by Heather
I just read this tip in the cute new book Mama Knows Breast: A Beginners Guide to Breastfeeding:
What you wore on your way up the scale, wear on your way back down.
It sounds simple enough, but if you’re still pregnant, do yourself a huge favor and store all your maternity clothes in reverse order with your smallest pants and tiniest tops on the bottom of a very large pile (or wedged in the top or back of your closet where your pregnant self can no longer reach) — and your much more ample clothes in easy reach.
I hope we’re not the first to tell you that you won’t come home from the hospital in your favorite old jeans. Plan to be wearing about five-or-six-month pregnant clothes for a little while and you won’t be too disappointed.
I did not do this and, consequently, as I get smaller, I’m still struggling with nothing to wear much as I did on the way up. At this point, my shirts are either baggy or half-shirts. Grrrrrr.
Dear Rachel (pictured at 25 weeks), there’s still time for you!
by Whitney
Friends without babies love to wear the front carrier. Let them — 6-month olds are heavy! Ask a friend or sibling if they want to “wear the baby” while you are out and about.
Look how how happy my friend Doug was in this picture to be wearing my son around. Deliriously.
A few weeks ago, Heather gave me 30 minutes to myself by wearing my tiny Scarlett on a long walk while she pushed her own baby in his stroller. I still owe her for that one.
by Whitney
This is an outing for beginners: go to your favorite outdoor breakfast venue. You have about five more months to enjoy cafe culture. For your sake, I hope that some of this includes the warmer months. Once your baby crawls, she will not tolerate your fondness for people watching or spacing out, so live it up now. Pack up a journal, a trashy magazine, or a pile of thank you notes and head to a cafe. Park the stroller right next to you and breathe in the fresh air.
If it’s raining, this outing is even better. You need to get out of the house and your new favorite coffee shop is a place you can go sit for an hour or two and just be proud that you went somewhere on your own. Yes, you can take the baby out in the rain or snow. Your mother surely took you. (Well, not me, ’cause I was born in San Diego). Go on, that hot chocolate has your name written all over it.
If you go to the same place every day, they will quickly remember you and your baby and probably your order. This might make you feel special. If you were me, you would take this on as a challenge and purposely seek out a place where they ask for your name so that you can arrive to a personalized greeting.
Before you leave the cafe, buy some treats for dessert tonight. Que magnifique!
Related: Activity #297: Do what YOU want to do and Activity #304: Enjoy modern art
by Whitney
For those who have kids who eat real food, I wanted to share this web site: SnacksForToddlers.com.
For those who have a newborn in the house, you might find it convenient to go back to some basics for snacking. Cheese sticks, apple slices, dried fruit. These are all easy to put into ziploc bags in your diaper bag. You never know when hunger will strike but your brain will be too overwhelmed to figure out what to do. It is handy to keep snacks with you. It’s ok to treat yourself like a toddler 
I am too lazy to do even that, so I carry a Luna bar everywhere with me.
(via Aurelia Williams)
Related link:
If your baby is somewhere in the middle - ie 10-15 months, read about making a smoothie.
