Parents.com has released a list on their website of gear you can afford, when you can buy used, etc.

 Sure, you knew having a baby was going to cause some big-time budget re-jiggering. (So long, Stuart Weitzman.) But as any preggo can attest, outfitting the nursery in an US Weekly-worthy Hollywood Mama style can cause some serious sticker shock these days. So we scoured stores for cheap-yet-chic versions of some of the hottest baby gear out there. Check out these fashionable look-alikes.

 Check out their website to see more!

This weekend we decided to start some new Christmas traditions. We put up our tree, baked cookies, danced and sang like holiday fools…we had a wonderful time. Woke up Saturday morning and decided that it was time for the Christmas tree, so we fought with the box to get it out of the garage. The box almost won I tripped over the recycling bin. Finally we got it into the house, and started the daunting task of putting it up and “fluffing” it out.

Selecting a doctor for your baby is a very important and stressful task. I, myself, have taken my daughter to two different clinics, and she has seen five different doctors. So far we’re sticking with lucky number five. The first doctor we saw was my own pediatrician when I was growing up, so I wanted to see him. Not a good idea…not only was it awkward to admit faults to him, he didn’t work much with babies anymore. So we moved onto the next doctor….who conveniently went on maternity leave, leaving us with a substitute every time we came in.

A great classic, redone healthier. Very popular with my family and some clients.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs lean ground all natural turkey

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 28 oz cans fire roasted crushed tomatoes

1 8 oz can tomato paste

1 (15 oz) can black beans

1 (15 oz) can pinto beans

1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans

2 Tbsp Chili seasoning

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

Salt to taste

Sometimes pizza is just the only option…but you can make it healthier! We have all had those days when we can’t even fathom cooking a big meal, cleaning up, and doing the dishes afterwards. Pizza and other fast food seem to be the easiest options. If you have to order pizza, don’t feel guilty, just pick the pizza carefully. Avoid things like extra cheese, processed meats, olives, white sauce, and add things like: peppers, chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms…you get the idea!

When a baby is born, a mother is born, a father is born, and a grandmother is born. Some first time grandmas can be an added stress, constantly telling you what to do, telling you how she did it when you were little and you’re still around. This could sound familiar “well when you were a baby we started feeding you cereal at 2 weeks, and you made it didn’t you?”

We have all heard of a birth plan, but a postpartum plan is just as important. The birth of your baby lasts only hours, but the postpartum period lasts for weeks. Most people think of it as a 6 week recovery period, you’ll be back to yourself once you get to your 6 week check-up right? Think again, being a mom is hard work. Most babies aren’t sleeping through the night at 6 weeks either. How to you get the most out of your 6 weeks? You create a postpartum plan before baby comes, make all the decisions about food, cleaning, sibling care before you need it.

Cloth or disposable diapers, which to choose? Not that you don’t already have enough decisions to make, now you need to decide what to put on your baby’s bottom. They are definite positives and downfalls of both. The landfills are filling up, but cloth is a big investment in the beginning.

I’m in control of my life-I always have been……. The baby’s crying again just when I thought I had an hour to myself, I’m hungry, I’m tired of changing diapers, I haven’t talked to my friends in days, I collapse in an unmade bed at the end of the day…did I even say goodnight to my husband? Will I ever be able to gain control again?

There’s nothing more beautiful than a sleeping baby. Let’s face it-there are no hard-fast rules about new born babies and sleeping. Are there? I don’t want to ask my mother. I want to hear it from parents going through it right now.