Trust me I'm a Pro - 5 parenting tips from a second time Mum

Wow that heading makes me sound like this is something I do often, well it’s not, this is only my second time, so I am no pro, but these 5 little tips helped me when I had my first baby, and you never know, they may just help you too.

Baskets around the house

• Nappies and wipes, let’s face it, you really don’t want to have to go to the nursery every time you need to change a nappy – the floor is probably safer than the change table anyway. I keep a little nappy changing pack in the lounge and in the bedroom, because the baby will sleep in our room for the first couple of months, so it saves me having to get out of bed to get a nappy and wipes. And also when I’m in the lounge, I can quickly change the nappy without having to go all the way to the nursery. Just the basics, nappies, wipes, and bum cream, oh and scented nappy bags, not that babies poops are vile, but its good to bag them up.

Super wet nappies

• Keaton in the middle of his infant stage (around 4/5 months), was a super "wet baby". I went through multiple brands of nappies to try and find one that did not leak at night. It failed, no matter what I used, he would leak, and it would be all over his clothes, bed, etc. The worst thing was it was winter, so having to undress a infant in winter, and change sheets, and clothes, while hardly being able to stay awake is not a fun task. I ended up sticking with good old huggies, but I used to put a reusable nappy over them, this way the "over flow" went into the reusable nappy, and I could just change that out and not have to worry about changing sheets, and clothes.

Winter bath time

• As it will be coming to winter here ,and babies are so small, bath time is a pain for me, especially having to lean over the bath to bath the baby, and then carry them to the bedroom to get dressed. I put towels down on our bed, and then the baby bath, and bath the baby on the bed. 2 reasons for this, 1, I can put the heater on, so the room is warm, and 2, the baby comes straight out of the bath, and on the bed to get dressed. I found this super handy with my first born, so will be making use of this again with number 2.

Night Time Feeds

• Again a little basket is a must for the bedside table, all feeding bits and pieces are in one place and easily accessible. With Keaton,  I actually carried this around with me, to the lounge, and nursery, because when I was at home, I just whip “them” out and feed where ever, so this was handy and kept everything in one place. Things I kept in there were, a spare dummy, nipple shields, spare breast pads, gripe water, infacol, and a burp cloth. Makes night time feeds much better because I knew where everything was.

Night Time Formula Feeds

• Another little trick I learnt with Keaton was when he was older and I was formula feeding him, there was no way I wanted to get up and go and warm bottles etc, so I used to boil water for his bottle before I went to bed, and then I put the bottle in bed with me, that way as the water cooled it stayed at my body temperature, and when it came time to give him a bottle, I just added the formula powder (which was in a handy container next to my bed), gave it a mix, and hey presto. I am all for making like easier, and this worked out perfectly for us, right up until he stopped having milk/water bottles at night, now his Sippy cup sleeps on his bedside table and if he wants it, he gets it himself.

Now these tips are not rocket science, but they worked for me the first time around, so they are things I will be doing this time around. What tips do you have for mums to help make the first months a little easier?

You may also like my "Hospital Bag Essentials" and "Yes I am pregnant, no I don't care for your dumb comments" posts

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