Running a little late on this since she’s currently rapidly approaching two months, but that’s how it goes with the second child, isn’t it? At least the picture is still her at 1 month.
Likes
Sleeping on people
Dislikes
Sleeping anywhere not on a person
Confused By
Daddy’s obsession with having her dance the Macarena
We’ve had a lot of people asking how we chose her name and it wasn’t easy! I made Matt come up with at least 5 names that he would be ok with and I would do the same. His criteria was that the name couldn’t have been in the top 10 in the last 5 years. My criteria was actually liking the name. Unfortunately a lot of the names I liked were top 10 names.* Elsie was one of Matt’s picks and it was actually the only name from his list that I was ok with.**
As far as her middle name goes… we just found something that we thought sounded nice with Elsie so there’s no significance behind it. Like her brother she also has two middle names. However, because Matt and I are clearly batshit insane and want to confuse everyone, she is Elsie Harper [Matt’s last name] [my last name], so yes, these siblings have different last names. These are the fun choices you get to make if you don’t change your name when you get married. The good news is that when they’re both in school they’ll never have teachers comparing them for better or worse.
We had a little bit of excitement here the other week! I was scheduled for a C-Section on Thursday January 9th (baby was still breech) so my mom and step-dad came into town Tuesday evening. The plan was for them to use Wednesday to walk through Wesley’s normal routine and possibly help us finish up a couple things around the house.
Well, it turns out it was a REALLY good thing they came Tuesday night because I woke up around 2am to go to the bathroom then realized I was also having contractions. Better yet, they were coming every 5 minutes and lasting at least a minute.* As soon as I noticed a pattern, I woke up Matt, called my clinic’s 24hr line, and woke up my parents to let them know we were leaving for the hospital goodluckwithWesleybye.
We got to the hospital a little after 3 and were immediately admitted (no triage room for me this time). Because they knew I would be having a c-section I was given a drug to slow down my contractions (which were starting to get pretty intense). The on-call OB came in and starting going over the plan for surgery and introducing the other people who were going to be involved. Basically they were still trying to keep things fairly calm and more like how my scheduled c-section would have gone…just a day early.
Meanwhile my body was powering through magic drug they gave me to slow my contractions so I was really starting to feel things again. They didn’t want to give me another dose because the OB said it would actually be a little better for the surgery if my uterus was trying to contract, so they started wrapping things up and getting me ready to be moved to the OR. Then my water broke… which really does feel like you’ve just wet yourself. In fact, I actually said “I think I just peed…” then thought about for another second and followed up with “Or my water just broke which might make more sense…”
At this point it was Go Time so my bed and IV stand are getting maneuvered out the door and down the hall. I’m freaking out because 1) my contractions kept ramping up and hurt like hell, and 2) my IV line kept pulling on my arm as people worked to coordinate movements and I do not handle anything under my skin well and the tugging sensation was Not Helping. We were right outside the door to the OR** which was literally around the corner from my room and I started feeling like I needed to push. I distinctly remember thinking that people would probably want to know this, but they also seemed really busy at the moment so in proper Minnesotan fashion I said something along the lines of “Um… it sort of feels like I need to push?”
Everything after that is a little fuzzy. I remember getting transferred to the operating table and heard someone saying that there wasn’t time to do a spinal block. I may or may not have started to get a little hysterical at this point.
“What do you mean you don’t have time to do a spinal?!”
Around the same time I also announced that I could feel something coming out. Yes, my daughter had literally kicked her foot out first (which can actually cut off circulation if not dealt with quickly). I remember the drape going up and things getting prepped around my abdomen, and someone calling for backup…but I was still getting contractions and really just wanted whatever anesthesia they were going to give me. I believe I said something very eloquent along the lines of “If you’re going to gas me please hurry up and do it!”
Aaand then I was knocked out by general anesthesia. Next thing I knew I was in a recovery room and a bunch of people were talking and I was having a really hard time focusing and responding to their questions. Eventually someone came in with my glasses and said Matt had mentioned that I might like to have them (I’m totally blind without them). I also started to get a little more aware of things, but talking was still really hard.***
Now, as I was getting wheeled off to the OR, Matt had been given a gown or whatever to put on and was told someone would be back to get him in a just a minute. Typically they do the spinal block and then bring in your partner, so it’s literally just a couple minutes. Well, Matt waited…and waited then 15 minutes or so later a nurse came in and let him know there had been a change of plans and that I was unconscious and that our daughter had just been born… any questions?
