New Motherhood: A Few Tips for Hospital and Home 

The excitement of motherhood starts well before delivery day. The moment a woman discovers she is pregnant, she begins to envision what her new baby will be like and how she will change in her new role of motherhood. Preparing during pregnancy for delivery day and bringing baby home can help make the excitement of becoming a mother far outweigh any nerves.

The Hospital Stay

Labor and delivery is a big event in a woman’s life, so adequate preparation and education will make this event a more manageable and exciting one instead of a nerve-wracking event. Taking childbirth classes is a great way to prepare and learn about options available during delivery. Learning about pain management choices and optional services will help a woman make important decisions regarding her labor. Exercising and maintaining a healthy diet throughout pregnancy will help a woman handle and recovery from delivery better.

There are a number of procedures that take place following birth that a mother should be aware of. For example, a mother can choose to have her baby’s cord blood collected and stored for umbilical cord blood banking. This blood comes from the umbilical cord and is rich in stem cells that can possibly be used in a medical treatment. After the baby is born, there are also tests and immunizations that need take place before he or she can go home. For example, hospitals will take a few drops of blood from the newborns heel before the baby goes home. This is a standard procedure to screen for different medical conditions.

Nurses are there to work with new mothers and are a great resource for a mother to learn from.

Nurses can coach new mothers on baby’s feeding, handling, and hygiene; a mother should ask as many questions as she can think of as she learns to handle her newborn and become comfortable with the idea of doing all of the caretaking without the aid of the medical staff.

Once at Home

The baby is not the only vulnerable human in the household; new mothers need time to rest and recuperate from childbirth and adjust to life’s changes. Recuperation includes a lot of sleep, good nutrition, drinking plenty of fluids, and sharing peaceful moments with her baby. Every mother hears sleep-deprived tales from other woman, but a mother should remember to grab extra sleep while baby is sleeping to help keep sleep-deprived feelings at bay.

When it comes to baby’s sleep time, allowing them to sleep alone in a safe crib without blankets and extras will help prevent SIDS. Many mothers want their baby close to them often, including snuggling during nap times; however, this can be dangerous for a newborn.

Simply having the guilt-free time to sing, rock, hum, and hold one’s very own baby is priceless and not likely to happen if there is a houseful of people. Limiting visits by friends and family to certain hours a day for the first few weeks can be helpful.

All of the above health tips can go a long way to helping a woman sail smoothly through labor and into motherhood, where life will be full of rewarding and special moments with baby!

“This article was written by Katie Moore. Katie is an active writer within the blogging community who discusses maternity, motherhood, prenatal health, childbirth and other topics within this niche.  If you have any questions or would like to connect with Katie please contact by visiting her blog, Moore From Katie or her twitter @moorekm26.”

‘the Tracey’ is custom made to order for $35 (but the one pictured here is ready to ship for $30). It is customizable and the way I made this one is with the lining fabric matching the flower fabric and the interior pocket fabric matching the main fabric. That awesome flower pin can be repositioned or removed so you can do it however you want!

The pocket on this one I made to split into two so that one side is smaller (my cell fits perfectly) and the other side is larger. There is also a magnetic clasp to hold all your junk necessities inside.

The strap fits comfortably over your shoulder and is what I consider to be the perfect length. But I guess everyone has their own preference!

‘the Tracey’ is made with a tutorial I found over on pinterest. It is a little pricey and I don’t recommend it for beginners. It is easy enough for a beginner to sew if you have the know how regarding basic sewing technique (seam allowances, turning fabrics, backstitching, etc.) There are several details that I found missing from the tutorial that would be necessary for a beginner. 

I had pinned a post from delia creates on some sweet and simple swaddling blankets and since I had just been gifted a hand me down serger that I had no idea how to use (I had no idea how to use any serger for that matter) it seemed like a perfect easy project to start with.

Can you tell Miracle picked this one?

I love flannel receiving blankets, but most of them are so tiny. These are such a great size! And I am pleased to say I mostly figured out my serger. Axel picked out some fabric for Auntie Amber’s baby too, but I forgot to take a picture of that one. I highly recommend this quick, easy and inexpensive project. They make excellent baby gifts!

I love this fabric!

I had another Pin for an embellished minky blanket from the fiCkle piCkle. Originally I was drawn to the embellished aspect of the blanket, but when it came time to add them I changed my mind. I was afraid of possible choking hazards and I didn’t want them to get in the way of coziness.

I normally would never have chosen this fabric, but I love it so much!

