Mommy to Be - Tips & Tricks

[rockstargina]

I have finally returned after a long hiatus!  Between trying to save money (which unfortunately meant staying away from here) and finding out I am expecting(first time mom club - November!), I have missed this place (and am quite confused with the new layout).

Anyway, anyone have any tips, tricks or general advice for a new mom?  I'm going to start registering soon, any must-haves or any things to avoid?

[talinder]

Congratulations! And it's definitely a good idea to stay away from beauty forums when you're trying to save money.

Amazon sends a free gift box if you complete a registry there. It's worth doing.

Don't stress yourself out with getting things for the baby. Babies need very, very little. They need to eat, sleep, diapers, burp rags, and a few clothes. They grow quickly so DO NOT stock up on clothing or it'll get wasted. Don't feel compelled to build an entire nursery or get everything before baby arrives. Target is nearby and Amazon has 2-day shipping; you'll be fine. My baby just turned 5 months old and he still doesn't have a nursery. APA recommends they room with you for 6 mos - 1 year. We just picked up a crib last week. I was stressed enough during my pregnancy and the 4th trimester. Taking things one stage at a time has been so smart. I didn't even buy a diaper bag until a month or so ago. It's not like we were taking long trips and needed a bunch of stuff. I really can't think of anything that I was missing that ended up being problematic.

Don't let others push their way into your pregnancy and postpartum experience. This baby is for you and your partner - no one else. No one has a right to "be there" for anything. Having a baby is hard and you don't know how you'll feel afterwards. Don't be pressured to entertain visitors. Those first days are precious and you need time to get acclimated w/o interference. We had trouble getting my baby fed and I am SO happy there wasn't an audience there for that incredibly stressful time.

I could go on, but I'm saying these things b/c YOU and BABY are the most important thing in this. Your nuclear family is the priority. Women are socialized to let everyone else run them when they have a baby. It's very intimidating. You can do this!

[PrettyPaint]

Congratulations! I got a ton of use out of the fisher price rock n play! 

[rockstargina]

Thank you!

[NarNarNars]

Many congrats, @rockstargina! My daughter is turning 15 months tomorrow, so pregnancy is not something that's too distant in my memory. While I do not have a long list of advice to give, one thing you should definitely do is to create a registry on target dot com. Doesn't need to be exhaustive, just create one. Put like a box of diaper and call it a day. Then go to your local Target store to pick up your "registry gift"-- if the person at the customer service desk has no idea what you are talking about, just tell him/her that you just created a baby registry and were told that you could receive a gift for creating one. That bag is filled with so many goodies-- diapers, wipes, bottles, pacifiers, baby body cream and wash, etc, etc. And comes with pretty valuable coupons that will probably come in handy for the months to come. 

 Amazon and walmart has similar "gift" for creating their registry, but 1. Amazon requires so many hoops to go through (including being a Prime member) and the gifts can be hit or miss (mine happened to be a miss while I've also heard some great reviews about it), and 2. Walmart's gift is not something that's always offered, from what I've seen. 

 Another tip that I learned the hard way was to use a swaddling "device"-- not just a blanket with four corners, but something like SwaddleMe that has velcro strips and keeps the baby swaddled. It tremendously helped my baby sleep. 🙂

[rockstargina]

This was very helpful and good to know. I'll definitely look into the target registry for the registry gift. 

I'm so afraid of swaddling. For some reason I'm scared I'll do it wrong and hurt my son (anxiety has gotten worse since becoming pregnant). 

[NarNarNars]

Oh @rockstargina I totally understand-- I was too afraid to tighten my daughter's diaper!  LOL my first few times changing her diaper were... well, almost frightening. I didn't want to make it too tight and hurt her lower belly. Let alone swaddling! My nurse did teach me a few times and I did learn how to swaddle her properly before I left the hospital, but I still found the SwaddleMe MUCH more helpful than the typical swaddling blankets.

  As long as you keep in mind that babies are much stronger and more resilient than you think they might be, I think you should be fine. Best of luck! 😉

[sparklekai]

the anxiety is very real and very normal!!! babies, while delicate are tough little things! you can find some great swaddling tutorials on youtube actually and if you're unsure when you have him ask the nurses at the hospital! i'm sure they'll show you! in the end, its scary but you'll get the hang of it!! 

[Anonymous]

Congratulations ❤ just like other mama said don't stress on every little thing other people have to tell you. You'll know just what to do when baby comes and your own parenting style with come along when you have baby.

[sparklekai]

congrats on the upcoming babe!!!  best parenting advice i can give you is not to stress out about other people's advice! everyone has something they think you should be doing but in the end, you and your baby need to figure out what works for you! 

i'm due with my 2nd mid-september and still struggling to figure out what i need!  lots of sleepers, onesies, clothes and receiving blankets for sure!

[rockstargina]

Congrats to you as well!  

[blushnglow]

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sparklekai wrote:

congrats on the upcoming babe!!!  best parenting advice i can give you is not to stress out about other people's advice! everyone has something they think you should be doing but in the end, you and your baby need to figure out what works for you! 

i'm due with my 2nd mid-september and still struggling to figure out what i need!  lots of sleepers, onesies, clothes and receiving blankets for sure!

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Congrats @rockstargina!

LOL so true at the part that "everyone has something they think you should be doing"....

[blackkitty2014]

Congrat!  It is exciting!  If there is no problems, no need to change your beauty routine.  Around 26-27 weeks, i recommend Bella B Tummy Honey Cream (not sure it is helping with stretch mark fading or not since i have none but it works pretty well as anti-itching cream).  For non-beauty item, i love Boppy pillow. Even though, it is advertising as baby pillow, i use it for back support pillow for sitting up.  It is sooo comfortable (even my hubby tried to steal it for his back whenever it was laying around :))  Good luck!