Baby 101

As stated in the previous blog, Elsa is 4 months old. I have learned so much in four months. The first most important thing is that I don't love being a mom. I love being ELSA'S mom. I love seeing her grow, seeing her smile, try to talk, and discover new things. Being with her in the emergency room when she was 6 weeks old really made me realize how much I love this little human and how I would do anything in my power to keep her safe and happy.

So I've decided to share some things I've learned in these short four months.

Wipes Warmers: I read up on these and always read that they are a waste of money. I disagree. Try having a winter baby and touching her tender bits with a cold wet wipe. Get a baby wipes warmer. They are only like $20-40.

Cloth Diapers: I was given several sets of these to use as burp cloths. They are WONDERFUL. We have them all over the house.

Baby Apps: Baby apps are so helpful those first few months because your pediatrician will ask you how often and how much she eats, how many diapers she fills, how often she poops, etc. If you are like me and you can't remember what you did a day ago, let alone what someone else is doing, these are so helpful. I got the Baby Log on my Ipad and recorded all this info and more for about two months. Now I don't use it very often but for $5, the app was worth it.

Diaper Champ: We got this for about $20 at a garage sale and I'm so glad we did. This thing keeps the smells in check and it uses plain, everyday garbage bags. No expensive refills. Here is one on Amazon.

WD40: Spray all the hinges within ear shot of your baby's room. I can't believe how loud a squeaky door sounded once we got a sleeping baby in the house.

Baby Monitors: I wasn't going to get one of these, and then decided to just get a monitor with sound from Craigslist. My mother in law generously purchased a video monitor for us instead. I'm so glad we have it!! I think this is the model we have. It's expensive but worth it because you can see your kid at night through infrared, although your baby looks like a demon when her eyes are open. If you have health issues like me, running up and down the stairs and trying to sneak into her room when you hear a sound would just suck. This saves me some energy. The only problem is that the battery on the hand held monitor runs out after a couple hours. So you need the charger handy. Also, because our camera is wall mounted, it goes off from external sounds like high winds and storms, loud car engines, etc.

Cleaning Supplies: We keep some diluted bleach and paper towels in her room because this kid can projectile poop. And you really need to disinfect that biohazard! Plus when a dirty diaper smears on the diaper pail, it's easy to clean up with all this right there in her room.

Rectal Thermometers: Sounds horrible for you and your baby but it really is the best way to get an accurate temp when they are infants. I'm so glad we had one otherwise we wouldn't have known she was as sick as she was in January.

Swaddlers: The swaddlers with velcro are awesome when they are little. It really calms Elsa down and helps her sleep. Of course, now she's too strong to stay swaddled!

Mobiles: This mobile has saved us numerous times. It's got a projector on it and you can project onto a little canopy that rotates with some animal figures. Elsa LOVES it. When she's kind of tired but fighting her nap, I turn it on and leave her in the room. She talks to it and watches it until she falls asleep. We got this one at Walmart. Plus it comes with a remote control so you can restart it from the doorway. It has music, a heart beat sound and nature sounds.

Mesh Crib Bumper: The AAP now says not to use any bumpers in cribs but I still use the mesh bumper. It wasn't in place properly one day and Elsa managed to wiggle with her swaddle and get her legs stuck in the crib slats.

That is all I can think of so far. Speaking of the little zombie baby, I can see her wiggling and fussing on the baby monitor. Time to eat! Tschus.

Time flies

It's 28 years today since my mom passed away. I'm doing better than I thought I would. I talked to some family and friends and played with Elsa. It helped that the sun was shining and birds are singing everywhere. I also did a lot of moving things around the house to make room for some family pictures. Now my mom's photograph is in Elsa's room, so Elsa can see her every day. That made me feel really good.

I thought I'd share some photos of her room now that things are moved around a bit. It's such a cozy room now. I just love it.

Here is a photo taken last week by a professional photographer who came to our home. I love this picture so much. She's so cute!!

Here's part of her changing table, complete with two-headed doll and skulls burp cloth.

Old microwave stand which now has the wipes warmer, toys, books, and supplies tucked away.

My mom watching over us.

The bassinet now holds stuffed puppies and kitties.

We do a lot of rocking here.

Some old doilies my mom either made or inherited.

The baby book I'm working on.

We tried to get her hand and foot print. The foot was much easier but she was not so cooperative with the hand.

I like this humidifier because it looks like smoke coming out its ears.

Relaxing in her room on her cute, lil' blanket!

And we took a quick video to share with family and friends. That's about it! It's nice to say that I got through today and that things are good. :)



Tschus!