My Faves

Well, the daddy is snuggling with the baby which leaves the mommy free to do whatever she pleases.  So I'll blog.  Because...well...there isn't much else that I CAN do.  I've been feeling better...a lot more healed and yet by the end of the day I just ache.  It's like the weight from standing and moving catches up to me and I have to just sit.  I've been completely off the pain meds which is nice...but I sure get tempted to pop one in my mouth come 6:00 in the evening.  :)

Anyways, being that I am SO an experienced mother now...you know...it's been about 3 weeks ha!  I thought I'd share some of my favorite baby products so far.  You all were so good to share with me the things you thought were must haves as mothers.  So here we go!

1) Summer Infant by your side Sleeper
This is what we are using as our "bassinet".  This ended up being a great option for us.  We have a Cal-King bed which pretty much takes up our whole room.  There wasn't much space to put a baby bassinet anywhere in our room.  The one thing that I don't like is that it separates Jason and I.  I thought about putting Jack on the outside but I'm too afraid I'd push him off!  Yikes!  Obviously this only works for people who have large beds.  It's also very cheap and folds up easily so we can take it when we go down south to see our family...until he gets bigger at least.  :)








2). BOB Stroller Revolution SE

I LOVE my stroller.  We are using a Chicco car seat with the adapter as he's way too small to use the stroller as is.  I can steer this sucker one handed...easily.  We also have a lot of Muni/trolley tracks in the roads around us that would be really bumpy if it weren't for the awesome shocks on this puppy.  It's a little big but overall I've been very pleased.  As of late I've forced myself to go on a walk a day...for my sanity and I'm convinced it's helping me heal despite the pain haha.  :)  Jack loves movement too so he enjoys his stroller also!  Once we aren't using the car seat I can lock the front and take it hiking on trails and running.  Can't wait!

3.) Medela Nipple Shield

Ok, this is a weird one...and a little personal, haha.  But we're talking about products I love and seriously....I think this is my fave so far!  So, in the hospital I figured out very quickly that nursing was TORTURE.  I seriously winced in pain every time he nursed.  He latched no problem but something was obviously wrong...as evidenced by my poor, absolutely destroyed nipples.  I figured that this was normal...you know, you have to "break them in".  Well, apparently not haha.  It turns out that Jack has a short frenulum.  That string thing underneath your tongue.  It's attached more towards the tip of his tongue rather then the middle which means he has a shallow suck...which means agony for me.  The lactation consultant (who I LOVED and seriously wanted to take home with me) figured all of this out and went and got me a nipple shield.  Oh, what a difference!  One day he may need to have his frenulum cut but we will wait and see if it causes any real problems before we do that.  He has no trouble latching which is evidence that it's not a problem for him (if it was more severe he wouldn't be able to suck and hold on to it continually).  In the end then...the shield is more for me and my comfort.  And I'm very thankful for it...let me tell you!  :)


 4) Nursing Tank Tops

I think I thought that I would use these more on a regular everyday basis...which I did at first.  I loved them in the hospital but it turns out they are a huge staple for the night.  They are my new pj shirt of choice.  Super easy to use when you are groggy for those 2:00am feedings...and uber comfy too.  I have a couple of different ones from Target.  Having trouble pulling a picture but here is a link.  :)

5)Moby Wrap

Overall I'd say that Jack is a mostly easy baby.  I wouldn't complain too much if he slept a little longer at night buuuut...he's like 3 weeks old so I'm delusional if I think he's going to bust out an 8 hour stretch right now.  He doesn't cry very often...except when he's hungry...man that kid has lungs and wants food NOW.  When he's awake though he likes to be held.  He doesn't sit on his own and "entertain" himself...whatever that means for a 3 week old.  The Moby is a great solution because he looooooves it.  The unfortunate thing is that I can't wear him very long.  My recovery isn't really complete and it puts a lot of pressure and makes me achy.  The little bit of time I CAN wear him though is nice and I look forward to doing it much more in the future when all is healed and dandy.







6.) Summer SwaddleMe Blankets
 


So Jack can escape from the best wrapped swaddle...but not these.  He LIKES to be swaddled...and yet tries to get out of it every time.  These things are easy to use and he cant pull his arms out.  They are also a fairly light weight fabric so they are appropriate for summer.  We are a fan.  :)
 
And here are some things that I THOUGHT would be amazing and that we would use a lot but haven't yet or have tried to use but aren't working as well as we thought...
-Binky.  He takes it but doesn't want it unless he's hungry...and when he's hungry he figures out very quickly that it's not producing milk, spits it out, and screams louder.  haha.  It holds him over...sorta...until I can feed him though.
-Swaddle blankets (those expensive ones from Target).  So we use them...but like I said...the kid breaks his arms out inevitably.  Seriously, I have watched many YouTube videos on how to be the expert swaddler...but he still pulls it off no matter how tight I do it.  Bah. 
-Cloth diapers.  So, we haven't TOUCHED them yet.  Mostly because we are working through our stash of disposables that was gifted to us.  I'm feeling better and have been doing laundry but it's been nice to have the disposables to use.