Friday, June 22, 2012

Luxury Baby Items

As a new mom the baby product world can be very overwhelming.  I found it very confusing and scary trying to pick out things before Rhea was born and now that she is hear I realized the only things your truly need are bottles (or boobs), diapers, a car seat, some clothes, and a safe place for the baby to sleep.  Everything else should be considered baby luxury items.   Don't get me wrong, I have bought into some of the "must haves" for baby.  Sofie the Giraffe is a one of those things.  I am also not ashamed to admit I bought Rhea a Coach bag when I was in Florida.  It was a strawberry and she needed it. (not really!!!) But I have had many WTF moments when it comes to baby products.  Nosefrida? The baby snot sucker (this is their tag line not mine).  You put one end in the baby's nose and the other end in your mouth.  Really?  Who in their right mind wants to suck snot.  Certainly not me!  Jean Diapers?  Diapers have a shelf life of about 2 hours.  And their sole purpose is to contain poop!  I certainly don't poop in my jeans.   Not worth the extra money!  Baby apple sauce?  This costs about .89 cents a jar for 4 oz where as a 25oz jar of Motts costs about $1.50.  It is a process we all go through.  I was at Target this week and they had a sale that if you bought a box of  diapers you got a free pack of wipes.  The wipes came in a luxurious wristlet like bag.  This was my WTF moment of the week.  Where on earth would any mom need to tote around a wristlet full of baby wipes?  The bag has a spot for small items like money or credit card but no place to hold a diaper.  I included a photo below.  Any one else have a baby item WTF moment?  I would love to hear them!

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Fathers Day Justin!

This Father's Day is a bit different for me.  Instead of celebrating my wonderful Dad, I am also celebrating Rhea's wonderful Dad.  Justin and I entered "the 'hood" (parenthood) in November and we have been scared as hell since!  We are still trying to figure it all out.  There have been plenty of ups and downs.  And though at times I feel I have struggled with doing things my way (the right way!) and Justin's way, I am learning that his way may not be what I consider "right" but just another way of doing things.  An example of his way of parenting is rigging pillows under her bottles so she can feed herself while he continues on his i-Pad.




Or when he used his nose to hold the bottle because he really needed the extra sleep


Drinking beers while walking her around the neighborhood ( I feel like Nana "what will the neighbors think!!!!)


Yelling out "She looks like the mailman!!!" to a room filled with doctors in the delivery room

  
But all in all he has been wonderful.  Rhea has him wrapped around her little finger and he loves her with all his heart.  His way is the road less traveled as a parent and I wouldn't have it any other way!  I love you Justin.  Thank you for being a wonderful husband and wonderful father.  The past year has been a roller coaster for us both but there is no one else I would want to share this ride with.  I am so lucky you picked me to be your wife and so happy Rhea has you as her father.




Wednesday, June 13, 2012

We All Fall Down

I had one of "those" mom experiences today. I checked my vm and Rhea's school called stating "not to worry but...." My heart sank and panic set in. She bumped her head but that she was fine. Of course I ran down there to see what was going on. And this is the face that greeted me


Of course it wasn't this picture exactly but you get my point.  I was worried and she was fine.  The school treated it like a crime scene.  The teacher was called to the directors office, there was an incident report that I needed to sign.  But I guess this is the world we live in.  I mean she is just learning to crawl.  She is going to bump her head and fall down.  The teacher to child ratio in Rhea's class today was 2 to 2 meaning there were two teachers working and two children in the class room.  She had plenty of one on one time and was not neglected in anyway.  It made me realize that I want to teach Rhea that she is going to fall down, she is going to get hurt, she is going to fail.  And you cannot analyze everything and try to find blame.  It was an accident, a part of life.  You have to get up and keep going.  Eventually I would hope she will learn to use her hands to brace her falls.  But for now there is a note in her file that reads  "Scatter pillows around to break possible falls".  And I am OK with that.   I guess we all need a soft place to land every once in a while.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Crawling

She is crawling.   I cannot believe she is starting to crawl!   She is my baby and she is moving around all by herself!  I cannot believe seven months have flown by.  Now her crawl isn't that graceful.  She starts from the sitting position, goes down into a push-up position, and then falls to her knees.  She pushes forward about 2 inches, falls down, and cries.  Then we repeat.  She also has started to pull herself up in the crib to nibble on rail.  We are lowering the crib mattress this week.  I blame the 10 month old in her daycare class.  He crawls all over the place, picks himself up onto things.  She is amazed by him.  I think she is mimicking him.  I wish she would mimic the 4 month old in her class.  The one that just lays there and giggles.  I miss those days.

Look at me Ma!