Wow! Nothing gets women talking like diapers and wipes! I was SO excited to read all about everyone's diaper experiences - some of them were hilarious. I definately feel that I can use a lot of your advice, thank you so much.Obviously you ladies (and maybe some men are still lurking out there) have lots of great advice to give - so I'm going to give you a couple more things to share your thoughts on.
• I hope to breastfeed for at least 6 months, do I need (or will I want) a breastpump?
• Are all diaper rash creams basically the same? The ingredients are the same on the container.
21 comments :
Oh Yay! I'm so excited to be able to finally post on your blog, Heather. (Very thoughtful, by the way, switching to Beta :)
I didn't think I would need a pump, but I'm so glad I had one. I was lucky enough to borrow the Avent Isis pump from my sister and I think it worked great. I got Micah used to a bottle right away which came in handy on more than one occasion - particularly when he was 3 months old and I had to go on some strong antibiotics and couldn't breastfeed for a whole week! I was SO thankful that he was willing to take the bottle. So, I would definitely recommend getting a pump. It's nice to pump and freeze some excess milk (your body will probably produce way more at the start) for later on when you might want to leave a bottle with a babysitter or whatever.
As for diaper cream, I've used mostly Penaten - the daily protection cream and the medicated cream, but I recently tried Sudocrem and it works a little bit better, I think.
Wow, Heather - we are SO close. I can't wait to see who goes first!!
I also used the Avent Isis pump and was really pleased with it. I tried a friends electric one first and was not impressed. Then I read that manual ones are usually easier to use. So I bought one and never looked back.
It's handy to have if you ever have to leave baby and he/she'll need to eat while you're gone. I also really liked just having a break every once in while.
As far as diaper cream I just use the Wal-Mart brand. I know there's some people out there that think it's too perfumey...but it works fine for us and it's cheap.
We do keep a container of Penaten on hand when diaper rash flares up but as it's so expensive we don't use it regularily.
Hope this help!
yippeee for Beta!!
i would totally recommend a pump...because even though you "plan" on breastfeeding for 6 months...you never know what might come up. my pump was so great! you'll understand once you're in the situation. i know it sounds gross - but maybe try & borrow one as they are quite expensive!
the best diaper cream is this stuff... http://www.beeswaxskincream.com/ but it's super expensive...but still the BEST stuff for diaper rash/burns/cuts, etc.... i also use Aveeno baby. but Kamryn reacted to it in the first few months, but now it's great. and heals everything up nice & quick.
As far as a pump goes, I think you should get one. I couldn't afford one, so I had to borrow. The one I had was older, but it was a really good name (it was $$$ back in it's day! lol) I don't remember what the name was, but it was good. It was manual, and I liked it fine. I would hope to get a new one with my new baby, but we'll see how the $$$ goes! lol
So yes I would suggest one, it's nice to have a date nite, or just a day to yourself sometimes, and if you don't pump, you'll explode! lol Not really, but you'll be in pain and eventually you'll just start leakin'. I only breastfed for 2 months (not my choice), but even in those first few months, my son took to a bottle fine.
For cream, I haven't used a whole lot, my kid just hasn't had the rash thing goin' on, but I have the Gerber Oatmeal diaper cream. The few times he started to develop something, I put that on right away, and it was gone! I have penatin, but don't think I've ever used it. I also have sudocream, again never used it, but a friend of mine did, and it didn't help her little girls rash at all! And that stuff is like $10 a tub. She started using the Gerber Oatmeal cream, and it started to heal right away.
Hope it helped!
I would highly recommend getting a breat pump. I would pump as soon as my son was done nursing to empty my breast. It kept my supply up and I would throw the pumped breast milk into the freezer and it would be there for when I needed it. I was in a wedding when my son was a month old so I needed breast milk bottles for my hubby to feed him during the ceremony etc...and not to mention the times you are out somewhere and there is nowhere to conveinently breastfeed. I used the Avent Isis pump and I loved it!
http://www.avent.com/
As for diaper rash cream...I was fortunate to not have to deal with too many diaper rashes. I used good old Vaseline for his bum. It cleared up the diaper rash and kept him bum protected from moisture.
Hi, we've actually never met, but I was checking my friend's blog (Stacey Friesen nee.Thiessen) and saw your blog on her list of favorites. Having two kids of my own, the title of your blog really caught my eye! Your pics are just beautiful by the way...
