The title of this blog refers to first-time mom tips, however, these could really be for any mom - a first-time mom, a mom of multiple kids, or anyone in between!
*Again, please keep in mind that these are just my opinions and I'm not saying one way is better than another - these are just from my personal experiences and I would love to hear comments from all of you about your own tips to share with my readers!
Our son hasn't ever been a fan of baths. We've done everything to varying the water temperature, getting him lots of bath toys, varying the length that he's in the tub, but nothing seems to make him really happy to get in the tub. He usually showers with my husband and he's starting to be okay with baths, but would still rather avoid them. How do you handle baths with your little ones? Any tips for fellow moms out there that might be having a hard time at bathtime?
We use bedtime bath soap when he gets a bath near bedtime, along with bedtime lotion. We've always used that when it's close to bedtime and it just seems to make him feel relaxed (not during the bath, but after). Has anyone else tried this? Does it work for you?
Obviously all babies are different and you need to see what works best for you before settling on a routine. Please feel free to leave any comments you might have, and let me know if you have any Bathing Tips of your own! What have you done that works for you and your kids?
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
First-Time Mom Tips - After the Baby is Born: Sleeping
The title of this blog refers to first-time mom tips, however, these could really be for any mom - a first-time mom, a mom of multiple kids, or anyone in between!
*Again, please keep in mind that these are just my opinions and I'm not saying one way is better than another - these are just from my personal experiences and I would love to hear comments from all of you about your own tips to share with my readers!
-I'd try to create a bedtime routine as early as possible. Ours is this: We change his diaper, put bedtime lotion on him because it's supposed to help soothe him, put his pajamas on him, then give him his last bottle. We did that since about 1 month and it's worked beautifully for us and he's slept through the night since about 2 weeks (that could just be because he's a great baby, but I'm superstitious so I always do the same routine). Even to this day, while we don't always do the lotion and no longer a bottle, he still sleeps great through the night!
-We've always let him cry it out, if we needed to. At night, he always goes in his bed whether he's asleep or not, and he may or not cry for a while but it usually lasts no longer than 15-20 minutes. If it's just a nap he needs, my husband will nap with him on the couch if they both need a nap, or he'll go in his bed and cry it out until he falls asleep.
Obviously all babies are different and you need to see what works best for you before settling on a routine. Please feel free to leave any comments you might have, and let me know if you have any Sleeping Tips of your own! What have you done that works for you and your kids?
*Again, please keep in mind that these are just my opinions and I'm not saying one way is better than another - these are just from my personal experiences and I would love to hear comments from all of you about your own tips to share with my readers!
-I'd try to create a bedtime routine as early as possible. Ours is this: We change his diaper, put bedtime lotion on him because it's supposed to help soothe him, put his pajamas on him, then give him his last bottle. We did that since about 1 month and it's worked beautifully for us and he's slept through the night since about 2 weeks (that could just be because he's a great baby, but I'm superstitious so I always do the same routine). Even to this day, while we don't always do the lotion and no longer a bottle, he still sleeps great through the night!
-We've always let him cry it out, if we needed to. At night, he always goes in his bed whether he's asleep or not, and he may or not cry for a while but it usually lasts no longer than 15-20 minutes. If it's just a nap he needs, my husband will nap with him on the couch if they both need a nap, or he'll go in his bed and cry it out until he falls asleep.
Obviously all babies are different and you need to see what works best for you before settling on a routine. Please feel free to leave any comments you might have, and let me know if you have any Sleeping Tips of your own! What have you done that works for you and your kids?
Thursday, October 7, 2010
First-Time Mom Tips - Diapers & Wipes
The title of this blog refers to first-time mom tips, however, these could really be for any mom - a first-time mom, a mom of multiple kids, or anyone in between!
*Again, please keep in mind that these are just my opinions and I'm not saying one way is better than another - these are just from my personal experiences and I would love to hear comments from all of you about your own tips to share with my readers!
-If you're using a daycare/baby-sitter and you need to buy your own diapers/wipes, I'd buy generic diapers/wipes to send to daycare/baby-sitter. They tend to be much cheaper and are generally similar quality. Generic wipes work just as good as name brand wipes. Diapers can be different but if you're not the one using them, I found that cheaper is better.
-I only liked Pampers diapers for our use - Huggies always leaked and I didn't even want to try any others after trying Pampers. However, once our son was out of the Pampers Swaddlers and Pampers changed their Cruisers to Cruisers with Dry Max, we switched to Pampers Baby Dry. The Dry Max just didn't seem to hold as much and our son needed changed much more frequently to avoid any leaks, and I just didn't like the way they fit. Everyone is different - so test out what works best for you!
-Huggies are my favorite wipes - they're not as greasy-feeling as Pampers and I just really like the thickness/texture of them. I would buy generic (Target brand) for daycare. But I'm not too specific on wipes - I'll use any kind, whatever's on sale and I have a coupon for!
Please feel free to leave any comments you might have, and let me know if you have any Diapers & Wipes Tips of your own!
*Again, please keep in mind that these are just my opinions and I'm not saying one way is better than another - these are just from my personal experiences and I would love to hear comments from all of you about your own tips to share with my readers!
-If you're using a daycare/baby-sitter and you need to buy your own diapers/wipes, I'd buy generic diapers/wipes to send to daycare/baby-sitter. They tend to be much cheaper and are generally similar quality. Generic wipes work just as good as name brand wipes. Diapers can be different but if you're not the one using them, I found that cheaper is better.
-I only liked Pampers diapers for our use - Huggies always leaked and I didn't even want to try any others after trying Pampers. However, once our son was out of the Pampers Swaddlers and Pampers changed their Cruisers to Cruisers with Dry Max, we switched to Pampers Baby Dry. The Dry Max just didn't seem to hold as much and our son needed changed much more frequently to avoid any leaks, and I just didn't like the way they fit. Everyone is different - so test out what works best for you!
