I knew right at the beginning of my pregnancy that this blog was going to have to go on hold for a few months.
1. I was sick and it was hard to sit up straight after work.
2. I made a giant humongous house projects to-do list that included all things that needed to come before baby's arrival while Sean actually had time in the evenings before he heads back to school in August.
We (eh em, "Sean") has tiled and grouted bathrooms, baseboards, re installed washer and dryer, built garage shelves, cleaned out garage, put shelves in closets and created under cabinet bathroom storage and started tackling the baby's room all after work. He's the coolest.
All of that had to get done before I could even touch the nursery. We had to finish the garage so I could get the stuff in the nursery out of there. And because I'm a completely OCD freak, it all had to be done in the right order. And because I'm pregnant, I'm even more of an OCD freak than I was pre-pregnancy.
Besides reading lots of books (I have done that), I am not really prepared for this baby's arrival yet and I'm starting to get a little worried and feeling a little behind!
Things I need help and advice on:
I'm keeping the nursery simple. Crib, dresser that will double as a changing table and a rocker/glider. I know what crib and dresser I'm getting, but where are some good places to find a rocker?
Bottles. Help! I will be breastfeeding but I still want bottles on hand in case I pump and am leaving the baby with Sean. What are the best bottles?
Diapers. Help again! I've heard Huggies are best and most of the time keep everything in. I'm not a super cool pioneer woman and I won't be doing cloth diapers especially since I'll be going back to work and I don't want to leave a sitter with cloth ones.
Stroller. I have one in mind but still open to some more ideas.
I've also started my registry. My sister has been a huge help. She's very practical and knows what the best necessities are. What are things you love? Are there things you can't live without?
Sean and I have read a couple books on sleep training so far. It's been very very helpful. I'm feeling like we have a good plan for nighttime and naps which is crucial since I'll be going back to work and Sean will be at school. Any other books that helped you even if they don't deal with sleep training?
Time is totally flying. Can't believe I'm half way done with this pregnancy! Second trimester has been so much better than the first. I'm still more tired than the normal Danielle, but I'm only nauseous a couple hours of the day and I'll take that any day over what it was! One of my favorite things to do has been to write in my pregnancy journal that my mom got me. This baby kicks all day long. I felt the first kick at 15 weeks and my doctor was surprised I felt it so early. Sean started feeling the baby kick by about 18 weeks. Sometimes I feel it alternating legs. I'm just glad it's having so much fun in there bouncing on my bladder! We can't wait to find out what this baby is! I'm 99% convinced I know what it is. We will see if I'm right soon. I could die of anticipation!
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Get a rocker/recliner. You will end up sleeping in it, so you need it to be comfortable! For bottles, I used medela, But I wouldn't buy a ton ahead of time. Each baby has different preferences. You may get lucky on the first nipple you try, or it could be the 15th. Same with diapers. I used pampers and Huggies, but only the little snugglers. The Huggies snug and dry leaked for me. Diapers are trial and error too, what works on one kid may not work on another. I didn't read any sleep training books, but I was a nanny before I got married, so I already had that part figured out. My best advice there is don't ever wake the baby up. EVER. But most of all, don't stress out! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's what I've heard about bottles. I ended up just registering for a few different brands to be safe. Hopefully we find one that's a a keeper quickly! I've heard so many different things about diapers. I'll just get a bunch of samples and find one that works! Thanks
DeleteIf you're on a budget like we were I'd suggest craigslist for a rocker! We got one I really love and had it professionally cleaned (pregnancy OCD) and it still only came out to $100 which is a fraction of anything I'd looked at! Go for comfort as well- you'll be spending A LOT of time in it :) My favorite books were "Happiest Baby on the Block" and "Baby Wise". Clara slept through the night at 2 months without having to cry it out and I'm convinced it was because of Baby Wise! I'd also recommend a good wrap carrier for your registry! I have a Solly Baby and I LOVED it! It seriously saves you- you'll never take two hands for granted again! ALso Aden and Anais swaddling blankets, you can never have enough!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jess! Tucson craigslist is hard but I started looking in close nearby cities last night and we might have some hope for a good second-hand rocker! I just finished Baby Wise and I'm half way through Happiest Baby on the Block. Did you stick pretty closely to baby wise schedule? Did you find that it worked for Clara to stay with the schedule they gave? Thanks!
DeleteI love the Avent bottles. We got our glider on Craigslist and it was like $75 or something crazy and I love it. Although, I think I might look into getting a recliner in the future. I had more issues with Huggies leaking than I did with Pampers. Costco brand diapers are also super good. Sleep training is awesome, but I've also found that just going with the flow and really paying attention to your baby's cues have helped me the most. Don't stress it. Happiest Baby On the Block was a GODSEND. And for a stroller I definitely suggest looking into a travel system. We have a snap n go stroller and it's soooo nice being able to take our carseat out of the car and just snap it into the carseat. We are using the Chicco brand but I've seen awesome Graco and Britax travel systems too. Excited for you!!! Having babies are the best. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Catherine! I will try Costco diapers! I have been looking into a travel system stroller. Did you find that have the carseat snap into the stroller was useful? I've gone back and forth between buying a light weight jogger stroller and then a completely separate carseat. Maybe that's not a good idea...
