We made it 10.5 months.. Some advice to expecting Mom's

From the mouth fingers of a first time Mom to the ears eyes of an expecting Mom.

1.  Everyone is different and everyones labor is different and everyones baby is different.  What works for one may not work for another so listen to the advice people give you and put it in your back pocket because you may or may not need it.  :-)

2.  I wish I had hired a professional photographer to take newborn pictures of Annabelle.  Being a photographer I thought I could do it myself but I got sick after her birth (really sick) and I was so sleep deprived I just couldn't manage to get a beautiful picture of her as a very tiny baby.   So if pictures are important to you then make the investment with a photographer that will come to your home in those first few days/weeks.

3.  Take lots of pictures at the hospital.  I didn't take my good camera to the hospital because I didn't want my Doula to have to try to figure out how to use it but I really wish I had it to take pictures during my down time during recovery.

4. ENJOY!!!!!!  your time in the hospital.  If you don't feel good and you think something is wrong be vocal about it so you can get to feeling better so you can enjoy your time.  Just think you have a whole staff of people there to get you anything you want so take advantage.  Also try to get some sleep and if this means you need to send the baby to the nursery for a few hours because you can't take your eyes of him/her then don't feel bad about that.

4. Bring some comfy PJ's and flip flops to the hospital.  Ones you can nurse in and that you don't mind if they get some blood on them (you bleed heavy after).  Those hospital robes are not so attractive for visiting with guests or pictures during recovery.  Also, next time I am bring a hair dryer and come makeup for afterwards, I always feel better when I am all showered up and my hair is dried and I have some makeup on.

5. Have colace on hand at home for when you get home.  You will need a stool softener.

6. Rent a breast pump from the hospital if you can.  That way if you don't need it then you can bring it back vs. buying one that you can't return.  Thankfully mine was not expensive.

7. Buy comfy lounge cloths (you will live in them for a while).  You know how they say you will change a baby onsie a few times a day, well let me tell you it isn't just the baby who gets spit up on so plan to change your shirt and some time pants a couple times a day also.

8. Take any help you can get at home.  Don't be like me trying to clean, nurse, learn how to be a Mom all at the same time.  Make a plan with your partner and in the plan expect that you will be not helpful for 6 weeks.  So who will grocery shop, cook, clean, laundry, wash/make bottles (if not nursing), get up at night.  You will be feeding every 2 hrs. and the baby at first will sleep a lot so between feeding the baby and yourself, showering and changing diapers that doesn't leave much extra time.  I happened to leave out the sleeping part to fit in laundry and cleaning and eventually painting my house (NOT GOOD I was a nut).   So if possible make easy frozen dinners, stock up on delivery menus, and/or buy freezer meals.

9. Your hormones are going to be doing crazy.  So expect to cry but if you feel like you are way down in the dumps talk to your doctor.

10.  If you have family that wants to help see if they will setup a schedule so not everyone is over at the same time and make sure they know they are their to help and not be a guest.  You don't have time for guests now they need to take care of you.

11.  ENJOY all the firsts!!!  Capture the memories because they grow so fast.

12.  When your baby is very little and when you are feeling up to it go out to eat!  They will sleep right through it.  Because there will be a point of a few months that it will be very hard to take them out to a restaurant because they can't sit up but they won't sleep through it and they are annoyed that they can't get out of their car seat.  :)

13. When the baby starts getting around more on the floor find a big blanket that you can throw in the washer and put it on your carpet like an area rug to catch the spit up.  It's much easier to put a blanket in the washer than it is to get your rugs cleaned.  Annabelle was like a puppy with her spit up.. LOL

I think that's enough advice for now.  The biggest one is to force yourself to sleep when you can and except help and most importantly cherish every minute of your newborns life.

Take care everyone!

P.S. We are going on a vacation after Annabelle turns one to celebrate our making it through a year and our up coming anniversary.  So excited to be at an all inclusive resort in FL with child care.

Things No One Tells You About Having a Baby (or at least if they did I didn't listen)

I wanted to write this before I totally forget!

