Monday, May 20, 2013
Nursery Updates
You're a Good Mom
I've seen this post floating around facebook and blogs lately and thought it coincided well with my post on mom judgements. While Mike and I have defined ideas on how we would like to do things as parents, it is not a judgement on others, just what we hope to do for our family and what seems to fit with us. Heck, we may be switching up a few of those ideas once she actually gets here and we find out something isn't working for us. Over the past few weeks I've connected with a different groups, friends and family who have similar paths as to what we are hoping to take. It has helped so much with tuning out the negative comments/advice/feedback about our decisions. Or maybe I'm just developing thicker skin? If you haven't seen this post yet, enjoy and know that you are a good mom because you are providing and caring for your child the best way you can. :)
To the mom who's breastfeeding: Way to go! It really is an amazing gift to give your baby, for any amount of time that you can manage! You're a good mom.
To the mom who's formula feeding: Isn't science amazing? To think there was a time when a baby with a mother who couldn't produce enough would suffer, but now? Better living through chemistry! You're a good mom.
To the cloth diapering mom: Fluffy bums are the cutest, and so friendly on the bank account. You're a good mom.
To the disposable diapering mom: Damn those things hold a lot, and it's excellent to not worry about leakage and laundry! You're a good mom.
To the mom who stays home: I can imagine it isn't easy doing what you do, but to spend those precious years with your babies must be amazing. You're a good mom.
To the mom who works: It's wonderful that you're sticking to your career, you're a positive role model for your children in so many ways, it's fantastic. You're a good mom.
To the mom who had to feed her kids from the drive thru all week because you're too worn out to cook or go grocery shopping: You're feeding your kids, and hey, I bet they aren't complaining! Sometimes sanity can indeed be found in a red box with a big yellow M on it. You're a good mom.
To the mom who gave her kids a homecooked breakfast lunch and dinner for the past week: Excellent! Good nutrition is important, and they're learning to enjoy healthy foods at an early age, a boon for the rest of their lives. You're a good mom.
To the mom with the kids who are sitting quietly and using their manners in the fancy restaurant: Kudos, it takes a lot to maintain order with children in a place where they can't run around. You're a good mom.
To the mom with the toddler having a meltdown in the cereal aisle: they always seem to pick the most embarrassing places to lose their minds don't they? We've all been through it. You're a good mom.
To the moms who judge other moms for ANY of the above? Glass houses, friend. Glass houses.
To the mom who's breastfeeding: Way to go! It really is an amazing gift to give your baby, for any amount of time that you can manage! You're a good mom.
To the mom who's formula feeding: Isn't science amazing? To think there was a time when a baby with a mother who couldn't produce enough would suffer, but now? Better living through chemistry! You're a good mom.
To the cloth diapering mom: Fluffy bums are the cutest, and so friendly on the bank account. You're a good mom.
To the disposable diapering mom: Damn those things hold a lot, and it's excellent to not worry about leakage and laundry! You're a good mom.
To the mom who stays home: I can imagine it isn't easy doing what you do, but to spend those precious years with your babies must be amazing. You're a good mom.
To the mom who works: It's wonderful that you're sticking to your career, you're a positive role model for your children in so many ways, it's fantastic. You're a good mom.
To the mom who had to feed her kids from the drive thru all week because you're too worn out to cook or go grocery shopping: You're feeding your kids, and hey, I bet they aren't complaining! Sometimes sanity can indeed be found in a red box with a big yellow M on it. You're a good mom.
To the mom who gave her kids a homecooked breakfast lunch and dinner for the past week: Excellent! Good nutrition is important, and they're learning to enjoy healthy foods at an early age, a boon for the rest of their lives. You're a good mom.
To the mom with the kids who are sitting quietly and using their manners in the fancy restaurant: Kudos, it takes a lot to maintain order with children in a place where they can't run around. You're a good mom.
