Deor Chi up to 7 weeks old and a must have newborn baby shopping list

I’m now a Dad to Deor Chi, yeah!

7 weeks into it I feel pretty good and adjusted. The birth itself was traumatic, more because I delivered Deor on our bathroom floor then spending the next couple of days in hospital as the wife lost a litre and a half of blood and Deor suffered from jaundice. The midwife at the hospital told my wife not to go in to hospital when she was in early labour because it was too early. What they didn’t take into account was my wife’s incredibly high tolerance to pain! We didn’t make it to the car as the wife lost the ability to walk. Deor was out less than 3 minutes after that on a pile of bathroom towels with an umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. That rubbery tube is pretty gross to touch but I had to unwrap it to save his life. Deor was on a mix of formula milk, express milk and breast milk directly for the first couple of weeks but soon went exclusively with breast milk. The transition from formula milk is a little scary as the weight gain is definitely slower with breast milk. The key thing to know is to ignore conflicting advice from midwives with length of feeds. Instead, call the dedicated National Breastfeeding Helpline who will advise mothers to feed on demand and to make sure the baby feeds on the hind milk which is the stuff you get at the very end of emptying out the supplies.
 

Deor has GORD/GERD and/or Lactose intolerance

A couple of weeks later after birth I was at the end of my Paternity leave and Deor was back in hospital having been to the doctors 2 days in a row with repeated vomiting. He was under checks for Pyloric stenosis which is a narrowing of the tube between the intestine and the stomach. Fortunately he didn’t have that but he was diagnosed with having either GORD (gastrointestinal reflux disease or GERD to Americans) or lactose intolerance. Both have the problem of repeated vomiting after most feeds. GORD doesn’t fix itself until the baby has solid foods 6-12 months in. Lactose problems will persist until the baby comes off breast milk and has a lactose free diet or until the mum stops eating all dairy. 7 weeks in, the wife is now off dairy but Deor is still puking after every other feed, but the diet has to be sustained for a month to be sure. If you have a puky baby, then keep them upright after feeds for an hour and then pop them in an upright swing or sleeping wedge. This is difficult when your baby is feeding every 2 hours as it gives you less than half an hour a go to do things like eating, hygiene stuff, toilet breaks and of course sleeping! His feeds are now 3-5 hours apart which means more respite for the wife who allows me to sleep overnight and not at my desk at work.
 

Withings Smart Kid Scale is a must have for worried parents

We have been weighing Deor regularly with our Withings Smart Kid Scale which has been admired by our visiting Midwives and Health visitors for its accuracy (exactly the same reading as the much heavier SECA scales they use) and lightness. It has the added benefit of adapting to a growing kid and posting all measurements to both the Withings baby app and the Withings health mate which benchmarks your child’s weight against a normal range. As Deor vomits all the time, it’s very difficult to tell if he is ill or not aside from nappy frequency and inspection. Knowing that Deor’s weight is gaining every day is very reassuring as long as you weigh them at the same time each day (as weight fluctuates). It can remember multiple kids too so it’s a long term investment. When Deor is old enough, he will graduate to the adult sized Withings Smart Body Analyzer which is also awesome in it’s own right.
 

Keeping myself fit and healthy

The Withings Smart Body Analyzer has helped me shed several kilos over the last 6 months and now I have the Withings Pulse which has allowed me to lose the most amount of weight over a one week period that I’ve ever achieved (3kg in one week). I’m banking on the suite of Withings products to keep me healthy. Hopefully I will live long enough to watch Deor grow up. I keep having horrible nightmares of dying before Deor is an adult which I can’t seem to shake. It’s pretty terrifying so feel free to encourage me on my mission via My fitness Pal. I’ll post more about each of the above products soon.
 

