two hours at any given time. I’ve stick to that and sometimes if we get close to or go slightly beyond two hours, we do find CC gets very drowsy and even over-tired and fussy. I wouldn’t recommend buying this unless you are into doing heavy research.
• The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night, by Elilzabeth Pantley – It’s a book I think would be better bought in paperback rather than e-book format. Simply because its formatting and style. As for content, I do like her gentle approach of sleep training. No, I don’t believe babies younger than 3 months old (that’s CC’s current age and I can only speak to this based on my current experience) can be manipulative. I also believe when they are old enough to be manipulative, they are old enough to be reasoned with. And therefore, I don’t believe young babies should be left to cry. For one, I don’t have the heart to leave my CC to cry so I get a few more minutes of shut-eye every night. To quote Pantley, "The irrefutable truth is that we cannot change a comfortable, loving-to-sleep (but waking-up-all-night) history to a go-to-sleep-and-stay-asleep-on-your-own routine without one of two things: crying or time. Personally, I choose time."
• What Babies Say Before They Can Talk, by Dr. Paul Holinger and Kalia  Doner – I bought this book but just haven’t had the chance to really start it. Can’t comment on it yet but I think it’s an interesting read.

Verdict: It’s not a matter of must-have or not, it’s a matter of peace of mind for first-time parents. Therefore, just get them!


Baking soda (yes, baking soda)
Oh what a cheap smell-saver! We buy a small box of Arm and Hammer baking soda (don’t make a mistake and buy baking powder!!) and keep it by the diaper pail/changing table. We sprinkle some into the diaper pail at times and it totally keeps the smell from coming out!

Verdict: Must have for your nose sanity

Baby Must-have’s, Nice-to-have’s, and Shouldn’t-have’s (Part 2)

Part 2 is all about the yummies! I will finish up the rest in Part 3.

Nursing pads
I went through a few nursing pads, and honestly still can’t decide on which one(s) works the best. But again, if you are breastfeeding, you’ll need them. Especially if you have over supply like I do!
Here are the three types I’ve tried:

Lansinoh Ultra Soft Disposable Nursing Pad – This is great for travel because it’s individually packed and fairly thin, and it also has adhesive in the back to secure on your bra. But I am small-chested and I find it too large and therefore shifts around in my bra! Also, when it gets wet, the absorbing gel inside tend to leak out. Yuck! I did not purchase a second box.

Johnson’s – Great in size and has back adhesive. However, a bit thick. Great if your clothes or nursing bra is very sheer though.

The First Year – Lanolin Disposable – These pads are great if you have sensitive nipples. It already has lanolin at the center, so it’s soft and easy on your nipples. The size and thickness are also perfect for someone like me. One major drawback is it does not have back adhesive, so they do move around.

Verdict: Must have if you breastfeed. Which brand you prefer is just a personal choice.

Nursing cover
If you plan to breast feeding, you MUST have nursing cover. Bebe au lait is the common brand people go for, since it covers and have a semi-circle wire that allows you to look down at your baby. However, give we have a winter baby, I find it a bit too thin and expensive. So I made my own nursing cover.

Basically just a double-layered rectangular cloth, with semi-circle wire, and a strap to hook over your neck. Even if you don’t go out all that much, if you have visitors at home, this is still a life-saver. And it keeps you nice and warm! :) It very often doubles as CC’s traveling blanket or rain cover also!

Verdict: Must have, if you’re breastfeeding and nursing in person.

Breastfeeding pillow
I used to think it’s absolutely necessary to have nursing pillow. And maybe it is to some mothers. But other than the first month, and even then, I hardly use the nursing pillow. Because it’s not thick enough to rest completely on my lap, so I either have to slouch, or stuff a real pillow under the nursing pillow.

Half the time I look like a toddler with my donut going to the pool; it’s even more ridiculous when baby starts to puke and you run around with the nursing pillow on your waist trying to get towel.

