r amazing baby toy!!) for quite a while. The past few weeks, we have also tried out some books. I now read her a book at night before her bath, and she actually seems to follow along. Granted, these book have about 7 words per page, but she watches them closely and coos a lot. I really hope that she will develop the same love for reading that both her mom and dad have. Tonight was "The Foot Book" from Dr. Seuss, and she seemed to like it so much that we read it twice.Sleep! Finally!
Julia has finally started to sleep 4-5 hours in a row most nights. HALLELUJAH!! We still have the occasional night when she is up every few hours, but those have become the exception and not the rule. Having more sleep has been wonderful, and even though it doesn't translate into more hours in the day, mom and dad are feeling much more like human beings. I still have the sleep-deprived new mom moments, like when I lost my car key the other day. I
found it again (it was in the car), but I have managed to misplace forms, coupons, keys and other items much more than I used to, and I chalk it up to new mom brain. I really hope whatever part of my brain has suffered from this prolonged sleep deprivation is able to regenerate and thrive again someday. I look forward to the eventual 6-hour stretch of sleep--I know it's out there, somewhere!!Back to work
I'm back to working full-time again, and although I'd rather be at home all day with my little pumpkin, this is just the way things go until I'm able to match all of the Powerball numbers. My morning commute now includes day-care drop-off, so it's been a little harder to get to work on time. I also look like a crazy bag lady loading the car each morning. I have my work bag, my pump, my purse, her bottles for daycare, and whatever else I need during the day. Then sometimes I have extra clothes or diapers for her daycare. I load all of this and then go back for her car seat. She has been staying awake in the car a lot more lately, and when she starts to shriek and coo, it makes me laugh. Most of the time, I just look in the mirror facing her car seat (also a
genius invention) and see those eyes and that's enough to make my heart melt. Since infants need to face backwards in the car, you wouldn't be able to see their faces were it not for the invention of the seat-mounted mirror. You mount it on the back of the seat so she's basically looking at herself, and I can just look in my regular mirror and see if she is awake or see if the sun is shining on her face, etc.Cloth diapers (and a slightly less guilty conscience)
We haven't started using them yet because they have to be pre-washed a few times for maximum absorbency, but we have just purchased what we think will be a workable cloth diaper. Gro-via (http://www.gro-via.com) is an awesome system and we were able to get the shells and liners from Baby Steals (a great daily deal website) for more than 50% off the regular price. They have a cloth lining that you snap into a shell (and the shells have cute, bright colors) that is waterproof and has snaps so it adjusts for babies 10-35 pounds. They also have an additional liner you can put inside that is flushable so you can catch any solid waste, flush that down the toilet, and just have wet cloth pads to wash. When you change the diaper, you just snap out the cloth and snap in a new one, using the same cover (unless it's wet or soiled, too). They also make a one-piece diaper where the cloth part is fixed inside, and you just wash the whole thing. I'm thinking about maybe trying some of those since our day care pro
vider seems less than enthused about this idea. At least she's willing to give it a try. We're not sure how this is all going to work yet, but we're going to make every effort to use disposables only for traveling and babysitting grandparents. The other good thing about these is that unlike old-school cloth diapers, you don't keep them in a wet pail--they are just kept in a cloth bag and then when you wash, you just throw it all in the machine. I can't wait to see if this will work for us!New Mom Essentials
Here are a few things that have been great helpers so far.
Spray & Wash with Resolve Power - the ultimate poo destroyer. I think this has just been re-branded to be Resolve laundry spray. I don't know how it works, but this stain remover, when sprayed directly on any blowout spots and washed normally with our regular baby laundry soap (Seventh Generation Baby detergent), has made the evidence of almost every blowout disappear completely (the only exception was the Great Mother's Day blowout--we would have needed a fire hose to get that one clean).
Swaddle sleep-sacks. We have two from Halo and one from Summer Infant. The Halo ones have a lot of overlapping material and seem to ride up a bit on the neck. The Summer Infant ones are a little easier to use, but seem to have less leg room. They Halo brand ones are basically a sleep-sack that has a swaddle overlay, so it's actually two layers on baby. The Summer Infant is one piece so there is not as much fabric to monkey around with. The Halo brand comes in plain cotton and in a fleece variety for winter, so we are using the plain cotton ones right now. Julia is getting to be a little long for all three that we have, but I think you can use the next size up sleep sack and just use the same swaddle piece, although you don't have the velcro anchors that are on the smaller sized sack. I always feel a little bad when it's time to seal her into the swaddle, but it is SO much better than when she would work her arms out of the receiving blanket swaddles we were making before and wake herself (and us) up. I wish I would have switched to these when she was a few weeks old. At first, I was afraid to fasten it tightly
, thinking that she would have trouble breathing because her chest wouldn't be able to expand enough, but she is fine and that doesn't seem to be a problem. I would recommend these to everyone.A heating pad. When we're getting ready for bed in the evening and when we're up for a nighttime feeding, I put a heating pad on her wedge (foam sleep positioner with a slight incline and little barriers on the sides to keep her in one place) so when I go to lay her back down, it's already nice and toasty. This seems to make the transition from mom to crib go much more smoothly.
Slight Gripe
I have to do a small rant about Carter's stores. I bought the cutest sun hat in April at the Carter's store here, and when I went back to the store to get another hat, or just get the same one in a bigger size, they had NO SUN HATS in the store, even though it was the first week of June. That is the beginning of summer, a week after Memorial Day. I asked the salespeople, and they were already getting in their fall line and would not be getting any more summer items in. There was ONE girl hat in the whole place, and it was denim and NOT designed to keep sun off baby (and who wants to put a denim hat on a baby when it's 80 degrees outside?). I went to the Gymboree a few doors down and found a whole display of summer hats, as well as many outfits paired with matching hats, so all was not lost. Gymboree is more expensive, though. I just don't understand how a baby retailer would not have a sun hat in the beginning of June when the entire summer is ahead. I guess you're supposed to know exactly what you're going to need for summer when there is still snow on the ground. Give me a break!
All in all, things are going pretty well and we are blessed with a happy baby who does not fuss much and now seems to have gotten the hang of sleeping a little more. We seem to be right on the verge of teething, though, so everything could get turned on its ear in a matter of days...
Yay for more sleep! Go Julia Go!
ReplyDeleteWho's the photographer? Your photos are beautiful!
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