Baby Care Questions

[PandaBear]

I will be a dad this coming Feb. Lots of questions and lots of stresses (the good kind). Wondering if anyone can help out with these questions. Thanks ahead of time.

1) Diapers: clothes or plastic. We are debating either to go with clothes services which means sharing diapers with other babies but washed in commercial, sanitized environment, or buying plastic that gets thrown out into landfill and may not be as comfortable (but much more convenient). Any recommendation?

2) Diaper pail: what doesn't stinks? Assuming I'm going with disposable diapers I may consider buying rolls of produce bags and bag one diaper each, wife is a neat freak.

3) Baby formula: which one is good, we'll try breast feeding but just in case we want opinion on which one is good and affordable.

4) Postnatal care: maybe not a Western tradition but in the East, this is the 1-month opportunity to recover your body (mainly the hormone balance) and the to do mainly involve soups with ginger, chicken, rice wine reduction, ginseng, etc. Many friends who had this said their metabolism significantly improve to a point that is better than before they were pregnant. Any opinion on what the Western population usually do?

We got a lot done already, like buying strollers, crib, decorations, swing, car seats, prenatal doctor visits, etc.

 

[greenaccord02]

All I can say is congratulations.

The produce bags seem perfect and the eastern traditional month of controlled recovery time (which is interesting, I wasn't aware of that) sounds like good thinking. I'm not aware of any analogous tradition in Western culture.

 

[postjeeprcr]

I can't help you but I will say congrats.

 

[SteveSRT8]

I will be a dad this coming Feb. Lots of questions and lots of stresses (the good kind). Wondering if anyone can help out with these questions. Thanks ahead of time.

MAJOR congrats! A baby will change you and your life will NEVER be the same. Best of luck.

I did 3, but remember they are all very different and none of them have read any baby books yet!

1-Plastic all the way. If you decide to go 'natural' all you need is some pet deodorizer with the enzymes in it and you can have a stink free diaper pail.

2-We bagged ours daily, never used a pail due to smell. My wife was a nut about cleanliness also.

3-Breast all the way. Ask your pediatrician. Ours was a fountain of fantastic info. This is a critical part of the baby's life and deserves some pondering. If you don't LOVE him/her find another you do.

4-If your wife breast feeds she will have difficulty maintaining her weight. The calories being removed thru breast feeding are prodigious! She may need more substantial food than soup, but everyone is different and her body will tell her if she needs more.

After all three my wife was as slim as ever and maybe even better. God Bless and good luck to you!

 

[Shannow]

One thing that you should try to do above all else is the breast feeding thing.

Not saying it as a religious breast feeding nazi, but it really is one of the best things that you can do for a youngun. It's the right type of milk, has immune system building stuff, it bonds the mother and child, but what I think is the most significant thing is exposing the child to taste.

Of all the kids we know who are ridiculously fussy eaters (white bread, mashed potato, peas and carrots) were bottle fed, and had no variety of flavours.

Breast fed, the diet affects the taste...e.g. our kids enjoyed Brussels sprouts from day 1.

As the the breast feeding nazis and solids...ours had solids at 3 months and 4 months respectively, based on their waking 2-3 times a night,and needing a little more "stuff" than the milk would provide. They both stopped breast feeding on their own, daughter at 18 months, and son at 10 months...they decided cold turkey...

Nappy bags, we just used left over shopping bags, and tied them in a knot. Zip lock cheapie sandwich bags were good when out places, as they were pretty air tight.

You will find that anything that has "baby" in front of the rest of the name is 4-5 times the price of normal everyday stuff (like men pay a 5 or 7 pack for underwear what a woman pays for a pair)

Most of all, congratulations, you are in for one heck of a ride, and some great moments.

 

[rjundi]

CONGRATS!

1) We did cloth diapers on mostly first child. They did not really stink that much if you emptied in toilet. The place went under at three months and sold us their supply at $0.25/diaper but the guy liked my wife and gave her an extra 75 free. We ended up washing ourselves. but left the dirty ones in a bucket of soap before each set.

Huge tip on diapers. Price Amazon to order them, with the subscription send they knock 15% off and then made me an Amazon Mom and got another 15% off.

2) Diaper pail = plastic grocery bag and throw in trash outside. Advice at hospital grab the diapers in the supply cart. The companies provide them free anyway as its a free advertisement for them.

3) Breast feeding is great if she can do it. You also don't get a baby that has that awful smell. The formula spit up really stinks.

4) Postnatal care. Be supportive of wife.

 

[Pablo]

Disposable. Plastic bags and the trash can OUTSIDE.

The post natal diet depends on the woman's body type. Some women have a very strong postpartum "reaction", others not even a mood change.

 

[andyd]

A contrarian view here. We had a diaper service. I dont remember the weekly price but it was in line with disposable diapers. Plus cloth diapers could be put to other baby uses.
Regardless, congratulations on the Panda's upcoming event!

 

[Donald]

Cloth diapers so you get them to use a polishing clothes when your baby is out of diapers.

Never would have believed it, but safety pins dull with many uses.

Figure how how much of your time your baby will take and multiply by at least 2 more like 4.

Never look back. Best thing you can do as a human is to raise good kids, get them a college education and let them make their mark on the world.

Start saving for college.

Best 2 days of your kid's life: Day they were born and day they are on someone else's payroll.

 

[greenjp]

Congrats. I have a 2 years 2 months old and another on the way in April. It's great.

Originally Posted By: PandaBear

1) Diapers: clothes or plastic...

We use plastic ones, keep an eye out for sales and deals at Toys R Us of all places. If my daughter is uncomfortable in them she's never let us know about it.

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
2) Diaper pail: what doesn't stinks?

