Pacifier Pal....

Eliette got one of these before she was born:

It has a clear pacifier shaped like the Soothie brand pacifiers (which is what Little Miss currently prefers). We were hesitant to try this right away because of the blanket part on the puppy and Eliette being so small....but now that she's a bit bigger, we've been using it sometimes, and she likes it! It's a binky & a snuggly toy. I hear we need to try the Wubbanub too, but we just haven't yet....

Eliette & her Paci-pal....

Sweet girl!

I suppose we need to come up with some sweet little name for her Puppy-paci-pal....
Suggestions always welcome!
Though I have to say, we typically use the Soothies....we only use our Paci-pal sometimes....but when we pull it out for her to use, she loves it.
:)

Eliette's Sink Bath...

That little flower bathtub is called the Blooming Bath. It was one of the new baby products I was soooo excited about!

Guess what: it sucks with newborns!
Sure, it's soft. But, in the kitchen sink, it really doesn't offer much support for laying a baby down, you know? In the bathroom sink it works better for supporting the baby's body, but the bathroom sinks are so shallow that you have to keep filling and draining the sink so that the baby stays warm and it doesn't overflow.

Then, there's the issue of it absorbing water. It's a big blooming sponge. So, when you're done using it, you are supposed to wring it out and either hang it to dry, or toss it in the dryer.
Wring it out? When it's wet, the darn thing weighs like 40 pounds! Then, my hands are only so big, so wringing it out isn't an easy task. Sure, it can drip dry in the shower/bath after I've wrung it out, but it takes about 3 days to dry. In the dryer, I'm always fairly certain that the dryer or the flower is going to catch on fire because it takes so long to dry in there too.

Maybe this will be a better product with E can sit up on her own, but for now---it just sucks.
...and I've already gone and purchased a regular, plastic baby bathtub.

The Blooming Flower has been a total DUD for us!

Newborn Diapers...My $0.02.

So....I ultimately plan to use gDiapers. We aren't there yet. Before Eliette got here, I decided that we would start gDiapers at size M. I thought this would allow us time to adjust to life with a newborn, and allow me time to adequately heal from my csection, and that we'd go from there. In the meantime, we'd use disposables.

Well....Little Miss was itty-bitty! Preemie diapers fit her best in the beginning. Then we moved on to size Newborn.
Boy, do I have some opinions on these disposable diapers!!!

So, here's my $0.02 on newborn diaper comparisons:

Pampers Swaddlers:
Love the indicator line that is yellow when dry, and then turns green/blue when wet. Love that! They seem absorbent, and Eliette never leaked through them....

But---do you see how the top dips down very little for the umbilical cord area? That didn't make me happy.

Huggies Little Snugglers:

Love these! The center area dips lower. They were great on absorption, and they have the indicator line too! The fasteners are round tabs instead of square/rectangular, so they didn't seem to ever rub on Eliette's skin if she curled her little body up. On the newborn size, these were my favorites!

Mom to Mom brand:

I had to throw in a generic brand to try too....
Sadly, I was very/very/very disappointed in these...

They were kind of crunchy feeling. Not very soft. The umbilical cord area wasn't stellar. The tabs were the worst! They are stiff, and pointy at the corners. When Eliette would curl up like she was in the womb, the tabs would poke and irritate her belly skin. And, they don't have the indicator line. These were by far the crappiest newborn diapers we tried.

Luvs:

I failed to take my own picture of these. Absorbent, just like they advertise. I have no real complaints about these diapers except: they lack the color indicator line. In the middle of the night, that line is so helpful! I just have to say, the Luvs seem to be a more cost effective choice, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well they worked on Eliette. I tried them in the past with Gage, and they were disappointing. ...but, that was 7 years ago!

So, in the end, the big winner for us has been Huggies Little Snugglers.


Now, how has our diaper changing been going?
Well, we've come up with a little system....
We have the changing table set up in the nursery, but in the first few weeks, Eliette wasn't sleeping in her nursery, so we rarely changed her in there. Instead, we've been changing her primarily in our room or the living room. So, we have these stocked baskets in both rooms.

