Baby Gear

In honor of Jack's six-month birthday (it's like a half-birthday...people celebrate those, right?) I've compiled a list of baby gear that (I feel) was worth every penny. This list only contains things I deem really awesome.

The Boon Spoon

One on my list is the fabulous Squirt (the boon spoon). G-E-N-I-U-S. I had a giftcard and took a chance on this one, and now I love it so much it's now my go-to baby shower gift. I tell everyone I know about it on a daily basis. Husband is sick and tired of me raving about it but I just love it!! From Boon's website:

Genius. (There. We said it.) Squirt isn't just a spoon; it's a revelation. It takes baby food, removes the jar and the mess, packs it into a single utensil and with one squeeze—boom! You get easy, one-handed feeding. Pop on the cap to seal food on-the-go. Caution: May cause gobbling and an uncontrollable appreciation for anything delicious.

It's easy to clean (even days later) and your baby won't be tempted to stick his hand in the jar (been there, done that). The BoonSpoon even has a cover for the spoon so you can take it on-the-go. Comes in orange, blue, and pink. (Note: we have the orange and it's the same color as the picture, so I'd expect the colors to be accurate.) Buy it here for around $6. Image from Bed, Bath, & Beyond.com.

The SuperBib

Two on my list is also a feeding product: the Bumkins SuperBib. I originally looked for those plastic pelican bibs, but had a hard time finding them. My sister also said hers cracked, so this also prompted me to look elsewhere for a bib. I ran into this SuperBib and fell in love with the Dr. Seuss print (I have the set of 3.) The reviews on Amazon were outstanding, and though I didn't want to spend $20 on a set of bibs, I'm glad I did.

They are large, and cover Jack's entire chest plus more. They will easily fit him until he's about two, if he needs it that long. They are made of a waterproof and stain-resistant material that easily wipes off. After he's done eating, I just rinse the entire bib off in the sink and set it out to dry (which takes about an hour), or wipe it down with a baby wipe. They are also machine washable. I love that they are very thin and flexible, and could easily fit into a diaper bag, where as a pelican bib could not. The pouch at the bottom is excellent at catching any spills. I love this bib! Buy it here. Image from the Bumkins website.

A Play Gym
Three on my list is our playgym. We love the one we received as a gift and would highly recommend it to anyone. The kid never runs out of activities and could play under there for hours if I let him. And we use it every.single.day and the batteries are still going strong. Baby happily playing = Momma getting stuff done (today it was the dreaded dishes.) 'Nough said. Buy it here. Image from Amazon.

phil&teds Dash Stroller

Four. Okay, I didn't spend my pennies on this one - we received it as a gift. And it's the best gift we've ever received in our entire lives.


This baby rolls like a dream. It's the rolls-royce of strollers. We use it (without the doubles kit on the back) for jogging  as well as walks and it's fantastic. Graduation weekend I had to push my sister's other double stroller (not a p&t) and it sucked. That's when I was told pushing the crappy stroller was to make me evermore grateful for my p&t stroller. And guys, it worked. I'm hooked.


It's kind of funny because graduation weekend we also saw a lot of these babies on campus. I was kind of confused at first (I'd never seen so many in one place in my life!) and then Tyler made the comment, "It's because we're all business students and we know what a good investment is." Bingo. My sisters are going on five years with theirs, and they still could pass for less than a year old on wear & tear. This stroller will last you through all of your kids, not just one or two. Find more about it here and purchase one here (or the best deal is at Costco right now). Image from Amazon.

The Lamp
Five is a touch lamp. We love this lamp. We got is for $5 at the local thrift store and I painted it orange. It's kind of tacky, but it's the most useful thing in his nursery! 


Before Jack was born, we wanted to make sure we didn't turn on the ceiling light in his room in the middle of the night, which would further wake him up. So we found this touch lamp with three light settings that works like a charm. Now every lamp we have in our baby rooms will be a touch lamp - no fumbling for switches or anything. The lowest light setting is perfect for changing a quick diaper with just enough light for you to see but not wake up baby too much. I wish I could point you in a direction to "buy one for yourself here" but I can't. But just trust the Joneses and their handy touch lamp. Image from me.

The Kindle
Six isn't exactly classified as "baby gear" but it really has come in handy. I don't know about breastfeeding (I would think you would need one hand to hold the baby but I'm not really sure here) but with bottle feeding it is nearly impossible to read a book while doing so. Hence, the one-handed Kindle. I usually try not to watch tv when I'm feeding him, so I read a book instead.  It's also very babyproof. They show a dog licking the back of one in the commercial! Buy one here. Image from the Kindle customer photos gallery.

The Car Mirror
Seven. We bought a plain grey car mirror similar to this one (I'm not big on frilly baby stuff, okay?) and Jack loves car trips because of it. He just laughs and smiles at "the little boy in the mirror". We couldn't have survived our holiday trip from Utah to California without it! Buy one similar to what we have here. Image from Amazon.


I think that just about wraps up my baby gear list! I'm sure the list will grow and grow (babies have a lot of stuff!) so I'll try to keep adding if I find anything else really awesome.

Parenting Magazine: The Early Years

Remember I told you how you can buy diapers über cheap using amazon codes from the Parenting magazine? If you don't have a subscription to the Parenting Magazine, here is a link to one. (Use coupon code 7232 at checkout.) For only $4.47 for two years, you'll save a bundle in diapers! Heck, it's worth its weight in gold with just one issue!

Jack's Baby Schedule

My friend Stephanie is due next week (!!) and asked me a couple of questions that might be helpful to some of you. But remember: I'm not an expert on parenting...I'm just giving advice and tips that have worked really well for me.

When do you think is the earliest you could start letting a baby cry themselves to sleep without traumatizing them?

This is a funny question. I was so set on the "cry it out" method before Jack was born. I felt as if I had read enough about newborns before he was born, but the reality was that I had just skimmed information. Not until after he was born did I start to submerse myself deeply into all topics considering newborns, which was a little too late because that's the time you're establishing habits! I started to let him "cry it out" from the day we brought him home (day two) but it wasn't for that long. Tyler and I both quickly became suckers. It's amazing how quickly a newborn can get you wrapped right around their little fingers and toes! 

