Preparing for Motherhood
The Preparing for Motherhood series was so helpful to me as I was preparing for the arrival of my son. From packing my hospital bag, to planning to breastfeed, to saving money, wonderful advice was shared from one mother to another!
I firmly believe that asking (and joyfully receiving) advice from other mothers will help me to become a better mother! 13 days ago I had absolutely no experience as a mother, today I have just 13 days experience. There is a lot for me to learn from other mothers – whether they’ve been a mother 6 months, 5 years or 23 years!
Here are all the posts from Preparing for Motherhood:
Labor & Delivery-The Unexpected
Preparing for Motherhood: Ways to Save Money Part 2
Guest post by Colleen from 365 Resolutions
In Part 1 of Ways to Save Money, Colleen shared about saving money by purchasing furniture that can serve multiple purposes and buying clothes and toys second hand.
Using cloth diapers and cloth wipes
As long as you are using cloth diapers, you might as well use cloth wipes. You can use flannel, or fleece or even just some infant wash cloths. You can find a great recipe for making your own wipes solution on 365 Resolutions . You just toss the wipes in with the diapers to wash and dry!
Make your own baby food
I absolutely LOVED making my own baby food! It was extremely satisfying and I loved knowing that I was giving my son the best and most wholesome food that I could. Making pureed fruits and vegetables is not difficult and it will save you a lot of money compared to buying jarred baby food. I used to calculate how much it was costing me to make all of my own food, and it was consistently a 50% savings! My son got a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and I strongly feel that is why he is such an excellent eater today.
I found that having a good food processor was essential. This is worth the investment. My husband used a gift certificate for his birthday and bought a Kitchen Aid food processor and we both completely love it! Other than the food processor, the only other things you need are some ice cube trays, a steamer basket and a roasting dish. I would spend a few hours once a month steaming and puréeing several fruits and vegetables, then pour each one into an ice cube tray, each ice cube is approximately one ounce, cover with tinfoil, label and freeze. Once the cubes were frozen, I would transfer them to freezer bags and label with the type of food and date. At meal time all I’d have to do was pop the little cubes into the microwave to defrost!
Sign up for as many baby clubs and coupon websites as you can
Even if you plan to cloth diaper and make your own baby food and exclusively breast feed, there are going to be times when you will still need to buy disposable diapers or baby food or possibly even infant formula. Since you won’t be used to buying these items on a regular basis, it can help to lessen the blow if you have some coupons to use. You may also get some free products for signing up for baby clubs. For example, where I live we have Publix grocery stores. When I signed up for their baby club I received a great parenting reference book for free!
When I was pregnant with my son, it was my intention to breastfeed exclusively. I did not want him to have formula. This was a personal choice and I felt strongly about it. Well, my son had other plans. He would not latch. We worked with lactation consultants, we tried nipple shields, we tried and tried and tried… tirelessly… and with much frustration, until finally, I came to the realization that if I wanted my son to have breast milk I would be pumping and bottle feeding. So that is what I did, for six months. This certainly was NOT what I had pictured for myself or my son, but I had to learn that I can’t always control everything. After six months, my milk started to dry up and my son switched exclusively to formula. Guess what? Formula is EXPENSIVE! That was a very difficult pill to swallow. So, I signed up for coupons from every major brand of formula, not just the one I was using. The formula companies will send you lots of great coupons in the mail. I would trade the coupons for the other brands of formulas with other mom’s I found on craigslist in exchange for coupons for the brand I used.
There are so many ways to save money as a new Mom. These are just the big ones that worked for me. I hope others will share their money saving tips and tricks here as well!
Preparing for Motherhood: Ways to Save Money
Guest post by Colleen from 365 Resolutions
There are several ways for new moms to save money, but perhaps the most significant thing a new mom can do is to not buy into the hype that they have to have every single baby product available or provide their child with every latest and greatest toy that they see a commercial for or that they have to outfit them in brand new clothes every time they grow into a new size.
Here are some of the money saving choices that I have made as a new mom. I hope that you find some or all of them helpful as your prepare for motherhood!
We already had a dresser that was not being used, so we purchased a changing table topper that fit right on top of the dresser. This eliminated the need to have a separate changing table. I kept all of the diapers in the top drawer of the dresser and had a small basket on top of the dresser with cotton swaps, diaper rash cream, lotion, powder, etc.