And sometimes I’m downstairs while the nursing pillow is upstairs. I have the baby and now I have to try to put the nursing pillow on, stuff another pillow under it, while holding the baby. Too much work!
Yes, it does put some strain on my wrist/arm without it, but with some practice it’s not so bad at all.

I do have to say a disclaimer though. I have only used “My Breast Friend” nursing pillow, which has a buckle. I’m not sure if Boppy’s nursing pillow would be better.


Bottle warmer
Regardless how you feed, you’ll need this. We’ve got ours from Avent and honestly don’t like it so much. The light flickers on and off while it warms or turn off to keep the water constant. However, it does not keep the content being warmed at constant temperature, neither does it turns itself off when it boils dry (or I dare not try). So we always have to stand by it to watch. I have heard First Year’s is better, since it tells you how much water to put in, and when the water boils dry it turns off and the bottle/food is ready. But since we already have the Avent warmer and we don’t even bottle feed that much, we continue to stand by the warmer and wait…

Verdict: It’s a must have, starting around birth if you formula feed, 3 weeks if you breastfeed. But I’m not sure the one we have is the best choice.


Bottle drying rack
I guess you can dry the bottle on any drying rack. But it does get out of hand at times, if you are cleaning multiple bottles. So we bought the Boon Grass Coutertop Drying Rack and use it only for CC’s everything. It’s quite decorative and works with things from bottle to nipples to medicine syringe.

Verdict: Not a must have, since you can be creative and do without. But a nice-to-have.


Pacifier
Oh we tried so many and CC seems to only take the one we tried first, the Wubbanub Infant Plush Toy Pacifier. Yah, it’s ridiculous expensive for a pacifier but it’s ridiculously cute when he’s sucking on it! Also makes it easy for us to fish it out of diaper bag or purse. I guess CC likes it because the nipple shape is similar to those of his bottles. Not that he likes either one all that much, but when he’s fussy in the carseat and car is moving, I can sometimes calm him temporarily using this soothie.

We have also bought a few more, but I don’t quite remember the names and he dislike them anyhow. They are, however, much cheaper than this.

Verdict: Not a must have. CC likes his little knuckle more than any soothie.

When You Think You Can’t Do It Anymore…

Yes, I am still talking about parenthood. The sad brutal reality is, it is the one thing in this world that there is just no (easy) way out.

At three months old, CC again resist the bottle. Not sure what we are doing wrong, but “dislike” is an understatement. With his first day at daycare looming in exactly one month away, I find myself losing the already very little sleep over it, yet again.

In addition, we are hearing left and right how easy so-and-so’s baby is/was to raise. It makes me wonder, “What are we doing wrong?”

Again, losing even more of the little sleep I get. (And I swear, I was never a worry-wart!)

I shared my worries with our nanny. I also was very honest about our choice of daycare and not her is simply due to cost. Her replies comforted me greatly; and if I ever were religious like she, I would say she is a God-sent.

She told me if daycare doesn’t work out, she could also do sharecare for us and some other family to reduce the cost. In addition, her sharecare price has practically no increase to if she were to care for CC alone! I asked her why so low in price, “I just want to help.” was her simple reply.

So when you think you just can’t do it anymore, you should consider yourself lucky to have others opening doors and windows for you.

Merry Christmas.

Third Month as a Mom

Happy 3-Month Birthday to CC! 

Battle of the Bottles
[9W] Boy, is it ever hard! No, not breastfeeding, that was a piece of cake for us. Bottle-feeding was absolutely difficult for us. Who said they’ll have nipple confusion? He is definitely not confused at all! We’ve started trying since he was barely 4 weeks old and following instructions (once or twice a week). He resists at times and takes it at others, but this past week  has just been a pure act of defiance! The second the silicon nipple touches his lips, he makes it abundantly clear that’s not what he’s looking for. Finally, Mommy gave up and decided to go out while the nanny works with CC to take the bottle. And there is ends, the battle of the bottles…at least for CC and nanny Mara, and sometimes Dad. With Mommy, CC still wants the fresh stuff!

