Breath Detection Baby Monitor

Hey guys! I was recently approached by a company to see if they could send me and test out their new baby monitor. I did my research before I said yes and was actually really excited about the concept of this system. The system that I have been testing out over the last few weeks is called the Smart Beat Baby Monitor with breath detection. As a first time mom, I was super anxious having Luke sleep in his room and actually he didn't sleep in there until he was around 8 months old I think (I really can't remember exactly). I had heard of a few companies that do a monitor system that alerts you when levels get too low, but most of those require them to wear something or lay on top of something, and I have heard mixed reviews about them being a little too sensitive. The last thing I wanted to do while I was getting my very precious (and rare) sleep, was to be alerted for something that wasn't even true, so I steered away from those ones. I was actually using a security camera and just zooming in on Luke to see if his back was moving up and down. But, as I'm sure you can imagine, that takes a lot of tedious work and time -- plus it only works if you are in the app. Since using this new system I am SO happy and impressed with it. It really gives me that peace of mind knowing that my baby is breathing well in his sleep.

I received my Smart Beat monitor in the mail a few weeks ago and it came in a super simple and sleek package. It only has two parts: the camera and the base. The set up was really easy, it comes with a small booklet that tells you to download the app and then that basically directs you how to do everything with short videos! I set up everything except for mounting it on the wall (which my husband did for me). I HIGHLY recommend mounting it because I first tried it just putting the camera on a shelf and I couldn't get as good of an angle and by mounting it you really get the best results!

This system has so many pros in my opinion. The camera quality is really clear and works great with the lights off too. You just open the app after you put baby to bed and click to start monitoring & click where baby is located. A small box appears on the baby's body and breath detection starts. It's actually super cool because after doing it enough times you can tell if your baby is awake by the breathing being higher and slowing down when they fall asleep. It will actually alert you too when baby has fallen asleep or woken up. It calls you when there is a breathing alert and the breathing has dropped too low. You will get an incoming call and it will say Breathing Alert. I have had a couple of them only because I went and got Luke out of his crib and didn't tell the app so it alerted me. After the alert it will ask you what was wrong, which I think is really cool too! They send you emails with tips on how to safely have your baby sleep in case the alerts were from a stuffed animal or blanket in the bed (which is not recommended at all). I am actually super excited to use this in the future on anymore babies that we might have! I think it would give me a lot more peace of mind especially on an infant, when they are so tiny and helpless! But I still do appreciate it on my 14 month old son.

I would say that the only real con is that the app drains your battery, so make sure you plug your phone in while you are sleeping! I am notorious for having a low battery so I especially need to be better with charging at night now.


**Where can you get it? You can purchase on their website www.mysmartbeat.com and receive $25 off by signing up for their newsletter! Or you can purchase on Amazon. They have a 1 year manufacturer's warranty and you can return it if you are not happy!**

Baby packing guide

I wanted to do a post on what I keep in my diaper bag/how I pack for a trip with a baby. I am not an absolute expert on packing for a baby, but I have picked up a few tips and tricks over the past few months that I found really helpful when packing for trips! We have gone on one long airplane trip (to Hawaii) and countless number of weekend getaways since having Luke. For me at least, when baby gets older it gets easier and you have less "stuff" you have to pack -- this was great for me because it can get super overwhelming at first!

Diaper Bag - I like to keep the diaper bag somewhere up front in the car so I can easily access it; I keep the rest of the stuff in the trunk to try to keep the clutter at a minimum (honestly though, its hard haha!)

A couple of gallon bags are always folded up and placed in the back pocket of the diaper bag just in case we aren't around a garbage and he has a dirty diaper or for wet/dirty clothes.

Wipes and Diapers (I usually just put a pack of wipes or if you have a small diaper bag do a ziplock with wipes to save room). I also ONLY try to put in 6 diapers or so in here to also save room. If we are going on a weekend getaway I will stuff a reusable grocery bag full of diapers and a pack of wipes and stick it in my trunk to take out when we get to our destination.

Hand sanitizer. Because, germs.

Itzyritzy Reusable Snack Bag: I actually use this as a medicine/toiletry bag and it works great!! I always keep the necessities in here because these things can be expensive and you don't use them a lot, so it is nice to bring them with! I keep dye-free tylenol in here and a syringe, teething tablets, nail clippers, saline spray for nose, nose frieda, wash cloth, hairbrush, travel-size container with baby wash, thermometer, toothbrush.

