What I like...Must have Baby Things

Here are my favorite baby products so far...

1.  Aden and Anais Muslin Blankets...

Why I like them:  They are breathable...keep your baby cool in the summer, warm in the winter.  They allow your baby to regulate their own body temperature.  And they're bigger than other swaddle blankets!  47 x 47!  They also get softer every time you wash.  They stretch...so you can wrap up your baby super snug but if they don't want it that tight, they can losen it up a little bit...in fact, below you will see a picture of Jack after he broke out of his swaddle...I didn't do a great job on the swaddle but he always fights swaddles.  He sounds like he is really trying to go to the bathroom actually grunting and all that until he breaks out.

So these are the swaddles I have:

And here is a picture of Jack breaking out...

And here is just a picture I like of Jack swaddled up...

2.  Soothie Pacifiers... the breast feeding class told us not to give your baby pacifiers for 4-6 weeks.  We returned every single pacifier we had bought or received as gifts.  One day after Jack was home, John ran out and bought every single one back...we were desperate!  Jack still isn't crazy about pacifiers but this is his favorite type:

3.  Cloth Diapers!  My favorite...and a new hobby.  I use two types.  One for daytime (The Flip) and one for evening (Bum Genius 3.0)

4.  Hooter Hider...gotta have one!

5.  Beco Baby Carrier Butterfly 2(We love this...lots of good things about it)

That picture above is from their website.  It's not me.  My baby isn't that big.  Anywho...this is a picture of John using the carrier.  He likes it and is able to get Jack to fall asleep, then he can sit down.  When I sit down, Jack always seems to wake up.  Today I accidentally spilled a cup of ice water all over Jack and John when Jack was sleeping on John in the carrier.  WOOOPS.

6.  BOB Revolution Jogging Stroller (we walk or run about 6 miles a day in this since Jack loves to be outside and moving)...

Here is a pic of Jack in the jogging stroller on one of our walks...we bought the infant car seat adapter to go with it so we wouldnt have to wait for him to get bigger before using it.  I promise he likes it more than he lets on...

7.  Last but not least...the Strollometer!!!

Breastfeeding...at 8. Is this a joke???

Seriously, is this a joke? This just...freaky.  I keep getting the chills thinking about it.

Let's be real...

Is my baby going to be in jail by the age of five?  I mean, you have to admit, those eyes...he looks like he is plotting...

I responded to an email from my cousin.  She is pregnant with her second.  Her first, Addison, is sooooo cute.  At least to me, she seemed like such a happy baby all the time...she even posed for the camera at a very young age.  Kara asked me how motherhood was?  I had to be honest...some days (like yesterday) it kicks my butt!  Here is an excerpt from my email to her...

"I love motherhood but WOAH. Just, "Woah." Yesterday by the end of the day I thought I would fall over and die. When John got home i practically threw the baby at him and asked if they could go outside for an hour to give me peace. Jack is the moodiest, most strong willed and stubborn baby I've ever seen. my mom thinks a lot of it has to do with collick but Im beginnin to wonder...i hope he isnt in jail at the age of five. He's just soooo difficult. he literally will yell at you with his cries. Im used to it now but when someone hears it they are kind of shocked. mornings are awful b/c im faced with the reality of a baby who hates naps and i dont know what to do with him all day...I have started putting him down when I see him tired anyway but he puts up a huge fight and its exhausting. He is a "motion junkie" and so we walk like 5 miles a day on average b/c he usually doesnt cry if we're outside walking...so we invested in a nice jogging stroller and strollometer and when we wake up in the morning we start walking. Its tiring. he DOES sleep at night...usually 7-10 hours that first stretch but he may or may not go back to sleep after. uggg. I wonder if he is so angry b/c I was yelling at the doctors during labor about the epidural I couldnt get."

I'm lucky to have a friend with a baby boy who is three weeks older than Jack.  Bastian, her baby, has a very similar disposition.  I dont know where Bastian gets it from b/c his mom is the sweetest thing ever!  (I think I have myself to blame for Jack's temperment...I'm maybe the same way).  But Sarah and I get together once a week for a walk and compare notes.