It wasn't til around the one month mark that I decided enough was enough. Jack wasn't sleeping well and neither was I. Tyler and I were both spending HOURS each night trying to rock him to sleep as he cried. I finally just started setting him down in his crib when I saw a couple yawns come out of him. Young kids can't stifle their yawns and hide them - neither can adults, really - so a yawn is the perfect indication of a newborn's tiredness. Put them down quick, before they get too tired to sleep and start getting cranky. The first few days he'd cry a little bit in his crib before he fell asleep, but these cries became shorter and shorter. Now at almost 4 months he rarely cries when I set him down. Maybe I just got lucky and have an easy baby, but I think the biggest thing is the earlier you start establishing a routine, the better.


EDIT: I thought about this for a while, and decided as soon as you learn to recognize their different cries (ex: hunger, tiredness, bored, etc) you can let them cry it out. That way you can be positive they are genuinely tired, and not just hungry.

Would you be willing to post your feeding/nap schedule, starting from when Jack was a newborn, and progressing to as he got older? 

As I mentioned before, I followed BabyWise. I made sure to feed Jack right as he woke up from a nap, then played with him for a while, and when I saw the telltale yawn, I'd whisk him off to bed.

Below is our tentative schedule, if you can even call it a schedule. Jack sort of fell into it on his own, but sometimes it was pushed a little by me. Sometimes he'd want to eat at 2 1/2 hours instead of every 3 hours, and I'd insist on letting him cry for about fifteen minutes, to make it 2 3/4 hours. Most of the time we'd meet in the middle like that, but if he seemed to be doing this several feedings in a row I knew he was going through a growth spurt and he needed to eat more often.

0-8 weeks: Jack would go to sleep around 10pm, wake up to feed at 2am, and wake up to feed at 6am. He naturally fell into this by his first few days of life. Throughout the day I'd follow his cues, but usually feed him every 3 hours during the day. He would wake from his nap, I'd change his diaper, feed him, and then play with him. Put down for a nap and repeat. He couldn't stay awake for more than an hour at a time, so it was 1 hour of feeding and playing and 2 hours of napping.

9 weeks - present: Around 7-9 weeks I started to group his feedings more at night to make him sleep longer. He won't eat an entire feeding at 10 or 11pm (he's too sleepy) but even getting a couple of ounces in him seems to get him through the night. He wakes up around 7 or 8am, eats every 3 hours, and goes to bed anywhere from 7-8 depending on my exercise schedule. Then I feed him again at 10 or 11 and he doesn't wake til 7 or 8am! He has gradually (around the 2 1/2 month mark) eased into a 1 1/2 hours awake, 1 1/2 hours asleep routine. And him sleeping through the night happened "all of a sudden". He was going about 5 or 6 hours through the night and one night he just didn't wake up til 7 in the morning. He was consistent from then on.

I have also been pretty flexible lately. My mom told my husband when we were home for Christmas that I needed to be less rigid with my baby schedule. Luckily I have been better about that lately and Jack has been too. Today our weekly play group was at 1pm, which is usually when Jack is asleep. But he was a good little boy and went down for a nap early, and thus got to be awake during the play group. He loved it!

I hope this helps! Any more questions?

Sleeping Like a Champ

I can't remember if I have posted on this or not, but lots of my friends have asked me how I got Jack to sleep through the night so young. (Just for clarification, by "sleeping through the night", I mean 8 or more hours.) He was on his way to sleeping 9+ hours at night by 7 weeks, and then the holidays hit and we vacationed to California for Christmas. But by 9 weeks we got him back on schedule and the little champ was sleeping consistently through the night.

I just received an email from BabyCenter - these are my favorite emails to receive about pregnancy and parenting. Oddly enough, it talks about sleeping habits. I'll share it below, highlighting in bold the things I followed:

One of the hardest challenges parents face is whether to let their baby "cry it out" or not at bedtime or after nighttime wake-ups. Doctors and experts disagree on this one. Some, like physician Richard Ferber, the expert behind the sleep method informally called "Ferberizing," contend that letting your child cry for a bit is okay when you're teaching her to fall asleep without your help.Ferber's method (also called "progressive waiting") involves waiting for longer and longer periods each night before going in to pat and comfort your baby. When you do go in, you check on her but don't pick her up or cuddle her, and eventually she learns to soothe herself to sleep. (This technique presumes that your baby is healthy and old enough to sleep through the night.) 

Other experts say babies ought to be comforted to sleep. Pediatrician William Sears, for example, advocates that parents co-sleep with their baby in a family bed, holding and cuddling the baby until she's soothed into sleep. Still others, like "Baby Whisperer" Tracy Hogg, take a middle position, saying that parents shouldn't jump up and rush to a baby's crib every time she whimpers or cries in the night; sometimes the baby will drift back to sleep on her own after a few cries. 

 I followed the book BabyWise for the first two months. I still reference it a bit, but mostly follow a combination of my schedule and Jack's. BabyWise teaches you to get your baby into a 3-hour routine of sleep+eat+play (specifically in that order), and by following this your little one will sleep through the night by 9 weeks. We loosely followed this routine, and his sleeping habits formed on their own.

This isn't to say it was easy. There were a couple of nights that Jack woke up whimpering and crying, hungry for food. My mom's first babies were twins, and I tried her advice to repeatedly stick a binky in his mouth until he fell back asleep. Unfortunately Jack has never taken a pacifier so this didn't really work. He would suck on it for about three minutes and spit it out again. The little guy soon associated his pacifier with being tricked, and after trying that method he won't take it AT ALL. So I just let him cry it out a little bit longer each night (as long as I could stand) before going to his crib and feeding him.

