For Baby
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Newborn Head to Toe
First things first, spare yourself spending hours on Google after bringing your baby home and ORDER THIS BOOK NOW!!!! It will answer so many late night question and put your mind at ease! A family member gave me this book and it was one of the best gifts I received!
Cradle Cap– Weird stuff on their scalp that will wash off in time. You can also use a soft tooth brush and a little soap to get it of.
Eyes– if their eyes become watery and then gooey, it could be a plugged duct. Put a couple drops of breast milk in their eye, massage the duct, and see if that helps.
Ear Wax– there are special Q-tips designed to clean out their ear wax. Use those or a soft rag
Icky Neck– the term used to describe the collection of items that somehow stick in the folds of skin in the neck area. From milk, drool, dust, etc…it all seems to find its way to neck area and cause it to be smelly. (Arm pits are the same way!)
Nails-don’t be scared to trim nails, a great time to do it is while they are nursing, having a bottle or sleeping.
Belly Button– it will look scary but don’t let it intimidate you. Don’t get it wet and be careful when dressing the baby. I got my sons wet on accident while giving him a bird bath and it fell off when he was a week old. AHHHH! Every time he cried I could see fresh chord coming up and it made me want to faint. The pediatrician shot it with some medicine to heal it and he survived. I pulled my daughters chord when unsnapping her pajamas and it fell off a little early too and she was fine as well. Obviously, I wasn’t the best with taking care of belly buttons.
Hand and Toe Dust Bunnies– newborns keep their hands in fists a lot of the time and somehow they collect dust bunnies in them! Just keep them clean.
Poop– it will be a black tar color when you’re in the hospital, when you get home it will be yellow seedy of you’re breastfeeding or a green pasty if you’re giving formula.
Vitamins/ Medicine
Always ask your peditrician for dosing instructions based on your babies weight. If your baby is under 6 months old then Tylenol could be an option and once they are over 6 months then Ibuprofen could be an option.
Your peditrician may recommend a Vitamin D supplement if you are strictly breastfeeding.
Gripe water- once baby is few weeks old you can give them gripe water. It’s for excessive fussiness and it helps to calm their tummies and is all natural. You can find it at cvs, target, walgreens.
Bathing
I felt like a bath 3 times a week was enough (unless they had a massive explosion) and bird baths only until their chord falls off.
I recommend fragrance free bath wash and lotions.
Don’t use wash clothes, if you do only on their bottoms.
Let the laundry begin!
You will wonder how someone with such small clothes can create SO MUCH LAUNDRY. You will never be “done with the laundry”. Just go ahead and accept that off the bat and you won’t feel as crazy and defeated when the piles keep growing and appearing. While your baby is really young, we recommend using a scent free detergent like Free Clear for Sensitive Skin.
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Getting Out With Baby (Getting out is key to keeping your sanity!)
WARNING: If you need to be somewhere at a specific time…PLAN ON LEAVING 20/30 minutes before you normally would. Blowouts, additional feedings, and anything you can think of WILL OCCUR!Options for getting out and about include…
*Stroller Walks/Runs- Meeting up with other moms for a stroller walk is a great way to get out of the house, get exercise, and have a free therapy session! There is nothing like chatting with another mom when you have a newborn, you will quickly realize that all the emotions and feelings you have are totally normal!
*Wear baby in a carrier while you walk your dog.
* An outdoor mall area is a great place to go if you just want to get out and walk around.
*Outing to the store: Target is always a great place to go burn some time! (You will feel like you’re packing up for a camping trip or the end of the world but this will get easier)
The first few times you head to the store with Baby it could be a little overwhelming. You’re sleep deprived, your body is going nuts and you feel like you have been clubbin’ for about 20 days straight. Take your time and don’t be nervous! Tips include…
*Park near buggy return
*DON’T PUT INFANT CARRIER ON TOP PART OF BUGGY. INFANT CARRIER ALWAYS GOES IN MAIN BASKET PART.
* If you want some privacy while breastfeeding, locations to feed include a dressing room or in your car.
*Changing locations include family restrooms or in the back of your car.
* You can always take your stroller in a store and place things in your basket below. (I worried at first that people would think I was stealing but it’s totally fine! Haha!)
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Hospital Packing List For Mom, Dad and Baby
Hospital Pack List for Baby:
Car seat and a Bundleme car seat blanket if delivering in cold months. Both of us have used this fuzzy car seat liner and it is AMAZING! You don’t have to worry about grabbing a blanket every time you leave the house.
Car seat canopy/ Breastfeeding cover scarf
Sleeper gowns make all the diaper changes a breeze! Take a few because blow outs and spit ups could occur
Hats for boys or hats for girls
Going home outfit
Heavy Blanket if delivering in cold month
Swaddling Outfit (instead of a swaddling blanket, these look amazing!)
Burp cloths for boys or burp cloths for girls
Wipes (they might only provide napkins that you wet) I would take wipes so you have them for the way home.
Hospital Pack List for Mom:
Toiletries
Make-up
Robe (this one is so cute!)
Nursing Nightgowns (these are so cute too!)
Pajama Pants
Sweet shirt/cardigans
Socks
Slippers
Flip flops to throw away
Comfy clothes to go home in
Purse
Cell phone
Charger
Uggs/ tennis shoes/ flip flops- depending on the month of delivery
Hospital Pack List for Dad:
Cell phone charger
Book/Magazine
Change of clothes
Toiletries
Comfortable shoes
Snacks/drinks
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Dress Deal! Pre-Baby, Post-Baby, and Bump Friendly!
