Tag: newborn | Baby Doodah!

How to Choose the Best Diapers for Your Tot

Posted on September 1 by Jillian416 • 8 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. Thank you for supporting my family!! #CollectiveBias

If you’re pregnant, you know that diapers are a given. There are a bunch of different options out there, you can go the cloth route, or any one of the disposable options that are available. I knew, when Emmett was born, that we would go with disposable, I commend those that use cloth diapers, but it just wasn’t for me.

We started with a name brand, but found it to be very pricey and no more effective that Wal-mart’s brand Parent’s Choice diapers. When we decided to give the Parent’s Choice diapers a try, I’ll admit to being skeptical. I had heard horror stories of how some store brand diapers didn’t work very well. However, I was pleasantly surprised! They fit Emmett’s little tush as well as any other diaper we tried, and they were (and continue to be) SUPER absorbent.

The true test for me was when we would take his diaper off after a nap and it would be full of pee, but his bottom would still feel dry. No one wants their baby or toddler sitting in a damp diaper, that’s what causes a diaper rash. There’s none of that with Parent’s Choice diapers.

Let me also let you in on a little secret – these diapers are so SO affordable!! Depending on the size of diaper your child wears, will determine how much you’re paying per diaper. But, as a for instance, Emmett currently wears a size 6, if you look at the graphic below, you will see that each diaper in a size 6 costs $0.26!! That’s kind of insane! Considering a competitor brand can cost $0.44 a piece. That’s almost double!! By switching to Parent’s Choice, we’re saving about $240 annually. That’s well worth the switch!!

And if you’re looking for the new and improved Parent’s Choice diapers, here are the Walmarts that carry them!!

How to Choose the Best Diapers for Your Tot

Determine What Will Fit into Your Budget – Realistically, you’re going to be paying for diapers until your tot is at least two. Some toddlers will potty train early, but others will not. So, don’t get your heart set on a brand that is out of your price range, and you won’t want to pay ~$50 a month for 2 or 3 years.
Try Several Different Brands – Once you’ve determined what you can afford, try different brands that fit in your budget. This will give you the opportunity to see what will fit around your cutie’s legs and waist. My advice is to get very small bags of each brand you try, you don’t want to waste money by buying too many and having none of them fit.
Look for a Gap – Sure, when your baby is brand new, diapers may seem a little giant on them, but be sure to check around the legs, ESPECIALLY, to ensure little to no gapping. Blowouts are common in tiny babies, and I’m sure you’d rather avoid the mess coming out of the leg holes. 🙂
Pay Attention to the Weight Guidelines – If you look at the packages of all Parent’s Choice diapers, they have the weight guidelines for each size of diaper. Remember, it is a guide, so your tot may not be ready to move up when they hit a specific weight, but in the same token, they may need to jump ahead early. Just make a mental note.
Baby’s Comfort – If you’re noticing any red indentations around your baby or toddler’s waist or legs, it may mean that the current diaper you’re using is too tight or just doesn’t fit your child well. Don’t leave them to be uncomfortable, make the switch to a different brand.

I highly recommend you use these 5 tips when trying to ensure a diaper is a good fit for you child. However, before you go out and splurge on expensive diapers, I highly recommend you give Parent’s Choice a try.

Right now, you can use this coupon and get a discount on your next purchase of Parent’s Choice diapers. #BabyDiapersSavings

Your turn!

Have you ever tried Parent’s Choice diapers? If so, what are you thoughts?

How did you determine which brand of disposable diapers to go with, or if you use cloth, how did you choose that route?

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. Thank you for supporting my family!

Filed Under: Emmett, Family

5 Tips I wish I’d Know as a New Mom

Posted on August 24 by Jillian416 • 7 Comments

Life as a new mom, can very difficult but You Can Be Better Prepared.

When you’re pregnant for the first time, and the days, weeks and months are slooowly creeping by, you are left wondering, am I prepared for this?

Oh momma, you’re prepared, but there are some additional things that other mommies may not have shared with you.

I had so many people say that mom’s don’t always share what actually happens after having a baby because they don’t want to scare women away. I say, to hell with that! Nothing would have scared me away from having a baby, but if I had known then, what I know now, my experience as a brand new mom might have been bit smoother.

Your Love for Your Newborn Will Grow and Change as a New Mom.

I’ve loved Emmett from the moment I knew I was pregnant. I felt him grow and move and kick inside the womb and there was an instant connection to him once he was born. However, I struggled in the beginning because when he was first in my arms, I felt affection for him but my heart wasn’t bursting with love right off the bat. There was nothing wrong with me, and there is nothing wrong with you, if you should feel this way.

