Dorrie Barbanel is a local Jersey City Behavior Analyst and Child Development Specialist, and a new mom! Dorrie opens up about where her professional and personal worlds collide and what products have been helpful from her professional and personal perspective.
When professional and personal worlds collide…
I had pretty much been dreaming about motherhood since I was old enough to know that I had a mother. I literally studied it, and made child rearing and parenting my job. I watched and coached dozens of families doing it. So when I was actually going to have my own baby, I was beyond excited and ready to NERD OUT! I did hours and hours of research to understand what products would actually be beneficial to my child, myself and my family.
While Pregnant:
When I was pregnant, I wanted to figure out as much as I could about my daily life with my future baby. I knew once she arrived I would have my hands full, so I ended up researching and buying a lot in advance. One of the things I’m really glad I did, was design my baby’s nursery. It was such a relief to have this done before the baby came! When we got to bring her (and all of the gifts she still continues to accumulate!) home, I knew where everything belonged, where to find everything, and it helped keep my family sane during those early parenthood days. Some of my most treasured shower gifts I use every day in my daughter’s nursery. When you bring your baby home, you’re going to want to have a safe and comfortable place for them to sleep, dedicated areas to put their teeny tiny clothes, a changing station, and ORGANIZED storage! You will want to know where those extra wipes are as soon as your baby has a blow out, not mid change. When your kiddo might have a temperature, you will want to know exactly where that baby thermometer is and when your partner is drenched in spit up you will want to be able to get them a burp cloth pronto.
These bins are super cute and can store future clothes, toys, extra diapers and wipes, or anything you want to hide in plain sight. They will also provide great learning opportunities as your kiddo grows. You can use them to work on identifying colors, refine fine motor skills and sensory exploration as your child matures and becomes interested in the pom poms:
https://www.hazelbaby.com/pehr-designs-petit-pehr-storage.html
Newborn:
If your newborn baby is anything like mine, they will look like a cross between a keebler elf and an alien, be hungry but refuse to eat, and want constant snuggles! While it’s not always intuitive, it is great to start working on tummy time as early as the first week of life. Research shows that the earlier babies begin engaging in tummy time, the more they like it as they grow! Tummy time increases your child’s strength, helps them hold their head up, and prevents flat head syndrome. We had a dedicated tummy time mat in our tiny apartment for our tiny baby, and she became a tummy time expert!
A comfortable, washable matt that prevents your munchkin from bumping their face on the floor will be a great place to engage in tummy time.
For example: https://www.hazelbaby.com/nook-sleep-systems-nook-lily-pad.html
1 Month:
Your one-month-old will likely be an eating, pooping, sleeping machine! When our daughter was one month old, she loved cuddles, tummy time and music, but she HATED getting dressed! Specifically, she did not like clothing to go over her head. This was a frequent problem, because she had so many diaper blow-outs, she required a lot of costume changes! It was also chilly when she was born, and she did not like the cold. Getting clothes that did not have to go over her head and could be closed quickly made her life, and therefore our lives, SO much better. When she was happy with the process, she posed for us as Supergirl ☺
A magnetic onesie is a great option to get your baby dressed quickly and comfortably, and a kimono bodysuit is a snuggly, comfortable way to dress your baby without so much as having to touch their little heads:
https://www.hazelbaby.com/lovedbaby-kimono-bodysuit.html
2 Months:
Your two-month-old will be a more inquisitive, visual cuddle bug. But, they won’t be able to see very much or very far—mostly they will be able to perceive black and white, and maybe some other very bold colors. You can help find fun and stimulating things for your baby to engage with visually by providing them with black and white images. You can find books, toys, and textiles that are especially made for this purpose. We got these cards as a gift and our baby was fascinated by them for months! Now we use them for labeling practice.
https://www.hazelbaby.com/wee-gallery-wee-gallery-art-cards-for-baby.html
Did you find this post helpful? Check out our post Top Products for Infants Ages 3-6 Months