Mommy McBlog’s 12 Days of Giftmas!

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Festivus and Boxing Day are just around the corner and what’s the holiday season without gift lists?  Since I’ve been a Mom for a whopping 68 days (a pro, right?) I thought I would put together the Mommy McBlog 12 Days of Giftmas!  Whether you are about to become a Mom, whether you know a Mom, or whether you just want to waste 10 seconds of the next 12 days, this list is for you!

Mommy McBlog’s 12 Days of Giftmas is just like Oprah’s favorite things, except I’m not Oprah and the studio audience won’t get any gifts (sorry, but I haven’t made enough millions from this blog yet).

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DAY TWELVE  –  Diapers & Wipes

Going to a shower and not sure what to buy? Go with diapers and wipes! They are the LBD (little black dress) of the infant world. Practical, necessary and always in demand!
Still not convinced?  Still contemplating buying your Mom-to-be friend a little ducky outfit?  Think about this… have you ever heard a Mom say, “My baby never even wore all of the diapers in their closet”?  Heck no!  When it comes to a nursery, diapers are a hotter commodity than a Furbie on Black Friday in 1998.
Now that you’re convinced diapers are the way to go, check out the Pampers with the Wetness Indicator.  They are my favorite and I’m pretty sure Makenzie thinks it’s cool when she can make her diapers change from yellow to blue. Click here to buy them today.

We Love these Pampers in the McGee house!

PS The bonus part of this gift is that you don’t even need to wrap these. Stick a bow on the box, and you can head right over to that baby shower!

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DAY ELEVEN – Notecards and stamps

Looking for another practical gift for a Mom-to-be?  Give her some cute note cards and a book or two of stamps.  I’m pretty sure every Mom in the world has “Write Thank You notes” as an item on her To Do list (especially after the shower).  And in the rare case that this new Mom has time to find the gift list, then write the note, then address the note there is a strong likelihood she won’t have a stamp.  Yep, been there, done that!  And when this new Mama is tired, hormonal and unable to mail an already-late thank you note, there is a likelihood that a tear-filled meltdown will ensue.  Again, been there, done that.

So, help a mama out and do her the favor of saving her from a meltdown (and actually accomplishing an item on her To Do list).   I promise she will thank you!  If you don’t believe me, check your mailbox…. you’ll have the note in there to prove it)!

Thank you for being a friend, travel down the road and back again. Your heart is true your a pal and a confidant.

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DAY TEN – Fisher Price Rock N Play Soother

I picked this item based on my daughter’s love of her bed!   Lately she’s been sleeping like a champ (hallelujah!!) and I somewhat attribute it to the Rock N Play Soother.

Some other fabulous points about this product:

• During the first nights home from the hospital it can sit right next to Mom’s bed for midnight feedings (I was easily able to toss cookies to Makenzie from the comfort of my bed – babies eat those right?)
• It folds up easily for trips to grandparents (please remove baby first before folding & packing)
• Very lightweight to move with one hand while holding the babe in the other hand (I bring it in the bathroom while I shower, I bring it in the family room while I’m downstairs and I bring it to the bar while I’m taking advantage of happy hour specials )
• It’s adorable!  I don’t know of any cribs that have bunny ears on it.

If they sold an adult version of this, I’d be sleeping in it right now instead of blogging, but they haven’t made one yet.  However, you can find a Rock N Play soother for your little one at Target of Babies R Us!  Sweet Dreams to your baby, and Cheers to you (it’s 5 o’clock somewhere)

A baby’s version of a Simmons Beautyrest

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DAY NINE – Leg warmers and headbands

If you’ve ever seen adorable chubby baby thighs you know why I love them, and Makenzie’s are definitely the cutest little baby legs I’ve ever seen.  They melt my heart!  When I put her in pants, they are covered up so I love dressing Makenzie in leg warmers.  She stays warm and I get to peek at her cutie thighs all day.  Win, win!  We buy ours at www.babylegs.com and if you like them on Facebook can take advantage of their great promotions (perfect for stocking stuffers)!

Purple ruffle leg warmers with a peek of chubby baby thigh 🙂

If you’ve met my daughter or visited our blog, you’ll know that we love headbands just as much as leg warmers!  They add the perfect touch to her outfits and we have fun getting her dressed every morning when she has matching accessories.    Amazon offers tons of headbands and hair accessories, or you can buy them at pretty much any baby store.   Enjoy!

I think she has a future in headband modeling

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DAY EIGHT – Smartphone

Smartphones for smartmamas!  You might not be able to add this item to your Babies R Us registry but it’s a must have.   I’m not sure I would have survived being a Mom so far without my Samsung Galaxy S3.

Thanks to the contraction app we knew when we needed to go to the hospital.

Thanks to the Facebook app, we introduced Makenzie to the world.

Thanks to the breastfeeding app, Makenzie gets fed.

Thanks to the camera, we’ve been able to document every single day of our daughter’s life.

See where I’m going with this?   If I didn’t have a smartphone I would have delivered our daughter in the backseat of a cab… she would be hungry and undocumented… and you would all still think I was pregnant.

