I don't know what "colic" is. It appears to be a catch all word for a fussy baby who cries a lot for no specific reason, ie: medically diagnosed reason. What I do know is that my baby has gas, and a lot of it. That damn gas makes him go from happy smiling bug to face of fury in a matter of seconds. It makes him kick and squirm and rip off my nipple every once in a while. The poor guy burps and hiccups and toots up a storm, and you can feel that little tummy gurgling away. I guess that he doesn't qualify as "colicky" because honestly he doesn't cry that much and can you usually be soothed with something, but the whole gas thing sure isn't fun. So, I would like to post some options for soothing gas. Sometimes one thing works really well, sometimes a combination of things.
If the baby is too distressed to stay on the breast comfortably, I switch to a bottle of expressed breast milk so that I can make sure he is getting enough to eat, especially at night. Thankfully he goes from breast to bottle easily and we haven't experienced the dreaded "nipple confusion". I keep at least two bottles of expressed milk in the refrigerator at all times, and take one to bed at night just in case. I always do breast first because there is a very good chance that he will calmly get his fill on the breast, and I like to save any extra breast milk for going out, daddy feedings and freezing for when I have to go back to work (snif). I should also say that I tried modifying my diet, cutting out dairy, etc. and that didn't seem to help him. According to kellymom.com (which is an excellent breastfeeding resource)and other sources, what the mom eats is very rarely associated with gas anyway, unless accompanied by rash, excessive spitting up, and other allergy or intolerance symptoms.
Walking with the baby on someone's shoulder almost always makes him happy. Luckily my husband seems to enjoy this activity. He also likes going for walks outside in the baby bjorn but I don't think this has anything to do with gas relief? Maybe just being in the upright position? Repositioning does seem to help with gas, especially making sure to have tummy time. At five weeks I try to do ten minutes of tummy time at least once a day, always when he is calm. This builds his neck and shoulder muscles and also puts pressure on the tummy, helping that gas come out or go somewhere. I usually rub his back while he's in this position. A pediatrician recommended tummy time with back rubs for gas. After ten minutes he is usually tired of trying to hold his head up and does face plants or otherwise gets frustrated, and I want to make sure he enjoys tummy time so I don't push it.
When walking, repositioning, tummy time, back rubs, and also belly rubs fail, I turn to some supplemental assistance. I've looked up several products and read many reviews, and the bottom line is none of these things is a magic remedy. A product might work great for some babies and not at all for others. I've had varying degrees with success with all of them and they all have positives and negatives. The baby liked the taste of all of them and ingested them without difficulty.
First, I tried mylicon gas drops because I got them for my baby shower. The positives: It did seem to work to at least take the edge off. Also you only have to give a tiny amount. The negative is that it's not a natural substance so I can't help but think of it as medicine.
Next I tried Baby's Bliss Gripe Water. I also received this as a shower gift so I thought I'd give it a shot. A lot of my friends swear by it. Again, it seemed to take the edge off, at least for a short while. It's an "all natural herbal supplement" so I guess that's good. The negatives: It has fructose for some reason, and also 15 mg of sodium. Also it doesn't come with a dropper in the box so I had to order one separately. Finally you have to give a very large amount of this stuff- a whole tea spoon for 1 - 6 months of age which is a lot for a little baby!
The last thing that I have tried (so far) is a product called Colic Calm, which is also a type of "gripe water", whatever that means. I read several reviews online that said this stuff was a miracle and better than the Baby's Bliss because there is no sodium or sugar or anything funky in it at all. It's just a bunch of herbs. So, I ordered it up. Ok, this stuff is BLACK. No one mentioned that outright, until I dug further and found that many people were similarly surprised. The blackness comes for vegetable charcoal, which is one of the active ingredients. I guess this ingredient makes sense because charcoal is used for poisoning victims to bind with the poison and purge it from the body (usually with a vomiting agent). In the case of the Colic Calm, I believe the purpose is to bind with toxins and expel them (from the rear, not the mouth thank god). Obviously the black is the main negative. It makes for dark poops (green and black) and also stains whatever it comes in contact with black- clothes, burp cloths, what have you. I have found that if the baby drools right away it does come out with some black, but any spit up that occurs after the first few minutes has not had black in it. So I guess it moves its way down pretty quickly towards the poop end. From what I have read the black stuff is supposed to wash out easily but I haven't tried washing anything that had it on there yet. The positives: this stuff seems to work best of all. It comes with it's own dropper too, which is nice. Also you can give a very little bit- they recommend up to 1/2 teaspoon which you can give every 30 min up to three times in a day, but I start with 1/8 teaspoon. I think this is a mental block for me because I am putting black goo in my baby's mouth. I had an easier time giving him a whole dropper full of the clear gripe water. Still I would rather start minimally and add more if necessary. I don't know that it works every time I give it, but there have definitely been times when I have given it to him and there was an almost instant calmness followed by a good sleep or play period.
