Questions for moms who have BTDT!
Let's post the next one at the beginning of October.
Me: 36 | DH 35, Married 2007
TTC #1 June 2015
April 2016 - AMH, FSH, Progesterone normal
June 2016 - HSG clear
*TW* BFP - Aug16, demise confirmed Sep16, incomplete m/c, D&C Nov16
BFP 3/27/17, edd 12/7/17
DS - 12/9/17 TTC #2 December 2018
BFP 2/22/19, edd 11/4/19
DD - 11/1/19
My Chart
Re: FTM questions for STM+ 9/19
- tucks pads for hemorrhoids (yes, please)
- long ice pads (I never needed these, but I didn't have any tearing)
- heavy duty pads (but I got my own since I have particular preferences in regards to pads)
- a can of dermoplast (didn't need this)
- two squeezy water bottles so you don't have to wipe the first couple of days (I found I could gently pat, which was better for me that drenching the whole area)
- disposable underwear (I just used my own underwear which I found to be comfier--I didn't have too much bleeding)
- 800 mg ibuprofen (yes, please)
I would recommend getting bamboobies or some other reusable breast pads so when you finally do sleep for a longer stretch, you don't make a huge mess. the disposable ones never felt right to me, and the bamboo ones are so nice and soft. Make sure you have a nursing bra that is comfy enough to sleep in and can house the nursing pads!I also got myself a new robe and pjs that I could easily nurse in. It was nice to have some new lounge wear since I was doing a lot of lounging.
Also, if you have a close friend or family member that can make sure there is a meal waiting for you when you get home from the hospital, that would be amazing. My sister left a bunch of food for us including a great dinner and dessert (we left the hospital around 6pm) and it was such a nice surprise!!! At the very least have something nourishing in your fridge/freezer that you can make quickly. Come to think of it, I think she and my mom also tidied up our house for us so we didn't come home to whatever sorry state we left it.
I'm also trying to find as much natural-fibers as possible for baby clothes. Not because I'm particularly crunchy, but because I get hives from most synthetics and wouldn't wish that on an infant.
@balletnerd great question. I second what has already been said above, but wanted to add my own:
-this bra. Super comfy so I could sleep in it and easy to nurse in. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSWFMXZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7kxWzbRGPABA6
-lots of nursing friendly lounge clothes. Most days I just wore a nursing tank top, leggings, and a tsbirt.
-snacks! Nursing made me hungry/thirsty but nothing sounded good. I found having granola bars, fruit, and other small snacks around areas I nursed helped me to eat more.
- the water spray bottle they have in the hospital was a lifesaver. I took it home and purchased a second one.
-This seems silly, but a notebook or app or some other way of keeping track of your meds. I was on a pain killer(or two?), stool softener, and vitamin and you're so tired that it's easy to forget when you took what. My dh made a little chart to write it all down and it was helpful when we were both sleep deprived.
-long pads. The hospital sends you home with some, but I needed more.
I am sure I'll remember more later.
Milkies Milk Savers!! It's a milk collector you put in your bra on the side you're not nursing off of, and it collects whatever milk comes out. I was losing upwards of 2-3oz every nursing session in the beginning until I found this thing.
@kyrwyn Dreft makes a detergent that is dye and fragrance free. I've used a sample of it and, as someone with sensitive skin myself, it was nice. I have bad eczema flair ups so we use All free and clear for us. But for DD1, we've been using regular Dreft and she's had zero issues, and neither have I when I've thrown in some of my things with her laundry. TBH, we could be using any regular free and clear detergent for her, but I'm addicted to the smell of her laundry lol.
Also try Burts Bees clothing. Super soft, natural fibers, and really cute. I was the same way and wanted only the best for her, but the easiest way for me to pick out her things when she was little was by feeling the materials. If it's soft to my touch, i was ok with it. Carters baby basics, Gerber too. If something felt cheap and crunchy to the touch, I didn't buy it, or I returned it.
i kept a case of water next to my nursing "station", along with snacks (high protein, calorie filled snacks like mixed nuts, granola bars, fiber one bars, etc).
