I wish someone had told me sooner...

...to upgrade bottle nipples to "Medium" flow from "Slow" flow at 4 months. We didn't do it until 7 months. The change has made a world of difference- Chase is sucking down his bottles and not giving up when he gets bored. This had helped him sleep longer at night too.

...about Bumpkins. Greatest. Bibs. Ever. (Thank you, Carrie!)

...to buy an extra set of breast pump parts sooner. They get worn out and aren't as effective.

...how much lighter and easier an umbrella stroller is. (Yes, now we have 3 strollers. But whatever, I like our umbrella stroller).

...that I'd eventually have to give Chase formula--and that's okay!

Baby Gear

Ugh! I wrote this entire post and then mistakenly deleted it. So here is my re-creation of it. There are links in the text to help display what I'm talking about.

****Disclaimer- Every child is different. What works for one won't necessarily work for another. And we're pretty cheap- if we have something and it works, we don't worry about trying something else. I did a lot of research before Chase was born, but have not checked the recalls (you can check them here) since then. Just a few things to keep in mind.****

Bassinet- MUST HAVE- I loved having Chase right next to me and the bassinet is small enough that he didn't look overwhelmed by it. The only downside was that with my C-section, it was painful to lean over and down to pick him up from the bassinet. I might have been better off with a co-sleeper, which is at the bed's level. Not sure it's worth the price difference, though...

Crib- MUST HAVE- Obviously this is on the definite list. But we didn't consistenly put Chase in his until he was over 3 months old. So while they worry you at the Baby Furniture store that it won't be in in time, you've got a few extra months while the baby is sleeping in your room. That said, you won't have time to decorate the nursery and/or build the crib after the baby is born...

Bedding-Turns out that for the first 3 months, babies can't see colors, just contrasts. I should have gone less for the calming colors and more for bold designs because I wanted Chase to be interested in his bedding. Oh well.

     Chase only likes Chamois sheets. We've tried two other sets, but these are the only ones he'll sleep on.

     We had a cute bumper to match our bedding, but once Chase started rolling it made us nervous about SIDS. So now we've got the not-as-cute-but-less risky breathable bumper.

   
     Sleepsacks/Swaddlers- We practiced swaddling (with a blanket- these are the best) a lot before Chase was born and Stephen pretty much had it perfected by the time we got home from the hospital. But as time went by Chase, became stronger and could get his arms out of the swaddled blankets. That's when we discovered the swaddlers- Chase was not strong enough to undo the velcro and the effect was the same. But as more time went by, Chase would wake himself up struggling to get out of the swaddlers...so we transitioned him to sleepsacks. I wish we'd registered for these sleepsacks- we need 2 of these (in case he wets one, of course!) and they need to be of varying thickness for different weather.

Changing Pad- Not much to say, except you need these to put on top. I recommend getting at least 6 as Chase seems to go through them faster than we can wash them (and they come in packs of 3)

Video Monitor- MUST HAVE- There is nothing better than being able to see your child when he/she is sleeping. We LOVE our video monitor. It is so worth the extra cost to be able to look and see that everything is okay when your child makes a noise.We love this one because it's small so we can hook it to us, it zooms in, the video turns off after a minute to conserve battery, and (best of all) we can add another camera when we have another child. You can't do that with a traditional monitor.

Mobile- We have it and Chase loves it, but there's not really a good time to use it because he gets excited watching it. Mostly we put it on when we're doing other things in his room and want to entertain him in his crib. There are some remote control mobiles that might be worth looking into- turn the mobile on from the other room and keep the baby occupied during the middle of the night.

Car Seat- MUST HAVE- Obviously. We got the Graco Snugride 35 and while Chase can use it up until he's 35 inches or 35lbs, it's too heavy to carry around much (especially now that he weighs more). I'd recommend a lighter car seat.

Car Seat Strap Covers- MUST HAVE- We were home for about 2 days before I went online and ordered these. The straps looked like they were cutting into his delicate little neck. I imagine he'd hate the car seat even more if we didn't have these covers.

Car Seat Mirror- MUST HAVE- Chase doesn't spend much time in the car with only one of us, but when he does, this mirror is essential. It keeps him occupied- he loves to watch the animals "move" and listen to the music- and the driver can see him in the rear-view mirror. I never would have made the 3-hour trip from Boston to NY with him at 6 weeks without this thing.

