10 Gift Ideas for New Moms

I know, I know- this blog has become baby central. If you're not interested in all things baby, you should probably move along and find a different blog to read. Right now, my brain is 100% consumed with Baby Pep so my blog might be a little bit lacking in diversity of material. However, if you are interested in all things baby, I'm hoping this will provide some good tips for those of you who may soon be in the same boat or are hoping to shower your loved ones who are expecting.

As a new Mommy, I've been making a mental list of all the products and resources that have been invaluable to Chuck and I during this newborn period. I've learned what things we could have left off the registry and what things we absolutely could not live without. So if you're looking for gift ideas for the new mom in your life, here are a few of my recommendations:

1// Fleece jammies (with zippers!)- Baby clothes are probably the most common and most fun thing to buy, but I'll let you in on a little secret- newborns really don't need cute, fancy clothing. When they're not eating or pooping, they're sleeping. Fleece jammies are the most practical thing you can purchase for a new mom. Also, if your new mom is like me and has zero experience dressing babies, those tiny little snaps can be super annoying. Zippers are your friend.

2// Diapers- Not the most fun thing to buy, but absolutely the most practical. Newborns poop. A lot. Like 10 times a day. Your new mom friends will thank you for this thoughtful (albeit a little bit boring) gift. Personally, I went with the Honest brand because I liked the idea of investing in a diaper that wasn't going to take 500 years to decompose in a landfill somewhere. That being said, we received Pampers Swaddlers from the hospital and we loved them too. Unless you know your friend will be cloth diapering, I have a sneaking suspicion that s/he will likely not care what brand her baby "goes" all over.

3// A helping hand- My nurses, midwives, pediatrician, friends and family members have all said the same thing: Baby comes first, household chores come second. That's all well and good, but seriously the chaotic state of my house is currently driving me crazy and I'm guessing I'm in the same boat with a lot of new moms. If it's someone who you feel comfortable enough with, offer them a helping hand- ask if you can do their dishes or a few loads of laundry. I guarantee this is a completely invaluable gift.

4// Pacifiers- These Avent Soothies are perfect for Mamas who are breastfeeding. I wasn't too keen on the idea of pacifiers until our ride home from the hospital and the consequent days when Baby Pep was fed, diapered, well-rested and still fussy for no obvious reason. I am now a full-fledged supporter of the pacifier.

5// Receiving blankets- These are one of the most useful items to have on hand for newborns. For swaddling and snuggling, yes. But mostly, I've been going through these bad boys quicker than wildfire just sopping up spit up and leaky breast milk. I guarantee no new Mom can have too many of these.

6// Humidifier- This may be more specific to Mamas of winter babies, but I so wish I had gotten one of these at my baby shower. Chuck and I are absolutely going to need to invest in one for Baby Pep because this poor kid is peeling like crazy. The dry, winter air and his soft newborn skin are a terrible combination and we've been having to lotion him up like crazy! I've also heard that humidifiers are good for congested little ones.

7// FOOD- I want to write an ode to the friends and family members who have cooked for us. A nice, homemade casserole or even a gift card to a friend's favorite restaurant (that delivers!) are such thoughtful and priceless gifts. It's cheap if you're on a budget and will be so appreciated by any new parent who has zero time to even think about what's for dinner.

8// Books- Alright, I know this may sound silly and could totally be just me talking, but I would love to receive books as a gift. I'm not talking baby books, but books for Mom. Much of being a new parent is trying to entertain yourself while cradling, nursing, soothing, etc. your baby. Fortunately, my bookshelf is filled with to-read books, but at my current rate, I'm flying through 2-3 books a week and will have to be making a library trip sooner than later!

9// Halo Sleepsack Swaddles- This was something not even on my radar, but the hospital gave us one when we were discharged and let me tell you- this thing is a miracle. We've put Baby Pep in this nearly every night since we came home and it virtually knocks him out every time we wrap him up. I'm not saying that this swaddle had made my baby the best sleeper there ever was, but it certainly hasn't hurt! I will definitely be buying more of these.

10// Nursing pads- Clearly, this is something you probably want to buy for a friend you know well and who you know plans to breastfeed. Breastfeeding supplies are another one of those gifts that are not particularly exciting to purchase, but are a big help to a new mom, like me, who has zero clue how much her boobs are about to leak. Seriously, breast milk everywhere.

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What's your favorite gift to buy for new parents?

If you're a new parent, is there anything you would add to this list?

Becoming a SAHM | Stephanie @ Share the Love

Hello there (Bee)autiful Blessings readers!  I am so happy to be sharing here today while our beeautiful Kaity is spending precious time with her new little one.  My name is Stephanie and I blog over at Share the Love.

