Things we learned from little miss P: 17-18 Month Essentials

We just had a wonderful relaxing weekend with our favorite friends from Boston. Yes, it's Thursday and I'm a little slow posting about it ;)  We finally got to meet little miss P, and isn't she the cutest little toddler you've ever seen? (I couldn't decide which picture was the cutest, could you?)

Madelyn learned a lot from her older bff. Here are a few things to keep your eye out for as you venture into the 2nd year (scary how close that is for us!).

1. Melissa & Doug Jumbo Triangular (i.e. toddler proof) Crayons. I couldn't believe my eyes when P was drawing pictures for us. She's only 17 months! The triangular shape is easy on little hands, and bonus for parents: they don't crumble.

2. Baby Signing Time DVDs. It was very motivational for us to see little P sign. We have been signing to Madelyn for months and it's nice to know that work should start paying off soon. P's parents said that these videos have helped them out. We watched one of the Series 2 DVDs and the songs were really catchy and fun.

3. Pretend Play baby dolls, like this You & Me Doll. P was all about feeding her baby doll - it was super cute.

4. My First PBK Chair. Madelyn was sooo grateful to receive this early bday present. It's perfect for snuggling up and reading a book or having a bottle.

Convertible Car Seat

We just moved Madelyn from her infant car seat to her big girl car seat. I wasn't sure what brand to switch her to so I asked a bunch of moms. The majority recommended the Britax Marathon 65 so that's what we went with. In addition to a bunch of safetly features it's supposed to be super comfy for baby's car naps.  It's a bit more expensive than some other brands/models but it has a weight range of 5-65 lbs so I'm sure it will end up having a low CPU.

We have installed it rear facing and plan to stick with that until Madelyn is 2 years old. Daddy found this CNN video clip with new recommendations to do so:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/03/21/car.seat.guidelines.parenting/index.html?hpt=T2

The Britax website is pretty cool, I used their car seat guide to double check if the Marathon is right for us based on Madelyn's age, weight, height and seat height:

We ended up getting the Onyx (black/grey) print, but it also comes in Cowmooflage (soo cute), Allison and Blueprint.

Love, Gratitude & Understanding

What do these 3 words have in common? My new pair of jeans!

If you've been following my blog you know I've been waiting to get back into my old jeans. Well, a dozen yoga classes, lots of walking, and 10 months later I have reached my goal fitting into 2 old pairs. There may be a little muffin top happening but I can still zip them up, so, Horray me! But, the bad news is these 2 pairs aren't my faves. Those are still hanging in the closet.

When I was pregnant my doula told me that a woman's hips can move 2 inches or more during pregnancy and sometimes they don't move back. I believe it. My entire body feels different than before. Different in a good way. I bet it has something to do with the breastfeeding hormones (they seem to impact everything) because I have a new Gratitude for my body that I never had before:  it was the vessel my little baby took to enter our world. I'm also going easier on myself and Understanding that it's okay not to have the same body as before. I have Madelyn now, I didn't have her before. And all this has helped me Love my body more than ever.

What better way to celebrate all of these emotions than with a new pair of investment denim? I have been anxiously waiting for the dojo to hit Aritzia this spring. Then when we were strolling through the mall this week there they were. I tried them on and instantly felt like a MILK (G rated version of you know...K is for kiss :) ). I can't believe it took this long for the trouser flare to reappear..totally takes me back to fall '00. Here they are, my new faves:



If you also like this look, which is a short girls bff, check out these contenders:


       

Alison & Kate's favorites (0-3 months)

I love learning about cool baby things from my mommy friends. One of Madelyn's newest friends, Kate, and her mom, Alison, have shared some of their favorites for 0-3 months. Enjoy!

1. It's an inflatable bath! I love it because when I am holding Kate, my arm isn't being dented from the side of a hard plastic tub. It has the stopper for her to sit up on her own, and when she is big enough I'll deflate it.  It's also great for storage (if you have limited space), and travelling.

2. This is a Pacimal.  It has a pacifier attached to the back of the head.  I like it because when I am driving in the car and she is sucking on it, it's kinda tucked in her blanket so it doesn't pop out of her mouth and fall. And because she is so young, it's nice and big, and something cuddly that she can hold on to it.  She likes to hold the ears.  It's also a nice transitional toy.  It's machine washable, and the pacifier part is replacable. 