To the mom with the toddler having a meltdown in the cereal aisle: they always seem to pick the most embarrassing places to lose their minds don't they? We've all been through it. You're a good mom.
To the moms who judge other moms for ANY of the above? Glass houses, friend. Glass houses.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Bump Watch: 24 weeks
How Far Along: 24weeks
Size of the Baby: Ear of Corn (8.5 in long, 1.5 lbs)
Sleep: Doing well, but I'm becoming a morning person. This is probably a good thing!
Best Moment of the Week: Starting prenatal yoga classes and learning to really connect with the baby. It's giving me the confidence to know that I CAN give birth to this baby. :)
Anything making you queasy or sick: A few of the same things, but overall feeling great (minus the heat)
Any cravings: Fruits and veggies! Citrus and watermelon and iced or frozen drinks.
What I'm looking forward to: Getting the swimming suit I just ordered in the mail so I can start going in the pool
What I miss: The nice weather. No more walks through the neighborhood!
Nursery: The nursery is totally painted and we're starting to hang things up. Searching around for frames and small decor items. My mom and I are starting on the curtains, crib skirt and floor pouf....soon? ;)
This weekend is Mother's Day and while my baby isn't here in my arms, I carry her with me every day and have felt like a mom for quite a while now. Mother's Day last year was a bit of struggle, I'm feeling extremely blessed!!
Also loving my new lighter hair. Yay for summer blonde again! :)
Friday, May 3, 2013
Coconut Oil
Since researching different baby products, I've started to become more aware of what we are putting on and in our bodies and am getting curious about natural alternatives. I guess you could say I'm getting a little crunchy here (cloth diapers, glass bottles, minimizing plastic, homemade baby food), but once you start looking into one thing, you start learning more about the others. And once you learn about it, it's really hard to look the other way and keep using it. Example, Johnson's baby products. I had no idea they use so many dangerous chemicals!
We really haven't taken many steps in switching to natural products, but we plan to start with natural baby products from the beginning. We're also starting to find all the amazing uses for baking soda and vinegar and would like to start using those in our cleaning products. Recently we deodorized our sofa with baking soda, it worked like a charm!
Something that I just started using is coconut oil. I can't even tell you how many great things I've heard about it, so I thought I should give it a try. So far I have tried adding it to my cooking, but have only used it in my quinoa breakfast. It's really tasty and I hope to use it in smoothies and stir fry soon! The biggest reason I wanted to try coconut oil though is for my dry skin. This pregnancy has left me with very dry itchy skin (or maybe its the two showers a day I started getting obsessed with?), plus my stomach is obviously expanding and drying out. I've used it on my skin for two days in a row now and I can already tell a difference! No more itching, the dry skin is definitely going down and my skin is much more smooth. Fortunately I don't have any stretch marks yet, but this stuff is supposed to be great at preventing and even fading them. All I do is put it on right when I get out of the shower, before even drying off. I thought for sure I'd go to bed being all oily and gross, but it really does absorb fast this way. Plus, it smells great. :)
We really haven't taken many steps in switching to natural products, but we plan to start with natural baby products from the beginning. We're also starting to find all the amazing uses for baking soda and vinegar and would like to start using those in our cleaning products. Recently we deodorized our sofa with baking soda, it worked like a charm!
Something that I just started using is coconut oil. I can't even tell you how many great things I've heard about it, so I thought I should give it a try. So far I have tried adding it to my cooking, but have only used it in my quinoa breakfast. It's really tasty and I hope to use it in smoothies and stir fry soon! The biggest reason I wanted to try coconut oil though is for my dry skin. This pregnancy has left me with very dry itchy skin (or maybe its the two showers a day I started getting obsessed with?), plus my stomach is obviously expanding and drying out. I've used it on my skin for two days in a row now and I can already tell a difference! No more itching, the dry skin is definitely going down and my skin is much more smooth. Fortunately I don't have any stretch marks yet, but this stuff is supposed to be great at preventing and even fading them. All I do is put it on right when I get out of the shower, before even drying off. I thought for sure I'd go to bed being all oily and gross, but it really does absorb fast this way. Plus, it smells great. :)
I heard that Costco carried coconut oil (the organic and unrefined kind which is better for cooking), so I picked some up there. Holy giant tub, it is 78 oz and was $22. Apparently this is a great price and I think this stuff will last us for a while.