Stroller- We love our stroller. Love it. It has EVERYTHING: A bassinet that can be used without the stroller as a bassinet. A plastic cover for the bassinet and for the regular seat. A screen to keep bugs out of the bassinet and one for the regular seat. Sun shades on both the bassinet and the regular seat. They can face towards the driver or away. The seat reclines to like 5 different positions. The length of the handle extends. It folds up with the seat on it very easily. It's pretty light. You can get a car-seat attachment and put the car seat on it. The wheels are rubber (not air) and sized so they will last on the tough city streets. There are options for both a second seat (and it doesn't have to just have the butt view) and a jump seat. We love it.

Would we need all of these features if we lived someplace with flat sidewalks (or where we didn't spend as much time outside)? Probably not. We also got the Jeep Jogging Stroller as a gift (although we have yet to use it because Chase isn't 6 months yet). A lot of people in our neighborhood use BOB (Beast of Burden- how awesome is that) or CityMini jogging strollers as their everything stroller- they get the attachment for the car seat until the baby is big enough to transition to the jogging stroller. When they want something smaller, they use the Snap N'Go. Definitely some options there.

But make sure you buy a cup holder to go on your stroller- You'll use it!

(I've been accused of being a "stroller stalker" and awkwardly following people to see what kind of stroller they have. Stephen used to pretend he didn't know me).

Baby Carriers

    Moby Wrap- This was the first carrier I used. Basically it's a big long piece of fabric that you wrap around yourself and the baby to hold him up. It took a while to figure out how to wrap it, but it was great when Chase was tiny because he could be upright and against me. Now I don't use it as much because many of the holds have to go between his legs and it just looks uncomfortable. I'm looking forward to using it to carry him on my back when I figure out how to do that...I got mine on Etsy where there is a lot of variety of colors and fabrics.

    Maya Ring Sling- I haven't gotten much use out of this because some slings were recalled towards the end of my pregnany and I was so freaked out that he would suffocate if I cradled him in it. Now that he's older, I can have him sit up on my hip in it. Maybe I'll try that this weekend...Anyway, you can get these in a variety of colors and fabrics to match your outfits for events like weddings. (also available on Etsy)

    Ergo- We were told this was "the" carrier to get and that we'd use it when he was an infant all the way up until he was 3 or 4. I had some trouble figuring out the infant insert, so we didnt' use it much when he was tiny and now he hates facing backwards against me. So it hasn't gotten much use. Yet. Again, I need to transition him to carrying on my back and expect to be able to use the Ergo for that for a long time.

    Baby Bjorn- We didn't get a Baby Bjorn because we heard you don't use it for long and it's expensive (~$100). But around 3 months it became clear that Chase wanted to face outwards in the carrier and the Moby didn't seem supportive so we went to Buy Buy Baby armed with a coupon and ready to get the Bjorn. The saleswoman talked us out of it. She said he wouldn't be in it for long because the weight would become too much and instead showed us the Infantino brand carrier. We couldn't pass up the $30 price tag and, after 2 1/2 month of use, we have no complains. Chase is happy in it and my back is holding up from carrying him in it almost every day.

Pack N Play- MUST HAVE- Especially if you live in a 2+ story house and have a C-section. We set this up downstairs and it was our changing station and napping spot so I didn't have to go up and down the stairs every time he needed to be changed (which was all the time!). We've used it as a bed while traveling, and plan to use it more in the future. I'm looking forward to the play-pen functionality of it when Chase can sit up- we can put him in it surrounded by toys in the living room and not worry about Mueller licking him.

High Chair- MUST HAVE (but not for 4+ months)- Ours goes on top of a chair, therefore saving space. Genius!

Swing/Chair- MUST HAVE- I combined these because after getting this swing and this chair, we discovered that there are tabletop combination swing/chairs! I would say both (or the combo) are necessary because, at some time or another, almost all babies love the swing. Some will only sleep in the swing. The chair is an essential place to put the baby down when you need to free up your arms.

Gym- MUST HAVE- By now you've probably noticed the millions of pictures of Chase on both of his gyms. He LOVES them and we used them all of the time. He spends his tummy time on it, as well as playtime on his back. I'd say a mirror on the gym is a must-have. He loved the musical light toy on his Under the Sea gym and literally would stare at it for hours if we let him (we call the tune it plays "Summer 2010 Theme Song"). The best part of these gyms is that they have loops on them so you can trade out toys and hang other ones.

Exersaucer- MUST HAVE- You've also noticed the recent increase in pictures of Chase in the exersaucer because he loves it! As anyone who has held him will tell you, the boy loves to "stand" and the exersaucer gives him the support he needs and the entertainment he wants. It plays all kinds of music and lights up and has so many toys.

