baby « ohbrooke

Mother’s Day Gift Card Contest

It’s not often your offspring remind you of Smeagol. At least it shouldn’t be. We had a lovely Easter weekend, and yet, this is the picture that came back to me {captured by my friend April}.

I’m proud to be this little river-creature’s mother and couldn’t pass up the chance to hold a contest for the best caption. Leave a comment with a suggested caption for this picture, and enter to win a $30 Amazon Gift Card. And no, you don’t need to mention it, I’m already sending off the picture to AFP.

{click to enlarge photo for better inspiration}

Comments will close on Wed. May 11 2011. Winner announced the following day.

Growth Chart

As they say, “It happens so fast!”

I bought this adorable growth chart from “KimsSister” on Etsy, and the quality has far surpassed my expectations. It’s super cute and goes great with Owen’s nursery. You can buy one here.

What I Know Now: 1 Year Old

It was a year ago today that I gave birth to Owen. In retrospect, I don’t remember it being all that much work. How messed up is that? Both that I don’t remember how great it was, and that I don’t remember the pain involved.
Being pregnant for nine months felt longer than having a baby for a year. Time goes too fast in between feedings and naps to even realize a week has passed.
After a 27-year great track record, I’m now officially late to everything. Forget trying to schedule things with other friends who have babies.
Some things I never saw myself doing: holding a baby on my lap while in an airplane bathroom, wearing a shirt that got peed on because I was too tired to change, scooping poop out of the tub, Googling “Who Plays Baby Bop”?
While I don’t seem to have the time or means to work out regularly, my upper body stays toned thanks to a fat toddler. They should try it on “The Biggest Loser,” put a chunky baby on your hip and bend down after the twelve things he’s dropped. Lift him into his car seat without slamming his head into the roof of the car, wrestle him to change his diaper. Boom. 10 lbs. lost.
As the at-home parent, it’s my job to tell my husband all the progress Owen is making. I always tell him the things he does and says that make me proud or make me laugh. I tell him what a great talker he is: Bubble is “Ma-ma”. Banana is “Ma-ma”. Car is “Ma-ma”. See what I mean? He’s definitely advanced.
Hubby says if Owen is half as smart as I think he is, then he’s a genius.
I never knew when I was teaching him to throw a ball that I was actually teaching him how to throw his food on the ground. Teaching him to feed himself turned into teaching him how to find leaves on the ground {or worse} and put it in his mouth. And teaching him how to talk, was teaching him to say “Neh neh neh neh” {his version of no} anytime he was unhappy with what I was doing.
I’m here to debunk the myth that parents don’t know when their baby is ugly. Most of the time Owen is cute, adorable, ready to sign a modeling contract. But I know he can be funny-looking. Mostly in the moments where he looks like my in-laws. {KIDDING!}
I think it took a full year to adjust to the new-mom life. As I see it, here’s how the roles have evolved;
Mom: Works from home, cooks, cleans, does the laundry, pays the bills, does the grocery shopping, feeds the baby, gets up with the baby, bathes and dresses the baby.
Dad: Goes to work and plays with the baby.
In a pinch, we’ve had to order food for Owen at a restaurant when I wasn’t prepared {heaven forbid}. Now this is a slippery slope. This means I get what I ordered AND Mac ‘N Cheese? Heaven.
I used to think people were crazy for having so many toys. I’m deeply sorry: I get it now. Toys are how I survive the day. Toys are how I make deadlines and do dishes. If I don’t have toys, Owen helps with the dishes by taking every dish I put on the rack and putting it on the floor.
At one year old, Owen knows how to turn the iPhone and iPad on. How far away am I from teaching him how to put on a movie and grab some cereal while mommy sleeps in?
While I know I absolutely want to have more kids, the thought of playing this year over in ADDITION to having a toddler sounds so bonkers, I can feel wrinkles deepening in my face. Am I really cut out for this?
Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to say “fart”. My family replaced the noun with “bean” and the verb with “beaning”. My friends find this endlessly funny. I haven’t decided which word will be acceptable for Owen to say, but when he “beans” I think it is the funniest thing. So freely and unabashedly passing gas, without a second thought. It cracks me up. My favorite, the “snart” is crazy funny.
I have laughed out loud at least a dozen times today. I think this age is so fun. He thinks he’s bigger than he is and is so independent. I can’t believe this is the same boy. What happened to the colic-ridden infant who wanted to be snuggled and fed during the night? He’s gone, and replaced with an energetic, busy, charming boy. Surely my life before Owen was easier {and I mean WAY easier}, but life with Owen is much more fun. Kudos, Owen! We both survived!

