Fibromyalgia Pregnancy: Items on My Baby Registry

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Last Updated on October 19, 2021 by melissanreynolds

Given I’m expecting number three, my list for baby items is not as long as previously, but there are some key things. Not too many of these things are different for Fibromyalgia parenting.

pregnancy with fibromyalgia what's on my baby registry the third time around

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Did you know that Amazon has a baby registry? You can sign up here Shop Amazon – Create an Amazon Baby Registry It’s basically a mobile registry (available anywhere!)and you will be eligible for discounts and rewards. If you’re going to purchase some of your items from Amazon, you may as well sign up (I have).

Philips Avent Electronic Breast Pump

Avent single eletric
Image from Philips.co.nz

This is the one I will use, the Avent single electric, but you can also get the double electric for more efficient expressing (if you want to express more than a few feeds per day it is really time saving). If you wanted to go the manual route, for say the very odd feed, the Avent manual is the way to go. I have tried a few manual pumps and actually found them painful and not very productive, so that is something you’ll have to consider.

I decided immediately that if nursing doesn’t work out again I will not express exclusively (with three 4 and under, no!), so I didn’t need the Unimom hospital grade double pump I used with my first two. Though I highly recommend it for those who will express more than a couple of feeds a day. As someone who cannot nap, my best chance of sleep is in the evening. So as often as my husband is home I like to express at 830/9pm and go to sleep, leaving him to do the next one or two feeds. Starting the night with four or so hours of sleep really makes  difference for my healing body. Plus, as committed as I am to nursing, I would be remiss to not build in the opportunity for someone else to feed the baby so I can rest or go out.

Avent has great reviews for ease of use, cleaning and comfort. I like that I’ll be able to express directly into the bottle baby can feed from, saving a piece of washing. Avent bottles are the only bottles we have used for all of our children. As a mix-feeding mama I like the shape of the bottle teat and it reduced nipple confusion (although our boys are great feeders, so perhaps are deterred so easily).

Swaddle Wraps

ziggy baby wrap
Image from Ziggy Baby.com

Previously I just used Aden and Anais sheets and created my own swaddles. This time, I want ready made swaddles for ease and baby’s comfort. This three pack is in my Amazon registry. Babies like to be snug and warm like they were in the womb and I found swaddling really helped my boys.

Avent Dummies

I’m not a fan of dummies past six weeks, but to save my nipples in the first weeks, I’ll utulise these Avent dummies when baby just needs to suck. Obviously, in the early days I won’t shove the dummy in to avoid feeding, but my boys seemed to be particularly sucky babies and actually just wanted to suck to sleep in the early days.

Other posts about pregnancy:

Navigating Pain Relief in Pregnancy with Fibromyalgia

Fibro Parents Survey Results & Big News about Pregnancy and Fibromyalgia Book

Necessary Baby Items for a Fibro Parent

Nursing with Fibromyalgia: My Experience and Some Research

On Becoming Babywise Gary Ezzo

on becoming babywise.PNG
Image from CatholicMom website

The idea of parent assessment plus the clock really resonated way back with my first and it still does now. I’m not a fan of schedules, but frameworks I can get behind. From whatever time we get up in the morning, using the clock (2-4 hourly depending on age) and assessing baby’s cue for feeding is a great way to loosely plan the day. I like having a sense of what’s coming without forcing baby into a regimented schedule.

I like the messages in this book. There is no baby and parenting book I agree totally with, I have read several and pieced together what resonates with me.

Nursing Chair

nursing chair
Image from mocka.co.nz

This is a vital piece of furniture, especially given our couches are not good for my back and neck. My pelvis also needs a proper seat and we only have one L-style couch in our lounge. I ordered this one from a store in New Zealand. It is slimline, minimalist and comfortable without looking like it’s only for nursing. If I could order from Amazon without the $200+ delivery fee to New Zealand, I’d order this one here. That looks so comfortable!

White Noise Machine

white noise
Image from sleepstore.co.nz

This is another thing we didn’t buy and made do with a small fan for the first two. This time I’d like an actual machine for purpose. It helps the one I want is under $40. I find white noise not only helps block out external noises (like loud big siblings) but also gets them used to sleeping with noise (if baby needs silence to sleep, they’ll never sleep!).

Maternity Pelvis Support Belt

The last thing is not necessarily a baby item, but something I need – a pelvis support belt. At just 11 weeks the pelvic pain with this baby began. My body just responds too well to the relaxin hormone. This is the one on my list. Over and above medicine and stretches and creams, a support belt is king. The other thing is rest. I might have to write an entire post about symphysis pubis disorder, because it is a big issue and it can occur more often in illness like fibromyalgia. If you want to see my pregnancy diaries for this pregnancy, where SPD (unfortunately already features heavily) see my YouTube channel here.

Is there anything on your list that I haven’t mentioned?


For more information

Pregnancy andFibromyalgia_resources

I literally wrote a book about pregnancy and Fibromyalgia!