Quick Tips when a baby is around the corner

One of my dear friends is pregnant and I am super happy for her. Heres a quickie of what I intended to share with her. Hope it helps other would be moms too. 

As I was trying to recollect what should she buy. Heres what I could recollect. Got to write it all down before I totally forget in the next few years :) 

Medications and Oils: 

Eucalyptus oil - Most helpful in colds and coughs. Put 1-4 drops in a pan of boiling water. Have your baby in your lap. Ask your spouse to cover you both with a blanket. The steam carrying vapors of the oil help open us blocked nostrils. 

For clearing nose snorts.Nosefrida Aspirator/ - Highly recommended on Amazon 

Baby friendly thermometer. (One with more plastic and less glass exposed for the risk of falling down and breaking into pieces)

Fever medication. (I am against western medication (also known as allopathy) However this is one thing, I believe your home should have. ) India - paracetamol broken into tinier pieces helps. In US, stores sell Tylenol specific to the baby's age group.  

Clothes 

Shoes, slippers, sandles until age 6 months is a total waste of money. Another total waste of money are hand mittens. (better use socks to prevent the baby from scratching her/himself) 

Fancy clothes are useless too. The baby remains swaddled mostly or is throwing up or is getting a massage ( Very important to do - for proper blood circulation). Hence buttonless, hookless, pinless, too much of strings and addons less are recommended. Basically simple designs on gentle fabric (preferably organic) cottons are the best. Have at least 6-8 pairs of dresses on hand.  

Try to keep the head covered as much as possible. The reason is a lot of heat is lost from the head. The fat is what helps the baby to stay warm. A new baby is born without the fat - to help itself easily squeeze out of a mom's vagina during birth. 

Additional layers - to the extent that the baby is not loosing a ton of its body's water in sweat are always recommended too. 

Cloths

(1) 5-8 burp clothes. Size approx: 1'x6'' ( 1 feet by 6 inches) 

(2) 10-12 bed sheets. Size approx: 3'x2'. Preferably with plastic beneath and (organic is best) cotton on the side facing the baby. 

(3) 4-6 swaddlers. Minimum size approx 2'x2'. 

If you are India, you can tear a nice bedsheet into squares and rectangles. In US, if you are on a low budget, there is at least one Dollar Store in every neighborhood. You might have to visit a few of these stores to get everything you have on your list. They are unpredictable in what they carry. If you and your partner are ok with using second hand products - local Thrift stores are a good option too. 

More Info

Whats swaddling: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swaddling

The 5S by Harvey Karp: http://www.happiestbaby.com/5-ss-system-may-help-colic-symptoms/

A baby center video on the how best to swaddle (tightly wrap a baby to prevent him to wake up from his own jerks. (Swaddling process starts at 2 minutes). 

People / Newsletters I read and subscribed to

You will be spending a ton of time just sitting with newly born in your lap. So I HIGHLY recommend you always the the material next to you bedside / listen to / watch that you always wanted to read, but could not do so in the past due to lack of time.

For Birth Plans and Info on intervention-less deliveries 
1. https://www.pennysimkin.com/articles-resources/ - Check File Library 

2. If you are in the US, you are allowed to make way more choices. Heres an idea on how to write a birth plan.  

3. If I know you personally, I would be happy to share my personal birth plan with me. Just shoot me an email. 

Newsletters I subscribed to: 

Also when I was pregnant with Atharv, for baby related info, I had subscribed to tons of websites. The more one reads, the less there is worry about the day-to-day changes that are part of the growing process of a newly born baby. 

Babycenter.com AND Babycenter.co.in, 

Ivillage.parenting.com, 

Indianparenting.com, 

Swedish /Overlake/ Group - which ever your hospital is. They too have nice info.  

Post Delivery
Let me stress on this once again You will never again get this kind of time to read this much until several years in future. Here are some suggestions based on your interests 

1. Books (Novels, Non-fiction, technical), Magazines

2. Audible.com (If a laptop is not feasible, there is an app for smartphone 

3. Documentaries, TV serials on Netflix, Youtube, Youku etc.  

*****

Handling the 'Law' (especially Mother In Law!)  

You will get a ton of advice from your MIL. Some of her requests are doable. Some is not. Its your baby and not your MIL. Your focus should be on what is best for your baby and not how to explain situations to your MIL.  For instance, if you MIL expects you to keep your hands, legs and and head self covered - she has a point to make there. I did it with my second one and there is marked improvement of handling temperature variations in the second one than my first one. ( There were other factors too, such as my first one was a winter baby, where as the second one was a summer one. Plus by the time the second one came, we became vegans - which boosted the general immunity of my family by many times). Any how the point I was coming to. If you feel suffocated with a cap in 40 degrees celsius - you can very well show her you that you tried just because you wanted to be a good DIL and have been sweating since the last 30 minutes and perhaps are on the verge of a severe dehydration by now... which is worst for your kid than not wearing a cap yourself. Let her take the call and make her feel proud to have made that choice that over clothing the new mom was a bad idea to begin with. Win-win situation for both. 

If your baby's no longer an infant, heres a nice business idea - Start a 'MIL Management sessions'. I bet there are a lot who would like to join ;) 

More later.