Our baby boy is here! Liam Robert was born on December 29th at 8:05am. He is a big boy and weighed 8 lbs. 11 oz. It was a LONG and intense labor, but he's here and healthy and that is all that matters! I am not sure if people really enjoy reading other peoples birth stories, but I am not going to share mine on the blog. Everyone's journey is so different and how I gave birth to my son isn't going to tell you anything about how your story may go. What I will share is how we are doing and what is helping us with our newborn!
Today I wanted to share the 5 things that Joe and I couldn't live without as first time parents. This journey is really fun, but it's true what everyone says - You'll never be prepared! Every sneeze, cough, burp or diaper change is something new to us. Below are 5 items that are helping us stay (a little) sane and helping make our lives a little easier.
- The Brest Friend - I am breastfeeding and I honestly don't know how I'd do it without this pillow. In the hospital the lactation consultant has you use the hospital pillows stacked up, which (as you can imagine) are as thin as a sheet of paper. It was so difficult to prop Liam up and keep him up while feeding. This pillow supports his whole body, while giving my back support. I use it on the couch or in bed at the moment and I love it!
- Doona Stroller - People raved about this stroller to me while I was pregnant and now I totally get the hype. Granted we have only used it to bring him home from the hospital and then to the pediatricians twice, but it's to easy to use and get in and out of the car quickly (which is key since it's like -4 outside).
- BabyBum Diaper Cream Brush - Like all newborns, Liam had a bad diaper rash in the first week or so of his life. It's gone now, but we are still using a lot of diaper cream to make sure it stays away! Before Liam, I didn't know anything about different diaper creams or the joys of changing 15 diapers a day. This brush helps LOAD the diaper cream on and keep our hands clean so the cream doesn't get all over the clean diaper or Liam. Clean hands make for a faster diaper change, which is key!
- Zipper Onesies - Another thing people recommended to me to do while I was pregnant was to load up on zipper onesies. Silly me, I thought I had bought enough of them! But I was wrong. This kid goes through more clothes in a day than I can articulate. We do a lot of laundry and I have already ordered more onesies on Amazon and Hanna Anderson.
- Elvie Stride Pump and Dr. Brown Bottles - There are times in the day that I NEED to give my tatas a rest. I am obsessed with my pump because it is portable and I don't have to be plugged in to use it. It's worked great so far and I am really happy with it. I got it (mostly) covered by insurance and it was so easy to order. I literally goggled, "breast pumps covered by insurance" and used Byram Healthcare Centers to order it. The Dr. Brown bottles were recommended to us by my lactation consultant and Liam seems to love them! We haven't had any trouble with nipple confusion or anything of the sort! (No idea if this comes later in life or what, but I'll let ya know if it does).
There are about 100 other items that we are using right now for our little man, but besides the stroller, these are things that we touch everyday, about 100 times a day. I will share more items as he gets older and as we use things more. I am already putting together a list of things that "aren't worth the hype" and things that are!