New Mom Tip

GET OUT!

One of the things I am SO glad I have done with my baby from the very beginning was to get her out of the house. Ever since she came home from the hospital we have been on the go.

In the beginning it was just a stroller ride here and there or maybe a quick car ride. Now that LO is 5 months old she loves doing new things and going new places. I signed up for a romp n roll class...we go every Monday and LO LOVES it! It's good stimulation for her. When we don't have romp n roll, we'll go to the mall, park, baby gym...anywhere really. Sometimes it doesn't even matter where we go just as long as we go. Now that the weather is getting cold it's especially important to keep my baby active. Babies get bored AND get cabin fever just like adults do! So, I highly recommend getting out and about. The earlier you do it, the more your baby will enjoy it. I have some friends who have kids that hate car rides, and hate going to new places where there are lots of people. All babies are different, but I really believe that exposing our LO to new places and people early on, has helped her to be such a social baby!

New Mom Tip

WASH THE TOPS

Sorry, I missed the new mom tip yesterday. It was a crazy hectic day..our bulldog Oscar, had to have surgery on his cherry eye :( I was on pins and needles until I heard from the Vet...but everything is okay, and I'm picking him up within the hour! yay!

Now, on to the tip!

Everyone knows how important it is to wash the bottles and nipples etc. I use Dr. Brown's Bottles AND the Playtex drop-ins. The drop-ins are great when I'm out and about because I can just throw away the mess instead of carrying around a dirty bottle. I religiously clean my Dr. Brown's bottles, and if you use these bottles, then you know that you not only have to clean the bottle and the nipple but also the stems. No big deal, I have a pretty good system down, and I have the drop-in as back up if I'm running all my bottles through the washing machine. So that being said, I never use the tops of the bottle (the top that covers the nipple). I guess they are used mostly when you travel with the bottles but as I said I use the drop-ins when I travel. I can not even tell you the last time I put a top on a Dr. Brown bottle but I seriously think it has to have been in the earlier stages of when LO first came home from the hospital. I'm horrified to admit I have NEVER washed the tops to the bottles!!!!

I never think about it because I never use them. They have been sitting on the top of my window ledge above my kitchen sink FOREVER. Well, I was cleaning up the other day and noticed the tops...I picked them up and was just going to toss them in the trash and that is when I saw IT. MOLD! Ewwwwwwwwww.......EFFING GROSS!

I immediately washed them out and THEN threw them away! Ha, don't ask me why I needed to clean them before I threw them in the trash, but I did! So, I figured this was an excellent tip for all of those moms who actually USE the tops to their bottles ....remember, they need to be cleaned regularly as well!!!! Uggh...I shutter to think how disgusting and awful it would have been if I randomly decided to use one of those tops without looking inside of it....yuck! So, hopefully my yucky mistake will benefit everyone else! WASH THOSE TOPS!!!!

New Mom Tip

FORMULA

I figured I do two new mom tips today since I missed one last week. Both of these tips are going to be about formula!

Tip #1 Hoarding isn't a bad thing!

Formula is expensive. When I had my baby I tried to nurse and pump but the reality was, eventhough I was nursing and pumping I still had to supplement with formula from time to time. I found the ready to feed was the easiest in the early days. You just pop it in the fridge and pour it in the bottle when you need it. I especially liked the ready to feed more than the powder because in the first few weeks LO was only eating 1-2 oz. every 2-3 hours, so for me, it was easier to just dump the already made mixture in the bottle and be ready to go. I use the powder now, but no matter which type you choose they are all pricey. Eventhough I was hell bent on breastfeeding my child, I wish I had stocked up on formula BEFORE I had her. The powder especially lasts a long time. As long as you don't open the package, the powder is good for 3 years! If you know you are going to go the formula route, you really should stock up on formula throughout your pregnancy. Once the baby comes there are about a million other things you will be buying, so it's nice if you already have a stockpile of formula. If you know you are going to try and breastfeed, stocking up on formula isn't jinxing yourself. It's good to always be prepared, and if you are one of those people who are able to breastfeed your child exclusively for the first year, more power to you, but there's no harm in having an emergency stash around! So, stock up now...it will be easier on you in the long run!

Tip #2 Convenience is EVERYTHING!

This tip is inpired by my recent 14 hour road trip (I still shutter when I think about it). Traveling is an ordeal anyways but add an infant into the mix and it can be down right extremely overwhelming! I touched a little bit on the ready to feed formula in my Tip#1, but for traveling the ready-to-feeds are a MUST! I used the ready-to-feed bottles, where all you have to do is shake, attach a nipple (to the actual container the formula comes in) and you're ready to feed your baby. They come in 8 oz. packages, so although I only used 5-6 oz. out of one of the bottles, the convenience was worth the wasted 2 oz.! I just had to shake the container, attach a nipple, and throw what I didn't use, away. No worrying about mixing, and washing while on the road....one less thing to think about! So, if road trips or any kind of traveling are in your future, I highly reccommend you check these ready-to-feed bottles out!

New Mom Tip

YOUR TOLERANCE ISN'T QUITE THE SAME

Last night was our first "grown-up" night out without the little one. My mom watched her, while we went to a friend's engagement party. This wasn't my first experience drinking since having my daughter, I've enjoyed the occasional glass of wine at home, and drank beers by the pool while we were at the beach, but last night was my first time socially drinking with all my friends. And everyone knows, you drink more when your friends are around.

I had a baby 5 weeks ago, my tolerance isn't quite what it use to be. Don't worry, I didn't embarrass myself or anything like that (thank god) but after about 8 beers (no, I'm not kidding) my head started pounding. I basically passed out the second I got home, but naturally still had to get up for those middle of the night feedings, which was SO HARD. I'm one of those people that sleep really well when I'm drunk, when I'm out, I'm out. But, the second I heard my daughter crying for her bottle I snapped right up...it's like something in you just snaps into gear. The night wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but 6 a.m. definitley rolled up much faster than I thought it would. My daughter's morning nap though, literally saved my life because I was able to go back to sleep as well!

So, basically my tip to all new moms out there, is DEFINITELY take it easy, or at least save the heavy drinking for a night when your baby is with the grandparents and THEY have baby duty for the night!

New Mom Tip

DON'T MOVE THE DIAPER

Changing a baby's diaper can be hard enough, and it's almost impossible to keep control of their "frog legs". The best advice ever though, don't move the diaper! I've made the mistake, it already seems like a million times, I take off the dirty diaper and throw it in the diaper genie and before I unfold the clean diaper and put it under my baby she has gone to the bathroom all over the changing pad and all over herself! My solution, I have the clean diaper unfolded and ready to go before I even undo the dirty diaper. I leave the dirty diaper under my baby while I wipe her down, once she's clean, I move the dirty diaper to the side and immediately put the clean diaper on her, THEN I close up the dirty diaper and toss it! That way if she goes, she goes in the clean diaper. I never would have thought, I would have to put so much thought into how to change a diaper!