Podcast Episode #7: Our Picks For First-Time Parents

[INTRODUCTION]

 

[00:00:01] ANNOUNCER: Welcome to She’s A Full On Monet, a digital lifestyle magazine for women. Every week, our Editor-In-Chief, Kelly Castillo, along with Megan Black and special guests, participate in a deep-dive discussion about recent articles and topics we have covered. We invite you to become part of our community, where everyone’s welcome.

 

[EPISODE]

 

[00:00:27] KC: Thank you for joining us at She’s A Full On Monet. This is Kelly. As always, I have Megan with me.

 

[00:00:32] MB: Hi, everybody. Hi, Kelly. Hi.

 

[00:00:35] KC: This is actually episode 7. I’m excited. It feels like it’s going fast. We’ve made a lot of episodes already. We’re starting to – I feel I’m getting the hang of it. I don’t know if you do.

 

[00:00:46] MB: Yeah. I no longer feel I need to mentally prepare. It just feels natural at this point to come on and chat with you about – the topics that we choose so to speak on, it’s obviously, easy to [inaudible 00:00:59] too. Yeah, especially this week’s one. I’m super excited.

 

[00:01:04] KC: Yeah. The last few weeks, if you guys listen regularly, you know we’ve covered heavier topics, more mental health topics, taking care of yourself, that kind of a thing, which we do love to talk about. We felt this week that we would choose something on a little bit of a lighter note.

 

Our picks for gifts for first time parents. If you have a baby shower coming up, or a loved one who is expecting, these are our recommendations for the gifts that a first-time parent would need, or would want to have. We’re pretty excited to talk about it. We’ve both been in that situation before. Now mine was a long time ago. I haven’t been a first-time parent in 26 years, almost 27 years. There’s a lot of new products that I really wish I had had. 27 years ago, there were not so many really cool things for babies. Now there really are.

 

When I was doing some research for this article, I was really excited to see all the cool stuff that was out there. It didn’t quite make me want to have another one, but it did make me excited for future grandchildren. Yes.

 

[00:02:15] MB: Yeah. I get you on that. It’s funny. It’s like, every time we’re like, “Oh, we have the coolest new thing.” Then you hear about something else that came out last year. You’re like, “Well, that’s pretty – Good for them.” It makes me excited for the future, because they don’t have to deal with what I had to deal with. They solved that problem. Cool. I wish I had that.

 

[00:02:34] KC: Yeah. My daughter Samantha was facetiming me from Walmart the other day, because she and her fiancé had gone there to buy her a bike. She was showing me the bike and asking my opinion and this and that. She had the Barbie, I think it was a Cadillac Escalade, or whatever, the little motorized ride-on. I thought at the time that was a big expense for us. That was an expensive toy. It was my first daughter. I had two sons first, and then a girl. I was like, “I’m going to get her this pink Barbie.” I called it a Barbie Jeep, but I think it was supposed to be a Cadillac. Anyway.

 

[00:03:10] MB: I have the same. It’s parked right out here. I got the same one. Hot pink Barbie Escalade. Still the coolest toy I ever bought.

 

[00:03:19] KC: Yeah. You can honk the horn and play the radio. I mean, at the time that technology in that toy, I thought it was unbelievable. She’s showing me on camera, they have the Cinderella’s carriage in white and pink and the full circular carriage with the – and it lights up. Then, they had the tank from Toy Story.

 

[00:03:42] MB: Really?

 

[00:03:42] KC: They can drive. I was thinking, if my son – if that had been around when my sons were small, they would have taken that to elementary school every day and then put the helmet on and felt just little cool guys, because that – I mean, I wanted to write it when I saw it. I was excited about it.

 

[00:04:00] MB: The Cinderella carriage is like, oh, what we as kids literally had to close our eyes and dream of is now a reality for actual three-year-olds out there. It blows my mind.

 

[00:04:11] KC: I know. I had to use my imagination all the time when I was little, because I didn’t have any of that.

 

[00:04:16] MB: Cheeks over your bed and like, “Oh, like forces.”

 

[00:04:18] KC: Build the floor. Yeah.

 

[00:04:19] MB: Now they really have it. It goes and it’s nighttime friendly, because it glows or whatever. Like, oh.

 

[00:04:26] KC: I feel you. By the way, I still think it’s cool technology, because my daughter’s who – When Emma got hers, she was like four, so it was five years ago. It has a real radio in it. You turn it on.

 

[00:04:37] MB: Yeah, you can play the radio. Yeah.

 

[00:04:39] KC: She can play Tupac as she’s riding off into the sunset in her pink Barbie Jeep, like Regina Jordan style.

 

[00:04:45] MB: My goodness.

 

[00:04:46] KC: Like, “Get in, loser. We’re going shopping.” It’s the coolest.

 

[00:04:50] MB: It is the coolest.

 

[00:04:52] KC: And I look forward.

 

[00:04:54] MB: Yeah. Sam and I were trying to figure out how to fit our bodies into that Cinderella carriage. I mean, because it has a roof so you can’t if you’re big. The tank –

 

[00:05:02] KC: [Inaudible 00:05:02] limit. Yeah.

 

[00:05:03] MB: The tank, you sit and there’s no roof above you. You’re sitting on top of the tank. I could totally still rock that, I think. I think I can take it around the neighborhood.

 

[00:05:10] KC: You know that part in Alice in Wonderland where she gets too big in the house? She’s in the house and then feet. That’s us in the carriage. Our feet are out. Our arms are out, but we’re in it and it doesn’t matter.

 

[00:05:22] MB: No. I’m okay with that aesthetic, because I want to ride on my carriage.

 

[00:05:27] KC: Again, if you have the means to gift a loved one who’s expecting a girl or boy, whatever, the Cinderella carriage, do it, because –

 

[00:05:36] MB: Well, I mean, they have to store it for two and a half years.

 

[00:05:39] KC: Maybe a year, two, three four years and mom can play with it until it’s ready. Warm it up. No, I feel you. Some of the toys that you get that you see out there blow my mind with their technology. Doesn’t make me want another kid so bad, but it makes me want to be a kid.

 

[00:05:56] MB: Yeah. It makes me want to be a kid. Exactly. I am so close to – I mean, I have three step grandchildren, but I’m so close to grandmother age now that my oldest is going to be 27 this year. Then 25. Sam is getting married. I feel like, it’s closer for me now towards grandkids than it is for when my kids were babies. I’m on the other side of it.

 

[00:06:21] MB: I feel you.

 

[00:06:22] KC: I feel like, as the cool grandma, I can buy these extravagant, ridiculous gifts for my grandkids, because that’s my job as the grandma.

 

[00:06:32] MB: Also but truthfully, you’re just trying to live subconsciously through them. You just want to see the joy that you are experiencing inside as they’re riding off. Yeah, but for sure. Oh, man. My dad got Emma that cat. Well, it might have been Santa, but my dad helped. It was like, see his joy watching her joy, ride around his neighborhood in it over and over again was worth every penny.

 

[00:06:57] MB: I can imagine. I can imagine. Okay, so we are going to talk about first-time parent gifts. If you’ve been a first-time parent, like both of us have, you know that you really have no idea what you need and what you’re actually going to use. A lot of things that you think, reading the books and magazine articles and reading the blogs and stuff, you think, “Oh, my gosh. I totally have to have one of these.” In reality, most of things, you don’t have to have.

 

I mean, there are things that are nice to have, but you don’t – I mean, you can really get by with very few things. There’s been times in my life where I had a lot. Thankfully, there have been more times than the other side, but there’s also been times in my life where I didn’t. When my sons were small was one of those times. I was really financially struggling.

 

Collin, when he came along, he slept in the bedroom with us and he slept in a laundry basket, instead of a crib, because it was safe and it was available and it didn’t cost me any extra money. I had my older son, they’re 18 months apart, so I knew he was going to be graduating to a toddler bed within a short period of time and I didn’t want to invest in another crib that I wouldn’t use very long.

 

Yeah. He slept in a laundry basket lined with safe blankets and a little mattress thing. It was totally fine. I didn’t need a super expensive crib and all the bedding and all that everything. My kids got by with a lot less than people think that they need. I don’t think they were ever worse off for it. They wore clothes from thrift stores sometimes. With my oldest, we did cloth diapers, partly because of the environment, partly because it was so much cheaper. There were a lot of things that would have been way out of my scope, to even ask for a baby shower, or to even buy for myself and for our family at the time.

 

I really felt like, we had everything that we needed. We were pretty covered. I mean, everything that we’re going to go over today, none of it is a necessity. None of it is. Really, your baby just needs its parents and it needs to eat and it needs some diaper situation. Other than that, I mean, as long as your home is safe, you’re doing just fine.

 

Everything that we talk about today, we’re going to talk about gifts at a wide variety of price points. Please just, I wanted to make that clear from the beginning. If you are expecting a baby, or you have a family member or a loved one who’s expecting a baby who is in a not great financial position right now, just please understand that there is absolutely nothing we’re going to cover today that’s vital to the health and happiness of a baby. Babies don’t care. They don’t know the difference.

 

[00:09:49] KC: They really don’t.

 

[00:09:50] MB: They don’t. They just want to cuddles. They just want milk and they’re totally happy. They don’t care if they’re sleeping in a laundry basket, or the most expensive crib ever built. They don’t know the difference. Yeah, I just wanted to make that clear. We are going to talk about some extravagant gifts today and we’re going to talk about some reasonable ones. I know for myself, I’m a super practical person. I tend to give practical gifts I like to imagine the person I’m giving the gift to using it a lot and thinking of me when they use it and just not something that’s just going to sit on a shelf and look pretty, or be an outfit that they can never actually wear, because it’s not practical.

