Baby Advice from the "Veteran" Mom

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of HUGGIES. All opinions are 100% mine.

My babies when they were babies.

I got married fairly young (25) and had my first kid pretty soon after that at 26.  Then BAM, 2 years later, the other kid.  We went from a carefree, young, late-dinner-having, lax-schedule, vacationing (oh the vacations!), sleeping-in couple, to a family of 4 in a period of 2 years. It was quick. And among my close circle of friends, I was the only one with kids. Fast forward 5ish years, that has changed. All of them either have kids now or are pregnant. You know that stage in your life where everyone you know is getting married? Yeah, I'm at the everyone I know is having babies stage. I'm now the one with the old kids... the veteran if you will. I'm going to share some recent pictures of a playdate to show you what I mean.

This is the beautiful Lexi. Her mama and I have been freinds since college.

And the always-on-the-move Joey. No way was he sitting still for a picture!

And the brand new Jackson... Joey's little brother. Their mama and I have been friends a bit longer.

I still remember the advice I got from EVERYONE about how my life was gonna change, what their babies did, and how I was never going to sleep again (that one is true). And I was annoyed then. But I get it now (live and learn, right?). It's difficult not to share your hard-earned wisdom with the preggers out there. It helps you remember your babies to talk to others about them. You earned these battle scars and it kind of seems like your duty to warn, er ... educate soon-to-be parents out there. So let me reminisce, will you? I've earned this baby advice... and I might miss my "babies" just a little.

• Put the cabinet locks on. Just do it. I'm not talking about just under the sink where the deadly chemical stuff is, I talking every single cabinet they can possible reach. Lock. It. If not, you will be cleaning up every pot lid and tupperware container everyday (covered in crumbs and dog hair) for years.
• Pack more diapers, wipes, and outfits than you think you will need. Never fails. The one time you don't pack the extra, extra pair of shorts, your kid will pee on, spill on, render useless what they are wearing. Take this from a mom who had to put peed-through shorts back on her kid at Disney World. Not pretty. The extra HUGGIES® Little Movers for active babies were a staple in my bag from then on.
• Put them in the cute outfits when they are small just because. They grow out of them so fast and, let's face it, newborns don't go too many places. Just put the outfits on them at home and take some pictures. You'll be glad you did later.
• Do what works for your family... even if it's weird. Our daughter tried to/did eat the dog food one too many times. Our solution? A Winnie the Pooh doll she was terrified of. I don't know what it was about poor Pooh, but she hated him. We sat him right up next to the dog bowls to "stand guard". Worked like a charm. :)
• Save money on diapers and wipes! For example, HUGGIES® Triple Clean Wipes and HUGGIES® Snug & Dry Diapers as well as Bonus Pack Diapers are all available at Walmart. Shop at a place that takes coupons and has low prices anyway. Buy in bulk to save even more. I still store all of my kids' art supplies in my wipes containers.

So there's my two cents.  Most importantly, do what works for YOU and your baby, but know that the "veterans" out there offering advice are doing so because they've walked the walk.