Your best mom life hacks

rbflei · November 2021

I know I went rogue and made a new discussion board. I'm sure this should go somewhere else but thought it would be fun to put some collective wisdom up as I think most of us are S or T or FTM and there are not a lot of questions and sometimes FTM don't even know what to ask.

Everyone has a bit of awesome wisdom and a way of doing the the little things that makes life easier. I don't know all of them but after one kid I have a few mom life hacks. What are yours?

1. I always make the crib in this order, waterproof mattress protector, crib sheet, 2nd waterproof mattress protector then 2nd crib sheet. Late night blowouts and vomiting will happen this way you strip one layer of mattress protector and crib sheet and baby goes right back to sleep and you don't have to remake the bed at 0 dark 30.

2. Whenever we buy diapers for the first time in the a new size I also always buy diapers in the next size up as well and put that box in the nursery. Inevitably you will have that baby growth spurt diaper blowout at 2 am on a Tuesday night and need the next size up it's awesome to just have some on hand. I hate late night diaper runs.

robbenson · November 2021

Patting the baby's butt is like magic. When they are new and a mess, pat their bottoms and they tend to calm down. It has helped get my son back to sleep so much better than almost any other sleeping product or hack.

Blondesweety444 · November 2021

Don’t buy any fancy medicine delivering pacifiers. Just use a nipple without the bottle. Pop it in their mouth and put the medicine in once they start sucking. Easy.

kiwi2628 · November 2021

Fewer toys a) encourage deeper and more independent play and b) save your own sanity from having to clean. Don’t buy a bunch of baby toys and this is also especially true for toddlerhood too. Just less is better. And electronic blinkly light toys are everywhere but actually decrease kids attention spans and make them less likely to do independent play.

More and more babies end up with plagiocephaly because of baby loungers and stuff- start tummy time early and often (like we start on day 2 of life per our ped and the pediatric PT we used when our eldest had torticollis) and they will hate it less and keep a nice round head

The first week or two babies have their days and nights mixed up, so when you first come home keep the daytimes BRIGHT and LOUD. Tv on all the time. Don’t be quiet when the baby is sleeping during the day. Vacuum (just kidding. Dad vacuums). All the lights on. And then nighttime keep everything very dark and quiet to help them switch faster.

Knotted onesie > magnetic onesie > zipper onesie > snaps > buttons

doxiemoxie212 · November 2021

@kiwi2628 I didn't even know button jammies were a thing until I accidentally got some for DD?? I was like who in their insane mind created this???? It was too late to return by the time I figured it out, so I donated that shit real fast.

aloha_mama · November 2021

@kiwi2628 I second the “bright and loud” days— don’t set yourself up for failure later by insisting everything be quiet while baby is sleeping during the day. Live your life like normal and your baby will learn to sleep through loud, normal household noises like vacuuming or preparing dinner.

Have little baskets left around the house in common spots where you hang out with diapers, wipes, and other little necessities in them so you don’t have to go back and forth to baby’s room to change their diaper or get something. I had one in my bedroom and one in my living room with small jars of coconut oil (great for diaper rash and nipple cream), granola bars, tissues, and (later) pacifiers.

winterviolethope · November 2021

In the very beginning, just keep nursing the baby as much as you can… helps them sleep through the night. I pumped my boys full of milk and they gave me a good nights sleep (most of the time). Also, don’t kill your self with middle of the night pumps … enjoy the sleep instead!

doxiemoxie212 · November 2021

Are these general advice things or hacks? My hack is the 3 spoons technique for when you start solids. Give baby spoon full of whatever you're trying to get them to eat. They will take the spoon. Give the baby a second spoon (a literal second spoon) with what you're trying to get them to eat. They will take that spoon as well. Now their hands are full. You can continue feeding them lol. (We did a mix of BLW and purees.) Also don't give babies pouches without one of those pouch protectors or the little like sucky lid things. Puree volcano! haha

Blondesweety444 · November 2021

@doxiemoxie212 I would say hacks - things that you wouldn't normally know/expect but you found surprisingly helpful. 3 spoons is a perfect hack (IMO)!