Nothing Goes as Planned w/ Birth
You go to these Birth classes and read the books and you hear "Make a birth plan". I had an idea that things wouldn't go as planned but I did write a birth plan. Like the title says nothing goes as planned. My birth plan was for an all nature birth and I got the total opposite being induced and needing to take the pain meds. I would say do the birth plan knowing that you will do what is right for you and the baby at the time things are happening. Also, talk to your partner about what you want because at the time of the birth you might not want to do much talking. Also, talk about what you want after the birth we did this and Jerry knew we didn't want her bathed until she tried to breast feed and he was able to stop them from bathing her when they went off to the nursery.

My birth plan never came out of my bag. We did what was needed at the time.

Epidurals Can Cause Spinal Fluid Leak
I admit I think they talked about this for all of 2 mins during our birth class but as I mentioned above I was going all nature and in my mind there was no question about it so I didn't listen much. If you get an epidural and you get a headache right away or have one after lay flat, if the headache goes away while laying flat tell a nurse right away. A blood patch might be needed to fix it. I wish I had known this it would of kept me from suffering for days with a headache that was HORRIBLE (epidural headache).

No Modesty During Birth
Are you modest? Well you better leave that all at the door during birth. You might as well lay around naked. I had every monitor possible put up inside me before she was born and because I did give in and and get an epi as you can imagine going to the bathroom during labor was out of the question so let's just say a nurse had to manually drain my blatter. Nevermind the fact that once that babies head gets really low and if you have an epi you have no control over your bodily functions, some woman poop during birth (I didn't thank god) but you also have no control over gas either so avoid gasy food if you are going to be induced.

Swelling Gets Worse After the Birth
The Dr. told me in the hospital that the swelling in my feet and legs would get worse up to 2-3 weeks after birth. Mine was extreme because I had pre-e after she was born and my BP was out of control. The swelling was very uncomfortable and down right painful as my skin was pulled so tight on my feet it hurt and I could hardly move my toes. Three weeks after the birth one day I notice it was just gone.

They Don't Let You Rest in the Hospital
In our hospital you get an RN assigned to you and another person who takes your BP and temp. Then you have your Dr., the babies Dr., lactation consultant, lab people to take blood, and food delivery people when you call them. With all these people it seems like someone is in your room every hour or two. This was the worst at the morning shift change at 7am when the people going off shift come check on you then the new people coming in to say hi and poke at you some more. If you plan to sleep at all send the baby to the nursery after the evening shift change has calmed down and shut of all lights and the TV. One time I shut off all the lights and I think when they came in to check on me they left me alone. I did not sleep for a long time, like a week after I had her (big mistake). I would only nap for an hour between feedings. If I could do it over again I would of had them give her one bottle at night so I could get a solid 4hrs of sleep each night before going home.

Our family isn't in the area so I can only imagine adding guests on top of all the hospital people. My suggestion would be to tell family you will call them and tell them when would be best to come by to visit

You Might Feel Like You Lost Something
When I left the hospital I felt like I lost something. Even though my baby was with me I felt like I lost her because she wasn't in my belly and I was very emotional. I also missed the hospital and felt like I lost my best friend. Even though as mentioned above being in the hospital I couldn't rest they still brought some comfort being at my beck and call and never worrying about having to cook. Driving home for the first time I cried and wanted to go back to the hospital. Enjoy the time in the hospital as this is the only time this will happen with this baby.

If You're Breastfeedig Your Baby Will Loss Weight at First
For most woman it takes some time for for your milk to come in and it is normal for a baby to loss up to 7% of their birth weight. Beyond 7% they start to worry and might ask you to supliment. This is what I was told in the hospital.

The First 3-6 Weeks Are Hard
Especially if you are breastfeeding things are hard because you are the only one who can feed the baby unless you are able to pump enough. Plus if your baby is not getting enough food like mine they SCREAM and you just don't know what is wrong because you think they are getting enough and you start trying to figure out what it is (colic, reflux...the list goes on).

