All month at BirminghamMommy.com we are going to be featuring tips and bits of knowledge for new moms. We already do this throughout the year, but you’ll see a lot of it this month. And we don’t know everything!! Please comment and let us know your opinion!

This is all you need to know:
Most essential book ever: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. Seriously, it’s ESSENTIAL.

It’s a good middle ground book- it doesn’t fall into either extreme— it’s not strict like Babywise and not attachment parenting like Dr. Sears, but somewhere in the middle. The author promotes the idea that sleep is vital to your child’s health.
More or less the idea is to follow a few guidelines:
1. watch your child for signs of drowsiness (it explains the signs)
2. put him/her down to sleep when you first see the signs of tiredness
3. most children under 6 months do not stay awake for longer than 2-3 hours at a time
4. DO NOT just put your child down to nap when you feel like it – that’s just letting him/her cry, not TEACHING them to sleep
5. Most children need to go to sleep at night earlier than you’d think
6. Going to bed earlier promotes later sleeping, Sleep begets sleep!

I had no idea about #6… I was putting my son to bed later and later hoping he’d sleep past 4am. Then I put him to bed at 6:30pm one night and he slept until 7:30am. That wasn’t a fluke, it became his normal routine. The book also helped me get him on a nap schedule. He was overall so much happier when well-rested.

It also addresses colic and a myriad of other obstacles for sleep. It goes well into preschool and school-aged childrens’ sleep issues as well. Go online and read some of the reviews, you’ll be sold!

All month at BirminghamMommy.com we are going to be featuring tips and bits of knowledge for new moms. We already do this throughout the year, but you’ll see a lot of it this month. And we don’t know everything!! Please comment and let us know your opinion!

My personal favorite and most-have stuff: pack n play, video monitor, playmat, sleepsacks, swaddlers, temporal scan thermometer, exersaucer, bouncy seat, good stroller

THE pack ‘n play. It is by far the most important piece for us. You use it when they’re babies to sleep in, change diapers on, etc. Then it’s a playpen, then it’s a travel bed for toddlers. It is the single item I would invest in and choose very carefully.

Video Monitor– I gave my dish here.

The exersaucer– At our house it was the mobile command unit. It was frequently dragged from room to room it was so useful.

Bouncy seat– It bounces, vibrates and is easy to pick up and take room to room. Both of my kids lived in it for the first 4 months.

Stroller— Find the right one, for me it was one with a built in footboard for a second kid, thereby eliminating the need and expense of a double stroller.

After you have kids, your garage turns into the place where misfit strollers go to die. It’s really hard to find the right fit. A stroller is something that you will either love or hate. When I was newly pregnant, my parents gave me a Peg Perego Pliko P3 as a gift. Did I research it at all? NO. Was it expensive? YES. Does that mean it should be good? I hoped so.

That was (gasp) 4 years ago! 2 kids later, I can tell you this about the P3- It’s a great stroller and worth every cent! Here’s my breakdown:

Pros:
Footboard for toddler to ride on, hands down the BEST feature, and it’s the only stroller on the market with a built-in footboard.
Fits a Peg Perego infant seat, and has a strap to fit any seat
Folds well even one-handed
Rides smooth, not bumpy at all

No space to throw your keys, only one cupholder (though you can buy attachments)

The lowdown— this is the stroller to have if you plan to have 2 kids. My 18 month old sits in the stroller and my 3 year old rides on the footboard. It makes life so much easier. It’s defintely on my list of most valued baby products!

They currently retail for around $365, but there are plenty of options on eBay or albeebaby.com for much less.

Thanks to mommy Abby for the tip on albeebaby.com! Great site!

All month at BirminghamMommy.com we are going to be featuring tips and bits of knowledge for new moms. We already do this throughout the year, but you’ll see a lot of it this month. And we don’t know everything!! Please comment and let us know your opinion!

I was asked by a mom-to-be for any advice… and at first I thought “I dunno!” But then I regained my senses, peeled kid #2 off of me, gave kid #1 a sippy cup, and started rattling off little bits of what I consider priceless knowledge!

ENJOY!

The pack n play is essential– invest in it.

To save space buy a high chair that fits on a kitchen chair… I wish I had done that. Or the kind that hooks onto the table.

Bassinet is not necessary if you’re tight on money, you can just put the pack n play in your room.

No one I know ever used their diaper genie, and neither did I. There are so many diapers (~ 10 a day) in the beginning, we all just put them in plastic walmart or grocery store bags.

Wipe warmer is the most useless thing ever.

A cloth diaper makes the best burp cloth.

Bibs, lots of them… but if they don’t have some kind of plastic backing, they won’t help much. I buy cheap ones b/c they get ruined so fast.

Don’t open all the bottles. Buy or register for one or two of each kind… some babies are really picky about which bottle they’ll take. Same goes for pacifiers… get one of each.

And last but certainly not least…
Don’t take tags off unless you have to and save receipts!! A lot will end up unused, just because of how fast the first month flies by.

And we have so much more we can and will share… motherhood gives you knowledge and lots of trial and error tips! Stay tuned!