Diary of a New Mom 2

In Diary of a New Mom, Nicole discussed how to make the most of your hospital stay.  Today's she writes about her first week Top 5 essentials...


Week One Essentials
1. Gerber front snap t-shirts

2. Boppy Nursing Pillow 

3. Aden and Anais Swaddles

4. Boppy Lounger - A newborn sleeps almost all of the time the boppy lounger is perfect to plop them in on the couch next to you.  

5. Disposable nursing pads - Medela makes a great disposable pad. These were a life saver for me as I had a couple of “blow-outs” when my milk came in. (Excellent suggestion, Nicole!  Definitely stock up on these in the weeks leading up to your due date if you plan on nursing)

Thanks Nicole!  For other first few weeks tips, click here.

Gigi's Mom

Exciting news to share today!

Half the battle of having a new baby is figuring out what works for your baby.  Some stuff I swear by may not be true for you at all.  Because of the need for another perspective to help you all, I have invited Emily (you may remember her from My Second Husband) to be a co-contributor to Keeping it Simple.  I am so ecstatic to reintroduce her to you!  Emily had a preshrunken baby girl in June.  She laughed when I asked her to contribute saying, "I am the exact opposite of Keeping it Simple and budget shopping." To which I replied, "That is perfect! It will be great to have a fresh perspective from another new mom.  Plus, Keeping it Simple is more about providing useful information in one place and being to the point."

SOOOO...Without further ado, please meet Emily.  She wrote an introductory post for us today.

I found out I was pregnant with "GiGi" on October 14, 2010 and my head immediately started spinning!  My type A, first born personality always has me asking questions in hopes of gaining as much information as possible about any and every situation I am in ... so that I am not caught off guard and essentially always in control.  Pregnancy took this compulsion for information and my need to be in control to a whole new level!!!  I researched products, read books, talked with other mothers, read blogs and websites, attended classes ... if it was available to me, I took advantage of it ... in hopes of being as prepared and informed as possible.  

GiGi is now almost three months old and we could not love her more!!!  I love being her mommy ... and luckily motherhood has come fairly naturally to me ... considering I had no memory of ever changing a diaper before GiGi was born.  I believe that my smooth transition into motherhood is a direct result of all the crazy things I did to prepare for her arrival and I hope to share those things with you every now and then!  So ... cheers to guest blogging and "Keeping it Simple"!!

We are thrilled to have you Emily!  Can't wait to hear more about your adventures with Gigi!  What a great picture of you two!

The Diary of a New Mom

When I was pregnant I would hear other mom's say things like, "I completely forgot about this or that" when I would mention certain products or infant things.  I couldn't understand how they could possibly forget about it all.

Well, I started this blog when L was 6 months old.  I tried my best to remember all that I could, but I am sure I forgot about things from those first few weeks.  I asked my good friend, Nicole, who had a baby just 3 weeks ago to send me her thoughts about the first couple weeks of being a mom.  Low and behold, I totally forgot about a few things like those "other moms."

Nicole's first suggestion...Make the most of your hospital stay.


"Shortly before my daughter was born, my husband and I were having dinner with some friends who recently had a baby. They went on and on about their experience in the hospital like they were describing a recent stay at the Ritz Carlton. We could not stop laughing about how serious they were when they told us to stay as long as we possibly can. Little did I know that my friends were right! Here are some tips on making the most of your stay at Hotel Baby."

The Concierge Service

"Reason number one to stay the full duration. I’m not sure if most hospitals are the same but we had a Nurse and Nurse’s assistant for both Mom and Baby. There were also lactation consultants that would come by several times a day to see how things were going and to answer any question. The nurses are amazing, they know everything there is to know about newborns and let’s face it, we knew absolutely nothing. They were amazing in the middle of the night when the hubby and I felt hopeless in consoling a crying newborn.  I thought she needed to burp after feeding but she was “cluster” feeding which newborns do their first few days (I had no idea…again clueless) the nurse told me to pop her back on the boob and problem solved, she immediately stopped crying. They show you amazing tricks (swaddling, waking a beyond sleepy newborn to feed, newborn sponge bathing…you name it) and they will bring you anything you could possibly need (Popsicles at 2am while I was feeding the babe). I learned so much from them and it just made me more confident in going home to the unknown! Make the most of your stay, ask tons of questions and I seriously recommend staying as long as you insurance allows."


