We welcomed our sweet boy into the world 1 week ago today. 1 week already!! Our little Tommy boy has filled us with so much joy since his arrival. We are all adjusting well. We’ve noticed that C has been a little more needy if she bumps herself or falls down, and we’ve had to address her listening and following directions with her frequently since we came home from the hospital! I know this is very, very typical, so we are doing our best to show her the same grace and love God shows each of us, and to discipline her when necessary, discuss her actions with her and why they are wrong, and most importantly, help her with this big transition by doing the little things to make sure she knows she is seen, heard, and deeply loved. Dakota and I have been intentional about this by doing things like reading books with her before bedtime all together, playing/interacting together when Tommy is and is not present, pray together, talking through her emotions when she’s having a tough time and embracing her, and taking one on one donut dates with daddy or spending one on one time with mommy during a bath.
I’m anxious to see how this next big transition will be for her/us when we start to move into our house! My prayer lately has been that C’s heart would be prepared for this change, and that we would continue to show grace and patience towards her and one another as we start to settle in and get acquainted with our new space. I can not wait, and we are getting so close! We have our last two windows in the master bedroom going in this week (they somehow got “lost” when they were initially ordered, so they had to have a rush order put on them, LOL go figure!). So, those will finally be installed, we need railing on the staircases, heating and cooling to wrap up (this week), electrical on the interior to wrap up (this week), and siding to be put on + exterior electrical work will be after siding. Those are the main items, and of course, there will be a lot more small projects to do, but what I’m finding most about our new home, is that there will always be a project to do. We look forward to continuing to make it more and more our home as we get into the space and really start to figure out what works for the space we have and what doesn’t.
I wanted to share a round up of some new mommy must haves with you. I received several questions in regards to baby monitor, dockatot, best clothing items to get for a newborn, and some recovery items for mommy after labor and delivery. I will be sharing some c-section specific items that are working for me, along with some recovery items for all women!
Dockatot . . .
I received a TON of questions about how I am liking our Deluxe Dockatot for Thomas. We are really liking ours so much for our little guy so far. It is not supposed to be used as an unsupervised sleeping place for your child, so I wouldn’t recommend leaving the room or general area if your baby is in it. I also wouldn’t recommend using it if you aren’t monitoring baby on your baby monitor if you want to put him or her in a quieter place to sleep and have busy toddlers running around everywhere. We have never used any sort of bassinet/beside bed sleeper for our babies, though. We like to put them right into their cribs from the start, so that’s personally what I like to do for night time sleeping. We didn’t know we should do anything besides that when we had C until I told people she’s already in her crib and they were surprised! I am thankful we did this from the start, because she (and we…babies make so many little noises as they sleep and that would just keep me up at night worried!) started sleeping pretty well from the time we brought her home. I’ve noticed the same with T, too! He’s in his pack and play across the room from us, but that’s far enough away that I don’t hear him and he’s in a larger place while sleeping, like a crib. Another week or two and he’ll be in his crib! Woo hoo!
Anyways… here’s how I’ve been using the Deluxe Dockatot: I put him in the there to nap throughout the day while we’re awake and watching him. I will put him in the Dockatot on the couch or floor, while I’m resting next to him or playing with Collins. We have also been putting the Dockatot right up on the counter with us when we eat or if I’m trying to get things done in the kitchen while Collins is busy playing. You can pretty much take the Dockatot with you around the house wherever you go, and you’ll always have a safe place for them to be at.
Dockatot has some great ways that you can use the Dockatot that include: lounging (like I mentioned above), around the house, supervised tummy time, changing diapers, resting, cuddling, bonding, playing (they have an attachable arch you can purchase with hanging items for baby to look at above them), and bed transitioning (for toddlers who are using the Dockatot Grand Deluxe). We also have the Grand Deluxe for Collins and when we first got it, she was using it to sleep with in her crib and hope that we can do the same with her big girl bed when we move into the house to help ease her into her toddler bed! She may not need it, but it will be nice to have just in case. She has it in her tee pee currently as a fun place to rest and read her books, and she’s liking it in there too!
