Sunday, July 28, 2013

Mom tips that I didn't find on Pinterest

Now that Tiny is 6 months old, looking back there was a few things that pinterest did not prepare me for. Pretty shocking after seeing how many good list there are for moms. So here are my notes for when we have a second offspring or for any of my friends that are having tiny humans of their own.


1. Buy newborn clothes in gender neutral colors. 
Everyone told me not to get any newborn size clothes. "Most babies are never in them." "They are only in them for a few weeks, so why waste your money?" My tiny was in her newborn clothes for 2 months! I only had 6 onesies that fit her, and I was hesitant to buy more since I figured she could grow out of them any day. (It's like hanging up after being on hold for 10 min. You don't really want to stay on the phone, but there is that small chance that it will be your turn next. Ugh.) So for the next baby, I'm getting gender neutral. That way if the next one is only in them for a week, it's fine. I can use it for the next one.

One of her few newborn clothes

2. Baby cloth sizing is confusing, but you can make it work in your favor.
I was shopping with my friend Kaitlan not long after Madeleine was born. I really wanted to get Madeleine a pair of jeans, but they were so expensive. Kaitlan told me just to get the 12 month size for my 2 month old baby. She said "After all, the waist band is the same size and you can just cuff them." Sure enough I held the 0-3 month up to the 12 month, same waist size different length. Dresses are similar. I found once Madeleine was 4 months old anything from 0-3 months to 12 months fit her just fine. The length was just different.


6 weeks old and wearing size 12 month pants

3. You don't need that many clothes.
Honestly 20 onesies and 10 pj are enough clothing for each size (these aren't quite as flexible with sizing) if you are doing laundry once a week. I have a few dresses and jeans in the 12 month size that she wears too. All in all though, that's not very many clothes and by the time you have tried all the different outfits, the baby will probably be ready for the next size.

4. If you are a diaper snob and like a partucular brand but want to save money...
I found that when I first switch up to a size, I can use cheap diapers. For example, my baby is in size 2 right now, which fits babies from 12lb-18lb. Up until 15 lbs the cheap diapers worked just as well as Pampers (I really love them), but from 15-18lbs pampers work better for us.

5. WIC lactation nurses are for everyone, not just poor people.
I couldn't find any lactation nurses, after I left the hospital. I was looking through the pamphlet the hospital gave me before I left, and WIC was listed under breastfeeding help. I called them up crying when I first got my milk in and those ladies were amazing. They gave me so many resources and encouragement. Anyone can go to them. WIC was made to promote breastfeeding, and the best part it is free!

6. Don't buy an expensive breast pump before you have a baby.
This is more for SAHM but the reason I say this is not all pumps are created equally. Some moms don't even need them. Some crazy people (like me) end up exclusively pumping and needing an expensive double pump. I ended up with 3 pumps. I started out with a hand pump since I thought pumping would only be an occasional thing. Then I had oversupply so I bought a single electric pump. Then after 3 months and still struggling with breastfeeding, I bought a double electric to save time. Luckily for me, I called up my insurance company and with a dr. note, they paid for my $300 pump.

7. Co-bathing is amazing.
Everyone told me that before I had my baby that I would not get to shower frequently. This bothered me a lot. I called my mom and told her about it, and she said "Just bring the baby with you in the bathtub." It was some of the best advice I got, and I don't see it mentioned frequently on the internet. My baby was 8 days old the first day I did it. I carefully picked my baby up and put her on my thighs in the bath tub. She started wiggling and seemed like she enjoyed it! I was thrilled. It was so cute seeing her little body float in my hands, and all that water movement made her tired, so she slept better. To this day we still do it, and it is our favorite part(s) of the day.


8. You can stick your baby next to the bath tub while you to take a bath.
While I love bathing with baby, it takes longer and washing my hair was really tricky. What I ended up doing was just sticking her on a towel right on our bath mat. I would dangle my hand over the side of the tub and touch her if she started to cry, but for the most part she just stared at the lights. Now that she is crawling, I either give her a few things to play with on the rug or put her in her bumbo.

9. Register for restaurant gift cards on your baby registry.
Food brought to me the first week was great, but when my baby was 1-2 months old, I was tired and didn't want to cook. The gift cards to Jamba Juice and In 'n' Out were lifesavers when I was hungry and didn't want to cook.



Those are the big ones that I want to remember. If you have any to add, please let me know and I'll add them. The next tiny isn't coming for a while, but with this kid crawling, I'm not remembering anything. 

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