Blissful Baby: my 10 newborn baby must haves for 0-3 months

I love being a mom. I especially love being Roman’s mom. It’s been a completely life changing experience for me. I am still learning as I go through it. Nobody can quite understand the transition to motherhood, unless you have done it yourself. At 37, I felt I had a good handle on what it would be like as I have seen so many friends & family members go through it. However. I had NO IDEA what I was in for. It is hands down the hardest thing a woman can ever go through.

“Biological, structural, and neural brain changes support a woman's transition into motherhood; they serve to help her prioritize and be responsive to her baby's needs, increase bonding, and even impact her planning and judgment.” - You must read this fantastic MindBodyGreen article on how it alters your brain.

For the first month, I literally felt like I was drowning. I never slept, I was nervous and anxious about everything. Breastfeeding is a whole experience that literally takes the life out of you. The feeling you have looking at your little baby like you just want to protect it and give it only the BEST. It’s so surreal, you won’t even recognize yourself. Along with a baby, a whole new you is born.

Having the support of my love, my parents and his parents was incredible. But for me, the most important and impactful thing to have around me was support from other moms with newborns. There is something so nurturing about connecting with other women who “get you” and are in the moment with you. I joined a group called MamaBloom in Austin, Texas and this was the ABSOLUTE BEST experience. If you are a new mom, find one in your town or start one yourself. You will thank me later.

Another thing I didn’t realize was how much money I would spend. You’ll need so many things and there are so many things to try. After a rough night with your baby, Amazon boxes will come flying to your door. Trust me, you will want to join Amazon Prime. This was a savior for me. Anywhere I go, I love to buy things for my baby. So, I wanted to share my absolute essentials for the newborn life. This is just what has worked for us, I’m sure there are many other opinions out there but these are all tried and tested by me.

THE 10 NEWBORN ESSENTIALS I HIGHLY SUGGEST

1. I cannot stress enough how much I think the Dockatot is one of the most necessary things you need. Roman can sleep anywhere as long as he is in his Dockatot. I just love this thing. I suggest you buy a patterned one (I went with carrera marble) versus the white one because it WILL get dirty. There are many chic covers you will love…

2. The Baby Swing.

Okay so, this is a super controversial item, some people love it, some hate it. For Roman, this was the magic nap trick. Before becoming a mother, I had no idea babies would resist sleep so much. Roman falls asleep in his swing no matter what. The range of motion apparently is the best. I have the very popular MamaRoo which was $250 and that did nothing for Roman. He would hang out for about 8 minutes max in that thing. To me, this swing was half the price and absolutely worth every penny.

For Roman, he is mesmerized by the mobile owls and the secret convex mirror that sits above the seat. It puts him right to sleep. I turn the swing on the highest speed and he loves it. They say the gravity is good to help settle the stomach.

3. Britax B-Free Travel System.

This was probably the best purchase I made for baby. After look through about 375 options, I decided on this travel system. There were a few others I really liked, the Cruz and Vista are very stylish and trendy strollers. A lot of my mom friends have these and love them! However, I still think my stroller is the winner. Here’s why I love it so much: The 3 wheels. This stroller turns on a dime and can navigate through any nooks which makes getting around for us so easy. The wheels are super durable and you can take this thing jogging, on a hiking trail, whatever. That’s very helpful for me because I love taking Roman on gravel trails. There’s plenty of storage, cover for rain or too much sunshine. Also, the car seat is awesome and super safe.

The only drawback of this stroller is there is no bassinet and I wish I had a bassinet when he was super small to walk him in the neighborhood.

4. Infantino Baby Carrier

I tried several baby carriers but Roman loved this one the best. I really was so in love with the look of the wraps. The Maya Wrap was the one I really loved and one of my nannies let me try it. Roman didn’t really like it. I didn’t really like all the pressure being on one shoulder. He loved the freedom of the Infantino and he enjoyed sleeping upright like this. It’s super affordable, breathable, easy to clean and feels so comfortable/supportive even now when Roman is a good 17 pounds. This has been another nap time savior.

