For first time moms:

Random thoughts...

For my friends who are expecting first babies and who read the blog. I don't know how I forgot this, but remember that there are different sized nipples when you buy bottles. We use the Avent bottles and have three different sizes. First, I don't recommend buying any of the little 4 oz bottles at all. They grow out of these so fast, you might as well just buy the 9 or 11 oz bottles. The 11 oz bottles came with 3+ month sized nipples and you wouldn't thing that would make that much of a difference, but oh gosh it does!! The 3+ size make for VERY messy feedings, the formula just comes out way too fast for a 1 month baby. SO, if you decide to buy the bigger bottles (which I do recommend) make sure you buy the compatible smaller size nipples. It will make feedings much easier for you!

Another tip for the expecting moms, I am so glad we spent the time to organize as much as possible while we were pregnant. Every drawer and closet possible. It makes things easier when you're frazzled and sleep deprived to know where to find things.

And one more, if you are not planning on breast feeding, try your best to save your gift cards! We saved the Target gift cards we were given as shower gifts and used them to buy formula and we made it through the first 6 weeks without having to buy any out of our pocket. Formula can get expensive, at 5 weeks Betsy goes through about 1 of the premade containers per day, and they cost about $6 each. I'm going into the specifics here because when I was trying to budget for things in advance I had no idea what to expect for formula. There is a cheaper option, to use the powder based formula that you mix yourself. I planned on doing this originally, however Betsy wasn't sleeping very well and it's like comparing the consistency of skim milk to a milk shake, she gets much fuller and stays happier longer if we used the premade stuff. If you do use the powder based mix I've been told the Target brand is comparable to the Similac we use it's just less expensive.

Also, if your baby spits up formula while in the hospital ask if you can try another type. We tried three formulas out and Betsy needed the formula for sensitive tummies. This is much easier than going out and buying the formula yourself to try out when you get home.

We bought about 2 or 3 large boxes of diapers per month as soon as we found out we were expecting and I wouldn't expect that we need to buy them now until she's 6 months or bigger. We just bought two packages of newborn and about 4 or 5 boxes of size 1-4. That's another option to prepare in advance.

We're fortunate that we can wash things often, so we don't need many multiples however, if you have a changing table you need at least 2 covers for the changing pad, preferably 3. Babies will surprise you mid change and you'll need to have a replacement.