For now here’s what you need in the first 7 weeks:

• At least 10 Muslin cloths (we have about 30 because of GORD. M&S make the best ones imo)
• Philips Avent Natural starter kit x2 (the brush is outstanding)
• Philips Avent electric sterilizer (takes only 10 minutes to sterilize a ton of stuff)
• Philips Avent Digital Bottle and Baby Food Warmer (this is darn quick and accurate. A bottle should be no warmer than the part of the wrist that you would slit if you wanted to kill yourself. Drop a bit of milk onto it and you should feel nothing)
• Philips Avent natural comfort electric express (watch your wife milk like a cow in style)
• Withings Smart Kid Scale
• Shnuggle Moses Basket
• Moses basket folding stand
• Moses basket rocking stand
• Cosatto Baby Changing station (get this if you like not getting back ache)
• Nappy bags Pampers new baby nappies (get the sensitive version if they get nappy rash. We also tried Huggies, Lidl, Tesco and Boots but Pampers have been the best by far. Get both size 1 and size 2)
• Pampers sensitive wipes (far better than Johnson & Johnson extra sensitive, Huggies Pure and Lidl. Ignore the midwife recommendation to use only water and cotton wool)
• Asda Little Angels Cotton pads (the best bang for your buck against other supermarkets and Boots. Use 2 over a boy’s bits while changing nappies to defend getting soaked and to watch the magic happen)
• Graco Sweet Snuggle Infant Soothing Swing (Deor loves this and passes out every time) A black and white soft toy (newborns don’t see in colour but like black and white patterns)
• Infacol (for extra winding)
• Sudocreme (apply with cotton buds at nappy change time and you’ll see no nappy rash)
• iBaby feed timer app (accurately logs all nappy changes and feeds. It will alert you when a feed is due which is handy if you are not used to sleep deprivation. You will also be asked about this stuff by a doctor if your baby gets ill) Car seat (they are all rear facing for infants. Ideally get an isofix one. I have a Maxi-Cosi but I wouldn’t buy them again as their customer support is unfriendly and rude)
• Tommee Tippee milk bibs (these are the best bibs we’ve tried for milk vomits)
• Clothes (get used to sizing by weight in kg rather than by age as each brand varies far too much to make a sound judgment. Newborns spend most of their time sleeping so babygros, gloves and vests plus one or two jackets are all you need for the first few months. Make sure you get some up to 3kg clothes in case your baby comes out light. Buy plenty enough for 6-8 changes a day if you hate washing clothes)
• Bugaboo Chameleon 3 Stroller (This is the best we could find. This will last the entire duration of your baby’s development until they are able to walk. You can choose from a range of colours too)
• MaByLand MATchel (Brilliant small changing bag with incorporated changing mat)
• MaByLand Trek Snuggle Carrier (use from 3.5kg to 9kg. This is brilliant for small shops and busy supermarkets where a buggy quadruples time. Also brilliant for very quick shops or trips. Deor faces towards me until he is old enough to hold himself up and then faces outwards. Great invention)
• Gro swaddle (the best quality swaddle by a long way. The midwives at the hospital loved it)
• Ted Baker Blankets (I found nothing softer although the designs are very grown up)
• Hooded towels and wash mitts (Body shop make organic cotton ones which feel nice to touch)
• Aptimil first milk (even if you want to breast feed, you may not get a choice if your baby is jaundiced or ill for other reasons when they first come out. They will need to have formula if that is the case and supermarket shopping is not fun with a 2 day old in tow so buy in advance)
• Cheap cotton buds (to apply sudocreme on bum to avoid contamination)
• Disposable syringes 2.5ml and 10ml (buy in boxes of 100 for hygiene and cross contamination when your baby is given medicine. They will normally provide you with a poorly made syringe that you have to wash and reuse which is a hassle if your baby is sick. They also have to be cleaned with cold water which is just stupid. 2.5ml and 10ml sizes will cover most medicines prescribed for babies up to a few years old. Eject into the cheek skin to avoid having medicine coughed back up.)
• Dr. Bees Nasal Aspirator (babies can’t clear their noses so you have to suck out the bogeys unless you want them to get a chest infection. Buy spare nasal pieces and cups from their website directly. The manual aspirators are rubbish compared to this electronic wonder)

What you don’t need:

• Cotton wool (waste of space and horrible to use whilst your baby is pooing in your face)
• Baby oils and cleansers (they are easy enough to clean with water or baby wipes)
• Going out clothes (you’ll be too tired to go out often and they are a night mare to get on and off)