After my third baby ended up being delivered via emergency c-section (you can find his birth story here), I found myself completely unprepared. All the things I thought would work for my postpartum recovery, would not work and I was left frantically online shopping from my hospital bed.
I searched high and low for the best underwear for those first weeks following my c-section surgery. Here is a list of my favorites:
This post contains affiliate links. See affiliate disclosure here.
Weeks 1-6 Post C-Section
I found that soft, stretchy and super high-waisted was the best during the first month.These underwear worked well for fitting comfortably on my ever shrinking belly without rubbing on my incision. Plus they worked well under my abdominal binder (I used this one). If you are between sizes, go with the larger size.
The C-Panty is amazing. Part shapewear, part post c-section surgery support. It is much tighter fitting which works perfect once you are ready for a little less support than the abdominal binder offers. These undies smooth and compress, giving a slimmer/smoother looking belly. Plus as a bonus, they have a silicon sheet that is supposed to help minimize the appearance of scars. I ordered my pre-pregnancy size in these. They were very tight and uncomfortable prior to the 6 week mark. But once the 6 week mark hit, they were perfect. I got the 2 pack so that I could easily wash one while wearing the other.
Around the 12 week mark, I started feeling like I didn’t need as much support as the C-Panty was providing. I wanted something that wouldn’t rub on my c-section incision and wouldn’t be visible under yoga pants. I found what are possibly the softest undies every. So freaking comfortable.
Everybody warns you about the lack of sleep and endless crying you may encounter when your baby arrives. But nobody and I mean not one single person gave me a heads up about postpartum body odor. Postpartum hormones do some wild things to our bodies and funky postpartum body odor (from literally doing nothing but sitting on a couch in the air conditioning) is one of those things.
This post contains affiliate links. See affiliate disclosure here.
Nobody likes to be stuck under a sleeping baby while you are smelling your own postpartum body odor. It stinks. Pun intended. I went on the hunt for a deodorant to help with this problem. I had a few criteria I was looking for:
Must Actually Work
All Natural Ingredients
No aluminum
Long Lasting Results
Pleasant Smelling (I hate the smell of most deodorant)
No baking soda
Cruelty Free
I really wanted to find something that would work, but was not willing to use anything that could potentially contain toxic or cancer causing ingredients. Something with its own gross smell or something that I would have to reapply multiple times a day to continue to see results was also off the table. I have very sensitive skin, so baking soda could not be an ingredient as it causes lots of irritation.
Lume has a pretty cool back story. It was created by on OB/GYN who wanted to help give her patients a better solution to their body odor issues. She discovered that a lot of body odor is caused by the bacteria on our skin digesting bodily fluids. Gross but this allowed her to formulate a better product. Instead of trying to mask the smell, Lume prevents the smell. Lume can be used anywhere on the body that smells.
Since day one of trying Lume, I have been hooked. It works well and continues to work for a long time. So when I don’t have time to shower for a few days, because the baby won’t let me put him down, I still don’t stink. It is a GAME CHANGER.
It comes in 5 scent options- Unscented, Jasmine Rose, Juniper Berry, Silver Spruce and Lavender Sage. And two container options- a typical deodorant type container and a squeeze tube. I got the Lavender Sage scent in the typical deodorant style container. It smells amazing and is super easy to apply.
With other deodorants, a more is better approach always seemed best. With Lume, you only use a little bit to lightly cover the skin. If you can see excess product, then you used too much. My husband tried it after I told him how much I liked it and he immediately made the switch. In conclusion, Lume is awesome. Lume is the solution to your postpartum body odor worries.
If you are like me and sometimes forget to apply deodorant before leaving the house, get the two pack so you can have one at home and one in your car or at work! You will never be stinky again!
I first wrote about my experience with Polyhydraminos (high level of amniotic fluid) and induction with my second pregnancy. At the 39 week mark, my amniotic fluid levels were measured at 28cm. My doctor decided that we would induce labor that day. You can read about that induction experience here.
Fast forward to my third pregnancy.
Like my two pregnancies before, I had a normal, low risk pregnancy. However, this was my first pregnancy in which my baby wasn’t head down immediately. At the 28 week mark, my OB used a handheld ultrasound to confirm my suspicions. My baby was in a transverse (sideways) position in my belly. Until the 36 week mark, most OBs don’t get concerned with how baby is positioned . Still, I wanted to go ahead and do what I could to get baby re-positioned. I didn’t want to risk baby staying transverse and making it so that I would have to have a c-section.
I started with all the spinning babies techniques. Then added acupuncture. And then my chiropractor started using the Webster technique. I also tried every trick I could find on Google. Playing music at the bottom of my belly, putting an ice pack on his head and a heating pad at the bottom of my belly. I’ve lost track of all the different things I tried. When my 36 week ultrasound showed that baby was head down I was SO PUMPED !
Attempting to FLIP that BABY!
At that same 36 week ultrasound, my amniotic fluid levels were still in normal range (18 cm). My OB still wanted to make sure that they didn’t go up at the end of pregnancy like they did with my previous pregnancy. She planned to recheck with a 38.5 week ultrasound. 10 days later, I returned for another ultrasound and my levels had risen to 25.75 cm. My OB determined that like before, we would proceed with an induction.
The Waiting Game
Unlike before, the hospital I would be delivering at had a long wait list for induction patients. My ultrasound appointment was on a Wednesday. My OB wanted me to wait until the following Sunday, when I would officially be 39 weeks before proceeding with an induction. Friday, the induction scheduler at my OB practice called to let me know that Sunday was booked. If for some reason an opening became available they would call me. Otherwise, she would touch base again on Monday.
The weekend came and went. No call. No induction. Monday morning I got the call that I was scheduled for 7:30 pm that night. 5:30pm rolled around and the hospital called to say that they were too busy. My induction was again rescheduled. Now it would be Tuesday morning at 7:30am. Tuesday 5:30am rolled around and they called to again say that they were too busy. I could call back in a few hours and see if they could take me.
Tuesday didn’t happen. Wednesday morning, the induction scheduler at my office called again. The hospital was still very busy with other laboring mothers. They were now ranking their medical induction patients based on risk and I was 5th on that list. They recommended I go ahead and schedule my 39 week visit just in case I didn’t get to be induced for the next few days. I was pretty frustrated and defeated after spending the last 4 days thinking it was “baby day” only to be left hanging.
Thankfully, I was able to get in with my OB that same day. She was just as frustrated as I was that the induction process was so delayed. To cover our bases, she wanted to do another ultrasound to see where my fluid levels were at since it had now been a week since we last checked. They again, had risen. Now they were at 29cm. In an effort to get my induction ball rolling, my OB called labor and delivery to offer to place the Cook catheter in office, so that it would already be in place if they would allow me to come in that evening to be induced. They agreed to the plan.
Its Baby Time
My OB practice has 3 locations, and the location we were at, wasn’t stocked with the Cook catheter that was needed. If I haven’t already mentioned how much I LOVE my OB, let me tell you. She is the best. Instead of saying too bad, she offered for us to drive to the other location, after hours, so that she could place the catheter so that I could still get my induction started that evening. So that is just what we did. It was after hours, so Rob got to play nurse and had the role of pushing the saline syringes that were used to inflate the catheter balloons. My Cook catheter was placed. at 6:45pm.
Induction in the time of COVID 19
We left the office, picked up some dinner and then headed to the hospital for our 8pm check in. The check in process was smooth. We had our temperatures taken and answered a few Covid 19 screening questions. We went to Labor and Delivery and were then placed into a triage room. In that room, my IV catheter was put into place and I was tested for Coronavirus.
The hospital was still very busy, so while the plan was to move us to a L&D room once my Coronavirus test came back, they did not have a room available. On the bright side, the negative test result meant that I was done wearing a mask whenever the hospital staff were present. The Cook catheter was clearly doing its job because I was having a lot of regular contractions at this point. The room was very cramped and I was having a ton of back contractions.
Since a room was still not available, they decided to move me to a postpartum room instead. This would give us more room and would allow Rob somewhere other than a little chair to sit or lie down. Once in this room the plan was that I would rest as much as possible until either a room became available or the Cook catheter came out. Along the way of moving from one room to the other, my contractions changed- barely painful and no more back labor. We thought this was a good sign that I would be able to get some rest since it was midnight and I was tired.
