Parents have a list of essentials that never change. Car seat, newborn pampers, onesies, burp clothes, butt wipes, butt paste, swaddling blankets, a hat in case its cold – overall we know what we need to care for the baby at delivery all the way to taking them home from the hospital (if you don’t deliver at home). At some point, I realized I needed a pacifier – just in case – and quite honestly, it seemed like every baby had one. So, I had to have one (okay, at least five). I remember looking at a wall of pacifiers in Buy Buy Baby ASTOUNDED by the sheer magnitude and selection of soothing pacifiers for the baby. Pacifiers of every color, every stage, varying pliability, attached to something, not attached to something, and wisely – pacifiers that complemented the bottles you may be using to feed your child. Amazingly, there seems to be a new baby product every single week. As parents continue to have children, your equipment possibilities are growing and seems endless.

With baby number two, I quickly learned that whatever I thought I knew about newborns went out the window. This little human was vastly different from his older sibling. The first sign was his need to sleep on my chest and not in the co-sleeper. For the first two weeks of his life, he needed to be held. He napped and slept on my chest. Every once in a while during the two weeks, he would be game to be held for a few minutes – long enough for me go to the bathroom, shower, make some food – but for the most part, he was in my arms. After sleeping in the recliner for two weeks with the baby on my chest, he transitioned to the co-sleeper next to our bed. The first time I was able to sleep in my own bed for a solid 120 minutes – it was quite possibly the best power nap of my life.

As the baby grew a bit older, we noticed another difference between him and his sister. He was a bit gassy and burped a lot more than his sibling. He didn’t hold down his milk and formula too well. One minute he’s fine and the next minute, there he was with a puddle of formula next to him. He would cry and whimper between feedings and not always happy while he played. This was all very new to us. At some point, he moved out of the co-sleeper and wanted to start sleeping on my chest again. We knew we needed to support his discomfort and we also knew that sleeping on my chest was not going to be a sustainable way for me to rest. During his next check-up, the doctor didn’t see anything too out of the norm and suggested gripe water to help soothe his tummy.

I never heard of Gripe Water. The next time I was at Buy Buy Baby, I strolled by the wall of pacifiers and headed straight for the homeopathic, bathing, and medicine area of the store. I was immediately drawn to mommys BLISS gripe water. I needed to look as calm as that mother did and that baby’s blissful countenance whispered, “Buy this bottle.” This bottle changed the game for us. Made with organic ginger and fennel, this gripe water soothed the baby’s tummy enough where he began holding down his milk and formula better, less gassy, and less fussy. Over time, he would reach for the gripe water when he felt he needed it. I had to call the pediatrician to make sure we weren’t giving him to much of it and the doctor assured us that as long as we feed the baby first and offer the gripe water when it is truly needed and at the proper serving we should be ok…and we all were.

Being humble during the parenting journey is an important part of staying in the growth zone. As children grow, we have an opportunity to grow alongside with them.

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Be well, be safe, and be loved.

Your Coach Mom,

Elaine

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