Wish I'd Known: Diaper Raffle

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I wish I had thought of this great tip from Callie for my baby shower:

Do a diaper raffle at your baby shower

She got so many diapers at her baby girl's shower that still after 3 months she hasn't had to buy diapers and she thinks she won't have to for another 2-3 months.

If you're wondering what a diaper raffle is, for each pack of diapers a guest brings to your shower, they get a ticket put into a raffle for a prize.  It's a great way to get stocked up on those diapers!

Hand Warmers

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My sister got married today.  She married a really great guy and I'm so excited for them.  I'm pretty beat from all of the celebrating, but I wanted to give you a quick for winter weddings, since that's the upcoming season.

Whether you're getting married, your sister is getting married or you're just part of a wedding party....hand warmers are a great purchase.  When I got married, we bought some little hand warmers and put them in my husbands jacket.  That way I could warm my hands up quick and easy while taking pictures in a blizzard :)

Me and my beautiful sister

Wish I'd Known: Clean Enough....

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Lately my house has become a total disaster.  I've been really busy with photography.  So much so that I often don't feel like I have a minute to do anything BUT take pictures/edit.  I came upon a quote that I really want to take to heart:

"Have your house clean enough to be healthy, messy enough to be happy.  Clean enough to be sanitary, messy enough to be sane."  

Honestly I have felt completely overwhelmed with everything I need to get done.  I feel like I'm failing a bit as a mother/wife because my house isn't clean.  Well my new standard isn't going to be that my house must be 100% spotless all the time, because let's be honest....that just doesn't happen with kids.  At least it doesn't happen for me.  So rather than constantly feeling like I'm failing, I'm going to work a little harder on making my house clean enough to be healthy, but messy enough for me to still be happy.

Wish I'd Known: Potty Training and Regression

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When I was potty training my daughter, my mom warned me that:

Often times your child will regress after being potty trained

And what do you know....my mom was right :) When my daughter started having accidents again I had to come up with a new plan of attack.  That's when I introduced drawing faces.  Each time she'd go the the bathroom in the toilet, she got to draw a face on a piece of paper that I had hung up on the fridge.  When my husband got home, she'd get to show him her beautiful artwork.  This little change of reward seemed to do the trick.

I currently have a friend dealing with this situation with her daughter.  What are some tips you'd have for her?

Stylin' Mommies Guest Post

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Jamie at Stylin' Mommies has a darling blog about fashion for mommies and I thought she'd be great to do a guest post for us because I'm always looking for ways to revamp my outfits to look a little more stylish and I'm sure you are too!  Thanks Jamie for taking the time to put this together!

Hi everyone, I'm Jamie from Stylin' Mommies and I was asked today to do a post for you guys about how to revamp your closet and mom clothes into something a little more stylin' but easy and budget friendly. I have taken 2 photos of me and have showed you how easy it really is to go from a simple white shirt and jeans to something you feel a little more special in.:) I chose a white shirt and jeans and flip flops because I figure everyone has this in their closet and I know before I started on this journey of (taking care of mommy= a happy mommy) this was my typical attire. I wore flip flops because they are fast and easy. A cute pair of flats are just as east to put on. I added a cute scarf, a sweater or cardigan and some hoop earring, a belt and pulled my hair into a messy bun and your done. It does not take a lot of time or money to look good and feel good about yourself. Thank you so much Mommy Minutes for asking me to do this and I hope this inspires you to take care of mommy too. :)
*Sorry about the pics....it was a windy day!:)

Before I added the accessories. 

After adding a few accessories....scarf, belt, cute flats, earrings, and a sweater. Oh and putting my hair in a messy bun.:)

Wish I'd Known: Nursing

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Today's top comes from Whitney at sewmuch2create.blogspot.com

Give breastfeeding at least SIX weeks!

It is really hard and easy to give up!  But it is REALLY worth it for your baby!

Thanks so much Whitney.  This is a great post for new moms or soon to be moms.  My experience with nursing definitely wasn't what I was expecting.  My daughter came 3 weeks early and had a bit of a difficulty with latching on.  I thought she would just latch on right away and we'd be set.  I knew nursing would be a bit painful at first because I had heard people talk about it, but I wasn't expecting the emotional roller coaster ride I went through.  I had to give my daughter her feeds using a syringe and tube that was placed into a nipple guard so she would still getting the sensation of nursing this was called S&S.  I worked with a lactation specialist at the hospital who gave me the nipple guard to use.  However, my daughter would suck once or twice and then fall asleep, so we stuck with the S&S so it would be easier for her.  The plan was to stop doing S&S soon and then just use the nipple guard and then get rid of the guard and just nurse.  The nurse had also told me that I could use the nipple guard for a short time, but really needed to get off of it soon (like a couple of weeks) or my milk supply would be hurt.

After a few days, my daughter started latching on to the nipple guard, but still not on to me.  This made me happy since I didn't have to do the S&S anymore, but also frustrated since I knew I was supposed to get rid of the nipple guard as soon as possible.  I worked with the lactation specialist at my daughter's doctors office and after an hour of trying, she had only latched once without the guard and it lasted about 3-5 seconds.  

I went home disappointed, but continued to try the new techniques.  I met with the lactation specialist again when she was 2 weeks old.  Still we only got her to latch on a couple of times, but she just didn't stick with it.  By this point I was frustrated and honestly felt like I wasn't a good mother because I wasn't able to nurse my baby normally.  

I was so ready for her to start nursing without the guard, because she was actually sucking my nipple through the holes at the end of the nipple guard and it HURT!  The day after I met with the lactation specialist I had a bit of a break down.  I cried and cried out of frustration, exhaustion and probably because my hormones were crazy.  I went and tried nursing again and guess what.....she got it!  It took 2 weeks and a day, but she did it!  

