Tuesday, May 31, 2011

vampires

I have decided that having a newish baby during the hot summer months is similar to having a vampire. I am now constantly seeking out activities that avoid all direct sunlight. Today is going to be a scorching hot one out there and I am hiding inside. I would normally be tending to gardens in some fashion (covered in a heavy SPF of course) but the baby cannot be out in this, so we are looking for indoor activities. A shady spot in the backyard will be available soon and then we can have some more outdoor time. I know her stroller/car seat combo has the ability to be full shade, but with a 10C in mugginess above an already hot temp., I feel bad strapping her into a hot little seat and then blocking all breeze to keep out all light.
Perhaps today is a good shopping day around town and then perhaps a good day to catch up on house stuff.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

showers

I am having one of those super busy weeks which will blend into the busiest of weekends. OY!
Each day this week has a little something happening and the evenings have a lot of something going on, followed by a whirlwind trip to the family land for the weekend. Nothing like leaving Friday at 6pm to drive 5+ hours with a baby, arrive at my moms who will want to visit, beg for sleep, get up and drive another 1.5 hours to my aunts, baby shower for 3 hours, drive back to moms, then make room for a visit with dad before driving another 5+ hours after lunch. OY!
I also fear that this looong weekend is following a quick (8hours) 'there and back' trip to Ottawa on Thursday. sigh.

All of that....not even why I thought to blog.

I am heading south for a baby shower/meet and great the baby. I am excited and not. My aunt's are hosting this for me, and they are always so generous, but I always feel it is also so fake for me. I only speak with my one aunt normally, the other 2 I see at events like this. So it seems awkward at times. I also wanted this day for my friends to visit, which some are able to, but not about the gifts. The thing around a shower is that expectation, and I hate that part. My aunts go overboard, and I really mean overboard with showers. My mom is 20 years younger than them, so they have not had small people or weddings etc in a long time, so they spoil my brother and I for stuff like this (only me, as he has not done this yet). I appreciate how amazing they are, but I also feel the pressure for those who come and expect it to be a normal shower and then see how crazy 3 aunts can get.

I should just enjoy being spoiled and having everyone meet the baby. If nothing else, the food is always so amazing and the game of present jenga into my truck is a fun ending.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

it is all in the wipe

Along with using cloth diapers, I am using cloth wipes. Researching cloth diapers prior to the babies arrival it became apparent that using cloth wipes would be the way to go for our family. I am already doing laundry, so what's a few more items. I had bought a bunch of cheap baby wash cloths that I thought would work......they suck and I often avoid them when they surface in the pile of wipes. I also bought more expensive fleece ones that have proven to be the best. The major difference between cloth wipes and disposable is that mine require wetness. In the beginning I was wetting them in the bathroom with warm water so diaper changes would be a little smoother for the baby, but now with warmer weather and her being a little older, she doesn't mind a cooler temp. I now have a spray bottle in her bedroom that I spray the cloth with to moisten it. I suppose regular water would work in the bottle, but I am cleaning a dirty butt, so some cleaning agent was going to be required. I googled recipes and decided upon the following:

Olive 'n' Tea Tree

Cloth Wipe Solution Recipes - Olive Oil A great natural wipes solution.
1/4 cup olive oil (extra virgin not necessary)
1/8 cup gentle baby bath
A few drops tea tree oil
4 cups water



I modified it slightly to use grape seed oil instead of olive oil. I use grape seed oil for her massage oil so I had a big bottle of it.



This site has many varieties of homemade wipe solutions if you are ever in the market to make your own. http://www.zany-zebra.com/cloth-wipe-solution.shtml

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

the start of a real person

The baby is finally having some real interaction with us. She is no longer just a food/poop factory. The past week she has really started to interact with the things around her. She is much more observant to her mobile and follows specific characters, she is *'playing' with a baby toy and is smiling when we make faces at her. What a nice stage to move into. I feel like those small steps are big rewards for the last 2 months when her only interactions were cries to communicate. Don't let me fool you, she still cries and more often than I would like, but she now also smiles.

We started to take some video to capture the moments....hopefully we will figure out how to upload them off the video camera so we can share them. There is no time in life right now for learning new things!

Looking forward to the long weekend. I have no grand plans and nothing I would consider fun based on my younger years, but I have an extra day of dad time and that is awesome!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

social without the technology

I have become social without going through my computer.....well except to share this blog.

Having a baby is a great excuse to finally meet people, and I don't have to go alone. She is a small shield into the real world. Who would have thought you needed a baby to meet adults. Perhaps there should be a play group for those without kids to get out as well. I would have used it prior to now.

We have been the keen joiners at everything baby. Besides appointments we have been going out for lunches, finding moms to go for walks with, baby massage class, baby movie matinee (they play new movies for moms who can bring a baby), stroller class, play groups at the early years centre and finally we have hit up a breastfeeding support group.

We will now be running the circuit of going to 3 different towns to get our fill.

Yay social!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

tactics in memory work

My memory is all about gone. I used to have an amazing one, and in some aspects I still do, but I lost it completely when it comes to the day to day activities. The one particular activity would be breastfeeding. I remember to do it and what time I last fed, for approximately how long, but I have no retention for the last breast used.

I was warned of this prior to giving birth and thought 'who can't remember something like that', easy enough to answer that now - ME. Not wanting to deny mothers before me and their infinite wisdom I bought a milk band. This is a rubber bracelet that you switch from left to right to remind yourself which breast is next. This device has a lot of potential if I had normal sized wrists. It just seems to turn itself over when I sleep or move my sleeves. It is also not very pretty.





I use it now and then but needed something better. I feed the baby 90% of the time in her bedroom in the rocking chair, so I devised a method for that room. When I feed her, I always use her nursing pillow, similar to the picture. I also always place a blanket down on the side she feeds from to capture spillage. So my great method became the practice of placing the blanket on the side I would feed next after I am finished. This works great at night. When I go into her room super tired and sit down, I just have to place her on the side with the cover. By the time she is done eating, I am awake enough to set myself up for the next feeding.



This method only works well if I feed in her room. The 10% I am not in there I am back to relying on memory.

Is there a better way out there?

Monday, May 2, 2011

just like a fish

This baby seems to be growing just like a fish. I have been under the understanding that fish grow to the size of their environment within reason. A fish in a small tank stays small, but in a bigger tank, gets bigger. An amazing process if true, even a little. My daughter seems to be doing the same. She is growing fast and running through her clothes at lightening speed. As she outgrows items, we have been putting her in the next size up. They seem huge on her at first, and the next thing we know she is too big for those as well. I feel like we should just keep her in the tiny clothes to keep her small instead of giving her the opportunity to grow to fit the next size.
Those cloth diaper bums may also add a few inches :)

We are into the 7th week, and she seems right on target developmentally. Babies learn a lot each week. Thankfully there are e-mails sent to me weekly to keep me on track. How did parents live before the internet?

She has been sleeping in her bassinet for the last week every night and each sleep. Nights are broken up into 2 - 3 small sleeps. Each one is a success if she sleeps in her bassinet. The plan is still to move her to her own room at 3 months and she needs to be a successful sleeper on her own for the move. I also need to get monitors for the move so we have some time.

My mom's side is hosting a baby shower/meet the baby this month. I find it hard to have a shower this late, but there are tons of things we avoided buying knowing her side would have this. I am excited for the meet the baby part. I am not excited for the long drive down and the crowded drive back. Weekends should have been 3 days from the start.