New Born

Baby, Kids Fashion, Motherhood, New Born, New Mom, Pregnancy, Sponsored
How to Dress a Newborn in the Fall
- 11:30 pm
- 2 Comments
- by Adanna Dill
I partnered with Kmart for this sponsored post. As usual, all opinions are my own.

I’m really impressed that I was able to keep the big secret of our baby’s gender this long and now that everyone knows that we’re having a baby girl you wouldn’t be able to stop me from talking about her. We’re all excited (although my son took a while to warm up to the idea of another sister) but with fall here we’re nesting and preparing for her arrival. Preparing for her arrival means lots of clothes shopping because this little lady will have style. Now, I hate to admit it but my idea of newborn baby girl style seven years ago with my first was not practical. I remember bringing three outfits to the hospital because I couldn’t decide what to take her home in and I wanted her to look fancy, prom fancy. When my nurse gave the dress I pulled out the side eye I knew I had a great deal to learn. That’s why I love sharing my journey because I know there is another mom having a baby with no idea how to dress a newborn in the fall so here are a few tips to help:

Stick to lightweight breathable materials.

Now that I’ve had the experience dressing two newborns in the fall, the first thing I reach for is lightweight breathable materials. I’ve learned that babies get warm quickly so it’s important to layer them up in lightweight breathable pieces. The new Spencer by Jaclyn Smith layette collection a Kmart-exclusive line made of really soft cotton with the most adorable designs is perfect for fall. The pieces that I’ve gotten for my baby girl from the collection so far are whimsical and feature pretty florals and fun artwork designs. I’m also a huge fan of the color palette which is subtle and modern.

Go for simple statement pieces.

During the fall, my baby girl will still be stylish in statement sweaters like this adorable one from the same collection. Don’t judge me but I really wish this was in my size too, I mean that fox is too cute and I love that it matches perfectly with my fall bomber jacket. I’m excited to coordinate outfits with my two little girls and I love that this collection will make that really easy for us. I mean we may leave the hospital twinning, just don’t tell the nurses.

Invest in must-have pieces

You’re going to want to listen to this bit of advice if you’re a first-time mom. Be sure to buy enough essential daily clothing pieces for your baby like sleep suits, bodysuits, hats, and bibs. You wouldn’t believe how quickly these would need to be changed and you don’t ever want to run out of clean clothes for your baby especially with the colder temperatures.

Dress your baby in the correct size.

If you want your baby to be comfortable during the fall, pay attention to the sizing on the clothes and dress your baby accordingly. Dressing your baby in clothing that’s too big or too small may be uncomfortable and make your child fussy. Remember that sometimes babies move up in sizes prior to getting to the age on the tags. My older daughter was wearing size 3-6 months when she was only 2 months old as she was a tall baby.

So there you have it, I hope these tips help you dress your baby this fall. I’m really excited to share my new journey as a mom of three with all of you. Of course, you can follow my Instagram stories to see my baby girl’s outfits of the day when she gets here, she will definitely be wearing her Spencer by Jaclyn Smith pieces. The line isn’t just for girls, so if you’re having a boy or looking for gender-neutral options you can see them here – all budget-friendly ranging from $19.99 to $29.99. These sets make the perfect gifts and they come beautifully packaged with the line’s signature fox ribbons so you can use them as baby shower gifts or sibling gifts which is how I plan to use them. I’m a lover of details so the beautiful message on the gift box tags “There is nothing on earth as life changing as parenting” is the perfect message for new or veteran parents.

What are your tips for dressing a newborn in the fall?

Giveaway

Excited to try the Spencer by Jaclyn Smith line? I’ve partnered with Kmart to host a giveaway for one lucky Rattles and Heels reader will win a $100 Kmart gift card. You can enter below. Good luck!

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Baby, Motherhood, New Born, New Mom, Pregnancy, Sponsored
Pregnancy Decisions: Three Reasons I am Considering Cord Blood Banking
- 12:15 am
- 0 comments
- by Adanna Dill
This post is a sponsored post by CBR® but the contents and opinions expressed here are my own.

