Time Saving Tips for the New Mom

When you become a mom you list of things to do gets longer and longer but you don't have more time to do everything. Here are a few things that I do to keep the laundry down and my morning routine as efficient as possible.

1 - Moms might recognize these as the pads they lay out on your hospital bed when you're giving birth. Well, we bought a bunch from SAM's Club and use them on the changing table and for a short time we even taped some up on the wall in the "splash zone". Yes, babies can catapult their poop onto walls and lamps.

 

2 - Disposable wipes/burp cloths. When were in the hospital they had these great clothes that we used for burp cloths and we asked where we could get some. All the nurses replied that as far as they knew they were only found at medical retailers. Well when we went into the Care by Parent (something they do for NICU babies) the nurse gave us a whole, unopened bag. JACKPOT! We had everything we needed to order it online! So we ordered 600 of them!

3 - Setting her clothes out for the week is real time saver for my morning routine, I just have to grab an outfit and get her dressed. I don't have to look through the mounds of clothes she has and pick something last minute...hmm, maybe I should do this for my clothes too...

DIY Celulite Reducing Scrub

I wanted to try a cellulite reducing scrub ever since giving birth. I feel like my skin is more dimply now. You can find these scrubs all over pinterest so I thought I would give it a try and let you know what I think.

I followed the simple recipe of 1/2 cup coffee grounds, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 olive oil. I mixed them all together in a container and applied to my thighs and stomach before my shower. I massaged it for about 5 mins.

I bought the cheapest of all products and used in-store coupons that were available to make this the least expensive way possible.

Survey Says - - - I think it works! I noticed less dimples and smoother skin. I definitely recommend applying the scrub before you shower since you'll need to wash all of it off and you'll need soap to get all the oil off. I'll be bringing this with me the next time we take a beach vacation for sure! Plus it smells pretty good!

10 Hardest Things About Maternity Leave

Most of us have been there, sitting around on maternity leave, the baby just went to sleep and you start to think... what have I done today? You took care of a baby thats what! Here are some things you might find difficult about maternity leave. 

1. Watching the clock.
I took 12 weeks off, the most I am allowed by law to keep my job. And I did start to watch the clock when I had about 3 weeks left. And I started to hold her a little longer when I could because I knew I would never get those moments back. I love the feeling when she falls asleep on me.

2. Trying to cram too much in.
I didn’t try to cram anything in except maybe a workout or two. I didn’t try to craft or cook or anything. Heck, it was a good day if I made it out of my pjs!

3. Worrying about what’s going on at work (or the fact that you’re not).
I was in a position at work that I was unhappy with so I didn’t really worry or care with what was going on at the office. I am happy to report that I have moved to another position within the company and it seems like a better fit.

4. Getting anxious about missing milestones.
This did happen to me. My mother-in-law was able to watch her for 3 weeks when I first went back to work. She would take pictures all day and post them Facebook and I loved that! We do get pictures from daycare but only a few a week so it's just not the same.

{you can see just how small she was in the far left picture}

5. Trying to squeeze into your old work wardrobe.

Yeah…I didn’t even try this because I knew it wasn’t going to happen. I spent a pretty penny buying a new work wardrobe. To be honest, I hated it! Before I knew my exact size at all my favorite stores and now I had to spend hours trying on different sizes and seeing what worked and what didn’t. Shopping is (at least for right now) not fun since I am still a bigger size than I was.

6. Envying your partner.
While I do envy how quickly he can get up and get out the door I did not envy him getting out of the house while I was on leave. Like I said above, I wasn’t happy at my job so staying home was fine with me.

7. Feeling isolated.
I did feel a little isolated at times since I really couldn’t take her anywhere (at least until she got her shots). But when my husband came home from work he was on Daddy duty and I was able to go for a short walk or bike ride.

8. Agonizing about child care.
I think having my mother-in-law there really helped me transition emotionally. Although I am sad that I don’t get to spend the day with her, daycare is a part of life and it's just what we have to do. I need to socialize and be challenged as much as she does.

9. Not being able to say where the time goes.
Feed, sleep, repeat - that was reality. People would ask how I was and I would just reply, "You know, busy taking care of a baby." I don’t know what else to say?! I mean I am fine and doing well but my life revolves around her right now.

10. Embracing the chaos.
Parenthood pretty means having a messy house for the rest of your life! With 2 dogs and a baby to take care of things get a little crazy! I keep her room cleaner than any other room in the house!

4 Month Check In

Whoa! I cannot believe that August is almost over and I have 4 month old! So, how are we doing?

