Must have baby products, medicines and supplements

||?~Overview

Our first child (also read Our IVF Journey – what we wish we knew 10 years ago ). We experienced the entire gamut – colic, high/low temperatures, bloody stools, sleep apnea, throw ups/spit ups, and general irritability. Each time, to our relief, we found a cure – be it a proper medical treatment or some simple home remedy.

I am particularly grateful at how quickly we were able to fix his Colic, discover his perfect swaddle, and also get some sort of a burping regularity going.

This post discusses some of those remedies  – including nursing tips (how to generate more of mother’s milk) and teething relief tips.

Disclaimer: I don’t claim to be an expert on this topic – but these are things we would have liked to know before hand.

If you’ve worked as a nurse or know a nurse/pediatrician closely, you may already know these things even before having your first child. For the rest of us though, there is no guidebook. And we wish we had known some of these things.  Goes without saying, Always consult your pediatrician FIRST! Also, if it applies to you, please read – becoming a NICU Parent

Colic, Digestive Distress, Burping

Colic is defined as general digestive distress after meals. This can take many forms – including bloating, gas, irritability and other symptoms. Of course, see your pediatrician FIRST if your infant is experiencing colic!

This is just a list of stuff that worked for our baby (our pediatrician, though helpful, simply dismissed colic as a ‘something the baby has to live with temporarily’.

1. Make sure you warm the milk (whether breast milk or formula). Our son would have spit ups and regurgitate a lot of unwarmed or even less warmed milk. If it was warm to the touch – he would digest it a lot better. This was true for both breast milk and pre-mixed formula (ready to feed formula)
2. Try Gerber Good start probiotic drops – if they work, they are almost a miracle cure for Colic.
3. Goes without saying, use breast milk as much as possible, over formula milk (see the section on producing more breast milk).
4. Dr Brown’s anti colic feeding bottles seem to help reduce colic.

Homeopathic Remedy for Colic – In India, homeopathy is often used – if you want to go this route, consult a homeopath (for us, she prescribed Homeopathic liquid drops – Nux Vomica 6C – once in the evening for 10 days). I cannot say how well these worked; for us the Gerber drops fixed our baby’s colic in a matter of days.

The art and necessity of a good burp (or two)

Burps are essential. Your baby will experience gagging , choking and all things bad if it hasn’t been burped to it’s content. To get a good burp, first thing is to get good ingredients into the baby.

• Warm Milk makes our baby burp almost within the first 2-5 minutes. If we don’t warm it appropriately, he could take up to an hour to get those burps out.
• Gerber’s Good Start Probiotic Drops  – these, as mentioned above, were a game changer for our baby’s colic. Of course, these may not work for everyone.
• Elevating the head for a pending burp – If your baby hasn’t burped yet – and you know they are due – some people keep the baby’s head elevated.  I would put him in our car seat (on our stroller) – INSIDE our house. The car seat provides sufficient head elevation. This worked for him everytime – the minute I picked him up from the seat, he would burp. Another option is a baby rocker – which also provides an elevated posture. Keep in mind that elevation (especially pillows) are NOT recommended for longer sleep times – by the majority of pediatricians. There have been known incidents of choking etc. with babies sleeping in an elevated posture. Please check with your pediatrician. Short durations of elevations – especially post meals – seem to be okay (we were told so by our pediatrician)

Digital Infrared Thermometers – Temperature checks

Regular temperature checks are a must (we used this thermometer).  Initially, we used the under arm method with a mercury thermometer – but soon discovered that these digital ones were just as accurate. As a precaution – we had two of these thermometers – to make sure they both gave the same ballpark reading.

Checks are important for babies that are a few weeks old. Failure to maintain body temperature is a serious thing (check with your pediatrician). See this post for tips on dealing with fever in newborn babies.