 

Those things might be really beautiful and cute, but I prefer practical items. Even when people are giving me gifts, I prefer practical items. It’s just my nature. I know, if you have a friend or family member and this is the first baby that’s coming along in your friend group, or your family, it’s so tempting to go out and buy this little tiny designer shoes, because they’re so small and they’re so cute. Or a little, logo outfit for the baby. There’s nothing wrong with that. They will very, very rarely if ever get used.

 

First time parents are starting from scratch. Obviously, they need everything. We’re going to cover a lot of really useful stuff today. Useful, but again, not vital to the health, or happiness of a baby. Yeah.

 

[00:11:14] KC: Yeah. One thing I do want to just add before we go down on the list is as a mom of two and this has happened to me now twice, and there is no, like you said, nothing wrong with buying a cute outfit. If a woman, because I believe – I could be wrong. Tell me if I’m wrong, but I think you helped me with my registry for –

 

[00:11:32] MB: I did. Yeah. We went to Bye-bye Baby.

 

[00:11:34] KC: You were very helpful. That’s the thing is like, a woman who is bringing a child into the world has taken time to put things on her list. She’s walked around the store, and really thought carefully about what she needs, and probably, been there with someone who has been in a mom place before and has helped guide them through, so they don’t just buy all the outfits and have nothing for them, for the baby.

 

Before we begin on the list, I do want to add, if there is a registry, how do I – respect the registry. You know what I mean? It sucks, because I’ve had two wonderful baby showers and they’re – I was so blessed. Thank you, by the way. What I was frustrated a little bit about was that I left both baby showers, both situations with a lot on my list that hadn’t been checked off. It just made me feel a little overwhelmed, because I had this closet full of cute clothes. Now, I had to literally go and get all these things.

 

[00:12:30] MB: And buy everything.

 

[00:12:32] KC: Then I waited till the last minute, because you don’t want to buy two of the same thing.

 

[00:12:36] MB: Right. I know, when I look at people’s, whether it’s a wedding registry, or baby registry online to make my choices, I noticed that there’s a lot that isn’t purchased. What is purchased tends to be the cuter items that they added a few of.

 

[00:12:52] KC: It’s more fun to be watched – to watch them open that. It’s not fun to watch them open diaper cream. I get it. Then they’re going to need to go out and get that stuff. Or, if there’s big ticket items on the thing, like a crib, or like a car seat, or a stroller, maybe talk to – and you know some of the people going to the baby shower, maybe go in on some of that, because those big ticket items that are still left, they’ll be taken care of, because then you need to take the baby home from the hospital in a car seat.

 

[00:13:24] MB: That’s one thing we didn’t cover. The car seat is a vital item. I said nothing we’re going to cover today was vital. They won’t let you bring your baby home from the hospital if you don’t have a car seat. Buying a car seat secondhand is not considered safe, because you usually don’t know if that car seat’s ever been in a car accident. If it’s been in a car –

 

[00:13:44] KC: You can’t even sell them secondhand anymore. You can’t.

 

[00:13:46] MB: If a car seat has been in a car accident, then it should be discarded. Yes, the car seat is one of those items. If you know the families, even anything about the family’s financial situation, maybe they’re going from two household incomes to one. Or maybe there’s going to be an extended maternity leave that isn’t paid. There are things going on that maybe you don’t know about that financially, that it’s a time in your life where you really start to worry about money in a bigger way than you ever have before. Because suddenly, you’re responsible for this tiny human being for the next 18 plus years. That can feel very daunting.

 

I know, part of the nesting process for most young parents, not even young, doesn’t matter. First time parents is financial. They want to start saving for college, building a nest egg, making sure they have enough time to take time off of work. There are a lot of financial considerations with becoming a parent. If there are items on their baby registry that are practical items, that are needed items, please consider those first, as Megan said, because we’re going in on it a little bit, because there’s – it’s easier for you to buy diaper cream than it is to figure out a car seat.

 

If four or five people went in and took care of it completely, oh, man, the feeling is overwhelming. It’s good. Either respect the registry, or at least take care of like you said, if you know it’s going to be a lot – go a lot further than a Calvin Klein two-piece set, maybe – you know what I mean?

 

[00:15:17] MB: Tiny baby Nikes or something.

 

[00:15:20] KC: Yeah, and I get it. Some of those pieces are overwhelmingly expensive on the list. Some of them are like, “Well, I might as well just put it on.” You don’t feel like you have to get the big ticket items. That’s why I said go in with a few people on it, because of course, you can’t take care of that yourself maybe. Try and respect the list, whatever the list looks like, because they did take time to put those things on with purpose. They didn’t just throw it on there. Definitely, even if it’s not as fun to watch them open. I promise you, they know they needed it. They know they wanted it, and it’s going to be a relief from them, because I don’t want to deal with going out and getting 60 things on their list.

 

[00:16:01] MB: Yeah. I mean, this is a side note, and I’m sure that technology has changed a lot in that time period. 27 years ago, when I was pregnant with my very first child, I did ultrasounds. I did ultrasounds actually weekly, because I was running out of amniotic fluid. I was running out of space. He was a super large baby. Every ultrasound, or at least several ultrasounds, they told me that I was having a girl.

 

We had a girl name picked out, girl everything, pink nursery, pink stroller, all pink clothing. I’m very much a girly girl, so I was thrilled to be having a girl and I bought frilly pink everything. Then, I went into labor and I went to the hospital and I delivered a boy. I am sure that ultrasound technology has improved in the last 27 years. I was told by multiple ultrasound techs that I was having a girl, and then I had a boy.

 

While I was in the hospital recovering, my dad was kind enough to take everything back that could be returned and exchanged. Otherwise, I would have had a tiny baby wearing pink clothes as a boy, which is totally fine, but not what I had imagined.

 

[00:17:19] KC: Also, people tend to associate pink with girl. If they congratulate you on your new baby girl, it’s like, “No, it’s not a girl. Thanks for reminding me.”

 

[00:17:30] MB: Yeah, exactly.

 

[00:17:32] KC: Not to mention, he was a super large baby. Everything that had been purchased for me that was newborn size was immediately not going to fit. Yeah, he went straight to the three to six months.

 

[00:17:45] MB: So was Emma. Well, she wasn’t three to six. She was zero to three, but then three to six months really quick. She didn’t even hit – I had so many newborn diapers that I never use. Try and that’s another quick side note, is try and stay away from anything that’s newborn size, because heaven forbid, they could be large, or they could be premature. You don’t know what size they’re going to come out. Don’t try and guess.

 

[00:18:09] KC: That short period of time where babies wear newborn size is the time when you’re least likely to leave your home. You’re probably going to just hunker down and get on at some schedule and figure out what you’re doing. You’re not going to be out and about in the world. You don’t need super cute outfits for a newborn baby. The baby sacks, where you don’t even have to figure out snaps and buttons in the middle of the night. They’re like drawstring bottom. Those are probably best for the newborn size.

 

Then from there, you can pick out cuter things when they’re zero to three, or three to six. Newborn clothes, they serve zero purpose. Sometimes they don’t fit from the very beginning and sometimes they don’t only fit for a week or two. Babies grow extraordinarily fast most of the time.

 

[00:18:54] MB: Plus, let’s be real. As a mom of a newborn, you’re not going to put them in a photoshoot situation. I mean, maybe you will, but it’s so exhausting. Just forget it.

 

[00:19:02] KC: Most people’s newborn photo shoots, they like that little naked baby. That’s the cute – Like the Anne Getty’s.

 

[00:19:08] MB: With the wrinkles and all that.

 

[00:19:10] KC: Yeah. Yeah. Okay, so the first item I wanted to cover is our priciest item on the list. I just thought it was super cool technology. It’s called the SNOO baby bassinet. It’s just the right size and height to sit directly next to your own master bed. Or you could have it in another room. They did make it bed height, so it could be a companion. If you’re not comfortable co-sleeping and that is a lot of people, even if they had intended to co-sleep right from the beginning, it is it is a little nerve wracking to have such a teensy-tiny human in your bed. You worry about squishing them or something. Maybe that’s just my anxiety, but I did.

 

[00:19:56] MB: I was that way too. Everybody worries about squishing them.

 

[00:19:58] KC: Yeah. This baby bassinet, what’s interesting about this is that it will automatically sense the movement of the baby and begin to rock them when they get restless. It’s like smart technology for babies. It also has a built in white noise machine and a built-in swaddle. It is an all-in-one genius bassinet. You can control it by an app on your phone, which I cannot even – I can’t with the technology of this baby stuff.

 

Now, if you are a first time parent, or it’s been a long time you don’t remember this, most bassinets are only safe for babies until they begin to sit up on their own. You can only really use those until the baby starts to sit up on their own. It’s only for a few months. I mean, really. They’re not a long-term solution for baby sleeping. This new baby bassinet is amazing technology. If you’re if you are into gadgets, or your partner is into tech gadgets, it’s a cool thing to have. It is pricey. It’s priced at about  $1,500.

 

Here’s the thing, they also make it available as a rental option, which when I saw that you can rent them for as little as I think $30 to $50 a month, considering that you can only use it until the baby starts sitting up I think the rental option’s actually a really good option to have and really smart of this company to do that.

 

Covering the rental time for say, three months, or five months, or whatever you think for a baby is still in a relatively reasonable price range. It’s still a very, very generous gift. I think, that’s pretty cool. I love that the company offers that, because it makes it accessible to much more people than if you had to buy it outright for $1,500. That’s crazy to me.

