{"id":2,"date":"2005-04-01T15:55:00","date_gmt":"2005-04-01T06:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2005-04-01\/2"},"modified":"2015-04-02T18:55:08","modified_gmt":"2015-04-02T09:55:08","slug":"2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2005-04-01\/2","title":{"rendered":"Essentials for a First-Time Parent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"ic\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/2002-10-26_15:45.18__00972__4.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"\nid=\"i2002_10_26_15_45_18__00972__4\"\/><\/div>\n\n<p>With both my brother Mike and good friend Rick each expecting their\nfirst child in May, <span class='nobr'>I made a<\/span> quick list of <em>things <span class='nobr'>a new<\/span> parent should\nhave on hand<\/em>. Many are obvious, but in any case, here's the first pass\nat <span class='nobr'>a list,<\/span> in no particular order:<\/p><!--more-->\n\n<ul><li>\n\n<p><strong>no-tears shampoo<\/strong> - remarkably, they don't have this in\nJapan, so if you get the least bit of (Japanese) baby shampoo in the baby's\neyes, you have <span class='nobr'>a very<\/span> very unhappy baby. Note that there's no <strong>baby\nbath<\/strong> in my list, as <span class='nobr'>I found<\/span> it substantially easier to cradle\nAnthony in one arm, bring him into\nthe shower, and wash with the other.<\/p>\n\n<p>We used a baby bath just once (for his first bath), and had <span class='nobr'>a perfectly<\/span>\nawkward time with it, and never used it again. (Well, never again for <span class='nobr'>a\nbath<\/span> &mdash; we did use it, with appropriate padding, for <a\nhref=\"\/i\/2002-11-17_10:57.08__04045__4.jpg\">his\nbed<\/a> for many months).<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p><strong>&#8220;blue chux&#8221;<\/strong> &mdash; disposable waterproof sheets generally\nused in the hospital for <span class='nobr'>a variety<\/span> of keep-body-fluids-from-leaking tasks.\nThey are absolutely <em>fantastic<\/em> for the new parent, for use in the\nbaby bed, car seat, your shoulder, on the floor &mdash; anywhere where baby\nmight go (because baby might &#8220;go&#8221; anywhere, ifyouknowwhatImean.)<\/p>\n\n<p>You can get them in bulk for about 10 cents each (in a 2-foot by\n1.5-foot size) from <span class='nobr'>a medical<\/span> supply store. I've given these to many new\nparents, and invariably the initial reaction was &#8220;uh, well, thanks, <span class='nobr'>I\nguess<\/span>&#8221;, but after <span class='nobr'>a while<\/span> they invariable came back with &#8220;my gosh these are\n<em>fantastic<\/em>, where can <span class='nobr'>I get<\/span> more?&#8221;. Unfortunately, in <span class='nobr'>a quick<\/span>\nsearch for &#8220;disposable underpad&#8221; on <a\nhref=\"http:\/\/shopping.yahoo.com\/search?p=disposable+underpad\">Yahoo!\nShopping<\/a> <span class='nobr'>I see<\/span> only expensive ones. <span class='nobr'>You need a<\/span> medical supply store to\nget the good \/ lowcost ones in bulk, and the one from which <span class='nobr'>I bought<\/span> them\nyears ago is no longer there.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>UPDATE<\/strong> - My sister found <span class='nobr'>a place<\/span> that sells them in\nbulk: <a\nhref=\"http:\/\/www.dhmedical.com\/300ctcaunke1.html\">dhmedical.com<\/a>.<\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p><strong>Acetaminophen (Tylenol) suppositories<\/strong> - In the US,\nTylenol is the fever-reducer of choice for infants, joined by ibuprofen\n(Motrin) at around six months. When Anthony had his fevers and colds, <span class='nobr'>I would<\/span> dutiful go out to the store and get Infant's Tylenol drops, and give\nto him in the dosages as per the doctor's instructions. <span class='nobr'>It's a liquid<\/span> that\nis given via an eyedropper or mini plastic syringe &#8220;injected&#8221; into the\nmouth.<\/p>\n\n<p>Unfortunately, there are a number of extremely bad things about Infant\nTylenol:<\/p> <ul><li>it's artificially colored with <span class='nobr'>a deeply<\/span> red dye, so\nthat when the baby spits it out or spits it up (both of which the\nbaby most certainly will), it ruins anything it touches. (Another vote for\nthe blue chux mentioned above).<\/li><li>It's sickenly sweet, <span class='nobr'>a\ncharacteristic<\/span> perhaps enjoyed by some four-year-olds, but to an infant who\nhas never had anything except milk, it's utterly disgusting. Hence, the\naforementioned spit up\/out.<\/li> <\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\nI spent a lot of time and energy and frustration trying to get Anthony\nto take the medicine (which works wonders, once it's down and stays down),\nand even learned <span class='nobr'>a special<\/span> way to hold him (that allows me to lock his arms\nand legs and yet still have <span class='nobr'>a hand<\/span> and <span class='nobr'>a half<\/span> left to administer the red\ngunk) from my emergency-room-nurse sister.