So we’ve had to baby-proof all of the house because this baby is just wanting to explore everything. His hand automatically goes into all the outlets, he wants to open up every drawer and every door. We’ve been letting him explore but we have to make sure we watch him 24/7 because he gets into everything. What we did with baby proved everything, we put Clips on all the drawers and baby gates up so he can’t get into the kitchen. He now knows how to open up doors so we need to make sure the top lock is always locked so he can’t walk outside. He loves going outside, that’s really his only happy place. No matter how upset he is it turns off right when we go outside. He now loves to walk outside on his own and just discover everything. We have been giving him free range to do things, but enforcing rules through sign language, Arabic and English. For the most part he’s listening , he definitely tries to ignore sometimes. It’s great to be protective , but you can’t keep your baby in a box. Let them be babies , they’re going to bonk their head every once in awhile. When you let them discover, they learn to not do certain things and learn how to do things on their own. In the beginning we were pretty rigid, But as time went on we felt more comfortable with him running around. Your baby will show you his skills as time goes on, it’s been fun to see him in his element. Even something as simple as brushing his teeth. Now when I say it in Arabic and English he knows to go to the bathroom and point at the counter. He’s learning how to brush his teeth and what that means. I show him how to do it and now he’s great at it and looks forward to brushing his teeth in the morning and at night. Moral of the story, let your baby grow up , I know that’s hard to hear because you want them to stay small for a long time. But just think about how advanced they will be because you started early!

So,I’m not sure if I mentioned that I am middle eastern and my husband is black. My goal was to make sure my baby was bilingual as he was growing up. What I’ve been doing is saying something in English and repeating an Arabic or vice versa. It’s just been a lot of repetition and he seems to be doing very well with understanding both. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to teach your child to be bilingual, I looked a lot of things up on Google and they gave me a lot of suggestions but I decided to just use a very simple method of just talking to him and then repeating to him in English. Another big source that I use is going on YouTube and playing Arabic songs like the ABCs, colors and numbers. I keep replaying them and he’s starting to really recognize them and pay attention when I play them. I’ve also been using flashcards to help him learn his ABCs and 123s in both languages. He hasn’t started talking other than saying Mama and Baba , Baba means dad in Arabic. He says both words very well but he hasn’t said anything else so far, just a lot of babbling and his new thing screaming. I’ve been talking to him in Arabic and English since he was born, so I urge everyone to really try from the beginning because they listen.

We actually waited a while to give the baby solids. He didnt really get his first teeth until 10 months and he only had 2. All the other kids that I had known all had a lot more teeth already, so I was a bit nervous to introduce him to solids. We started off with the baby organics teething crackers, he really liked them and it helped him figure out how to eat. I started slowly giving him things like blueberries and blackberries which seemed very easy to eat. Then I moved to tougher things like chicken cut up, pees, black beans and sweet potatoes. I just made sure to cut them small enough so we could eat them and he loved it! Feeding solid food to your baby can def. Be intimidating and scary but you gotta be strong, they are capable of more than we think. We have tried a variety of soft foods to see what he likes and doesnt. So far only rasberries arent his thing, I think they might just be too tart. His favorite has been cut up avacado, even though it gets everywhere. I had tried the sippy cup a month before and he seemed confused so I just kept trying it and he understood what to do. He loves water and juice, so I just diluted them both together. Get creative and let your baby try new things even if you dont like them. Goodluck and have fun!