 

[00:21:48] MB: I mean, the price tag on a good night’s sleep. Holy moly.

 

[00:21:53] KC: Exactly.

 

[00:21:54] MB: I don’t even care.

 

[00:21:56] KC: A lot of the items that we’re going to cover today are sleep-related, because as first time parents, parents in general know, you stop sleeping usually about seven months into your pregnancy and you don’t sleep again until that child is, I don’t know, an adult with their own children. When do you sleep? Because I still sometimes don’t. I’m wondering.

 

[00:22:18] MB: Yeah. I remember that newborn stage. It’s an actual nightmare. First of all, I don’t get the people that are like, “Oh, I love the baby stage.” I think they’re cute, I get it. But man, there was just times where I was pouring water in my cereal for breakfast and not even noticing until five minutes and after eating it for a while. Here’s the thing, from someone who did breastfeed, lack of sleep throws off your milk supply.

 

Sleep replenishes your body, gives you that ability to handle such a shock to your system. People can tell you until you’re blue in the face, “Oh, you will never have a moment to rest again. Oh, you’ll never be bored again. Oh, you’ll never sleep well again.” You don’t know until you actually have that baby. It’s like, “Oh, you were right.”

 

[00:23:03] KC: Yeah. It’s a whole other ballgame than anything that you’ve ever experienced in your life. Because, yeah, we’ve all had nights where we didn’t sleep well, or nights we were out super late and had to get up for work the next morning. Anything like that. I mean, even hungover nights, hungover mornings. The long-term sleep deprivation that comes from having a newborn, there’s nothing like it that I’ve ever experienced.

 

[00:23:26] MB: That feels human. That’s the thing, is there’s multiple reasons that a baby – that your sleep could get thrown off. The baby wakes up every few hours, probably to be fed. Sometimes they wake up in between those few hours, because they come out of their swaddle, or they need to be rocked to sleep. This beautiful piece of technology, oh, so beautiful. Fixes multiple reasons that babies wake up in between feedings. The chances of you sleeping longer are greater. I just think it’s genius. I absolutely loved, like you said, the rental option, because chances of you using it for longer than this realistic timeframe that you set is very low. Then you feel like, you have to resell it, but you’ve paid so much money you have to really price it up to resell. Because when are you going to use it again?

 

[00:24:11] KC: Yeah. No, you’re not. I don’t know about you, but every time I had a baby, I thought that was my last baby. I would give everything away afterwards.

 

[00:24:19] MB: No, no, no, no, no. I was genius. I kept everything, because I’m like, I have a new girl. Kenzie, youngest is currently wearing 95% Emma’s old clothes, because I kept everything. Now, even if I have another one crazy idea and it is a girl, I’ll just start from scratch, because I don’t even care anymore. You literally got rid of everything after each child?

 

[00:24:40] KC: Well, the boys were 18 months apart. They were perfect timing, as soon as Austin ran out of something, Collin wear it almost immediately. I still had a lot of items, because it really wasn’t – I knew I was expecting again less than a year into a first baby. I didn’t have time to throw anything away. After Collin, I was like, “I am so done.” I have two rambunctious boys. No way. I gave everything away. Then less than two years later, had Samantha. Then I was like, “Okay, now I’m really done. I got my girl. I’m done, done, done.” Then several years later, surprise, Gabby. Yeah.

 

The good thing is that the girls never had hand-me-downs, because they just weren’t familiar at all with what that even is. My sister had a girl when I had my oldest, so I had asked her at the time, “Oh, I bet you have a lot of stuff that you saved,” because my sister is very organized; saves everything. She said, “Oh, yeah.” I do. I’ll put it all together for you now that I know you’re having a girl. Then she found out she was pregnant, because our daughters are seven months apart. Yeah, I didn’t even get to use any of her stuff.

 

[00:25:53] MB: I was very lucky. I was given lots of clothes and a few other items, just because people knew I was having a baby. I think, that’s a big reason why I kept a lot of stuff. Because I’m like, heaven forbid, if I don’t have another girl. I mean, I got bags of really nice clothes and it was so fun to go through, because I didn’t have to purchase anything else. I didn’t feel I had to keep them pristine, because they weren’t new.

 

I’ve given a lot of my nice things to kids, or friends of mine that have girls and it’s great. Also, side note, this is not a registry thing. If you have things that you’re storing and you know some, like hand-me-downs are so great for especially first-time parents, or any time parents. It really saves – other than a car seat, it saves big hassle.

 

[00:26:38] KC: Well, and you use things with babies for such short period of time, that they’re all usually in really good condition. I got married and had kids very young, right out of high school. I was the first in my friend group to have a baby by many, many years and there wasn’t anybody to do the hand-me-down thing. Yeah, I wish. It would have been nice.

 

[00:26:58] MB: Yeah. It was really nice. From my perspective, it really did help. A lot of those items, they still have tags on them. I’m still giving them away.

 

[00:27:06] KC: Yeah, it’s good.

 

[00:27:09] MB: That’s a really good item. I mean, we’re [inaudible 00:27:10] rental penny.

 

[00:27:13] KC: If this new baby bassinet is not in your price range, if even the rental of it is not in your price range, then there is an option from Amazon. It is not the same thing, but it is a crib mattress movement monitor. It alerts you when the baby is moving around on their mattress. It’s usually gives you a little bit of a heads up that the baby’s about to wake up. This is good peace of mind if you’re sleeping away from baby in another room, or in a place where you won’t necessarily hear them moving around.

 

I know, when I did have Collin, he often slept great; slept through the night from the beginning. That kid slept 20 hours a day. Collin, no. He was sick all the time and he had a really hard time falling back asleep once he woke all the way up. He also didn’t co-sleep with me. I wouldn’t hear him start to wake up. I usually wouldn’t hear him until he cried. By that time, he was up and he’d be up for a significant period of time. He wasn’t a go right back to sleep baby.

 

Something like this, where I could have caught it when he was just starting to wake up, I probably could have soothed him back to sleep easier, just patting him on the back, or quickly. Once he would start to cry, he was awake then, and half the time would wake up Austin as well, because they slept in the same room.

 

[00:28:33] MB: Yeah. That’s where I can see the benefit to that for sure. I’ve seen it before it became a fully awake system situation.

 

[00:28:39] KC: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, those are the two go-back-to-sleep baby I had on the list. I think, the first time I got one was with Samantha. Samantha had, it was a stuffed octopus and it played classical music, it played white noise and it also played a harpy noise. That thing went everywhere with us and saved the day so many times I can’t even tell you. You had a sheep. Yeah.

 

[00:29:07] MB: I had a sheep and it had the same thing, heartbeat. All the white noise sounds. Music came with us everywhere. Then they made a portable version, where it’s a smaller, where you can attach it to the stroller, you can attach it to a car seat. Man, that thing was an added [inaudible 00:29:20].

 

[00:29:21] KC: Yeah, amazing. I found something similar. It’s called the Baby Shusher Sleep Miracle. It’s a white noise machine that also has a soothing human voice, which I can’t figure out if I think that’s creepy, or good.

 

[00:29:36] MB: [Inaudible 00:29:36], where it’s like –

 

[00:29:38] KC: I think so. I think it shushes the baby softly. It is portable. The really cool thing is that it’s only $35. I thought that was pretty amazing. There’s also very popular, the baby dream machine. It’s not as portable. It’s meant to stay in the nursery. They call it a pink noise, which I don’t know what the difference is between white noise and pink noise. It also has a built-in humidifier with aroma therapy. That’s a two-in-one product. That one’s a little more expensive. It’s $99. Both of those are the white noise suggestions for babies. Some babies look like a stuffed animal –

 

[00:29:38] KC: I remember that.

 

[00:30:17] MB: Just like, you could play it for 60 minutes or 30. I became addicted, not addicted to it, but it was a real big help. The process of her going to sleep and she knew – and the white noise. Any machine with a white noise attached to it, first-time parents out there, that is a godsend. You need that. Because man, especially if you live in a shared room, a shared wall situation, any noise can just throw a baby off and wake them up and put to drown out that any added noise. Any type of sound machine, you see it on the registry just be on an alert, that’s a big thing. Humidifier also, that’s a combo that’s great.

 

[00:30:55] KC: Yeah. I thought that was pretty cool, though. That’s a combo. Because most nurseries need both anyway. I think this might have been one of the things that you wanted to talk about, but the sling carrier. I know a really popular one is the Baby K’tan sling carrier. Those run about $50. That’s one of those items that I don’t know, first-time parents might not think about it, but they probably wouldn’t think how often they will use this. That carrier is something that you use daily. Basically, all day every day.

 

[00:31:25] MB: Well, because my kids – I don’t know if they needed it, or I just assumed because I was a first time parent, I didn’t know any better. I just assumed that they needed to be rock – With movement. I noticed that I could not. I’m very type A. Even when I’m recovering from just birthing a child, I’m looking around in my house and wanting to get things done a little bit and nest a little bit.

 

To be able to attach your person on to you, and be able to have both free hands to do stuff, and also being so close to the heartbeat, believe it or not, with Kenzie, it was almost like, that was the easiest way to get her to sleep. I could get her, because she was so close to my actual heartbeat and –

 

[00:32:03] KC: That’s what they hear. That’s what they hear in utero. Yeah.

 

[00:32:07] MB: He would just sleep on me. I remember, I would be there a – she would just be on me. They’re great. There’s different versions. Some versions are, in my opinion, really complicated. You open it up and it’s this long sling. Then there’s ones that are pretty much just ready to go. You just have to – I just think they’re great, whatever one you choose. They’re very useful. You do very much underestimate how much you think you’ll actually use iThank you

 

[00:32:34] KC: Yeah. I do agree, the easier to attach it to yourself the better, because you will be doing it when you’re sleep deprived, you will be doing it in the backseat of a car before you get out. There’s a lot of times when you don’t necessarily want complicated straps and hooks and things like that.

 

[00:32:49] MB: Also, a great way to nurse you. I know they have nursing covers for that. It’s just a really great way to have your baby on you. If you do get, I got really confused by how to put them on. I just youtubed it. I just went on YouTube and typed in the maker and then how to. People will slow it down and show you. There’s also some different ways, like if you want to have the baby on different versions, whether it’s front or side, there’s different ways that you have to wrap it, so that it actually stays on and you feel. Because that’s the thing is people look at it and you’re like, “I don’t know if I feel safe. It looks like there’s just bandage holding her up.” You really feel sturdy with this thing on. Yeah.

 

[00:33:25] KC: Because you always worry that the baby’s going to fall off of you. I mean, I think that’s a normal concern.

 

[00:33:31] MB: It doesn’t face forward when they’re first born, because their neck is so new. We have like, baby in front and go about your day. You have them on you in a certain way, especially when they’re just born.

 

[00:33:46] KC: Right. I think, strapping your baby to your body has been part of human existence since the beginning. I mean, that was one of the first things, I think, human beings learned how to do was to strap the baby to themselves, so they can get about their day and feed themselves.

 

[00:34:01] MB: We don’t have time for this holding for eight, nine hours. They’re going to go do [inaudible 00:34:06].

 

[00:34:07] KC: Yeah. This happens in almost every – I mean, I think, probably every culture of the world. This is not a new thing, but they’ve definitely gotten some really great technology, breathable fabrics, everything organic.

 

[00:34:18] MB: All types of price points, too.

 

[00:34:20] KC: All types of price points.

 

[00:34:20] MB: You can get really nice name brand ones, and you can get ones at Target that are not bad price point. Really cute prints, or basic prints that go with everything. It’s very important to get that. If you have it, you’ll use it and you won’t stop using it.

 

[00:34:38] KC: This is funny, but when we got our puppy who is not a puppy anymore, but when we got her, Mushy, she was – Yeah, I know. She was only 3 pounds and she was super teeny tiny. We lived at the time in a three-storey house that was basically, marble. The stairs were marble and steep. There were stairs from every room. I mean, it was impossible.

 

She was too tiny to go up and down the stairs herself, or to jump up and off furniture. I had one of those – the easiest sling, where it’s like a hammock, like a baby hammock. I put her in it and I went about my day around the house getting things done, because otherwise, she would have tried to follow me and would have gotten hurt. Or, we were potty training her, so she would have had accidents everywhere.

 

[00:35:34] MB: That’s the other thing. Those things convert with your baby. You can have them facing out. When they’re just crawling everywhere and you don’t have time for that, because you got to go clean the other room, you can strap them on to you and they can’t go anywhere. It goes from newborn to older newborn. There’s all different ways to strap them on to you that it actually carries longer with – I mean, she was big when she was still on me. That’s a thing.

 

[00:35:58] KC: I remember. She’s big.

 

[00:36:00] MB: With mine, when I would Disney every week with Kenzie and Emma. I just got so tired of holding her that I would strap her onto me and that thing – I used that thing for way too long. I mean, you can really get a lot of miles with these things.

 

[00:36:15] KC: Yeah, I agree. Hey, you can use them for a puppy if it comes to that.

 

[00:36:17] MB: You can use them for your dogs. It’s true.

 

[00:36:19] KC: Now we know. I mean, she’s an older dog now and she believes with her whole heart that she is a human baby, because I did that to her.

 

[00:36:28] MB: I’ve met the dog and I fully, fully attest to this. Yeah. That’s a great add in for any – whether you’re a first time parent, or a second time. Maybe you’re a second time parent and you’re like, “Man, I wish there was a way I could get more stuff done. These babies pick up my whole day.” Actually, you can drop them on Transformers style and go through everything. I would dust –

 

[00:36:52] KC: Yeah, I know. You’d be running around the house doing all kinds of stuff.

 

[00:36:55] MB: There was no problem. If I eat, I’d put a little hat on, so wouldn’t get on her hair. I just go about my day.

 

[00:37:01] KC: Yeah, I love it.

 

[00:37:02] MB: Sometimes, you have multiple kids, sometimes you have twins, what are you going to do then? Put one on you, handle the other one. Looking to invest in one of those, for sure.

 

[00:37:14] KC: I wanted to talk about two baby shower gifts that I have done repeatedly for a lot of people in my life, that I love both options and it’s always my go to. The first one is, I mean, you can buy anything from this brand. It’s the Honest Company. Everyone is familiar with it. They have these baby shower gifts that are pre-done for you. They do diaper cakes, where it looks really cool. Plus, it pretty much covers their diaper needs for a decent amount of time. Or they have a diaper bag starter kit that has a diaper bag backpack, and then everything you could need to go in it.

 

Which is great, because I know for first-time parents, it’s a trial by error thing with the diaper bags. You learn as you go. If you have a starter kit where someone else has thought of that stuff for you, that’s really helpful. Then, they have something called the ultimate newborn starter kit, which is $329. It’s a luxurious gift. It covers basically, everything someone would need, as far as toiletries and things like that for babies. Nail trimmers and lotions and diapers and wipes. I mean, just everything you can think of. If you want something that’s just done for you, that would be great.

 

If you want to do something even more over the top, they do have diaper and wipes subscriptions. That’s a great option, because again, with the sizing, your child might not be born and wear newborn size diapers. They might be preemie, they might be bigger. The diaper and wipe subscription, you could cover for months, or six months, a year, whatever price point you feel comfortable spending. That is something I can’t even tell you. As a parent, I would have appreciated so much, because it’s one of those expenses that I mean, you have to spend money on diapers and wipes. There’s nothing else you can do. If you’re on a fixed income, if you’re getting government assistance, something like that, they don’t cover that stuff. You got to swing it.

 

[00:39:12] MB: The way in which a newborn goes through diapers is literally insane. I tried cloth diaper route the second round and I couldn’t keep up with the process of washing and having a clean supply that I went back to the disposable ones. It’s insane. It’s insane how much they poop.

 

[00:39:33] KC: It is. It’s such an unreasonable expense for an annual diaper budget. I can’t even tell you.

 

[00:39:39] MB: Oh, man. The toiletry thing is cool, because then you can go back on the registry and click off a lot of things that they may be registered, maybe not the –

 

[00:39:47] KC: Individually for you. Maybe they didn’t know that was a thing.

 

[00:39:50] MB: Then they just know and then they get it and then, because that’s the thing is you do fill up your toiletry. These are all things that are needs you go through and go, “Okay, we need nail clippers, because those were really, really –” You do need all these things. None of these things are for –

 

[00:40:04] KC: Or things that you can really use your adult things for the baby, you can’t. I mean, adult nail clippers is not going to work.

 

[00:40:10] MB: [Inaudible 00:40:10] shower gel for the baby, or regular lotion for the baby. They need certain things that you just can’t substitute with your own stuff. If you can just knock that all out, or go in with a few people, cut that dice, that price up and then knock it out. You’re going to knock out a lot of the things that are on their registry and then it’s going to feel a lot better. Then, going back and buying the stroller, or the – because you know when you have a baby, you’re going to have to invest in [inaudible 00:40:37] situation, and transporting situation. That’s expected. No one expects anyone to buy those things on their registry, but it does make it a lot less stressful when all the other things have been crossed off that are needed, but not as fun, like nail clippers. All these.

 

[00:40:53] KC: Yeah. That’s actually exactly the second idea. I don’t know if I did this for you, but I’ve done this for a ton of baby showers in my lifetime, because someone did it for me for one of my baby showers. It was honestly the most thoughtful gift I received at that whole baby shower, because it was a ton of little items that would have added up for me and been really expensive. What I do is I buy a baby bathtub. It doesn’t need to be super fancy one. Just a baby bathtub and then I fill it with all the toiletries, little wash class.

 

You can do this really inexpensively, or you can do this really luxuriously. I mean, you don’t have to go to a baby store to do this. You could go somewhere like, Big Lots, or Target, Walmart, whatever. It doesn’t matter.

 

[00:41:37] MB: Yeah. You don’t need to go to a boutique style place that has monograms.

 

[00:41:41] KC: No. No.

 

[00:41:43] MB: You just get what you need.

 

[00:41:44] KC: Right. I would take a baby bathtub, fill it up with everything that you need toiletry-wise for baby. Again, the nail clippers, the washcloth, the baby bath, the baby bath soap, the little hooded towel, all of that stuff and then you can wrap it in a gift basket wrapping, cellophane and make it look really beautiful. When someone did that for me and I looked at that and realized, “Oh, my gosh. All this stuff, I don’t have to go get.” I was almost in tears, because it was so thoughtful.

 

[00:42:13] MB: So thoughtful. It was all wrapped pretty, so it didn’t make it look like it was oh, necessities. Yeah, that’s brilliant.

 

[00:42:21] KC: You want to make sure a very big must, if you’re doing something like toiletry kit is to include – when my kids were little, it was that little blue section ball nose thing, which was disgusting, or the Frida, which I think is what you’re going to talk about.

 

[00:42:36] MB: I don’t even know. This thing. The nose Frida, you can get at Target. You can get at most places now. It was a little harder to find when I first was given it with my first child. It is brilliant. People see it and they go, “That’s so gross.”

 

[00:42:50] KC: Disgusting.

