making room for our second-born (the material stuff)

When I was pregnant with Jack, I'm pretty sure I had the nursery and the rest of our house 100% ready for his arrival by, ohhhh, mid-July? But true to all the cliche jokes about your first-born vs. all the others, Andrew came home right at the start of the third trimester and I was all, "So...about this baby. Maybe we should name him and stuff?"

I think I was in deployment survival mode and every baby-related thought ended with me deciding that it would be better to just deal with it when Andrew got home. Needless to say, we've been in MAJOR nesting mode over here. The nursery (what had become more of a craft/storage room) needed to be cleaned out but all of those boxes needed a new home, which meant the basement and garage also needed to be cleaned out as well. We've sold stuff on Craigslist, made a bajillion trips to Goodwill and reorganized boxes that haven't been opened since we moved in together and even though it's kind of been a drag, the house feels so much lighter. I'm a fan of downsizing. Out with the junk!

So now the nursery is painted and it's just waiting for all the fun stuff like furniture and tiny diapers and baskets full of baby clothes. The nest is ready to be feathered, if you will. 

Which leads me to my next question/outloud thought: what does one need the second time around?

I started a mental list in the form of an Amazon Registry for things that I knew I was going to need but didn't want to forget about: another changing pad, another humidifier, some newborn long-sleeved onesies (a Connecticut October baby needs a lot more layers than a Charleston October baby). But what about the other stuff? Here are a few things on my list:

• I didn't register for swaddling blankets with Jack because I had flannel receiving blankets on my list and I didn't think I'd need both. I can just swaddle him with the cheap flannel ones, duh! WRONG. No one told me about those magical, extra large blankets that you can tie your babies up in so they don't bust out of a weak swaddle at 3am and start screaming. So these are definitely on my list this time.
• A second Boppy cover. Again, what was I thinking only having one? My Boppy stayed naked a lot of the time while the cover was being washed and when the Boppy itself was slimed...up the creek without a paddle, my friends.
• I wish I'd thought ahead when I bought our video monitor because you can't add extra cameras to it like you can so many of the others. I really love having a video monitor and I'm not quite ready to take my eyes off Jack, so we're selling ours on eBay and upgrading to this version so we can have up to four cameras on one monitor. Technology! I got it for a good deal on eBay so now we just need the second camera.
• Strollers. This is another area where I really, really, REALLY wish I'd done some more research. We're getting a double stroller (although I feel like we're buying another car because WOW they're expensive) and the one we picked out is actually a single stroller that can be converted into a double with a kit. Instead of getting that stroller for Jack and buying the kit now, we're selling our first stroller and our jogging stroller to come up with a teeny fraction of the cost of this new double stroller. Seriously, why are they so expensive?
• I got a LOT of use out of our Ergo but it never quite fit right. I thought it was user error until I did some research and found that it was a common complaint of narrow-shouldered mamas. So we sold our Ergo and now I'm hoping to find a good deal on one of these Beco Geminis, which has been recommended as a good alternative. Anyone else have thoughts on that?
• A sound machine. Our house is small and all one level and the bedrooms are close together, so I have a feeling that we might need to drown out some noise. Especially with a certain toddler on the premises who likes to scream "HAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!" every time Rudy comes in from outside.

Second-time mamas, what else should I be thinking of? Thankfully we're all set on clothes and linens, but is there anything else you wish you'd gotten/can't live without? Do tell.

thoughts on flying with a baby

When I decided to fly solo with a six-month-old, you must know that I was scared. Real scared.

But I'm happy to say that it went better than I could have ever expected. And while I'd like to attribute that to my awesome planning and preparation, I think the reality is that I just have a cool kid. Dear future babies, please be as easy-going as your big brother.

I asked other mamas for tips and got some great feedback, which made me feel less overwhelmed by the whole thing. And I figured that if mine was the kid who screamed for the duration of the flight? Oh well. We'd all get over it and live to tell the tale.

