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華美子, did you know you can sign up at those 奶粉 websites to get free samples?  They usually ship you a small can to try.  There are many baby products manufacturers websites for getting free samples, 奶粉, diapers, etc.  They also give you coupons as well.

奶粉, they're all very similar.  I choose by looking at the ingredients and the "smell".  Why smell?  Because I cannot stand the smell of Enfamil, not when it's prepared (well, that stinks too), but when it comes out from the baby's "other side"!  IT JUST STINKS!!!  Made me want to throw up!  Similac has Omega 3 added and it's not stinky so I prefer that.  If you get bottled Similac, they actually smells really good....if you care...lol

Of course drain the the water after you hard boil your bottles la!  Soaking things in water is not that "clean".  Bacteria tend to grow faster in moisture???  I guess...  BTW, have you thought about using bottle liners?  It will save you lots of time.  I don't feel there's a need to use detergent to wash the bottles, boil in hot water often is good enough.  I don't see how they can be that greasy???

It should be fine to bathe the baby every other day now in the winter (summer is difference story) and make sure you wipe his/her clean every time when you change.  Having said that, usually baby heads are oily and get smelly fairly quick, so I prefer bathe everyday but apply lots of lotion afterwards especially near joints where the skin folds.

my 0.02

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Electric sterilizer? I think the benefit of that is you don't need to worry about anything, just plug in and go to work, unlike boiling hot water on a stove.

I still recommend bottle liners though.  Easy cleanup and baby sucks in less air.  If you want to be enviro friendly then use bottles. Well, it's hard to be very enviro friendly with a baby because of all the diapers.

Pampers and Huggies are the best ones you can get.  Costco or whatever diapers are cheaper but they don't give the best fit and comfort.  Baby skin is very sensitive!  You can certainly try them all before you decide on which one to go; each baby is different and it may turn out to be OK with the no name brands.  You can get samples from Pampers and Huggies on their website I think.

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Do you know if it's dandruff or "changing skin"?  Did this happen just after you changed the soap?  Try change it back to see if the condition goes away.  However, it's perfectly fine for the baby to go through the a "skin change".

There a risk with pacifiers and that is it might not be easy to get rid of this habbit later.  You as the parent need to judge for yourself.  Some kids still needs to suck something when they're grade 1.  Also, who knows the side effects on the lip shape and teeth growth for long term pacifier usage.

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Glad that you actually tried bottle liners!  They're great!  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Btw, don't buy other brands of liners such as superstore or wal-mart or whatever, Playtex is the best!