Baby Gate Makeover

I have a stack of beautiful new Waverly fabric that I wanted to put to use. Just a few inches from my stack of fabric is my baby gate I’ve told you all about. Then it occurred to me that it wouldn’t be *too* terribly obnoxious to spruce up my baby gate, would it?

Here’s the before:

And here’s the after:

The width of the fabric was the perfect for the height of the gate. I cut 1″ notches along the width of the fabric and ripped strips off, then wove them through the gate with a little knot at the top and bottom. Other ideas I had along the way include spray painting the gate something a little more vibrant using spray paint for plastic, or hanging baby toys on it. I know you’re not supposed to help the gate stand out, but, HELLO?! How can you not see it already?

Fabric used: “Sweet Spot” and “Ring Toss” brand new fabrics from Waverly.

Owen’s First Tattoo

It was clear from the beginning that Owen is a ‘bad boy’. Sleeping all day and partying at night, over consumption of anything and everything and a blatant disregard for rules. It seemed only fitting as his first birthday fast approaches, that we help him blossom into who he is: A Rebel. Bad to the bone. So, we took him to our local tattoo shop and had him branded with his favorite “she thinks she knows what she’s talking about” website. I’m sure there are more to come.

Mama Love Play Date Sponsors

Last week I threw a little Valentine’s Day party for young moms in my area, and we had so much fun. It wasn’t a relaxing tea or a pampering pedicure, it was a rowdy toddler-chasing, cheerio and PBJ snacking unintentional cardio workout. Just the kind of party that would have given me a headache a year ago is the perfect fit now as my little one likes to get his wiggles out with his friends.

It all started with these adorable invitations

by Gracie Girl Notes. This Pennsylvania shop has fun prints and cute shapes for invitations, announcements and thank you cards. I provided the wording, and Bevin came up with the adorable concept of the little elephants with heart cardstock and kraft paper invitations. They really were cute and professional, and even better – I didn’t have to spend ANY time on them! She sent a proof via email before she shipped them out, so I was confident I was getting the perfect invitation. {Plus anybody that packages with Divine Twine is alright in my book}

Then came the sponsors

Several items were donated from companies that got me through the rough transition into new-mommyhood. You know how moms talk – we know who’s pooping, who didn’t nap, and who’s cutting teeth. It used to drive me crazy when I didn’t have kids and the conversation would continue at-length on any of these subjects. But now I get it – we’re all trying to be the best moms we can and it takes experience from our peers and the help of quality products.

A few things I was able to share

We bought at least 6 different brands of bottles for my underweight one-month old. Some bottles came out too fast, others too slow and frustrating. Some had him swallowing too much air, making an achy belly and big spit-ups. With a baby with colic, anything that could lessen the symptoms was a lifesaver. Switching to a more sensitive formula combined with these Tommee Tippee bottles made such a difference. He was less gassy, happy with the flow, and less starving! 9 months later he still loves them, and they are easy to hold in his big paws. By four months, he was holding them on his own.

And with colic comes LOTS of tears. I’m a firm believer in Dr. Karp’s “Happiest Baby on the Block” method that can get any crying baby soothed as long as there is no medical problem. I’m having flashbacks as I type this. It seemed like a century, but with the three months of colic came nights in the laundry room with the dryer on, running water to soothe cries and many many swaddles. These Aden + Anais swaddle blankets were the only ones sufficiently big and stretchy to pull tight enough for him to be sufficiently womb-like. They are definitely on my ‘must-have’ list for new moms {I even took mine to the hospital from day one}. They just made such a huge difference in our baby when he was little. Now that he’s older, they stay around covering a sleeping baby in the stroller, or as a blanket to crawl on.

