Debunking common myths told to new moms || The Cuddle Blog

February 26, 2018

 I have been a mum for 10 months now and I have heard A LOT of things - some of which I can't even remember. People - who mean well - will come at you with different suggestions, myths, advice. Some will shove it down your throat and expect you to take it as the gospel, others might just offer their support and gently nudge you in the direction you should go. One thing is for sure though, you will hear plenty of these things especially in the first few months but when you are without experience there is a tendency to take everything people tell you hook line and sinker most especially since "It is how people have always been doing it" but with every myth, advice we have to be careful to confirm with your Doctor and understand what works for your baby. 

 Here are a few myths that is regularly told to new mums; 
  • You will spoil your child by carrying him a lot and he would get used to it; When my baby was about a month old and in my opinion just wanted to be held, I got advice saying I should not carry him too much or he would be clingy when he is older and I should let him cry. I told my Dr Anne of @mums24 and she said "Imagine if watching him cry is traumatic for you, how do you think your baby feels" and that changed it for me. A baby will cry when he needs something or is uncomfortable, he/she is not trying to manipulate you when they are that young. Carry your baby, cuddle her as long as she wants, the truth is he will never go back to being that little again and you will start missing that stage. Now, my 10month old son is NOT clingy and I carried him every chance I got when he was little. 



  • Umbilical cord must fall off before 7 days: This one is an African thing. There is some sort of pressure for the Umbilical cord to fall off before the naming ceremony which I don't understand. The doctor will typically give you 1-2 weeks for it fall off, so I don't know why we put ourselves under undue pressure. The most important thing is for you to care for it properly and make sure it doesn't get infected. 



  • Babies crossing legs will not walk early: My question to you is why do you want your baby to walk early? Don't you just want your baby to walk when it is appropriate. The irony is once your baby starts walking you will then want him to sit in one place. Your baby is just crossing her legs because that is what feels comfortable at the time. My baby crossed his legs and from all indications would walk before he is 1. 



  • Baby belching while breastfeeding will make your breast hard: I was breastfeeding my baby once and my MIL was there and as the baby belched she just exclaimed "remove his mouth from your breast" and I was shook then I asked "Why" and she said "Your breast will be hard because of the air your baby blows in the breast" - the conversation happened in yoruba and I couldn't stop laughing. I am sure the women in the olden days didn't understand engorgement which is why they had to find a reason to explain it. My breast has recieved a lot of belch and not one hardness. 
  • Strands of wool will stop hiccups; I really don't know why we believe this works. It is absolutely ridiculous to say the least. Lol. I have even heard "It will only work if you believe in it" Do you put wool on your head when you hiccup? Why do you think it will then work because it's happening to a baby? Don't stress yourself. If your baby has hiccups and it's bothering you so much, give him breast milk or formula. 
  • Teething causes fever and different ailment: Teething doesn't cause fever or any other ailment. Imaging the tooth coming out, it opens up the gum while it might be uncomfortable or painful for the child that is not what causes the child to have fever. While the teeth is coming out, it's like an open wound and your baby who is crawling or touching different things puts that hand or that dirty toy in her mouth can infect the gum which can cause the child to come down with a fever. Your baby DOES NOT HAVE TO HAVE ANYTHING BECAUSE SHE IS TEETHING. Just make sure you keep the environment extra clean, keep them comfortable and cuddle more in that period. I only notice my child is teething when his sleeping pattern changes, he is a bit more cranky or his appetite for food reduces and BAM I see the teeth emerging and it's back to his regular routine. 

What myth sounds familiar and which myths have you been told? 

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How to care for baby's umbilical cord before it falls off

February 19, 2018
This was one of the issues that gave a bit of concern in the first 7 days, I don't know where we got the idea that the umbilical cord needs to fall off before 7 days. Doctors have said to give it 1-2 weeks for it to dry and fall off. The most important thing is to keep the area infection free by taking proper care of it. Here are ways to care for the cord while you wait. 

  • Keep the area clean; When you are leaving the hospital, you would be told to use cotton wool and spirit. I want to suggest using cotton bud as it is small and can be more targeted with cleaning.


  • Open it up let it dry; We are in Nigeria and realistically I know grandma won't agree when you say you want to wash-cloth bath your baby till the cord falls off and we keep stacking up the cloths in this humid climate so, ensure you take some time during the day to open it up. I noticed because of the baths we were giving him it wasn't drying up at the rate is was supposed to, so we opened it up and the cord fell off in a few days. 
Those are the most important things. Keep it clean, keep it dry and don't sweat it if it doesn't fall off before the naming. What you should sweat is if there are signs of infection which are 

  • Base appears red or swollen
  • Continues to bleed
  • Oozes yellowish or white pus
  • Produces foul smelling discharge
  • Seems painful to the baby
Please if you notice any of these, contact your doctor immediately. 

