FO: A scarf fit for a Steelers fan

I have been promising Dan I'd knit him something for the better part of a year. A month ago, he called me out on it.
"You keep saying you'll knit me something but you never have."
So off we went to the craft store (because I don't need an excuse to shop for yarn!) and picked out some soft and chunky, black and gold yarn. Yesterday, after a marathon of Supernatural episodes while Joey slept, I finished it! It started out being black with gold stripes, but halfway through, we decided to see how it would look as gold with black stripes. If I were to do it again, I'd keep it black with gold stripes. The gold part look like Charlie Brown's shirt. I'm using the leftover yarn to knit something else for Dan and it will definitely be black with gold stripes.

This is my 4th FO since having Joey, though it's been a while since the last one. I'll be getting a head start on some Christmas presents soon, hopefully I've picked patterns that are quick and easy.

My List of "Must Have" Baby Gear

For the last month or so, I've been looking back at my older posts (mostly of brand-new-Joey) and thinking about my life then vs. now. Now I'm a slightly wiser mom and as I have a couple of friends who are expecting, I figured I'd share some of my new wisdom without being too pushy ;)

The MUST HAVE List

(as in, these should be in your house before baby comes!)

• Diapers, clothes, car seat, and a place for baby to sleep are all obvious and therefore I'm putting them in one bullet so we can acknowledge them and move on.
• Boppy Pillow - Even if you're not breastfeeding, this is fantastic for holding baby because you can rest your arms on it. Joey fell asleep on it countless times while nursing (and still does) and I could still have my hands free to do things on the computer or knit without disrupting him or waking him up.

• Swing - OMG ours saved us countless hours of sleep. Even now, if Joey is cranky and fighting sleep, I can put him in the swing and he's out like a light. I've since learned that for newborns, the swings where baby is almost laying flat are best. Joey's swing doesn't recline that much and really we shouldn't have used it until he had better head control.

• Receiving blankets - We use these for anything and everything. We put them on the floor for tummy time, on the couch underneath him so that spit/pee/poop is caught before hitting the cushion, a way to soften a hard surface if we're changing him in public, keeping him warm, burp cloths, etc. These are awesome and while it is possible to have "too many", having 6 is a decent number.
• Nursing pads - Again, even if you're not breastfeeding these are handy. If you're not breastfeeding then invest $4-6 in a box of disposables (Nuk by Gerber makes a box of 60) and you probably won't use the whole box before you stop leaking. If you are, the disposables are nice because they're thin, but I really like the cloth ones because you don't run out, you just do laundry ;) For the same price as disposables you can buy a set of 6 cloth pads, or make you own (if you have that mythical surplus of receiving blankets).

• Swaddler - I would go so far as to say not only should you have SEVERAL of these in your house before baby comes, but pack one in your hospital bag! I had been given one at my shower and washed it and put it away, not realizing that Dan and I were going to be awful at re-swaddling Joey in the hospital blankets. The first night, Joey was up every hour for various things. The second night, friends had stopped by with presents, including a swaddler, so we broke it out and used it. Joey slept sooooo well in the swaddler. We even used it for a while at home to keep him warm. Eventually he didn't want it anymore and liked to stretch out, but this was another sleep-saver for us.
• Wipes in bulk - Babies never grow out of using wipes. Buy lots of them in big boxes when they're on sale or whatever (Amazon has a moms program and you can also do Subscribe-and-Save). Always always always have lots of wipes handy. 
• Portable Changing Pad - I LOVE ours. A friend got it for us (the same one who got us the swaddler!) and it's actually the only one we received. It was definitely one of those things I hadn't thought about at all but ended up using it so much. It's now in my baby shower list of things I get other people. It's one that folds up but it also has 2 mesh pockets and a thin wipes case (you fill it yourself but that's no big deal) so there's room for wipes and diapers all in this compact, water-proof package. It's what ended up turning our couch into a diaper changing station, not to mention keeping nasty germs from who-knows-where on public changing tables away from Joey.

The Stuff-That's-Nice-To-Have-Already List

Ring sling

• A Moby Wrap (or some other baby-carrier) - I love my Moby and my ring sling. I love wearing Joey, it's so easy and I'm probably losing weight faster because I'm carrying around an extra 15 pounds! Stairs are no problem when I'm wearing Joey.

• Baby bath tub - You really don't need one when you bring baby home, unless you have a major spitter. Even then, until the umbilical cord stub falls off, you're giving baby a sponge-bath. I was happy to already have this handy though, because I didn't have to figure out how to hold a slippery newborn with one hand and wash him with the other. Our bathtub had a newborn sling that held him out of the water, so that was awesome.

