five big ones

Happy anniversary to my wonderful husband of five years! Wow, that seems crazy to say. Five years is big time. In the past five years we have endured me going to grad school, graduating from UNC, went on a cruise, bought a house, decorated said house, vacationed in the Florida Keys, had Brian switch bank branches twice, went on lots of trips around NC, celebrated my sister's wedding, went through 2 years of fertility treatments, got another dog, travelled to Chicago for IVF, had a crazy pregnancy, and loved on our little bundle of joy.

Thank you for the amazing journey and I can't wait for the many years ahead. And I am sorry I have strep throat on our anniversary. Which apparently grown-ups still get. So our anniversary dinner is consisting of a smoothie, some chicken noodle soup, and a popsicle. Hopefully the amoxicillin will wave its magic wand over my nasty red throat before our big date night out for sushi tomorrow. Mmm sushi. But not right now. Cause at this moment it's more like, oooh scratchy swallow-requiring sushi, yuck.

Marriage is not a noun; it's a verb.

It isn't something you get. It's something you do.

It's the way you love your partner every day.

~Barbara De Angelis

the good stuff

I have been saving up all my baby gear advice for a giant baby gear review. I know lots of ladies that are getting ready for their first little one, so this post is for you (shout out to Kristy, Allie, and Shallan!) First I am going to review the stuff I loved. Because I like to start with the good news. I have tried to hyperlink to the item online in each name. Last, I will tell you about the stuff I don't like or need. My apologies in advance if you gave me something I hate. It happens, get over it.

Stuff I LOVE

The BOB - The BOB is our jogging stroller. It goes everywhere with us and can pretty much rock out any surface. We love it on the trails and parks. Lila still has to use the Infant Car Seat Adapter so her car seat sits in the stroller. We also purchased the Handlebar Console for my diet coke. And my Blackberry. Both essential to our baby's needs.

Snap N Go Stroller - The Snap N Go is my savior. I mean other than JC, of course. It weighs like half a pound and can fold open and closed in 2 seconds. I just snap her infant car seat into it and off we go at the mall, Target, whatev. It is so much easier than a bigger stroller and has a nice big basket for small shopping trips.

NoJo BabySling - I was given this sling by my friend Rebekah and it is my favorite out of all the other slings I have tried. I like that it is adjustable, so I can keep her loose or tight and Brian can wear her. I also feel like I can keep her upright, which is a big concern with all the sling recalls lately. This is great for a baby like Lila who likes to be held all the time but when Mommy's arm is about to fall off.

Baby Bjorn - It is really worth it's crazy eyebrow raising price tag. Lila loves to be awake in this and look around. And when she gets older, she can face out and really see the world. Brian likes to wear Lila in this to church to keep dirty, rude people from touching her face.

Graco Pack and Play - I did not get one for our living room originally because we have important grown-up furniture filling our living room. And then I brought Lila home. And I was like, where will I change my baby and keep all of her piles of necessary baby paraphernalia? And now it sits, in my living room, mocking me with its awesomeness.

Graco iMonitor - I love this monitor. It comes with two chargeable wireless parent monitors to place around the house and one baby monitor for her nursery. You can hear every noise and it also has a vibe feature that makes the whole parent monitor vibrate when she cries.

Waterproof pads - Because babies pee on stuff. And it is pretty nice when you don't have to change their sheets under the pad in the middle of the night.

The Miracle Blanket - Oh the pages and pages I could write about the Miracle Blanket. Oh wait, I already did right here. The Miracle Blanket made an automatic change in Lila's sleep schedule. Before, only about 3-4 hour stretches at night. After, at least 6-7 hours straight every night. And we have tested it by not swaddling her and at about 3am when she was screaming I was sending Brian to the nursery to wrap her back up.

Munchkin Wipes Warmer - Okay, I admit I thought this was pretty stupid. But she really likes her butt staying warm when she is half asleep. Go figure. A lot less crying during diaper changes.

Gymboree blankets - I love these blankets. They are the perfect size for nursing (which I like using much more than the Hooter Hider and will review below). I tuck one edge under my bra strap, over my shoulder, and across the baby. It is very soft, washes well, and keeps her warm but is not too hot.

Pampers - Love of my life. They fit better than any other brands I can find. They don't leak out the sides or the back as much. I know they are more, but I use coupon codes for Diapers.com and do the Gifts to Grow rewards program, where you enter codes found on diaper packaging and can redeem them for baby gear.

Fanny Cream - Oh how I wish I could link to this online. But it can only be purchased at a local pharmacy in Sanford. It is by far the best diaper cream out of all others. It keeps her fanny nice and dry and soft. If you live in NC, leave me a comment and I can help you get some.

