My Product Review

I wanted to put forward some of the things that I used with my daughter; some I loved and others not so much.  I have found that baby products are hit and miss with parents and these are just some of the things that adds to the trial and errors of parenting.  One thing that I have found with a few things that they worked great for me and not for others and vice versa, again this is just a part of the trail and errors.  Here are my personal product reviews on a few items, I do plan to add more product reviews as they come up and of course they will!

Baby Monitors seem to have come a long way but some of them on the market are still full of too much static.  I have found this monitor works well for us, of course its not perfect and there would be some features  that i would want for it; if I knew what I knew now!  We purchased Digital 1st Audio Monitor, the sound is clear and I can be anywhere in the house our outside with no audio problems.  A small list of some of the cons to this particular monitor that we found. 

• The only low battery indicator is a flashing light; we were sleeping and just happened to wake up because we heard a very faint cry through the walls (our daughters room is next door).  I would’ve liked an audio sound but we just plug it in every night to avoid a dead battery.
• I would’ve loved if there was a battery meter, would help to avoid a dead battery again
• I found that the child unit needs to be fairly close to my daughter otherwise the noise can be too faint to pick up, but like I mentioned the sound is quiet clear on the other end.

I love our Diaper Genie!  The new bag dispenser is easy to install and the bags aren’t pre-cut so you can fill them until you can’t get anymore in!  Before we got this, I didn’t understand how the disposal bags would work.  The ends tie off and there is a cutter on the inside to cut the bags when they’re full! Right now I can’t think of anything that I don’t like about this item except that I have to empty it, haha! But overall this is a great item! 

The bag refills aren't too expensive, we purchase our refills at Costco (it’s the cheapest place to purchase the refills).  The refills aren’t too bad, it takes me about a month to get through one (1) refill package.  A small price to pay, in my opinion, to help keep the smell out of the room and I did notice a difference pre-Diaper Genie.

The Baby Cubes are small food storage containers that are the perfect size right now, they hold a little more than two (2) ounces of food.  I feel they are perfect if you plan to do homemade food for your little one, they come with a nice tray to hold each container so they don’t end up all over the fridge or freezer.  Also they are great with portioning out the food for your little one, keeps all the food separated so you can just pull it out of the fridge and warm up!  These containers are freezer, dishwasher and microwave safe and BPA or Phthalates free!

Avent bottles seem to be really on the low rated list of most parents.  I’ve read tons of reviews on the bottles and I would say about 95% of the reviewing parents hate them and find they leak all the time no matter what they do with them.  I on the other hand am one of the other 5% of parents that love them.  I do not find that they leak, I feel that they are my favourite bottles and my daughter seems to like them too (but she also seems to like any kind of bottle that she can get feeding from with the exception of sippy cups).  The only time these bottles did leak was because I didn’t screw the lid on… and I mean at all, it was a blank parenting moment on my behalf.  These bottles are a little pricier than other bottles and the only reason why I ever tried them was because they were given to me.  Worked great for us because we like them.  You can also purchase the sippy cup handles and Non Spill Soft Spouts for them when your little one reaches the age, I did pick them up but my daughter doesn’t like it. 

I've been feeding my daughter formula and when I'm on the go it was a pain to pack her food for her.  I found this Nuby Milk Powder Dispenser so I can pre-measure her formula for an outting or if we leave her with my parents so we can have an outting.  This container has three (3) sections inside for enough formula powder for up to 3 feedings.  It helps to make for easy formula preparation for either my parents or when we're out with our daughter.  I also found that this dispenser is great for snacks on the go for our girl (of course when she's old enough), great for small snacks like Cheerios or other small snacks while your out.

Have you used these products? What did you think of them? Please feel free to leave a comment and give us a short review on a product that you used!

Simply Homemade

I love cooking and maybe that is one of the many reasons I have chosen to make my daughters baby food.  I’ve heard of so many friends that making baby food is a long and hard process also that jarred baby food is quick.  One thing they got right is that its quick – you open the jar and heat.  Homemade baby food is almost just as simple… ALMOST. 

Like I said I do enjoy cooking, which could help to factor in why I feel homemade baby food isn’t a long and hard process.  I did buy some of the baby cereals and mainly because of they are iron-fortified, have a doctors appointment for my daughter for her six (6) month and will ask the paediatrician about homemade cereals and if I will need to add an iron supplement to it. 

Sweet potato was very simple, wrap in aluminum foil bake at about 350 degrees Fahrenheit until you can poke a fork through with ease.  Blend with a blender, baby food processor or whatever you have… I have a Braun Hand Blender and a Magic Bullet at home and love them both for these purposes to puree her food.  Puree until soft with no lumps and add a little bit of water or breastmilk/formula to make for a more liquid consistency (this is baby dependant).  Separate the food into small containers or ice cube trays and either freeze or keep in the fridge if you plan to use it up within about three (3) days. 

Pureed Pears was very easy, I chopped up the pear (cored and peeled, you can also peel after cooking) to make for a faster cook time.  In a small sauce pan, I added a little bit of water to cover the bottom and added the pears, cooked on a medium/high heat until soft throughout.  Puree with the same methods as the sweet potato. 

I suppose if your not much of a cook making homemade baby food would be a chore, but I do suggest to try it out and see how it goes.  You just never know you may find it easy and its always nice to know what exactly is going into your baby’s food, plus to boot you’ll save some money in the long run.  Check out this site Wholesome Baby Food for a Cost Break Down, gives you an idea of costs if you care to know.  Also, its a great site for other information re: homemade baby food. 

From my experience, I won’t be buying store bought jarred baby food, of course there are some exceptions – traveling with no access to a kitchen to just name one.  But so far I’m enjoying it, and there may be a few that I would like to try because maybe a fruit isn’t in season or something…  I was looking at some of the jarred food today at the store and I felt that there was a lot of limitations in regards to what is available.  The possibilities are endless when it comes to making your own food for your baby.  I will continue to update this topic as this is just the beginning for me!  I look forward to sharing more.