5. Skip Hop Vegan Leather Backpack Diaper Bag.

Let me just start this with, I get so many compliments on my diaper bag. It’s awesome. I hate the look of regular diaper bags so for me, this one is the best looking. It fits right on the handlebar of my stroller, so everything is so easily accessible. I chose the tan leather but the black one is also so chic. It has tons of compartments and comes with a changing pad. Love this thing.

6. Love to Dream Swaddle.

A Swaddle is a definite game changer when it comes to sleep. My parents were really persistent that I shouldn’t swaddle because I was never swaddles and I slept great. However, I really love the idea of the swaddle. Keeping the baby snug and preventing them from waking from the startle reflex. I tried every swaddle you could think of. Roman hated them all. That was until I found this swaddle. Roman loves to sleep with his arms up and so he needed the room for that. This helped Roman sleep good long stretches at night starting at 2.5 months.

7. The Diaper Genie.

This is a must have. Seriously, don’t skimp out on this. With all the diapers going on, you will want one of these next to your changing table. Trust me. On that note, for me, Pampers Swaddlers are the best diapers. I tried the Honest ones and every other brand out there. These hold the most and the best in my opinion.

8. Zip front outfits.

Mamas, these are my favorite. They just make it easy to zip, no snapping. It’s easy for the dads too. I can’t tell you how many times his dad changed Roman and the snaps were all confused. Just save yourself and everyone the trouble and get some zip fronts. I love them.

9. Hatch Baby Night Light and Sound Machine.

Man, I just love this thing. It is a wonderful white noise sound machine that I place next to Romans bassinet at night. You can control the colors, the sounds and volume from your phone. It also has the ability to set a timer with your sound routine. Birds in the morning, lullaby at bedtime routine and white noise for sleep. It is wonderful! I can’t live without it myself now.

10. Kimono Robe.

This robe has literally been my uniform for the last 3 months. I’ve ordered a couple more because there has been so much spit up on my last one. You want to be comfortable and sleep well when you are up many times throughout the night. You want something easy to feed baby, hop in and out of the fastest shower ever and I even wore this in the hospital for comfort. It’s just the best. And its 20$, which is fabulous because you don’t want to ruin all your clothes with the many things that baby will get on your wardrobe. Trust me. This one is essential!

Hope this post is helpful, if you are looking for new mama inspiration, read this post too.

Blissful Belly (part 1) . . .Because each blissful week, makes all the difference

...and here we have it guys. I am 38 weeks into my pregnancy and only two weeks to go till my baby boy should make his debut in this world. I'm eating everything in sight and getting as much sleep as possible, as they say to do. As I sit and reflect on that last 9 months of my life, I can't believe the journey. It wasn't anything I expected. It truly feels almost as if it went by way too fast. I can't help but already want to do it all over again. I know that sounds crazy but I truly have enjoyed my pregnancy. 

To be honest with you, I was sort of expecting to have a horrible pregnancy, from all the stories I was told and because my body is sort of similar to Kim Kardashian...I thought for sure I would blow up to where I wouldn't even recognize myself. None of the things I thought would happen, happened. It actually has been an entirely different experience than I thought. So, I kind of wanted to write a post for you guys where I could share what really happens during pregnancy. At least in my experience. AND WHY, IT IS SO SO SO IMPORTANT to make BLISS a top priority. 

WHY BLISS? Because pregnancy is a roller coaster and if you allow it to, it can actually be the most incredibly spiritual experience of your life. An experience that changes you and makes you into the woman that you are meant to be! So, you will need the blissful moments to support you during your emotional, hormonal and mental changes. And as for the body changes, I honestly thought I would judge and hate my body as it grew and got fatter and fatter (I had some choice moments), but this has been a time I have fallen more in love with my body than ever. I'm even more excited for my body after baby, too. 

When pregnant, you count your life by the week, 21 weeks, 32 weeks, etc. So, I made a point to really cherish and celebrate each week in a blissful way. A blissful week, makes all the difference. 