Other uses we will try coconut oil for:
• Preventing stretch marks (need to keep this up!)
• Cradle cap on baby
• Replacement for lanolin (sorry for the TMI, but I hear it work so well for this)
• Hair conditioner (going to try this soon)
• Diaper rash
• Baby's dry skin and/or eczema
• Consuming for milk production while nursing
• Morning sickness relief when the next baby comes along
Here are some other links to even more uses for coconut oil:
Have you tried using coconut oil before? If so, what other uses have you found for it?
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Parenting Methods
During this pregnancy, I've spent some time researching and reading about what to do and what happens after baby is here. While we know we can't predict how baby girl will be or what her personality will be like, we can do our research and get educated on methods we can try when those moments come up. I love researching and while I know an abundance of information can make some feel overwhelmed, I fall in the opposite category and feel more confident after doing research and educating myself. I'm kind of a nerd like that, just ask Mike. :)
It is unbelievable how many different books, methods and theories are out there about newborn care, sleep habits, breastfeeding and calming a baby...not to mention all the well-meaning, yet conflicting advice others give. I can't imagine trying to figure everything out in the moment when baby is here and while it can be a lot of work and intimidating looking through all this stuff, I believe it's going to be well worth it. Chances are we'll scrap half this stuff and develop our own habits, but going in blindly with no plan whatsoever stresses the heck out of me!
This past weekend, we borrowed and watched a DVD of the book Happiest Baby on the Block from our friends. We were in awe of Dr. Harvey Karp's methods for calming a fussy baby! He promotes the idea of the 4th trimester during baby's first three months which essentially means to treat the baby like she is still in the womb. This really made sense to us and with that in mind, it helped us realize which methods for sleep, feeding, schedule, etc, etc fit in with that. Some things were finally starting to connect together and make sense as to why you would do things that way. We are finding ourselves somewhere in the middle between attachment parenting and the Babywise method. So, I'm not sure what that would be called, but it is what we are starting to feel comfortable with at this point and what we hope to try in those first few weeks/months. The biggest part of this method is that you as the parents are not completely in control of what happens and you need to just give baby what she needs, exactly when she needs it. (Isn't that part of every method though??) I'm so used to being in control, so this is something I will have to come to terms with, accept and not let my anxiety get stimulated over.
Here's a few key things we are hoping to try out:
• The 5 S's: Swaddle, side/stomach position, shushing, swinging, sucking (as a last resort and no pacifier until breastfeeding is established). This is Karp's method that he goes through in the DVD/book and it is amazing...or he is just a baby whisperer. :)
• Sleep: I am going to order Karp's follow-up book about sleep, but some basics are that he recommends co-sleeping for the first three months. Co-sleeping in these terms means baby sleeps in the same room which is different from bed-sharing. A lot of times I will see that bed-sharing with the mom is recommended, but this scares me and is something we want to try to avoid for personal reasons.
• Feeding: We are going to exclusively breastfeed for at least the first six months, hopefully much longer than that. I know everyone says to keep an open mind about this because anything could happen, but this is one of the few things we are determined to stick with. We both have strong feelings about this one, so we are putting in extra effort to make it work. I am going to my first La Leche League meeting next week and have been doing all I can to educate myself on this while still pregnant. Of course, things happen that make it extremely difficult or even impossible to breastfeed so we want to be aware of those before they happen so we can make an educated decision on what to do.
