life with sammy

hello friends! as you can imagine, life has been a bit crazy for us these days. everyone told us having kids is hard, but boy, nothing quite prepares you for it. i feel like i've been living in a haze for the last two months -- a constant cycle of feedings, changing diapers, and attempting to put a fussy baby to sleep. now that sammy is into this 3rd month, he is starting to develop a routine, and i am able to get some rest, and even brush my teeth from time to time. :) though i am in constant mourning of my hair (literally clumps of hair are falling out at a time), my pre-baby figure, and lack of sleep, i am starting to enjoy being a mom to our adorable lil baby boy. it is strange how you can't wait till he is older and can sleep through the night, but at the same time, wish he wouldn't grow up too fast so you can cuddle with him a bit longer before he is running around everywhere and causing all sorts of havoc around the house.

as a first time mom i depended A LOT on the wisdom of other mothers (and google). i received a lot of great advice and i thought i would pass them along to all the new moms out there.

here is a list of some things i couldn't have lived without.


california baby products - these products were recommended to me by other moms, and i have to agree with them, they are great. i love the way they smell and sammy hasn't had any negative reactions to them. they are pricer than other products so i don't know how long we will be using them, but during the newborn stage we wanted to be extra careful of what we put on his skin.

aden + anais swaddle blankets - i think these blankets are on everyone's list. they are lightweight, soft and big. we use them to swaddle sammy, as a travel blanket, car seat cover, nursing cover, etc. they are a bit expensive but worth it. we've washed ours so many times and they still look brand new.

baby aquaphor - this stuff is amazing! it's great for diaper rashes, and under chubby skin folds that can get raw if you are not careful about washing them.

motherlove nipple cream - umm...breastfeeding is HARD. i had the hardest time trying to breastfeed, and still have not quite mastered it. nonetheless, this cream is a breastfeeding mom's best friend. it's all natural and really helps soothe sore, cracked and blistered nipples.

medala breast pump - if you want to breastfeed, (and there is nothing wrong with formula feeding btw), invest in a good breast pump. my lovely friends in vancouver purchased this for me and it has been a life saver. i used it in the beginning to increase my milk supply, and now i use it so mike can bottle feed sammy, while i get some much needed time to myself.

anna & eve swaddle strap - sammy was born in the summer. as he got bigger he would get hot in a swaddle blanket. we love this swaddle strap because he can just sleep in a onsie during the uber hot virginia summer nights. it also makes those late night diaper changes so much easier.

boba sleep wrap - hands down my favorite. i can not tell you how much i (and sammy) love this thing. it is a bit tricky to get on, but so worth it. before sammy got into a bit of a sleep rhythm, this was the only way for me to put him to sleep without having to drive around the neighborhood for two hours (and trust me i did this). it's comfortable, and let's you do a few chores around the house while carrying the baby...but more importantly sammy loves it, and almost immediately calms down when i put him in it.

mam pacifiers - i know there are a lot of moms that do not use pacifiers for various reasons, however we love them. it helps sammy calm down when he is in one of his moods (which he is in a lot). these were gifted to us so we haven't tried other brands. i like these because they are small and lightweight.

sound machine - sound travels in our house and a sound machine has enabled us to have guests over and do chores around the house without fear of waking up our sleeping baby. newborns also love white noise so it's a win win. (we bought this particular one because it was recommended by a friend and had great reviews on amazon. we do love it, but there are cheaper ones out there).

lansinoh nursing pads - breastfeeding = leaky boobs = need for nursing pads. enough said.

nosefrida snotsucker - despite having daddy's nose, sammy is congested a lot. this lil device is awesome. don't worry you don't get snot in your mouth.

my brestfriend nursing pillow - breastfeeding can be hard on your arms, back and neck. this pillow really helps support the baby, keeping both you and the baby comfortable.

crane humidifier - babies get congested so a humidifier is a must. crane makes the cutest ones.

boon lawn drying rack - having a baby means washing a lot of bottles, pumping parts, and pacifiers. we love this rack because it dries all our baby things, and as an added bonus is super cute. you can throw the whole thing in the dishwasher too.

lastly, here are some books we found helpful. in particular, we really like the baby whisperer's EASY method. we have been trying to follow that schedule for awhile now and really enjoy it (sample EASY schedules).