Before attempting to sleep I decided to try and pee and while doing so, my Cook catheter came out. I rang the nurse, who then paged the doctor. The doctor came in to check and I was 6cm dilated. So after 20 minutes in the postpartum room, I was finally on my way to Labor and Delivery.
Labor and Delivery, Here I Come
Once I got there, I was told that part of the “too busy” issue was not that they did not actually have the physical rooms available, but that they did not have enough staff to cover all of their rooms. I got all hooked up to the monitoring machines. I still wasn’t really feeling the contractions, but according to the machines, they were still coming regularly. My epidural wore off during pushing for my first baby, so I knew I did not want to birth a baby again without one.
The nurse got me started on an IV and I napped while waiting for the anesthesiologist. The epidural was placed and then I went back to sleep. My nurse used one of those peanut balls to position me on my side. After a few hours, she came in to adjust me to the other side. But baby’s heart rate immediately started to decline, so she quickly flipped me back. Thankfully his heart rate immediately recovered.
At some point in the morning (I forgot to check the time), the on call OB came in to break my water, with the hope that it would help me progress since I was still at 6cm dilation. She broke my water, and then I went back to sleep. Looking back, I wish that I could go back to this moment and do it differently.
Around noon, we decided to check my progress as the doctor was considering adding pitocin if I was still not progressing. Little did I know, shit was about to get real. My nurse did her check and from her facial expression I knew something wasn’t right. She went to get the doctor who quickly came in with an ultrasound machine.
After a quick ultrasound, she confirmed that at some point during labor, my baby had flipped and was now in a breech position. I was 10cm dilated and his little butt was descending into my birth canal. She recommended an immediate emergency c-section. Immediately, I started sobbing. I don’t mean that subtle and quite type of sobbing. I was full on sobbing.
The OB went through a long list of risks and benefits of both attempting a breech vaginal birth and for moving forward with the c-section. I’m not sure I even heard most of what she said. I heard lots of concerns about death to baby, death to me, having to cut anything to get baby out if he were to get stuck. No thank you, I didn’t want a c-section. I didn’t want to risk baby getting stuck or want my cervix or bladder to be cut to get baby out. Making any decision was 100% not what I wanted to do. I didn’t want any of this to be my birth experience.
I felt paralyzed (and not just from the epidural) and unable to make a decision. My brain was running through a ton of thoughts- thoughts of how many women successfully birth breech babies, how many women die in c-section surgery, weighing all the risks and all the benefits. But I knew that as much as I wanted to try for a vaginal birth, the risk of something going wrong and my baby being hurt or dying was unacceptable. I could not risk his life because of fears for my own self, I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to him. After giving verbal and written consent and I was rolled into surgery- still sobbing my eyes out.
Ready or Not, Here I Come
Being rolled into surgery was a strange experience. The room was filled with what seemed like a dozen people. A surgical team, a team for the anesthesia and a team to take care of baby once he was out. The anesthesiologist explained everything to me and asked that I tell him how I was feeling throughout. My IV catheter that had been placed earlier in the triage room was slightly positional, so with every new injection, my arm hurt. Looking back, I wish that I had asked for a new one to be placed. But I was still sobbing and could barely think beyond how scared I was and how much my arm hurt. Rob, my husband, held my non-catheter hand and kept telling me that everything would be okay and that he loved me.
I could feel movement in my abdomen, similar to how when your leg is asleep, you can slightly feel the pressure of your hand touching it, but there is no pain. I could hear when my baby was born and I could see him when they took him to be weighted and checked out. After an hour of sobbing and surgery, I was emotionally numb. I have never been one to cry when my babies are born, but I definitely felt more emotionally removed from the birth than with my other two babies. I felt like I needed to nap for a week.
Callen Kirk – born at 1:18pm
Once my incision site was closed, my OB came to my side of the curtain to tell me that she was able to complete the surgery with only the traditional horizontal cut (she had been concerned that a vertical cut may be needed give how low in my birth canal baby was) and that she had done a super stitch which would make me a great candidate for a VBAC should I choose to have additional children.
We then went to the recovery room where they monitored my bleeding. I was told that I needed to start regaining feelings in my legs before I could be moved to my postpartum room. My bleeding was a little heavier than my nurse liked, so I was given additional IV fluids. After a few hours, my legs were still fairly numb so we stayed in the recovery room longer than expected. Once some feeling started to come back, we were off to our postpartum room.
