We have learned a thing or two in the past ten weeks about how to care for Lucy. She has specific wants and needs, and she is quite good at communicating them — or, at least letting us know when she is displeased with _something._ Here are a few tips we’ve learned:
*The burp-and-wait.* You might think you are safe after you hear Lucy rip a big belch. You might be tempted to take her off your shoulder and give her a big kiss. But then you might get barfed on, because with Lucy, the spit-up comes 5-10 seconds after the burp.
*The double burp cloth.* If you love doing laundry constantly, then you don’t need this tip. But we’ve devised a technique to extend the burp-life of a burp cloth from about half a feeding to possibly a whole day. Keep a stack of rags handy (old cut-up t-shirts work well). When it is time to burp, place a burp cloth on your shoulder, and one of the rags on top of it. When Lucy spits-up, the rag will get most of the damage and the burp cloth gives you extra protection. Re-use burp cloth. We’ve also found that the rag absorbs the baby barf quicker than the burp cloth, thus limiting the risk of spit-up sliding off the cloth and onto your clothes.
*The dry, cottony feeling.* Here is a tip that we think helps to prevent diaper rash. After wiping Lucy’s butt with a baby wipe, dry her off with a clean burp cloth while saying, “It’s a dry, cottony feeling!” Pat her with the cloth until she is nice and dry before securing new diaper. Her bottom will stay smooth as, well, as a baby’s butt! Plus, she loves it.
*The double swaddle.* We learned this technique at the hospital: swaddle Lucy twice. This really helps to increase friction — it’s like tying a double knot — and reduce the risk of her hands escaping (and waking her up). Not wanting her to swelter in hot weather, we made a couple of swaddling blankets out of old cotton sheets — nice and light. But we almost always use one particular blanket that I made out of an old yellow flannel sheet, 45″ x 45″. It is big enough to wrap around tight and tuck the ends in. Lucy is so strong and such a wiggler (as she has been since about 15 weeks in utero), we need to do whatever we can to keep her wrapped up tight so she sleeps well!
*The shower soother.* Lucy really likes to be right next to us most of the time. Mama has found that she can almost always convince Lucy to enjoy the bouncy seat (which Joel & Melody generously have loaned us) while she takes a shower. There is something about the steam, the white noise of the fan, and the sound of the running water that soothes her for about twenty minutes — just long enough to get a clean and partially-dry Mama.
p{color:gray}. Photo: Here Lucy is sitting peacefully in her bouncy seat.
Now if only we could figure out how to clean out her neck-cheese without making her scream!