Things I Wish I'd Known Before my Baby arrived.
by Rebecca Whitson

Assemble the crib in the nursery.  If you put it together in another room, you may not be able to navigate it into the baby’s room.

After delivery, warm liquids will help your bowels to start functioning again more quickly.

After delivery, drinking from a straw can cause you to swallow air resulting in painful gas. 

Have a good supply of maxi pads ready for when you come home from the hospital.

If you plan on using pacifiers, have several different brands on hand.  Many babies prefer one or two types.  Your baby may take a couple of different brands but may not have anything to do with the others.

Your baby’s skin may peel completely within a few days of bringing him home from the hospital.  Some babies peel all over, (including their heads) then their skin is fine.

If you plan on breastfeeding, don’t be surprised if the dirty diapers are pure liquid.  That’s normal and nothing to worry about.

You can give gas drops with every feeding. Try giving them before the feeding to coat them stomach and prevent gas. 

When you are cleaning the umbilical cord, don’t worry about trying to be gentle with it.  It doesn’t have any nerves in it, so it doesn’t hurt when you put the alcohol on or move it around.  The baby will be crying because the alcohol is cold.  The more you wiggle it around and clean underneath it, the quicker it should come off.

If you plan on having a baby boy circumcised, have Vaseline on hand and use a lot of it when you change his diaper and clean the circumcision.  The purpose of the Vaseline is to keep the circumcised area from sticking to the diaper, which would be quite painful when you pulled the diaper away from it.  After it heals, make sure you pull the skin down away from the head of his penis when you clean it.  If you don’t pull the skin down, the skin will start reattaching itself.  If you are unsure about cleaning, don’t be afraid to ask a friend with a little boy.

A battery-operated mobile is much easier on you than a wind-up one.  

Put a large Ziplock bag in your diaper bag in case you’re out somewhere and the baby poops all over this clothes, etc.  Also carry little plastic bags to tie up dirty diapers so that they don’t stink up someone’s trashcan.

Keep a stain remover on hand at home.  You’ll need it often.

If you’re trying to breastfeed and having milk supply problems, drink constantly.  You want to avoid caffeine and antihistamines because they will inhibit milk production.  Your doctor can also prescribe a drug called Reglan to help with milk supply.  (The info from the pharmacy will say that it’s for diabetic patients to help with their stomach, etc, but it’s also used for milk production.)  It is also known as Metoclopromide. 

Try the cotton washable breast pads after your supply has regulated a little bit.  I developed an allergy to the disposable ones.  It was not fun!

Breast milk thaws a lot faster when it’s stored in disposable bags as opposed to Avent storage containers.  To pour the milk into the bottle, I turn the bag upside down and cut one of the bottom corners off.

Don’t hesitate to let the answering machine get the phone if you’re nursing, napping, or any other time it’s inconvenient to stop and try to get to the phone. 

When you’re washing bibs that have Velcro closures, stick the Velcro together before you wash them.  Otherwise, the bibs stick to other things in your laundry and snag them up.

‘Newborn’ is actually a smaller size than 0-3 months.  You’ll most likely need newborn clothes at first. 

You may need a high chair with shoulder straps.  Some very active kids may stand up in it if there’s only a lap belt, even with it fastened.

Many babies start having trouble with constipation when they start on baby food.  Bananas and cooked carrots are both common culprits.  Sometimes having them drink juice will do the trick.  Our pediatrician recommended that we give him Benefiber when the juice didn’t work.  You can put it in cereal, juice, breast milk, formula or baby food.  It doesn’t take a whole lot.  Wal-Mart also has an equivalent that is less expensive but just as effective.  DO NOT give a constipated baby Karo syrup.  It was used as a treatment a long time ago, but it can cause botulism. 

Cabinet latches and baby gates are wonderful!  The cabinet latches can be more effective if you put them on before they actually figure out that they can open the cabinets.  We’ve used three different kinds, (one that you screw into the inside of the cabinet and two that go outside on the handles) and they have all worked very well.  I did leave them off one cabinet in my kitchen, and I put things in there that our son is allowed to play with.  This helps entertain him if I’m trying to get things done in there.  He loves pots and pans as well as plastic bowls, wooden spoons, etc.

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