Breastfeeding during take off...

Have you ever tried breastfeeding on a plane? Let me tell you that honestly...it kind of sucks. I love breastfeeding baby W don't get me wrong! My husbands family lives in Georgia [we are in Florida] and we decided to fly instead of the 10 hour drive. We spoke to baby W's Doctor and asked what we needed to do for baby W on the plane. Her response was feed him when you're going up and feed him when you're going down. For her...no problem. For us- uhhhh you want me to feed him both times? Well we brought milk on the plane but I decided I was going to breast feed him because I was either going to sit in the bathroom on the plane for 30 minutes pumping or I was going to bring my cover and just feed him. Reality set in and I decided to feed him instead. On the way up (into the air) I was able to feed him because we timed it perfectly for when he eats and when he would need to be fed. For example, our flight was at 6:30 and I knew that I was feeding him every 3 hours. So I got home and fed him around 3:30. 3 hours later we are getting ready to fly in the air and I was able to feed him! Yippee!!! It was great timing and couldn't have been better. The way down? That was a different story. Baby W had just finished eating like an hour before so he really didn't want to eat again. (The flight was 1.50 hours) so unfortunately he was a little bit of a booger because mommy was trying to make him eat and frankly he didn't want to. I learned early on though that if you blow in a babies face they [usually] swallow. That allows them to pop their ears! I know - great idea!!! I ended up playing games with him and distracted him long enough before I even cried. He was so good that the ladies behind us said they didn't even know there was a baby in front of them. (Proud mommy moment much?)

Coming back? A little crazier. Baby W pooped himself right before security. Seriously. And he was tired. So we had to get through security AND the train before we could change is diaper. It honestly was a total of 8 minutes but it felt like an hour because of his screaming. Once I changed him and held him he fell right back to sleep. The plane ride home was just like the way up. I fed him at 10 and we took off at one. The 3 hour feeding window worked out great. He fell asleep as soon as he was done nursing.

He slept like this until we almost landed. I didn't end up waking him during the descent because it would just make him way more angry. What did you do to make your plane experience easier for your infant?

Diaper Bag

I love bags. I love having twenty purses and carrying around as much as I can. However, now that baby W is here...I really hate carrying things. I love that I can throw it in the bottom of his stroller. That spoiled me so now I never want to carry anything! The main question is "What is in my diaper bag?"

I should tell you first that I bought a Vera Bradley diaper bag because I knew that their straps were super strong, and I got it half off during Christmas time. 

Inside the bag:

1- a changing pad. This actually came with the bag. It has a plush side and a  slick side. It's buttoned in and you can just in button it when you like. I don't leave the diaper bag on the changing table when we are out and about, so being able to detach it has been a super help! I also love that I can throw it into the wash quickly.

2-Inside the bag is 6 pockets. Inside those pockets are lots of what I call goodies [my husband doesn't say that]. I have lots inside the bag. 

-baby wipes

-diapers

-boogie wipes

-neat cheeks [ I LOVE these!]

-Tommee Tippee pacifier wipes

-baby powder

-diaper rash cream

-rattle

-extra pacifier

-bibs

burp cloths

-bottles when needed

-nipple shield when needed

I know it sounds like a lot but honestly, it really isn't. This is the easiest way for me to carry the least amount of things. I love what I carry in my bag and when I really need it... I sure am glad I have it in my diaper bag. Hopefully this helps you and all the things you may need in your diaper bag! 

3 months and counting

Recently I have had a ton of friends that are having babies! I was one of the first in my "group" to have a baby so I decided to impart my wisdom on my friends...even if they didn't ask! Ha! One of my coworkers is having a baby so I created a "cheat sheet" of what you should expect the first 3 months. I hope you will be able to use this cheat sheet and help you the first 3 months. I will be getting the rest of the months done but at least you have this to start!

1-3 Months after you have the baby!

Driving across the state

Are you worried about taking a trip across the state? Well I can tell you it is super scary but everything will work out! What did we do? Well... first off we fed baby W right before we got in the car. At the time he was only 7 weeks old and was eating every 2 hours...maybe 2 and a half hours. Step one was that we fed him right before we left and changed his diaper before he left. He fell right asleep for a good hour or maybe even hour and a half. Once he woke up, I was able to feed him again. Unfortunately, I sat in the back seat to keep baby W happy and it made the hubby unhappy. Since I was still breast feeding, I used my hand pump to pump in the backseat while Wesley was driving and baby W was sleeping. This worked out well because I was able to pump 20-30 minutes prior to baby W getting hungry and then I would just feed him from the bottle. 
After 2 hours, we pulled into a mall and changed him and grabbed a bite to eat. We only had 20-30 minutes left to go after that but it was great to get out and stretch. On the way home, we did the same thing. Now baby W really doesn't like his car seat often. He in fact would rather be held but obviously that isn't safe. We tried really hard to drive when we knew it was nap time. Hopefully, this helps you when you need to take your little one to visit family members that won't be able to come to you.  

Sick baby?

KIIt's the first time baby W is sick. As a first time mom I was kind of nervous because I have no idea what to do. I did what any normal parent would do. I searched the Internet. Of course when you search the Internet you're going to find thousands of different things I could be wrong. I even found that he could have the whooping cough. If you check baby Center.com you be able to hear the sounds of what a whipping cough sounds like. Once I narrowed it down I kept thinking what else could it be. So I did the smartest thing possible. I called his doctor. She then said that if there's no fever I don't have to bring him in. And she gave me some wonderful tips. Now I get to share these wonderful tips with you.

1. Is there a fever? If not, proceed forward. If yes call your doctor.

2. Is the baby uncomfortable? If not, proceed forward. If yes call your doctor.

3. Is there coughing? If yes, then get a humidifier put it next to their   drops to put inside the humidifier.

4. Is there any snot? Does he sound like he's congested? If so you need to aspirate his nose. You can use one of two ways one you can use the blue bulb from the hospital or two you can get the nose Frida. I used to use the blue bold but I have many friends that recommended getting the nose Frida instead. After that I was able to aspirate his nose with no problem and he does fine with the nose Frida.

The doctor give me no other advice… But I did get some from friends. I heard to get baby Vicks vapor rub. I heard to clean his nose out every hour. I heard to give him a bath with steam. Which is what I kind of think is what the humidifiers for. Do you have any advice for when your little baby is sick?

*Update : 11-17-15* Thanks to an amazing friend, I bought a electronic aspirator from Babies R Us. We discovered that since I have asthma, I can't use the NoseFrida. It is too hard for me. We bought this little machine for $30 and it sucks the snot out and plays music!