Momma and Bebe Loves.

The things we love...

(This photograph was taken in St. Augustine when little Miss O was two months old)

In just a few days it will be six whole months since I've become a mum.  Don't get me wrong, I am by no means an expert, and I don't claim to be.  Yet, there are things that after these months I've realized work pretty well for us.  Again, my experience will not be your experience.  Every mother and every baby is different.  However, if you are anything like me, you will want to know as much about mothers and babies as you can.  

During my pregnancy I read blogs upon blogs upon blogs.  It was nice to hear the firsthand account of a mother's experience with certain products.  Even though there were products I tried out anyway (I am stubborn, trust me) it was a huge help when encountering the overwhelming world of all things baby.  Don't believe me?  Have you been to Babies R' Us?  Yeah, exactly.  So, here we go.

Let me start with the basics.  Diapers and Wipes.  Who knew that choosing diapers and wipes would be such a daunting task.  Pampers, Huggies, The Honest Company, Earth's Best, BabyGanics, and the list goes on and on.  After a lot of reading and much consideration we decided to go with The Honest Company diapers.  I am happy to report that we have no regrets.  Don't get me wrong, we have had a few leaks here and there (Mostly overnight).  Yet, I cannot think of anything else I would want on my munchkin's bum.  Little lady O has sensitive skin and knowing that there are no harsh chemicals on her soft skin gives me peace.  And, who can resist the adorable patterns?  Not this girl.  Now to the wipes.  Again, the options are endless.  We use Water Wipes and Honest Wipes.  Here and there we will use BabyGanics Wipes, the travel packs, mostly.  However, hands down my favorite are the Water Wipes.  They are thick and cloth-like and are the most safe next to homemade.  I also feel absolutely comfortable cleaning Miss O's face should the situation ever arise.  These may not work for you, but they have worked great for us.  Water Wipes can be ordered online or found at some Target stores.  Thankfully, I have found two Target stores nearby that keep them in stock.  In my opinion they are a MUST HAVE!

Bottles.  Again, it felt like there were a million options and even when I made a decision I was still nervous it wasn't the right one.  From the moment I became pregnant I knew that I wanted to breastfeed.  Even though breastfeeding was on the top of my "must-do" list, I knew that eventually I would have to go back to work (Sigh).  Going back to work meant that my sweet baby would have to take a bottle.  Before going back to work I tried to give her a bottle a couple of times with no success.  Apparently, when it comes to mum Baby O only wanted the boob (It is still like this to this day).  At first this made me extremely nervous.  I mean, how would she eat if she wouldn't take a bottle (Cue paranoid first time momma tears).  However, my mom and husband were both able to feed her expressed breast milk and we have been doing great at daycare (Thankfully). So, what has worked for us are the Tommee Tippee bottles.  Though, looking back at it now, I would probably have tried to get her to feed from the Medela bottles (Since I have a Medela breast pump).  Honestly, the amount of bottles and breast pump parts I wash Monday through Friday is borderline ridiculous.  It would probably have saved me a TON of time had Baby O been accustomed to Medela bottles.  You live and you learn, ladies.  You live and you learn.

Have you heard about the Rock'n Play?  Yeah, I hadn't either.  Then one fine day I read a blog post about how this magical sleeper was the only thing that would make this blogger's sweet child sleep.  Um, sleep, sign me up.  So, of course, I made sure it was the first item I registered for.  We have the Little Lamb Rock'n Play and still use it for naps here and there.  When we first came home from the hospital it was the place I would keep Baby O in during the day.  We live in a two-story house and I was not comfortable leaving my babe in her room while I was downstairs.  Enter the Rock'n Play.  We never used it for sleep at night, though, many people I know have (They also raved about it).  I also was afraid she would grow accustomed to sleeping in it all night leading to a nightmare when it was time to take it away.  Though, I may have the same problem for naps when she no longer fits in it (oy vey).  That is a story for a different day.