Finally getting skin to skin time while in recovery.
I spent 39 weeks anticipating his delivery and in those 39 weeks, it never crossed my mind that I would actually end up with a c-section. Even when he was transverse in my belly, I never actually thought that I would end up with a c-section. To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement. I was and to some degree am still devastated. I have spent so many moments replaying my time in the hospital in my head. Questioning if I could have changed the outcome. If only we would have checked his position before we broke my water. Or if I would have been induced days earlier before my fluid levels got so high and gave him extra room to flip. The what ifs go on and on.
I felt like a failure when I agreed to the c-section. I could barely even talk about what happened during his birth without crying for the first few days. The first time I saw my incision after the bandage was removed, I cried. I felt like my body had been mutilated. It has almost been 4 weeks since Callen was born. I would be lying if I said that I was past all of my feelings of disappointment. But I am thankful to have my sweet baby in my arms, even if his birth didn’t go how I planned.
There are so many toys hanging out in our house and because of this, my son rarely plays with most of them. Riley, just celebrated his 4 year old birthday. We were very picky about what we would be gifting him. I wanted to make sure that any gifts that were given to him wouldn’t just become more forgotten items in our bins of toys.
Here is a list of our favorite toys that are interactive, engaging and very hands on.
This post contains affiliate links. See affiliate disclosure here.
There are endless possibilities of things that can be build with this set. My son loves it and is constantly begging me to pull it out so he can play. It comes in its own storage container which is super convenient.
My son loves that he can make his own airplanes and cars with this set that includes tubes and wheels. Hours and hours of fun come with this set and it comes with its own storage container.
Rather than having to rearrange all your furniture everyday, this kit creates the foundation for any fort your kiddo can dream of. Simply drape a blanket over the frame and bam, you have the perfect fort!
These Balance Stepping Stones were awarded the 2019 TOY OF THE YEAR AWARD for excellence by Creative Child Magazine. They are soft to the touch and so much fun for kids to create their own little path to walk on both inside and outside.
Bring the playground to your own backyard with this adorable little climber. Hours and hours of energy can be burned without having to venture out into the world.
Unlike the usual wooden train sets where the track doesn’t stay together and the train constantly falls off the track, these pieces all snap together and have raised edges so your cars stay in place. My son easily spends 2 hours a day obsessing over this dinosaur track and being a happy boy.
Compared to other remote controlled cars that we have tried these work really well for a 4 year old because: 1. they do not go too fast to control them 2. the steering buttons are easy enough that my 4 year old could figure it out.
These are really great if you have multiple kids or if your 4 year old regularly has play dates with other kiddos.
Okay, so this one is a tablet, but unlike other tablet options that connect to the internet and thus take away all control over what your child is viewing, this LeapFrog tablet comes kid-safe right out of the box. Loaded with games and apps that are learning focused and kid appropriate, your toddler can spend as much or as little time as you want learning from it.
My son is beyond obsessed with this game. Its pretty simple, you roll a dice and then have to go fishing for one or two of the fish pieces. Each game, one of the fish pieces will make the shark chomp. It doesn’t hurt when it chomps but the drama of it is SO thrilling for a kid. My son plays with this everyday and hopes and hopes that it doesn’t chomp him!
This post was sponsored by Smile Brilliant. I was provided with their cariPRO electric toothbrush and offered an extra to giveaway in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.
Teeth Matter
Earlier this year, I collaborated with Smile Brilliant with their teeth whitening systems (see my review here), so when they asked if I wanted to try their new electric toothbrush it was a no brainer. I loved the at home teeth whitening system so I was confident that I would love the cariPRO! I have been using a manual toothbrush for years and knew that the time had come to step up my oral hygiene game.
First Impressions
There were a couple of features that I noticed immediately. The toothbrush is waterproof so you can take it in the shower. This also means that I was able to rinse the toothbrush completely under the faucet after using which I love. I cannot stand a toothbrush that is crusty with dried toothpaste/water drippage (please tell me I am not the only one). The toothbrush charge holds for 30 days, which is amazing. I can easily bring it along on a weekend trip without also having to bring the charger.