Beauty counter Baby Balm: this stuff is amazing and can be used for literally everything. Great thing to keep with! Can be used for rashes, dry skin, cuts, bumps, etc.

Sunscreen. I use Beautycounter (the lotion kind, not the spray) or Babyganics **I am a Beautycounter Consultant so email me if you are interested! I do make commission from it**

One pair of jammies and one extra outfit. I like to keep extra jammies because they are so easy to change into or if baby gets sick they are a lot more comfy for them! (rest of the clothes get packed in either my suitcase or my second diaper bag that I use just for clothes)

Bottle with two servings of formula. Just in case of emergency or if I decide to have a drink or something it is nice to have some extra stock!

Manual breast-pump; again, just in case!

Munchkin water bottle. My favorite "sippy cup" for Luke.

Swaddle blanket that could also be used as a nursing cover/blanket/changing pad/ etc.

Snacks/food; I usually just pack a couple of pouches, snacks and a spoon/bib. I will buy real food when we get to our destination.

Extras:

Baby carrier of some sort, High-chair (ours is so small we can take it apart and bring it anywhere!), whatever your baby will sleep in (pack and play, bassinet, etc.) A couple of toys. Luke honestly really isn't into toys that much, but bring a few small toys or books with! Usually babies are so amused with new environments that you don't need much!

For long road trips: Our baby does WAY better when there are no other people in the backseat with him. I try to time it right so he can nap almost the whole way, but if it is a super long road trip or your baby has a hard time falling asleep in the car they do make stands for phones or tablets that you can attach to the back of the seat. We got this one on Amazon and it worked great for our road trip to the Midwest.

https://rstyle.me/n/dp86nmchyb7
On the airplane:

The only thing I do different is I actually wear Luke in his carrier through security and I take 3 gallon bags and put inside each one: one diaper, wipes, extra outfit (I read this tip from someone else where they would put one diaper/wipes/change of clothes in each bag for each hour the plane-ride was...that way you can just grab one bag and go to the bathroom and change them if they need a diaper change/have a blow-out). I think that tip is great because if you have ever changed a diaper in an airplane bathroom, they are freakin' tiny!! So, less is definitely more.

Top baby buys: 6-9 months

Photo Credit: @ardourphoto

So, this time around I have less items because I just don't feel like I use as much stuff! Luke is currently almost 10 months old (omg where has the time gone?!) so I am a little late on this one :) Hope you guys enjoy and find these useful :)

1. Probably the best thing we bought during this time frame was the Ikea Antilop high-chair! It is seriously amazing! I LOVE how tiny it is. It's also extremely affordable and takes up no space in my house. I have seen a lot of girls I follow on Instagram use it and I just love the simplicity of how it looks. It's so easy to put together and the legs pop right off so you can bring it with you wherever you go. It's also such a life-saver for when you are trying to get things done around the house (just having a high-chair in general) and you can just put some snacks on the tray to occupy the baby and makes it really nice! I have even brought it to the hallway by the bathroom while I straighten my hair so I can keep Luke contained haha! I have heard people say the tray is really hard to put on and off and clean, but I just leave it on and clean it while it's still attached and haven't had any problems. This is also a great idea to keep an extra one at your parent's or in-law's because its so cheap!

Click the link below
https://tinyurl.com/yyejb8ry

2. Lillebaby Carrier (I think the Ergo is pretty similar): I really liked the Baby Bjorn for when Luke was little because it is SO easy to put on (the Lillebaby and Ergo's are a bit bulkier and have more pieces), but once he hit like 13 lbs or so it really killed my back because of how little support it has. My boss actually got me the Lillebaby and I had never heard of it before, but it is amazing! It has great back support, even with Luke weighing around 22 lbs right now. It is a little tricky to set up (I watched a few Youtube videos on it and eventually figured it out), but it is so worth it! This would be a great gift to go halves on for a good friend or sister for a shower!

3. This is not a baby buy, but something that I just HAD to include because whenever I go on a road trip it always comes in handy! If Luke is ever crying for a long period of time in the car and isn't tired, I play him this video on Youtube: Baby Rainbow Sensory Video. It is seriously magic and makes him stop instantly! I don't like to have him watch a whole lot of videos on my phone or anything, but this one is good for desperate times and it's mostly just a black screen with bright colored shapes!

