1st day of many

My first day alone with Zoe. It's been ok so far. Going to be VERY difficult to pump on a schedule though. I was already late pumping this morning b/c baby girl didn't want to go back to sleep lol.
She woke up at 9 and only just went to sleep at 11:40. I did manage to pump in there when she was having some quiet awake time, but it was interrupted a few times heh.

She slept SO well last night. I went to bed at about 9, DH soon followed with Zoe. She didn't wake up until 1am and I was already awake and had just got done pumping.
She went right back to sleep and woke again at 5am. She went back to sleep around 6am and then slept until 9. I hope it's like that every night.

Just wanted to clarify. When we're trying to keep her up, we're not doing anything extreme or anything and our efforts usually don't work anyway :P
Examples of what we do. Feed her exactly every 2 hours. When she's awake feeding (which usually takes a while b/c we have to wake her to get her to actually eat), we'll try to stimulate her a bit to wake her a bit more.... like rubbing her back, tickling her feet etc.
We'll take a little extra time to change her diaper... etc etc.
Like I said, nothing extreme to keep her awake and she usually just sleeps right through it all.
____

Wanted to really quick list some of the baby items we're finding to be useful or not so much.

Useful:

Wipes Warmer- The nursery is a bit cooler than the rest of the house so wet wipes plus a cool room would equal a chilly baby butt during diaper changes. Love this thing!

Waterproof pads- We use them on the changing pad and boy.. they've saved us quite a few times when Zoe has decided diaper changes are a good time to pee and poo.

Boppy pillow- I have SUCH weak arms and this pillow is a lifesaver when it comes to that. Puts baby in to comfy positions for her and whoever is holding her.

Sleep sack w/ elastic bottom- Imagine what Maggie Simpson wears. That's what I'm talking about. Seriously... these things are a MUST. Keeps baby warm and makes diaper changes easy. Plus most of them will have the little cuff thing at the end of the sleeves so you can flip them out to cover baby's hands. If you're expecting a LO or wondering what to get someone that is going to have a baby.... get these!!

SwaddleMe Blankets- Another must! Zoe is starting to out grow hers, but we're still using them while we can. Yes regular blankets are cheaper, but these things make swaddling a whole lot easier and safer. No need to worry about a blanket coming loose and causing a possible problem. Velcro on these things are nice and strong and baby is NOT getting out of them.

Avent Soothie Pacifier- It's what they gave us at the hospital and it's the only kind Zoe likes that we've tried. They're cheap and sold pretty much everywhere they sell baby stuff.

Burp clothes/ Wash clothes & Bibs- Didn't think we'd need bibs until later, but bottle feeding is messy messy.

Lanolin- I don't use it as much as I should, but the stuff def works. It's a lot thicker than I thought it was going to be and makes it a bit awkward getting the stuff out of the tube, but yeah.. it works when I use it heh. Pumping does not mean you're not going to have sore nips!

Hands free pumping bra- Made pumping SOOOOO much easier. I do wish they made them with straps though like a nursing bra but w/ the holes for the nipples/nip shields. That way I could actually sleep in it and not have to worry about completely stripping down and putting it on when I pump. It's going to suck when it gets cold outside having to undress to put it on, but oh well.

Clothes with wide or buttoned neck holes- Zoe has a big head and does NOT enjoy having clothes pulled over it. So any clothes with a nice wide neck hole or one that offers buttons to make it wider are greatly appreciated!



Not so useful items

The swing- We just don't use it that much. Zoe doesn't seem to like it that much and she doesn't sleep in it very well so we really haven't used it.

The crib- We do use it every once in a while, but it's usually to dress her in or put her down momentarily while we get something. We def could've waited to buy it, but oh well.

Footie outfits- Like footie pajamas. We put her in one and yep, it was ADORABLE, but it's a bit of a PITA changing her diaper. If you insist on getting these... buy them with the BUTTONS, NOT the zipper.
Whoever designed the ones w/ the zippers had NO idea WTH they were doing. the zippers zip UP towards the neck.... now just think about that for a moment when it comes to changing diapers.
Yeah... you'd have to take the entire outfit off just to change the diaper. So frickin stupid.


I'm sure there are more things I can think of but Zoe is waking up. I'll post more later if I think of anything else.