Newborn Baby Essentials

This post was originally a guest post but since I have so many friends who are expecting their first babies (yay!), I thought I would share it on my own blog in hopes it helps someone!

Having a newborn....
I remember that time well. Aside from all of the wonderful baby snuggles and Cloud 9 hormones that make the sleep deprivation worth it, the newborn stage was all about basic survival mode for me and I felt it would be fun to do a post about what kinds of things we used most often when Emily was a newborn- things that I loved and that made things even just a little bit easier!

Since breastfeeding was the majority of what Emily and I did in the beginning, I separated my top picks into two categories: Nursing Essentials and Non-nursing Baby Essentials.

Non-Nursing Baby Essentials:

1. The First Years Sure Comfort Deluxe Newborn to Toddler Tub With Sling

We used this bathtub from her first bath at home all the way until she was able to stand up and climb out of it on her own! It's great!

2. Burp Cloths

Oh, boy did we use a ton of these! You can never have too many burp cloths!

3. SwaddleMe Adjustable Fleece Wrap

For the longest time I thought Emily hated being swaddles because she would fight it whenever I tried. Eventually I got to my breaking point in our sleep deprived state and I started swaddling her in this. It held her in and she slept well in it!

4. Dreft

Okay, so it's probably not that "essential" but babies do need a more sensitive laundry detergent and this one  smells amazing!

5. A Baby Carrier

We got a cheap front carrier for like $13.00 at Target and it was a life saver. She hated being put down so hubs and I would carry her in this to do things around the house or even to walk around in public places like the park or grocery store.

Nursing Essentials:

1. Nursing Cover

I wore a nursing cover almost every time I nursed if I wasn't in a private place. It kept me covered up and helped Emily focus on eating. Eventually she grew to hate it and would swat at it, exposing us in the process. But for months it worked well for us!

2. Breast Pads

In the beginning stages of nursing, your boobies don't know what's going on. It takes some time for them to adjust to how much milk to supply so sometimes there may be some leakage. Breast pads are key!

3. Nursing Bras

I had a love/hate relationship with nursing bras. They weren't always flattering or fit right but once you find the right kind (I liked some from Motherhood Maternity), it's great!

4. A Boppy Pillow

This pillow did wonders for supporting Emily during nursing sessions. I could also use it to prop her up when we weren't nursing!

5. Medela Lanolin Cream

I used this cream so much in the first couple of months of nursing. It helped a lot! 

There you have it! My list of essentials for having a newborn baby! 

Everything Emily: 11 Months

Size: Emily is still in size 3 diapers and 12 month clothing. I got so used to her growing quickly out of her clothes so now I am tired of the clothes she has been wearing for a while now, haha! Not rushing her growth, just ready to be excited about dressing her up again :). 

Sleep: Thank HEAVENS Emily is finally getting better at sleeping. We wait until she is clearly tired (usually between 6:30pm and 7:30pm) before we start her bedtime routine of bath, storytime, feeding, then put her down whether she is awake or asleep. Sometimes she cries for a little while but she does go to sleep on her own. She wakes up 1-2 times a night just to be held/fed and then wakes up for good between 5:30am-7am. Naps are a little less predictable. She usually takes one nap a day now and lately plays in her bed for a while before she whines a bit and falls asleep.

Eating: Emily is finally taking bottles/cups better now and it's just in time because breastfeeding is coming to an end soon. I still breastfeed about 2-3 times a day but I am not providing enough anymore. I'm a little sad about that (and I can tell she misses it sometimes too) but she will be a year old next month and so I almost made it to my goal. I think I can be pretty proud of myself. It wasn't easy all the time to breastfeed her but we always managed to get past the hurdles and continue onward. Now that she is getting a little more independent, as sad as that is, I am also excited for a little bit more freedom! 

Aside from breastfeeding/formula, Emily eats solids through the day and eats about 6 oz. of baby food at night for dinner.

Emily had her first taste of Jamba Juice and kept insisting on more and more. She would grab the straw out of my mouth so she could drink it.

Playtime: We have a very determined, strong, little girl. She loves to push the baby gate (even if we have boxes/chairs behind it to keep it in place) across the room and squeeze out of the opening she makes for herself. Emily likes to put her toys on different surfaces, pick it up, put it somewhere else, repeat. She also loves running water and playing with the blinds. It's getting hard to give her baths because she wants to stand up and play instead of sit! She loves dogs and is not afraid of them even when they bark loudly.

Em and her Daddy looking out the window.

