Tuesday's Tip: Books!

Many people start reading to their baby while he/she is still in the womb.  I thought that sounded like a good idea, but never ended up doing it.  I didn't really start reading to Little Man until he was about 5 or 6 months old I think...but he absolutely loves books!  At first, he mainly liked eating them...which he still does on occasion.  But, he also loves when we read to him.  I read to him before his naps and before bedtime.  I like to do funny sounds and make the reading lots of fun.  

A few of his favorites are:

Goodnight Moon (This is a must!)

Farm Animals (He loves the sounds!)

I Love You Through and Through

(This book is great for interaction while reading!)

And yes, if you begin reading the same books over and over, you will start to memorize all the words! I definitely have the above three memorized word for word!  Feel free to quiz me :)

Happy Tuesday!

Tuesday's Tip: What the Flip?!

So most of you have already heard of the Flip Video.  I would highly recommend one to anyone!! They are so easy to use and they plug straight into your computer for easy upload!  We got one last December to record many of Little Man's precious moments!  We have used it so much since we have had it.  I have over a hundred videos of him doing the cutest things.  We first used it to capture his first laugh when he was 3 months old!

Sadly, after we went to the beach this summer, our Flip screen did not show a picture.  I think some sand may have found its way into the camera.  So for the past couple of months we have had to just aim where we think is the right place to film.  The image and sound still show up fine when we plugged it in to our computer, but we just can't see the picture when we are actually recording.

Now, Flip videos have almost doubled in price since we bought ours!  But, I convinced the mister that we needed a new one!  So I ordered one from Wal-Mart.com the other day, and the new one should be here this week!  So excited!!

We have still taken videos nonetheless, but the aim isn't that great.

Here is one of the latest videos.  Please excuse my "Mama" voice.  This is Little Man dancing to the video game music, clapping, saying "yay," and saying "bye!"  He always hears me say "Love you too," when I am getting off the phone...so he knows the next word is bye...which is so evident in the video :)

Again, that was video game music from the Wii...not what we normally have playing :)

Happy Tuesday!

Tuesday's Tip for New Mamas: Boy Toys!

For all of you Mama's of boys...did you ever have this problem?  From pretty early on, many times when we change Little Man's diaper, he reaches down to play with his...well, you know!  Sometimes, he would get really mad and aggressive when we stopped him! I asked the doctors about it, and they would say, "Well, he's just a boy, and they start early!"  He's definitely not as bad about it as he once was, but we always make sure to have a couple toys on hand for him to play with during diaper changing time to distract him from his other "toys."

Some of the toys we keep on hand are:

Rattles:

His bathtime letters to chew on:

And his favorite set of keys: 

Some Mama's I've talked to never really had this problem with their sons, and others say that it started early and has never stopped!  :) 

Tuesday's Tip for New Mamas: Dogs!

Unfortunately, we do not have any pets right now, but we would LOVE to get a new puppy eventually.  We have our hands full with Baby W, but seeing him interact with dogs makes me want to get one even more!  I'm sure we will get one sometime, but since I just stopped working, and my mister's a minister...it may take a little saving.

Baby W playing with a friend's dog at the lake this weekend:

Chasing my cousin's dog all around the kitchen:

The tip is that a dog would be a great friend for a little one.  That is a kid-friendly dog of course!

Do you have pets around the house for your kids?

Tuesday's Tip for New Mamas: The Bath Mat

This is probably an obvious one...but now that Baby W has outgrown his bath seat, he is in the big tub for good! 

I didn't want him sliding all over the place, so after a suggestion from Shannon at Webbisodes, I purchased a bath mat!  I got one at Wal-Mart for $12 that has Elmo on it.  Now Baby W crawls all around, plays with his toys, and splashes in the tub.  

He has always loved bath time, but he really loves it now that he's mobile!  

Tuesday's Tip for New Mamas: Car Seats

This is more of a "Here's my opinion, now what's yours?" post!  So feel free to put in your two-cents!

When we went for Baby W's last check-up (about a month ago), he weighed in at 21.5 pounds!  We still had him in his infant car seat that was part of the Chicco Travel System, and it says that the maximum weight is 22 pounds!

We knew it was time to make the switch, but I had no clue what to get!  I checked on babycenter.com, which I have mentioned here.  I got some advice, but no real conclusion.