• Terrycloth Bath Friend - Joey's is a frog, you keep it wet with the warm water from the bath and that way baby stays warm. I think it's the reason that Joey does not hate bath time. Also saves baby from embarrassing bath time pictures ;)
• Teething Ring - Really, you can wet a washcloth, put it in a plastic bag, and stick it in the fridge. But I was glad we had been given a teething ring at my shower because there have been a couple nights where he wasn't cutting teeth but his gums were sore. 
• Toys - Newborns don't play with toys, obviously. Joey wasn't really interested in them until around 3 months. They were good to have in the house to introduce him to them and figure out just when he was ready to play with them. Although, anything can be a toy, so if your house has stuff in it that's not sharp or poisonous, you're pretty much set in this department.
• The next size diapers - At least one package of the next size up. This was very helpful in determining which size to buy when we were running out and Joey was close to the next size. Newborn size is almost useless. We used them at the hospital and they were fine there, but pretty much once we got home he was wearing Size 1s because of how much he was peeing/pooping. We had a pack of Size 2s in reserve and when I wondered if he was ready to wear them, I put one on and less than an hour later he had a MASSIVE blowout that would have been sooo much worse in a Size 1. That determined he was ready for 2s ;) We also have a pack of 3s that he's just about ready to fit into, but we have a whole box of 2s to use up first. Not to mention all my new cloth diapers. I'm glad we've got One Size cloth diapers though because next baby will have none of this "use up all the 2s quick" nonsense.
• Baby soap and shampoo - I was super happy that we got a bunch of lotion, soap, and shampoo at my baby shower. The first time I went to give Joey a bath, I had everything I needed already in the bathroom ready to go.

Stuff I Love Having

• Doorway Bouncy Chair - Joey loves this thing! I can put him in it and he entertains himself for twenty minutes or more!

• Bumbo - This is a soft chair where you can put babies who can't sit up by themselves. I leave it in my car and it's great to use at restaurants if we get a booth. I can put the chair on the booth and put Joey in the chair. I do keep a close eye on him to make sure he's not moving too much to move the seat.
• Baby Monitor - It seems silly in our small house, especially because currently Joey's crib sits right outside our bedroom door. However, nights are soooo much easier when I can get him and feed him before he's fully awake. The monitor helps me hear his little grunts and fusses long before they turn into full-fledged crying. 
• Stroller - I haven't used ours much. It doesn't recline very far, so it's not great for babies with poor head control. I do prefer to just throw on my Moby or sling and get in and out while I'm running errands. I did use it recently though and was happy to have a place to sit Joey down that I could easily get him in and out of, as opposed to just on the floor and bending down to get him. I also see this being really handy when he's an active toddler and I need to strap him down while I'm shopping.

Stuff I Haven't Used or Could Live Without

• Wipe Warmer - I'm not knocking you if you've got one and swear by it, I just don't see the point. Unless you live somewhere in frigid temperatures and the wipes are freezing to each other, they warm up in your hand and as you're using them.
• Bottle Warmer - I don't give Joey bottles, he probably wouldn't take them from me anyway. We don't have a bottle warmer and have no plans on getting one. I could see these being useful for parents of multiples, definitely. For us, Dan just uses a cup with really warm water and swirls the bottle around. If you start warming the bottle when you first pick up on baby's hunger cues, you're finished by the time he starts fussing that he's hungry.
• Changing Table Pad - I admit, I bought one. It spent the first 4 months of Joey's life still in the plastic pushed off to the side in his room. Now that I've finally cleared a space on his dresser, I've opened it and set up a diaper changing station in there. I anticipate using it once we move his crib in there for the winter, but I have yet to actually change him on it. I could probably live without it. This was one of the things I purchased not really knowing that we'd end up just changing Joey on the couch the majority of the time.
• Tummy Time Mat - Here's the deal with the mat I bought: it was cheaper than other ones out there and I picked it because it's cute. Had I actually been thinking, I would have checked our local consignment shop first AND purchased one that Joey could play with on his back as well (some have hanging thingys). Joey only just recently began enjoying being on his stomach and interacting with toys. I could have saved the $20 and thrown a blanket down with toys from the baby shower, 'cause that's what I do when we're out of the house anyway.

If I think of anything else I'll add it later but this is a pretty solid list.

I have a four month old...

