Getting To the Bottom of Bottles
Which Bottle Is The Best Bottle??
There you are. Gathering supplies for your incoming baby.
And it’s time to find a bottle.
Surprise! There are 10,000 options to pick from!
How do you know which one to get?
The wide base with a short nipple?
A small base with a long nipple?
A firm nipple?
A soft nipple?
Why do these ones have filters and those ones not?
Is Dr. Browns reallllly the best one? It’s the one that everyone has but, that’s a lot of parts to wash…
The sheer volume of options has many parents putting off bottle choice to the very last second! …Let your mind with one phrase;
It does not matter what bottle you buy, what matters is how you feed the baby.
That’s right! You don’t have to buy Dr. Brown’s!
You only need to feed your baby using a slow flow nipple and a method that controls the flow of milk for them so they aren’t guzzling it, so they can properly breathe and swallow, as they drink. The best way to do that is to use the PACED method of feeding, shown in the video at the bottom of this blog!
If you use the paced method of feeding, you can choose whatever bottle you want to…! …to an extent. (Okay, there are some bottles to avoid, and I’ll tell you which ones and why in just a minute.)
What do I recommend?
Not the one with the most parts to wash with a pipe cleaner. That’s for sure.
My favorite bottle is Evenflo Balance Plus Standard Bottle because the nipple is evenly tapered in a cone shape, it is average softness, and average width, and it is designed to prevent gas without using a crazy filter.
That doesn’t mean it’s the best bottle for your baby!
My very best advice:
Get a few different types and see which bottle they like best, and don’t commit to 10 of one type before you know what your baby will like!
Be sure to keep in mind how difficult washing will be! If you won’t thoroughly clean the bottle’s filters every single time, don’t buy the bottles that have intricate filter designs unless your baby absolutely needs it. And…
Do not buy the 4-ounce version of the bottles! You do not need them! Babies will be drinking over 4 ounces of milk at each bottle in no time at all – those little tiny 4 ounce bottles are not worth your investment!
Which Bottles Should Actually Be Avoided??
In my *experience* from what I have seen, some bottles just don’t work well with most babies. Those bottles are…
Tommy Tippee - The nipple is too wide and too long, Baby can’t latch.
Como Tomo - The nipple is also too wide and too long, and the bottle and nipple collapses when baby does manage to latch.
MAM bottles. Babies can latch on pretty well, but the shape of the nipple changes at level 1 and that’s odd to me, plus, they are difficult to assemble and if you don’t assemble perfectly, they leak everything everywhere.
Bottles that don’t have slow flow nipples (you’ll have to investigate but so many advertise as 0 to 3 month flow level but are just way too fast for the baby!)
That’s all for this post! Thank you for reading and as always, please reach out to me if you have any questions about your newborn!
PACED METHOD —> https://www.mamanatural.com/paced-bottle-feeding/
Okay…How Often Do I Really Need To Change The Diaper??
How often to change diapers can be a loaded question! (Pun intended?)
The answer depends on the type of diaper you’re using, the quality of diaper you’re using, and a little bit on how many diapers per month you can budget for. I am going to answer this question using my own opinion, while keeping those things in mind.
Cloth Diapers
If you decide to use cloth diapers – Change your baby’s diaper as soon as possible, whether it’s wet with poo or pee. The cloth aspect is less absorbent and therefore the moisture needs to be removed from the skin quickly to avoid diaper rashes.
Disposable Diapers
For me, when the newborn is between 0 and 6 weeks old, I like to change disposable diapers every 1.5 to 3 hours and after they poo. Why? Because it naturally works well with the routine that I set them on. Newborns tend to poo right after they eat, so typically they will sleep for 1 to 2 hours, eat, then they have some play time, and they end up pooing while they play, so that is when I change them, and that is the clean diaper that can stay on until they poo again, which typically is after the next nap and next feed (since they follow a sleep, eat, play routine).
