Author: Paula Robert-Hunt

Paula Robert-Hunt http://yoursimplifiedlife.com
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Life in the FAST LANE!

As excited as I was to start this blog after my daughter was born, life smacked me right in the face and I quickly realized that being a full-time mom and a full-time career woman left little time for anything else. I can say that after 2 years of literally trying to balance it all, that I have learned that you need to:

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My #1 Priority!

  1. Realize That Family Comes First – Work and other life demands will suck you in but always remember that you can’t get back those “first” moments so choose wisely.
  2. Take Time For Yourself – This can come in any form as long as it’s something that you do for yourself like a massage, manicure, or even a walk!
  3. Enjoy Each Stage – Your kids will grow up faster than you could even imagine so don’t worry if your kid isn’t eating solids at 6 months, walking before a year, or potty trained at 18 months. All of these milestones will happen when they are ready.
  4. Follow Your Own Rules – Everyone has their opinions on how you should be raising your children but you have to live with them so make your own rules and follow them.
  5. Ask For Help – Having kids is hard and most people understand that. Ask someone to hold the door for you as you try to get a stroller through a heavy glass door, ask other parents for their perspective,  or seek out professional advice when needed.

I had no idea what to expect of motherhood but I can say that I am truly blessed with a child that amazes me each and every day!  After some soul searching, I have reset my priorities and finally feel like the mother I want to be!

 

Is a bottle warmer necessary? I say YES!

We spent far too much time in the aisle of Babies R’ Us discussing if we needed a bottle warmer and if so, which one should we chose.  Our baby really only cries when she is hungry and doesn’t give us much of a warning when she is so we decided that having a warm bottle in minutes was worth the cost and the counter space.  We also freeze breast milk so having a warmer that could handle frozen milk in addition to refrigerated milk was high on the list.  In the end we chose Dr. Brown’s Bottle Warmer and it has been perfect!

This warmer is a steamer so there are no hot spots and it is small enough that we have traveled with it as well (just remember to empty the water).  It fits most bottles that we have tried too so you don’t need to have Dr. Brown bottles to use this warmer.  The only bottle that we have tried that will not fit is the Tommee Tippee.

If you are thinking of purchasing a warmer, I would highly recommend the Dr. Brown’s Bottle Warmer!  It seems to be in all the major baby stores (Babies R’ Us, Buy Buy Baby, etc.), mass merchants (Target, Walmart, etc.) and even the local boutique baby stores in Boston (Tadpole, Magic Beans, etc.)

A Must-Have Newborn Napper

Fisher Price Rock 'n Play

Fisher Price Rock ‘n Play

Living in the city, we have limited space so finding a multi-functional, space saving baby item is worth raving about!  While I wish I could take the credit for finding this little gem, it was a recommendation from our traveling nurse from Partners Healthcare.  Basically, the Fisher Price Rock ‘n Play is a contoured rocking seat.  What this means is that it hugs your newborn so she feels secure and rocks when she moves to help put her back to sleep!

Sounds great, right?  Well there’s more!  Not only is this great for sleeping, because the seat has an incline, you can put your baby in it after feeding if you need to change out a load of laundry, send an email or take a shower without risk of her spitting up.

And to top it all off, it’s compact and lightweight!  It doesn’t take up a lot of room when open so it fits nicely next to our bed at night and we can easily move it around the house so we can keep an eye on her.  There are two buttons to push to close it for storage and the size makes traveling with it a breeze!  We just took our first road trip to visit family in upstate New York and it easily fit in the trunk and set up in seconds at our families house.

With so many benefits and at a cost of $50-75 (depending on the model), this is a must-have for any new parent!

 

To Pram or not to Pram…that IS the question

Uppa Baby Vista Bassinet

Uppa Baby Vista Bassinet (http://uppababy.com)

I have lived in the South End for 4 years so I have seen my fair share of parents with expensive prams cruising down Tremont Street.  When we were shopping for strollers, I told my husband I did not want to buy an over-priced, trendy baby stroller just to fit into the neighborhood.  Instead we bought a fantasic jogging stroller that you could easily snap in an infant car seat.

Unfortunately we had a preemie and given her size, it was recommended by the NICU that she not spend more than 90 minutes in the car seat.  With the warmer weather approaching, we wanted to be able to take the baby for long strolls with our pup or really to be able to do anything outside of the house for more than an hour and a half so we asked the doctors and nurses if there were any other options.  To our surprise and sadly our wallets, they recommended a pram!

After many conversations with the Neonatologist, we decided that a pram was the best option for our little girl.  The main reason was that having a baby in an infant car seat/stroller combo, which pushes their heads forward, can cut off their airway.  While this is a bigger concern for preemies, doctors still recommend that parents limit the time that any newborn is in an infant car seat to 90 minutes.

And so started the hunt for a reasonably priced pram knowing that once she was big enough we would switch to the jogger that we loved!  The prams that we found ranged in price from $350 to over $1,000.  We were fortunate to be able to borrow a modular stroller frame from a friend and purchased the bassinet portion that just snapped right in.  As a bonus, we use the bassinet in the house as well so she can be near us during the day instead of napping in the bedroom.

While I cannot wait to start using our jogger when our daughter is a little bigger, I would highly recommend using a pram for a newborn for his/her safety and the ultimate freedom for the parents!