You know what’s harder than taking care of a baby? Taking care of a baby when you’re on the road. As if trying to get your baby to sleep through the night in your own home weren’t enough of an uphill battle, now you’ve got to worry about tucking her into a hotel crib or a borrowed Pack ‘n Play. Then there’s the whole issue of getting to your destination in the first place…holding a baby on your lap for a four-hour plane ride is not a recipe for fun!
I have three kids. By my calculations, I’ve spent more than a quarter of my life changing diapers—and with a 2-year-old son, I may have another six months to a year to go until I get to wash my hands of it for the very last time (literally). While I’ve certainly had some sweet moments cleaning, powdering and dressing my babies…I do look more and more longingly at Pull-Ups these days.
Here’s the straight poop on how I really feel about diaper changing. Read more →
I was hardly a fashionista when I was pregnant (my feet got so swollen in my final months that I ended up shuffling around in velvet bedroom slippers my entire last trimester), so maybe that’s why I was always daydreaming about the gorgeous diaper bag I’d carry one day.
I spent a lot of time ogling the high-end brands that cost more than a week of daycare, checking out what crafty homespun concoctions were selling on Etsy—and of course wondering how all of these contenders would look attached to the strollers I had my eye on.
But once baby arrived, I discovered that what really mattered wasn’t so much how the bag looked—but what it held inside. Read more →
Mobiles, bouncy seats, swings, activity centers, car seats, rocking chairs, loungers, tummy-time mats—I think it’s kind of funny that the smaller the baby is, the more equipment your teeny bundle of joy seems to “need.”
But before you go crazy with the registry scanner gun, consider this: the new addition might not want to be swayed to sleep by a battery-operated device, might choose to sleep on you rather than the crib at first, and likely will prefer to hear the beating of your heart over whatever version of Brahms’ Lullaby that the latest and greatest mobile is playing these days.
Here’s what you really need to bring home for baby:
