random advice for soon to be and new mamas

This is the advice that no one gave me...

1. If you have a 2 story house, get 2 Diaper Genies. I'm sure that your child's nursery is decorated to perfection and you have a vision of walking up your stares to change every diaper on their beautiful changing table, but when the reality of having a newborn in your house sets in (or a heavy 19 lb. 8 month old), you will not walk up the stares to change most diapers. You just won't. Take my advice and just buy a Diaper Genie for downstairs also. We have a make shift changing table set up in our downstairs guest bedroom that includes a changing mat, wipes, diapers and a Diaper Genie. I change 75% of diapers here and Bryan changes 100% of them. (I must come clean, someone did give me this advice and it was the best advice ever!) Life. Changing. I tell ya!

2. Don't spend a lot of money on 0-3 month clothes. When you are expecting, you have this grandiose idea of dressing your baby up in the cutest clothes daily. Truth be told, you won't. If you have a spring/summer baby, it is so hot outside that all your baby really needs or wants on is a onesie (on overdressed baby is a hot, screaming baby). If you have a fall/winter baby, your newborn will spend most of their days in pj's and sleep and plays. Save your money and put it toward clothing for an older baby -- a baby that has had some of their shots, leaves the house more often and/or is in daycare . 3-6, 6-9 and 12 month stuff is incredibly cute and you'll find yourself wanting to dress your older baby in actual outfits more and more!

3. Baby shorts aren't sized correctly. Pants are good enough, depending on the brand and the size of your baby. But when it comes to shorts, well... This past summer when Trace was 2 months old, he could only wear newborn shorts. He was in newborn shorts until he was 4 months old. Now that Trace is 8.5 months old he can finally wear his  0-3 and 3-6 month shorts that were bought for him to wear last summer.

4. Invest in travel coffee mugs. Just face it, hot coffee is a thing of the past. Finishing up a cup of coffee that hasn't been reheated in the microwave at least twice is a thing of the past. Your baby is quite a demanding little boss and you must tend to their needs in the most timely of manners. This means you'll have 3 sips of coffee and need to change a diaper. Come back to your coffee, have 1 more sip and your baby starts to cry. By the time you're done soothing them, your coffee is ice cold. So in the microwave it goes.... and repeat! Fast forward a couple of months... Once your baby starts flailing their arms, they will knock over your coffee. And once they are alert enough to recognize your mug, they will constantly want it. So put your beloved coffee mugs away for the time being and start drinking your morning coffee out of travel mugs. Not only can you close the lid to ensure it stays warm, but you can also prevent much spillage from happening. Because it will.

5. Never use the doorbell. You will quickly learn that the doorbell is the devil and that anyone who uses it clearly has never had a sleeping baby in their house. Make sure to always ask anyone coming over to knock on the door or better yet, when you still have a newborn in the house consider putting a sign near your door asking people to knock or just come right in. And from here on out, you will always knock on your friends doors. Waking a newborn or napping baby for no reason is so not cool!

6. Sophie. Oh Sophie. Ever since we broke her out when Trace was about 3 months old, Sophie has been a lifesaver for Trace and a quest for Cali. Sophie is a great product for a teething baby, but she has an unnecessary squeaker inside her that makes every dog that's ever lived with a baby go absolutely nuts for her. Cali has been obsessive over Sophie for months, and she's practically knocked Trace out of his swing (when he was tiny) for her, so I finally caved in last week and officially gave her over to Cali. I gave up and lost the battle. Now that expensive $20 teether is a dog toy -- the most expensive dog toy Cali has ever and will ever own! And I must add that there is a Sophie teether that does not have a squeaker. It's different than the original, but we have that one too and Trace likes it... especially when I attached his beloved linking rings to it.

7. Moms On Call. Everyone has a different theory, program or lack their of when it comes to transitioning their baby into this world. Thanks to many blogger recommendations, I've followed the Moms On Call method and have had great success with Trace. I'm not making any promises, but I definitely suggest purchasing a copy of the book to have on hand once your little bundle of joy arrives.

8. NoseFrida. Do yourself a favor and purchase this asap. And combine it with a saline spray. I use this one. Just trust me on this one...

9. 9 months on, 9 months off. Is true for some of us. And that's totally okay! Your body just made a human being --  remember that and cut yourself some slack.

10. Baby food. Make your own. Not only is it extremely healthy for your baby (zero preservatives, fresh, organic), but it's seriously so incredibly easy and you'll save boat loads of money. I didn't buy into any of the notions that I needed "special" baby food making appliances or anything like that. Use what you have at home -- I use a Magic Bullet and ice cube trays from Dollar Tree. Truuuuuust me... if I can do it, you can do it!