Our crib was purchased for us as a gift. I spent time shopping for a crib that matched the stain of the dresser. I chose a lifetime crib that eventually converts to a full size head board and foot board. Since it coordinates with the dresser, this set will grow with our son, and we won’t have to buy him a “big boy bed” in the future.
Buy clothes, and especially toys, second hand
Infants will go through clothes faster than you can imagine. You will be amazed when they only wear an outfit once, or sometimes not at all! We were lucky to have several boxes of hand me down clothes from friends and family, but sometimes, the seasons didn’t match up to the size and there was still a need to purchase some additional items for our son. There are several great ways to find second hand clothes. I have found that most of the second hand items I find at children’s consignment stores still have the tags on them! They are brand new and only a fraction of the cost. I often am able to find higher quality clothes for less than I would pay for the discount brands new. In my town, we have Once Upon A Child and that is the first place I will typically check when I need “new” clothes for my son. You can also find great deals at yard sales, on craigslist and on a free consignment site just for kids called Kidzola.com.
Our son received a lot of infant toys as gifts. We never had any reason to purchase him any infant toys, but as he grew, he outgrew his baby toys and was ready for toddler toys. I was shocked at the price of toys! The worst part is, you have no idea how much or how little your child will want to play with any given toy, so it’s hard to decide if something is worth the money. You can find second hand toys at all the same places you can find the clothes, and for much, much, MUCH less money! We have tried to only have a few key toys for our son to play with. He seems to have more focus playing with them, because he doesn’t have an endless supply of choices of what to play with next, and it keeps the kid clutter to a minimum in our house.
…To be continued
Preparing for Motherhood: Scheduling Newborns
Guest post by Mary Jo from Covenant Homemaking
Scheduling babies is a somewhat controversial topic these days. And, at the risk of being controversial, scheduling our baby loosely was one of the best things we did when our (now one-year-old) was a newborn. I loved the predictability that routine gave us and enjoyed the peace of mind knowing my new baby was getting enough milk when I fed her every three hours regardless of whether she “asked” for it. By about a month, Katie went down for naps and bedtime without crying, and she slept seven hours straight at 5 weeks and 2 days. As they say, you know a tree by its fruit–and the fruit of a loose schedule from early on has been very sweet.
One of the key books on infant scheduling is Baby Wise. I had heard several people at our church talking about Baby Wise, but when a lady that I greatly respect advised me to read it at least twice before Katie was born, I got to reading. I don’t think I read it all twice before I gave birth, but I had a basic idea of the principles, and felt comfortable implementing them with my newborn.
These are some basic steps I followed that worked really well for us:
::Nurse at least every two to three hours throughout the day, making sure your baby gets at least 7-10 feedings per day in the early days. If Katie was asleep when it was time to eat, I woke her up. However, if baby gets hungry before sooner, feed her. This is key–you always feed a hungry baby, regardless of when the last time she ate was.
::Work on getting full feedings every time. For a newborn, shoot for at least 20 minutes. Katie was an incredibly sleepy baby, so I had to work hard to keep her awake long enough. There are several reasons this is important, but the main one is that the richest, fattiest milk comes out last. It will keep baby full the longest, and also provide the best nutrition, but she has to nurse long enough to get to it.
::Strive for a routine of eat-wake-sleep. At the beginning, your baby may go right back to sleep after nursing, but by a couple of weeks, try to encourage baby to stay awake for a little while after feedings. At first, it will probably only be a few minutes, but the length will grow over time.
::Avoid sleep props. The skill of putting herself to sleep will have to be learned, but it is so wonderful once it is. Try not to nurse or rock baby to sleep. There may be quite a few tears at first, but if you know baby isn’t hungry, in pain, or wet/dirty, you don’t need to pick her up. She will not be scarred for life by crying. Be sure to snuggle, rock, and sing a lot; just not while baby is going to sleep. I found it helpful to get Katie sleepy and then lay her down.
::Write out your desired schedule and work towards it. Keep in mind that baby needs 11-12 hours of sleep at nighttime, plus naps throughout the day. At the beginning it will probably look somewhat like this (times are only suggestions):
- 7 AM: Morning feeding, waketime, nap
- 10 AM: Late morning feeding, waketime, nap
- 1 PM: Lunchtime feeding, waketime, nap
- 4 PM: Early evening feeding, waketime, nap
- 7 PM: Evening feeding, short waketime (optional), bedtime
- 10 PM: Late night feeding. For us, this was the last predictable feeding of the day.