Here's a reference list of tips:

• At 4 weeks (should have been earlier though, looking back on it) we stopped rocking him to sleep. We set him in his crib to fall asleep on his own. This caught on very quickly.
• Jack is bottle-fed. This helped my sanity when he was a newborn because on weekends Tyler could help by waking up with him in the night. I'm not advocating one way or the other, but bottle-fed babies sleep through the night quicker because their tummies are fuller.
• Because he is still young, I "top him off" at night. I read somewhere to cluster their feedings in the evening. When Jack gets fed at 6 or 7pm, he falls asleep right afterward and is "out" for the night, but if I left him he'd get hungry around 4 or 5am (not so cool for Mommy). I wake him up and feed him (extremely groggy baby will only take half a feeding if I'm lucky) around 10 or 11 and put him right back to bed. This "topping off" helps him be full enough for the night.
• At his "top him off" feeding I also change his diaper for the night. I sprinkle baby powder in his diaper so he doesn't get too wet and get a diaper rash, and so he doesn't feel the moisture and wake up wanting his diaper changed in the middle of the night. 
• I try not to lull him to sleep with a bottle, becoming dependent on the bottle for sleep. I do it occasionally (because it works!) when I'm in public or he is extremely grouchy and is too tired to sleep, but I don't make it a habit. Sleep+Eat+Play - Repeat.
• Make sure baby gets plenty of rest during the daytime, or they won't sleep at night. You might think that your baby will sleep longer at night if you shorten his naps during the day, but this isn't true! It will just make them too tired to sleep well, if this makes sense. So make sure your baby gets all of his nap times in.
• Sometimes Jack will wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning and talk to himself for a little while. I have learned to ignore him when he does this because he falls right back asleep. As a general rule, if they're not giving you the "hunger cry", they may have just woken up to play for a while by themselves.

Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions, or shoot me an email.

A few tips

Hey everyone! I feel like it's been forever and a day since I've blogged or been on the internet for longer than ten minutes. Kind of refreshing, kind of not. My precious Macbook Pro laptop broke (for good), and instead of getting a quick fix done on it I'm upgrading to a bigger and better computer. Faster, at least. Tyler has convinced me to get a PC (i know, i know!!) because being the computer saavy individual he is he can easily upgrade and fix it anytime he wants. Apple, on the other hand, would require taking my computer into the Apple store and paying upwards of $300 each time I needed it fixed. So when I have a husband who can fix it for next to nothing, I might as well take advantage of it, right? And by Tyler building me a PC, I get to upgrade to Adobe CS5. I've been behind, stuck on CS3, but a few new features on CS5 should make it all worth it.

I've got two easy tips for you today, and both are from my sister Courtney. The first one will help all you mommies out there who have experienced "blow outs". A blow out at our house usually means that Jack is in one of my favorite outfits, and he gets poop all up his back, soaking the onesie in a mustard yellow stain that will not come out in the laundry! I have tried presoaking it and scrubbing it in the sink with a toothbrush, but nothing worked. The stain was still there. So I remembered what Courtney told me and I laid it out in the sun for an hour or so to dry. The sun bleaches the stain out perfectly! See the above picture? There was a huge yellow stain there but the sun bleached it out. I love natural remedies!

My second tip is for the kitchen. You can keep green onions for months at a time. Just trim off what you need and stick the rest in a jar with water, and place it on the windowsill. The green onions will continue to grow and you can keep cutting them as you need to!

I'll try to post a little more this week (I've got a cute video of Jack giggling that everyone has been asking for) but as I don't have a computer during the day, I am limited. I only get to sneak a few minutes here and there when Tyler isn't doing homework. I'll be back though, I promise!

Free Baby Sling!

My sister sent me a link for a free (yes, you read that right - FREE) baby sling! They are really attractive and look like they are easy to use. I just ordered this teal one (see picture) and only paid $12 for shipping. Twelve bucks isn't bad when you consider it would more than that just for the fabric! I'll let you know in a few weeks what I think of it!

Get one here at Seven. Use the promo code 'colorado'. I don't know how long this will last.

I wish I was this creative...

How adorable are these pictures from Adele Enersen? I am just dying of laughter from this clothesline one! Tyler says "poor baby." Haha. When her baby is sleeping, she creates a new world around her, and tries to "guess" what Mila might be dreaming about. I still don't know how she does all of this without her little one waking up, though. She must be a sound sleeper! (Now that I think of it, Jack would cooperate in the evening - he sleeps really deeply then. But these seem to be taken in the daytime, judging by the lighting. Hmm.)

See more on her blog: http://milasdaydreams.blogspot.com/

Swaddlers

Hey new moms! Remember how I love Pamper's Swaddlers? Here's some coupons for you (hurry, they expire soon!) to get an 84-pack of newborn Swaddlers for $10. Not bad, eh? Follow this link to get all the juicy details.

All About Diapers (and how to get them cheap!)

Here's a really lengthy post about my thoughts on diapers, and ways to save on them:

 

The entire time I was pregnant I went back and forth about doing cloth or disposable diapers. While some of the cloth ones are pretty darn cute (bumgenius in butternut yellow, anyone?? bumgenius are on sale for buy 5 get one free right now!!) I finally decided on disposable diapers for two reasons:

1. We are moving to San Diego at the end of the summer and a lot of the places we've looked at are sans-washer/dryer. In the rare case that we end up in one of those apartments (however, my number one on our wishlist is a washer/dryer IN the apartment), laundry would end up costing us about $50 a month and would be a pain-in-the-gluteus-maximus. No thank you. I have enough stress in my life, thanks.

2. Morning sickness was bad enough with the first child. I can't even imagine scraping a toddler's poo off a cloth diaper and hearing the "plop" into the toilet while being pregnant. Those first five months of pregnancy are awful by themselves! Just the thought of it right now makes me sick.

So we went with disposable diapers. Cloth diapers work for two of my siblings, but you've got to be really dedicated. I understand how they save loads of money, but I've decided it's just not for me.

Unfortunately, the name brand diapers (Huggies and Pampers) range from 18-cents to 25-cents or more per diaper. With ten diaper changes a day, that could easily add up to two or three dollars per day, which is about $75 a month! Yikes! (But look towards the end of this post for ways to get diapers for 9-cents each instead. Score!)

