Fuss-Free Holiday with Pampers and CVS

So dude.  This time of year is CRA.  We have been going non stop for 2 weeks now and it won't let up until the New Year. Parties! and Events!  Out of town Guests! last minute shopping and wrapping!  I'm not sure if it was because of this being our first Christmas with 3 kids,the shortened length after Thanksgiving, or what but this year I was STRESSED.  Good stress is still stress!

 My daughter's preschool Christmas Concert.  SO MUCH ADORABLE!

And her cheering section.

There seemed to be a perfect storm of factors combining to really put on the pressure this year.  With Matt working so much leading up to the holiday, our friends coming to town before Christmas instead of afterwards, and my 2 yo being a 2yo well...

It took a lot to pull it all off.

But I think the trickiest part this year was balancing the things we wanted to do with our older children with the needs of our baby.  Especially for our 4 year old this is just a MAGICAL time.  With so many fun things to do:

Kringle's inventionasium - one of the top Santa experiences in the US!

Which meant our 6 month old got to come along, too.

I love how the baby looks like he's thinking "these people are insane."

Baby's first noodles at noodlecat.

I think the moment that put it into the sharpest perspective was this.

Santa Came!  Photo taken at 2AM.

Yes.  We were up until 2AM pulling off the Santa thing for the big kids.  And then the baby was up to nurse as per usual at 4.  And then again at 6.  So I got almost no sleep the night before Christmas.  But, Santa! 

So how about a list?

Ways to Survive Big Kid Holiday Fun with a Baby:

1.)  Carry them.  Seriously a good baby carrier makes things so much easier because then my hands are free for dealing with the other two kids.  We just strap him in and off we go!

2.)  Keep them on as much of a routine as possible.  Yeah this might seem impossible.   But despite the holiday crazy I've tried to keep the main things at around the same times.  So I feed him when I normally feed him (nursing cover FTW!).  And have timed drives in the car when he would normally be napping - extending those drives by looking for Christmas decorations with the big kids.  A little bit of normalcy in routine can make all of the difference for a little one! 

3.)  Bring jammies everywhere.  That way if we end up out later than planned because we stopped to get the big kids ice cream I can still put my little guy to bed in his carseat with a much easier transfer when we get home.

Mmmmmm... Ice Cream.

4.)  CVS.  So with remembering everything for the big kids sometimes I forget something for the little one.  Like Diapers.  AHEM.

 CVS is is super convenient for those last minute issues.  Like when you're on your way to your kid's holiday concert and while you remembered the cookies, and your camera, and your video camera, and the teacher gifts, and the 2 year old's blanket, and an outfit change for the 4 year old for afterwards, and snacks for everyone, etc. etc. etc. you forgot to bring diapers.  OOPS.  Also the CVS near to me has the cleanest, nicest bathroom around.  Which is a random thing to know but key when you're out running errands with a recently potty trained 2yo.

Plus they carry gift cards - perfect for that last minute gift that you completely forgot you needed to buy:

And groceries for when you're out of bread and milk (I'm ALWAYS out of bread and milk) but don't want to brave the crazy that is a grocery store during the holidays:

5.)  Use a diaper you trust.  Yeah the last thing you need to be worried about when rushing off to a holiday party is changing a set of sheets because the diaper didn't hold.  That actually happened to us this year making us super late to the family Christmas Eve celebration.  Never. Again.

Daddy and Baby DONE on Christmas Eve.  Both the big kids were still going strong.

Pampers has recently come out with some great innovations to prevent such a situation from happening.  Their baby dry diapers offer 12 hours of leak-free protection.  So you won't have to get up at 3am for an unexpected diaper change!  My personal favorite, though, is that they now carry the swaddlers line - the incredibly soft and wonderful diapers that were previously just for newborns - up to a size 5!  All of these pampers products are available at CVS!

To celebrate their new innovations Pampers is offering a giveaway!  Enter below to win a coupon for a package of diapers and wipes!  Super excited to be sharing this with you:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.