This is another simple project and great baby gift. Once again, I love the size and I tested the snuggle factor on my other kiddos. These blankets are fantastic. The minky can be a bit tricky to work with, but just take your time measuring and pinning and you will be fine. Also, make sure you buy the minky on sale or with a coupon or it can get pricy.

I loved the first one so much I had to make a second!

Of course I made one for my sister too. I wanted the babies to be matching so I used the same green minky. Then for a matching onesie, I cut out one of the rectangles from the flannel fabric and stitched it on. I also cut out some of the flowers from baby girls flannel and stitched it on a onesie for her. LOVE!

Possibly my new 'go-to' baby gift!

I am so thrilled at how well my custom super hero/prince/princess capes have been selling. They are so much fun to make and I just love putting fun fabrics together. Seriously, every time I finish a cape it makes me smile. I tried to narrow down the amount of pictures I put in this post, but it was super hard. If you want to see even more that I have finished recently you can check out my album by clicking here. And if you want more info on ordering you can send me a message or see my etsy listing.

My amazing husband took and edited all these photos (and more). He is so fantastic. Sometimes I get a little annoyed because I dreamed for so long of having a nice camera, and Andrew got me one for Christmas but he is so much better at using it than I am! Oh well, at least someone knows how… Learning is on my to-do list.

Evangeline has always been a little obsessed with my belly. Now that it has grown I think that is all she sees when she looks up at me. She always says, “I like your belly” and then kisses it. Or when she gets tired she will cry, “Belly, belly, belly” and want to rub her hand or cheek on my stomach. It gets a little overwhelming for me but Andrew keeps telling me I’ll miss it when she grows out of it. We’ll see.

As a huge deviled eggs fan and a huge avocado fan these Avocado Deviled Eggs were something I just couldn’t pass up.

Avocado Deviled Eggs (and photo) from Eating Well... Living Thin~er

No tips or adjustments here. Just yumminess. Andrew and I chowed them down and the kids liked them too. We ran out of avocado so then I made some deviled eggs by simply mixing the yolks with Laughing Cow cheese and the kids chowed those too.

The other pinspired recipe I tried recently came from the need to make sure Andrew had something to eat at our church pot luck. The theme was “hot-dish competition” and so I figured it wouldn’t be a very South Beach Diet friendly meal. I searched and found Ham and Cauliflower Casserole au Gratin.

Ham and Cauliflower Casserole au Gratin (and photo) from Kalyn's Kitchen

I love Kalyn’s Kitchen and I have been super impressed with almost every recipe I have found over there! I was so nervous about how the casserole would go over, but my husband and I loved it as did the others that I heard who tried it so I will definitely be making this one again.

I was in charge of desserts for Easter and I thought this recipe for Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes would go over well with the kids.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes (and photo) from BS in the Kitchen

I didn’t have a ton of time and my big cupcake pan is in storage. So instead of doing them 6 at a time I decided to just make it into a cake. I did an eight inch double layer and it was delicious! The frosting calls for a lot of vanilla extract, but I don’t mind (although Sarah, I owe you a new bottle!).

A couple tips/ adjustments I made… I didn’t use the butter flavoring in the frosting. There is already a ton of butter in the recipe and I didn’t have any nor have I ever so I didn’t want to make the purchase for the one teaspoon called for. I also found the frosting to be super thick so in the end I added some regular milk. I think if I make this again I may try and just use milk instead of opening up a whole can of condensed milk just for this. And make sure you get the cereal crumbs super tiny or you will end up with some soggy cereal chunks in your frosting that are a little questionable when you bite one.

I decided that this would be the perfect dessert or side for a brunch and I brought the leftovers to our Easter breakfast at church and they cleaned it up. Delicious!

The other dessert I baked was this Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight. Oh. My. Goodness.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight (and photo) from Taste of Home

I did not have any leftovers of this one. It was so delicious. Andrew has been pretty strict about no sugar lately, but he has requested that I make this again in a couple weeks so that he can have some. I didn’t put nuts on top (I did chocolate powder instead) just because I wasn’t sure if everyone would like the nuts. I think they would be delicious though. The only tip I have is to make sure you have time to chill it properly so it doesn’t get too runny. Oh, and I did read in the reviews to take caution not to over-bake the cookie because it will get too hard to cut. I almost was afraid it was going to be too doughy but I’m so glad I took their advice. Not only was it easier to cut, but I think the softer cookie made the overall dessert better.

What have you been baking lately? I’m always up for some great recipes!