First Time Mom

You are your baby’s advocate.  No one else knows your baby like you do.  So if you know something is not right, you push until you get answers.  So far there have been three instances where we had to push for an answer and I’m going to share them with you.

The first time we had to insist on anything for our baby was in the NICU.  If you haven’t been in the NICU then you need to know that they play musical chairs.  They say it’s all for assignment which is why they have to move your baby around in different pods.  Our first move didn’t occur until about a month into our stay and trust me it was a short stay at that spot.  After a few days, we noticed the pod directly across from us had nurses dressing out to attend to the babies.  Another thing we noticed was there were only a couple babies in that pod when ours was packed out.  At this point we were trying to figure out what was going on in that pod since our baby was so close to it.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was when we showed up one night and our nurse went to get us a chair (very thoughtful of her) but I watched her and low and behold she went directly across to the other pod and brought a chair from there.  I was in disbelief as I watched her half wipe down the chair with disinfectant.  When I questioned her, she said it was perfectly fine but wouldn’t tell me anything else.  I would not sit in that chair the whole time I was there.  My husband seen how upset I was and we had to go.

We finally figured it out….those babies had MRSA which made sense why the nurses were dressing out to attend to them.  Now keep in mind, we were directly across from this infected pod and our baby was like 10 feet away.  My husband made the call to the head nurse and explained what had happened and that we were not comfortable with our baby being that close.  All it had to take was one mistake from a nurse and our baby could have contracted it.  She was too small and we were worried.

The following day, I went in the NICU and they were in the process of moving our baby girl!  Talk about one happy momma right here!  She was moved to a completely different section of the NICU and we finished our NICU stay without another move.

Now on to the second instance where momma’s instinct had to kick in but this one is nowhere near the level of the first one.  When we brought our baby home, she had to come home on a monitor.  It was monitoring her heart beat since she had a bradycardia the morning she was to come home.  The only time she was not allowed to be on the monitor was for bath time.  And after bath time we had to make sure she was dry before putting it back on.

Believe me when I tell you that thing felt scary and safe all at the same time.  The safe part about it was that we would know if something was wrong.  The scary part for me was if the thing went off….would I’ve been capable of handling the situation?  I know I sure would have tried.

The monitor did go off a couple times and scared the crap out of me.  But after getting the reports, they were false alarms.  But those instances were not a lot at first.  After having the monitor a couple months, it started going off a lot more and I mean a few times each night.  Which had me on edge.  I couldn’t sleep and every time it went off my baby looked perfectly fine.  She would wake and scream due to the alarm being so loud but seemed perfectly fine.

I had it in my head that she was having a bradycardia and the alarm was snapping her out of it.  But I was also thinking if she was having one she wouldn’t look fine when I would go in there.  It would also go off while I was watching her.  So I called the monitor company and told them that the monitor was going off all the time but every time the baby was fine.  The lady I talked to was trying to tell me that maybe they were real incidences but I kept telling her that she was perfectly fine and it would even go off with me standing there watching her.  The lady finally decided they would swap out the monitor for a new one just in case the one we had was malfunctioning or it could have been because I wasn’t going to let it go that easy.  Whichever the case, I was happy with the outcome.

As for the third instance of being my baby’s advocate, it required some doctor visits.  After she was born a spot showed up on her little bum and the doctors at the hospital called it a Hemangioma (birth mark).  This thing kept growing as they said it would and pretty much covered one butt cheek.  In May of this year something had happened to the Hemangioma and my baby didn’t want to get in any water or have her diaper changed.  After investigating, we found that it had busted open so she had an open wound on her poor little butt cheek.

Since it was the weekend, we took matters into our own hands until we could see the doctor.  So we took some Neosporin and padding and placed it over the Hemangioma.  We used non sticky tape to make sure it didn’t move.  At each diaper change we would change out the pad as well.  Monday finally rolled around and we got in touch with the Pediatricians office.  Unfortunately, our doctor wasn’t in that day but we went anyway and seen another doctor.  That doctor prescribed antibiotic ointment to replace the Neosporin we were using.

