Baby Wearing

I want to write a post about a recent love of mine that has had a lot of inquiry from other moms and friends, and that is; Baby wearing. So here goes.

Many moons ago, when I was pregnant with Al, I went online to Babies R Us and created a baby registry for my baby shower. Much like other new moms I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. I picked out things I thought I would need and little things that were cute. Now being a Mom for the second time around I realize what was necessary and what wasn't, but back then it was all new to me! One of the things I registered for was a way to wear baby. This was especially foreign to me but I do remember being interested in wrapping my little babe. I didn't know much about it but was very intrigued and definitely wanted to try. So I registered for a Maman Kangaroo stretchy wrap and a good ol' Baby Bjorn. Something I could try out and something that looked a little easier. I ended up receiving both as gifts (very generous of my family and friends) and started wearing Al right away. I mastered the stretchy wrap in no time and very much enjoyed it. 

As Al approached the weight limit on the stretchy wrap I started to use the Baby Bjorn more but found it relatively uncomfortable and started to use it less and less. It became more of a novelty than anything and was soon stored away in a drawer. Al was happy being worn for the first 6 months of his life for grocery trips and a few other outings here and there but as he became to big for what I had it seemed that we had "outgrown" babywearing. 

With number two on the way I started to revisit the idea of babywearing again and this time had a few really great inspirations to look toward for advice. "Try a woven wrap" they said! So I did, I ordered my first woven wrap. Now I must interject here that I was a bit shocked at the price point of these bad boys. I soon learned why they were so pricey by exploring different internet groups and doing some research. I also found out that these woven wraps held their value very nicely and could be bought and sold second hand! Anyway when I received my first order of fluffy mail (ah babywearing lingo, aka new wrap) and I gave it a try with Al. He wasnt much of a fan since it had been so long since I had worn him. However I realized that this wrap would have been a godsend on all the nights I had been trying to cook dinner and Al wanted "up"! Better late than never I suppose. 

I practiced with my new woven wrap here and there (with stuffies and pillows) until Ashe arrived. He was a big baby and we were able to start wrapping right away. I wore him all the time. It was my ultimate life saver! With two under 2 I was able to get my baby snuggles in while still playing with my toddler. I think it was one of the best investments I have made. 

I have since added to my collection but this time utilizing the babywearing swaps online to buy second hand (and sell some as well). Trips to the park, camping, grocery shopping, you name it, has all been made so much easier thanks to the world of babywearing. As Ashe has gotten older I have dappled in other forms of carriers and we have found our perfect fit with wrap conversion mei tais, basically a mei tai made from a woven wrap. He and I seem to like them best for their ease of getting on and off while still getting the beauty, structure and support of a woven wrap. I have even convinced Al to get in the mei tai a time or two.

I have come to learn that everyone will love something different to carry their baby in but it is the common love of wearing your child close to you while still "functioning" in your daily life that ties us "baby wearers" together. I really hope my big baby boy will continue to love being worn as he grows older as it has been such a bonding experience for us (plus a back saver!). I am by no mean an expert on any of this but I am enjoying learning new ways of wrapping and wearing my babes all the time. Heck I am even learning about things like safety, support & posture and so many other things! But if I can recommend anything to the second time mom it would be this, wear your baby! Whatever you choose to use will be the best for you but I promise you will love the closeness and bonding you get out of it! 

Next mission: convince Dad to wear the babes! (in something other than the bjorn)

Little Brother

Introducing 

Ashe Monthomery Stein

April 11, 2013

1:20 pm

8 lbs 9 oz

21 inches

Waiting

Well I have technically and officially never been this pregnant before. Two days shy of 39 weeks that is. Because I had Al early I was thinking I would have #2 around the same time. But I guess I thought wrong. So now we wait. For a Type A, planner and organizer, like myself, this is driving me crazy. I will admit that I like to have control of most (if not all) situations. So when God hands me things that I have no ability to influence it is a deep personal challenge/struggle. I have had everything ready for months as that seems to help me feel better about the "unknown". So I have nothing left to prepare. (Literally, "the easter bunny" filled all the eggs with treats this morning and the basket has been ready for weeks). The bags are packed and in my truck, everything and anything is washed and put away and the nursery has been finished for weeks. I am taking the opportunity to enjoy playtime with my little guy but with the weather being as sour as it has we are both going a little stir crazy. I've kept play dates relatively minimal as I am worried about having to cancel a whole pile of plans if I go into labor. But when I don't make plans to get out of the house I get so bored and frustrated with this waiting game. 

