Baby proofing

Yesterday, I was in Babies R' Us looking for plug covers (and of course buying a bunch of other crap I don't need...see post below). I was walking through the baby proofing aisle and looking at all these contraptions that are meant to keep your baby safe. The sucker in me, almost picked up a few more items, but my rational side talked me out of it. Of course the companies that make these products want parents to think that every single item in their home presents a danger to their child. And while this may be true, I plan on watching my kid!!! Here are a few of my favorite items:

1. Toilet seat lock - This device hooks onto your toilet and locks the seat to the bowl, so your little one can't climb inside the toilet.

Ummm, my child does not and will not go into the bathroom alone, until he is old enough to understand that the toilet is not a swimming pool.

2. Stove Guard - A shield that blocks your child from touching the stove.
While this might not be a bad idea, I plan to keep my baby away from the stove. When he gets older, if the stove is on, I will be right there. I guarantee that if he touches it once, he won't do it again!

Oh, and what about the oven??? Doesn't this pose the same risk?

3. Choke tube tester - This cup is designed to tell you whether or not your child will choke on their toys. You place the toy in this cup, if it falls out, it's small enough for your child to swallow.

Use common sense here. Any toy that is small enough for my son to fit entirely in his mouth is not a toy that I'm going to let him play with. Period!


I'm not saying I think baby proofing is a bad idea. I just think some people tend to go a bit overboard. My son is never alone in a room, unless he's in his Pack N' Play. In my house, I have outlet covers, cabinet locks and gates at the top of the stairs. I might get some of those corner protectors when he starts walking.

Disclaimer: If you like these products and think they will work well in your home, then certainly buy them. I am not a baby proofing expert.

Toys Galore

As I unpacked yet another toy for my son today, I looked around at my living room and realized that my once sophisticated, adult living space has become a toyland.

I think it's time for a bigger house (or at least one with a playroom).

Bathroom Talk

Everyone knows that all babies poop....a lot. It really becomes an important part of your life, once you have a baby. As soon as your baby is born, poop becomes a popular topic of conversation. The nurses in the hospital will ask you if your baby has pooped and even ask you to write it down. (they will also ask you if you've gone). You get a paper to take home to mark down dirty diapers. This lovely form includes a spot to describe the poop as well (was it black and tarry, green, yellow and seedy?). The first time you take your baby to the dr., you will be asked a battery of question about poop. Poop becomes more significant that you could ever imagine.

One of the many poop experiences you will have is the "Explosive Poop Experience". Just as it's name promises, an explosive poop explodes out of the back or sides (or both) of the diaper. This results in a huge mess and often stained clothes.

Here is an account of Cole's first poop explosion (I'm sure he will thank me for putting this on the internet when he is older):

My wonderful husband got up early one morning with Cole and allowed me to sleep for a few extra hours. After about an hour of so, my husband came busting through the bedroom door and yells out "I could use some help here" in a rather irritated tone of voice. My first thought was that Cole was fussy. I was quite unhappy to be woken from my sleep to get him to stop fussing. Once I rolled over, I realized what was going on. My husband had poop from the neckline of his t-shirt, down to his waist. Apparently, Cole has been lying on my husbands stomach. He claims he heard some poop type noises, but wanted to make sure he was finished before taking off his diaper. Suddenly he felt soaked and realized that he was encountering an explosive poop situation. He was at a loss for what to do, so he came and got me.

My plan of action included, putting the bottom half of the baby in a plastic bag, striping off his clothes, and tossing them. I also tossed my husband's t-shirt and sent them both into the shower together. Another option is to cut the baby out of his/her clothes to avoid the spread of poop.

You haven't lived until you've been pooped on.

Sleepless Nights

During pregnancy you constantly hear things like "get your rest now, you won't be getting any later" or "you better stock up on sleep" (like this is possible). The truth is, you haven't known exhaustion until you've been a parent with a newborn. Even if you try really hard to imagine how tired you will be, you really can't understand it until you've been there.

When I was pregnant, I read tons of sleep books and thought I had it all figured out. I would read my son's sleepy signs, make sure he didn't get overtired, put him to bed drowsy, and he would be great sleeper. Little did I know, it doesn't always work out so nicely.

When Cole first came home from the hospital, he was a great sleeper. He would fall asleep anywhere and sleep for hours at a time. At night he was sleeping in 3 hour stretches...pretty good for a 1 week old. I started to think, that this sleep thing was going to be easy.