High Temperature (above 99.6) – For us, whenever the baby had slightly elevated temperature, it was all our fault. We either had him too bundled up (too many layers) or hadn’t fed him in a while (they need regular feeding to maintain body temp). Unwrapping a bit, allowing the baby to cool down, would usually do it. Also, a large

Keep at least two thermometers for a couple of reasons –  a) It always helps to have a second reading, from a second thermometer to back up your first reading. b) The Upstairs / Downstairs – You’ve probably realized by now that it is not always possible to have time to move between flights.

Low temperature (below 97.6) – This can be much more dangerous than HIGH temperatures in infants. Our newborn had to be put on a heating crib pad till he could maintain his own temperature.  In less severe cases, lack of food can also cause temperature drops.

Keeping the baby entertained – Getting that 30-60 minute break

1. Baby Rockers – There’s so many to choose from. Ingenuity has some sturdy options. Tip – DO NOT try and pick up the bouncer with the baby in it. Always remove the baby first – no matter how sturdy you feel your bouncer is.
2. Stroller with car seat inside the house – This was a life saver. If your stroller is narrow enough (we had the nuna pipa TRVL system – was just perfect) to navigate inside the house – we would just take the baby for a walk inside the stroller. And some toys attached to the stroller rim – kept him entertained. This would keep him occupied for up to an hour. He would even take short naps in there.
3. Playtime Music Playlists on Youtube – These are soooo relaxing that it would often knock out mom and dad along with baby. Sometimes, a simple playlist can make the difference between a noisy baby and a ‘fall asleep quickly’ baby. Bose 360 bluetooth speakers (soundlink) are magic  – small, easy to transport anywhere – and great sound that fills the room! Order from the Bose online store for great deals (we got refurbished ones for $129 – that’s way below the new item price).

Blocked Noses, Respiratory Issues

Respiratory issues range from blocked sinuses to severe lapses (pauses in breathing). Of course, if it is the latter, call your doctor or 911.

Vicks Vaporub  – A small amount is all that is needed.

Saline Drops – These worked great for our infant’s blocked nose.

Steamer Inhaler  – We never used this , but it was recommended by our pediatrician. We had luck with the drops and with Vicks vaporub.

Sleep Apnea

This can seem scary. Our baby had this the first few days – and it was fixed by  – of all things – a caffeine shot! Recommended by our NICU doctor, the issue is not that the baby’s lungs aren’t formed. The issue is that the brain isn’t sending regular signals to breathe. And a shot of caffeine fixes that. Of course, your doctor needs to evaluate whether this is something that is viable for your baby. Absolutely get this checked out – not to be taken lightly. It is especially helpful if caught early.

Pacifiers

This is the pacifier that the hospital used – I found it online and ordered a couple more (the hospital usually gives you a couple on discharge).

Teething

Hunger and Sleep are the two main reasons babies cry (in  addition to a dirty diaper ). From 3 – 4 month onwards, your baby will start crying differently – while sticking his fingers in his mouth. You can easily reach in and feel the top of the gums – to see if it feels solid (start of teeth).

There is a teething gel – Orajel NightTime gel – that helps.

In India, almost no parent goes without this homeopathic remedy – it is a constitutional remedy especially good for babies. Calcarea Carbonica 30 C – 1 pellet – once a day. For a week or two at most. This helps babies with their teething pain considerably.

Milk Products – Breast Milk Boosters

Not taking milk from the breast? There could be many reasons, but one of the most common ones is having a blocked nose. Try applying a minute amount of Vicks Vaporub (very very tiny amount) or try using the nose vacuum suction device. Also –  saline drops (see link above) really helped our baby.

• Mother’s Milk Drops  – This is the worldwide supplement – there’s different manufacturers – the
• Hot water with dill seeds (boil half a gallon of water with a spoonful of seeds – let it slow boil for 15-20 minutes). – This is the GO TO remedy for every mom in India. It works within 1-2 days – and you start seeing a boost in production.

Feeding Bottles, Warmers, Drying Rack

Dr Brown’s Natural Flow Bottles – these are anti colic and sturdy

Bottle Warmer – This one was easy to use – we also tried a more expensive version, but this one works as well. Less steps is what we were after (you will not have time to do anything when your baby cries for milk) – and this served that purpose.

