The Great Question Thread

beaandthebabes

I’ve been told that a wrap or sling carrier is a life changer with baby #2. I’ll be baby wearing for sure trying to juggle a baby and a toddler. Does anyone have any suggestions/brands/types that they love best?

rosesintherain

@beaandthebabes I really like the catbird mei tai carrier. It’s kind of structured but it is a tie one so it’s easy to adjust. 

A lot of people like a moby style wrap it was just too much fabric for me. 

jennifer_louise

@beaandthebabes I thought the baby carrier was a godsend with #1 because it was a sure way to calm her down even when inconsolable!

I have an Ergo360 (with infant insert) and Lillebaby. I used the Ergo more with the newborn and then transitioned to Lille once she wanted to face outward and see stuff. I think there was a recommendation on here for Happy baby carriers on here earlier. https://happybabycarriers.com/products/happy-baby-carrier?variant=31395545317463

I don't have much experience with wraps though! Maybe this time around (:

pghren

@beaandthebabes I personally didn't like my Moby brand ring sling with #1 but they didn't like being worn. I got a used moby wrap for when I'm sitting in my wheelchair with the 2 yo on my lap but it didn't help much for that, so I'm hoping #2 will like it. Especially since #1 won't be in preschool yet, so we'll all be together all the time

even_the_queen

For the second time moms out there, when did you start feeling your baby move? I swear I was feeling some baby movement around 12 weeks, but since then I've felt nothing. I'm 14 weeks now.

mflowers929

I have a Maman Kangourou wrap that I inherited that I loved for the younger stage. I used it regularly until DS was about 6 months and I got our Tula. He also loved it and very much enjoyed being up and close so he could see everything and still have cuddles. He was also an upsie baby (aka a "don't put me down" baby) so it saved my arms and sanity lol

swizzlemalarkey

@even_the_queen I’m pretty sure I’m starting to feel baby now and I’m 15+3. It’s not consistent at all yet and I haven’t noticed it when I’m up and working. I’m a FTM though. 

rosesintherain

@even_the_queen 13-14 weeks I started feeling him move like the quickening. I’m 17 weeks now and I really feel him moving. 

robyn2201

I’m 14 weeks and I will occasionally feel a flutter here and there. With my other pregnancies I would say it wasn’t until I was about 18 weeks that I felt anything consistent. 

chasingroygbiv

I’m 18 weeks and I’m just now starting to feel more movement. Placement of your placenta totally makes a difference, too! Mine is anterior. Our first was the only time mine was posterior and I felt him very well by 16 weeks. 

angbaby83

I think I felt early movement with my first.  I felt the first little flutters though and then nothing for many weeks.  I had an anterior placenta and didn't feel a whole lot until 20+ weeks.  Now I thought I would feel more since I'm a STM and here I am and not really anything.  Maybe a flutter here or there but so quick I can't be sure. I was told at 12 weeks I didn't have an anterior placenta and was really excited.  I had an ultrasound with MFM yesterday and I read the report and it said that I actually do have an anterior placenta.  Boo. 

itsmehere1212

@beaandthebabes with my first I used a k’tan because I thought it would be easier without all the fabric. It did the job but I didn’t love it. With my second I got a moby wrap and I loved it, and baby did too. It has a bit of a learning curve, but it’s comfortable, didn’t hurt my back, and he felt secure on me. Once they both were older I used my ergo 360. I just took the 17 mo for a walk around the neighborhood in it the other day.

@even_the_queen I have had anterior placenta with my first two and now this one, but I didn’t feel my first until about 19-20 weeks. My second and this one I know what I’m looking for so I felt them around 14. Not consistently of course and usually when I’m falling asleep because I’m a stomach sleeper and baby doesn’t care for that anymore.

pghren

@itsmehere1212 I am a stomach sleeper too! It's so hard not to be able to do it really anymore

swizzlemalarkey

For those of you who pumped, did you pump directly into bottles or pouches? Also can you reuse pouches or are they trash after one use? 

mflowers929

@greyl my system didn't allow me to pump directly into pouches so I pumped into bottles and then either left the bottle (we were supplementing for a while with expressed milk) or transferred to a pouch.
The unfortunate thing about pouches is that they are sterile, so after they've been used they need to be tossed.

swizzlemalarkey

@mflowers929 thank you! Ah, that’s what I figured which is unfortunate because money. But such is life. I ordered a free starter kit from kiinde. It is pouches that you pump into that you can attach to a bottle-like thing and feed right from the pouch. I had to pay $6 for shipping but I figured it was worth it since it is worth $50. I have no idea what my pumping life will be like yet but I saw it and couldn’t pass up on it. 

geojaminee

@greyl I used those too, Twist by Kiinde. Loved them except sometimes they fell off and I'd lose an entire bag of milk 😭😭

swizzlemalarkey

@geojaminee oh noooo that sounds terrible!! Good to know though!! 

pghren

@greyl I pumped into those breastmilk storage tubes from Medela and kept the milk in there. I had a ton of them from the NICU nurses, and after we dumped them into bottles they went in the dishwasher. 

robyn2201

I’ve always pumped into bottles. If I had extra that wasn’t going to be used right away or within a day I poured it into the bags and froze it. I tried pumping into bags but I too had it occasionally fall off and loose that milk. Wasn’t really worth it to me. When I worked I pumped exactly enough for the next day with no extra so it was just easier to pump directly into the bottle. With DS I had an extreme over supple so that’s when I used bags to freeze. 

swizzlemalarkey

@pghren @robyn2201 thank y’all!! So many decisions 😕

raesky1111

As far as wraps go, I'm looking into the Infantino 4-in-1 Flip because it looks the most versatile, but a part of me  is skeptical I'd even use one at all. My bf on the other hand I think wants a carrier thing because he wants to walk around wearing a baby. The issue will be finding one that can fit him as he is a larger, more broad man. 

