Postpartum life with my 6 Month Old
I’ve been getting a lot of questions from my friends who are about to have little kiddos in Bank’s grade!!! I’m so excited for them and here are the main questions I’m getting –
Q: Could you share the link with me for the ceres chill bottle warmer/chiller you liked for traveling?
A: Ceres Chiller with extra chamber and handle
Go Futher: You definitely want a package that has a grip holder because the canister itself is so wide.
If you have a registry on Babylist it has a set I got that had 2 of the silver canisters with it which was nice if one was in the dishwasher or being used that week I could fill the next one. My set isn’t on there but this one is and comes with the extra inner chamber – it says it comes with an adapter for a bump but I would never pump into these because they are so long they’d be in the way on my lap.
If you’re not on babylist you can just register for extra inner chambers from amazon if you want.
About the Chiller: It doesn’t warm, it just chills for 24 hrs of chilling -I used it – 1) for let down every night I’d collect in a hakaa and I’d pour it inside and wouldn’t have to get out of bed to put in the fridge every 2 hours. 2) all day / traveling – if I’m away from home for 6+ hours and need to pump the it needs to stay at fridge temp 3) all day traveling – storage for bottles all day if away for 6+ 4) bottle carrying – way better than carrying around a cooler bag
About the Hakaa: They didn’t have a lid when I was making my registry so I would put it inside a flat mug so it would be stable on the bedsidetable. Otherwise it is a COMMON struggle that it is so easy to tip over. If you don’t want to mug it, then get the hakaa with the lid!
Pro Tip on let down: If you don’t have a hakaa but have wearable pumps, my lactation consultant gave me the tip to wear the cup (with out the pump) while I was nursing and it will collect the let down throughout the day. I did this by day (more discrete) and hakaa by night. I think the combo of the two helped prevent me from over supply.
Q: Would you rather have an automatic bouncer or an automatic like mamaroo type swing
A: Swing – we used a tripod one for infancy and Mamaroo months 3-5 – others like Maxi Cosi Baby Cassia Swing
Go Further: IMO bouncers are for awake time and swings are to get them to go to sleep, so good to have both for different reasons, but we used the swing way more. In the infant stage when they’re awake it was mainly in my arms, tummy time (hardly!), and then if I need to put him down, good to have an off brand baby Bjorn bouncer to hold them up right, but definitely doesn’t need to be an automatic one. But they sleep so much the first 3 months and that was always in a swing (That old one fisher price one I always posted about on the porch) and from 3-6 months we have been using the mamaroo for naps. I’ve always been warned not to get the mamaroo new for naps because you some babies are really picky about what swings you use but banks has always liked it.
Some babies like swing with more padding than mamaroo like this one – Maxi Cosi Baby Cassia Swing
Q: Have you tried a portable/chordless pump yet and if so do you like it?
A: Yes! I switch off each day with a primary (pumpables ) which is cordless and portable but you still have to wear the flanges. and a secondary wearable in the bra (elvie stride – I chose because it was cheapest with my insurance ).
Go Further: @BeMyBreastFriend has done the most research and comparisons on this and wearables do not have the same output as primaries… and at first it was fine that I pumped less with stride because I could keep up but now that banks is at day care and needs more bottles I am barely breaking even and can tell I get 2x more with flanges/primary pump engine vs. something like Elvie stride… all what @BeMyBreastFriend shares about.
At the same time… I hardly pumped but maybe 1-2x/week during months 1-3 while I was at home nursing. Now that I’m at work it’s obviously every day multiple times a day. Now that my output is dwindling I’m realizing I probably shouldn’t have spent so much on pumps, pump accessories, breastmilk pads, etc – I’ve used a lot the last 2 months but I feel like it is abruptly about to stop
If you only need a pump like out to dinner or events, you’d want a wearable elvie for like on the road pumping like that. Something to make do while out and about.
Q: How annoying is it when milk spills?
A: IKR!!! like i have a funeral. There are some great solutions like Dr. Brown’s that come with stopper discs.
Go Further: I just realized a lot of new moms don’t know what the round circle discs are when they get their Dr. Brown’s bottles. They are stoppers that fit on top of the green bar but beneath the nipple. Everything still tightens well and then there are no leaks! voila! We love Dr. Brown’s bottles for this reason.
But… Banks is not picky about a bottle! Some are. We didn’t register for any bottles because we didn’t know what he’d like. But we did register at babylist, amazon, and target and got tons of freebie bottles so we can test it out! Turns out he doesn’t care so we juse use all the freebies and run the dishwasher every night now so we aren’t hustling hand washing every night.
I also didn’t know there were different bottle nipple sizes… since Banks had reflux our lactation consultant advised we make sure we only use NB/O size and then graduated to size 1!
Q: Wait, Lactation consultant?
A: Yes!! I see Jordan Smith virtually and it’s the best.
Go Further: 24/7 I can text her and then she sets up an appointment whenever I need it to figure out what’s normal and what solutions to try. My insurance BCBSNC covers I couldn’t have done this without her! She’s also based in Raleigh for those who want home visits! Email her to set up your first visit pre-delivery to set a plan and then she takes it from there and reaches out to you so it is one less thing on your plate.