Baby fever!
My dog eats his own poo and then vomits it. I guess we're back to putting crushed pineapple in his food. Apparently it makes their shit taste like...shit. Novel concept, really.
Okay, where was I? Baby fever. My beautiful, precious, awesome new niece (my 2nd) was born around 4 this morning. Her name is Elisabeth Mae, and she has an awesome set of parents (my brother Dave and SIL Jess) along with her big sister Naomi and big brother Will. Is it estrogen-y in here or is it me? Babies are all around me, and let me tell ya, it's hard not to catch the fever! We aren't going to try again for awhile, but it doesn't mean that the sweet smell of newborns' heads doesn't tempt me. I wish I could hop on a plane to Iowa and sniff in the deliciousness of her dark-haired little head! They make beautiful babies. My SIL homeschools, and she puts Betty Crocker to shame. Both of my brothers chose ladies to have in their lives that I happen to genuinely love and consider my sisters. Nice when that happens, huh?
My good friend Jennifer is having her baby shower this weekend, and my friend Jeni is pregnant, and my other friend Jenny just had her baby girl. (And my mom's name is Jennifer). Anyhow, it made me think of the excitement of making a baby registry. I remember scanning all kinds of things that I thought we would most definitely need. Let me tell you, you don't need it all.
Top 5 baby products I've lived without (even if I happened to have received them)
1. Baby powder. Many studies have shown that it is very irritating to babies to inhale the powder that drifts their way when it is being applied. I've never found a need to powder my baby's face, let alone her behind.
2. Baby nail files. Brandon has always been fearful of clipping baby's nails, so this became my job. Clippers, yes. But I can't imagine ever having a restful enough baby or enough patience to neatly file nails down. In fact, clippers aren't even really necessary because babies nails tear off neatly and easily most of the time.
3. Baby Bjorn. I know people swear by them, but I'd take a moby wrap any day of the week over a backpacky, stiff Bjorn. Plus, they are super easy to make using interlock fabric (which you can buy at JoAnn's). My friend Amanda swears by the Ergo for a carrier (and also happened to give me my moby that she made) and when baby #2 comes, I'd invest in it early (but I was a little too late to invest in one of this somewhat pricey devices). So in the future, I'd have a moby and an ergo.
4. Munchkin's fresh feeding set looked so amazing in the store, and I was so excited for it. But when it came time to use it, Ayla only used the mesh food dispensing pacifier thingy a couple times. And the food mill included? Joke! I used an Oster hand blender to make all of Ayla's baby food (which I highly recommend...so easy!) with.
5. Bottle sterilizer. The idea of fresh, clean sterilized bottles is great. But...a dishwasher works just fine. Read the package of a baby bottles. It says run them through the dishwasher. The days of nipple boiling and constant sterilizing are past folks.
Can I just comment on how glamorous and stylish and thin all those moms on the baby sites (Ergo, Moby, etc) look? What new mom looks that clean, awake and energized, and smokin' hot like that? Don't tell me because if I knew, I'd have to punch them. Show me a mom with the war zone of a hairstyle and still wearing maternity clothes, only now with the new adornment of spit up and boogers.
Things I loved (continued)
1. Earth's Best baby food. I made most of Ayla's food, but I wanted her to have more of a variety than could be stored in my freezer. Between coupons and Publix's BOGO sales, I managed to make these quite affordable (plus I hate Gerber and refuse to buy their products in the poisonous #7 hot-dog quality plastic).
2. Anything Fisher Price simply because their customer service is unbeatable. I know they had some recalled products, but if you heard why they were recalled, you'd laugh at the idiot parents who count on baby equipment and toys to parent their babies. I will buy them again and again because they handle things with such caution and care, in my opinion.
3. It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita I love Heather Armstrong for being crass, bold, brave, funny, and honest. She gave me strength and courage when I needed it. Mostly, she made me laugh...and I needed to laugh. This book is a must read for any sleep-deprived mom. I promise you'll find the time to read it once you start.
Remember, if you have baby fever but are not yet ready to spend 9 months miserably hot and uncomfortable with leaky breasts and strangers groping your belly, follow these words of advice.
"A man is like a basketball player. They dribble before they shoot." My ob-gyn said this to me approximately 14 hours after I gave birth. With that kind of treatment, you'd think I was a 14-year-old teenage mom working on baby #3. C'mon! I know how babies are made...