Did you try to make your own baby food? If you did what did you think? Would you go to buying store bought? Looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

Gift Cards

I love getting gift cards, they allow me to get what I feel I need at the time.  Don’t get me wrong the other gifts that I received for my daughter have been wonderful and I have been able to find ways to incorporate them into her playtime or whatever.  Also, some things I never thought would’ve come in handy until I used it, or all the cute outfits that my wonderful friends took the time to pick out for her.  The outfits will definitely come in handy and they’re fun to dress her up in but, of course, only when she allows me!

I did receive a few gift cards and the wonderful thing about them, well here anyways, is that there is no expiration on them (there was a law passed here about gift cards so they can’t expire which is great for the consumer when you put the card away and forget about it a year or so later).  So I don’t have to use them right away and was able to put them away until I found things that I needed.  So just because they were a gift doesn’t mean you have to go spending it right away. 

My thing with the gift cards is that I knew there was going to be “bigger ticket” items that I would need later down the road.  Some of those things were around four (4) to 5 months when I started to consider starting her on solids, I was in need of a booster or high chair.  My girl has been able to sit up with support for a while now and started sitting on her own a little after four (4) months.  Since I had the gift card I found one on sale that I liked and picked it up.  I did put her in it while we ate dinner or while I’m in the kitchen cooking.  Its just nice now to have her with us during meals and what not.  Also, further down the road come about 12 months of age I will have to upgrade the infant car seat to an actually child’s car seat.  These are not cheap and since she will need it down the road I’ve set aside the other gift cards that I received to put towards it.  It will take a nice chunk out of the ticket price. 

I did use some of them for small fun things that I happened to see in the stores and thought my girl would like it – also for a learning tool as I’ve previously explained in my “Baby Toys or Learning Tools” post.  Overall, the gift cards have come in handy for some of the “big ticket” items but also some of the smaller things. 

What did you do with your gift cards?

Starting Solids

The day has come and gone now!  My daughter has started feeding on solid foods.  I was hoping to wait until she was about five and a half months because she was getting to the point of “not completely satisfied” like she used to be just on her formula.  She was getting to the point that when she saw us eating she would get mad, so the other day I told my hubby that I don’t think we can wait.

She was definitely ready for starting solids.  She ate about a tablespoon of Rice Cereal with no problems and seemed to love it!  She took to her food as if she’s been eating like this from since she was born.  I was, for about a few weeks, putting a little bit of her formula on her spoon to see how she would take it.  She always gave me this look like “Hey, this is the same stuff from my bottle!”.  At first she spat out the formula and eventually started swallowing the formula, she was exercising her muscles to change the way she eats.  I do feel this helped her, I will never know if it did or didn’t but I like to think it helped with the introduction to the solids. 

I bought iron-fortified rice cereal to start to see how she would take the solids but my intent is to make all her food.  For me and my family we very rarely eat ready made food, we eat and cook at home pretty much all the time.  So with that in mind I wanted to make her her food as we do our own.  I googled homemade baby food and found some great and very easy recipes, for baby cereals as well as other foods.  I also purchased this book called Cooking for Baby by Lisa Barnes it has some great ideas and good tips for feeding as well as recipes!

The beginning stage foods are very simple to make as well as the later stage foods and not as time consuming as one would think.  My main concern about store bought baby food is that I don’t know what is in it compared to homemade food; I know exactly what’s going in and feel like there’s a bit more control with what she’s ingesting. 

I just started my daughter on solids the other day so I will be adding updates to the site.  So far all is well with her and she’s enjoying every mouthful.  Next up, I’ll be feeding her homemade Oatmeal cereal and I’m hopeful that she’ll enjoy it as much as the rice cereal.  The starting of her solid feeding has come just in time for Easter dinner, traditionally my family has a turkey dinner and one of the vegetables will be sweet potato.  I will be setting some aside for her to make sure they remain plain – no adding butter, sugar or whatever else can be added to them.  First veggie to come on the weekend! Looking forward to seeing how much she loves or hates it!

How was your first time with introducing solids to your little one? What was their first food? What’s your preference – homemade baby food or store bought baby food and why?  I look forward to hearing your comments and emails! Happy feeding!

Playing Strange

This is a new concept to me, I’ve never really been around too many babies before my daughter and if I was they were pre-strange or post and hanging around a toddler but toddlers are usually just shy at first.

I’m still learning to understand this and for my daughter I think is what sets her off is when other people rush to her, instead of taking their time.  I totally understand both perspectives my friends rush to her because they are always so excited to see her and my daughter gets freaked out because they are not familiar to her like how I am to her.  At the same time any time she leaves my arms to other people she starts screaming and crying like I’m leaving her with them. 

I have tried telling people to ease up when wanting to take her because of this strange phase but I know they are too excited! So my poor little girl just starts screaming and crying those big “alligator” tears.  I’m sometimes at a loss because I do want her to get used to being around people but I hate to see her so upset.

Is this just something that babies get over & grow out of over time? What did you do when your baby went thru the strange phase? I will be updating this post as time goes on and if things get better, which I’m told they should… 

Dry Skin… Update!

One of my previous posts I talked about my daughters dry skin and what the nurse from the Health Centre thought it could be eczema.  Just a quick recap of the post, the nurse suggested to use Vaseline or Glaxal Base cream.  I did try the Vaseline and thought I was having success with it,  for a few days her skin looked like it was clearing up and than the next day it made a turn for the worse and it seemed to have gotten worse!