To go along with your 3 spoons : we really liked thes e spoons because they made slightly less of a mess because they don't hold much volume but still let them learn the motions of holding and using a spoon.

bluecampanula · November 2021

This is just a little one, but I would put the little tiny baby socks in one of those small mesh laundry bags. The socks don’t really get all that dirty since they’re not walking around or anything (unlike my kids now - everything is covered in mud), and especially with my first baby, his clothes were thrown in with all our big grown up clothes. The bag made it just that much faster when it came time to fold, they were all together and none got lost.

aloha_mama · November 2021

@Blondesweety444 We had those spoons, too, and we loved them! We did strict BLW so it was mostly for her to feel included and to gnaw on but I really liked them.

Blondesweety444 · November 2021

I typically gave him those spoons and a bowl of yogurt for pure entertainment / learning purposes most of the time. I could cook dinner while he played around and made a giant mess. It was great!

lemonlove86 · December 2021

The first few weeks your baby’s bassinet might feel too open and large for them. If yours comes with a newborn insert, get it because it’s worth it!

Ivorytower2 · December 2021

My best piece of advice for sure is not to sweat the small stuff. Babies will sleep, they will eat. There will be meltdowns in public, nursing strikes and blowouts in public places. They will sometimes refuse to nap or stick to a schedule or be quiet when you most need them to be.

Do your best to try to find the humor and remember that it doesn’t have to be perfect. They are only little for such a short time and just when you think you have it figured out they will change! All baby needs to be happy is people who love it. They will react to your energy and mimic your mood.

Download the Wonder Weeks app and if all else fails, in times of desperation they will alwyssss fall asleep in a baby carrier. And enjoy every moment because you will
miss all of the times (even the trying ones)

doula-mama · December 2021

Not sure if it really counts as a hack... but when you start solids, it's so much easier if you have a hard plastic/wood chair (the Ikea ones are great, and super cheap) without any fabric pillows, and strip baby down to just their diaper. Bibs just mean more things to clean up, and it's so much easier to wipe down baby or put them straight in the bath after.

And a dog. Get a dog to clean up the floor, if you don't already have one!

kiwi2628 · December 2021

Having a dog is the best life choice with a baby. I so rarely have to clean the floor or the chair or the baby even. Unless it’s vegetables. My dog is morally opposed to veggies I have learned.

doula-mama · December 2021

@kiwi2628 Haha - ours will vacuum up veggies no problem, but he quickly decided that grains aren't worth the effort, so the rice, oatmeal, couscous, etc. all gets left unless it's in a big glob

Avrilmai · December 2021

I second @kiwi2628 and the starting tummy time early. We started with DS his first week home and he never screamed or hated it.

Also second @aloha_mama and the baskets around the house. think about you too, not just baby. keep snacks, water, other necessities in easily accessible places.

Keep extra diapers/wipes in your vehicle, maybe even toss in a onesie. even now (DS is 2)we keep extra diapers in both cars just in case and it has been a life saver. We keep ours in basically a cosmetic/travel pouch, but a gallon size zip top bag can do the trick.

We also keep stuff for us in the diaper bag. When DS was really little I kept a tshirt dress in the diaper bag and DH had a replacement shirt. We also have a tide pen, hand sanitizer, mints and chap stick in the "parent section" of his bag. Sunscreen for all of us.

Start a bedtime routine and stick to it. DS can be running around seemingly full of energy and once we start the routine, he settles and by the time we read our nightly books he's ready for bed. We do the same thing every night down to saying the same phrases.

FishyMom · December 2021

kiwi2628 said:

Having a dog is the best life choice with a baby. I so rarely have to clean the floor or the chair or the baby even. Unless it’s vegetables. My dog is morally opposed to veggies I have learned.

Omg yes!! Get a dog, borrow a dog… just do why you have to because they are game changers during feeding.

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