This new, beautiful little bundle is coming in and changing your life completely, it doesn’t mean you don’t care for him (or her) or that you wouldn’t do anything for them, it simply means you need time to adjust. You have too much else going on in your life, that you don’t need to put added pressure on yourself to feel any differently than how you’re feeling.

Postpartum Depression (PPD) Isn’t a Joke!

Obviously, I knew going into having a baby that there was a chance that I would feel mopey or sad, but I completely underestimated how mopey and sad I’d actually feel. No one shares how bad it can be. Not one single other mom said to me, watch out for how you’re feeling after you have Emmett. Sure, I’d read about it, and my OB-GYN had mentioned it but I was in no way prepared for the swing of hormones that were racing through me. All of which, lead me to feel sad and ready to kill myself one minute and so undeniably blissful the next. I thought something was seriously wrong with me, that nothing would ever feel right again, which is probably why I had so many issues with #1. Thank goodness for my doctor, Seamus and a dear close friend, reminded me of what was going on in my body, and allowed me to cry to them without a lick of judgement. They only ever wanted me to feel better and I did, eventually.

Breastfeeding Isn’t Easy, but You CAN Do It!

In the midst of dealing with the beginnings of my PPD, I was trying to get my newborn son to latch and nurse and gain weight. I knew before having Emmett that I would breastfeed him, but in the back of my mind I knew there was always formula if I needed it. I regret thinking this way, I should have never entertained the idea that formula existed and that my son might drink it, I believe this is what led to most of my trouble with breastfeeding, because I was always so willing to just give up.

Emmett’s first night was a tough one, he was latching but not really sucking because he’d fall asleep at my breast. The next night, was the night he went through his cluster feeds, he’d wake up and cry every 2 hours or so to eat. I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep, I almost admitted defeat and allowed him to be fed formula. Once again, thank goodness for Seamus, he gently pushed and encouraged me to keep doing what I was doing, reminding me that the next night would be easier and he was right. Each subsequent night got easier and easier, and now we’re old pros (yes, Emmett is still breastfed today at 13 months old).

I encourage you to reach out to support groups, lacation consultants and friends who have breastfed. Surround yourself with people who will support your desires, not belittle them or make you feel crazy for wanting to give your child the very VERY best, despite the extra effort it takes in the beginning.

Breastfeeding Will Likely Hurt in the Beginning but Your Body is Made to Adjust.

As with anything worth doing, it requires extra effort and perseverance. The first several times that Emmett would latch, it was wrong, but I didn’t know it was wrong. His mouth wasn’t open wide enough, which leads to a shallow latch and potentially cracked nipples. Thankfully our hospital had lactation consultants on duty 7 days a week, who were very VERY helpful. They watched Emmett latch, showed me what he was doing wrong and how to fix it, they shared the phrase, “shove with love,” which basically means that once you have the baby’s mouth open wide enough and your nipple inserted, to gently shove the baby on until you feel him latch. It worked like a charm and it was because of these women that I had such success.

The other thing is, it hurt a lot, in the beginning, but with patience and lots and lots of Medela Lanolin (I recommend you buy this now, if you plan to breastfeed), I healed and breastfeeding became a pleasurable time for me and my baby to spend together.

You will bleed lots and lots and LOTS!

Again, one of those things that people had mentioned to me but never quite stressed how bad it would be. The hospital gives you pads that resemble adult diapers, but in the first few days, even those you’ll soak through quickly. Most hospitals will load you up with pads before you walk out their door, but once you run out of those you’re probably wondering what you should buy next. I went with Stayfree Ultra Thin Overnight Pads and they worked perfectly! They weren’t the bulky pillows from the hospital, but they still soaked up so much blood, I never worried whether I was going to overflow it, which is a huge accomplishment considering how much comes out of you at a time.

There you have it, my top 5 things I wished I’d known before delivering Emmett. My goal isn’t to scare you, but to share what REALLY happens after birth, so that you’re prepared and can stop PPD in its tracks.

Your turn!

What tips do you wish you’d had before becoming a new mom?

Any questions you have that I can help you work through?

Filed Under: Family, Tips and Tricks

Emmett’s First Days – 3

Posted on November 7 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

For the most part, the remainder of our hospital stay was uneventful. Emmett’s blood sugar was finally above the borderline and it was staying above so they weren’t constantly pricking his little foot and I was up and moving around. I no longer had my catheter or IV so I was free to shower and wear REAL clothes, I felt almost human. 🙂

The worst part about being in a hospital is that the nurses are coming in to do their checks at the most inconvenient times, just as we had put Emmett down for a nap or just as I had decided to rest, they seem to have that radar for that. I do realize it is a necessity that they check on us and take our temps and my blood pressure, I just wish they had scheduled times so that you knew when to expect them and could plan for it. I hated the middle of the night checks, they made me twitchy but again, they are necessary.

