Current Love

This is our current love. We are starting to teeth...or LM has bought stock in a drool factory and is singlehandedly in charge of supplying the inventory!

So, we've broke out all the fun things to gnaw on. This is a clear favorite. Made by MAM, all four rings are chewy, textured fun and (my favorite part), rotate which helps LM hold on to it. I'm so glad I read about this in a magazine and added it to my registry!

Bring it on teeth!

The damages...

I thought since I bored you with what I took, I'd share with you what I actually used. Data and all.

• 3 outfits per day---plus an extra couple outfits----so 15 outfits. That's two onesies and a romper per day give or take. We had a favorable spit up week and used only about 9 outfits.
• 3 pair of shorts, two pair of pants We only used the shorts...too hot for the pants.
• 5 onesies to sleep in We used 3 of the 5 onesies--the other nights he slept in the onesie he had on when he crashed
• 2 sleepers in case needed Not needed
• 2 overalls---long and short Not needed
• 2 hoodies Not needed
• 2 long-sleeved onesies Not needed
• 4 pair of socks Used just one
• 1 big blanket for the floor Worked out well!
• 2 smaller snuggley blankets Big help for laying him on top of furniture/bed etc to play
• 2 swaddle blankets Used 1 for naps
• 1 swaddle sack Wished we had two...the first night he added a feeding and peed through it by the morning
• 2 extra PNP sheets Used one extra plus the one already on it
• PNP Obviously important as he slept in it nightly!
• Playmat Didn't end up getting it out--I laid a blanket down and played with toys with him. It if had rained more, we probably would've got it out.
• Swing (yes, the full-size one. It's a big cabin and LM takes at least one nap a day in it--plus, if all hell breaks loose, he can sleep in it at night) So glad we took it--it worked for a couple naps plus some baby dolls got to ride in it too.
• 3 carriers--my Baby K'tan (swoon), Ergo and Baby B'jorn (for TH) These were lifesavers as where we went ended up being not very stroller friendly.  The Ergo ended up being a bit hot but TH carried him in the Bjorn quite a bit. And I used the K'tan to both carry him and soothe him the first night.
• Diapers (lots) We went through 35-40 diapers of the ~60 we took.
• Wipes (lots) We went through almost a 64 pack. I didn't touch the extra pack we took.
• Mini baby shampoo, lotion and baby wash Body wash was used for a sponge bath.
• Aquaphor We put this on some of his cute leg rolls when they got irritated from heat.
• Nighttime books Our nighttime routine was changed up some so we didn't get to these.
• Random toys (plus the ones on the playmat) I'm glad I took the toys--we used a lot of them but I could've left some. He's starting to drool/teeth so it helped that I brought some of his teething squishy ones.
• Stroller Didn't use it as much as I thought.
• Baby brush and nose sucker Didn't use
• Baby monitor Lifesaver as the place we stayed had 3 stories and a hot tub :-)
• Breast Pump Didn't end up needing it but obviously would take it again!
• Milk storage bags Not needed
• 4 bottles (emergencies....in case I might have an extra glass of wine or leave him with my BIL/SIL for a bit) Again, didn't need them but necessary.
• Diaper bag (of course) Never leave home without it
• Every burp cloth we own We actually made it through the week with some leftover--yay less spit up!
• All pacifiers We kept track of all of them! But LM developed quite a penchant for his fingers this week so we weren't even using them all.
• Swimsuit, swim diaper Didn't end up using them.
 

So, obviously, I overpacked. But--I felt good about not forgetting anything major.  The one thing I wish I had brought...our free/clear detergent for when I had to wash his Halo, sheet etc after that first night. The stuff provided was harsher than I would've liked so we used the sanitize option on the washer/dryer instead.

Empty Nest

And by empty, I mean that I have packed everything in my house for our four day long vacation-----two hours from my house.

I get a big carried away with shoes when it comes to vacations.  And, have a penchant for spilling on myself, so I always pack extra clothes. TH loves his shoes as well. He also seems to have more toiletries than a woman. Between the two of us, we sure amass a lot of stuff for vacation.

BUT---holy monkeys!! I never knew about over-packing until I was packing for a baby. The amount of stuff we're taking is frankly, astonishing. And I knew we'd pack a lot of stuff.

LM has the following packed (because I know how much you want to know):

• 3 outfits per day---plus an extra couple outfits----so 15 outfits. That's two onesies and a romper per day give or take.
• 3 pair of shorts, two pair of pants
• 5 onesies to sleep in
• 2 sleepers in case needed
• 2 overalls---long and short
• 2 hoodies
• 2 long-sleeved onesies
• 4 pair of socks
• 1 big blanket for the floor
• 2 smaller snuggley blankets
• 2 swaddle blankets
• 1 swaddle sack
• 2 extra PNP sheets
• PNP
• Playmat
• Swing (yes, the full-size one. It's a big cabin and LM takes at least one nap a day in it--plus, if all hell breaks loose, he can sleep in it at night)
• 3 carriers--my Baby K'tan (swoon), Ergo and Baby B'jorn (for TH)
• Diapers (lots)
• Wipes (lots)
• Mini baby shampoo, lotion and baby wash
• Aquaphor
• Nighttime books
• Random toys (plus the ones on the playmat)
• Stroller
• Baby brush and nose sucker
• Baby monitor
• Breast Pump
• Milk storage bags
• 4 bottles (emergencies....in case I might have an extra glass of wine or leave him with my BIL/SIL for a bit)
• Diaper bag (of course)
• Every burp cloth we own
• All pacifiers
• Swimsuit, swim diaper
• And a partridge in a pear tree....