We have a "Daiper Champ" and it's fine. It uses regular kitchen size trash bags. It doesn't smell when it's closed. People with more sensitive noses or neat freaks may disagree.

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
3) Baby formula: which one is good, we'll try breast feeding but just in case we want opinion on which one is good and affordable.

We used Similac. Got it in powdered form at Costco, this was the best deal on a "brand" name one we could find. I'll leave the breastfeeding topic alone but feel free to PM me if you'd like a mildly contrarian view.

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
4) Postnatal care: maybe not a Western tradition but in the East, this is the 1-month opportunity to recover your body (mainly the hormone balance) and the to do mainly involve soups with ginger, chicken, rice wine reduction, ginseng, etc. Many friends who had this said their metabolism significantly improve to a point that is better than before they were pregnant. Any opinion on what the Western population usually do?

Dunno about Eastern practices, my wife pretty much continued with her healthy eating and exercise habits (as soon as the latter was possible again) and was back to her pre-pregnancy weight in about a month.

jeff

 

[Virtuoso]

Congrats!

Diapers are going to be a personal choice. Cloth is great and will $ave you money over time. We always used disposables, though. Wal-Mart's house brand (Parents Choice I think) work fine, and seems to be the cheapest option for us. Most other house brands leak on us overnight, though. I wouldn't waste the money on name brands if you can avoid it. Remember, your kid just [censored] in them.


All diaper pails stink a little, but you get what you pay for. We used a relative cheap one, so I second Pablo's recommendation of keeping it outside. Best thing we ever did!


If you can use house-brand formula, go for it. They all contain proper nutrition for your baby, but sometimes the cheaper variety won't jive with baby's tummy. I'd highly recommend breast feeding, though. As long as she is able.


Post-natal care? Rest.

 

[saberz]

Congrats!

We recently (almost 6 months) had a baby, and its not to bad expense wise. My advice, if you go disposable, get Pampers Swaddlers. Huggies haven't been able to hold what Avery delivers.

Diaper Genie is the baby trash bin, don't need it,as essentially your going to end up double bagging it. I suggest you start buying a few boxes of newborn and 1 diapers now along with baby wipes. If she is having a baby shower she will get a ton but your going to go through em like crazy!

I also suggest buying a case of formula, we went with Similac, but Enfamil is fine to.
Reason is it may take awhile for your wife to produce enough breast milk, my wife struggled for the first 2 weeks, then she did it for 3 months using a pump to bottle or freeze a supply for outings etc. I wish we stocked up on more formula at that time because shortly after the 3 month mark she got mystasis(infection), got very sick. So He's been on formula since.

 

[greenjp]

Forgot to add one thing - wipes. The house brand Costco wipes (Kirkland) are the best. You get a box of 900 - 9x100 count re-closeable packages for $17 I think. They frequently go on sale for $4 or so off. They're cheap and are of excellent quality.

jeff

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
Disposable. Plastic bags and the trash can OUTSIDE.

You are way behind the times Pabs

They have these gizmos with a plastic bags inside where you put the diaper in the top bin and rotate it and now the lower bin is at the top.

Get the snip job ASAP

When mine left, I thought I died and went to heaven. You will understand in about 10 years.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: Virtuoso

All diaper pails stink a little, but you get what you pay for. We used a relative cheap one, so I second Pablo's recommendation of keeping it outside. Best thing we ever did!




In my neighborhood, bears and racoons would be all over that.

Congrats on the new baby!

 

[JTK]

Congrats to you!

Disposable diapers all the way.

I know with baby #1 we used one of those "Diaper Genies" to dispose of diapers. They work OK, but after baby #2, bombs were either tied off in plastic grocery bags & trashed or tossed directly in the trash.

You'll find that if the baby is nursed, there is very little 'stink' to the outflow.

We're on little one #4 (he's 6mo old) and fortunately my wife nursed all of them for about a year.

If you're traveling or need a sitter, we've always had a can of Enfamil formula on hand. Never any issues with that.

In regards to #4, postnatal, with our family of 6, often the best laid diet, exercise, etc, plans don't quite turn out due to time/resource constraints. You do the best you can once you have kids.

Joel

 

[Cutehumor]

we had our first baby on 12/1. we are using newborn huggies. still on diapers from baby showers. breastfeeding with a pump only, baby won't latch on even after a lactation consultant. we have a diaper genie to put the used diapers in. we are supplementing with formula. The hospital and the baby's pediatrician recommended enfamil newborn formula. my wife wants to use that. I think when she goes back to work, she will stop pumping and go straight to formula. we went to a breastfeeding class, I learned you can save $3000/year on breastfeeding instead of using formula.

 

[Al]

One thing with breast feeding. My daughter has a Masters in Nursing, and nursed 4 kids. On her last (finally) she supplemented with Enfamil.

One major thing Babies either need 400 IU of vitmin D or the mom needs at least 2000 IU of D.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Wow, Al recommended a vitamin!

Yeah, I forgot that. Mom needs a prenatal and then continue to supplement post natal.

Bravo!

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear

4) Postnatal care: maybe not a Western tradition but in the East, this is the 1-month opportunity to recover your body (mainly the hormone balance) and the to do mainly involve soups with ginger, chicken, rice wine reduction, ginseng, etc. Many friends who had this said their metabolism significantly improve to a point that is better than before they were pregnant. Any opinion on what the Western population usually do?




Were getting to your point, and my wife (who works with infant through 18 kids) has a lot of experience. Ill try to put together what she has seen to be the best (the route we will likely take), and I also hope to learn much from this thread.

But your item above is of most interest to me. This is, IMO, critical and Id like to learn more. Any good references that are in English about this?