5 Mom Hacks I Live By

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I write a lot about motherhood. And one of the things I say in almost every post is how important it is to have a good community of other moms around you. Whether those moms live next door or states away, motherhood is always better in community. 

And one of the best parts of having a good community of “mom friends” is learning from their experience, and being able to share your own experiences with them. One of the things I constantly share with mom friends and soon-to-be moms are all the tried and true “mom hacks” I use. These are my top 5 hacks, and ones that I use all the time!

1.Layer your kid’s bed sheets

We’ve all been there…your baby throws up or pees through his diaper in the middle of the night. And we all know how annoying it is to have to change your child’s sheets when you’re exhausted (possibly covered in one or multiple different bodily fluids…) and just want to get your baby and yourself back to bed. Then just when you’ve finally started to fall back to sleep, he throws up again. And at this point you just want to sit down and cry. Well, I can’t tell you that you won’t still want to cry, but I can tell you how you can get the bed cleaned up and your baby and yourself back in bed sooner!

When you go to make your child’s crib or bed up, layer the waterproof mattress pad and sheets in multiple layers. Pad, sheet, pad, sheet, pad, sheet. That way when your child throws up or pees through his diaper, you just have to strip one sheet and pad off and bam you’re ready for everyone to get back to sleep! 

2.Create your own “Dockatot”

The first thing both my babies have slept in right from the hospital is a Rock-n-play. They’re just so snuggly for newborns, help with reflux, and lightweight enough to easily transfer from room to room. But transitioning them from that snuggly, womb-like cocoon can be tough.

I don’t know how long Dockatots have been around, but they seem to be the new “it” baby item. Similarly to the Rock-n-play, they keep your baby in a snuggly little cocoon while sleeping. When I read about how to transition your baby from a Rock-n-play to a crib or bassinet, I read that using a Dockatot was a great way to keep baby nice and snuggly as they get used to their next sleep environment.

But Dockatots are $165+. 

So I was pretty darn excited to discover one mom’s way of creating her own Dockatot! And guess what. All you need is a household item that EVERYONE has. 

A towel. 

Yep, that’s it!

Just roll a towel up long ways, and bend into a “U” shape. Put it in the crib or bassinet UNDER the sheet, so it’s safe for sleeping and won’t move around. And bam! Homemade Dockatot. [Now, I obviously realize this doesn’t have all the aspects of a real Dockatot, but hey, this one is a lot less expensive, so there’s that.]

3.Incontinence pads as booster inserts

I don’t know about your baby, but my 2 year old pees a LOT. And he always has. We’ve tried overnight diapers and he pees through them. So we started buying booster pads for extra absorbency inside his diaper at night. But, similarly to overnight diapers, they’re not cheap. Well, a mistake of mine ended up giving us a less expensive option. But if I tell you, you have to promise not to make fun of me. 

If you’ve ever been pregnant, you know that simple things like coughing and sneezing can easily cause you to pee yourself. It’s just something you have to learn to accept. [Cause just FYI, it doesn’t go away after you have the baby…] So anyway, I ordered some incontinence pads to help my new “problem.” Yes, I felt like I was 70 all of the sudden, but you gotta do what you gotta do. However, I accidentally ordered ones that were a little too thick and felt way too much like a diaper. So instead of throwing them out and wasting them, I thought maybe we could use them in my son’s diapers at night. And guess what, they work great! And double win, they’re less expensive than the booster pads we were using. *Mic drop*

4.Webcam as a baby monitor

When my husband and I started looking into different techy baby gadgets, we realized that [like most baby items,] there were multiple different options for baby monitors. We liked the option of being able to see our kids from the convenience of our phones, with the added benefit of being able to see them when we are out. So we decided to just go with a good ole webcam. [I know I’m not the first person to discover this use for a webcam, but I don’t think everyone knows about it, so I wanted to share.] And it’s awesome! Yes, we still have a sound monitor, this way we can see both boys from one app on our phones, and like I said, it’s great to be able to see them in their bed and crib when we’re out on a date! 

5.Pulling onesies down

Ok, this one isn’t really a mom “hack,” but a lot of moms out there don’t know this about onesies, so here it is. You know those crossed shoulders at the top of onesies? They’re there so that onesies can be pulled DOWN in addition to up over baby’s head. And let me tell you, when you have babies like mine who HATE clothes being pulled over their heads, this is a big deal.

And in addition to just being an easier way to keep baby happy during changes, you will discover that this is the BEST invention ever when baby has a blow out and gets poop all over his clothes. No worries about getting poop on your baby’s head. Just pull it down over baby’s legs, and throw it right in the wash, or a tub of hot water and OxiClean that gets poop stains out wonderfully. [Or if you don’t have the patience for cleaning it up, there’s always the option of throwing it in the trash]. You’ll still have to spend the next 10 minutes cleaning of your baby, and maybe yourself, but at least it won’t be on his head! 

If you have any of your own mom hacks, please comment and share! I’m always looking for simple ways to make my life as a mom a little bit easier 🙂

1 COMMENT

  1. The webcam as a baby monitor is brilliant! I also do the layering sheets thing, and if I think my kiddo is coming down with something or has a terrible cough that results in puking I will just lay towels down under the sheets. Your way is much faster, though! So brilliant!

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