{Happy to finally be sharing my maternity photos that Elizabeth Jones Photography took with my hubby! Did you see the milkbath pics she took? They were amazing! These were taken one day before I was on bed rest. You can definitely appreciate how HUUUGE my belly was! Two weeks after on July 14, 2017, our baby boy was born.)
To say this month with our new baby has been overwhelming is an understatement! I can’t believe Nicolas Enrique was born a month ago–yikes–time does fly by! It’s been full of the cliche sleepless nights, endless diaper changes and more spit-up than I care to admit on my freshly changed shirts! I haven’t been Instagramming or keeping up with my social media at all because life has been less that perfect and styling a photo for Instagram has felt like a superhuman effort.
Yes, I feel guilty to be less present on Instagram but then I don’t have enough time to dwell on how much I miss it because Nicolas wakes up crying because he’s hungry, needs a diaper change or just because he’s being fussy. Even in the midst of all that chaos, my hubby and I immediately melt at his blue-grayish gaze, we can’t stop kissing his cheeks or stroking his big puffy head of hair—we love him so much it’s unexplainable and we’re convinced that’s the only reason we keep taking care of him. He’s lucky he’s cute! (Please don’t come after me, I’m just kidding!)
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In this first month as new parents, our patience and bond as a married couple has definitely been tested. We’ve cried as much as we’ve laughed because sometimes you just have to laugh to get through the obstacles. And as you know, our obstacles with my pregnancy and parenthood started way before with my high risk pregnancy and then my bed rest two weeks prior my delivery (and yes, I have a birth story post planned but I haven’t had time to write it up even though I have some very raw photos from our first days at the hospital that I took because I couldn’t help myself and took some pics with my pro camera).
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We agreed with Miguel that the list of items below have really helped us survive our first month as parents. Of course, besides all these wonderful items recommended mostly by my friend Marie ( a mother of twins and a toddler all under the age of 4!), the help of both grandmas at home has been priceless! They’ve been making meals for us and even holding baby Nicolas when he goes on a screaming rampage. God bless his grandmas! And if you don’t have any grandmas around, check out my must-haves list below. But I just want to clarify, none of these items can replace a grandma. NEVER EVER.
10 Must-Haves If You’re A New Mama
1. Breast Pump – You’ll understand as a new and first time mom that pumping will equal freedom. It’s very romantic to think you’ll just take your breast out anytime your baby is hungry but trust me, pumping allows your hubby or anyone else to feed the baby when you need to go to the bathroom or to sleep.
2. Maternity Bras – So in order to pop out your breast a lot quicker or pump more efficiently you’ll need to be wearing maternity bras which are comfy and provide easy access.
3. White Sound Machine- I’ll go out on a limb and say that this machine helps me fall asleep too after tons of late night feedings! There’s something magical and soothing for babies in the sound of rain or the ocean and it has helped us keep him asleep.
4. Stroller + Carseat In One- Traveling with the baby is ten times easier when we can just fold up our stroller and turn it into a car-seat with the press of a button. Even the exit nurse and hospital staff where wowed the day we left the hospital.
5. Gripe Water- Another amazing recommendation by my friend Marie! My mom use to actually make a concoction with the same natural ingredients to soothe any colic, gases or fussiness when I was a baby and now it’s bottled up-AMEN! We have used it two or three times and it has worked!
6. Newborn Pacifier- Pacifiers get a bad rap but sometimes they’re soooo useful to calm a fussy or overly hungry baby. The hospital provides these special pacifiers to newborns and sometimes they work like magic to make your baby stop screaming crying.
7. Baby Monitor- Because as a first time mom, you’ll be paranoid (yes, me) and check if your baby is alive every second of the day.
8. HEB Curbside Pick-Up- At the end of my pregnancy when I couldn’t walk and Houston started getting 100 degree temps, this was a such a useful service. I would make my grocery list online, submit it and then head to H-E-B and wait in my car for it to be delivered. You can have someone else pick it up too! GENIUS!
9. High Waisted-Tagless Underwear- After my c-section I needed extra comfort in the undie department and my Victoria Secrets weren’t cutting it! These make me feel like I’m not wearing any underwear. I ordered a size up for extra comfort.
10. Baby Tracker App- When you start breastfeeding or pumping, tracking feeding times and milk ounces becomes important information. Tracking this info in the app will give you an idea of his feeding schedule and how much he’s eating.
I hope this list is useful and if you try anything here, let me know! I can’t thank my friend Marie enough for her advice, I swear most of the time she gives me all the solutions to our problems even before the pediatrician does! LOL! If I find anything else that helps us during this journey I’ll add it to this list.
Is there anything you think I’m missing? Let me know!
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