I did lots and lots of research on my own, and was about to go with the Britax Advocate CS or the Boulevard CS.  But they are really expensive, and I couldn't decide whether it was worth the money.  The best thing I could think of to do was call my sister! Why didn't I just do that first?!...It's what I did when I was registering for the first car seat!  She practically stayed on the phone with me while I walked around the store and registered.  She let me know what I would actually need and what I wouldn't!  (By the way, she has 2 daughters...one who is 14 months older than Baby W, and one who is 2 months younger!)

Long story even longer...she said that they have the Britax Marathon for her car and an Evenflo for her husband's car.  I immediately got on the computer and researched the differences between the Marathon and the other two I had been looking at.  Basically, for the others you are paying a lot extra for the "CS" feature.  It means Click Safe, and you can hear a click when the harness is tight enough.  Well I think I can figure it out pretty well...so I ordered my Britax Marathon and the Evenflo from Amazon!  I got free 2-day shipping, and the car seats arrived a couple days ago.  

Baby W really loves his "big boy" seat!  He constantly looks around and smiles!  I can see him a lot better now as well.  One thing that the reviews said is that it is very big and might not fit in some cars well.  I have an '05 Toyota Camry, and it fits great! 

Any other car seat suggestions, stories, or questions?

Tuesday's Tip for New Mamas: Wii!

I'm going to make this short and sweet today because I am loaded down this week with Vacation Bible School amidst other things!  But, if you are ever feeling stressed, while your baby is sleeping, or even while your baby is playing around in the room with you...play Wii!! It can be a great stress reliever.

I started playing a couple days ago while Baby W was crawling around me.  I was playing the baseball batting practice on Wii sports.  I didn't realize that he was even watching me until I heard a little squeal every time the ball was pitched towards the screen.  The little squeal turned into hysterical laughs every time I hit the ball!  It was hilarious :)

The mister (stealing that from Cool Gal, because I don't really like using "hubby") and I play Wii before we go to bed sometimes.  We are both very competitive, so sometimes it isn't as much of a stress reliever as I would hope!

What do you do to relieve stress?!

Tuesday's Tip for New Mamas: the Face Rash

So the other week I asked for help with Baby W's face rash.  I know he gets it from drooling (which is most likely from teething!) A couple of y'all suggested that we try Aquaphor, and that's what our pediatrician suggested as well.  So, when I was visiting my parents, they happened to have some Aquaphor, and we tried it.

Hours later, Baby W's rash on his face seemed a lot redder and drier!  I decided we were going to need to try something else.  His skin must just be too sensitive for that!  (I would still recommend trying it because I know that it works for some!)

We decided to try something I read about on babycenter.com.  Neosporin.  I put it on his rash before he went to sleep a few nights ago...the next morning, his rash looked a little better, but it wasn't what I wanted it to be!

So someone on babycenter and a neighbor also suggested using Vaseline.  Two nights ago we tried it out, and the next morning, his face looked great!!  Vaseline was the first thing someone suggested, but I wanted to try the real baby creams first because I thought they would be more reliable.  Thank goodness the Vaseline works!  His rash is much better and I don't have to spend too much money to get the job done!

 Happy Tuesday!

Tuesday's Tip for New Mamas: Gerbers Graduates Puffs

If you don't already know about Puffs and your baby is on solids, you really need to get some of these!  They are a wonderful help if Baby W is getting fussy and I need to fix him a bottle or get  something done before I tend to him.  I just pop one in his mouth or put a couple in front of him, and he is good to go for the next few minutes.  If he is getting a little restless in a store or out the check-out counter, the Puffs will do the trick. 

Sweet Potato Puffs

They are very light, and once your baby has started solids, they should be able to handle the puffs because they really melt in your mouth.  Baby W likes to chew it up real good with his two front teeth first.  It is so entertaining to watch him eat them!  I have the sweet potato puffs, and I am still using the same canister that I opened over a week ago.  They are only 25 calories in 65 pieces.  I haven't given Baby W more than 10 in one day...but I know that will change once he is better at putting them in his mouth by himself.  

What the puffs look like

I was a little late starting him on solids, but he has eaten almost every vegetable now, so I am very excited to move to fruits soon! 

Tuesday's tip for new mamas: Portable High Chair

Well technically it's called a booster seat, but I like to think of it as a portable high chair!  Once your baby starts eating solids, this chair is wonderful.  We received it at a baby shower and absolutely love it!  We use it at home right now, and we haven't even set up the real high chair yet because this chair is just so convenient. 

