New Mommy Survival List (Baby Edition)

So, you're preggo! Congrats! Let's go register!! I was super excited to get that fun little registry gun and roam the aisles of the baby superstore. Until I actually got in the store and I walked down the first aisle and saw the 50+ different brands of baby stuff I had never heard of. It was very different than Wedding Registry, because you know you'll need a toaster and silverware and you can basically just pick whatever you want and it'll be fine. But figuring out what brand you should get for the carseat... a little more daunting. (In my experience, we picked Graco because it's a well known brand with an awesome warranty.)

So, here's my top 9 list of things you'll want to use those gift cards on if nobody gets them off your registry! Of course every mom is different, and every baby is different, but here's the things that saved me!


1. Swaddle- We found that the zipper swaddles did not work as well, because she could work her arms up and get her hand out the top! The velcro ones are awesome, but you'll want a few different sizes because they grow out of them fast!

2. White Noise Machine- There's a lot of debate over white noise machines, if they are beneficial for your child or not, but we love them! Especially while your baby is still sleeping in your room! We placed it right under her bed and at the highest volume.

3. Pacifiers- I was totally against pacifiers when Emery was first born. "She doesn't need them." I told the nurses. "She's fine. It will cause nipple confusion and she won't breastfeed!!" Flash forward to my third night at home with her at 3am and she's screaming bloody murder >> I popped a pacifier in her mouth and it was done with. Instantly stopped crying, instantly went to sleep. Pacifier boycott over.  (She's slept with one ever since.) I recommend registering for a few different kinds, since you never know which one's your baby will like!

4. Boppy- LIFE SAVER. Especially for middle of the night feedings! Emery doesn't have to have it now, but I still use it most feedings so I can have my hands free!

5. Rock and Play- My sister-in-law was the one who gave me the heads up about this- absolutely awesome! I can't tell you how many times Emery would start to stir in the night and I just reached over and rocked her back to sleep! Super awesome! Emery still sleeps in hers even though we've moved her into her room.

6. Video Monitor- Seriously one of the best inventions, ever. I registered for the same one that the family I nannied for used, just because I was already familiar with it! It has some bad reviews online, but I haven't had any problems with it. It also allows you to purchase a second camera by itself, so you can have two cameras and only one monitor. (Ya know, for when baby #2 shows up!)

7. Gas Drops and Gripe Water- Yes, you'll need both. Just trust me, okay? Gripe Water works great for excessive crying, upset tummy, hiccups, and just plain irritability! It's usually my go to if I've tried everything and she's still upset. (I feel okay to give it to her in those situations because it's all natural - not medicine.) However, when your baby is SCREECHING and pulling her legs up in pain, you'll want Gas Drops. Emery had her first dose at 1.5 weeks old after I ate lasagna for three meals in a row and apparently did a work on her belly! Seeing her have instant relief calmed this new mama's heart. (Tip: Gas Drops help to make big bubbles into little bubbles, so after you give them to your baby, try to burp her or lay her on her back and bicycle her legs until she works some toots out!)

8. Gowns- (Yes for boys, too!) Picture this: it's 2:14 am. You've been asleep for 27 minutes. Total. The whole night. And you are awoken by a crying baby. And then: the smell. Yes, your sweet child has done pooped herself. (The bright side is she'll probably sleep better now.) So you roll out of bed, fumble around for a diaper and wipes, and then pick up your baby and try to unsnap three very small snaps in the light of the moon. Yeah, forget that. Gowns make it at least 5x easier for a zombie to change a diaper. (The zombie is you, if you didn't catch that.)

9. Young Living Peace and Calming Essential Oils- Okay, so you can't register for this. But I guarantee you that you know somebody who sells Young Living. (Actually I sell it, so... yeah.) My friend Melissa signed up to bring us dinner when Emery was brand new and she also brought along some samples of Peace and Calming Oil. I let those little samples sit under a pile of mail until one night I was so fried and desperately wanted some good sleep, and I remembered them! I put just a little on Emery's chest and bottom of her feet that night after her bath, and I kid you not she slept for 6 hours that night. I woke up at 5am in PANIC mode. But she was just fine, snoozing away like a little hippie baby wearing her essential oils! From that night (She was 5 weeks old) on we have put it on her after her bath. It's sorta like my best friend.