So I officially breastfed my baby 11 months and 2 weeks of his life. He actually weened himself off of me by himself. I was very sad that it wasnt up to me to stop because he chose for me. Eveytime he would try drinking milk, he would bite me and or turn his head away. He didnt want milk from me anymore, so we started the transition 2 weeks early. He would drink my milk, but only from a bottle. So, what I did was continue to pump for another 2 weeks. It was very frustrating to have to pump and not feed him from myself, just took more time for the same result. At first, I tried multiple times to get him to drink from me, for about a week straight and multiple times. Unfortunately, it wasnt working and I continued to pump for him. After, he turned a year we switched to half formula (enfamil brain Development formula) and half grass organic milk(oranic valley grass milk). We didnt want to introduce the milk on its own so soon, just in case he had an allergic reaction or digestive issues. We will continue that routine for 2 months and fully transition him to the organic milk after. So far we have had no problems at all, its actually made his bowels more regular than before. He seems to like the taste and has had no issues with an allergic reaction. Now that Im done breastfeeding and pumping, I had to research what I had to do. What worked for me was to hand pump little by little everyday so my milk ducts would not be clogged for when I breast feed again for our second baby. Its been 2 weeks and very little is coming out now, droplets at this point. My elasticity in my breasts have definitely gone down. They dont seem as full as they were, but Im hoping with my chest exercises and coconut oil routine, they will get them perky and more firm. I kept my maternity bra on all the time unless I was showering. If you do not want sagging, you need to keep it on. Your breasts will thank you later! My breasts dont seemed to have sagged because I kept it on. Your breasts get bigger in the beginning and will be heavier, which will cause them to droop more without support. Its called gravity ladies and make sure your using coconut oil all over your stomach and breasts, to keep them tight. This has been my experience, good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

A lot of people keep asking me how I got into shape so fast after the baby. I did work out my whole pregnancy, even the days I didn’t want to. I also didn’t make any excuses when it came to food during my pregnancy. Yes you’re eating for two but don’t over due it. Women tend to gain more weight than they need to because their “eating for 2”. Just know whatever you gain you will have to lose later. Eat good nutritious foods that will help your baby grow, Ice cream is not one of those things. I didnt really have cravings during the process ,so im sure that helped too. I just ate very very well and didnt overdue it on bad things. I used a lot of coconut oil and cocobutter for my skin and especially on my belly. I fortunately didnt get any stretch marks and no excess skin after but i arrtibute that to the oil and lotion used. During my pregnancy I did very lightweight, but I did lots of reps to keep on as much muscle mass that I could. Most of the workouts that I did were weight training related, I only did cardio 3 days a week for 20 minutes. So there’s really no secret , I just stayed very healthy and active. I also saw a dramatic change in my weight because of breastfeeding. I can’t seem to gain muscle mass now, I’m eating a lot too. So if you’re struggling with gaining weight, just know it’s because of breastfeeding and what type of physical genetics you have. You will get your body back, just work hard and eat well. Be patient, the gainz will come soon. There is no secret since every women is different but you can go back to normal in time.

So this is a very touchy subject for me because if you guys know me, I looovvveeee my hair!!!!! During your pregnancy your hair is full and shiny. So you still have pretty full hair for the first 3 months and then you’ll notice a dramatic change. I always heard about hair loss being something that could happen during postpartum, but never thought it could happen to me. Around 4 months I started noticing when I would brush my hair that I would have a clump of hair come out. I thought it would be temporary, but it kept happening for for about three more months. I fortunately have a lot of hair, so you couldn’t tell that I lost anything. But for women who don’t have thick hair, you need to wash your hair every other day. The supplement im taking now is called “hair, skin and nails” and started seeing a lot of baby hairs grow back. Another product I started using was Tresemme biotin shampoo and conditioner and mixing it with my curl hydration conditioner which I use on a regular basis. I also use Garnier leave in conditioner and serum on the days that I’m not washing my hair. Trust me I understand about wanting to wash your hair everyday, but I was losing so much hair that I was afraid that I would thin out too much. Prior to being pregnant, I would wash my hair every single day , I never had any problems with dryness or loss of hair. I would wake up everyday dreading brushing my hair because I knew how much I would lose, but I’m not somebody that can’t brush their hair. My hair is Curly and if I don’t brush it it looks so frizzy and crazy. Try to be as gentle as you can with your hair knowing you might lose some. It will grow back, it just takes some time.