Learning: Emily waves (sometimes with both hands) when we say "hi", "bye bye", and "night night". She even does it other times at us too. She learned how to drink a bottle (finally!) and hold it on her own. When we ask her, "Where's your ba-ba (bottle)? Get your ba-ba!" She looks around for it and crawls over to get it. One of our couches has a big space underneath and so it has become the black hole of water bottles and snacks. Her bottles sometimes roll under it and so it's really funny when she gets down and looks underneath it. Emily is really good at walking along things and leaning against them. Once in a while she will stand for a couple seconds on her own. She dances whenever she hears music. Whether she hears music on the tv, in the car, or even hymns at church, she bounces her body because she loves to dance! She has even done this DURING nursing. Hilarious!

Everything Emily: 10 Months

 Size: Emily weighed 17 lbs 10z and was 28" long at her appointment this month. She is wearing 12 month clothing and size 3 diapers.

Sleep: We finally gave into letting her cry it out. I had been having to brush my teeth, wash my face, and basically get all ready for bed at about 7 or 8 every night because once she fell asleep on me I would just hold her all night. Not bathroom trips, no food...it sucked. Plus sometimes it was so hard to get her to sleep and she would push against me with her legs and arms and cry even if I was holding her. ANYWAY. It just wasn't working anymore. So...we kept her bedtime routine from start to finish within a half hour (as my SIL does with Ellie) which includes bath, storytime, and nursing. Then I put Emily down awake and let her cry. I am proud to say she has been so great at it! I am shocked, actually! I tried a couple times before to let her cry but always gave up after 20-30 minutes. As of now, she is falling asleep within 15 minutes and stays in her bed. She wakes up every 4-5 hours so I nurse her and then put her right back down and she has been going back to sleep pretty quickly. IT IS WONDERDUL!! I have so much more freedom and all of us are getting better quality sleep without her in the bed with us and tossing every couple hours with her. Even if I have to get up out of bed with her and stay awake long enough to nurse her and put her back down. IT IS WORTH IT!! We are all much happier these days.

Long story short? She goes to sleep between 7 and 8 then sleeps until between 6 and 7:30. I think she might be transitioning to one nap a day. Maybe because of the night time change?

Eating: Still breastfeeding every 3-4 hours (unless I am nursing just for the heck of it or to get her to sleep). We feed her finger foods randomly throughout the day. Puffs, wagon wheels, cheese puff things that are all Gerber for babies. At night before bathtime we feed her a step 2 or 3 puree meal. She loves carrots and fruits!

Playtime: This is much the same as last month. She also laughs when you pull her away from something playfully and she goes back for it, you pull her away, she giggles, she goes back for it...etc. :) She loves carrying this teether around in her mouth and laughs when she (or we) put it in our mouths. She grabs it from your mouth, puts it in hers, puts it back in yours...silly games!

This month she got to play with ALL of her cousins! (Aubrey, Mikayla, Skylar, and Ellie!) We had a huge photoshoot with a friend of mine and those pictures will be posted eventually!

She also got to meet my friend Jackie's son Johnny for the first time! It was so cute. They were sharing toys and he kept hugging her from behind. :)

She also played with Sheri and Jackie!

Learning: This month Emily learned how to dance! It is the cutest thing ever. She also learned to give kisses on command, which is so sweet. She recently figured out how to make a fishy face and wave. She is kind of learning how to drink from a straw. Hopefully she gets that down before I need to wean her completely!

Everything Emily: 9 Months

Size: Emily is now wearing 12 month clothing! Crazy! She's still in size 3 diapers.

Sleep: Emily usually goes to sleep around 8:00 pm and stirs every few hours but doesn't fully wake up (just enough to let me know she wants to "nurse" for a few seconds- basically I am her pacifier because she doesn't take one) until anywhere between 5:30 am (ugh) and 8:00 am. She takes two 2 hr. naps on a good day but I think she might be shifting into one nap a day.

Eating: Breastfeeding, finger foods, baby puree, cream of wheat, puffs. Still doesn't drink much from a bottle or cup.

Playtime: Emily loves to crawl around and get into things she knows she isn't supposed to (cords, dog bowls, etc.). She also likes books, walks, swings, bouncy balls, getting into Mommy's purse, sitting in laundry baskets, getting pushed/pulled around in laundry baskets, and crawling through the activity seat instead of sitting in it.

Learning: Emily is a pro at crawling now and she is quick too! She is also learning to express herself by saying "ma ma ma ma" or mommy and "da da da da da" for daddy. She says "do do do" for dog, "num num num" when she is eating, "yayayaya" for when she is having fun. Her daddy taught her to do a raspberry and she also learned to smack her lips. She does a growl type noise when she is frustrated and wants something like more food. Another big thing she learned to do is pull herself up and stands on her own! She pulls up on everything.

