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advice pls! Ears,cradle cap and getting BF baby to take teat!
as a first time mum of 10 week old baby boy, i just have a few questions! Ive been posting on my DI forum but its a bit deserted now and tend to forget this one probably has a lot more viewers.
I know this is a bit gross, but need to ask about baby's ears! I know its not a good idea to put anything in the ear canal but have noticed they can be a little bit waxy, is it ok to use cotton buds to clean the outer ear? Have also noticed the backs of his ears are really dry - should i put something on them?
Henry also has mild cradle cap (i think thats what it is - dry skin in a band around his head). My mum says i need to get special shampoo before it properly "takes hold" it doesnt seem very bad at the moment - any ideas?
I bath henry and wash his hair everyday, dry all his creases, use burts bees nappy cream at night for the longer stretches and i use zinc and caster on his neck as this can get sore where his milk has dribbled down. We cut his finger nails when they get sharp but otherwise don't do much else, should i be doing anything else? Sorry for 20 questions!
Also, as a mother to a little boy (and being totally unused to little boy bits) is it ok just to generally clean with a wet wipe? Read somewhere you should pull the foreskin back to clean but am pretty horrified at the thought as he's so tiny, chickend out of asking the health visitor incase she was horrified.
final question is about getting a breastfed baby to take ebm in a bottle. So far we have mostly failed as henry only wants the breast. Im going back to work when he's 8 months and i need to know he can still drink! We've tried advent and tommee tippee and MAM has been recommended to me, does anyone have any tips? xx
I know this is a bit gross, but need to ask about baby's ears! I know its not a good idea to put anything in the ear canal but have noticed they can be a little bit waxy, is it ok to use cotton buds to clean the outer ear? Have also noticed the backs of his ears are really dry - should i put something on them?
Henry also has mild cradle cap (i think thats what it is - dry skin in a band around his head). My mum says i need to get special shampoo before it properly "takes hold" it doesnt seem very bad at the moment - any ideas?
I bath henry and wash his hair everyday, dry all his creases, use burts bees nappy cream at night for the longer stretches and i use zinc and caster on his neck as this can get sore where his milk has dribbled down. We cut his finger nails when they get sharp but otherwise don't do much else, should i be doing anything else? Sorry for 20 questions!
Also, as a mother to a little boy (and being totally unused to little boy bits) is it ok just to generally clean with a wet wipe? Read somewhere you should pull the foreskin back to clean but am pretty horrified at the thought as he's so tiny, chickend out of asking the health visitor incase she was horrified.
final question is about getting a breastfed baby to take ebm in a bottle. So far we have mostly failed as henry only wants the breast. Im going back to work when he's 8 months and i need to know he can still drink! We've tried advent and tommee tippee and MAM has been recommended to me, does anyone have any tips? xx
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Replies
I probably can't answer all of your questions, but I might be able to help with a few.
I'll start from the bottom...
With regards to getting baby to drink from a bottle: My son would always be much happier taking his expressed milk from daddy as he knew mummy had "the good stuff" right there
As a fellow mummy to a little boy I know how daunting their bits can be, but please NEVER pull back his foreskin! It can cause permanent damage and whilst their so little it is so tight that nothing gets dirty under there anyway. Apparently when they are older and pull it back themselves is the time to clean it properly (they can do it on their own then though). A wet-wipe clean is perfectly fine. Hubby always said to me that I can be rougher as their bits are pretty stretchy. Do make sure you clean the underside and testicles properly as poop can get stuck in the creases which can lead to nappy rash.
I don't have a magic cure for cradle cap. Is incredibly common and my mum used to put oil on our hair and then comb it with a nit comb. Never tried the oil, but I do get rid of loose flakes with the nit comb. My son still has a little bit of it, but it's well hidden in his hair now and gradually more and more comes away just when we wash and comb his hair.
My little man gets rather waxy ears too and I do clean the other ear with a cloth or a cotton bud now that he's older. Just be really careful though. Earwax is only a problem if it's smelly (other than the normal "earwax smell") or discoloured.
Sounds to me like your doing a good job. You obviously care about your little boy a lot and want to make sure he is getting the best care you can give him.
Spring x
we also wash her hands morning and night as they get knawed on a lot and seem to contain fluff??? bizarely!
you should never pull back the foreskin until they can do it themselves, i asked this when i had ds, no one tells you these things do they! f he had a poosplosion i would use wet cotton wool and clean but never needed to pull it back.
as for the bottle we only had problems when the teat was too small and we needed size 2, hubby usually gives the bottle as i think when i do it she can smell my milk and gets confused? we use TT as they are most breastlike teats i think, might just be a matter of persevering, chances are by 8 months you wont be feeding as frequently and may be able to do the morning and night feeds and just need to tackle the day by which point he may take a beaker and just need 1 or 2 feeds inbetween, when i got back i plan to do this x
He also has cradle cap, not so bad on his head but his eyebrows are really scaly. Our water doesn't help as it's hard water and dries all his skin out, so i've started putting baby oil in his bath, which has worked wonders for the dry skin on his arms and legs. For his cradle cap i use grapeseed oil, which i was recommended by the midwives as it's natural - find it in the cooking aisle! I rub it in then gently rub with a muslin cloth so he's not left all greasy. This has worked really well. I don't bath him everyday as i read this can dry out their skin even more, i just make sure he is properly clean during nappy changes, especially his leg creases, and give his hands and neck creases a wipe down every day - i also find he has mystical fluff on his hands - must be like belly button fluff!
Boys are a mystery to me but we're learning together, and i really really wanted a boy so couldn't be happier!
Can advise on the ebm, as he's taken to bottles really well, i think because he just loves to suck anything, but you can get 'breastflow' ones which are supposed to be like breastfeeding, and again i agree you should get daddy to feed him his bottle.
Good luck!
xxx
thanks for the rest of the advice too. My friend went back to work at 8 months and taught her LO to take a beaker so this is always an option if the bottle never takes off. Would be nice though!