Expectant Mom Shopping List - Part 3 (but not Part 3)

I'm not going to continue with this list.  I will however share with you what we love as a family as I come across them.

This post... not a Boppy but a Leachco Cuddle-U pillow.  I know it looks the same but ours is a Leachco.  What do I love about this pillow...take a look.

 You can't see the little strappy thing that makes this a wonderful thing.  It holds him in even when he gets all squirmy (from trying to poot).  He is so comfy in here.  I've been using it on the couch and in the bed.  I'll get him all set up and then I'm able to lay down next to him with out worrying that I'm going to roll over on him.  He also uses it for tummy time.  He is not that fond of being flat on this belly but when I put him in here he is able to look around and lift his head just like being flat on his tummy. 

And something else we've been enjoying learning.  Baby yoga.  My mom got us a this Baby and Toddler Yoga video.  We are taking our time and getting used to doing the routine.  Once we've worked through it a few times I'll give a more thorough review.  And speaking of yoga.  I hope to start doing yoga again.  I'm putting that at the end of this post with the hope that nobody will read this far and nobody will be able to hold my feet to the fire about my declaration.  What?

This is hard...

I've been putting off this post for a week.  I felt it appropriate to write about my little girl Sara before continuing on. 

Our little girl lost her fight with colon polyps/cancer. 

All I can say at this point is she will be dearly missed and was much loved.

Expectant Mom Shopping List - Part 2

First I want to share a super cute pic of the Nugget.  He has had such a bad time lately with gas and tummy problems that moment when he is happy and making all the cute faces just had to be saved.  This is just the cutest faces I've seen, too bad it's a crappy iPhone pic.

Okay, back to the list.  These are things that are wonderful extras that I've fallin' in love with.

Our grass drying rack is so wonderful.  No matter what size the bottles, nipples, or whatever needs to dry this rack holds it.  Only one complaint, it's not big enough.  It needs to be longer.  Even with it being small I can fit 6 bottles and parts on this thing.  That is counting the 6 parts to each of my bottles. 

Speaking of bottles.  I would advise all moms to spend the extra money (like a dollar extra, really not much) and get Dr. Brown bottles.  Yes, they have 6 parts (lid, nipple, connector ring, valve, funnel, and bottle) to each bottle which can be a pain when washing but I credit these bottles and soy formula for making my Nugget a happy baby.

This is a new purchase that helps with bath time.  DH and I always fought about temp of the bath water.  I always thought it was too cold and he thought it was too hot.  This little guy helps to settle the fight.  Instead of the word "HOT" on the bottom and became white no mater the temp, this little Octopus bath thermometer lets you know when the water is cold, hot, or ideal. 

I've heard 2 different reactions to a Diaper Genie (or similar product) one is that mothers hate it and other mothers love it.  I'm in the "Love It" category.  I think because I got the newer version the Diaper Genie II Elite.  It doesn't do the twisty thing, it just has these little flipper things that open and close allowing the diaper to drop into the bag once the lid is closed which keeps the smell in the bag and not in the air.  I don't know how to explain it very good. 

We love our Precious Planet Playard.  We used it as a bassinet for the first month.  The changing table thinging made things very convenient for late night changes.

So these are a few of my favorite things.  To be continued...

Expectant Mom Shopping List

Being a new mom I thought I would put together a little list of things that were most used in our first month with Nugget.  This might help any expectant mothers out there or help when buying for an expectant mother. 

First: The Big 3 (IMHO)

1.  Bottles/nipples of choice.  This seems obvious but everyone things that everyone else will buy bottles.  I can tell you that unless you want to wash bottles 4-5 times a day (which I don't, once is bad enough) having lots of bottles and nipples is essential. 

2.  Receiving blankets.  Doesn't seem like something you would need a lot of, but in the first few weeks of wearing those diapers with the cut out for the umbilical cord or maybe just because he is a boy, he peed through diapers so many times.  Well, in peeing through the diaper he also got his blanket wet.  Since babies like to be swaddled so you need those clean receiving blankets.

3.  Onesies.  Again this would seem obvious and when I got a bunch at my shower I thought it was too many.  Nope.  Again with the peeing through diapers so much we not only had to change the diaper but the sheets, blanket, and the onesie.   Again with not having to do so much laundry. 

Next post will be fun extras that are really appreciated.

Maybe he was right

I really do feel bad for first borns.  We parents are just trying to figure things out and experimenting on them.  Poor James.  It really is a good thing he is such a good baby.  He is a wonderful little being and I love every moment we've had together.  Can't wait to see what the days, months, and years have to bring. 

