Today on grouchybaby.com the featured item is a car seat toy.   They make these toys to go on the car seats for infants up to 1 year and 20 lbs… but not for the car seats after that.  I don’t know if everyone had the same experience as me, but my daughter certainly had no interest in the car seat toy until she was out of the infant car seat.

Today, the second we get into the car she is whining for the car seat toy.  However, when it was attached to her infant car seat when she was using it- she paid it no mind what-so-ever.  Hmmmm…

I strongly recommend a car seat toy, and would definately get it for your infant– you never know what they are looking at or what fascinates them…but your toddler will love the toy even more!  Either way- it’s a win/win situation.  You’ll get some use out of it sooner or later.

There are about a million and one books about being pregnant, having babies, raising babies, bargains for babies, education for babies…babies babies babies…  our feature item today is a book:  Heading Home With Your Newborn.

I’ve used this book– I didn’t start on page one, and I certainly didn’t read it in order.  I read the table of contents when I had a question, and went right to that page!  I read what I needed, and then put the book down.  It was useful…if you have an average baby. 

I recommend the book because it does help with things like bathing, issues with poop, feeding tips, etc… it’s particularly handy for a first time parent.

When you feed your baby from a bottle, you want the perfect bottle.  You want the pefect nipple for your baby, and if you breastfeed- you want it to be an easy transition for her… My first born could not use a wide mouth nipple with reduced the choice of bottle for me.  Avent and Born Free are two  examples of bottles that were not available in smaller sizes.  I was limited to a certain few- most of which my baby was not able to use effectively.  The nipple was the toughest part for her. 

My second born is a colicky baby.  First thing I did was look for a bottle that helped with reflux and colic.  Almost all bottles with a big name:  Dr. Brown’s, Born Free, Avent, Mam— they all say they reduce colic and were created by a Pediatrician who is also a parent, and they have specially designed inserts.  The inserts are just added items for you to wash.  Do they work?  Well, my baby still suffered from reflux and was crying all the time.  So, based on one baby…my baby…no, they don’t work.  If I were to do it again, I would just pick a cheaper bottle that had a nipple that my baby could use.

When your little one has reflux, there is one big rule to follow…keep the head elevated above the chest and stomach!

To do this, the wonderful little elves that make all the baby stuff have created a few items.  Some are good, some come with a lot of useless hype, and others are just, eh. 

Today we will focus on baby items that are said to help with reflux and reduce colic.  This will not include bottles.

The first item of discussion is the swing.  Everyone loves the swing.  It moves forward and back in a fast to slow motion, some have music and nature sounds, and is overal soothing to a baby.  The positioning of a swing  keeps the head above the chest and stomach, and therefore is good for reflux baby.  However, if the baby ate recently you must hold her up for 30 minutes prior to putting her down regardless of the position of the swing.  Also, some babies with reflux may be sensitive to the forward and back motion.  If this is the case, the low speed setting might be beneficial.  It may also depend on when the baby last ate.  Overall, the swing is a nice comfortable place for a reflux baby to sit.

 The bouncy seat!!  A favorite of many.  This is a perfect position as it keeps the head positioned above the chest and stomach, and often has a lot of little toys for the baby.  Some bouncy seats vibrate which can be soothing to a reflux baby.  Even though this is an excellent place for your reflux baby to sit, you still have to hold her up for 30 minutes after eating.

 A lot of time you will see a positioner or wedge to help reduce the effect of reflux and reduce colic.  This is a decent tool for nap time as it does keep the baby’s head positioned above her chest and stomach.  It is also a helpful tool when playing on floor instead of laying her flat on her back.  You may also use it while changing diapers to keep her head positioned upwards.  However, I do not recommend letting her sleep at night or unsupervised with this item.  When sleeping with it, even though it claims to maintain position, the baby tends to fall down the wedge.  Her face can get pressed up against the positioner arms, or she may roll into an awkward position.  In the first year of life, a wedge/ positioner is not recommended due to the risk of SIDS.  The wedge is easily replaced by rolling up towels, or by putting a pillow under the mattress.  Also, you can put bricks underneath the legs of the bed on one end.

There are several other items not mentioned above, but they are all very similar.  The Sooth N’ Ride is positioned as a seat to keep the head above the chest and stomach, it moves forward and back, and side to sided.  It also plays music to help sooth the baby.  Then there is a belt that you can wrap around your baby’s stomach.  It vibrates and claims to reduce colic and the effects of reflux.

One thing not on the market for reflux, but is a hot item: the front pack!  This nifty thing allows you to strap your baby to your front and free your hands!  It holds your baby close to you for her comfort, but most importantly- it holds her straight up so that you can plop her in it even after eating.

All of the above items are over $30.00 except the wedge.  The wedge can be found for as low as $14.99.  

Rule of thumb:  make sure the item is able to maintain the position of the head above the chest and stomach.  The rest is just extra.   And as it may reduce the effects of the reflux, it will not cure it and may not stop your little one from crying in pain.  Your TLC and physical closeness while holding up your baby is the best thing for her.