• Schedule: I was so set on feeding and sleeping on a schedule and I still feel like that could work after the first three months (I've seen it done very successfully!), but for those first 12 weeks, we will try to feed on demand. Yikes, that could get intense! I am curious about the "EASY" method (more of a routine than timed schedule), so maybe we'll give that a whirl after a few weeks of madness. E = eat, A = active, S = sleep, Y = time to yourself.
• Baby wearing: I'd like to try this with a Moby wrap and see how baby girl likes it. We'll also use our stroller quite a bit, but I'm hoping this works out for us those first few months.
The big questions and, as the experts call them, "myths" of this method is that you will spoil your baby, you will never get on a regular schedule (if this girl is anything like me, we know that won't be the case) or you will never be able to wean baby from swaddling, white noise, sleeping in your room, etc, etc. Guess we'll find out!
After talking to quite a few moms, we've learned that everyone is different and what works for one, may not work for another. We're excited and anxious to see how things go and what ends up fitting us and baby girl. I'm sure people probably think I'm crazy and controlling and laugh at me for researching all this stuff, but I know myself and like I said, I'd be a stressed out mess if I knew none of this beforehand and that is probably the worst thing for myself and baby! Of course, above all we are just so excited to meet our daughter and love her like crazy. :)
Here's a few articles that explain these methods better than I can:
Happiest Baby on the Block (if you can, please ignore the comic sans, agh!)
Breastfeeding a Newborn
Anyone else out there use or are thinking about using these methods or something similar? I'd love to hear some positive feedback from others about this!
It is unbelievable how many different books, methods and theories are out there about newborn care, sleep habits, breastfeeding and calming a baby...not to mention all the well-meaning, yet conflicting advice others give. I can't imagine trying to figure everything out in the moment when baby is here and while it can be a lot of work and intimidating looking through all this stuff, I believe it's going to be well worth it. Chances are we'll scrap half this stuff and develop our own habits, but going in blindly with no plan whatsoever stresses the heck out of me!
This past weekend, we borrowed and watched a DVD of the book Happiest Baby on the Block from our friends. We were in awe of Dr. Harvey Karp's methods for calming a fussy baby! He promotes the idea of the 4th trimester during baby's first three months which essentially means to treat the baby like she is still in the womb. This really made sense to us and with that in mind, it helped us realize which methods for sleep, feeding, schedule, etc, etc fit in with that. Some things were finally starting to connect together and make sense as to why you would do things that way. We are finding ourselves somewhere in the middle between attachment parenting and the Babywise method. So, I'm not sure what that would be called, but it is what we are starting to feel comfortable with at this point and what we hope to try in those first few weeks/months. The biggest part of this method is that you as the parents are not completely in control of what happens and you need to just give baby what she needs, exactly when she needs it. (Isn't that part of every method though??) I'm so used to being in control, so this is something I will have to come to terms with, accept and not let my anxiety get stimulated over.
Here's a few key things we are hoping to try out:
• The 5 S's: Swaddle, side/stomach position, shushing, swinging, sucking (as a last resort and no pacifier until breastfeeding is established). This is Karp's method that he goes through in the DVD/book and it is amazing...or he is just a baby whisperer. :)
• Sleep: I am going to order Karp's follow-up book about sleep, but some basics are that he recommends co-sleeping for the first three months. Co-sleeping in these terms means baby sleeps in the same room which is different from bed-sharing. A lot of times I will see that bed-sharing with the mom is recommended, but this scares me and is something we want to try to avoid for personal reasons.
• Feeding: We are going to exclusively breastfeed for at least the first six months, hopefully much longer than that. I know everyone says to keep an open mind about this because anything could happen, but this is one of the few things we are determined to stick with. We both have strong feelings about this one, so we are putting in extra effort to make it work. I am going to my first La Leche League meeting next week and have been doing all I can to educate myself on this while still pregnant. Of course, things happen that make it extremely difficult or even impossible to breastfeed so we want to be aware of those before they happen so we can make an educated decision on what to do.