 To start, each basket has a Munchkin brand pad that we lay down to protect the couch or bed... (It's draped over the edge of the basket in the above photo...)
Got them at Target, and they rock. They are waterproof and easy to just toss in with the laundry when needed.

So, also in the basket is hand sanitizer, diapers, diaper wipes, diaper cream, face/hand wipes, baby socks (because they so easily get soiled during diaper changes!), and toss bags for the throwing the diapers away... These little caddies have made diaper duty so easy!

Okay...that's my two cents for today....

Delivery Updates....

The crib has been delivered! I don't know that it will stay there at an angle in the room, but we'll see. It's here, and we are soooo excited!

What else has been delivered? Some of the plants for the backyard!

(Those cypress trees have some growing to do....Gage is sniping with a Nerf gun back there...)

I just ordered the carseat, and we are waiting on its delivery....

...and we are waiting on the delivery of the new baby gate since ours just got broken on Thursday or Friday of this past week.... I've ordered this one....

Lots of deliveries for the Casa de Lainey-Paney!

Product Review....

So...as many of you know, we've dabbled in potty training, and we are getting ready to really buckle down & tackle the bad boy.

So far....I've got some diapering & pull up reviews.
Many of us who read each others blogs have kiddos. some of you have kiddos older than mine, some are younger than mine. So, maybe these experiences/reviews will help some of you.
AAAAND---if any of you seasoned parents have potty training tips for boys, feel free to share. I picked up a couple books @ Half Priced Books on the topic....but, quite frankly I have not read them yet.

Now onto the product reviews!

Pull Ups: Love 'em. By far, the best disposable training pants we've tried so far.

Pampers Easy Ups: They're okay. They lack the open/close feature on the sides that Pull Ups offer. That is a feature that really comes in handy when you have a moody toddler. So, that's one knock against the Easy Ups. BUT, the Easy Ups are very absorbent...so, that's good....

Diaper Doublers: I know I've mentioned these in the past. We get disposable diaper doubles at the Tom Thumb near us. They rock. $3 & some change for a pack of 30. That pack lasts us a month, b/c we only use the doublers at night. This little guy of ours---he pees A LOT at night. so, the diapers help him to sleep longer b/c of avoiding leaks. I think they rock.

Night-time Diapers.....
I'm a believer in night time diapers. What I've found about pull ups/disposable training pants at night even with a diaper doubler, is that they are less absorbent for the large volume of liquid. Oh, they are no match for Gage's nightly amount of urine. Anyway...we still do diapers at night with a doubler. And, I'm a big fan of the Huggies Night Time diapers (diapers, not training pants) with a doubler. Oh, the joys of not getting up at 4, changing a wet, tired, & mad baby....and stripping a crib in the dark. Thank you Huggies & Safeway/Tom Thumb brand diaper doublers!!!

:)

Worth Every Penny...

Okay...so Martha Stewart may have her "Very Good Things"...well, I've got my own little segment..."Worth Every Penny"....


This stuff rocks.
It's a stick...like a deoderant stick. It's soothing & moisturizing to chapped cheeks & chins on little ones. Love it.
Got it at the grocery store.
Thanks J&J!.


From Gerber.
Are they completely spill proof? No.
But, they work pretty well. Gage likes them. I like them. They keep the golfish & cheerios off the floor better than a bowl with NO LID! Easy for Gage to use. I like 'em. Worth every penny.

Money Well Spent...

Here are some examples of money well spent at our household...

From IKEA...

Now, granted we've broken this toy, but for $5.99, it really did make up in the price in the amount of play-time that was used.
The center pole is a plastic/foamy thing for the rings to go on.
My son was able to break this. Which sucked.
But, he broke it by falling on it, and it was better that it was a little flexible & broke instead of impaling him through the chest.
All in all, money well spent in my opinion.
and, if the IKEA store weren't so freaking far away, I'd run out & get him a new set b/c he likes the colors, rolling the rings, the stacking, etc.

The Kolcraft Tot Rider 2
It's $19.87 at Walmart (the demon retailer...)

Endless hours of fun.
So fun in fact, that he had one at home, and one at the mother-in-law's house.
Twenty bucks has really never gone so far....
Definitely worth every penny!

