Sunday, January 31, 2010

Helpful hint: Resist the urge to buy lots of clothes

I will be the first to admit that I LOVE BABY CLOTHES. I couldn't stop myself from buying everything cute I could find. Sometimes I think it might've been a lot worse if I had a girl (because there is so much more cute girl stuff!) but I aso think that it might've been the thrill of the hunt for boy stuff. For a while I was on ebay all the time looking for stuff. (Of course, always new, with tags :) I also went to consignment shops. Let me tell you...if you haven't figured this out yet...Carter's has the monopoly on baby stuff in mainstream stores. It doesn't matter if it's Babies R Us, Target, Kohl's...wherever....it's all Carter's. Even stuff at Walmart is from a "division of Carter's".
Anyways, think of it this way: your baby is going to be growing very quickly. Not only that, but you're basically stuck in the house for the first few weeks anyways. My son wore mostly pajamas. He's 8 weeks old now and I'm already packing away the 0-3 month stuff...and some he's only worn a few times.
Just some thoughts:
  • Get at least a few newborn items...even if you have a big baby like mine, he will still need some newborn stuff...but don't go crazy.
  • Definitely think about seasons. I couldn't resist buying certain items and now I'm not sure if he'll get to wear them.
  • Pajamas with snaps are a PAIN in the middle of the night...look for those with zippers. My son is just now fitting into the sleeper sacks (that say 0-9 months) and I'm so happy! Thank goodness we just had a cold front!
  • People love to buy baby clothes. See what they get you at your baby showers before you spend your money on them.
  • Leave tags on stuff until you know s/he is going to wear it...clothes are worth more money with the tags still on them!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Helpful Hint: Baby store discounts

I'm not an expert by any means, but I would say that Babies R Us probably sells the majority of baby items out of all baby specialty stores. I personally am not a big fan of Babies R Us. The customer service leaves much to be desired and I feel like I'm buying something that everyone else has (see, I told you I was a snob;). I also don't like their return policies. However, I do shop there a lot...mainly because everything's all in one store and they have a great "rewards card". If you don't have one SIGN UP NOW. It's free and you earn points every time you buy stuff. I've only had a card for 6 months and I've already earned about $20 in gift certificates. (I would have more, but my husband forgot to have them swipe our card when we bought a $400 crib). They also send TONS of coupons and have a program where when you buy 9 value boxes of Pampers, the 10th one is free.
If I had a choice, though, I'd shop at Buy Buy Baby. It's owned by the same company that owns another store with triple Bs...Bed Bath and Beyond. The customer service is EXCELLENT and they have a much larger selection of items...and not the same old stuff you see at Babies R Us. It is a little more expensive, but the great thing about Buy Buy Baby is that you can use Bed Bath and Beyond coupons! We're actually going to use a 20% off coupon to buy another car seat when he grows out of the carrier. (I'll talk about what car seat we're going to get later :)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Confession #4: I'm kind of a snob

My sister-in-law is very frugal. I guess I am too when it comes to certain things. I don't mind saving money by buying the generic Tylenol, body wash, pasta or canned vegetables...and maybe a few other things. But there are a few things I won't compromise on: cream cheese (must be Philadelphia), orange juice (Tropicana in the jug or Simply Orange), ice cream (Edy's), and toilet paper (Charmin).
When it comes to my baby, I want the best. For formula, so far I have only bought Similac. Other people tell me that the generic brand is the same and costs half as much, but I'm going to talk to the pediatrician before switching. For diapers I love my Pampers. I did have someone buy me newborn Huggies which I used when I ran out of Pampers...and the thing I liked about those was there was a little space cut out to go around the umbilical stump. I wish I'd used Huggies for the newborn stage because with Pampers you have to fold them down.
The funny thing is, out of all the baby things that I thought wouldn't matter what brand you got, wipes was the top of the list...and boy was I wrong! If you are a first time mom, take this piece of advice:
DO NOT BUY PARENT'S CHOICE (Walmart brand) WIPES!!!
In my experience, they stick together and you end up using 3 or 4 which probably ends up being the same price as if you'd used 1 Pampers or Huggies wipe.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Helpful hint: Fisher Price should stick to toys

