Baby Lists: What to Do and What to Get to Prepare for Baby

Lost of Lists, for the List Maker in You

I have never officially been diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, but I swear, I have to have at least an inkling of it running in my veins. I obsess over many things, yet have the memory of a goldfish. So lists are a vital part of our coexistence as a family in this house. We have a list of housework on the refrigerator, and a list specifically for when Jonah last took a medication or had his temperature taken. We have lists for groceries and daily tasks. And it works well around here. That visual reminder does wonders over trying to remember everything, because I am bound to forget something at any given time. It’s so true.
So you can imagine my excitement when I received the book Baby Lists: What to Do and What to Get to Prepare for Baby [$15] by Elaine Farber. And even though this is my second pregnancy, it doesn’t mean I don’t need a few reminders on what to do and when to do it. Plus, I plan on doing things a little bit differently this time around, and the information found within the pages of this book are helping me make wiser choices than I did the first time around.
For example, I did not breastfeed my son. I was uneducated and uninformed on the facts of breastfeeding, but ever since I did my research, I always knew how important it was going to be to breastfeed my next. In this book I found a list of products that are useful for breastfeeding mothers, as well as a thorough section of the recommended birth plan that applies specifically to my breastfeeding beliefs. Another list I really liked was in Chapter 25, the Master Shopping List. It takes all of the important products from the preceding chapters, wraps them into one nice and condensed list, so you can go straight from Newborn Necessities (like how many onesies, sleepers, and bibs you may need) all the way through Feeding, Baby Gear, and Toys and more. Seriously, I feel as though if I were to follow these lists, I wouldn’t forget a thing for my new baby girl!
Honestly, this book is a must-have guide for any mom, primarily those new mom’s, who feel as though “if only this baby came with an owner’s manual”. Elaine didn’t seem to forget a thing within these a pages.
If you are expecting or know of a fresh, new mama who is…this book would be the perfect gift, whether given/used DURING pregnancy, or even shortly after.
Baby Lists: What to Do and What to Get to Prepare for Baby by Elaine Farber is available at most major book retailers such as Border and Barnes & Noble as well as a number of online websites.

Oscar the Pig: Mommy Goes to Work

When the Time Comes to Spread Your Wings (or Snout That Is)

When I had my son, it was never a question as to whether or not I would go back to work or not because there truly was no option. We had just built a new home in a wonderful neighborhood, but the offset was that with my husband’s salary alone, we would not be able to make ends meet. Now, with baby number 2 on the way, there isn’t much different than 2 years ago when we had the same discussion, except for the fact that my desire to be at home with my child(ren) has increased significantly. There is nothing more that I want than to be home with them, all day long, every single day.

The reality is, whether or not being a stay at home mom or a work out of the house mom, is something that you have a choice in or not, 72 percent of us have jobs that involve leaving our children in the care of another. And of those 72 percent, and I can only guess here, most of us have dealt or are dealing with the separation anxiety involved with it.

Personally, in my situation, i have to go with the “sneak attack” when it comes to leaving my son while I am at work. I am absolutely blessed to be able to have two amazing Grandmother’s (my mother and my mother in law) who live in the same town as my place of work. I drop him off in the morning and pick him up late afternoon. We have been doing this now since he was 6 weeks old. At first, he didn’t mind, I think because he didn’t really know any different. But now, at 20 months of age, he has figured it all figured out. He knows that when we get there, Mommy will leave, so in order for me to be able to leave, without any tears, he must be engaged in an activity he finds suitable to entertain him enough for me to sneak away. For now, this works, but I am sure as he gets older, he too, will figure it all out.

I am happy to say that I have found a book that can help me be prepared for when that time comes, to make the transition a bit smoother.

Megan Calhoun, a fellow blogger, twitterer, and the founder of Twittermoms.com can now add author to her list of accomplishments. Her new book, Oscar the Pig : Mommy Goes to Work [$17] was a hit with me AND my son from the moment I opened the package.

He of course, liked the pictures and pages, and I liked the wonderful little story it told of Oscar and his Mommy, and how they handled the situation regarding her return to work. This cute story captured my son’s attention long enough to get us through to the end, as he pointed at the colorful images of ‘piggy’s’ and ‘panda’s’, but what I really liked was the underlying message, and the pointers it was giving me, as a Work Out of the House Mom as to how to handle the day when I can no longer ‘sneak’ out while he isn’t looking.

This book will not only be a keeper for a long time in our house, but we will return back to it time and time again as we hit different milestones in the stages of his life, as well as use it when we hit those same milestones with baby number 2. You can purchase Megan’s book through Amazon or the publishing company, Silly String Media.