When we were first time parents, parents entering the newborn stage again after many years, or when seasoned parents with older kids, we are always looking to others for advice, tips and tricks, support and deals when it comes to raising our kids. Sharing amazing mom and dad hacks has become a trend among parents over the last couple of years, and they serve as simple ways to make every parent’s life a little easier.
Today I wanted to share with you a couple of my own mom hacks, and some advice that I have found useful since becoming a mom myself. Thank you to Pampers for sponsoring this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I only work with brands I genuinely love.
I am going to start off with my top two mom hacks, which I should really call parent hacks, because they can benefit both moms and dads!
1. Keep a diaper bag ‘back-up’ in the car at all times
My first mom hack helps with those days we may feel a little scattered or so rushed trying to get out of the door that we forget important items. I cannot tell you how many times Dan and I have left the house with the diaper bag, but forgot to pack the diapers and wipes. You would think that since those are the most important items we would remember them…but somehow it has occasionally slipped our minds.
As a back-up when those times happen, I always have extra diaper bag essentials in the van. I also have an extra pair of clothes in the bag for each of the kids too, which was especially handy when they were younger and would spit up a lot and the chances of a diaper explosion were high! I hate to admit it, but having the extra diaper bag in the van has proven beneficial to me more times than I would like to admit!
2. Turn purchases into points
My second mom hack involves turning your diaper purchases into rewards for yourself, with Pampers Rewards. The Pampers Rewards program has been around for approximately 10 years here in Canada and the US. In 2017, the program was relaunched in Canada to make it better and easier for every parent to use.
If you are unfamiliar with Pampers Rewards, it is a loyalty program that rewards you for your Pampers purchases. You simply open the app, scan the Rewards code on the product package, and watch the points rack up! It’s nice to open an app and scan your codes as soon as you get home and you can choose to save up your points or use them right away. It is completely free, and you get 100 points just for signing up. There are so many great rewards to choose from including coupons for diapers, fun educational toys for your kids and one of my favourites, various photo options from Shutterfly to show off your memories!
As parents, you know diapers and wipes are going to be one of the biggest purchases you make, so why not get rewarded for it! The new app is a great tool to have on your phone and it’s available for Android and iPhone. For more information and to check out all the rewards you can visit Pampers Rewards.
Now on to my advice!
I am going to start with some advice that I received from quite a few people when Emily was born and that was to “sleep when the baby sleeps.” It sounds simple enough and something you think every parent would want to do, which is true, but I never listened to it when I had Emily.
Instead, I tried to take advantage of the times Emily would sleep, using those precious moments to get other things done around the house, but I always felt exhausted afterwards. It wasn’t until the triplets were born, that I finally used this advice and made sure to take the time to sleep when the babies were sleeping. It was a little challenging because I had to find a way to have Emily and the triplets nap at the same time, but when it worked out I was sure to use the time to get some sleep myself! If you’re like me, you’ll probably be more attentive and productive with the extra sleep.
My second piece of advice would be to embrace the chaos. Your kids will make messes, get dirty and break things and that’s okay. It will be hard sometimes to do this and I know I have struggled to follow my own advice at times, but there are going to be somethings that are out of your control and it’s not worth it to stress about the little things.
When your kids are little, they don’t care if the house is clean, the laundry is done or the dishes are put away, they just want your attention and your time to play with them! I’ll tell you the best days that I could have are the days I let the little things go, sit on the floor and play with Emily and the triplets!
I hope you enjoyed my mom hacks and advice and find a way to apply them to your life as a parent! Parenting is a tough job, but if we can work together and share our advice, tips, hacks and deals we have found to work, then we can make all of our jobs a little easier!
We would love to hear your parenting hacks and advice, so please share below!
The Baby Gang 