Sickie

Ethan started feeling a bit under the weather on Friday, and then by mid-afternoon was so warm that we knew he had a fever. When I finally got home to my temporal thermometer (thanks, mom & dad!), we checked his temp and got a little scare: 102.7 degrees. That was a bit too high for my tastes, so it was time to get to business. Julie was spending the evening with us, so she helped me strip him down to his diaper, get some infant tylenol into his body, and try to keep him drinking his juice. An hour later, when we checked his temp again, it had already dropped to 101.3, which was a relief.

I called the Kaiser Permanente advice nurse and she told me that the temporal thermometer gives the same reading as a rectal thermometer-- guess that means I don't have to do the invasive booty check ever again!-- and that the read-out is typically one degree higher than a temp taken orally. She gave me some advice (no bath, keep him cool but don't let him shiver, up the fluid intake, check for rashes or changes in demeanor, use the humidifier, etc.) and really just encouraged me to keep doing what I was doing, and monitor his temp. It was pretty comforting to know that they are there 24 hours a day, ready to assist over the phone with any of these little situations that pop up.

One thing that weirded me out, though; she said that "if his temp gets up to 106, we want you to take him in to Emergency." Um, really? Because I would be in there about two degrees earlier, and there is no possible way I'd wait until he got all the way up to 106 to call anyone about his fever. Holy moley, people! Give me some credit!!

Anyway-- He's still feeling pretty yucky, and hasn't been sleeping well, but at least his fever is down. Here's the awesome thermometer that we love so much:

Diapers: Pampers v. Huggies

When Ethan was first born, we used Pampers. I'm not even sure why, except that we received a lot as gifts, and I think we were sent home with Pampers from the hospital. The neat thing about those newborn diapers was the indicator strip on the outside that changed color when he wet his diaper. We could just do a quick spot-check on the outside to see whether or not he needed to be changed, which was pretty cool. The thing is, once we got past the newborn stage, when we were changing diapers all day long and he hardly had them on for any significant length of time-- or for any significant amount of use, ahem-- they stopped being so cool and started to bug us. As he got older, we noticed the same problems whenever he would wear Pampers; he would get diaper rashes, he would soak through his diapers and wet his clothing or sheets, and he would get red marks on his abdomen where the tabs pulled away from the diaper and stuck to his tender skin.

So, we moved away from Pampers and tried a few other brands, including the Babies R' Us brand, "Especially for Baby." Horrible! They were so stiff and thick and unyielding that it was like a cardboard diaper, and with similar effect-- they had zero absorbency and the first time he wore them he ended up with mess up his back. We ended up tossing them all, they were that bad.

Then we tried Huggies, and fell in love. They're awesome! We prefer to put Ethan in the "Little Movers," which are more flexible than the "Snug 'N Dry" and shape better to his active little body, and seem more comfortable. We also love the Huggies Overnites, which we have *never* had a problem with. He can sleep for 10 hours with no leakage, and also not wake up in the middle of the night feeling wet and uncomfortable. Which means, of course, more sleep for us! And we have no diaper rash issues with Huggies, either.

Here's the problem: I read many many reviews of the two main brands-- Pampers and Huggies-- and still don't understand how people can have such widely differing experiences with these diapers. Some parents had the same reactions we had to the Pampers; others swear by them and instead blame Huggies for leaks and rashes. How are people supposed to find out how they truly work with such disparate reviews? Which ones do you believe? Nobody is lying, I'm sure, but then how do you explain that person A and person B had the complete opposite feelings about the same exact product?? It's just too confusing... but we'll stick with the winner!

Food: It Tastes Good!

Ethan is finally starting to eat more, meaning that he's gone from just having snacks every so often to having an actual meal at least once a day. Granted, the amount of food he ends up putting down his gullet isn't exactly the full amount recommended, but at least he's eating. I think it was partially the fact that lately he's been teething like he's in some sort of competition; he seriously has about four or five teeth coming in at once right now. Ouch!

