12 - EASTERN OREGON PARENT - October 2017
Bringing home baby: Tips from a first-time mom
By JENNIFER COSTLEY
I left the hospital with
confidence. The kid came
out totally normal and I
was feeling pretty agile
for someone who had
just given birth (a feeling
that dissipated later that
afternoon when the last
dose of hospital pain kill-
ers worked its way out of
my system). Things didn’t
start to get sketchy until
that evening when I read
horror stories about the
cute Rock’n’play I bought
and all the babies that smothered
themselves whilst sleeping in it.
Flash forward to a long night of
checking to make sure the baby’s
breathing. Sleep while she sleeps?
Ha! Haven’t you ever heard of
SIDS? You can never sleep! All right,
you get the idea. My confidence
was shaken.
I thought I was prepared, but as
it turns out babies are needy and
first time moms are psychos. Below
is a short list of things I didn’t know,
but wish I had.
Prove thyself!
About a week before my due
date realized I should probably
learn about breastfeeding. I had
been avoiding the task because
I didn’t want to look at diagrams
of boobs but time was running
out. Luckily a friend of mine was
a former Le Leche League leader.
She interlibrary loaned a whole
slew of breastfeeding books for me
(subtle library plug). These books
taught me a few good positions for
feeding your baby and important
things like how often to do it. Boy,
am I glad I did my homework! Did
you know that not one but several
people in the hospital will ask you
to demonstrate your ability to feed
the baby? If you have a hospital
birth you will have round-the-clock
nurses and each one is gonna
want to make sure baby gets what
she needs. Also expect a lactation
consultant making the rounds,
who will want to see you feed your
baby – and there is no faking it with
this expert! The bad news: Actual
breastfeeding is more awkward
than looking at diagrams. The good
news: The nurses and lactation con-
sultants aren’t there to give you a
test, they’re there to get you home
with a variety of strategies and the
confidence to ask for help if you
need it.
Carseat conundrums
One week post-hospital my part-
ner flipped up the car seat cover
for a goodbye baby kiss and was
mortified to see the kid hunched
forward in what was obviously not
a safe position. She looked like she
was hanging from the roof of an
upside down vehicle. Newborns do
not have the strength to keep their
heads up in the seated position,
so your carseat must be installed
at the right angle,
with straps in the
right position, to
keep baby safe on
the drive. After some
long feelings of red
hot shame I snapped
a picture of baby in
the car and sent it
to a car seat techni-
cian from St. Anthony
Hospital. A speedy
response arrived:
“No! She shouldn’t
look like that!” Then
came instructions for
a quick temporary fix, followed by
an immediate invitation to come
back and have the car seat rein-
stalled. I was fortunate to know a
girl who knows carseats but anyone
can access this service. St. Anthony
has several car seat technicians on
hand. Give them a call and they will
get you situated free of charge.
The myth of newborn diapers
When people ask you what you
need tell them newborn diapers.
These suckers are nearly impos-
sible to find. Walmart and Safeway
have been sold out more times
than I can count in the last eight
weeks. Sizes 1-6 come in a variety
of brands and prices. Newborn
diapers, not so much. Collect these
mythical devices in advance!
Your baby may sound like a pug
Confession: my partner and I
didn’t know that sneezing is how
infants clear their nose of left-
over womb stuff. We kept a tally
of sneezes on the whiteboard in
the hospital until someone kindly
informed us it was normal and she
wasn’t already sick. Still, during the
first few weeks home she struggled
Young
Children
to breath at night. Tiny noses make
for quick congestion. There are
three tools you can purchase to
help make baby comfortable while
she grows into that nose. 1. Saline
solution. 2. One of those terrible
tools for sucking fluid from a baby’s
nose ... just Google it. 3. A wedge
to place under the mattress of your
crib or bassinet that elevates the
baby’s head.
Buy these things or else
• Changing pad: This is common
sense. Why didn’t I just buy this?
• Diaper genie: You can literally
stuff 40 dirty diapers in this thing
and not smell a single one.
• Colic bottles: Gassy babies don’t
sleep.
• Gas drops: See above.
• Gripe water: Infants get hiccups
easily. Gripe water is a magic hic-
cup healer.
• Carseat cover: Protect your baby
from the sun and strangers.
• Bottle warmer: So she can
scream for two minutes instead
of five.
• Soothing gel pads. You’ll know
why when the time comes.
Goathead stroller murder
You have finally gathered the
courage to take your baby out into
the world. You wrestle your stroller
in and out of the car. You make
sure baby won’t be too cold or too
hot. You find a nice Eastern Oregon
park and you stroll gingerly along,
appreciating the outdoors for the