Newborn Tips

So, soon we'll be back to doing fun things outside. As of now though, I have been spending a lot of time at home with baby Kellan. Having a newborn to take care of again has made me think of a few tips for future parents...

1. If you're having a boy and are planning on having him circumcised, buy a tube of Vaseline and have it at home for when you return from the hospital. You'll need to use it every diaper change.

2. Have alcohol and cotton balls ready too, or get some alcohol prep pads. You'll use these on the belly button to help the "yucky thing" (that's what my 3 year old called it) fall off. (It's umbilical cord)

3. I don't know about other hospitals, but if you deliver at Winnie Palmer, know that all that's in the baby's drawer (with the exception of the blankets) is yours to take home. DO take the little shirts with hand coverings. Baby's nails might be long from the start and you won't be able to cut them right away. With uncovered hands babies will scratch their faces.

4. Remember newborns don't have a neck. Keep this in mind when shopping for clothes. All those polo style oncies, thick hoodies, and any kind of outfit that's bulky around the neck will just make your baby uncomfortable. The ones with the simple overlaps over the shoulders or bottons on the side shoulder work best.

5. Socks and mittens fall off so easily. If it's cold opt for outfitls that have feet and hands coverings.

Baby's here!

So I've been wanting to post this for the last 2 weeks. I've been busy with baby and recovering from the not fun at all repeat c-section. 

Here's what happened; two weeks ago I went to see the doctor and he thought I was in labor so he sent me to the hospital. I was in denial but still called the husband and off we were. It turns out the doctor was right and the newest addition to our family was born just a few hours later. His name is Kellan and he's a beautiful baby. The four of us have been enjoying our holidays together at home. Starting tomorrow though I'll be even happier. I'll be allowed per doctor's orders to go up and down the stairs. And in 2 more weeks I'll be able to drive! That will make it a bit over 2 months of no driving. Hopefully I'll remember how 'cause honestly can't wait to get out!

Cool Gifts for Kids

Since I'm on bedrest, I've been having to do all my Christmas shopping online. I ran across a lot of interesting gifts for kids, so I thought I would share some. 

1. Twin Baby A/B: If I knew anyone having twins, I'd give them these!

2. Alphabet Baby Teether: I love type, hence I love this baby toy.

3. Create Your Own Puzzle Set: My kid loves puzzles, and he also loves drawing and painting. I love the idea of him being able to create his own puzzle. 

4. Airplanes Box Set: This is not only a really nice looking toy, it also packs up neatly. 

5. Educo My Backyard BBQ Set: Nicest toy grill I've ever seen.

6. Pita Pockets Lunch: Nice play food

7. Animal Alphabet Wooden Puzzle: This is both beautiful and educational.

Bedrest

So I haven't been doing much lately, which explains the lack of posts. A few weeks ago, the baby in my belly started thinking he was big enough and wanted to come out and play. Well, the doctor didn't agree and that's how I ended up on bedrest. I was only 33 weeks, the longer I can keep him in there, the better for him. 37 weeks seems to be the "safe" number. The doctor is actually hoping I make it to 39 weeks, since that's when my c-section is scheduled for. We will see...

This whole thing was kind of unexpected. With my first kid I ended up having to be induced at 42 weeks. So, very different. My life is very different now though. Maybe carrying my sleeping 3 year old up the stairs (35lbs) didn't help. Well, there's nothing I can do now, except for lay/sit on my bottom and overdose on episodes of Parenthood on Netflix. I'm so thankful for my mom, husband, son, and friends, that have been helping out during this. I'm also thankful for my iPad, that has been helping me stay sane. 

* The image above: My son came in my room the other day, grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, and drew this. He said "He's sad. Because he's stuck in the house and he can't get out" #bedrest

Halloween 2011

This is definitely one of those Holidays that's a lot more fun with kids. I feel at age 3 our son enjoyed it more than ever. He also expressed what he wanted... for his costume, the pumpkin... He asked that we carve a Mickey Mouse pumpkin. He said the ears should be two smaller pumpkins (talk about art directing...) Luckily my husband was able to make that happen (with our son's help of course) He also told us a while ago that he wanted to be a pirate. And luckily my mom was able to make that happen (with her daughter's help of course) Yesterday was an intense day – started the morning dressed up for the Halloween party at school, and then later again for the party at our neighborhood, and the much awaited trick or treating... I'm still exhausted, and he's already talking about next Halloween. He says he wants to be a pirate every year from now on. We will see...

Poisoned Apples?!

When I was pregnant with my first child I ate an apple almost every single day. I would also throw spinach on anything I could in an effort to increase my folic acid intake. Chicken and milk were also high in my diet for their protein and calcium content. I did all this of course to benefit my future child. None of the things I consumed were organic though. I just wasn't aware then of what I'm aware of now. Now it seems like I'm constantly hearing alarming news about all food.

First there are all the preservatives, sugars, high fructose corn syrup, flavors, colors, fast food loaded in saturated fat, etc. All bad, right? I can say we do pretty good staying away from these. Even though I've decided not to turn into a freak about it. As of now, the consumption of these culprits every once in a while is ok per my standards.

Then there's the milk and all the meats; full of hormones, antibiotics, etc. Now, these are things we consume often, so I switched my family to organic in this area, or at least hormone and antibiotic free in some cases. 

And last there are our fruits and veggies. The ones that are supposed to be the greatest for us. Apparently not true unless you buy organic. I recently came across all these articles referring to studies that show how all the pesticides found in this group can affect children and pregnant women. They are linked to ADHD, low IQs, and worse of all cancer. It's really upsetting to me that our food industry is poisoning everything we eat. The solution seems to be to "just buy organic". Unfortunately organic is not only a lot pricier, but also, often unavailable (at least in our area). Take strawberries for example. We go through a pack of these every two days. Last I looked, organic strawberries were $7.99 at Publix and they were WAY past their prime, making them not even an option.

