Below are some pieces of advice from Sue from buying clothes to feeding your babies to as well as arranging your babies’ rooms.

Clothing (0-3 months)

For preemies (premature infants), their baby clothes are usually one size smaller. When purchasing clothes for twins, triplets, or more, it is advised to buy in multiples rather than buying in singles (or one-by-one). 

Nursery

Purchase only small supplies of baby milk formula since infants would grow up fast. Formula depends on what baby’s digestive system can tolerate. There should also be enough baby bottles and baby bottle nipples. For babies 0 – 3 months, 4 – 8 ounce bottles are recommended. In addition, there should also be sterilizers, as well as bottle brushes.

Lansinoh Breast Cream is also recommended in case mothers would have cracked nipples.
There should be also be diapers in the nursery, of course, but remember that birth weight plays the role as to the size of diapers. 

Ideally, the following items are also needed – Aquaphor, Vaseline, A & D ointment, rubbing alcohol (but it is not urgent), bath tub, baby shampoo, baby wash, baby lotion, inflated or foam boppies for breast-feeding, Viva towels cut in squares, and a nail file kit.

Baby’s Room

Here are some of the necessities in the baby’s room – changing table with drawers, mattress covers comes separately, a crib equipped with bumpers and skirt sheets, water-proof underpads, rocking chair and glider, basinets with mattress covers, baby monitors, diaper Jennie, Jymborie, humidifier if necessary, incontinent sheets for the changing table.

8 days Briss

For the 8-day briss (circumcision), the following are needed – Bacitracin, two boxes of 3x3 or 4x4 gauze, pillow, nice ceremonial outfit, six clean iron burp cloths, cotton balls, few extra wipes and diapers (Pampers) in case of accidents. If briss is to be done to twins, more supplies, would be needed. Pacifier, remember not to feed the baby one and a half hours before surgery.

Time-Saving Tidbits

Advanced preparation is best for all occasions. It always saves time, whether you are dealing with singletons or multiples.

Before the babies take a bath, prepare all bath equipment ahead. Get the following supplies ready, too – new clothes, shampoo, Aquaphor, diaper, cotton balls, alcohol squares and towel. Complete tub bath is perfect two to three times a week. Sponge bath can replace tub bath in between. Infant bath is a therapy. Therefore, infants must love their bath.

In feeding the babies, replace or refill all supplies immediately for the next consumption. Babies’ feeding bottles should be washed, sterilized and refilled with formula. Do not also forget to refrigerate immediately for all succeeding feeding schedules. Increase about ¾ of an ounce each week depending on the weight and height of the baby.

The babies’ laundry and drawers should be properly organized and items should be within reach. Drawers and changing tables should also be arranged.

In addition, when cleaning up the baby trash every morning, grab a large garbage bag and combine all of the small trash into it before disposing off outdoors. Such a practice helps maintain proper sanitation inside the baby room and the home.

Moment of Confusion

Parents are usually confused when babies cry. This causes them to underestimate the needs of their infants. If the baby cries, it does not always mean that he or she is unhappy. Sometimes, the peristalsis – the movement pushing to make a poop can make a baby dreadfully sad. There are also times when gas and colic brings sadness. When babies are tired, it also brings them sadness, even though they are instantly just fed. They usually seek comfort with the bottle because they associate everything with it.

First aid

For babies, herniated belly button needs special care. It can be remedied within weeks with non-irritation band-aid (Johnson & Johnson recommended).

For mothers, you should keep you fingers off PUPPS (Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy), post-delivery rashes, dreadful itches, sensitive redness that circulates from waistline, legs and groins, to avoid bleeding.

Use Viva towel for absorbent strength. Combine 12 ounces of any PLAIN yogurt (e.g. Dannon, Stonyfield, Columbo, etc.) with eight ounces of crushed ice. Do not use sweetened yogurt or yogurt with fruits since it is too sugary, plus pure acidophilus can aggravate the itching.

Dunk towel evenly into ice and yogurt. Then, gently apply and reapply the towel for a few minutes to all itchy areas as necessary until the itch has subsided or is totally gone. Just always clean up body. You might need some technique until the post-delivery rashes heal.
 
Jaundice

The healing time of jaundice depends on the babies’ birth weight. For premature babies up to five (5) pounds, jaundice can last up to eight (8) weeks. For those whose birth weight is around six (6) pounds, it can last up to six (6) weeks at home.

Lots of fluid is needed. Delicate organs need a little extra liquid to help organs to functions independently, especially for first time moms. An ounce of electrolytes (Pedialyte) is recommended, but extra breast milk for one or two feedings is a miracle remedy.

Mastitis

Mastitis is an inflammation of the breast. It is characterized by bleeding, sored, scabied, or cracked nipples. The infected areola quickly sends discolored breastmilk and little glub-like flows.

