Helping Your Pet Adjust to the New Baby: A Smooth Transition
Friday, August 11, 2023
Preparing Financially For Your New Bundle Of Joy
Monday, January 24, 2022
There’s no doubt about it; babies are expensive. If you’ve never been good with money, here are some tips to help financially prepare yourself for your new bundle of joy.
Bringing Home Baby: Preparing an Older Sibling
Friday, February 28, 2014
Wow. This pregnancy is going by so fast. I am 37 weeks pregnant today (full term) and tomorrow is the first day of the month I'm due! There are some great articles about how to prepare your older child for a new sibling. Some of my favorites are from fellow bloggers. I have been trying multiple techniques to prepare SweetPea. I want a non-medicated birth this time around, but my true fear is after the baby is here and how my big baby is going to react. Here are a few great reads that I have compiled since I have no experience with this one. :)
hello bee: Preparing for Sibling
Beauty Through Imperfection: 8 Ways to Help a Toddler Adjust to the New Baby
Dirt & Boogers: Preparing Toddlers for a New Baby - Books
JaMonkey: Talking to Your Kids About a New Baby
I love the idea of giving her a hospital gift bag from the baby at the hospital. So I decided to make SweetPea one. I found a ton of cute ideas online and took many from those I found on Pinterest. Here is what is in our bag:
Twigtale Personalized Storybook - Big Sister Lizzie {Review}
CafePress.com Big Sister Shirt {Review of CafePress}
Nuby Squid Squirter {Nuby Reviews} - I received a shipment for being a Nuby Mommy blogger for the new baby, but wanted to make sure I got something for SweetPea too. This goes hand in hand with getting them a gift when the baby gets a gift so they don't feel left out at showers and such. PLUS, a bath toy for her Aunite's house since she doesn't have any!
Little Cosmetics Pretend Makeup {Review} - something to play with at Auntie's house
Work books, coloring book, and crayons for hospital
Flash cards for hospital
Kandoo Hand Wash - to wash those hands so many times!
Sidewalk Chalk - so she (again) has some toys to play with at Auntie's house.
How did you prepare your children for a new baby?
Bringing Home Baby: Making Time For Marriage
Friday, February 14, 2014
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! :D
I took an accidental break last week and I apologize. I promise I will catch up. :)
So since today is Valentine's Day, I wanted to talk about a topic that is very, VERY important when you are bringing a new baby into the mix, making time for marriage. When I was pregnant the first time around, I didn't know how to involve my Hubby into the pregnancy. I made everything all about me or the baby and I didn't do a very good job with making sure he didn't feel left out. I guess I thought because we were trying to have a baby that he was just on board. Yes, I was going through all these changes physically, but I wasn't considering how he was going through everything emotionally. And because I didn't address these issues when I was pregnant, SweetPea's first year of life was hard. I continued making everything all about her and didn't make time for him and therefore he didn't make time for me. So I have decided to share the ways that I made changes, so this time he didn't feel left out. Whether you planned your pregnancy or not, here are my tips that have helped us through the past couple years. :)
1. Make sure you still date. Restaurant.com is a great resource to save money on going out to eat. You can also have tons of fun by even staying home with the help of Netflix or RedBox. But you need to make sure you still make one-on-one time with your Hubby.
2. Tell each other you love each other often, even if you're mad. Sometimes you can't resolve the argument before you go to bed or your spouse leaves for work, but even if you are mad at them, you still love them.
3. It's okay to apologize and say you're sorry. Don't let your ego get in the way when you know you are wrong. Sometimes you think that something you may have done wasn't a big deal, but it hurt your spouse's feelings. Say you're sorry that their feelings are hurt and explain where you are coming from. Apologizing doesn't mean you are admitting fault.
4. Talk about what's on your mind. Sometimes just talking about the stress (even if it can't be fixed) can make a big difference.
5. Communication is key. Everyone says this and it sounds cliche, but it's true. Even when you are arguing you, make sure it is productive. Just because you are "talking" doesn't mean you are saying the right things. You're mad, tell him why and how you feel, ask him how he is feeling. It sounds simple, but communicating the right way can take years of practice.
6. Let your child see the resolve and see how much you love each other. Show your spouse you love them. Your child will learn how to treat their spouse (and how to be treated BY their spouse) from watching their mother and father. So treat your significant other how you want your child treated.
Okay, now it's your turn.
What are some ways you feel help a marriage when there is a baby on board?
Please Vote For Us! :D
Bringing Home Baby: Birth Plans
Friday, January 31, 2014
Welcome back to our weekly series! This week we are discussing Birth Plans and why you should have one.
I had a birth plan when I had my daughter. But a lot of the things I wanted went out the window because I had to be induced, like being able to walk around to help alleviate labor pains. My mother-in-law scoffed at the idea when she found out I had one, but there are a ton of reasons why you should have one. So let's dig into them.
So what is a birth plan?
According to BabyCenter: "A birth plan is a document that tells your medical team your preferences for such things as how to manage labor pain. Of course, you can't control every aspect of labor and delivery, and you'll need to stay flexible in case something comes up that requires your birth team to depart from your plan. But a printed document gives you a place to make your wishes clear when you have a choice."
You should always talk to your doctor or midwife about your wishes before hand, but it's nice to have a birth plan when you go to the hospital just so the doctors and nurse can stay up to speed on your wishes and needs.
Why do you need a birth plan?
Do you want an epidural, no epidural, or go completely unmedicated?
Do you want a routine episiotomy?
Do you want to breastfeed or formula feed?
Do you want to circumcise or not?
Do you want to bank your child's cord blood?
Do you want to delay your baby's first bath?
Do you want to give your baby a pacifier or not?
These are all questions answered in your birth plan. Hospitals tend to have routines they like to stick to, but your labor is just that...yours. You don't want to feel robbed of a certain experience just because you didn't ask before hand, like having your baby cleaned on your chest so you can start bonding immediately or delay your baby's first bath so you can breastfeed as long as your baby wants to for that first time. Some of the things in a birth plan are routine. But you need to make sure everyone is on board. You have talked to your doctor about your plan and they understand your needs, but that doesn't mean the nurses at the hospital know. You should also talk to your partner/labor team and let them understand your birth plan, so they can get on board and help make sure unnecessary inventions aren't taking over. If you have no certain desires either way or you are a go-with-the-flow type of person, that's great! But even you should still have a birth plan too. It may not be as long or specific as others, but there will be some things that you will want to go one way or the other.
Here is a GREAT list of 10 FREE Printable Birth Plans.
I suggest going through each one and customizing one that's perfect for you.
I had a birth plan and no not everything went according to plan, but I am so glad I had one. Some of the things on my birth plan weren't very specific because I truly was go with the flow on most of the topics, but the main things I wanted happened the way I wanted them to and that was because I had a birth plan. So do your research and make an educated decision before diving in. Remember women have been this forever, but you are unique and so is your labor.
Did you have a birth plan? Did everything go according to plan? Looking back, would you change your original birth plan?
Bringing Home Baby: Preparing the Nursery & Registering
Friday, January 24, 2014
Welcome back to our weekly series! This week we are discussing preparing the nursery and registering. At 32 weeks preggo, I am just starting to actually get the nursery together. With that comes registering. I just registered. Online only. Mainly because I just found out that I was having showers. With SweetPea, I started registering as soon as I found out we were pregnant and even did walk through of the stores. I had received a ton of things as hand-me-downs, but knew we needed a ton more. The funny thing about registries is, no one seems to buy from them. There are those few people who do. And then there are those gifts that aren't on your registry, but they are so wonderful for different reasons. With SweetPea, everyone bought us clothes. I had received a ton of hand-me-downs from my former boss and although it was nice to have new stuff for her, we were over whelmed with the amount of clothes we had that she wore some things only once and some things not at all. That's one of the many reasons I'm excited about not finding out the sex of this baby before delivery. There are so many things we need again (because we got hand-me-downs the first time around, so although they made it through 3 babies, they weren't going to make it through a 4th) that don't have to be gender specific. Diapers, Lotions, Soaps, Wipes, etc. Plus I did register for some bigger ticket items that I am not expecting anyone to get us, like a new camera, a double stroller, a travel swing, and a Shark vacuum.
I honestly didn't think I would be getting a baby shower because this is my second baby and some people keep telling me I shouldn't because there isn't anything to buy since they don't know the sex (I think they are trying to guilt me in to finding out). But my husband's cousin asked about throwing us one because as she said "Every baby deserves to be celebrated". I thought that was just beautiful. And I am excited about the shower. She found these very cute neutral invitations on etsy (I don't know the shop).
The other great thing about registering is the free gifts you get! I registered at Babies-R-Us and Target where I received some AWESOME little gift packages. The best so far was actually from Motherhood Maternity though.
Since we aren't finding out the sex before hand, preparing the nursery means something different for me. We haven't been decorating like we did with my daughter (although we didn't go all out with hers because we were on a VERY limited income at the time).
Click image to view more pictures.