 

[00:42:51] MB: You really have to put it – you have to put one in your mouth and the other end in the kid’s nose. There’s a blocker by the way, people that there’s no way it’s going to get in your mouth, so you’re not sucking up the boogers. I mean, the little bulb thing, first of all, you’re squeezing it back in their little face. It’s not accurate. You’re getting a little bit. When you have kids that have sinus issues, or there’s just gunk in there and they’re laying down and they’re not sleeping, this is – I still use this on my nine-year-old. I use it on myself sometimes, because it gets so much out that don’t waste your time with the ball. You’ll get it in kits. I don’t know if you have another use for it, but I’ve never –

 

[00:43:34] KC: No, no, no. When I saw that invention, I think I saw it at your baby registry time when we did that, was my mind just literally – I was like the emoji where your brain explodes, because the blue ball thingy, yeah, it did what it was supposed to do to some extent, but it’s impossible to flesh it out all the way. If your child has an actual cold, you are sucking up the bacteria and gross boogers and it’s almost impossible to get it all the way emptied. I mean, if you can imagine. If you can imagine cutting one of those balls open, the nastiness that would be happening inside. Don’t do it. Don’t buy that thing. Just get the Frida.

 

[00:44:16] MB: We’ve come a long way with technology with this. As gross as your brain wants you to think it is, please push through it because your kid’s going to be crying and you’re going to be like, “Why are they still crying?” Well, because you just pushed air into their little nose. Those little things, they’re so tiny, the little nostril holes that it’s like, the accuracy of getting everything out is just so hard. That’s one of my big things and it’s not expensive at all. To buy this, first of all, if they’ve never heard about it.

 

[00:44:49] KC: Going to blow their mind. Yeah.

 

[00:44:51] MB: Crazy. They’re going to hug you over and over again.

 

[00:44:53] KC: They’re going to use it so much.

 

[00:44:55] MB: It’s a lifesaver.

 

[00:44:56] KC: If you do that baby bath idea, make sure you include the Frida, because it will change their little baby lives. I mean, obviously babies cannot blow their noses. First-time parents, I remember when I first heard that. I was like, okay, it makes sense, but I’d never thought of it before.

 

[00:45:13] MB: Others can’t believe it. I’m still trying to teach my four-year-old how to properly push it out and flush her nose. She gets frustrated. They look at you like, I’m doing it. It’s like, no. Not.

 

[00:45:23] KC: We all just blow our noses without a second thought. I mean, somebody taught you to do that.

 

[00:45:30] MB: Yeah. You can’t comprehend such a complex idea until I think, a certain age, I think. Eventually, it just clicks. I still use it on my toddler. I’m going to be completely honest. She fights the process. She hates it. The minute that she can breathe through her nose, it’s like, “Oh.” It’s so great. Sinus infections when they’re little are a nightmare, because they go into their tiny little ears, they go, and then they cause ear infections. There is no way to calm a child, a newborn down that is going through that. They’re just miserable. The only way for them to express it is through crying, and it’s just driving you insane.

 

I would just get one of those for the sheer fact that it’s going to – it’s going to prevent something going from maybe a little cold to a full-blown sinus infection in the ears. Those little tubes are so tiny and sensitive already that you just want to make sure it’s clear. It’s such a great investment for such a small price point, in regards to something we use over and over and over again.

 

[00:46:33] KC: We went through multiple respiratory infections, ear infections and tubes, tube surgery at 10-months-old. Believe me, I know. If I had had that Frida, I would have been using it on a daily basis. Because our daughter had to be actually propped up when she slept, because of all the congestion. It was bad. I wish I had that back then.

 

[00:46:55] MB: We would so clog them up. Then, would she roll? My kids would just – it would just naturally like a hill, they would just roll. Eventually, they would still be level.

 

[00:47:05] KC: They want to be level. They keep squishing down, rolling over. They try. Yeah.

 

[00:47:11] MB: This is a big helper for it to be – to not turn into something, like tubes, or like a multiple ear infections, because those –

 

[00:47:19] KC: Which can damage your hearing long-term. I don’t know if people realize that. If your child has multiple ear infections, they can lose a percentage of their hearing and that will never come back.

 

[00:47:29] MB: Wow. That makes sense. Yeah.

 

[00:47:33] KC: Because it builds up of scar tissue.

 

[00:47:36] MB: Danger, this little method.

 

[00:47:39] KC: Next, I want to talk about baby food makers. There’s a lot of them on the market and I want to preface this by saying, you don’t need a fancy baby food maker. You can simply steam fruits and vegetables and blend them. You don’t need an extra appliance for that. However, if you have a single household blender and you use it a lot in your family for other things, things that are spiced, things that are contain ingredients that baby shouldn’t have yet, or that your baby hasn’t yet been exposed to for allergy purposes, then a baby food maker might not be a bad idea. I made homemade baby food for all of my babies, partly because it was financially better, easier for me. Partly, because I’d wanted them to have the healthiest option. If something checked both boxes, I was onboard.

 

We’re going to talk about a bunch of different price points. There is one called the Baby Brezza, which is considered to be the highest end baby food maker. It’s a $180. It looks nice on the counter. It’s pretty fancy-looking. It doesn’t have, as far as I could tell, any features that are super unique.

 

Then there’s one called the Beaba Babycook, which is $150. Same thing, they all do basically the same thing. They steam or boil the stuff and then they blend it. It’s not rocket science. If you want something that’s more portable, or quick, the NutriBullet makes a baby food maker. That’s only 70 bucks. It looks just like their smoothie maker, but it has a little happy face on it, because it’s for babies.

 

[00:49:06] MB: That’s the one I use.

 

[00:49:08] KC: Yeah. I used it for my second kid. I can tell you that thing is incredible. Because it comes with – maybe the other ones do. For me, I just thought this was so cute. It comes with these little cups that you can store your food in and they all look like the same. They all have the same branding. I personally use that price pointed one and it was – it never broke on me. It did exactly what it was supposed to do, went from steam to blend. Then I would just fill up the cups. I did it for the same reason you did. I was thinking about how expensive and how much money I could save.

 

Then I also was thinking of okay, there was this calm feeling of I know exactly what is going into my baby. I know that I’m trying just this one food. Sometimes you don’t need that combination of the two. You just want to try sweet potatoes. Okay. Well, you can buy this for a $1.39, or you can make a sweet potato last eight –

 

[00:50:04] KC: Yeah, exactly. Or you can take whatever vegetable you’re making for your own family’s dinner that night and set it aside before you season it and make some for your baby. Like she’s saying, babies should be introduced to one food at a time until you know if they have reactions to anything. Then, once they’ve had the food several times and no reaction, you can mix it with other items. That is important.

 

[00:50:27] MB: This is convenient. Having to go to the store and buying all these glass jars, or jars of all these different types and it’s just – Also felt cool to be able to take a potato and blend it and then get the little spoon. I’m really happy to hear that they all do the same thing. Because honestly, I tried the lowest on one and I felt like, I had the best one out there. It was a great.

 

[00:50:51] KC: Yeah. I use the NutriBullet smoothie maker almost every morning. It’s exactly the same item. It just doesn’t have the happy face on it.

 

[00:50:59] MB: I remember an experience called the Baby Bullet, or whatever. It’s cute.

 

[00:51:02] KC: I love my smoothie maker. It’s the same technology. It does the same thing. It’s just not for baby food. There’s also one that looks like one of those hand blenders. I don’t know if you’ve seen those hand blenders that you just – yeah, it’s called the Sage spoonfuls baby food maker and it’s the cheapest of the ones we’re covering today. It’s only $45. You do need to have a vessel that you’re already using a bowl or something. Then you put your already prepared vegetable in there and this just blends it. That is the only function that it does.

 

I mean, if you’re looking to make your own baby food and you want a specific device just for the baby that is the cheapest one that I found in my research. Now, the one I think is the best if you want to spend more is called the Baby Move Food Station. It’s larger. It takes up more counter space, but it has three different compartments. You can make three different flavors, or vegetables, fruit, whatever you’re doing, a baby food at the same time. You can meal prep for baby for the –

 

[00:52:06] MB: That’s cool. That’s cool.

 

[00:52:07] KC: Yeah. It steams it and then it blends it all in the same thing. It also has a bottle warmer and sanitizer. It serves a lot of functions. You can cook multiple meals for the baby at once. You can sanitize bottles, warm bottles, all in one thing. It’s really a baby station on your kitchen counter.

 

[00:52:26] MB: That one’s $160. I did think that was very cool. Now when I was making baby food for my own kids, again, I was doing it a lot of reasons were financial. I would just boil, or steam the vegetables in my normal cooking pans on the stove and then I would put them in the blender, which I had made sure I washed really, really well before I used it for baby food, because I would use it for sauces and things that had spices in it. I wash it really, really well. Then I would blend my baby food. I think, it was the 90s version, early 90s version of a Vitamix. It was just a really high-power blender.

 

Then I would pour the prepared baby food into ice cube trays and freeze them. Then, I would just pop out the ice cubes. I would have one little serving of baby food would be one ice cube tray, ice cube mold, or whatever, if that makes sense. I would just put them in Ziploc bags, or Tupperware and put them in the freezer and take one out as I needed it. That’s what I did. It cost me no dollars in special machinery.

 

[00:53:32] KC: I think, kids are still alive to –

 

[00:53:34] MB: The kids are alive and healthy today. I mean, don’t feel it’s a necessity. No, not a necessity but it is very cool. Again, if you like the cool gadget stuff that Baby Move Food Station, I think is the best.

