it's papa!: October 2013

Size: I weighed her two weeks ago, she weighted about 15.5 lbs, not sure how long she is though! She has an appointment coming up soon, I'm curious to see how tall she's getting.

Sleep: She is doing pretty well at going to bed at 8-9, and waking up anywhere between 4:30 and 6:30. I feel lucky that she lets us sleep that long! On weekends she wakes up once at 6 or so to eat, then back to bed with us until 10 or so... I love it.

Social: Our little bean is officially giggling. I'm pretty sure I almost cried when she first did it for us. She will smile and laugh at you from far away now if you talk to her, which melts my heart!

Diet: My little milk-monster. She has been munching on everything she can get her hands on-- including her hands. And toys. And my hands.

Clothes: In 6 month clothes comfortably. I got my shipment of cloth diapers from cottonbabies.com-- and I LOVE them. A little too much. Post coming soon about all of that business.

Likes: Still likes changing table time, and playing with her hands! We made her floor gym more interesting by attaching a bunch of links and balls-- she has fun shaking the whole thing like crazy. Makes her super happy. She's all about grabbing things these days!

Milestones: Giggling and grabbing! If it's within her reach, it's in her mouth. The funniest thing she eats is her ruffle shirts-- there's always a ruffle within grasp. As soon as the onesies are unsnapped, the whole thing goes in her mouth.

Sleep, eat, poop. by sarawisely on Polyvore

Amazon.com / Medela Advanced Personal Double Electric Breastpump Model #57065 / Up Up Milk Storage Bags

After three months of our wonderful little bean, we have learned a few things. Not anywhere close to everything, but enough to say, "oh my. That was a great purchase. Perhaps I should share that with the world." So, here it is. My favorite things regarding eating, sleeping and pooping.

Halo Sleep Sack. The hospital was actually nice enough to give us this one. Full of fleecy wonderfulness, this swaddle blanket--most of the time-- lets our gal get a good nights sleep, free of face-punching baby movements. Sad for us, it was too hot to use in the summer, but it's working well now. Would I change anything? My mom ended up getting us a few more of these that weren't fleece so we could use them earlier, which was great-- however our little gal is always quite determined to escape. In doing this, she often pulled the entire swaddle wrap up around her face-- which is scary. Looked uncomfortable, and nothing like waking up to your baby with blankets around her face. I think I would opt for the miracle blanket next time-- which was sadly too small for our gal by the time I discovered it.

Waterproof changing pad liners. You think you have poop under control. Until it comes shooting at you from all directions. Trust me on this one. You don't want to have to be worried about changing out the whole cover every time an explosion happens. Fold it over, and continue your diapering experience (even when giant floods attack you and your little one. It happens.)

Muslin Receiving Blankets. These are amazing. Cuddly, soft and wonderful. By far my favorites that we have. They wash up great, and are warm in the cold, cool in the summer. I lovelove them.

Medela Pump/Up and Up milk storage bags. This works great for me at the moment. I have a place at work where I have a locked door, countertop, sink and outlet-- if not, I've heard fantastic things about the Medela Freestyle. Nuff said. And Up and Up makes great storage bags that are pretty cheap compared to other brands.

Dr. Brown's Bottles. The bottle aisle in Babies R Us is seriously scary. Who would have thought there were so many choices?! My mom has been using these when I am at work, and she says good things about them so far. I like the fact that they decrease tummy bubbles by letting no air flow in. Good? Good. Easy-peasy. Just remember to get your size 1 nipples for your newborn (hooray learning things!)

BumGenius 4.0's. I love these. Lovelovelove them. I have also purchased a few Elementals (I have 6 Elementals, and 12 4.0's) and I prefer the 4.0's. I will probably post again only on how much I love my diapers-- hubby things I'm crazy, but I have to say, I am super excited and pleased with my purchase. Perhaps he will change his mind three months from now when they pay for themselves. Until then, I'm enjoying my happy little bean's face every time I change her... super microfiber-y softness = happy girl. Grandma doesn't mind using them either! (Again, more to come!)

Other Sleepy things.
Right now we have her sleeping in a little pack n' play by our bed. We use extra receiving blankets as sheets, which is working well (no need to invest in sheets, people were awesome and gave us a million blankets-- we can change them out as spittle happens, as needed. We put her down for naps in her crib, which we've outfitted with the Breathable Baby Crib Bumper, to save from those 'oh-sweet-lord-I've-got-my-arm-caught-in-the-bars' cry. I think it works quite well so far.

We also love our Sleepy Sheep, which makes white noise. It's actually quite nice for us as well; it helps a bit with the anxiety at night of 'oh my gosh! Is baby breathing?!?!?!' moments. Only downside to this one is it turns off after 45 minutes. If I were to get another one, it would be the Sleep Slumber Sound Machine.

Relaxing.
As far as 'just hanging out' goes, we love our swing. This one works well for our house, because it's pretty small as far as swings are concerns. It also rocks, plays music, and all of that other good stuff. But again, any would do.

Traveling.
We have a Graco Quick-Connect Jogging Stroller travel system, which we love-- I just wish we had figured out that it doesn't quite fit in to our Mazda 3 hatchback. Which is crazy. Because it's got a giant trunk. You live and you learn. We also love our Ergobaby, which my sister so wonderfully purchased for us-- it's amazing. Super supportive, has extra storage, and she feels nice and snug. It's a winner, for sure.

I'm sure there are more things... I will post as I think of more! I was obsessed with baby blogs telling me what to buy when I was pregnant-- and after dozens of blogs, the one thing I've discovered is that it's different for everyone. I've had a blast figuring out the good, bad and ugly around here-- but learning is half the fun! (Which would be my last bit of advice... find your local baby consignment store sooner rather than later. I discovered mine recently-- and was floored at how cheap everything was-- and in such great shape! Check it out before you spend $60 on a swing. In our case, we got lucky and received one at our shower-- and then my aunt happily found the same one at a garage sale for $5 a month later. Keep your eyes open :))