Motherhood Essentials

I will never forget one evening when I was about 8 months pregnant, crying to my husband because we had no baby socks. How can we have a baby without socks? Will they let us home from the hospital if we don't have socks? I can't possibly go to Target to buy socks after the baby is born, let alone Amazon Prime it. Everything must be bought before, washed before, folded before, put away and organized before.

My sweet husband endured this, and so much more. We laugh about it now, but my prep for the baby was a mix between cleaning like the Queen of England was visiting (I took over an hour to deep clean our Keurig of all things) and like the biggest snow apocalypse ever (I had no less than 12 boxes of cereal, crackers, granola bars...each).

My sweet, sweet husband. Today is Mother' Day, but let's raise a glass to our husbands who father our children and take care of us to be mothers. Whether that's tempering us down for crying over no socks or just biting his tongue over another cartful of granola bars.

In my whopping 15 months of motherhood, I've learned that teeny tiny baby socks are useless (even though cuuuuuute). First of all, everything they wear is footed. Second of all, the socks don't stay on any way. Third of all, even when they are older and walking, they slip and fall on the hard wood floors when wearing socks (or mine does anyway). So the only time socks come in handy is playing outside. Which, we do for a couple hours every day. So they do have a time and place...just not very often.

Here's my top 5 list of items I couldn't function without, and top 5 items that marketing companies prey on our 8 month pregnant hormones.

Top 5: Love It, Couldn't Live Without It, Sign Me Up for Subscribe & Save on It:

1. White Noise Sound Machine
• If you have creaky floors like us or if your sneezes two rooms away wake up baby, a white noise machine is saving grace.
2. Swaddle Me Swaddles

• For a while I tried swaddling my little guy in blankets (left). And he'd break free, every time. And he'd wake up, every time. Along came Velcro or zipper swaddles. The kid may be strong enough to exit the womb, but ain't nobody strong enough to get out of these bad boys.
• When he was tiny, he used the Pod (not pictured).
• When he didn't fit in that, he used the Velcro swaddles (middle), which come in different sizes.
• And then around 12 weeks, he started using the Halo Sleep Sacks (right), which also come in different sizes.
• *He is still wearing a sleep sack, and I think it's the only reason he doesn't attempt to climb out of his crib. It may also be the reason he hits his head on the crib when he tries walking in it after his nap...but hey, you win some, you lose some.
3. Not Your Mother's Dry Shampoo 
• I thought that because I have straight, fine, shiny hair I could never not wash my hair every day. Along came my son and along came my favorite dry shampoo, and voilà!
4. Books

• Parenting Books
• One piece of advice I read was to pick ONE (or two) parenting books or philosophies, and go with it. I guarantee you can find credible books on parenting why you shouldn't use the word no, why you should spank, why you shouldn't use time-outs, why you should have sleep routines, why you should, why you shouldn't...You will drive yourself crazy if you try to implement all of them. Pick a couple, and be consistent.
• My top two parenting books are the BabyWise Series (everyone in this house is much happier when well-rested with a predictable routine) and Dr. Dobson's parenting books (like Dare to Discipline and Bringing up Boys).
• Board Books
• From the Duck and Goose series to Dr. Seuss classics to every open-the-flap book, we spend about an hour reading per day, usually about 15 minutes 4X per day. It's a great way for us to unwind before bed, be quiet(ish) in church, and learning to point out ducks (read: anything yellow).
5. Family and Friends 

• With grandparents just a FaceTime away, with uncles and aunts itching to get a nephew giggle, with cousins who happily receive head pats and freely give snacks, with Mama friends who sip coffee with me while we stroll through the park, with Pastors who happily shake a thumb-sucker's wet hand every Sunday, with Daddy's co-workers who give hand-made quilts - Our home is filled with gracious love.

Top 5: Forget It, Why Did I Buy This?

1. Baby socks
• See above.
2. Baby Monitor
• Unless you're house is gigantic (not like ours), you don't need a monitor to hear your kiddo wake up...He'll let you know.
• BUT, I have found it to be helpful when we're outside. And I did discover its radius reaches around the block. (Joel was home, so please don't call CPS on me.)
3. Tote Diaper Bag
• I'm struggling with having just two hands. Don't take one away to hold the diaper bag.
• Get yourself a backpack. With pockets. Lots of pockets. I just got a Skip Hop one, but I love this one by Park Baby Co.
4. Outlet Covers
• Okay, maybe this isn't a great example because they're $2 and can prevent your child from shocking themselves, but I am a big fan of house-proofing your baby, not baby-proofing your house.
5. Under the Arm Thermometer
• If you have figured out how to hold a baby arm still for 7 seconds, then this would be a great option for you. If not, forehead thermometer all the way.

Now, what are you top 5?