Nonetheless, here are some things that made it easier on this mama:

1. An umbrella stroller. Most of the time, he was in the Ergo. It was just easier to get around the airport/through security that way. And I was planning on only bringing that, but strapped the stroller to my suitcase at the last minute. That ended up being a lifesaver - something set off an alarm when they swabbed my hands at security and I had to have all my bags searched + get the private pat down. I was able to put him down in the stroller for all of that, which made that whole ordeal a little easier. And it was especially handy when I needed to go to the bathroom. Hooray for not having to put your baby on the airport's bathroom floor! 

2. The magic milk. Everyone told me to nurse on ascent and descent to keep his little ears from popping, but it also worked like a charm in putting him right to sleep. He slept about an hour each way and since he rarely stays asleep while being held, I enjoyed the snuggles. He was awake the rest of the time and the only hard part about that was trying to keep him from pulling the pen out of our sleeping neighbor's pocket.

3. The good toys. Someone told me that she hid away her son's favorite toys and books for a few weeks leading up to their flight and then brought them out one by one on the plane. GENIUS. He was mesmerized every time I pulled something out my bag.

4. A window seat. I prefer the window seats myself, but I thought the view might also offer a distraction for him. And it did. What is this magical place?! It also helped when nursing to have my own little wall to squish against - that way I didn't feel like I was all up in someone else's elbow room. He did manage to stick his little feet in that sleeping man's side, but he didn't seem to mind.

5. iPhone apps. Crazy, right? I found a couple of little apps that kept him occupied when he was getting antsy toward the end of the flight. One was called "Old McDonald's Farm" and it's just a tractor rolling across your screen until you tap it - then the tractor arrives at a farm with all kinds of animals. I say boring, but Jack says THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER.

And now I'll leave you with this, my favorite picture from the entire trip. It was right after he looked out the window for the first time when we were in the air. He looked up at me with such wonder in his eyes, looked back out the window and cracked a little smile.

He is just the sweetest.

adventures in baby food

Who doesn't love a baby with a little avocado on his lip?

Jack will be 7 months old next week (waaaaah!) which means we've been playing around with real food for almost a month. I thought I'd share a little bit about that for all you curious minds out there.

First of all, we made the decision to wait on introducing solids until he was at least six months old. He is and always has been a great nurser and I know that he's getting exactly what he needs from that, so I've been in no hurry to change things up. My plan has been to continue nursing as much as I have been and anything in between will just be a bonus. Honestly, it's taken so much of the pressure off to take that attitude. When he gagged at me the first time we tried real food, I didn't freak out because I was thinking "food is just for fun." So there's that.

The first thing we tried was banana. And like I said, he made a major gag face. He was NOT interested. I waited a few days and tried avocado. Same reaction. For about a week, I'd try at least once a day with either bananas, applesauce or avocado and he just wasn't feeling it. I figured it would just take him a while to get used to the idea, but I wasn't going to rush it.

One evening while I was cooking dinner, I was carrying him around the kitchen because he was being Mr. Cranky Pants and he started reaching for the avocado I was preparing for a salad. I put a little on my finger to give him and he almost took my hand off trying to eat it. He ate half of an avocado out of my hand that night and we haven't turned back since. The kid loves to eat. He does a little happy dance after every bite and gets quite impatient while waiting for the next one. I actually love how excited he gets about eating. It reminds me of another boy I live with...

I kind of think it was the spoon that was giving him the heebies. He made the yucky face when I tried avocado with a spoon the next day, but when I gave it to him with my finger he didn't mind it at all. Slowly, he warmed up to the spoon and now I think he'd stick it down his throat if I let him. Anything to just GET THE FOOD IN FASTER.

