Recently my  little bitty baby boy turned one. I found myself making a slide show of early days, crying my eyes out and also remembering how much I did not know about what it was going to be like to bring that baby home.

I am by no means a Mama Guru, BUT I will tell you my five tips for the first days home that I have gathered from other Moms, Pinterest and self discovery.  

In no particular order:

1.  PAPER PLATES! Seriously, maybe your partner is like some angel sent from heaven and will do all of the dishes but they will be exhausted too. You may get some awesome casseroles and snacks from loving friends and family and trust me not having any plates in the sink will be the best. I didn't think of this until a friend mentioned it and it was probably my favorite tip.

2. Bedtime Checklist: SNACKS, WATER, CHARGED PHONE. You will be hungry and thirsty and bored when you wake up to feed that little bundle of joy every hour or two (or more) especially if you are breastfeeding - no one told me I would be soooo thirsty!! I really liked Lara bars and browsing through Pinterest at 2am, try not to look at Amazon especially if you have Prime... you have been warned.

3. Buy extra mesh undies, DO IT.  Are they ugly? YES are they the best thing you never knew you needed? YES. I had 5 pairs and I loved them so much I washed them and wore them for weeks. Don't judge me. In this case you can head on over to Amazon and purchase a few extra since the hospital will typically only give you one pair. 

4. Condom Popsicles..WHAT?  So in the hospital they will give you these  icepacks for your lady bits. Sure I had seen about a million pins on PADSICLES and I'm sure they work but I'm lazy and did not prepare so I came home from the hospital and really wished I had  stocked up on those like I was preparing for the end of days. I did a quick search and found that putting some water in a condom and freezing looked exactly like the ice packs in the hospital Hallelujah!.. I mean its not like I was using those condoms any time soon anyway HA! Find more info here: Pop Sugar Pinterest Article

5. Don't Stress -  Okay this one may be a bit harder to do and everyone is different, but the first few days you will have visitors, new experiences, feelings you may have never felt before and so many other things. This applies to first time Moms I guess as this is my experience and tips (Moms of more, does I get easier second time around? inquiring minds want to know lol ) But while those first few days can be so stressful, try to take the time to stop and take in that cute little face and not worry about entertaining anyone, the mess, or the state of your hygiene - your baby certainly doesn't care and I convinced myself he liked me better when I was stinky anyway ;) 

What are your tips? Let us know!

xo Stace