I talked to my other half and he wanted me to try using cocoa butter, tried and no change.  I felt like if it didn’t start clearing up I would have to get to the doctor as my girl was starting to scratch her legs on the dry patches so I’m sure they were starting to irritate her.  I than talked to mom – yes mom knows best, well most of the time – and she had a lotion from Melaleuca called Renew.  She’s heard about some success stories with eczema and she uses the lotion and seems to make a difference.  I also thought at this point I really have nothing to loose. 

She’s been using the lotion for almost two (2) weeks now and every day I see a change for the better.  Her face and back is baby soft again and her belly, arms and legs are getting there.  I’m very grateful that my mom suggested this product and hopefully she continues to get better and I see no reason why it wouldn’t.  I also had a comment on my previous post and she mentioned that her children all grew out of it so I am hopeful and very positive that she very well will even if the lotion continues to work. 

What worked for you and your child(ren) with their dry skin or eczema if they had it? Did your child(ren) grow out of it like my other reader did?

Visitors & Guests

Been busy this little while entertaining one of my best friends from my Scuba Diving days; reminiscing about school, diving, and all the other things in between.  I love it when friends and family come for visits, lots of catching up and relaxing usually.

Things these days are a bit different, mainly having a baby around now will definitely change the way you entertain your guests.  My friend doesn’t have kids of her own but I’m happy that she’s very understanding with my daughter’s needs and me needing to attend to them.  I still had to make things clear with her that my daughter was my priority and she has a routine that she likes to stick to otherwise its like all hell can and usually will break loose. 

Trips to the malls and basically had to have a time limit, I always just watch for my daughter’s signs to let me know when enough is enough, and I’m sure like most children they will let you know.  Thankfully my friend respected the fact that we would have to cut the shopping short or if my girl needed to be fed or changed.  She fell asleep and kept getting disturbed/woken up with the loud music from some stores so I just hung out outside the store while my friend browsed.  Only because a happy and sleepy baby while out makes it for a better experience overall. 

My daughter tends to be happier at home with the familiar surroundings and although I do like to get her out for a change of scenery I feel its best to keep her where she’s happy more often and not cramped in her stroller or car seat, at least for too long.  My daughter is going on five (5) months and outings to the stores have gotten easier and easier with time and I’ve been getting better at paying attention to her signals. 

Overall, the visit was great and being at home mostly was more enjoyable for us all.  We all got to play with the baby, she was able to nap in her own bed and just to be around the place that is most familiar kept her happy.  I was also able to keep her daily routine because I just went on with my “every day life”, so to speak, and continued to listen to my baby’s signals.  Also, I found that staying at home for most days my friend and I were able to catch up more and do more in a sense like cook, watch Television and movies and so on.  I felt like the trip was more bonding time for us all. 

What works best when you have visitors and guests? Does your routine change and do you stick with it? Or just go with the flow of what’s planned out for your guests visit?

A Full Nights Sleep

My daughter has always been a good sleeper.  When she was just a newborn she would sleep three (3) to 4 hours at a time and wake up screaming because she was hungry.  All my friends tell me they all went through it and most didn’t get in a full nights sleep for months; one person was still doing the three (3) A.M. feedings into the toddler years.

Eventually, my little one just moved into sleeping from six (6) to 9 hours at night and with the occasional night of back to three (3) to 4 hours.  I don’t know if this had anything to do with the fact that we were co-sleeping with her or if she just loved her sleep.  Sometimes I do think that my daughter just loves her sleep because anytime that I try to wake her from her slumber she’ll ignore me, wake up and go back to sleep or will be very cranky.

We finally got to a point, at about two (2) months, where she would sleep every other day or so for on average 12 hours straight.  I thought we were making great and early head way to us finally getting in a full nights sleep as well.  Than a turn of events, possibly another growth spurt, and she was back to four (4) A.M. feedings.  One thing that did change, she used to need to be cuddled and rocked back to sleep before putting her back down.  I decided to lay her back down in her crib and go back to bed myself to try to allow her to self-sooth herself back to sleep.  Within about 15 minutes I heard nothing coming from the baby monitor and of course I had to go check on her.  Success! She was back to sleep.  So every night from than onward, we would put her down to self-sooth when she woke up for her morning feed. 

After a couple of weeks of the early morning call, I than decided to try and let her self-sooth herself again back to sleep without me intervening.  First night I had no success, her coos got louder to a cry so I knew she needed a feeding.  Second night was successful, she cooed for about 15 minutes or so and than quiet, went in to take a peak and she was sleeping as if she never woke.  The third night she needed the feeding, I thought my luck had run out.  I did continue to see if she would self-sooth every night, I was successful every other night or so.  By the time she was three (3) months, it seemed so out of the blue to me but she was sleeping all through the night.  No waking up just would sleep right through with no problems. 

About a week before she was four (4) months she did wake up for a few four (4) A.M. feedings.  After only a few days she was back to full nights.  I don’t know if our “work” with trying to get her to self-sooth has paid off or she just naturally changed her sleeping habits.  We will never really know but I like to think the work did pay off, it gives more of a sense of accomplishment as a parent in my humble opinion.

I am very happy that she is sleeping through the night and giving us more mommy/daddy time, I mean I don’t really know any parent that wouldn’t be happy about that.  I do feel like her schedule will change again when she comes to another growth spurt, but I can at least see some light to going back to full nights again.  Now just to get more sleep of my own…  I value my me-time and sometimes need to take advantage with a sleeping baby.

When did your little one(s) starting sleeping through the night? Did you do anything “special” to get to that point or just went with your little ones schedule? If so, what did you do?  Do you have any tips that may help other readers?

Dry Skin for babies

I’ve noticed over the past month, maybe, that my baby girl has a few dry patches on her skin.  They’ve showed up on her thighs, forearms, and belly.  Poor girl but they don’t seem to be bothering her, in other words she’s not scratching them, but, of course, I want to get rid of them in hopes to prevent further problems. 

I’ve tried bathing her every three (3) days instead of every two (2) days and there was no change.  Than I thought maybe it was the scented bath wash. 

