The Three Ways my Perfect Baby wasn't Perfect: What to Look for and How you can Help your Little One

     So every new mom pretty much thinks their kid is the most perfect little bundle of joy, right?  That's how I feel about baby D except that my little man had some physical imperfections.  They really aren't anything to freak out about, but life is so much better for him (and for me) now that we have addressed the issues.  Here's what we did and what you can do too to help your precious baby.

#1: The Butt Dimple
     So, this first one sounds adorable.  Baby butts are cute, and dimples are great, but together they can be a scary thing.  We didn't know until our two week appointment that our son had a butt dimple.  (At this point some of you are asking yourself, "What the heck is a butt dimple? Well, it's a little pucker of skin in the butt crack.  Apparently, it's the last part of the skin to develop, so if your child was early like mine, you may need to watch out for this.) Luckily, baby D's butt dimple was completely closed--meaning no poop could get inside of him.  (That's the scary part!)  He is now 11 weeks old.  He still has the butt dimple, which we have to make sure to clean because it's an extra crevice for poo to get caught in, but we are very thankful it wasn't more serious.  (I was going to include a picture, but I decided against it.  I think D will thank me some day!)

#2: The Lip Tie
     I am an older new mom (getting close to 3-1 here!), so I have the benefit of all the wisdom my friends, who are a bit ahead me, can pass on.  Many of them had babies with tongue or lip tie.  (Again, some of you, like me, have never heard of this.  It's a shame really.  I guess doctors used to check before you even left the hospital because tongue and lip tie can impede your ability to--or at least your comfort in--breastfeeding.  I guess the practice of checking every baby went away when formula became so big.  However, many moms are choosing to breastfed today.  If that's you, be sure to have your pediatrician or lactation consultant check your child.  A tongue or lip tie is really just a little longer flap of skin between either the tongue and bottom of the mouth or top gum and top lip. Here's a picture of D's.)

Lip Tie (Similar to Tongue Tie) a Common Problem with Breastfeeding

Anyways, it's a real simple procedure that your doc can do in office.  Trust me, it's worth having done.  Breastfeeding is a lot more comfortable when your child can get a proper latch.  (Also, a dental hygienist told me that lip tie can lead to a gap between the child's front teeth if it is not properly addressed.  Save yourself the orthodontist bills people!)

#3: The Plugged Tear Duct
     This one is the least serious but also the most common.  (And, frankly the one people will judge you the most for..."Why doesn't that mom clean her kid's eye?!?...I do...CONSTANTLY...and there's still gunk in it, okay?)  D was born with two plugged tear ducts, which meant yucky stuff in both of his eyes.  We have been taking everyone's advice and doing the things we were told.  (Warm compress, circular massage in the corner of the eye, and spraying breastmilk in it...I knew there had to be some reason God allowed my breastmilk to shoot across the room with such force!)  D now has only one plugged tear duct.  We'll keep working on that one.  Hopefully, it will come around soon.  One thing is for sure, I'll never judge another parents by the crusties in their kid's eye.

     I hope our journey can help you on yours.  I'd love to hear about the things you've learned.

Get more sleep with a Newborn: The 3 things I did to help my little one sleep longer overnight

     Mommies I know are looking for anyway to help their little one get a little more shut eye so that they can too.  Baby D is now 10 weeks old.  He's sleeping a lot better than he used to.  But with only two weeks until I go back to work, I was getting nervous.  His usual pattern was 5 hours, 4 hours, and then 3 hours.  Because I can finally get things done once he's down, I was getting sleep in 3 hour chunks.  As a guidance counselor, I need to be mentally alert and let's be real 3 hour sleep chunks aren't going to cut it.  So thanks to two of my favorite ladies--Bridget Wieczorek and Sherry Diller--I changed three simple things.

1: Increase your Protein Intake
     Bridget, who has been a midwife for over 20 years, told me that the amount of protein I eat and can affect D keeping him fuller longer.  I've heard it takes about 10 hours for the food the momma eats to become milk for the little one.  This means that my breakfast and midmorning snack are extremely important.  Some mornings a bowl of cereal seemed to satisfy my hunger; however, I have to remember that baby D will be much fuller at night if I eat some good protein.  My go to breakfasts now are Arbonne's vegan chocolate protein shake and Arbonne's peanut butter protein bar.  Here's the recipe for that:

Arbonne Protein Bar Recipe

2: No more Coffee (even Decaf)
     Since my second year of teaching seventh grade special education, I have been a coffee connoisseur.   When I found out I was pregnant, I quit the good stuff.  (I love the smell of freshly ground dark roast beans in the morning.)  However, now that D is here I figured a cup of decaf in the morning wouldn't hurt anybody. (I never thought I'd be a decaf drinking...I used to say what's the point.  But after nine months without a good cup of joe, decaf was better than nothing.)  As it turns out, my baby--like me--is super sensitive to caffeine.  Without the coffee, he sleeps so much longer.  (Thanks to a sleepover with Sherry Diller and her kids I discovered this one!  I haven't had a drop of decaf since.)

3: Double Stuffed isn't just for Oreos Anymore
     We use cloth diapers.  I know there are a lot of moms out there who think that cloth diapers are disgusting or at least a lot of work, but so far we have been really happy.  (We used disposable diapers at first.  I figured we had enough things to learn as new parents without adding figuring out how to snap a diaper at 3 AM.  Since we have been using the cloth diapers, baby D has not had a single diaper rash.  Plus, I like to keep my money, so not buying diapers is wonderful!) My friend Sherry told me I could double stuff my Fuzzi Bunz (@FuzziBunz).  So I sat down in front of my latest Netflicks binge and  wrestled two inserts into each diaper.  D has been "sleeping like a baby" and for 7 hours straight!

     I hope these 3 tips will help you get a little more sleep.  If you have other suggestions, I'd love to hear them.  It takes a village!