NUK Pacifiers - So funny story about how I sent Brian to Target to buy one of each kind of pacifiers the week we came home from the hospital until we found one that Lila liked. And this is the only one she will use.

Old Navy socks - Seems silly but these are the only socks that will stay on her little baby feet. And they are super soft.

Gas Drops - Lila thinks this is sugar water. She can be screaming, I will put a drop in her mouth and she stares at me, mid-scream turning into a giant smile. And bonus, Target has a generic brand!

Washable nursing pads - Some ladies don't need them, but I do. And wearing a piece of paper around in your bra is just not comfy. Not to mention the disposable pads add up! Love these, very soft, wash well, hold leaks. Only negative, you can see them through some shirts.

Manhattan Toy Winkle - So fabulous. She could start using this toy very early, as the plastic loops are skinny and she can grasp them. And supposedly, you can put it in the fridge so she can chew on the cold loops when she starts teething. I love things that are multi-purpose!

Take It Or Leave It

Boppy Pillow - Okay, to be fair, we used this a lot the first week or two I was nursing. It did help hold her in position better. But it is kind of useless after the first couple of weeks. I would still get one, but maybe see if you can find it used and don't spend a lot on extra covers.

Boppy Rock In Comfort Travel Swing - I liked this swing originally because it was very light and could move around the house. But the last month and half, she does not want to lay in it. Maybe she will like it later. Also, the straps don't fit around her very well when she's little.

Diaper Champ - I don't get it. It's a trash can, but it's pink and has a weird top. Poopy diapers still stink. And the trash still has to be emptied.

Hotsling - It is one solid piece of fabric, so it does not stretch or allow you to adjust once you get the baby in. She hated it the 2 times I tried to make her sit in it.

Fisher Price Baby View Mirror - I hate this thing! I have a bench back seat with no headrest in the middle. And there is no possible way to attach this thing. Every time I kind of rig it up, the first time I stop, the mirror falls. On the baby. Super safe.

Hooter Hider Nursing Cover - I have tried several different brands of nursing covers and don't like any of them. I feel like they are hard to maneuver and not wide enough. I also think they draw more attention than a well placed blanket.

Boon Bug Pod for Bath Toys - Sure it looks cute, but they only provide screws or permanent adhesive strips to attach it to the tub wall. Ever hear of suction cups people??

Whoever said money can't buy happiness

simply doesn't know where to go shopping.

~Bo Derek

rolling rolling rolling

I knew it was coming. Lila has been planting her leg underneath her for the past few days whenever we set her on the changing table. And then Saturday night, I laid her on our bed on her back and she just flipped. I thought, oh well, it will take her a week or two to get used to that. And then on Sunday morning, I woke up to find her upside down, still swaddled, crying into the sheets in her cradle. Oh no.

She can now roll over in like half a second. "Flipping from back to front often takes until around 5 months because it requires more coordination and strength" (Parenting.com). Just to review, she is only 11 weeks today. I think we are in serious trouble if we continue on this track.

It is super cute because she is so proud of herself when she flips over. "Look Ma! You put me down and thought I would stay in one place and now I am squirming on my belly! Ha!" But it also means the Miracle Blanket has to be retired. Since she now flips over in her cradle, I have to make sure she can push her face up with her hands. The last two nights have gone something like this:

11pm - Set Lila down in cradle with just a sleeper on
11:03pm - Lila realizes she is not swaddled and starts screaming
11:05pm - Got Lila calmed down and laid her back down.
11:10pm - Repeat
11:30pm - Lila remembers she can flip over and starts rolling on her tummy and screaming into the sheet
11:31pm - I flip her back onto her back
11:45pm - Lila drifts off to sleep
12:10am - Lila wakes up, realizes she isn't swaddled, starts crying, and flips over onto her belly
...Repeat about 27 times until 7am

In spite of the six thousand manuals

on child raising in the bookstores,

child raising is still a dark continent

and no one really knows anything.

You just need a lot of love and luck -

and, of course, courage.

~Bill Cosby

hands off

I have a conundrum. And no, it is not that I like to throw SAT vocab words into my blog posts. People keep touching my baby. I am not a quiet, shy person. I have no problem telling people my thoughts and opinions. But for some reason, I cannot tell people to keep their filthy hands off my little one.

I know some people hang signs like this one from My Tiny Hands on car seats and strollers. Other people just flat out glare at anyone who comes within 12 inches of the baby and their mom radar goes off.

But I cannot seem to speak up when people feel the need to touch Lila. I guess on one hand I want them to admire how cute she is. And I don't want to seem rude. But there is that split second when I know they are about to reach over and rub their probably unwashed germ-infested hand on her cheek. Or grab her finger (that in about 90 seconds she will stuff into her mouth and slobber on).