In summary: Emily has changed a lot this month! She has two teeth now, grew into bigger clothes, she sits up (now we can put her in shopping carts and high chairs at restaurants), crawls, bounces in her jumperoo, pulls herself up, talks nonstop, eats a lot of finger foods herself, and more!

Everything Emily: 8 Months

I just got back from vacation with Emily but before I write a post about that, I need to write her 8 month post since she turned 8 months old the day before we left (the 25th).

Size: Same as a month ago. 9 month clothing and size three diapers. We buy the "cruiser" kind now.

Sleep: Same! Still not sleeping through the night on her own. She has 2-3 naps a day and then goes to sleep for the night but stirs a little until I flip over and "nurse" her (practically in her sleep).

Eating: I still breastfeed her and she has been eating a lot of finger foods too. Still not taking a bottle but sort of takes a sippy cup. Kind of. Mostly just plays with it.

Playtime: Emily loves books, eating, swinging at the park, "flying", dogs, her toys, crinkling/ripping paper, and putting everything in her mouth. She loves phones, remotes, and anything electronic...oh and she loves being around people. She especially likes other kids!

Learning: Emily is doing the inch-forward-scoot-type of crawling! She is getting really good at it and has started lifting her belly up sometimes. She has also learned to sit up on her own and feed herself finger foods! Those three things were all learned within a week!

This was a big month for her! A lot of new learning and developing!

Our Weekend!

We had a great weekend! On Friday I took Emily to a nearby park to get together with other moms and their kids. Later that day, I went to my friend Britt's house with Kristina and our babies to have dinner and watch a movie. I gave Emily a few new foods that night. Britt encouraged me to let her try cheerios and then I went a little crazy and gave her a couple little bites of noodles and then some banana bread later on. She was so thrilled with this! Haha :). I think she loves trying new yummy foods. Now she wants to eat whatever we eat but I mostly stick with breastfeeding and some puffs.

On Saturday Michael and I went to dinner at our friends house and then came home when it got to be about Emily's bedtime. Once it gets to be about 8:00 pm, we wind down and she is usually asleep by 9:30 pm. It makes it hard to do things at night, but it was still nice to see some friends! We hadn't hung out since before we had Emily!

On Sunday we went to church (we are loving our ward and callings now) and then took Emily and Jexi on our second family walk that weekend. We love walks! Emily was really cute with her crinkle doll and she loves putting her feet up. This is her when we got back home.

And this is later on when she was playing with her daddy. Michael is convinced that she is saying "Da-Da" but I think she is just exploring differing noises. It's so cute!

Everything Emily: 7 Months

Emily is seven months old now! She is officially closer to a year old now than a newborn. Sad! We love our little girl but it is so bittersweet that she is growing so quickly. I try to soak up every stage she is in, while she is in it. This is such a fun age!


Size: She wears nine month clothing and wears size three diapers.

Sleep: Basically the same as when she was six months old. She is going to bed a little earlier these days and has sometimes let me put her down for a couple of hours at night. Baby steps ;).

Eating: Emily still nurses every 2-3 hours. She can go a little longer now without eating but we enjoy breastfeeding! I've also given her a few new solids. She seems to prefer banana over everything else but she does enjoy apple cinnamon Graduate's puffs! We cheated and gave them to her a little early.

Playtime: Emily loves to look at books now! It's fun to read to her throughout the day. My mom and dad have bought her a bunch of books. Her favorite right now seems to be "I Like Myself". We put Emily in a baby swing at the playground for the first time a few days ago and she liked that. She rolls around all over the place and can get what she wants that way. She also loves to watch other babies/kids. She is very observant and allert. She also loves dogs! She is constantly reaching for Jexi and my parents dog, Tyler.

Learning: She is slowly learning how to put her puffs in her own mouth. She has done it a couple of times. I have been practicing having her sit up but she can't really do that yet without support. She started being able to turn herself around in her activity seat. Rolling is a breeze for her! She is great at reaching for things/people she wants.

Everything Emily: Half A Year Old!

Emily is 6 months old as of Sunday! We can't believe how much she has changed in these six months. These have been the hardest, but the most wonderful months of our lives. We couldn't have imagined how our whole world would be turned upside down and revolve solely around this little girl who captured our hearts.

 Let's take a look at how much she has grown....

{Shout out to Neely for getting Emily this bouncer!!}

The last two pictures were taken this week and it's really crazy to me how much older she looks in them compared to the other pictures!! She really does grow so fast!!