I know I've said it before, but where the heck does the time go?? Joey is four months old today. He's been an outside baby for four months. We brought him home from the hospital four months ago. We've been changing diapers and outfits and combating spit-up for four months. Ok, you get the picture. I can still barely believe I was even pregnant! Not that there aren't reminders on my stomach that will never go away, that isn't really what I mean. My whole pregnancy felt like one of those really good dreams you don't want to wake up from. I couldn't believe I was finally pregnant, the entire pregnancy felt surreal. Now that my baby is in my arms, happy and healthy, I still think I might be dreaming. Being a mommy was all I ever wanted to be. Going to college, getting a degree, working a job, they were all means to an end: mommyhood. The degree/job was my backup plan, in the event that the only option to get a bigger family was me being the breadwinner. Turned out that was a good idea but as Joey grows with each passing day, I'm reminded what my true calling is and where my heart really wants to be.

Do I get tired on my days off when I stay home with Joey? Sure. Do I like naps just as much as I did while pregnant? Absolutely. When I do work is there a part of me that enjoys the break from diapers and constant responsibility for another person? Yeah. Does any of that matter when Joey falls asleep in my arms?

Nope.

The good great moments outweigh the tired/cranky/sleepless/up-every-hour ones a million times over. Everything we went through to get to today, my ER trips, the surgery, the pain, was totally and completely worth it for the sweet moments when Joey lays his head on my shoulder and snuggles with me. He's not sleeping, he's not tired or fussy, he just wants to be held close and he willingly puts his head on my shoulder and his arms around my neck. He's super good at head control now, so I know that's on purpose, but he doesn't quite know about hugs yet, I just like where he finds it comfortable to put his arms.

Now for the update! We had his four month checkup on Thursday (work is significantly interfering with my willingness to blog, mostly because all I want to do when I get home is cuddle the baby) and he's doing great! He now weighs 15lbs. 9oz. and is 25in. long. Rather than giving us the percentiles, his pedi said that his height and weight are "perfect", I think I like that way better ;) He also said that because Joey is not overweight, we can introduce solids. I think it's still way too early plus my goal is to exclusively breastfeed (EBF) for a year because of my allergies. I don't know if we'll make it a full year, but I'm not giving up at just four months! The doc did give us some papers on how to introduce foods and what to introduce first, so that will be helpful when we do start on solids, it just won't be soon. I figure, if his height an weight are "perfect" and he's not overweight, why mess with what I'm doing?? If it ain't broke, don't fix it! He's nice though so we just smiled and nodded. We don't go back for another two months (Joey will be six months then, OMG!) and introducing solids at this age is more about letting them play with food anyway. Developmentally most babies aren't actually ready until the 6-9 month range.

And just for the record, I'm definitely not alone in this idea of delaying solids. Here's a list (from kellymom.com) of organizations that recommend EBFing for the first six months of life:

• World Health Organization
• UNICEF
• US Department of Health & Human Services
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American Academy of Family Physicians
• American Dietetic Association
• Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
• Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
• Health Canada

So yeah, not four months, not four-to-six months, delaying solids is recommended until at least six months old. Longer than that if there's a history of food allergies in the family (besides me there's also Dan's dad, so both sides). It's technical, but it has to do with baby's immature digestive system and the longer you wait to introduce something new, the better off he'll be because you've given him time to develop. Check out the kellymom link if you'd like more detailed information, that's a great resource.

Sometines all you need is a bouncy chair

Or a mini aquarium.

My New Stash!

This is where my stash of cloth diapers will hide until Joey's room is cleaned/organized (we don't really need it until winter-time-ish), which was not my original intention for our new ottomans but I'm trilled with how it worked out. Dan and I each get an ottoman to throw our things in and the other two can be devoted to clean and dirty diapers. Don't worry, I have wet bags on the way for the dirties, they're not just going to sit in the ottoman. In the meantime, we'll go through our cases of disposables so we use them before Joey moves up a size (he's close to being ready for size 3's, although Pampers are more generous in their sizing than Luvs). All the cloth diapers (CDs) are washed, stuffed, and ready for use and I'm so happy that we're finally able to use them. Money was the main thing in postponing our use of CDs, they can be pretty expensive up front even though they definitely save money in the long run. I got a great deal on these dipes from another mom on diaperswappers.com, after shipping it worked out to be $6 per diaper and most of them are "name brand" like BumGenius or Blueberry which are $17+ brand new for ONE. After two months of consistent use, they will have easily paid for themselves. Not to mention I'll be able to use them with future babies and because they're One-Size. That means they can be used from like 8lbs. until potty training!

