Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Tummy Sensitive Bottles

I researched bottles for weeks before deciding on these. They are one of the most expensive bottles on the market right now, but they are like the BMW of bottles and in my book they are worth every penny. I use the sensitive tummy model of the Tommee Tippee since Claire has severe reflux and excessive spit up doesn't even describe it somedays. But there is a standard non sensitive tummy model.  

Pros

• They come in 5oz and 9oz sizes.
• For babies with excessive spit up and gas.
• Vent tube to reduce taking in air during feeding and discomfort after.
• The vent tube has a color changing heat sensing temperature strip that shows when milk is safe to drink. ( I love this feature, its been great for my husband to know when her bottles are the right temperature.)
• Vented nipples, the 5oz come with a size 1 and the 9 oz comes with a size 2. 
• Nipples mimic the natural feel and movement of the breast. Making transition between the breast and bottle easy. (Claire had no problem going between the two.)
• Wide neck nipple which makes latching easier. 
• You can buy different flow speed nipples.
• The shape of the actual bottle makes it easy for baby to learn to hold bottle on their own. 
• Bottles including the vent tube breaks down completely for cleaning.
• If you decide on formula or are unable to breastfeed Tommee Tippee makes Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Formula Dispensers that you can pre measure out the formula and the dispenser drops into the bottle for travel. This is a space saver in the diaper bag since you won't have to carry a formula container. 
• Tommee Tippee also makes an affordable bottle warmer for these bottles.

Cons

• The tummy sensitive bottles have extra parts, which means it takes a bit more time to clean bottles. 
• Since they are wide neck bottles, depending on the brand of breast pump you may not be able to pump directly into bottles unless you buy the pump converter (not to expensive), or use a Tommee Tippee pump.
• They are more expensive than other bottles. 

Holy Cow Claire's 8 Months!

I know its a little late but the in laws were here for a few weeks. Where has time gone? Claire turned 8 months old on the 16th. It seems like just yesterday she was born and we were spending our days in the NICU. Claire is now 12lbs and 26in tall.

The big news to report is she has her first batch of teeth coming in and her hair is finally growing back. If only you could actually see her hair, but its better than being bald. Currently Claire loves carrots, teething rings, her activity center, our cats and going swimming. She hates teething, watermelon, putting on sunblock and her reflux. We'll see how her likes and dislikes change when she is 9 months.

Baby Registry Musts

Registering for your baby shower can be overwhelming if you have never been into a Babies R Us or been around babies for longs periods of time. There are so many things they need or are just nice to have because they will make life much easier for you. I have worked with babies and children so I had a pretty good handle on everything we needed, but my husband had never really been around babies.

We finally had a weekend that we had time to go and register and when we sat down with one of their associates and went through the registry guide my husband immediately was overwhelmed. My first recommendation for registering is to do your research about the major items you will need i.e. bottles, monitor, glider and crib ect. My second recommendation, if your not sure about what something is or the difference between two products, go ahead and ask. The associates are actually very knowledgable.

I thought I'd share my favorite items that I use with Claire that I highly recommend. If you have any questions about an item feel free to ask. Also since I have worked in a child care center as a lead trainer I have used many different products, especially bottles so if your looking for more information on a particular kind chances are I have used it. .

Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Sensitive Tummy Bottles: I cannot express how much I love these bottles. We have 10 9oz and 10 of the 5oz sensitive tummy bottles. Claire has horrible reflux and these have really worked wonders for her. I also love the shape of them, she is already holding her own bottles. They are easy to clean and very durable.The biggest reason I love these bottles is the nipples are just like a breast, Claire switches between the breast and the bottle with no problem.

 Motorola MBP33 Wireless Video Baby Monitor: Its worth every penny to have a video baby monitor. We have a 2200 sq ft 2 story house so we needed a monitor that would have plenty of range since Claire's room is upstairs on the opposite side of the house from our TV room. Its wonderful having a video monitor, babies make so many little noises when they are sleeping especially when they are brand new so it was nice to be able to look and see exactly what she is doing on the monitor. Its been very handy as well now that she is older and sometimes wakes up, I just look and see if I really need to go into her room or if she'll go back to sleep. The monitor also has a two way intercom which we have used quite a bit, it can play music and shows the rooms temperature.

Woombie: Most babies love to be swaddled. Its a calming effect for them, reminding them of the womb. Claire absolutely loves to be swaddled. After coming home from the NICU she would sometimes wake up at night because she broke out of her receiving blanket swaddle and we would go in her room and re-swaddle her and she would go right back to sleep. Then I found the Woombie, it swaddles the baby but the baby cannot break out of it and wake up from their startle reflex. Not only that, but Woombie also makes a convertible Woombie that has arms holes that you just unsnap so they baby can feel swaddled but have their arms out and it becomes more like a sleep sack. This was wonderful when Claire started to role over. We weened her to sleep arms out one arm at a time and it only took about a week. We are a firm believer in the swaddle especially since Claire slept through the night at about 2 months old.

Fisher Price Rainforest and Melodies Deluxe Gym: Claire absolutely loves this activity mat. She has used it for tummy time since we brought her home and the older and more curious she gets the more she uses it. It plays music or rain forest sounds, has lights that coordinate with the sounds, has multiple different toys, sounds and textures and you can add your own to it as well. Its also easy to clean.