The whole reason I felt inclined to blog about this was not to whine and bore you with trivial details of my last few weeks of pregnancy. It was more so to say to other mama's I feel your pain and this is totally normal to feel this way. I have come to realize that with pregnancy (much like with a lot of other exclusively female experiences such as menopause and periods) there is a ton of myth and stigma surrounding the topic. We are made to feel that because pregnancy is such a blessing and divine event that is is glorious and wonderful and feels fabulous for every woman. I don't think that we should always necessarily hold up this illusion. I do appreciate this gift from God but I can sincerely tell you I much prefer the prize at the end to the actual getting there. My friends often laugh or freeze in horror when I tell them fun little facts about my pregnancy. Probably shocked because they have never heard these things before. I think it is important we "keep it real" and be truthful about what we go through. Why? Because when we glamorize it and hide the facts about the real experience of pregnancy we isolate one another. We make each other feel like we are the only ones who feel this way or have these thoughts. What I mean is I don't enjoy pregnancy. But now that I just said that I feel apologetic, like I should take it back and sugar coat it and say its not so bad. As if I have broken woman code and am ruining the progress of Women's Rights leaders or something. But the truth is that doesn't make me a bad mother, it makes me human. It doesn't make me weak it just means that this is an experience that challenges me and forces me to find the positive in it. I wanted to write all this so that other woman can feel comfortable saying the same thing and not feel any less a Woman or Mother. 

Basically I will be singing praise when Baby arrives and I can: sleep on my tummy, see my own crotch, read a story to my son without losing my breath, enjoy my body all to myself, stop taking heartburn medication ahh the list goes on. Anyway power to you mama's out there. Hold on you are almost there. And if you need any cliched advice about waiting for babies arrival I'm sure you can turn to the nearest stranger in a supermarket and they will have it for you!

Maternity Photos

I just received our maternity photos for baby #2 in the mail today. Love them!

Melissa was a fabulous photographer, and definitely very patient with our uncooperative "big brother".

I seriously love her editing style, so soft and creamy. Makes me think of Vanilla. 

Check out more of her work here. 

Freezer Cook

Hello Pinteresters and welcome!
I seem to be getting a ton of traffic to this post via Pinterest so I thought I would spruce it up a bit for you! Below is my blog post about a giant freezer meal prep I did just before I had baby number two. I have included all of my planning and prep work (for the freezer meal prep) as well as links to all the recipes!




As promised here is the post about my giant, pre-baby, freezer meal cook. I wanted to have a ton of meals ready for when baby arrives so that I don't have much to worry about in terms of dinner. Hubby often works late and the question of him cooking even if he were home is a funny thought (unless you consider KD and eggs an acceptable meal). So my plan was to have crockpot and "one-dish" meals prepped and frozen so that I have at least a few weeks of easy dinners. Turns out I will probably have close to 2 months worth of food but there is nothing wrong with that! I did a few meals over a few days and then did the bulk of the meals last Thursday with C. It is a pretty intense process but if you are well prepared it usually goes well. So how to begin you ask?  Here is how I tackled this project.

Step 1. Recipe Selection
Back in January we picked out all the recipes we wanted to make. As mentioned above I stuck to crockpot meals, one-dish meals and I also did soups. Where to get the recipes? Well I use some of my own family recipes such as lasagna or Ham & Cheese Buns, I use my casserole and crockpot cookbooks (or any cookbooks for that matter), I use the internet for inspiration (specifically the Kraft website) and lastly Pinterest! For this round I chose to stick to recipes that are tried and true so that we don't end up with a dinner that no one likes. Once we have our list of recipes compiled it's onto the next step.