3. Baby Einstein's sea dream.  It's attached to the side of her crib.  It's awesome because it plays classical music (which she loves), the scene rotates, so it's not just a boring stationary one where it's only the fish tail that moves.  There are a few setting.  You can have the music play while the fish swim, you can just have the fish swim with the sound of a fish tank, just the music, etc.  It also comes with a remote control which is handy. We hang it on her door, so if she is asleep we can turn it off or on without going in.

4. Skip Hop bins.  They come in two sizes. Large one for toys/books. whatever you want to store, and then a smaller one for diapers/wipes, brush, creams etc.  They are a well made, thick canvas.  They have handles on the side to move around or take with you.  On the smaller ones, there is a divider you can use and some pockets of the side.  They look great! I have one in every colour!

5. Lamaze Playhouse Gym.  It's great because it's a 3 in 1 deal!  It's a double side mat for playing on their backs.  When they are older they can start to do imaginative play with the house it folds up to be, with the people.  There is also other items that are used to build on their matching skills, learn about colours and shapes.  This mat can also be folded for tummy time.  It's super cute, and extremely light so it can be carried anywhere.

If you would like to do a feature post on my blog send me an email, comment or facebook message.

Happy St. Patty's Day & March Madness

What an exciting day. First the sun is shining and it's warm out, it's St. Patty's Day, it's kick off for March Madness, and on top of that my friend had her baby girl today (yay new bff for Maddy)! I'm posting a little late today because I spent HOURS outside in the sunshine strollering around my hometown with my mom and latte in hand. I LOVE this weather...mother nature keep it up.



Here are my brackets. Only 5/8 so far :( however Mark is only 6/8 so there is still hope I will win. And what is this prize up for grabs? A full weekend of sleeping in...yes a Saturday sleep in followed by a Sunday sleep in. Golden. I hope the luck of the Irish is on my side!

Time change...

...is kicking my butt.
For some reason Maddy thinks the time change went forward at night and backward in the morning. She is waking up at 5:30am (old time 4:30) but not going to bed until 7:30pm (8:30 old time). How did this happen...? We were in such a good 12 hour routine for soooo long...

Is there such thing as a 10 month growth spurt?

Kids Videos

Little M will be 10 months tomorrow. I can't believe it! Each day is a new adventure with a crawling, reaching, screaming munchkin. Did I mention screaming? Yes, it is her new fave thing to do. Screaming anywhere, anytime, all the time. She loves the sound of her own voice. I want to support this new phase but I'm starting to lose my mind. I think it's time to introduce 30 min educational video time each day. So far Maddy really likes Sesame Street you tube clips. (Correction, apparently she doesn't like Cookie Monster).



 Do you have any fun video reco's for us?

New Stroller

Well, I have made my decision. I'm joining the other moms in Alderwood and getting an Uppababy Vista. Little M and I are leaving to pick it up in 10 minutes...yay! We decided to go with the Jake (black) model. I think we'll look pretty cool walking the neighbourhood with Hunter in his Carlin (green) and baby G in her Denny (red).

We found a sale at The Baby's Room and for the month of March they are $100 off. Kinda sucks that in February they were $200 off, but at least I'm getting some what of a sale. Lesson learned: it's worth hunting for stroller sales!

My Quinny+Bassinet combo is still avail if anyone is interested. I'll sell to a blog follower for $375 (retail value $780). I have 2 potential kijiji buyers so act fast!

Sleeping in weird ways & Breastfeeding Survey

Since Madelyn has started crawling I have been trying to tackle something from my baby proofing list each day. Last week I tried to remove the crib bumper pad since it's an obvious safety hazard. Upon doing so baby M refused to go down for a nap. She got every limb stuck through the slats and was waaaay to intrigued at seeing everything in her room from her bed. It just wasn't working. Back in when the bumper pads, and a big TO DO note went to daddy to lower the crib so she can't climb out. 