Another factor was, of course, the bottle situation. Yes, that's right, he still is on the bottle. Not that there's anything wrong with that, right? It's strange how everyone is so gung-ho to get kids away from the bottle the minute they hit the one year mark. Why the rush? We're not stressing about it too much, really, but I'm trying to slowly move him into the straw-type sippy cups as a sort of half-way point between bottle and cup. He already drinks his juice and water out of the taller 12 oz. cups; now we just have to get him to take his milk from one.


And guess what? This week, he finally drank milk from his straw cup! Three things were different: First, I used the smaller Nuby straw cup (8 oz.) that my mom found at Wal-Mart-- but which you can buy pretty much anywhere.


It has grips on each side and may be easier for him to handle. Second, I held him on my lap just like I would if I were bottle-feeding him. Third, I heated it briefly before giving it to him, the same way we do with his bottles. For the first time ever, he drank down the whole thing; looks like we're on our way, folks! Oh, and the only bad thing about these cups is that they do leak when they fall over onto their sides. It's a little irritating to walk over and stand the cup upright and find a pool of juice has leaked out, making your floor (or carpet) a wet, sticky mess.

Yo Gabba Gabba

Holy moley, people; this is the most bizarro kids' show that I've ever seen. Seriously. The guys who designed this must have been on one long trip, starting around 1982, punctuated periodically by overdoses on pixie sticks and possibly some bad 'shrooms.

We just bought the DVD below because Joel thinks Ethan likes it (hah), but also because he thinks it will greatly enhance our Burning Man experience. As in, it will make everyone who visits our RV and watches it trip out hardcore. It is super weird, with all of these 1980s Atari-style graphics popping up out of nowhere, and just way-out-there voices and sounds and songs. S-t-r-a-n-g-e.



We're thinking about bringing Yo Gabba Gabba costumes with us to Burning Man, actually. Joel, of course, would go as DJ Lance Rock:

... while I'm thinking of going as Foofa:


Well, you know, my version of Foofa. It will involve pink, and flowers, but will probably be different in several other ways. Once I get my costume together I'll be sure to post up some pics.

Baby, you're a genius!

My newest discovery in the world of parenting...


Ethan is completely taken by his new DVD. He sits and takes it all in, completely silent, just chewing on his seat strap and mellow as can be. Every so often, he lets out a delighted chuckle, like when the toy duckie quacks its way across the screen. He is mesmerized, and so am I-- watching him. The DVD seems to be perfectly suited to infants, with its bright colors, simple presentation of common animals, and light, cheery music throughout the movie. I also like the way they show the real animals as well as toy versions, drawings, and puppets of the animals, to give kids more of the general concept of "dog" rather than just "golden retriever".

I can't wait to get more of the other Baby Einstein DVDs for Ethan. I'd been trying to get them at our local library, but they are constantly checked out, and even have waiting lists of parents wanting to get ahold of them. Now I can see why! I checked out Amazon, and they have tons (of course) of the movies, but I got this particular one-- Neighborhood Animals-- at Once Upon A Child in Modesto for only $10, brand new. Great deal! They have several other DVDs there, so I'm going to go back soon to raid the shelf. Out of my way, moms! I'm on a mission!

Using the right tools makes all the difference... with babies.

At three months old, Ethan has finally started to be really responsive to us, and we are loving it. He smiles so much, even though he's still sick, and he even silently laughs sometimes. Especially when he's sleeping... I wonder what hilarious things he's dreaming of...

Boppy + Floor Mat:

We've been working with him a lot on his neck strength, and the Boppy pillow definitely helps with that. We put him on his stomach inside the curve of the Boppy, prop his arms up under his chest/hands under his head, and he tries to push up and lift his head. The Boppy is also a lot firmer and feels better when feeding him; with the other nursing pillow, I had to hold his head up with one hand to get him elevated/tilted enough to drink. The Boppy lets me hold him in the crook of my elbow because it keeps him up high enough to feed without being too far away from me or too flat.


