Baby Information
Please note: - All information is
based on my own experiences only – I am not medically trained.
Pregnancy and Hospital
My tens machine was fab - I
actually bought a new one on Ebay in the end. If you hire one and you are early then you are
stuffed! I had it on for 2 days solid as it took the
edge off the pains - It felt very odd when it was removed. (My early labour was spent at home without alternative
pain relief)
Contractions On your first labour only go into hospital when a contraction gets so bad
you find it difficult to talk through it. Anything less than that and they are not
strong enough.
Birth Because I'd had a really good pregnancy in the back of
my mind I thought I would have a reasonable birth. Not so !
Do discuss what you want before hand with
your husband. My husband and I decided in antenatal class we didn't want the
baby monitor that attached itself to the top of the baby's head and had to
argue with the doctor during labour about it. If it had been left to me I would have given
in at that stage and regretted it afterwards - the medical staff do need your
consent to do anything but do listen to their advice with an open mind.
It took me 4 days after the birth to say I
wanted another baby so it can’t be that bad. The results are definitely worth it!
Food Check the policy on food in your chosen hospital. Some hospitals allow you to eat and drink and
others only allow you to drink water. If
you are only allowed to drink water try to eat lots before you go in.
Breast feeding We suffered from lots of conflicting advice on this
one.
If you want to breast feed make sure your
baby is delivered onto your chest first whilst the cord is being cut. They should start to suckle. I thought suckling would be 2nd nature but it
isn't - you both have to learn.
Your milk flow is not instant and with me it
took 5 days to come in.
Important - Once successful don't let the
baby suck for more than 2 mins on each nipple to start with else the nipple
will bleed (and it isn't nice) Ask for
help from the midwifes or assistants each time with latching on (don't be
afraid to ask for help)
One thing I didn't do is cut my finger nails
- sounds daft but you need to use your little finger to release their suck if
they have latched on wrong and I was scared I would cut him with my nails. Perhaps pack nail scissors and a nail file in
your hospital bag. Get some nipple cream
and nipple shields ready.
If you do end up bottle feeding instead
remember that a happy baby is the main thing and there are positives and
negatives to both situations.
William had colic and we changed from Avent
bottles to Bfree / Dr Brown bottles (which you can get off Ebay much cheaper
than in the shops)
Bleeding Big black pants for the hospital (don't contemplate thongs for at least 4
weeks). Disposable pants are okay but
not as nice as cotton ones.
Black or dark night dress / dressing gown / clothes
- to be blunt you will leak blood and it can be embarrassing walking down the
corridor to the bathroom with stains!
Maternity pads - you do need them as to start
with even night sanitary towels aren't enough. Hospital ones are wider than the Boots ones
but my hospital expected you to provide your own. Always night pads will be fine after the first
few days. (You can't use tampons)
Clothes Larger clothes or soft maternity clothes. I only wore my first pair of jeans after 3
weeks. Stitches and jeans do not go
together so you need to have some comfortable clothes for afterwards. I bought a black linen skirt with elasticated
waist band and black linen trousers with drawstring waist just to be
comfortable and feel nice for the few weeks after.
Most maternity tops are far too baggy but I
have been wearing my Isabelle Oliver ones. They were expensive but have lasted longer
than the others.
Baby clothes – oh my god they grow so fast ! Don’t get lots. William was in baby grows for at least the
first 3 months as “proper clothes” such as jeans / trousers looked really
silly!
Husband / Partner Try to get them to take off the full 2 weeks if you
can afford it. Even more if they can.
Try to get as much done before the birth – eg
get birthday cards / presents for the next couple of months. Christmas presents. Last minute jobs around the house. You will not have time after the birth without
running yourself into the ground.
Get mother / mother-in-law / friends to do
the ironing, cleaning the kitchen, empty dishwasher, put a wash on, hold the
baby whilst you dress & have a shower.
First official thing to think about after the
birth is getting an appointment to register the birth. It took 3 weeks to get an appointment in
Leicestershire and then the certificates take another 2 weeks to come through. You need at least one full and one short
certificate. You can then send one off
to get child benefit started – you will need a full certificate to obtain a
passport.
Get a list set up of everyone you want to
know about the birth (I hadn’t done this and wish I had!) and make it clear for
your husband. Even do a draft e mail with all the addresses in.
Baby Shopping List
You will need
first born nappies (I bought a pack of each brand to see which I
liked best). If you want to do reusable
nappies I would wait until some solid food is started on!
sudocrem or similar. We use Kamilosan for nappy rash. Drapolene is really good.
vasaline or olive oil (for dry skin)
cotton wool
I wouldn't get Johnson toiletries as they are
really drying. Babies should be bathed
in plain water and then we only use a Boots sensitive wash for the bottom area.