In the end I still try many of the remedies listed above to help my baby with his gas, rather than going straight to the Colic Calm. I still feel that if I can help him without any "medicine" that is the best way to go.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Of Course There Are Things That Are Good
I try to use natural products for the baby, the dogs, the dishes, cleaning the house, etc. as much as possible. In some cases there are great substitutes for common products, and in others you just can't beat good old Pampers. I will try to post about good natural products whenever I find them. Please note that in most cases I am not endorsing any websites when it comes to purchasing these products. I am just posting common sites so that you can see what I am talking about. Of course in some cases I am actually endorsing a website, as you will see below when I reference the Vintage Pearl or Earth Mama Angel Baby products.
Instead of Purell, I found Susan Brown's Baby Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer. It works great, smells good, and doesn't dry out your hands.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ET7EDW/ref=oss_product
Costco carries a good natural baby wipe made by Nature Babycare that is also cheap to buy in bulk and will ship right to your house by the case:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11482813&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|48022|76405&N=4040783&Mo=15&No=1&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=56098&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=
They are not as thick as some of the other products on the market but they do the job and have no chlorine or alcohol.
The Fisher Price My Little Lamb Cradle and Swing has saved our sanity.
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2002&e=product&pid=45667
I bought it on craigslist.com for 60 bucks. The inside part where the baby sits is all washable so there is no reason to buy new if you can find a good used one. The swing plays music as well as nature sounds and has a mobile and mirror to entertain the baby. He loves to fall asleep in there and it works great during those times (every evening at about 7pm!) when he wants to be rocked or moved constantly and mommy and daddy are about to fall over dead.
I love multifunctional items like the Graco Silhouette Pack'n'Play Playard.
http://www.buybuybaby.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=16257710&RN=7081&
It's a bassinet, changing station and pack'n'play all in one, and portable too (thought a pain in the rear to take apart and pack). We use it constantly. It also holds wipes, lotions and potions for convenient use. My only complaint is that the wipes holder is a little shallow so you have to restock often. They should make it so that a whole pack of wipes fits in.
Another great natural product line is Earth Mama Angel Baby. Their baby lotion is amazing. I have used it on my newborn baby from the start with no skin irritation at all. I have also used it on my own face and it's just as good as any expensive skin cream.
http://www.earthmamaangelbaby.com/
I looked for a simple little charm with my son's initial on it everywhere and couldn't find anything that wasn't super cheesy. A friend recommended this site:
https://www.thevintagepearl.com/
It's full of adorable, reasonably priced monogrammed charms and jewelry. After I placed an order, I found out that it's a small business by a stay at home mom, which makes it even more appealing to me. Be advised that the jewelry is hand made and thus it takes a while to ship.
Another great product developed by a mom is the Woombie.
http://www.thewoombie.com/
Swaddling is a total pain in the rear. I thought I could avoid the whole concept all together but as it turns out, my son likes to be in a tight space. The Woombie is a little sack that is tight around the baby but also stretchy so he can move their arms and legs around. It's super easy to use, especially at night when I am trying to move him as little as possible.
Instead of Purell, I found Susan Brown's Baby Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer. It works great, smells good, and doesn't dry out your hands.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ET7EDW/ref=oss_product
Costco carries a good natural baby wipe made by Nature Babycare that is also cheap to buy in bulk and will ship right to your house by the case:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11482813&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|48022|76405&N=4040783&Mo=15&No=1&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=56098&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=
They are not as thick as some of the other products on the market but they do the job and have no chlorine or alcohol.
The Fisher Price My Little Lamb Cradle and Swing has saved our sanity.
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2002&e=product&pid=45667
I bought it on craigslist.com for 60 bucks. The inside part where the baby sits is all washable so there is no reason to buy new if you can find a good used one. The swing plays music as well as nature sounds and has a mobile and mirror to entertain the baby. He loves to fall asleep in there and it works great during those times (every evening at about 7pm!) when he wants to be rocked or moved constantly and mommy and daddy are about to fall over dead.