Matt: ….
They brought in our daughter shortly after so Matt got a couple hours of daddy-daughter bonding while I got stitched back together and hung out in recovery for a little while. I finally got to meet her around 7:30.
Here she is, our little drama queen: Elsie Harper. Note that a mere 3 1/2 hours elapsed from when I first noticed contractions and when she was born (and she was determined to come out on her own!). The funny thing is that for a while I’d been commenting that that whenever she kicked it felt like she was trying to kick her way out…guess she had been practicing.
The good news is that despite all the drama, everyone is doing well! I have a post-op follow-up next week, but I feel like I keep improving each day. Rotating or bending at the waist is still rough, but I’ve been off narcotics for a few days and am keeping my pain in check with Tylenol and ibuprofen. Given the amount of pain I was in for the last chunk of my pregnancy this may actually be an improvement. The hardest thing is stopping the cats and Wesley from dive-bombing my abdomen, so I basically keep my Boppy pillow around me any time I’m sitting/laying down.
Elsie is doing great and was already close to back to birth weight a few days after leaving the hospital. She’s pretty chill so far, she just vastly prefers snuggling on top of a person to sleeping in her bassinet. Because she was breech we need to schedule an ultrasound for her since breech girls have a higher risk of hip displasia,**** but if caught early it’s easily corrected.
Wesley seems to be adjusting well–when he gets home from daycare he yells “Mommy! Elsie!” while running to see us, and is very good at touching Elsie gently (petting her hair and giving her hugs). He’s definitely a little bit out of sorts since it’s a big change, but we’re doing our best to keep his routine as consistent as possible and give him plenty of mommy and daddy time.
*If you’ve never had a baby, this is the rough guideline for getting off your butt and to the hospital…and this is what I woke up to.
**Which had a sign saying “Quiet Please” …I ignored it, but I feel like I was justified.
***I mentioned a having a sore throat to the nurses the next day and they said it wasn’t surprising since I had been intubated because of the general anesthesia.
****The doctors asked if we knew what hip displasia was and I responded with “Like in golden retrievers?” I may have watched way too much Animal Planet growing up since I’ve only ever heard of hip displasia in regards to larger breed, pure-bred dogs. But, yeah, same thing apparently.
I mentioned previously that baby girl is currently breech and so we’re working on trying to get her turned around. I had an External Cephalic Version* done last Friday with zero luck. Baby didn’t budge one bit and seems to be stuck around my rib cage. I had another regular prenatal visit today and she still hasn’t moved at all. Thanks stubborn kiddo.
There’s still a chance she may turn on her own or that some yoga or Spinning Babies positions may help her along, but the OB still had me schedule a C-section at 39 weeks to be safe. IF she turns before then I can still have a vaginal delivery but if I go into labor before then and she hasn’t turned I’ll need a last minute C-section.** Good times.
The good news is that baby still seems to be doing just fine. And me, well, I’m massively uncomfortable, completely exhausted (the fact that she’s sitting so high up is compressing my lungs which isn’t helping matters), and still having a lot of pelvic pain, but nothing the doctors are all that concerned about. Once baby is out and the pregnancy hormones (and physical stress on my body) go down then my pelvis should start to function normally again.***
It’s weird, but I’m remaining shockingly calm about this whole thing. It is what it is and I trust the doctors to make the call about the safest course of action. It’s also nice in a way because we’re able to schedule with out-of-state grandparents about coming into town to watch Wesley while Matt and I are at the hospital. I also have a definite end date in sight, which given how incredibly miserable I’ve been during this pregnancy is actually kind of reassuring.
That all being said, a C-section is still major surgery, even if it is a pretty routine one. I definitely wouldn’t choose this route if it wasn’t considered medically necessary. I’ve been doing some research and it sounds like recovery is no joke. It will probably be even harder with a toddler at home who won’t understand why mommy can’t pick him up or why he can’t climb on top of her for snuggles. Luckily my mom will be coming into town to watch him while I’m in the hospital and my mother-in-law had already planned a visit that happens to fall right after my now-scheduled surgery. While it was really nice having the house to ourselves after Wesley was born, I think it will be really good for Wesley to have some extra people around to give him attention this time.