 How did you care for your baby's Umbilical cord?

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Tips for dealing with engorgement || The Cuddle Blog

February 12, 2018

The day after giving birth to cuddles, I had 2 giant rocks on my chest. No one told me about it, I only heard that the first few weeks of breastfeeding will be painful. I didn't expect rocks on my chest. Before the end of the next day I was running temperature, I had lumps under my armpit and I was scared thinking it was some form of cancer - This is me being honest - after series of Google searches, I figured out what it really was ENGORGEMENT! *Phew*

What is Engorgement? 

According to WebMD, "Engorgement is when your breasts are painfully full of milk". You won't be in doubt when you have it because your temperature will increase, your nymp nodes under your armpit might swell, your once succulent breasts will be replaced with rocks and it will be painful and uncomfortable. 

How do you deal with it?

- Get a comfortable but firm maternity bra:  This will help but them in place and avoid any jiggle because every shake, touch or poke will hurt at this point. 

- Let your baby nurse strategically: Anything touching your nipple now will hurt and will even hurt more if it's a baby sucking hard on it. However, when you are dealing with engorgement, you have to be strategic about the nursing. Place your baby's mouth in the direction of the "lumps" while gently massaging them in circular motions. You also have to alternate in short intervals in order to relieve the 2 breast simultaneously. If the lumps is towards your armpit use a different style to hold baby to suck towards the direction of the armpit - talk about being strategic!
Different holding styles
 
- Hot Compress: Put a towel in hot water and just place over the engorged breast. Since I was still using hot water to press my body, I just included it as part of my routine to help relieve the pain and let down some milk by gently hand expressing. 

- Pump: The trick with pumping to relieve engorgement is to just pump till you feel relief dazz all. If you do not intend to store the milk, there is a tendency that you start producing more milk than your baby needs because you are pumping. So, just watch out for that and just pump enough to feel relief. 

These are the methods I tried. Other methods that are recommended online are;

- Cabbage
- Cold compress. 

Did you ever get engorged? How did you deal with it?

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How to get your baby in a routine || The Cuddle Blog

February 5, 2018



As a new Mum one of the things that will help you to have some order in your life and some sanity is a routine. It's bad enough that you don't have anytime for yourself and now your life is dictated by a little human and most especially if you are a stay at home mum, its easy to stay in the bubble and soon enough you start feeling bitter and possibly depressed because of this.


Why is a routine important?


 Different people have various opinions about why a routine is important but I think it all boils down to sanity. When you become a mother so many things are calling for your attention and you have to find a way to balance the need of your baby, with your husband, older kids, work and every other thing. Having a routine with your baby - which will translate to when they are older - can bring a level of order into the chaos that is motherhood and babyhood.

Routine creating styles


Parent-led routines: This is where the parent decides what and when of the babys day. It is sort of very strict as you define what will happen through out the day. I think this might work for older children and not realistic for babies.

Child-led routines: This is you form a routine around what your child decides to do based on the signs given to you. This doesn't mean your day will be unpredictable because over time, you will notice the pattern and know what to expect when. For babies this is more realistic.

A combination of both: This is a flexible combination of both the parent-led and baby-led styles. You will be willing to adjust based on what signs your baby gives you per-day under the basic structure Feed, Sleep, Play. This I have found to be the most realistic and recommended for babies between 5-12 months old.



How can you get a non-routined baby into a routine? Glad you asked.


- Track EVERYTHING: When I had my baby, I drew a table in my journal. Tracked his feeding time, when he woke up, when he pooped, how many wet diapers a day he had till I found an app "Feed Baby" . I did the tracking for the first few months and it really helped me understand his pattern. I knew exactly what to expect and when.

- Create one that works for you & Baby: In the initial 3 months, based on the data I had, I knew what to expect and I could schedule myself based on that. Also, don't rely totally on the data. Observe your baby as well. I noticed that Cuddles is so calm and happier right before 3pm and get's really cranky - on most days - after 5 pm based on that knowledge, I can leave him to play on his own before 3 pm and moved up our evening routine to 5pm from 7pm. Observe and adjust.


Consistency is key: Whatever you decide to start based on this data gathered - Be consistent. It won't be a routine if it keeps changing and the idea is to get your baby's body clock adjusted to it. Do the work now so you can have fairly predictable days when your child is older.

NOTHING IS SET IN STONE: Keep in mind the 80-20 rule. Your child will follow the routine 80% of the time and use you to play yo-yo the other 20% - Yes! I totally just made that up but you get the point. There is also the part of them growing up and how you would have to adjust this routine based on their current needs. A newborn baby won't need so much time allotted to play but a crawling baby would. Just be sure to observe as they grow older, rinse and repeat.

Everyday will be different be sure to enjoy it. 
Keep rocking motherhood.
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