Keeping it Simple side note:  Couldn't agree more...Yes, it is hard to get a good night sleep in the hospital when nurses are constantly waking you up, but it was SO worth it!  I went home feeling comfortable with the basics.  Had I gone home after day 1, I would have been panicked!  Also, our nurse told us "cluster feeding" was a baby's first growth spurt usually 1-2 days after birth.  I think L ate every hour for 6 hours in a row!  It was a long one!


Nicole's second suggestion...taking advantage of the hospital supplies

The Freebies

"Okay, so maybe not totally free, but we all load up on the Keihls or Molton Brown bath supplies from our room when we stay at a nice hotel. The goodies at the Hospital may not be samples of products you can find at your luxury retail store but believe me they are much more valuable! What I wasn’t prepared for is all of the personal “cleaning” supplies that you will need after giving birth to your precious little one.  I‘m sorry if this freaks you out a bit, but it is what it is! The hospital will give you cleansing bottles, icepacks, and the most amazing mesh underwear in the world!"

"You can not get this stuff in any store so do not leave the hospital without it. I asked for new stuff each day when I took a shower and packed it up in my suitcase…I know I might sound like a crazy hoarder but I couldn’t imagine surviving the first week at home without this stuff, trust me on this one. 


The freebies also apply to the baby. Her little traveling bassinet in the hospital had a container underneath that had a supply of awesome baby goodies. There was about a week’s worth of diapers and wipes, extra hats and socks (we had nothing this small at home), tiny bath tub for sponge baths, thermometer, bulb syringe and hair comb (your baby may not need this but mine came out with a full Elvis Presley head of hair). Load up on all the goodies, after all you are paying for it!"


Keeping It Simple Side Note:  I COMPLETELY forgot about those underwear!  They take the term granny panties to a whole new level.  Nicole is right!  They helped me survive the first couple weeks.  What a fantastic suggestion by her to ask for a few extra pairs from the nurses!  I wish I had done that!  No one ever gave me an ice pack...it would have been good to have one...I found many different ones online, so I am not sure which one Nicole used.   Sorry, no picture for you, but definitely inquire about them during your hospital stay.


We had the same experience as Nicole regarding the baby rolling cart.  The nurses told us we could take everything in the cart with us except the blanket and the sheets.  We received various brushes in grooming kits as shower gifts, but the hospital brush is our favorite to this day.  It was especially useful fighting the cradle cap early on.  Nothing fancy, but very useful!

Thank you, Nicole!  I will share her other first week stories in another post.

Preshrunken

Don't you just love the iphone autocorrect website.  You know when your iphone autocorrects a word that you did not intend to use?    Most of the time it is pretty harmless and doesn't make much sense, but they can get you into real trouble.  Here is an example...

In honor of a family wedding coming up this weekend, I will explain a little inside joke that was derived from such an autocorrect incident.  It is not on the dirty humor train the iphone sometimes is on, so don't get your hopes up.

My college-aged sister-in-law texted my future sister-in-law that this girl was "precious," but instead texted "preshrunken."  They all assumed "preshrunken" was a cool, new college word that they must not know about.  There were many guesses on what this new term might mean.  Everyone had a good laugh when they learned it was just a mistake.  Now, preshrunken is in our family vocabulary.

So, L will be a flower girl in the previously mentioned family wedding!  She is 9.5 months now and the other flower girl is 8 weeks.  Their dad's will be carrying them down the aisle...it will be so PRESHRUNKEN!!!  I will definitely get a  picture to share.

When we were trying to find flower girl dresses, we ran into some problems.  They are all so mini-bridesmaidsy (just made that word up, but you know what I mean) and cost just as much as a bridesmaids dress.  I called in the expert...Alex, from Things That Sparkle, keeps a fantastic blog featuring interiors, fashion, and a little bit of food.

She has a weekly series about planning her upcoming wedding called, Wedding Wednesdays.  She is guest posting here for today's Wedding Wednesdays about flower girl dresses.  See her adorable picks below at a wide variety of costs...

American Apparel $48 

Annie Girl Dress Up $150-170

Nordstrom $150

J Crew $168

Thank you Alex for these preshrunken dresses!  I love them! Let me know which one you choose for your wedding!