So before you pop out that babe, pop into your cell phone store and pick up a smartphone.

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DAY SEVEN – PickyStickys!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these!   It’s such a fun way for a new Mom-to-be to watch their little one grow and change each month.  Rather than ramble on about these, check them out yourself 

Guess who LOVES their monthly photo shoot?!?

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DAY SIX – The EASY Method

Number #6 is not something to be wrapped up under the tree, it is a gift of knowledge.

When Makenzie was first born I remember feeling overwhelmed at the uncertainty of each day.  I was always scared to leave her side for more than 5 because I had no clue what was next on her baby clipboard of fun (yes, I do love Danny Tanner still).   As a type-A person I felt I needed some type of loose schedule to better anticipate her needs.  After some quick google searches I found the EASY method, and we’ve used it ever since.  Here it is… learn it, love it, tattoo it on your arm!   It made our lives much EASY-ier now that we know it and I hope it can do the same for you.

E – Eat.  Yum yum, num num, oink oink, chowing down, you get the picture… just feed that babe!

A – Activity.  Bust out the playmat, sing songs, give that baby a bath, play Charades, twirl a baton, sing Karaoke, etc. etc. etc.  The goal is to keep the baby stimulated and happy.  This can go on for 15 minutes to 2 hours depending the age of the baby.

S – Sleep.  Naptime already??  Hell yeah!  No explanation needed for this one, time for the little one to close those eyes.

Y – You time.  Yes, this is true.  There is time for You!   Don’t believe me??  Say it with me… time for Y-O-U.   Just don’t spend too much time processing this because your little one might be ready to wake up already.  Take a few minutes to nap, shower, blog, whatever makes your happy!

Lather, rinse, repeat!

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DAY FIVE – A Little Bling goes a Long Way!

Need a sentimental gift for a new Mom or soon-to-be Mom this holiday season?  Go with a bracelet or necklace with the baby’s initial and a stone or charm!  My sister got me a beautiful “M” necklace with a little pink stone in honor of my favorite girl.  It’s a great way to treat Mom to something nice and meaningful (major bonus —  she doesn’t have to lose the baby weight to enjoy it, yeah!)

Check out this Fabulous etsy vendor to customize your gift today!

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DAY FOUR – Photo Shoot Gift Certificate

Pictures of our sweet baby girl just a few days old… priceless!!  This is a GREAT gift to give to a new Mom.   All we had to do was to call the photographer, have the babe ready for photos, and we ended up with beautiful shots of our little girl.  See below if you don’t believe me (PS  I’ve heard that if you fail to have the baby calm when the photographer shows up, the pictures still end up good)

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DAY THREE – Nipple Shields

Ah, what’s Christmas without your blogger friend bringing up an awkward topic like this?!?  Yes, nipple shields made the #3 Mommy McBlog Giftmas spot.  Curious about why these made the list?  First, imagine the tackling that takes place in the NFL… now imagine the tackling that takes place in the NFL if the players did NOT wear helmets.  Ouch!   Do you see where I’m going with this?  Nipple shields might not be the most glamorous gift, but the breastfeeding recipient of this fine gift will thank you!

The best 9.99 you’ll ever spend (or spend on a stocking stuffer for a friend you love)

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DAY TWO – The Five “S’s”

We. LOVE. These!   They helped us survive the first few weeks as parents.  Not familiar, here is the overview…

Dr. Karp’s Five “S’s” For Calming A Fussy Baby – As he explains All babies are born with an automatic ‘off’ switch for their crying called the calming reflex and using these 5 S’s can help turn on the calming reflex

 Swaddling

Side/stomach position

Swinging

Shushing

Sucking

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DAY ONE – Momfidence

 “Momfidence” AKA  Mom confidence!!

Think about the “Mother Knows Best” phrase.   It seems great until you become the Mother.  I think back to October — suddenly I was holding a crying Makenzie in the wee hours of the night and thinking, Why the heck can’t I calm her down?, Who authorized ME to take care of her? and Where is this kid’s Mother??

It’s not that hard to go without sleep, and it’s easy to change diapers and love a baby forever, but it is almosr impossible to ALWAYS know the right thing to do.  I felt terrified the first time we took Kenzie out in public because I was worried she would have a meltdown and I’d be left clueless of how to calm her down.  I could just imagine all the angry shoppers whispering to each other “Can you believe that mother doesn’t know how to calm down her child?”  “What kind of mother is she?”.  Yikes, what a terrifying thought!!  I still sweat profusely in large groups or in quiet places for that same reason.  And I’m sure this feeling continues – did we baby proof the house enough?, did I give her the right advice about that boy?, did I prepare her enough for college?…

So for this Christmas, find that special Mom in your life and give her a hug, give her a pat on the back, or give her some supportive words!  It will be WAY more appreciated than you’ll ever know!  Momfidence is indeed the gift that keeps on giving.  One size fits all, gift reciepts are not needed, and you can even skip the fancy wrapping!  🙂

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