Dentinox cradle cap shampoo for hair and
scalp (regardless of whether they get cradle cap or not).
muslins – I have at least 12 (wash them
before the birth – don’t bother ironing them)
baby grows – make sure they don’t do up at
the back. Front or bottom poppers are a lot easier. More complicated clothes
are not worth it for the first few months. You may want to keep some in the
packaging to take back if not used. I
liked Next (but they come up quite large), some Gap things (although some
stretched out of shape), Mamas & Papas had lovely fabric and Boots basics
were good. M&S are really good too. Only Next & Boots basics are ok for the
dryer.
Grobag sleeping bags are a must. We have 2 which have been brilliant. The fabric is really nice. Zip at the side is easier than zip up the
front.
William likes his hands so I haven’t used
scratch mitts that much. (cut his finger nails whilst asleep or
eating. We prefer to use nail scissors
rather than clippers)
Changing mat – one upstairs and one
downstairs (we have lots of old hand towels to put on the top so it isn’t cold)
Nappy bags or plastic shopping bags - reuse
vegetable bags from the supermarket
Moses basket – I thought these were a waste
of money but it is a great portable bed. Alternatively use a travel cot which can be
used up until approx 24 months old.
Infacol & gripe water – they will more
likely be colicy in the first few weeks.
Sterilizer – we have the Avent 8 min steam
sterilizer which is good. We have 8 x
9oz bottles. The smaller bottles only
last for a couple of weeks. I've since
heard that steam sterilising isn't as effective as other methods but I can't
comment on this.
I’ve found a bath support good although if I
was buying again I'd get a plastic rather than a fabric one – he was bathed in
the
Car seat – Which Magazine best buy is the
Britax Cosy Tot Premium which we have – this can be used with a seatbelt or the
new isofix bases (which are brilliant). It can be bought as a travel system which I
wish I’d done first. If I was buying
again I would probably consider the Maxi Cosi travel system.
Push chair - we have a phil & teds which
is good but thorns keep puncturing the tyres !
Change bag – big enough to get a portable
change mat, wipes, a few nappies and a couple of bottles / and later food.
Some sort of playmate that is soft. Carpet can be quite rough for a newborn.
A good chair to feed from – I’ve borrowed a
Victorian nursing chair from mum. You
need a straight back with both feet on the floor else you might have back
problems
Room Thermometer – I got one of the Gro
company eggs but it only lasted a day so I now have the yellow Phillips flower
thermometers which have been really good as they go in the bath water too.
I bought a small digital thermometer for use under
the arm pit but when he was ill he wriggled so much I couldn’t get a reading so
I bought a £30 ThermoTek no touch thermometer which is ok. I might consider one of the dummy thermometers
if I was buying again. So far we haven’t
had any major illnesses.
First 12 weeks
Hormones etc Expect to cry and at the stupidest things. I
felt like I was menopausal with sweating and forgetfulness.
One of the things I’ve noticed is I’ve lost
all appetite so try to find something you like – have lots of quick, healthy
food in like apples, bananas etc. We also stocked up on freezable M&S food
for the first few weeks.
Every first – going to the shops, to a
friends etc will be stressful but it gets less stressful.
Black & white books for the first few
weeks
They should also be able to see yellow & red
- seeing other colours develops later
He loves his Tiny Love Mobile - a really good
buy which was also recommended to me.
Bouncy chair – nothing too fancy. The angle
needs to be right and it needs to be washable. I have something like this from
Mothercare. It is great for getting a shower or putting the washing on.
Don’t buy lots of baby toiletries. You won’t
need baby wash yet and talc is not used on babies any more. Johnsons brand is
the best known but is really drying. Some toiletries eg massage oil will need a
patch test first.
Sleep Deprivation
This mounts up. Try to rest as much as
possible after the birth. With no physical exercise allowed for 6 weeks after
the birth remember you are in recovery after a pretty major event.
The first 6-8 weeks are the worst so try to
get through them as best you can – it does get better.
William had his first really long sleep at
night at about 12lbs in weight and after 6oz bottles. He slept through
from 10 weeks old up until 20 weeks old. We are now trying to get the
weaning right to get it to continue.
Books I had
“What to Expect when you’re expecting” for
the pregnancy
“first Time Parents” by Miriam Stoppard which
has very good, sound advice with pictures! Really
good for development too.
“the contented baby book” by Gina Ford. Some
good advice but I’m ready to burn it now! Remember this was written by someone
without children so Gina doesn’t have any of the emotional trappings that come
with motherhood.
“Birth and Beyond” by Dr Yehudi Gordan.
Really good for after the birth for development etc.
Remember that they need to get to know you
and you need to get to know them. Unfortunately the instruction book and
helpline number will be missing !
Once you think you have one thing sorted they
will change the rules again but on the plus side it is a wonderful experience !
3 to 6 months
Weaning
“Top 100 Baby Purees” by Annabel Karmel
“Baby & Toddler Meal Planner” published
by Parragon