Step 2. Planning
Once you have your recipes chosen it's time to compile your lists! List #1 consists of ingredients. I wrote/typed out every ingredient required for each recipe. This will help you start a tally chart for your grocery list. Using your ingredient list you can tally up all the different ingredients you will need to purchase. That brings us to List #2 the grocery list. Using your tally chart of ingredients you can compile a master grocery list. Since I was cooking so much food I decided to get a few things at Costco to cut cost. If I didn't have baby brain I would have done the rest of my shopping on 15% Tuesday at Save On but sadly I thought of that after I had bought all my groceries. Sigh, next time. Once you have your grocery list ready you are good to go!

This is part of my master Grocery list,
I wrote out a list of each meal I wanted to prep and numbered them 1 - 30. I then pulled out the recipe for each meal and wrote out the ingredients with corresponding number to the meal list (this step is pictured above). I then used this list to do a tally chart of each ingredient, pictured below. 

Once you have compiled your tally chart of each ingredient (for example 10 cans of chicken broth, 15 large potatoes) you can then decide how and where to grocery shop. From all of the meals I had planned to prep I tallied out that I would need 15cans of broth. From there I decided it would be best to purchase it in bulk so I assigned that particular item (chicken broth) to a particular grocery store (Costco). Once you've finished your tally chart, go ahead and total each item (pictured above) and then assign a grocery store to each item. For example, dollar store for tinfoil pans, Costco for chicken breasts and local grocery store for bell peppers.
Lastly compile a master grocery list for each store! And to be extra organized write out your store lists in order of grocery store departments (ex. all dairy items together, all produce together) that way you won't forget anything on shopping day!
A reader also mentioned a website called zip list to help get organized with your lists! I haven't tried it out yet but I thought I would post a link incase you want to give it a try!

Step 3. Grocery Shopping
Buy in bulk to save some money, use coupons and take advantage of "discount days". I needed 50 chicken breasts for all my meals so I definitely utilized my Costco card. Once you've done a few freezer meal cooks you get the hang of the grocery shopping step and definitely figure out ways to make your dinners as cost effective as possible! I think I kept my meals around $8.00 a dinner. Not too bad, but like I said I could have done it better.

Step 4. Label and Plan
Now that you have everything it is time to label your freezer bags. Each bag will need to be labeled with the name of the meal, the cooking and serving instructions. Lasagna may look like this:

Lasagna

Thaw. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle with parmesan and serve

Where as Italian Crockpot Chicken might look like this:

Italian Crockpot Chicken
Thaw
Place in crockpot on high for 3 hours
Drain liquid and serve

Once you've labeled all your bags you can put each recipe card with the corresponding bag. Lastly I lay out my non-parishable ingredients in front of each bag so that my groceries are divided and ready to go.

Step 5. Cook

Oh the best part of it all. You are about to cook a million dinners all at once, and when it feels like the chopping, frying and grating will never end, just remember you will get a whole week/month/or however many days off of cooking. Now that is a glorious thought! When prepping your crockpot meals you will chop and mix according to recipe but instead of placing items in the slow cooker you will stuff them in your freezer bag. I usually try to pick one step recipes to make the process much easier. Then you simply seal and lay flat to freeze. Laying flat is important because once you have 10 or more you can stack or store them much easier than if they are a giant frozen ball of food. As for one-dish meals you prep the meal up to the point of putting it in the oven. Instead of baking it you will simply insert your meal into the freezer bag and freeze. I chose to make my one-dish meals in disposable tinfoil pans (easy cook, easy cleanup). And the square size (8x8 i think it is) fits perfectly into freezer bags. The tinfoil pie pans fit nicely as well just FYI. Lastly for soup I cook the soup fully, allow to completely cool and then divide into freezer bags and lay flat to freeze. 
Ive also been told you can find tinfoil pans cheap cheap at the dollar store. You can also buy various sizes there so if you are only cooking for one, you can still prep all the meals the same just divide them into the smaller pans before you freeze so that you have smaller portion sizes when it comes time to cook! Super convenient. 