This one is easily my favorite. I can tell the other mom used the diapers on a boy because I bought all her One-Size dipes and there wasn't even a hint of pink. I think this one mom-made, which is pretty awesome. I think I need to throw it in the dryer to soften it up next time (instead of just line drying it) because Joey didn't seem to like wearing it, although that could have also been because he was hungry and needed a nap. I also got a whole bunch of extra inserts from the mom. They're used in pocket diapers (which is what these all are) to help absorb moisture and you can use more than one depending on the needs of your baby, so having extra is a good thing! Having extra inserts also means that I can use them on my Gdiapers that have been sitting on the sidelines because the disposable inserts I bought were for the smaller size (which we used while he wore that size, then he grew out of them--a BIG reason why I bought One-Size this time). After this order, combined with my wimpy stash from before, I now have 19 cloth diapers. This is pretty respectable and almost enough to do laundry every other day at Joey's current rate of use. Once my wet bags arrive (yay free two-day shipping from Amazon!) and after we use up some more of the disposables, we'll be consistently using cloth! We'll still have disposables for laundry day, night time, and when we're out of the house, but for the most part, while we're home, Joey will be going green and rocking the cloth :)

Baby feet!

Baby Blue Eyes

And chubby cheeks! If Joey gets any cuter, I just might explode. ;)

One Year of Posts

Dan, Joey, and I just got back from my parents' Labor Day party. One year ago to the day, I was sitting in our apartment writing my first post for this blog. I didn't make it to a picture every day, or even a post every day, but I got pretty dang close (this is post number 292) and this blog now has twice the posts of my other two blogs combined! It seems setting a goal for myself worked enough to keep me motivated and keep me posting. I think the trouble with the other blog was that if there wasn't anything "exciting" going on, I wouldn't post, whereas this I posted about anything and everything that I'm doing. It's been really awesome to go back and look at my old posts to see what I was up to 6 months ago or whatever.

Last year, when I started the blog, life was completely different. We were living in our apartment, I was interviewing for a new job, and in general having a lot of fun hanging out with friends. Now we have a house and an almost-four-month-old! Dan has an interview for a new job in a couple of weeks and we are praying that he gets it because it would mean I could stay home with Joey and just work on Dan's days off. I wouldn't trade any of the last year for all the money in the world. Yes, there were times when we worried about one thing or the other, and yes, this time last year I still had 2 ovaries (and no stretch marks!), but all those little things added up to where we are today: happy, healthy, and thriving.

Day 1 of "No TV Until Joey Turns 2"

We've been weaning ourselves off of TV since we realized Joey was actively watching it. Initially, my plan was to never let him watch TV ever and we wouldn't have it on while he was awake, etc. But while I had held some newborns in the past, I hadn't anticipated how much he was going to sleep the first couple of weeks. So yes, for the last three months, the TV has been on for a lot of the time. Once we realized Joey could not only see the TV but he understood (as much as a 3-month-old can) what he was seeing (he smiles at faces), I decided we'd have to go back to my plan of "no more TV". I picked today as the start date because it's a new month and it gave us about a week of knowing when we'd finish so we could start weaning ourselves off instead of just going cold-turkey. The first day or two of the weaning was interesting but now, it's not really that big a deal. It's not like there's actually anything good on during the day anyway, and whatever we end up missing the airing for, we have On-Demand, Hulu, and Netflix. Seriously, we're fine.

There have been several recent studies about children under the age of 3 and excessive amounts of television (or lots of time in front of a screen watching stuff, DVDs and videos on the computer count, but TV is shorter to type ;) ). The AAP actually recommends no TV at all until age 2. If we follow their guidelines for car seats, why ignore them on TV just because it might seem hard? The studies conclude that children who watch LOTS of TV end up with social, cognitive, and speech delays. There are parents who use the TV as a babysitter for more than a few minutes and don't interact with their child at one of the most important developmental times in their lives. What these researchers are finding out is these kids end up with short term attention span issues, are less likely to be as productive in school later (one study followed kids into the 4th grade--age 10), exercise less, and also tend to be victimized because social skills take practice.

When I was a kid, we were lucky to watch more than 2 hours of TV a day. Typically, on a nice day, we got "kicked out" of the house and told we could come back when it got dark. I'm not sure how some of these parents started parking their kids in front of the TV for hours at a time, but I know that lots of TV never did anybody any good. Joey will watch TV as a toddler, I'm not naive enough to think that he'll never see anything (Dan and I already agreed that Steelers and Redskins games were the exception to the "before 2" rule), and I know how powerful the glow of the screen can be in taming toddlers. But if we start watching ourselves and our habits now, our whole family will be in better shape. I've already been reading a lot more (some out loud to Joey lol) and my current knitting projects are coming along. Most important of all, Joey is happy, healthy, and "chatting" up a storm when he's awake. He found his toes last week and plays with them a lot, he also just started getting into grabbing and holding toys. He can bring his hands (and anything in them) to his mouth most of the time, but he still needs practice. We're doing our best for him and if that means we cut back on TV then that's fine because we were getting pretty sedentary anyway.