Weekend

The weekend is almost here. Ours will be filled with gardening, shed building, birthdays and rock shows (Mommy and Daddy's first night out!). It's going to be a busy one. Pictures Monday! Enjoy your weekend, and make the most of it.

Love,
N

Babies and Toys

Jackson is almost three months old, and is just starting to take an interest in toys. Some of the most useful toys for a baby 0-3 months (in our experience):


A play mat/gym


Any kind. We have one by Infantino, i like it because it zips closed so we can easily put it away. It has a few toys that hang from it, and extra spots so you can hang some of your child's own favourite toys. This is one thing that we've used since he was about a month old. At that time he just laid there and stared at the toys hanging above his head. Eventually he started batting at them and staring at himself in the mirror, and now he is batting at them, and reaching up and grabbing them. It is also good for tummy time. Especially if you have a baby that doesn't flip out the second you put him on his tummy.

Rings (any kind)

These are great for hanging toys from anywhere. Hanging them from the car seat, stroller etc. They're also great because he can grab them by accident, which eventually has lead to him trying to grab them. We sit him in his high chair, he sees them and eventually mashes his hand into them, and one will somehow end up in his grasp. His looks amazed..."Mom, mom look, i grabbed this thing!"

Playgro Twirly Whirly Car Seat Toy

We've also used this one from the beginning. It wraps around the car seat handle, the only downside it that our car seat has a zig zagged handle, which makes it kind of hard to wrap this around, but we still use it. It gives Jax something to stare at while he's in his seat (not while we're driving as obviously the handle should be down when you are driving) Mostly at the grocery store, or if he's just chillin' in his seat somewhere. This was given to us by a family member, and their child(ren) used it, so it's obviously durable.

Fisher Price Newborn to Toddler Rocker


This isn't exactly a toy, but it has toys on it. This chair gives me somewhere to put him when i need to do things hands free. It has toys that hang, so it occupies him and i can hang extra toys from it. Obviously it vibrates, and i turn it on if he's sleeping in it, i think it helps him sleep longer. I chose this over a regular bouncy chair, because it has a wider weight range, so he can use it much longer. (I don't have a picture of the whole chair)

Our Weekend

This is what our weekend looked like:

 A lot of time spent trying to make Jax man laugh....

Trying out the Jolly Jumper....

And lastly baths with Daddy.

It was a tough one. What'd you do this weekend?

Review:Kawaii Diapers

I received my fancy schmancy all in one diapers in the mail in April. First, i was thrilled at the shipping time, 5 business days. From my experience it usually takes for gd ever to get things in the mail. 

 A lot of cloth diapers have to be washed up to six times before wearing to remove the natural plant oils. Otherwise they repel liquids instead of absorbing them. (Man i feel sorry for the person that doesn't know that and tries to use a cloth diaper without prepping). Back to my point, these diapers only have to be washed ONCE to prep them! ONCE! They will become more absorbent, but i found one wash was all it took. They dry very quickly on the clothes line, in fact they're almost dry when they come out of the wash.


The lovely diapers came in pale yellow, purple, blue, and minty/lime green. Yup, my son wears purple diapers. they also came with 24 inserts. I use one during the day, and two overnight, as he keeps the diaper on all night without a change. I'm not going to wake a sleeping baby to change his diaper, and he sleeps 12 hours straight. The inserts seem to be very absorbent to me (they are micro fibre i think). More so than pre-folds or fitted diapers, which are what we had been using. 


Also, the diaper is lined in a micro fleece, which keeps the moisture away form baby's skin, which is great for the all night diaper.


All in all, after 6 months of use i can say these  are great diapers. At $6.50 a pop, the are much cheaper than Bum Genius or Fuzzi Bunz. I got mine on e-bay, but they are around the same price if you buy them directly from the seller. The website is www.theluvyourbaby.com

Desiderata

...With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, 

it is still a beautiful world. 

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

- Max Ehrmann

Jacksons Meet and Greet

Our little man had a party this weekend. Thrown by these three ladies:

Gramma Cheryl

Auntie Naomi

and Auntie Kaitlin

 It was a success. He was even happy for half of it!

