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Sunday, June 30, 2013

Thoughts on "good babies" and "those days"


Hey moms... has anyone ever asked you if you have a "good baby?" 

 I have been asked since the beginning and have really struggled with this question. If by good baby, you mean do I think my baby is inherently good, then the answer is no. I believe she has a sin nature (as do all of us)... I won't teach her to do things like disobey and lie... She will do that on her own. But I don't think that is what people mean by this question.

I think, as unintentional as it may be, they mean does your child behave the way you want them to most/all of the time. Sleep through the night, not cry in public (or at all for that matter), smile and coo all the time and the like. And I think as moms we take this question personly... Aka it affects our pride. Are we good enough moms to have "good babies."

Confession: I was with a friend the other day when her son's diaper exploded... I was relieved.  Whew, I am not the only one who experiences "mom fails." I think all this talk about "good babies" makes moms feel crazy about babies just being babies. And it makes us take pride when our babies behave the way we want them to- "I did that!" And cover up when our babies don't do what we want or what is expected.

I am attempting to let go of this "good baby" mentality. So if you are ever struggling as a mom because you can't get your baby to sleep through the night, take naps, get on a schedule or whatever let it go... There are much more important things to teach your baby down the road.  I am trying not to work on covering up when it has been rough... Especially when I am just trying to keep up this good mom/good baby picture. Trying to remember that social media only shows a person's highlight reel... While I live the behind the scenes.

Let's get real... yes, BD cries... especially in her carseat and when I try to get her to nap :(

So if you feel like you are having one of "those" days... I've been there too and I think if all moms were honest, they've been  there as well!
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Thursday, June 27, 2013

baby stuff... 1st 3 months...

I shared a while back, before BD was born, that there is too much baby stuff!
 


Recently I have had friends ask... what do you really need?  Being that I only have a 3 month old I can only speak to the first 3 months of life.  And really, even that is hard because your baby changes SO much in the first 3 months!  There are some things that I thought were necessary, but only used for a very short period of time.  Some that I have listed below are truly just
"nice to have," but I would not want to do without them!
Below is my list, organized by categories, of things I loved having.

Sleeping
Babies need to sleep!  

    Pack n'Play
For us Bailey Drew has slept in a pack n'play since day one in our room.  This is partially because we have been in such a transient state with the move!  Personally, I do like the pack n' play and would recommend it.  It is so convenient for the early days and for travel.   I hope BD goes to the crib soon, I can still see us using the pack n'play as a play area as she gets older.  While I recommend a pack n'play, you don't need one with all the bells and whistles.  We went over board here and got the Graco Elephanta with Infant Napper.  It came with so many attachments that we NEVER used.  We liked having the changing table on there at first, but it is probably not worth the extra money unless you can get one that only has that.  This is the simple inexpensive pack n'play we use when we are at Andrew's parents.
Swaddled blankets
 Aden and Anais blankets are so clutch. They are light and breathable and can be used for everything from swaddling to covering the car seat to burp cloth.

Miracle Blanket-
 aka baby straight jacket- when my mom saw us putting on BD she asked "this is actually recommended???" My response- "yes and it is a lifesaver!"
At first we did not use this... We just swaddled BD in the Aden and Anias blankets and they worked fine. Then she got strong... Really strong. Then we thought she did not like to be swaddled... But realized she did not sleep as well unswaddled. We started using the miracle blanket and have been using it ever since. Full night of sleep? Yes please! Seriously BD slept 12 hours last night!


 Feeding

 Babies gotta eat! My suggestions are based on an exclusively breast fed (ebf) baby... Which I highly recommend- if you want my reasoning message me some time :)

Nursing cover
Unless you want to be constrained to the house for the next year or constantly pumping and bottle feeding (meaning double time) you will need one of these. I suggest one with boning at the top... Makes things much easier!

Nursing bras and tanks
Okay, many moms say they are not necessary, which I guess is true. But for me... They make things soooo much easier and I have been wearing them everyday!

 Burp cloths
 Around our house, we call them spit cloths because BD spits up so much. They do not have to be nice, they do not have to be new, but we have found we need a whole lot of them!
Boppy
Probably not completely necessary, but we love our Boppy! I did not think it was that important to bring to the hospital, but definitely had someone go back and get it as we were learning to breast feed. It is also great for tummy time. We got ours used from a friend.

 A note on bottles and pumps
 Not necessary if you are staying home with your little chunk... But nice to have the option. We got the Medela Pump in Style- great investment! When it comes to bottles this is where we should have waited! BD did not take the bottles we registered for so they ended up being a waste. I would recommend buying one bottle to see if your baby takes it. Then buying the set when you know what your baby likes.


 Diapering

I cloth diaper... So I don't have much to say about disposables... But a lot to say about cloth!  Here is what I use!
*20 cloth diapers- we use bum genius

 *cloth wipes- you can buy these of just cut up old burp cloths or receiving blankets

 *two squirt bottles with wipe solution (homemade or bought offline) one for home and one for the diaper bag

 *two diaper bag sized wet bags and one large wet bag to keep dirty diapers in at home.

* a nice diaper bag like this one.
Seriously, when I saw the prices on these I about died... I DON'T spend that kind of money on bags. But this is not just a bag, it will most likely be attached to you for the next few years of your life! I don't even carry a purse anymore.
Side note: luckily, we got ours as a gift. But I have heard if you sign up for Petunia Pickle Bottom email, they go 50% off from time to time! 