4. Beautycounter Baby balm: Luke has super sensitive skin and this stuff works great for any kind of scratches or dry spots he has! I also used it as a moisture barrier on his chest when he had a bad teething rash and it helped everything heal! If you are interested you can use my link to shop it on the Beautycounter website (I am a consultant, so I do make commission off of it, but I swear I love this stuff!) This is an amazing multi-purpose product for babies and yourself! I use it on my cuticles and think it would make a great anti-stretch mark product too!

www.beautycounter.com/tiffanyoakes

5. Travel Stroller : We have the Nuna Pepp stroller and we have used it so much over the past few months! It is definitely not for off-roading or jogging, but it is the perfect travel stroller! It is so lightweight and folds down super flat. We took it on our Hawaii vacation and it was a life-saver! It pops-up so easily too! Definitely recommend getting the Nuna Pipa in a set with this because you basically get it for around $100-200 if you can find a sale!

6. Snacks: This is definitely my most cost-effective recommendation that I have given! I am not a Dr. by any means and not a baby-expert, so do your research on what kinds of foods are appropriate for your baby, but just snacks in general have been a huge life-saver! Especially for traveling on the airplane and going out to eat places, I like to break them up into super tiny pieces to make them last longer and it also helps them with their coordination! Our favorites are the Yogi's and Creamies by Happy Baby Organics and the Teether's by Happy Baby Organics.

7. Teething Kit: Teething can be super hard on babies and on parents too, so I found that having a little kit all prepared helped. In the kit I have: teething tablets, teething drops, teething toys that you can freeze and bibs. My favorite Teether's for Luke are the Itzy Ritzy teethers (they also have super cute teething mitts) and Sophie the Giraffe. I like the bandana bibs in this case because they can wear them with their outfits and don't look super obnoxious (these are mainly to just prevent the drool from sitting on their chest and causing a rash). I ordered a pack of organic ones from Amazon in black, white and gray for super cheap and they work great!

8. Crib Soother Aquarium: This thing is amazing! It has a few different settings you can choose so you can decide if you want ocean noise or classical music. It's basically just a little aquarium you can attach to the side of the crib for the baby to look at to help with falling asleep. Luckily, Luke does well in the car, otherwise this would be great to attach to the back of the seat too!

Top baby buys: 3-6 months

I feel like babies change sooo much so quickly, so I wanted to do a post on my favorite baby purchases for the last three months (that aren't already listed in my previous post). If you haven't checked out my 0-3 month favorite purchases make sure you check it out because almost all of those are still some of my favorite items during these last few months! During month 3 and 4, Luke started to be SO much more independent and has been a lot more okay with having me set him down and play for a while, which is great for the both of us! I am going to include favorites for both him and I and I'll post links to them all at the bottom! Also, let me know if you guys have any requests on blogposts that you want me to write! I would love to hear your feedback. :)


1. Exersaucer: I have this exact one and love it because it folds down to be completely flat (makes it great for travel!). It also converts to be a table for when he gets older and he can run toys across the top! Luke LOVES things with faces and I picked this one because it has big eyes on all of the characters. It doesn't seem too overwhelming either. For whatever reason, his favorite part of this is the bits of crunchy material on the seat that he grabs and chews on. He usually lets me put him in here for 15-20 min, which is awesome because he can play while I do some chores!

2. Boppy Lounger: This is something that I thought I would have used a lot more early on, but we haven't gotten much use until recently. Luke LOVES being on his back and grabbing his toes right now and with this lounger his head is elevated up just enough where he can see what's going on too! I usually throw a cozy blanket over the top of it and bring it everywhere (it's literally just a pillow so it's super light and makes for an easy spot to set baby down when you are doing chores or even taking a shower!). Plus, it's only $30, which is an amazing price point!

3. Lamb Plush: I got one of these as a gift from my friend after Luke was born. I was initially thinking this would be cute for milestone pictures, but I actually use it ALL THE TIME. We have hardwoods in our living room so it's really nice to have a flat, but cushy surface for Luke to do tummy time or just kick his feet around. I also bring this with me when we travel to change diapers on top of tables or harder surfaces (and throw a towel or blanket over the top). It rolls up to be super compact too.

