Month One

The first month was wonderful and horrible all at the same time. The endless crying. The spitting up from reflux. No sleep because I was the one "staying at home and not going to work in the morning". I was literally sick from exhaustion. Also, horrible for me was the breastfeeding. It didn't work. I had a c-section and the pain from that was unbearable. But let me tell you. The pain from the breastfeeding was worse than my labor. I cried every time I breastfed and every time I pumped. It was a torture. Part of the problem was that my milk never came in. I would pump for 30 minutes and get maybe an ounce and a half. I was miserable. Finally, my pediatrician asked me why I was torturing myself. And I told him that if I didn't breastfeed then I would be a horrible mom. He looked at me and said, "Go buy formula today." I did and things got a lot better. I slowly let go of the guilt of not breastfeeding. Looking back, it was the best decision I could have made because I finally got enough strength back to start healing from the c-section.

Feeding and Schedule

Our pediatrician, Dr. Kelly Stephens, is here in Edmond where we live. He is a very no-nonsense type of guy. I have many friends who take their children to him. I was skeptical of his ways at first, but I did not have any other ideas for a feeding and sleeping schedule, so I went with his. I thought he was a crazy man for about 6 weeks, but I stuck to the schedule like glue. Mostly because I didn't have a better idea. More on schedules in Month Two post.

Remember to DVR many TV shows because you will be up at night with a crying child, and you will need something to watch.

Products I Liked the First Month

Aiden & Anais swaddle blankets
http://www.adenandanais.com
* You can get these at Storkland in OKC and The Gingerbread Cottage in Edmond, OK. I love them because they are large enough to swaddle tightly and they are muslin which make them breathable.

Receiving Blankets
You must have many, many receiving blankets. We used these as burp clothes, changing table towels, and blankets.

Changing Table
I love my cheap changing table from Target. The best thing about it is all of the storage underneath. I got all these cute cloth baskets from PBkids that match the nursery. I keep all my supplies in these boxes--diapers, blankets, onesies, burp clothes, etc. It makes everything so accessible.

Dr. Stephen's Feeding/Sleeping schedule
http://www.mercyok.net/mhn/edmond/Stephens%20-%20Newborn-2%20Wk%20Ckup.pdf

Wedge
My baby had reflux pretty bad so we used a wedge we got at Babies R Us in the crib at night. This really did help. We actually propped it up even more with towels.

The Bouncy Chair
My husband was skeptical of this at first. He thought it looked stupid. He later said, "that was the best thing we ever bought". When babies are little there are not many places to put them. The bouncy chair worked perfectly. There were even a few nights when my baby slept in it. Those were rough nights... Ours has rings and even now he loves to grab onto the rings
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3160407

Diaper Bag
I have a Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag. They are pricey, but it's worth it. I love mine because it can be a backpack and it has a changing pad that folds out on the front. It has been wonderful!
http://petuniapicklebottom.com

Carseat cover
Very practical and cute! Also a little pricey. I have seen them on Etsy for cheaper. So look there too. They have these at USA baby, Storkland, and Room to Dream all in OKC.
http://www.itzyritzy.com/

Stroller
My Uppa Baby Vista Stroller is terrific. It was very expensive but well worth it. I only need one stroller for every thing. I use it at the mall and to walk in the neighborhood. It has great wheels and suspension. It has its own child seat, but you can put your car seat on it as well. You can put several different kinds of car seats with this stroller. I will not have to get another stroller when he is a toddler bc the seat fits in the chassis. Many people like the Orbit. And I do too! Except for two things... Because the Orbit has a round bottom, it won't rock. Sometimes it is good to rock the car seat with the baby in it if your out in a public place. Also, the child seat has a round bottom. It doubles as the child car seat. I was confused on how you would get your toddler out of the car and the car seat and get them both on the chassis while in the mall parking lot.
I got my Uppa Baby at USA Baby.

http://www.uppababy.com/

Cribs & Furniture
We got our crib at Storkland and the rest of the furniture at Mathis Brothers. My only opinion about cribs is that PBKids is overpriced.

Rocker Chair
I got this at Storkland also. Bad thing, they only have one book of fabric to pick from. It is much cheaper than PBKids. Room to Dream in Northpark also has custom chair options, but they are very pricey. I'm talking like $1,000 to $2,000 a chair. I love my rocker chair. I use it every day.

Bottles
We use Born bottles. They have worked out great. The nipples have been good with the rice cereal in the formula.

Bottle Cleaning
We use the Medela Quick Clean micorwave bags to disinfect the bottles. You use them 20 times then throw them away.

Nose Frida
Best thing ever!!!!! It's Swedish. Baby T had horribe congestion when he was first born. This was the ONLY thing that worked. You can get it at a pharmacy in Edmond called Innovative Pharmacy Solutions. It's on Kelly between 15th and 33rd.
http://www.nosefrida.com/