With pumping, I think the Spectra goes right into bottles, but those will be transferred into bags if at all possible. For the life of me, I can't figure out why there aren't really any patented FDA/Doctor Approved reusable breast milk storage options yet. I feel like there has to be a simple way to make it affordable and ecological and if sterilization is the issue, aren't microwave sterilizers a thing anyway? I feel like this is something that should have been thought of and perfected by now (especially because I want to waste as little as possible and I shudder at the thought of throwing away thousands of bags). 

rosesintherain

@raesky1111 we have a lilleBaby complete airflow my husband really likes that one and it could be adjusted for me to use too. I more preferred the catbird mei tai for myself. 

https://www.lillebaby.com/products/complete-airflow?variant=19370642178166

https://catbirdbaby.com/collections/mei-tai/products/mei-tai-carrier

I don’t know anything about infantino but there are a ton of babywearing options out there. In normal times you could find a local baby wearing group and go try out carriers and learn about how to use them. Hopefully this summer things will settle and you could check out a meetup to see what’s best. 

mflowers929

Personally, I never pumped enough in one sitting to get much more than 1.5 or 2 oz so pumping directly into bags would have been totally wasteful for me. Pumping into bottles allowed me to cool the milk and add it into an already started bag so that I could get at least a few full bags into my freezer.

@raesky1111 we had an infantino (I think? I'll check in a bit to confirm) and it fit MH just fine. He's built big and was also big into his body building at that time so he was quite broad.

balletnerd

I love our lilliebaby for once they are big enough, and for the newborns I really like my cuddle bug wrap
@beaandthebabes

@even_the_queen 16 weeks now and feel it all the time. Probably knew for sure I was feeling it occasionally at 14ish weeks this time 

even_the_queen

I just accepted a new role in my company! Really excited about it! I didn't disclose my pregnancy during the interview process, anyone have any tips or experience with that?

magginoodles

Yes! Joined the new company last week and told my manager in our first 1:1. Maternity leaves might be an issue as I wouldn't have been in the company for 12 months. Might talk to the HR this week. 

even_the_queen

@magginoodles Did they take it well? I stayed internal for my new role, so luckily it won't impact my maternity leave. I hope they work with you on that!

magginoodles

Good for you! That worked out well. My manager was pretty cool about it. 

robinj716

Recently discovered hello hello diapers. Anyone have experience? I usually use pampers. I’m trying to figure out cost comparison if they’re more or less expensive ? Any opinions or guidance is appreciated. I felt like there was a thread on diapers but I didn’t find it. 

rosesintherain

Dry skin is driving me crazy!! What lotions are you ladies loving? 

robyn2201

@ktholysz My hands are so dry lately! I love Trader Joe’s Coconut Body Butter.

even_the_queen

@ktholysz Same here! Especially my face. It looks like I have a sunburn everytime I get out of the shower. I haven't found anything that works really well yet, though face masks do seem to help. I like the Burt's Bees ones.

momofmiracles31889

@robinj716 we have been using Hello Bello diapers for our DS for awhile and now do subscription boxes from their site. We have had positive experience with the diapers! Although we do still use Honest overnight diapers at night- hello bello just came out with overnight we will probably try! Regular diapers don’t cut it for our son overnight since he’s been sleeping through. I love using natural products- we had tried Honest diapers but they are more expensive and also had done Pampers Pure for awhile but they are also more expensive. It’s nice during this quarantine to know the diapers will come to our door when we need them! And the prints are cute! 

@ktholysz I used to use an olay face moisturizer which I loved but for this pregnancy I decided to go paraben and artificial fragrance free so I’ve been using Honest face and body lotion in the fragrance free and I like it for my face, hands and body! 

raesky1111

I'm a Burt's Bees gal, love the face wash (use it with a battery washer) and it usually burns a tiny bit and feels like I'm buffing my skin (with the washer) but I step out of my showers feeling like my face is clean and reborn. I love Freeman face masks!

awilliams00

My first, and only other pregnancy was 7 years ago and I had an anterior placenta so I didn't feel movement until later on in my pregnancy and even then it was kind of muffled. Today I am 17+6 and it seems overnight I have gone from difficult to distinguish movement to a lot of something going on. Is that realistic or am I in for one hell of a gaseous episode in the near future? 😂😂

robinj716

Feeling pain in my groin; like basically along my bikini line, assuming this may be round ligament pain? 

mflowers929

robinj716 said:

Feeling pain in my groin; like basically along my bikini line, assuming this may be round ligament pain? 

Yup

raesky1111

@awilliams00 I'm only FTM but I went basically overnight not being able to distinguish anything to seeming to feel every movement of the baby! Crazy how it happens but one night it was "quiet" and the next it wasn't resting at all!

robinj716

@mflowers929 thanks! Ugh it’s too early for this !!!