We bought some Fisher Price window shades because they were inexpensive and cute. Guess where they are now...in the trash! They are really difficult to pull out and now they won't go back in. I want to contact the company and see if they will give me my money back, but I haven't found where you can email them...of course you have to call and I haven't made time.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if their diapers are any good? My instinct says no.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Helpful hint: Pampers Gifts to Grow

If you're like me, you love free stuff. Well this isn't completely free, but you can earn free stuff. I wish someone had told me about it when I was pregnant. If you're using Pampers wipes and/or diapers, you should go to pampers.com and sign up for a *free* account. Then start looking on the boxes and wrappers for the codes. You go put the codes in the website and earn points. The points earn you free stuff.
FYI: The codes are kind of hidden. If you buy a huge box of Pampers, they come wrapped inside and that's where you find the code. If you buy the plastic tub of wipes, the code is etched under the lid (and kind of hard to read). If you get the value box of wipes, the code is on the individual wrappers.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Confession #3: I want to be a M.I.L.K.

If you read the title and you've heard of a MILF, you might be puzzled. You read it right, though. Don't worry...I don't want to be a mom that young boys have sexual fantasies about. The "K" stands for know. What I mean is that I hope that my son's friends want to come over to our house and hang out. I want them to feel like they can talk to me if they don't have that with their own parents. I can help everyone with homework. They can come have dinner with our family. You get the picture...I want to be the "cool" mom. And I want my son to be proud that I'm his mom...not hiding when I come to pick him up at school or come to his games.

In some ways this does have a little to do with physical attractiveness. I do want to be the pretty mom in cute clothes...not the overweight one who should be on "What not to wear" or "How do I look?"

Wednesday will make 8 weeks since I had a C-section. On Monday I will be starting a workout program that I designed that involves tough 1 hour workouts Monday-Friday. They involve walking/jogging for 20-30 minutes followed by some sort of workout video (mostly those from "Biggest Loser"). I am very excited to see what kind of results I can achieve.
I will update on my progress once a week on here. I've already got my "rewards" picked out.
After 25 pounds I will get a spray tan.
After 35 pounds I will get a pedicure.
After 50 pounds I will get a hair cut and highlights.

Celebrities might be able to get to their pre-baby weight in 6 weeks, but I'm doing it the way that the average woman could do it.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Confession #2: Failure to latch

I don't breastfeed and I feel horrible about it. I tried...but I don't think I tried hard enough. I did have trouble with my supply, but the truth of the matter is that I never gave it 100 percent. When the lactation consultant came in the hospital room I was tired and in pain from my C-section. I didn't really want to be bothered. And if you REALLY want me to be honest, a lot of it had to do with my husband. When G screamed instead of latching on, hubby didn't encourage me...he kept saying that it wasn't going to work. When I pumped on the couch he complained about the sounds. When I tried Fenugreek he told me to stop because it was making me constipated, but I really think he just wanted me to stop because he thought it was a hassle. I mentioned that I wanted to go back to the hospital and see the lactation consultant, but I needed him to drive and he never wanted to make the effort.
If you want to breast feed, take a class...get as much help from the LC as possible...and know that it is not as simple as whipping out your boob right after labor and feeding your baby. It takes work.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Confession #1: I don't know everything

As of right now, my husband and I are currently not speaking to his oldest brother and his wife...which also means that we are not in contact with our niece and nephew. It sucks. I am not going to get into the details of why, but in the exchange of emails that occurred leading up to this situation, my sister-in-law informed me that I am haughty and a know-it-all.
We have differing opinions on lots of things...especially parenting issues...and I never thought I was acting like I know everything.
In the past 7 weeks that I've been a first time mom, I have learned A LOT. And I know I will learn a lot more. I will make lots of mistakes. But here, in front of you, God, and everyone I want to say it:

I don't know everything

Bear with me as I share my confessions and opinions. Feel free to share yours, even if we don't agree.
This is the official launch of "Confessions of a first time mom"