My Seedy Past
Okay, maybe not “seedy”… more like “very-public-part-fascinating-part-not-so-interesting” past.
Here are some quick links to dig back to previous posts by some of my favorite categories:
Patio Wish List
I live in an itty-bitty condo, and this is my patio:
I don’t have anything on my patio currently except for ongoing projects. I’d love to have some furniture out there now that the warm weather is upon us, but I don’t want to spend the money on it right now. Well, it doesn’t hurt to do a little looking. The baby gets a little cranky in the early evening, and we walk to the neighbor’s patio and swing on their hammock. He LOVES it. Some kind of swing is a must. I love those padded patio swings, even though they are *fug*, and would be willing to get one because they are so comfy.
Here’s a cute one I found on Target.com, I’d have to sit in it to see if it’s even close to as comfortable:
And some other things that I think my be cute and functional in the patio:
Outdoor rug {Bravada Outdoor}
Patio furniture {Cost PlusWorld Market}
Outdoor Umbrella {Cost Plus World Market}
And because barbecues aren’t permitted…
George Foreman Indoor/Outdoor grill {Walmart}
New Mom: What I Know Now
I wasn’t going to continue the series, but I couldn’t help thinking back to all of the advice I’ve received from comments on the blog, and how dead-on they were. I thought I’d share my thoughts…
What you said — and you were RIGHT:
- Pampers for boys – Huggies for girls. I used the Huggies I had received from a baby shower, but when Owen’s “sleeping-through-the-night” was thwarted by two late-night leaky diaper outfit changes, they had to go.
- Kirkland diapers seem to be as good as Pampers for boys.
- Buy one sample of a few different bottles. Um, can’t they just drink out of any old bottle? No. One will make them choke, one will make them spit up, one will make them cry because it’s too slow, one will…
- Bottle washing on the reg.
- Don’t buy a lot of clothes because they grow out of them fast. Even my 8lb. 8oz. baby was in newborn clothes for a month, but he seemed to sail straight through to 3-6 month clothing. Look who got mommy’s thighs.
- You’ll be surprised how quickly you lose the water weight. I lost 30 pounds in 2 weeks {but was still ticked when the scale stopped dropping 5lbs. per day. Picky, picky}.
- If baby kicked in the womb at 3am, he’ll be awake in his crib at 3am. *sobs*
- You think you don’t need to buy maternity shirts – but you do. By 41 weeks, I was HA-YUGE. I should have bought cute tops earlier on because I wasn’t willing to fork out the cash for new clothes I could wear for a few days, but nothing fit. Predicament. People stopped asking me when I was due, and started steering clear for fear that my water would break all over their shoes.
- Snap-on stroller is the way to go. The carseat is heavy and awkward enough, the snap and go makes life easier.
- You’ll know if your baby “looks” like the name you picked out. I gotta tell you – I thought you were all nutso. But with two names in the running – my baby definitely “looked” like an Owen. You win.
- You don’t need a monitor in a small house. I thought I’d be nervous about putting the baby in his crib and would do everything short of duct taping the monitor to my ear so I could hear every wiggle – but 5 weeks old, and he got the boot and is thriving in his new crib. I don’t need to hear every snort, that defeats the purpose. If there’s a real problem, I can hear it down the hallway :)
- It goes so fast. Didn’t I just get him and he’s already smiling and giggling? Now we’re talking sitting up and teething already?
- You don’t need a Diaper Genie – those poops shouldn’t stay in the room anyway {RANK}.
It never occurred to me:
- Gas is a baby’s #1 ailment. Burps, toots, poops. That’s boys for ya.
- Nipple cream, nipple cream, nipple cream.
- Babies can be picky or even allergic to formula {Can you hear the money flushing down the drain?}
- There would be times where I would think, “Put him back in!”
- While mom does most of the work once the baby comes, Dad faces a few rough weeks of tears from both mom and baby.