Have Gripe Water on Hand
Babies get gas and patting their back or bouncing them or doing all these things you have read about doesn't always work to get it out. Before you have the baby get a thing of Gripe water and have it on hand. It is an all natural sweet liquid that helps releave gas. We got ours at Whole Foods and found when all else fails we try this out and usually it gets things moving.

Baby Girls Have a Period
My husband got freaked out when he changed her diaper and noticed she was bleeding. I went right to google and found that baby girls get a period after birth because they are coming off all the hormones in the mom's body. For us this was started about 5 days after she was born and it lasted about 3 days. By no means was it heavy bleeding at all.

Babies Are Not Really Expressive Right Off the Bat
At first it was hard because babies don't react to faces you make. They don't smile right away usually and with my baby when she was awake she looked like she was in pain and I would cry...... thinking she was sad or in pain. Really she wasn't but in my emotional head I was being a bad mom and she was sad. Like I mentioned before hormones are crazy after birth.


You Will Find Yourself Choicing Between Sleeping, Eating, or Showering
I never thought having a baby meant I would have to choice between the basics like eating, sleeping or showering. But after she was born and when she would nap I had to pick what one was more important at the time. For me I also added cleaning on there (if you have family around tell them the best gift is if they would come cook or clean for you or hold the baby so you can sleep, eat or shower).


That's all I can think of for now. I hope this helps all those first time moms out there who will be having a little bundle of joy in the near future. Along with all the above you will fall in love with your little one and you won't be able to imagine your life without them!

My #1 Baby Items for the First Few Weeks

I was thinking today about the #1 items I couldn't live without during these last few weeks home with my little peanut and I wanted to share them with all of you.

1. Itzbeen - This is a pocket timer to time feedings, diaper changes, sleeping and one extra.  I use this all the time mostly for feedings and in the beginning I used the extra one for my pain medication.  I would suggest this for any new mom.
2. Sound Machine - We have a sound machine that plays several different sounds but mostly we use the white noise for her in her room while she is sleeping.  The one we have also allows us to hook up our ipod to play music.  I can't remember the brand but if you want to know just leave a comment and I will look it up.
3. Lots of Diapers and Wipes - We are going to switch to cloth soon but for these first first weeks cloth would of been just to much to handle on top of getting used to our new schedule.  
4. Pack and Play - We have a two story house so the pack and play has been a god sent for naps and for changing diapers down stairs.
5. Hand Sanitizer - We have them at every diaper changing station and in the main living area.  When you are changing a diaper you just can't pick up the baby and go wash your hands so we use the hand sanitizer. 
6. Halo Sleeper with Swaddle - When she first came home she was getting cold at night so we started using these sleepers and it keeps her all cozy and warm and she feels secure.
7. Clothing that is easy to get off to change diapers - You never would imagine how much a new baby poops and pees until you have one and they really hate waiting for you to undo snaps so when we are home she is mostly in onesies.
8. Burp Cloths - We always have one handy for those occasional spit up situations. 
9. Bouncy Seat - For those times I didn't have anyone to watch her and I wanted to take a shower this was great to put her in and she could sit in the bathroom with me.
10. Dutailer Rocker - We use this every night to get her to sleep and I love how I can recline on it because in the middle of the night I don't like to put her right down after she eats because I want her to have time to let it settle so I can recline a bit and rest my eyes (I don't fall asleep though).
11. Bottles - I was glad we had them after finding out we had to start giving her formula

What do I wish I had not bought:

1.  Arms Reach Bassinet - I would of loved this if it had some sort of way to make it not so cold.  We just found she was getting so cold at night that we ended up sleeping down stairs the first couple weeks to let her sleep in the newborn sleeper on the pack and play because it was warmer for her.  Then we used the bassinet for a week before deciding to just put her in her crib.  She sleep so much better in her room.
2. Avant Breast Pump - It is an electric breast pump with two pumps but it isn't hands free.  It is a pain to sit there an hold them and really I didn't need them because my supply is low.  Had it been easier to pump I might have and that might of helped my supply.  I just read great review about this pump but in the end I have only used it like 4 times.

I hope you found this helpful!