Things I couldn't live without...

As a mother to a 4-week old, I'd say I'm somewhat of an "expert" on things I feel are an absolute necessity around here these days. And here's the list in no particular order (I love lists)...

1. A Hubby/Daddy

I can't imagine having a baby by myself. To all your single mothers out there, God bless you! I don't know how you do it by yourself. I would go crazy.

I'm so thankful for Daniel and how involved and hands-on he is. He loves talking to Nyla, changing diapers, feeding her, rocking her, holding her, whatever, he wants to be involved. I can't imagine going through this wonderful and exhausting experience by myself.

2. The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

This. Book. Is. Amazing.

If you are expecting a baby, buy this book. And read it while you're pregnant and read it again once your baby is born, highlight in it, write in it and mark pages. This book will help you immensely. You can be so tuned into your baby's cues, it's fantastic! She teaches you about your baby's cries, what to look for and how to help. I love her! I really do!!!

She (Tracy Hogg) also has 5 categories for what type your baby is. They are as follows, angel baby (basically the perfect child and what we all hope to end up with, but don't), textbook baby (exactly like it sounds, this baby hits all marks and growth spurts "by the book"), spirited baby (comes out of the womb telling you what does and doesn't work for him/her), touchy baby (ultra-sensitive and very sensory driven) and grumpy baby(Tracy calls them "old souls" who aren't happy to be back).

Nyla is "spirited baby." It sounds a bit scary, spirited? But it's not. It's exactly as it sounds though. She does what she wants and lets you know what she wants. She doesn't like sitting in a dirty diaper and she'll tell you about it, nice at first but then can get out of control, if you go too long ignoring her. Same with hunger, overstimulation, over tired, etc. If you let her cries go unanswered, it's the point of no return. It's hard to calm her down, thankfully we've learned to get to her before this happens. The first week with her was a bit rough because we were unsure as to what type of baby she is so her screams went unanswered and we didn't no why she was so upset, now we do.

Buy the book. It will make life with a newborn so much simpler for you!

3. The Miracle Blanket

This is something I've never heard of until Daniel talked to his Pediatrician cousin (and mother of a sweet girl), I don't think most people have ever heard of this thing. It is a swaddling blanket, but so much better than the Swaddle Me. Now we do have the Swaddle Me, but Nyla, aka Houdini, wiggles so much that her left arm/hand gets out or she pulls and the velcro pops open. Not. good.

Since she is "spirited" baby, she has really jerky motions (more than most) and her arms flail so bad, they overstimulate her and she gets overtired. When she's tired is when the flailing is the worst. Now, she does fight getting into this thing sometimes, but usually calms right down when she's strapped in.

We do keep her in just a diaper underneath since it's so stinking hot right now, but we hope she's not in it for more than 2 or 3 months. Hoping her arms will get under control sooner rather than later.

Yes, it's about $30 but worth. every. penny. I'm honestly not sure if any of us would sleep if it wasn't for this wonderful piece of fabric.

4. Spray-n-Wash

Yep, you'll need it get poop, spit up and throw up stains out. And be prepared to do a load of laundry everyday, sometimes more.

5. Tommee Tippee Bottles

I am breast feeding exclusively but want to get out of the house some and I don't want to do formula, so I pump and have it available for Daddy or the Grandma's. And these bottles are good for breast fed babies. They have a slow flow nipple where the baby has to work to get the milk to come, just as if they were breast feeding. These are great so Nyla doesn't drink too fast and choke or get a tummy ache.

6. Burp Cloths

In 4 weeks I've gotten thrown up on about 5 times and burp cloths have been there to help out. I, of course, have gotten spit up on countless times and for these cloths I am thankful. I have about 2 dozen and thank goodness I do.

7. My breast pump

I know thats a little TOO much information, but if I didn't have this, then Daniel could never give her a bottle, I could never leave the house for more than an hour and we wouldn't be able to go to church together like we've been doing for 3 weeks. So thankful for my MIL for buying it, so someone else can enjoy snuggling and feeding our sweet girl.

8. Water

I get so thirsty now. I know its a combination of running around all day and breast feeding. Thankfully I love water so downing 12 glasses a day (which I tend to do now) is no problem. And who can beat an ice cold glass of water? Yep. No one.

9. Rocking Chair/Glider

A place to rock Nyla and put my feet up? Yes please! I'm so thankful to my mom who surprised me with a glider this past Christmas. She went to Toys R Us the day after Thanksgiving (we all know what that's like) and got the last one. What a wonderful mother. It makes feeding and rocking time so much more comfortable for us both.

10. My camera and video camera

I love that we are able to take pictures all day long and video her too. It's so nice to have those special pictures and memories when time seems to be flying so quickly.

Well, I can't think of anything else, but I know this list will change each week as Nyla grows up. But these are my essentials for making the first few weeks of mommy-hood more fun and comfortable for everyone!