* An OB tries to manually turn the baby by shoving on your belly. I’d say it was incredibly uncomfortable but not exactly painful. You also get a shot of something to relax your uterine muscles…which also makes you super jittery. It was like the jitters you can get after a nebulizer treatment.
** I don’t know if it quite counts as an “emergency” C-section since they should be preparing for it as soon as I call the hospital, but they will definitely have less time to prep than they would for a scheduled procedure.
***Grandparents were in town last weekend so we brought Wesley to their hotel to play in the pool. He seemed to have fun, but it was positively glorious for me! Most of my pain melted away and I was even fairly comfortable for a couple hours after getting out of the water. Now if I could only find a pool to live in for the next week….
37 weeks baby! I’d say this kiddo could come at any time now, but as of my appointment a few days ago she’s currently breech so hopefully we get her facing the right way first. I have a referral for an External Cephalic Version (where a doctor tries to externally turn the baby) and I’m starting to use some of the positions from Spinning Babies to help the process along.
Wesley caught us by surprise by being a little over 2 weeks early (when I fully expected him to be at least a week late) so I had to direct Matt on what to what to pack while in the middle of contractions. This time though, WE ARE PREPARED.* As soon as December hit we were pulling all the old baby gear out of storage, washing ALL THE THINGS, and generally nesting up a storm.
Even then I had an oh-so-fun round of false labor last Monday and still didn’t actually feel prepared. I went home from work early because I couldn’t function anymore and called Matt home from his work Christmas party so he could watch Wesley (and, ya’know, be ready to go if this ended up being the real thing). I checked in with my midwife a couple times, but since it was early enough to be unlikely and my contractions were holding at sporadically-steady (sometimes they’d last a few seconds, other time a minute but they kept happening fairly regularly without ramping up in intensity) she never had me head to the hospital.
What I’m Packing for Baby #2
It was a little easier to pack for a second delivery since I learned what was actually useful to me from the first time around…and some things I wish I had. For the record, I’m fairly minimalist compared to a lot of the lists out there there but if you’re not, that’s totally cool. Bring whatever you think will make YOU feel comfortable.
Comfy clothes
Some people like the idea of their own clothes/gown to wear during labor, but I honestly didn’t care. If you do go this route,I would suggest something dark (delivery is messy) and something designed for labor (they have a lot of extra snaps and openings for monitoring equipment and epidural access).
Keep in mind that your belly doesn’t instantly shrink after giving birth, so you’ll probably want some maternity-friendly clothes. There’s also always a chance of a c-section (even if it’s not planned) so be conscious of where your waistband hits. Also, you probably don’t have to worry about underwear since the hospital will give you some positively stylin’ mesh knickers.
I’m packing:
Thermal joggers (not maternity, just sized up one)
Nursing friendly tanks/tees
Maternity leggings
Open-front Sweater
Slipper socks with bottom grips
Toiletries
Honestly, I’m pretty basic in this category, I packed a little makeup the first time around but didn’t use it (but then, I often go without makeup).
I’m packing:
Shampoo
Conditioner
Body wash
Loofah
Facial cleansing wipes
toothbrush
toothpaste
deodorant
lotion
chapstick
Headband (if your hair longer I’d recommend a hair elastic to keep it out of your face)
Breastfeeding Gear
If you don’t plan on breastfeeding, no worries–you’ve got less to pack! If you do plan on breastfeeding, I still suggest packing a few things besides your mammary glands.
I’m packing:
Combination nursing/pumping bra (I REALLY wish I had this in the hospital with Wesley)
Haaka manual breast pump (bring your electric one if you’d like help getting started with it)
Nursing pillow (I liked mine, but a normal pillow works in a pinch too and neither is completely necessary)
Nipple cream (I didn’t actually need this with baby #1, but better safe than sorry)
Nipple pads (it’s unlikely you’ll start leaking those first couple days in the hospital, but again, better safe than sorry)
Creature Comforts
Some people want to make their hospital room as homey as possible. Blankets, pillows, towels, and eye masks are frequently recommended Personally I didn’t want to worry about more stuff to potentially forget…but I AM attached to having a good pillow.