Alana
She is doing great! At her 4 month check up (a few weeks ago already) she was 23.5 inches tall and was 10lbs 15oz. She is measuring in the 5th percentile in both. Our little tiny darling.

Mommy & Daddy
We are hanging in there! We are very tired since Alana is going through a growth spurt and started wanting to eat again during the wee hours of the morning. We had about 3 1/2 weeks of her sleep through the night before she started her growth spurt. We are hoping to make it over this hump soon and get back to some good nights sleep.

We are also adjusting to dropping her off at daycare and picking her up. We try to minimize her time there as much as we can. I do love that they do little art projects with her and our fridge is already starting to get decorated! My little Picasso!

The Dogs
Coco and Lola are doing fine. We still have a "cage" around the living room to keep them off the carpet and away from Alana's things. Coco will put any and everything in her mouth and I don't need another thing to wash right now... or to have surgery to get whatever she ate out!

Preparing Your Dog for Baby's Arrival

We are a 2 dog house hold - one English Bulldog and one Old English Bulldog (1/2 American Bulldog and 1/2 English Bulldog). Our English, Lola, is probably one of the best dogs in the world character wise, she is so chill. Coco on the other hand is the female dog version of Dennis the Menace! Coco will speed towards the door when the doorbell rings, she will jump on you as a greeting and then she will pee everywhere (because she is a submissive pee-er). She was the real hurdle were having trouble crossing when we brought Alana home. We bought a book about how to tell your dog you're expecting but with reading What to Expect... and Baby Wise I didn't get around to reading it.

Of course we brought home some blankets she had used in the NICU but I'm not really sure how much that helps our 4 legged friends. I think dogs, and animals in general, have a 6th sense and know when a being is a baby or toddler...

After my 12 weeks of maternity leave was up we decided to invest in Coco and sent her to a 2 week board and train camp. I have to say it was nice not to have her in the house and I think Lola was less stressed by having her gone. But Coco came back and I have to say she is much better. We have to work with her every day but she is worth it; just look at that face...

What have you done to prepare your dog for baby's arrival?

Daycare Essentials

Sending your baby off to daycare can be an emotional time. I was lucky enough to have my mother-in-law watch our daughter for the first 3 weeks I went back to work and I feel like that really helped me with the transition. Below are some things that you’ll need before you child goes to daycare; some I knew and some I didn’t know.

1: Bottle labels – Permanent marker will come off with a few washes so you can use the bands or you can buy these really cute permanent and washable labels that I got from ModishCC on etsy! I like these because they are small and can go on anything. You’ll need more than you thought since you have to label the bottle and bottle caps. I also put one on her pacifier, pacifier clip and car seat. 

2: Pacifier & Pacifier clip – Our daycare said they could provide one for us but I bought one anyway

3: Cooler for bottles – Our daycare gave us one which is really helpful! Our pediatrician also gave us one when we had our first visit.

Of course don’t forget all the changes of clothes you’ll need, extra diapers and wipes. What I didn’t know was that they actually initial every single diaper!

And as a working parent I found it really helpful to layout all her clothes for the week by Sunday night. No thinking in the morning, just get her changed, fed and out the door!

What are some things you find helpful for getting the kid-o to daycare?

A Travel Themed Baby Shower

Welcome to the World

If you were a reader from travel mi amor then you know I HAD to have a travel themed baby shower. The theme was Welcome to the World!

Lets start with the crafts:

1 - Mod Podge Kleenex boxes and letters. Except we didn't use mod podge, my mom found out that using Elmer's Clear Glue (not gel) works just as well as mod podge; and its cheaper! We just painted the maps onto the Kleenex boxes and cardboard letters. They looked perfect!

2 - The 'Welcome' wreath was made by my best friend and co-host of the shower. I had seen many of these wreathes on Pinterest using wrapping paper for the holiday season. It turned out great and I LOVE it! Here is the tutorial she used.

3 - The food labels and gift tags were made by me using my Silhouette. This machine is pretty cool! If you're cleaver enough you can design your own designs or you can purchase some from the design studio.

4 - We also made some banners out of maps. This was pretty easy since we just cut out some triangle and strung them together with twine.

The food was one of the coolest things out everything I think! We had food from some of favorite countries!

America - Mini Hamburgers & Cupcakes

France - Macarons

Italy -  Spaghetti

Mexico - Taco Cups

Germany - Soft Pretzels

Asia - Crab Rangoon

And as a 'Thank You' to everyone that came I had little boxes filled with European chocolates and cookies! 

I absolutely LOVED my baby shower! Thank you so much to my friend Ashley, my mom and my mother-in-law for hosting and putting it together!