Thanks everyone for your comments and help with the baby bedding! (Matt is appreciative, too. Trust me. When I told him how much my favorite crib set cost, he didn't say anything but I know he was thinking I'd lost my mind.) I love getting any and all baby tips you have to offer because really, I'm clueless.
My friend, Amy, posted some awesome advice about baby goods on her blog. I love it! And I want more of it from anyone and everyone. What advice do you have for me, a first-time expectant mom? What was your best baby purchase? Your worst? Any awesome parenting books I should read? (P.S. Remember Sara, I'm borrowing that one book from you sometime, okay?) Things I should plan for on the big D-Day? You get the idea, right?
Random Thought #2:
My sister emailed this to me the other day:
(It's got pictures from our ultrasound.) Thanks, Amber!
Awesome, huh?! She has a digital scrapbook store and blog, which I love and am get into more and more. Check it out. There's some good freebies.
Random Thought #3:
I screamed like a baby last Wednesday and raced to the bedroom where Matt was studying.
He thought I'd seen a spider. (Wondering if I'm really that pathetic? Yes. Matt's seen me during the middle of the night frantically throwing on lights and ripping off bed sheets because I'm sure I've felt a spider.)
But this time my screams were because this guy,
Adam Lambert had landed in the bottom three on American Idol.
I was ecstatic. He's a great performer and has a good voice, but I don't get why the judges are always drooling over him and praising his weird screamy songs.
Later in the show I went running (and squealing) to Matt again when this guy,
Kris Allen was sent to safety leaving Adam in the bottom two. So cool.
What do you think? Who's going to be the next American Idol. I'm betting Danny Gokey, even though I'm a big fan of Kris.
Random Thought #4:
Matt felt the baby move on Saturday. We were watching Harry Potter, and Skylie (that's what we call her for now) was moving like crazy. So I had Matt put his hands on my belly, and every time he felt her move he was like, "Ooh! Ooh!" So cute. (His "Ohh"s are a lot cuter than the poking and prodding I get at other times when he's trying to get Skylie to move around. Haha!) :)
Random Thought #5:
June 26 used to be the big day when Matt would take boards, but today he bumped it back to July 13. He figures he'll get bored with an entire month off while I'm at work and could definitely use the extra time to study. Fun stuff. ;) I'm just glad it's him and not me.
Random Thought #6:
I love spring.
11 comments:
First, I am really flattered you linked to my post. Thank you for that.
And since you asked.... the two bits of advice I would give are:
1. Exercise. Unless you are medically incapable of exercising, keep (or start) doing something. With #1 I walked 2-3 miles, 4-5 times a week. I really believe it made for a much easier labor & recovery.
2. No matter what advice you get, or how you are preparing yourself for labor & delivery, try to remember that your experience will be your own. Just because someone you know went drug free, or another person used a midwife, it doesn't mean that choice is right for you. I felt very torn by all the advice I read & heard, but in the end I'm happy I did it my way.
And one last thing - don't think you'll walk out of the hospital wearing your skinny jeans. You'll still have quite a tummy, but it DOES get better.
I'd love to give you advice about being a parent and who I think the next American Idol is but there are two problems with that:
1)I am not a parent
2)I don't have a TV in my apartment and don't have time to watch it in our lounge.
So I'll just say I love spring too and that announcement thingy Amber made you with your ultrasound on it is super cute! :) Oh, and I'm super excited because Tyler gets home in ten days!!!!! YAY!!!!!
Erin, I think you are awesome and I'm so excited to see you in your new role as moma. I'm positive you will be wonderful.
I really like a book called "Love and Logic: from birth to early childhood". At least, I think that's what it's called. I liked it so much I asked for it for Christmas. So yeah, if you're looking for some fun positive parenthood reading, check it out. If you hate it I won't be offended, but I thought it was full of positive ideas.
I too LOVE spring. The tree in my front yard is giving me a whole new meaning to "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree." :-)
So here are the items that I have found to be essentials for us:
I really loved the sling for Teairsa once I got one that was the correct size and when we are flying it's my essential item. The other item that I use daily and have since she was just a few weeks old is the bouncer seat. We got it for $5 at a garage sale but with how much I use it I would definitely pay more if I had too. Also we have a wipe warmer and I think it is so worth it, but we are doing cloth diapers while we are at home because I'm all about saving a penny and they ended up being much easier to handle then I expected, but still the wipe warmer would be great either way because the babies don't like their bums getting cold. The final item that I use all the time is my pump, but Teairsa had nursing issues right from the beginning so when we left the hospital we went straight to Babies R Us and had to buy one, but it was a lifesaver during the engorgement phase and it's still nice that Mark can give Teairsa a bottle once a day or every other day so he can bond with baby and I can sleep sometimes.