Actually using the toothbrush is a pretty neat experience. There are 5 brush modes (clean, white, massage, gum care and sensitive). I tried all of them but found that sensitive was my favorite, which makes sense because I have sensitive teeth. Once hitting the power button the toothbrush takes you through a 2 minute cycle that pulses every 30 minutes. It is recommended that you focus on a different quadrant for each of the 30 seconds to make sure that every part of your mouth is evenly cleaned.
My Takeaway
I am a sugar-aholic that also has an affinity for sweet tea and soda. There is nothing worse than the fuzzy feeling of sugar sitting on your teeth. The first time I used the toothbrush, I noticed that my teeth felt wonderfully squeaky clean. After a few weeks of using the cariPRO, I definitely feel like my gums are healthier than they were previously. The cariPRO has officially converted me from my life long manual toothbrush habit!
If you’re looking for an affordable electric toothbrush, grab a cariPRO! They offer individual and couple packages. It’s not as expensive as some of the other electric toothbrush brands, so you could even win Christmas and gift one to someone you love!
I’m seriously excited to share that Smile Brilliant is offering a 20% discount towards cariPRO electric toothbrushes to my readers using the code bravelittlemama20 AND one of you can win one! (Open to US, UK, Canada, and Australia only) The retail value of this electric toothbrush is $119.00!
After breastfeeding for 32 months and counting, I have become pretty frustrated with the selections of nursing friendly clothes in the world. For the most part your options are 1. Affordable but ugly or 2. Adorable and expensive AF. Better yet, most nursing tops and dresses are also made for maternity wear, so the fit isn’t exactly a dream situation for your non-pregnant body.
This gap in breastfeeding clothes has forced me to look outside the box to find clothes that aren’t specifically made for breastfeeding but that are nursing friendly. Here is a round up of my favorites.
This post contains affiliate links. See affiliate disclosure here.
With functional buttons, this top is cute and nursing friendly. It comes in a bunch of colors and prints. It is chiffon so it would work great for times that you want to look more put together. Find it here
This is one of my personal favorites! This romper has a small snap that makes it nursing friendly. Its soft and comfortable making it perfect for everyday or travel wear. Bonus, it comes with POCKETS!! Find it here.
With functional buttons and adorable stripes this top is far from all the basic options out there. It comes in a few other designs. Find it here.
This is probably my most worn nursing friendly top from Amazon. It comes in a bunch of colors and has a long sleeve option as well. It is a waffle knit and is super flattering on. The buttons are functional so nursing is a breeze. Find it here.
This romper is super adorable and breastfeeding friendly. More of a green color IMO. The waist tie makes this flattering for a lot of different body types. It is a little short on my 5’8″ frame. Find it here
With functional buttons this is another great romper option that is nursing friendly. Comes in royal blue, navy blue and black. Find it here
My entire wardrobe revolves around being able to easily whip out a boob to feed a baby. Glamorous, I know. I love to wear a maxi dress, but at 5’7″ it is such a pain in the butt to find ones that are long enough. Here is a round up of the best I have found (so far). These are all on Amazon, because PRIME is life.
This post contains affiliate links. See affiliate disclosure here.
Vivicastle Women’s USA Solid V-Neck 3/4 Sleeve Faux Wrap Waist Long Maxi Dress
This dress is is flattering, comes it 16 colors!!! Length 58″-60″ depending on size ordered so this will work for women even taller than me!! Shop this look!
Called To Surf A Nursing Friendly Bridesmaid Wrap Maxi Dress with Flutter with Long Sleeves, and a Tie Belt. Mauve
This dress is actually marketed for nursing unlike most of the others on my list. The chiffon makes this dress great for special occasions or family photos. Length 57″-60″ depending on size. Shop this look!
Clothink Women White/Black Wrap Front V Neck Cut Out Split Plain Maxi Dress
This is definitely a sexier look with a deep slit and cutouts but this would be great to wear to a wedding or a date night when baby will be tagging along. Length ranges between 58.8 and 59.8 depending on size ordered. Comes in 4 colors. Shop this look!
Talk about the perfect maxi dress to wear for a baby shower or for family photos. This dress comes in 4 beautiful springy colors. Length is 58″-62″. Shop this look!