I guess I don't know what to say without sounding mean or rude or offending people. Again though, offending people isn't usually of any concern to me. Not sure why I care now.

What do you say to strangers (or just familiar dirty people) when they try to touch your baby? Please leave me a comment with your best lines. Maybe you don't have a baby and have had someone say something to you? Were you offended? Did you throw out a Stephanie Tanner "How rude!" but then calm down when you thought about it later?

Now before we do this,

let's go over the ground rules.

Rule number 1, no touching of the hair or face.

~Will Ferrell in "Anchorman"

sit ups

Look who can hold her head up by herself! And if I support her body a little bit, she can sit up on my lap and look around. She is so big time you can't even stand it, can you?

Too many people grow up.

That's the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up.

They forget.

They don't remember what it's like to be 12 years old.

They patronize, they treat children as inferiors.

Well I won't do that.

~Walt Disney

the sunshine state

Oh finally the Florida recap. I know, better late than never. We had such a good time hanging out in Florida. The plane travel was lots of fun, I mean not fun, I mean super stressful. Lila was a trooper, but I was just scared the whole time that she was gonna cry and make everyone mad. I wore her in the sling the whole time, which helped keep her calm and sleeping. We did end up having a poopy diaper that could not wait while we had to sit on the plane for an hour and a half and have the brakes fixed. No big deal, just broken breaks. Nothing to be concerned about says the Captain.

Since the plane was old school and did not have a changing pull down table in the bathroom, Lila got to show her fanny to all her new air travel friends. This is me changing a baby's poopy diaper on an airplane seat. I wish you could see the faces of the people around us. Not only are we submitting them to smelling diapers and  seeing bottoms, but I am also completely blocking the aisle and coming dangerously close to sitting in the guy's lap across the aisle from me while bending over. Fun times.

On Saturday, we went to Winter Park, a cute little town where Lilla's Mimi and Auntie Katelyn spoiled her with a shopping spree from Baby Gap. And we stressed out some very fashionable people with some public breastfeeding at an outdoor Starbucks. We went out to a super fun Greek restaurant for dinner that night and had a little piece of heaven I like to call "Baked Feta." And all God's people said hallelujah.

On Sunday we went to Katelyn and Peter's pool and stressed out some more super cool single people doing shots as they gyrated around to "Rude Boy" on repeat and played beer pong on their inflatable beer pong raft in the pool. Why yes, there is such a thing as a raft made just for beer pong. And then we walked in with my mom, me in a momish bathing suit, and a baby. Buzz kill. Look how cute my adorably out of place baby is!

We then attempted to recreate the Baked Feta that night. Recipe is below. Try it. Your taste buds can thank me later. Thanks so much to Katelyn and Peter for letting us crash their pad with us and all our baby stuff and diapers and gas drops and strollers. We can't wait until you move to NC in July so we can make people feel awkward all the time!

Baked Feta

1/2 pound feta cheese

Olive oil

Oregano

Break feta into small slices. Lay out single layer in a large sheet of aluminum foil. Cover in olive oil and oregano. Fold aluminum foil edges together and bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.

I'm gonna soak up the sun

Gonna tell everyone to lighten up

I'm gonna tell 'em that

I've got no one to blame

For every time I feel lame

I'm looking up

Gonna soak up the sun

~"Soak Up the Sun" by Sheryl Crow

grill baby grill

No, I did not fall off the face of the earth from the stress of travelling with a two month old baby. Just lazy and haven't uploaded the pictures from Florida yet, so I thought, "Hey! It's not like anyone checks my blog to hear me jabber on. It's because of the cute baby pictures! So no point in posting till I have some of those to share."

I will upload all my FL pictures tonight and get down to more "Things I learned while flying with a baby." In the meantime, I am off to go get a fabulous massage today, thanks to my friend Jen. She gave me a gift certificate for my birthday in January. When I was huge. And I thought there was no point wasting it then because as soon as the 50 minutes was up, I would still be big and pregnant. So I decided to keep it for when I could actually enjoy the massage and it's after glow.

And then tonight, we are enjoying some fabulous Tequila Lime marinated steak! Yum! Here is the recipe for your enjoyment :-)

Tequila Lime Marinade
2 T tequila
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T soy sauce
1 jalapeno
2 scallions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T brown sugar
1 t black pepper
1/2 t sea salt
2 lime wedges

Mix marinade, then add 1.5 lbs skirt or flank steak to marinate at least 6 hours. Goes great in fajitas or enjoy straight off the grill. (From "Fresh Every Day: More Great Recipes From Foster's Market" by Sarah Foster)

Grilling is like sunbathing.

Everyone knows it is bad for you

but no one ever stops dong it.

~Laurie Colwin