They make really nice travel bags for the Dockatots, and we have one for each Dockatot size we have. They have really nice handles too, so packing them up to travel with will be perfect! Even if you’ll just be out for the day spending time at a friend’s or family member’s house, or if you’re going to drop the babies off with nana or papa… the Dockatots + travel bags will be perfect!
Overall I love how the Dockatot gives baby a safe, snug, and soothing place to rest, is made with hygienic fabric that doesn’t harbor heat, gives baby a safe place for supervised tummy time, is easily portable, lightweight, and helps with bed transitioning for your toddlers. I definitely recommend this to the new mommy or even if you’re expecting another baby!
Baby Monitor . . .
We had to get a new monitor before Tommy came, because the prior one we had no longer made extra monitors for it. We got the same brand as we had last time, but I am so happy we ended up having to get an entire new one, because they have upgraded it so much since we purchased ours before C arrived! I love that it has touch screen features now, has a really clear monitor, has multiple camera viewing options if you have more than one baby to keep an eye on, and really liked the ease of setting up the monitors. It was so simple and fast to get both monitors synced with the parent monitor! I definitely would recommend this Summer Infant Baby Monitor! If you plan on needing more than one monitor from the start, you will have to purchase one separately. You can find the link for a separate monitor for it here!
The BEST Onesie (and really only clothing item you need for a NB right away!)
So, I know there are so many super sweet clothing items for babies… Target baby section gets me EVERY time, trust me! But really, for those early newborn days when you are constantly up feeding and changing them, these SLEEP N PLAY onesies are all you need! They are exactly what you need for those middle of the night changings (blow outs) with the quick and easy zipper. I also love that they have built in footies (because NB socks NEVER stay on haha!), and they also have built-in mittens for their hands if you’re worried about them scratching themselves (Newborns have long nails and it isn’t recommended to clip or pick them off for the first few weeks). These are a great base layer underneath your Halo Sleep Sack (also the best for swaddling while they sleep… love them!!). Order yourself some of these Sleep N Play onesies from Target and Halo Sleep Sacks from Amazon in all the prints ASAP mamas and you’ll be set, seriously!
A Few Recovery Items for Mama. . .
I received many messages regarding my Belly Bandit items I’ll be using for postpartum recovery. I have already loved using my 2-in-1 band during pregnancy, but it is also great for post-pregnancy as a hip band for you! I’ve been using this for right now, but I will be primarily using my Viscose from Bamboo Belly Wrap since it is targeted for women who’ve had a C-Section. I really like all of the benefits of why you’ll love the wrap that Belly Bandit had on their website, so I thought I’d share…
Our Power Compress Core™ applies targeted compression, which may help:
- Slim and support your belly, waist, and hips
- Strengthen core muscles weakened during pregnancy (especially helpful if you have an abdominal separation, also called diastasis recti)
- Promote mobility, helping you get back to your daily activities more quickly
- Ease back pain
- Provide comfort after C-section
- Encourage better posture, especially important during breastfeeding
- Offer support while exercising
Soft viscose from bamboo is ultra-comfortable on your skin, and gentle on a recovering C-section incision
*The above statement came directly from the Belly Bandit website.
For all of those reasons, I’m anxious to start wearing my wrap! They do make other post-pregnancy wraps that have the same benefits, just not necessarily geared toward C-sections. If I ended up not having to have a C Section, I would’ve purchased the Mother Tucker Compression Corset or the Post-Pregnancy Belly Wrap!
I have LOVED their BDA Leggings during pregnancy and they’ve also worked great for post-pregnancy, even with having a C-section. You don’t want to wear anything too constricting at first, because that could cause your c-section line to become irritated and cause it to open/bleed/puss (super fun I know!). These are so soft and have enough stretch that they do not irritate my c-section line, even though they’re high-waisted! I plan to get the Mother Tucker Compression Capri Leggings a little later on once my c-section has been checked over by the doc and I’m cleared for it being fully healed inside!
I hope this post helps answers some of the major questions I’ve been getting as I’ve shared some of my postpartum items with you over on my Instagram! I will definitely share any other items I’m finding that I love as I continue on my postpartum journey, too. Have a great Tuesday everyone!
with love,
from Courtney
withlovefromcourtney.com 