(1) Breast Feed Longer: I breastfed Maddy, but only for 3 months because I just thought it would be easier...I was finding it hard to do anything...I know, a bit selfish. This baby, I want to breastfeed as long as I can. The only problem with this is...I have lots of events the first couple of months that he is born. My cousin's wedding in May and my sister's wedding in June. In between there will be outings, showers, stags etc...how will I do all these things and feed my baby at the same time. This is where I am going to have to go out and buy a pump I think...anyone have any opinions as to which one is the best out there? I bought a cheap one the first time around, but it was manual. I am THINKING that electric is better.
(2) Homemade Food: With Maddy, it was just a lot easier to buy bottles of baby food and pop them open, heat them up and feed. This time around though, I want to make all my own veggies for the little guy. The only problem I have with this is, I live in a small town and I feel that when making your own food, you need to get to a grocery store or market a lot more often to get fresh fruit and veggies. I have been checking out some cool websites on how to do this cuz I really have no idea. I feel so out of the loop being 5 years difference...I feel that I am going to have to open a lot of books. Like, when do you start feeding your baby anyways? LOL! My friend has the Baby Bullet and I contemplated getting one so that it makes things easier on the homemade food front, but a blender would do just as well...wouldn't it??
(4) Pampers or Huggies: In regards to the diaper talk...I learned from Maddy that we are Pamper people! I didn't think it really mattered except for that ONE time that I had to get Huggies and she leaked out of them and she actually broke out in a rash from them. I just stay clear of them unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!
(5) Bottles: With Maddy, I used the Playtex Ventaire bottles which worked great for me. Eventually I started to use the Evenflo Classic bottles as well when she was older...right after this though, there was that big plastic BPA scare where they took all the plastic bottles off the shelf and they came up with the glass bottles. Now, I see the plastic ones are back on the shelf with the lovely BPA FREE labels on them so I guess it's safe to use them (good cuz I didn't like the idea of glass bottles)...anyhoo...do I go with the Playtex Ventaire bottles again...or the ones with the liners this time? Do I go for a new brand and try out the Avent bottles? What are your thoughts on bottles?
10 comments:
I nursed Memphis for 18 months... he never took a bottle and nursed pretty often... I think it's pretty easy to slip away and feed your baby discreetly. There are wonderful nursing tops & nursing covers out there! The only reason I stopped breastfeeding him was because I was 2 months pregnant and needed a break!
I nursed Ruby for 20.5 months... she was an efficient nurser... 5 mins or so every 3-4 hrs.
I definitely think a good electric pump is a good investment if you want to breastfeed for a long time.
I just used a regular blender for the baby food and it was fine!
I always liked Huggies better... I would have liked to try cloth diapers, but never got around to it!
OMG I am SO not an expert in this area at all! But, when Holly was breastfeeding she would pump her milk and freeze it so that when I (or anyone else) was babysitting I'd just have to unthaw and warm the milk and feed it to Faith in a bottle. Anything else, I have no idea! ha ha! :-) I am SO excited to meet Tanner! xo
I breastfeed Piper for almost 13 months. But she was easier and quick eater... 5mins each side and she was done for 3-4 hours. So it was really easy to slip away when I was around people that didn't feel comfortable with breastfeeding. I did pump for the first 3 months and did have a good stash of frozen breast milk... but starting around 6-7months I started using formula when people babysat etc.
As for food... Piper was over 5 month old when she started eating...and I never thought I would be making my own baby food but it was so freakin easy. I used a regular blender and a steamer and regular ice cube trays. This summer, I might even start making my own food when we are in the perfect season of everything being fresh. As for diapers, we were definitely pampers for the longest time...and near the end we had to move over to Huggies....I like the idea of cloth diapers and I know it's expensive to start and then you'll definitely save money but I don't think I would want to clean and wash, etc. I already hate doing laundry as it is.
wow - thanks for the feedback guys - even you Linds! LOL
I nursed Cole for 12 months and he was not an efficient nurser by an means. He would feel for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. I pumped as well and I used the Medela Pump In Style http://www.medela.ca/CDN/breastfeeding/products/advanced.php and even though it was quite costly, it was the best money we spent. I froze milk to use when we left Cole with anyone.
I too made Cole's food. I steamed veggies and then used a regular blender and ice cube trays. Then I'd fill a large ziplock and label it and have it ready in the freezer. So easy and so much cheaper.
We didn't cloth diaper with Cole, although I would have loved to...maybe with the next one. We were Pampers people as Cole always leaked when he wore Huggies. We also used the PC brand (Teddy's choice), they were just as good as Pampers.
Phewf, longest comment ever. :)
No nursing for this momma! I hated it! I tried with Mackenzie and for the first week all I did was cry and stress myself out cause she wasn't eating. Finally, after a week and a half my MIL came over with bottles and formula and Mackenzie sucked back a bottle like you wouldn't believe! She was STARVING!!! I used an electric pump after that but once she started drinking more then 3-4 ounces I gave up. With Ryan, bottle fed! Never thought twice about it! I was going to enjoy this baby right from day one! Breast feedings not for me. Cloth diapers - NO THANKS!!! Could not imagine cleaning poop outta those things!!! We're a huggies family. Funny, I used pampers on Ryan and they did what huggies did to Maddy. And unlike all the other momma's who have commented....I used jarred food. I definitely went the easy route....
Good luck with Tanner! You'll have a great helper this time around. Mackenzie was 4 when I had Ryan and she was a big help
Yeah if Piper hadn't latched on so well from the beginning and if I would have had problems, I'm sure I would have given up on breastfeeding... But then again, I'm pretty cheap, so I'm not sure I would have liked to spend the money on formula...and all the time it takes to clean and sterilize bottles.. blah!!!
Yes if you make your own food make sure you label things clearly...if not your hubby might be standing at the freezer asking WTH is this? lol
I nursed both mine for about 11-12 mos - my only regret was not teaching them to use a bottle, so that I could have escaped from time to time. Don't buy the magic bullet - blender works just fine and you will be amazed - how easy it is to make your own veggies. As for diapers - I wanted to try cloth, but failed miserably when I learned how bulky they were and the work involved - we stuck to pampers.
How about advice from a Nana? LOL! I nursed the twins for almost a year and Livvie for 13 months. All of them went straight from breast to cup. I made almost all my food except pablum.(For Sancia too). Regular blender and frozen with ice cube trays, then labelled ziplock bags. As the kids got older I blended chicken soups, beef stew, regular food to just a bit chunky so they learned to chew.
Pumping is a great idea, I always had a stash of frozen breast milk in the freeezer, again date labelled with a Sharpie marker. Just thaw in a container of hot water.
Ok, dinosaur me....I used disposibles for the twins (27 years ago!) but used cloth for Olivia. Reg's mom made the cutest diapers with pink rosebuds out of flannel.They closed with velcro. I used diaper liners (at first homemade flannel ones) but when pooping was firmer I used disposable ones...throw out, and the diapers stayed quite clean. Laundry was not a problem...Reg did it!If he was away I just dumped the diaper pail contents in the washer and did a pre-rinse. Then I did a wash on hot water & Ivory Snow with about a cup of vinegar...cut the acidity of urine in the diapers and prevented rash. I had great waterproof covers for the diapers, Kooshies or something. You can find them second hand even!
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