My thoughts on diaper brands:

At first Tyler and I tried the Up&Up brand of diapers from Target. They worked great in newborn size, and I have a box of size 2 that I will try out here pretty soon and I'll let you know how they compare. I loved the fact that the newborn size was plain white (the other sizes have big green and blue polka dots, which isn't too horrible). No characters on Jack's bum made for one happy momma. But he soon outgrew those (2 1/2 weeks, so probably three packages) and we had to settle for diapers with baby Elmo or Pooh Bear. I received an assortment of Huggies and Pampers diapers at my baby shower (thanks!!), and have been using those. Here's the lo-down:

They gave us Huggies diapers at the hospital. These fit him all right. It was nice as a brand-spankin-new mom to have the little "wet indicator line" on the diapers so we'd know how often to change him, but completely unnecessary. I have found (and read a lot) that Huggies diapers tend to fit short&chubby babies while Pampers fit long&lean babies better. Jack definitely qualifies as a long&lean baby. I am still using both Huggies and Pampers in size 1 right now, and I've noticed a big difference. The Huggies Little Snugglers tend to run shorter in length. He doesn't have as much extra room in the front of the diaper. The Pampers ones are much longer in the front. 

I've tried out Pampers Sensitive Swaddlers, Pampers Swaddlers with DryMax, and Pampers Baby Dry. I definitely loved the Swaddlers. DryMax is the best stuff! It does an excellent job at wicking moisture away - no matter how soaked the diaper is, his body is never wet when I change him. The past two weeks on vacation we used Pampers Baby Dry and Huggies Little Snugglers and we hated them. The Baby Dry diapers are incredibly thin compared to the Swaddlers, and didn't seem to hold as much. I also found the Baby Dry, though size 1 just like the Swaddlers, ran smaller in size (around his waist) for some reason. I also love the softness of the Swaddlers and the weave on the inside. They aren't at all crunchy like other diapers. And Jack can easily sleep overnight with Swaddlers diapers, whereas on vacation with the Pampers Baby Dry and Huggies Little Snugglers he leaked four or five times. (No kidding - Tyler would understandably get really upset in the morning when he'd get soaked with pee because I didn't change Jack's diaper in the middle of the night. That doesn't happen AT ALL with the Swaddler's diapers.)

Ways to get diapers incredibly cheap:

Now for the best advice EVER on how to get diapers inexpensively. I don't know how long this will be around, but it's been a lifesaver for us! 

Amazon.com has two things going on: AmazonMom and Subscribe & Save, which are both free to join. With both you can get a 30% discount on diapers and wipes PLUS free two-day shipping. 

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We also receive the Parenting magazine. If you go here and enter the code HOLIDAYMAG at checkout, you can get a 2-year subscription for $5. Since June or July they have had 20% off diapers coupon codes for Amazon in their issues.

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Put these two things together, and you get 50% off or more on diapers PLUS free two-day shipping! (We found this out through The Thrifty Couple, who shares diaper deals weekly, along with coupons and how to use them. Here is their explanation of the amazon deal. Amazon even has online coupons that will get you another $1 or so off.)

For a big box of Pampers Swaddlers in size 1, we paid around $20 for 216 diapers, which is 9-cents per diaper. For Pampers Swaddlers size 2 we paid $20 for 184 diapers, which is 10-cents per diaper. (The number of diapers per pack will decrease as the size goes up, making it a teensy bit more expensive.) Half off! That's less than $1 a day instead of $2-3. So for $30 or less a month we can do disposable diapers. Not bad if you ask me. :)

P.S. Can I mention again that you should sign up on the formula websites? Gerber GoodStart gives the best coupons ($11 off!) but Similac sent me a coupon in the mail for a full-size tub the other day. Ka-ching! That's like a $21 coupon. And I've been eying those newly-designed tubs - the scoop is stored in the lid so you don't have to go searching for it. Yesssss, I can't wait to use it.

Mr. Big Foot

Mr. Big Foot (seven weeks old and he doesn't fit into 0-6 month shoes!)

Jack has the largest baby feet I have ever seen. The kid has already outgrown his 0-6 month shoes! Tyler and I are really sad because they look so darn cute on him. He's also outgrown his 0-6 month socks - the heel is now in the center of his foot, but I'm not buying more socks so he still wears them. :)

Cozy little hat made by my friend Alicia

Also, check out this ridiculously adorable hat (above) made by my friend Alicia. She is so talented! She also made our favorite baby blanket (below) that everyone comments on how cute it of a pattern it is. They always ask about it! Thanks, Alicia!

babyGap

 I think I'm in love with this sweater from babyGap. Does it come in my size?

additional thoughts to Things I Wish I Had Known

Thanks everyone for all the nice comments about my earlier post. It was kind of going out on a limb, being all candid and whatnot about motherhood, but I truly wish I would have come across something like this before it all happened to me personally. So take it or leave it, but I'm glad it helped out so many of you. Writing this all down has really been therapeutic, as I realize that things aren't so bad after all. Motherhood is so so wonderful. :)

I have been thinking, and I have a few (okay, a lot) additional things to add:

PREGNANCY:

• Gap Maternity had the softest maternity shirts. Keep checking online and they'll go on sale. My entire pregnancy my older sisters kept reminding me, "You'll wear these clothes more than once!" They told me to actually buy clothes that I genuinely like (and not just the ones on-sale) because after all, who gets a new wardrobe every single pregnancy? No one. You'll be stuck with your same maternity clothes (and perhaps a few new additions) throughout all (three, four, five..) of your pregnancies. So go ahead and splurge on the dress that you look fantastic in. Years later when you have to pull it out again, you'll be so glad you did.
• Buy more than just 0-3 month clothes. You'll be so excited and want them to wear every outfit right away, but it's nice to save a few things too. My little guy is nowhere near growing out of his 0-3 month clothes yet, but I will be so grateful that we have just as many 3-6 month clothes as we do 0-3 months.
• Make (or buy) yourself a carseat cover. It has come in handy when Jack is sleeping and I don't want everyone poking and prodding at him.
• Build a small network of friends who also have babies. It is so nice after delivery to have someone to talk and vent to who has gone through the same thing you have. 
• If you have friends who recently had a baby, bring them dinner while you can! My neighbor had a 10-day old baby when we moved in, and I regret not helping out more. I guess being a new mom is one of those things where you have to actually go it yourself to appreciate what others do for you. But even though I didn't understand how hard it was to have a new baby at the time, I sincerely wish I would have helped anyway. I appreciate so much all of my friends who brought us dinner. Thank you!
• Take advantage of all those "Honey, can I rub your back for you?" in the last few months.
• Don't pack your hospital bag too early. I was so excited that I packed it about five weeks before Jack's due date (I like to be over-prepared), but when I was actually in labor and we had to leave for the hospital, I had no idea what was in the bag anymore. Pregnancy makes your forgetful, and so does the excitement of "the baby's coming!" Thus, most of the hour and a half spent at home before going to the hospital was re-packing the bag.
• When you're not hungry anymore, then it's time to go to the hospital. So many people go too early! I think the most helpful thing I learned from the Bradley childbirth classes we took was to look for cues to know what stage of labor you are in instead of being checked by the doctor. For example, I knew I was in transition when I started to feel the baby descend and felt the overwhelming urge to push. I completely lost all modesty, my contractions were triple-peaking, and I started panicking. (Unfortunately this is when I gave in to get an epidural, but if I hadn't, the baby would have been born shortly - probably in ten or fifteen minutes.) When you are in late first stage labor (which was when I got to the hospital), you aren't hungry, you don't want to talk between contractions, and focus all of your energy on concentrating though each contraction. Knowing behaviors and physical signs of each stage of labor helped me follow my progression and make informed decisions.
• Sign up for formula websites. Even if you're breastfeeding, I'm sure it would be nice to have emergency formula on hand. I signed up for the GoodStart, Enfamil, Similac, Parent's Choice, and Sam's Club formula websites. Each have sent me samples in the mail, and Similac (and Enfamil I think) sent 12-oz tubs. Free formula, plus coupons sent periodically in the mail. GoodStart sends me an $11.00 coupon and a $3.00 coupon once a month.
• Again, if you are formula feeding at all, my sisters recommended GoodStart as the first formula to feed baby. It's the most gentle and easiest on baby's tummy for the first few weeks.
• I haven't done this yet, but I need to. If you're feeding baby formula, keep bottled water handy (in the house and in the car). We had a lesson at church a couple of weeks ago and we talked about the "snowpocalypse" that was supposed to hit the Salt Lake valley several weeks ago. Luckily it didn't happen, but what would you do if a disaster hit and you didn't have water to mix up the milk? What if the pipes froze? What if your water just got turned off for maintenance? It's better to be prepared than find yourself in a compromising situation where you don't have food for your baby!
• Talk with your husband about a few parenting things, to make sure you are on the same page. I've got a funny story to tell you. For example, I started off giving Jack cold bottles from the fridge. I wanted to teach him it is perfectly normal to drink cold milk (and as a bonus, if I am ever in a situation out and about where I need water and my only option is the drinking fountain, my baby needs to be able to take a cold bottle!). I had never mentioned this to Tyler. So about two weeks after he was born, I realized he had stopped taking cold bottles. He'd let the milk dribble all down his chin, and he started spitting it out. I got really frustrated. After telling Tyler, we realized we had different parenting ideas. He believes in warming up the bottle, or at least giving it to the baby at room-temperature. Thus, he had been giving Jack room-temperature bottles and I had been giving Jack cold bottles! Guess which bottle he started to prefer? We have now compromised and he gets slightly colder than room-temperature bottles. Moral of the story: talk about things like this, or at least be observant to each others parenting. You won't agree on everything, but you can always find a compromise. Be consistent. It'll confuse your poor baby if Mommy does it one way and Daddy does it another!
• I suppose this could qualify for before pregnancy. Heard of Aflac insurance, with that annoying little duck? They have maternity insurance. Basically you pay $100 a month for ten months or more (you have to plan ahead on this one and be insured for ten or more months before your little one is born) and when you deliver your little bundle of joy, you get $3,145. Yes, you read that correctly. Tyler and I just got our check in the mail a few days ago! (But note to self: stay two days in the hospital, or you won't get the full check. We only got $2,550 - which is still WOW - because I didn't stay the full 48 hours. Kind of lame. I wasn't aware of this rule before today or I would have stayed an extra night, but I can't complain. We are lots of money ahead either way!) Email me at alie.jonesy @ gmail.com for more info! (No, but really...if you're interested in learning more, email me! I get a $25 gift card if I refer a friend, and you get richer for having a baby!)

AFTER:

• Take it easy in the first few weeks. You will think, "But I feel great!" but don't listen to yourself! I felt fantastic after delivery, but around the four to five week mark I completely lost it. I was so sleep deprived and so tired of doing the same things every day (feed, change diaper, play, rock to sleep...repeat). Really take time to relax and take care of yourself. When you do crash (which I think all women do), it's normal. Your husband will probably ask, "what's wrong?" and you'll tell him, eyes full of tears, that you really don't know. Husbands, this is your cue to just smile and hold her.
• Two books I recommend: Baby Wise (only $5.63), and Secrets of the Baby Whisperer (only $7.99). The first one will help you get your baby on a routine. It's fantastic, but just know it's not everyone's style of parenting. The second one I didn't pick up while I was pregnant because I thought just by the title that the book would be cheesy and useless. But I borrowed it from my neighbor and I love it! It has charts that help you decipher your baby's body language (which I realize would have been so helpful earlier!), lets you know what "type" of baby you have (angel, textbook, touchy, spirited, grumpy) and the best ways to handle their individual needs. It's written by a British woman and is very candid. Perhaps that's what I like the most about it.
• All you will want to do is hold and snuggle with your baby. I'm still struggling with this, but am slowly realizing it's okay to politely turn down someone's offer to hold him. After all, you did (and still do) all the hard work and he will only be newborn small for a few short weeks! When he is four months old and you've had a long day, I'm sure you'll want to pass him over to anyone who offers. But when he's that teeny tiny and sweet, cherish it, be selfish, and keep him all to yourself (and your husband).
• Another thing about crying. It's hard at first, but now I really don't mind it much. Because I have taken a few days and let Jack "cry it out", I now realize he needs about three minutes when I set him down to cry himself to sleep. That is his process, and it takes twice as long for me to get him to sleep if this process doesn't happen. It was very, very hard at first to listen to him cry and cry. Watch the clock, and after ten minutes if he still hasn't calmed down, go in there and gently pat him until he's quiet, reassuring him you haven't abandoned him. I read somewhere that most babies cry a little as they are going to sleep; it's simply a natural process. Just remember that, and it's so much easier!
• Just when you think you can't handle this "boring" newborn stage anymore where they don't do anything or react to much, your baby will start to smile! This is so refreshing. Awake time is ten times more fun! Babies go through so many stages and each one is more exciting than the next!
• Take lots and lots of pictures. I like to take pictures periodically of baby's full body laying in the crib. I think as he gets older it will be so fun to compare how small he looked in that giant crib! Don't forget to take family photos. I need to be better at this - we only have a few!
• Tyler and I don't use bibs for the baby when we are feeding him. I don't know how messy breastfeeding is, but bottle feeding is extremely messy sometimes! Jack gets a nice, thick milk goatee on his chin which eventually spills over, dribbling all down his neck. We like to use burp rags - we tuck them under his chin to catch any dribbles, and then pull it out when we burp him. It eliminates having both a bib and a burp rag.
• Something I didn't know before: it isn't necessary to use a wipe when baby pees. The diapers they make these days do an excellent job at drawing away moisture, and plus a baby wipe might just irritate even more than it needs to be. 

(I'll probably end up coming up with a third edition to this as I think of more things.)

Things I Wish I Would Have Known

Jack, less than one week old

Jack, five weeks old

Look how much he has grown! My little baby is growing up so fast I can't keep up.


I've been compiling a list in my head of things I wish I would have known before I became a Mommy. These aren't just things that I hadn't heard before - these are things that I wish had been more permanently cemented in my mind before I became a Mom. This is advice I wish I would have believed more.

Before the baby is born:

• When you're in labor, don't go to the hospital right away. Wait as long as you can to get the epidural. Walk the halls. Women were meant to walk around in labor. It will feel so much better than just laying in a hospital bed all day, and time will pass much faster because you have something to focus on.
• Get a pedicure the last few weeks before your baby is born. I wish I would have done this.
• Read up a teensy bit on how to take care of your newborn. As a pregnant momma-to-be you are so focused on how the labor and delivery will go. But don't forget that immediately after your long-awaited delivery, you will be expected to take care of this strange new child. It's helpful to be a little prepared for that.
• Make a journal for your little one. Tape things in it, like your ultrasound pictures and cards from gifts you have received. Write letters to your baby inside it. Baby books don't have to be a big, expensive scrapbook with fancy papers and ornamentation.

After the baby is born:

• You know those motherly instincts you keep hearing about? They really do kick in. I promise.
•  Don't feel bad about not changing the baby's diaper in the middle of the night. Sprinkle baby powder on his bum before bed, and don't worry about it. If he poops, by all means give in and change it. But you don't want to start the habit of him waking up because his diaper is a little wet.
• Let the baby cry. Need to eat breakfast? Let him cry. Need a shower? Let him cry. He can handle it. As hard as it is, you need to remember to take care of yourself first so you can take better care of the baby.
• Take time every day to take a shower. It may be the only "you" time you get the entire day.
• The baby isn't as fragile as you think. 
• The baby loves you just as much as he loves Daddy. This isn't a contest.
• Don't play with baby at night. Don't even talk to him. He'll fall asleep so much quicker after (or during) the mid-night feeding if he realizes it's no fun to be awake. More sleep for him = more sleep for you. In the end, it makes both parties happy.
• Make sure to snuggle with your husband and talk about things other than the baby each day. He deserves just as much love and affection as the baby does.
• Don't take it personal every time the baby cries. Understand that is their only way of communicating (think of it as their way of talking to you).
• It's okay to be sad, and it's okay to cry yourself to sleep.
• Your husband is just as in love with your post-preggo body as he was with your pre-preggo body. Remember: it is you, out of all women, that he wants to spend forever with. He loves you more than anything. You are probably sexier and more attractive to him now than ever before. Remember, you are the mother of his child that he loves dearly and he is so grateful for all that you do.
• It's okay to bottle-feed. None of us are perfect. Don't be embarrassed or ashamed to bottle-feed in public, for fear of being judged by others (particularly the breastfeeding moms). People don't know your story or reasons for formula-feeding, so shame on them for passing judgment.
• Don't feel bad for taking naps. After all, you have been up several times during the night! When baby takes his first morning nap of the day, sleep in. You'll be tempted to pick up the house, do dishes, and hop in the shower and get ready. But if you are exhausted, it's okay to stay in your pajamas and cat nap. You'll be better rested and as a bonus, you'll be in a much better mood.
• The house will be messy most of the time. You won't want to clean the bathroom, do the dishes, or vacuum the floors. This is perfectly normal.
• Don't forget to laugh. When Jack was less than a week old, he projectile vomited all over the front of me. It was on my face, in my hair, down my shirt, and all over both of us. Instead of crying, I chose to laugh. Now I can look back and find humor in that moment, and be glad I laughed instead of weeping.
• Sometimes you'll miss your old life, where you could do anything you wanted to do whenever you wanted to do it. After all, you've spent forever living that way. Sometimes it will be frustrating to have to tote the baby everywhere you go, preparing over an hour in advance to just make a quick run to the grocery store. But when a little old lady at JoAnn's peers into your cart and sees a precious two-week old and gushes over how handsome he is, your heart will melt right along with her and you will realize this parenting game is all worth it.

Moccasins

(our little dude, all decked out in red and green for the church Christmas party)

My friend Jess got me (well, Jack) moccasins for my baby shower. At first I wasn't sure what to put them with and was so sad because they are so adorable! But recently I have found many outfits that they go with. They pretty much match anything, actually! He wears them all the time and I get so many compliments on them. I used to think shoes for newborns was tacky, but with the freezing cold (well, actually it was a mild 45 degrees today!) weather here in Utah it's almost necessary to have something on their feet to keep them warm! These moccasin slippers are the perfect thing. My sister (who just had her baby today on the toilet at the hospital!!) bought a pair for her little munchkin too! Pick up a pair for yourself (well, the baby) at Target.

And now I know you are all dying to know about my sister having a baby on the potty at the hospital. Funny story, actually...our family delivers babies pretty fast (all within 9 hours from start to finish on the first, and with the subsequent babies usually within 2 to 3 hours). Courtney woke up at 3:00am, woke up her husband at 3:30am, and left for the hospital at 3:45am. They made it to the hospital at 4:15am. She barely made it through the parking lot (and thank goodness to the labor & delivery floor) where she had to pee. She sat on the toilet in her room, and luckily the nurses happened to be there (without gloves or anything - completely unprepared) and in three pushes he was out! Yikes! What a cool birth story though. I told her it was a good thing he wasn't born in the car because they would have had to pull over and bury the placenta in someone's front yard, haha! Both Momma and baby are doing great. :)

Our latest family snapshot, taken tonight. I picked up this festive sweater at D.I. (the local thrift store). Too bad you can't really see Tyler's ugly Christmas tie we picked up at D.I. We found out when we got home that it even plays music! What a bonus!

Anyway, I love the holiday season. It's so much fun to decorate and eat cookies and make crafty things. (See my latest project on the next post, coming soon.) I tell Tyler all the time, "Look how festive I am!" (That's pretty much my catchphrase of any holiday where I decorate.) He just laughs at me. But really, I feel like such a good wifey when I put up Christmas lights, a tree, and hang ornaments on a green, bushy garland. My favorite thing is drinking hot chocolate every night. Which reminds me - have I mentioned how delectable and yummy Stephen's Chocolate Mint Truffle hot cocoa is? With milk, it is just about the creamiest concoction ever. Oh, I just love, love Christmas.

Happy Four Weeks!

Babies are just the most precious thing.

I'm testing to see how well Jack will fall asleep on his own for naps. I put him down about twenty minutes ago and told myself to wait fifteen minutes to go pick him up. Little Jack was fussing a bit and had little yelps and cries, but this all soon escalated into a full-out blood curdling scream. After a few minutes I went in there to pick him up and the minute he got into my arms he immediately got very calm, snuggled himself up to my chest, and fell right asleep.

It's little moments like this that make up for the sleepless nights and frustrations of being a new parent. Somehow these little glimmers of happiness make it all worth it. :)

Mommy Essentials

Even though I've only been a mother for a month (!!) I've made a quick list of essentials I am grateful to have:

1. Glass bottles. Easy to clean, classic looking, and don't break. We even dropped one on the hard tile floor of the mall the other night. See my post about these bottles here.

2. My Lands End diaper bag, kudos to my Mom. I love a few things about it:
-Mine is black, which means Tyler feels comfortable carrying it. He would complain if I got anything "girly", like polka dots or stripes.
-It stands up on its own. When you open it, it is rectangular like a box. This shape is nice because the bag doesn't topple over if it's heavy on one side.
-You can get it with a smaller diaper bag for quick trips. I think this will come in handy when I get the hang of things and don't feel the need to bring the entire kitchen sink with me. :)
-It's light blue instead of black on the inside so you can see everything quickly.
-It has a nice zippered pocket in the front that I stash my "mommy" things in, like my wallet, keys, and lip gloss.
-I've noticed it retains the temperature of the bottles quite nicely. If we put cold water in his bottle when we leave, a few hours later it is still cold.
-It comes with a changing pad, which has a little pocket in it to stash wipes. Nice.

3. A long, waist-height dresser (again, kudos to Mom). I love that we have a large, shorter dresser because I use it for a changing table. I've heard from so many people that a changing table isn't necessary, but I honestly don't know what I'd do without it! So I love that we have combined his dresser into his changing table. I have a lamp on one side, hand sanitizer, and a changing pad on it. It is fabulous. I think it would be very annoying to have to go into our bedroom every.single.time and use our bed to change his clothes or diaper.

4. A medium-sized basket with essentials in it, and put it next to your changing table. I stash diapers and wipes in it, along with nail clippers, lotion, diaper cream, and other little essentials I might need while I'm changing him. It's nice to just grab the nail clippers and clip his nails while he's already peachy on the table, and not have to pick him up to go grab them somewhere else.

5. A touch lamp. I got ours at the local thrift store for $5. I love it! It has three settings (low, medium, high?) and I don't have to fumble for the switch at 2am. I just walk in and touch it once, and that gives me enough light to see the baby but not wake him up. It's handy for a middle-of-the-night diaper change because it isn't too bright but I can see. I also love our nightlight in his bedroom, so I can peek into his bedroom when he's asleep and also not wake him up.

6. Lots of burp rags. I'm not even kidding. When I saw how many my mom made me, I laughed, but they come in handy! Instead of trying to fasten a bib on him, I shove the burp rag under his chin when I'm feeding him. That way I have something to keep him clean, and easy access to the burp cloth when I need to burp him. My mom made me about a dozen burp cloths out of extra flannel, and I go through them pretty quickly. I probably go through at least one or two a day, depending on how messy he is, and Jack doesn't spit up much either. We tend to feed him on the same spot on the couch, and just keep the cloth draped over our couch arm for easy access.

7. Phil & Ted's stroller. Yes, it's a splurge, but it is so wonderful! (Again, kudos to my wonderful parents!) And Tyler loves pushing it so much, he won't even let me have a try when we go out. I love how easy it is to turn in tight spaces, and that it will fit two kids (or three if they want to sit together) down the road. And it just looks so darn cool. I get so excited when we use it.