Deletehttp://twoptsforhonesty.blogspot.com/2014/04/baby-faves.html?m=0 😘 also, a really good book on growth spurts and why babies are fussy during them is the Wonder Weeks- really changed my perspective.
ReplyDeleteOkay you're the best. I will totally be needing your blog for tips and registered for the things you mentioned. Haven't heard of that book either! I need to look it up
DeleteHealthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and Baby Wise were my go to's. Take what you like from both of them and combined they make the perfect sleep training book. I loved the pampers swaddlers for Colby when he was a newborn. Hands down the softest on his itty bitty bum. Once he started growing, we started buying Huggins at Costco and they work great. There's a huge difference in softness though so I would definitely recommend the pampers swaddlers
ReplyDeleteOkay good to know Kelsey! I feel like a few people have told me Pampers swaddlers for newborns so I will definitely be going that direction at first!
DeleteMy computer is going crazy on me-- also, don't beat yourself up if sleep training doesn't go well at first. We tried with Colby at four months and let him cry it out, etc and he just wasn't ready for it. We tried again at six months and it worked so well for him. Just be consistent with whatever you decide to do and listen to your baby and your mama instinct.
ReplyDeleteYes! I think you're right! Consistency is key (like teaching, right? :) We will just stay persistent and at some point we will all figure out the sleep thing together I'm sure! Thanks Kelsey!
DeleteI love my rocker- http://www.cymax.com/BabyLetto-Madison-Swivel-Glider-in-Slate-M5887SL.html
ReplyDeleteI swear by "healthy sleep habits, happy child" because it lets you use the method you want (cry it out, co sleep, etc) but teaches you when and what kind of sleep they need at what age and how to help them get it. We used avent bottles but my kids so rarely took them- mostly just in the first few weeks when my mom or
Travis gave night feeding. Because it was so rare, they both stopped taking it.
We use and love Huggies. We get them shipped monthly from amazon. And bag balm is the best for diaper rash, seriously it's amazing. Ask for it at the pharmacy counter at target. It's not perscription. I purchased the ameda double electric breast pump for while I was working and love it. There is no way milk can get into the tubes like with other models so you don't have to worry about cleaning them. I also has the medela hand pump which was great for engorgement when I just needed to take a little off the top for comfort before I fed baby. I think it's just about $25-30. Definitely have a humidifier (cool mist). I'm so excited for you.
Thanks Rachel! I love that rocker! That's one of the ones I was looking at! You're the 2nd person to mention that book aka time to look into it!
DeleteAre you apart of Amazon mom? Is that how you get the Huggies shipped?
Thank you! All of that was really helpful.
Feeling bombarded by opinions yet? Haha! We've used a schedule for sleeping from the practically perfect baby blog and loved it so far. Another thing I've loved is amazon mom. They will ship our diapers and wipes to us every month for a lot cheaper than in stores. Good luck getting all this figured out! It gets overwhelming sometimes! And seriously you look darling.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh... a firehose of information but I seriously did not even know where to begin. I'm so glad people who have been there done that can help! I have no clue! I was looking into amazon mom! Do they have all brands of diapers? Thanks!
Deleteoh and also! Honest Diapers. I will sing their praises forever! You're probably completely overwhelmed at this point but I discovered them when Clara was a couple months old with a free sample- we never went back! She would get the worst rashes with all the grocery store brands but I REALLY didn't want to do cloth so in a last ditch effort we tried honest and she's literally never had a rash since! They're amazing!
ReplyDeletePerfect! Do you get them where you'd get any other diapers?
DeleteThey have the honest brand at target, in case you had not seen them.
DeleteI will say first of Congratulations! Secondly Ray and I have tried all three brands of diapers; Huggies, Pampers, and Luv's honestly we hated Huggies little Antoni always leaked in those. Pampers are our favorite for sure the swaddlers. Also Antoni is about to be 2 months and i wanted to see how great Target brand diapers were and they actually work really well and are cheaper. The only difference they do not seem as soft as the pampers, but have not seen any diaper rash thus far.
ReplyDeleteI have the Avent bottles and they are fantastic for us, I was going to try breastfeeding and they have good transitional bottles for that.
I hope this helps and hope the best for you all.
Thank you so much! You've confirmed some things I've been hearing. Very helpful!
DeleteBooks- sleeping through the night and healthy sleep habits happy child.
ReplyDeleteInvest in a comfy armchair glider. Totally worth the $400-500 we spent. Especially if you r breastfeeding. We got ours at buy buy baby with the 20% off coupon. Do it! Diapers- pampers and huggies. They don't have newborn size at Costco. And the Costco brand is the same price as huggies so I just buy huggies. Oh and bag balm does wonders on bum rashes !
Ash, which rocker did you get? Still stumped on that one. Did you get an ottoman to go with it? Thanks girl!
DeleteWhat crib did you buy?
ReplyDelete