Favorite Things

Since Leland was born, and I stared blogging, I have wanted to find the time to do a favorite baby things post. Some of my fellow bloggers have recently done similar posts and I have found some neat items on their list that I now want. So here is my list: 

Boppy Nursing Pillow

At first I hated it. He was so little that the Boppy pillow did not support him high enough to get up to my breast. Also with the still expanded waistline postpartum it did not really fit around me well. But over time I have come to love it. It allows him to nurse while I read or look at the iPad. It really saves my arms a lot of work. It has also been good as he is learning to sit on his own.

Boppy Pregnancy Wedge Pillow

This was a lifesaver for supporting my belly while pregnant and it is still great for supporting my back while I sleep at night. It has also been used to position Leland while nursing. I even slipped it under the top his bassinet mattress to create a incline in the bassinet for sleeping. Best $15 spent on a pregnancy item!

WubbaNub Frog Pacifier 

This is the best pacifier ever. Leland loves to play with and suck on the frog just as much as the actual pacifier. Also, before he had the motor skills to hold onto the pacifier he could grasp the frog and prevent the pacifier from falling. Finally, looking for a lost frog is much easier than looking for a lost pacifier.

Nuk Bottles

I first tried the Avent bottles. Almost immediately I noticed Leland was latching to my breast diffidently and I panicked. My mom picked up a Nuk bottle for Leland to try and it was amazing. The shape of the nipple is great for breastfeeding and keeps airflow to a minimum. Best of all they are cheap - about $20 for 6 bottles!

Gentile Giraffe On-The-Go

This has been a lifesaver in the car. It is strapped to the car seat and the soothing sounds help him sleep during our morning and afternoon commute. We have the on-the-go model, but it is still rather large.

First Years Safe and Secure Co-Sleeper

When Leland was first born he would not sleep without touching us. I had this crazy idea that we would take him home from the hospital (where we had been doing days of skin-to-skin bonding), place him in the bassinet, and he would drift off to sleep. Ha, ha. We spent the first two nights home holding him in shifts, letting him sleep on our chests. I quickly bought this co-sleeper, placed it in the middle of our king bed (with several safety precautions taken) and we would sleep with our hand resting on his chest. It also make for a nice transition into the bassinet when we move him out of our bed. We are still using the handy night light that came with the sleeper. 

Jeep Snap N Go Stoller

We skipped the car seat travel system and just bought this. We got a great deal on this on clearance for only $38. It has been great with the infant carrier. We love the large cargo area. It folds easily and the wheels are great.

Maclaren Baby Carrier

This was a hand-me-down item. I originally used the Moby Wrap, which was great when he was not yet holding his head up and slept most of the time. Now, we love, love, love this carrier. We used it at Disney, and we often use it for shopping.

Inglesina Hook On High Chair

This comes everywhere with us. Now that he has stared eating solids, we use this at friends and family homes, as well as at restaurants. Even if he is not eating, while we are out at a restaurant he can sit in it and play. It folds flat for transport and it has a travel bag that is attached and tucks in a pocket when the seat is in use. We had purchased a cheaper brand, but exchanged it for this one and we couldn't be happier.

Medela Pump In Style Tote

It goes everywhere with me - need I say more?

Nosefrida

Best shot sucker ever. You put one end in the nostril, the other end in your mouth, and suck. A little gross, but it does a great job.

Boon Drying Rack

I love this so much that I have two - one at home and one at work. I use the one at work for my pump parts. 

I am sure there are a few things missing, but these are the most indispensable items!

The Seventh Month

Leland and I are finally getting well and back to normal. I have been fighting my bronchitis for weeks. Thankfully, after only a few days on the antibiotic, Leland was much better. Though, he still has a lingering cough and the sniffles. Hopefully I will be able to get back to blogging more.

This past months has been so eventful. I hosted a 70^th Birthday party for my dad. It’s bittersweet. I enjoyed all the time I had with my dad and my four older sisters, but it’s hard to accept that my dad is really 70. It was also a little stressful as not all of my sisters get along well, mostly because not all of my sisters are nice people. Specifically, my sister just older than me – I’ll call her CM - is really just not nice. We made it though the party without incident, but CM had a large outburst at the end of lunch on Sunday. She started screaming hysterically and saying awful things about me and Robert. Thankfully my three oldest sisters came to our defense. Good (nice) sisters really are a blessing. Outside of celebrating the wonderful man my dad is, the best part of the weekend was getting to introduce Leland to family members (including my three oldest sisters) who had not met him yet.

Leland is growing and changing so much. On February 3^rd he weighed 13 lbs 1 oz. On February 21^st he weighed 14 lbs 7 oz! He is a little eating machine and is just plumping up wonderfully. He has started sitting on his own and has mastered rolling about to get to things. He still hates to be on his tummy, but we are working with him. He has started giving kisses and it just melts my heart when I get one. We practiced for weeks and then one day it just clicked. Still, he is more likely to give a kiss on his own just because than on demand, when asked for one.

Breastfeeding continues to be a struggle. When I was sick I was pumping 5-6 times a day to get 8-9 oz of milk. I was burning through my freezer stash. With this reality, I made a difficult decision about two weeks ago. I have added in one 4oz formula per day in the afternoons.  My milk supply has actually increased some now that I am feeling better, but keeping the formula bottle takes a little pressure off me when I was already struggling so hard to produce. It also means I don’t have to pump after Leland goes to bed so I can relax more and get to bed a little earlier. He has done well with the formula at daycare. The first time Robert tried to give him the formula he objected, but has sense accepted formula from Robert (and even once from me). I thought he would need a formula bottle on the weekends since my daily supply is not matching his daily demand, but I have actually found that on the weekends he would just rather nurse on demand rather than have the bottle. God continues to look over me and bless me with the ability to continue to breastfeed and for that I am so thankful.

This weekend, Leland will be 8 months old. Wow! Now...some pictures:

 Got my cell phone!

Dimples

 Sitting up all by myself!

Blue eyes like daddy!

Spilled Milk

I saw this recently and it made me laugh. It made me think back to Thanksgiving when I had to dump about 50 ounces "laced" with antibiotics which were causing Leland to vomit. I really did cry a little and to be honest I have never really "caught up". I used to have a two day stash (24-25 oz) in the refrigerator as a cushion just in case my pumping was a little short for a day. Now, my cushion is about 1-2 oz. But I am thankful that - by God's grace and provision - we are still breastfeeding successfully.

* As an update...Leland is feeling better. He is more tired than usual but seems so much better than he was last week. I am so thankful. On the down side, I am feeling awful. I go to the doctor this afternoon.

7 Months + Strep

Yesterday marked 7 months for my little man. He weighed in at 13 lbs 1 oz. I need to measure his height because I know he has had quite a growth spurt this month. His 6-9 month sleepers are getting a little short. By comparison, he wore a 3 month sleeper on Christmas. This month he graduated to his room and to his crib. But...he came back to our room this week because he is sick. It started with the sniffles last week. Then Monday the cough started. Wednesday started the low grade fever. The mucus got darker on Friday, so I took him to the doctor. Much to my surprise, he has strep! Poor little guy. So were hunkered down for the weekend and praying Robert and I are not getting sick. It's hard to distinguish exhaustion from sick. But I am thankful we made it seven months before our first sickness.