4. Water Wipes: These are seriously the best wipes ever!! They are made of 99.9% water and 0.1% fruit extract, so they are super gentle on your baby. They always feel really "wet" and I only need one or two for all diapers. Luke has never gotten a diaper rash and I credit Water Wipes for that! They also make great wipes to just have around the house or in your car (to wipe off hands after eating or wipe spills around the car up with!)

5. Extra Diaper Bag: So good for overnight trips! I use one as my actual diaper bag and one with just all of his clothes and some extra toys. You really can use any one, but I have this one from Amazon. It's super affordable & fits quite a bit!

https://tinyurl.com/yd6hsero

6. Manual Breast Pump: This is sooo handy for anyone who is breast pumping and travels! I actually bought this because the motor on my pump went out and I was working the following the day, so I needed to buy something ASAP while I waited for my new pump to come. I hated using it at first because it really is quite a bit more work than the electric pump, but I have found several instances where it has come in handy! If you are going out to a wedding or date night without baby and you are planning on "pumping and dumping" (don't have to worry about storing the breast milk or anything). I went to a wedding and was gone for several hours and stored this in my tiny handbag super easily! It breaks down to be pretty compact so that was great. Also, road trips are a great instance where this comes in handy! If you have to pump to keep your supply up (or stop yourself from becoming completely engorged), but don't really want to stop you can use this in the car! Also, I highly recommend this exact one because I tried a cheaper one and it had way more parts and was harder to clean and use.

7. Mirror for Tummy Time: Luke hated tummy time so much until recently (he tolerates it, but it still isn't his favorite) & this really helped keep him happy. My mom got this on Amazon, but any mirror that stands up will do! Honestly, the quality of the actual mirror is pretty dull, but it does the job for them.

https://tinyurl.com/y7bss3h3

8. Nose Frida & Nail Frida: Baby fingernails grow so freakin fast! I clip Luke's once a week and I have (knock on wood) never cut the skin. The Nail Frida has a little extra window where you can see where you are about to clip down and the metal is super sharp so it clips them really easily. The Nose Frida has been a lifesaver too. I always felt like Luke was stuffed up in the morning so I started putting a little drop of saline in his nose and then using the Nose Frida to clear out his nostrils (I have heard you can overdo this, so I am not sure how frequently you can do it...maybe ask a doc!). It's SO easy and oddly satisfying (I know that sounds super gross, but everyone I know that has one says the same thing!). Worst thing ever though is when it's 2am and you are sleep deprived and accidentally suck the wrong end! So gross!

9. Bumbo Seat: I have a different version of this one, but I think the one with the tray is a better bang for your buck. Plus, the gray color is a lot cuter than the teal in my opinion :) This thing is awesome to put on the counter or table while you are cooking or eating (obviously you have to make sure you don't put it on the edge or anything!). I love how it's completely wipeable and compact so you can clean it off easily and bring it with you when traveling. This would be a great gift to get someone expecting a baby and even if you have a highchair this still serves a great purpose! I think Luke started using his at around 4.5-5 months and still uses it now at 6.5 months. We started feeding him solids in this seat too! 

Baby Boy Fall Fashion

I have had a bunch of people ask me where I get Luke's clothes and it inspired me to do a blogpost with a bunch of really cute and affordable baby boy clothes that I either bought for him or want to buy! It is so hard for me to justify spending a lot of money on baby clothes, unless it is something I know he can wear all the time and would last for another baby. I am super picky about baby boy clothes and tend to stick to things that look like a man would wear, but in a miniature size :) I love baby beanies, flannels, hoodies and jeans on little boys. I have a lot of solid colored things too, which is really nice because you can mix and match everything and make tons of different outfits. He definitely wears his jammies the most out of anything, but when we go out of the house I usually dress him in the things that I listed. I have gotten a lot of his clothes from Old Navy, Carter's, Target (mostly Cat & Jack) and also the thrift store. My mom is such a good bargain shopper and she has found so many cute flannels and just basics at the thrift store so make sure you check your local thrift stores out because you can find some gems there! I think I am going to do a post on what to look for at the thrift store when searching for baby clothes. Let me know what you think! I am also going to link his Carhartt beanies (super cute and super inexpensive) and a couple of cute small shops that have really cute baby boy clothes because I do like to support small businesses when I can!


