So here are the Top 10 Things I couldn't live without at the moment:
1) Vibrating Bouncer: I got an adorable monkey bouncer (Julia has all things monkey) from Fisher Price that vibrates and has lights and music. Does she care about the lights and music yet? Probably not. But she will sit in it--and SLEEP in it--and mommy can get things done. Score.
2) Moby Wrap: I feel wonderfully hippy-ish when I wear my baby in the Moby Wrap and she loves it. It keeps her really close to me and it's surprisingly supportive. Only downsides are it's kind of a pain in the ass to put on (correctly), I probably won't be strong enough to wear her for very long, and we both sweat a ton between our shared body heat and all that fabric. But still worth it. I can wear it around the house while I do chores and such.
3) Medela Pump: As I've made plainly clear, I hate breastfeeding. I'm pretty sure Julia isn't a huge fan either. She really, REALLY loves bottles. So I've been pumping and giving her bottles of expressed breast milk. She gets all the benefits and we both avoid the stress of nursing. I'm lucky enough that my insurance covered the pump since I'll be returning to work full-time in April. The bottles that come with Medela pumps are awesome, too! Julia loves them.
4) Cloud B Sleep Sheep: This thing is adorable and plays 4 different white noises (heartbeat, waves, rain, and randomly whales). It really helps Julia to fall into a deep sleep.
5) SwaddleMe organic cotton swaddle blankets: I seriously could not live without these! They velcro so they don't fall apart like blankets. I like the organic cotton because they give a little more than the regular cotton ones and the weight is perfect. She doesn't get overheated. The swaddle holds her arms in so she can't wake herself up.
6) "Happiest Baby on the Block:" This book has saved me. I use the 5 S's (swaddle, side/stomach, swing, shush, suck) whenever Julia gets really worked up into one of her epic cries. The technique really soothes her quickly.
7) Red Wine: Ok, this has nothing to do with baby. Well maybe it does. But more to do with the fact that I was denied wine for 9 months (well, I had a few glasses, but that didn't even touch what I wanted). That's another plus of pumping...I pump after dinner then immediately have a glass of wine. And I know it's out of my system before I pump again. Not so easy to do when you are breastfeeding.
8) Mommy message boards: This one surprises me. I started reading and contributing to my birth month board on The Bump when I found out I was pregnant and I'm so glad I did. It's a great way to communicate with other moms. I learned so much from the second time moms on the board that I probably would not have otherwise (like what items aren't safe, how to increase your milk supply, what pregnancy symptoms are normal, etc.). Several nurses and doctors at the hospital asked me if this was my first baby because I knew so much. So thanks, ladies!
9) Fisher Price Rock n Play: All moms need these. Babies love sleeping in them. We use ours for naps but I have used it at night when she slept in our room (only happened once). Every mom I asked what they couldn't live without came up with this thing. They were right.
10) First Years Nursery Bottle Warmer: This thing is a life saver in the middle of the night. I can warm up the bottles while I change her and have a perfectly warm bottle when we're ready to eat. It has a cooler compartment in the back so I can store the bottles I need for her midnight and 3am feedings right there in her nursery. No running to the kitchen while baby is crying.
Chilling in our new favorite toy
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