There was a lot of crying today when I put her down for her 9am morning nap. All of a sudden the crying stopped so I took a peak on the video monitor to see what was going on up there. This is what I saw:  

It's a bit hard to tell by the fuzzy blackberry video screen shot, but little M is sleeping sitting up, crouched over her favorite hand knit blanket from Great Auntie Greta. She stayed like this for 70 minutes!

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In other news, I am volunteering some time to help my favorite lactation consultant, Jean, out with a breastfeeding survey. Jean will be presenting a talk at an international conference for lactation consultants in San Diego in July. The title of this presentation is "Breastfeeding and Sex (but not at the same time)!". Her goal in researching this topic is to open dialogue concerning issues related to sexual health for breastfeeding women and their partners. The hormones produced during lactation are the same ones present during sexual intercourse and responses of desire. Very often, feelings of conflict and discomfort during the breastfeeding experience can impact a woman’s sexual activity. The goal is to raise awareness that THIS IS NORMAL. It is a situation not often discussed but one that many couples can relate to.

If you are a breastfeeding mother (or have breastfed in the past 2 years) I am hoping you can help us out with this survey. It should take about 20 minutes. All answers will be viewed collectively with other survey responses and will be anonymous. Click here to access the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2011_breastfeeding_survey

Thank you for your help!

Madelyn's Nursery

My creative inspiration posted pics of her little girls nursery - you have to check them out here.  What an amazing room. I want to shrink to kid-size, fly down to her place, and curl up in P's crib for an afternoon nap.

We didn't know Madelyn was going to be a girl, so I played it safe with Behr Gardenia Green. I painted the colour half way up the wall, topping it with a hand painted mural of birds, frogs and trees. I stuck to white furniture to help the room feel larger and painted the slanted wall white to disguise the dropped ceiling.

PBK Kendall Crib in white

Ikea Ektorp JennyLund Armchair with white slipcover

PBK Brooke Bedding

PBK Mobile

Must haves: MiYim organic Lullabye Crib Chime Bird & Sleep Sheep
 (both purchased at Chapters Indigo)

Ikea Koppang 3 drawer chest with hardware from Home Depot



Original Painting from SA, 2 month feet impression, Anthropologie Pinwale Alphabet

Change Table from BabiesRUs (Discontinued, similar ones available at Ikea)

Must Have: Ikea Spoka Night Light

Ikea Expedit small shelving unit

Ikea Fabler Groda Stuffed Animal Storage

Ikea Barnslig Ringdans Area Rug

 

Finger foods, Crawling, Stroller Hunting and Washing Dishes

Where have I been? Well, let's see...

First of all, we've had a bit of a food strike this week. Madelyn has discovered how fun it is to feed herself. We started with Lila's mom's suggestion of Organic Brown Rice puffs. 4 things to say about them:

• they're great for helping to develop your baby's pincer grasp
• they're healthy/gluten free
• they end up everywhere in your house
• dogs (even Retreivers) won't eat them (darn!)

Now that we've left most purees behind (fruit is still a hit), I am preparing fresh food daily. Meals now consist of mini cubes of steamed veggies and fruit like apples. Only 1/4 ends up in her mouth and the rest plastered to her highchair, clothes, my floor, my clothes, mason's hair...everywhere. We are still pretty much sticking to our 9-12 months food guide, but we've added some other things for flavor (mango, onion, garlic and ginger). Occassionally she will still eat her oatmeal with halved blueberries in the morning, those are good days.

Another thing eating up my time this week is spontaneous baby proofing. I was procrastinating things from my baby proofing list  until little M decided to start crawling forward! Now everything up to 3 feet has to be fully baby proof. Thank you husband for installing all of the baby gates before this happened. If you are interested...

I have also spent way too much time this week scanning websites for deals on a new stroller. I have been using a Quinny Buzz 3 since Madelyn was born. It was great for when she was in her infant car seat, since it would easily snap onto the wheels. But, now that little M is a bit bigger I need something a little sturdier, with a larger basket and that can handle more weight. I am in love with my friend Mel's Uppababy Vista and am thinking of getting the Lindsey model. Any thoughts?

If anyone wants my Quinny+Bassinet I'll sell to a blog follower for $375 (retail value $780).

Lastly, our dishwasher broke 3 weeks ago and the warranty part still isn't available. Sigh. I really wish there was a dish washing fairy...