ROUTINE-ing

Momma's Routine

     I never took any maternity classes... although I always dreamt I would.. but I would always hear all these mommies say that their child was on a routine. They would tell me how their baby since day one was on a routine and that because of this their child was so well-behaved. The first night I came home with Brianna, I remember bouncing around my room at 4:30am with Brianna in my arms singing the ants go marching 1 by 1 and thinking to myself  " HOW THE HECK DO THESE MOMS HAVE SUCH PERFECT BABIES?!!! BABIES ON A ROUTINE?!!!.. BRIANNA WILL NEVER BE ON A ROUTINE!! SHE WAKES UP EVERY 45 MINUTES AND I CANT TELL IF SHES HUNGRY, DIRTY, WANTS TO BE IN ARMS, ETC!!". Seriously, I would think of all these moms that would tell me that their routined trained child slept the night at 2 weeks and that before putting baby to sleep they would read to them, sing two songs, and lay baby down until the next morning. These moms would act like if their 2 week old was already changing their own diaper and burping themselves to sleep.  

     The fact that Brianna would never be a routine baby scared me since I had to go back to work so soon! I didn't know how  I was going to be able to get her semi-routined in time for me to go back to work. But as the weeks went by, I had one of those Einstein aha moments!!!!

BRIANNA DOES NOT NEED TO BE ON A ROUTINE.. I NEED TO BE ON A ROUTINE! BRIANNA WILL FOLLOW

So, here is our daily routine!!

1) When im about 10 minutes from home, I call hubby to see how far he is. This determines in what order my routine goes.

2) I get home and barely turn off the car; I run in and grab baby and give her 2 million kisses and hug her and squeeze her. It doesnt matter if shes sleeping because that 1 hour that she is sleeping is 1 hour less she sleeps at night, which is 1 less hour I sleep at night..SO THE CHILD MUST WAKE!!

3) I lay her back down and finish bringing stuff down from the car.

4) If she has 1 hour left to her next feeding, I quickly season the meat and prepare the salad for dinner.

5) I then take her upstairs to bath. Her bath lasts about 45 minutes. She LOVES the bath. I fill it for her like if it was a jacuzzi and I play with finger bath puppets and sing every song I know. She kicks and splashes in the water and doesnt cry not even when I wash her hair.

6) After bath, she gets a message on her legs and arms, baby oil on her head, and pajamas.

7) She comes downstairs and is usually asleep by the time she comes down. The bath knocks her out. I then go running/walking with hubby while my mother in law watches her ( IM BEYOND LUCKY TO HAVE MY SUEGRA)

8) Since I am out of shape (FAT)  my run/walk takes about 20 minutes.

9) After I make it through the front door and catch my breath,  I begin to cook while hubby does weights in the garage.

10) By the time we sit for dinner, Brianna is usually waking up. We put her on her little bouncer on top of the table and eat dinner while talking to her and making silly faces.

11) Hubby then takes baby and sits on couch with her while I wash dishes and make lunches and prepare bottles to take upstairs.

12) We go upstairs and shower while suegra watches Brianna ( AGAIN I AM SUPER LUCKY) 

13) Brianna usually gets another bottle and then falls asleep

Disclaimer: I am not a perfect mommy with a perfect routine baby. About once a week the routine goes out the window either because I get home too late or I have an event after work, etc.

HOSPITAL BAG-ING

GETTING READY FOR THE BIG DAY!!!

When I turned 36 weeks, I decided to pack my hospital bag. It was something I had wanted to do since the moment I found out I was pregnant but didnt want anyone to realize how crazy i was ( seriously, I was made fun of at 36 weeks). Every mom I knew, especially those who had multiple children, would tell me: "DONT PACK ANYTHING.. THE HOSPITAL GIVES YOU EVERYTHING". But being a totally ridiculous first time mom I ignored everyone's advice and packed a Oscar nomination-worthy hospital bag.. AND I'M SURE GLAD I DID. One of the best things I did in my opinion was take all travel size toiletries. You see, packing for delivery is not like packing for a trip. For a trip, you create a small list with the things you need to pack day of ( like toothbrush, toothpaste, camera, etc). When packing for delivery, you never know when baby will say its time and you need to be ready. I went to the travel section at Walmart and bought all my and my husbands toiletries travel size. I even bought a towel and chancs to take a shower at the hospital.

 Below are the essentials I packed. I, in my humble opinion, packed everything. AND NO, THE HOSPITAL DOES NOT GIVE YOU EVERYTHING..THEY COUNT WHAT THE GIVE YOU AND WONT BRING YOU A REFILL ON ANYTHING UNTIL YOU COMPLETELY RUN OUT... LA COSA ESTA MALA!!