 

[00:53:48] KC: [Inaudible 00:53:49] tired and sleep. Save some steps. I really like to be able to steam and then literally pour it from this into another – into the same thing and then hit another button in blend. When you’re trying to just find extra minutes to catch up on laundry, or catch up on sleep, or catch up on work, or whatever it is, if it can just take a step out, sometimes it’s worth it to you.

 

[00:54:14] MB: Yeah. That’s why I thought that you have to have it. That’s why I thought that Baby Move Food Station was cool, because you can cook three meals at a time, which means you can meal prep for your baby maybe one day a week and have all their meals done and then not have to think about it every day right before, “Oh, my gosh. I got to make some baby food.”

 

[00:54:31] KC: That also doubles as a – sometimes having all these gadgets for baby on the counter can be overwhelming. Taking a warmer and a maker and putting in one saves some counter space, too.

 

[00:54:41] MB: Yeah, exactly. Okay. I also wanted to talk about waddling. I know that’s a big deal, the baby burrito style swaddling.

 

[00:54:52] KC: They will teach you how to do that in the hospital, but you’ll figure it out. Doesn’t matter.

 

[00:54:57] MB: Doesn’t matter.

 

[00:54:58] KC: Because try doing it at 3 a.m. when it’s your third or fourth time up that night. Yeah, no. It’s not going to happen. They do make these swaddle wraps from Sleepsack. It’s like the Sleepsack pajama thing that we were talking about earlier, but it just folds over and I think it velcros close. You really need very little brain power to make that happen. It might be a good option if you’re very sleep deprived. I still might not have been able to do it.

 

[00:55:26] MB: I have the best option. I’m just waiting.

 

[00:55:28] KC: Oh, okay.

 

[00:55:31] MB: Yeah, go ahead.

 

[00:55:31] KC: Okay. There’s one more. It’s called the BundleBee Wrap. This is basically, the same type of thing as swaddle wrap, but it has little carrying handles on the side. The purpose of this one is to be able to move baby, from the crib to the car seat, or from the car seat to the crib, without waking them. It also gives a little extra protection if you’re nervous about your relatives holding the baby. Because it does have little straps that you can have extra leverage on baby.

 

If you have older relatives, or older siblings for baby that really want to hold the baby, that gives you a little bit more peace of mind. Those were my suggestions. Neither one of them is very expensive. I think they run about $20.

 

[00:56:17] MB: Yeah. So many thoughts run in my head when I think a swaddling, because that was my main reason for both my kids, especially with Emma for waking up. All because their little systems, they have that fight or flight thing where they – well, just randomly wake themselves up.

 

No matter how ninja I was, or how strong I was, no matter what I did, these kids would ninja themselves out of the swaddle. Even the ones that bless them, those sleep sacks with the velcro, they’re amazing. If their little hands get out, they can actually wake themselves awake. I was just about to give up on parenting altogether and just ask the hospital if they wanted them back, until – I think I found this on Facebook, or someone told me about it. I don’t even know if this is the same brand anymore, but it’s called the Zippity Zip.

 

[00:57:07] KC: I’ve never heard of that.

 

[00:57:08] MB: It might be a different brand. Maybe we can put it in the notes below.

 

[00:57:12] KC: Yeah, we’ll put it. We’ll put all of these items in the show notes.

 

[00:57:14] MB: I’ll update, because I’m going to research, because I feel they might have rebranded it, but it is by far the coolest thing ever. It looks basically, like a flying squirrel suit.

 

[00:57:23] KC: Okay.

 

[00:57:24] MB: Okay. Stay with me on this, because I talked about with the whole fight or flight thing, the thing is, is that you put them in like you would a swaddle and it’s zipped in front. Then their little hands go in it. They literally look like they’re a flying squirrel. The covering, it’s designed in a way where it can’t give them that fight or flight. It gives them the ability to move freely and stuff like that, if they roll over on their side or something like that, but they never, ever, ever, ever woke up from just being on – I never had to re-swaddle at 2 a.m. tired. This invention happened.

 

I could take them from the sleep sack and put them in the car seat and strap and still have them in their thing. It wasn’t unsafe. It wasn’t anything I had to worry about. The bottom is totally, their little feet go on these corners and their little hands. If heaven forbid, they were to move themselves in a way, you know what I’m talking about.

 

[00:58:21] KC: Yeah. It’s the same sensation when adults – I mean, I do it sometimes. When I’m falling asleep and I feel like I’m falling and you jerk, it’s a myoclonic jerk, but that –

 

[00:58:31] MB: They keep it a lot.

 

[00:58:32] KC: Yeah. Babies do it a lot.

 

[00:58:33] MB: This prevent that from happening. Even if the fight or flight thing wasn’t there, this saves you from ever having to re-swaddle 18 times, because they ninja themselves out of it. Because they will, because they’re –

 

[00:58:46] KC: Yeah. If you’re an on the go family, having those baby sacks that have the little slit in them, you’re supposed to feed the car seat bubble through, give me a break. You’re never going to do that and keep that baby asleep.

 

[00:58:59] MB: You can machine wash this. I bought three or four of these and I use them for Kenzie. I recommended them to every mom around me that I had, along with the nose Frida, because it just like I – I got so frustrated, because I bought the really nice, breathable swaddle ones. I was like, “Oh, this is amazing.” Then, she would find her way out of it. Just the sheer hands getting free would wake them up. Then I would get the ones with the Velcro. Those were the best if you can’t get access to this, for whatever reason. They sell those things everywhere, like at Target, Walmart, everywhere, the Velcro, the sleep sacks. Those are great, too. Those are really great, because you just slide the baby in and you cross their arms, and then you just Velcro it over. You don’t have to worry about wrapping it and keeping them pinned down.

 

This out of everything that I’ve ever, ever found for a baby as far as you need to buy this is this is it, because it’s just – I feel like, the swaddling thing, you can learn, you can be a master, but once the baby is out of it, then you have to redo it again.

 

[00:59:58] KC: Over and over and over again.

 

[00:59:59] MB: At 2 a.m. when you’re sleep-deprived already, and you’re just like, I don’t even know what I’m doing. It’s so frustrating. I feel like they rebranded themselves, so I will find it out and get the links, so that we can put it in the show notes, because it’s brilliant.

 

[01:00:16] KC: Yeah, I agree.

 

[01:00:18] MB: [Inaudible 01:00:17]. They’re 30, 40 bucks.

 

[01:00:21] KC: The swaddling products are very expensive, but they make a huge difference. That one, it sounds especially cool, because that’s one issue I always had with – I’d get the baby perfectly swaddled, and then I’d have to put them in their car seat and you basically have to undo everything.

 

[01:00:36] MB: Yeah. I could never really master the perfect – I mean, I just felt like – I could never get her tight enough. I felt like I was failing at it. It’s really discouraging when all you want to do is get them to be comfortable and sleeping. Or you feel you’re just not – [Inaudible 01:00:51].

 

[01:00:52] KC: You already have enough mom guilt at the newborn stage that you’re not doing everything perfectly, so why make it harder for yourself? There’s a couple of items that I wanted to cover that I think some people might forget to put on their baby registry as first time parents. One of them is the backseat mirror for the car. That is, in my opinion, very important. It gives you peace of mind, because first time parents worry 24 hours a day all the time, the baby is being too quiet back there.

 

I remember pulling over to the side of the road to check the baby, because I couldn’t – I didn’t have a backseat mirror. It’s nerve-racking. Being able to see your baby when you’re driving is so comforting. Not to mention, a reminder to always take your baby out of the backseat. Unfortunately, every year we hear horror stories about people who have forgotten their baby in the seat, in the backseat, in the summertime. It’s a terrible thing. The backseat mirror does give you a little extra protection for that.

 

[01:01:52] MB: The shopping cart cover. I never had one for my kids and they’re fine, but it is cool. First time parents are usually very germaphobic as they should be. The shopping cart cover and the baby won’t need it for a while, but it is nice to have. Something they might not have thought of. There’s a very cool diaper changing pad for your changing table called the poo-poos. Velcros over the top of them and holds them still, so they can’t wiggle away, fall off the changing table, or just wriggle around in their poo, which I don’t know why babies do that, but –

 

[01:02:28] KC: Have you ever heard – it’s probably been around forever, but the PPTP.

 

[01:02:31] MB: Yes, that is very cool.

 

[01:02:33] KC: That’s very cool and very important if you’re going to a boy baby shower.

 

[01:02:37] MB: Yes. I have been feed on many times. Yes, I definitely recommend that, something about when the cool air hits the little boy, they hear you right in the face.

 

[01:02:47] KC: I’ve nannied for a boy that had to be changed. That was my first experience, because I have two girls. It was a shock to my system. I was like, this is a thing that people have – It was the perfect timing, trying to dodge the bullets. Just put the TP on and don’t worry.

 

[01:03:04] MB: Don’t worry about it, because it’s going to happen. It is the sensation of the air just makes them need to go. Yeah, can’t help it. They’re not doing it on purpose. Yeah.

 

[01:03:14] KC: Then the last product I had for you today is – First time parents who are more anxious, or more nervous about having full charge care of a newborn, I remember I was with my first. The nurse was like, “Okay, you can go home.” I was like, “You’re not coming? I don’t know what to do.” I never even babysat when I was younger. I had never taken care. I’d never changed a diaper till it was on my own baby. I’d never taken care of a baby till it was my own child.

 

[01:03:43] MB: I’m trying to think if I had ever had an actual baby. I’ve had kids, little kids, but I didn’t have – I never babysat an actual baby. I don’t think anyone thought I was ever really responsible enough for that. The hospital did. The hospital was like, “Here, take her home.”