Here are some of the recipes I prepped:

Crockpot

TexMex Chicken

Chicken Bolognese

Scalloped Potatoes & Ham

Italian Crockpot Chicken on Rice

Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken

Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

Italian Chicken

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Potato Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup

Easy Cheesy Chicken

Turkey Chili

One Dish Meals

Million Dollar Spaghetti

Chicken Veggie Potato Pan

Baked Ravioli

Cheddar & Cracker Chicken

Creamy Chicken Lasagna

Beef Lasagna

Sheperds Pie

Cheese Ham & Egg Buns

Sloppy Joes

Hashbrown Pizza

Macaroni Jumble

Hamburger Pie

Turkey Pot Pie

Mini Turkey Pot Pies

Salsa Chicken

Soups

Cheesy Ham & Turkey Soup

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

Cheeseburger Soup

Ham Chowder

** I should mention that for the soup recipes listed above I cooked each soup fully, allowed to cool and then bagged or put in containers. They will be a thaw a reheat meal on the day of, no cooking required 

Each of the meals listed above contains a link to the recipe so feel free to click on it and you will be directed to a source containing the recipe! 

Everything except the soups!

With the tiny bit of room that is left over in my freezer I have also packed in the following frozen baked goods (which should hold us over until I am up to the task of baking again):

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Chocolate Cream Cheese Muffins

M&M cookies

Energy Bites

Homemade Granola Bars

Peanut Butter Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

** I should also mention that for the baked goods recipes listed above I baked them fully, allowed to cool and then bagged or put in containers. They thaw perfectly and are ready to enjoy!

The Hospital Bag

I know, you're thinking "enough with all the pre-baby blogging". Sorry! But when I was searching things out on the internet, to get organized, I ran across quite a few blogs with great ideas. So I thought I would return the favour and share. I promise you my day consists of more than just baby-prepping. There is toddler fun in there as well ;)

Anyway preparing the hospital bag is a big one. Last time around I didn't even know what I would need, so like many others I followed a generic and impersonal list in "what to expect when you are expecting" or some other baby handbook. Trouble is everyone is different. We don't all have the same hospital experience so we end up needing or wanting very different things. Here is what I have packed this time around, and why:

Firstly the labour and delivery section of my bag. In it, are the following items: delivery gown, nursing bra and sleep bra, fuzzy socks with grips, hair elastics and clips and a house coat. 

Things that were useless to me that I did not include this time: pictures of my "happy place", music, books or entertainment.

I dont think the delivery gown is essential but I thought it was cute and decided it would be fun to look all posh in my own unique gown. I want to be able to nurse right after giving birth so having a nursing bra or sleep bra on underneath my gown will make this very easy. The fuzzy socks are for cold feed. Unfortunately last time around my feet were too big to get into anything I owned other than flip flops so when my toesies got a little chilly these socks were a life saver. Plus they have grips on the bottom so no worries about slipping. Hair elastics are important as who knows what your hair will look like when you go into labor. Housecoat is to throw over your nursing gown after you deliver for a little more coverage on your way to post-partum unit.

Next is the post-delivery wear. Included are: slippers, flip flops, nursing pyjamas, nursing tops, large underwear and a going home outfit (not pictured as it will be packed last minute).

I am pretty sure I stayed in my hospital gown for what seemed like forever. This time I am prepared with a nice set of nursing pyjamas to wear so that i am comfortable and accessible to baby. Slippers are for strolling the room and hallways. Flip flops are for the shower, I don't think anymore needs to be said about those. Nursing tops, large underwear and going home outfit are all for going home. They provide you with those beautiful mesh underwear while you are there so just have a pair of going home ones ready incase you don't like mesh shorts (although comfortable, not the best to look at). Buy a few pairs of cheap underwear in a size larger. You are going to bleed for weeks, why ruin your good stuff? And unless you are one of those walking miracles, your butt will be bigger, buy the right and comfy size for it!

