(mom) Postpartum Hair loss

I had always heard that all of my hair could fall out after the delivery. That happens to other people, not me. Or so I thought. Four months after the delivery, I noticed that my hair was coming out by the handful. I wish I could say that I was kidding or even exaggerating. My hair started to get so thin on the crown and my widow's peak started to resemble Dracula's.

And now I've found that the worst isn't so much the hair loss, but when it grows back in! I now have inch long wispy bangs. The only tricks I know for helping to hide this fun awkward stage:
* Bangs. My side swept bangs now cover the short wispy bangs on one side. But the only problem with having bangs is that you need to have the time and ability to go back to the salon to have them trimmed often. Things I should have thought of.
* Headbands work wonders, according to a friend
* Hats are always good
* Move your part to cover any bald spots

Here's a great article from Babycenter on postpartum hair loss.

One thing that the article also mentions, that I want to second, is that you will need to be careful that your lost hair doesn't wrap around the baby's fingers and toes. Someone had warned me about this (and again, I figured this could never happen to me). But after one bath, I was putting one of the boys' sleepers on and just randomly checked his toes for my hair - and there was a strand wrapped so tight that it was completely cutting off his circulation! So now I constantly check all of their hands and feet for loose (or tight) hairs.

Please share any other ideas for hiding postpartum hair loss and regrowth. I could use them!

(mom) Free baby classes

I'm all for free baby classes. Every month Babies R Us has in-store events to educate parents. For example, on March 25th at 7pm, Pampers is sponsoring a "Diaper Changing Know-How Seminar". This is a great idea for soon to be Dads who often do not benefit from many of the prenatal classes and books. They recommend registering at your local store, but I would also try calling to register to prevent an extra trip.

If we had a Babies R Us closer by (and if I was more mobile during my pregnancy), I would have taken advantage of these. So I can't vouch for how good they are, but they seem like a great idea.

Look into classes at your local Babies R Us.

Any other suggestions for free baby classes? Share your ideas in the Comments!

(eat) Burp cloths

Apparently all babies spit up. Probably like most moms, I feel like ours do it more than most. We burp them halfway through their bottle feedings and they have settled into a nice little pattern: belch like a fraternity boy and follow up with anywhere from a dribble to a volcano.

While searching for affordable burp cloths, I found a package of about 25 white washcloths for $9.99 at Costco. Recently, Target had a similar deal for a huge bundle of white washcloths. I am so pleased with them because they hold up well in the wash, are soft on the babies' skin and serve multiple purposes. As the boys are now teething, I freeze them for them to suck/chew on (more on that later) and we also have a few washcloths under the swing to stabilize it on our uneven floor. And they were so cheap, I don't worry if I forget one in the doctor's office.

Because we doing all the feedings in our living room, we keep the wash cloths folded up in a basket under our coffee table. So cheap and easy!

(clean) Washing socks

The boys spent their first 5 months in sleepers (no joke) because I apparently have a great dislike of socks. But as winter was in full force, and they were big enough for their cute outfits, I decided to bite the bullet and open the sock drawer. I have since found that socks apparently taste good to the boys. I find them stuffed in their mouths after their naps. This means that we go through multiple pairs throughout the day so that they have a dry pair covering their toes.

So as a result, I'm constantly washing (and losing) socks. I would be lucky if half the socks made it through the wash. So I started collecting all of the dirty socks in a mesh lingerie bag. I keep it in the boys' hamper and fill it with socks throughout the day. It goes in the wash and in the dryer, and keeps the socks together the whole time!

Purchase a lingerie/sock bag

(mom) Bra extenders

So cheap, yet so useful. I was so excited when I stumbled upon bra extenders at Destination Maternity when I was pregnant. My belly wasn't the only part of me that was rapidly expanding. Simply hook them onto the back of your bra to give you a few extra inches of wiggle room. They typically come in a variety of hooks and colors, so you have many options to match your existing bras.

Purchase Bra extenders

(play) More Tiny Love love

One more thing about Tiny Love mobiles and their greatness... When the boys were newborns, we had a night nanny who specialized in multiples come a few times a month so we could get some sleep. She showed us that you could take the Tiny Love mobiles apart - leaving the music box attached to the crib, but removing the fun parts that dangle over the crib. This was especially important to help them sleep. She wanted to remove any distraction. And when they are older and can reach the toys, you can completely remove that section and just leave the music box for the babies.

So now, we still remove the top half of the mobile at bedtime and put it back up in the morning. The boys have become so conditioned that every morning once they are all in the party crib where the mobile is set up, they look behind them at the music box and wait for the mobile to start. This morning, one of the them even learned how to turn it on and off. Fun for them...not so much for me!

(play) Tiny Love mobiles

Our lives changed the day we put up our Tiny Love Symphony in Motion mobile. The boys would scream, and I mean SCREAM, as they waited for all to get changed prior to getting their bottles. You can't explain "patience" to three newborns. So we put the mobile up (they were all sharing a crib at this point) and they were instantly mesmerized by the motion, colors and especially the music. They hang at an angle and contain pieces that fall, rotate, etc. The mobile technically goes from 0-5 months, but they are now 7 months old and still love it. I'll put them all in one crib (what we've dubbed the party crib) to hang out while I change diapers. They now roll on their bellies and stare at the music box, or try to reach out for the moving pieces (they can't reach them). It will be a sad day when they start sitting up on their own and we have to remove the mobile for safety reasons.

Even better, Tiny Love has a fantastic multiples program. If you buy one of their developmental toys & mobiles (through them), they will give you another for free. FREE! This link to their site outlines the details of the program. One thing to note: I sent in all of the necessary information, waited the allotted time and never heard from them. So I called their customer service and my information was in the system and they processed the order right then and there. The mobiles arrived within just a few days. So the key is to be proactive.

http://www.tinylove.com/multiple_births_program.aspx

If you do not have multiples, I still highly recommend the Tiny Love mobiles.

Purchase a Tiny Love Symphony in Motion mobile