10 things I wish someone would have told me!

Everyone knows that being a new mom is tough but there are a few things I wish SOMEONE would have told me before hand. I am figuring out things as I go!

There is a baby app from Baby Center and it is great to get a day by day update about random baby things and a few funny cartoons to read.

1. Formula is a million dollars. We were supplementing formula at night a medium box of formula is about $20-$25 and it lasted less than 3 weeks of just 3 feedings a day! She eats around 8-10 times a day I can't even imagine doing formula alone.

2. If you chose not to let the baby latch on when you go home from the hospital you better be pumping every chance you get. I thought I could get away with pumping 2-3 times a day. Boy was I wrong! I quit producing as much. Now I pump at 6am, 11am, 2pm, 6pm, and 10 pm. I go through a ton of breast milk bags but if I am just going to refrigerate it I combine like 7 oz or more into 1 bag. If I freeze it I only put around 4 oz in it.

-Non refrigerated breast milk lasts up to 8 hours (easy to pump throw into a bottle and run out to do errands!)
-Refrigerated breast milk lasts 3-8 days, warm in luke warm water. Heating it up too fast kills the enzymes in the milk.
-Frozen breast milk lasts 6-12 months in the freezer, but once thawed it only lasts 24 hours in the refrigerator.

3. You doubt yourself. I doubt myself on if I am doing something right. Am I changing her often enough? Am I doing enough tummy time? Is she progressing at the correct speed? I don't like googling anything because it always shows you the bad and never the good.

4. Be prepared for your boobs to be leaky, being barfed on, pooped on (sometimes projectile), peed on (girls can shoot pee too), punched/kicked by your baby's unpredictable movements, having no time to yourself, and not having time to shower. I wish I would have gotten my hair cut and had a 60 min leg and foot rub before she was born!

5. Burp cloths and blankets.. You can NEVER have enough!

6. Stock up on wipes and diapers newborns can average up to 10 diapers a day! I stocked up on other things too but I ran out and bought baby powder only to hear not to use it because it gets n the air and the baby can inhale it. I am not sure, but I just don't use it.

7. I was on the fence on getting a pack and play with a changing table and infant sleeper. We got one and we can't live without it. We had it set up in our bedroom for the first 2 weeks because when you first bring the baby home you freak out about SIDS and don't want anything bad to happen! We still have it set up even though she sleeps in her room its nice having another place to change the baby that is closer than her room. We also go spend the night at both of the parents house and it is easy just to bring the pack and play with us plus all of the bags fit into the top of the pack and play.

8. Stroller/car seat combo. I do have to admit it is easy to get out of the car and click it into the stroller. It is just so large and bulky that sometimes when I go into a store for just a couple of items I just grab her and leave the stroller behind. It is nice to go walking in the park with but I don't get that chance often.

9. Establish night and day ASAP! It will help in the long run to get the baby on a schedule keep the lights on during the day, and all the lights off at night (also don't talk to the baby during night feedings I know its hard it promotes her to socialize and stay awake)

10. Don't change your habits just because she is sleeping. Don't be afraid to mow, vacuum, watch TV, play music, yell at your significant other because of the stress and hormones (it will happen), let other kids play around the sleeping baby (yours or the baby's cousins), and whatever else you may do during the day. If the baby wakes up the first few times you may get mad (you will get mad) but later on your baby will be trained to sleep through just about anything. She can sleep through me yelling, 5 year old quadruplet cousins, mowing, barking dogs, and so much more!