The item I was most diappointed with though was the boppy, but again it was a craiglist steal so I was only out $10 and have used it a few times. We also got a baby monitor at a garage sale and at first we used it alot but now we don't really need it because when she cries you can definitely hear her, but it's nice for traveling and such.
I could go on for hours. But mostly I agree a lot with Amy. There is so much advice out there and you have to just figure out what feels right for you. That being said I will happily give my personal opionion. But I've decided that we need to have a girls night out sometime when the boys are studying and my other boys are sleeping. I have to say I bought cute crib bedding for Austin when he was born and I think I used the quilt once with Chase just because I'd never used it and I felt guilty.
erin...you are so cute, are you going to name your baby skylie? if you are thats way cute...and if you aren thats still way cute. i definitely would buy a good breast pump. if you are going to be breast feeding and get it before the baby comes. mine was in the mail when karlee came and as soon as my milk came in she couldn't latch on and it was in the middle of the night and i need relief...anyway you get the point. much needed. and if she can't latch on or has trouble get a nipple shield. not only does it make it easier for the baby to latch on it makes it so your nipples don't hurt. (sorry if thats too much information).
the best burp clothes are the old cloth diapers. they are way more absorbant than flannel ones. i use those the very most.
anyway i have lots more but i'll stop there for now...but as others said you kind of have to do what feels right for you.
Erin,
I guess my best advice is don't listen to other people's advice!! No just kidding, but it seemed to me that I got so geared up on what to expect and how to do things based on what other people told me, and soon we realized that we had to figure out what worked for US, even if it didn't work for other people.
The only other piece of advice I have is---expect the unexpected!!! It will be a crazy, but AMAZING ride. I am so excited for you!!
P.S. I don't like Adam either. I always feel like he is screaming at me!! LOVE Kris though!!
I second the pump for sure!! Thats the only thing that helped me survive Mastitis every time I had it and it definitely helps with the initial engorgement also. For us our swing is the thing we use the most. Braylie loves it and it was also a lifesaver in the beginning when I thought I would collapse from sleep deprivation.
I loved your friends blog with all of the advice on purchases. The two best purchases I made were a swing and a bouncy seat. Luke would nap for like 4 hours at a time from the beginning if he was in the swing, it was nice. If you don't have a lot of room they make travel ones that fold up, but they can't hold the baby for as long. Abby prefers the bouncy seat. It is the only way that I can make dinner. I am sure you two will do great.
I am still waiting for Spring in Idaho.
My friend has started a blog called the Young Mothers Club. She just started but she's already had lots of people share problems and advice. Check it out http://youngmothersclub.blogspot.com/
I have been meaning to comment on this post for days and now I finally remembered while I have time to do it!
I have to say that I agree with Amy. Exercise is so important (but you already know that).
If I could recommend one baby item that has been absolutely essential for me, it would be a good breast pump. I'm talking one of the $250+ ones. I have heard that many doctors will prescribe one to you, allowing your insurance to cover a lot of the cost of it. Talk to your dr. about it if you are considering breast feeding.
I know that you like to exercise in the morning, and once the baby starts to sleep through the night, you won't be able to workout comfortably without pumping or feeding the baby first (and who wants to wake a sleeping baby just so they can feel comfortable enough to exercise? Not me.) Also, a pump will allow Matt the opportunity to help you with the feedings---he gets to bond with the baby, and you get to sleep! It really helps you share the load of a newborn. It worked great for Ryan and I (at least I think it did because he got up in the night as much as I did...he might have a different viewpoint 8-)).
Plus, the baby will learn to take a bottle right off and you won't end up feeling like you can't go anywhere without her because no one else can feed her (and it will be good for you to get out once in awhile, right?)
BTW, I have an exersaucer that you are welcome to use as long as you would like, as well as a bouncy chair (the kind that is like a newborn recliner that vibrates and plays music and stuff). You can use both of them if you don't already have them/don't receive them at the amazing shower Kelly and I will throw you in August.
There, I'll stop typing now. I'm even putting myself to sleep.
Post a Comment