Things on the menu:

• Banana
• Applesauce
• Avocado
• Sweet potato
• Carrots
• Oatmeal (ground into a powder and mixed with applesauce or banana)

Coming soon:

• Zucchini
• Green beans
• Brown rice
• Peaches
• Blueberries

I tried to start with bland, easy-to-prepare foods, but other than that there's no real rhyme or reason to those lists. I'm just trying to pick things that a) don't pose any allergy threats and b) pack a punch as far as nutrition is concerned.

I've also been making my own baby food because it's cheap and easy. And I know exactly what's going into it. To give you an idea, I spent $15 at the grocery store on food and after an hour one afternoon, ended up with 75+ servings. That's $0.20/serving! I just steam it, blend it, pour it into ice cube trays and then store the frozen cubes in ziplock bags. Easy peasy.

Here are a few of our favorite food-related items (all of which you can find on Amazon, by the way):

1. Baby Mum-Mums. Ridiculous name, I know. They're rice rusks, which essentially turn to rice cereal when they get gnawed on. I think he likes them for teething and they're a good distraction when I'm trying to get his food ready and he's antsy. This is the only rice cereal he gets because that stuff will stop him up like whoa. But the amount he actually gets when nomming on those is so small, that I don't worry about it. Rudy gets more than Jack does just by hanging out under the high chair.

2. mOmma Developmental Drink Set. This was a gift from Andrew's great aunt and it's supposed to guide them along to drinking out of a cup. First it's a bottle, then it's a sippy cup with two handles, then it's a cup with one handle and a straw. He still hasn't gotten the memo that he has to lean his head back to get anything out, but he's good at holding it. For now, he just gets a little bit of water every time he eats. 

3. Joovy Nook high chair. Dude. The high chair decision was TOUGH. There are so many options and they can be really expensive. I finally decided that I just wanted something that was sturdy, would fold up easily and wasn't $300. I landed on this one and I love it. It folds up with the pull of a handle and is slim enough to slide behind a door. And it's easy to move around from room to room, so he likes to hang out there while I'm cooking dinner or in the sunroom while we're having coffee on the weekends.

4. Silicone ice cube trays. Great for freezing baby food - they just pop right out and are the perfect little 1oz servings. 

5. Waterproof bibs with pockets. No one ever said this wouldn't be messy and I appreciate the little pocket that catches everything, so I don't have to change his clothes after every meal. Although, Jack thinks that the bib produces food since so much ends up there. As soon as I put the bib on him he starts trying to eat the pocket. We're working on that.

6. Baby food maker. Andrew's parents found this on sale the weekend Jack was born and brought it to us. It's a Kalorik and so far, I'm really happy with it. It's great for fresh vegetables that need to be cut up before they're steamed, because it's also a food processor. But if I get bags of frozen vegetables (i.e. carrots) I just use the steamer insert on my big stock pot since it holds more and then I just puree it all in the blender. But for anything fresh, it saves dicing time by tossing it in the Kalorik.

There you have it, folks. Our (short) adventure in baby food. Now if you'll excuse me, the master himself has awakened and there's a bowl of bananas with his name on it.

that cloth diaper post, pt2

I feel like I should lead with a disclaimer: I'm not a cloth diapering kind of girl.

At least I didn't use to be. There is a certain ick factor that goes along with having kids and I was the girl who thought I'd never be able to handle it. All of the things that come out of a baby grossed me out and I just knew I'd be doing things in the most prissy way possible.

But then I got pregnant. And thankfully, the Lord softened those parts of me and I got over myself. Or at least I'm getting over myself. Cute babies and reality will do that to you, I guess.

So let's talk cloth diapers, shall we? Here are the questions I got...

What kind do you use? We use the BumGenius 4.0s. They're one-size (meaning they grow with baby) and they have inserts. We were leaning towards the all-in-ones so we wouldn't have to stuff the inserts into the covers, but the 4.0s went on sale about a month before Jack was born, so we went with those instead. And honestly, I haven't really thought about it since.