Our little boy is growing soooo fast!! I actually got a lot of questions about this topic, many moms were afraid to incorporate solids to their baby’s milk diet. Of course we’re all new mom’s, so we’re just trying to figure it out ourselves. As my husband says “the only thing in life that’s guaranteed is change” and people hate change. So, I started off with rice cereal and breast milk, which he seemed to enjoy. I stayed on that regimen for about 2 weeks as well as his normal feedings with breast milk. Then, I incorporated avacado and sweet potato, which I baked and then Blended in the baby bullet. Definitely recommend the Baby Bullet, it comes with so many attachments and is very handy. Then moved on to apples and carrots which i softened in the Crock-Pot and then blended. I tried carrot juice,which the doctor reccomended, but his stomach wouldn’t agree with. I was sad because he really seemed to enjoy it, but kept spitting up like 30 minutes later. We also tried squash, pees, spinach, zucchini, pears and bluberries. There has been nothing he hasnt liked yet, which ive been super happy with. We tried all these things his 5th and 6th month and now have introduced the yellow part of the egg, chicken and beef. Its so funny seeing his face everytime he eats something new, he pauses for a second and then wants more. I introduced something new every 3 days to make sure he had no allergic reaction to anything, but so far we have been great. We also gave him frozen bananas in the food teether,he loves being able to try something and get the juices from it. Plus you can feel comfortable knowing that he won’t choke on it, it keeps his preoccupied while we eat dinner. I wouldnt be scared to try new things, just make sure its blended up. He or she will tell you if they dont like it or are not comfortable. You can’t go wrong giving your baby healthy food. We just have totally avoided giving him things were allergic to just incase its hereditary. He wasn’t a huge fan of carrots, but when we mixed them with chicken he liked it and had no problems. Try to feed them a couple times with something they don’t like, don’t just give up the first time. If they don’t seem to be taking a liking to that specific food, just mix it ,they’re still needing that nutrition.

So now our baby is about 3 months, starting to focus a lot more and discovering his surroundings. Technology is a catch 22 for us as new parents because there are so many tools to use, but not everyone uses them the right way. We started having the baby watch ABC’S on youtube in english and arabic! They both have bright colors and made him focus in on the tv. Our goal is to have him watch educational things and very little cartoons. He would get sooooo excited when it came on and would be content for like 30 minutes. He would watch this one first https://youtu.be/_UR-l3QI2nE. We noticed he started getting a bit more distracted ,so I’m not sure if he got bored of it , so I found a new one on youtube. It has ABCs, 123’s and so many nursery rhyme songs. This is the link I used, he loves it so much and sings along with his babbling.
https://youtu.be/hDj-VMV-TCM. It’s been really great for me to get things done while he’s learning with these videos! It’s also great for the baby’s eyes, hearing and focus. There are so many bright colors, different sounds and shapes for him to learn. With all the Arabic YouTube videos he’s learning a second language and developing his brain so much more. I would definitely recommend doing a second language , it can’t hurt to learn something that they will use in the future. We have also been reading 3 books a day with him, he loves looking at all the colors and feeling the pages. It’s a bit harder to get him to concentrate with the books, since he just wants to grab them but I know hes listening. It sometimes takes us an hour to get through three books ,so don’t get frustrated! They are learning and discovering something new. Ive also started to incorporate baby signing ,so he will be able to communicate with me better when he isnt able to speak yet or at least well. We started to do “tummy time” at a month old, we wanted to start early with his core, neck and leg development. He started rolling both ways at four months, we just helped him practice until he got it on his own. Now he is starting to sway back and forth trying to crawl, we practice with putting a couple of his toys in front of him and having him constantly reach for them. He’s starting to learn how to crawl on his own with that exercise, we put him on the floor about 3 times a day. Soon enough he’s going to be running all over the place!