I’ve used Aveeno in the past for myself when I was younger for a skin irritation and it worked for me so decided to try it for my daughter.  Found a bath and shampoo wash for babies that was unscented, this seemed to help a little bit but the dry patches were still there.  Next I switched to an unscented lotion, since the Aveeno wash helped a bit I decided to try their lotion.  It seemed to help but, again, only a bit. 

Was using lotion on her every day and always after a bath.  I never rubbed her dry just patted her down and than applied the lotion.  Like I said this did seem to help but not entirely. 

I had an appointment for her four (4) month immunization at the local Health Care Centre.  Like the previous appointment the nurse asked me questions about baby and checked her over.  Thought it would be a great time to get some questions of my own out, I mean who better to ask than the local health centre and nurses that deal with babies on a daily basis.  She did notice the dry patches and said that it is possible that it could be eczema.  Mentioned to talk to her doctor if it gets worse but also told me to try Vaseline brand lotion.  Really I had nothing to lose at this point and I’m thankful that the patches weren’t getting worse.

I had some unscented Vaseline lotion at home.  Since I had some of this Vaseline lotion at home I might as well try it, plus it was unscented.  Nothing like scented lotion to make a skin irritation worse or more irritated.  Have been using this Vaseline since and from the first day I’ve noticed improvement also every day since there has been more improvement.  Her skin is starting to feel baby soft again and I’m so happy the nurse suggested something as simple as Vaseline.  I really didn’t want to use a medicated lotion that would have steroids in it.  Not the ideal stuff to use for a baby in my humble opinion, but if it was necessary I would have. 

The nurse also mentioned that most lotions are “Glaxal” based and if the Vaseline didn’t work that I could purchase a pure Glaxal base to use on the patches.  So something to keep in mind but at least the Vaseline is working and her skin is becoming that baby bottom soft again!

What steps did you do to eliminate such a skin irritation? What lotion worked best for your little one?

Is Routine Always best?

I’ve been trying really hard to stick with some kind of routine and/or schedule and some days it seems impossible to stick too.  Most days I stay home but we do have those days where we need to get out of the house either for errands or just to get out.  This can throw a routine completely out the window at times.  Not only do we as parents have things to do, such as errands, housework or just a little bit of me time, our children have their own personal schedule too.  My daughters schedule changes from week-to-week or even day-to-day, everything seems to be mood dependant. 

Some days I can keep her in routine no matter what’s going on through out the day.  I do find though that she does things on her own terms, as do many other babies from what I hear from other parents. 

My usual routine would start when my daughter would wake up in the mornings usually around 8 A.M. I would do my best to keep her up and playing around for a couple of hours and I notice that she tires out by that time.  I try to keep her up for about two (2) hours at a time and I try to get her to nap for about 2 hours as well.  The nap times have a been a struggle, if she refuses to nap for long I try to keep her up an extra 15 to 30 minutes of play time.  Yes, keeping a baby up for that extra time can be and usually is a struggle but I try to tire her out in hopes that she will nap longer. 

So I think great, nap time equals a little bit of mommy-time.  She will fall asleep in her crib but only for 10 to 40 minutes at a time so I try to get her back to sleep for a little longer.  I've been trying to get her to nap for a couple hours at a time because than she’s more happy to play and for a little bit longer.  I’ve tried laying down with her in my bed and its been a success, I think its funny, though, how she’ll nap in my bed for a couple of hours and won’t in her own bed but will sleep throughout the night in her crib.  By the time night time comes she’s ready for bed in between six (6) and 8 P.M. no matter what kind of day she had. 

All-in-all it doesn’t seem to matter how much she naps in the day because she’s ready for bed consistently between six (6) and 8 P.M. like I mentioned earlier.  She also sleeps throughout the night no matter how much nap time she gets in the day.  So I’ve been finding that fighting a routine seems pointless for her most times.  I also don’t know if its just because she’s getting a bit older and setting her own routine or if my routines with her have been falling into place.  I guess I’ll never really know but I like to think that my hard work is paying off as I can get her to nap during the day and she sleeps successfully throughout the night. 
I still question myself if working on a routine is worth my efforts.  When she has a good day full of a couple long naps and great play times I feel like my efforts are worth it.  Of course, like everyone else we all have off days and seems like any efforts I have put in with her have gone out the window or didn’t play a part with patterns.   I guess time will tell how things will pan out, she is only four (4) months old and there’s lots of room for learning and growth for both her and me! I will continue with my efforts to keep her in some kind of routine but I feel like if I decide to just go with the flow and take everything as it comes it won’t hurt anything.  I guess time will tell… maybe a good mix between the two routine and to just go with the flow, as it seems there is some kind of routine falling into place at times

Do you try to keep a routine? If not, do you feel like just going with the flow is better or do you wish you and your little one were in a routine? What’s been your struggles with your routine? What do you do for nap time? do you struggle like I do? Let me know what worked for you and how you did it! I’m still working on moving my daughter into her room for nap time… suggestions are, of course, always welcome!

How Did Mom Do This?