Here's the list of the fruit and veggies most contaminated with pesticides. The "Dirty Dozen" list: celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, domestic blueberries, nectarines, sweet bell peppers, spinach, kale and collard greens, cherries, potatoes, imported grapes, and lettuce. 

I obtained the list from here.

And here are some of the other articles I'm referring to:

Prenatal Pesticide Exposure Can Lower Kids’ IQ

Could pesticides cause ADHD? 

Pumpkin Patch

Our 3 year old has been kind of obsessing with Halloween. I don't blame him. The stores put everything out about a month in advance and the questioning starts... "Is Halloween tomorrow?""Today?""Can we get our pumpkin?" So yesterday we decided to make a little trip to the Pumpkin Patch. He said he wanted to make a Mickey Mouse Pumpkin and that he needed one big pumpkin + two little ones for his ears. We had also bought a Mr. Potato Head Set for Pumpkins at Target the day before, so we picked out yet one more pumpkin for that. He understood we couldn't carve our pumpkin yet since it would get yucky. But we were still able to have fun creating "Mr. Potumpkin Head"

There are several Pumpkin Patches around town, usually by churches. We went to the one by the Community Presbyterian Church in Celebration and went ahead and drove trough the town and checked out the crazy decorations at some of the houses.

Here's the info for the Celebration Pumpkin Patch:
511 Celebration Avenue. Celebration, FL
Mon - Sat: 10 am - 7 pm , Sun: Noon - 7 pm 

Chocolate Croissant Contest

 I've always loved chocolate croissants. But I especially crave them when I'm pregnant. So lately, when I go to either Whole Foods or The Fresh Market I reward myself with one of these yummy pastries (neither one of these stores are close to my house, but I make the drive to buy specific items that I consider to be healthier choices for my family... so I think I deserve a treat for that, right?)

Anyway, today I couldn't decide which store to go to so I thought I should base my decision on the quality of their croissant. Hmmm... I decided to have a little contest. On the way back I stopped at Panera and picked one up there too, just to have another one for comparison.

The results:
1. The Fresh Market: Best overall taste. Soft and fluffy, with the right balance of chocolate vs. pastry. At $1.29 this one has the lowest price also.
2. Whole Foods: This one was so close to the Fresh Market's. It was really a close call. Also very soft and fluffy, with excellent taste. However, I could taste the oil or butter a bit, not badly though. It's just that the one from the Fresh Market had a bit more chocolate and tasted a tad better. This one was $1.79
3. Panera: It's an ok croissant, but just not as good as the other ones. Not very fluffy and the chocolate is kind of hard. It's inferior in flavor and smaller too. At $2.09 this one is the most expensive one. Sorry Panera, I do enjoy other things in there.

*Disclaimer: Even though I took this contest very seriously and I have excellent taste and I am pregnant, I do not posses professional taste buds. These are just my personal opinions, and are likely to differ from other's.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween

So we went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party the other night and got tons of candy. However, I'd say the highlights for our three year old were the parade and the dance parties. He loved dancing with Woody and Jessie in Frontierland. And loved pointing at all the characters and their costumes in the parade. 

I couldn't believe he kept every piece of his costume on throughout the night. He really wanted to be a pirate this year and was so proud of his costume, especially the beard. My camera card messed up as soon as we got to the park so I'll have to post pictures of him post Halloween.

On the negative side the Boo To You song has been stuck in my head for days.... to you - and you - and you - Happy Halloween!

Baby Shower + Fashion Show

I went to a really cute baby shower the other day. One of my friends is having a baby girl, and apparentely she's not going to make her wear her older brother's clothes... crazy, I know! Anyway, the shower was themed as a fashion show. The invitation stated "Bring an unwrapped outfit for Courtney to be featured on her Clothesline of Fashion Show" All the outfits were put on hangers and showcased. Also, the snacks at the party were all pretty AND yummy – which this pregnant designer really appreciated. 

It was so much fun to go shop for a baby girl outfit. I found the perfect little dress at Janie & Jack, and then contacted local designer Sarah Mathews from Orange Blossom Ink for the perfect headband. I sent her a picture of the dress and she made a custom Felt Flower Headband to match. I love how it turned out!

iPad Apps

There are tons of cool apps for kids for the iPad, but these are some of our favorites right now:

Plic, Ploc, Wiz - I love the simple illustrations and the colors in this app. There are different ways to play with the shapes. You can fit the shapes into the outlines or you can just have complete freedom and build whatever you want. Our 3 year old loves it. You can try it for free and then pay for additional illustrations.

Montessorium Intro to Letters - I think the best part of this app is that it allows you to trace the letters, which is perfect for 2 and 3 year olds. It also tells you the sounds the letters make and even allows you to record your voice saying them. Montessorium also has Intro to Math, and the newly released Alpha Writer. These are all fun, educational, and nicely designed!

Want to go to Ikea?

So, the kid loves Ikea. I don't think he would go to the extreme of saying it's as much fun as Disney, but for me, at least during the very hot summer, it is! By the way, that top picture in the middle is a chair that spins. He'll get in there and then ask me to spin him around. All I hear is laughter after that. There's music playing too, so on the picture at the bottom left corner he's dancing between the rugs. And then, there are of course the cinnamon buns that for some reason we don't ever seem to be able to avoid on our way out.

I was too into eating the cinnamon bun and didn't get a picture. So that shot was borrowed from the Ikea website.