When people tell me their babies wouldn’t take a pacifier, it almost doesn’t register. I can’t even IMAGINE. I got Owen sleeping 10 hours consistently at 3 months old using his favorite thing in the world: his Nuk pacifier. He is still happily using his pacifier at night, or when he’s embarrassing me with his volume level at a restaurant. He will only spit it out for two things: his bottle or his toothbrush. My only regret is that I didn’t know about these sports ones. Owen came home from the hospital wearing my baseball outfit from my birth, and this baseball binky would have topped it off!

You might remember Nicole Hoxie Photography doing my newborn’s pictures. They turned out better than I could have imagined, and I’m so lucky to have such great pictures. It’s so fleeting, they only stay that tiny for such a short time! Nicole is so crazy talented, you’ll notice that if you visit her home. Quilts, clothes for her kids, decor – all handmade! This is a diaper clutch that she designed and created – a perfect fit for a few diapers and wipes, and other essentials. Just in case you don’t feel like lugging your entire diaper bag, or you can leave it with the sitter while you’re away. She has created so many beautiful diaper clutches and you can buy them here.

Also pictured is a Baby Carrier Cover by Kukuku. No longer in stores, but a lifesaver for a chilly baby while he’s in your front carrier {works great with Baby Bjorn, Ergo, and other similar baby carriers}. My baby never liked to sleep, but I’ve managed to lure him to sleep with the fuzzy fleece lining of this cover and a little back rub.

In light of the rough first months, a one-of-a-kind frame like this one found it’s way to my doorstop {You can see my post about it here}. This frame was created by Face to Face Framing using reclaimed barn wood. They have an impressive Etsy shop with really amazing woodwork and home decor. Brigitte sent me one of these frames with a photo of my little one and it has got to be one of my most prized possessions. You can’t bottle that new baby smell or hang on to that feeling when your baby cozies up to your neck for the first time, but my frame with my baby’s little toes is as close as it gets. {Also pictured is my ‘Love Print‘}

Also from Face to Face Framing is this fun burlap pillow. I’m so jealous that they create these fun pillows – I would LOVE to do this {read: I would love to procrastinate on my daily house-wifing and work-from-homing duties to get involved in yet another project}. So cute!

And lastly, who knew it would be so hard to get back on the wagon? I went without a hairbrush and mascara for probably a good month after baby. So much feeding, diaper changing and soothing, all I ever wanted to do in my spare time was SLEEP. But the pieces had to be put back together, and if I was going to wear a pony tail, I was at least going to throw on a pair of earrings! :) These cute hoops are from a local brand, Twisted Silver. I’m seeing their cool jewelry more and more and my friends and family grow their Twisted Silver collection!

The baby food was provided by three great companies that I LOVE. How did anyone raise children without this stuff? He may have his sleeping faults, but Owen is an exceptional eater. I always have a few of these food pouches in my diaper bag in case our errands run long or he’s just a hungry dude. His legs start squirming at the very sight of these, and he loves that he can suck it out of the top all by himself! Plum Organics, Revolution Foods {who has the CUTEST website} and Ella’s Kitchen all have a version of these baby food pouches and they are a lifesaver. It’s organic {don’t roll your eyes}, it’s sneaky {crammed with veggies, but you’d never know it!} and fun for the baby’s to eat {Look ma, no spoon!}.

And lastly, just a few party details

Raffle tickets made using Just Something I Made‘s Vintage Frame graphics {Fun to use for quick projects like this}, and napkin flowers from Design Editor’s Tutorial here.

Brought a rug {Pottery Barn – circa 2009} and some toys for little crawlers.

Penants made from a less-than-favorable book and some scrapbook paper {Sorry for the backlighting here, you can see great penants from the Crafting Chicks here}

Food for kids and mommies {Weight Watchers Chicken Salad recipe here – I added slivered almonds and Fuji apples}

A little something extra for the mommies {when they’re hands aren’t full}

And the guests of honor!