I’m packing
My own pillow (with a pillowcase that won’t get mistaken for hospital bedding)
My own water bottle (the one the hospital provided the first time tasted like plastic)–something large, fairly leak-proof, and with a straw is a good option since you’ll want to be able to sip water easily from different angles.3 3q
Entertainment
Like it or not, you’ll be in the hospital for a while. If you opt for an epidural you’ll probably even have good chunk of down-time (although if it’s the middle of the night you can just enjoy glorious, glorious sleep).
I’m packing:
Tablet
Phone
iPod
Book
Chargers + small extension cord (PSA: they also make extra long charging cords, I just used what I already had)
Miscellaneous
Snacks (for both you and your partner)
Camera (I have a nicer one in addition to my phone)
“Baby’s” gift for big brother (this has been recommended by a few sources for helping introduce a sibling…unfortunately we’re behind on this one so we don’t know what it’s going to be yet)
For Baby
For us, all the basic needs were supplied by the hospital while we were there–diapers, onsies, swaddles, etc. All we really need are some things to get our baby girl home. For Wesley, I packed his diaper bag but this time I’m just going to throw stuff in my bag.
I’m packing:
2-3 “coming home” outfits in multiple sizes (since there’s no telling how big the baby will be)
Hat
Photo props (I have a letter board to fill in with her birth info, a cute swaddle blanket, and girly headband)
Car seat + car seat cover (we didn’t bother with a car seat cover for Wesley since he was a summer baby, but winter in MN in now joke!)
*Which probably means baby girl will take her sweet time, but what can you do?
(Also, the start of my third trimester–home stretch baby!)
I realize I haven’t actually shared the gender of our soon-to-be addition here on the blog. We’ve actually known for a while… whoops! Anyway, yes, we’re expecting a little girl in January! Probably anyway… the ultrasound tech wasn’t 100% confident, but she was at least confident enough to give a “most likely.” If she was actually unsure I doubt she would have given us anything.
We’re also planning on the kiddos sharing a room (once the baby moves out of our room). But just for kicks, I’ve put together a mood board of my would-be baby girl nursery.
This isn’t the most practical second baby nursery since I’m not bothering to re-use anything we already have (because the room isn’t actually going to be created by us). If we had an extra room* I’d be making this, or very similar, happen.
My ideal baby girl room is something feminine, but not overly preshush if you get my drift. Here I tried to balance the blush and florals, with navy and leather.
I also finally had an excuse to use some pieces I’ve been seriously in love with, but haven’t had a place for. See the ceiling light and bird foot side table. And yes, I highly reccomend having an end table by your nursery chair! If you’re breastfeeding it’s a great place water/snacks or your pump. As the baby gets older you can stash some books there so you can have reading/snuggle time without having to constantly get up and down.
Other items I think are important in a nursery: Two light sources, one with a very low-watt bulb so you can see enough for nighttime feedings/changes without blinding everyone. High-contrast mobile. Besides the fact the the fluffy, pastel-y mobiles that perfectly match a bedding set are just much too cutesy for me, an infant can focus on something bold and high-contrast much better. If you can’t stomach primary colors in your pastel haven, black and white is always classic.
*Ok, so technically our house is 3 bedrooms, we’re just not willing to give up our study/guest room just yet. Especially since the kiddos should be able to share for a least a couple years.
One year ago (ok, a year + a week since I’m behind) this precious little peanut was born.
This past year as simultaneously flown by and taken forever and my little peanut is now a little munchkin who wants to investigate everything and is already trying to eat us out of house and home.
He’s not walking yet, but getting pretty close. His top 2 teeth are just starting to come in too so pretty soon he’ll really start to resemble a chipmunk (he’s already mastered stuffing his cheeks full of food). Probably his biggest achievement this last month has been discovering that he can put objects into bins rather than just dump them out everywhere. Last night I watched him happily pick up all his blocks and put them back in their box before bed (I’m under no illusions that this will last).
This lucky guy got not one, not two, but THREE Birthday celebrations!