Well, there ya go! What were your favorite items for those first couple months of pure survival mode?

You Think You Know...

Remember that show on MTV back in the day called "Diary"? It would follow celebrities around to give you a look inside their life? Well, the opening credits said, "You think you know, but you have NO idea."

That little saying was on repeat in my frazzled head the first month of Emery's life. It was 3 am, and Emery had been asleep for 2.5 seconds. Okay, it was more like an hour, but it felt like 2.5 seconds.

Before I had Emery, I honestly thought I knew what being a mom would be like. I kept telling myself, "I'm going to be really tired. That's okay, there's coffee for that." LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING. Coffee doesn't mean (insert your profanity of choice) at 3am. Or at 1am. Or at 6:42am when your husband's alarm is about to go off and you haven't slept more than 2 hours.

Transitioning into being a parent is much, much more than just "being tired". First off, you aren't just "tired". You are exhausted. More exhausted than you have ever been in your entire life. Don't try to fight me on this. You are more tired than that all-night lock-in at the local rec center in 6th grade. More tired than that night you stayed up with your dog barfing until 3am. More tired than the time you drank a Redbull too close to bedtime and you were up until 6 and then had to get up for work at 7. And here's why- after all of those times, eventually, you got to sleep for more than 8 hours. When you have a sweet, precious little infant, that doesn't happen. For months. Seriously.

"But, Haley, just sleep when the baby sleeps! You'll be fine!" NO. Sleeping when the baby sleeps, sometimes, just flat out doesn't happen. Because you have to eat, go to the bathroom, and Lord willing TAKE A SHOWER. Oh, and the dog has to be let out, and the laundry has to be done, and grocery shopping and vacuuming and dinner prep and bills and work and honestly, sometimes I just want to watch the latest episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and the only time to do it is when she's sleeping.

And then, there's the crying. Emery didn't even have Colic and I wanted to pull my hair out over how often she cried. Here's the thing you have to learn: sometimes babies just cry. For no reason. Sweet, huh? Think you're having a hard time adjusting to having a kid? Babies are adjusting, too. Their little tummies are figuring out how to work and they're learning to live life on the outside and breathe air!

This one time, I begged Josh to just hold our screaming child long enough for me to pluck my eyebrows. Priorities, people.

Also, I knew babies smelled bad, but I was not expecting how bad I would smell. I have now gotten used to the stench of motherhood- it's either spit up or spoiled milk, and did anyone else have to buy a stronger deodorant after having a kid? I don't know if it's hormones or what, but my B.O. is out of control ever since I had Emery - maybe it's because there are days I legitimately cannot remember the last time I took a shower? Also, GROSS ALERT- somedays Josh will call that he's on his way home from work and I realized I haven't even brushed my teeth that day. Sick.

All this "complaining" to say, being a mom is hard. And I know you've probably heard this before, but it's SO WORTH IT. It's hard to grasp that when you just got poop all over you and your kid won't breastfeed and all you want to do is cry. (I swear I don't know who cried more in Emery's first month- me or her.) But then, miraculously, they start sleeping through the night. And when you go in their room in the morning, you're greeted with a smile. A sweet, drooling, gummy little smile because she knows who you are. And that makes it all okay. Until you pick her up and she spits up down the front of your shirt.

So I've learned to laugh at a lot of it. And I've reached out to other moms about the hard things, and I'm realizing that we've got to stick together! United we stand, mom's. UNITED. WE. STAND. Dramatic, much? It's okay to admit that somedays, being a mom sucks. It just does. And it's okay to say that. It doesn't make you a bad mom, or wife, or person. It makes you real. Nobody is perfect and that's okay. Let's laugh together. Let's pray for each other. Let's tell each other the gross stories. About the times when you stick your kid in the crib for "play time" when really it's just "give Mom a break time".

Let's just be real.