Epsom salts/Sitz bath salts! Depending on vaginal vs c section, you should buy a bag. I added a few drops of lavender essential oil to my baths and I swear it helped heal my lady bits. Ask your dr first because not every dr has the same mind set.
For sensitive baby skin, Aveeno unscented is the way to go. DD1 has very sensitive skin, and that and Dove unscented are the only things we can use. They add in a ton of moisture without greasing the baby up, or dousing them in chemicals. I'd also recommend using a detergent YOU like for LO. Switching from a dye-and-fragarence free one to a standard one will actually leave chemicals on baby's clothes since not all of the soap gets washed out of the washer every time. We use All Free & Clear on all of our laundry, and dryer balls instead of fabric softener or dryer sheets It makes laundry sooo much easier because if you miss something of baby's, you can always throw it in with your clothes, too!
Edited for typos
- tucks pads (I bought the economy-sized containers, at least one in each bathroom)
- heavy duty pads
- a can of dermoplast (I bought two four packs and that was enough. it may seem excessive but my tear wasn't healed until 9 weeks PP)
- two squeezy water bottles (You can buy them cheap on Amazon...I had like 3 in each bathroom)
I bought big, comfy undies from Target that I wore for the entire PP period. Also, I suggest doing the "padsicles"-->Witch hazel, aloe mixture lathered on the pad then frozen. It felt SO good on my tear and helped tremendously.April 2016 - AMH, FSH, Progesterone normal
June 2016 - HSG clear
*TW* BFP - Aug16, demise confirmed Sep16, incomplete m/c, D&C Nov16
BFP 3/27/17, edd 12/7/17
DS - 12/9/17
TTC #2 December 2018
BFP 2/22/19, edd 11/4/19
DD - 11/1/19
My Chart
@kyrwyn DD does not have particularly sensitive skin, so I really only worried about washing--All Free & Clear is great and so much cheaper than Dreft. Water wipes are also good if you want disposable wipes (some people with very sensitive babies or environmental concerns just use wet cloths instead of disposable wipes) and the Seventh Generation wipes are nice and thick and work well, but both of these brands are expensive, so I usually only buy them on sale and mostly use Huggies wipes. We use Pampers and Up and Up diapers for DD with no problems, but I think this depends on the baby--some will just have a reaction with a certain brand. I would give Honest a bit of a side-eye since they have recently had to pay customers from a lawsuit that showed their completely "natural, xyz-free" diapers actually contained a bunch of chemicals they said they didn't contain. As I may have mentioned before, I liked the Seventh Generation coconut care (coconut oil-based), but DD didn't like it. I think she had an aversion to the smell? She would always cry when I used it, but she didn't have an allergic reaction or anything. If you are really sensitive, I would think products that work for you should be gentle enough for baby.
Married May 2014
DD born August 2016
Baby #2 due December 2017
Other than that I recommend really limiting bathing to 1 or 2 times a week. Especially if eczema is a concern. Baby skin really doesn't need much. Just a gentle wipe with a damp clothe is enough most of the time.
Diagnosed : unexplained infertility
6 rounds of IUI and a MC 2/2014, rainbow twins 4/2015
TTC #3 5/2016
Restarted Fertility tx
IUI 2 rounds, baby girl 12/17
I'd actually recommend against going too insane in this area before the birth; my sister spent like 3 days creating these numbing, eucalyptus, super-pads that filled up her freezer pre-baby, only to ultimately have an emergency c-section. Since she left the hospital with a relatively intact crotch, she ended up throwing away all those pads.
So, you don't really know what you're going to need, so I'd avoid going too overboard on any specific thing. I do have one tip though - your tiny bathroom garbage can is not sufficient for the sheer amount of refuse you'll create post baby (constantly throwing out mesh underwear, huge pads, etc.) You're gonna need to temporarily move another, bigger, trashcan into the bathroom to handle this kind of nonsense.
https://www.amazon.com/Psoriasis-Advanced-Non-Greasy-Moisturizer-Dermatitis/dp/B00OSAUYTA/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&ref_=yo_ii_img
April 2016 - AMH, FSH, Progesterone normal
June 2016 - HSG clear
*TW* BFP - Aug16, demise confirmed Sep16, incomplete m/c, D&C Nov16
BFP 3/27/17, edd 12/7/17
DS - 12/9/17
TTC #2 December 2018
BFP 2/22/19, edd 11/4/19
DD - 11/1/19
My Chart
I'm mostly joking here by the way; your bathroom will likely not look like a scene out of some terrible horror movie. But yea, there will probably be some blood in there somewhere.
