Today’s moment of spontaneous crying brought to you by Baby Gap.

Most of Sophie’s clothes are new, and hanging in the closet because the 3 mo old sizes are enormous on her, even at 9 lbs. I’ve been really fortunate to get a bunch of second hand stuff from friends and folks from church, some of it barely or never worn. I know some people are weird about their kids wearing hand-me-downs, but why? Seeing that they spend about five minutes in the stuff before it’s too small, it seems to make a lot of sense to me.


Someone gave her this onesie from Baby Gap, and even though it’s something I would never choose, I must say it looks pretty darn cute on her. Even with the floral motif and little ruffles on the trim.

I held her this morning, all cute and content in her preppy baby onesie and thought of how wonderful it is for her to be at this stage when babies are equal. It doesn’t matter what social class they’re born into, whether their parents are millionaires or on welfare. Put two babies next to each other and there’s no difference. Carry your baby into the mall and there’s no other one month old infant poking fun at her hairstyle or hand me down clothes. Babies don’t care if other babies are riding in a $50 or a $500 stroller.

Her only cares are whether her diaper is wet or if she’s hungry. Sometimes I wish she’d never grow out of this, knowing that one day she’ll come home from school crying because another girl made fun of her for all of the stupid reasons kids make fun of other kids.

*sniff*

But in other news, I thought I’d mention some of the things I’ve found indispensable during this first month of being a mom. And no, they’re not baby booties or wipe warmers.

1. Footstool – My cousin Laura gave me a small wooden footstool she used when nursing. Until this point, I’d been nursing Sophia in the bedroom, sitting on the bed. This isn’t a bad setup, but I was starting to go a little bedroom stir crazy. Now I feed her out in the living room on the couch where I have access to bad TV, the stereo, and sunlight. The footstool is even great when I’m just sitting on the couch typing on my computer, due to my freakishly short legs and feet that don’t touch the ground.
2. Napper – Our pack and play came with a “newborn napper,” which I thought was pretty useless at first. One day I decided to lay Sophia in it in a moment of genius and it’s been indispensable since. She’s still at the stage where she’s not rolling around, so aside from some serious limb flailing, she stays put. Some days this is the only thing she’ll sleep in. I’m pretty sure our crib has some special ability to wake any sleeping baby the moment their head hits the mattress. I know she won’t be able to lie in this forever, but right now it’s been a sanity saver. BTW, that’s what she’s lying in (photo).
3. Boppy pillow – Awesome for nursing and just holding her on my lap. I actually also used this for sleeping when I was swollen like a balloon during those first weeks postpartum. I was able to contort myself in such a way where the pillow supported my arm and took some pressure off my wrist.
4. Washcloths – But they’re good for more than giving baby baths. I received about a hundred of these at my shower and figured I’d never use all of them. I find that if I tuck one in place while I’m nursing, they catch the overspill that inevitably happens when she’s eating.
5. Hug-a-bub carrier – I strap this on when I need to take Sophie outside to walk the dogs or just do things around the house. The first time I strapped this on I could barely tie the knot to close it, due to the fact that during the first week home I only weighed 3 lbs less than before I delivered (thank you, water retention). At five weeks post partum I’m down 20 lbs, and it fits much better now.
6. Bottle drying rack – I never knew how great these were until I had a pile of bottles and breast pump parts and no where to dry them.
7. Breast pump – Thank god for Medela. I’m pretty sure this thing has helped me avoid plugged ducts. I’ve been able to store up enough milk to start a stash in the freezer, which became very useful when my mom was in town watching her in the evenings.
8. White petrolatum – Every diaper change. No diaper rash = a very happy baby.

I’m pretty proud to say that hard liquor has not made this list. Yet.