My Best Mom Discoveries

Being new to this Motherhood thing, I don't claim to have much all figured out. But, having been in it for 100 days now, there are a few things I've discovered that really work for me that I thought I would share.

1. Milk Nursing Wear has the best post-baby clothes out there. I didn't realize how important this really was.  My first in public nursing experience, I had on a maternity shirt that tied in the back. I had to untie it, then lift it up, exposing the stretchy top of my maternity pants, and exposing my one week post partum belly. Not very conducive to confident, convenient public breast feeding! Having a couple of these on hand would have been very handy, especially since it is hard to feel comfortable in that post-baby body, all while juggling feeding a person from your boobs.

I love that these shirts make me feel pretty and are very discreet to nurse in, to the point that you don't need a cover and no one can really tell you are nursing after baby is latched on. I don't like using the cover since it is just another piece of fabric to fuss with and is mostly in the way. You can shop anytime since it is online and they ship quickly. Their clothes hang nicely and so far have held up really well. They even have videos of their models wearing the clothes which helps you envision what they look like on a real person- and how they open up for nursing. Considering I plan to nurse for several more months, even up to another year or so, good nursing clothes are important to me. And, anything that helps making going out with baby easier is also motherhood gold. So, I'm sold on this line of clothes! And for the record other people do sell nursing clothes but many of them have you pop your boob out the top of the shirt which is not discreet at all and stretches out the shirt. I've tried a couple brands and found Milk to be the freshest ;).

2. Cloth diapers are the bomb. I did paper diapers for the first two months, and I guess I'm glad I did since the poopy diapers were so frequent at that point. But after the first month, the diaper changes are a little less frequent and there is rarely more than one poo diaper a day. I bought some used diapers from a mom who was finished with them and then bought some "g" diapers from target.com and have really found them super easy, as does Jon. We've not bought any paper diapers to date, we've only used the ones we received as gifts, and are enjoying the financial and environmental benefits cloth diapers offer. I really like the "g" diapers because they create very little laundry as there is just an absorbent pad that can be swapped out when wet. They are super easy and wash up really well. And if you time it right, you can hang them outside and save the energy on the dryer and the sun bleaches out stains and kills any remaining germs. I'm not a laundry person but this is totally worth it to not have to work diapers into our budget. I also use wash cloths when I can to wipe her down. They wash clean with the diapers. If I had known Target and Walmart carried cloth diapers I would have definitely registered for some. I really have enjoyed them and feel so earth friendly with each diaper change. 

AB in her cloth diaper

3. Anything you can do to help your baby sleep is worth it. I studied up on sleep and got advice from some really helpful family members that recently had babies. I read Dr. Weissbluth's book on sleep training and implemented my own plan to sleep train Annabelle. We started around 8 weeks and just eased into it by laying her down when drowsy, but still awake and giving her the opportunity to go to sleep on her own, rather than in our arms. We had been walking or rocking her for about 4 hours or more prior to this to try and soothe her until she finally fell asleep. It was back breaking, frustrating and exhausting. She started sleeping through the night very soon after that and takes good naps in the day. This has made our lives- and my work- so manageable. Annabelle is almost always happy now that she is getting plenty of sleep and rarely cries- which is worlds different from her newborn days! I get my studio work done without having to have another caregiver on hand and we enjoy uninterrupted sleep at night. Sleep patterns are always changing as they grow- she is now waking herself up now that she can move more, so I'll be learning more about how to deal with rolling, sitting and standing soon I'm sure. But I'm convinced that good sleep habits start young and are really important for brain development and a good night's sleep. The books teach about chronic sleep deprivation and how it inhibits learning, the ability to fall asleep, sleep habits later in life, and a child's overall development. I couldn't have waded through the ins and outs of infant sleep without the book and my friend's good experiences they shared.

Those are my discoveries! I love hearing other people's successes in parenthood so feel free to share yours with me if you have some. Being a first time mom I feel there is so much to learn, and every stage is so vastly different, yet fleeting. In a couple years, all of this will be ancient history, but today, I'm living them. It's all so new and interesting. I couldn't have imagined any of this- but am so glad I am now. 

Much love,

Lisa