<\/p>\n\n<p>So, it was with wonderful amazement the first time <span class='nobr'>I brought<\/span> him to the\ndoctor in Japan that <span class='nobr'>I beheld<\/span> fever-reducing suppositories. <span class='nobr'>I don't<\/span> know\nwhat medicine they had in them, although <span class='nobr'>I suspect<\/span> it was acetaminophen.\nAnyway, in <span class='nobr'>a few<\/span> short seconds, <span class='nobr'>I can pull<\/span> from the package, cut to the\nproper size (to adjust the dosage to his weight), and stick up his butt. <span class='nobr'>He certainly<\/span> doesn't care for the experience, but unlike his ability to spit\nout anything put into his mouth, in this case he doesn't have much choice\nabout it (and also unlike the liquid version, and it's over in 5 seconds\nanyway). Wow, these were wonderful. <span class='nobr'>I would<\/span> have given my firstborn to have\nhad these when Anthony was young. Er, um, well, maybe not, but you know\nwhat <span class='nobr'>I mean.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p>I don't know if they're available in The States, but it's worth it to\nask your doctor. (<b>UPDATE: see comment by my sister below<\/b>)<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p><strong>non-bulbous snot sucker<\/strong> &mdash; babies can't blow their\nnose, and at first can't even breathe well through their mouth, so if they\nget <span class='nobr'>a stuffy<\/span> nose, you're in for trouble. <span class='nobr'>The only way<\/span> I've seen to clear <span class='nobr'>a\nbaby's<\/span> nose in The States is with <span class='nobr'>a bulb<\/span> sucker &mdash; squeeze bulb, insert\nthin end into nose, and let go to suck snot out of nose and into bulb. <span class='nobr'>It often<\/span> works. <span class='nobr'>At least<\/span> <span class='nobr'>a little.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p>In Japan, Fumie found a product called &#8220;<a\nhref=\"http:\/\/www.tampei.co.jp\/shouhin\/lifehealth\/mh\/g-MH-set.gif\">mama\nhanamizu totte<\/a>&#8221; (literally, &#8220;Mama snot pluck&#8221;). This is two tubes\nconnected to <span class='nobr'>a little<\/span> jar &mdash; put one tube into the baby nose, the other\ninto your mouth, and suck. Snot comes up the one tube, and into the jar,\nmercifully stopping short of continuing up the other tube into your mouth. <span class='nobr'>You can get<\/span> <span class='nobr'>a serious<\/span> amount of suction. Excellent.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p><strong>thermometer<\/strong> &mdash; a <em>fast<\/em> butt thermometer, along\nwith disposable sheathes to keep things simple and clean.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p><strong>&#8220;kimono&#8221; clothes<\/strong> &mdash; when Anthony first came home from\nthe hospital and we were faced with removing the shirt the hospital had put\non him, <span class='nobr'>I opted<\/span> to remove it with scissors rather than try to get the\nlittle thing over his huge (relatively speaking) baby head (which, as <span class='nobr'>a new<\/span>\nparent, <span class='nobr'>I worried<\/span> would pop off his body with but the slightest of\ntugs)<\/p>\n\n<p>Fumie had some infantwear from Japan which was fashioned like <span class='nobr'>a robe,<\/span>\nrather than like overalls or <span class='nobr'>a shirt.<\/span> <span class='nobr'>It was wonderfully<\/span> simple to put on\nand take off &mdash; no fighting with heads and arms and legs. Invaluable during\nthe first month.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p><strong>good lactation consultant<\/strong> - If you're going to\nbreastfeed, do the research <em>beforehand<\/em> as to who is <span class='nobr'>a good<\/span>\nlactation consultant in your area, so that you'll have her available if\nneeded. We used <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bmorgan.com\/bev\/lcindex.html\">Bev\nMorgan<\/a>, who was just wonderful (and who is now apparently in Austin,\nTexas).<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p><strong>microwave sterilizer<\/strong> &mdash; to get bottles and stuff really\nclean (or, more precisely, dirty or clean, but at least sterile), we found\nthis <a\nhref=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/exec\/obidos\/tg\/detail\/-\/B000056OUH\">sterilizer<\/a>\nto be super handy.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p><strong><span class='nobr'>A Costco<\/span> membership<\/strong> &mdash; the cost of a <a\nhref=\"http:\/\/www.costco.com\">Costco<\/a> membership are easily recovered\nwith just diapers (and particularly formula, if needed).<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p><\/li><li>\n\n<p><strong>other obvious stuff<\/strong> &mdash; diapers, wipes, diaper-rash\nstuff (A&amp;D ointment is just fine), infant\/car seat, socks, blanket,\nhat, bottle, formula (hospital will give you some), bottles, breast\npump<\/p><\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With both my brother Mike and good friend Rick each expecting their first child in May, I made a quick list of things a new parent should have on hand. Many are obvious, but in any case, here's the first pass at a list, in no particular order:<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}