For his main party, I fully admit to losing my shit a little bit. I made a balloon garland (meant to do 2, but I ran out of time and balloons #pinterestmomfail). I made tassels. I spray painted dollar store animal figures. And after all of that everyone ended up hanging out outside because the weather was glorious and the kids had a splash table and bubbles. I didn’t take tons of pictures because i spent more time enjoying the party itself. #momwin
Moral of the story is, it’s ok to lose your shit. It’s a first birthday and a big milestone. But if you play it simple (and dare I say, sane?) that’s cool too! Baby won’t care and none of your friends will judge you (and if they do, get better friends, seriously).
Second moral of the story: if there is any chance you’ll be spending time outside, clean off your Garden Chair of Solitude and make sure you have an outdoor or folding table. I quickly grabbed the coffee table from the porch so we could move the food nearby. Our backyard is still a mess, so I hadn’t really planned to be out there the whole time, but it worked!
His second party piggy-backed on my Grammie’s 90th birthday. His birthday is the day before hers and we had a big family reunion in Maine. We got to see tons of relatives we don’t usually see and spent the day before his birthday traveling for 12 straight hours (drive to a park-n-ride, shuttle to the airport, fly to Boston, wait for baggage, bus to the rental cars, drive out of Boston,* continue driving to Maine**). During my Grammie’s party all the July birthdays got a special shot-out and bonus cupcakes (because apparently there are loads of us–myself included).
After Maine, we drove back to Massachusetts (with a stop in the White Mountains of New Hampshire) to visit Matt’s Grammie. We also went over to Matt’s uncle’s and they had a surprise party for Wesley. Kiddo got pretty spoiled by all his relatives!
I don’t know where they got this smash cake from, but it was seriously the perfect size. I got his main birthday cake from our local grocery store chain (Lunds & Byerlys) and they include a free smash cake for a first birthday*** but, as you can see from the earlier pictures, it’s frickin huge (7 inches) for a little baby. I almost wish I had just gotten a jumbo cupcake instead (but hey, it’s hard to argue with free****).
*City motto: Fuck GPS
**Matt kept describing it as “Northern Maine,” it wasn’t even the northern half of the state….but possibly the northern end of the populated half of Maine.
***Lots of places apparently do this, so if you’re planning a first birthday party just ask around (I know Hyvee does and I’ve heard Target does).
****Part of it being free was that there were no custom options (which I can’t really argue with because, free). It originally had balloons and a 1 on the top, but since I had a cake topper I wanted to use, I just carefully scraped them off. Matt thought I was nuts, but it wasn’t my first cake surgery,***** so I more or less knew what I was doing.
*****I worked food service in a nursing home in high school and college, and got called done to one of the party rooms one day because the cake ordered for a resident’s birthday had her name misspelled. I was elected to fix it–no pressure. Thanks to our annual Pig Roast, I can also craft 3D pigs out of frosting like a goddamn pro.
Wesley the Crusher is now 11 months old! He’s 24lbs, has 2 teeth (and is working on 2 more), and has almost discovered his knees. He still mostly drags himself around like a walrus, but occasionally we see him move a few feet on all fours. He’s pulling himself up on everything, whether it’s stable or not, and super curious. Luckily for the cats he’s also (gradually) getting more gentle with them.
Poor little guy also just got his first significant illness. He’s had a few colds, and a mild case of croup, but this time he has something that’s really taken a tole on him. It’s pretty scary for the parents when your baby’s temperature climbs to 105, but our pediatrician said that babies tend to run a little hotter, so while it’s definitely a significant fever, it’s not an oh-my-god-my-baby-is-dying fever. The doctor thinks it might be Hand Foot and Mouth since he had a couple red spots on his feet. The spots haven’t spread at all though, so who knows. Either way, he’s doing MUCH better today, but still exhausted.
Traveling With Baby
Over Memorial Day we took Wesley on his first plane trip, fittingly enough, to North Carolina. It was actually a great choice for a first flight because it was 1) fairly short (2 hours in the air), 2) a direct flight, and 3) we were visiting family and they had a bunch of extra baby gear so there was less big stuff we had to lug. We’ll be doing a more intense trip later in the summer, but after this one I’m feeling pretty optimistic.