[3M] CC was taking the bottle awhile ago, but at 3 months, he’s rejecting it again. Tonight, Dad suddenly feels maybe the flow is just too slow and that’s why he gets frustrated. So we tried the Size 2 nipple from LifeFactory. And he finished within minutes! Amazing. It sort of makes sense, since my letdown is always faster than average women. Babies are suppose to like using bottle nipples over Mom’s because it’s easier and less work for them, but if it’s more work, they would definitely get frustrated! Well, we will try again tomorrow with Mara. Hopefully that solves the battle of bottles!

Breastfeeding and Mastitis
[10W] Again breastfeeding itself is not hard at all. I never gotten plugged ducts nor mastitis when I was purely just nursing CC. But the minute we introduced the bottle (and therefore started pumping), all hell broke loose. Because there is no screaming demanding baby to feed, I forgot and therefore skipped a feeding/pumping. I started to get engorged while out and have no way to drain. Then plugged milk ducts. Then, the ultimate mastitis. Oh the pain of full boobs that can’t be relieved!!
And so I went on antibiotics Keflex. As a result, my body reacted to the antibiotics with 5 days of diarrhea. Okay, 5 days of diarrhea by myself is barely tolerable, 5 days of diarrhea with baby is just impossible! Not cool.

I finally recovered from the upset stomach, and then plugged ducts came back few times. Sigh, you just can’t win!



Holidays
[11W] Don’t get me wrong, I love the holiday season! But it is also the hardest time for baby who is trying to establish his routine, and the baby’s mom. With all the parties and celebration, we tend to forget that the baby may be over-stimulated, or simply unable to stick to his own schedule or to sleep!
So it starts. Feeding and burping is rushed because we needed to get to a party on time. Medication is skipped because we forgot. Sleep is segmented because we couldn’t keep our voices down.

At the end of the day, a cranky baby with upset tummy who pukes all over his Mom.

Maybe, as much as I love the merry happy holidays, we should just skip it this year?

Dad
[11W6D] Fathers can never understand the job of a mother is tremendously more difficult than theirs. But some do try. Back in our parents’ generation, Dads don’t even touch the babies at all. Yes, I do get very frustrated with Woz at times, but I still appreciate his help and his willingness to discuss in details about CC’s growth, parenting plan, and future.

Cluster Feeding
[3M] CC was finally sleeping 3-5 hour stretches at night lately, but all of a sudden he’s waking up every 2 hours wanting to eat at night, and even more frequent in the day time! Not knowing what’s going on and fear for engorgement and mastitis again, I searched online. Apparently, at 3 months, babies go through growth spurt again! Sometimes though, they do not necessarily growth physically. Sometimes when they’re going through some developmental growth (lifting heads, turning over, learning language), they also cluster feed! After three days, the cluster feeding went away and now he’s back to his normal schedule.

Sleep Training
[3M] I have been reading up on sleep training, and in general I couldn’t agree more with Elizabeth Pantley, the author of “The No-cry Sleep Solution”, that there are only two ways to train a baby to sleep through the night, tears vs. time. And like her, I choose time. Not so much because I am an over protective and pampering Mom, but CC did and may still does have some fundamental physical discomfort that makes it hard for him to fall asleep and stay asleep.

However, we contacted a sleep training consultant recommended by a friend, just to see how things may work. Of course, unlike our pediatrician who thinks sleep training shouldn’t be done prior to 4 months, she believes sleep training should start from birth. Given CC is going to have to adjust to me working from home starting January, and then daycare late January (which coincides with his 4 months mark), we’ve decided to just hold off and wait until then to make our decision on hiring a sleep training consultant. To be honest, now he sleeps at 9-10pm and wakes at 6am, with only one feeding needed in between anyway.  We’ll just have to find some way to shorten that one feeding from 1-hr to 15-min!

Fingers crossed. CC, keep up the good work. Mommy hopes she’ll never have to put you through intensive sleep training which may result in $500 less in our pockets and lots of tears for both of us!

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It’s like a light bulb has turned on in CC’s head, he now is very aware of the surroundings. He can also reason a lot better. I truly truly love my boy and look forward to all the fun we’ll have as mother and son.