I look back on the way things were for my mom, and now with a daughter of my own, I wonder how the heck did my mom do this?!
Having one baby is one thing but having multiples (two or more babies at one birth is a completely different thing and give these women a lot of credit for what they do).  For my mom, by the time I was about 18 months my sister was born.  So juggling one newborn and another who is not even two plus errands and housework.  How do mom’s in general do this!?
Well before I had my own I thought it was simple, ok I lied I knew motherhood was tough but really?! when you don’t have children of your own, well at least in my experience, you just don’t understand 100 percent.  Motherhood is definitely the hardest job I have ever had but hands down it is the most amazing, rewarding and fulfilling job I could’ve asked for and would never trade it for the world. 
I keep asking the question: how do they do it? Now with a little of experience behind me I can now say “I just do it”!  It's become a part of my life and go with the general flow of things.  Sure before I could just pick up and go with no organizing or planning needed and yes sometimes (it is VERY rare) I can do it that way.  But lets be realistic now, planning and organization is key… Where were these life skills back in college!
Planning and organization like I mentioned is one of the key ingredients to success with this job, for the most part (please keep in mind that this may just be me but hey I like to share).  Keeping on task, which I yet need to manage to perfect or at least get there.  I start one thing than get distracted by the baby and once all is said and done I forgot what I was doing prior and start something new.  My mom would tell me that she would start cleaning lets say the upstairs bathroom get distracted with one of us kids forget about the bathroom and after would go start something else.  Its not like she wanted multiple jobs started around the house and not finish them its only because not only does prego-brain affect most women during pregnancy but it carries through to motherhood – as I like to call it mommy-brain.  After all is said and done my mom would have buckets all around the house because she would forget about the other job she started.  I at first laughed about this until I caught myself doing something similar…
Well what I am trying to get at is that I have learned that there is no perfect way of doing things and parenthood is not a job that can be perfected.  My mom got through things because she had to and it was a job that had to get done by someone.  Children don’t come with instructions as all parents come to realize at some point or another and, of course, we all wish they did.  This is definitely a job that you can’t learn from a book but by personal experience and with what works best for you and your family. 
Now, I do what I can do when I can do it – my priority is my daughter and I do the best that I can do with how I know how to do it.  If it didn’t work I’ll try and sort out another solution (my mom always told me those problem solving skills from school would come in handy).
Still unsure if I have really answered my own question but within I feel I have.  All I know is is that I am thankful for my family and for doing the best that they could do with how they knew how to do it.  Its nice to have that new bond with my parents now that I am one.

Cradle Cap

I don’t even remember seeing the Cradle Cap appear but it did somewhere along the lines.  Cradle Cap is that yellow tinged flaky looking dandruff on a babies scalp.  I thought that it would go away with a bit of time and only because my baby had a little bit of dry, flaky skin when she was born; was told that the dry skin would go away with time. 
Her dry skin did clear up with no problems but than this Cradle Cap appeared.  One day I just decided to try to put some lotion in her hair and massage it a little bit into scalp before her bath time, figured I’ve got nothing to lose.  After her bath, I combed out her hair as usually and it looked to still be there.  The next day I took a peak around and about half of it, if not more, was gone! Her next bath I decided to use a little bit of olive oil; olive oil is really good for your skin and I have heard of some people actually use it as a skin moisturizer when really dry or cracked.  Again, I felt like I had nothing to lose.  Again, the next day it was cleared up. 
I’ve heard of using things like olive, vegetable, or canola oil before bath time.  I also read somewhere that if your babies cradle cap is really bad you can use an anti-dandruff shampoo but only a little and once in a while (not an every bath shampoo), do talk to your child’s paediatrician before using it.  I didn’t mainly because the lotion and olive oil worked really well and have no signs of return.
Whatever you decide to try, do not over wash your baby’s hair you don’t want to dry out their scalp and make the situation worse.  Because washing does dry out the scalp and hair it gave me the idea of massaging her scalp with a bit of lotion.  At first was kind of “scared” to try the oil, thought that it would make her hair to greasy.  This was not the case at all, just use a small amount, read a suggestion about using a cotton ball to dab it onto the scalp to avoid using excessive amounts.  Adding moisture to a dry situation was bound to help! Glad I tried it!
What method did you use? did it work? What other suggestions do you have for parents struggling with this nuisance of a problem? 

Winter Woes

I am so happy that winter is coming to end, even though it doesn’t look like it nor feel like! Living in Canada has its pros and cons – winter, for me anyway, is definitely a con. I have lived here basically my whole life and still have a hard time adapting to the cold and chilly nights of winter.  I have done a little bit of traveling to the tropics and lived in Belize for a little bit as well, amazing after all these years living in a cold climate like Canada I still have an easier time adjusting to the heat and humidity of the tropics. 
Well now that I have a baby of my own, I felt sorry for her; being born in November and introduced into this world at the start of winter.  Remember, I have a low tolerance for the cold so I can’t even imagine what it would be like for her…
A few things that I have found to like or love for the colder times for my baby.
A “bunting” bag for her car seat – We don’t usually travel around too much with her but when we do, we do like many other parents and bundle up our kids.  This bunting bag was great except that I found the bottom piece was too warm and found that she felt sweaty when we pulled her out.  We have stopped using the bottom half of the bag and she’s coming out dry.  So we cover her with several blankets and the top half of the bunting bag.  She’s still nice and toasty so we’re not worry about her being cold.



I do also have a snowsuit for her which I did get her in just to take her outside in the backyard to show her around and in her push-chair (stroller).  She looks so cute in it and its ideal with the closed in feet and hands because she can’t walk let alone stand on her own, so shoes aren’t necessary.  This snowsuit keeps her nice and warm for these kind of outings.  Although, if you have a bunting bag like mentioned above or the snowsuit I don’t feel its necessary to have both, one or the other would’ve sufficed.  I have both only because one was a hand-me down and the other was a gift.  But I love them both!

I don’t know about other babies but, of course, I sure do know mine.  She always finds a way to stick her hands out from the blankets whether she’s in bed or in her car seat or where ever for that matter.  Mitts don’t exactly fit her tiny hands right now.  We discovered that this worked great for us since her birth; using socks on her hands as mittens.  We had some of those preventative scratch mitts which I’m sure would’ve worked great except they never did stay on her hands.  Socks are great they stay put better than the scratch mitts and other baby mitts; also her hands are always nice and toasty when I remove them.