Unfortunately, we did not have Alex's picks before we picked the dress.  The Bride decided to keep it clean and simple with a white, smocked dress like the one below...

Etsy $56

Wonder Woman #3

It is my pleasure to introduce Wonder Woman #3, my friend Blair.  She just moved back to Texas, got settle into a new house, and worked full time all while being in her third trimester with twins!  I ran into her in the grocery store in the middle of all this chaos and she was so calm and collected.  For all of these reasons and more, I see her as a super hero.  

Blair was kind enough to send me her "can't live without" product recommendations from the first couple months with her new girls.

Noise Machine

"My girls are still sleeping in the same crib, so I put it right between them and when one cries, the other doesn’t wake up.  Everybody told me to get the Sleep Sheep, but it simply doesn’t cut it for twins b/c it has a timer.  We leave our noise machine on all night.  The one we bought by Conair has a 'white noise' setting, so it’s the very basic, original sound machine."

Crib Wedge

"With two screamers in the middle of the night, we don’t have time to hold them and rock them until their milk fully digests.  The wedge props them up slightly so that (in theory) there is a lower chance the milk will come back up.  Since we feed one after the other at night, I feel better knowing that they are slightly raised for digestion."

Baby Bjorn
(As seen in Up in the Air 2)

"I like strapping one of the girls onto me (head facing outward) while I do chores around the house.  Inevitably, one is awake at all times and it’s nice to have them near me, but still have both of my hands free.  Also, I feel like it gives them a good chance to look around the house.  With twins in the middle of August, it’s very difficult to leave the house, so I feel like walking them around the house helps get them exposed to different sites."  (You may recall the use of the bjorn in Up in the Air)

True Womb Swaddle 

"It’s Velcro and amazing." (Keeping it Simple side note:  Many of my mom friends LOVE the True Womb.  I tried it one night, but L didn't like her arms swaddled.  I just learned that they make one that doesn't swaddle the arms.  I will have to try this the next go round.   As suggested in Swaddle Meltdown, you will have trial and error in this department before you find your perfect swaddle formula.  Definitely add this one to your list to try with or without twins)  Here is a short video clip on how the swaddle works.  

Thank you Blair for all of your suggestions!!!  See other Wonder Woman posts for more twin suggestions.

Football Friday

I am so thrilled about today's guest post!  An old camp friend of mine, Merritt, has a fantastic fashion blog called Manolos and Martinis.  Definitely bookmark her for a daily read! 

She has recently been voted Best Twitterer in Houston by the Houston Press and has launched her own marketing and design firm, Merritt Beck Media. 

She is oh-so talented and accomplished! Not to mention her amazing style!  Here is a pic of her the night she accepted her Best Twitterer award.  As the Harvard Sailing Team would say, "Supe cute outfit!"

Merritt posted a popular series recently called Football Fridays.  I invited her to create a Maternity Edition of Football Friday for Keeping it Simple to kickoff the beginning of the college football season this weekend!  She found some fab outfits for you TCU, SMU, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, and University of Texas fans!  Can you guess which on is my favorite?  Click here for a hint.

TCU, SMU, Texas Tech, A&M, Texas

Thank you Merritt for your fashion expertise! 

Happy Labor Day!  I wish I had a rocking outfit for the weekend like this little gal!

Image from kaboodle.com

Wonder Woman # 1

My husband and I were married 4 years before I got pregnant with L.  My in-laws were very patient the first few years and hardly ever pressured us to have children, but we knew they were MORE than ready for grandkids.  Well, my father-in-law had a few cocktails one night and couldn't hold it in any longer.  He told me, "I want you to take some of those fertility drugs and pop out 8 at once.  I want some grandchildren!"  He proceeded to call me the "ocoto-mom" the rest of the night. While I always longed to be Nadya (kidding), I decided not to go through with my father-in-law's plan.

His dream of 8 at once did not come true.  I can offer no advice for those of you execting 2 or more babies.  I reached out to my friends with twins for some baby product advice.  I am going to peridocally feature these multiple moms. 

Wonder Woman # 1 (this is what I have named them because they are so remarkable and have the best outlook) is Gibbs.