- These thoughts would ACTUALLY run through my head; “How can I tape that binky in?” and “I just have to mail a package, I can’t just leave him in the car?” Of course I never came anywhere close to doing those things {don’t scold me}, it’s just funny how the sleep-deprived brain works.
- How little sleep a new mom gets. And only you are conditioned for the work.
- That I wouldn’t go into labor on my own. I had a great and relatively easy pregnancy, but 41 weeks pregnant and NO signs of labor? Seriously?
- Two months later, my wedding ring still wouldn’t fit. Or that I could get carpal tunnel after labor.
- That I’d be Googling “infant poop”.
- Babies are such a science experiment, a constant “guess and check” game. Testing out different bottles, diapers, bath time strategies, night time strategies, sleeping arrangements, swaddling techniques, to swaddle or not to swaddle, napping schedule…
- It’s different when it’s your kid’s poop? No, it’s not. I’ve gagged plenty.
- Breastfeeding is tricky, tricky. I’ve heard people say, “Give it 10 weeks” but was never quite sure what that meant. Seems to me you belong in one of two camps: not enough milk, or too much milk. And not every woman gets the chance to do it, and not every woman wants to do it. Interesting that something so natural is so downright tricky! And there’s so much more I could write about it – but for fear that I will gross someone out, I’ll keep it to myself. :)
- Has anybody seen “Away We Go“? Such an adorable movie. Remember when the crazy mom of two said, “Now I don’t need to wear a bra, I just tuck ‘em in my socks…” ?
- Fuzzy crib sheets seem like they may overheat the baby, but putting a sleeping baby on a cold sheet wakes the baby up, and soft furry fabric is to babies what ExcedrinPM is to adults.
- How much you need your family. I’ve asked them a bazillion questions about this baby business, and have gotten extra naps and time with my husband.
- I’d be efficient at one-handed typing.
Okay, woah. This is getting out of control. I could write a book’s worth of my observations. But all in all, I’m tired but I love it, I couldn’t do it without my hubby, my family and close friends, and I’ll listen to advice from anyone and everyone willing to give it. I have a new-found respect for moms. Phew!
Lock Up Your Daughters
Owen, 2 months, going on 18.
My Boring Kitchen
Do you have a boring kitchen too? My kitchen is pretty, the appliances are nice, the finishes are new, but it’s just not me. I’ve always struggled with it because the style of the kitchen is a contemporary that I don’t particularly like. There are a million things I could do about a kitchen that doesn’t feel like me, but I don’t want to sink my money into it.
Then I remembered my spoons.
I collected spoons growing up, and even after I was done with this collecting phase, my siblings would still buy me spoons so my collection was ever-growing. With a few frames and paper from the craft store, a backsplash tile from the hardware store, and some new hardware from ebay, I added personality to my kitchen with $100.
Making the spoon frames
I cut pieces of paper and inserted them in unfinished wood frames from the craft store.
Then picked out my favorite spoons…
And hot glued them in the center of the frame.
Carseat Canopy
Necessity is the mother of a trip to the fabric store and a one-hour sewing project.
{btw: 1 hour sewing project + a newborn = 3 day sewing project}
I needed a canopy for these occasions:
- Baby was 2 weeks old but I had to get out of the house – this helped me feel a little better about having a barrier between him and the world of germs
- It’s raining
- It’s chilly and a blanket or other traditional canopy would have blown off in the wind
- He’s asleep when we enter a restaurant and I want him to get a little more sleep
- It’s bright outside
I’m not selling these, and I didn’t make a pattern. I’m testing the waters to see if improvements can be made, but so far he likes it! Also, they are both the same dimensions, but I added a little extra velcro in case different car seat brands fit a bit differently.
{red fabric: Blank Quilting 5287 in Tomato and Free Spirit Meadow Lace in Peony}
{pink fabric: Free Spirit Sketchbook in Rose and Amy Butler Happy Dots in Grey}