All Things Baby

It seems that many of my friends are having their first babies.

And aren't those first babies exciting--it's all about the unknown. Don't get me wrong, subsequent children are just as exciting; however, there's just something about expecting a baby for the first time. You know...,

before you've been peed, pooped, spit up and thrown up on.

Before you've ever yelled and felt like the worst mom on the planet.

Before you became accustomed to a total of 4 hours of sleep every night for a month.

Before you your body sagged.

Before your eyes looked like...well, I'll leave that one to your imagination. Go ahead, fill in the blank.

I digress..

I do have a ton of mom friends, who of course already have kiddos. But there are several other friends I had before becoming a mother myself--and it seems a little baby bug jumped up and bit many of them. YEAY! I am so happy for them--it's truly an exciting time.

Since I am about to welcome my fifth child sometime in the next month or so, I have been going through tubs and closets to see what we have for baby. What we need. What we should scrub down. And what should be tossed. I've made only a dozen lists of what we still need to purchase, and yes they all mostly list the same items. I just can't keep track of my lists.

Aside from the basic items I always buy right before the baby comes
-diapers
-wipes
-rash ointment
-lotion
-passies
-breast pads

there are things like
-play mat
-bedding
-changing pad cover
- memory box
- decor

that also made my list.

I know you must be wondering why on earth I need bedding. But trust me. Having them so close together has not really helped in passing on the bedding. Only because the baby just older than the new baby is still in her crib and still using her bedding. Suffice it to say, that we now have 5 sets of bedding.

And until this baby, we always went with a set. The set usually contains the bumper (to me this is pretty pointless), one sheet, a comforter and a bed skirt. However, with this baby I was rather stuck on the look I wanted. I could not find anything, within a reasonable price range that was acceptable.

Then this weekend, husband and I went out to the stores and picked up a few things here and some more there; and before we knew it, we had several things for the baby's bed. Slowly but surely it is starting to come together. It's not quite done, but here is a sneak peek. And by the way, this could look a little different soon because a sweet friend has offered to make the quilt I have in mind for my little girl.




We have some shelves up, but other than that the walls are pretty bare right now. There are several things I'm planning to make in the next few weeks to give this room a little lift. And I will post pictures when that all comes together.

In the meantime, I've compiled a list of items that have helped me to make it the past five years in mothering. These items are listed in no particular order (unless otherwise stated... you'll see). Please note that I said these items helped ME. They helped me and my family at that particular time, but I'm thinking they may just help a few other families as well!

1) Here's the one I'm listing first for a reason---it's because it's my all time favorite baby item EVER!

The Angelcare monitor has saved me many upon many hours of sleep. We've all heard about SIDS, and as soon as you become a mother (well, if you're like me) you always worry and assume the worst. Case in point, you have just arrived home from the hospital. You put your beautiful new baby down in her cradle right next to your bed. You are tired, but still running off of the adrenaline shot through your veins after giving birth. You soon climb into bed hoping to get a restful one and half hours of sleep when all of a sudden the thought hits you "what if she stops breathing?" So you sit up in bed so you can lay your hand on her chest to feel it rise and fall. STOP RIGHT THERE!!! While this is fun and sweet at first, the newness wears off after about the 3rd night of doing this. Why? Because you haven't slept in FOREVER and the adrenaline level in your body have drastically declined. You need your sleep--but you're still worried. Well, you can rest assured when you've placed the Angelcare monitor sensor pad under your baby's mattress. This pad picks up the slightest of motion (even the rise and fall of a baby's chest) and alarms you when it hasn't done so for 20 seconds. It works as a normal monitor that has a base in baby's room (or wherever you want to put it) and a mobile parent monitor that you can hear baby on. But it also comes with this sensor pad and sets off an alarm should the baby not breathe for 20 seconds. This alarm can be heard on the parent monitor. This wonderful little mommy helper has seriously paid for itself several times over if you agree with me that you can't put a price on getting peaceful sleep every chance you get as a new mom.

Okay, I swear the rest of my list won't read as cheesy as the Angelcare monitor paragraph. I just can't help but write like that for what I consider the best baby product ever!

Moving on...

2) My Breast friend has been a life-saver.