After a week of using the new antibiotic ointment, we didn’t see that it was getting any better.  So I called and requested our doctor see her.  After seeing our doctor he was worried that something else could be going on so he ordered us to stop the antibiotic ointment, wait a few days and come back so he could do a culture of the area.  So we did just what he asked.

When we returned for the culture, the area still didn’t look good so our doctor referred us to a specialist.  So we went to the specialist and at that time we were given answers as to what was happening.

I hope this inspires you to be the best advocate you can be for your child.  You are the parent and their voice so listen to your gut.  You know your child the best.

If you’re having a baby, you will need to have a space set up for them when they come home.  I wanted to go over what I did to get my baby’s room ready.  First things first….pick out where or which room you are going to get ready for the baby.  We picked our office room which was kind of complicated since we had to figure out where to put it all but we decided we would put our office downstairs in the basement.  So the clearing out began!  Some of our friends came and helped us.  We moved all the big stuff downstairs and got it all set up.  As for the small stuff, we went through it and donated a lot of it just to get it out of the way.

Next we had to pick out colors.  Now keep in mind our office color was dark orange so we had to put Kilz on the walls before we could put any color on them.  Since we were having a girl, we decided on pink and grey as the new colors.  We didn’t want to make all the walls one color so we put pink on two sides of the walls (we have 6 sides…I know weird) and grey on the rest.

Once the room was painted, we had the carpet shampooed.  Now that the room is painted, it’s time to start putting furniture in it.  After all the shopping for baby room furniture, we finally decided on a set (crib and dresser) from Target.  Before I went to pick it up, I was searching for ways to save some money on it.  I figured out that since I had the Target credit card, I could save 5% on my purchase as long as I put it on the card.  Then, I have the Cartwheel app on my phone so I started going through it and what do you know….I found a 20% coupon in there off baby furniture.  So I headed on over to Target and bought my baby’s furniture.  Once I got it all home, we had to set it up.  To say the least, that wasn’t much fun but it was beautiful when it was all put together.

I’m ecstatic to share with you this next part!  We knew we needed a changing table for the baby’s room and as you noticed we didn’t buy one.  My genius idea for a changing table was to use my mother-in-law’s tea cart.  It had been in storage since her passing and I have no idea what made me think of it but it worked out perfect!  So, we went to the storage unit; got it out, cleaned it up, and got it ready to use.

As for a rocking chair, our neighbors gave us one and it needed to be reupholstered.  My husband had a good friend help us out with the upholstery and all we had to do was buy the material.  So it was at this time, we decided on the white, pink and grey chevron pattern for the room.  I found a mattress sheet that was in that pattern and a changing pad cover that was white and grey chevron.

Next would be decorating the room.  As for us, our time was running out so we didn’t get much decorating done.  We did put up curtains and a couple pictures.  I went to Buy Buy Baby and found a curtain that we really liked and it was on clearance.  When I got home, I realized that we needed two and Buy Buy Baby didn’t have another one in the clearance pile when I was there.  I found out that Bed Bath and Beyond was the sister store of Buy Buy Baby.  Since Buy Buy Baby was at least an hour away from me, I decided to see if I could get it at Bed Bath and Beyond since they were only 20 minutes away.  Once I was there, I was informed that they could order it and have it shipped to my house.  Genius!

Now you know how we got our baby’s room ready.  Do you have any tips to share?  Please leave them in the comments below.

Every year World Breastfeeding Week is from August 1^st through August 7^th and this year is no different! Breast milk is a renewable natural food.  There is no packaging or waste associated with it.  It is also a low cost way of feeding babies and doesn’t put a budget burden on a family’s household.  In so many ways, I wish I could have breastfeed the whole time.  So, I’m going to share my story with you.

My baby was born prematurely at 27 weeks.  A lactation consultant came in the hospital room the following morning to get me started with hand expression and to go over breastfeeding and pumping.  She gave me a bag of pumping supplies like the tubes and different sizes of cups.  The consultant then had to show me how to use it all.

The first thing that came out with hand expression is called colostrum.  It’s the most nutrient stuff which is what the baby needs first.  Then the milk comes in after.  Since my baby wasn’t able to suck on my breast due to her being so small and on the CPAP, I had to pump.  Every three hours I would have to whip out my breasts and pump whatever milk I could get out of them.  The hospital printed labels with my information on them and after each pump I would put a label on the containers that held my breastmilk.  I would then hand them over to the NICU so they could store them.