Strollers.  Picking a stoller was almost as hard as picking my daughter's name (Kidding, sort of).  After looking at what felt like a million strollers we FINALLY decided on the UPPAbaby Cruz.  I had my little momma heart set on the UPPAbaby Vista, however, my mother convinced me that the higher price tag for a bassinet was simply not worth it.  Truth-be-told, she was right.  Sure the bassinet looks absolutely adorable, yet, deep down I knew that it would barely have any use.  Baby O was born in the state of Florida in the month of July.  Have you experienced a Florida summer?  Yeah, there weren't that many strolls in those early days.  So, the UPPAbaby Cruz it was.  The fact that it is compact, can be used facing me, and has a huge under basket were huge advantages.  This choice then led us to the UPPAbaby Mesa carseat.  And we love it!  Yes, the carseat is a little on the heavy side, however, I love how it works perfectly with the UPPAbaby Cruz.  One click and you are ready to go.  In those early weeks when Baby O was asleep for every-single car ride, it made life easier to just take out her carseat and click it onto the Cruz base.  Six months in and we are still loving our decision.  I opted for the Denny (Red) for the stroller and for the Jake (Black) for the carseat.  

Blankets.  From the beginning I had my heart set on the Aden & Anais swaddle blankets.  They were the softest and most breathable blankets I could find.  Also, the cute prints didn't hurt.  When we first came home from the hospital I attempted to swaddle Baby O in them and put her down for the night.  Yet, the fact that she could maneuver her way out of the swaddle EVERY-SINGLE-TIME left me extremely uneasy.  I mean, it's not as though I could sleep without checking on her every 10 minutes, but, knowing that there could potentially be a loose blanket around my newborn in the middle of the night did not sit well with me.  So, I stopped using the Aden & Anais blankets as swaddles.  We continue to use them on the go and they work especially well as a makeshift nursing cover.  

So, since we could no longer use the Aden & Anais blankets as swaddles, I had to find something that would keep baby O feeling warm and secure throughout the night.  Enter the Halo Sleep Sack Swaddle.  This was a life-saver in those early months.  In our situation it worked well because there came a time where baby O did not want to have her arms swaddled anymore.  The Halo Sleep Sack gave me the option of arms in or arms out.  We started with both arms in, then one arm out, and finally two arms out.  Now that she can roll over we stopped using the sleep sack altogether.  

Diaper Bags.  Honestly, this particular item is really up to you as the mom.  There are plenty of options to choose from and it is really what works for you.  When I was about seven months pregnant I decided that I was going to gift myself with the diaper bag of my own choosing.  I knew that I wanted something neutral (Pattern free) that I could carry without it looking too much like a diaper bag.  I mean, let's be real here, this was the bag I would most likely be wearing till the  Toddler days came about.  I was absolutely against anything that had little animals on them.  So, one day I was perusing the Coach website and came across this little gem.  It was just what I wanted.  I hurried to the store to test it out.  As soon as I put my little hands on this bag I knew it was the one.  The interior is easy to clean with lots of little compartments.  Also, it was a diaper bag that didn't look like a diaper bag.  Perfect!  At my baby shower, my good friend gifted me with this snazzy Pottery Barn diaper bag which I also loved.  When we went to St. Augustine with baby O having two diaper bags was a life saver.  I ended up using one for daily use and the other to pack all of her extra clothing.  I love both and whichever you choose will leave you feeling happy, trust me.

Once you become a mom you start to realize that you have to do whatever works for you and your baby.  These things have worked out great for us.  However, it does not necessarily mean they will work out the same for you.  Like I've mentioned before, I do not claim to be an expert in all things baby.  I am barely at expert level when it comes to baby O and I'm her mum!  Next time we shall discuss bath time essentials, because that deserves a post all on its own.

I hope that this was at least a smidge helpful.  If these don't work for you, I hope that I have at least eased your mind in knowing that whatever you choose will be okay.  No one will know your baby better than you.  As the days go by you will start to pick up on things that work and things that you could easily live without.  If you have any questions, please, ask away!

xx

Renata