Walker- maybe a must-have- Because he wants to move so much and they needed the exersaucer at his nanny share, we got Chase a walker for our house. So far, he loves it! He's just learning how to move it (basically he just makes his feet go and go and go like he usually does and leans in the direction he wants to go and he's there!) and in the meantime is entertained by the new music, lights, and toys on it. Of course we are only keeping it on the lower level of our main floor.

Boppy- I go back and forth about whether this is a must-have. I expected to use it for nursing in the hospital and actually didn't use it for the first couple of weeks because Chase was too small. Then I used it constantly for bfing for a couple of weeks. Then I'd prop Chase up on it. Then, for about a month, he hated being propped up on it. Now we use it to support him when he fully sits up. So, I guess this is a must-have. I have gotten 5+ months use out of it (which is more than I can say for some of the gear!)

Breast Pump- MUST HAVE- I invested in the Medela Freestyle and I must say that I love it. It doesn't need to be plugged in so I can pump anywhere (like in the car--which I've done) and it's very efficient. Since I've been back to work, I've been pumping about 4 times a day so I get a lot of use out of it. It comes with most of the supplies that I needed too. I did get the extra bottles and storage bags and use them all on a regular basis. We haven't tried different bottles or nipples with Chase- he likes the Medela just fine so no need to change it up. As a sidenote, we got the pump at the hospital, where they gave us an extra 10% off. It's worth looking into similar discounts at your hospital.

Hands-free pumping bra- MUST HAVE- A coworker sent me the link for this and said "We'll never speak of this, but it is an essential." And she was right. This device makes it possible for me to pump hands-free so I can actually do other things (like type blog posts) and walk around while I pump.

 Drying Rack- MUST HAVE- This was given to us by Sarah with a note that it was the best. While I don't have anything to compare it to, I will say that it's great. There are enough prongs to hold everything and it drains the water nicely. Not only does it come with a bottle-brush, but it has a place for it to stand so it dries.

Dishwasher Rack- MUST HAVE- We didn't get one of these until a couple of weeks ago and boy were we missing out. We use this a lot. It's not only easier, I get some peace of mind knowing that the bottle parts went through the dishwasher cycle and are really clean.

Ice cube trays- We just bought these a few weeks ago and we've actually gotten a lot of use out of them. We're using the Super Baby Food book and making all of our own babyfood. We use the ice cube trays to freeze the baby food we've made and then we have single servings. We bought the ones with the cover- you don't need all that.

Bottle Warmer- Not worth the money. We heat a 1/3 full mug of water in the microwave for 1 minute and put the bottle in it for about 2 minutes, and it works the same as the bottle warmer!

Binkies- My recommendation is to get many different kinds of these. Chase didn't like the "Nooks," he only liked the binkies that went straight out-these. Binkies come in all different sizes so be sure to have newborn or 0-6mo sizes on hand when trying to figure out which your baby will use. Finally, once you find one your baby likes, buy MANY of these. You'll need them. Chase doesn't even like the binkie that much, but it feels like we're constantly looking for one. You can't have too many. Also, get something like this to keep the baby from dropping it all the time.

Bumbo- This isn't essential, but we get a lot of use out of it because Chase really likes to sit up and look around. I recommend getting the table attachment because we put his toys on it and he can sit and play without losing them (within 10 seconds. He does lose them within about 2 minutes). Since it's all plastic that can be cleaned, this is the type of baby product you can get at a yard sale.

Bathtub- MUST HAVE- Ours is pretty basic, but has some great features like the newborn mesh piece and the within-tub thermometer. We like it.

Sophie- Not a must-have, but babies love this toy. Seriously. Every child puts her in their mouth. We held out as long as possible, but wound up getting Sophie when Chase started teething.

Glider- Not a must-have, but definitely a nice thing to have around the house. We sit in ours when we feed Chase and rock him to sleep every night. It's comfortable and looks like a piece of furniture we'd have in our house. And it rocks. (Stephen wanted to clssify this as a must have)

Fan- It's not worth buying a special one, but I've read that having a fan in a baby's room reduces the risk of SIDS. You know that's all I had to hear to ensure that my child would have a fan in his/her room. The added bonus is the white noise. (NOTE: Not sure what we're going to do about the fan during the winter...)

Garbage Can/Diaper Genie- After reading some reviews and getting advice from friends, we just bought a garbage can with a foot pedal and a lid that seals tightly. It works great and will be useful when we're no longer changing diapers.

Humidifier- MUST HAVE- There's not much you can do for an infant with a cold except put the (cool mist) humidifier on when they sleep. It's also supposed to help them sleep through the night, particularly if the heat is on or you live in a dry place.