This beautiful wrap dress comes in 11 different floral prints. The material is a matte jersey (somewhere between jersey and swimsuit material) which is great for not immediately showing any milk stains! Length is between 57″ and 58.9″ depending on size. Shop this look!
I wore this dress for our newborn photos after Adalyn was born so it is safe to say that I love it!! It is a matte jersey material and comes in 7 color options. Length measures 55 – 57.5 inches. I ordered the medium and it was more than long enough on my 5’7″ frame. Shop this look!
This dress is a short sleeve option by KOH KOH. Same matte jersey material as the long sleeve dress, which is great for not immediately absorbing any milk that may leak onto your dress during a feeding. Length measures 55 – 57.5 inches. It comes in 8 colors including this gorgeous dusty pink. Shop this look!
Dokotoo Womens Summer Floral Print Faux Wrap Maxi Long Dresses with Belt
I wore this dress for our gender reveal photos and the teal/pink color worked perfect. This material has less of a sheen compared to the other floral maxi dress I listed above. It comes in 7 colors!! Length ranges from 56.5-60″ depending on size. I ordered this in a medium and you can see from the photo how it land Shop this look!
If your child is anything like mine, than they likely have one (or more) favorite stuffed animals that go pretty much everywhere with them. The little horses that my son loves were starting to look pretty rough and matted. I decided to figure out a way to make them nice and soft again. Turns out it is REALLY easy!!
What you need:
A well loved stuffed animal. Our horses can be found on Amazon
A pet slicker brush (its important that you get a metal one WITHOUT the little guard balls on the ends) – I got this one
Instructions
It is really an easy process once you have the right tool. Slowly brush your stuffed animal in the same direction as the “fur” is going. Make sure that you do not use too much pressure so that you don’t catch any of the threads that are holding your stuffed animal together.
If your animal has any areas with longer hair, like our horse’s mane, start at the end and work your way up so that you don’t rip out the fibers.
All in all, this is a SUPER easy fix. I rejuvenate 3 of his stuffed animal horses in 10 minutes. He loves how soft they are and I feel like a mama hero!
This post contains affiliate links. See affiliate disclosure here.
My son has been obsessed with his Wubbanub aka “wubby” since he was only a few weeks old. My husband and I have joked that he would probably take it to prom if we let him. It went pretty much everywhere with us and is in a majority of the photos of my son. We have loved the security and comfort that the Wubbanubs brought our little boy. As we approached his third birthday, the time had come for him to ditch the pacifier. We started making some changes in order to make the eventually removal of his Wubbanubs easier and tear free. Here is what we did.
Only use the Wubbanub at sleeptimes (or during extreme meltdowns)
We did not achieve this by simply taking his wubbs or making him leave them in his bed. Both of those tactics lead to extreme distress for our son. Instead we would slip them away once he was up and focusing on something else. On occasion, we would ask for him to trade his wubby for something else that he wanted more. “Want to play outside? Okay, but you cannot bring your wubby”.
Only one Wubbanub allowed out at a time
Instead of having a wubby available in every room to ensure that he never went without as we did during his baby days, we only allowed one Wubby to be active in the house at a time. The out of sight, out of mind effect worked best when there was only one Wubbanub to worry about hiding from him.
Find a favorite stuffed animal
Part of the allure of the pacifier for my son is the comfort that it brings him. Rather than just taking away his pacifier and leaving him with nothing, I wanted to set him up to have a replacement item once it was gone. Our house is FILLED with stuffed animals. At around 2 years old. he started showing a preference for a little stuffed horse we got as a baby shower gift. The Easter Bunny and his new baby sister each gifted him another baby horse. This created back ups in case the original ever goes missing.
Use separate and distinguishable Wubbanubs for our infant baby
Very early on we made it clear that Adalyn’s Wubbanubs were hers. Riley bought into this and would proudly find “baby’s wubs” and return them to her. It was important be able to wean Riley off his Wubbanub without having to make our infant daughter also go without. I will say, she only uses her Wubbanubs at bedtime by her own choice, so that has helped.