 

[01:03:59] KC: I didn’t have a baby. I had a baby when I was 20, or 25. It wasn’t [inaudible 01:04:08]. I wasn’t still a child. Even then, I feel like my first year experience with a baby might have been my baby.

 

[01:04:14] MB: Yeah. I mean, I was an adult, but barely. I was not a super adulty adult. That’s for sure.

 

[01:04:20] KC: No. You were still like, “Wait, you’re not coming with me?” I think we all prayed that.

 

[01:04:25] MB: Yeah. I was so nervous that I was going to miss a signal from him, or I wasn’t doing everything right. I was a nervous wreck for the first one. They make this product called the Pocket Nanny. It looks like a little a bigger version of a Tamagotchi or something. It alerts you at regular intervals to feed the baby, change the baby. Just things that –

 

[01:04:47] KC: Let’s tackle Tamagotchi.

 

[01:04:49] MB: Yeah, basically. It’s of the real-life person, instead of a little digital creature. Yeah, it’s just something that you carry around with you. You could easily set up something in your phone to do these alarms. It’s just an extra. You can hand it to whoever’s in charge of the baby at that particular time, if it’s not always going to be you, which I mean, I hope you have help. Or you are giving the baby to the grandparents, or someone to watch it. That’s always very nerve-wracking when they’re young. This just reminds them, baby need to be changed every couple of hours, need to be fed every couple of hours and this many ounces. It gives you all the information that you need, and reminds you to do those things.

 

Even though I don’t feel it was necessary maybe, I feel when I had my oldest that would have been – I don’t even think – that was ’94. There weren’t even really – I don’t even think I had a cellphone. I think I have a pager or something. Oh, my goodness. That cellphone alarms. There were no smartphones in ’94. I do think it would have given me peace of mind, just to know that I was doing things at the right time and according to what they recommend. Because I think I checked my what to expect the first year book every five minutes.

 

[01:06:02] KC: Oh, yeah. I mean, I had it on an app form, but I for sure checked it all the time. I was like, “I don’t know what I’m expecting.” This is the second time around.

 

[01:06:10] MB: I had taken such a long break in between the two that I felt it was my first time all over again.

 

[01:06:15] KC: Yeah. I’m sure everything technology-wise changed.

 

[01:06:18] MB: Oh, yeah. No, a 1000% for sure. No, for me, not a necessity, but it sure was a help when it was just all the time is those diaper holders, those diaper genies. The only thing you put – Because to be honest, you’re not going to keep running into the dumpster, wherever you’re going to put that thing over and over again, if you’re not doing reusable diapers, the diaper genie is a really bit – It’s not that expensive and it is something that I used countless times all the time. That is something that’s really good on the registry. Then for me, it’s more of a higher ticket item. They range in all types of prices and fanciness. Anything where you can put the baby in where it moves or vibrates.

 

[01:07:00] KC: Like the swings and the rockers and all that stuff.

 

[01:07:02] MB: Brilliant. Because you need to be able to put the baby down to get stuff done and sometimes wearing the baby isn’t going to happen. Maybe you’re a single mom and you legit need to shower. Where are you going to put the baby? A laundry basket is a great option. Anything that swings or moves and it’s also, especially for my first kid, it was a huge helper in getting their bodies and their minds in a sleeping state. If they’re having trouble and the crib wasn’t doing it, sometimes I can put them in a swing and that swinging motion. Like I said, there’s all kinds of cool price points. There’s ones that look like you live in space. They’re so cool.

 

[01:07:38] KC: Yeah. I remember when I was little, my cousin who was younger than me had a baby swing that you had to crank.

 

[01:07:47] MB: Oh, my gosh.

 

[01:07:49] KC: I mean, this was the early 80s. Like a Jack in a Box. You put the baby in a swing and you crank it up and it would swing the baby back and forth. Then, you’d have to go back and crank it up.

 

[01:07:59] MB: That’s so not helpful.

 

[01:08:00] KC: I’m very thankful that technology has come farther than that. Now we have all these automated things. My kids slept in the swing so well, I would definitely recommend that. I bought something for my stepdaughter for, her baby shower. Her child is, Eila is now almost three. It was called the snuggle lounger. It was like a little a little baby bed. When you put them in it, it conformed around them and it gave them the sensation of being held. I read about it before I bought it for I’d never seen it before. Months later, she told me, “This snuggle lounger that you bought me is the only thing getting me through the day, because it’s the only time I can put her down without her screaming.”

 

[01:08:42] MB: Oh, yeah. I actually had to learn how to get her to fall asleep without the swing, because I depended on it a little too much. I’m not kidding you, at 2 in the morning, when you’re just – you don’t have it in you to do this next to the bed, or in another room because somebody else is trying to sleep. Just being able to put them down with a lullaby calms them down, that rocking back and forth motion or something. Just the vibrating emotion. That is sometimes a big ticket item that I kid you not, will save them as people.

 

[01:09:16] KC: Yeah. It really saves your sanity to be able, like you said, to take a shower, to get yourself ready for the day, to cook to do something. Sometimes it’s not safe to have the baby strapped to you if you’re –

 

[01:09:25] MB: If you don’t have a partner, or their partner is gone whole day.

 

[01:09:28] KC: Yeah, exactly. I’ve been there.

 

[01:09:29] MB: Take five minutes.

 

[01:09:31] KC: Yeah. I’ve been on my own with it and I’ve also had a partner who worked 20-hour shifts. I have been both of those situations. I remember going out to the grocery store late at night, because it was the only time that I had someone to watch the kids where I could go to the grocery store. I was standing in line at the checkout counter and I was bouncing. I did not have any children with me. The checkout lady was like, “Oh, you’re a mama.” I just realized, I have been standing there bouncing, because I did it all day long with – I mean, I was like this all day long. In the grocery store, no babies still going like this. People must have thought I was out of my mind.

 

[01:10:10] MB: This will forever stick with me. I remember you asked me a very, very important question when I was pregnant with Kenzie, that will forever stick with me. Because you were like, “Well, what are you going to do when you shower?” I’m like, “Well, she’ll be in the crib.” She’s like, “Oh, you think, but you’re in the shower.” Then Emma gets curious about what the baby’s up to. Then she’s all of a sudden in the room with a baby. You’re going to need to have that baby in the bathroom with you, so that you know the baby is safe.

 

[01:10:37] KC: Yeah. If you have other children or pets in your home, you cannot leave your baby on attended ever.

 

[01:10:46] MB: [Inaudible 01:10:45] you can bring with you. You have to have something that –

 

[01:10:50] KC: I used the car seat, the car seat carrier. I use that and I put the baby in it and put them in the bathroom, where I could see them from the shower, but they weren’t obviously in the shower with me. Because the first time I took a shower, when I came home from the hospital with Samantha and I had all the kids alone at the house, I took a shower and I got out of the shower and my two boys who were two and a half and four had filled her mouth with goldfish crackers.

 

She had the tale of a goldfish crackers sticking out of her mouth. The look on my face, they could tell that I was really horrified and scared. They were like, “Mommy, we just wanted to share with the new baby.” It was so sweet and also, so incredibly dangerous at the same time. I had to reach my finger in a pop all these goldfish crackers over a tiny newborn mouth. No.

 

[01:11:47] MB: It’s a thing. If you’re a second time parent, and you all of a sudden also have a kid who’s too young and you cannot trust – If your second kid is not 21 and can’t take care of your newborn –

 

[01:11:59] KC: I don’t know if I would. I’ve met a lot of really untrustworthy 21-year-olds.

 

[01:12:03] MB: I don’t even know what age you could be like, “All right, you’re cool, while I go do this.” It’s not going to happen. You need to have something to put the baby in. Sometimes the car seat is great. You already have that. It’s a two for one situation. Sometimes give them two seconds in the car seat and then they’re mad at you, because they’re bored, or they’re angry, or they’re hungry. Something that moves gives you the ability to enjoy your shower, because oh, my goodness, you deserve it. It’s been three days.

 

[01:12:30] KC: You look rough, girl. Go get in the shower.

 

[01:12:34] MB: Something like that to put the baby down that can keep you from having to constantly either wear, or hold the baby, or feel that’s your only job, or only option in life is like a huge sanity saver that can sometimes be semi-pricey, but man, will you ever use it. Yeah. Those can be handed down.

 

[01:12:54] KC: Yeah, they can.

 

[01:12:56] MB: They’re not unsafe to reuse for somebody.

 

[01:12:58] KC: No. I also wanted to point that out. Other than the car seats that we already talked about, a lot of expensive items barely used, very good condition can be found secondhand. There are some really great children’s consignment stores across the country that you should not overlook when you’re shopping. You can check.

 

[01:13:18] MB: I’m not going to lie. Go check those first.

 

[01:13:21] KC: You can check the baby registry and then go and look for those items on Facebook marketplace, at consignment stores, on offer up, things like that. Maybe you’ll be able to give them more than you were expecting to, because you found a really great deal on it. You know, you probably know the parents if these people are friends or family members of yours, if they would have any issue with that. I don’t see why that they would, but everybody’s different.

 

I mean, there are things that I had that I got my baby shower, or bought because I thought I would use it and used it maybe once. Perfect condition and resold. I sent all my kids’ stuff to consignment stores when I was done with it, or donated it because there’s a lot that you end up with that is hardly used. Don’t overlook those options if you’re on a budget.