Bedtime in the winter for a baby can be a struggle with keeping warm.  Blankets on our little one rarely stay put, she wiggles and kicks and eventually will get rid of all the blankets on her.  I received this gro-bag as a hand me down and would love to look for one in a bigger size come next year.  It works great for my daughter.  Its sleeveless but for her it doesn’t matter because she seems to hate her arms being covered with blankets and what not.  We have her in a sleeper and her arms remain comfortable for the night; still seem to have a problem keeping her hands warm at night but it doesn’t seem to bother her (I’ve tried the sock trick as mentioned above and she finds a way to take them off).  The zipper on this specific one zips downwards so no worrying about zippers snagging her chin. Best of all, she wakes up so nice and toasty warm but not sweaty warm.  This is probably one of my favourite things that we have used in the winter time. 

What are you favourite things for your little one during these cold winter months? Did you have something that wasn’t useful at all?

Pros & Cons to Co-Sleeping

Co-sleeping was the one thing that I didn’t want to partake in with my newborn; well I wasn’t too keen on the idea.  I used to feel to each their own and I’m sure it could work for some people. 
Well after having a c-section and healing was up and down, Lloyd kept insisting that Sachiko sleep in the bed with us! YIKES! I was afraid I would roll on-top of her, squish her, bump her and so on, but night one went smooth.  I also forgot that I could barely move as it was because of the healing process from post-surgery. 
Lloyd also didn’t want our little one sleeping on her own as he felt her room was too cold for her, never mind the fact that he thought she was scared of sleeping alone.  Either way he had a few good points and let him leave her in the bed with us.  After a bit I loved having her there, the bed was nice and toasty on those cold mornings and was easier to tend to her when she woke up.  She used to immediately go into screaming fits when she was hungry and wouldn’t let up until her bottle or my breast were in her mouth for feeding time!
Ok so I admit it, co-sleeping is great and it was extra bonding time with our daughter but really the only one con that I could think up was where’s the daddy and mommy time????? So those odd occasions that we were able to get her into her crib we took advantage of them.  Movie in bed and lots of cuddling. 
Later, I did discover one other con… it was when I felt it was time to work on getting her in her own bed, and for all the time.  It took me a good three (3) weeks to even a month to get her sleeping thru the nights like she used to and so on.  I’m finally up to 12 hours of her getting a solid sleep, sorry to those who are still struggling with early morning feedings, but my daughter is sleeping like a toddler.  She was always a good sleeper from the start. She would wake up about every four (4) hours in the beginning, than every four to 6 hours by the time she was about four weeks old.  When she reached her 2 month mark she was already sleeping eight to 9 hours at a time and when she reached the three month mark her sleeping time jumped to 12 to 14 hours.  True bliss when you can get your infant to sleep all through the night. 
I wanted to start getting her into her own bed by around two (2) months, I figured the earlier the better it is for her in the long run.  I also happened to catch an episode of Dr. Phil, and I must say I’m not usually a fan of his show but this one I thought had some really good information regarding babies and toddlers.  Apparently, its recommended to start getting your little one in their own bed around four (4) to 6 months of age because it just gets that much harder afterwards.  One parent said her daughter was about a year old when she tried getting her into her own bed and every time she would put her to bed the child thought it was play time.  This was one struggle that I didn’t want to have to endure later down the road.  But with a little work and back to restless nights for about three (3) to 4 weeks wasn’t too bad and was worth it.  She’s sleeping very successfully on her own for 12 to 14 hours at night and this has allowed to start to catch up, assuming I don’t get caught up in my mommy-time!
The best way that I found to get your baby to stay in their own bed all night was to keep them in their room.  I would cradle her to sleep in her room and when she would wake up I changed her diaper and feed her a bottle in her room.  She would never leave her room at night, so if I had to make a bottle I would lay her back in her crib until I came back with it.  I think this also helped her to be more independent and more patient, she’s also gotten better with self-soothing herself.  I’m very proud of my accomplishment with her and I’m sure if she understood a bit more she would be too! What worked for you? or are you still working on the transition?

Some of my Favourite Things Pre-natal & Post-partum

So there’s a lot of gimmicks out there; things that will help with stretch marks, heartburn and so on.
I don’t feel like a lot of these products worked, well for me anyways. 
Stretch mark creams… really?! if you’re going to get them your going to get them there’s really no way to avoid it.  The best thing is to just eat well and maintain a good and healthy weight gain; this still won’t avoid the fact that a lot of woman get stretch marks.  But my favourite cream is still and always will be Palmer’s Cocoa Butter! Even though it says that it will help prevent them or help to get rid of them, I don’t think in reality it does.  I love Cocoa Butter, so don’t get me wrong, but for me its more soothing and just a great cream over all.  It helped to sooth the itchiness I got when I was pregnant due to the skin stretching and I just love the way it smells.  The nurses at the doctors office would always be asking where the hot chocolate was, and I had to burst their bubble and say it was probably just the cocoa butter I put on!
Speaking of cocoa butter, Palmers has this wonderful lotion for baby’s called Bottom Butter.  I love it and it seems to work really well for daily rash prevention for Sachiko’s soft baby bottom.  Another great product for baby’s bottom is Penaten Clear Preventative Cream, it’s a petroleum base product that helps to prevent diaper rash.  We love it and is great for every day use because it’s not as heavy and the medicated creams.  What are your favourites for your baby’s bottom??
Heartburn was one of my least favourite things about being pregnant, and I’m sure most, if not all, women can agree.  I asked the doctor what I can take and they recommended Tums, seriously they taste awful!  I read an article when I was nearing my third trimester and mentioned bananas can help with heartburn, also heard that milk or yogurt can help too.  So I, of course, had to try it out I mean I really had nothing to lose at that point.  The Tums worked but the relief didn’t last long on a bad day.  What a relief, they all worked and gave me great relief and even most cases gave me relief all day!  So I really benefitted from the milk products and banana; got in a serving of fruit and calcium with the wonderful relief from heartburn!
What were your favourite things pre-natal and post-partum?? What about your some of your favourite baby products??

