Tips

I'm not going to call this advice, just tips for the newly preggo on everyday things to make life a little easier with munchkins...

Always keep a big storage container at the bottom of your squirt's closet. As you notice that clothes/shoes/socks/misc. gear don't fit or aren't necessary to everyday life anymore, chuck them in the bin. That way, @ 6am when you are rushing to get the small squirmy ones dressed, you don't accidentally try to cram them into something that doesn't fit.

Never say no to hand-me-downs offered for free. You never know what you will find in the bunch, and it's a lot cheaper than having to buy your kids new clothes seeing that they are only going to wear them for a short while and they're going to get covered in kid muck anyway. One of the guys that I used to work with offered me all of his son's outgrown clothes while I was pregnant with Lukey Duke. He's now almost 4 years old and still wears some of the pieces we received for free. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the guy from work's wife had a slight shopping addiction so more than half of the clothes were new with tags still attached, and killer brand names (GAP, Old Navy, Gymboree, you get the point)!

You can never have to many burp rags (cloth diapers). Both of my kids were heavy on the spit up, and having at least 2 handy at all times kept me from getting covered in vomit. Need I say more?

Try, at least try to spend your money wisely on your first child if you are planning on having more children. Buy non gender specific, neutral colored big ticket items (cribs, dressers, gliders, strollers, car seats, bouncy seats, swings, etc.)When it comes time for the next baby, you will already have all of your major purchases in your garage/storage. It can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars and having twice the baby junk crowding you out of house and home!

Always keep a bag in the trunk of your car with a spare outfit for everyone, diapers, wipes, plastic bags for heavily soiled items, a bottle of water and paper towels. When you are thrown up on walking out the door at daycare, or your child pukes/blows out an outfit when you are away from home, you have a go to in your trunk. The paper towels and bottle of water are for the BIG messes that wipes can't handle, like Picasso style finger painting of the car seat, window, and child with ketchup, chocolate milk, poop, you get the picture!

Know the phone number for poison control and have it readily available at ALL times. We have yet to need it, but I'm grateful that it's there on a big sticker stuck to the back of my house phone and cell phone, just in case.

There's more, but I can't think without my coffee...

Have a good one!!!

A few things to help a sista out

Here are a few of my new favorite things since having Miss Brookie:


I’ve developed a new found love for our travel system stroller… We never really used it with Lukey Duke but I’ve used it a ton in the last 3 months and pretty much haven’t taken it out of the trunk of the Camry. Oh yeah, that’s one of the best parts about this stroller; it actually fits on the trunk of our car. It’s an Even.flo Eddie Bauer and I’m really proud of myself for picking gender neutral colors (tan, brown and red)”just in case” we needed to use it for baby # 2 and we had a girl.

We were gifted a gently used Peg Pere.go pink infant car seat by my husband’s best friend who has 2 little girls. It’s extremely heavy to carry (which I pretty much never do), but incredibly sturdy and reassures me every time I snap it into the car that if we were in an accident, she’s be safe. I also REALLY love the pink cover!

I found my Cati.ni army green messenger diaper bag at BRU when Lukey Duke was about 2 years old, and I ADORE this bag. It’s not my favorite color, but it is so functional and it can hold so much stuff and the biggest perk has to be the price. I think I paid around $40 for the bag almost 2 years ago and it still looks like new. The entire interior is full of mesh divider pockets, and it can comfortably hold diapers, wipes, assorted butt creams, a change of clothes for both kids, a shirt for me, my digital camera, my wallet, cell phone, keys and chap stick, a changing pad, a “dirty” bag to put anything that’s been slimed, just to name a few.

My Munch.kin mini trash bag dispenser and bag refills. I picked this up at Targ.et and have since bought a second one to hang in the car. It’s a small dispenser that holds a roll of tear apart scented mini garbage bags that you can clip onto your diaper bag or just through into your purse if needed. These bags really come in handy when you have a child puking everywhere and need a place to stash a bunch of wet, stinky outfits or just need a place to get rid of a diaper when there’s no garbage can around.