We got the floor mat for him to play on as well, and he's starting to show that he is making some connections. As in, when his arm connects with a hanging rattle, and it makes sounds, he is starting to get that *he* made that happen. After a few times of randomly or accidentally hitting the rattle, he'll start purposely waving his arm into the toy to hear it shake. Woo-hoo! I can practically see his little synapses firing... He also loves the little dangling lion that plays these adorable tunes. Joel wants to make a recording and loop it so that we can have it whenever we want it, even if the batteries go out. Personally, I think he just likes to tinker with gadgets. :)

Another couple of things we love are the zippered footy-sleepers from Target and Wal-Mart (I think they're called "First Years" and "Circo"). They are a definite lifesaver when you have a diaper change in the middle of the night and don't want to be unsnapping both legs of his outfit.

We also love the Baby Bjorn we just got.

It's SOOOO easy to use! We sometimes use it to carry Ethan around the house while he's sickie and a little fussy lately, because he likes to be held right now more than usual. Joel even used it the other day when I was working and he took Ethan to Office Depot. He said that it really made him feel like a dad. I think he likes it much better than pushing a stroller around, for sure. And the nice thing about the Bjorn is the way it redistributes the weight across your back... so comfortable! I'm glad we splurged on it, because the Infantino carrier was just not cutting it.

Bottle Update

The Nuk bottles aren't working for Ethan any more. In fact, I wonder if they ever were! We thought they were great because he kept his latch and didn't inhale quite as much air with them, but it was still taking 45 minutes to an hour just to drink 2 oz. of milk. We decided to try the Playtex slow-flow nipple with the drop-in liners, but those drop-ins require some sort of Masters Degree in engineering in order to keep them from sliding or bending to the point where the milk spills out everywhere. And then, even when the liners worked and the milk stayed in the bottle on the way up to him, he would end up spilling a ton out of his mouth while drinking-- our precious, valuable, priceless milk! Liquid gold! Stuff it took actual *work* to access, using the pump 8 times a day! As you can see, we didn't like the drop-ins. Hated 'em! So then we rigged up our own combination of parts-- it's a Gerber bottle with a Playtex slow-flow nipple. And it works wonders! He eats twice as much in half the time, and hardly spills anything out while drinking. Perfect! Now we just need to get more than one bottle...

UPDATE: I just found out that the 5 oz. Gerber bottle we love has been discontinued. Ugh! And we tried the Playtex VentAire (tilted bottle), but don't like it much. Guess we're back to the Gerber-Playtex combo, at least for now.

Baby Stuff: Love, Hate, Want

Now that we are new parents, we are starting to get a feel for what we like and what we don't like in regards to baby supplies and strategies. Here is the beginning of a list of what has/hasn't worked for us:

WHAT WE LOVE:
-- Newborn diapers with an indicator stripe that changes from yellow to green when moisture hits it. Makes diaper checking so much easier, because you don't have to open the diaper or stick your finger in to check for wetness! Huggies "Gentle Care" Newborn diapers are what we've been using; found them at Target.
-- Stroller Frame that fits infant carseats: Several manufacturers make these (Graco Snugrider, Kolcraft Universal, etc.), and they are awesome-- very lightweight, easily fold up and store (only a few inches tall when folded), and the perfect item for a mom who is dealing with post-surgery pains and has a hard time lifting those giant seat & stroller systems.
-- Kimono-style onesies: These are great because they don't need to be pulled over baby's head, they just snap around him. Pulling shirts/onesies on over a newborn's floppy neck is a heart attack waiting to happen, because the whole time you're convinced you're going to paralyze him, so these help you avoid that problem. Ours also had the folding "mittens" at the end of each sleeve to help baby avoid scratching his face.
-- Zippered footie sleepers: Again, zippers help avoid the whole snap on/snap off deal. Very convenient, and the fleecey ones are perfect for winter babies.
-- Cucumber-green tea baby wipes, by Huggies. Our absolute fave! They smell delicious, stay nice and moist, and come in an awesome "pop-up" box. Our sister & brother-in-law just brought us a giant pack from Costco, and it's a lifesaver because we go through them like there's no tomorrow. (PS-- Also very useful for the bathroom, kitchen, car, etc.)
-- For winter babies, long-sleeved/long-legged outfits that convert from "pants" style to "sack" style. For this outfit, you can either button the legs separately and then put socks on baby, or button the legs together in front and back to make a sack-style outfit. The sack is nice for diaper changes, because you just slide it up his body when the time comes, no snapping/unsnapping necessary.
-- Boppy pillow for feeding: This thing is a lifesaver. Sure, you could use a couch or bed pillow, but the Boppy is contoured to fit around your body better, and is a bit firmer to help keep baby propped up correctly for feeding.
-- Footstool for feeding: Again, your knees need to be lifted up a bit higher to prop up baby closer for feeding. A short footstool is perfect.
-- Nuk bottles. We tried several bottles, but for these first few weeks, the Nuk works best for us. Later we may go over to the Playtex bottles with liners, but the Nuk is the only one he can drink from right now without spilling out milk everywhere or losing his latch on the nipple. (Bought from Wal-mart, the only place we could find them.)
-- The small-size diaper bag. Perfect for short visits to the store or mall, when you don't need to carry around a million items. Save the big bags for day-trips or weekend visits, they're way too bulky to deal with on a daily basis.
-- Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker: There’s a foldout kickstand that allows you to stabilize the seat for feeding or sleeping, and then you can tuck it back underneath to use as a rocker. It has a vibration mode and a detachable toy ring with musical pull toy included. Later, when he's a toddler, it can be used as a rocking chair. Pretty cool-- we are using it a lot lately when we need some hands-free time.

WHAT WE DON'T LIKE:
-- Onesies or shirts that have to slip over his head. As a newborn, at least; dealing with that floppy neck is a nightmare, so we avoid it as much as possible.
-- Bibs with cute designs, but no absorbency: Better to use a terry-cloth type bib, or a small hand-towel/washcloth tucked around his neck. Those will have much better absorbency and won't let the milk (or spit-up) slide right off the surface and down across you and baby.
-- Socks for newborns: They just don't stay on! The best kind have a significant amount of elastic, but even those aren't staying on our boy's little ankles.

WHAT WE WISH WE HAD:
-- Our own Medela electric double-sided breast pump: We are renting one from the hospital for now, and love it. Wish we could afford our own, but those buggers are expensive! I hadn't planned on having to pump so much, but since Ethan is having a tough time latching on and breastfeeding, we are pumping 8 times a day and feeding him that milk. That much pumping means you really need a top-quality pump at home. Best idea is to rent one from the hospital and then see if you're going to need it; ours is $20/week to rent it from Memorial, which is better than spending $280 for your own pump before you know if you'll need it that much or that often.
-- Baby Bjorn or other infant carrier: We love to keep him next to us, but want to be able to do some hands-on activities at the same time. A carrier would be nice, especially because that carseat gets pretty darn heavy after awhile. I'm glad we waited until after he was born, though, because I think it's important to be able to "try out" the carrier first, with baby inside, before making such a purchase. We plan on going to the second-hand children's stores to check out which type we like best before buying.
-- More sleep! The most difficult part of all of this has been lack of sleep. The most helpful gift someone could give new parents is to come over and help out during the day sometime to give them a break-- do some dishes, help with laundry, clean up a bit, maybe take on one bottle feeding (with mom's milk, if possible) during the day to give mom a break and a chance to sleep for at least 3-4 hours straight through... Sleep is the most precious commodity during those first few weeks, and any way you could help give new parents a couple of hours at a time, you would be doing them the biggest favor possible!
-- Massage for mom or dad. The upper back/neck gets sooo sore from feeding baby and bending over so much. We think this would be an awesome baby shower gift for a new parent!

That's all I could think of so far. I'm sure I'll come up with more things as we go along, and I'll add it as we go.