My buying Guide

Everyone is going to have a different opinion on what you need and some people will base their buying more on wants.  For me, personally, I buy more for what I need at the time. 
There’s a few ways to approach this:

• Buy everything you need and want, make a baby registry
• Shop around, make a baby registry
• Buy only what you think you’ll need right away, shop around, make a baby registry and keep mind the things you will need later –the concept to this approach is buy as you need, will save you money in the long run and unnecessary things won’t pile up.

By the way, do you notice a pattern??? Make a baby registry.  Gifts are great ways to let people know of the things you need or want, and what you don’t get will usually add up in gift cards so you can purchase it later when you do need it.
The concept to buying as you need worked great for us.  We bought what was most necessary for her room and for her immediately that we could for see.  Crib, change table, diapers (don’t want to be running around doing errands when you first get home), car seat, stroller… you get the drift! Clothes, sure you need them but most infants are happiest in sleepers or diaper shirts also known as “onesies”.  The best thing we did for my daughter was to receive hand-me downs! People are always looking for ways to get rid of the baby clothes and most are brand new.  Probably about 3/4’s the hand me downs I got looked brand new, their baby probably only wore them a handful of times.  It is true what they say babies grow fast!
Now that Sachiko is three (3) months now, we are looking into the other things that she’ll be needing soon.  We did get a lot for gifts, one reason I am happy I waited the other reason is because she did not need them as a newborn.  Excersaucers are great but babies can’t really use them until they can hold their head up at least.  High chairs aren’t needed until your baby can hold themselves up with the support of the chair and until they are starting solids high chairs are useless up until that milestone.  So save your money on those items that aren’t needed immediately, it’s also helpful to find the best deals.
I love shopping, and what woman doesn’t.  I’m sure there are some out there who’ll say they hate it but reality there’s a small part of them that love it.  My thing with shopping is I don’t like the crowds, finding parking, waiting in line and shopping while pregnant is just another story.  I did a lot of my shopping online, whether it was for price comparing, seeing what’s available, finding my best options or for actually buying, it was great.  If there was something that I wanted to look at and see it before I bought it we did go out for a short shopping trip. All-in-all it definitely helped with the buying and shopping process.  Really allowed me to see what was out there without having to leave the comfort of home and than having to return with a sore back from all the walking/standing (into your third trimester shopping was not my best friend but I think it did help bring on labour when the time came!).
Do beware of some of the “fancy” gizmos that are available.  I use the term fancy because that’s all they may be, over-priced and quite possibly a junk collector.  Do look around for things that will help make your life easier for things like organizing, storage and so on.  Read customer reviews, but remember what didn’t work for someone could work for you and vice versa.  If you can shop around for the best deal, usually more than one store will carry that item and you may find the best deal online instead of in your local stores.
In my local community, Welcome Wagon had a “baby shower” for me it didn’t have that much to offer but there was companies there that I never heard of or products that are available that could make your life easier, again that I never heard of or even thought of.  Talk to your friends who have kids, be open to ideas and even ask if they have anything that they want to part with. 
I know I mentioned the baby registry and yes do make one! I had my baby shower after my daughter was born because it gave everyone an opportunity to meet her.  Put into consideration for your registry if you plan for a pre- or post-baby shower; plan and budget accordingly.
Will post a “what to buy” guide list that worked for me.  Happy Shopping!

my little angel

Ok I’m not just saying that my baby is my little angel only because she is but she is.  She is such a good baby, would only cry or wake up when she wanted something, usually her milk (or her tea as I would always refer to as, its warm like tea isn’t it?!).  The only time she seemed cranky was when we didn’t get that one “little” gas bubble out… but on those rare occasions she was an absolute angel.
I did have to chuckle at her when she cries because she would go into these sudden cries and if we didn’t answer her need within maybe 30 seconds she immediately went into stage two of her crying.  What I mean by her stage two crying is that it would go into high pitched screaming and yelling fits.  As an adult, we are that much more patient for things like our food so I couldn’t help but laugh… all I could really do was just try to sooth her until her bottle was ready (or I was ready when I was still breastfeeding) and tell ourselves that she’ll eventually learn to be more patient.  I think its so amazing how the human body and mind work, as infants hunger is like the end of the world but as we get older we have a better understanding of hunger pains.  Also, of course, babies are limited to breast milk or formula and I don’t know anyone who can drink milk and be full for long amounts of time so I do have to sympathize with her.  So, of course, the second her bottle was ready it was instant relief. 
We ended up going out for dinner when Sachiko was only about four (4) weeks old and she was great!  She woke up once for her bottle and back to sleep until we pulled her out of her car seat to get her into bed. 
As time went on she grew and started know more of what she wanted, her likes and dislikes.  Now I know that we have to limit our times out because she gets fussy, she is definitely a home-body!
Bed time; she was a really good sleeper from the start.  Would sleep anywhere from 3 – 5 hours when she was a newborn.  After about three (3) weeks she was sleeping about eight (8) hours but I think it was mainly because we were co-sleeping.  As she got older we were seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, of course once I started working with her to sleep in her own bed, her sleeping patterns changed again.  One big thing that I noticed is her sleeping patterns will change if she’s going through another growth spurt, her growth spurts also include a higher intake of her milk. 
I love watching her grow and go through all the different stages in her life.  We are so amazing as human beings, and I feel so blessed to be able to witness my baby first hand grow and reach the different milestones in her life!

The beginning of Motherhood!

