So after a month hiatus to have a baby, we are back in business! For those of you expecting baby #1 or that haven’t had #2 as of yet, I can give you first-hand experience that what they say is true—1+1 does NOT equal 2. Two kids is so much more work in that there really isn’t down time. Those five minutes you took to shower while hubby watched the baby don’t exist anymore. While it is still lots of work, one thought I must share is that all the work has an end in sight. When you are on baby #1, when issues happen (baby screaming all night, excessive nursing, constipation issues, etc), you can’t see an end in sight. On baby #2, you really can confidently tell yourself in the middle of being peed on again, spit up on or brushing your teeth for the second time because you can’t remember the first time due to sheer exhaustion…THIS TOO WILL PASS!!
With that…I have found a few products this time around that I wanted to share some thoughts on—
1. Medela’s Lanolin Cream—First time through the first weeks of nursing, I used the Lansinoh. While it worked, I have to tell you that some free samples of the Medela brand turned into full product purchases. Their cream is much smoother going on, doesn’t leave residue for when the baby begins nursing and is generally pain relieving. If you haven’t tried it, at Giant Steps in Fairfield you can find a full line of Medela and they will give you free samples.
2. While giving a plug on Medela’s cream, I have to give a not so great review of the Medela Soothies. While some people swear by these, I didn’t have such a great experience. If you don’t know what they are, for $9.95 for one set (comes with two—one for each side) you get a gel pad that gives you an immediate soothing sensation on the raw nipple area. It feels great, however, they do not absorb the excess. As a result, you get stopped up and it actually led to me having a case of mastitis. I thought I was getting sick—I spiked a fever and thought that I was actually septic or something. I stopped using them, took a really hot bath and made my baby nurse on that side for about 45 minutes and it was gone. Since I stopped using the soothies, no issues with clogging or mastitis. I am sure that the doctors and medical types out there may say that it was a combination of factors, but I can tell you that I also had issues with clogging that all stopped after I stopped the soothies.
Feel free to share any comments and suggestions (this mom would love to hear them as well) for things that you have learned second time around or any other great or not so great products that are out there today!