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Now for the info:

Size: I'm not sure how much she weighs or how tall she is right now but she is now wearing mostly 9 months clothing and just started wearing number 3 diapers. Wowza!

Sleep: She takes a morning nap for about an hour and a half usually and then an afternoon nap for the same amount of time on a good day. She has also been snoozing around 6:30 pm and again at about 8:30 pm for like a half hour at a time but then she goes to sleep for the night between 9:30 pm- 10:30 pm. She sleeps in her crib for her morning and afternoon naps but with me the rest of the time. She hasn't woken up as often lately during the night (when I say "woke up" I mean tossing around with her eyes closed until I flip sides and nurse her for a few seconds) so I hope this means soon she will sleep through the night.

Eating: She still nurses about every 2-3 hours. She has had a few foods:

Rice Cereal- she somewhat likes it

Oatmeal- made her constipated

Green Beans: she did not like at all...

 

Bananas: she loves them! I need to make a video of her eating them.

We've also given in and let her lick a strawberry popsicle and sometimes licks fruit snacks, lol...she's still alive and it made her happy!

Playtime: Emily still loves her baths (splashing), activity seat, playmat, toys, water bottles, and we just got her this alphabet tile mat that gives her more room to roll around and it's nice and cushy on our wood floors.

Michael found it online for her and it was delivered within a couple of days.

Learning: This month Emily learned something that I love when she does it. She REACHES for what/who she wants now!! It is the. cutest. thing. ever! She full on raises her arms. I've "trained" her, haha. I say, "you want mommy?" and wait until she reaches for me and then I pick her up/take her from whoever is holding her. It's sooo fun! She reaches for toys and other people too :).

Oh, and she also reaches for Jexi now so we have to be careful Jexi doesn't get pinched/pulled. Luckily Jexi is a total sweetheart who would never hurt Emily...and she is quick to move out of reach.

She's learning how to eat with a spoon (not holding it yet though, of course) and swallow without spitting food out everywhere.

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This has been such a great month! I love this stage so much. She smiles and laughs so much more, sleeps better, eats more things, and has been better about the grandparents babysitting without crying a lot ;). Life is so good!

And to finish up this MAMMOTH of a post, I will reward you for reading this with an adorable video of Emily laughing!! I was also freaking out a bit/laughing because when he held her over me, her drool was falling towards my face.

A Poopsplosion To Remember

Let me just begin this post by saying that I do love my church. I'm always glad to be there and I love the feeling of peace and spirituality it brings to my life. However, going to church has been a struggle for us lately. Between having a baby, Michael working every other Saturday night, and it starting at 8:30 am, we have seriously been slacking in going.

Going to church with a baby is harder than I expected. It's three hours long, which isn't a bad thing normally, but with nap schedules and a girl that can't sit still, it's hard to get more than about 30 minutes of church in, even if we are there the whole time.

On Sunday we finally got ourselves to church. We sat down and then about 30 minutes into the first hour, Emily started getting fussy because she was hungry and it was her nap time. So, I carry her out with the diaper bag and head to the mothers lounge, where I see a couple of my friends (Rachel and Meagan) with their little ones too. No biggie, there are speakers in there so we can hear the meeting. While I am sitting there, feeding Emily (with my little hooter hider for modesty), she poops. And then she keeps going, and going, and going a little more. I groaned because, well, I will need to change her. Then....I feel it on my leg. I look down, and sure enough her blowout went out the back of her diaper and through her tights, dress, my skirt, and even my underwear.

I sit her up, accidentally exposing myself in the process, hurry and cover myself up, and Rachel grabs Emily for me. I put myself together, and Rachel helps me peel off Emily's dress, tights, and diaper. Then another momma and her baby come in the cramped mothers lounge. I had forgotten a change of clothes for Emily so luckily Meagan let me borrow one of her baby girls sleepers. Once I got Emily cleaned up and changed, I assess myself. Poop. All. Over. Me. I try and take wipes and wipe it off but it was no use. I had Rachel go into the meeting (she was sitting with her family one row behind Michael) and tell Michael to come out for me.

We went home, threw everything in the washer, I took a shower, and gave Emily a bath. Then we proceeded to luck out and all take a nice, THREE HOUR long Sunday afternoon nap.

Well, at least we tried.

Everything Emily: 5 Months Old

Size: She is about 25" long and 15.5 lbs. Emily is still in number 2 diapers and wears 6 month clothing.

