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I had someone call me a parenting “expert” before and I had to laugh. I don’t know if it’s because I have a parenting blog, I’ve spoken at parenting conferences, or because I had more than one child, but let me just start by saying I’m not an expert. I’m just a mom who has been there, done that and I’m still learning how to be successful at this parenting thing. I think I could be one of those tv moms with a couple dozen kids and still not be an expert because every child is so different! While I’m not an expert though, having just left the newborn stage with my third child means I do have a few tricks and tips I’ve discovered that have worked for our family. I wanted to share them in hopes they’d help make things easier for other moms. We’re all sleep-deprived and busy so anything that gives us a bit more time back with our kiddos or helps us sleep a few more minutes here and there is a win right?
I had to start off with a sweet photo of my oldest and youngest. As you can see there is a big gap between the two and I’ve learned a lot over this past decade of parenting (I feel so old now typing that…) Here are some things I’ve discovered:
Join a local mom’s group
I’ve talked about it here on the blog before but joining a mom’s group was probably one of the best things I have done as a parent. When I first had Jacob I only knew one other mom my age so I joined my first local mom’s group (that also had an online forum) when Jacob was just a few months old. I found it invaluable when I was up in the middle of the night with a question or just needed someone to talk to. I started going to playdates before Jacob was even moving around because I needed to get out of the house and talk to other moms. Eventually I’d join many other online mom’s groups as well but I found the local one where we could meet “IRL” so beneficial. If you are raising your child without family (or that village we hear so much about) around you’ll want to do this asap!
Always have an extra outfit for baby (and make sure it fits). Bring one for yourself, too.
Most parents have enough common sense to pack an extra outfit for baby in their diaper bag whenever they go out but do you always make sure it fits? I always keep one in there but discovered that I also want to occassionally check to make sure it’s baby’s size still. A month or so ago I was at a meeting and feeding Emma when I felt something warm in my lap (I’m sure you can all guess what had happened….) I grabbed a diaper, wipes, and her spare outfit and went to change her. I quickly realized, as I was putting the outfit on her, that even though it was her size it was definetely too small for her. Since I had nothing else for her to wear I had to just button up my little sausage baby and hope that the snaps held her baby fat in until we got home. I also recommend keeping a change of clothes in the car for yourself because Emma’s little accident had made me look like I peed myself but I didn’t have a pair of spare pants to change in to.
Don’t stock up on newborn clothes
As you can tell from the point above, babies outgrow their clothes quickly. Newborn clothes are probably one of the worst baby investments you can make because they sometimes only last a couple weeks before babies can’t wear them anymore. Plus, in the first month or so they will probably live in onesies and baby sleepers anyway. I had some of the cutest outfits hanging in Emma’s closet and she never got to wear them!
Make middle of the night feedings easier
When baby’s cries wake you up you’ll be half asleep and feeling like a zombie those first couple months. While you can’t avoid those middle of the night wake up calls, you can make things easier on yourself! If you breastfeed, have everything that you’ll need nearby. I had made myself a little basket with the essentials for pumping and put it right next to my chair so everything I needed was within reach when I was holding Emma. Now we use formula for our little girl and, though she doesn’t wake up as much, I still set everything up for the next time she’ll eat (which is especially helpful if I know daddy is getting up with her). I put a clean bottle on the counter along with her formula. I also leave a burp cloth next to the chair we sit in for feedings.
We used to fill her bottle up with tap water because we didn’t know any better…My mom yelled at me the first time she saw me do so and I brushed her words off saying she would be fine because we all drank the water. While most tap water contains chemicals and other contaminants that purified water doesn’t but I figured the water in my nice suburb wasn’t that bad. I was shocked when I looked it up online and discovered that my town’s water had 8 contaminants detected above health guidelines and 6 other detected contaminants! #MomFAIL. Pound for pound, a baby’s body can’t filter contaminants like an adult’s body can (even though adults shouldn’t be exposed to them either). Not only that but a lot of tap water sources are treated with fluoride, which also poses concerns for babies.
I knew I needed to stop having my family use tap water immediately because the quality of the water is just as important as the quality of the formula I have chosen. I heard about the Primo® First Steps Bottom-Loading Water Dispenser and it seemed like the perfect fit for our whole family. The dispenser provides cold, warm or hot drinking water with the warm option supplying water at 98.6-104 degrees Fahrenheit—specially designed for mixing baby formula. Middle of the night feedings are so much easier now that we just have to push a button to get water at the right temperature! When my boys were babies we used to have to stand over the sink holding the bottles under running warm water until the bottle was the perfect temperature. Those days are now in the past!
The unit sets up in minutes with no tools, plumbing, or installation required and the easy bottom-loading design means no more lifting heavy bottles. Primo® is the only brand that delivers best in class dispensers for the home and safe, great-tasting bulk water either exchange or refill water. The water dispenser uses 3 or 5-gallon bottles (sold separately) which we found at a number of stores nearby. Once we had purchased the water at our local Lowe’s all we had to do was hook it up and push it in the cabinet.
One of the things I was initially concerned about when looking at water coolers was that my baby would burn herself on the hot water once she started walking so it was comforting to know that the hot water has a child-resistant safety feature. Not only was there a switch to turn it off on the back but I could lock the front controls so none of the buttons would work if pushed by little fingers. There is also a self-sanitizing function that boils the water in the warm water reservoir every 12 hours (or more often if you choose) to ensure the quality of the water. While we got this mainly for the warm water for bottles and the icy cold water for drinking, having the hot water makes our hot cocoa for family movie nights a breeze to make which my older boys love!
You can learn more and purchase the Primo water dispenser at primowater.com. If baby isn’t here yet, consider adding it to your baby registry! I know sometimes, especially if you have other children, you might not need many baby things since you still have them from when your other kids were younger so this is a great gift idea if you really aren’t sure what to add to your registry!
Restock the diaper bag every evening
I learned this one the hard way. When my boys were younger I grabbed the diaper bag as I was running out the door for the day. I had forgotten that I used my last wipe and of course I needed them when I was out! Let’s just say that toilet paper does not work as well as a wipe does for cleaning dirty baby bottoms… Since mornings are always hectic I’ve found it easiest to get the diaper bag ready at night so I don’t have to worry about packing it while trying to get all three kids out the door.
Keep diapers and other necessities in more than one place
Before I had my first child I carefully set up the changing table with everything that I’d need for diaper changes. Once I actually had Jacob though I discovered that I rarely actually used the changing table. I typically would just lay a blanket out on our living room floor and change him there. Having diaper changing supplies in a few different places (my room, his room, and our living room) ended up making the most sense. This is especially true if you live in a two story home because who wants to be walking up and down steps all day just to change a dirty diaper?
What tips do you have? I’d love to hear them! Bonus points if they are helpful for babies who are on-the-go because that’s our next stage! (And honestly, it’s been almost a decade since I’ve been in that stage so I don’t remember much about it!) Chat with me on social! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram