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Preparing for a new baby with meals, support, and CBR.

April 16, 2018 by Rachel 23 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links

 

 

Whether it’s your first baby or your 7th baby, adding a new child into your family can be stressful. There are a million things to consider, before, during, and after welcoming your new bundle of joy.

When we decided to try for baby number three, we knew that our family dynamic would forever change. There are certain things that would be nearly impossible to do with three young children — like our occasional dining out at restaurants with the kids. We knew we would have to be a takeout family, at least until all three children get a bit older.

But there are a host of other things that a person thinks about. Namely, how to properly prepare for bringing home a new baby.

And as a seasoned mom (wow, that’s still weird to say), I thought I’d share the list of things I’m doing to prepare for our new family member this time around.

1. Prepare your freezer with meals.

I made this mistake before baby number 2 — I failed to properly prep with freezer meals — and I felt it in the weeks after. This time around I’m stocking up my freezer with ready-to-bake casseroles and thaw-and-eat sandwiches that will make those first couple of weeks with a new baby run a bit more smoothly.

We’re currently 9 weeks out and I’m in full-on meal prep mode. Freezer space has been made and I’m using Pinterest to search for meals that will make a transition from 2 to 3 kids easy (just kidding – it won’t be easy — but it will be easier-ish?).

2. Consider cord blood banking. 

As a first time mom, I was clueless about the benefits of cord blood banking and the peace of mind that comes with it. I learned that cord blood banking and Cord Blood Registry (CBR) have been around for over 20 years. Today, many conditions may be treatable with cord blood as a part of a stem cell transplant, including various cancers and blood, immune and metabolic disorders.* And a lot of research is being conducted to explore potential uses in the future. Most recently, a CBR funded study in partnership with researchers at Sutter Medical Center showed that a child’s own cord blood is even safe for children with autism! If you’re interested in learning more about the study and its findings click here and watch this video.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsXeBScRCSs&]
It’s advancements with trials like these that have made me confident in deciding that we will be using CBR once baby number three arrives. After realizing how potentially life-saving preserving your child’s newborn  stem cells can be, it was really a no-brainer — Especially when I understood that other family members could potentially be use this resource.

After learning about the awesome potential in newborn stem cells, we have finally started the process of getting set-up with CBR (we’re only 3 months out from delivery, y’all!). If you’re interested in doing the same you just visit cordblood.com/enroll or call 888-240-1996 and CBR will ship you a collection kit. Be sure to take the kit with you to the hospital on your big day and then you call a medical courier after your baby is born. That’s it! Easy peasy!

The video also helps explain the process.

Cord blood: studying a potential treatment for children with autism

#AutismAwarenessMonth A prominent neurologist and autism researcher from Sutter Medical Center, recently published results from a CBR-funded clinical trial studying cord blood as a potential treatment for autism. Watch as Dr. Michael Chez discusses the trial and learn how CBR clients are helping to advance newborn stem cell science!

Posted by Cord Blood Registry on Wednesday, April 11, 2018

 

 

3. Have a pre-set support group you can reach out to when you need them. 

Know who you’ll call if you need someone to run to the store for you; know who you can call with a question about nursing; know who you can call to take your other kid(s) for an hour or two; know who you can call to help you clean your house; and, most importantly, check with them because they will assure you that you can use them.

One of the things new moms (and seasoned moms) often forget is that it truly does take a village. And any mom knows this. If they offer you help, they mean it. I promise. So take them up on it because trying to prove you can ‘do it all’ will only leave you to suffer.

4. Load your Netflix queue!

I remember how naive I was before my first child was born 5.5 years ago. I didn’t fully understand how many hours I would spend half-awake in a 24-hour period. But I learned quickly that life with a newborn operates in a haze. And you will keep the TV on half-watching, half-feeding a tiny human, for far more hours than you can fully grasp.

I watched everything those first few months — Gossip Girl, Dexter, you name it. I went from shows I’d never even cared to watch to rewatching series I’d already finished. So for our second baby I spent a couple of hours just loading up my queue with things I really wanted to watch, to things I’d be content watching half asleep.

And I’m doing that again this time around. It’s inevitable that there will be a lot of late nights. And my good friend Netflix will be there through all of those late night feedings.

5. Grace.

Our third child is months away and I’m already prepared with grace. Grace in the sense that I’ll be giving it to myself by the boatload. I want all new mothers to understand that even though giving ourselves grace is one of the hardest things to do, it’s also one of the most important.

Having babies makes us realize, quickly, how little we truly have control of. I know that I will struggle with adjusting to life after giving birth again. And I know that the only way to recover and heal is by giving myself plenty of grace.