Cut off the Tip of the Wubbanub Soothie
I never brought myself to completely destroy a perfectly good Wubbanub. We did have a few that ended up with small rips in the soothies. For safety, I snipped the ends off of those Wubbanubs to remove the affected area. The first one happened long ago (which is what prompted me to find a way to fix them). Riley was devastated. However, as he got older, he would simply tossed the broken Wubbanubs aside. I kept this as a last resort solution to simply cut off the tips of all of his remaining Wubbanubs. We didn’t have to do this, but I think it is important to mention.
“Lose” the Wubbanub on vacation
This is ultimately the last step that we took on our Wubbanub adventure. I was worried that blaming an imaginary “fairy” that comes and takes pacifiers to new little babies would cause resentment towards his new baby sister. Or that he would decide that somehow the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and all other unseen magical creatures could not be trusted. We were planning on going to visit my parents for a couple of days. They live on a farm and Riley literally does not stop moving the entire time that he is there. He hikes in the woods, moos back at the cows, rides the horses and generally skips his afternoon naps. I knew the constant activity and lack of a nap would lead to an easy bedtime. Even with the absence of his Wubbanub.
It has now been 4 weeks since Riley’s puppy dog Wubbanub disappeared from his life. He has asked for it a couple of times but really he has done extrordinarily well. He has not cried AT ALL over his absent Wubbanubs. Can I get an, AMEN?? When he does ask, “where’s wubby” our response is generally along the lines of “I don’t know, buddy. Where did you leave it?”. So far he has accepted this answer and just accepts that “its lost”.
Good Luck to all you other mean, Wubbanub stealing mamas and dadas out there!!
Let me tell you all about the Snuza Hero, aka my most used baby product. It is a wearable device that clips onto your babies diaper and detects movement. Specifically, it detects the movement of your baby’s breathing. If 15 seconds pass without detected movement, it vibrates in an attempt to rouse baby. If an additional 5 seconds pass with no movement detected it sounds a VERY loud audible alarm. This same alarm will also sound if it had to rouse the baby with vibration three separate times. It will also alert you if it detects infrequent or weak movement by sounding a low beep with each detected movement. This little movement monitor is responsible for me being able to sleep soundly without waking up in a full on panic mode anytime my babies have slept through a feeding session.
To help it get a really secure grip on our diapers, I usually fold the top of the diaper down so that it has two layers to grab onto. You can also clip it onto the waist band of elastic pants. I generally only do this if I forget to put it on the diaper. I remove Snuza Hero during tummy time or when we are in the car seat for her comfort. Otherwise, it is always on. There are two buttons on the Snuza Hero. Pressing down the left button will turn the unit on. Holding both down at the same time will turn it off. You can also use the right mode button to make it so that it beeps with every breath. The light in the middle of the Snuza Hero will blink green with each detected breath. This little light can easily be seen through clothing and a swaddle in the middle of the night.
Both of my babies have gone to daycare and I love that I can send the Snuza Hero with them. No phone app or base unit is required. It gives me so much peace of mind knowing that even when my tiny babies are sleeping far away from me at daycare, where chaos may be going on, they will be safe. Our daycare teachers love that it is so easy to use.
My son wore our Snuza Hero 24/7 from day 1 at the hospital until around 9 months. At that point, he was rolling around so much during the day that it would continually fall off of his diaper. We continued to have him wear it at night until around 11 months. Fast forward another year and now my daughter is wearing the same Snuza Hero 24/7. We JUST replaced the original battery! Have we had a few false alarms? We sure have. I honestly do not mind a bit. I would take a hundred false alarms over the option of my babies not wearing a monitor. Have we had a real alarm? Yes.
The Snuza Hero alarm sounded while we were staying at my parent’s farm. My son was 8 weeks old at the time. Riley was napping upstairs at my parent’s house and most of my extended family was all downstairs. The alarm went off. I figured it must be a false alarm but I still ran upstairs as fast as I could. When I got up there, the Snuza Hero was perfectly in place. Thankfully, the loud alarm and vibration had done what it was supposed to do. It helped to rouse my sweet baby and it alerted me that there was an issue. We never had another real alarm but I still think of that day and wonder what might have happened if he hadn’t been wearing his Snuza Hero.
I tell all my pregnant friends about the Snuza Hero (heck, I tell most of my non-pregnant friends, too!) because I really believe in this product.
Update: Since originally posting this review, Snuza has created a newer and better model, the Snuza Pico that is 40% smaller than the Snuza Hero.
