Thank you thank you, fellow madres...

not only for the many gifts you have bestowed upon me, but also for the pearls of wisdom. This entry is dedicated to you. It is a non-exhaustive list of all the tips I have collected in these past three months (plus). Credit is given where credit was due, and remembered when and where possible! If I forgot to cite someone, mea culpa, but let me know! I will revise, and will add to this list as I discover more!

1. Nursing: First few weeks? Get the gel pads for your nipples, put them in the fridge, and stick those babies on between each feed [Gigi, Troas]. Soak your girls in some saltwater in the shower to speed healing inevitable cuts (I used two bowls) [Joanna]. While on this topic, dermaplast numbing spray for down there is awesome [Gigi], as are iced pads (or the kind where you break the cold capsule inside and they get nice and cool!).

A revision to the safety pin on the bra-strap to remember which side you nursed (or started nursing, for the ambi-nurser): even better - hair rubberband around the wrist [Jan]. Who trusts themselves with a sharp object near their boob or baby, anyway!? Another alternative for those of us like me who use said rubberband to tie hair back in between feedings, and therefore forget which side to start nursing? Feel both boobs from the top - the harder one goes next (pinching from the bottom way less informative) [Su]. Udder covers do a lot of promotional deals on nursing covers; I’ve gotten 2 now for five bucks each, and they’re nice because they have a rod you bend so you can see your babies cute little munchy face [Kara].

2. Pumping: get thee a hands-free zip up pump bra [Jen]!! Put the funnel parts in whole cut outs before zipping up, then attached bottle parts [Shayna]. If you’re serious about pumping, and you own a car, get a car adaptor because chances are you will end up pumping in your car at some point [Troas]. You can use your hooter hider for this as well.

3. Bathtime: Feel the water with your elbow [Joanna]; it’s far more sensitive than your fingers for figuring out if the water’s too hot (though the wrist is best for milk). Cradle cap? Drench your baby’s head in olive oil, let it sit for a few minutes (if you can, I never do!), scrub with a baby brush, then wash away with baby shampoo [Gigi, and our pediatrician]. The puj tub, a foamie mat that folds up like origami with magnets is a great alterntative to hard plastic tubs for newborns [Kate, via Gigi].

4. Soothing: bounce sad baby on a pilates ball [Carrie, Gigi], and by all means follow Dr. Karp like he is the pied piper (Happiest Baby on the Block). Unfortunately, there will be times when even Dr. Karp’s methods will only work for about 5 minutes; then consider mylicon [Gigi], give baby a bath [Su], walk around the house or do stairs holding baby [Su], hand baby to daddy, or just wait it out. Borrow, rather than buy, when possible, a swing, because some babies hate them or only like them for a short while. Pacis are a wonderful tool, and there’s a brand called “gumdrop” that you can get online that look and feel just like Soothies but have a mouth part that conforms to the shape of baby’s mouth, making them easier to stay in and less likely to roll away to some dusty dark corner [Shannon].

5. Clothes: zip up jammies, while less likely to be received (probably because snap-ups tend to be cuter), are available at both Target [Erika] and Children’s Place [Shannon] and are way faster and easier to fasten in the middle of the night!

6. The “Y” (you!) of the baby whisperer’s EASY routine? In the beginning, get a post-partum doula (call her an consultant if you can’t stomach the d word - actually, you’ll end up calling her “our angel”!) [Michael, Joanne] unless you have absolutely amazing help in the form of grandmothers, aunts, etc... it really does take a village. Later on, phone a friend - a good friend, or cousin (thank you again, Shannon!) with recent mama bear experience to come over and really, really help. Prepare yourself to pay that kind of help forward. Say yes to every offer of baby sitting, house cleaning, and casserole that is offered.

7. Diapering: the newborn Pampers Swaddlers has a blue line to indicate wetness, which is helpful when you're becoming acquainted with baby pee [Karen, Carrie]. The diaper genie, in my opinion, works well if you remember to wrap up the diaper on itself when possible to keep diaper contents from touching the outsides of the genie. Boudreaux’s rash protector spray is an excellent every-day diaper area protector, and it rocks because it’s a spray and it smells nice [Su].

8. Things to put your baby in: the more options the better (boppy, bouncy chair, swing, baby rocker, exersaucer when the time comes), which is why it is great to receive these things as gifts or hand-me-downs. If you live, like we do, in a multi-level house, it is a pain to have to haul things-to-put-your-baby in room to room, so having one option per room or at least per floor is key. Mobiles are not to be overlooked either, and can be a great way to keep munchkin entertained in the tween weeks (intellectually craving stimulation but without the hand coordination to self-entertain) while you fold laundry or eat foods that require two hands [me, through trial and error!].

9. Flying with baby: First of all, it can be done, and it's great to go places with baby! With two adults, almost easy. We found it easy to gate-check the car seat and cheap snap n' go-type stroller, which was really made for airport travel [Gigi]. Security? Key is to not stress, get there early, and I think do the following order on the belt: shoes (slip on if possible), liquids in ziploc, diaper bag, stroller, then car seat (after taking out baby first!!), so that you have hands-free as long as possible. Nursing or feeding during takeoff and landing to help with ear-clearing is a good idea [Carrie, Gigi, Mara, Joanne, Mer]. Multiple people suggested bringing a change of clothes for you as well as baby for inevitable blow-outs, because who wants to be stuck on a plane covered in poo? Your neighbors won't want that either...

List in progress, will update I remember more!

Thank you, thank you, fellow madres.