We got the Summer Infant 3D Lite stroller a couple months ago. Our travel system stroller was way too bulky to be convenient and we knew we’d be navigating airports in the near future. You can get super-cheap umbrella strollers, but the 3D Lite had some great features without being super pricey. We’ve been using it as our everyday stroller, but it small/light enough to work well in airports too.
1) It’s tall enough for parents. This is a common complaint when I was reading reviews of umbrella strollers–unless you’re super-petite the handles tend to be uncomfortably low. This does mean that it’s larger than a lot of other umbrella stroller and it barely fits in the trunk of my Chevy Sonic…but it does fit and all the other features make it totally worth it.
2) Storage! The 3D Lite has a generous basket underneath which I find to be incredibly useful.
4) Sun shade. While it won’t protect your baby from everything, it’s better than nothing for sure!
5) Recline options. The 3D Lite has multiple recline options, and can go almost horizontal, which is awesome if you need some nap time on the go.
Other useful things:
Sticky place mats for eating out (these are way classier, but personally I couldn’t justify the price difference for something that’s designed to be spilled on and thrown out)
Sippy cup/bottle tethers (If your cups have handles, you can just use toy tethers, but ones like these have a non-slip grip designed for bottles)
First aid kit (I already keep one in my diaper bag with some bandaids, and neosporin, for trips I add hyrdrocortisone, a thermometer, and infant Tylenol)
Alcohol wipes (good for cleaning off baby utensils on the go)
Gate check bag(s) (for stroller/car seat). This one worked ok for our stroller, but already has a small rip. At some point I may just take it apart to use as a pattern and make my own.
Mini bottle of dish soap
Travel bottle brush (we use the Como Tomo bottles which have a really wide neck so we didn’t need this, but depending on your bottle style it might be useful)
Fly Direct
Depending on where you’re located, this won’t always be an option. If you have the option to fly non-stop DO IT. There will be fewer pressure changes for baby, and less hassle of hauling all your crap around an airport.
Condense your Baggage
When it was just me and Matt flying, we’d travel with 2 carry-on suitcases + my purse. Easy-peasy. This time around we knew we were going to have to check luggage. We had 1 medium-sized suitcase we packed for everyone (rather than individual suitcases for each traveler). This not only cut down on baggage fees, but allowed us more free hands. Just keep in mind, airlines tend to charge an extra fee if your bag exceeds a certain weight so if you pack heavy, weigh your bag and check policies beforehand.
Be Prepared
In addition to our checked bag, I also packed an emergency carry-on suitcase. This was basically the everything-goes-wrong-and-holy-shit-now-it’s-the-zombie-apocalypse bag. I had a couple changes of clothes for Wesley (in addition to the back-up outfits in my diaper bag), one change of clothes for me and Matt (because babies tend to poop on you at the most inconvenient times), a 2 day supply of diapers, and extra formula.* Once we checked our bag we were left with one carry-on suitcase, a diaper bag, my purse, and a stroller. Strollers and car seats are typically exempt from baggage limits, but always check your airline’s policies.
You Don’t Need it All
If you’re going to visit family/friends, check with them ahead of time to see if they have (or can borrow) larger baby items–car seat, pack-n-play, highchair/booster. If you’re not, check with your rental car company to see if they also rent car seats, and check with your hotel to see if they provide cribs. Even if things cost a bit extra, it may be worth your sanity to not have to lug EVERYTHING around with you.
If you do need to Bring All the Things, you may want to invest in some travel-specific gear (which may not be worth it unless you’re a frequent traveler). The Cosco Scenera seems to be a popular choice for travel since it’s FAA rated (so you can use it on the plane), it’s lightweight (about 10lbs), and fairly easy to install. You can also get things that let you strap the car seat to your luggage, or convert it into a stroller. If you think you’ll need a highchair (like if you’re staying in an Air BNB, or with non-baby family/friends), I’m personally eying this one for our next trip. It’s inexpensive, condenses pretty darn flat, and still provides a boost to get baby at the right table height.
*Which promptly got my bag flagged by security because I was traveling with a large box of powder. They just had to run some magic swab over the box and we were good to go.
First of all, Happy Mothers Day to all the mother, grandmothers, step-mothers, and mothers-to-be out there. You are all AMAZING.