It was a fun day with all of his family, a few friends,

cake....

And a badass bike!

A Boy and His Puppy

Moby Wrap

I finally received my Moby Wrap in the mail. (It only took Canada post 23 days, and according to their wonderful tracking system it is still in Mississauga?!?! We'll save my gripes about their terrible customer service for another post.)

After one day of use, i LOVE it. When i first opened it up i thought it was a bit confusing to use...alas that is what instruction manuals are for (who knew?) It is 6 meters of fabric, yep 6. It sounds crazy, but once you have it on you'll see why. It has to be adjustable for several different carries, as well as different sizes of children and the people carrying them. On my first day of use i carried my son in it for a total of 3 hours. I carried him around Costco for an hour, Winers for a half hour, and at home for an hour and a half. He Watched the world go by in it, he ate in it (amazing!) and he slept in it. I can't give enough praise to this wrap. It is far more comfortable than the Snugli. The baby's weight is more evenly distributed, and you don't have buckles and such digging into you! Being able to feed a baby when they are hungry,  and not having to find somewhere to sit is the best. Now, my son is 10 weeks old and 12 lbs, so he's not that heavy to carry, but i briefly tried it with a 7 month old, 20lb baby and it was still comfy. Another great thing about this wrap is that the baby can be directly against your chest, which can be incredibly soothing for a fussy baby. He can sleep while mommy can get things done around the house.

Here's Jackson in the traditional "hug" hold.

Me using the computer while he snoozes away.

Funny Quote

Entirely Unrelated to the Quote, but pretty none the less. 

Photo courtesy of Marcus Henderson.

My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint. 

-Erma Bombeck 

Oh No....It's Needle Time!

Well, baby's first shots really aren't that bad. I was anticipating the worst for a few days before the appointment. It would be so hard to see him in pain. Would he have a fever, and be cranky for days afterwards? These are all things they tell you may happen. Thankfully they didn't. Yes he was in pain for a second when the needle went in, but it was all over in a few minutes. We gave him a dose of infants tylenol, and he's been fine since. However infants o sometimes have reactions to vaccination, so it is important to ask your doctor about this. I'm not on the "vaccinations cause autism" bandwagon. Until it's been proven i would rather protect my child against serious childhood diseases that could potentially be fatal. Also, a lot of diseases have been all but eradicated due to vaccination.


The vaccines they are given at their two month appointment are : Diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis and inactivated polio virus vaccine, Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine, Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine,Meningococcal C conjugate vaccine.These vaccines protect against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, and Hib disease. As well as infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae,including meningitis (a brain infection), pneumonia, and ear infections. And lastly against diseases caused by the meningococcus bacteria, including meningitis and septicemia, a serious blood infection.


Everyone has to make their own decisions about vaccination. However if you want your children to go to school, Ontario requires they be vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps and rubella.  More information can be found at: http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/pub/immun/immunization.html

Quote of the Day

The most important thing a father can do for his children 

is to love their mother.

- Author Unknown

The Weight Debate

Pregnancy + a love for food + giving in to the concept of "pregnancy cravings"= 40+ pounds. 

To be this size again, i'm pretty sure i'd have to remove a few ribs, and some of my organs.

I slacked off at first because hey, i created a life, i deserved a break.Two months post baby i've decided it's time to stop making excuses. I made excuses throughout my pregnancy, and that's why i gained more weight than i should have. If i had only gained the weight of the baby, extra fluids etc, it would have been gone within a couple months of giving birth, but it's not. If i hadn't slacked so much on exercise. If...if...if.

I've never really had a problem with staying slim, but i've always watched what i ate, exercised and had treats when i wanted them. Within a week of giving birth i lost 15lbs, Awesome. Two months later i've lost a total of 30lbs. However i have a minimum of ten more pounds to lose, and 5 more pounds after i'm done breastfeeding. (You can't restrict your calories too much or your body will stop producing milk)

I don't believe you have to gain weight as you get older, and i think even moms can be hot. I think being over weight is unhealthy, and reduces your lifespan. I don't think you have to give up flavour to eat healthy and lose weight.  I don't think you have to starve yourself, or go on a crazy low carb diet. I prefer butter to margarine, and i like bread. I hate white meat, and i love the skin on my chicken. I think you can eat healthy and still enjoy yourself.These are things i believe, you can disagree if you like. 