Rainforest Healthy Care Booster Seat

When we were traveling the past few weeks, this chair made it really easy to feed Baby W on the go.  There are straps that secure the booster seat onto a chair and you are all set.

Another great thing about this specific booster seat is the removable toy tray.  While you are getting the food ready, your baby can play while they are waiting!  Baby W keeps himself entertained and distracted with the fun toys, and when I'm ready to feed him the top tray easily pulls right off. 

One of the first times Baby W tried baby food...a mess! (no success!)

The tray that is the actual tray under the toy tray is so easy to clean.  It also comes off easily, and I usually just stick it under the faucet right after he eats, or if he didn't get too messy, I just wipe it down with a wet paper towel.  He stays strapped into the seat while I clean off the tray.

Haha...one of the only pics I have of Baby W in the Bumbo :)

My sister and sister-in-law feed their babies in the Bumbo, which works well for them, but my Baby W's chunky little legs sometimes get stuck in the Bumbo, so this seat is a little more comfortable :)

Blue Bumbo

When my sister's and I were little, my mom used a hook-on high chair to feed us sometimes.  It's still around today, and still works!  It had no cushioning and no parts to tighten, but it was similar to the high chair here.  I'll have to get a picture of my mom's...you wouldn't think it was safe!

Babystart Hook-on High Chair

Tuesday's tip for new mamas: The Laundry!

Quick tip for today: Doing the Laundry

If you get lots of baby clothes ahead of time at showers, or passed down from family or neighbors, do all of the laundry before your due date!!  I remember I did about 6 loads of just baby clothes about a week before Baby W arrived, and I was so happy that it was done!  You will of course be doing lots of laundry once your baby gets here, but you will be thankful if you have the initial loads done.

Photo Credit

Also, baby clothes are small and they don't take up lots of room, so you can get lots of clothes into one load.  I usually wash Baby W's clothes every Sunday.  The only time I do his laundry more often is if he has really messed up some of his clothes or sheets (and knock on wood, this hasn't happened as often as I thought it might!)

Baby Boy Clothes

We have used Dreft since Baby W was born, but I hear that the free and clear detergents work just as well. 

Dreft

Good luck with your loads :)

tuesday's tip for new mamas: babycenter.com

Whenever you want to find the answer to a question about anything, you google it, right?

Mr. Google

Well, I found myself googling lots and lots of questions starting when I was pregnant:

Am I supposed to feel like this?

Why do I hate eating Subway all of a sudden?

Why have I eaten Taco Bell 7 days in a row when I never ate it before?

What do I do about my swollen legs, feet, and ankles?

How do I prevent stretch marks?

And I continued to google after Baby W was born:

What is colic?

What is the best cure for diaper rash? (Triple Paste!)

How do I get my baby to sleep better?!

What kind of sunscreen is safe?

Help! I am just now starting solids at 8 1/2 months!

One of the sites that kept popping up whenever I googled something related to pregnancy and infancy was babycenter.com! 

So I saw that membership was free and decided to join.  I became a member of the September 2009 birth club (there are so many different groups you can join: Actively Trying, Breastfeeding, Baby Names, Cooking for your Family...just to name a few)  You can read questions and answers that other members have posted and you can ask your own questions.  It is really great to see how many others are going through the same things your child is going through.  I would definitely recommend babycenter.com to anyone who is trying to get pregnant, is pregnant, or has young kids of their own!

tuesday's tip for new mamas: Wal-Mart Bags!

My husband suggested that I let everyone know about his great idea for disposable diaper bags.  Instead of using the arm-and-hammer bags, or other disposable diaper bags that you can buy, the next time you are at Wal-Mart, take a handful of the small plastic Wal-mart bags that are on the turntable.  

We tried the diaper genie, but it wasn't for us.  Just doesn't seem worth it to buy refills and have to empty that thing nearly every day.  So, we put Baby W's dirty diapers in a small Wal-Mart bag and put it in the trash basket we have in the nursery.  Yes, we still empty it every day, but it is much easier!

On another note, these are the Lilly shorts I won in Cool Gal's giveaway a few weeks ago!!