8. A car seat cover. It can get flipping cold, especially during the winter months here in Utah. And baby will be even colder then you, so it's nice to keep him warm and cozy in a little car seat den. And it keeps people from poking and prodding at him too. My sister likes flannel ones for the winter (they are warmer and also thicker fabric so they don't blow around if it's windy) and cotton for the summer. Ours has monsters on it. See it here.

9. A baby journal. We love our baby calendar, but I have a special journal for Jack that I tape all of his "events" in. I'm not a big scrapbooker, but I do love the imperfection of a handwritten journal. I love to tape things in it from everyday life. (Remember reading Amelia's Notebooks? I read these when I was probably 8 or 9 and have journaled similar to her style ever since. Sometimes it's fun to document everyday life instead of just the big events.) So far he has his ultrasound pictures and cd in there, his baby footprints, his hospital bands, cards from friends and family, and letters from his momma.

10. A swing. Jack initially hated the swing, but the more I put him in it he seems to like it. I've learned to put him in it when he's in a happy mood, not when he's crying. (Hopefully someday it will be able to soothe him when he's crying as well.) This has been a lifesaver recently, as I am able to set him down and get things done for a little while (laundry, dishes, etc.). We have this one (although it wasn't $200, don't worry.)

Baby K'tan Carrier

My older sister Courtney is due to have her fourth little one any day now. It's been fun living closer to her (she is seven years older than me and thus we haven't lived near one another since she went to college) and planning baby things together.

One thing I have always found tacky is baby carriers. I never thought I would ever use one, but now I am reconsidering! I definitely did not want to spend a lot of money one one, since I don't plan on using it too often. Courtney, being on her fourth child now, has gone through a few, and decided she likes the sling carriers the best. We both love the Moby Wrap, which is gaining in popularity among moms, but have you seen the yards and yards of fabric it is? I think I could stretch the one piece of fabric from one side of our living room to the other side of our kitchen, haha! And it seems like it would take a bit of practice to put on. 

Anyway, she came across the Baby K'tan, which is a carrier very similar to the Moby Wrap, but without all that fabric. Courtney has this incredible talent for copying sewing projects without having a pattern (remember our carseat carriers?), and with a little research she made us both K'tans! It cost a total of $10 for each of ours. Find her directions here. 

I put Jack in it the other day and he seemed to like it. He is a very good baby for putting up with me - I think I tried it on five or six times before I got the hang of it! He didn't mind being squished and shoved in there a few times. :) But now I see how (relatively) easy it is to put on, and I could totally use it for grocery store trips or something.

Evenflo Baby Bottles

I love using Evenflo glass bottles. They are super easy to clean, don't retain smells, and don't cloud up like plastic bottles do. They look clean and simple, and they remind me of my Mom and what she probably used on us kids.

I thought I'd make a short post about them to a) remind myself in the future, and b) help someone that had the same problem I had. Hey, if this benefits even one person, it's worth it.

Problem: At a week old, Jack started flattening the nipple on the bottle. I wasn't sure why. I thought maybe the flow was too slow, but that's not possible - the next flow is meant for a 3-6 month old. It took him 45 minutes or more to guzzle a mere ounce and a half. He was creating a vacuum with his mouth and the nipple. He was extremely fussy and gassy (to the point where the doctor thought he probably had colic) and we were frustrated.

Solution: After an extensive amount of research, we almost splurged and bought the expensive Dr. Brown's bottles, meant for colicky babies. But I'll admit I'm a cheapskate and a bit lazy and wasn't too thrilled about washing five pieces of a bottle after every single feeding, so I held off a bit and kept researching. Then I came across one review on Amazon that mentioned the ring of the bottle. They said to make sure you don't tighten it too tight or the bottle will not ventilate correctly, causing your baby to inhale a lot of air. A lightbulb went on in my head. I had been tightening the ring pretty tightly so the bottle wouldn't leak (makes sense, right?). But that was my problem. Once I started screwing the nipple and ring on looser, allowing it to ventilate, our problem was solved! (Make sure when your baby drinks that you see little bubbles coming back into the bottle.) I'm so glad I figured that out and thus am able to keep these glass bottles which I so dearly love.

And Jack is a TON happier - his temperament has improved greatly! He isn't colicky at all!

Free Baby Feeding Chart

I was unable to find a decent looking (& free) feeding chart for Jack, and the whiteboard in our kitchen is running out of space to mark his feedings. Thus, I created my own handy chart this afternoon in Illustrator. Just print it out and cut it in half. :) If you want it any bigger, see below!

(I'm also thinking this would be good in an 8x10 frame...just write on the glass with a whiteboard marker and erase! I actually might do that because I've got an extra frame laying around...)

UPDATE: Find the large, 8.5x11 printable chart here on my new blog.

Newborn Clothes

 First off, doesn't this scene just melt your heart? Jack is very picky and will only snuggle like this with Daddy. Lucky man, Tyler is.

Secondly, look at this handsome boy.

When buying for the new baby, we didn't anticipate needing many newborn-sized clothes. After all, when they say "0-3 months", that includes newborn, right? Zero is newborn, is it not?

Wrong. Poor Jack doesn't fit in ANY of his 0-3 month clothes yet, and it seems as if he is far from it. (When I know, in reality, "he will grow so fast!") We only bought three newborn outfits, thinking he would grow really really fast. He has grown really fast already (he's actually got fat on his calves now and chubbier cheeks!) but still swims in 0-3 month clothes, and likely will for a few more weeks. And as the weather here in Utah is getting colder and colder (31 degrees and light snow today) I've needed to keep him dressed in more than just thin, white onesies. 

Luckily that's where Walmart comes in. Can I just rave about how much I love Walmart onesies and sleepers? The Faded Glory brand is so thick and warm - much higher quality than our Carters sleepers. (And they are made of organic cotton, if you're into that kind of stuff.) And the best part is, the onesies are only 2 bucks a piece, and the sleepers are only $5! Last night we hit up Walmart go get more binkies (he hates the orthopedic ones, but loves the ones with the nipple shaped like his bottle) and I grabbed another onesie and another sleeper. And bonus: the sleeper was on sale for $3. Yes, $3. What a steal. He looks so handsome in it, don't you think?