Daycare

CC is now officially enrolled in one of the most expensive and hard to get in daycare in San Francisco!
As a new Mom and a now 6 years and counting San Franciscan, I was starting to get a taste of the craziness of San Francisco’s view about daycares, both for babies and for puppies.

At 4 months pregnant, the ink was hardly dry on our pregnancy announcements to our families and friends, we were already warned about how behind we were in signing up for daycare.

“Are you joking?” was my first thought. And no they were not. I did my research and found out, just like colleges, we need to “apply” for those daycares! So I did, made Michael went on one tour, and that was enough for us. We applied to two handfuls of daycares in San Francisco, naively thinking one of them ought to take us by the time CC is out. The keyword was “naively”.

At 2 months old, that is 7 months after applying for his daycare when we didn’t even know his gender, CC was nowhere to be found on the acceptance list of any of these schools! I was nervous! I expanded the area now to also include the cities by my office, and this time personally went to see one.

“Disappointed” was much of an understatement. Okay, in SF, Twilight, our puppy, gets a 3’x5’ room in his daycare. Seriously, a room! He can have his kennel, his bed, his toys all in that room for $55 a night! On the other hand, CC gets a crib that will barely allow him to turn from back to tummy! And it will cost us spanking $2025 a month!

SERIOUSLY!

Baby Must-have’s, Nice-to-have’s, and Shouldn’t-have’s (Part 1: MostlyMust-have!)

As we celebrated (hooray!) CC’s second month birthday, I finally have a little more time to think back to the things we’ve bought/received and review the usefulness of each item. Please note this is only personal preference, but hopefully a good reference.

Please note that most of the items and their pictures here are from Amazon.com. Yes, I don’t know how Moms survive prior to online shopping!)

This entry will be mostly must-have’s, at least things that you must-have in the first few months. I will also note down if it’s something you should get before the baby arrives.

Diapers and Wipes
We had this ideal of using cloth diapers and cloth wipes. Well, little did we know, first few weeks of a baby’s life it’s almost impossible to use cloth diapers! In general, cloth diapers, because the need to be worth its cost, are made a bit bigger for most newborns, even for our 9-pounder! Also, with belly button still not completely healed, it’s best to use disposable so not to cover it and rub against it. Lastly, cloth diaper in general does not absorb as quickly as disposable, which allows the baby to complain about wetness sooner and therefore better for their skin (so they’re not stewing in their own filth!). This would be a wonderful trait for potty-training kids, but for the few days we’ve tried on CC, it was not so good for a baby who is hard to fall asleep and wakes easily (aka CC). Therefore, we’re not putting the use of our cloth diapers on hold.

However, in the meanwhile, we have discovered a wonderful service offered by Amazon.com. Amazon Mom! We subscribed to the service and they will send the diapers, free of second day shipping charge, at the schedule we set, at a discounted rate! We’ve been buying Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive diapers. and loving it! It is what the hospital uses, so far not causing any diaper rash on CC, and it also has a pee indication that allows us to tell if CC has pee’d without taking the diaper off! We love it!

As for wipes, we use Pampers Sensitive Baby Wipes. We just bought the refills and put them in the box. It’s alcohol and fragrance free. It feels good even to my skin!

Verdicts:

• Thumbs up for Pampers disposable diapers and wipes. Must have BEFORE baby is here.
• TBD for cloth diapers. Definitely a money saving product though.

Diaper Spray
Given we bought our bumGenius diapers, we also bought and installed bumGenius diaper spray. In the few days we’ve used it on soiled diapers, as well as using it to clean baby puke off any clothing item, it was WONDERFUL! It acts as a very strong spraying tiny showerhead, but it connects directly to your toilet water source. Therefore, you can spray directly into the toilet and just flush! 

Verdict: You’ll be crazy not to have it! Since it’ll need installation, you should just try to have it before the baby arrives. Otherwise you won’t have the time and the brain to install it!