• Schedule: I was so set on feeding and sleeping on a schedule and I still feel like that could work after the first three months (I've seen it done very successfully!), but for those first 12 weeks, we will try to feed on demand. Yikes, that could get intense! I am curious about the "EASY" method (more of a routine than timed schedule), so maybe we'll give that a whirl after a few weeks of madness. E = eat, A = active, S = sleep, Y = time to yourself.
• Baby wearing: I'd like to try this with a Moby wrap and see how baby girl likes it. We'll also use our stroller quite a bit, but I'm hoping this works out for us those first few months.
The big questions and, as the experts call them, "myths" of this method is that you will spoil your baby, you will never get on a regular schedule (if this girl is anything like me, we know that won't be the case) or you will never be able to wean baby from swaddling, white noise, sleeping in your room, etc, etc. Guess we'll find out!
After talking to quite a few moms, we've learned that everyone is different and what works for one, may not work for another. We're excited and anxious to see how things go and what ends up fitting us and baby girl. I'm sure people probably think I'm crazy and controlling and laugh at me for researching all this stuff, but I know myself and like I said, I'd be a stressed out mess if I knew none of this beforehand and that is probably the worst thing for myself and baby! Of course, above all we are just so excited to meet our daughter and love her like crazy. :)
Here's a few articles that explain these methods better than I can:
Happiest Baby on the Block (if you can, please ignore the comic sans, agh!)
Breastfeeding a Newborn
Anyone else out there use or are thinking about using these methods or something similar? I'd love to hear some positive feedback from others about this!
Bump Watch: 22 weeks
How Far Along: 22 weeks (I'm a few days late on this post!)
Size of the Baby: Spaghetti Squash (8 in long, 1 lb)
Sleep: Waking up every 3 hours and not able to sleep in because this girl is kicking my bladder :)
Best Moment of the Week: Mike feeling the baby kick on the outside
Anything making you queasy or sick: The thought of Pad Thai, yuck!
Any cravings: Salads. Lots and lots of salads! Suddenly guacamole is a craving even though I despised it in my first trimester. I think my normal taste buds are back :)
What I'm looking forward to: Our mini babymoon that we just booked
What I miss: Rare steak with a glass of red wine, cured meats and cheeses - STILL
Nursery: Mike is almost done painting the nursery and we have all the furniture, it just needs to be put together. I've started shopping around for frames and other little decor pieces. The fabric for the curtains, crib skirt and pillow pouf just came in too. Everything is coming together!
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Family Pictures in the Park
Our nephew Cruz recently turned 6 months (already?!), so we did a little photoshoot with him. This time we got a few family ones too and I'm pretty excited about how these turned out. Such a cute family and Cruz has changed so much since those one month pictures I took last November!
I still have a lot of improving to do with using the camera, but I'm getting better at editing thanks to a few tutorials I found on Pinterest. Crossing my fingers for a 50mm lens for my birthday so I can get even better close up baby and kid shots (hint hint, husband!). Anyone have experience with that type of lens and have recommendations?
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Nursery Inspiration
Before we found out Baby B is a girl, I had already started compiling ideas for the nursery. I'm not sure if it was intuition or what, but for some reason I had so many more ideas for a girl nursery than a boy nursery. :) There was one image in particular that I love and have been using for inspiration:
I just love the softness of it and how feminine it is without screaming pastel baby pink. We borrowed the idea for the wall and curtain colors and are adding in other pops of color that coordinate well with the creamy peach/rose pink.
1) This is the fabric we are using for the curtains. The color is called rose and we love that it is clearly pink, but more of a dusty pink color that can grow with her as she gets older.
2) We decided on the paint color called French Cream. The sample areas we have painted look much lighter than what shows on the screen. It's the perfect creamy peach color that we were searching for!