 

[01:14:07] MB: Price point situation for a great steal. Just because somebody is like, “I just need this out of my garage.” Take it. You’re like, “Wait, really?” They don’t even realize the price point that they’re giving you. You can find some really nice stuff. Yeah, for sure. Strollers are a great, secondhand thing. The rockers thing are great, secondhand thing. Clothes, I would always go to those things first, because it’s like, why buy a new? Cookbooks, children’s toys sometimes are really good to get secondhand. Yeah, consignment for kids and babies is a great option.

 

[01:14:44] KC: Yeah. If you’re super not thrilled about anything on the baby registry list, or baby stuff in general, other options are always meal services, not the ones where you have to cook them, the ones where it’s already cooked. I can think of Freshly is one of them. Model meals is another one, where the food is healthy and delicious and already, they literally just have to microwave it or heat it up. Those are great options. It’s very hard to take care of yourself when you’re taking care of a newborn.

 

Cleaning services, or coupons for things. I’ll come over and watch the baby while you take a shower. I’ll come and clean. If you’re really in a difficult financial situation, or that’s just something that appeals to you, a coupon book I would have loved as a new mom. To have the person genuinely say like, “I mean it. I will come. This isn’t just a gesture. I’m serious.”

 

[01:15:37] MB: Moms or dads or whoever live across the country and they can’t just help them that first really horrible week, because I’m sorry, it’s horrible when you have to go home with a kid and figure everything out for yourself and try and eat and sleep and work and blah, blah, blah.

 

[01:15:49] KC: Yeah, or like you and I who didn’t really have mothers that were around or –

 

[01:15:53] MB: I had Dan’s mom, my husband’s mom, who lived with us for the first two weeks straight up lived with us, because I mean you can’t do it all. If I didn’t have her – and then I had people bringing by meals. It’s like, if I didn’t have that, oh, I don’t know. Yeah.

 

[01:16:11] KC: Yeah, that’s another thing. If you’re a good cook, or a baker or something like that and you know their allergies or dietary preferences, make a bunch of meals that they can freeze. Just label the reheating instructions on them. Make some goodies that are freezable that they can –

 

[01:16:25] MB: I’m not going to go grocery shopping. Not going to even go to Target drive up that first week. [Inaudible 01:16:31] sleep deprived. You’re not going to feel cute. I don’t even want to talk about what you’re going to be like recovering –

 

[01:16:38] KC: Throw up on you somewhere. I know you do.

 

[01:16:39] MB: There’s no going out.

 

[01:16:41] KC: Yeah. There is baby vomit on you at somewhere on your body. I know it.

 

[01:16:44] MB: You’re recovering from pushing a human out of you –

 

[01:16:47] KC: Or C section or something.

 

[01:16:48] MB: Giant diapers that they make you rock for a while. Goodness, have blessed. I miss all that. You’re not going to Target.

 

[01:16:55] KC: No. If they had a C section, they’re down and out for weeks. If you’re not a cook and you just want to do something like that, you can make a basket of things from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or any grocery store. It doesn’t have to be that, that are pre prepared.

 

[01:17:13] MB: A unique gift idea, I feel. Because it is very essential for that time, but it might not just be directly related to baby, but it’s needed, especially if you really know that person situation.

 

[01:17:26] KC: Yeah, or gift certificates to places like Grub Hub, or Chow, or any of the ones that deliver food. Postmates.  When I had my oldest my first child at the hospital in Newport Beach, they sent me home with a basket of pre-prepared Italian goodies. I don’t even know. That’s all I ate for a few days was what they had sent me home with.

 

[01:17:48] MB: Then, the hospital sends you home with a – depending on the hospital you deliver, with a care package of essentials that you need to get started. I used those items so – until the end of their natural lifespan.

 

[01:18:01] KC: I feel like, I attended the Grammys or something. I was like, “Wait. Swag?”

 

[01:18:04] MB: Swag. Yes.

 

[01:18:05] KC: I get swag for having a baby. I was like, “Oh. Nutrigrain bar.” They do send you home with a bunch of different – depending on what your situation is, they’ll still send you home with formula samples and they’ll send you home with diapers, and they’ll send you home with the things you need to take care of you.

 

[01:18:22] MB: Swaddle blanket.

 

[01:18:23] KC: Swaddle blankets.

 

[01:18:24] MB: You don’t to stress about that. Another real quick tip. This is the longest podcast we’ve ever done.

 

[01:18:30] KC: I know.

 

[01:18:31] MB: If you are planning a baby shower, you know the person who is, add in the idea of bring a thing of diapers with your present, because if you’re having 18 people come, then that’s 18 things of diapers. Try your best to knock it, the premier that – I don’t know. It’s so hard with diaper sizing, but it really does help. Because then you go home with a big stack and you’ll blow through that first stack so fast, you don’t even know. If you’re going to a baby shower, and it’s not on a thing, just maybe bring a pack of diapers anyway. If it’s newborn or ones is always a good, solid choice.

 

[01:19:07] KC: No one’s going to be offended by an extra pack of diapers. It will be much appreciated.

 

[01:19:11] MB: No, it really is. I remember surviving that first week or two off. I thought I had an obscene amount of diapers and then they went so fast and I was so bummed when I had to buy my first set of diapers. I was like, “Wait. Diapers are how much?” I didn’t know, because I was set for a while. Then when I went in, it was financially a little tougher, because they’d like I said, go through five-day diapers a day if you’re not [inaudible 01:19:33]. Bring a sack of diapers, make it a thing, a theme on the invitation if you’re that close to the person who’s planning it, because that’s a huge lifesaver for first time parents, too.

 

Because they don’t, they don’t know how much diapers are going to be and then they think they’re going to go a certain route with a certain brand. Then they’re like, “Oh.” I went from Honest brand and Pampers to Target brand real fast. After the third week, I was like, “I can’t afford this. I can’t afford this.” Because you’re pooping no matter what.

 

[01:20:06] KC: You learn, which diapers fit your baby’s body best and which diapers, even though they’re more expensive, they leak at night. They’ll going to figure out their own favorite brand. Getting them through the first couple weeks is so helpful. Now that we all live scattered throughout the country, our families are no longer all living within a few blocks of each other, like the 1950s. Most of us aren’t part of the communities that we had back then, where if you had a baby, everyone in your neighborhood and your maybe your church community, or your philanthropic community knew that and would come and bring you meals for every day for weeks, and would leave things for you.

 

Unfortunately, it’s not the society that we live in anymore to some extent, because we are – now we’re all private. We live separate from each other. We’re not as much of a neighborhood community. If you do have a friend or loved one who is having their first baby, or a baby at home, consider the options we gave you and all the other extras that we mentioned, because they would be so appreciated. I know that’s a very difficult time of any family’s life as they make that huge adjustment from being a couple, or just a mom, or whatever they are to being a family with a baby. It’s a probably the biggest adjustment you ever make in your life, in my opinion.

 

[01:21:31] MB: You come from it being all about you essentially, to not about you on any small level. Yeah. It’s beautiful. I love it. It’s so wonderful.

 

[01:21:43] KC: Yeah. Having kids was the best thing that ever happened to me. I truly believe it was my purpose in this life. At the same time, I was a very underpaid, very underpaid servant to these demanding little tiny soul-sucking monsters. They brought me the more joy than anything else in my life. I can’t explain that dichotomy, but it is very, very true.

 

[01:22:07] MB: It’s all it’s all wonderful. It’s so weird how your body will forget that weird first few months to convince you enough that it’s like, “Oh, let’s do this again.”

 

[01:22:15] KC: You want to do it again.

 

[01:22:18] MB: It is a crazy time for anyone. The more like we said, you can stick to the list and the more I’m going to say, the more you stick to our suggestions because more moms have done this, you’re just going to help them, because it’s just going to be crazy, no matter how many gadgets you have or what you do, nothing’s going to fully prepare you for what’s ahead. These suggestions will help a little bit.

 

[01:22:40] KC: All right. Well, congratulations to everyone. Who is expecting a little one in their friend group or their family? It’s a wonderful time and now that we’re coming out of this pandemic, it’s a little less scary than it was last year to bring a human into the world.

 

[01:22:53] MB: We can finally talk about baby showers again.

 

[01:22:55] KC: I know. I know. It’s great. Hopefully, everyone is celebrating safely in person. I look forward to going back to baby shower. I love baby showers. It’s one of my favorite. We all get together.

 

[01:23:06] MB: Everyone want to still buy the cute outfit, it’s fine. Just make sure you pair it with something that’s maybe on the registry, because I do love buying – baby shoes are so cute.

 

[01:23:14] KC: They’re so freaking cute.

 

[01:23:16] MC: They’re ridiculous.

 

[01:23:16] KC: They don’t even need shoes, they don’t walk anywhere. They don’t go anywhere.

 

[01:23:20] MB: No. They don’t need the Air Force Ones, but they’re so small that it’s –

 

[01:23:23] KC: It’s so cute. Yeah.

 

[01:23:26] MB: Maybe, also by the nose Frida.

 

[01:23:29] KC: Balance. Balance. All right. Well, thank you guys again for joining us. As always, please visit our website shesafullonmonet.com. We will be covering this topic in depth on the website. We will have links to everything that we talked about today in the show notes. Please join our discussion group on Facebook, if you’d like to continue the discussion. We look forward to seeing you guys again next week. Thank you so much. Thank you again, Megan.

 

[01:23:53] MB: Bye. Thank you.

 

[01:23:54] KC: Bye.

 

[OUTRO]

 

[01:23:56] KC: Thanks so much for listening to this week’s episode. Don’t forget to bookmark our site, shesafullonmonet.com and subscribe to our newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you’re enjoying this podcast, it helps us a lot if you can follow, rate and review. See y’all next week.

 

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