Newborns also despise diaper changes, and they sleep all the time, so to keep them comfortable and sleeping as much as they need to, I slather on the diaper rash cream in the early days and usually just end up only cleaning them up after poos. (Which again, is still alllll the time. Newborn babies can poo 10 times per day! And that is normal!)
When the baby is 6 weeks and older, their schedule starts to change slowly, and they pee not necessarily more frequently but in larger amounts, so I begin changing diapers every 2 hours and I continue to do so for the rest of their infancy, changing after poos and every 2 to 3 hours or as their diapers seem “full”.
If you’re looking to save on diaper costs, or simply want to reduce impact on the landfills, I think you’d be fine to go all the way up to 4 hours between diaper changes, so long as they are wet diapers only and you’re using a quality absorbent diaper.
When to Use Wipes
I really don’t go crazy with the wipes after wet diapers. A newborns’ urine is very low in toxicity and therefore is not going to irritate the skin the way their bowel movements will, if they are wearing absorbent diapers. A quick pat with a wet wipe is all I do! And I’ve always felt that too much wiping can irritate the delicate skin. But what about drying? It helps to reduce the risk of rash to let the baby’s bum air dry before you apply cream or a new diaper, but your newborn will tell you just how much they looove laying there uncovered, waiting for their skin to dry…... (They hate it.) So, either invest in some dry wipes and pat their bottom dry quickly or close up shop and hope for the best until they can tolerate some drying time.
When to use Cream
I use diaper rash cream after each poo and before the overnight sleep. I don’t use diaper rash cream at every single change and I don’t use a very thick layer either, unless there is an active rash present. I do, however, feel the need to use a cream that has a very high concentration of zinc. 16% zinc is a good find! Send me a message and I'll let you know what brands I prefer!
As always, if you ever have any questions about caring for your baby, what products to buy or how to use them, just send me a message at emily@bijoubabycarellc.com and I will happily help you out!
Should I buy a Bassinet that Rocks my Baby?
There is so much new technology out there for babies. Should a bassinet that rocks the baby for you be a part of the new tech you invest in?
My answer, and the answer of my many well-educated NCS peers, is…No.
You should not buy a Bassinet that Rocks your Baby for You (or BRBY for short).
Lately there has been an onslaught of advertisements on my Facebook page for bassinets that claim to gently sway newborns as they sleep, to help them sleep for longer periods of time. These bassinets are very expensive and prey on parent’s fear of lack of sleep. They fail to mention the following.
1. Newborns eat every 1.5 to 3 hours. It does not matter what type of bassinet you put them in, you have to get up every 1.5 to 3 hours to feed them. 4 hours, at night, if you’re super lucky. Long stretches of sleep are not possible in the first 6 to 8 weeks of life (unless you hire me!).
2. Therefore…Your baby will most likely outgrow the BRBY or learn to roll over before they are even sleeping in long enough stretches for the rocking feature to benefit your sleep.
3. If for some reason they don’t outgrow the BRBY, they will possibly learn to rely on the rocking feature for sleep, and then outgrow the BRBY. Their crib does not do what a BRBY does, and you will end up having to sleep train a 3 month or 4-month-old baby. No fun!
4. Newborns are naturally very heavy sleepers in the first 2 weeks of life, and you will typically have to wake them up to feed them. Claiming that a BRBY helps long stretches of sleep in a newborn is drawing conclusions using coincidence, if you ask me.
All in all, the price of these BRBY products is way too high to justify the use of them given the issues they cause and “problems” they don’t solve.
Remember: The purpose of using a bassinet is to have a smaller, cozier environment for your *brand new* baby to sleep in that can be right at your bedside as you care for them frequently throughout the night, and they are not to be used after about 8 weeks of age….which is right around when a BRBY becomes useful and also happens to be when a newborn decides they have a preferred sleep environment! You definitely want that preferred sleep environment to be one that is both safe and permanent (so, not the bassinet that rocks your baby for you that they’ll shortly outgrow)…My rule of thumb? Never use anything to assist sleep that you cannot easily replicate in the crib!