Diaper Gauze / Burp Cloth
I placed Gerber diaper gauze on the registry, as well as purchased some more later and re-purpose it as burp cloth. What I did was cut them in halves and sew three/four layers together. They are the most wonder burp cloth ever! After a few wash, they absorb really well and still soft to baby’s face skin.  And it is true, YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY BURP CLOTH!

Verdict: Absolutely must have!! Get them (and lots of them) before your little one arrives.

Changing Table and Changing Pad
Instead of spending lots to buy a fancy changing table, we clear off my clothes drawer top and put the Basic Comfort Contoured Changing Pad by Summer Infant. I made a cover for the changing pad and put another layer of home-made cloth changing pad (similar to bath towel) on it. It’s inexpensive, easy to clean, and very comfortable and safe for CC.

Verdict: Must have, again, before the little one arrives.

Playpen / Day Bed / Changing Table
We received a playpen / day bed / changing table set from our friend and boy is it the best piece of baby furniture ever! That’s where CC spends most of his time during the day. It’s a hand-me-down and so I don’t have exact model, but it looks something like this. The changing table is removable and so it does not take up much space at all. The wheel on the playpen also allows CC to be moved around in the room. Worth its weight in gold!

Verdict: MUST HAVE! Need installation, get it and learn how to put it together before the little one.

Crib
We’re not exactly co-sleeper. We still want baby to have his own bed and comfortable sleeping in it. But getting up at night and bending over to pick him up and put him down has had a toll on our backs! So we have side-car’d his crib. We took one side of his crib off, and pulled the crib directly next to our bed. It provides easy access to baby while still have him sleep in his own bed. We also are able to have our own big blanket and sheets without having to worry that he’ll be suffocated.
The crib we put on registry and received was Graco Victoria Non Drop Side 5-in-1 Convertible Crib. I like everything about it EXCEPT the backboard. Given we now put the crib against our bed instead of against the wall, the backboard is now more of an obstruction than decoration. I wished we had ordered a crib that’s even height on all sides. But, once we move the crib to its original position, we won’t have this concern.

Verdict: Nice to have, can wait until baby is a little older. In the infant stage, the playpen / day bed is good enough.

Bath Tub
As any first time parents, we were clueless when it comes to bathing CC. But The First Year's Infant To Toddler Tub with Sling made it so easy! The mesh sling works as a hammock and baby just sits happily on it. Since it’s mesh material, the baby’s bottom is soaked in water just like if there is no sling, but it provides that level of security. One drawback is that it does not have a temperature indicator, but you can use any baby thermometer for that. Somehow the size of the tub also allow us to rest the baby bath tub on the two sides of our bath tub, while we sit inside our own tub to bath him. Most of all, it’s so inexpensive and safe!

Verdict: Another absolute must have. Although newborns just need sponge bath, so not something you’ll need until they’re 2-3 weeks old. Also can get easily from online.

Car Seat and Stroller
After  much thought, we opt-out on the traditional car seat / stroller combo. Instead, we purchased Chicco Keyfit 30 Car Seat. Here are our reasons: The stroller that comes in the car seat / stroller combo are usually very very bulky. Yes it’s comfortable with tray table and all, but your baby will never use it until he’s much older! By then, he can just use any umbrella stroller! In addition of being bulky (of course, hard to fit into car trunk), it is also extremely heavy. I’m a decently tall woman and I have trouble lifting it and storing it. Since we drive to places more than walk to places, space and weight is more important to us than how fancy the stroller is. Also, we can now lift the entire car seat onto the stroller without waking CC. We expect to change to another set of car seat and strollers when CC is more than 30 pounds.

Verdict: Must have, but only in this combination. If nothing else, this is something you have to have to even leave the hospital!
Diaper Disposal Bags and Dispenser
Okay, note, this is not “diaper bag” but “diaper disposal bags”. Just like puppies, you won’t want to leave the house without his poopy bags. You don’t want to be caught outside with a stinky diaper either! We bought Munchkin Arm and Hammer Diaper Bag Dispenser and just hook it onto our diaper bag. It completely masks the smell of the soiled diapers and large enough to put a couple diapers and wipes in it. Don’t forget to buy the refills too!


