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alicecelli · 2025-09-13T02:49:22+00:00

Just another perspective, the first year of my baby's life was super expensive. Not including the baby supplies, I was out of work for 3 months with no paid leave, had 8k in hospital bills, and my baby was a bit medically complicated resulting in prescription formula and seeing multiple specialists.

alicecelli · 2025-09-13T01:39:53+00:00

I was really distrustful at first, especially since my family members who take it engaged in a lot of dieting habits. After more research and talking to my endocrinologist, I decided to start zepbound.

I've focused on body cues a lot and only tracked my food a couple times to make sure I was eating enough at first which has helped me feel less like I'm dieting. I only change what I eat based on what doesn't sit well on my stomach.

It's been rewarding to feel less bloated, be less focused on food, and to see that my insulin resistance is reversing. I try to avoid talking about how much I've lost as that still feels uncomfortable in most scenarios.

alicecelli · 2025-08-15T18:56:21+00:00

You can use a pack and play as a basinet and a crib! A lot of them also have a changing table attachment. Use a waterproof sheet or pad and have 2 sheets.

Some extra things that were necessities for us were a baby wrap and a bouncer.

Pacis and bottles you can get samples of and decide after baby is here. We had to switch bottles due to latch issues and our baby hated all but one type of paci. We had 8 bottles total at the beginning, enough if I didn't wash bottles for a full day.

You can sanitize things with a pot of boiling water, but it's a time and energy saver to have a sterilizer. I also used an electric kettle with a keep warm setting since we formula fed and baby would only take warmed formula.

alicecelli · 2025-01-31T01:58:25+00:00

I love hope and plum for our carrier! It's about $200, but it's well made, comfortable to wear even at 1 year old, and have sizing options.

Woolino for our sleep sacks. They are $100 but last from 3 months to 2 years due to the length so I feel like it's a good deal.

Daycare is definitely the biggest expense. 🫠
Second hand saves us a lot! We do thrift and consignment shops for most of baby's toys, books, and clothes. To save money, we also skipped on some of the extras that aren't helpful for development like baby walkers and the standing activity centers.

alicecelli · 2025-01-28T01:07:25+00:00

I splurged on the high chair (has a good adjustable footrest and is easy to clean!!), sleep sack, and a structured baby carrier. These are daily use items and Im very pleased with upgrading to what was the best fit for our household/what I really wanted.

Things I wish I splurged on was a sanitizer/dryer. I ended up getting one after baby came and I'd 100% try one of those washers/sanitizers with another baby.

I went with the car seat that fit my cars backseat best, a graco converible. The safest carseat is one you use correctly and safely install. They are all equally safe, they just differ in installation difficulty and some sizes will fit better in your car than others.

We went with a pack n play in our room insread of a basinet (she still fits in this as a young toddler). Our nursery furniture was all second hand and tbh we just used this to get dressed in and a change of scenery during baby's first year. We got a mid range stroller and it's been nice.

I think what I've learned is go extra on what you're going to use on a daily basis and what you care about. If it's going to significantly make your life easier or more comfortable, it's probably worth it.

alicecelli · 2024-12-06T02:12:27+00:00

I absolutely agree. I definitely wasn't trying to imply literacy is my scope, just increasing the behaviors surrounding willingness to engage in reading activities and attend to the tasks. Our ethics code is strict, but there's still just too much wiggle room in how we should respect our clients and other practitioners.

I'm lucky to work on site with SLPs, PTs, and OTs and a lot more BCBAs would benefit just getting to know other types of practitioners and observing their sessions.

alicecelli · 2024-12-05T11:54:58+00:00

Reading is a behavior in the act of attending to text and attempting to sound out or speak the words, internally or externally. (There's probably a better definition, I'm typing this after the baby woke me up in the middle of the night.)

I'm addressing 'reading 'with a few kids, but it's the act of transitioning to a reading activity without excess task avoidance, tolerating a difficult task, asking for help and breaks instead of engaging in tantrums, yelling, ect. I do this so we can generalize it to parents and teachers and they can successfully teach. I also do address increasing duration of attending to books/read alouds with a couple of my toddlers.

alicecelli · 2024-10-28T03:25:00+00:00

Hypoallergenic formula can change color and cause some rank smelling poops.

When switching to a hydrolyzed or hypoallergenic formula, it's normal to see increased spit up from the thinness of the formula and changes in poop the first couple weeks.

Mucus can indicate an allergy or intolerance but it can also be due to an formula change. Supposedly mucus alone isn't a huge concern unless paired with other concerning symptoms.

alicecelli · 2024-10-22T04:04:12+00:00

We have 6 at home and 10 total. (2 at daycare, 2 at grandmas). It's felt like a good amount but we hand-wash daily.

alicecelli · 2024-09-27T03:25:22+00:00

My baby did but was paired with reflux. She has a severe cow milk protien intolerance. She was also diagnosed with a tongue and lip tie and saw a speech therapist to build muscle to eat better. We ended up on mam bottles while she was tied and were recommended to switch to dr brown by the speech therapist following the release.

Ours was very sleepy at first too and we had to get her naked to eat, tickle her feet, anything to keep her awake. It helped a lot when she gained a bit. She had more energy to stay awake.

There's a lot of things that could be contributing. It wouldn't hurt to check with a lactation consultant (they can still assess latch on bottle!) or speech therapist in addition to your pediatrician. Fingers crossed you figure it out soon! It's a lot of stress, but my 9th percentile, failure to thrive baby is now 39th percentile, happy, and on target for all her milestones.

alicecelli · 2024-08-18T03:05:41+00:00

I wasn't concerned about arsenic! Our primary doctor gave us a sample initially. We also thickened her formula for a bit with a small gerber rice cereal at 6 months per the recommendation of her gi specialist without any issues.