Learn more about CBR and cord blood banking by visiting here.

 

 

*See source here.

Filed Under: #MomLife, babies, busy mom, children, health, labor and delivery, mental health, mommyhood, Oh baby!, parenthood, postpartum, pregnancy, sponsor, tips + tricks, wellness Tagged With: #MomLife, babies, being a mom, busy mom, children, health, mental health, mommyhood, motherhood, oh baby, parenthood, postpartum, pregnancy, sponsor, tips + tricks, wellness

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mary Leigh

    April 16, 2018 at 10:08 pm

    These are all such great tips! I’ve heard so much about CBR – I need to take a look at it more in depth. Thanks for sharing such helpful info!

    Reply
  2. Kim S

    April 16, 2018 at 10:33 pm

    Great info, as we’re preparing for baby #3! I’ll make sure to look into doing all of these things!!

    Reply
  3. Britney Kaufman

    April 16, 2018 at 10:36 pm

    The advancements for CBR sound so awesome! Love the baby pictures too.

    Reply
  4. brittany ashmore

    April 16, 2018 at 10:43 pm

    GRACE IS HUGE! Great list!!! Cord blood storage is so amazing!

    Reply
  5. Veronika

    April 17, 2018 at 2:45 am

    I think blood banking is far most important. I wish my parents had done that for me.
    Veronika
    https://brunettefromwallstreet.com

    Reply
  6. Helen Little

    April 17, 2018 at 6:45 am

    I love your suggestions for preparing for a new baby! There is so much we can do before that little bundle arrives. I particularly like the batch cooking idea. I did that with my son and it was so handy!

    Reply
  7. candy

    April 17, 2018 at 11:04 am

    I never did any of these things but times were different when we were having our children. We always included the older children in the whole pregnancy and they were our big helpers with each baby. All sounds good.

    Reply
  8. Cathy

    April 17, 2018 at 12:44 pm

    These are great tips! I will definitely pass these along to my momma-to-be friend! 🙂

    Reply
  9. Theresa Bailey

    April 17, 2018 at 2:18 pm

    I honestly didn’t know about CBR and blood banking! Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  10. Aly Funk

    April 17, 2018 at 2:33 pm

    I’m going to have to save this post when it gets closet to the arrival of our twins in September. I’m already stressed! Lol

    Reply
  11. Katie

    April 17, 2018 at 3:06 pm

    Thank you for educating on CBR! It’s such a powerful tool. And great tips for preparing for a new baby. New moms need all the tips they can get!

    Reply
  12. jaclyn

    April 17, 2018 at 4:54 pm

    I didn’t know about Cord Banking until my third child. I wish I would have known sooner. So important.

    Reply
  13. Brittany

    April 17, 2018 at 10:24 pm

    I think it is easy to underestimate the importance of freezer meals, but seriously it is a game changer!!

    Reply
  14. Heather Gilbert

    April 18, 2018 at 12:32 am

    Great tips for future moms!

    Reply
  15. Harmony, Momma To Go

    April 18, 2018 at 9:01 am

    I def did all of this (except cord blood) for bothmy pregnancies. This post is making me nostalgic for this season of life – my oldest is now 9!

    Reply
  16. Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine

    April 18, 2018 at 10:31 am

    Lots of things to prepare for I bet!

    Reply
  17. Brandi Michel

    April 18, 2018 at 11:54 am

    It’s funny how you mention loading up your Netflix queue. The only thing was, I wasn’t watching them in the daytime. I had 2 other kids. I was watching my shows at 2:00, 3:00, or 4:00 in the morning when I was feeding the baby to keep from falling asleep! Lol

    Reply
  18. Paula @ I'm Busy Being Awesome

    April 18, 2018 at 12:58 pm

    These are some great tips, freezing meals will defintely help you, you are so close.

    Reply
  19. Emily

    April 18, 2018 at 3:02 pm

    These are such great tips!!! And what a cutie!!

    Reply
  20. Shannon Peterson

    April 18, 2018 at 8:07 pm

    We’ve definitely been looking into this for our next baby, too!

    Reply
  21. Samantha Leigh Kresz

    April 19, 2018 at 7:49 pm

    Very interesting article. I haven’t heard much of CBR. I will pass these tips for my friends that are mamas-to-be.

    Reply
  22. Easter Babe

    April 20, 2018 at 6:43 pm

    These are some great tips. I don’t think I’ve heard of CBR. It definitely sounds very interesting.

    Reply
  23. Courtney Byers

    April 20, 2018 at 7:32 pm

    What great advice. We hope to start a family within 2 years, so I am glad I found your blog. I think the meal ideas is perfect and I never knew about CBR. It sounds like a good idea.

    Reply

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