I love multifunctional items like the Graco Silhouette Pack'n'Play Playard.
http://www.buybuybaby.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=16257710&RN=7081&
It's a bassinet, changing station and pack'n'play all in one, and portable too (thought a pain in the rear to take apart and pack). We use it constantly. It also holds wipes, lotions and potions for convenient use. My only complaint is that the wipes holder is a little shallow so you have to restock often. They should make it so that a whole pack of wipes fits in.
Another great natural product line is Earth Mama Angel Baby. Their baby lotion is amazing. I have used it on my newborn baby from the start with no skin irritation at all. I have also used it on my own face and it's just as good as any expensive skin cream.
http://www.earthmamaangelbaby.com/
I looked for a simple little charm with my son's initial on it everywhere and couldn't find anything that wasn't super cheesy. A friend recommended this site:
https://www.thevintagepearl.com/
It's full of adorable, reasonably priced monogrammed charms and jewelry. After I placed an order, I found out that it's a small business by a stay at home mom, which makes it even more appealing to me. Be advised that the jewelry is hand made and thus it takes a while to ship.
Another great product developed by a mom is the Woombie.
http://www.thewoombie.com/
Swaddling is a total pain in the rear. I thought I could avoid the whole concept all together but as it turns out, my son likes to be in a tight space. The Woombie is a little sack that is tight around the baby but also stretchy so he can move their arms and legs around. It's super easy to use, especially at night when I am trying to move him as little as possible.
Things That May Not Suck But I Wouldn't Recommend
I have also come across several products that aren't exactly awful, but are either not very good or a waste of money.
Mom 2 Mom products at Safeway:
I received a package of diapers and a box of wipes from this brand for my baby shower. At first I thought they were from some mom's club but it turns out they are Safeway brand. The diapers are purple, so they aren't very unisex. Also they are really stiff and it's hard to tell when there is pee in them. The worst thing is that they leaked numerous times, once memorably all over my cousin, who questioned my diapering technique in front of many relatives. I haven't had any leaking problems with Pampers Swaddlers. The quality of the wipes is pretty good and they are nice and big. However the lid on the box broke almost immediately and I had to transfer the wipes to a box from another brand.
Baby nail clippers
It's very hard to cut tiny baby nails with clippers. I use sharp manicure scissors, while he was sleeping, and have had no problems. Many of my friends tell horror stories about the clippers, involving loss of skin and lots of blood :(
Breast Pumps
The Medela Pump in Style Advanced backpack runs about 280.00. The Pump in Style Advanced in the metro bag runs about 330.00. For $50.00 you basically get two upgrades: the soft cups (breast shields) that go on your breasts and a carrier that can be used as a diaper bag. I went with the backpack. I thought the metro bag was too big and ugly to be used as a diaper bag and just bought the soft breast shields separately. I am sorry I bothered. In my experience the hard breast shields work much better. The soft ones fold up and pinch the breast on the sides. They are also harder to clean and stick to the breast more. On another note, I found a lot of Medela breast pumps on sale used on craigs list. I should mention here for propriety's sake that a Medea sales representative told me that it is not safe to purchase a used breast pump because it's possible that breast milk can get into the pump mechanism and germs/ diseases can be passed on to future users. This prevented me from buying the pump used. However, now that I have one I cannot see how cross contamination can occur, since breast milk doesn't come near the actual pump mechanism and all other parts can be purchased new (and cheap). Just food for thought.
Clean Well Hand Sanitizer
I am always looking for green and natural products to use for the baby and around the house. I wanted an alternative to Purell to keep around the house and in my diaper bag. I bought a whole bunch of this stuff because it comes in multiples on amazon. To my taste, it smells just awful. It has this weird, piney odor that stays on your hands for hours after. I returned all of it.
Mom 2 Mom products at Safeway:
I received a package of diapers and a box of wipes from this brand for my baby shower. At first I thought they were from some mom's club but it turns out they are Safeway brand. The diapers are purple, so they aren't very unisex. Also they are really stiff and it's hard to tell when there is pee in them. The worst thing is that they leaked numerous times, once memorably all over my cousin, who questioned my diapering technique in front of many relatives. I haven't had any leaking problems with Pampers Swaddlers. The quality of the wipes is pretty good and they are nice and big. However the lid on the box broke almost immediately and I had to transfer the wipes to a box from another brand.