Verdict: Must have, unless you don’t go out.

Diaper Pail
There are many options, but this is the one we went for: Diaper Dekor Disposable System and refills. Again, another item worth its weight in gold. It has a tube of seems like endless plastic, and you can just cut off the dirty bag, tied the end, and create another bag! It’s hard to explain but you’ll know it genius-ness when you see it!


Verdict: Must must have, unless you want your place to stink.

Bottles
We originally purchased Lifefactory Glass Baby Bottle with Silicone Sleeve. I very much want to say I love it, and I do. Glass bottle gave me peace of mind when it comes to all the BPA contaminated plastic bottles. But unfortunately CC did not love the nipple that comes with the bottle. It’s too long and it causes him to gage. But I have heard many wonderful things about it and will try it with CC once he is more used to bottle feeding.

In the meanwhile, I have made purchase of The First Years Breastflow Bottle. It’s double-nipple system moderates the flow and its shape mimic real breast nipple. So far it works best for CC. And honestly, we survived fine with just one bottle.
 
Verdicts:

• Lifefactory bottles – Not a must have for newborns.
• The First Years bottles – Must have!
• [Update on 12/4/2010: We would like to change the verdict. Somehow CC now loves the LifeFactory one more. Not so much the Breastflow one anymore. We’re very glad since that means we’ll get to use all the 10 LifeFactory bottles!]

Detergent
I didn’t know how easily a baby keeps a smell, as well as how much he rubs against my clothes! But I’m just so glad I listened and bought Charlie’s Soap! It doesn’t have the “wonderful” smell of Tide or whatever brand you use usually, but it also makes the clothing much softer and free from the need to use fabric softener! Somehow our clothes are less staticky but just as soft. And we found ourselves needing to use less detergent.

Verdict: Yes, must have! And yes, get them before the baby’s born, since you want to pre-wash everything at least once before he/she arrives.

That’s all for now. When I have time next, I’ll talk about:

• Nursing pads
• Nursing cover
• Breast feeding pillow
• Baby swing
• Bottle warmer
• Music mobile
• Baby carrier
• Swaddle
• Pacifier
• Bath essentials
• Bottle drying rack
• Baking soda (yes, baking soda)

Second Month as a Mom

Baby Prison
[7W1D] I’ve always thought I would be a good mom. But my own vision of a Mom is someone who educates and disciplines. I did not know staying home 24-7, doing feed-burp-change-and-repeat is part of the job too. In fact, that is all to this "job” so far. Yes, I do feel like I’m in baby prison with no early parole. But the minute I see that cute little face, with cute chubby cheeks, and tiny little fingers…I’d like to say it’s all worth it. Or at least for that moment.


Sleeping…for Baobao that is
[4W] I’ve read from many websites and books to NOT nurse your baby to sleep. It will condition the baby to only want to nurse in order to go to sleep. While chewing on Mommy’s boobs was the best and easiest way to put the little one to sleep, I have that fear of a 7-yo needed to nurse before going to bed! So I took the advice of some people and start adding “constants” to the sleeping routine. For example, I know CC falls asleep very easily when I do lying down side-feeding with him (we both lie down, face to face, while he feeds.) So I tried to put him on his bed, on his side instead of on his back, warm up and give him the pacifier, while rubbing his back.

[8W4D] Well, 4 weeks later, we know there is no worries that CC will be a 7-yo who still wants to nurse. In the last week or two, he has started to learn to fall asleep on his own! Hooray!

Kissy Kissy Mommy! Oh, he just wants to eat!
[4W] Yes, Mommy is tricky tricky tricky! When CC wants to eat and roots around, I sometimes kiss his right cheek, and he’ll turn towards me. And then I’ll immediately kiss his left cheek, and he’ll quickly turn towards me again. If I do it quick enough, I keep kissing his mouth instead! Hee hee. Stole many many kisses!

