Mom-Saver Mondays: Swaddles

(A day late and a dollar short, sorry.)

It's clear to me that Mother Nature made a grave error: babies should not be born with arms.

They can't control them. They're allllllll over the place. My baby is 2 months old today, and still punches me in the face (inadvertently . . . I hope) on a daily basis.

Arms clearly should grow in later.

This is never more obvious than at night, when your sweetly sleeping (ha!) angel suddenly flails his arms and whaps himself in the face.

That's a pretty crappy wake up call.

And if you don't do something about, he's going to keep whapping himself in the face, on and off, throughout the entire night.

That means a terrible night's sleep for you, and a pretty crappy one for him too.

Enter, the swaddle.

Just wrap your baby up like a burrito, pinning his flailing arms at his sides, and he'll sleep soundly.

If you've ever tried to swaddle your baby with a blanket yourself, you know how tricky it is. Like putting an octopus in a pullover. And even if you manage to get baby wrapped up snugly, he still finds a way to wiggle a hand out and scratch himself awake.

These things are the answer:

Summer Infant SwaddleMe

Have you ever seen a baby look more like a burrito? These things have velcro all over the place to make swaddling easy and permanent. Well, at least until you're ready to release the Kraken. My baby is napping in one as we speak--he's wiggling and squirming all over the place, but his arms are trapped and he's yet to smack himself awake. Thank God. 

Go buy a few of these right away. They say arm control doesn't develop until 3-4 months. That's a lot of lost sleep.

Note: I have not been compensated in any way for this review. I have not been given a free product, as lovely as that would be. In the future, should you want to offer me things for free to review, go for it. For now, anything I review was paid for out of my own pocket, and I offer the review out of the goodness of my heart.

 

Mom-saver Mondays: Clinique All About Eyes Serum

Can I tell you for the 837th time that new moms--or any moms, really--don't get a lot of sleep? 

And you know who else doesn't always sleep well? Pregnant ladies.

Aside from frequently waking up bathed in a cold sweat, having a complete panic attack about impending parenthood, you're also uncomfortable, and possibly in pain. And have to pee. 

All together, this leads to a lot of interrupted sleep. You might be in bed for 8 hours, but if you're waking up every time you roll over, the proportion of that time spent sleeping is far less.

If you're a new mom, you might get anywhere from 6-12 weeks to spend at home with your newborn, free to look like hell. If you're still pregnant or have already rejoined the workforce, though, you generally have to leave the house every single day with your shirt tucked in, hair brushed and face as un-terrifying as possible.

This stuff is a lifesaver.

(Or a mom-saver, as I've noted in the post title.)

Clinique All About Eyes Serum

De-puffing Eye Massage

The first thing to love is that silver roller ball. It's cooling, soothing that puffy feeling that makes you want to wander about with your eyes closed for all eternity.

(Probably more so if you, say, chill it in the fridge for a few minutes, rather than leaving it in the bathroom while your husband takes a year-long shower, creating enough steam to power a small boat.)

It instantly makes you feel more human.

Add to that the effects of the serum itself, which, in a matter of minutes, de-puffs and brightens your entire eye area, and you'll soon find you can't live without it.

At $28, it's no bargain, but I recommend you work it into your budget. 

(I'll also add that I've been using my current tube almost every day since late November, and it's still nearly full, so the quantity of product you receive for that price is quite fair.)

Try it and you may never hear those 3 horrific little words again:

"You look tired."

Note: I have not been compensated in any way for this review. I have not been given a free product, as lovely as that would be. In the future, should you want to offer me things for free to review, go for it. For now, anything I review was paid for out of my own pocket, and I offer the review out of the goodness of my heart.