I'm a mother of twins, RDA accredited Cloth Diaper Circle Leader, and an RN discussing parenting tips, green living, and products I love!
I really like my pediatrician and his office staff. They have a great phone nurse who I can call with questions. Yes, I’m a nurse, and like I have said before, sometimes that extra knowledge is trouble. I still call and check with my Ped for lots of things. If my specialty had been pediatrics then this might not be the case but I like to be careful, they’re my kids!
My Ped gave me a print out on our first visit with common questions and recommended doses of Acetaminophen (Tylenol). This has been VERY helpful. Babies are constantly growing and, believe it or not, a pound here or there can make a big difference in what dose of medication they get. My suggestion is that you print out this blog, take it in to your next pediatrician visit, verify that your pediatrician agrees with the following information, and then keep the print out handy (on the fridge, in the medicine cabinet, you get the point…).
Another bit of information that was very helpful to me was knowing that the average baby intake is 2-3oz of formula or breast milk per day per pound. So if your baby weighs 15lbs, most babies their weight will drink 30-45oz a day. If you are breastfeeding it is nearly impossible to keep track of their intake so you rely on how often they have a wet diaper and weight gain to assure you that they are eating enough.
My children also had constipation issues. FUN. Because of this, I learned that it was ok to give them 1 oz of juice for every month old they are. So a 4 month old could have 4 oz of juice a day. I gave my kids apple or prune juice diluted in water to try helping with their constipation. I wish that had been our quick fix. The drama, however, continues.
I hope these tidbits are helpful to you! I know I used them frequently.
Here are some of my favorite baby items. They all have made life easier and/or less worrisome.
Sleep sacks!
Sleep sacks are a blanket that zipper closed so that it doesn’t fall off of baby during their sleep hours. This is a wonderful product which addresses many concerns. Due to suffocation risks, it is recommended that nothing be put in baby’s crib. So how do you keep baby warm? There are sleep sacks that have swaddle flaps for newborns and plain sleep sacks for older babies. They even have sleep sacks for early walkers with foot holes! I personally never made use of the ones with food holes. My twins can both walk around in their cribs just fine while wearing their sleep sacks. (It’s kinda funny to watch though…) Here are two that are great:https://www.halosleep.com/ & http://www.adenandanais.com/
Oh how the kids love these. This looks kinda like a pacifier but is much more handy. It is BPA free silicone and can be put in the fridge to cool. It looks like a berry but is squishy and textured so that it feels great on baby’s gums. My teethers started using these at 4 months and still use them at 19mos! I used to use a paci clip on them so that they stayed off the floor but now hook a few Ring o links to them and the kids carry them around everywhere – teething away.
This came in handy for, of course, for mixing formula. I really hope you don’t have to resort to formula but if you do, this thing is great! It saved me from inflaming my carpal tunnel syndrome. This also comes in handy for mixing any powder into liquid. Super easy. Me likey.
Love these! Baby legs are like long leg warmers minus the 80′s. They are functional and add adorability to any outfit. I keep a pair in my diaper bag for those times when the weather surprises me and it’s colder than I thought. These also make it possible for my daughter to wear skirts and dresses when it’s cool. Did I mention that I don’t have to pull them down for diaper changes? Awesome.
These are the greatest toys! My friend shipped them to my twins for their first birthday and they love them. Scout & Violet have a USB port to plug into your computer and can be programed to play songs and speak your baby’s name, their favorite food, animal, and color. The only problem was when we spelled our twin’s names the way WE spell them, the puppy pronounced the names wrong. So we spelled their names so that the pronunciation was correct. Nothings perfect. The kids are, however, greatly entertained to hear their names sung by someone other than myself. Scout & Violet are such pals!