Bright Starts Bounce Bounce Baby Activity Zone

I think we actually purchased this at Target......oh, no, wait. Santa brought this toy to our home...but now they are selling them at Target & Walmart. Walmart's price: $39.87.
Again, a worthy investment.
Tons of fun for our little one......and, it still sits motionless on our back porch until we need to do something in the backyard...take the dog out, whatever. It's a safe place to secure Baby Gage so we can have our hands free.
Now that he's a little bigger--he's not super excited about it anymore, so it buys you VERY little time these days....but oh, it used to rock. He'd play in there for...well, it seemed liked a long time.

Baby Einstein Discovering Water Play Gym

So much fun. So much fun for Gage to look up & see the stuff.
So much fun for me to watch him lay there & look at all of the stuff!
...gosh, he was soooooo little then. 8 weeks....10 weeks....so little.

...and now he's so big & runs all over, and climbs all over, and opens doors, and pulls groceries out of the pantry, and runs away when you even mention a diaper change...oh my. time just flies.

I've gotten off subject......

Back to $$ well spent.

The baby swing.

Now, this is not the EXACT model that I had, but similar. Same bears, same fabric, etc.
The baby swing. So great. So so so great.
But, I wanted one that would blend with the color scheme of my house...not stand out & be all bright colors. So, what happened? I ended up hanging bright colored Link-a-doos on my child's swing b/c he preferred bright colored objects at that time, and he found the bears a bit boring.
So, forget the color scheme of your living room, or whatever room. Your house will soon be covered in bright toys everywhere anyway.

Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium

$23.77 at WalMart.
I always thought, "no crib toys. I want him to associate sleep with his crib"...etc.
Well....then I picked this up. It's great. It has soothing music that we play at night before we go to sleep. It's not up-beat & fun to hang out & dance in the crib. The lights are slow & soothing. But, it does have some little toy features that keep Gage entertained for about 10-15 minutes on weekend mornings if he wakes up before we do. Now, you can forget him staying in there until 9am or anything...(not on a usual morning...)

The Baby Papasan...

This was a gift, but it was great. We could set this up in the living room, bathroom, everywhere. So portable. Clearly, I look for that in great baby gear.

Swaddle Me Fleece Wraps.

This was awesome. So awesome.
They're $9.99 each at Babies-R-Us.

Loved these sleep sacks when Gage was really little. Now that he's bigger, I don't use these anymore. It just seems kind of weird to use it when he can stand up & walk around in his crib...but when he was little, I loved this!

They are $13.99 @ Babies-R-Us.



And of course, there's a whole segment of things that are worth every penny but not mentioned here: soothie pacifiers, the boppy, dependable carseats, a stroller, etc...

***********New Category*****************
Things that I see now, that look totally awesome, but I've never actually tried.

At Walmart, for about $50, they have this foldable, portable swing frame that fits with any SnugRide or Infant SafeSeat.
My favorite thing: the portability of it!
Our swing---hell, we'd have to take it completely apart just to put it in the attic. Forget taking it on a trip to visit someone...although that would be sooooooo convenient.
This thing looks like it would rock!



This has been fun. I may be doing more of this over time...

Sippy Central...

So, not this weekend that we just had, but the weekend before...
I packed up all of the bottles & bottle nipples.

We are strictly on Sippy-nipples.
And, Nuby has some sippy cup tops that are like straws. Gage is fine with those too.

These have been AWESOME helping in the transition off the nipple:

These bottles have handles for Gage to use.
They have a nipple, or a sippy-nipple.
So, we were able to use the regular nipples for a while, and then just switched them out, and Gage's doing pretty well without the nipple!

Gage also does well with these:

they have soft silicone sippy-nipples, like the ones above.

Now...I've been a huge fan of Nuby stuff. Huge.
But...this one cup....it SUCKS. I keep it in the back of the cabinet, and even if we're totally out of clean sippies...I don't reach for this one. I'd rather wash a dirty cup & spout before using this.

It reads, "no spill". Um, sure, the liquid does not spill out. IT POURS OUT!
anyway...maybe the ONE we got is defective.
I still won't give up on Nuby products. for the most part, they've rocked!