I'm not sure why I typed all of this out---it's late and it makes sense right now. Plus--someday, someone, somewhere will google what to take on a four day trip with a 3.5 month old!
BUT---we don't leave until late this afternoon---if you see something I forgot....tell me!!!!

In Love!

That's right folks...I'm in love! With our new bouncy chair (oh..and my husband and baby too but that is a given I hope!).  We had a hand me down one that still vibrated and played music but none of the other features (bubbles etc) worked. LM didn't mind sitting in it--but that was all he would do...just sit in it.

BUT--then we had the lovely privilege of having a gift card to spend (yay family!) and decided that we wanted a better bouncy chair--to entertain LM better and to use with (possible) future children.  So, we set out researching (you know how much I love this part!) and settled on the FP Rainforest Bouncer.

OMG my lovely blog friends, this one blows away the other chair.  Not only is it soft and adorable, but it has all sorts of moving parts (a "waterfall", little animals that move up/down etc). BUT--the best feature is the ability to either have it a) light up/play music/do it's thing continuously or b) the lights/music etc can be activated by LM batting at the hanging toys. That's right--CAUSE and EFFECT folks! As a teacher, this thrills me. And it took no time at all for LM to figure it out--don't you love a toy that allows you to brag about your kid being smart!

LM loves it--he actually bats at the hanging toys, coos/laughs/smiles at the moving parts and is fixated by the "waterfall".  He even gets so excited he bounces himself! It makes me sad that we didn't have this the whole time...I love it! Anything that allows me to get a chance to accomplish a household task while he's otherwise occupied is a wonderful thing! I even reviewed it on the site we got it from--and I never get around to doing that.

And then there were six....

I slightly obsessively (what! you..no way!!) researched baby gear once we got out of the first trimester and I felt "safe" to think that way.  TH has an annoying habit of going to bed really early (even though we both work in the same field and I get up earlier...somehow his day is more tiring) and mix that with a little pregnancy insomnia and you get lots of baby gear research time! I've already shared with you my love of my stroller (pause for moment of reflection upon its loveliness). But one of the other things I researched the heck out of was carriers.

I knew there were a ton of kinds...and I knew that a lot of them wouldn't fit our lifestyle.  I didn't want to be a full-on baby-wearer (I commend those of you who are, I just knew I wouldn't be) but I wanted a carrier (or two) that I could use to be close to my little one and would have some lasting time.  I also knew I wanted to avoid the kinds that would cause me to kill my own child...ya know, I'm practical like that!

I read B.aby Ba.rgains (aka the bible of baby stuff), I googled, I spent time on the AP board on theB.ump and various other baby-wearing sites (I've got some great links if you're interested--email me!).  Finally, I decided that I wanted a ring sling and a baby k'tan.  The BK I knew would be good for the beginning and the ring sling would be great for the summer when he had good head control and would want to look around.

Thus began the next phase...buying. Oh wait...somehow it didn't happen. I'm not sure what got in the way...TH wasn't thrilled with the idea of spending the money on them, I couldn't commit to a ring sling pattern, I started second guessing k'tan vs moby etc etc...the result was that LM was born and all I had was a hand me down hotsling.

I figured out pretty quick that if I was going to get anything done, I needed to be able to wear LM. He loved sleeping tummy to tummy on me.  This was fine when TH was home on paternity leave...but once he went back, I realized I needed to move on this.  That's when things got out of hand....

I tried the hotsling and tried it and tried it. I watched YTube videos, read directions etc...only to come to the (duh!) realization that these are sized slings and the one given to me was for someone who needed a MUCH bigger size.  So...that was that. Next, TH came home from his sister's house with a B'jorn. I had read lots of things about this and wasn't really thrilled at what I had read. But--hey--I'll give it a try.  LM tolerated it, but only if he was asleep and would leave his head to the side--if awake, he was bound and determined to smother himself on our chests. Plus--it hurt my back. TH liked it though..fine. He can use it when LM is older. I STILL DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING. But--we had two carriers.

At this point, I've got TH convinced that I should order the K'tan...I had a coupon and everything. Then---I was on BabySteals and lo and behold....the daily steal was the Ergo. Well I had to pull the trigger on that one---that was the one I secretly wanted for the future but knew I wouldn't be able to spend the money on. I knew that it wouldn't be totally useful for a couple more months...but I had to have it. I decided to hold off on the K'tan in case I could make the Ergo work with him. It came--I love it and can kinda use it with a rolled up blanket boosting LM up. But, if he's not asleep, he's not happy. But--it'll be fabulous when he's older, I can't wait!!  Anyway, in case you're keeping track--we're at three carriers now folks.

Then, the SIL says she has a sling and another carrier from a friend for us. They arrive. One is a weak knock off of the B'jorn, which I didn't like anyway. The sling is some giant padded number that gets great reviews but I couldn't get LM to fit in it yet without feeling like I could get him in the safe sling position. It may or may not be good when he's bigger...we'll see. Of course, when he's bigger, I'll use the Ergo.  Anyway...numbers four and five.

At this point (hey, thanks for still reading!!!), I'm frustrated as all get out. I have five carriers--none of which will let me wear my little guy around RIGHT NOW.  TH of course thinks it's 100% ridiculous to buy another carrier at this point....and I do see the logic. We're running out of storage space folks. But--then on the magical e.b.ay site, I found a K'tan that I was able to get for half of retail price---YAY!!!! TH thinks I'm crazy but I just wanted to wear my LM...even if he gets too heavy for it soon (hey, I've got plenty of other options when he gets bigger!).

It came in the mail yesterday...and then there were six :-)