If you search far enough down the Amazon wormhole, you can find some pretty great deals on clothing. The hard part is knowing what the quality is like and how the sizing runs. I’ve ordered my fair share of clothes from Amazon that arrived looking nothing like the picture and the medium size might’ve been able to fit my XS sister. I have, however, found some awesome pieces that were a super deal and have lasted over a year in my closet. This dress is around $20 and comes in a variety of colors. I’m 5’7” and with flats, it drags a tiny bit in the back. Wedges make it a perfect height. For you petite girls, there is a short version of this dress. It can be worn pre and post baby and is also bump friendly! It’s a true wrap dress, so you can adjust the waist. It does run a little small, so I’d size up one size. I’m a standard size medium / 8 right now and I’m wearing the large.
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Must Have Items for YOU (Stock up before baby comes!)
And there I was, 38 weeks pregnant with my first child. My sister came over and we had a little photo shoot and this is one of my favorite pictures carrying my son. My sister didn’t have any kids at the time and since this was my first…neither one of us really knew what was about to go down. Haha! I’m not going to lie, I ran from all birthing classes and educating myself on the birthing process. I didn’t want to know, it would have put too many “what if’s” in my mind so I just wanted to have a “fire drill” delivery. Some people attend all the birthing classes they can and some people don’t do anything…it’s totally up to you and what you want to do!
I didn’t learn much about the birthing process but I get prepped for the hospital and got my personal items together and ready to go. I didn’t want to leave it up to my husband to pick out the extra absorbent breast or panty liners I needed. YIKES!
Extra toiletries: get doubles of all your “I can’t live without” items and go ahead and pack your toiletries bag so when the time comes you only have to grab your razor and make up bag.
Boobie Pads: super absorbency and light absorbency, a few boxes of each.
Large Underwear that you can throw away.
Big Pads: you will bleed for a couple weeks post delivery and tamponds are a No-No. You will change your pad about as often as you change the babies diaper.
*WE ARE NOT GOING TO SUGAR COAT IT…Bottom line: after delivery you will feel like you are putting pads all over your body…this is only a short phase and it WILL pass!!!
Nursing Tanks: great ones at Target and even Walmart!
Robe: soft and comfy
Gowns: In case of a total explosion of your lady parts, yes it happens, gowns will be more comfortable post delivery. They are comfortable to wear at night!
Pajama pants: you will want to wear these during the day at the hospital when visitors are there. Black is always a safe choice with the bleeding.
Throw away Flip flops for the shower
Cheap throw away Slippers
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I’m pregnant! WHERE DO I BEGIN?!
When the excitement (and sometimes shock) of finding out you’re pregnant begins to fade just a bit, the feeling of WHERE DO I BEGIN can become super overwhelming. We hope you find this info helpful as you begin your journey of being a Mama!
Week 8 until delivery– start something like Palmer’s Tummy Butter NOW! Buy a couple tins at a time or else you will be running to the store constantly. I probably used 20-30 tins during my pregnancy. You can’t put a price on having little or no stretch marks.
Men’s undershirts– you will eventually get so big that you can barely fit in much. The belly butter is super greasy and you will only want to wear old shirts or ones you can throw away after delivery. I found buying packs of men’s undershirts was a great option (I got a size XL) and I threw them all away when I was done with my pregnancy.
Week 16 until delivery– Start using a Doppler to see if you can hear your little peanut! Rubbing baby oil on your tummy before you use the Doppler will help it move around!
Sleep issues? I highly recommend the Boppy Pregnancy Pillow. It helped me sleep and my back!
Week 34 until delivery– Start Lansinoh nipple cream . Your boobies will thank you when you have a little person stuck to them 24/7.
Week 35– pack your hospital bags and instal your infant car seat.
Week 36/38– get your hair did!
MATERNITY CLOTHES FAVS:
Target: Their maternity section is amazing!
Old Navy: Jeans & black over the tummy workout pants
Ross: Super deals on cotton short sleeve and long sleeve tops and you never know what else you will find in their small maternity section!
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Freaking out over all the sunscreen options?!
Living at the beach, sunscreen is a must but there are SO. MANY. OPTIONS! After spending HOURS on the internet trying to find the perfect one, and comparing them all, I finally decided to go with this one. I have used this sunscreen on my kids for about 4 summers now and I have to say the coverage and overall protection is amazing. And you can’t beat the coverage the face stick provides but a little bit goes a long way…SERIOUSLY.
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Backpack Splurge vs. Steal
If you are on the go with little ones, you know there is so much stuff to haul around. With my first kid, I would drag a diaper bag and gigantic purse around with me, and there never seemed to be enough room on my shoulder to carry both. Now, with my second child, I decided to consolidate everything and go the backpack route, and it’s been a game changer. There are some really cute backpacks out there, like this one you could easily “Splurge” on. I wasn’t ready to shell out the dollars for a bag that might end up with infant poop on it, and melted yogurt covered raisins in the bottom, so I ended up with this “Steal“! So far, this bag is working great for me! Lots of room for all the madness and pockets inside to keep things separated.
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Coming Soon!