Suddenly, without warning or reason, my great sleeper stopped sleeping. Around 8 weeks, he wanted to be held for every nap. If I put him down he's scream. He started waking up anywhere from three times to ten times a night. A few weeks after that, he stopped falling asleep on his own, he wanted to be bounced to sleep. And not just normal bouncing, he wanted you to do squats while holding him. After a few months of sweating my ass off every time my baby needed to nap and spending all night replacing Cole's paci, my husband and I decided that we had to do something. We could not go on like this.

The first thing we did, was cut out night feedings. At 6 months, he was still eating 3 times a night. We were able to easily cut out the first 2 feedings of the night, but kept his 4:00 am feeding. However, we were still up several times to "bounce" him back to sleep or put his paci back in his mouth.

About 2 weeks later, we decided we needed to take more drastic measures. We read Ferber's Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems and gave it a try. It was hard (very hard) on me. I spent the first two nights crying with Cole. But by night 3, we put him down in his crib awake at 7:30pm, he feel asleep without a sound and slept until 7:00am. He has been sleeping through the night ever since!

Gear. Gear, and More Gear

For such little things, babies need a lot of stuff. Here is my list of must haves.

Things to buy before your baby arrives:
diapers (newborn and size 1)
wipes
bassinet
bassinet sheets
receiving blankets
swaddling blankets
pacifiers
infant carseat
stroller or travel system
changing table pad
changing table pad covers
baby monitor
boppy
diaper bag
diaper pail - like the Diaper Champ or Genie
onesies (newborn and 0-3months)
pants (newborn and 0-3months)
socks
hats
footed sleepers
bibs
burp clothes
bottles
breastpump (if you plan to bf)

Things that can wait a few weeks:
bouncer
swing
pack n' play
pack n' play sheets
crib
crib sheets
activity mat
bumbo or bebe pod

Things that can wait a few months:
activity table
exersauer
jumperoo
highchair
travel seat
spoons
bowls
plastic bibs
toddler or covertable car seat
sippy cups
bath seat

*I found that it's a great idea to register for things you will need right away as well as things you will need in the future (if you have the space to store it).

If you are having a really hard time choosing which brand or model to buy, I highly recommend reading Baby Bargains.

A few things that I would skip:
wipe warmer
bottle warmer
bottle sanitizer
lots of cutsie outfits in small sizes

There is no stupid question??

I have to admit Cole was a pretty relaxed newborn. No colic, no reflux, a perfect picture of health. As "easy" as he was, those first few weeks were far from easy. The adjustment was difficult (as I imagine it is for every new mom). The recovery was difficult. Our lives had changed forever and we couldn't help but think maybe we weren't quite as ready as we had thought. If you are at this point, please know that these feelings quickly go away.

We had so many questions and wondered always wondered if we were making the right decisions for our baby. Should we wake him to feed him? What if he has a dirty diaper when he's asleep? Is that a diaper rash? How do we know if he ate enough when he nursed? Is he sleeping too much? The questions are endless. I learned fairly quickly that it's pretty hard to "mess up" a baby this small (aside from the obvious) and to just go with my instincts.

It seems like it was so long ago, that we brought my little guy home from the hospital, but on the other hand it seems like time is flying by. I have figured a lot of things out, but some questions still remain. Should we give him a bite of our food? Do we just let him cry? Is he sick, should we call his doctor? I guess I’ve just come to terms with the fact that I’m not always going to know what to do. And I’m probably going to make some mistakes along the way.

It Begins

My son, Cole, was born May 30, 2007. After 9 long months of pregnancy, (and almost a year of trying to conceive him) we were thrilled to meet him. My labor was pretty quick and pretty easy (aided by a great epidural) and Cole was happy and healthy.

We decided before his birth that I would leave my job as an Elementary School teacher (even though I just finished my MA in teaching on May 25…yea, 5 days before his birth) and stay at home with our baby for at least two years. I couldn’t have been happier about our decision and was looking forward to staying home with our son and watching him grow. Although, I’m not completely sure I knew what I was getting into (more to come on this topic later).

Anyway, we were released from the hospital on June 1 and headed home to begin our very scary journey into parenthood.

Hello!

I decided to start a blog on my personal adventures through motherhood. By no means and I am expert on the subject, but I like to think that I've learned a little bit about raising a baby over the past 7 months. I hope that my experience can help someone out there (or at least entertain them). Enjoy!