The toiletries section includes: hair brushes, lotion, lanolin, breast pads (only a few), all essential shower items such as shampoo, soap, face wash, make up remover, deodorant, tooth brush & paste, flat iron, mascara and eyelash curler.

Maybe this is diva of me, but last time I brought a toothbrush and nothing more so this time I learned my lesson. I don't do well with change, so keeping my routine is best for me. Having my items is completely necessary. The lanolin is important for your poor nipples that are about to be ravaged (this stuff is a life saver seriously). I only brought a few breast pads as your milk usually doesn't come in for a few days so you wont be dealing with much leakage anyway. 

My snack section includes: a little treat for myself after babe arrives as well as granola bars to snack on between the delicious hospital meals. Gum incase getting up to brush my teeth gets delayed.

I remember being so hungry! My mom went out and bought me a box of muffins because I was so starved after dinner. This time I come prepared with treats and healthy snacks to keep my tummy full.

The miscellaneous stuff is some what lacking but will eventually include: phone, camera, wallet, along with the charger, pen and thank you cards.

Pen is for all the paper work you will have to fill out. Don't forget your pen. Thank you cards are just blank and will be used should I find the need to thank someone on staff. I believe the rest is self explanatory. 

Lastly is baby's section which includes: vaseline for the bum, 1 scrunch bottom jammies, one outfit and one going home outfit. Socks and mitts, 2 types of soothers and baby's first blanket for the carseat ride home. Of course the carseat is included in this section but wont be in my bag!

I normally use Desatin for bum cream but I read vaseline is good for the first few meconium poops. Plus I love vaseline for lip chap. I brought more than one type of soother incase one goes over better with babe. No diapers as the hospital provides those, just clothes to go home in. I brought my own baby PJ's for overnight as I am not a fan of the extra large snap up jammies they provide. Comfort is key! Last time all I brought for Al was a going home outfit. Looking back that seems a little under prepared.

I hope this helps any mama's out there preparing their hospital bags. Remember bring what makes you comfortable and don't over do it. You aren't there that long, all you'll need are the essentials.

New-born Prep

Nine weeks to go (hopefully not even that)! I am thirty-one weeks today and starting to crackdown on some serious baby-prep. I was fairly organized and "ready" for Al's arrival, but of course learned a few critical things along the way that I think will help me be even more prepared the 2nd time around. 

Baby's room is done. This one is major ( I feel) as I like to have everything ready to go so that when baby is here you aren't trying to balance sleep, feeding (and in my case a toddler) AND decorating and organizing a room. Crib is set up room is organized and stocked with diapers (a lot of diapers) wipes (a lot of wipes) and all baby essentials. Clothes are washed, hung or folded in drawers. Dimmer switch and lamp is set up for overnight feedings. Everything is ready to use on a seconds notice. But to add to this I have everything ready to go for Baby's first few weeks in our room.  Bassinet, portable change table, diapers, wipes, white noise maker, nursing pillow, nursing clothes, you name it! In about 4 weeks I will move this giant pile of stuff into our bedroom and have it ready to use.

With two babes I also had to set up our bath spots. Al will use his regular tub and Baby will use the newborn tub in our room. All wash clothes and towels are divided up, there are bath essentials in each spot for each boy and toys are all sanitized and ready to go.

Next week C and I are mastering a giant freezer cook. I have done this twice before but I think this will be my biggest one yet. Basically we are cooking about 30 meals that will then be frozen until baby arrives. The meals are either "throw in the oven" or "throw in the crockpot". With a hubby that works long long hours I cant expect any help with dinner (or the kids so I can make dinner) so I figure about 30 meals should last us close to two months (what with leftovers and what not). I will dedicate an entire post to the freezer cook so I think that is all I will say for now on this one.