Anyway, about this experimentation.  When James was 1 week old he was not gaining enough weight.  We were instructed by our pediatrician to feed him every 2-3 hrs.  To even wake him up and feed him (wake him up at least during the day).  Well, we did this.  By the next office visit he had gained 1 pound.  We were very proud parents who felt we had done a good parenting job.  Not being told differently we continued to make sure he was being feed every 2 hrs (during the day which just naturally went into the night feedings).  2 weeks later, now 1 month old, James weights 10 pounds.  I just hope the Dr. understands that we are just trying to do the right thing and that we were not trying to create a little porker.  So this is the reason for his gassiness, parents that were really eager to make sure our little one was eating enough.  What we got was a little one that was eating too much was causing him to have gas.  Paul akined it to eating Thanksgiving dinner several times a day.  I would have gas too. 

After being really upset at myself for again screwing up and "not being a good mom", I've decided to try to relax and do what feels right. Which is not so easy when you little one is crying and you are just trying to make him happy. 

Speaking of making him happy.  This made him happy and allowed me wash some bottles. Oh, and check out the grass thingy on the counter.  It's a drying rack thing for baby bottles and stuff.  Great product just wish it was bigger. 

Advice you can use...

My little Nugget is 3 weeks and 4 days old.  You probably know that you get all kinds of advice when people find out you are pregnant, some you can use and some you discard.

The most used and most appreciated bit advice thus far is this...waterproof pads and layering.  Here's what you do, layer a waterproof pad and then a sheet, waterproof pad and sheet, and repeat.  Why?  Let us imagine it is 2am and your little one has just wet his diaper.  He/she peed so much that it overflowed the diaper and now the crib sheets are wet.  Do you really want to be changing sheets and diapers at 2am?  I don't.  See where I'm going with this?  Wet sheets, just remove a layer of sheet and waterproof pad and your done.  Fabulous idea right!!!  Thanks to my friend Jessica for this one, it saved us so many nights.  There was even a night that we went through 3 layers.  I couldn't imagine having to change the sheets each time there was a pee containment failure.  The pads can be a bit pricey, but believe me it is so worth it. 

Only 3 Hours of Sleep

Yep, I'm a new mom. That's why I only had 3 hrs of sleep today. In my sleep deprived state I thought that it would be a fun project to start a blog about being a mom (a new and inexperienced mom). Not that this in an original idea or concept. And not that this blog would ever aspire to have a movie made about it. But, it will chronicle my life as a new mom and will be a place that I will share some of the helpful hints and ideas that are found along the way. You, the reader, will also be able to read about all the trials and challenges that my baby, husband, and I experience. Well here we go.

So, why did I only have 3 hours of sleep? Gas. Not colic, thank God. But simple elemental Gas. And I still haven't mastered the "sleep while your baby is sleeping" thing. Imagine a cranky gassy baby that only relaxes and calms when curled up on mommy's chest. I'm sure that almost all moms have experienced this. And I'm going to be honest here, I love it. I love that I have this ability to sooth a cranky baby with just a cuddle. Anyway, I digress. So, here I am sitting up in bed allowing the sweet innocent wee one to sleep while I try to stay comfortable and keep my foot from falling asleep. The foot that was curled under me so that I could prop up my arm that kept the sweet little baby from rolling off onto the hard floor and crack his scull open. This being another reason I can not allow myself to fall asleep. Anyway, about 3 am, "Nugget" as I'll be calling him, starts smacking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. I know what this means. Hungry. I knew it was coming. It's also inevitable that he would then need to be changed and then we have to try to get a gassy baby back to sleep. Well, at 3:14 am I had to get hubby to try to calm him and get him to sleep while I got some sleep. He of course had no problem. Binky and a rocking bassinet works wonders when daddy does it.

Now, fast forward 3 hours. 6 am. Hungry Nugget. It's dad's turn. Dad feeds Nugget and proceeds to burp Nugget. This is not normally exciting. Not until a little Nugget takes a big ol' poo. Again this is not something that would be extra extraordinary. Daddy has no probs with changing poo diapers. But there was a serious failure of the diaper containment zone. Oh Meh Gah. It's 6 am and I've only had 3 hrs of sleep. We are dealing with a failed containment zone on 3 hrs of sleep. Needless to say we all got cleaned up and then hubby and I had a nice laugh over the whole incident. But in my sleep deprived state I thought "I need to share these stories with the world". Why? Why does everyone need to know about this. You don't. I don't have to share it with anyone, but I'm going to anyway.