And in OTHER EATING NEWS...
1) My child does not like Fruit Loops.
What kiddo doesn't like Fruit Loops??? It's bizarre, but true.
I gave him some Fruit Loops & boysenberry yogurt for breakfast the other day. He loved the yogurt & just ended up throwing the Fruit Loops one by one off the tray.
2) Gage is getting much better with the spoon!



But...old habits are hard to break...

Unsolicited Advice for the Expectant Mother...

(I typed this up for someone that I know is pregnant...)

Here’s my UNSOLICITED Advice. I’m sure, as you know by now…being pregnant---you are going to get a LOT of unsolicited advice…so if you want to quit reading right now…I totally understand!

I am by NO MEANS trying to tell you what to do, or how to do it! I am no expert on baby products, baby needs, or child rearing! It’s just that I’ve recently been where you are , and where you’re about to be (a new mom!) ….

So….here goes…..

• When you see that baby for the very first time---it’s okay to be scared! All of a sudden there is this new life in your arms, and you know you love that baby, but it’s all so new, and it’s an amazing responsibility. So, if you look at that baby, & think “Oh My Gosh, this is my baby who I know, and yet he’s a stranger to me…”, you’re not alone!
• There will be times when you say or think, “I have no idea what I’m doing.” …or, “I have no idea what he needs right now!” Every first time mom has been there. I have sssssooooooooooo been there. You will have a few “first time mommy” moments….I’ve been there…I’m sure your mom was there… Some things you learn from others---but a whole heck of a lot of things are learned on your own---just from going through it!
• I was the world’s slowest at figuring out my child’s different cries. All of these experts say your baby may cry one way when he’s hungry, and another way if he’s wet, or hot, or too tired, or overstimulated, etc. Me---I couldn’t figure that stuff out! All I knew was that my baby was crying! I’d run down the mental checklist: Is he wet/dirty? Is it too hot or too cold in here? Is he hungry? If all of those things were okay---then he’d get a dose of Mylicon, a cuddle, and his binky.
• Mylicon: liquid gas medicine for babies. Make sure you get some of this. The baby can’t tell you if he’s gassy or not---so I was on the mentality of, “Better to be safe than sorry!”, and I’d give him a dose!
• Binky/Paci/Pacifier…..there are a ton of options out there. Gage didn’t, and still doesn’t take the binky too often. But, at first, he was a big fan of the green Soothie brand binky that they provided at the hospital. It was the only one he would take. So, we had to stock up on those. For months he didn’t take the binky anymore, but now that he’s teething—he loves the binky again. Gives him something to chew on.
• Breastfeeding…saw that you’ve got a Medela pump on your registry. You go girl! I tried to get by with a small, portable, electric pump made by a company called “The First Years”. It was about $40. That was $40 that I can’t get back. Such a waste of money. Medela products are so awesome. Here’s my tip on the Medela pump: if the hospital you deliver at uses Medela pumps---before you leave the hospital, tell the nurse that you want to try pumping to help your milk come in (which, it will). That way---the nurse will bring you one of their Medela pumps with a kit of Medela hook-ups. These hook-ups can’t be reissued to another patient, so you get to take them with you, and that way your insurance covers them! The kit costs about $60 if you buy the pieces at the store….and---the kit includes a bunch of parts that will fit all the different Medela pumps. Originally, at the hospital, they let me use the Medela Symphony. I really liked it. So, since my milk didn’t come in for SEVEN days---I rented a Symphony to go home with me. That way—we didn’t spend $300 on a pump that I may or may not be able to use (in case my milk never came in, or we had feeding issues….). Anyway—when I returned to work, I had a Medela Lactina pump here at work to use (I work in a hospital), and b/c I got the kit when I delivered, I had all of the hook-ups. Then, when I got a Pump-in-Style, I already had all of the hook-ups. So, I say, YES—Go with Medela!!!!
• Breastpads…..I nursed for almost 6 months. Went through quite a few breastpads. Here are my opinions on the pads…. The best ones: Lansinoh. They are contoured---which will make a difference under your clothes! They are individually wrapped, so that makes sticking them in your purse or diaper bag easier.
• Breastmilk storage bags: Tried a few of these as well…My reviews: Top pick—Lansinoh bags. They have a double seal which is awesome. The most embarrassing thing that happened to me---I stored a bag of breast milk in the break room fridge here at work—and it spilled & leaked onto other people’s lunches. I could have just DIED. That was with a bag made by “The First Years”. It sported a “handle for pouring.” Um…it sucked. Don’t even bother with the bags they make. They leak. They are crap. 2nd favorite bag---Gerber bags. They never leaked! No double seal, but they never leaked.
• Breastmilk…like I said—mine didn’t come in for 7 days after delivery. So, we had to supplement with formula…which initially broke my heart. (I’m glad to report that I’ve fully recovered from that….) Anyway—I read that if you have a c-section (which I hope you don’t have to have!), it takes longer for your milk to come in. So---in the event that you are having difficulty with your milk coming in…here’s what they had me do: nurse for 15 minutes on each side, then give the baby to husband or mom (whoever was closest…), they would formula feed Gage, while I pumped for 15 minutes on each side. And---just so you know---when your milk comes in full-swing, you can STOP doing this routine. Um…nobody told me that part. So, for the 1st 2 weeks, I was feeding him & then pumping on both sides. Oh girl—I had enough milk to cure world hunger, and I was getting NO SLEEP b/c I was always nursing or pumping!
