Things I Couldn't Live Without (Daddy Edition)

Since Mom posted her list, I figured, "Why not post my own list?"

1. Ear plugs - These come in handy when baby is crying in the middle of the night...

No, no, no! I am completely joking! Don't leave nasty comments on here. I'm kidding. She does great at night!

1. Wifey/Mommy - Yes, I'll go ahead and get the cheesy one out of the way, but G is the best. She is so good with Nyla and is very patient with her. I'm also very thankful that she takes care of the overnight feeding, letting me rest up for work. I'm also thankful that she turns off the baby monitor when this overnight feeding occurs.

2. Post-delivery vacation - Little Girl was born on a Tuesday, and I was able to take the rest of the week off work. We got home on a Thursday, and it was nice to have that Friday off to relax to get adjusted to life with a third person in the home.

3. Working from home - I have said this before, but I am very thankful and appreciative that I had the ability to "telecommute" the week after we got home. My bosses were very understanding in allowing me to do this. With G not being able to get around well, I could run to the rescue when needed.

4. Naps - A good rule of thumb for you soon-to-be parents? Try to get in a nap at some point during that first week or two. "Sleep when baby sleeps" is great advice. I think every afternoon or evening during that first week and a half I was at home, I took an evening nap. G grabbed a nap in the afternoon. If nothing else (and if your spouse is ok with it), just go in your room, close the door, turn off the baby monitor, and relax for an hour or so. Though I do recommend falling asleep.

5. The Miracle Blanket - I'll go ahead and second what G posted about this. I would love for sweet Nyla to sleep with her arms and hands up around her head, but she would not sleep too well. This blanket is great. And though Nyla has found ways to get her arms and legs free, it is not very often and about the time she would need to wake up and feed anyway. Miracle Blanket, I salute you.

6. Meals brought to us - Yeah, it's selfish, but when you've been running on low sleep for a few days, cooking is the last thing on your mind. G was in no position anyway to cook anything. I'm glad we had family and friends who brought us meals those first two weeks. What was great, too, is that we were able to portion out and freeze the leftovers. When I went back to work, I had a good supply of lunches to take.

7. Sound machine - Whether or not this actually helps Baby sleep is up for debate, but count me as someone who thinks she is comforted by the sound of a heartbeat. Also count me as someone who could never sleep to the sound of a beating heart.

8. Family close by - G's parents are 15 minutes away, and my mom is a mile and a half away. Translation? If G and I need to get for an hour or two to go to dinner, go to church, go shopping, or just need to get out, both grandmothers have to have their arms twisted are eager to come watch Little Girl.

I'm sure there are several other items I can add to this list, but these 8 are the ones that immediately came to mind.

As new parents, what are thing you couldn't live without?

-D

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!