Blog Archive July 2011

When my daughter was born I was expecting lots of things - sleepless nights, baby smell, baby snuggles and a whole heap of chaos thanks to having a lively three year old daughter as well.

Hello, Colic.

What I didn't expect was colic. Colic. A word that will scare any parent half to death. And a word that can mean a whole heap of things. But basically it means crying. Inconsolable crying. Often fromt eh time the sun goes down until midnight, but really any period of crying for longer than 3 hours on a regular basis is considered to be colic. But no one knows what causes it. Some say it's gas. Some say its an immature digestive system and some say it's an immature nervous system.

Goodbye, Easiest Baby in the World.

Colic didn't strike until my baby was two weeks old, which I hear is quite common with colic. So there I was, enjoying the easiest bby ont eh planet and wondering why I had such a hard time with my first baby when newborns sleep all the time, and suddenly it was upon us.

I Love My Hug-a-Bub

I'd have periods where I would be walking the floor with her for 8 hours straight. Not pleasant. I tried every medicaton I could get my hands on. I tested her for reflux, tried Infants Friend, Infacol and endured two weeks of hell otherwise known as the elimination diet. And through all of that there was only one thing that would calm her down. And that was bieng in the heart-to-heart position in the Hug-a-Bub.

Which makes sense really. It's like a second womb. A happy baby means better digestion and anything that was going to alleviate the stress on that immature nervous sytem was going to also help her with her wee tummy. All snug in there and upright which helped with gas, she would sleep (even if on a bad day it was fitfullya nd I had to remain on my feet the whole time!) She lived in it. I struggled to get a photo of her not in the hug-a-bub because she was always in there. And then almost like magic at the 6 week mark something happened.

Welcome Back, Easiest Baby on the Planet

I'd read that block feeding could help colic. So I started doing that. Block feeding means you feed on one side for two hours before swapping to help with over-supply. And it doesn't matter if they only feed once in that period or five times you just keep to the one side until the two hours is up. The theory is that over-supply can lead to a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance and that if the baby is getting too much foremilk the sugar can ferment int eh belly and cause gas. Now I'll never really know if it was the block feeding or she just grew out of it. But at 6 weeks, there she was. The easiest baby on the planet was back and the colic was gone.

But the easiest baby on the planet still loves her snuggles and spends a decent portion of her day in the hug-a-bub. Which I love too. I'm a snuggly kind of girl.

Babies are often described as fetus' living outside the womb for the first 12 months of life and there's a very good reason for that. In terms of neurological development humans are born 12 months earlier than other animals.

Kangaroo care refers to the way Joeys are born prematurely and have to attach to their mother's teat inside her pouch in order to survive. And there they stay for the first nine months of life. There are so many benefits of Kangaroo care - even for full term babies.

It keeps your baby at the perfect temperature

During skin-to-skin contact your chest will warm up if your baby is too cold and cool down if your baby is too warm.

It promotes strong hormone production

Hormones aren't just good for milk production, they are also responsible for making sure you feel good! And skin-to-skin contact ensures that prolactin and oxytocin are in good supply.

Your baby will learn to breastfeed more quickly

Breastfeeding is a learning cuve for babies and their mothers alike. A baby who is settled and secure is in the best learning place possible for successful breastfeeding.

Feeds will be more frequent

Due to the small size of a baby's stomach, frequent feeds are extremely important, especially in the early weeks. Close contact ensures that your baby will wake regularly to feed, if for no other reason than smelling the milk.

It helps brain development

Babies brain development relies on skin-to-skin contact and eye contact to form the correct brain pathyways.

It helps alleviate colic

Babies with colic sleep better and cry less when Kangaroo care is performed.

Kangaroo Care and Premature Babies

Kangaroo care is even more important for premature babies. In addition to all the benefits to full term babies, skin-to-skin contact can:

• help  your baby to gain weight faster
• improves your baby’s metabolism
• eliminate or lessen your baby’s anxiety
• help increase your baby’s immune system

And in general, skin-to-skin contact increases premature babies rate of survival.

Kangaroo Care and Your Hug-a-Bub

The hug-a-bub wrap carrier in the heart-to-heart position is uniquely suited to kangaroo care.

• The wrap allows skin-to-skin contact for as much as the day as you would like, while still giving the freedom for you to do whatever you need to do - even cooking dinner or toddler wrangling!
• The wrap promotes frequent breastfeeding and you can even breastfeed your baby while they are still in the wrap.
• Because the hug-a-bub is a wrap it is designed to fit all babies - from the tiniest of premature babies.
• As weight is distributed across your body, the wrap is very comfortable and you can take advantage of as much skin-to-skin snuggle time as you like
• In addition to skin-to-skin contact, the wrap allows for as much touching, kissing and snuggling as you like -even when your baby is asleep.

What is your favourite part about babywearing? In what way did you find it helped you the most?