• If the hospital has a lactation consultant/nurse—I suggest meeting with her. I met with the one at our hospital, and I learned more in 15 minutes with her than I did from reading anything. She taught me different positions in which to nurse, the proper latch & detachment…all things that will make breastfeeding comfortable & enjoyable for you.
• And…with regard to breastfeeding……if you’re scared—that’s okay too. I was scared at first. They hand you this new little baby…who’s about 30 minutes old, and say, “he’s probably hungry. Are you going to nurse him?” …and you think, “Oh Lord…I don’t have any idea what I’m doing!” It’s okay! It’s normal! Just tell them, and they will help you with everything. The nurses can be so great!
• Diapers…..in the beginning we used Pampers Swaddlers b/c that’s what the hospital used. Breastfed babies poo more, and it’s a lot more…liquidy (if that’s a word….) So you will go through a lot of diapers in the beginning! We went through 10-12 a day in the first few weeks. What I’ve learned: diapers that may be great on my child may not be great on yours. Apparently they all fit differently, and babies move differently….etc. Over time—the regular Huggies & Huggies Supremes worked best for us. When Gage was around 3 months old, we discovered that we could get away with Target brand or Tom Thumb store brand diapers for the day-time, but they weren’t nearly as absorbent for the nights.
• Formula. In the event that you don’t breastfeed or supplement with formula, here’s what I’ve learned….we tried Enfamil Lipil, which was fine. But then we tried Similac Advance, which apparently has a sweeter taste. So, Gage liked it more. Then we learned from the Pediatrician that Sam’s Club sells 3 lb. Cans of “Member’s Mark” or “Maker’s Mark”…formula, that is the EXACT same as Similac Advance (the Similac with the DHA & ARA). So, that’s now where we buy the formula.
• Formula: if you do go with formula, go to the website of whichever brand you are going to use---and register as a new mom. They will send you coupons for $5/off each can. We used to get them every month for the Enfamil…which we weren’t using…. But we used the Similac coupons. Hey—it’s $5!
• Two Kiddopotamus products that I loved: Infant Swaddler & Sleep-Sack. Gage loved to be swaddled when he was brand new. I called it, “the baby-burrito”. All of the nurses were so good at it. So was my husband! But me---I couldn’t ever get him swaddled quite right. But, the baby swaddler is like a blanket, ours was made of fleece, and we would wrap Gage in it, and Velcro the little spots where you Velcro---and it would keep him bundled up nicely, which really helped him sleep for longer periods of time. The sleep-sack—I was always so afraid that Gage would get cold during the night (this was when he was about 2-3 months or so…), but they said not to put him to sleep with a blanket. And at that time—it was winter! So, we got these fleece sleep sacks which we put over his long sleeved onesie, and zipped it up around his feet. He stayed warm all night—and it was so easy for middle of the night diaper changes!
• Speaking of easy….Those outfits…some people call them rompers, some people call them creepers…anyway—I’m talking about the outfits that look like feety-pajamas. Some of them snap shut, and some of them zip shut. I was the biggest fan of the zip shut outfits that my mom got for Gage. They were soooooo easy. Gage was not a big fan of the diaper change, so being quick was key. The zipper was so much easier with a crying, squirming baby than the snaps ever were.
• Wipes warmer…I think this is a waste of $$. But, Kelly, a coworker of mine, loves hers, said she couldn’t live without it. So—it’s got mixed reviews.
• Diaper cream: as I mentioned earlier…breastfed babies poo a lot more, and it’s very runny. Gage got a really bad diaper rash at one point because of this. The pediatrician suggested “Dr.Smith’s Diaper Cream”. It smells like….well, it smells really bad. And, it’s expensive—more expensive than your average diaper cream. But, it works. We only used it for 2 days, and it cleared Gage’s rash up. Now, we only use it when he starts to get a rash. It’s not something we use at every diaper change…only when we have to.
• Huggies…or some brand makes this product called “Liquid Powder”. Damon loved it. I hated it. There’s another mixed review for you!
• Baby Food (because your little one will move on to solid food some day!): Heinz is generally cheaper than Gerber. Just a little FYI.
• There is a product called “Little Noses”. It’s saline spray for their noses, so you can moisten any dried boogies to suction them out. Ummm…guess how I heard about this product…the nurse on call from the pediatrician’s office told me about it b/c I called because my baby’s nose was stuffy & the boogies were dry & I couldn’t get them out. (Yes, one of my FINER new mommy moments….)
• Humidifier: one of those things we didn’t have, didn’t register for, didn’t know we’d need.
• Ear Thermometer: one of those things we thought we needed, but we never used (so far) because the pediatrician wants a rectal temperature when you call to discuss your child’s fever.
• Things we could never have too much of: bottles, nipples, wipes, burp cloths, white diaper shirts, baby pants, baby socks, diapers, baby lotion!
• Baby Monitor: here’s a tip for you…..just remember when you plug that thing in, and you’ve got house guests….just watch what you say. You, at some point, will forget that it’s there & on & transmitting your conversation into another (possibly occupied) room.
• Know this: Babies are slippery when wet.
• And…at some point your child will probably lick a floor & eat dog food. It will be okay.
• The boppy: wouldn’t have traded it for all the other pillows in the world!
• The amazing thirst that overcomes your body when you nurse---it’s normal. If at all possible, be prepared with a big ol’ glass of water before sitting down to nurse.