Baby nail clippers
It's very hard to cut tiny baby nails with clippers. I use sharp manicure scissors, while he was sleeping, and have had no problems. Many of my friends tell horror stories about the clippers, involving loss of skin and lots of blood :(
Breast Pumps
The Medela Pump in Style Advanced backpack runs about 280.00. The Pump in Style Advanced in the metro bag runs about 330.00. For $50.00 you basically get two upgrades: the soft cups (breast shields) that go on your breasts and a carrier that can be used as a diaper bag. I went with the backpack. I thought the metro bag was too big and ugly to be used as a diaper bag and just bought the soft breast shields separately. I am sorry I bothered. In my experience the hard breast shields work much better. The soft ones fold up and pinch the breast on the sides. They are also harder to clean and stick to the breast more. On another note, I found a lot of Medela breast pumps on sale used on craigs list. I should mention here for propriety's sake that a Medea sales representative told me that it is not safe to purchase a used breast pump because it's possible that breast milk can get into the pump mechanism and germs/ diseases can be passed on to future users. This prevented me from buying the pump used. However, now that I have one I cannot see how cross contamination can occur, since breast milk doesn't come near the actual pump mechanism and all other parts can be purchased new (and cheap). Just food for thought.
Clean Well Hand Sanitizer
I am always looking for green and natural products to use for the baby and around the house. I wanted an alternative to Purell to keep around the house and in my diaper bag. I bought a whole bunch of this stuff because it comes in multiples on amazon. To my taste, it smells just awful. It has this weird, piney odor that stays on your hands for hours after. I returned all of it.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Things That Suck
The world of baby products is full of every gadget you can possibly think of. As a new mom, I tried to be wise about what I was buying, preferring to have minimal quantity of items with maximum use and quality. To that end, I watched, listened, researched and queried my friends as to what I would really need. Still, I have found myself with several things that are just pure crap or totally useless. I thought I would post them here so that my experience could possibly benefit some future moms...
PeePee TeePee:
http://www.amazon.com/Peepee-Teepee-Sprinkling-WeeWee-Airplanes/dp/B000EBQ8DI
This is a very cute and clever-seeming item. Unfortunately it is completely useless because babies squirm when you change them and the teepees simply don't stay on. As a side note, I have found that very few things actually work to prevent getting sprayed by pee when changing my son. The best method is just to go as fast as possible, which isn't easy when you are trying to get poop off a very small yet sensitive scrotum.
Prince Lionheart Wipe Warmer:
http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Lionheart-Ultimate-Wipes-Warmer/dp/B00008ODBG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1266845193&sr=1-1
This seemed like a very useful item to me. It's cold upstairs in my house and I didn't want to startle the baby at night by using cold wipes. The warmer does warm the wipes as promised. However the cushion that you have to put in to keep the wipes from drying out has several issues. First, it has a weird smell. Second, by the time you get to the bottom of the wipes, with several still left, they are all dried out and so is the cushion. Third, you have to throw the cushion away when it gets dry and funky, which happened to me after I ran out of the very FIRST set of wipes in there. Finally, when I got down to the cushion at the bottom of the wipes I found that it had left some kind of weird orangey liquid at the bottom of the container. I don't know what that liquid was but I don't want it on my baby. I gave this thing away to someone who's about to have a baby.
Mobi Digital Thermometer:
http://www.amazon.com/MOBI-70119-Digital-Ultra-Thermometer/dp/B000HZF0W6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1266845558&sr=8-1
Probably my worst experience was with this crap thermometer. It seems pretty neat- you place it on the temple or in the ear and it pops up with a temperature reading super fast, which is great for squirmy babies. It also tells you the room temperature, has a convenient light, and even speaks readings aloud. However, you can take 10 temperatures from the same location in the space of a minute and get 10 different readings. Here is a fun experience: it's about 2am, the baby feels a little warm and is fussy so I take a temperature. It reads 102.5. I take it in another location, it's 99 something. I take my own temperature and it's normal. In a panic, I run the baby downstairs and take a rectal temperature with a cheap hospital thermometer and it's 98.2. I tried resetting the thing, read all the directions (which are written in script so small you need a magnifying glass to decipher them), and finally put it in the bin with the diaper warmer for give away.
Adiri Natural Nurser:
http://www.amazon.com/Adiri-Natural-Nurser-Ultimate-Bottle/dp/B000VUN41G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1266845899&sr=8-2
This particular type of bottle was recommended to me as being "most like the breast" and therefore least likely to cause nipple confusion. I don't know about confusion, but the nipple is so short, the poor baby could hardly get a grip on it and just drooled precious breast milk all over himself. Into the bin it went.