Okay, where was I? Baby fever. My beautiful, precious, awesome new niece (my 2nd) was born around 4 this morning. Her name is Elisabeth Mae, and she has an awesome set of parents (my brother Dave and SIL Jess) along with her big sister Naomi and big brother Will. Is it estrogen-y in here or is it me? Babies are all around me, and let me tell ya, it's hard not to catch the fever! We aren't going to try again for awhile, but it doesn't mean that the sweet smell of newborns' heads doesn't tempt me. I wish I could hop on a plane to Iowa and sniff in the deliciousness of her dark-haired little head! They make beautiful babies. My SIL homeschools, and she puts Betty Crocker to shame. Both of my brothers chose ladies to have in their lives that I happen to genuinely love and consider my sisters. Nice when that happens, huh?
My good friend Jennifer is having her baby shower this weekend, and my friend Jeni is pregnant, and my other friend Jenny just had her baby girl. (And my mom's name is Jennifer). Anyhow, it made me think of the excitement of making a baby registry. I remember scanning all kinds of things that I thought we would most definitely need. Let me tell you, you don't need it all.
Top 5 baby products I've lived without (even if I happened to have received them)
1. Baby powder. Many studies have shown that it is very irritating to babies to inhale the powder that drifts their way when it is being applied. I've never found a need to powder my baby's face, let alone her behind.
2. Baby nail files. Brandon has always been fearful of clipping baby's nails, so this became my job. Clippers, yes. But I can't imagine ever having a restful enough baby or enough patience to neatly file nails down. In fact, clippers aren't even really necessary because babies nails tear off neatly and easily most of the time.
3. Baby Bjorn. I know people swear by them, but I'd take a moby wrap any day of the week over a backpacky, stiff Bjorn. Plus, they are super easy to make using interlock fabric (which you can buy at JoAnn's). My friend Amanda swears by the Ergo for a carrier (and also happened to give me my moby that she made) and when baby #2 comes, I'd invest in it early (but I was a little too late to invest in one of this somewhat pricey devices). So in the future, I'd have a moby and an ergo.
4. Munchkin's fresh feeding set looked so amazing in the store, and I was so excited for it. But when it came time to use it, Ayla only used the mesh food dispensing pacifier thingy a couple times. And the food mill included? Joke! I used an Oster hand blender to make all of Ayla's baby food (which I highly recommend...so easy!) with.
5. Bottle sterilizer. The idea of fresh, clean sterilized bottles is great. But...a dishwasher works just fine. Read the package of a baby bottles. It says run them through the dishwasher. The days of nipple boiling and constant sterilizing are past folks.
Can I just comment on how glamorous and stylish and thin all those moms on the baby sites (Ergo, Moby, etc) look? What new mom looks that clean, awake and energized, and smokin' hot like that? Don't tell me because if I knew, I'd have to punch them. Show me a mom with the war zone of a hairstyle and still wearing maternity clothes, only now with the new adornment of spit up and boogers.
Things I loved (continued)
1. Earth's Best baby food. I made most of Ayla's food, but I wanted her to have more of a variety than could be stored in my freezer. Between coupons and Publix's BOGO sales, I managed to make these quite affordable (plus I hate Gerber and refuse to buy their products in the poisonous #7 hot-dog quality plastic).
2. Anything Fisher Price simply because their customer service is unbeatable. I know they had some recalled products, but if you heard why they were recalled, you'd laugh at the idiot parents who count on baby equipment and toys to parent their babies. I will buy them again and again because they handle things with such caution and care, in my opinion.
3. It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita I love Heather Armstrong for being crass, bold, brave, funny, and honest. She gave me strength and courage when I needed it. Mostly, she made me laugh...and I needed to laugh. This book is a must read for any sleep-deprived mom. I promise you'll find the time to read it once you start.
Remember, if you have baby fever but are not yet ready to spend 9 months miserably hot and uncomfortable with leaky breasts and strangers groping your belly, follow these words of advice.
"A man is like a basketball player. They dribble before they shoot." My ob-gyn said this to me approximately 14 hours after I gave birth. With that kind of treatment, you'd think I was a 14-year-old teenage mom working on baby #3. C'mon! I know how babies are made...
We must have been channeling each other tonight. My post is entitled "I want a Squishy." Haha :)
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