 Bath Time

 A tub like this one.
 
When I told my mom I wanted a tub she laughed and said, "why don't you just wash her in the sink?" She is probably right, but we just find using the infant tub so much easier, and since BD loves bath time so much she feels stable and can play! Not all tubs are created equal though. Make sure you get one with a bench all the way across! We bought a toys r us brand tub to keep at my parent's house and is is not as secure... We don't like it so much.

*nice to have- pouring cup, squirters and other toys, hooded towels and wash cloths
 

Play time

 inexpensive play mat with extra rings to attach toys
 I cannot stress enough how important tummy time is! And having the extra rings helps us to attach toys at different levels where she can reach them. We bought ours super cheap on Black Friday, but I am sure there is a way you can make one cheap if you are crafty:)!

 a couple of stroller toys are nice.

 Books, books, books!
 If you have a shower I would recommend having the hosts request children's books with notes in them instead of cards! Much better keepsake and it builds your child's library.

 swing/vibrating chair and the like
 I struggle with this one because for us BD changed all the time and went in and out of liking them. I have heard of parents spending $200 on swings there babies don't even end up liking. For us BD liked the swing for a while... But became a chunk so quickly that the swing seriously looked like it was in slow motion on the highest setting. We borrowed a bouncy chair from a friend and have used it more. This really ends up being a personal/baby preference.


 Travel

baby wearers!
 We LOVE these! We currently have the Baby Ka'tan and the Ergo. They are so great for running errands and doing stuff around the house! The baby Ka'tan is like an easier version of the Moby wrap. She loved the baby Ka'tan kangaroo, but got to long very quick! Even though she is 16 pounds she does not like to spread her legs out, so we have taken a break from the Ka'tan. At that point we started to use the Ergo... Amazing! She still only likes to frog her legs and since she is so long we don't even use an infant insert. She is actually getting so big that she will have to learn to spread her legs because she won't be able to be frogged much longer!

Travel System 
We recommend a travel system like this one for the first few months! The basket carrier is heavy but it is convinient to bring her in if she is sleeping or to snap in the stroller! But because BD is so big we are already talking about the next carrier! She is only a few inches from the height limit!

Cloths
 We did not register for any cloths and did tried not to buy any. People re going to buy and give you cloths no matter what, especially if you have a girl! Also, personally we don't recommend keeping a lot of newborn cloths... Many babies outgrown them quick and some never wear them!

What did you find you needed???

 
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Sunday, June 23, 2013

BD 3 Month...


BD 3 Month...





Monthly Milestones... 
*Rocking tummy time! She doesn't mind it at all as long as she is not tired.


*Turning from belly to back... but since she love tummy time... she doesn't do it a lot... but we do have a video to prove it!


*More smiles, more cooing.  It is funny though... she will be smiling and then I pull out my phone to take a picture... and she gives her "grouchy face" :)



*Laughing/Chuckling.

*Bailey Drew finally takes a bottle!


*Bailey drew plays with toys and holds her lovie.

*BD has pigtails.
*She will follow us as we walk across the room.

*First time at the beach.



*First time in a pool.



*First move.


*Bring things together in her hands and put them in her mouth.

Favorite Things... 

* ERGO... seriously this was our go to especially at the beach!



*Playing airplane!





*Bunny lovie


*Giraffe Stroller toys


*Play mat... we love tummy time
*Looking around, especially at all the new places we've been.

*Moving around, she knows as soon as you sit down, and would usually rather be moving.

*She loves to pull up her dresses and chew on them... lol

*Waking up with crazy hair...



Weight... 

When we went to the doctor in Statesboro a week or so ago and she was almost 16 pounds!

Height... 

When we went to the doctor in Statesboro a week or so ago and she was almost 26 inches!

Clothing Size... 

She wearing 3-9 month clothing... I know it is a huge range!

Sleep Patterns... 

Most nights she she has been sleeping between 9-12 hours.  I "dream feed" her once during that time.  She has started to resist sleep during the day which has become no fun :(.  She just tries to stay up all day!  Then she is tired and crabby... not her normal happy baby self!  

Eating Patterns... 

She is still exclusively breast fed.  But it is official... she taking a bottle.  This way Andrew can feed her and I can go places occasionally without BD.


Outings and Celebrations... 

*Packing and moving from New Orleans.




*Getting to Statesboro




*Going to the beach





*Seeing sweet friends...











*Seeing Family...





Nicknames... 
*Little Bit
*Little Chunk
*Chunky monkey
*Bailey Boo
*Bailey Bug
*Bailey, Bailey Drew (Sung to the tune of Scooby Doo)

Things others have said about you...

*"She holds up her head so well"
*"She is very aware and alert"
*"She has so much hair!"
*"She is so big!"

Things we have noticed about you...
* Still strong willed little one... this time flexing her muscles in her refusal to nap during the day!
*She can be rather chill at times.
*She already "talks" loud! :)

For Bailey Drew...

We are at the point where we look back at pictures in disbelief at how much you have already grown!  Seriously we look at the newborn pics and you have changed so much!
We still can't imagine you as even a one year old, but are excited about seeing you get there.  It is hard to put you down most of the time, we just want to snuggle time.  What fun we have had as we introduced you tot he pool and the beach... you were so chill about both.  We have also enjoyed introducing you to more friends and family.  We love you so much Little Bit!

Looking back...

BD 2 month...


BD 1month...


Birth Story...

Bailey Drew is here!!!


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