Sleep: We have finally achieved getting her to take two naps a day in her crib. It's amazing! She sleeps anywhere between an hour to three hours at a time. She still sleeps with Mommy at night and has been tossing and turning every hour or so...we need to do something about this...soon. I'm just happy she is taking her naps!

Eating: Emily is still breastfeeding and she eats between every 2-4 hours. We just started feeding her rice cereal but she is mainly breastfeeding. Emily takes after her parents in her love for eating, even just to snack ;).

First time eating solids. Rice cereal!

Playtime: So much has changed in just the last month! She started to roll around on the ground, plays more with toys, loves to have a bottle with water in it (even though she still doesn't really drink from a bottle because she likes to play with it). She likes her crinkly doll, rattle, playmat, watching tv, listening to music, and being carried/pushed in her stroller. Her personality has been showing more and more and we love to hear her jabber and squeal with delight!

Emily meeting her cousin Ellie, Uncle Jason, and Aunt Jocelyn for the first time!

All dressed up for a night out!

Learning: I guess I kinda covered most of this already but she recently learned to roll from back to tummy. She is starting to try to inch her knees up on the ground like she wants to crawl, too! It's crazy! We are working on the bottle thing, but we think she might skip right to this sippy cup we bought that she seems to like. It has handles for her. She just started sucking her thumb more (she usually sucks on multiple fingers at a time).

Just after rolling over for her first time.

Everything Emily

Emily is 4 months old today! She has grown so fast, I can't believe it!

Size: She weighs about 13.5 lbs. and 23" long.  She wears number 2 diapers and mostly 6 month clothing!

Sleep: She loves to be held all the time still but she does let us put her down once in a while ;-). She doesn't sleep as well if we aren't at home for her bedtime, which is usually around 8:00 pm. She still wakes up every few hours to eat but then she goes right back to sleep so it isn't too bad. Then she wakes up anywhere between 7:00 am - 10:00 am. I appreciate the longer she sleeps because that means I get to sleep in!

Eating: Emily still loves to eat! I'm breastfeeding her and she hasn't really accepted taking bottles.

Playtime: Emily likes to shop and be outside! We carry her in a front pack in stores and in a stroller outside and she just loves looking around.

Learning: She rolls over from tummy to back and has now learned to grasp things, which makes her toys more fun for her. She gives us smiles more and more, but it's been hard to capture on camera! She laughs every once in a while but those are harder to get out of her.

She is such a doll, we just cherish our little girl so much! Here are some of my favorite pictures of her from this past month...

Everything Emily

Emily turned 10 weeks old today!
This past week she had her two month shots. It was so sad! After her appointment we went to lunch with my mom and grandparents while they were still here visiting. Luckily Emily was zonked out for most of the meal. It was her first time in a restaurant.

Once she woke up though...we couldn't stop her from crying. She's been fussy and only wants to be held all day long since then, poor girl. I had to give her infant tylenol for a couple of days because her poor little legs were sore from three different shots. I know it was for her own good but I still hate seeing her in pain.

Height: 24"
Weight: 11 lbs. 3 oz.

That means she grew almost exactly 4 inches and 4 pounds! Holy moly, she is growing fast! She was on the petite side but they said she is now in the 50th percentile for weight. She is somewhere in the 90th percentiles for height. She's tall! I didn't see that one coming, considering I am only about 5'3". But I guess there are tall people in the family too...I dunno I guess I just thought she would be small like me. Nope! I wonder how old she will be when she gets to be taller than her mommy. Weird.

Diapers: She can still fit in newborns pretty much but we already moved on to size 1.

Clothes: Same with diapers. Some newborns still fit...barely. But mostly she wears 0-3 months.

Sleeping: Emily loves snuggling with mommy to sleep. I can usually get her to nap in her swing (this week being the exception and I think it was because of the shots and how they made her feel) but at night she sleeps with me still. I will try and wean her off that habit eventually but I heard it's best to do that between 4-6 months. She hates sleeping in her crib. She won't do it. She had a couple of 6 hr. sleeping spurts but for the most part it's been about 4 hrs., then 2 hrs. at a time after that. I can usually get enough sleep if I sleep when she does.

Eating: She loves to eat just as much as she loves snuggling with me, if not more. It's her favorite thing to do, I think. If all else fails? Feed her. :) She eats all the time! At least every 2-3 hrs.

Playtime: Emily just received a playmat from her Nana in the mail! Her first time doing tummy time on it? She rolled over- twice!! She doesn't usually mind tummy time or laying on her back while she is on it but when she is done with it, she lets me know!

We love our little girl! It melts my heart when she smiles at me!