My favorite app is the What to Expect app. I encourage you to download it asap. It gives you a lot of great advice and you don't have to go searching for what you experience each week, its all right there for you. I decided NOT to read books about pregnancy, I only read a few that I really loved. Feng Shui Mommy was a favorite and so was Skinny Bitch, Bun in the Oven. Other than that I really wanted to just experience things on my own because during this time, I was highly sensitive. 

I, unfortunately, had a LOT of encounters with people in my life who were very negative about my pregnancy. In fact, there are some family members who I don't even speak to. Sure, they probably wouldn't come out and say it was my pregnancy that made them upset or uncomfortable but...it just so happened that once I told them the news, they began treating me differently. Jealousy, resentments, control, manipulation, I got the brunt of a lot of it. It's embarrassing to admit that I have family that could be that petty, but I do. 

However, I knew for me, that I needed to surround myself with only people who were positive, happy and drama free. Once I finally allowed some people to step away from my life and made effort to spend more time with the happy ones, things got WAY more blissful. Your emotions are all over the place during this time so it is SO important to make sure you guard yourself. Say NO to others and say YES to yourself and your beautiful growing baby! 

This whole thing goes by way too fast. I'm sure especially because it is my first pregnancy and I just didn't know what to expect. In my first trimester, some days I was so tired and sick feeling, I just wanted the day to end. I had a rough first 3 months. Around 2 pm everyday, I needed a nap and felt like I was going to throw up every few minutes. I wanted to quit life. There were only a few things that got me through this period...

I ate Altoids like they were skittles. I put drops of Peppermint oil under my tongue when nausea would hit me. I got this pregnancy pillow to comfort me during my afternoon naps and I still sleep with it every single night. I allowed myself to binge watch anything I wanted, whenever I wanted on Hulu & Netflix without ANY judgement. I couldn't stand the smell of ANYTHING, so I created my own fragrances with essential oils and I had diffusers like this around the house burning all the time. My boobs were the first to grow, so I purchased bra extenders because shopping for maternity bras was a nightmare for me, I just wasn't ready for the shift. 

As much as you will want to run to all the people around you who have been pregnant, just don't. People will share with you some really discouraging stories, don't buy into it. Each woman has a completely unique pregnancy and no pregnancies are alike. You are going to see, you get your own experience. So I really encourage you to tune into YOU. 

The best advice I ever received during my pregnancy was to NOT GOOGLE OR SEARCH ONLINE FOR ANYTHING. I learned that in order to treat my body the best I could to support a healthy pregnancy, I needed to tune into my body, my self and my heart. I learned that I am the only one who knows what my body needs. 

Listening to opinions and negative stories from other women was a big "no, no" for me. During pregnancy, I was on the watch list for depression while pregnant. My doctor sent me to the resident therapist at the hospital. Apparently my anxiety and fears from listening to too many stories was getting the best of me. I have not typically ever dealt with depression so it was a huge shock to me. I cried a LOT! All I needed was that one chat with the therapist who told me to just stop listening to other people. For me, it was that simple to rid myself of those anxieties. 

I decided to make this pregnancy a time for myself, to fully enjoy and embrace anything and everything that comes with it. Good or bad. I spent so much time really thinking about myself, my childhood, my life and reflecting on what kind of parent I want to be. I took a couple of self development courses during this time because one of my biggest worries was being a good parent. I really opened myself up to God and Spirit to show me anything I needed to know. AND I journaled my heart out. 

The process of all the spiritual growth changed me completely. The person I was when I got pregnant is completely different than who I am today. Being fully present, not going out too much socially, not drinking champagne, not spending money on things that don't matter...all made me see a different side of myself and the things that really light me up at a soul level. It's interesting who you become when your priorities change. This is what I poured into my book, The Blissful Living Journal. I share all the things I've used to align myself with the greatest version of who I really am and who I really want to be. 