Unless you need to do some major pumping, baby won't latch or whatever, the handpumps are great. As for diaper cream...one of my kids was great with Zincofax, so that's what I bought for my second. Unfortunately, any cream with zinc causes such an allergic reaction for her that she ended up with her skin coming off on her bum. We were at the doctor's constantly trying to solve the problem. After $60 worth of creams that just made things worse I finally just used vaseline. The problem is that it doesn't heal. One day my friend told me that her grandma always washed her baby's bum with baking soda water at every diaper change. Amazingly enough, it works! And it's cheap!
Have fun with your new baby when he/she arrives! God bless you and yours!
Jobina Westman
I have never once bought diaper rash cream....still using the samples we got at the hospital after Hailey was born!! They last forever...so don't stock up before hand!
I didn't have a pump before Hailey was born, but it was definitely on the list of things I needed when I sent my mom shopping for me shortly after she was born. I also bought the Avent pump and loved it.
Until a few weeks ago I bought whatever was cheapest and it was fine. Then Sam got sick and had some serious poop issues and the cheap stuff wasn't doing it. I got some Zincofax on my doctors advice (the container says it's #1 recommended by pharmacists) and it is so fabulous. I didn't think there would be a difference, but the cheap stuff wouldn't even stick to Sam's raw diaper rash... It just came off on my finger or the diaper, I guess it is too solid or waxy or something. This stuff absorbs much quicker, it smells nicer, and it has a nice silky texture that just seems nicer to put on a little bum that is burning red.
Since we don't use it all the time, and it takes forever to get through a container, I am never going back to the cheap stuff. Maybe it's just me, but since we buy a container maybe once every 6 months I don't really care if it's $3.00 or $13.00. Changing diapers isn't the funnest job so I figure I might as well try and make it as nice as possible.
I was just re-reading all of these comments and thinking back to when I was 9 months pregnant with my first, standing in Superstore looking at the shelves of baby stuff completely confused. This is a good idea. Lucky girl.
You could also borrow a pump from Public Health -- that's what I did here in SK. You want to be sure that you are able to pump before you shell out the money (b/c there's no point in getting a cheap one -- Avent, Medela are good). For some reason I could never get a pump to work. And my daughter ONLY nursed (would not eat any food or take a bottle) until she was 9.5 months old -- I would've loved to have pumped some days!
In some ways it feels like pumping is hardly worth the trouble. But I think once you catch on it can go quickly. I remember sitting there for an hour and getting an ounce -- and I had lots of milk. Must just be my boobs, I guess. (And the pump they lent me from Public Health was broken...grrr)
I usually buy the creams that are straight zinc. There's a Johnson and Johnson one with zinc and petroleum which is okay. But I think if you get the zinc ones, it doesn't matter the brand. And, ya, when we've had nasty rashes we use Penaten. But you can barely wash that stuff off your hands. So we use it sparingly.
You are getting so close! Like I said before, you are so lucky to get all this advice, BEFORE you have troubles!
Pumps... I bought a Gerber pump right after Rowan was born, and I had to return it because it was aweful. Then the Public Health Nurse told me that they have a really bad reputation for not working. SO, then I borrowed a wonderful Madela hand pump, and it worked really well. I've heard that they're really expensive, so borrowing is a great idea. A lot of people I know have used the Avent Isis, which I've only ever heard really good reports. I think a pump is really good to have, although the public health nurse told me not to pump during those first really engorged days, because you WANT your milk to not be so plentiful, and pumping just increases the demand.
As far as diaper rash creams, I didn't need anything for Rowan until he was probably close to a year old. He just never had any problems. Now though, I use Zincofax. I tried Sudocrem, and it did nothing for Rowan. I also did the baking soda water, and that worked really well, at least when I was at home. It's nice to have a backup for when you go out.
Also, don't buy baby powder, as talc is actually proven to be a cancer causer. Cornstarch is really cheap, and does the same job.
Had the Avent Isis and it was great. I also planned on BF for a while, never made it past 4 weeks for either (long story!), BUT having the pump was great for that 4 weeks.
As for diaper cream. We were told to use Peneten from the ped. and it was great. Expensive, but great. A friend just told me about Ihle's, I think is the name. It's super cheap and the BEST cream, apparently. You ask for it from the pharmasist. I'm definitely getting that if we need anymore!