...that's about all I can think of for now...

Random stuff...

1) I found the cutest, cutest thing on the internet! It's like sock-monkey but it's a frog. How cute is that? Why do I think it's so cute?? Well, because growing up I had this ratty-tatty sock monkey named Cecil who I adored & slept with every night!

2) found an entire frog website! www.frogstore.com

3) just talked to Dad. He's going to get us a digital camera for our baby gift. Awww!!! Now I'll be able to take pictures & post them, or email them! Yippy!!!!

It's almost 2 o'clock.
I'm ready to go home.

Had "Red Hot & Blue" BBQ for lunch...not doing so well with that in my tummy...I wont be having that anymore I dont think.

Mom picked up our diaper bag from this mega-cute baby shop, "Snug as a Bug". I am so excited. It's a Petunia Picklebottoms bag. I think the print is called Samba Roll. It's black fabric w/ dragon flies on it--but you can hardly see the dragon flies because they are black on black, if that makes sense...and the piping is red around the bag. It has a fold out (but detachable) changing pad. And---if we go & get the Central Park Toile stroller, then the two will look fabulous together! ...I wonder...am I the only one who gives a care about the stroller & diaper bag matching?

www.hotslings.com
They have these super cute baby slings. I want one. But, I cant decide which one I want. And--I already know me...I'm going to need more than one b/c I am going to have to make sure my outfit & the fabric on the sling coordinate.
And----they are around $40 each. I bet my mother in law could make me some for way cheaper. They'd probably use 1-1.5 yards of fabric. That's certainly less than $40...I wouldnt have to pay for shipping & handling...and I could have a few so that I could wear whatever & still have a sling to match if I wanted to carry the baby that way.
I better hit the fabric store....