Thursday, April 25, 2013

1 Month Favorites

i survived the first month with a baby! it may not sound like a big deal if you've never had kids, but everyone else will give me mad snaps for pushing through. the first month is hard for a lot of reasons: the HORMONES, the lack of sleep, the physical recovery from childbirth, and probably the most difficult, dealing with the emotions of having your baby with you and not quite knowing how to be a mom. some things come natural, but most don't and the emotions of not knowing what to do can take a toll. that being said, these things below really helped all of us get through the first month of Olivia's life.

Gerber Onesies: these may seem simple, but that's the point! don't waste a lot of money on newborn clothes because they are just going to get pooped on. we mostly use these for PJ's, because we swaddle LW and don't want her to get too hot. they wash well and have a big enough neck opening that LW doesn't totally freak out when getting her dressed.

Medela Quick Clean sterilizer bags: holy dishes batman! between bottles, nipples, and breast pump supplies if pumping, i swear i spent at least an hour of my day at the kitchen sink. these bags are awesome! you can do a quick wash with soapy water and then pack one of these bags, pop in the microwave with 2 oz of water for 90 seconds and BAM- you have sterile bottles! It's about $6 for a pack of 5, and you get 20 (TWENTY) uses out of each bag! Depending on how much you need to wash, you can make one box last an entire month. amazing.

Mam pacifiers: there's a lot of controversy about whether babies should have pacifiers for fear of nipple confusion (which i don't believe in) or developing an unhealthy habit and not being able to be without one. but on day 5 we gave in and gave LW a 0-4 month Mam pacifier i got at my baby shower. HEAVEN! sometimes babies just like to suck, and it doesn't mean you are depriving them from eating or love or whatever else extremists say. sometimes it's just comforting for them and that's ok by me. i ended up going to Target and getting newborn sized ones instead because LW has a petite face and the other ones were nearly covering up her nostrils. point for mom!

Aden + Anais swaddle blankets: these have SO many uses. we use them as swaddle blankets of course, light blankets in warmer weather, coverage on the floor for play time, rolled up at bed time to use as a bumper, and as a burp cloth in extreme situations. they are quite large and wash well.

Swaddle Pods: yes, it looks like a baby string bean or baby burrito. but they WORK! after 1 night home, i realized that Olivia is a ninja and can easily bust out of being swaddled in a blanket all night long (swaddling w/blankets works better during naps for us). I sent Dave to Babies R Us and he picked up a two-pack of these Swaddle Pods. they have zippers and are made out of really stretchy material so LW can squirm all she wants, but she ain't gettin' out. babies actually look REALLY cute in them and i think LW looks just like the model in the picture above:
Snuggle Nest: the other item Dave picked up when i sent him to BRU was the Snuggle Nest. since i was so sleep deprived and could sleep better with LW next to me, i wanted to make sure she was safe in our bed. this kept her close, but obviously safe from being rolled over on. it even has a nightlight and music function, but Dave threw away the instructions so i haven't figured out how to put in the batteries. now that she's not in our bed, we use this in her pack n'play. i think she felt like the p&p was too big for her and wouldn't sleep well at all. now she does!

we aren't that far away from finishing up month #2 so stay tuned!

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