10 Pieces Of Actually Useful Baby Advice From A First Time Mom
If I got a dollar for the amount of useless advice I got while I was pregnant…let’s just say raising the baby would be pretty cheap. So here is my official request to stop telling women to “sleep while you still can,” and switch it up with some actually practical words of wisdom when you feel the need to dole out some unsolicited advice.
Here we go: 10 Pieces Of Actually Useful Baby Advice From A First Time Mom
A lot of babies get constipated when they start solids. Adding pears to your baby’s diet is a really popular solution. Prune juice apparently works wonders too, but be warned, your baby may refuse to drink it since the flavor is gross. We actually had to use a suppository a couple times.
If you plan on feeding your baby using the BLW method, don’t waste your money on cute little bibs. Expect HUGE messes and invest in some smock bibs and maybe a high chair mat.
If you’re considering sleep training, it’s best to start before your baby can sit up. Teaching your baby to lie back down at the same time as trying to teach them to learn how to fall asleep by themselves makes the process even more challenging.
It’s worth taking the time to train your baby how to re-insert the pacifier (if you use one) before starting sleep training. This will give you more peace of mind as you hear your baby crying since you know they’re capable of self soothing in that way. We started pacifier training at 4 months and Nate was a pro by the time we started training at 5 months.
One more note on sleep training… it will probably break your heart and you may cry even more than your baby does. But if you decide to go that route, commit. It’s mean to let your baby cry it out if you’re just going to pick them up an hour later because that is confusing to them and will never actually teach them the skill of falling asleep. But know… if you stick it out, I promise it will be worth it. Nate went from sleeping 5-40 minutes at a time, day and night, to putting himself to sleep at 6:30pm and sleeping until 6am every morning. He no longer wakes up exhausted and he takes amazing naps now.
You may very well overpack for the hospital, but if you think something will bring you comfort after your delivery, don’t let anyone tell you not to bring it. People thought I was crazy for packing a blowdryer and straightener, but after experiencing a traumatic delivery and being stuck in the hospital for 6 days, I was so grateful to have both. And funnily enough, I didn’t use any of the “MUST HAVE” recovery items because I wound up having an emergency c-section. Here’s a link to my hospital packing list.
Whether or not you decorate your nursery before or after the baby comes, I highly recommend planning what you want to buy in advance. So many people told me I’ll have plenty of time to figure it out once the baby comes. Then I had a baby who NEVER slept. Nate is 7 months old and I still have yet to decide on a rug and curtains…
Desitin is great for diaper rash, but know that it’s also very drying. When Nate was just a few weeks old, he got a bad diaper rash and everyone suggested Desitin, but the more we used, the worse it got. His pediatrician told us the Desitin was too drying and that we should switch to A&D and Bacitracin, which cleared up the rash within a few days. Another product I SWEAR BY for rashes of all kind: Tubby Todd All Over Ointment.
If your baby starts getting a drool rash, you can put a light layer of Aquaphor Baby on his/her cheeks to help heal and prevent. A bandana bib also works wonders for preventing drool rashes!
Be warned… motherhood includes A LOT of 💩. And not just in the diaper. I cannot even count how many blowouts we’ve experienced over the past 7 months (two of which were on an airplane) and I gotta say, this was by far the biggest surprise for the both of us. So, pull out those diaper ruffles, make sure to size up when it’s time, and always bring a change of clothes. Oh, and get yourself some Miss Mouth’s Stain Remover. I swear it’s the only thing that has saved both mine and Nate’s clothes. Use code Esther10 for 10% off.
At the end of the day, every baby is different and what works for one baby may not work for yours. So take what people say with a grain of salt and trust your instincts, Mama!
xx Esther