They fit perfectly and I love them!  Thanks Cool Gal!! :)

tuesday's tip for new mamas: Putting Baby to Sleep

First off, let me say...I am no pro at this, but I have learned many lessons with Baby W!  The number one rule when putting your baby down for the night is that they should still be awake! It is fine if they are about to drift off to sleep, but they need to know that they are not falling asleep in your arms...because if they happen to wake up during the night, they will expect to be where they were when they fell asleep.

Baby W asleep (8 months)

Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way.  I always nursed Baby W to sleep and he would wake up soon after...and then I would either feed him again or rock him until he went back to sleep.  So wrong!  I didn't get a chance to sleep through the night until Baby W was 6 1/2 months old!  (That was after being instructed by my pediatrician to put him down awake, cut out the night time feedings, and let him cry it out)

The cry-it-out method only took one or two nights for us, thank goodness, and now Baby W happily puts himself to sleep at night.  I give him a bottle, say a prayer, read him a book, lay him in the crib, sing "You are my Sunshine" to him twice (while he laughs at me), give him his "Night-Night" (blanket), and tell him good night.  Within the next 10 minutes he is asleep without a peep.

Baby W asleep in his crib (8 months)

I have definitely learned my lesson for whenever we decide to have another baby.  And my sister, Sweet Southern Prep, has two beautiful babies who are great sleepers, so I probably should have listened to her earlier on!  

Happy Tuesday! Yay for short weeks, and the end of the school year!  

Tuesday's tip for new mamas: The Exersaucer!

At some point within the first few months of your new baby's life, you should get an exersaucer!  It can provide lots of entertainment for your little one.  We thought Baby W was too small for the exersaucer, but right around 4 months we realized he really enjoyed it!  He is 8 months now and still hasn't tired of it...

In the beginning, he was just mesmerized and would reach out for the gadgets, but now he beats on everything and tries to eat everything as well!  I love watching him laugh, babble, and play in his exersaucer.

There are some exersaucers that have bouncy seats built in.  Baby W's does not bounce, so he also has a Johnny Jump-Up.  When he gets tired of being in the exersaucer, I simply move him to the Johnny Jump-Up and he is immediately happy.  His favorite thing is when his Daddy or I swing him really high.  We get to see his face light up!

We were fortunate to get the exersaucer at a baby shower, but if you are looking for one, this is the one we have:

Baby Einstein Discover and Play Activity Center

tuesday's tip for new mamas: open your blinds!

In the weeks after Baby W was born, I have to admit to having the baby blues.  I did not have the kind of blues where I didn't want to be around the baby, but I had the exact opposite blues! I cried at every little thing that seemed to be wrong.  He had to have several doctor's appointments a week for minor issues.  I cried at every appointment!  A few days after birth we noticed a large bruise behind his ear and had to take him for x-rays! I was a wreck!  (There was nothing wrong.   He just has a big head and the bruise was from the birth.)  The x-ray tech asked me if I had done something to my baby or if it was from birth...I cried and cried!  I would sit in front of the television and if something sad happened...more tears from me! When my in-laws were staying with us, my father-in-law thought there was something seriously wrong with me! 

 

Baby Blues Cartoon

Well it turns out, I just had a serious case of the baby blues.  I talked to the pediatrician about it and she said it wasn't too out of the ordinary.  When my mother came to stay with us, she made sure that we had all of the blinds open to let the sunlight in!  And she encouraged me to go on a walk every single day.  That really seemed to help out.  I needed to keep the sun shining in the house, and get outside for a few minutes every day.  I would normally get out and push Baby W around in the stroller since he needed a little sunlight too (he had a little jaundice, but not too bad). 

Not my house

So the tip is baby blues or not, open your blinds and get outside for a few minutes every day!  It will help brighten your mood and keep you with a more sunny outlook :)

P.S. The baby blues only lasted a few weeks.  When we found out that Baby W had a partial biotin deficiency (very rare), I was able to handle that without too many tears, and I didn't cry at the geneticist's office.  I'm glad they didn't last forever!

tuesday's tip for new mamas: Soak and Seal!

Baby W has had eczema pretty much since birth.  Early on, it was very noticeable.  He had it on his face, back, stomach, arms, and legs!  I wanted to take pictures all the time, but his eczema would show up in nearly every picture!  So, I started asking around about what to do about it...because it is a fairly common thing in newborns.  We were told only to bathe him every 3 days so that his skin would not dry out, and to use Aveeno Creamy Wash in the tub, and to use baby lotion all over every day. 

