A mom's best friend is a dishwasher, especially in the early days. So if you want to buy something really useful buy a dishwasher.
It takes me half a day to unload it - I don'y even wanna image my life without it.
It's simply the bestest thing ever invented.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Down to sleep at night
Babies get to fix their own schedules after a while. It usually suits your family's needs too.
Liam out of the blue started falling asleep for good around midnight. Of course midnight is a good hour but I wanted something more like 10ish.
Searching on the internet I found out 2 very important things for being able to put him down to sleep:
1) put him down at the same hour
2) don't let him sleep after 7pm
How I do it: Unfortunately, I'm not so good at keeping a fixed schedule (my household can't manage it) so I work around it. After 10 - 10.30 pm I can focus on putting Liam to bed.
If he doesn't already fall asleep in the living room , we go to our bedroom (we share bedroom) where I dress him in pj's, give the pacifier and put on carrions (a whole cd, on repeat).
Now he's 4 and a half months old and usually he falls asleep like this. At times he keeps me close by not letting go of my hands.
When he was a lot smaller I used to rock him (now he's too long and too heavy) or he would fall asleep at the breast.
However even if my efforts to put him down to sleep at 10 - 10.30 fail he stays in his crib playing and falls asleep for good at midnight.
Liam out of the blue started falling asleep for good around midnight. Of course midnight is a good hour but I wanted something more like 10ish.
Searching on the internet I found out 2 very important things for being able to put him down to sleep:
1) put him down at the same hour
2) don't let him sleep after 7pm
How I do it: Unfortunately, I'm not so good at keeping a fixed schedule (my household can't manage it) so I work around it. After 10 - 10.30 pm I can focus on putting Liam to bed.
If he doesn't already fall asleep in the living room , we go to our bedroom (we share bedroom) where I dress him in pj's, give the pacifier and put on carrions (a whole cd, on repeat).
Now he's 4 and a half months old and usually he falls asleep like this. At times he keeps me close by not letting go of my hands.
When he was a lot smaller I used to rock him (now he's too long and too heavy) or he would fall asleep at the breast.
However even if my efforts to put him down to sleep at 10 - 10.30 fail he stays in his crib playing and falls asleep for good at midnight.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Surfaces
I strongly suggest you taking out of the room anything that you feel you won't need in the months to come - like photos or a stereo or an alarm clock.
You'll need all the surfaces you can scrape. Baby things - daily, ordinary things, will fill every little space you have.
Most of all you need all baby things close by so you'll never have to leave your baby alone.
You'll need all the surfaces you can scrape. Baby things - daily, ordinary things, will fill every little space you have.
Most of all you need all baby things close by so you'll never have to leave your baby alone.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Burping
For the first 2 months every time I fed him I keep him as straight as I possibly could for 10 to 15 mins after every feeding, night included.
After 3 months he started burping faster and in every position and my waiting time dropped to 5 to 10 mins.
Maybe it was just my case but my baby was colic free and I think it has a lot to do with my patience to make him burp.
After 3 months he started burping faster and in every position and my waiting time dropped to 5 to 10 mins.
Maybe it was just my case but my baby was colic free and I think it has a lot to do with my patience to make him burp.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Crib
I had the crib prepared some weeks before Liam joined us, but I made it a ground rule not to put anything on the crib - pj's or a blanket or the linen - nothing - not even for a sec.
Habits are a nasty business and this is very important.
Don't lay anything ever on the crib, not even a tiny towel, more so when the baby is inside.
Objects might slip and suffocate your little one.
If you never start a bad habit you won't be faced with the necessity to change or worry over nothing.
However you still have to check on your baby every 2 minutes even if he's safely in his crib.
Habits are a nasty business and this is very important.
Don't lay anything ever on the crib, not even a tiny towel, more so when the baby is inside.
Objects might slip and suffocate your little one.
If you never start a bad habit you won't be faced with the necessity to change or worry over nothing.
However you still have to check on your baby every 2 minutes even if he's safely in his crib.
Help wanted
Help. I strongly suggest you get help at least for the first 6-7 weeks.
Liam started sleeping more during the night soon after his 6th week.
What I mean by help it's this: get your mother or your mother in law (although it might be a bit strange), a cousin or a niece - someone that doesn't have to work or go to school the next day.
Get them to share the room and bed with you and baby.
Newborns wake every hour and a half during the night for feedings - after 3 days you'll be too tired and in real need of this precious help.
When the baby cries at this time the only thing you can do is feed him/her and make him burp.
This is when your helper comes in. I called my mother over to help me. This way I had help and my partner rested. It's no use playing the hero - the help is needed.
As soon as I fed my little one I'd pass him over to mom - she would keep him in a sitting position and then change him or console him until he felt asleep again.
I used her a lot and I apologized frequently, but it was a real help passing him over and going back to sleep. We've had some rough nights now and then and all I can say is that having someone that doesn't have to work and on which you can rely at a100% is liberating.
I know for a fact I couldn't do that to my husband - sure then there's the whole bonding thing, but the man's got to work and sleep deprivation and work don't go along together.
It's how I did it and it was really helpful.
Liam started sleeping more during the night soon after his 6th week.
What I mean by help it's this: get your mother or your mother in law (although it might be a bit strange), a cousin or a niece - someone that doesn't have to work or go to school the next day.
Get them to share the room and bed with you and baby.
Newborns wake every hour and a half during the night for feedings - after 3 days you'll be too tired and in real need of this precious help.
When the baby cries at this time the only thing you can do is feed him/her and make him burp.
This is when your helper comes in. I called my mother over to help me. This way I had help and my partner rested. It's no use playing the hero - the help is needed.
As soon as I fed my little one I'd pass him over to mom - she would keep him in a sitting position and then change him or console him until he felt asleep again.
I used her a lot and I apologized frequently, but it was a real help passing him over and going back to sleep. We've had some rough nights now and then and all I can say is that having someone that doesn't have to work and on which you can rely at a100% is liberating.
I know for a fact I couldn't do that to my husband - sure then there's the whole bonding thing, but the man's got to work and sleep deprivation and work don't go along together.
It's how I did it and it was really helpful.
New hello!
I'm going to say hello once again because it's been a while and it's the nice thing to do too.
I'm a mother - I thank you beforehand for the congratulations.
Who would have thought, huh?!
Now as I have him on my feet and rocking him fast asleep I think that perhaps I should fill you in with my new discoveries - because let's face it! it's hard to be creative right now.
You might have heard/read these advices before, but this is what I've tried and what worked for me.
I'm a mother - I thank you beforehand for the congratulations.
Who would have thought, huh?!
Now as I have him on my feet and rocking him fast asleep I think that perhaps I should fill you in with my new discoveries - because let's face it! it's hard to be creative right now.
You might have heard/read these advices before, but this is what I've tried and what worked for me.
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