Fun Lessons Learned from the past 6 Months!
Before I do or buy anything I love to research everything about it!! When I found out I was pregnant I was determined to look up EVERYTHING possible to be fully prepared for this adventure!! There are so many books out there but it was extremely overwhelming and to be honest I don’t remember much of any of it all!! The real everyday happenings weren’t covered in the fancy books! I was shocked at the amount of things they don’t tell you or prepare you for!! So today I’m sharing a few of my favorite mama secrets!!
These are just little fun things!
Nothing that’s going to majorly change your life! lol
Witch Hazel && Dry Shampoo will be your BEST FRIENDS in the beginning!!
Witch Hazel: I was and still am very modest about things, yes, even after having a baby!! But I’m telling you that after having a baby, pour a little witch hazel in the squirt bottle they give you! No one told me about this! I found it after a desperate search one night after baby online! You will thank me later!! && That’s all I”m going to say about that!
Witch Hazel: I was and still am very modest about things, yes, even after having a baby!! But I’m telling you that after having a baby, pour a little witch hazel in the squirt bottle they give you! No one told me about this! I found it after a desperate search one night after baby online! You will thank me later!! && That’s all I”m going to say about that!
Dry Shampoo: Don’t judge, especially if you don’t have kids, but those DAILY showers of full shampoo and conditioner are GONE! Sorry to burst that bubble!! I have tried multiple dry shampoos, I may be exhausted and haven’t washed my hair in 3 days but I still want to LOOK like I got a full night of sleep when out in public!! My FAVORITE is Batiste!! It comes in different scents and even a colored one for dark hair!! It doesn’t make your hair nappy or leave residue or anything that the others do!! It’s INCREDIBLE!!
Target is going to be your favorite place to go!
At a mommy/baby play date a few weeks ago this new mama came up and started talking with us and she made a comment about “Is Target like the place for moms to hang out?!” Yes sweetie it is!! It has EVERYTHING you could need PLUS it has a Starbucks! Like seriously, why would you want to go anywhere else?! You know when you’re driving down the street and 2 motorcycle drivers that don’t even know each other wave at one another, ya that’s us moms in Target! && Yes, we make multiple trips there a week! You don’t want to get more than what you can carry in the house in one trip WITH the car seat too!! Plus we need excuses to get out of the house every few days! Oh and my favorite piece of advice I’ve received: Park next to the cart holders when running to the store! It’s so much easier to put baby in the car, unload the bags and put the cart up and be done in one swoop!
At a mommy/baby play date a few weeks ago this new mama came up and started talking with us and she made a comment about “Is Target like the place for moms to hang out?!” Yes sweetie it is!! It has EVERYTHING you could need PLUS it has a Starbucks! Like seriously, why would you want to go anywhere else?! You know when you’re driving down the street and 2 motorcycle drivers that don’t even know each other wave at one another, ya that’s us moms in Target! && Yes, we make multiple trips there a week! You don’t want to get more than what you can carry in the house in one trip WITH the car seat too!! Plus we need excuses to get out of the house every few days! Oh and my favorite piece of advice I’ve received: Park next to the cart holders when running to the store! It’s so much easier to put baby in the car, unload the bags and put the cart up and be done in one swoop!
Take as many pictures as you can!! It goes by so fast!!
They will never be this tiny again!
They will never be this tiny again!
My sister found this app, TinyBeans where I can upload
photos daily into this journal. Only people you invite are able to see the photos! They don’t have to download the app, it will
send it to their emails if you’d like! It’s perfect for us because most of our family live out of town so they are able to watch Penelope Grace grow! They can even see the unfiltered, everyday life of her so I don’t have to share everything on Social Media for them to see it! You can add milestones and your invited friends and family can upload their photos of baby too! I added from my pregnancy also to watch my bump grow! It’s so fun (but sooo sad) looking back at her new born photos!!
photos daily into this journal. Only people you invite are able to see the photos! They don’t have to download the app, it will
send it to their emails if you’d like! It’s perfect for us because most of our family live out of town so they are able to watch Penelope Grace grow! They can even see the unfiltered, everyday life of her so I don’t have to share everything on Social Media for them to see it! You can add milestones and your invited friends and family can upload their photos of baby too! I added from my pregnancy also to watch my bump grow! It’s so fun (but sooo sad) looking back at her new born photos!!
Tips for Medicine && Shots:
Put baby’s medicine in the top of a bottle nipple and let your baby suck on that! So much easier than trying to use the dispenser and them spit it all back out!! Why, oh why do they make baby medicine red and purple!?!?
I give my girls a dose of Tylenol before leaving to head to the Dr’s Office to get their shots to avoid the pain kicking in before the meds do!
Put baby’s medicine in the top of a bottle nipple and let your baby suck on that! So much easier than trying to use the dispenser and them spit it all back out!! Why, oh why do they make baby medicine red and purple!?!?
I give my girls a dose of Tylenol before leaving to head to the Dr’s Office to get their shots to avoid the pain kicking in before the meds do!
Never leave the house without a change of clothes!!!
I’ll let your imagination run with that one! Just trust me! You may think this is common sense but after the first time they have an accident and you don’t have a change of clothes, you will regret it!
I’ll let your imagination run with that one! Just trust me! You may think this is common sense but after the first time they have an accident and you don’t have a change of clothes, you will regret it!