In the hospital you hold your newborn and feed him/her every few hours.  Everything is perfect, and your baby is staring up at you with trusting and loving eyes.  You are discharged from the hospital and you take you precious little  miracle home.  A day or so of heaven quickly turns to hell.  You try to feed your baby and she start squirming, and crying.  She won’t latch on, or take the bottle (depends on your choice of feeding– we’ll talk about those options later).  She acts starving, but a few sips into it and she is crying and squirming again.  Her arms flail out, her body stiffens, and she wails, and wails and wails.  Not to mention you’ve changed your shirt twice that day because of spit up, and your rocker is caked with crispy dried vomit.  Your heart breaks, and for a new Mommy- panic sets in.  Fortunately, one week after the baby is born she has an appointment with the Pediatrician…so you can quickly talk to the doctor about what you are witnessing.  She’ll tell you that it may be reflux.  If the baby is formula fed, she’ll recommend a few different formula options.  Try the sensitive formula, then try the soy based formula, and then when they don’t work- try the dreaded hypoallergenic formula.  This formula is incredibly expensive– $27.00 for 16 oz.  BEFORE you get to that formula, stay on the soy based and then try thickening the formula with baby cereal.  The worse the reflux, the thicker the cereal.  Some parents try everything they can before using medication.  However, there are a few reflux medication options out there and for both my babies- they were extemely helpful.  If you are breastfeeding, you may want to try the medication before switching to formula. 

Along with medication, cereal, and formula changes, there is positioning, and finding the perfect bottle.

Finding the perfect bottle for mothers who pump, or formula feed  is one of the most difficult tasks I had as a mother.  My first born went through Playtex wide mouth and small, Evenflo, Mam, and finally settled on Dr. Brown’s.  My second baby had no success with the Dr. Brown’s so I tried my old Platex, Mam, and Evenflo bottles.  When they didn’t work, I tried avent and Born Free.  We landed on Born Free.  Despite all the bottle changes, it wasn’t the bottle that was the issue….it was the nipple that goes with the bottle.  Let’s face it- the bottle only holds the formula, or breastmilk.  Yes, some are designed to reduce colic- but the nipple is the key.  Avent nipples didn’t work for us because we thickened our formula to a certain consistency.  It was too thick for all stages of nipple as each one had 4 little wholes at the top, instead of one.   The cross cut nipple allowed too much formula at one time and caused my baby to throw up every time…which also hurt her.  Dr. Brown’s was too fast, Platex was too slow, Mam was too wide— so it is not the bottle, it is the nipple.  However, to get the perfect nipple- you have to buy the matching bottle.   Once you’ve found your perfect nipple, to match the perfect formula, and the perfect consistency, and the perfect dose of medication, you still need to worry about positioning.

While feeding your baby positioning is very important.  You need to hold her up so that her head is above her chest and stomach, and you need to burp her often.   Once she is done eating, she needs to be held up for 3o minutes.  I thought that putting her in the swing or letting he sit in her bouncy seat would be enough.  However, this is not the case.  When you hold your baby up, you REALLY hold her up.  You need to hold her up like you are burping her– it can be over your shoulder or sitting up leaning forward.  I always went for the over the shoulder– it as easier for her to fall asleep and gave me good cuddle time with her.

Positioning doesn’t end with feeding, and holding her up.  You tiny little miracle has to sleep with special positioning as well.  Her head needs to be above her chest and stomach.  My Pediatrician recommended putting bricks under the legs of the crib to raise the head of the bed.  I put a pillow under the mattress at the head of the bed for my first born.  Currently, my newborn sleeps in the pack and play with two towels folded up to raise the head of the bed.  Before then, she slept in the swing or a baby seat.  One couple said they had their baby sleep in the car seat.

How long does this last?  Once your baby starts sitting up on her own it usually gets better.  At that time, she is also eating more solid foods.  When my first born was 1 year old I took her off her medication.  However, I think by the time she was 6 months old, she was reflux free.

All the information provided above is from my research on the internet for my personal use, conversations with my Pediatrician, conversations with friends (both formula feeders and breastfeeders), and my own personal experience.  Please speak with your Pediatrician if you have any concerns regarding your precious little miracle, and reflux.

Dear Daylight Savings,

Thank you for the extra hour in our day.  However, for the second year in a row, you were not able to fool my daughter into sleeping an extra hour.  Please try again next year, and may you have better luck.  The little ones seem to be wise to your plan.

Sincerely,

Tired Mommy

Here she is.  My beautiful little 16 mos old daughter.  She looked absolutely adorable in her butterfly costume that I paid $30.00 for at the store.  She wore it for 20 minutes in her parade at school on the 30th, and on Halloween she wore it for about an hour running around the house, waiting for trick or treaters.  She is too young to go trick or treating, so she didn’t wear it out.  She is too young to eat candy, so she didn’t get it sticky or stained.  She just looked cute…t’is a shame to let the costume go to waste.  This is why I hope someone will re-use it.  I’m auctioning it at grouchbaby.com where you can bid on the costume and win it for cheap!  Now your young child can look adorable for Halloween or a school play.  The costume is size 2T and comes with a headband, one piece suit, and wings that velcro to the back…it is strong velcro, and worked beautifully on my child who cannot leave anything alone!  I hope you enjoy the costume as much as I did!

Welcome to grouchybaby.com where you can buy and sell used baby goods.  It’s also a resource for all you parents.  You can ask questions, provide advice, or just post your experience as you wish.  Feel free to post pictures of your kids, along with the items you are trying to sell.