A lot has happened in the last month! Our little chunker has continued to grow and finally has teeth (2, with more on the way)! And is mobile! He’s not exactly “crawling,” but he is dragging himself across the floor with determination.* One of the daycare teachers compared him to a seal. We’re not quite sure if he will ever actually discover he has knees or not. He’s also (just in the last few days) figured out how to sit up on his own. He’ll be on his belly, push himself onto his hands, walk his back legs forward so his butt is way up in the air, then tip it to one side and push off with his hands so he’ll fall back and hopefully land on his bum. It’s quite the production but he does seem to be getting slighting more efficient at that at least.
A while back I did a round-up of my favorite IKEA staples. Now here’s another for the parents.
I love these bibs! Compact, wipeable, machine washable (air dry), and dirt cheap. Even our daycare uses these. We have some Bumpkins bibs too and while the crumb-catcher pocket is nice, these ones are a great travel backup since I don’t have to worry about losing them.
This is just an IKEA classic! The moose is pretty darn cute on it’s own, but this sheep hack for it? There are no other words than “totes adorbs.” If you’re feeling nerdy and creative I think you could totally hack it into a unicorn or dragon too.
I never had a giant wooden train set growing up, but I loved playing with the ones set up at stores. The LILLABO series makes the tracks much more affordable (although the trains themselves are a little boring). Although they advertise as being compatible with other big-name sets (Brio, Thomas, etc), my research tells me the tracks themselves don’t fit perfectly with other brands. The takeaway is save on the tracks, but splurge on the trains.
Rugs
IKEA is awesome for kids rugs because most of them are inexpensive enough that your kid can destroy them and no harm, no foul. The have a couple cool play-mat options too.
This roly-poly boy turned 5 months on Sunday. Can you believe it? I feel like I’m running behind on everything right now. I blame Christmas since we’re celebrating with family a week early so I’ve been behind since day one.
At 5 months old Wesley is weighing at 18lbs but is a mere (ie perfectly average) 25.5 inches long. He still loves his food (obviously) but we haven’t started him on solids yet. Our pediatrician advised that starting too early will just end in tears all around and Wesley hasn’t shown a lot of interest in us eating yet so we’re just going to wait until closer to 6 months.*
Our big milestone this month was Wesley’s first unplanned doctor’s visit. It wasn’t anything terribly serious, but he had been screaming nearly non-stop since about 4am and we knew he had been dealing with daycare colds. As soon as we packed him up to go to the doctor’s office, he stopped crying. And once we were there he was all smiles. What. The. Hell. child? We seem to have avoided the 4 Month Sleep Regression I kept hearing about, but he did have an odd night or too when he just wasn’t feeling well and was extra fussy.
Wesley’s favorite things at the moment include anything with faces, his jumper at daycare, anything he can fit in his mouth, and falling over on our bed (seriously, you hold him up, let him plop onto the mattress and he giggles like it’s the best thing in the world). According to Matt his favorite song is Fat Bottomed Girls. This kid is nothing but classy.
I was planning on doing a new Baby Loves post, but his favorite toys are all still pretty much the same. Here are some (untested) items we’re eyeing for him though. Matt and I aren’t really planning on getting him anything for Christmas since he’s too young to have any idea what’s going on (and not coordinated enough for the joy of ripping off paper). Our Christmas present to him is a 529 Plan contribution. Adulting is just so exciting.
We did pass on some suggestions to our families though since many people (myself included) love shopping for kiddos. We definitely tried to lean a little more towards the practical side (see Adulting comment above).
Books
I’m a firm believer that you can NEVER have too many books. Press Here may be a little old for Wesley at the moment, but it an awesome book! It’s interactive without being a pop-up or lift-the-flap style. Where’s My Cow was a must given my love of Terry Pratchett (and Welsey has liked when I’ve read to him from the adult books). Matt’s contribution was So Many Stars, because Andy Warhol.
Feeding
We’re getting close to starting Wesley on solids, so some food-related ideas seemed practical. He’s been showing an interest in holding his own bottles and these handles are designed to fit our Como Tomo bottles. We have some rubber-tipped spoons, but chunkier utensils have been recommended if mixing baby-led-weaning with some purees.** These bamboo bowls were also super cute! And not garishly colored, which can be hard to find for baby gear.