I've worked closely with many fitness professionals, personal trainers, and nutritionists for 8 years, so i know what to do. It's time to do it. I refuse to set a bad example for my children because i am lazy. I think we should all set higher standards for ourselves because we deserve it.

Pre Pregnancy - 130-135

9 Months Pregnant- 175 (i stopped looking at the scale at the doctors office after this point)

10 Weeks Post Pregnancy- 145

Goal-135 

So the journey begins.

Bug-A-Loop

Our Children, Our Teachers

We can learn so much from our children everyday. 

When they're born they are so innocent. 

They don't judge people based on how they look, or how much money they make. 

A baby loves you based on how you act, in the moment. They don't hold grudges, they forgive and forget. Children are not envious, or spiteful. These are all things we teach them. 

We can choose to teach them to be better than we are. More caring, forgiving, loving, generous, and hard working. We can teach them to live everyday to the fullest, instead of worrying about what is to come. We should teach them that money is just a thing that comes and goes, and that the relationships they build with other people are far more important. We can try and instil in them more understanding of others beliefs and traditions. Instead of judgment and mockery. We can try and teach our children to be the way we wish we could. We can change the world through our children.

I know he has already changed my world.

The Yippity Yo Cooking Show

I had to share this video, it made me laugh out loud.

Poop. Yep. I Said Poop.

You'll never talk about anything as much as poop once you have a baby. Seriously, when did this happen? 

When you're at the hospital, they want to make sure the baby poops before you can leave. When you get home you have to track the baby's "movements" to make sure they are having the number per day that they're supposed to. You also have to track the colour and consistency! 

My once sweet little boy, plotting against me.  I can see it in his eyes. 

"I'm gunna poop on you...sooooo much mummy, Muwahahah!"

Then all of a sudden your sweet little baby decides to go a few days without pooping and then you're actually worried about when they'll poop next. Should i call the doctor? Is it okay that he hasn't gone in a few days? (Which apparently it is) Until WHAMO! You're at grandma's house and he has the biggest poopsplosion in the history of the world. Or so i thought until today. 

Yep, my son has decided to store up all his poop for days on end, until juuuust the right moment. Say, when he's in his sling. Thinking to myself  "Was that a toot? Oh no, it's poop, oh crap, GET HIM OUT OF THE SLING!" as i get him out as quickly as possible, run up to the change table, only to discover that it has soaked through everything he's wearing. 25 wipes later, i decided to give him a bath. Now i sit here, anticipating the next poopsplosion. Maybe i'll just put him in 3 diapers and a plastic bag at all times. That seems like the only logical solution. 

Link Love

Mom's love to save money, especially while you're on mat leave. I've scoured the net for some websites that offer brand name baby/mama products, at a fraction of the cost. These sites have awesome daily deals , usually 50% off or more:

http://www.babyhalfoff.com/ (the site where i bought my cool dude Frubi shades)
http://www.greenbabybargains.com
http://www.babysteals.com/
http://www.mamabargains.com/
https://www.ecobabybuys.com/

I know a lot of mom's, myself included have a million questions during pregnancy, and after the baby arrives. Baby Centre has all the info you could ever need on pregnancy, and each stage of you baby's development.
Join your "birth club" to chat with other women who are at the same stage of pregnancy, or have a baby the same age as yours.

http://www.babycenter.ca/

Cool Dude

Until his Frubi shades come in the mail dad's will have to do!

I ordered some cool baby sunglasses by Frubi. The are made of a soft material so they are comfortable for baby, and have a strap that goes around their head, so they stay on for more than 5 seconds. I think a lot of people take for granted the need to protect our children's eyes from the sun. Everyone puts sunscreen on their kids, but most people forget about their precious little eyes.Once i get them i'll post a pic and review. Happy Easter Weekend!

Quote of the Day

What took me by surprise is the way I feel when his face lights up when I walk into a room because I am his world and he is mine. Being a mother is like taking your heart out of your chest and watching it walk around.

-- Author Unknown