DD - 12/28/17
TTC #2 3/2019
BFP 5/2019 || MC - D&C 5/2019
BFP 2/2020 || EDD 10/10/2020
Married May 2014
DD born August 2016
Baby #2 due December 2017
I'm more of a minimalist and it just seems silly to me to buy one. But I've also never had a baby so..... WDYT?
from Seattle(ish)
5 years married
FTM and PGAL
EDD is 12/23/17
-- It's a BOY! ---
ETA I'll put changing accessories in the drawers below and/or have shelves higher up above that baby can't reach with diapers and such.
I've read you can also buy these trays (like this one from Target) to put the pad in to make it less likely to slip off, but those can be pricey so we might just put little grippies on the bottom of the pad or a nonslip mat and hope that helps.
April 2016 - AMH, FSH, Progesterone normal
June 2016 - HSG clear
*TW* BFP - Aug16, demise confirmed Sep16, incomplete m/c, D&C Nov16
BFP 3/27/17, edd 12/7/17
DS - 12/9/17
TTC #2 December 2018
BFP 2/22/19, edd 11/4/19
DD - 11/1/19
My Chart
@moonlady-2 no you don't need a specific spot. We have a changing pad on a dresser. I also know plenty of people who just change where ever they are... couch floor whatever.
Diagnosed : unexplained infertility
6 rounds of IUI and a MC 2/2014, rainbow twins 4/2015
TTC #3 5/2016
Restarted Fertility tx
IUI 2 rounds, baby girl 12/17
Married May 2014
DD born August 2016
Baby #2 due December 2017
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Married May 2014
DD born August 2016
Baby #2 due December 2017
we got two small stainless steel simple human trashcans and the matching fitted trash bags. i scoffed at the price at first but we LOVE them. we had two because at first you change the baby allllll the time and we have a multi-level townhouse. so we had one on the main floor by our diaper changing supplies and one by the changing pad on the dresser in the nursery.
basically at the beginning all diapers went in and you just empty it a lot. once the rate of diaper changes slows down, all pee diapers go in the can and all poop diapers get immediately tied up in another bag and thrown outside in the vicinity of the trash can (lol). the pee diaper bag goes out at least once a week (our trash comes twice a week). the can isn't so small that it is TOO small but it's not so big that you build up this huge stinky mess.
i'd highly recommend if you're not a fan of the diaper genie system. let me go find a link to the can we got.
pretty sure it was this one - we deleted the old registry. https://smile.amazon.com/simplehuman-Semi-Round-Trash-Stainless-Steel/dp/B001BO76WY/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1506522587&sr=8-9&keywords=simple+human+trash+can
it might seem silly to pay for the specific bags but i highly recommend it. don't mess around with bags that don't fit or you're just going to aggravate yourself. we bought them in bulk from simple human directly so they weren't that much more expensive per bag.
Met: September 2005 Married: October 2008 DS: 09/2014
We used the changing table on our pnp because it came with it and we used it all the time. Once we switched locations and didn't need the pnp out, we got just a changing mat and we use it on top of the dresser or other sturdy surface. A specific changing table is not necessary in my opinion, however if you do have it, it does come in handy!
I agree with a few others about diaper pails. A regular trash can with lid should suffice.
I recommend a touch light if you are rooming-in or co-sleeping at home. It's a life saver, at least I thought so with my first. And it isn't so bright it'll wake up your partner.
Also, even though I'm a STM, this thread is gold. I added like 5 things to my registry today that i saw on this thread!
DD - 12/28/17
TTC #2 3/2019
BFP 5/2019 || MC - D&C 5/2019
BFP 2/2020 || EDD 10/10/2020