Toys
We’re trying not to go crazy with toys (wishful thinking?) but since Wesley’s showing more interest in interacting with things, it seems like a good idea to add in a few. Franky the Hanky Whale seems like a brilliant idea since I’ve heard kids often enjoy ripping kleenex out of the box. I feel like the bead-maze style toys are pretty classic, and B. makes some really fabulous looking toys (although I haven’t had a chance to try them out yet). Welsey also enjoys splashing in his tub*** (and nomming on his soapy washcloth) so I think we’re getting close to giving him some bath toys.
Clothes
We got gobs of hand-me-down clothes up to around 12month sizing. Baby clothes have the benefit of being (usually) practical as well as ridiculously fun to shop for.
*It doesn’t really matter exactly when you introduce solids since the first year babies still get pretty much all their nutrition from breast milk/formula.
**Our pediatrician recommended baby-led-weaning, but most articles I’ve read on it still mix in some purees.
***He actually scrunches up his face and wails for the first 10 seconds when you put him in the tub and then he’s fine–even giggles and splashes.
Daaaaamn has it been 4 months already? Welsey’s still packin’ on the pounds weighing in at 17lbs 3oz and measuring about 24.5″ long. My little chunky monkey is mostly fitting into 9 month clothing. Seriously kid, stop growing–you’re heavy!
We started him in daycare this past week (my mom stayed with us in October to transition going back to work) and according to the teachers there he’s been a great little guy. He did pick up his first cold and, like a good little sharer, immediately passed it on to me. He’s overall in a good mood, but definitely a little extra clingy and sleepy… and he really hates our snot-sucker but it totally gets the job done!
Around 3 months Wesley actually started showing interest in things. We’re getting tons of smiles now and he’s responding back when we make burbly noises at him. We are even getting baby giggles out of this guy. Seriously, this is just making my heart melt! He’s actively watching the goings-on in the house, purposefully kicking at his gym, and starting to grab and wave toys around. It’s like he’s an actual tiny human instead of a little lump! He’s also started to be able to lift his shoulders off the ground in practice for sitting up. This kid is so frickin’ strong it’s mind-blowing! He just needs to work on his coordination so he can put that strength to good use.
Wesley is still stupidly difficult to burp. I swear he’s actively working against us to try not to burp and then he’ll get fussy over an hour after eating and (eventually) let out a belch that would put a grown man to shame. Still, there are worse difficulties to have with a baby and for the most part Wesley is an awesomely easy and chill little dude. He seems to be in the beginning stages of teething right now and I’ve heard 4 Month Sleep Regression is a thing so we’ll see how this month goes….
Now that this guy has a little interest in the world around him, we definitely starting to see what bits of baby gear of proving to be a hit with him.
His paci-plushies are fantastic! He can grab them with his little pudgy hands and keep the pacifier in his mouth better. He’ll also suck/chew on the plushy part too. We’ve got both the fox and dragon shakies (they rattle a bit) and both are hit.
This Winkel ball is amazing! The loops are pretty small so tiny hands can fit around them easily, and the way it’s structured means it’s still grab-able without a lot of hand coordination (baby can worm his fingers between the loops even if his hand isn’t closing around it). It’s also brightly colored and rattles so it definitely grabs his interest.
The Skip Hop baby gym has been a huge hit with him as well. He’s been actively kicking at the hanging toys for a while and has recently started reaching for them with his hands too.
This wood and silicone teether has just recently been worthy of interest. Welsey seems like he’s just starting the beginning stages of teething (drooling and chewing, but thankfully no pain yet) so he enjoys having small things to chomp on and the 2 different textures seem to be interesting for him.
Sophie la Girafe may be the most pretentious baby toy out there, but I’ve never heard of kid not liking it and Wesley’s no exception. She has a face he can look at. She squeaks. She’s easily grab-able and delightfully chewable.
I bought some wool dryer balls shortly before Wesley was born. I had been meaning to switch to them for awhile (dryer sheets are pretty chemical-y and tend to coat towels, making them less absorbent) and having a baby served as a good kick in the right direction. They seem to work pretty well for most clothes and towels, but I have noticed that larger things, like fleece blankets, still stay pretty static-y when you first pull them out of the dryer.
