My baby girl is now just over 2 months old. And I have been sucking in knowledge just as quickly as her brand new eager brain. When we first came home from the hospital I was beyond clueless. I had inundated myself with pregnancy facts throughout her 37 weeks gestation that I didn't have time (or energy) to learn about what to do once she arrived. The past two months have been full of trial and error and lots of happy discoveries. I am going to share with you a few of my favorite things that can, indeed, buy you some happiness.
The Woombie
Before Gemma arrived I had no idea what a swaddling blanket was. Why you would use one or how. The nurses at the hospital wrapped Gemma up tightly in her swaddle like a little burrito, but it took some practicing on our part to get it right. We also had no idea how swaddling can calm a baby in a snap. Swaddling blankets will rock your world. And so might The Woombie.
My advice: Stock up on swaddling blankets - I prefer the muslin because they have a nice stretch to them. Remember that if your baby is crying and seems inconsolable all s/he may require is a nice tight swaddle to calm down. It brings back feelings of being in the womb, comforts them, and keeps them sleeping once they've fallen asleep. The hospital told us you are now supposed to swaddle with their arms out (so they don't accidentally roll onto their faces) BUT that kind of defeats the purpose. Gemma will often startle herself awake with flailing arms. Keep your babies supervised and swaddling them with their arms in may be just what the baby wants. The Woombie is basically a little cocoon that zips your baby up happily inside. It is SO easy to put on and take off. I prefer it to the Halo Swaddles which have velcro that get stuck on everything! And learning to wrap a tight swaddle (with swaddling blanket) does take some skills. In the very beginning The Woombie freaked me out because it looked like it was too tight, but we tried it again recently and it's been our saving grace. Since we've been putting Gemma into her Woombie at night she has slept longer and longer and is sleeping 5-7 hours per night!
Happiest Baby on the Block DVD
Watch this BEFORE you have your baby! We could've avoided countless hours (and nights) of staring helplessly at our fussy baby. You'll learn 5 techniques for soothing your baby that work for everyone (unless if you have a super colicky baby). We were amazed at how easy it has become to calm Gemma down, keep her calm, and get her to sleep. Buy it, rent it, borrow it - whatever you do - watch it!
The Halo Snuza
I will admit I was a HUGE skeptic about this product. I cringe at the thought of pricey products on the market that play off of parents fear of SIDS. But this device has changed the way my husband and I sleep at night. It is a tiny little gadget that slides onto your baby's diaper (we use cloth diapers and it fits just fine on those). It has a sensor on the top that rests on your baby's abdomen and monitors her movement. If it doesn't detect movement for 15 seconds it vibrates to give your baby a little nudge. It will do this up to 3 times and if it still doesn't detect movement it will sound an alarm so that you can check on your LO. My husband and I were up constantly worrying when she was sleeping well and even woke her up a few times because we couldn't tell if she was breathing. How counterproductive! Since putting the SNUZA on her we are all sleeping better!
Lionheart Cloth Wipes Warmer
I LOVE LOVE LOVE our cloth wipes warmer! I actually caved and got one for the disposable wipes, too. Our baby used to SCREAM while having her diaper changed because of the cold wipes. Now she coos and kicks and doesn't seem to mind at all.
Sleep and plays
These outfits are KEY for when your baby is being fussy and doesn't want something pulled over his head. Although there are a thousand snaps (and it's easy to snap it up wrong) it is still one of my preferred outfits - especially the ones with feet since our baby was born during winter. Carters has a super cute collection that is ridiculously cheap. They also have a million sales and coupons and even a bunch of outlets. You can many times find the sleep and plays for between $3-$10 each. A little pricer version of these are found at pumpkinpatchusa.com. We got some of these as hand-me-downs and gifts from pumpkin patch. I LOVE them! They are super soft and adorable. Check out their eSale for great bargains!
Amazon Mom
Towards the end of your pregnancy you should go to amazon.com and sign up for amazon mom. It lasts for up to a year and is FREE. Perks include free 2-day shipping or overnight for $3 for anything that is "Prime" eligible. I'm going to miss this once my year is up! So much so, that I may wind up signing up for a Prime membership. Yep, they hooked me.
I have more items to write about but I've been trying to write this post for about a week! So, I'm posting what I have so far and will add items when I have the time (hahaha. yeah whenever that is!)
No comments:
Post a Comment