Preparing the nursery this time means shopping sales to stock up on diapers or getting essential items for review to blog about as income. Some of my favorites so far have been my Graco Jogger that included a Graco SnugRide Click Connect™ 35 Infant Car Seat (car seat is ALWAYS a good thing to get NEW with each baby for safety reasons), a sound machine, the Graco Little Lounger (rocker/bassinet), a baby food maker (although we use it for smoothies & pouches for SweetPea now), and a good carrier. Some of the things are already being used like the Talk & Soothe Digital Video Monitor. It has come in handy when I've wanted to spy on my daughter. ;)
A few things I think you should remember going into making your registry and completely your nursery:
1. Not everyone likes registries.
2. You aren't going to get everything you registered for (that's where gift cards come in handy).
3. And you will be grateful for EVERYTHING you get. Regardless on registry or not. Promise.
Below is a linky to share your baby posts. Please feel free to play along! You can view the full list of other posts coming your way, HERE.
Do you have any go to registry items? What's your favorite part about getting your nursery together?
Bringing Home Baby: Preparing Your Furbaby
Friday, January 17, 2014
Welcome back to our series! This is actually the first week of the series and I wanted to talk something I was so worried about during my first pregnancy. I was so worried that my dog would be jealous ofour newest little one and attack her or act out in another way. He did have a few little adjustments that needed to be made once she came home, but he never hurt her and was a very caring big brother from the start. I wrote a post back in July about our full introducing your new baby to your dog story, but here are some key points that can help you prepare your furbaby for the change. Please note that I am NOT an animal trainer and your results may vary, this is just what worked for us.
1. Play videos of babies crying. We all know that dogs ears are sensitive to loud noises. And a babies cry can be ear piercing, especially to smaller dogs. Their first reaction may to bark when they hear it and this can cause your little one to cry even more, creating an unnecessary cycle of crying & calming that could have been unavoidable. I found a ton a of videos on YouTube and played multiple nightly (since I worked during the day) for my Bichon. And when we brought SweetPea home, he didn't cry, but alerted me she was crying by running to her. It was very sweet and this is the same method I am going to use this time around.
2. Bring blanket for the dog to smell. My in-laws brought a blanket for our dog to smell that had her scent on it. It may seem silly, but this way your dog can get the baby's scent before hand, you can kind of gauge your dog's reaction to it, they become familiar with it, and they won't jump on the baby to try and sniff them when you first arrive home.
3. Main caregiver needs to introduce them. My dog considers me his "pet", as I am the one who feeds him, bathes him, disciplines him, and everything that goes along with taking care of a dog. So when it came time for SweetPea and my dog to meet, I wanted to be the one to introduce them. As you can see from the picture above, he took to her very well - as long as he had a spot by mommy too. I just went towards him slow with her. I made sure to let him sniff her very slowly, so he could get a feel of er. I think he was more excited that we were home after spending 2 nights away.
4. Know Your Dog. We have a very mild mannered dog. But he is still a wild animal, even though he is trained. When he is at home, in his environment, he is very mellow for the most part. So if you have a hyper dog, you may find that you have more issues bringing a new little one home. I suggest talking to a trainer and seeing what you can do well BEFORE you bring your baby home.
5. Set Boundaries. Your dog needs to learn that although they are still a big part of your life, they aren't "top dog" anymore. How I showed my dog that he needed to respect the baby was by making sure that he didn't go into her nursery, unless myself or my husband were in there with him. I started doing this before my daughter was born.
6. Make Time for Your Furbaby. It can be hard to juggle everything that comes with a newborn. But it is very important that you still make time for your dog. Go for walks, even if baby is in tow too, your dog will still feel like you are spending time with them. Find ways to make sure your dog still knows that you love them too.
Below is a linky to share your baby posts. Please feel free to play along! You can view the full list of other posts coming your way, HERE.
Do you have any tips for introducing your new baby and furbaby?
Bringing Home Baby: A New Series
Friday, January 10, 2014
Hello everyone! I just thought I would let everyone know about this fun series I'm starting that will include a link up each week. I am 30 weeks pregnant with baby #2 (as of today) and so for 10 weeks I will be sharing info on some of the ups & downs that can come with bringing home a new little. This series will be fun if you're pregnant with your first, second, or if you just like to think ahead or reminisce. I can't wait to get started. Here are some of the discussions we have to look forward.
1. Preparing Your FurBaby
2. Preparing Nursery & Registering
3. Birth Plans
4. Making Time for Marriage - Happy Valentine's Day!
5. Packing for the Hospital & Car Seat Installation
6. Preparing an Older Sibling
7. Easy Freezer Meals
8. Preparing for Birth
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