Let's share newborn tips!

Tzutzie

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 5:19 pm

thunderstorm wrote:

From the day I come home from the hospital I make sure that during the day, there is sunlight shining into my windows and if it's cloudy I turn the lights on. At 8 pm I dim the lights of my bedroom and only put on a low lamp. My baby recognized the difference of night and day pretty quickly . She also tends to cluster feed starting around 5Pm until 9pm. She did this with nursing and with formula . After 9pm she is done with feedings until about 2 or 3 am and sometimes goes until 5 am depending on how much she ate earlier in the day. During growth spurts she eats more often.
I lay her down in her crib with a pacifier, every night around the same time and after a few minutes falls asleep. No rocking or feeding needed to get her to fall asleep. I'm not sure if she is just an easier baby or if because I started this routine immediately and did it every day that she adapted. (I always feed on demand regardless if it's day or night. She usually gets hungry every 2-3 hours by day.) She is 15 weeks old

This!
I did this from day 1.

My oldest would sleep 12 hours. Amd once even 14. No, I did NOT wake her. But I did stand over her crib willing her the breathe.... lol.

She ate a TON during the day. She'd feed litterally half the day. Making my back break. She was a fat baby. At 3-4 months I bought her 12 months strechies.... this lasted until she started teething.....

My other kid, yelled 24/7. But she knew when was day and night. At night she'd try to fall asleep. Daytime she'd try to coo (for those 30 second breaks of crying. Lol)

Sometimes, my kid's would make dirty after id
Put them down and I'd notice only when they were asleep, I let them sleep!!!!
Never once did they get a rash. Once she slept like this all night.
In the beginning I would wake my oldest and it messed up her sleeping.

Some babies cry because they are BORED! Or they need more physical stimulation/ sensory babies.
Babies can start teething as early as 6 weeks!

And the MOST IMPORTANT part, TRUST YOUR INSTINCT! Every single time I was right. Every single one.

amother

cornflower

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 9:05 pm

amother wrote:

I was thinking we could help each other out by sharing tips that helped us with a difficult newborn. I don't mean the obvious things like to feed her and to change her diaper, but things that may be less known or even specific to your particular baby that someone else might find helpful as well.

I'll start:

1. One of my babies had to burp twice after each feeding. He was an extremely easy baby and rarely cried, but 2 burps were a must with him.

2. Several of my babies became much, much calmer once I eliminated chocolate from my diet. This was not an allergy, just something that made them uncomfortable during those early months, maybe because it's a known reflux trigger. I wouldn't be surprised if this were true about many unhappy babies.

Wait, what?!
I'll stop reading right here.
I went off dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, nuts, fish and whatnot, but the one thing I kept eating was CHOCOLATE. CHOCOLATE that had none of the above ingredients, and I've if the only things I could eat! No, the diet didn't help.. I went back to eating everything. But what?!?! How did I not know this?!
I like this thread already!

amother

Cyan

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 9:20 pm

I wish there was someone who could have shared newborn tips with me! I was so clueless when my little guy was born, gosh I'm surprised he survived newborn-hood. I barely did but that's another issue.

Couple things I learned:
1. Newborns only wear stretchies. Don't bother with sets and outfits. And stretchies with zippers are Gds gift to humanity.
2. Shabbos lamp! I'd leave it open a crack so I could see for nighttime feedings and it was a blessing.
3. It's ok for your baby to cry if he's in a safe place. You CAN put him down to use the bathroom.
4. Make sure to eat enough. Everything is easier once you're fed

Fabulous

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 9:26 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

DD was an extremely challenging baby from the very start. She despised being swaddled, and could get out of a hospital grade baby burrito like Houdini himself. Before she was even 24 hours old! shock

She also hated every baby carrier, tie sling, and backpack we tried. That was an expensive experiment, but lots of other mamas appreciated me passing them down.

She had an extreme FOMO (fear of missing out), and still does. If there is anything the least bit interesting going on, she cannot settle herself down.

She was also insanely colicky the first 4 months. Nothing worked except walking the floor with her all night.

I was shocked to find out that one of the leading causes of infant abuse is colic. It drives mothers over the brink. The advice was to put your baby down somewhere safe, and walk away for a few minutes. Even step outside and get some fresh air. Your baby will scream, but as long as she's safe, it really is OK if you need to step away.

If you ever feel like you are really losing it, don't be afraid to ask for help. You are not admitting that you are a bad mother, you are proving that you are an EXCELLENT mother! I wish more women had the confidence to reach out, and knew where to get help.