When the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) got the colostrum, they went ahead and started putting a few drops in my baby’s mouth every three hours until it was gone.  It did take a while for my baby to start getting breastmilk so I did have quite a bit of breastmilk saved up.  Once she had a feeding tube put in they started small doses (in mL quantity) of my breast milk and as long as her tummy was digesting it and not giving back a lot they increased the doses.  I did get to actually breastfeed my baby when she was big enough and they were going back and forth between the tube and bottle feeding.  We had to use a nipple shield because she was having problems latching.  Finally, she was taken off the feeding tube and she was drinking out of the bottles (with my breastmilk in them).

The pumping process was a slow and daunting task.  While at the hospital, I would go to the pumping room which had a pump sitting there along with sanitation wipes.  I would sit my bag down and start with the sanitation wipes; wiping down the breast pump and chair.  Then I would get my accessories out and plug them up to the machine.  SHOW TIME!  After 30 minutes the machine would shut off.  Then I would bottle up my breastmilk and put a label on it.  I always carried a little bottle of dish soap so after I was done pumping I would wash all the accessories; dry them and put them back in my bag.

At each pumping session I was producing around 4 ounces (2 ounces each breast).  I know what you are thinking:  That’s it?  Yes, that’s all I was producing.  I wasn’t making a lot of milk and in fact I was trying all the tactics I could find for example: Mother’s Milk, Kangaroo time, skin to skin contact, pumping every two hours, and etc.  Nothing I tried seemed to help.  So after four disappointing months of trying to produce more milk, I finally called it quits.

So to all the mommy’s out there that produced more than enough milk for your baby, Kudos to you!  It just wasn’t in my deck of cards and my hat is off to you!

If you would like to learn more about World Breastfeeding Week, please click here.

Being a first time mom, you normally don’t know what you will need until the time comes.  I didn’t have a clue what to put on my registry so I just went through scanning everything in sight.  Which is why I’ve put together a top 10 list:

1. Diapers – Keep in mind that babies go through about 10 diapers a day so in my opinion you can never have enough diapers.  The hospital used Pampers and I’ve tried different kinds but I keep coming back to Pampers.  My absolute favorite is the Pampers Baby Dry.  They keep my baby dry through the night.

2. Wipes – Another one that you can’t have enough of.   I’m fond of Pampers Sensitive wipes and they seem to work well for my baby.

3. Diaper Rash Cream – I’m a fan of Aquaphor and Desitin.  Both have done a great job for me.  In the beginning, I used only Aquaphor and once I noticed redness I would use Desitin.  So I go back and forth between those two.

4. Clothes – In my case, I could have really used Preemie Clothes but we didn’t know it at the time.  But for the most part 0-3 Months clothes are a great gift.

5. Toys – Toys are a great way for babies to start developing skills.  I didn’t get a lot of toys at my baby shower but the few I did get were great.  The ones that hang from the car seat and stroller handle were my favorite to start off with.

6. Blankets – I loved getting blankets.  We used them a lot in the beginning and my daughter found one to be her favorite!  So, she now takes it every where with her.

7. Bath Gift Sets – These are wonderful to have.  Most Gift Sets come with everything you need for a bath but let’s not forget we need the cute towels and washcloths too!

8. Services – How many new parents do you know that are eager to do housework or yard work after their baby has came home?  That’s right, a gift certificate for housecleaning or yard work would have been so awesome for my baby shower.

9. Books – Another great way for babies to learn!  Every night before bedtime, we sit down and read one or two books.  It works out great because we have our routine set and when we sit down and read, my daughter is understanding it’s almost bed time.

10. Bottles – I have tried all kinds of bottles with my baby but Dr. Brown and MAM are her preferred choice.  Don’t forget the bottle cleaning brushes!

So, there you have it!  My list of the Top 10 Baby Shower Gifts!  You can’t go wrong getting any of these items as a Baby Shower Gift. Happy shopping!

Disclosure:  There are affiliate links on this post.  If you use them, I may get a small commission.