Belly Bandit- MUST HAVE- I've probably mentioned that I was shocked by how pregnant I looked for a few weeks after I gave birth. Without this, it would have been longer. I highly recommend it. I got the bamboo since I'd had a c-section, but it never actually touched my scar so it probably wasn't worth the extra $$-- I could have just gotten a regular one.

Housekeeper- MUST HAVE- We finally hired someone this past weekend to come and clean our house. I don't know how we lived without her. I want to spend my time away from work with Chase, not cleaning. She makes it possible.

The things you need the most, namely humor and sleep, are not available at Buy Buy Baby or Babies R Us or even Diapers.com. This is an evolving list so stay tuned for changes as Chase grows up.

Pregnancy Resources

Since some of the blog readers will be pregnant soon, and God-willing we will have another child one day, here are some resources that I found helpful during pregnancy. Mamas- feel free to add any ones I missed in the comments.

INFO
Watch your belly and baby grow
Request a greeting from the White House
Easy Baby Life
The Bump
Baby 2 See
Contraction Timer

MATERNITY CLOTHES
ASOS
Euphoria Maternity
Belly Dance Maternity
Becoming Mothers
Moody Mamas (Christian Siriano's line)
Bella Blu Maternity

MOM/BABY STUFF
http://www.diapers.com/
Daily Sales- http://www.babycheapskate.com/
http://www.tuttibella.com/
http://www.mom4life.com/
http://shop.zutano.com/pages/index.php
http://www.ohdeedoh.com/
http://babysinstyle.com/
http://www.dimplesanddandelions.com/index.asp
http://projectnursery.com/
etsy

HOSPITAL BAG LIST
-Lip balm
-Snacks for husband (granola bars, lollypops, DOTS, and jelly beans)
-$1s for vending machines
-mints and gum
-cell phone chargers
-cameras & chargers
-laptop & charger
-mp3 player & charger
-things to help with labor- tennis ball, lotion, etc (I didn't get to this point)
-comfortable clothes- robe, slippers, comfortable pants
-flip flops
-nursing tops (try Target)
-nursing bras (I recommend Bravado- they are made to account for your milk coming in so you can base your size on your size at 9mos preg)
-night gown
-clothes for your husband (make sure he looks through them- Stephen was disappointed with my choices)
-underwear you don't mind ruining
-mom going home clothes (for pictures)
-normal-sized towels
-comfy pillows
-hair bands & brush
-shampoo, conditioner, lotion
-blow dryer
-Personal Care Items (glasses, contacts, tooth brush, tooth paste, makeup, etc)
-Baby book for footprints
-baby going-home clothes (for pictures)
-blanket for going home
-2nd blanket for husband to bring home to dogs
-car seat
-diaper bag
-boppy

Birth Story

Warning: This may get a little graphic because, well, it's a birth story. Just don't say that I didn't warn you.

On Wednesday, May 12, I got up and went for my daily walk/jog with Mueller. We probably jogged for 1/2 mile max, but I figured every little bit would help encourage Baby Lamont to head out. While I was getting ready for work, my underwear became soaking wet. While incontinence and discharge are normal during late pregnancy, this was neither of those. Still, I never felt a gush or even a trickle, so I changed, put on a pad, and headed out to work.

I stayed dry and didn't really have any Braxton Hicks contractions so I used the morning at work to tie up some loose ends, just in case the Dr sent us to the hospital that day. A little after noon, I got on the Metro and headed to the Dr. During the trip, my underwear once again got wet. By the time I got to the Dr's office, I was pretty uncomfortable, but still no gush or trickle.

First we had an ultrasound to check Baby L's size and my fluid levels. It was uneventul- the baby measured 6lbs 14oz and fluids looked good. The u/s tech even said that she didn't see a reason for the Dr to send us to the hospital.

A little later we saw the Dr and he expressed his disappointment that I hadn't had the baby yet (we obviously chimed in to agree!), but checked my progress (5cm dilated, 80% effaced) while I told him about the "wetness." I had obviously Googled "How to tell if your water has broken" that morning, and told him that he should be able to look for "fern-like patterns" in the fluid under a microscope. He laughed and complained that the internet has taken all the mystery away as he walked into the other room to look under the microscope. Not 10 second later he said "Come look at your ferns" so Stephen and I went in and sure enough, there were fern-like patterns in the fluid. He said it was time to go to the hospital and I agreed that we wanted to get the baby out before the 13th.

The trip to the hospital was full of calls to our parents and text messages to friends. We made it up to Sibley by 2:15 pm and walked in, smiling, to have a baby.

After we got checked in and into a labor room, we met our nurses and I was connected to a fetal heart monitor, a contraction monitor, and got an IV for fluids and Pitocin, to get things moving.