Boppy Changing Pad Covers:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_11?url=search-alias%3Dbaby-products&field-keywords=boppy+changing+pad+liners&sprefix=boppy+chang
I really liked these but they roll up on the sides. Nothing I did could stop this from happening. Also they roll up when you wash them and then do not get dry in the dryer for anything. You have to unroll them and pin them down with something at both ends for them to dry. Even then they do not lie flat and continue to roll up on the ends. This is just too inconvenient and too much work. Disposable liners are much better for covering changing table surfaces.
Sleep Gowns:
http://www.amazon.com/Tadpoles-Organic-Cotton-Sleep-Months/dp/B001DLYRTU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1266846086&sr=1-1
I don't understand the functionality of these at all. You put a baby in them and then what, have to add pants, socks? Otherwise you have naked baby legs sticking out all night. How is this useful? Footed pajamas (especially with zippers!) or sleep sacks work much better.
These are all that come to mind right now but I am sure I will think of/ come across more later. I hope this helps someone! If nothing else it's nice to rant about this stuff!
PeePee TeePee:
http://www.amazon.com/Peepee-Teepee-Sprinkling-WeeWee-Airplanes/dp/B000EBQ8DI
This is a very cute and clever-seeming item. Unfortunately it is completely useless because babies squirm when you change them and the teepees simply don't stay on. As a side note, I have found that very few things actually work to prevent getting sprayed by pee when changing my son. The best method is just to go as fast as possible, which isn't easy when you are trying to get poop off a very small yet sensitive scrotum.
Prince Lionheart Wipe Warmer:
http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Lionheart-Ultimate-Wipes-Warmer/dp/B00008ODBG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1266845193&sr=1-1
This seemed like a very useful item to me. It's cold upstairs in my house and I didn't want to startle the baby at night by using cold wipes. The warmer does warm the wipes as promised. However the cushion that you have to put in to keep the wipes from drying out has several issues. First, it has a weird smell. Second, by the time you get to the bottom of the wipes, with several still left, they are all dried out and so is the cushion. Third, you have to throw the cushion away when it gets dry and funky, which happened to me after I ran out of the very FIRST set of wipes in there. Finally, when I got down to the cushion at the bottom of the wipes I found that it had left some kind of weird orangey liquid at the bottom of the container. I don't know what that liquid was but I don't want it on my baby. I gave this thing away to someone who's about to have a baby.
Mobi Digital Thermometer:
http://www.amazon.com/MOBI-70119-Digital-Ultra-Thermometer/dp/B000HZF0W6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1266845558&sr=8-1
Probably my worst experience was with this crap thermometer. It seems pretty neat- you place it on the temple or in the ear and it pops up with a temperature reading super fast, which is great for squirmy babies. It also tells you the room temperature, has a convenient light, and even speaks readings aloud. However, you can take 10 temperatures from the same location in the space of a minute and get 10 different readings. Here is a fun experience: it's about 2am, the baby feels a little warm and is fussy so I take a temperature. It reads 102.5. I take it in another location, it's 99 something. I take my own temperature and it's normal. In a panic, I run the baby downstairs and take a rectal temperature with a cheap hospital thermometer and it's 98.2. I tried resetting the thing, read all the directions (which are written in script so small you need a magnifying glass to decipher them), and finally put it in the bin with the diaper warmer for give away.
Adiri Natural Nurser:
http://www.amazon.com/Adiri-Natural-Nurser-Ultimate-Bottle/dp/B000VUN41G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1266845899&sr=8-2
This particular type of bottle was recommended to me as being "most like the breast" and therefore least likely to cause nipple confusion. I don't know about confusion, but the nipple is so short, the poor baby could hardly get a grip on it and just drooled precious breast milk all over himself. Into the bin it went.
Boppy Changing Pad Covers:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_11?url=search-alias%3Dbaby-products&field-keywords=boppy+changing+pad+liners&sprefix=boppy+chang
I really liked these but they roll up on the sides. Nothing I did could stop this from happening. Also they roll up when you wash them and then do not get dry in the dryer for anything. You have to unroll them and pin them down with something at both ends for them to dry. Even then they do not lie flat and continue to roll up on the ends. This is just too inconvenient and too much work. Disposable liners are much better for covering changing table surfaces.
Sleep Gowns:
http://www.amazon.com/Tadpoles-Organic-Cotton-Sleep-Months/dp/B001DLYRTU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1266846086&sr=1-1
I don't understand the functionality of these at all. You put a baby in them and then what, have to add pants, socks? Otherwise you have naked baby legs sticking out all night. How is this useful? Footed pajamas (especially with zippers!) or sleep sacks work much better.
These are all that come to mind right now but I am sure I will think of/ come across more later. I hope this helps someone! If nothing else it's nice to rant about this stuff!
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