Gibbs had twins, went back to work after 3 months, nursed for 8 months, and makes it all look way too easy!  She recommends the following three products:

"Juggling Twins: The Best Tips, Tricks, and Strategies from Pregnancy to the Toddler Years"

Gibbs says, "The best book I read for scheduling and helping with other stuff too"

Zip Front Sprots Bra

Gibbs says, "There are also sports bras that zip in the front for easy access (especially tandem nursing twins if anyone is expecting multiples) and comfortable to sleep in too!"  ***Keeping it Simple side note*** You can find these anywhere between $15-$50.  Look at sporting goods store near you.

My Brest Friend for Twins nursing pillow

Gibbs says, "I definitely recommend the My Brest Friend Twin nursing pillow for tandem nursing"

General twin advice from Gibbs:  "I think the most important thing for moms who are expecting multiples is to remember it is what you make of it- you will have people telling you it is going to be crazy, but especially if they are your first children, then you don't know the difference. If you think it will be crazy, it will be, but if you go into it knowing it will be challenging, but go with the flow, it will be so much more enjoyable (and this is coming from one of the most OCD people when it comes to planning and organizing)! That being said, you have to have them on a schedule from day one. You feed them both at the same time- even if that means waking up one of them to eat. All of the normal rules you follow for a singleton go out the window- never wake a sleeping baby, feeding on demand, don't bottle feed if you are breast feeding, etc. It is totally different with twins."

If you would like to participate in the Wonder Woman series, please email me.

Up in the Air 2

As promised in the first Up in the Air post, a few more useful travel tips from Larkin.  This time she weighs the pros and cons of buying a separate seat for your infant.  I definitely learned some things!

First Scenario – Buying your child a seat

Pros:

·         Your child has the comfort of the car seat (assuming your child likes the car seat).  Your child can just sit in the car seat and play or nap, but either way your hands are free.

·         If you are on a small plane that only has two seats on each side of the aisle, you do not need to sit by a stranger. It is just you and your child.

Cons:

·         Security takes a lot longer, because you have to disassemble all of your gear to get through security and then put it all back in place to get to your gate.

·         You might accidentally take someone or something out while getting on the plane while trying to lug a car seat and your carry-on bags.

·         The price of a child’s ticket is the same as an adult ticket.

One thing to remember if choosing this scenario is that you should be sure you have a stroller that is a Snap N' Go style when going through the airport.  This type of stroller means you won’t have to carry the heavy car seat plus your bags all by yourself.

Second Scenario – Infant in Lap

Pros:

·         It is easy to get on the plane.

·         Saves you money.

Cons:

·         If your child is fussy or sleepy, there is nowhere for them to go other than your lap.

·         Your arms and hands are never free.

·         You might have a wiggly child that could cause you or your child to constantly bump the person next to you.

·         Not all airlines have the option for booking a child-in-lap ticket on their websites so you may have to call the airline to reserve the ticket.  The catch is that some airlines (ahem, American Airlines) charge you $20 when you call the reservations agent to make the reservations, even though there is no other way to do it.

If you choose this scenario, I would suggest using a Baby Bjorn.  This allows you to have your hands free for whatever you need and you are not constantly repositioning your child.  You do have to take your child out of the BABYBJÖRN to go through security. 

***Keeping it Simple side note*** - I had some friends that forbid me from buying one of these.  They told me, "You will not wear your baby."  My answer to them, "I do not rule anything out if it makes it more convienient."  Someone else recommended the Bjorn to me when you have multiple children saying it was much easier to be handsfree around the house.  Like my friends say, if you don't want to wear your baby out and about, no problem.  However, do allow exemptions for around the house and going through secutiy at the airport.  I think this is such a fantastic suggestion from Larkin.

Don't forget to enter for the Barefoot Designs giveaway.

You must complete all three things listed to qualify.  Click here for details.

Up in the Air

Congratulations!  George Clooney has officially mentioned you in a film.  Oh!  How I wish it was by name?!?! 

In the film Up in the Air, George is explaining to Anna Kendrick the best way to get through airport security.  During this speech he says, "You can't be serious.  Never get behind people traveling with infants.  I've never seen a stroller collapse in less than 20 minutes."

This is YOU!  Too bad it is not a flattering comment about traveling moms.

The idea of going through the whole airport debacle with L gives me hives!  I get stressed enough traveling without L and all of her gear.  I have yet to do it, so I can't offer any help in this department. 

