One can do and do do without

I have found out the hard way that baby registries are merely around so corporations can push all their useless gadgets and gizmos a plenty on you and "prepare" you for parenthood. I am here to simply tell you not to feed into their BS and let you in on a secret of everything that's practical.

Diaper Genie - your little stinker can do do without this contraption. Save your money and the confusion of this bucket and register for a cheap diaper pale and recycle your plastic grocery bags by inserting them. If you are lazy enough to not empty it every other day, then get the Genie. The downfall with the Genie is that it doesnt come with 3 wishes and you have to keep buying special bags so it doesnt smell. Good luck!

Receiving blankets - I hope you do not receive any of these blankets at your shower. My son was 22 inches long straight from the womb and we could not swaddle him by any means with these things. We ended up using a thin swaddle blanket that had velcro on it which did the trick. And another thing, babies try to eat things and having tweny six fuzzy fleece blankets in the house is pointless.

Crib Bedding - All you need is a crib sheet and a crib skirt for style. You will learn after seeing your day old baby on the opposite side of the crib trying to lick the fuzzy sheep on his bumper. Babies can apparently scoot and you dont need them suffocating themselves against a bumper. And what the heck is that quilt for anyway???

Here are a few items that my husband and I discussed are must haves and we couldn't have survived parenthood so far without:

Bassinet / Moses Basket -Nobody told us that babies do not take to their cribs immediately when you arrive home from the hospital. The first night we arrived home we placed our baby in his crib between his sleep positioner and woke up to him screaming and on the opposite side of the crib laying on a poopy crib sheet and eating his receiving blanket. He managed to scoot being 3 days old, got out of his diaper (which wasnt tight enough - lesson learned), pooped on his crib sheet and had his blanket over his head and was licking it. For whatever reason I had purchased a moses basket (thought it looked cute and I remembered the movie Willow where the baby was floating down the river) and we had our son sleep in it for 6 weeks in between us on our queen size bed. If you are thinking about co-sleeping with your baby, please invest in a side bed bassinet or a moses basket (the walls are high enough so you do not roll over on them). Be safe when co-sleeping as it is extremely dangerous in those tiresome first weeks.

Glider & Ottoman - Originally we had purchased an antique rocking chair that seemed perfectly suited for lulling our baby to sleep and to breastfeed. But on day one at home with our son, we learned that it was not the right choice. My amazing husband went to Babies R Us at 8pm to purchase a glider. Having a comfortable chair and a place to kick up your feet when feeding or rocking your baby at 2am was the best $200 we ever spent on a whim!

Mylicon - A.K.A. Liquid Gold. Mylicon is a gas drop you can give your baby after each feeding (no more than 12 times a day) and it instantly clears their belly of any gas bubbles. It can be found by the Tums at Target or Walmart and costs about $10-$13 per bottle. Be aware that it can be addicting and you shouldn't use it unless your baby is fussy with gas.

Baby Einstein DVD - Please note that this is mommy's time to quickly grab her coffee, check her email, balance her checkbook and grab a shower. My son started watching TV when he was 7 weeks old. He loved the bright lights and was glued to the tube when it was on. His grandma bought him the Baby Einstein Baby's First Moves (for 3+ months) DVD and he started watching it at 2 months. It's a huge help to mommy to have baby quiet and focused for 25 minutes (you can get at least 35 if you click repeat play on the menu). I advise you to work this into their routine starting at 2-3 months and watch every morning before their late AM bottle.

I hope you found this information useful, or at least take it into consideration when you are preparing for mommyhood (reading that book right now by Tori Spelling - don't judge). If you have anything to add or comment on, please do as it's much appreciated!

A New Day Has Come

There really needs to be a word to describe the feeling of being a new parent; a mixture between scared out of your mind, excited and becoming an emotional beast.

Celine Dion got it right. A new day came as soon as you brought your little one home from the hospital. What she didn't inform you on was all the small life lessons you would learn those very first weeks.

I am a new mother to an amazing son named Jackson Wayne. He brings so much joy to my husband and I and we couldnt be happier with our little family.

I created word to a mommy blog to not only let me share the endless joys of motherhood, but also allow me to educate others about my trial and errors as well as to rant about the upsets, trials and frustrations. This blog is my therapy. My sanity and also your dummy guide to mommyhood.

Enjoy!