I breastfed my fourth baby for 13 months. While she was still a young infant and I was still passing in and out of sleep every couple of hours (this makes for a terrible nursing pair), nursing was quite difficult. She was too tired (okay she was too young) to hold her head up. I was too tired to gather all of the necessary pillows needed to assist me with nursing... you get the picture. Enter, My Breast Friend. It is built so ergonomically for everyBODY (you see, it's adjustable) and offers the exact support where you need it-- including your back. Truly a genius woman invented this!

3) If you plan on having the baby sleep next to your bedside, I suggest you invest in a pack 'n play that offers a cradled bed adjacent to a diaper changing station.


Pack 'n plays or, Play yards, come in all shapes and sizes, but now that I'm on my third one I can honestly say I've got it all figured out. We like the duo sleeping/changing area because it not only offers the very obvious place for sleeping, but it also adds that place where you change diapers in the middle of the night. Please, don't allow yourself to become one of those parents who sleep on their own child's pee because at 1, 2:30, 3 and 5 am they woke you up and peed mid-diaper change. And at one of those times they peed in your bed, but you can't remember which one because you're so tired. And yes, I've become one of those parents many times over.

4) If you plan on providing breast milk in some manner, you may find it helpful (for a number of reasons) to pump occasionally.

For my first three children, I pumped exclusively (for reasons that can be discussed in another post). Anyway, you may want to try breastfeeding first and see how you feel about doing it all the time, but it never hurts to read up on breast pumps and find one that works for you. Because trust me, when you decide you want one, it's usually a we need to get this immediately situation, and the last thing you'll want to do is spend the time researching what you want. That being said, I'm going to break it to you... spend the money. I've used several different pumps, but in all of my experiences the more expensive ones do the best. Some will die out on you. Some make awfully loud noises (picture turning this bad boy on with your sleeping partner next to you in bed or possibly at work). Some quickly lose suction. Please, just do your research and if you decide to purchase, buy one that is worth the money.

And here are some things to consider if you are going to pump/breastfeed
~ a car adapter (yes, there are times where you'll find it handy to pump in the car).
~ a more portable pump (like a hand pump or one that will run off of batteries)


~ breast milk storage bags
~ breast pads
~ cream for bleeding/cracked nipples

which brings me to the

5) Nursing cover.

There are several brands out there, but I'd make sure you get one with the boning. This is what allows the mother to peek down at her baby without having to move the cloth away from her neckline. This is sooooooo handy for anybody who plans to nurse!!!! Get at least 3-- one to wash, one to wear, and one to spare.

6) Some kind of swing/bouncy seat. You'll actually probably want both. The bouncy seat is usually portable--and trust me, there will be several instances when you start living your new life as mommy where you'll need to set your baby down and move to another room to get something done (think... cook dinner, take a shower, organize the hall closet...). This is easy to do when you set the babe in the seat and move it to the room with you.

The swing often serves as a comforter.

I've seen my fair share of babies who refuse to sleep unless properly placed in their baby papasan. This can be for a number of reasons, but many babies of GERD (a reflux issue) and sleeping at an incline really helps to soothe these babes. And please note, this is not easily mobile. That's why you have the bouncy seat!

7) Some kind of comfy quilt or a play mat.

According to all the information out there, from day one babies need to have some tummy time in order to strengthen their necks. If you lay a little blanket or play mat down on the floor and place some toys around baby, they will begin to use these muscles.

8) Moby Wrap--

this is the most perfect design for holding baby close to you. Skip the carriers you see in the stores (although, I did actually buy my Moby Wrap at Target)--they hurt your back. The Moby Wrap does not do this. Trust me, you'll thank me for sharing this. I could technically still carry all five of my children in this thing---you know... should I be so inclined.

9) Diaper Genie or something of the sort.

I know some people don't care much for these, but I like them. I don't much care for tossing smelly diapers straight into the trashcan--the room and eventually the house start to stink. At the very least, purchase some green bags that smell fresh to dump the poopy diapers into before you throw them in the trash.