My friend, Larkin, and her baby are frequent jet setters!  I consider her an expert in the infant traveling field.  I asked her to write up a post with any travel advice.  She has some VERY helpful suggestions.  I have decided to break this up into a three post series.  Thank you Larkin for taking the time to write this!

Overall tips for traveling with a child:

• Arrive at the airport at least an hour and a half early. Security does take longer.
• Bring extra formula, milk, and food (if you are at the solid foods stage).  Also, you can ask the attendant at the gift shop closest to your gate for bottled water that has not been cooled yet.  You can then use it to mix with your formula and your baby won’t have a meal straight out of the refrigerator.
• Change your child’s diaper just before boarding begins, so that hopefully you will not have to change it on the plane.
• Take advantage of pre-boarding and board first.  Its also a good idea to wait and get off the plane last.  This helps you avoid pushy people that are in a hurry, and sometimes the pilot or flight attendant will offer to help if you look like you need it.
• Take a change of clothes for you and your baby (hopefully not needed).
• When taking off and landing, feed your child a bottle.  A pacifier does not work as well, because you want your child to be swallowing so that their ears pop.
• If flying with a car seat, you may consider getting a shell for the car seat so that strangers feel less compelled to breathe on or touch your child. 

• Right Start has a great play set (Keeping it Simple FAVE) that slides over the tray-table in front of you.  It is small and compact, and zips closed.  The benefit of it is that you do not have to take a lot of toys with you.  Also, if you use the play set only with airplane travel, it seems brand new for your child with every use! 

 Hope you find these travel posts helpful! I know I did. 

Any other suggestions out there?



Small Town Lovin MEETS Keeping it Simple

One of my old friends and I have reconnected over the ever-crazy blogosphere.  I am so excited to introduce guest blogger, KK of Small Town Lovin.  I have very vivid memories of jumping on her trampoline and counting out hundreds of pennies so we could go with her cool older brother to the movies...come to find out, we were $4 short.  We had a good laugh about what the movie theatre would have said when we handed them 1,000 pennies.  How selfish of me to spend KK's life savings on a movie! 

Below is a picture of us from 1996 Homecoming...

I look like a baby and she look so grown up and has hardly changed a bit!!!

Small Town Lovin dabbles in a few different areas.  She posts incredible photography and crafty ideas for raising children.  She has the three most beautiful daughters!!!  Definitely bookmark her blog for future reads.  Her post today is a clever way to document your family's busy life:


hi! my name is KK from Small Town Lovin, and I will be guest posting today at Keeping It Simple. I am a mother of 3 girls all under the age of 4. 

This = craziness! 

If you have one child or five, you know the demands of being a mommy are tough. I never knew I could multi task so many things!!  I can hold a baby, make dinner and talk on the phone all at the same time. I am like a super spy and have perfected the art of opening sleeping babys doors,  without making the slightest noise. Some nights I wake up at 3am, realizing I nursed the baby an hour ago and we are sleeping, sitting up right in the same position. Does this ring a bell with anyone? I am a master at distraction so my 2yr old won't throw a fit, I wipe booties, clean noses, fix meals, clean up all day and love {most} every minute of it. 

With all that being said, sometimes the days get a bit blurry and I forget what happened an hour ago. I do not want to look back and not remember these precious times even though they are so demanding. So, I created a family journal. 

Whether you are a newlywed or already have a house full of kids, it is never too late to start a family journal. 

We keep ours in the kitchen, right by the telephone. It is easily accessible and always open.

things included in our journal include:

~ funny things the kids say

~notes to eachother

~things we are thankful for

~milestones

~prayers

~lovely doodling from the kids

really the book is about us- there are no guidelines, no time frames. since it is so handy, it is so easy to go write something really quick. we all take part, and THAT is what makes the book so special. i have baby books for all my girls and can transfer anything to there i want to, but i know in years to come, that these will be the books we will all look back on and cherish.

* if you do not have kids yet - go ahead and start one - it would be so great to document those early years before kids and all through future pregnancies as well:) wish i would have done that looking back!

*if you want to add little photos here and there, then i recommend getting an Instant Camera -

its great to have handy and include every day photos - first day of school, sick days at home, special meals etc...

*remember to keep it in a very handy place - again ours is open and by the telephone in the kitchen with a pen always handy ready to write.

start yours today and make memories for a lifetime!

thanks for having me janann ~ you will always be one of my favorite peeps!