Don’t take the tags off of everything as soon as you get home from the baby shower!!
I was fortunate enough to have more than one baby shower and I received some of the same items at both! I was so excited to set everything up and hang all of her clothes and I tore all of the tags off! Big mistake! She outgrew some clothes before being worn and now I can’t exchange them for something in her size! I received items that I wasn’t actually able to use or didn’t need to use and I couldn’t return them! Just be patient! I know it’s easier said than done! But just wait and see what you actually use!!
I was fortunate enough to have more than one baby shower and I received some of the same items at both! I was so excited to set everything up and hang all of her clothes and I tore all of the tags off! Big mistake! She outgrew some clothes before being worn and now I can’t exchange them for something in her size! I received items that I wasn’t actually able to use or didn’t need to use and I couldn’t return them! Just be patient! I know it’s easier said than done! But just wait and see what you actually use!!
Biggest Lie of Advice I was Given: Sleep when the baby sleeps!
When P sleeps I feel like I can finally get something around the house done!! Or I feel like I can finally take a moment to myself and catch up on something meaningless like social media! I mean we HAVE to share those 50 million cute photos we just took! 😉 I’ve tried sleeping when she sleeps but it’s really not that simple! Once you get them to sleep, now you have to shut your brain off enough and stop staring at them to make sure they are still breathing and actually fall asleep BEFORE they wake back up! I personally wake up grumpier after 5 mins than if I just got up and washed the bottles!
When P sleeps I feel like I can finally get something around the house done!! Or I feel like I can finally take a moment to myself and catch up on something meaningless like social media! I mean we HAVE to share those 50 million cute photos we just took! 😉 I’ve tried sleeping when she sleeps but it’s really not that simple! Once you get them to sleep, now you have to shut your brain off enough and stop staring at them to make sure they are still breathing and actually fall asleep BEFORE they wake back up! I personally wake up grumpier after 5 mins than if I just got up and washed the bottles!
You ARE going to be late everywhere!
I used to pride myself on being early everywhere, if I was on time, I was late! I swore up and down that when I have a baby, that wouldn’t change! No matter how hard you try, you are still going to be late! Even when you are about to walk out the door, finally on time somewhere, your child is going to start screaming like they are starving and have never eaten before in their lives! Time for a feeding!! IF you HAVE to be somewhere by a certain time, tell yourself over and over that it’s actually 30 minutes prior 😉 and pack the diaper bag the night before!
I used to pride myself on being early everywhere, if I was on time, I was late! I swore up and down that when I have a baby, that wouldn’t change! No matter how hard you try, you are still going to be late! Even when you are about to walk out the door, finally on time somewhere, your child is going to start screaming like they are starving and have never eaten before in their lives! Time for a feeding!! IF you HAVE to be somewhere by a certain time, tell yourself over and over that it’s actually 30 minutes prior 😉 and pack the diaper bag the night before!
Remember to enjoy every little moment!! Don’t compare to others!!
It goes by so fast! It’s going to be the most exciting time of your life! You will find little things that work for you and your baby! NO BABY IS THE SAME!! EVERYONE is going to want to say when and how their kid did things and how they did or didn’t need or do things themselves! Smile and Nod, out of the 100 pieces of advice you get, only 1 or 2 will actually apply! But listen! You never know when something might actually help, maybe not today but down the line!! I will say though, my biggest pet peeve is people telling me they didn’t do that as a parent or didn’t need this fancy new baby gadget! That’s great!!!! But it’s available to me and I want to use it! 🙂 Again, just smile and nod and find a mama friend to vent to about it!!
It goes by so fast! It’s going to be the most exciting time of your life! You will find little things that work for you and your baby! NO BABY IS THE SAME!! EVERYONE is going to want to say when and how their kid did things and how they did or didn’t need or do things themselves! Smile and Nod, out of the 100 pieces of advice you get, only 1 or 2 will actually apply! But listen! You never know when something might actually help, maybe not today but down the line!! I will say though, my biggest pet peeve is people telling me they didn’t do that as a parent or didn’t need this fancy new baby gadget! That’s great!!!! But it’s available to me and I want to use it! 🙂 Again, just smile and nod and find a mama friend to vent to about it!!
Find a Mama Friend and go to Baby Play Dates!
Being a mom is hard, find your person! I mean it, you are going to need someone other than your husband to talk to and as cute as their coos are, babies don’t actually talk back either! You need another adult to talk to, to vent to, someone to relate to you!! && Attend those baby play dates! You need to get out of the house!! Your child needs to socialize just as much as you do! Let them burn off some energy while you get a moment to mama vent!! It’s good for everyone all around!
Being a mom is hard, find your person! I mean it, you are going to need someone other than your husband to talk to and as cute as their coos are, babies don’t actually talk back either! You need another adult to talk to, to vent to, someone to relate to you!! && Attend those baby play dates! You need to get out of the house!! Your child needs to socialize just as much as you do! Let them burn off some energy while you get a moment to mama vent!! It’s good for everyone all around!
I hope this was at least a fun read and you got something out of it!! Please leave your fun mama tips in the comments!! We have to stick together and help each other out!!
MamasColdCoffeeBlog 
Great tips! I hadn’t even thought of using with hazel in the squirt bottle! I bet that helped TONS!
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