We had one nurse, who overall wasn’t bad, but she wouldn’t allow us to turn all the lights off in our room. Seamus and I are used to sleeping in a very dark house, plus we were trying to teach Emmett what night and day were and they wouldn’t let us turn all the lights out. It was very frustrating, as if sleeping wasn’t difficult enough. Seamus was sleeping in a reclining chair and not a lazy-boy reclining chair, a plasticy hospital-like chair and I was in a hospital bed with a mattress made of plastic (for obvious reasons), so we weren’t sleeping well anyhow, add the light and a crying baby and sleep was difficult to come by. BUT we made it!

We didn’t have many visitors, but we wanted it that way. We wanted time to get to know our son before we were overwhelmed with people trying to hold him and asking how we were doing. My parents did visit while we were there and it was so touching to see them holding Emmett for the first time.

Since I had a c-section, our hospital required me to stay in the hospital an additional day for a total of 4. That’s a long time and if Seamus hadn’t been there with me, I think I would have lost my mind. He was amazing, though and I am so thankful for him! Finally after 4 (long) days and countless nurses bugging us it was time to go home. I was ecstatic! I couldn’t wait to get home and take care of my baby, in the place where he’d be living, away from the watchful eye of the nurses

I loved his going home outfit, adorable plaid overalls and a blue polo shirt. He looked like such a big boy even though he was so very tiny.

What was the first thing we did when we got home? Take pictures, of course!

Looking back, you can see how yellow he was. He had a very mild case of jaundice, so mild that our doctor didn’t even mention it to us until we were leaving and just said to keep doing what we were doing and it would go away all on it’s own. I wasn’t worried and it definitely did go away, I just didn’t notice then his fallow skin tone.

Once we were home, we quickly realized that we had no clothes that would fit him at his current size. Throughout my entire pregnancy everyone kept telling me what a big baby I was going to have and to not bother buying many newborn outfits bc he wouldn’t ever wear them. So I didn’t buy ANY newborn clothes, we had his going home outfit and 3 plain white onesies that were given to us by Grandma and Grandpa M last Christmas. Emmett wasn’t super tiny but he definitely was too small to fit into 3 month sized clothing. Thankfully my wonderful husband was willing to run out and grab some newborn sized clothing that we could put our boy into. In the meantime we put him in one of the plain white onesies and covered him up good. We settled him in his bunny chair and I laid down on the couch, while daddy went and ran some errands. Emmett took a nice long nap, so mommy did!!

If you’ve never purchased baby items before then you have no idea how easy it is to go overboard. Everything is so cute and tiny and would be just perfect for your little bundle of joy. I say all this because Seamus came home with bags of new stuff for Emmett, not all clothes but lots and lots of stuff.

The rest of that first day home was pretty perfect. I was still flying on the bliss of new mommy-hood and all of my pregnancy hormones hadn’t yet left my body, I was feeling good, happy.

In case you missed it… Part 1 and Part 2.

Filed Under: Emmett

Emmett’s First Days

Posted on October 30 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

The first few days with Emmett went by so quickly and at the same time dragged by so slowly. Spending day and night in a hospital is absolutely no fun. I was lucky enough to have decent nurses but you are just not able to relax when you have people constantly poking in and out of your room.

After the first nurse had gotten me settled, Seamus and I had some alone time before they brought Emmett back to us. They had taken him back to the nursery for a few more tests, a bath and to get warmed up. We both kind of just sat there going back and forth; in awe that we were finally parents. We were definitely still in a bit of shock.

When Emmett finally returned, they shared with us that he had been born with low blood sugar and because of that he would need to be checked every couple of hours to verify whether it was continuously rising. They advised me to nurse him as frequently as he was interested, to assist in the escalation of his blood sugar level. It was no problem to try and nurse him constantly because he wanted to either eat or suckle the entire first night we were together.

It was hard work and I really struggled to stick with breastfeeding in the beginning. Emmett had latched pretty well but I still needed help ensuring he was on correctly and not latched to shallowly which can lead to painful or cracked nipples. In the hospital it is impossible to maintain any of your modesty, the nurses come in and grab your breast and tilt the baby’s head to get him latched right and honestly without their help I would have continued to struggle.