Some people say things that hurt others feelings.  Most the time they don’t even know it.  I did go through a traumatic event with the birth of my baby and most of the time I overlook what people say but there is always a time I can’t look past it.  So, I’ve put together a list of the top 5 things not to say to someone who has had a traumatic birth of a baby.

1. At least you get to heal from your C-section before your baby comes home. This may be true but the last thing on my mind is the 6” slice across my abdomen.  My baby is in the NICU fighting for her life.

2. You lost all your baby weight so fast. Again, this may be true but let’s keep in mind I didn’t make it to 40 weeks of pregnancy either.  At 27 weeks my baby was born.  So I missed out on 13 weeks of weight gain.  I did gain quite a bit of weight with my pregnancy and a lot of it was swelling from the Severe Preeclampsia which went away after my baby was born (not right after either).

3. Breastfeeding is so much better. Again, true!  But not all women are the same.  I had to start breast pumping early due to my baby being born 13 weeks early.  My baby was tube fed for the first two months of her life and she spent 94 days in the NICU.  I did rack up a supply of breastmilk due to her being tube fed.  I tried all kinds of things to produce more milk but the cow went dry and there is no sense in beating yourself up over something you cannot control.

4. Are you ready for another one? Ok, let’s think about this one.  I just went through a traumatic birth of my daughter and you really think I’m ready for round 2?  NO!  Thank goodness this question wasn’t asked while my baby was still in the NICU.  To be honest, I probably would have bit someone’s head off over this one.

5. You get to sleep since your baby is in the hospital. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t sleep that well.  I stayed up worried about all the ands, ifs and buts that would come my way.  It’s my first pregnancy and I had never experienced a NICU before.  To me it’s scary and sleep isn’t very forthcoming.

I know some of you are thinking; did people actually say that to you?  And the answer is YES!  Some people don’t think before they speak.  In difficult times, it is hard to figure out something to say to someone but I would like to go over some things that meant a lot to me that people did say or do.

1. A community Facebook page was set up for my daughter. This helped out a lot.  With all the calls, texts, and visits it was hard to keep up.  Not to mention, at first I was in no shape to try and inform anyone what was going on.  With the page, all I had to do was post an update and everyone that read it was updated.  This page also gave me hope knowing that all the people on there were praying for my baby girl.

2. Outreach of Help. Almost everyone I spoke to wanted to know how to help but didn’t know what to do.  I, of course, had no idea for them either!  Some people brought us preemie clothes which was great because we didn’t expect to need them when we were planning our baby shower.  We came home one day and our grass was mowed!  Wow, you have no idea how much of a help that was.  Another time our laundry was taken care of.  I know I’m not the only one who hates laundry but this was a very pleasant surprise.  Another time, our house was cleaned!  That was a relief all in itself.  I mean think about it….these are all daily chores that we had to neglect to be with our baby.  When we needed to clean out a room to make it the baby’s room (keep in mind, she came 3 months early) for when she came home, some friends were there to help too.  Even meals were cooked for us.  Believe me when I say, we didn’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing meals so this was a big help too!

3. Encouraging Words. Not everyone had the time or was close enough to help but knew encouraging things to say.  I remember being told, “Hang in there!  God’s got this!”  Another thing I was told, “She’s in the best place she can be.”  In all honesty, she was in the best place she could’ve been because Lord knows I couldn’t take care of her like they did.  Those were the things I kept telling myself and it helped.  If you can’t think of anything else to say, then “Congratulations”, “Praying”, or “Let me know if I can help” would be just as good.

I’m here to tell you, in my eyes, I’m forever in debt to those people who took time out of their lives to show us they cared and wanted to help!  Thank you guys so much!  I don’t think we would have made it through the way we did without you!  If you know someone that’s going through a traumatic birth of their baby and want to help them out, I hope with this information you will know some things you can do.

July 4th is right around the corner to celebrate our Independence and what better way to celebrate than with fireworks!  Who doesn’t love fireworks?!?  With all the excitement we still need to keep safety in mind.  I’ve been doing some research about fireworks safety and wanted to pass it on to you.