-Huggies are my favorite wipes - they're not as greasy-feeling as Pampers and I just really like the thickness/texture of them. I would buy generic (Target brand) for daycare. But I'm not too specific on wipes - I'll use any kind, whatever's on sale and I have a coupon for!
Please feel free to leave any comments you might have, and let me know if you have any Diapers & Wipes Tips of your own!
Friday, October 1, 2010
First-Time Mom Tips - Registering
The title of this blog refers to first-time mom tips, however, these could really be for any mom - a first-time mom, a mom of multiple kids, or anyone in between!
*Again, please keep in mind that these are just my opinions and I'm not saying one way is better than another - these are just from my personal experiences and I would love to hear comments from all of you about your own tips to share with my readers!
-Register for things you really want - but if you don't get them, I'd find a cheaper version if possible - for example: we registered for Playtex bottles, but nobody bought us any bottles, so we found cheap Gerber bottles at Target (it equaled out to the bottles being about $1 each) and they've worked out great! I've found that expensive isn't always the best - especially when it's your own money you have to end up spending!
-Register in stores if possible - they all give you some free stuff if you do! Whether it's product samples or coupons, it's truly beneficial to register in the store.
-Register for diapers (probably in size 2 and larger)/formula/wipes - you'll be lucky if anyone actually gets you some! At my own showers, nobody bought us any diapers or wipes, which really surprised me because every shower I had been to before having my own, it seemed like every gift included either a small box of diapers or wipes! So register for what you think you would like to use for your baby so that if people do get you a vital necessity like that, they know what you're wanting to use. And the reason I say size 2 is that if you don't, you'll get all Newborn and size 1 diapers, which quite honestly, your child probably won't fit into for that long - especially if you get a large amount of those diapers! Most of the time you can exchange them at your store though if need be.
-I'd recommend getting 8 bottles minimum - that will get you through almost 1 day's worth of bottles so you won't have to wash bottles more than once a day. I dreaded washing bottles some days, and other days I was on top of it, washing a bottle after every use. It's just nice to have the flexibility to not have to worry about if you have any bottles clean, if you have enough for the day!
-I'd buy a few LARGE waterproof multi-use pads. We use them as our cover on our changing table, and in his crib to cover most of the sheet so that if he spits up, or pees and it leaks through his pajamas, etc. then we don't have to change/wash sheets multiple times a day - changing crib sheets is horrible! So with those pads, I rarely have to change the sheets, and I always have 1 or 2 spare multi-use pads that I can put in the crib when one gets dirty.
-I haveabout 8-10 burp cloths, you can't have too many of those! We use them for when he's eating, for burping, for wiping his nose quick (since he always has one with him, it's usually the closest thing to be able to use for anything).
-We used a lot of receiving blankets in the first few months because we always kept him wrapped/swaddled and he loved that. Now I use them as a blanket to cover him up with if it's cool in his room, although he hates being covered up so he usually flings off the blanket not long after I put it over him.
Please feel free to leave any comments you might have, and let me know if you have any Registering Tips of your own!
*Again, please keep in mind that these are just my opinions and I'm not saying one way is better than another - these are just from my personal experiences and I would love to hear comments from all of you about your own tips to share with my readers!
-Register for things you really want - but if you don't get them, I'd find a cheaper version if possible - for example: we registered for Playtex bottles, but nobody bought us any bottles, so we found cheap Gerber bottles at Target (it equaled out to the bottles being about $1 each) and they've worked out great! I've found that expensive isn't always the best - especially when it's your own money you have to end up spending!
-Register in stores if possible - they all give you some free stuff if you do! Whether it's product samples or coupons, it's truly beneficial to register in the store.
-Register for diapers (probably in size 2 and larger)/formula/wipes - you'll be lucky if anyone actually gets you some! At my own showers, nobody bought us any diapers or wipes, which really surprised me because every shower I had been to before having my own, it seemed like every gift included either a small box of diapers or wipes! So register for what you think you would like to use for your baby so that if people do get you a vital necessity like that, they know what you're wanting to use. And the reason I say size 2 is that if you don't, you'll get all Newborn and size 1 diapers, which quite honestly, your child probably won't fit into for that long - especially if you get a large amount of those diapers! Most of the time you can exchange them at your store though if need be.
-I'd recommend getting 8 bottles minimum - that will get you through almost 1 day's worth of bottles so you won't have to wash bottles more than once a day. I dreaded washing bottles some days, and other days I was on top of it, washing a bottle after every use. It's just nice to have the flexibility to not have to worry about if you have any bottles clean, if you have enough for the day!
-I'd buy a few LARGE waterproof multi-use pads. We use them as our cover on our changing table, and in his crib to cover most of the sheet so that if he spits up, or pees and it leaks through his pajamas, etc. then we don't have to change/wash sheets multiple times a day - changing crib sheets is horrible! So with those pads, I rarely have to change the sheets, and I always have 1 or 2 spare multi-use pads that I can put in the crib when one gets dirty.
-I haveabout 8-10 burp cloths, you can't have too many of those! We use them for when he's eating, for burping, for wiping his nose quick (since he always has one with him, it's usually the closest thing to be able to use for anything).
-We used a lot of receiving blankets in the first few months because we always kept him wrapped/swaddled and he loved that. Now I use them as a blanket to cover him up with if it's cool in his room, although he hates being covered up so he usually flings off the blanket not long after I put it over him.
Please feel free to leave any comments you might have, and let me know if you have any Registering Tips of your own!
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