New Mama's Must Haves: February '09

Here's my New Mama Must Haves for February 2009. These are baby products I can't live without. So whether you're a new mom, buying off a baby registry for a soon-to-be-mom or just want to give the perfect baby gift - you'll find it here.

Remember you can always find out more about the items and purchase them directly through Amazon.com by clicking on the picture. I only recommend products that I have used. 

The Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe was a life saver for me. As I've talked about in previous posts, my daughter was swaddled until she was five months old. She wouldn't sleep any other way. Finally, I had to bite the bullet and unswaddle her - but only because she no longer fit in her Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe 100% Cotton Knit. Since babies like the feeling of being tight, being swaddled helps them sleep. I recommend this to any new mama who wants her baby to sleep and who wants to get a few hours of shut eye herself!

The Rainforest Bouncer by Fisher-Price is a must have! My daughter has used her Rainforest Bouncy seat since she was a few days old and she's still sitting in it. The bouncy seat is great for babies who suffer from gas too because the vibrating helps clear the air bubbles. I especially like this bouncer because of the variety of ways my daughter can play with it. Now that she's a little older I set it so the music only plays when she hits the hanging toys (toy bar was removed in this picture). This teaches her cause and effect.

You can't imagine how many pictures you're going to take of your baby and how many you're going to want to frame until you bring your little one home. That's why it's essential to have the Kodak EasyShare P720 Digital Picture Frame. This digital picture frame is great! You can easily load digital pictures and videos on it. It lets you decide how long you want each picture to appear and you can even set them to music. I couldn't live without mine! I needed something that was fast and easy to use because I don't have the time or patience to fool with some high-tech digital gadget...it's perfect for a busy new mama. 

This month I want to hear from you! What's you new mama must have? What product can't you live without?

Complete List of New Mama Must Haves
New Mama Must Haves: January '09
New Mama Must Haves: December '08

Baby Monitor Debate

When I get together with my other new mama friends we always end up asking "how's your baby sleeping." What we should probably be asking is "how are you sleeping." I think I may have found the long lost key to getting 8 hours of sleep when you have an infant..and I figured out how to get my baby to sleep through the night all at the same time.


The secret's in the monitor.

Here's the thing. As a new mama you're probably buddy-buddy with your baby monitor. You are, aren't you? Just admit it - we all are! Well, at least I was! I use the monitor during the day when my daughter is taking naps. I no longer use the monitor at night.

Hear me on out on this one. It took my daughter four months to consistently start sleeping through the night. I knew she wasn't hungry and that she could make it until morning without eating, but I couldn't figure out why she'd wake up randomly. Then one night around 3am I was awakened by the sound of her babbling, but not crying, on the monitor. I stumbled into her room only to find her eyes were closed. She was still asleep and me rushing in was only waking her up. I went back to my room and realized that if I didn't have the monitor on I wouldn't have heard the babbling, I would have stayed asleep and therefore she would have too. I also realized closing her door slightly, but not completely, and doing the same to mine, would definitely be enough to awaken me by her true cries. (There's no way I could miss the crying, especially the way she exercises her lungs.) So the next night I tried it. I turned off the monitor at night. She slept the whole night through and so did my husband and I.

So here's what's happening. We all have awake times in the middle of the night, even if we don't remember them. My daughter babbles, squeals, and even cries out during hers. But she always goes back to sleep. I'm not sure how many times this happens at night..maybe two or three? (Last night I was up way passed my bedtime and I heard her babbling around 11:15. I thought, well she's not screaming so I'll let her go. Ten minutes later she was fast asleep. She woke up at 6:45 this morning happy as a lark.) By turning the monitor off I don't hear every little peep which has taught her to get herself back to sleep and given me the chance to get uninterrupted sleep as well.

Recommended Reading:

The 45 Minute Nap
How Much Sleep Does My Baby Need
How to Get a Baby to Sleep
Getting Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night
Trouble With Naps: The 2 Day Solution


The books I found the most useful as far as teaching my daughter to sleep are:

Help the Medicine Go Down

Ever wonder how much medicine your baby is actually getting when you squirt that little medicine dropper into the side of their mouth? I sometimes feel like half goes down...but not her throat, her chin! So I've found an easy solution to ensure my daughter gets the full dose.


Use that convenient medicine dropper you got from the pharmacy or that came with your baby's medicine to measure out the right dosage. Then take the nipple of a bottle and squirt the medicine into it. Hold it with the hole down so all the medicine pools into the top part of the nipple. If it's easier to hold, attach a bottle to it, when you give it to your baby. I simply hold the nipple and watch as she sucks it all down. I use this "technique," if you will, for vitamins, amoxicillin, tylenol, you can even use it for gas drops.


I've found some medicines, like baby tylenol, are a little too thick to come out the hole in the nipple. Try using a fast flow nipple that has three or four holes (usually for older babies 6+ months). The other option is to sacrifice a smaller nipple and use a sterilized pin to make the hole slightly larger.

Recommended Reading:

Helping a Sick Baby
Clearing a Baby's Stuffy Nose

Baby Sleep Patterns

Why is it that no matter how long my daughter sleeps I obsess over it. If she doesn't sleep long enough I'm frustrated cause I want her to sleep longer. But if she sleeps too long I'm constantly asking "should I wake her?"


