Ask a STM week of Nov. 26

disneybaby84

FTMs asking STMs any and all questions!

disneybaby84

Free advice again. For you FTMs, i know this is a bit in the future, but many of us are in our third trimester and it is the time for premature babies and before we know it  on time babies too. It is worth it to plan on tracking babies diapers, wet and poopy, whether it be by an app on your phone or old school pen and paper. Reason being, when you call the doctor or nurse's line because something is worrying you about your sweet baby, the following are questions they will ask.
How many wet diapers has your baby had?
How many poopy diapers has your baby had?
What color/consistency is the poop?
What is your baby's temperature?
(If your baby is formula fed,  How many ounces has your baby been drinking?)

As a FTM the few times I stopped tracking,  seemed to be the times a sickness did happen and I did not know the answers to the nurse's questions.  

thechickendance

Thanks @disneybaby84 !  What apps are recommend for this, and can they be shared between parents?   An app might have been mentioned in another thread, but I cannot find it.

sjnsjnsjn

We used one, for the first weeks at least, just called Baby Tracker, and it was one that both of us could use to input into the same place.  There definitely was talk about those apps on another thread and I know some other maybe had apps to Rec.

BourbonBiscuits

Seconding what @disneybaby84 said - I also found it helpful to track which breast baby took first at each feeding. I was so tired that I always forgot, and one side was significantly easier than the other (due to weird nipple stuff). I had a ponytail holder I switched from my right to my left wrists, but then I forgot what that meant (did it mean I should start with the left side or that I had just started with the left side??). I ended up using an app, but I don't even remember which one it was ...

kayjay44

Honestly, pen and paper worked best for us in the nursery. Otherwise you’re so tired you will inevitably forget. 

disneybaby84

I have to confess, I was  a pen and paper type myself.

wrensnest

We went the pen and paper route too. I never remember to enter things into apps, so we just had a little notebook we designated for baby tracking stuff. Worked great.

etnyah

We’ll probably do pen and paper. H is weirdly excited about it, he’s really into record keeping in general. He has a million notebooks and records everything from gas/mileage in his car (which is good because the meter stopped working hundreds of miles ago) to keeping a tour diary for his band. I’ll struggle more with it, but we’ll make it work I hope. 

allthingsgo

I downloaded a bunch of different free apps ahead of time and kinda played around with them to see which one I liked. I ended up using mamma baby at first and then switched to baby connect which has lots of features including sharing input with caregivers.

I personally liked having an app vs pen and paper bc I always had my phone near by and it was easier to use in the MOTN. Plus I also seem to lose pens a lot lol. 

ThePax89

I used baby nursing. I preferred to know which side I nursed on and for how long. My hospital also asks you to record everything, and getting up constantly to record it is a pain in the ass. I actually tracked nursing until both of my girls were 1. 

kdrn913

We (me) used baby connect ! It was like 4.99 I think but honestly sometimes I still use to keep track of when I’ve given dd meds! 

kayjay44

For nursing, I could just tell which side I nursed on last so I didn't bother tracking for long.

ginger1228

Pen and paper worked best here too. 

If it was MOTN or I had the paper across the room, I just jotted a note I’m my phone and transferred it later. 

To keep track of which breast - an easy way is to keep a hair tie on whichever wrist you  want to start with next time. I didn’t keep track on paper of which breast.

It’s funny - when I first brought her home there was sooo much to write down and then you get in the swing of things. But at first it was like:
10:05 - 5 minutes (how long she nursed)
10:25 - 10 minutes
10:45 - < 5minutes 
etc all day long 

Everytime she was upset I stuck a nipple in her mouth bc she just wanted to cluster feed. 

bellebaby221

Pen and paper worked best for us. We left a note pad in the nursery so that if DH and I were alternating shifts we would know who did what (and for which baby in the case in the twins case) without waking the other. 

becks_726

One of my prenatal class teachers suggested a hair clip (the flat snappy kind) on the bra strap, because you are fiddling with that area anyway.