- Middle of the night feeding-we let Katie wake up on her own for this, though in the first couple of weeks, I did not let her go longer than 5 hours to make sure my milk supply was adequate. This was the first feeding she dropped–around 6 weeks. Sometimes baby will wake up hungry again before your desired waketime. What I found best was to nurse and put her right back to bed, and then just go ahead and get her up to eat at her waketime.
Keep in mind the importance of being flexible. Once you think you have it all figured out, baby will have growth spurt and want to eat every hour. She’ll get a tooth or a cold and start waking up in the night again. Thankfully, these seasons will pass. Enjoy your newborn, and work towards being able to enjoy a predictable day and a good night’s sleep!
For more information on scheduling, be sure to check out Baby Wise. Another book I found quite helpful was The Moms on Call Guide to Basic Baby Care.
Mary Jo blogs at Covenant Homemaking about her “ journey towards being wife, mama, and homemaker unto the glory of God!”
Preparing for Motherhood: Planning to Breastfeed
Guest post by Myra from My Blessed Life
When my son was born, I had academic knowledge of the breastfeeding “how-tos” crammed in my brain, but like so many other life experiences, I was lacking just that – experience.
I firmly believe that breastfeeding is an art. Some babies are born with a natural ability to successfully latch on the first try. Others are born lacking the “on the first try” ability. My baby was in the latter category.
We struggled for days and weeks. It was a huge learning curve for us both. Apparently we finally figured it out because at 14 months my baby is still nursing “part-time.” I never thought I would still be breastfeeding. Never say never!
Because of the difficulties I had starting out, helping women who are facing breastfeeding, or dealing with frustration has become a passion of mine. Two months ago, I posted several practical breastfeeding tips that worked for me. The response was fantastic and the comments were very helpful.
So how can expectant moms prepare to breastfeed?
Have reasonable expectations.
Realize that every baby is different. Some latch on right away, and others are slower. Prepare yourself mentally that just because your baby is hungry and you have milk doesn’t equal an instantly fabulous equation!
Stay calm.
Babies have amazing perceptive abilities! When you get stressed or frustrated because your baby isn’t “getting it” he or she will pick up on it right away. If you can stay calm, breathe deeply and know that everything will be okay. In normal situations the baby will (eventually) nurse, and everything will look brighter.
Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help.
The hospital where I delivered had a magnificent lactation consultant. She was wonderful, encouraging and supportive. A lot of nursery nurses are also lactation consultants, so if you are struggling in the middle of the night when a LC may not be there, ask for a nursery nurse to come talk to you. It’s one thing to talk, vent and cry to your husband, but it is SO helpful to talk to another woman who knows what you are talking about.
Determine your support group before the birth.
I’m so thankful that my mom, my sister, my mother-in-law and a dear friend gave me the womanly support that I desperately needed in those early weeks. If you don’t have a group of supportive women (that you feel comfortable around), be sure to contact the La Leche League. You can go to meetings prior to having your baby to meet other like-minded women. If you have questions or need support the LLL has trained women available.
Breastfeeding is sometimes a controversial subject, so decide where you stand on the issue and don’t let anything anyone says hurt your feelings or change your decision.
Prepare for Mommy Guilt.
Recognize that it is real. The thoughts and feelings that precede “mommy guilt” are inherent in us. God brilliantly created women this way. We are elated at the birth of our baby, but then when things aren’t “perfect” to us, we worry. We worry about the number of wet or dirty diapers, that our baby isn’t getting enough milk or that something might be wrong and on and on.
This is a downward spiral you want to avoid. Believe me, I’ve been there.
As moms, we are not perfect. We make mistakes. Some moms can breastfeed, some moms can’t.
Breastfeeding is a natural choice, but it’s not an honor badge that makes one mom superior to another.
You have to do what is best for you and for your baby. It’s doesn’t matter what Grandma or Great-Aunt Sarah think. You have to deal, by God’s grace, with the demons of “mommy-guilt” and make the best decision for you and your baby.
Myra enjoys her days as a SAHM and wife to her childhood sweetheart. She blogs at My Blessed Life about various topics to inspire your heart and your home.
Welcome to my blog! It's is a glimpse into my life as a wife, stay at home mom & follower of Christ. I share about my family, frugality, sewing, cooking, and all things related to living a simple life!
