My New "Must Have" Items

In the course of my pregnancy I realized that everyone is an "expert" on pregnancy and child rearing. I received a ton of advice, both solicited and un-solicited.

After having been a mom for six whole weeks I have realized that no one really gives you enough advice.

My advice to new moms? Go for the useful things and don't buy so much of the "cute" stuff. I have tons and tons of beautiful outfits for my daughter. Everyday rompers and pajamas? I have just a few. See what I mean? I got all the pretty stuff and not so much of the useful things.

Here's my list for other moms-to-be of the useful things I just couldn't live without. From now on these are the items I will be giving my friends when they have children:

Gripe Water from Baby's Bliss
Aubrey has a really sensitive tummy, which she inherited from me. (I in turn inherited it from my mom, who got it from Nana. Thanks guys, thanks a lot.) We spent a 24 hour period dealing with a crying, painful baby when Aubrey became suddenly incredibly gassy. Ron discovered Gripe Water and it saved the day! We give it to Aubrey usually twice a day and it almost instantly relieves her.




Soy Baby Formula
No one, and I mean no one, told me that most babies are lactose intolerant. This made no sense to me initially. However, I am finding out that this is not an uncommon problem. Lucky for me Aubrey is lactose intolerant. While I was still breast feeding she became very fussy, almost inconsolable. After her pediatricians recommendation we finally tried a soy baby formula and within just a few hours we had our happy baby back. My advice to anyone expecting? Save yourself some stress and keep a can of this in your cupboard. If you are breastfeeding and your baby is lactose intolerant, the symptoms will never show up at a convenient time.







Playtex Bottles
During my pregnancy almost everyone recommended the Dr. Brown's bottles to me. I took their advice and purchased a few to keep on hand. The bottles are great, but they leak a bit when you first invert them. (It bugs me.) I had a few Playtex bottles on hand as well, and found out that I love them! My mom had used the Playtex bottles with my brother years ago, and Aubrey loves the newest incarnation of their product. The nipples are much easier for her to latch onto than the Dr. Brown's bottles. Because of this, Aubrey tends to eat a full 4 ounces or more per meal from the Playtex bottles, but will usually eat only 2 to 3 ounces per meal from the Dr. Brown's.




Nipple Shields
Yes, I am recommending Nipple Shields. Thankfully I have a friend who advised me to have these on hand in case I needed them. Breast feeding is not as easy as one would think it is, and these handy little creations make getting your baby to latch correctly a breeze. Although I breastfed for just a few weeks (which is another blog for another time) these things were crucial to my success.



The Baby Book by William Sears M.D. and Martha Sears R.N.
This is now my baby bible. I had not heard of this book until Aubrey was a few weeks old. I wish I had read it while pregnant, because it would have changed the way I looked at a lot of issues. This book takes a more common sense approach to baby raising than some of the other books I have read. The best part is that the Sears' recommend a style of parenting called "Attachment Parenting." Before I had Aubrey I did not know much about Attachment Parenting, but from what little I had read I knew I did not agree with a lot of it. Hah! Within just days of bringing Aubrey home I was an Attachment Parenting Mommy without even meaning to be! By following my heart and Aubrey's cues I am able to parent my daughter in a way that is emotionally and physically fulfilling for both of us. I particularly love "Baby Wearing." I spend most of my day holding Aubrey, so why not put her in a Moby Wrap and wear her! At least while using the wrap I will be able to get more done in the day besides memorizing every small detail about my child.