This is where moms go crazy and put a whole bunch of things on their registry that really they don’t need. Of course,I was one of them and learned that you really just need the essentials, most people get you the cute stuff, not always the important stuff. I did my registry on Amazon, they send you a little welcome gift as well. It’s always nice to put cute clothes on your registry but just know that you will get those as gifts even if you don’t put them on your registry. Plus they grow out of everything so fast and dont get a chance to wear everything. Not many people know where to start with a registry, their are soooo many things u really dont need. 2 great tips for the shower is to make sure you have a diaper raffle, so you get plenty of diapers and ask for books instead of cards. A card is like 6 bucks anyway, but now they can write a really nice message in the book and ur baby has soooo many books to read! Amazon has a cute feature on their registry that lets you donate to a diaper fund so they can just be sent to your house! Also, a great tip is to make sure that you have lots of room in your car to take home all the gifts and have somebody help you in another car. We took four cars filled with gifts and diapers because I invited way too many people. Ok so these are the items that I think are really beneficial to add to your registry!
Bassinett
Plenty of wipes
Plenty of diapers.. don’t only get newborn , they run out of them so quickly. Try to get plenty of ones and twos.
Rocker
Boppy for baby
Bobby for breastfeeding
Pacifiers..3 different kinds
Bottles…Tommee Tippy or Mam
Car seat
Stroller
Bed sheets
Swaddle with velcroe
Teethers
Books
Spoons
Bowls for puree
Seat to eat
Baby album
Ottoman Rocker
Burp cloths
Bathtub
Bath lotions/wash
Bottle cleaner
Bibs…Plenty
Diaper Caddy
Bath towel
Bath washcloth
Pacifier clip
Crib
Diaper bag
Dreft
Hats
Socks plenty
Gloves
Lanolin
Diaper genie and bags
Nursing pads
Lots of soft blankets
Jumper
Yi video camera (amazon)
Breast pump
Maternity Bras 3-4
Maternity shirts
Milk bags (plenty)
Carseat pillow
Carseat wrap
Rattles
Air purifier
Baby Blender
Thermometer
Nose suction
Baby Saline drops
Baby tylenol
Baby nail clippers and file
Baby Brush
Car mirror
Baby clips
Seems like a lot of things , but there’s so much more useless stuff that you don’t need! Make sure you put those specific things on your registry, you will use them within the first year! Goodluck!!

I really knew nothing about pumping when I went to my first class at the hospital. I learned a lot and all of the amazing benefits from it. You really just learned over time what way you want to breastfeed. I just did the basic way, I cradled him. Fortunately I had no problems breastfeeding or getting him to latch on well. I would say the first two months were the hardest, just because you’re in so much pain. I would start shaking while he was breastfeeding because my nipples were so sensitive. I know many women give up because it’s too painful, but keep going. It will get better and it will get easier. Plus it’s literally the best thing for your baby, it has so many great things for their system. It will prevent them from getting sick as often and has so much nutritional benefit. Also another tip would be to pump from day one! I started pumping the first day I got home. I learned over time that it’s easier just to breastfeed on one side and pump on the other side. For the longest time, I was waiting until the baby fell asleep and then would pump , but you’re just wasting time doing that. I also put the baby on a schedule pretty early on. I started realizing the baby was on a pattern with eating. I would say I would pump at least 8 times for the first two months. So many people wait to pump and then realize that they don’t have enough milk before they have to go back to work. Because I did it the way that I did, I had three months worth of milk saved when it was time for me to work. Now he’s 6 months and we still have so much milk saved. I don’t think I’m going to have to use any formula because I started so early. In the first stage is all you’re going to get is colostrum. You will not get that much milk, but then more milk will start coming in. I really recommend the Medela, the pressure is amazing and it comes with multiple attachments. I also recommend just starting with some type of lactation supplement. I started the lactation cookies in the beginning and have stayed on mother’s milk tea even till today. I saw a big differce in my milk production when I started using those 2. I did start off with lactation pill but I stopped it because I didn’t see a big difference with me taking it. In the beginning all you will be pumping is colostrum, so you’ll only get like maybe 5 oz total for the day, but as time goes on I got up to 20 oz a day on top of feeding. If you feel like you’re getting low, you just want to cluster feed and cluster pump, you will notice a huge increase in your milk production. Everybody is different but the one thing I would recommend would be to really give it all you got since it’s so beneficial for your baby. Even through all the pain of breastfeeding and pumping, I would do it all over again knowing how much it helped him grow. he started at 6 lb 4 oz and now before introducing food he was at 16lbs at 5 months! Three things to remember is to make sure to get a great pump, push through the pain and stay consistent with pumping and feeding. It’s literally like a second job, but remember it’s not forever and the benefits are amazing! Also a big tip that people forget is to stay hydrated, keep taking your prenatals and make sure you’re eating plenty of good food. Everything you’re taking in is what your baby is eating. The first thing that comes out when you’re feeding and pumping is a little bit of water , you’ll notice if you don’t drink enough you won’t produce as much milk! It’s a process but you will get used to doing it ,especially after the pain goes away! Good luck!!!