Click here for Carhartt Beanie Carhartt Beanie

Little Bipsy

Minted Method Shop (where I got his Herschel beanie)

My top 10 favorite baby buys: 0-3 months

I recently did a post on newborn mommy and baby must-haves, but I wanted to share my favorite baby items that I have purchased (may not be must-haves, but things that I have really come to love!).  Keep in mind that Luke is only about 3 months old, so these are my favorites thus far! I will link the items below and in no particular order :) If I couldn't find a clickable picture-link, I will put a hyperlink after the item, otherwise they are all at the bottom of the post.

1. Angelcare Baby Bath
This isn't technically a bath, but more of a lounger to put in an actual bathtub. I LOVE this thing. It's so cheap, easy to clean, and Luke seems to be really comfortable in it! It has kind of a rubbery mesh bottom so it seems like it would be pretty comfortable to lay in. It has a little hook on it too so you can hang it up to dry. I registered for this and my sister ended up getting it for me and it's honestly one of my most-used items.

2. Comotomo Bottles
These are kind of a luxury bottle when you look at the price compared to a lot of other bottles, but we love these so much. If you keep up on cleaning bottles you really don't need THAT many of them, so I don't think the price is bad at all. These are made of a silicon-feeling material and have more of a natural shape. I am not sure if Luke would have had issues taking any other bottle because these are the only ones we tried, but he took it right away. They are super easy to clean and I love how they have a wide opening at the top so you can easily get a scrubbing brush in without pulling it out and flinging milky water all over you. I think the silicon material will make it easy for him to hold when he gets old enough to hold his own bottle.

3. Nuna Pipa Carseat
One of our priciest baby purchases, but the most important in my opinion. I did a lot of research on carseats and also the difference between an infant carseat vs. convertible. We went with an infant carseat because I figured that babies are always sleeping in the car and if you go in a store or somewhere and have the convertible carseat, you have to take the baby out and put them in the stroller or carrier and potentially wake them up. I was debating between the Nuna Pipa and Nuna Pipa Lite and ended up just getting the original because we found a good deal with a stroller included for only $100 extra. I love how padded and luxurious the carseat is, you can tell a lot of attention to detail was put into it for sure. Another feature of the Nuna Pipa (but not the Lite) is that it has a Dream Drape, which is basically a carseat cover that is built in and just unzips out of the shade portion. It's really cool! If you look on YouTube I am sure you can find a demonstration!

4. Bouncy seat
My mom bought this for us from Walmart for super cheap. They have all different levels of fancy-ness, but I think the cheap ones work just fine. This one is super light and I have it on our kitchen table and put Luke in it when I am doing dishes or stuff around the kitchen. It has a bar across the top with some toys and you can buy links to put other things on it too, which is what we did. It also vibrates and has a music setting you can use. We just use the vibrating feature and he seems to really love it!

5. Play Gym/Mat
I was gifted this by a coworker and absolutely LOVE it! This and his bouncy seat are his favorite toys at the moment. Its nice too to have somewhere to lay him down in his bedroom so I can put away his laundry and clean up his nursery. This one is so inexpensive and does the trick. Luke loves grabbing all of the little attachments on it and its really light so we can bring it anywhere.

6. Bottle Sterilizer
I surprisingly use this a lot. I sterilize pacifiers too because they are always dropping on the floor and my pump parts! This is a really good thing to put on your registry because who wants to spend $70 on a bottle sterilizer!?

7. Copper Pearl Swaddle Blanket
I think just having one of these nice swaddle blankets is great. I bought so many muslin swaddle blankets and honestly never used them other than as a cover for breastfeeding. I don't think they are very easy to swaddle a baby with either because they don't have any stretch. I personally love these Copper Pearl ones (I have the camel one and love how it goes with everything). They are super stretchy and light. This was my favorite one to swaddle Luke with when he was a brand new baby because I could get it super tight. I always have this one in my diaper bag and use it as a cover too because it is huge. Would be a great gift idea! (my friend, Jill, got me mine!)

