STMs: Give me some tips!

carleym93

I'm 12 days into my journey as a new mom and I'm desperate for some tips.

1) Lucy is back up to her birth weight, but still sleeps through some feedings. I'm constantly paranoid that she is not eating enough. She poops/pees regularly, but I still worry. I know they said you can let them sleep through feedings once they're at birth weight, but 12 days old seems too soon. Anyone know more about this?

2) Cradle cap: she's got it bad. I plan on asking the pedi tomorrow as it isn't urgent, but have any of you tried something that worked well for it?

3) Baby hiccups: poor girl will nurse, burp, and then get the hiccups and get so frustrated because she is so tired. The only thing I've found that helps is nursing her again for 5 mins or so. Any thing else I can try?

4) Baby gas: I need products! Something you've found to help. She will scream and squirm around in pain when she gets gassy. I tried the bicycle thing with no success.

5) When did you start submerging them in the tub and how often? Her cord fell off around 7 days old and the remnants of it are still there, so I've been avoiding submerging her. She gets pretty dirty between the cradle cap and the breast milk I've been spraying her with, so we've been bathing her every other day. We put her in her tub today and she seemed to like it, but she wasn't fully submerged.


Thanks in advance, ladies. What would I do without you? Probably lose my mind.

Update: Lucy burped loudly ON MY BOOB. Parenthood is fun.

Kwest1007

I haven't had my baby yet but my best friend swears by gripe water for gas! Good luck getting your questions answered! Ps the name Lucy is so cute!

carleym93

@Kwest1007 Thank you! & I'll look into the gripe water.

CaliforniaDream87

Can't answer all of these @carleyec93. But I will answer with what I dealt with.

3. Gripe water was a life save for those pesky hiccups. Seriously, gone within seconds.

4. We used gas drops. DS was FF and had major gas pains before we switched his bottles over to Dr. brown. After the switch we didn't deal with gas anymore. As far as BF'ing goes have you looked at your diet? That could play a major part in her tummy troubles.

5. We gave DS a bath as soon as his cord fell off. It was perfectly fine and he slept great after having a bath.

HarleenQuinz86

They sell gas drops, try some of those. For cradle cap use a soft baby brush and baby oil and rub in small circles. For submerging in bath once the cord has healed and fallen off she can be submerged in water. Try not to bathe her too often though because you can dry out her skin and also make the cradle cap worse. I would think if she's back at birth weight and still putting a good number of wet and poop diapers sleeping through a feeding once in a while is ok.

Kwest1007

CaliforniaDream87 said:

Can't answer all of these @carleyec93. But I will answer with what I dealt with.

3. Gripe water was a life save for those pesky hiccups. Seriously, gone within seconds.

4. We used gas drops. DS was FF and had major gas pains before we switched his bottles over to Dr. brown. After the switch we didn't deal with gas anymore. As far as BF'ing goes have you looked at your diet? That could play a major part in her tummy troubles.

5. We gave DS a bath as soon as his cord fell off. It was perfectly fine and he slept great after having a bath.

She's also mentioned the gas drops too!

Saratiff

Also told little remedies gas drops work well. I don't know about the cord and pieces being left.

My sister in law swears by mustela Products in particular their stelaker for cradle cap and their shampoo for preventing it from starting. She also loves their physiobebe for quick clean ups or for muconium.

Joie80

Gripe water was a godsend with DD1. I also had to avoid certain things like raw onion, broccoli, and greens for a while because they have her terrible gas. Nothing worked for cradle cap with us. She eventually scratched most of it out around 2.5 months herself

emmacake08

If her weight is fine and you aren't engorged or having supply issues, the sleeping is fine. If however she wakes up always super ravenous and has a hard time eating because of how hungry she is, then I would think about preemptively waking her up to eat.
Baby oil and a comb worked well for cradle cap but honestly I just left it alone for the most part because I didn't want to pick at them and it just went away.
I've only ever heard about nursing to calm down hiccups and frequent burping while feeding which I bet you're doing. Sometimes their suck-swallow-breathe reflex is just still taking some time. sorry that isn't a fix it but in a week the hiccups could be loads better.
I didn't submerge LOs in the tub for the first month. That was just the way I did it. I don't know if there is a rule. Also I only bathed 2-3 times a week but it was also winter. If she likes it, go for it! Do what works!

You're doing great. If it works for you and her, then it's the right decision (follow your instincts).

Kimk1616

I'm so glad you asked these questions! I'll be continuing to follow for all the answers as well since my girl has serious hiccups and gas.