I have always heard this and said, naah, that only happens to crazy mothers, until I had my 3rd and my 2nd was also still waking me up at night. BEST ADVICE!! I did it a few times when my 3rd was very young and I think this has to be publicized more that it is normal to feel overwhelmed and sometimes you just need to take a break, even if there is no one there to give it at that moment.

amother

Teal

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 9:36 pm

I send baby whisperer. Though I know it doesn't work for everyone. I learned a lot of baby facts from her too. Such as newborns can't be awake for more than an hour (she says to look for cues). Also and ingenious thing she teaches is to run the baby's day in the following order: Eat, activity, sleep. So as soon as they wake up you feed them, then they are awake, and the at about the 1 hour mark (from waking up) as soon as there is any type of kvetching, it's off to bed right away. This way they are never overtired!
Then there are tips on how to train them to get to sleep on their own.
I combine happiest baby on the block and baby whisperer methods. And it's a process at each "growth spurt" to ensure they stay on track with the sleep skills.

1091

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 9:48 pm

amother wrote:

[b]

Stretchies with zippers in the front. None of the button up the back for me.

Tzutzie

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 9:49 pm

Fabulous wrote:

I have to 3rd this.

My mother used to tell about a woman she knows who had a very very large family (think 16 or more) and that the first few days after she came home from the hospital, her husband would take the brand new baby and put it into the last room till the baby learned when it's dark, you sleep. No crying. No food. No comfort.
I remember being APPALLED.

But when my 2ND wouldn't shut up. (My oldest would try to potch her and say "dada. Shaa!" She'd wake her up every night multiple times. With a noise machine.
She screamed LOUDLY)
So when this kid wouldn't shut up, I would day-dream about putting her into the laundry room and closing the door and having a good night's sleep..... aaaah those were good dreams. Lol.

And BTW, not all kids can be left alone to cry, at some point, mine would hold her breath and turn blue.....
It stopped pretty quickly cuz I didn't buy her bluff. I just gently blew in her face and she'd quickly inhale.

Mommyg8

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 9:58 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

If you are formula feeding and your baby is fussy, try Infamil Lacto-free. It's more expensive, and harder to find, but it worked wonders for DD.

See if your doctor has any samples. A lot of times they do. We'd ask for some at every checkup. Wink

This! Lacto free worked for us.

And I wish I would have known about crying babies = tired babies when I had my oldest Sad

. Some babies just fall asleep on their own but some need to be put to sleep and DS1 was one of those...

The best advice I ever got, and I babysat a lot so I know it works:

When a baby (or toddler) is crying they are either tired or hungry (unless it's colic, but I found that to be rare). Come to think of it, this works for adults too, just substitute "cranky" for "crying" Wink

...

ra_mom

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:36 pm

tichellady wrote:

My best tip is to get some help if you can afford it. It’s really helpful to have a break from the baby. I have read all the books and followed all the sleeping and eating advice and my baby is not a good sleeper or eater so giving myself a daily break where I can get some stuff done without interruption or sleep has been crucial.

Mazel Tov tichellady! When did you have a baby? That is so exciting!!

Teacher_EW

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:50 pm

Iymnok wrote:

Read "The Happiest Baby on the Block". Those 5 S's have helped a lot.

This!!! It is literally my newborn Bible and I recommend it to all my friends. The 5 Ss really work and it is a quick and easy read. 100% agree with this suggestion.

(As an aside, his other book, The Happiest Toddler on the Block, is a lifesaver when they get a little older.)

keym

Thu, Oct 18 2018, 7:11 am

BA wrote:

Try using the next size up diaper at night. It will hold more.

Or alternatively, put on two diapers- one on top of the other. I once did that and it was amazing how it really absorbed more.
Also pampers makes "overnight diaper" with up to 12 hours apsorbancy. They are more expensive, but I buy a pkg to use just at nights as long as they are still eating at night.

My personal tip is the first three months not to worry about losing the baby weight. Eat nutritionally sound food, but as much to feel full and content. It helps to handle the stresses when you're not hungry.

amother

Pewter

Thu, Oct 18 2018, 12:18 pm

My milk never came in after all of my births so I needed to give formula 100% after my initial colostrum and tiny bit of milk dried up.) Problem was that each baby was sensitive to dairy as well as soy (they often go together as irritants.) We tried Nutramagen and neocate but they really didn't do great on those but that was all the tried at the time. My most recent baby is now on something different that is amazing for her! Goat milk formula! Cow's milk based formula wasn't good at all but so far, baby is over two months and thriving with no crying like the others, BH! Growing perfectly and no stomach aches. Does need to burp a lot though.

I make it myself from recipes online that have computed the right amount of sweeteners, fats and vitamins to add.

This is the only baby that I tried using a pacifier with - the others never used one. They all grew very fat as they probably over drank formula instead of using a pacifier...