  

Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Carseat: One of the best rated infant car seats. It has multiple safety features and its very user friendly.  You can also adjust straps as your baby grows, its easy to clean and you can buy a separate base as well for a second car. Read the whole manual it has several tips.

Chicco KeyFit Caddy:Our car seat (see above) has a coordinating travel system but I personally am not a fan of them. They are huge, don't fold down very small and the amount of time that you need to use a car seat on a stroller is not long. We used this caddy and loved it. You could open it with one had and the car seat just snapped right in. It has the under seat storage bin and a cup holder. It rode very smooth and collapsed pretty small, which is great for trunk space.

Chicco Liteway: We used our KeyFit Caddy until Claire was about 3 months old. Then I felt bad when she was awake and still in her car seat. So we switched to her Liteway. She loves it! It has a 5 point harness and you can add in head support if you want or need to. She was able to sit up and look out at everything and she never tires of being in this stroller. It fully reclines so she can nap or if I need to feed her on the go I can recline it to a better angle,  it has the under seat storage and a cup holder for me, it rides very smooth, and it folds up very small and takes up almost no space in our trunk.

Breast Feeding & Formula

During my whole pregnancy I had my heart set on breast feeding. The benefits of breast feeding far out weighed the convenience of formula, plus it's free. Unfortunantly, I went into pre term labor which could not be stopped since my water actually broke. And then ended up having a c-section since she was breech. I immediately started pumping as soon as I was moved into the postpartum unit. It took a couple of days to even pump 5mls which was so disheartening, since I felt like it was the only thing I could do for Claire while she was in the NICU. I spent the next several weeks pumping every two hours around the clock, working with a lactation consultant and was even put on prescription medication to try and trigger my body to produce more. Unfortunately having a c section does slow your body's response to produce milk along with having a premature delivery and having a month seperation from Claire while she was in the NICU.

Here I am 7 months into it, and I pump every 3 to 4 hours to be able to give her 1 to 2 7oz bottles of beast milk a day. It's not ideal, but anything I am able to give her is worth it. Outside of her health problems resulting from her early arrival she really hasn't been sick. Which is huge for a premie! When she doesn't, get breast milk (which has to be fortified with formula to 26 kcal) we use Enfamil Enfacare (also fortified to 26 kcal) which is for premature babies.

I hope, if you choose to breast feed that your experience, is the typical experience. Just remember its hard work but it's wBrmorth it even if you can't exclusively breast feed. Hang in there!

Till Next Time!

NICU Must Haves!

My daughter was born at 34 weeks to the day. She spent the first month of her life in the NICU at the hospital she was born in. Life of having a baby in the NICU is rough and emotional. Its one of the hardest things I have gone through in my life. There are several "must haves" for yourself and baby during their stay in the NICU. These are the products that made life easier for us during Claire's stay!

Boppy With a child in the NICU you spend long hours there just holding them (when your allowed to) and once your allowed to breastfeed/bottle feed having a boppy comes in very handy. Plus once you get your precious little one home its becomes one of the most useful baby products you can own.

Receiving Blankets and lots of them! Not only do babies in the NICU spend their days swaddled, the NICU (at least Claire's) made up her isolette and eventually her open crib in her own receiving blankets to make it feel a little more like home for her and us.

Premie Clothes The NICU does everything they can to make sure your baby's stay feels as close to normal as possible. So I recommend bringing in plenty of premie clothes/pajamas. Everyday they would dress Claire just as you would at home. Though make sure whatever you buy has snaps, this is important because of the lead wires and IV's will need to be threaded through and that is difficult with pajamas that has a zipper instead of snaps. Also bring in several hats, maintaining temperature on their own is a big milestone in the NICU.

Bath Soap The NICU encourages parents to be as involved as possible in their baby's care. This includes giving baby a bath. They will have bath time soap, but we found it nice to bring in Claire's own bath time soap and lotion for after. We use Johnson and Johnson's bedtime bath products. Don't worry about a towel our NICU used warm blankets and a warming lamp during Claire's bath time.

Breast Pump If you decide to breastfeed you will need to start pumping immediately if you baby is premature. You will have to trigger your body to start producing due to the premature delivery. Its also very important and helpful to bring any pumped milk you can to the NICU to feed to your baby once they decide baby can start being fed by bottle.The NICU will supply you with pump containers to pump into and bring in (everything has to be measured in the NICU).  Our NICU had two pumps rooms with pumps that I used during the day while I was at the NICU, but the Medela Symphony is the hospital grade pump I use at home. Even now that Claire is almost 8 months old I still have to pump as Claire has struggled to gain weight and is still on fortified breast milk (26kcal) and formula.

Till next time!

Moms Must Haves & Mistakes

Every mom, whether a working or stay at home mom, has concerns and questions about raising their children. Not every child is the same but as a mother I have interesting Ramblings about the daily life of a mother and child. In addition, this blog will review those items that make a parent's life just a little easier.

Please bear with me as I get this blog going, I promise it will be worth it. It's taking a bit of work around my daughter, as she is currently trying to cut her first 4 teeth. Which is a big milestone for her since she was born prematurely, so every milestone she hits (usually a little late) is something to celebrate.


In the meantime if there is something in particular you'd like to hear about or have something you'd like me to review contact me and let me know.


Till next time!
Triple M