Owen all dressed up for the event {hang on little buttons!}

From Croffice to Playroom :(

In the time it takes me to take a 2 minute shower, my little 9 month monster can accomplish this:

Which is why my office went from this:

To this:

Oh, the glamor of motherhood!

So, a question to you work-at-home moms… what’s your routine? I am lucky enough to stay home with baby, but part of being able to do that means that I do have to work a little bit. I sprint to the computer during both naps, but sometimes those are short and there’s more to do. Please leave your tips for getting work done, aside from giving him a brother.

Custom Car Seat Cover – Best Grandma Ever

Owen is the luckiest little boy. My mom made him the most adorable cover for his “big boy car seat”. I found a pattern on Etsy for a Britax Marathon Car Seat, and my mom used it, adapted it, and ROCKED IT! {Previous cover was “crocodile” – Doh! No before picture.}

{Blurg. Blurry picture – not my best day!}

Happy Halloween!

What I Know Now: The First Six Months

I’m 3 months strong on baby sleeping ALL night. Somehow I still need a nap every once in a while. I would believe it if my body was still recovering from that first month.
And that first month is NO JOKE. If you haven’t slept much in your last trimester, you’re certainly not going to recoup that lost sleep anytime soon. I laughed when my friend said she made that realization right after she had the baby, “I can’t wait to go to bed… Oh….”
You know what else is no joke? Colic. Owen was 3 weeks old when my mom and I were sitting on the couch, holding the sleeping baby, when out of nowhere he started screaming like crazy. We both looked at each other in bewilderment. I could console him for a few minutes at a time, but it would continue until about 9 pm. I would prepare bottles to have ready when his crying would start, and I called them his “naughty bottles”. Then when he was 3 1/2 months old, like a light switch, we didn’t need any more naughty bottles. So ya, almost three months of intense crying.
Five months was a big month for Owen. Sitting up on his own, mastering fruits and veggies, sitting in the front of the shopping cart and high chair, his first crackers and his first tooth!
Six months is the cutest age. Owen has such a personality. He is quite the ladies man wherever we go, smiling at everyone from up high in the shopping cart. He thinks this is pretty cool.
About three weeks ago, I went in to get Owen from his nap. I saw his eyes were still closed, so I watched. He got his binky back in, rolled over, and slept another half hour. Yay!
Last night I started the “binky sprinkle”… four binkies sprinkled in different places in his crib at night so when he wakes up too early for my taste he can grab one and go back to sleep. This morning, he had all the binkys next to him and was asleep with his hand hung high at the top of the crib bumper. He slept ’til yes, 8:00 am.
He’s loud. He’s going to be a loud kid. He talks louder and louder until you acknowledge what he’s saying.
While you can’t look in his direction without receiving an ear-to-ear grin, Owen is stingy with the giggles. We only get a giggle or two per day, but it takes a lot of work. I guess I’m just not funny.
This is probably more fun for me to document than it is for you to read. And here I sit, a room away from where Owen just woke up, and I can smell his poop from here. Over and Out.

Before and After: Mini Rocking Chair

My first ever Facebook Marketplace purchase – a total success. I bought this adorable little rocking chair for poor little Owen who has no toys anywhere and hardly gets a lick of attention {Opposite day}.

Since Owen thinks he’s a big boy who can hold his own bottle and thinks he can do a better job at spooning in the rice cereal, I thought I’d make it a big boy chair. He loves to watch {snooze through} hocky games with his dad, so this is his very own “shark tank” rocking chair.

{free rally shirt from last season}

{iron-on vinyl, thanks to my bro for discovering}

Okay, we may be a little topsy-turvey still, but in a coupla months, he’ll have it down pat.

Space Invader Strikes Again

My four month old found a corner of the house that he hadn’t “peed on” yet. I think this pretty much covers it now, my house has been fully mommy-fied.

Sweet Little Feet

In LOVE with this gift from Face to Face Framing! Brigitte so generously sent this frame with a picture of my little bugger from Nicole Hoxie Photography.

I almost boobed a little when I got it because I already forget how tiny those little feet were. These little feet can hardly stay still now…

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.