I've read (aka obsessed) more about baby sleep than I have about any other baby-related issue. From learning how to get a baby to sleep to learning how to keep a baby asleep through the night and how to merge from four naps to three to why there really is such a thing as the 45 minute intruder. You could say it's been an eye-opening experience...

Here's a general guideline as far as baby sleep patterns. Remember these are just approximate sleep times. Every baby is different. 

Newborn - 18-20 hours a day
3 Weeks - 16-18 hours a day
6 Weeks - 15-16 hours a day
4 Months - 9-12 hours at night + 2-3 naps totally 3-4 hours
6 Months - 11 hours at night + 2-3 naps totally 2-3 hours
9 Months - 11-12 hours at night + 2 naps totally 2-4 hours
12 Months - 10-12 hours at night + 1-2 naps totally 2-3 hours

I am blessed that my 6 month old daughter sleeps 11-12 hours at night. (Believe me it's been a long road getting here...read my post on the challenge of un-swaddling). That means that during the day she usually takes three 45 minute naps. (Ah yes, that 45 minute intruder that seems to wake her up right after the first sleep cycle). She wakes up happy so I know she's rested. If she wakes up cranky there's something else going on...still tired, hungry, gas, poop, sick...you name it.

But today...here she is having slept nearly 3 hours (still strapped in her car seat, of all places). So I'm left to wonder "what is going on and what should I do?" I don't like her to sleep too long during the day for fear it will hurt her night sleep. But then again I don't want to wake her up for fear of getting a real cranky pants. I guess I'll just leave her and let her wake up on her own. Oh, and continue to check that she's still breathing. Don't worry, she is. I'm guessing the reason she's sleeping so long today is because she has an ear infection and got a shot yesterday. Being sick can really impact the amount of time a baby sleeps, but combined who knows the power! If she was a little younger I'd be more concerned about her not having eaten in four hours, but since she's started solids I'm not too worried about knowing she's getting plenty of calories. (She loves the homemade pears we started yesterday, she's been gobbling them up). Of course when she wakes she'll probably be screaming for the milk!

And that's when I'll start worrying about her sleep again...since she got up so late when will she take her third nap? Or should I just stretch to keep her up until bedtime and deal with the cranky baby I'm likely going to have come 6pm?? Oh the worry never stops.

Welcome to new mama-hood!

Recommended Reading:

The 45 Minute Nap
Get Some Sleep: Turn Off the Baby Monitor
How to Get a Baby to Sleep
Getting Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night
Trouble With Naps: The 2 Day Solution

Crying It Out: The Last Resort

The books I found the most useful as far as teaching my daughter to sleep are:

Getting Back "Me Time"

I'm a stay at home mom, but I'm learning it may be more important to be a SYLM. As in a see-ya-later-mom! I've found, to be the best mom and wife, to have a happy home and a loving marriage, a stress-free week and a relaxing weekend, I need a little time to myself sometimes. A recharge if you will. It may seem impossible to fit it into you busy schedule, but if I can do it, you can too!

Getting time alone doesn't even mean you have to leave your house it can be as simple as handing your baby over your husband and taking a quiet, uninterrupted bath. Lock the door, turn on some relaxing music and try not to worry about the crying you hear downstairs. It's natural to want to run down and help, but this is your time...and it's only 30 minutes.

The moms in my neighborhood have a Ladies' Night once a month. It's supposed to be a game night but it's usually just a gabfest...about what else? Our kids. And that's okay. It's a time for all of us to commiserate, share our battle stories of labor, double check on if the dirty-diaper count  is normal and learn more than you'd ever want to know about ear infections, green snot and ear tubes. Having a ladies night can be as simple as getting together at a restaurant for a few hours after the kids go to bed or gathering at one person's house for a few hours of gabbing and drinks.

Working out is a stress reliever for a lot of women. The first few months of my daughter's life I found it challenging to work out. (Okay so I used her as an excuse because I hate working out). But anyway...I've realized working out for even an hour two or three times a week gives me a little time to unwind and burn off some energy. It helps me feel more healthy and boosts my self esteem. I feel like more than just a mom when I get done. It's also a chance for my daughter to work on the separation anxiety that she seems to be developing from being with me 24/7. My gym has a free daycare. It's perfect because I know my daughter is only a room away so if something is wrong the daycare providers can easily come get me. I always get scared when I see them walking the perimeter of the gym...why do I seem like the only one they come find to rescue my screaming daughter???

Run errands or go to the salon without dragging your baby along. Okay so running errands may not be fun, ever, but if you can avoid taking the baby, even just once or twice a month it will give you a little time to yourself. A fellow SAHM friend of mine offered to watch my baby while I went to get my hair done. It was a stress free trip to the salon knowing I didn't have to feel rushed because my little girl was getting fussy. If you can find someone who you can swap babysitting services with, even once a month, it'll really do you good.

If all else fails and the only time you get to yourself is nap time try to relax. I'm not going to say "sleep when the baby sleeps" because I know that's rarely possible. But don't break out the vacuum or balance the checkbook...instead get a have a cup of tea, read a chapter in a book, take a shower, dry your hair and put on a little makeup. Looking good is feeling good especially when you're a SAHM and it's tempting to stay in your pj's all day. Everything else will get done, just do it during the next nap. One nap a day deserves to be "mommy time."

Remember a happy mom is a happy home so find ways to get happy, relieve stress and get back a little me time. And don't feel guilty about it - you're doing everyone a favor!