[5W] Although, WORD OF CAUTION, DO NOT assume because they’re rooting, they have no back-up supply of milk in their tummies! One time, the little bugger decided it would be funny to puke a little into Mommy’s open mouth. YUCK!!!

Colic
[4W] Oh yah, CC gets colicky. Something every parent wish and pray and hope their baby will never get. While they say no one really knows what caused colic, one of the most plausible assumption is gas. After coming out of jaundice, CC started to be more alert/awake and ate a lot more as well. Unfortunately his little belly system did not get the message and therefore wasn’t caught up in ramping up the processing power. Result: very full, very gassy, very uncomfortable every time right after he eats. Supposedly adults get this type of gastro-reflex as well, but we don’t get it until an hour after we eat, and we are just so used to it. But babies’ gastrointestinal system is much shorter, hence affect them much much quicker.

Poor Mommy and Daddy, we want the little guy to eat more and grow more, but we also start to fear every feeding time. Little guy gets so uncomfortable that he grunt and strain and wail and goes crazy! At times, he even turns purple! We tried to do tummy massage and leg pumps, but he gets so worked up and so rigid, can’t even do much! But of course, he always gets relief right after he poops or farts, but somehow the frequency is far and much less lately. Yikes.

After a few days, Mommy finally got very worried and called the doctor. We also tried Mylicon and probiotics. They helped but not completely. Doctor said unfortunately it happens around 4-6 weeks of age, and of course, the famous last words, “It will pass.” (“It” meaning the colic? Or poop and gas? I guess both.)

One day, Mommy and Daddy realized CC was quite loosey goosey and relaxed right before eating and in the morning. Therefore we decided to do the massage and pumps BEFORE he eats instead of after. Mommy also tried to hold CC very snugly to her body, so provide some resistance when CC tried to push and poop. Well, it worked!! We were able to loosen the “goods” before the little trunk gets too stuffed up with both waste and nutrients. Hooray!

Well, this is no professional procedures, but we hope this can help future new mommies and daddies! And we hope this will pass soon for little CC!

[7W1D] In between Mylicon, Florajen (probiotics), tummy massage, and leg pumping, colic seems to ease up a bit until yesterday. Today, CC was in full-blown colicky mode! Unable to sleep for more than 30 minutes for the entire day. Mommy was pooped out by the end of the day and ready to cry herself!

[8W4D] Maybe his stomach issues have gotten better, or maybe we’re just more used to it and know how to deal with it. Seems like he has gradually move out of that fussy colicky phase. Fingers crossed!

Nanny
[7W1D] We found our nanny! Grandma went back to Taiwan last Friday night, so started on Monday, I was all alone during the day and officially full-time Mom. It was scary. Very scary. We went on Golden Gate Mother’s Group to look for nanny, but there are only limited number. So while searching for average nanny wages, I came across this domestic help searching site, Care.com. We narrowed our choices down to a handful of people, and started contacting and interview them. As of today, we have decided on a nanny! :)

[8W4D] After one week of having Mara, our nanny come in on Monday and Wednesday. When the nanny is here and I’m not busy with house work, I situate myself upstairs and do some reading / web surfing. While I complain about baby prison, the irony is I am also extremely tormented when CC cries and I’m not one (or Woz is not the one) to go to him and comfort him! I know our nanny is more than well qualified in taking care of CC and in reality probably much better than I am, but like any mother, I don’t think anyone is good enough to take care of my son! Boy, I think I’ll probably cry on his first day to daycare/school! To think I almost did when Twilight went to puppy playcare last year! But, it’s got to be done. Little boy will have to grow up to be a man, and it’s a mother’s job to teach him how by letting go.

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It’s been a good month, it really has. The drama of pregnancy, birth, and family has quiet down but it is nonetheless quite eventful still. Now back to a little family of 4, we struggled and stayed afloat just so perfectly. Woz has, in the meanwhile, gotten a spanking new job at the Canadian consulate. The little Woz family is happy and getting ready for the holiday season.
Happy early Thanksgiving to everyone!