The on-call Dr came in to check my progress, and asked "Are you sure your water broke?" so I told her the story. The woman proceeded to BREAK MY WATER WITH HER HANDS. Without asking if she could or telling me what she was doing. It was literally the most painful experience I had ever had in my life. I'm still not sure why she did it with her hands when I could see the crochet-needle-type tool across the room. It was terrible. And it was kind of gross. My water had definitely not really broken. (NOTE: We've since talked to a friend who is an OB resident and she explained that there are sometimes a small outer bag of waters so that must be what had broken).

At this point contractions picked up significantly, but our great nurse, Sarah, had had a natural birth two years earlier and encouraged me to labor without meds for as long as possible. She gave me breathing techniques and helped Stephen help me. I'm not going to lie, they were pretty miserable and I really had to focus through them, but once one went away, it was like it had never happened.


I labored for about an hour (so it was like 3:45pm) when the Dr. came in to check my progress. 5cm. No progress. So what does the Dr do? She inflicts THE WORST PAIN I HAVE EVER FELT IN MY LIFE, and then explains that she thinks I have some scar tissue and she was trying to break up. Between contractions. Unmedicated. Seriously painful.

The only good part of that traumatizing experience was that she suggested I get an epidural so she could break up the scar tissue. Getting the epidural was very minorly uncomfortable, and I had to wait through a few contractions, but once it kicked in, I felt great! (pre-Epi picture)


Ironically, this is where things get sketchy in my memory. I continued to have contractions, although I did not feel them, for a while. At some point the Dr came in and wanted to turn up the Pitocin, but the (fabulous) nurse said that they couldn't because of something going on with my numbers. Luckily she talked the Dr. down and allowed me to labor for another 30 minutes. The nurses came back in and informed me that they were going to give me oxygen to help the baby deal with the contractions. About 20 minutes later the nurse came back in and turned off the Pitocin because the baby's heartrate was still dropping during every contraction. We could hear the monitor and at one point it dropped during a contraction, stayed low between the contractions, but finally recovered after the next one (so like 3 minutes). Soon the Dr., who lacked bedside manner or a poker face, was rushing in and telling us that we needed to have a c-section because the baby was in distress. Having read some natural birthing books, I knew that this was a pretty common occurence when fetal monitors are worn. I asked her to leave so Stephen and I could discuss our options, and we decided to wait through two or three more contractions before making a decision. We did and it happened again each time. I was still hesitant, so we asked our great nurse, Sarah, and she said that she did not feel right having me labor any longer and thought we should definitely do it. At some point in here I started crying because I was worried about our baby and Stephen (who was fantastic throughout this entire experience) calmed me down. (It also turns out that the baby's heartrate had been dropped during every one of my contractions during the beginning. Stephen had been able to see it on the monitor but had wisely not said anything to me).

As soon as we consented to the c-section, around 5:45, Stephen was putting on scrubs and they were prepping me. They left him in the labor room and wheeled me into the OR. Stephen joined me by my head above the curtain and the surgery was underway. The worst part was that I was numbed from the neck down and it made me feel like I couldn't breathe or talk. The anethesiologist assured me that I was breathing fine and that feeling was due to my nerves being numbed. But it still was pretty awful because it also made me feel fuzzy during the birth and inroduction to my little boy.

But back to the birth-- Not more than 10 minues into it, at 6:17pm, Stephen "Chase" Lamont, Jr was born. The Dr pulled him out and announced "It's a boy!," but we were so worried and he wasn't crying that it did not register in either of our minds. They quickly suctioned out his mouth and we heard the sweetest cries ever. They showed us our beautiful baby boy, who wasn't purple and slimy but pink and beautiful. The neonatologist and nurses checked him and even in my haze I whispered to Stephen, "What are his Apgars?" Great news- 8 and 9.


Soon Stephen was holding Chase, who was quiet and in awe of the voice he'd been listening to from inside my belly for 9 months. He was beautiful and amazing. I gazed at him while they finished stitching me up, and wheeled us all back to the labor room where we waited for my medicine to wear off. A nurse gave him his first bath, and soon I was able to hold him, which was amazing. Soon we were on our way to the Family Ward and 3 days later, headed home!

In the end, it was not the birth that I had imagined, but the result was the same- Our beautiful baby boy. I would not have done anything differently (except maybe waited until the next day when OUR Dr was the one on call, even though it was the 13th). My recovery has been relatively easy so far (knock on wood) so really there hasn't been a downside. We're so in love with our perfect little boy and would have done anything to get him here safely.

The End.

Scratch that.

The Beginning...