April is a busy busy month for my family, with about 600 birthdays and Easter. So to make life easier I have taken care of all birthday gifts and cards, as well as easter baskets and treats ahead of time. Im still finishing up the Easter prep but it will all be finished before Baby's arrival making my life much easier when Birthday Season ( I mean April) strikes. 

I have also taken the liberty of putting together a few hospital gifts. The first gift is for my little peanut Al. It will be his "big brother" gift from his little brother. I basically got a few things for him he might like to use at the hospital when he comes to visit and afterward. A big brother book, a truck book, a few cars and motorcycles, a cheerio snack car with some yummy mickey mouse treats for inside, stamps and a new DVD. The next gift I prepared was one for hubs. I guess its more of a care package than a gift but it includes magazines, his favourite snacks, a few juices and waters, chocolate cigars, a real cigar to celebrate with, and a bag of change for vending machines. My moms gift was next which is a little thank-you for all the help she gives us. Since she will be watching Al while the big event goes down I though a little thank-you was necessary. Her gift includes a box of table topics, a gift certificate for a nail fill and a photo cube with pictures of her and Al. Im still finishing this one up but that's what I have so far. The last gift I put together was a thank-you basket for my nurses. I didn't have the best care the last post-partum stay I had, but I am hoping to get off on the right foot this time and hopefully with a little thank you basket in tow they will see that I appreciate the service they are providing. Cross your fingers or we're taking the basket with us. Just kidding. Sort of.

Lastly I am making sure all loose ends are tied up. Dogs are up to date on their vet visits and haircuts. Dentist, hair appointments and anything of the sort will be completed before I am 37 weeks giving me tons of time before I need to make any new ones. Last set of nails will be gone in a few weeks, leaving me au-natural for a few months. Basically anything requiring us to leave the house has been taken care of. This also includes a giant Costco run. I did this with Al and it was definitely helpful. We are completely stocked on any household item you can think of, and in bulk size! So nice to have everything you need, in the house and not require any one to run out and grab something. 

#2 Bedroom

And just like that we are finished another bedroom. Thanks to my partner in crime (hubby) for patiently assisting me with painting, curtain rod hanging, camera mounting and so on. I will take credit for my involvement though! I have started to gain confidence in my picture hanging ability and of course hemming the curtains. Anyway when Al was a little wee babe we had his room done up in clouds and lambs. Lots of soft gender neutral colours, which we just recently swapped out for a more exciting big boy look (see blog post from December). This time we went with an owl and tree look for the baby's room. Still gender neutral with black white and taupe, but not as soft as Al's was. We also threw in some green as well. It has been unofficially decided that Al's colour will be blue and baby's colour will be green. Mostly to differentiate towels, cups and other things that may get mixed up along the way. Anyway enough already, here is the finished product!

Bedding is coming, I had it custom made
so it should be here soon!

And just to conclude I thought I might add how funny it is to look back at how I had Al's room done up as we anxiously awaited his arrival and how we now have baby's room done up while we wait for him. There are many differences in the items I have stocked and the things that I knew were critical to have in the room. First time around you just have no idea. I feel like this time I am a lot more prepared with useful and essential items versus cute decorations and things inconveniently packed or placed. 

Newborn Must-Haves

We've been so busy preparing for baby that I have completely neglected my poor blog. But I am back with a few fun posts, baby related of course. To start it off I thought I would share a few of my "Must-Have Baby Items". Now that I have been through one newborn I have a bit more of an idea what I need for when #2 comes home with us. So here goes what I consider my must have items for newborns.

Dimmer switch, must have! We installed one with Al and I found it worked great for overnight feeds. Way better than a lamp. So before #2 has even arrived I made sure we installed one. And another must have on this topic is black out blinds. I like to sleep train baby to understand sleeping at night is pitch black and sleeping during the day is dark, but has some daylight peeking in. Blackout blinds make this so much easier.