Share the Love was initially a private wedding blog used to update our wedding party on any wedding-related news.  After getting married, I made the blog public and just kept on writing.  These days I write mostly about my life as a wife and stay-at-home mom (although I could now change that to “working stay-at-home mom” since I *just* took the big leap and started my own part-time translation business from home!)  If any of you run home businesses, I would so appreciate getting some tips!  Mostly, I’m curious about how to work accounting.  I’m also looking for free/cheap reliable accounting software.  If you have any suggestions, please e-mail me at Stephanie.farrel12@gmail.com

So today I’m going to share with you how I came about the decision of working from home.

When I first found out we were expecting last year, my husband and I agreed that I’d be going back to work full-time (out of the home) in the fall, which meant when my baby would be about four months old.  Our plan was for my husband to stay home with our son until his parental leave was over in January 2015.   Being the great care-taker that he is, my husband would be a perfect stay-at-home Dad.

But our plans changed the night before my first job interview a few months ago.  I was nursing my 4-month old son at the time and he looked up at me with the sweetest most loving smile. His eyes were full of love. I saw in his eyes that I'm his whole world. And it hit me, a heart-wrenching sadness. I really don't want to return to full-time work right now.  I WANT to stay with my baby.  Actually there is nothing I want more than that.

That night after I put Kaid to sleep, hubby walks into the nursery to check up on us. I was a bit scared to tell him how I felt because I knew he was counting on me to go back to work to bring in more money.  Being on one income for the past few years while I was in school was hard on our family situation.  He spent the last two years supporting us financially. 

Once I said the words out loud, "I don't want to stop breastfeeding and leave my baby", I knew my husband "got it". I didn't need to say more. He looked at me approvingly and said "ok".  That moment was such a big weight of my shoulders.  

That was about three months ago and we’re so happy with our decision.  I love being home with my son.  Families, parents, moms and Dads need to do what’s best for their family.  Sometimes it’s going back to work, sometimes it’s staying home, and sometimes it’s a bit of both.  For me, it’s staying home with my son (for now).

What about you?  Have any of you gone back to work when your babies were very young to make sure you provided financially for your family?  Or does staying home work better?

My Nursing Story | Sarah @ The Not Quite Military Wife

Hi everybody!  I'm Sarah and I blog over at The Not Quite Military Wife.  I hope Kaity is enjoying those newborn snuggles right about now.  I recently welcomed my second baby back in November so this topic is still very fresh for me.  I've always loved reading other mama's nursing stories so I thought I would take the time to share my own!

Wildclover Photography

While I was pregnant, I read up on Breastfeeding A LOT.  I had only heard horror stories or don’t worry, everything will be great stories.  I wasn’t really sure what to think…so I assumed the worst.  I’m the type of person who would rather be prepared for the worst case scenario and not be surprised when it actually happens.  I went into labor assuming that I would have an uphill battle ahead of me. 

When they laid my little baby on my chest, my world stopped.  I was overwhelmed with happiness.  We tried to breast feed within ten minutes of birth.  Aislynn latched just barely onto my nipple.  I knew that wasn’t the latch we were looking for, but the nurse said it can take a few days and not to worry.  

After I was transferred down to the maternity ward, we breastfed every two hours.  My daughter always had a shallow latch and by the end of the day, my nipples were killing me.  They were so red and sore.  Thankfully, all of my nurses helped me with latching on.  They taught me new positions and helped reattach her mouth to be more open.  Those nurses were a lifesaver for me.  But of course, that didn’t help with the pain.

The second night there, a nurse came in and gave me Lanisnoh and breast shields.  WOW, such a huge difference.  If there are any soon-to-be mamas out there, these are the two things you NEED to buy.  You can thank me later!

We went home and I knew that I would have to try hard to get her to latch on correctly.  My milk came in on day four and I was immediately engorged.  It was really painful on that first day but gradually got better.  When I first got engorged, my daughter could hardly latch on.  I tried massaging the area, using heat packs and expressing some milk beforehand to help.  Everything helped a little but not enough for that tiny mouth to latch on correctly.  So I let her just latch onto the nipple during those few days.  I was really only concerned with making sure she gained weight at the time.  After my engorgement was over, she was still only latching onto the nipple.  My fault I know.  I desperately tried everything to correct her latch.  But no such luck.  I could get her to latch on with her mouth wide open but after a few sucks, she would reattach her mouth smaller…just on the nipple. 