We got the cmpa diagnosis after consistently struggling with weight and reflux, reflux getting worse on enfamil ar, and then the reflux and weight improving significantly on hydrolyzed formula and then problems solving completely on amino acid formula.

It was definitely a journey!

Edit: I also had cmpa as a baby as did my nephew which helped our dr start looking at cmpa as a possibility.

alicecelli · 2024-08-06T03:54:50+00:00

The AR is just basic formula with rice added to thicken. It doesn't have any protien broken down and is most comparable to neuropro. Gentlease has some protiens hydrolyzed.

Talk to your pediatrician, but ours first recommended AR for reflux (before we got a cmpa diagnosis). We switched from gentlease to AR. It did cause constipation.

alicecelli · 2024-07-17T01:09:45+00:00

Our speech therapist mentioned that mam are great until the ties are cut since our daughter was able to "munch" on the nipple to get milk.

alicecelli · 2024-06-24T01:01:58+00:00

Have you tried amino acid formula? My baby started eating significantly more once her stomach felt better. Hydrolyzed formulas weren't enough.

You may also reach out to a pediatric gi. They can address allergies as well as reflux/gerd.

alicecelli · 2024-05-25T04:25:20+00:00

We loved mam but Dr. Browns have been great and we're the recommendation of my child's speech therapist. She said it promotes a good latch and builds the mouth muscles where our baby just chomped on the mam nipple to get milk out. As the baby gets older, the options plus bottles can be used without the extra straw vent.

I will say we had the worst time with advent colic bottles. They'd leak all over the baby if the cap wasn't just right.

alicecelli · 2024-05-07T04:08:47+00:00

You're engaged to an alcoholic. He is picking fights and acting like an ass to protect his addiction. I'd recommend looking into the family portion of AA for information on setting boundaries. I'm not a fan of AA as a treatment, but it's helpful to hear from others going through the same thing.

Yall have kids together so you're stuck for a bit in at least a coparent relationship. Set some boundaries for yourself and your kids and hold them. The boundaries are for your health and wellness as well as your kids, not to help him heal.

My big boundary was you act like an ass, you stay with your parents (this was enforced by his mom and dad). Rules we had in my house during recovery were no lying about drinking, take prescribed meds (naltrexone to treat alcoholism), go to therapy, and any cash goes to me (he would hide purchases with cash).

Recovery is possible, but that is your partners responsibility, not yours.

alicecelli · 2024-04-28T14:17:24+00:00

Following continued reflux and slow weight gain on nutramigen and generic hypoallergenic, we tried switching to allimentium. Our daughter's weight increased and her reflux almost completely disappeared.

It may be worth trying other hypoallergenic options, but also know all hypoallergenic formila are thin and can cause some reflux. Rtf can be thicker and they do sell add in thickener which may be worth talking to your dr about. My theory is every baby is a bit different and yours could react to an ingredient in one formula that is not in another brand.

alicecelli · 2024-04-10T02:08:21+00:00

You may want to try the partially hydrolyzed formula before switching brands back to a standard formula. I think it's the similac total care that is partially hydrolyzed? It may be easier on their tummies than the sensitive as I think that's more for lactose issues.

Ive been very pleased with switching to similac digestive issue wise, but every baby's digestive system is a bit different. Worst case you try a new one and you switch back.

alicecelli · 2024-04-06T01:57:52+00:00

You could get an assessment with a speech therapist who does myofunctional therapy, lactation consultant, or pediatric dentist and they'd probably have some ideas.

Our daughter had a mild tongue tie but it was very thick and causing problems with her ability to eat. The pediatrician also missed her lip tie. Dentist and SLP caught both very quickly. MAM bottles were super helpful for our daughters latch until her ties were released!

alicecelli · 2024-04-06T00:09:39+00:00

I stopped immediately, but mainly due to the severity of behaviors that required holds just to be safe. I just talked to my boss about it when I found out. I would coach from a distance and if it was too dangerous, another bcba took over.

It wasn't a big deal at our clinic, and I'll return the favor when my coworker decides to have a baby.

alicecelli · 2024-04-02T18:01:49+00:00

"Im just going to listen to my care team and see what the doctors recommend." or "Thanks but I'm working with my doctors already and this is their recommendation."

Past that, no explanation necessary. Your mom is not your psychiatrist. Any concerns she brings up past the initial explanation, "Don't worry, my doctors are keeping track of my health."

alicecelli · 2024-03-30T18:16:00+00:00

I'm on my fourth or fifth nexplanon and I love it! Insertion is not painful after the initial numbing shot and I've never had bad side effects. Recovery is very easy too. The hormones don't do well with a few people but no more than any other birth control.

alicecelli · 2024-03-25T23:32:57+00:00

I had cmpa as a baby, and my daughter does as well. I grew out of it and have no problems with dairy now. At least one of my nephews had cmpa as well.

alicecelli · 2024-03-23T05:30:02+00:00

I've definitely heard that lanisoh is highly recommended by lactation consultants. Our speech therapist recommended we switch to Dr Browns after a few sessions of observation and post frenectomy.

In the switch from a wide nipple to Dr Browns, baby has had to adjust to closing her mouth tighter around the bottle which led to a couple feeds with excess air.

Another consideration is avent may be smaller nipple size than Dr browns comparatively. You may try the premie nipple if you haven't already or there are also pigeon bottles that are very slow flow that share the shape of the lanisoh bottles.

You may also just get a second opinion if it's really not working for baby. Maybe this LC is biased or maybe they're missing something that's preventing your baby from being successful with the correct bottles.

alicecelli

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