How do we clean them and does the smell bother you? We wash them in the washing machine! Since he's exclusively breastfed, his dirty diapers aren't solid. You just do a rinse cycle before you wash to get the yuckies out and keep them from staining, then do the wash and another rinse. Once he's on solid foods and the diapers are a little more...substantial...they have sprayers that you attach to your toilet to get the yuckies off before you put it in the wash. Honestly, that stage is a little intimidating, so I'll have to let you know how that goes.

We have a trash can (with a lid) lined with a (washable) wet bag that holds the diapers until we're ready to wash them. That does a pretty good job of keeping the smell contained, but I usually sprinkle baking soda in there to help with that. The smell is more ammonia-like than anything, which is just kind of annoying, but not gross. Who knows how that will change once he starts having big boy diapers. And I just recently learned that baking soda can mess with the pH of the diapers, which can (and did) cause diaper rash. But a splash of vinegar in the rinse cycle takes care of that.

How many diapers do you have and how often do you have to do laundry? We have 18 diapers, which allows us to do laundry about every two days. Any more than that and the ammonia stench is a little more than I can handle, plus you don't want the diapers to get stained. However, the sun is like magic and if you lay the diapers in the sunshine, the stains disappear. It's pretty neat.

Also, in case you were wondering, we haven't noticed an increase in our water or electricity bill as a result of having to do extra laundry. I think the water bill went up maybe $2 compared to what we were used to? And when I compared Nov 2010 to Nov 2011 of our power bill, 2011 was $20 higher. But I think that's because we never had the heat on upstairs unless we had guests. But then his room was upstairs so of course, we ran it all the time.

Is it harder than disposable diapers? Honestly, aside from the extra laundry each week, the actual process feels no different. I guess I've gotten used to it, but I've never once wanted to go back.

You must get your smarts from your Daddy. Not a question, but yes. There's surely no other explanation for it.

******

Also, a few other things that I forgot to mention in the last post:

• I use cloth wipes as well, because if you're throwing a diaper in a pail to be washed, you might as well put the wipes in there instead of having a separate trash can. You can buy them or use wash cloths, but I just sewed some flannel fabric scraps together. I made a solution of water, baby soap and baby oil and use a squirt bottle for that. Easy peasy. And that also saves money!
• There are a ton of great resources out there for cloth diapering that answer all kinds of questions and will help you navigate things. Just start Googling and you'll be set.
• Traveling with cloth diapers isn't that bad either. We have small and medium sized wetbags that I keep in my diaper bag to hold diapers until we get home and can put them in the pail to be washed. Instead of throwing the diaper away, we zip it up and take it home to be washed. But in full disclosure, if Jack didn't leak through ever disposable we've ever put on him, I probably would use those for overnight travel - only because it's a hassle to have to do laundry at someone else's house when you're there for more than just a weekend.

So there you have it. Our love affair with cloth diapers :) Hope that helped!

that cloth diaper post

1. They aren't like the diapers from the days of yore. Gone are the rags and safety pins. These diapers look just like a disposable diaper, except fancier. And cuter. Which leads me to #2...

2. They're cute. The colors! The patterns! The fluffiness! I can't stand it.

3. They're cheaper in the long run. If you've heard anything about cloth diapers, that's probably the first thing you've heard. But it's so true. Here's a little breakdown that we did:

Crazy, right? And that's assuming that you get good deals on cheap diapers. And that your kid is potty trained in 2.5 years. And it doesn't even account for the fact that you go through, ohhhh, 20 diapers a day when you bring them home from the hospital. AND you can use the same cloth diapers on future kiddos. Again I say, CRAZY.

4. Fewer leaks/blow-outs. Jack could NOT stay dry in disposable diapers. We weren't even planning on using cloth until we got settled in CT because I didn't know how traveling and moving would go of we couldn't just toss the diapers in the trash. But after going through three or four outfits a day, I was ready to give cloth diapers a try. AMAZING. He's had zero blowouts and only a handful of leaks - all of which were caused by being out too long without a backup diaper. So that was my fault. And at bedtime, I just double-stuff the diaper. So far, we've had no nighttime issues.