And here are some things that I think can be skipped--

~wipes warmer (do you plan on warming wipes for all the years leading up to potty training?)
~really thin hooded towels (go for the thick ones. In fact, look at homemade ones on etsy.com--they're much warmer)
~shopping cart cover (really, you just never remember)
~baby shoes (seriously, their feet are so incredibly tiny for the first few months. No shoes ever fit my kids really well until they were walking. I think that happens for a reason.)
~ most baby books (sure you can buy them, but they all offer different opinions. Listen first to your gut, second to your trusted care giver and third to your mom and friends--they're last only because they may have had different experiences that what you're experiencing).
~receiving blankets (Ours are used to wrap up baby dolls only because they're too tiny to wrap up a real baby) *you'll want to swaddle your baby and I find that blankets measuring 40x40 work the best. In fact when I make my own, I just ask for a yard or a yard + 1/4 of fabric.

And that about sums it up. I hope this helps you. And please remember that these items only represent me, my life and my experiences. You may have different experiences, but these are all items that I've found helpful (or not so much) over the past five years.

Feel free to comment if you have anything to add or burning questions to ask!

Big Sisters

What are all of these children doing wandering around a hospital lobby? Geesh, isn't anybody watching them--instead of, you know, snapping their pictures?


I guess that would be my job, but I was too busy snapping their pics. Luckily daddy was there to keep a watchful eye out.


We were the first (and quite possibly the most eager) to arrive at our birthing hospital for the Big Sibling (what we call the Big Sister) class. We got to pick out name tags!


And we smooched on mama's belly... like a lot! But really that's nothing new!



Then it was time to make a visit to the nursery.



We were able to peek in the window and see two newborns. One looked about the size of my second born (9lbs) and one looked about the size of the rest of my babies (7-ish lbs). They were both incredibly cute, though!

Then we made our way into a room where the mommy has the baby. Of course my children have visited these rooms a number of times--and my eldest can actually remember being in there for our last birth (she was 3.5 yrs old at the time).

After seeing the rooms, we were able to do some listening. There was a short video and a beautiful story. Bug and I were all ears!


And we participated in several hands-on activities with the baby dolls.



And thank goodness the teacher saw our need for more than the one baby doll that typically suffices each family. We ended up with four by the time all was said and done.




Each girl left a little more proud for all of her hard work in helping to take care of her baby. And they each received a certificate to prove they can handle the duties the come with big sister territory. We have official entertainers, diaper-changing supply grabbers, and baby holders.





No, we couldn't be more proud!