Next item, Sleep Sheep. Or any white noise maker for that matter. Again I use it for sleep training, daytime sleeping is full of daytime noises but nighttime sleeping is the sound of rain or ocean provided by the Sheep. Al is almost 18 months and uses his sleep sheep every night. I have even watched him (on the video monitor) stand up in the middle of a nap or middle of the night, turn on his sleep sheep and lay back down and drift off to sleep. He knows what he likes!

Double electric breast pump. These bad boys are not cheap but it was a fundamental item that I used daily for at least 6 months. It was how I could allow Sandy to be a part of feeding our little guy, or how I could get a few hours to myself and ensure baby was still fed, and that I wasn't completely engorged. This pump is the greatest. I also got a steal of a deal by finding this unit on Kijiji. I know you're probably thinking "gross" that goes on your breasts. Duh, I definitely sterilized it! Honestly its a $400 item that was so essential to daily life, and I spent under $200. Renting is always a fantastic idea too, incase you aren't sure breastfeeding is for you, or might not work, that way you don't spend a ton of money only to not use it (like the lady I bought mine off of).

City Select Baby Jogger. This stroller has been a miracle on four wheels. It is a double stroller that can be used as a single or double, with either two seats or a seat and a bucket. It is fantastic for jogging, and I would know as I trained for an ultra marathon with it! Al and I ran with this bad boy 3 times a week for over 6 months and I have no complaints about it as a running stroller. It is simple to fold and take apart. We have bought a few accessories for it as well, including the snack tray, second seat, rain cover and travel bag. Honestly another pricey baby item but I LOVE it and would recommend this stroller to anyone considering having more than one child! 

Wipe warmer. A silly little luxury item that isn't a necessity to life but for $20.00 at Costco I think it was great. If you woke up at 2:00am to go to the washroom and had to wipe your underside with a chilly wet cloth, Im pretty sure you would howl too! Why not make it more comfortable for the little one, and hopefully eliminate a few face showers in the process (mama's of boys, you know what kind of face showers I'm talking about).

Lastly the baby's sleepwear is so important (to me at least). During daily diaper changes you have all the time in the world to snap cute little outfits back together. At night it is a different story. Who wants to be aligning buttons and snaps at 3:00am in the semi-dark while one of you is screaming hungry and both of you are exhausted. That's what I thought. So my MUST HAVE baby sleepwear are sleepers with zippers, and sleepers with a scrunch bottom. Honestly a life saver! Quick change and get to the eating part with less tears and sleep disruption. 

Here are a couple newborn brand names that are critical in the beginning, that I swear by.

Pampers, love em! And heres why, when you are changing bums, the flaps don't fold in. The competitor brand has a flimsier velcro strap and tend to fold in when they are used, resulting in poopy velcro straps. Yuck. Not pampers though.Desitin is my bum rash cream of choice. I tried many bum creams, but I swear by Desitin. Every mama has their favourite but this is mine. Ovol. For those tiny tummy aches from gas. Poor little guys, I find the Ovol definitely helps!

A couple more items, starting with the microwave sterilizer. Great for bottle fed baby or breastfed baby. You have so many items to sterilize, this makes the process quick and easy! And in your sleep deprived state you wont forgot about a pot of boiling water and all your items. The microwave will do its thing and wait for you to remember what you were in the middle of!

On the topic of sterilizing and sanitizing. Hand sanitizer. We keep one pump bottle beside the change table to keep hands clean post-bum change and pre-feed. clean hands are important. 

Bath hammock is essential for newborn bathing. We also found it helpful to loosely wrap baby in a receiving blanket and unwrap body parts as it was necessary to wash them. This way baby stays warm and happy in the bath and you don't have to rush through the relaxing bath process.

Latchy-Catchy, made by a wonderful shop on Etsy. These bad boys warp around both doorhandles and cover the latch of the door. When you open and close the door it is silent! No worrying about opening the door quietly, simply push or pull and there is no noise. We love ours!

Carseat mirror is great for while you are driving. When baby starts to fuss you can simply glance into your mirror to see what is going on. Much safer than trying to twist around and becoming distracted while driving. Plus it is something extra for baby to look at as he gets older.