As always, thank you so much for visiting my blog! Contact me via the link at the top of the page if you have any questions about caring for your newborn!
To Swaddle or Not to Swaddle?
Hello caregivers! I am so excited to be sitting down to write my first ever blog post! The issue I have chosen to write about today addresses a topic that I frequently see brought up in newborn forums and groups…swaddling a newborn!
First things first….should you swaddle your newborn?
If you’re asking me (and you’re here, so you are)…my answer is yes. You should swaddle your newborn, if you want them to sleep more soundly (and you do!).
Imagine you spend 8 to 9 months floating in a pool, and then you come out to open air. The difference between pool and air is striking, even after just an hour of swimming…so after 9 months of it? You’re going to exit that pool and immediately feel awkward, and you’ll want your pool life back desperately!
If you haven’t guessed, the pool in the above metaphor is the womb that your baby was in before birth, and once they are out in the open air, they’re sure to be feeling like a literal fish out of water. Since you can’t submerge your baby into bath water all day, the next best way to make them feel secure and comfortable again is to wrap them in a swaddle. When their skin is covered snuggly in fabric, it gives them the sensation of being surrounded by fluid again, and they find it quite comforting!
Another benefit of swaddling is the snug swaddle can make your baby feel like they are being held, which takes their comfort one step further, since babies love to be held!
A third benefit of swaddling? It helps a newborn’s sleep by controlling their reflexes. Newborns have what is commonly referred to as a “startle reflex”. When they are asleep on their backs, sans swaddle, their arms slowly drift open towards the mattress, and about halfway down, the infant seemingly feels as if they are falling, and they startle awake, pulling their arms back into their chest. This startle wakes them up, over and over again. You should always place a newborn on their back for sleep, to reduce the risk of SIDS, and you cannot always hold your baby while they sleep, so….stop the startle - swaddle that tiny human into burrito form and set them down for their snooze. Swaddling holds their arms in place so as they sleep, no startling can wake them!
Second thing’s second - You say your baby HATES to be swaddled?
The most common comment I see about swaddling is caregivers mentioning that they tried to swaddle once or twice, and the newborn cried, and therefore the newborn hates to be swaddled. And I am here to tell you…yeah. Your newborn probably does not like the process of being swaddled. But, what they dislike is the process, not the actual feeling after it is done. Give them a minute to settle into it. Be sure you’ve educated yourself on how to use the swaddle or blanket you are using for the newborn, make the swaddle snug, but not tight, pop that pacifier in your baby’s mouth, pick them up, and take some deep breaths. Give them a nice cuddle and some elongated shhhhhh sounds. They will most likely settle down! You might have to rock them to sleep in the swaddle the first few times, and that’s okay. Once they associate being swaddled with comfort and sleep, they will enjoy it and calm down in their swaddle rather than winding up.
Of course, there are always exceptions, but I find that parents and caregivers are very quick to give up on swaddling without realizing how beneficial it can be if they really give it a chance.
Are there any reasons that you should NOT swaddle??
Yes, of course there are instances where swaddling is not recommended. The number one reason you should not swaddle your baby is if they are able to roll over from their back to their stomach, which can occur as early as 6 weeks old. If your baby is rolling, set their arms free! Other reasons to not swaddle a newborn are medical or situational. For example, while you can swaddle a premature newborn, the technique on how to wrap their arms varies due to their developmental stage and changes as they age. I want to specify that I am not referring to premature or NICU newborns in this post, or any newborns that have medical conditions that swaddling could affect. Always refer to your baby’s pediatrician before practicing swaddling.
If you have questions about what swaddling is, which swaddle blanket to purchase, how to swaddle, or if you should even swaddle, be sure to reach out to me! Send me a message on my contact page to receive personalized advice!