How do you find out what fireworks are legal in your state?  Each state is different which is why it’s important to check your state laws to see what or if any fireworks are legal.  I came across American Pyrotechnics Associations website and they have pretty much done the work for you.  If you click here you will be directed to their State Law Directory page.  There you will find what consumer fireworks are or not allowed.  If you do find that fireworks are legal in your state, please keep in mind they can cause injury if not used properly.

According to CPSC.gov who conducted a fireworks injuries study in 2015 from June 19 – July 19, found that:

• 260 people on average go to the emergency room every day in the month around July 4th holiday.
• 67% of injuries occurred during the month surrounding July 4th.
• 11 people died due to 11 fireworks-related incidents.
• The most injured body parts were hands and fingers coming in at 32% with heads, faces, and ears coming in next at 25%.
• The most injuries by fireworks type were Sparklers coming in at 24%.
• The age group of 25-44 had the most injuries at 35% with 15-19 coming in at 16%.
• Injuries by Gender: Male 61%; Female 39%

Now that you have an overview of fireworks related injuries, let’s go over some fireworks safety tips.

1. Obey all local laws regarding the use of fireworks.
2. Know your fireworks, read the labels.
3. A responsible adult should supervise all fireworks activities.
4. Never give fireworks to children.  Sparklers can heat up to 2,000 degrees.
5. Alcohol, drugs and fireworks do not mix.
6. Wear safety glasses.
7. Do not wear loose clothing.
8. Light one firework at a time and move quickly away.
9. Never place any part of your body over a firework device when lighting the fuse.
10. Use fireworks outside in a clear area and away from flammable substances.
11. Never relight a “Dud” firework.  Instead, wait 20 minutes and then soak it in a bucket of water.
12. Always have a bucket of water and a water hose close by.  A fire extinguisher is handy too.
13. Never carry fireworks in your pockets or shoot them into in metal or glass containers.
14. Don’t experiment with homemade fireworks.
15. Dispose of used fireworks by soaking them in a bucket of water and placing in a metal trash can away from anything.
16. Make sure all pets and animals are away from the fireworks noise
17. Don’t point or throw fireworks at people.
18. FAA regulations Prohibit the possession and transportation of fireworks in your checked baggage or carry-on luggage.

Now, with all that being said, Happy 4th of July!  Be safe and enjoy your fireworks!

Have you heard of Pierce’s Project?  They are a non-profit fund, managed by Novant Healthcare Foundation which serves families of micropreemies and chronically ill infants at all stages of their journey – before, during, and after NICU stays for the greater Charlotte area.  I never knew they existed until I found myself at Hemby’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit a little over a year ago.  I was sitting in a chair watching my baby fight for her life in the incubator and a lady came by and handed me a bag.  This bag was more than just a bag; it was a care package and just what I needed.  Inside, I found a pen, journal, hand sanitizer, cooler and a folder with some helpful information in it.

Pierce’s Project was the first group of real people I had encountered that had been in my shoes and knew what it was like.  They catered Chick-fil-A to the NICU families every first Wednesday of the month at 6:30pm.  This was the time I found out more about Pierce’s Project and what a great support group they were.  Their mission is to offer love and support to other families facing situations similar to theirs.  If you haven’t been in the NICU, then you wouldn’t know what it’s like.  You are in a pod which holds about 6 babies.  Each baby is a patient so you can’t really talk to the nurses about what’s going on with them.  At these dinners, you are able to meet other parents and discuss what’s going on with your baby and theirs.  You are also able to meet with Pierce’s Projects representatives and discuss what they know about the NICU journey.

Did you know at Hemby’s NICU you have to pay $3/day for parking for the first 30 days?  Well, not anymore!  Thank you Pierce’s Project for adopting a new parking program which became effective June 17, 2015!  Although the program was not in effect when I was there; it’s a wonderful program considering you can save about $90 over the course of a month on parking.  One less thing to stress about!

Pierce’s Project also hosts events around Charlotte, for example; an Easter Egg Hunt, Premature Oktoberfest, and a Germ-Conscious Santa.  If you would like to get involved or donate please Click Here and you will be directed to Pierce’s Project website.