Copper Pearl Swaddle

8. The Ollie Swaddle
This is the kind of swaddle that I was recommended to have baby sleep with. To each their own, but to me this kind of swaddle (either velcro or zips closed so baby can't get get out and move the blanket over its' face) seems the safest. I had originally bought a Halo sleep sack and liked it a lot, but the problem is that the bottom is sewn shut so you have to buy a new one every time baby outgrows it! There were also a lot more steps to getting baby in that swaddle. I heard about the Ollie Swaddle from Taking Cara Babies (which you also NEED to check out! I talk more about it on my newborn must haves post, but you can look on Instagram @takingcarababies). I was a little skeptical to buy one because they are $59, but if you think about how many times you have to buy a $20-35 swaddle every time they grow, it really is such a better investment. You only have to buy one because the bottom is open and it just ties wherever baby's feet are. The material is super nice and stretchy plus made out of a breathable material so you don't have to worry about overheating. This would be an amazing gift for someone and the packaging is adorable (I have an unboxing on my Baby Stuff Highlight on Instagram @tiffanyxmeri)

The Ollie Swaddle

9. Portable Noise Machine
My mom found this one on Amazon and I wanted to include this specific one because it is chargeable and has a hook on its' tail that you can literally hook anywhere! We like to hook it on his carseat or on the Rock and Play. It plays songs or white noise (I think it has a few other "soothing" noises as well) and has a little night-light built in. I love that you can charge it too so you don't have to worry about batteries.

Portable Monkey Sound Machine

10. Rock and Play
This was in my Newborn Must-haves as well and I wanted to include it on here because it is so great. I first love how slim and compact it folds down to. Our baby sleeps in it so I can move it around the house really easily and pack it in the trunk of my car. It's really cost-effective and I have heard a lot of people say that they prefer this to a lot of the fancier swings and stuff they have out there. Luke doesn't like this for just hanging out, as a baby would do in a swing (because it's fairly flat you can't really see out like you could in a swing) so I am not sure if they are that comparable. However, it is awesome as like a little mini bassinet. Side note -- I am not sure it is approved for sleeping, it is just what we use so do your own research!

Surviving your first few weeks of motherhood/ Newborn essentials

I haven't posted in a while on here and the reason why is the last thing I have wanted to do with my very little free-time is write a blog post, no offense! This motherhood thing is kicking my butt, but I am starting to get the hang of things and have gotten a little better with trying to manage everything, while also just enjoying this precious time with our little guy! If you didn't know, I recently had my first baby, Luke, about 8 weeks ago. I wanted to share a couple of things that have really helped with surviving the first few weeks of motherhood and my must-have products for mom and baby!

Amazon Fire Stick: I have spent so much time on the couch, especially in the first couple of weeks when I was still recovering from child birth - which, by the way, is super unglamorous and rough (probably a future post itself!) It did help to make sure I walked around the house a little bit every day, but for the most part I just wanted to sit down and rest and snuggle our sweet new addition! While I felt a little guilty for being "lazy" (totally not lazy, but when you are used to a routine and being busy sometimes you just can't help but feel that way), what other time in your life do you get an excuse to just hangout on the couch and not have anywhere to be or anything to do really? Make sure you have a subscription on Hulu or Netflix and get some good shows stacked up to watch! Let me know if you want my recommendations :)

Amazon Prime: If there is anything you need that you can't get up to go to the store for, this will be so helpful. I didn't know how big Luke was going to be so I didn't really buy newborn stuff and ended up that he wore them for about 5-6 weeks. I had my Mom and husband that could run to the store so I didn't end up using Amazon, but if you were home alone this would be a life saver for anything you needed!

Portable Phone Charger or long charging cord: I don't have any outlets by my couch and my phone was constantly dying, so having a portable charger was key! I have one by Sonix brand that my best friend got me and I love it!

Feeding app: Super helpful to have! I have the Glow Baby app and really like the format! This will suck all of your battery, so make sure you get the last must-have :)

Nursing tanks: Something I did not buy, but really wish I would have! I pretty much lived in just pajama pants and a nursing bra for the first few weeks because I was constantly feeding and lifting my shirt up and down just seemed like too much work when I had to do it again in an hour.

Cozy sweats and pajamas: You will be living in these, so make sure you have comfy ones!

