Breastfeeding with the PH

(WARNING: pics included, run away if you get offended)

Breastfeeding can be challenging enough with a little one. We had a lot of trouble maneuvering Annabelle into positions comfortable for her.

Most often, she was comfortable either lying flat on her back or slightly tilted to the side with her head turned.

As she got a bit bigger and has had more head control, she's been more comfortable nursing sitting up, straddling my leg, or in a diagonal position.

Occasionally, she's liked the football hold too. Sometimes it's trial and error. Bottomline: a hungry baby eats.

So you're getting a Pavlik harness?

I'll add to this list if I figure out more things, but here's what I wish I could have had someone tell me in anticipation of our Pavlik journey:

1) Give your baby a HUGE bath the morning before Pavlik. This one I had actually figured out, so I woke up extra early that morning to give Annabelle a deep clean and snuggle. Lots of skin-to-skin that morning. I took pics. Then I dried out the baby bathtub and put it away. We won't be seeing that thing for awhile.

2) Buy some plain t-shirts to put under the harness. Gerber makes them, and don't get the kind with the side snaps. Just plain t-shirts. I found them at our local grocery store for $5 for a pack of three. I can't find them anywhere else but on Amazon. These have been VITAL for us.
Make sure you take a t-shirt with you on Pavlik day. I honestly only change out the t-shirt when it gets gross or when I give her a "sponge bath". Sometimes she's in it for two or three days at a time.
You can put a onesie under it - and I frequently do, but it's a pain to change it out when it gets damp from a leaky diaper. T-shirts are much less likely to get icky.

3) Buy some babylegs/legwarmers or cut up some old socks to put over the leg portion of the harness. We got poop on one of the legs on the first day. The stain is still there, glaring at me in all its yellow glory. I now put babylegs over the leg portion so if they get dirty, I can just swap them out. Plus they're cute, and a little less distracting than the harness.

4) If anyone bought you outfits with pants, etc... better get your thank you pictures in now. Most days I just have Annabelle knocking around in a tshirt and diaper. (We cloth diaper, so at least they're cute)

5) If you have a drooler, or a kiddo that spits up a lot, buy LOTS of bibs. That way you don't have to change out the t-shirt/onesie underneath.

Cloth diapering with the PH, part 1

(this post contains cloth diaper lingo, and assumes a basic understanding of cloth diapers)

It's taken me a week to formulate an opinion on cloth diapers with the PH (Pavlik harness).

It's feasible, no more or less than it would be on a baby NOT in the PH. Disposables might look easier at first, but given how much disposables leak, and how difficult it is to change clothes, I'm still voting for cloth.

Annabelle is roughly 10 lbs now at two months old, and still in newborn diapers, so I'll be rating three styles of diapers in this post.
I am mainly rotating between Lil Joeys (AIOs with snaps), Bumgenius XS (AIOs with aplix) and Kissaluvs fitteds size 0 (snaps) with a Thirsties XS cover (aplix).

Lil Joey: This is my favorite newborn diaper. It's thick, and I think double gussets are ESSSENTIAL with newborn breastmilk poo. The snaps are somewhat difficult to manage to fasten with the PH, but they don't scratch her legs when manipulating them through the straps.

BG XS: This is my second favorite newborn diaper (it's worked much better on Annabelle than Charlotte, her legs are a bit chubbier). Although it doesn't have double gussets, I don't have many leaks with this diaper, since Annabelle has legs that prevent gapping. The aplix is the main issue ... when working the tabs through the PH, it's very easy to scratch her legs, so extra caution needs to be taken here. However, when comparing to the lil joey with snaps, it's no easier to fasten the tabs.

KL0/Thirsties XS: a bit of both worlds of snaps & aplix ... except you have two sets of tabs to work through the PH straps (cover & fitted). The fitted generally holds in most of the poo, if not, the double gusset on the Thirsties seems to catch it. I adore using fitteds with wool, but my wool soakers can't be used with the PH so unless you have a wrap soaker (which I think I shall work on making one), wool is out. I don't mind using this combination when the PH isn't part of the equation, but now I generally avoid having to use them just because it's more challenging.

I do own contours and prefolds, but my stash has been big enough that I haven't had to try these out, especially with the harness. However, I shall work on trying them out for the purposes of this blog. Stay tuned ...

Tutorial: Changing a t-shirt/onesie

After our first nightmarish onesie change, I quickly learned to *NOT* loosen more than one of the permitted three straps at a time. It makes for a slightly more difficult clothing change, but the replacement of the Pavlik harness is much easier. Less stressful for me, too!

I taped this 'tutorial' of sorts, in order to show others how we did it, and to be educational for any of Annabelle's caregivers. I had to split it into two parts in order to post it on here.