As the night wore on, Seamus and I did not get any sleep. I think we were both too wired from the realization that we were new parents but also because we needed to keep waking Emmett to feed him so that his blood sugar would go up. When it came time for his next Blood sugar test, the nurses came and took him to the nursery, when they returned with him they shared the bad news that his blood sugar was still low and that they had called his pediatrician and they were advised to feed him formula since my Colostrum wasn’t doing enough.

I was very hesitant. I even said no. I did not want to feed my baby formula! For me and my family, formula was not an option unless I was completely unable to provide nourishment. Since I knew I was producing colostrum, I knew I was producing what I was supposed to, it was just that his blood sugar wasn’t going up quickly enough for the nurses. They persisted, saying that if his blood sugar didn’t go up, Emmett would possibly need to be admitted to the NICU. After they said that I relented. I was disheartened and depleted but didn’t want my baby away from me, so I gave in. They hooked up a Supplemental Nursing System to me and filled it with some formula. The goal of feeding him the formula this way is that Emmett would still continue to stimulate my milk production and also provide him with the calories he needed. It worked, he ate it and his blood sugar increased but I felt defeated, like I’d failed my boy. Seamus was very supportive telling me that there was nothing I could have done but I still felt like a failure.

When the lactation consultant from the hospital came in for the next day, she stopped in to check on how we were all doing. She asked about us supplementing formula and asked whether we wanted to continue doing this, I shared with her how we were pretty much forced into feeding Emmett the formula and that we had tried to resist but they threatened to place him in the NICU. She was a feisty little thing and said straight out that they should never had done that and that she would ensure they were spoken to. In the meantime she said that if we had no interest in feeding Emmett any more formula we did not need to, that if any of the nurses came in and tried to hassle us to send them to her to deal with.

Throughout the day, we had different visitors who were checking to see how Emmett was doing but his blood sugar continued to remain above 60 mg/dL with just having colostrum. I was thrilled and felt so much better knowing that I was feeding my son and he was getting everything he needed. Little did I know that I was in for a treat that night….

Filed Under: Emmett

Emmett’s Birth Story (Part 6)

Posted on October 10 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

His first cry was the sweetest sound I think I’ve ever heard. It was strong and loud and I knew he was here!

I have no idea how Seamus managed to capture this picture at the precise moment that they pulled Emmett out and he began to cry, but he did. I immediately teared up and wished I could just hold him.

As the nurses were walking with Emmett over to his cradle they kept saying he had red hair and asked whether anyone in our families had red hair. I have a cousin with red hair and Seamus’ beard comes in red in certain areas, so we knew that having a red head was possible. I personally was thrilled!

After they had E in his cradle they told Seamus he could go over and take some pictures while they examined him and cleaned him up. I just wanted to get up off the table and join them but I was stuck, being put back together.

The whole time Seamus was over there snapping pics of him, he was crying on and off. I hadn’t even seen him yet and all I wanted to do was hold and comfort him. The bond I felt with him was immediate and so strong, it was pretty unexpected! I figured I’d bond with him quickly but I had no idea that site unseen, it would be that strong.

There came a point where one of the nurses held Emmett up for me to see him but because I was still dealing with an ocular migraine, I had the auras in my eyes and could not see anything beyond the blurry spots in my eyes. It was kind of sad but I knew I’d get to see him soon enough.

The nurses worked quickly to get him all cleaned up so that I could finally meet him.

I am so grateful that Seamus was there to capture this picture. It was my first moment meeting Baby Emmett and even if the memories ever fade, I will always have this picture. It warms my heart and still brings tears to my eyes.

When they have the baby in the OR, they don’t yet give him a bath. They simply wipe him up good, they give them a bath later on typically after the mother has had a chance to hold and breastfeed the baby, if the mom is breastfeeding, which I was.

After I met the baby, they handed him over to dad who was prouder than ever, of his beautiful little boy!

At this point, they took the baby back and put him in his cradle and had Seamus follow him to the nursery. They had a few more tests to do before they would bring him back to us in the recovery room. I was freezing and shivering uncontrollably by now. It had been about 40 minutes since Emmett had been born and I was ready to be unhooked from everything and hold my son. Once they were finished, they had me move from the operating table back to my bed and threw THE warmest blanket on me. It felt like a delicious warm bath. I continued to shiver but once we got back to the recovery room they threw 2 more blankets on me and I quickly warmed up.

While at the nursery with Emmett, Seamus snapped some adorable pics!

As I waited for Seamus to get back and for them to bring Emmett, they gave me some pain meds for the pain from the surgery and also for my migraine which was still acting up. But FINALLY it was time, they brought me my little boy and I was finally going to get to hold him.