Bottle Rack – ‘This is the drying rack we use – very creative and dries well

Bassinets  and Sleep Aids

We chose bassinets that could be wheeled around. After trying one, we realized that we couldn’t keep moving it down the stairs and up. So we ended up getting a second one. This gave us a lot of sleep time options – for us as well as the baby. We had good experience with the following (mom recommended) ones from amazon and walmart.

PapaBlic 

Mika Micky Baby bedside sleeper

Sleep Aids

Apart from a good bassinet, the two most helpful aids for us were

a) Swaddle Wraps – These things are miraculous.  I learnt swaddling form the NICU nurses – and thought I was doing a good job. This ready made swaddle is a huge improvement on anything you can do with your own piece of cloth. As you know, stop swaddling once your infant is able to roll over on it’s own. Also, try and  leave the hips open – we would only swaddle the top part (arms) – and let him kick around all he wanted with his hips free. Swaddle for over 6 month old babies

b) The appropriate music – musical attachment for the bassinet. You don’t need the attachment on the bassinet – if you can just play some good sleep music (youtube playlists – search for baby sleeptime music or baby playtime music) on your device. But the attachments are convenient.

Butt rashes, skin rashes

Of course, get this checked out right away – to ensure it isn’t anything serious. We were recommended Boudreaux’s butt paste by our pediatrician. This worked wonders – in a couple of days, our baby’s severe groin and butt rash was on it’s way out. It never came back -but he did have a similar rash on his face once. We used the same paste – and it worked again.

Baby Eczema

We tried various ointments, includiing the Aquafor (doctor recommended). What worked best was Tubby Todd baby eczema cream – it was a bit on the pricier side, but relief within a week! We could see the eczema subsiding.

Pain Relievers

Baby Tylenol – as advised by your pediatrician. Works best.

Homeopathy Option – Check with your homeopath – there are several options for different types of pain.

Changing Pads, Diaper Genies, Waterproof bed pads

Pottery Barn’s Changing Pad is one of the most popular ones on the market. We used this one,

Bed Pads –  You don’t know how much you need this until you get one. We got multiple ones – this would let us lay our baby on our bed or anywhere.

Diaper Genie – We got this as a gift. Foot Operated – obviously designed by a parent – who understands there are no free upper body appendages. Foot operated – trash it in here – no smell. Replace the bags like you would a trash bag.

Night lights

Again, this is something that you will realize you need – the first few weeks, every sound your baby makes, will / should wake you up. To see what’s going on – a good night light is a must. There’s plenty to choose from. This baby night light worked for us – can be a little too bright – but there’s a setting that lets you lower the brightness. We were too lazy to figure that out – so we left it bright.

Reading List

There is no consensus on WHAT the best baby books are. Basically read as much and as often. And read while facing the baby – so they can see your lips. Read out loud and slow to your infant (I used to read my favorite author – PG Wodehouse – to my baby.  Partly because it would make me laugh out loud – and this would often entertain the baby).

Miscellaneous – Feeding Time Clocks

What’s a large wall clock doing on this baby items list?

Trust me, you will need to know the exact time of feeding – both the prior feeding and the upcoming one…and your phone isn’t going to always be around (or something you want to look at at 2 AM). The wall clock was a simple hack – one for the bedroom, one for the day room. Feeding times became a lot simpler for us – as we had a giant clock to look at to remember the current feeding time (phone apps don’t work as well for me..).

Summary

I feel like that’s a lot to take in.  I wish I had known half these things BEFORE our baby arrived. And some of these things (Colic, Temperatures, Teething, Skin rashes) were a BIG stressor for both the parents. The key takeaways however should be  – Colic is bad – but has an easy fix. Same for teething pain, skin rashes and other baby issues. ALWAYS ALWAYS talk to your pediatrician FIRST. Hope this post helps you shorten your learning curve. Happy Parenting!

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Becoming a NICU Parent