Glider Chair and Nursing pillow. Fundamental for comfortable feeding overnight. I think these two items were amazing for overnight feeds and I would not sacrifice them.

Lastly the video monitor. We did not have this with Al but decided to get this as it is a dual monitor, meaning I can see and hear both babies on one device! Brilliant. We have only used it in single camera mode but it has already been amazing. I cant believe we didn't have a video monitor from the start. Again not a life neccessity but I think its been an amazingly helpful luxury item. I did a lot of research to figure out which dual video monitor would be best and found this brand (Summer Infant) had the best reviews. We've been using ours for a few months and I love it!

So there you have it, my list of Must-Have Newborn Items.I know not all of these items are critical for the survival of a newborn but they are items that have helped me with the transition of a new little peanut in our home. I hope you find this list fun and humorous if not helpful!

*****

I have had a ton of inquiries about this blog post, in particular the latch-catchy's so here is a link to the shop on Etsy that makes these bad boys. 

Latchy-Catchy Etsy Shop Link. 

Blue or Pink?

For Baby #2 we decided on no baby shower as we were spoiled enough with Alexander. We will most likely do some sort of "meet the baby party" but because my friends like to host gatherings and parties so much we decided to do a "Gender Reveal". Once we found out the sex of the baby my friends put together a little party. Guests were to come to the party wearing the colour (blue or pink) of the sex they thought the baby was. To announce the gender I had a cake made (by a wonderful cake maker who always makes the best cakes for us) and the inside of the cake was coloured to correspond with the baby's sex.

And it's going to be a....

Surprise

A little surprise for my loyal blog followers. 

Check out this movie, hitting theatres next spring!

How He Got Here

Well I figure since I think it's a pretty amazing story I should probably share! How did little Alexander come into this world? 100 miles an hour his Daddy claims! Well actually, not quite but I'll give you the rundown! On the night of July 20 I started having some light cramping, different than Braxton Hicks, but not too serious. As the days progressed so did the pains I was feeling. They went from a 1 or 2/10 to 4 or 5/10 by Friday. I had an appointment with my doctor Friday but had ZERO progress. How disappointing! Saturday they continued to get worse and by Sunday they were very painful. I had a busy day Sunday with my mom but I decided to start timing them! They were lasting 40 seconds or so and coming every 5 - 8 minutes. By midnight Sunday the pain was too much so we headed to the hospital! Only to find out I was 0 cm. No progress still! They sent me home with a shot of morphine to help me through the night. I slept all night and all day (still feeling the pains but not as intensely). Later in the day (Monday) once the morphine had worn off, the pains were back! I tried to work through them but by 7:00 pm I started timing them again. This time they were a minute long and coming every 5 minutes. I was worried this was "false" labour again so I decided to try and sleep through the night. By 11:00 my hubby had fallen asleep (probably his hand too, from all the squeezing I was doing). At this point they were every 3 minutes! I continued to deny this might be labour and paced around the house, keeling over every time a contraction hit. By 12:30 am I decided I should go back to the hospital and get another morphine shot so I could sleep through the night. I decided to call my mom to take me so Sandy could sleep. Just in case, I put the phone on his nightstand! Well by the time we got tot he hospital my contractions were 1-2 minutes apart, and excruciating. I couldn't talk or walk through them. Deep breathes!! We got up to the maternity floor and found out I was 4 cm! I could even have my epidural! Perfect!!

Now to wake Sandy up! We finally got through to him and he rushed to the hospital. Within the hour I was moved to a delivery room and given my heavenly epidural! I spent the next few hours sleeping and did not progress, until around 7:00 and within half an hour I progressed from 4 cm to 9 cm. It was almost time to start pushing. There were a few complications along the way but by 9:53 it was push time! Eight minutes later, yes eight, little Alexander was here! And that is the story of how he arrived! I will share stories of our hospital experience later but I thought this part was important to get out before mommy brain took over and I forgot anything! Not that I can imagine losing any detail from that very special day! 

4 weeks -38 weeks