On top of her shallow latch, I couldn’t keep her awake to nurse to save my life!  I undressed her, blew on her, talked to her and touched her to keep her awake.  She also only nursed for five minutes on one side before she was done.  As a first time Mom, I was terrified that she was losing weight and the doctor would make me give her formula.  I wanted so desperately to breastfeed that I took the pain of the shallow latch, just so that she ate.  But no matter how hard things ever were, I was still so amazed by breastfeeding.  

However, I knew I couldn’t put up with this pain for forever…and I was getting more and more worried about her nursing habits.  So I made a very smart decision, I called a lactation consultant.  I was there for almost two hours and learned so much.  We learned that Aislynn had a shallow latch, even when sucking on a finger.  When we tried to get her to have a deeper latch, she would gag.  We also learned that even though she was only nursing for five minutes on one side, she was getting plenty to eat.  She was a very proficient in her nursing and I had a fast letdown.  This equaled fast nursing sessions.  We left with the knowledge that there wasn’t really anything we could do except practice a deeper latch by giving her a finger to suck on before nursing.  More importantly, I left with such a relief that I wasn’t doing anything wrong and that Aislynn was gaining weight. 

Those next few weeks, things got slowly easier.  I got the hang of new positions, and figured out how to prevent leaking.  But no matter how hard things ever were, I was still so amazed by what we were able to accomplish.  The entire first month, I never looked away from her little face while she fed.  My neck would hurt so bad from always turning to stare at her, but I never got over the amazement of how perfect she was and how amazing a woman’s body is after labor.

I actually never ended up using my finger before nursing sessions to help our latch.  Maybe it was my renewed sense of accomplishment with breastfeeding or maybe it was just getting better with time, who knows.  As she got older, her latch got bigger and breast feeding became easier and less painful.  I remember thinking in those early weeks, that breastfeeding was the most challenging thing about bringing home a newborn.  And it truly was.  But time has seriously changed things.  Breastfeeding is one of my favorite parts of my day.  I can’t wait to feed my baby girl, to hold her and to cuddle her.  It gives me a sense of accomplishment to see her little rolls and know that she got them from me.  Now, months later, we are still exclusively breastfeeding and we wouldn’t give it up for the world.   If you are a soon-to-be mama or have a newborn now, don't give up!  Once you get past those first six weeks, everything gets better and easier.  Breastfeeding is truly one of the most wonderful bonding experiences you can share with your baby.  

Wildclover Photography
Thank you so much to Kaity for letting me take over her blog for the day!

Charlie's Birth Story: Part 1

I suppose it's about time that I refer to my child using his actual name. We hadn't officially decided on a name and wanted to wait until we "met" him to make the final call, which was why "Baby Pep" was a nice stand-in, but let it be known, that this kid does have a name. Anyway, I digress.

This is such a difficult post to start because delivering a baby is hands-down the most intense thing I've ever experienced. It is truly an impossible task to try and sum it up in words, but I want to record it while the memory is fresh in my mind.

On Charlie's due date, Saturday, December 20, my mom and sister arrived in the evening to stay with us for about a week to meet the new addition and just generally help Chuck and I acclimate to life as parents. Clearly, Charlie was not in a big hurry to make his way into the world so we spent our days baking Christmas cookies, taking long walks into my little town's downtown area and watching Christmas movies. On Tuesday, December 23 I had an appointment at my midwife's office. Since Chuck had to work that day (and after my fender-bender just days before, I wasn't exactly excited to hop back behind the wheel), my Mom and sister drove me to my appointment. We had a non-stress test done which Charlie kicked butt at. Then the midwife came in to discuss next steps. I took her up on her offer to strip my membranes to hopefully get things moving along and anxiously anticipated the contractions she said I would likely feel in a couple hours.

For the rest of the day I didn't have a single contraction, but lost a part of my mucous plug later that night much to my excitement. Chuck and I borrowed my Mom's car later that day to run some errands. Somehow the universe decided that within 1 week of totaling my car, our second car should puncture a tire. So after we stopped by the collision center to clean out and say our goodbyes to my vehicle, we dropped off car #2 overnight for new tires and prayed that it would be done by the time I went into labor.

On Christmas Eve, I hung out with my Mom and sister most of the day while Chuck helped his Mom run some errands and then hung out with his family for most of the evening while my ladies and I headed to a Christmas Eve Service at church. Chuck's mom was nice enough to insist on loaning us her car for the evening "just in case" so when Chuck came home shortly after the service, we decided it probably wouldn't be the worst idea to install one of our car seats in the back should the need for a speedy departure arrive. In hindsight, it seems like all of this craziness should have been our forewarning that things were about to start happening. 

