So Aidan is 1 month old yesterday!  Hooray!  While part of me can’t believe he’s one month, another part of me feels like he should be older.  It seems like just a day ago that we were in the hospital, but at the same time it seems like he’s  been here all my life.  Must just be those motherly bonds kicking in.  We’ve learned a lot over the past month.  What works, what doesn’t work.  Everything from changing diapers to clipping fingernails.  Here’s a few things we’ve learned that can hopefully benefit expecting moms and mom’s newer than I am!

• It is not necessary to pack up the entire house to go to the store. You should have seen my first diaper bag!  Could hold an entire package of diapers plus changes of clothes for both mom and baby, three or four bottles, two packages of wipes, not to mention all the little bottles of lotion and powder, and baby toys.  Should I continue?  It was big enough for an overnight bag for a three night stay.  Come to think of it I think my husband and I used it for just that before the baby got here!  We have since narrowed down our “necessities” and switched to a more reasonably sized diaper bag.
• Always have an extra diaper or two handy when doing diaper duty. Little boys make messes.  It’s handy to have a “shield” between you and baby while cleaning his bum.  Not to mention the many times my son decided he wasn’t done pooping when I took off the diaper.  It’s a good idea to have an extra you can slide underneath.
• Always pack a change of clothes for baby. The number of extra outfits you pack is up to you.  I remember the first time we took Aidan out of the house, I packed three changes of clothes and he went through them all.  Either spitting up, or bad diaper episodes, and sometimes both at the same time.  At the end of the day we faced the prospect of going home in his diaper.  Since then, I pack three onsies, a sleep and play outfit, and an extra pair of pants every time we go out.
• Don’t buy too many Newborn sized items. Unless you are a 100% sure your baby is going to be less than 7 lbs, and shorter than the usual 19 inches, than they will grow out of newborn size clothing and diapers  in a matter of weeks.  Fortunately I knew this information ahead of time, and I only bought 5 outfits in this size.  These still ended up being too many combined with gifts I received in this size.  He never even used the newborn diapers I bought.  He was too big for them the moment he was born.
• Bubbles are bad. This is a very odd statement for my friends who know how easily I am amused.  Usually bubbles are a quick source of entertainment.  But when it comes to feeding Aidan, we quickly learned that bubbles in a bottle of formula meant a mess at one end or the other.  After mixing up a bottle to supplement, if there are bubbles I leave it sit on the counter for five minutes to let the bubbles dissipate.

Stay tuned for a list of must have items every new mom should know about before baby arrives!