One more thing...the Avent Isis is a bit pricey but worth it especially if you are going to have more than one baby. I have a couple friends who bought it off ebay, brand new in the box and it was way cheaper that way. Even including the shipping!
Man I should redirect all these awsome women to my blog so they can help me figure out what double jogger stroller to buy! Lot's of great advice you are getting!
i didnt read all hte other comments so sorry if this is double.. i have never had to use diaper cream but i heard burts bees is wonderful... if you are going to buy a pump buy a medela or an avent if you can.. i would recommend medela for pumps because thats what they do as a company... i have gotten to try many pumps (as a doula) and have found that these are the best... cant wait ot hear the news... thinking of you.
Wow, it really looks like asking advice on the blog is the way to go! You're getting lots of feedback and that's great. Since I'm having my second baby, send anyone over to my blog to leave me comments too! Even though it's my second time around things are gonne be alot different with this one because I'll also have a 16 month old running around!
Can't wait to hear what you're havin'!
Hi, if you are interested in the medela breast pump (manual) I have a used one for sale. If you are interested. Let me know. I used it for my 2 boys and it worked well for me.
Corinne Reimer
I found having a breastpump very handy... because sometimes the baby wont latch right, so you have to pump. Or if your going out of town or some place ALL day and cant take the baby... you will want to pump before leaving so someone can feed your baby w/ the bottle.. and you will want to probably pump while your gone when you can... just so you dont get engourged.
I used a Medela Breastpump (hospital grade) I tried a manual one... the Avent one actually.. and it was a pain for me.
But if you dont have an outlet to plug in the pump, manuals are handy.
Diaper rash cream..
I hate all of it but sometimes you have to use that stinky stuff :-)
Ive used Desitin.
I find keeping their bum dry and washed though more helpful than any cream. Seems like the more cream I used on Caleb the worst his rashes would get after so long... it irritate him.
Nothing worked better than just keeping him dry
Corinne, thanks for the offer. I just ordered an Avent Isis manual pump from Sears. But I very much appreciate the thought - thank you!
With my first daughter I bought one of those manual breast pumps...I have one word, hon, "Ouch!" And, after all the pain and agony that I would go through with it, I would pump maybe an ounce of milk..so there I would sit in tears as I attempted to pump....let me tell you, not a pretty sight!!!! This time around I am in the same boat, unsure if I want a pump or not, but I suppose it may come in handy...let me know what you decide to do!!!(by the way, my name is Erin, I'm 20 wks pregnant, Christian single mom here in winnipeg, and I've been reading your blogs for a while, just never had a chance to comment on them!) You are in my prayers as you approach the big day!!!
We always had diaper rash problems
until we started using a hair dryer
Just like magic!! It is unbelievable how well that works!!
And it doesn't you a dime lol. If
you already own one. Just use commonsense and you'll be fine. As
long as it's on warm and on high cause you want to blow lots of air
but from a distance of about one arms length. Always monitor by checking with your other hand. It should feel comfortable.
And we use cloth diapers most of
the time and when we don't add a tiny bit of bleach when washing them then the baby will get diaper
rash too. So for anyone use cloth
diapers that's something you'll want to consider using. As little as two tsp on one load is all you
need.
OH MY GOODNESS YES!!! You should get a pump. :-) I've been exclusively breastfeeding for four months now and I am so glad I have my pump. It's great for storing milk just-in-case (like that week I had the flu and hubby needed to feed the little one) and also if you ever need a few hours off. I have the Medela Double Select which is great for semi-daily use (meaning you're not using it to maintain supply or for going back to work). I use it about 5x per week to pump 6oz. It's about $130 from Target.com, and for me it's been more than worth it!
Also - I wish someone had told me this when I started breastfeeding but the first couple weeks can be excruciating. I see so many girls giving up on bf'ing during that time because it's so painful, but once you get past the initial hurdle, it's such a great experience.
As for creams I use two: Aquaphor - the all-over baby ointment miracle. Our daughter gets a little rash under her chin (drool, chaffing from car seat etc) and the stuff works miracles. I put it on her cheeks because it's getting cold and windy here in San Francisco and it's great for her butt too, protecting from wetness at night (we use cloth diapers).
For diaper rash cream, I use Aveno baby and like it better than any other I've tried (mainly Desitin, which has fragrance in it), it clears up diaper rash pretty fast.
Blessing to you and your new one (who should be here soon!)!
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