3) The crib skirt will be made out of this fabric. We just love how the pale yellow looks with the peach/rose palette, plus it is gender neutral enough to use for future babies. :) My mom and I are going to attempt to make an adjustable crib skirt so that we can raise it as the mattress is lowered.
4) My mom wants to attempt to make a floor pillow pouf, so we decided this is the perfect place to throw in a pop of navy blue with a rose colored trim. I love accents of navy blue and pairing it with white polka dots makes it girly!
5) Ah, this hook is just awesome. I love how it fits with everything, but I'm not sure where I'd put it or what I'd use it for. Will have to think about that one still, but it gives the inspiration board a feminine vibe.
6) This is the shelf we picked up from Ikea. It is super skinny and tall and perfect for the wall next to the window for the baby monitor, frames, small books and trinkets.
7) Above the dresser/changing table (also white from Ikea), we want to do a collage of white, gold, tan and brown frames. We have some fun ideas of what we will frame, more to come on that. :)
8) I love how woven baskets look on this inspiration board, especially with the caning of the rocker. This basket is from Pottery Barn so it is crazy expensive for a nursery, but I'm hoping to find a cheaper version elsewhere. This will be on the floor and used for blanket, toy and misc storage.
9) I definitely want to find or attempt to make a ruffled pillow for the rocker. The perfect touch of girly!
10) We love the way those Ikea spice racks display books and we definitely want plenty of books for our kids, so these are perfect (and cheap!). We will be painting them white...we think.
11) My mom and I picked up a rocker similar to this back last Fall before we were even trying to get pregnant! It was $15 at a garage sale and we couldn't resist. It is the same rocker my mom had with my brother and I when we were little, so it has some sentimental meaning to it.
12) Oh yes, the lovely Pottery Barn Kids crib we picked out back in February. Still love it and it fits in perfect with this room!
We are starting to paint, ordering the fabrics and getting the furniture together. More to come from the nursery!
2) We decided on the paint color called French Cream. The sample areas we have painted look much lighter than what shows on the screen. It's the perfect creamy peach color that we were searching for!
3) The crib skirt will be made out of this fabric. We just love how the pale yellow looks with the peach/rose palette, plus it is gender neutral enough to use for future babies. :) My mom and I are going to attempt to make an adjustable crib skirt so that we can raise it as the mattress is lowered.
4) My mom wants to attempt to make a floor pillow pouf, so we decided this is the perfect place to throw in a pop of navy blue with a rose colored trim. I love accents of navy blue and pairing it with white polka dots makes it girly!
5) Ah, this hook is just awesome. I love how it fits with everything, but I'm not sure where I'd put it or what I'd use it for. Will have to think about that one still, but it gives the inspiration board a feminine vibe.
6) This is the shelf we picked up from Ikea. It is super skinny and tall and perfect for the wall next to the window for the baby monitor, frames, small books and trinkets.
7) Above the dresser/changing table (also white from Ikea), we want to do a collage of white, gold, tan and brown frames. We have some fun ideas of what we will frame, more to come on that. :)
8) I love how woven baskets look on this inspiration board, especially with the caning of the rocker. This basket is from Pottery Barn so it is crazy expensive for a nursery, but I'm hoping to find a cheaper version elsewhere. This will be on the floor and used for blanket, toy and misc storage.
9) I definitely want to find or attempt to make a ruffled pillow for the rocker. The perfect touch of girly!
10) We love the way those Ikea spice racks display books and we definitely want plenty of books for our kids, so these are perfect (and cheap!). We will be painting them white...we think.
11) My mom and I picked up a rocker similar to this back last Fall before we were even trying to get pregnant! It was $15 at a garage sale and we couldn't resist. It is the same rocker my mom had with my brother and I when we were little, so it has some sentimental meaning to it.
12) Oh yes, the lovely Pottery Barn Kids crib we picked out back in February. Still love it and it fits in perfect with this room!
We are starting to paint, ordering the fabrics and getting the furniture together. More to come from the nursery!
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