I know that eventually I am going to understand how it all works. For now though, I have so many questions. Sometimes I lay awake thinking of them all. I want someone to sit down with me and just answer them one by one. Instead, I look online and sort through which books to get and hope that my friends will eventually start giving me all the information. It is difficult being so far away from all the mothers I know. So until then, here are my questions. Picture me shouting them from a mountain top with red cheeks (from frustration) and ill-fitting clothes (because none of my clothes fit me):
1. It seems like it would be intuitive, but apparently it isn't. Breast-feeding. I have no idea what to do.
2. How do I pump milk? When do I pump milk? What does a pumping thing even look like?
3. Should I (can I) give the baby a bath every day? What can I wash him with?
4. Where do I put him when he first comes home? If my room, then IN what? And how long does he stay in my room?
5. Do I use diaper rash cream and if so, what kind?
6. When can I take him out of the house when he first comes home?
7. How long do people have to use anti-bacterial wash to hold him after he is first born?
8. How do I know what hospital to go to? How do I give birth?!
9. How soon do I go home after I give birth? How much help will they give me?
10. How long do the 45 minute interval feedings last for?
11. What position should he sleep in?
12. If it's hot can I put on the AC with him in the room? Does he need blankets?
13. Back to breast-feeding: how long for? how to negotiate public feeds? how to breast-feed and work full-time?
OK, that's it for now. There are not as many questions as I thought...
Now I am weary from all that shouting.
Someone, please
answer.
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Woah... i can't keep up! but here goes with some answers!! i can't copy and paste on this thing so you'll have to just refer...
ReplyDelete1. Ya, not that intuitive and a LOT of women have a LOT of trouble. for some women it can take up to about 2 months to get it going and let me tell you that's a long time! i had to express to start off as my baby was in the nursery for special care, and so that's how my breastfeeding began. it actually suited me, as i got the milk flowing without the stress of the 'latching on' that you have to master with your baby. I then had a lot of help at the hospital. most women are home after 2 days and that's just not enough time to get the breastfeeding thing happening! I then paid for a 'mothercraft nurse' to come out to my home twice to help me out. i was about to give up SO many times in that first few weeks but thankfully it kicked in just as i was in my last throes. so, i guess it took me about 5 weeks of hard work to get under control. Now, i admit, it's worth the trouble.
2. The pumping bizzo is kinda bizarre and rather abstract at first. a lot of women never pump really, but if your baby is premature you will need to. And it is good to learn how to do for making extra bottles or for knowing how much your baby is getting. I find it a great relief to pump and then can give the bottle to boyfriend to feed baby. I actually LOVE the pump. They are not cheap, but a good one is the only one to bother getting. Get advice from your hospital.
3. Baby only needs to be bathed every 2 days. they don't get dirty cos they ain't doin much!! and you are cleaning their bums pretty often! i use an organice baby wash/bubble bath thing, that is super mild and i don't use much. My baby LOVES his baths now. We have a plastic baby bath that i put into the bathroom sink actually. Max (baby) can look at himself while in the bath and he finds it most amusing.
i better post in case i lose this....
4. Maxy sleeps in a 'Moses basket'!!! yep, it's really called that, and it really looks like that. It is cradle sized. we put a mosquito net around it and it is on a stand, and he is in our room. I think he'll stay in our room for the next few months still, so i think he'll probably be 6 months when we put him in his room next door.
ReplyDeleteIn the day, i sometimes put him in his pram for a nap, and we either go for a walk and he always falls asleep then, but i don't make it out that much! and i put the muslin over the top and it's darker and cosy and i rock the pram til he nods off.
5. The hospital will probably show you a diaper rash cream. (I'm gonna make you a care pack from Australia!). We used one called Bepanthen, but good ole Sorbelene is also great. Max needed it in the first month, but never since.
6. A lot of women don't get out of the house in the first few weeks. Max was 3 weeks old by the time we got him home, so i had a different kind of experience really. but when he got home, i don't think i left the house for about a week, really. And now, i manage to get out of the house a few times a week. Take your time, see what works for you, but staying in is fine. Although they do like a bit of a stroll and fresh air.
7. That's a good question. I would say do that for the first few weeks maybe, but really there is no need to keep that up for too long. you don't need to disinfect your house either, that's what the nurses said, just soapy water for everything, although if you are doing any expressing and for the dummies too, you will need to learn how to sterilise things. We use the 'Milton' tablets, i don't know what you'll have there, but you will learn when you get to hospital. Like everything!!! you learn pretty quickly all the things you need to know.
8. Aaaagh!!!! You need to register with a hospital NOW! well at least you need to do that in Australia. In Australia, you need to book a bed, see a doctor, and you get a 'yellow card'. Of course one only finds this out as you go along, but have you seen a docor? they should tell you what steps you need to take in Israel. or call your local hospital and ask them, but you may need to book your bed right now!
ReplyDelete9. If you register with a hospital, they will put you in touch with birthing classes etc. Tim and i did all the classes and although you still feel like you are going in blind, it is very enlightening. I reckon you need to call a hospital.
10. i hope you didn't get that 45 min feeding from me! That was a joke.
ReplyDeleteBabies feed every 3-4 hours, and it takes about 45 mins to feed a small baby. As they get stronger and bigger, they feed less often and more quickly at the breast.
Re the breast feeding, the nurses will get you started in your 48 hours after birth at hospital. But, like i said, i don't think this is enought time to really learn anything! But hopefully you'll get it going quickly. If not, seek more advice and help. It's there for you if you need it, and most women need it!
11. All new data says that babies should sleep on their backs only. You can lay them on their sides only if you are with them and are watching them. But for proper sleeps they should be placed at the bottom of the crib/cradle (so they can't slide down under the sheets or blankets and smother themselves) and have no toys around them. The nurses will show you at the hospital how to do this.
12. Yes i think you could put on an AC but i would suggest something like 23-24 degrees, not cooler. You can put them simply under a sheet and maybe a flannelet wrap as a light blanket to tuck them in. That should be fine. You will probably have swaddled them in a light muslin cloth, again the nurses will show you this, but it helps them sleep for a couple of reasons. One, is that they have this 'startle reflex' that you will see, it's absolutely divinely gorgeous! but it can wake them out of their own sleep, so swaddling keeps their limbs nice and still, also it feels all cosy and squashed like in the womb, and also the slightly older ones can scratch themselves, so it stops them from doing that.
So they will be swaddled, then tucked in with a sheet and possibly a flannelet sheet at the bottom of their cradle or crib. There you go!
13. I have only breast fed out of the house at people's houses. I most usually go into another room, in the beginning you'll want to do this for sure, as it's a pretty messy affair and you'll need to focus and not stress out in front of people. After a few months when you get the hang of it, i'm sure you'll be fine to breastfeed in public. A lot of women take something to throw over themselves, but that can be kind of annoying to have to negotiate that as well. See how you go!
There is no real way of breastfeeding and working full time in the first few months. But, between 3-6 months, babies start on to solids, and so you can do less breast feeds. And you could introduce one formula, some solids and some breast feeds. This would allow you to work with some good organisation!
righto, that's it for me for the moment!