Then and Now

Huge baby...grew a lot in just 7 weeks...

Before and After...

Cloth Diapers

I love them.  How can you resist this?

Being a mom is hard!

Ughhhh.  I have to blog when I am having a little motherhood crisis!

This sleep thing is just killer!!!  Jack is a A+ sleeper at night but an F- sleeper during the day.  Since Friday (so almost a week) I've been working with him on naps.  I know he is still too young to have a routine per say...but he definitely still needs naps.  I know I can't be so rigid as to say...at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM he will sleep for two hours every day.  But I can watch for his sleep cues and when I see him  get tired, put him in his crib for a nap.  He hates it!  He hates sleeping in his crib when its light outside (his nursery is dark but not AS dark as night).

I feel like I know my kid and I'm doing what I have to do for him and I'm doing what works for him...which like I've mentioned in previous posts, involves crying.  But I can't help but feel like a bad mom!  Every doctor will say something different.  My doctors tend to say to let the baby cry, teach them how to sleep now, it will only get harder and they need sleep...it produces happier baby, happier parents and the baby is developmentally better off.  My friends doctor told her not to let them cry it out until they're over four months.  And then there is the question...how long do you let the baby cry it out for!

I think us moms need to go with what our instinct tells us...b/c I think it must be different for every baby and for every parent!  But its so hard not to question myself...and wonder if I'm really damaging my baby and if he'll stop trusting me, etc.

Last Friday was day one of me trying to teach Jack to take a nap.  The naps were not long but I'd say he slept in his crib for a total of an hour that day.  Well that night, John got home, and Jack actually LAUGHED and smiled with John for a good 10 or 15 minutes...that never happens!  Jack is usually too irritable (probably from lack of sleep).  So I thought, I MUST be doing the right thing...he is happy!  But 6 days later, I still want to cry when I start to wonder what I'm doing?  I just hope I'm not doing anything that will harm him later. 

I can't believe he will be 2 months old on Tuesday!  Time flies.

That's just a bunch of baloney!

Jack has just started smiling and laughing!!!  True, mostly to John...doesn't Jack know who feeds him?!

Probably my biggest stressor (after learning the whole breast feeding gig) has been sleep!  I've already written about that but even after Jack caught on to the whole "sleeping through the night" deal, he's really been a bad napper.  He takes cat naps here and there or he'll sleep on walks (we log lots of miles with our new jogging stroller and strollometer), or he'll sleep in the carrier, but he melts down by the end of the day b/c he really isn't getting any quality sleep!

So I decided I've gotta toughen up with myself!  I have to listen to his cries at nap time just like I had to do at night before he became such a great night sleeper!  I knew the first thing is that I can't give up after one day.  I also knew I needed to keep some sort of log so I could be consistent and  routine. 

Yesterday was Day 1 of my mission.  It went okay.  My goal is to put him in the CRIB for one nap before noon and one nap after noon.  According to my log, I put him down at crib, he cried off and on for an hour...snoozed a little, then cried a little, etc.  I think he may have slept for 30 minutes.  I put him down again at 2:30 and he probably cried 15 minutes but slept a whopping 45!  My goal is for him to be in his crib for an hour each time, crying or not.  Of course if he goes to sleep, I'll let him stay there until he wakes up.  Well, I did have to listen to his cries but instead of being an irritable grumpy crying baby by the evening, he was soooooooooo happy!!!  He smiled, laughed and was in a great mood!  So I said to myself, It has to be a bunch of baloney that letting Jack cry it out is going to emotionally damage him...it's better for him and makes him a much happier baby!  ALSO, considering how much I love him and am trying to do the right thing, how could I emotionally damage him in this way?  I just don't think that could happen.

This is why I hate to see him cry.  How sad...

Today, I put him in crib at 10, he hardly cried and slept for OVER an hour.  Of course, our afternoon nap went awful but it's a step in the right direction!  I ordered a projection mobile online to see if it helps with the naptimes!  I also play his Irish lullibies during naptime.  Now he is nursing and falling asleep since he is so tired from of course NOT sleeping at his nap.  I'll put him in carrier after and then a walk to build in some more sleep.  I feel we are making progress though!!!