Let me not forget to add, anger & rage are part of the experience, too. There are some days you will just have a flood of negative emotions just wash over you and you almost don't even recognize yourself. Don't fight those feelings. Tap into them. I learned this through pregnancy, working with your negative emotions instead of against them makes you more connected to your inner self in a deeply beautiful way. In the Blissful Living Journal, I give you prompts with how to work with your negative and emotional triggers, so that you can ride them like waves to your happier feelings. For me, this was a must during pregnancy or someone might have gotten hurt. heehee. just kidding. 

Everyone told me they thought I was having a girl. Even looking up on some woo woo Chinese calendar said I would have a girl. Intuitive people would say they felt I had baby girl energy. I was craving chocolate cake every morning. I was totally convinced I was having a girl. Then I got the call after my blood test, IT'S A BOY!!!!!

Oh my gosh, I was devastated. I thought to myself 'I'm such a girlie girl, what am I going to do with a boy???' I cried for two days. Then all of a sudden, I felt my first kicks in my belly and it was almost like God took all that sadness away from me and I fell so in love with my little boy. I became obsessed with being a boy mom. 

I was all of a sudden bombarded with my friends with boys who love their mom so much and I couldn't wait to have a boy of my own. It's interesting how God naturally changes your heart week by week. When you begin to go into your second trimester, you'll start to get these protective instincts just come to you. It's as if your spirit just naturally learns to be more prepared to have strength for your baby. Take for example my fear of labor and childbirth. I have always been so terrified by the whole thing. For me, it was like one morning I just woke up and felt ready for it. Of course, I am a little nervous about it but the majority of that fear just went away. 

It is truly miraculous how you develop your heart and spirit through pregnancy. Our bodies are meant for this. If we tune into the peace within and go with the flow, it is a beautiful experience. You become such a Wonder Woman. Don't fight the flow. Don't worry or stress yourself. Don't resist your cravings. Those are the things that will block you from all the bliss during this time. 

As your body changes, almost daily, I encourage you to really amp up your self care routines so that you feel good about this wonderful time. Even before I was pregnant, I took great care of myself but once I got pregnant, I noticed I had much more fun with it. I put a little extra into it knowing I may not have all the time in the world for much longer. 

I would buy fresh flowers and put the petals in the bath with lavender bath salts to help me sleep better. I would take these Garden of Life Organic prenatal vitamins which were my absolute favorite. I could feel the difference when I spent a little bit more on these. I stopped feeling the pressure to blow dry my hair and just let it roll out naturally. I put this hair mask in my hair and leave it on overnight and it gives your hair some bounce, fullness and wave. Get yourself a birthing ball, I have become obsessed with mine. As your posture changes, it is really good to sit on this ball while you work or hang out around the house. And you will want to take it with you to labor, too. 

If you need a heating pad for your back, I highly suggest you get one asap. I have at least 3 all around the house because they have been so good to me. I like the XL sized ones. Treat yourself to a prenatal massage at least once every two months and if your insurance provides it, see a physical therapist for things to help support your body changes. For spot pain, which I had in my upper back, I used Salonpas patches and oh my god these were a game changer. Obsessed! 

For most of my pregnancy, I would wake up every morning and go for a 30-45 minute walk. Because pregnancy is such an up and down experience, In the routine, I found so much comfort. I decided to spend the time listening to uplifting and inspiring podcasts. This was such a game changer for me because I would look so forward to my body movement time that it didn't even feel like working out. 

I would also incorporate mantras, affirmations and visualizations into my morning walk. I would visualize a healthy pregnancy and at this point of my pregnancy (38 weeks), I have only gained 21 lbs. I don't have swollen feet, stretch marks, or any of the scary side effects. I truly believe I manifested my blissful pregnancy by slowing down and taking time for me. To get myself through the week, I would pick a new mantra, read a new non-pregnancy book and take a new perspective on the week. Chakra meditations have definitely helped me, too! You can find so many on Youtube, but right now I love this one. 

STAY TUNED for PART 2 of this Blissful Belly post. I'll share more of my must haves and all things pregnancy.