I still couldn’t get over that I was now a mother, and not just a mother but a mother of a beautiful 6lb 11oz 20 inch baby girl! The overwhelming joy cannot be described until you have one of your own and meet her for the first time. 
I was so thankful that my hubby was able to have the time off of work to be with me while I adjusted to my new life and during the healing process of the caesarean.  I was so grateful to have such a wonderful man by side and a helpful one at that! He would tend to her for feedings, changing and every time she just woke up.  I was trying to breastfeed but found it difficult because of the incision but still tried to do what I could do.  I did find that pumping the milk was the best option for most times because Lloyd was helping out so much.  I did have a hand pump and because I was pumping so much wish I had an electric, but I did love my Medela hand pump overall, it got the job done!
Even though I had Lloyd around to help out for everything I was feeling like I was missing out on the beginnings of motherhood and that bonding time with my daughter.  I couldn’t stay up for long to change her, had a hard time sitting up to feed her… I felt deprived in a sense.  But as time went on everything got easier and I was able to move around more and was able to participate with the feedings, changing and the waking ups more. 
We did end up co-sleeping with our baby, yes they say that it is not recommended but it was what worked for our family in the beginning. More on getting her in her crib exclusively later.  Especially during my initial healing, I was able to wake up with her and help out more, made me feel useful. 
I’ve never undergone major surgery never mind an “emergency” one, so being “tied” down to bed rest was killing me! I wanted so badly to get up and move and feel human again, but it just slowed the healing process that much more.  I think that having major surgery and having a child do not mix well, mainly because there is so much to do with a newborn.  Where as pre-baby I would’ve been able to focus on me and would’ve healed that much faster… BUT we had a baby and I wanted nothing more but to focus on her. 
All this made me realize why so many women lose focus on themselves and forget that they need tending too.  I give my baby all that I can and do tend to lose focus sometimes, but when she is down and sleeping I try to give myself five (5) to 20 minutes for myself.  The small time for me includes catching up on reading (usually only at night), getting the baby’s scrapbook together, or even getting some of the backed up chores that need to get done.  Even Lloyd needed that little bit of time for himself; get in a little bit of his gaming on his PS3 but it was at least something.  The way I look at it, give your baby 110% but always set aside a little time for you.  My “mommy-time” is what has really helped me to stay centered. 

Packing for the Hospital

Limit yourself to what you bring to the hospital you won’t be there long one – 3 days generally.  I know I over-packed, and even though I read the books, searched the Internet and got some great advice from my cousin and mom, you still don’t really know what to expect or what you’ll need.
Just a few things for the baby:
- one (1) going home outfit, a sleeper is best
- a couple of diapers and small pack of wipes (I didn’t use the wipes but its more for just in case)
- car seat (base already installed)
- blankets to wrap them up for when going home – obviously this will be weather & seasonal dependant on how many you bring or how warm they are
Few things for mom:
- Pen and pad of paper (scribbler)
- maybe a book or something if you think you may get bored (it happened to me but I was so tired or occupied by the baby I didn’t touch it)
- Cell phone or phone list, charger for your phone
- A few female hygiene pads (no tampons for a while if that’s what your used to using) Also the hospital provided me with some during my stay.
- a going home outfit (I just wore what I came in with, made for less to pack), comfy nursing bra, extra pair of underwear & comfy shoes (your feet could still be swollen), sandals (flip flops) the floors are cold when your walking to the bathroom
- Some women like to pack warm socks – I didn’t need them my feet always get too hot AND I wasn’t in the hospital for a long delivery
- old night gown or housecoat – I recommend just using what the hospital provides you its just easier and you don’t have to worry about ruining them
- Camera with charger or extra batteries
- I was nice enough to pack some snacks (granola bars) and water for the hubby
- Lanolin cream (a.k.a. Nipple cream), lotion, lip balm are all definitely musts
Just remember you don’t want to over pack, you will also be more occupied with the baby and possible visitors.  Also don’t forget it is ok to say no to having visitors… mom and baby will be exhausted and do need their rest! I was exhausted but was ok with visitors, I think it was because the drugs they were giving me were keeping me up anyways. 
Will add more to the list if I remember anything!

Baby Budget

Ok so I know I already touched base on this topic but need to mention… Shop at home; what I mean by this is to reuse things in your home that you feel would be appropriate for your baby’s nursery.
Some things that I did:
My parents still had kicking around some items that me and my sister used when we were little, were in our nursery, or just things that were tucked away and forgotten about. 
The dresser, was actually my dads from back in his bachelor days was painted white to be used for me and my sister when we were younger.  This wonderful dresser was still lying around in use for their den but they wanted to get rid of it, I thought it was perfect.  So it is now in the baby’s room as a dresser and change table; I purchased a Summer Infant Contoured Changing Pad for under $20 and attached it to the dresser.








Funny enough, my mom still had the rocking chair from when we were babies.  Yes, it is an actually rocking chair not a glider!  Again, this rocking chair was perfect and my mom was sweet enough to give it up for here grandbaby.  We had a beautiful brown blanket that was a gift from Lloyds work and we now use it as a throw for the chair.









I wanted to get some kind of shelving, side table or night stand.  Again, my dad had a night stand that was now too short for the new bed they purchased; incredible how high up these beds are nowadays!  So, of course, this night stand was tucked away collecting dust… I thought it would be perfect for the baby’s room and it’s actually a homemade piece that my dad built his junior high class WAY back in the day. 








So these are a few ways that you can save some money if you have some things lying around that you can salvage.  I actually priced out approximately what it would’ve cost us if we purchased those three (3) items brand new.  The cost would’ve been around or even over $500, I was shocked at how much we could’ve spent. 
I also saved a few bucks by drawing out some cute art work of drawings that I found on the Internet and that I thought would be ideal.  This was very time consuming but in my opinion for what we wanted it was perfect.  Babes would have some wonderful artwork in her bedroom that mom made especially for her!









Be creative with the things that you want to do with your nursery, the possibilities are endless.  I didn’t want to get caught up in spending too much money all at once, and it was a great way for my parents to de-junk the house with those few items that they said they no longer needed or wanted.