An instant remedy is waiting in the kitchen. Use one or two clean cold cabbage leaves to cover the enlarged breast for five minutes, then use eye contact solution to clean cracked nipples thoroughly. If possible, leave a drenched cotton ball around the nipple for a few extra minutes thrice daily. The nipples will soften instantly. Then, the pain and heat will subside.

Apply Lansinoh ointment moderately after each feeding for the first few days. Pump out the milk to stop the pain on the affected breast to stop severe tension on the ducts and cracked nipple. This helps the affected nipple avoid the invasion of bacteria through the cracked nipple. Use a clean cloth dipped in hot water to ease the pain, as necessary, around the nipple area.

Cabbage leaves come in red and green, and both are readily available in grocery stores. It is enough to control milk duct swellings. Cold cabbage leaves can work miracles for swollen nipples.

It is also good to practice good holding technique when breast-feeding the baby when you have Mastitis. It is best for baby to open his or her mouth a bit wider to cover the entire areola. The nipple should be carefully thrust near the baby’s throat, instead of letting it sit on the babies’ gums, as this puts extra pressure on the nipple causing it to be terribly sored for first time mother.

If a nipple is cracked, the right breast-feeding technique and proper care for the nipples should be a mother’s prime concern, as it impedes the mother’s love for feeding. Moms will have a greater tendency to give up efforts at producing more breast milk because of the painful condition.

Always try to pump routinely instead of far too often at random & extended length. Clean nipple before each feeding. Save some colostrum in freezer & apply it on the nipple.

Breast feeding mothers

Here are a few foods that help boost breast milk supply for breast feeding – organic mothers milk tea, yogurt (Stonyfield or Dannon), nuts, chocolate milk, oat meal, Meuslix cereal, pasta, Roti Naan, Bass Ale stout, Guinness stout limited one or two a week, and mixed barley soup. Mothers should also drink enough water. Most of all, don’t forget that a well-balanced diet is the best way to boost milk production.

Meals:

Breakfast:

Oats and cereals are good for breast-feeding mothers. You can create your own schedule on the following breakfast meals – Mondays, Meuslix cereal; Tuesdays, oatmeal; Wednesdays, cream of wheat; Thursdays, multiple grain whole wheat bread, bagels with cheese or include French toast; Fridays, Meuslix combined with Cherrios; Saturdays, pancake; and Sundays, Meuslix combined with Kashi grains. Do not forget to drink your post or prenatal vitamins, and get a two-hour rest daily. I’m sure, you will be loved by your babies and your body.

Lunch:

Sandwiches made with several grains bread, pita bread, Naan, Corn in tuna fish casserole, Pizza, soups, vegetable salads, fruits salads & still many more. Eat and drink well & your production will go well with you regardless if babies suckle off the breast or expressed milk routinely & feed baby from the bottle. All fresh made smoothie or fruit punch must be used immediately since the flavor will darken as the active mineral releases its resources. E.g. pectin & Iron darkens within twenty minutes & deflavors too.

Supper:

Sandwiches made with several grains like pita bread are recommended. Naan, corn in tuna fish casserole, pizza, soups, vegetable salads, fruits salads are also good for the breast-feeding mom. Make sure to eat and drink well, and your breast-milk production will go well regardless. Fruits to be made into freshly-made smoothies or fruit punch must be blended immediately since the color will darken within twenty minutes and will lose flavor, too.

Dinner:

For dinner, the following meals are recommended – pasta with meat balls in sauce, baked potatoes with honey glazed chicken, rice pilaf with stuff shells, Naan or Roti with different kinds of meat in curry, burger and cream of mushroom, spinach and potato with burger, spinach with shrimp in pasta casserole, and pizza.

Snacks:

Prepare a small bowl of mixed fruits. Combining different kinds of fruits are better rather than eating the same fruit over and over again. Sometimes, one large banana, bran muffins, or a piece of cake is ok paired with a cup of organic or non-organic mothers’ herbal tea. Six berries, one kiwi, one nectarine with eight ounces of Dannon or Stonyfield yogurt and a dash of wheat germ would be truly sumptuous.

Below are more tips about everyday drinks and snacks for breast-feeding mothers:

Here are the ingredients for watermelon smoothie – one cup of chopped and seedless watermelons, a slice of pineapple, evaporated milk, condensed milk, nutmeg, sugar to taste (optional), and crushed ice. Just use your own judgment in combining fruits.
Ice cream, sorbet with a small amount of wheat germ, chocolate milk, and one glass of soy drink a day also make an appetizing treat.

For soups, you can use plain scrap bone broth with dumplings or deli. Barley grain soup is also a good alternative. Lactose intolerant folks must adjust as necessary.

Seminar:

Sue is planning a seminar very soon where she will be teaching other child-care workers and providers how to effectively take care of twins and triplets. To be a part of this unique and rare event, please e-mail your intention to participate and provide the details of your contact information to suebabynurse@aol.com.

Thank you.