Healthy snacks: All I wanted to eat was anything high in carbs after I delivered because I had gestational diabetes and wasn't able to eat many carbs for the last few months of pregnancy. While it was nice to indulge for a while, it honestly started making me feel sick. It's hard to make time to get up and prepare healthy snacks so chips, crackers, cookies were all so much easier. I was soooo hungry all the time and a lot of other women I have heard are (especially if you are breastfeeding). I would highly suggest getting some healthy, but good snacks to have at home before baby is born! Pre-cut apple slices from costco or celery with nut butter, bananas, nuts and seed mixes, healthier chips/crackers with guacamole or hummus, string cheese, sparkling waters and yogurt are some good and easy snacks to have!

Boppy: This will save your arms from burning! I was holding Luke the majority of the day and so my arms would seriously BURN they were so tired! I also just used pillows from my bedroom on the couch around me so I could rest my arms, so that will do the trick too. I would also use my Boppy as a holder for all of my remotes and snacks, haha!

Heating pad: Check with your doctor, but I would sleep with this a lot on my couch because my back would hurt from the constant baby holding and feeding.

Yeti or good water bottle: Drink TONS of water. Even if you aren't breastfeeding I think it will just make you feel way better as you recover. Whenever I am sick or not really moving around a whole lot, drinking lots of water helps me not feel so "stiff". If you are breastfeeding, this is super important. I made the mistake a few times of becoming dehydrated and not drinking enough water and literally felt like pure crap, which makes it really inconvenient when you have to feed and care for a baby -- I would not recommend getting to this point! If you ask my husband, I am sure he got so sick of me asking him to fill my water bottle up a million times a day after that.

Taking Cara Babies: The reason I am able to write this post! Okay guys, I JUST started this a few days ago, and I usually like to try things out for longer before making a recommendation, but I know this is amazing and really wanted to include it. I plan on doing a post on it later after a few months, but do yourself a favor: in the last few weeks of pregnancy, when you are going crazy and getting anxious, TAKE THIS ONLINE CLASS. I wish I would have done it earlier! My friend recommended it and I didn't listen until a few days ago and it is truly amazing! It is a class on newborn sleeping/how to calm your fussy baby, etc. Check them out @takingcarababies on Instagram and checkout her website for more info!

Community: ASK FOR HELP! There are sooo many mom's out there that are in the same position as you! Asking questions has really been helpful for me! There are lots of Facebook groups or podcasts on motherhood that make you feel less alone! I really like the Babes and Babies podcast with Jade, Carly and Liz from the Bachelor! Also, don't be afraid to ask friends or family for help even if it is just holding the baby while you take a shower!

Some kind of petroleum jelly or Vaseline-like product: The first few days of baby poop is literally tar and sooo hard to get off even if you catch it 5 minutes after. One of the nurses at the hospital told us to get some vaseline and put it on their bottoms after every diaper change and their poop will just slide right off! Sounds gross, but trust me it will make your life so much easier! I also used this on the inside of his diaper after he got circumsised, so if you plan on doing that I would highly recommend rubbing vaseline on the inside of their diapers so nothing gets caught!

Zip up jammies: Literally all Luke wore for the first few weeks. The easiest to change them into and out of. I find that he RARELY wears over the head onesies and I have so many of them. It's hard because you don't know if your baby is going to be small enough to wear newborn sizes, but I had barely any of these so my mom went out and bought a bunch of newborn ones after he was born. I love Carter's brand, they are definitely my favorite! And they always have sales.

Rock n Play or swing: Whatever one works for you will be amazing for setting baby down in or to take naps! I have the Rock n Play and love it because it's really affordable (I'll link the one I have) and folds up to be really light and compact so you can bring it wherever in your house and when you travel! We always bring this with us when we travel and it easily can fit in the trunk of a car or truck. A lot of the affordable swings I looked at had really big bases and took up way too much room so this one was nice.

Velcro or Zip up Swaddle: These make life so much easier than swaddling with a blanket. They are safer too! I use the Halo Sleep Sack and really like it.

Baby carrier: Wish I would have used mine sooner. I have the Baby Bjorn and really like it, but I have heard a lot of people like the wrap style as well. This will be a game changer, especially if you are home alone with the baby and want to be able to get up and actually get a couple of things done around the house.

Water Wipes: These are awesome and Luke has not had diaper rash yet and I think it is because of these amazing and gentle wipes. They are made with water mostly and a little bit of fruit extract, so they are super easy on baby's skin. Plus, you can use them for wiping their face or yourself too since they are really gentle!

Honest Healing Balm: I love this stuff! You can use it on anything, but I really liked it for cradle cap.