Chuck and I spent a couple hours that night in bed watching Top Chef and when I decided at 12:00 am that I should really get some sleep, Chuck went out into the living room to finish watching a movie he had started earlier that day and promptly passed out. Nearly two hours later I awoke to a huge gush of fluid. I knew instantly that my water had broken and ran into the bathroom to try and clean myself up a bit. I quickly put on a maxi pad and went out to the couch to wake Chuck up and let him know what had happened. I called my midwife to let her know my water had broken, but I wasn't having any contractions. She recommended that if my contractions hadn't strengthened to come in around 8:00 am. My Mom heard all the commotion and came down to see what was going on. We all decided to go back to sleep since we wouldn't be getting any for awhile.

I lay in bed for about an hour waiting for my contractions to kick in, but was much too anxious to get any sleep. Around 3:30 am I finally got out of bed, told Chuck to stay sleeping and started primping and packing the last minute items in our hospital bags. I made myself breakfast and my Mom came down again and ate with me while we discussed when I should leave for the hospital. My contractions had begun, but were really light and I started timing them on my phone to see if there was any regularity to them. After we ate breakfast, she went back upstairs to try and sleep and I laid on the couch next to our Christmas tree hoping a change in location might help me catch some shut-eye. After two hours of laying on the couch with no hope of sleep in sight, I gave up and called the birthing center at 6:30 am to let them know we'd be heading in soon. The nurse on-call informed me that all three rooms in the birthing center were full so I'd have to go to triage and wait until our room was ready. I made myself a little more to eat knowing that I would need plenty of sustenance to keep up my strength.

At 7:00 am I woke Chuck up and my sister came down stairs asking if we could open presents because it was, after all, Christmas morning. Because my contractions still weren't bad, we sat around the table together and exchanged gifts while I continued timing my contractions. It was a really peaceful, calm way to spend our morning together, but I was growing increasingly ready to get the show on the road, so by 8:00 am we were on the road headed to the hospital. At 8:45 am we checked in and were brought up to triage. The nurse hooked me up to monitor my contractions and baby's heart rate. My contractions were still unimpressive and inconsistent, but because my water had broken, I was admitted, received my IV port and was encouraged to walk around to get my contractions picking up.

Chuck and I walked around the labor and delivery wing for about an hour and by the end, my contractions had picked up to about 3 minutes apart, lasting about 30 seconds. They had grown increasingly uncomfortable, but I was still able to walk slowly through them. After an hour of walking, Chuck and I were ready for a break so we headed back to our little corner in the triage area around 12:00 pm. We ate some Clif bars we had packed and I laid back down on the bed to receive my first dose of antibiotics for my Group B strep. Unfortunately, all the walking we had done was completely wasted because as soon as I laid back down my contractions slowed to about every 10 minutes. As soon as my 30 minutes of antibiotics was done, we resumed walking for another hour and by the end my contractions had grown increasingly uncomfortable. By this point our room was finally ready so we brought in our bags, ordered some lunch and our midwife encouraged us to try and rest while we could. She checked my cervix and I was still only about 2-3 cm dilated and about 85% effaced. While not exactly the progress I was hoping for, it was something. So at 2:00 pm, I laid down to try and rest and prepare for the hours to come.

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Click here for Charlie's Birth Story: Part 2 and Charlie's Birth Story: Part 3.

Winter Book Challenge: December Check-In

Looking forward to lots more reading whilst snuggling Baby Pep, but here's where I'm at after the second month of Megan's Semi-Charmed Winter Book Challenge.

5 points: Freebie! Read any book that fits the general rules.

10 points: Read a book written by an author who has published at least 10 books. | Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (December 11, 2014)

10 points: Read a book of short stories. | My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Stephanie Perkins (December 23, 2014)

10 points: Read a book with a food in the title. | Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan (November 8, 2014)

15 points: Read the first book in a series that is new to you. | Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Currently reading)

15 points: Read a book that was originally written in a language that is not your native language.

15 points: Read a book written by a local author (either an author from your state if you live in the United States, or from your country if you live somewhere else).

20 points: Read a "bookish book" (in which books play an important role, e.g. the setting involves a bookstore or library, a major character is an author, or a book that celebrates reading and books. (Examples: The Book Thief, The Shadow of the Wind, The Thirteenth Tale, etc.)

20 points: Read a book with a direction in the title (e.g. north, south, east, west or any combination of those).

25 points: Read a book from a genre you don't usually read. | The Woodcutter by Kate Danley [Fantasy] (November 19, 2014)

25 points: Read a book with a song lyric in the title.  | Yes Please by Amy Poehler [Muse] (November 22, 2014)

30 points: Read two books with a different meal in each title (e.g. breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper, brunch).

PREVIOUS POINTS: 60
TOTAL POINTS: 80