Our Snow Day!

~~~~~SNOW DAY~~~~~

Today is the first snow day of the year-- well, that'd be of the school year and of the new year I suppose.



We woke up to a winter wonderland of sorts, right here in our own backyard--literally. See



And in our front yard, too, of course. Here's a few good inches of snow covering our mailbox.

We saw it starting to snow around bath time last night (say 7ish), and it hasn't stopped since. We love snow days--mainly because we (I) romanticize them. But still, we love them!

We just don't always love the preparations it takes to get ourselves outdoors.

First, I will say that I am 8 months pregnant and fighting a little chest congestion problem. So the multiple trips up the stairs to search for winter gear was nowhere near fun. I was just hoping it would be worth it.

I was most certainly picturing lots of this action!

It took us 3o minutes to get everyone dressed in snow boots, snow suits, hats, gloves and coats. It is quite the workout to get four littles dressed in all this winter wear--especially since they can't do a lick of it themselves. Again though, I was just hoping it'd be worth it.

I imagined that once we won the battle of (getting) the bulge (on), we'd run into our snowy driveway and play the morning away. I was even more excited than normal because I was taking along my new camera for the ride.

So eventually we made it outdoors and onto the drive. The kids immediately took to the snow.

All but her.

It snowed a ton last winter, but it was always so cold that we never managed to make it out in the snow--plus one of our littles wasn't walking and we all know that complicates things further! So really, this was her first snow experience.

The poor thing could hardly walk. She kept reminding me of the "tic about to pop" from Christmas Story. So I tried pulling her on the sled, but that was a no go!

But my other 3 littles enjoyed a few minutes of snow play, and I more than enjoyed watching them.

They tried to catch snowflakes on their tongues.

They sled down our little hill of a drive.

They smiled when I said look at mama!

And of course there was a (just one) snow angel made.




And then the phone rang. It was the doctor (and we were waiting on her return call) so I had to take it. Of course this is the same time that my eldest runs inside screaming that her hands are stinging they're so cold. I gently ask her to run inside and wrap them in a towel--though I was still dumbfounded on how her hands were cold since she was wearing water-proof mittens.

I continue with the doctor, explaining symptoms and what not until my second-born decides it's potty time. Like, I potty now whether it be in my clothes or in the potty.

Oh, and then my "tic," who can hardly walk has slipped on our garage floor and is now crying.

I wrapped things up as quickly as I could with the doctor; and then I was sent on a mission to conquer the chaos that ensued in the 3 minutes it took for me to speak with our physician.

Seriously! This all happened. And then it was all over.

My one, lone little Bug managed to escape the chaos. Nonetheless, she was ready to come in.

So in we came. Luckily, Brownie made it to the potty and somehow managed to get out of her winter clothes in time.

Peach reported that she had taken her mittens off and that's how her hands got stingy. She was mostly calmed down at this point.

Boushka had no serious damage---nothing a little hug and kiss couldn't fix.

We all managed to make it out of our snow suits, boots, hats, coats and gloves before my floors were too soaked. I guess it helped that they only walked on the tile and not on any carpet. Phew!

I set the wet boots out in the garage, hung our coats and snow suits, and pitched the gloves and hats back into the bins. And then I plopped on the couch and thought, Yeah, never doing that again!

I feel bad about my attitude towards the fun I pictured that turned into chaos, but I can only be hopeful and assume that

1) Had I not been pregnant,

2) Had I not been fighting some chest congestion,

3) Had the phone call not happened,

AND

4) Had there been another adult with me

things just may have gone a bit better. The pregnancy/sickness combo, in case you don't know, makes it a bit tougher to breath and just generally move around. And the phone call... pretty sure it took too much of my attention for those few minutes that in turn allowed the CHAOS to ENSUE-- especially since no other adult was around!

So, lesson learned. Or maybe not. Because I am still picturing the fun times to be had in the snow--but I think I'll wait until Daddy is home to enjoy the fun with us!

Preparations

Here we are in lovely (sarcasm) January about to expect our first real snow of the year. We've had spits of it here and there, but certainly nothing to write home a blog post about. Well, apparently that is all about to change.

Sometime soon, we are supposed to get 7.4 inches (the last I heard); We're not used to large amounts (yes this is a decent size for our area) of snow dropping frequently throughout winter, so around these parts that calls for some planning.

I'm talking trips to the store, winter gear(shovels, sleds, etc.) ready to go in the garage, and plenty of wood for a fire. And I like to throw my own little preparations in there-- a clean house and good food. Because if I'm going to be stuck indoors, I'm going to want peaceful surroundings and yummy food.

So this week I plan on making plenty of
-granola bars (but they're more like hunks) to start our mornings off right

- homemade chicken strips--buffalo style for the adults in the house

- Vermont white cheddar mac 'n cheese soup (which was not tried and true until we tried it today and decided it's true)

- lentil sloppy joes (which we have not tried, but I'm hoping we can add it to our true list)

-turkey meatballs-- though I don't know if we'll pair it with spaghetti and tomato sauce or turn them into a sandwich...

-apple crisp

-Tomato Chicken and veggies over rice---this is a slow cooker recipe that simmers all day

-Jambalaya- for my husband

I think there's more on here than we'll actually get made, but these are all in the plans. The ingredients we needed have been bought and I'm ready to heat up the house tonight with the Chicken strips, mashed potatoes and green beans. Also perfect game day food according to my sweet husband.

I actually need to finish the one half of my personal preparations--clean house. We have finally put all Christmas decor away (tree is officially down), vacuumed, done the dishes (several times, I might add), and emptied trash cans--- so now it's on to continue with the laundry (still about 5 more loads to do) and cleaning of the master bath!

And if I'm lucky, I'll get some more work done on the V-day shirts for the girls.

No Rhyme or Reason...

What happens when you stay up until 3 am and then proceed to rise out of bed at 7am? Well, if you're me you end up with nothing to write about.


My brain seems to be slowing down a bit as my wee ones are sleeping peacefully in their beds. I was full of energy and running around all day today, I decided to sit down and write a post during naps today. Well, I've been sitting here for quite some time, and I ain't got nothin'! Oh, except writers block.


And contractions. They're kind of regular at the present. I think this means I need to go do something else, right? On that note, I'm going to leave you with some cute pictures (I know, you're welcome) while I go about cleaning and drinking water. That oughtta take care of these pesky little contractions.