I was so close to wanting to throw in the towel and am so glad I didn't.  I continued to nurse my daughter for 13 months.  It was definitely cheaper than doing the whole formula thing, but it was also so great for her.  She never had an ear infection and maybe got one cold the whole time I was nursing.  I know nursing isn't for everyone, but if you're debating between the two, I would definitely suggest nursing.  

What I learned through this whole experience is that sometimes nursing doesn't come as easily as you expect, but it's so worth it to stick it out.  I've known plenty of people who have also had challenges with nursing so don't think that you're the only one.  It was also easier to nurse my son because I had learned a few tricks along the way.  Good luck everyone!  If you have any questions feel free to ask.  Or if you have more tips send them in!

Wish I'd Known: Extra "lovey"

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Today's tip is from Alysha:

Have an extra "lovey"

If there is a particular stuffed animal or blanket you notice your child is attached to, buy a twin!  We noticed this with my little sister-in-law who loved her 'puppy' and so they could never get it away from her to wash it, and if they left/lost it somewhere, the world stopped until they could find it!  Seeing that, we bought a twin for Wyatt's favorite toy, Dumbo, and it's great!  We switch them out to wash when one gets dirty, and if we leave/lose one, we have an extra!

What a great tip Alysha.  Thanks!!!

Wish I'd Known: Newborn Nights

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Today's tip is from Annie:

Don't rush in at night and "rescue" your newborn the second they make a noise.

I totally agree Annie.  This simple tip can make your life so much easier!  The first instinct for a new mother is when they hear the slightest sound from their beautiful baby, they think he/she needs instant attention.  However, often times your baby will wake up and move around a bit and then put themselves back to sleep, but if you don't give them the opportunity to go back to sleep on their own, they will become dependent on you for this.

Of course newborns will cry and need some help at times, but not EVERY time.  When you hear your baby whimpering or rustling around, give them a couple of minutes to see if they go back to sleep before jumping in to "save the day" :)  Trust me, it will help you get a little more much needed sleep.

Wish I'd Known: Saving Time & Money on Ground Beef

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This is my own tip for you moms.  

Cook one package of ground beef and divide it into three meals.

I personally don't love a ton of ground beef in my meals.  When a recipe calls for 1 lb, I usually only do half of that.  I don't know why, but it's just not my fave.  Which is really strange since hamburgers are pretty much my favorite food.  Anyways....a way I stretch the buck, is to cook 1 package of hamburger (usually like 1.3 pounds) and break it into 3 meals.  I will use one third for something like spaghetti, then another for taco salads and the last one for stroganoff or something like that.  It also makes the second and third meal super easy and fast.  This obviously wouldn't work for a large family, but it works for our small family.  My husband never complains that there isn't enough meat in our meals, so I don't think he even notices.

Wish I'd Known: Candy-less Potty Training

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Today's tip is about potty training.

Don't give candy as a reward for potty training - Nia

Nia, I totally 100% agree with you!  When I potty trained my daughter, I was trying to figure out what I would do as a reward.  I knew several people who gave candy, but I didn't really want my daughter eating a ton of candy.  I decided to use stickers.  I put a piece of paper on the wall that said "I Went Potty".  Then each time she went to the bathroom she got to put stickers on the paper.  She would get one sticker for pee-pee and two stickers for poo-poo.  She loved getting to pick out her stickers.

The first day couple of days of potty training consisted of several trips to the bathroom with a ton of little successes.  IfI had been giving her candy as a reward, my daughter would have been in a sugar coma!

Unfortunately, we went on a trip to Georgia and through wearing pull-ups in the car rides, her potty training regressed a bit so I had to re-potty train her.  I wasn't totally starting from scratch, but you get the idea.  I wanted to do a different reward this time, but still avoid the candy.  What I ended up doing was hanging a paper on the fridge and each time she went to the bathroom she could come and draw a smiley face.  No, they didn't really look like faces, but she LOVED it!  Then every day my husband would get back from work she could show him all of her faces.

I started thinking that the whole drawing faces thing could be used as a learning opportunity.  Instead of drawing faces, your child could trace a letter of the alphabet or draw a certain shape.  They are learning while getting their reward!

Potty training can be hard.  Let us know if you have any other tips for moms out there!

Wooden Spoon Trick

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I can't tell you how many times I've put water on the stove to start boiling, walk away and totally forget about it.  Several minutes later, I hear the unfortunate sound of water spilling all over the stove.  A while ago I heard that if you put a wooden spoon over your pot, the water won't boil over.  I really wanted to test this out, but to my dismay, I didn't have a wooden spoon.  I finally ended up getting some wooden spoons back in March and lo and behold it totally works!  So cool!  Sometimes a little water will drip down from the condensation that builds up on the spoon, but other than that you're mess free. Genius!

Wish I'd Known: Teething

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Our first "Wish I'd Known" tip is from Carlin:

"I wish I'd known to give my baby Ibuprofen while he's teething."

Her son is currently teething.  She has been giving him tylenol and it just didn't seem to be doing the trick.  She had heard from several different people to try giving him Ibuprofen.  Well she finally tried it out, and she said he's a totally different baby!

Here's a dosage chart I found at Parents.com. 
Make sure to consult a doctor if your child is under 6 months of age.

I've also heard good things about the teething tablets.  My daughter didn't get her first tooth until she was 15 months old and was a pretty good sport about it.  So I never had to deal with a really fussy teething baby.  I may end up using this tip with my son when he starts teething.

If you have a tip you'd like to share please send it to me using my contact form!