5. They seem to be more comfortable. When we used disposables, his little thighs always looked ouchie. And the diaper rash has been non-existent since we switched. Cotton for the win!

6. Fewer trips to the trash can. Oh my word, SO MUCH TRASH. I know that seems minor, but the last thing I wanted to do at the end of the day was bag up the diapers and take them to the trash can in the back yard. And I feel better about sending less to the landfill.

7. No yuck on his bum. Except for the obvious. The little beady things in disposable diapers that absorb moisture kind of creep me out. As do all of the other ingredients listed on the box. You know I'm all about keeping it natural around here.

8. You always have the next size ready. The diapers we got have several snaps that adjust to grow with the baby. They adjust in width and length - he's still on the smallest size in width and we've graduated up one in length. But he should be able to wear them until he's out of diapers, which I find really convenient.

9. Potty training is easier. I obviously can't attest to that, but I've heard several people claim it to be true. They say that because the cloth doesn't hide moisture like disposables do, babies know when they're wet and want to do something about it. Sounds good to me, but we'll see.

10. No emergency diaper runs. I love having complete control over my diaper supply without having to hurry up and place an order on Amazon. And let's face it, going anywhere with a baby takes days of preparation, so there is no "run in real quick" trip to the store. When I see that we're low, I just start a load of laundry. About an hour later, we have clean diapers.

You guys. I could just go on and on and on. In the spirit of not rambling, I think I'll plan another post to talk about what we have, how we do it, things we've learned, etc. And I'd love to answer any questions. In fact, here's a little question-asking device! Ask away!

must haves: baby edition

Here are some things we've been loving over the last six weeks...

1. Flannel receiving blankets. I had about 10 of them and never had too many. They're great for swaddling wee little babies (and not as expensive as the special blankets). Also, they aren't bulky so they fit perfectly in a diaper bag for things like an extra chilly doctors office. Or when he poops through every layer of clothing in church and needs to be wrapped up so people don't ask you why your baby is nekkid. Yes, that happened.

2. Boppy pillow. Seriously, there is no other pillow that makes nursing as comfortable as this pillow. I brought mine to the hospital and looking back, I would have preferred that over anything else in my hospital bag.

3. Gripe water. I've also seen it called Colic Calm. We call it magic water. Jack isn't colicky, but the kid is pretty gassy. Sometimes I can tell that his little tummy is hurting because he'll wrench up and make the most pitiful face ever, but a drop of this stuff and he's immediately at ease. It also cures hiccups in seconds. See? Magic water.

4. Soothie. His favorite paci. He makes the worst this thing is disgusting, get it out of my mouth face for all the other pacis except this one. It takes him to his happy place.

5. Bouncy seat. We didn't register for one because we registered for a swing and I didn't think I needed both. But the swing, while it's great for a sleepy/cranky baby who won't let his mama cook dinner, is kind of bulky and not easy to move around the house. I ordered this bouncy seat from Amazon and he LOVES it. He stares up at his little jungle friends and just smiles. It's pretty adorable.

6. Baby Elephant Ears. So his little head doesn't flop about in the car seat, stroller, swing, etc. Please don't let your baby's head flop.

7. Cloth diapers. We use the BumGenius 4.0 diapers and I don't ever, ever, ever want to use another disposable diaper. Ever. I plan to do a whole post on that, but the short version is this: they're awesome.

8. Video baby monitor. We didn't get pink, don't worry. But a friend of mine told me that the extra money was worth it and we took her word for it. So glad we did - and we found one on sale! I like being able to look on the monitor to see if the noise he's making is feed me now noise or I'm just dreaming noise. Also, when he sleeps all night and makes me wonder if he's still alive, I like that I can see his little chest rising. Pathetic, but it's true.

Next up, must haves for mama!