Well, unfortunately none of those things seemed to help out very much.  So our pediatrician prescribed DermaSmooth which is an oil that we were to put on Baby W from head to toe twice a day.  This seemed like a miracle worker!  It worked practically overnight.  We weren't too thrilled about how greasy and messy it was, but it cleared the skin up quickly.  Our pedi also recommended that we go to an allergist just to make sure the eczema was not being caused by an allergy.

Dermasmooth

At the allergist, we found out that Baby W was allergic to peanuts!  Well, the DermaSmooth was peanut oil based...so we had to stop using it (even though it seemed to help).  The allergist prescribed a new cream (Aclovate) and a cream to use when the eczema was not visible called Vanicream.  Both of these work great as well, but the most valuable tip from the allergist was "soak and seal."

Vanicream Skin Cream

He said most people think giving baths daily dry out the skin, but actually if you:

• soak in the tub for 15 minutes and then wash (with Vanicream soap and shampoo)
• (We constantly use a bucket and pour water over Baby W to keep the water on him)
• take them out and pat them dry
• apply Vanicream (or other lotion) all over within 3 minutes

then the skin stays very hydrated and the eczema will heal!  We use this soak and seal method every night.  Our instructions are to apply the Aclovate to the trouble spots in the morning and after the bath, and apply the Vanicream all over two other times a day.  It really works!  You wouldn't know that Baby W had eczema by looking at him.

Vanicream Cleansing Bar

Most pharmacies have Vanicream behind the counter if you ask.  Our goal is to get to the point where we don't have to use the prescription cream at all, and only use the Vanicream. 

tuesday's tip for new mamas: the laundry basket!

A few weeks ago, my mother in law was keeping Baby W while the hubby and I were working.  When I got home, she showed me a new, fun way for Baby W to keep himself entertained!  She put blankets in the bottom and hanging on the sides of a laundry basket, and she put toys in the basket as well.  Then, she plopped Baby W in with the blankets and toys and let him play!  He loves it!

This is only recommended when your baby can sit up pretty easily on his/her own.  But, it makes it easy to get stuff done around the house when you can watch them easily and transport them to any room with their toys. 

When I was in Charlotte this past weekend, my mom was going to watch Baby W while I went out and spent my birthday money.  She wanted to clean the kitchen and I showed her that it would be easy if she used the laundry basket.  She thought the idea was ingenious and that I should send it in to Parenting magazine...lol!  She said he loved sitting in there so much!

Another good thing about it is that when I pack for a trip, I can fit nearly everything we need for Baby W in the laundry basket.  So I pack the blankets, toys, clothes, burpcloths, bibs, pjs, white sound machine, baby monitor, bath stuff, and whatever else I need right there in the laundry basket. 

I don't have my camera right now to post pictures of this...but I will definitely give you some visuals tomorrow for wordless wednesday! 

Good luck trying this out!

tuesday's tip for new mamas: make time for yourself!

When Baby W was born, I did not want to do anything but spend every second with him!  I took 12 weeks off of work, and never left his side.  (Maybe for an hour or less twice a month!)  Now I know that might sound crazy, but I didn't want to miss anything, and I felt like I was the only one who could soothe him if something was wrong (he was a colicky baby!)

I did have to leave his side when I went back to work in January.  But, whenever I wasn't at work... I was with my sweet son.  Then, on March 13, Baby W was invited to a birthday party! I was not going to be able to go because I had to take a test for my recertification.  My husband, however, was able to take him (the party was an hour away!)  I was so sad. When they had only been gone for 20 minutes, I called my husband!  What was I going to do for the hours after my test?!

Well... it turns out I got to relax at home and went on an hour long walk!  When I finished that... I thought, "It has been too long since I have taken time for myself!"  Yes of course I missed being with my son, but I think everyone in the family would benefit from me getting some time to myself every once in awhile. 

Since then, I have taken an hour once or twice a week to go on a walk alone!  I think it is crucial to take time to gather your thoughts and have this alone time when you are a new mama!  It will help maintain your sanity and give you more patience with those around you!  In fact, if you are able to get out by yourself more than once or twice a week...I would encourage you to do that!

I don't think it really matters what stage of "mommyhood" you are in, or even if you aren't a mama at all: take time for yourself each day!