Boslove

As PP stated gripe water has worked wonders for gas in my experience. Everything else I actually cant remember what I did :-??

emmacake08

Also, ask a LC about the gas. Mine suggested giving up dairy and soy which ultimately helped with their reflux and fussiness because they had a allergy and both of those cross into breastmilk. I don't want to internet diagnose but you could look into it and talk to an LC to see if they have insight if the OTC gas products don't make a difference.

carleym93

@CaliforniaDream87 Thank you! I will pick up some gripe water today. She gets them almost every time she nurses. I asked the LC about that possibility. She watched me nurse her and watched her after and said she looked like a normal newborn with common gas pain. I'm still going to try eliminating some things one at a time and see if there is any difference. Once she relaxes and sleeps, she will fart like CRAZY but when she is awake and tensing up, she gets really upset.

sushilove15

I'm not a mom yet but I went to a baby care class at the hospital given by a nurse. She said to use the soft baby brush during bath time to help but that cradle cap will go away with time. She also said that once you are done with sponge baths to start bathing them in the tub with a couple of inches of water, not submerged.

Just thought I'd mention that but again, I don't have experience!

carleym93

@emmacake08 I'm going to meet again with the LC this week. Its hard to tell because once she is relaxed and asleep, she will fart like CRAZY. But when she is awake and falling asleep, she will squirm around and cry. I got some gas drops so we will give those a try tonight!

emmacake08

I sympathize @carleyec93 it's so hard to see your LO uncomfortable or writhing in pain. Hope the toot monster gets some relief! I've seen LCs also be able to massage some gas bubbles in LOs tummies for relief.

MissusTexas

DD had cradle cap badly until about 1. I finally tried a combo of leaving olive oil on for 15 min, washing out and scratching off with a baby brush, then leaving coconut oil in overnight. That took care of the majority of it but she still had a bit here and there until she was 2.5!

The infant tummy massage (YouTube it) worked really well for us but we did use gas drops occasionally.

bpwife&mama

Gripe water for gas!! DS had cradle cap and I brushed aquaphor on it. It made it a bit greasy, but went away quickly. I also gave him a bath after his cord fell off.

knottieb8c7dfd990a71e69

Cradle cap - coconut oil worked wonders for my daughter. It has anti fungal properties that can prevent it from returning. So what we did was massage the oil into the scalp and leave in as a treatment- it will moisturize well. Then using a fine comb brush out the scales that have lifted or peeled a bit. Wait about 20-30 mins and give a bath to wash out. Repeat every other day until it's gone. For us it took a few days but after that nothing. The pedi gave a prescription for a steroid type lotion/gel. Not necessarily the best for a newborn in my opinion! There's no reason for that harshness to soak into the skin. I will say however that the coconut oil lingers a bit even after a wash. We use mustela and that seemed to get more out than some other brands. Good luck!

leighalou91

FTM here with mine (and her cord hasn't fallen off yet), but in the NICU we submerge in the bath as long as the cord is all off. I'd wait to submerge if there is still some left on there.

Also for gas, in the NICU sometimes I'll lay a baby on its belly across my knees and pat/rub its back and it can calm them down. It feels good for them to lay on their bellies when they hurt... Of course you aren't supposed to ever leave them on their stomachs to sleep... But I'm sure you know that

Starynightsky24

1) Sleep is important too! They do w lot of growing then. Let her sleep.

2) Cradle cap: coconut oil. Works great and smells great. I'd rub DS in it head to toe after bath instead of lotion.

3) Baby hiccups: see #4 as it's probably has related?

4) Baby gas: as PP said check your diet. I couldn't eat dairy, soy, or anything acidic for the first 6mo. It takes a week or so for it to leave your breastmilk so give it time. Till then colic calm (gripe water based) worked for DS. Its good to try if you are leery with the meds (gas drops) as I was at first. Gas drops do work better though.

5) When did you start submerging them in the tub and how often? DS got baths often. They helped him sleep and establish a bed time routine. I want to say he got them every other day? We didn't use soap every time though and always put coconut oil on him to avoid dry skin. We started as soon as his cord fell off. He loved baths.

banfrog

This might sound weird but for cradle cap the best thing I ever tried was milk. My grandma told me that's what she used to do. Just wipe milk into the cradle cap, don't have to rub or scrub. Let it soak in a little. Then just bathe the baby like you normally would. Did it with my first, the cradle cap cleared up in 3 days (after spending 2 months of different oils and combing it out).

Huler

Both my boys were early and had sensitive tummies which I attributed to that. Gas drops did not help. Gripe water did -- but not the Little Tummies/Little Remedies brand. The Wellements Gripe Water for Colic or just the gripe water formula was kinda our magic brand, it was reccd by our LC. This particular brand needs to be refridgerated. I also had to majorly modify my diet... no dairy for either, and for my 34 weeker, no broccoli, tomatoes, or anything potentially gassy. Dr Browns bottles helped DS #2 but he had other feeding issues as well and I ended up mostly pumping for him. I'm no help on the cradle cap. Breast milk is a magical cure for baby acne and clogged tear ducts, maybe it would be for cradle cap too?

kettlekitten

My DD had a minor case of cradle cap when she was a little older (maybe 1?) and I found if I gave it a decent brush after her swimming class (I.e. When her head had soaked in a bit of water for a while) the scales would lift off. It took a few goes but it eventually all came off.