Motherhood is hard! It’s stressful and filled with so many unexpected twists and turns. I know because I’ve had so many experiences that were beyond my control like learning that my daughter had severe food allergies when she was only a year old to nursing her back to health from bad asthma attacks. Besides the fact that these experiences have made me into a much stronger woman, it’s also made me wiser and open to doing as much as I can to protect my family who I love dearly. That’s one of the reasons that I’ve been doing tons of research and considering cord blood banking with Cord Blood Registry® (CBR®). I believe that this would be a good option for our family at this time and I wanted to share three reasons that I am considering cord blood banking:

Cord Blood contains important stem cells

As I mentioned earlier, life is unpredictable and we have no idea what would happen, one of the main reasons I am considering cord blood banking is because cord blood contains very important stem cells that have successfully been used in the treatment of leukemia, sickle cell, blood disorders and many other diseases (more than 80). There are currently clinical trials with cord blood exploring it’s potential for the treatment of autism, cerebral palsy, pediatric stroke and hearing loss. Experts in the field are excited about what possibilities newborn stem cells hold such as potential treatment for diabetes, neurological disease and injury, transplant complications and more. A lot of this research is in the early stages, but you just don’t know what the future will hold when it comes to scientific advances! As I shared last summer, I visited a children’s hospital and seeing so many kids ill was heartbreaking. If I can do anything for the ones I love, I would do it.

It’s not as tough of a process as I thought

I am all about a low-key labor and delivery. After having my daughter taken away from me for way too long after I gave birth to her, I was concerned that by signing up for cord blood banking I would have to deal with that again. After doing my research, I learned that it only takes a few minutes to collect cord blood directly from the umbilical cord and doesn’t even alter your birth plan, which is comforting to me as a parent.

It can potentially benefit the family not just the baby

The beauty of cord blood banking is that it can be potentially used not only for the baby that I am having but for a matching member of our immediate family if need be based on the situation. As I read through the family usage of cord blood list on the CBR website, it was evident that many siblings were able to use their sibling’s cord blood as part of their treatment of leukemia, sickle cell, aplastic anemia and more illnesses. It is even possible that a parent may be able to use their child’s cord blood.

It’s really fantastic that we have the option to do something only minutes after our sweet babies enter the world to potentially help them or another family member in the future. You can learn more about cord blood banking over on the Cord Blood Registry® (CBR®) website.
Baby, Motherhood, New Born, New Mom, Toddler
6 Tips To Help Your Toddler And Newborn Bond
- 12:53 pm
- 0 comments
- by Adanna Dill
You just had a new baby and everyone is really excited. Well, everyone except your baby (now a toddler). This is the first major adjustment your kid will ever have to make and it wouldn’t be easy especially if up until the day you came home from the hospital, he was soaking up all of your attention. Don’t be surprised if your toddler went ahead and behaved like the new baby didn’t even exist or was that just my kid? This was one of the things that made me extremely nervous when I had my second child. My daughter was 3 months shy of 3 and still really young. Three years later, I must say that I love to see their bond and how close they’ve grown so I wanted to share a few of the things that I did to facilitate that relationship:

1. Get your toddler excited about the new baby.

Do everything you can to make your toddler really excited about becoming a big brother or sister. Take your toddler to all of your doctor appointments, show him/her ultrasound photos so they can see their baby sister or brother.

2. Read about becoming a sibling.

My daughter loved reading books about other kids who were also getting baby brothers or sisters. My daughter would make me read the book Big Sisters Are the Best by Fran Manushkin almost daily while I was pregnant and we got the book When Mommy Has Our Baby by Rachel Armstrong Cedar after having my son which she loved and I wish we had it earlier because the author does such a great job at addressing what children can expect to change and how to process their feelings in a really positive and upbeat way.

3. Don’t ever tell your toddler that they are no longer the baby.

As far as your toddler is concerned, he still deserves all the attention he’s always had. Sharing you with the new baby may be hard. Don’t make it harder by saying things to him like “You’re no longer the baby” all your toddler is going to do is get jealous of the baby and may even resort to baby like behavior to prove it.

4. Make special time for your toddler.

Leave the baby with grandparents or a babysitter and head to the park with your toddler. Make sure he gets to do all the things he loves and to feel very special doing big kid stuff that baby can’t do yet.

5. Encourage bonding activities.

Bonding activities that worked for my family including reading and listening to music with both kids. They both still love listening to music and snuggling up to read books together. My daughter even reads to her brother now. You can read some of the bonding activities we did here.

6. Give your child ownership of the Baby.

Make your toddler feel important by referring to the baby as “our” baby. This way he will feel more inclined to be gentle and protect the baby. My daughter used to always ask if we could “keep the baby” since she loved him so much.

What did you do to encourage bonding between your kids?

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