BABY

 - A small pack of pampers size N: The hospital only had size 1 and since  Brianna was born so skinny the first time she did #2 the pamper was too big on her and it was quite the disaster.

-Wipees: The hospital would give me these like small travel packs but since the ones the hospital gives you cant purchase at the store, I didnt want to switch wipees on her when she got home.

- 6 changes of clothes: You plan on being there for 3 days, so two a day. She spits up, you spill milk on her, and she can have accidents that dirty her clothes. MAKE SURE THE CLOTHES HAS BOOTIES AND SLEEVES WITH GLOVES IF NOT YOU NEED TO PACK THOSE TOO. ALSO, HATS BECAUSE THEIR HEAD NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED.

-A going home outfit: Dont go crazy. I had this beautiful linen lace outfit to put on her and in the end she ended up coming home in a cotton gown because I felt so bad for her having to put her in uncomfortable clothes.

-Blankets and burp clothes: For visitors 

-Bibs: Especially if you formula feed

- A breastfeeding pillow:  Your back will thank you. 

-Bows and newborn picture props: Baptist has a company called mom365 that comes into your room and takes newborn pictures of your baby. We have a canon rebel and my husband I both agreed that we did not need to spend the exagerrated amount of money on the mom365 pictures because we could take our own. HOWEVER, when they show you the pictures, they show them to you in a beautiful slideshow with different quotes about being a parent and with the song "beautiful baby" playing in the background.. THEY SUCKER YOU IN.0
 

MOMMY

-5 Pajamas: You're only there for three days.. BUT.. a lot can happen/get stained in those days ( sorry if its graphic). Try to get maternity pajamas that either come with snap on and off straps or button down pajamas.

-Maternity bras: You think you wont need them and that it's a waste of money, BUT ITS NOT. Especially when that baby is waking up every 2 hours and you're having to take your shirt on and off.

-Your own Maxi Pads: The hospital gives you a pack of pads as long and as thick as your pillow and it is the most uncomfortable thing. Also, they don't stick to your panty so it can get messy ( again, sorry for the graphics)

-Slippers: Every time baby cries you will need to get up from your bed and you dont want to walk on that dirty floor. I personally bought pink cheap slippers at walmart that I left at the hospital as to not bring all that bacteria home ( so typical of a cuban.. los hospitales estan llenos de bacteria)

-Your own big comfy undies: I also went out and bought a pair of HUGE undies. Remember you'll be wearing a pad and you'll be swollen so you need undies that are covering and comfy. Try to buy some that almost hit your belly button ( I know I know) because if you have a c-section, that small panty elastic on your incision will feel like a dull knife. Plus, if you dont bring any, the hospital gives you this grosse top of a panty hose kind of thing to use as an undy.. its not good.
 
-Going home outfit: Do not take a red-carpet worthy outfit. When it comes time to go home, you will still be very swollen and with a big underwear and pad on. Take something loose and comfy. I woke a maternity dress out of the hospital since you still look preggers.

-A robe: I walked around the hospital a lot after my c-section and was thankful I brought a robe to cover my pajamas.

 

DADDY
-Two changes of clothes: Daddy does not need to be in pajamas since he did not give birth and can go home to pick up clothes whenever he wants. However, he may have to go straight from work/dinner/cutting the grass to the hospital and you want him to be able to change out of his clothes when he arrives. Make it comfy because if your pushing takes as long as mine, daddy will have to lay around waiting for baby for quite some time.

-Slippers: Daddy will have to help you get the baby, walk the hospital, bring you meals, etc and you dont want him walking on that floor either.

-Underwear: DUH

-Decent Pajamas:  About ten million nurses walk into your room every 3 hours and dad needs to be decent as well.

 

  TOILETRIES

-Body Soap
-Shampoo and conditioner: I had to wash my hair after 26 hours of pushing.
-Listerine
-Toothbrush
-Toothpaste
-Floss
-Spare Towel
-Slippers to take a bath
-Deodarant
-Brush
-Facial soap
-Lotion
-Hair iron, blowdryer, make-up: I needed to feel like a normal human being so I asked my mom to blowdry and iron my hair like when I was 12.

*Disclaimer: Remember that all of the above toiletries should be travel size ( I didnt bring any of them home except for the blowdryer and hair iron because im not rich) and that your husband needs a set of all the above toiletries as well.

DONT FORGET CHARGERS ( I BOUGHT THE $5.00 FROM WALGREENS AND HAD THEM PACKED AT 36 WEEKS) AND CAMERA!