If you haven’t heard, Huggies is implementing a new reward program and it doesn’t include the reward codes that you have to enter for points.  Their goal is to make the Rewards Program easier by submitting a photo of your receipt.  Any receipt after May 26th, you will be able to submit so hold on to them.  You will receive double points for your first receipt submitted.

If you love earning reward points, Huggies will be unveiling new ways to earn points from reading articles and taking surveys.  Orders from online retailers like Amazon will also be eligible for points too.  All you have to do is take a picture or screenshot of your order details from your account page or confirmation email and submit it.  Linking your loyalty cards at participating retailers will also score you points on all Huggies diapers and wipes purchased at that retailer.  Just make sure you use your loyalty card when you make the purchase.

They will also have a new Huggies Reward App coming soon which will have all the same features as their website.  So say Goodbye to Huggies Reward Codes.  If you have any codes, get them entered by June 26, 2016.

Rewards are like hugs: the more you get, the better! And soon, Huggies® Rewards will offer more ways to earn points.

Source: Coming Soon: The new Huggies® Rewards Program

The kick off of summer is right around the corner starting with Memorial Day.  Since I plan on going to the beach and having my baby out in the sun more, I’ve been looking into what sunscreens I should use.  I came across Environmental Working Group’s website and found an abundance of information.  They have listed for 2016 the 22 Best Scoring Sunscreens and 13 Worst Scoring Sunscreens for kids.

So, let’s start with the EWG’s Best Scoring Sunscreens:

• Adorable Baby Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30+
• All Good Kid’s Sunscreen, SPF 33
• All Terrain KidSport Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30
• Attitude Little Ones 100% Mineral Sunscreen, Fragrance Free, SPF 30
• babyhampton Beach*bum sunscreen, SPF 30
• Badger Kids Sunscreen Cream, SPF 30
• Bare Belly Organics Baby Sunscreen, SPF 30
• Belly Buttons & Babies Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30
• Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen, Baby, SPF 30+
• BurnOut Kids Physical Sunscreen, SPF 35
• California Baby Super Sensitive Sunscreen, SPF 30+
• COOLA Suncare Baby Mineral Sunscreen Unscented Moisturizer, SPF 50
• Goddess Garden Kids Sport Natural Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30
• Hampton Sun Sunscreen Lotion For Baby, SPF 45
• Jersery Kids Mineral Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30
• Kiss My Face Organics Kids Mineral Sunscreen, SPF 30
• Nurture My Body Baby Organic Sunscreen, SPF 32
• Substance Baby Natural Sun Care Creme, SPF 30
• Sunology Natural Sunscreen, Kids, SPF 50
• Sunumbra Sunkids Natural Sunscreen, SPF 40
• Thinksport for Kids Sunscreen, SPF 50+
• TruKid Sunny Days Sport Sunscreen, SPF 30+

According to EWG, when looking for sunscreen go for Cream, Broad – spectrum protection, Water-resistant, SPF to suit your needs(15-50) and check the ingredients for Zinc oxide, Avobenzome, and Mexoryl SX.  EWG also recommends avoiding Sprays, Powders, SPF above 50 and ingredients Oxybenzone, Vitamin A (retinyl palmitate), and added insect repellent.

Now, here is the list of EWG’s Worst Scoring Sunscreens:

• Banana Boat Kids Max Protect & Play Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 100
• Coppertone Water Babies Sunscreen Stick, SPF 55
• Coppertone Sunscreen Continuous Spray, Kids, SPF 70
• Coppertone Sunscreen Lotion Kids, SPF 70+
• Coppertone Foaming Lotion Sunscreen Kids Wacky Foam, SPF 70+
• Coppertone Water Babies Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 70+
• CVS Baby Sunstick Sunscreen, SPF 55
• CVS Kids Wet & Dry Sunscreen Spray, SPF 70+
• Equate Kids Sunscreen Stick, SPF 55
• Hampton Sun Continuous Mist Sunscreen For Kids, SPF 70
• Neutrogena Wet Skin Kids Sunscreen Spray, SPF 70+
• Neutrogena Wet Skin Kids Sunscreen Stick, SPF 70+
• Up & Up Kids Sunscreen Stick, SPF 55

Didn’t see your baby’s sunscreen on either list?  Click here and enter it on EWG’s website to see how it ranked.