i have a four month old baby

eee! how did that happen? 4 months? didn't i just write a post about my 3 month old baby?


macie is such a good baby. she still sleeps wonderfully (i guess my bragging has yet to jinx it). naps still not great.

she is a much more serious baby than riley was. riley was always laughing. macie smiles all the time, but she reserves those smiles for myself, matt and riley most of the time. other people can get smiles, but they really have to work for them. i have gotten her to laugh twice. it's the funniest sound. it almost sounds fake, like she's making fun of me. too adorable anyway, though.

she's liking her swing more these days. she'll sit in there and just look around. she's still not a fan of the playmat. but she'll lay on the floor, rolling and turning for an hour, as long as she's not on that mat.

just the other day she discovered that her hands are good for more than just stuffing down her throat. i gave her toy to hold and for the first time she brought it in front of her face. she just stared at it, in her hands, for good 10 minutes. she was simply amazed with her newfound talent. then she dropped the toy and went back to eating her hands. macie has been grabbing things for a little while now. but this month her grabs are more purposeful. like when i want to put her down, and she's not having it. she'll latch onto my shirt (or face) and won't let go.

macie still loves to be swaddled when she sleeps. matt has put her in her crib a few times, much to my dismay. i'm sure i'm crazy, but i love having her in her bassinett in our room. it just makes me feel better. i read an article that suggested having the baby in your room for the first six months reduces the risk of sids. maybe i made it up in my head to justify my craziness? i think both she and i sleep better when she's in our room. riley hated his bassinett from day 1. he slept in his crib from the time he was too weeks old. he was never snuggler and would probably go get his own apartment now if we'd let him (i kid). but really, i'm going to enjoy all of macie's cuddles until she's big enough to know better.

this month she also discovered her reflection. no matter how mad she is, if i go stand in front of a mirror with her, as soon as she sees herself she's fine. she'll just smile and coo. oh the cooing. if no one is looking at her, she'll scream. and screm. but as soon as someone comes and looks at her, the screaming immediately stops and she's smiling and cooing. she's so intent on what she's "saying". like she thinks really hard about what she wants to come out. too cute.

she has also taken to turning herself in circles. she'll kick and kick, turning herself around and around. she's not such a fan of the rolling, though. she can go both ways, but doesn't seem too interested. she's perfectly content just going from side to side for a change of scenery. oh, and tummy time is still the devil.

i also had to move macie's carseat base to the middle seat, next to riley. as soon as her little tush hits the carseat she loses her shit. pissed. mad. woe is me. a lot of kids will settle down as soon as the car starts moving. not macie. it seems to help, though, if she can see riley. he'll give her her nuk and talk to her. he doesn't like anyone else to sit in the backseat because he "can help macie by himself". :)

i risked my sanity and gave macie a bottle of breast milk last week. i think she did ok. it's hard to tell if she's cranky because she's tired, or cranky because i gave her my boob poison. i have an entire freezer full of milk. so i think i'll just keep giving her some here and there. even though i know i gave breastfeeding my best shot (and beyond), i still feel guilty. hopefully her getting a bottle a day or so will make me feel better, knowing she's getting some of the benefits.

clotheswise she's mostly in 3-6 month. she has a few 0-3 month outfits that she can still squeeze into. i just switched her to size 2 diapers last week. i came across a newborn diaper the other day and wondered how her still tiny bum was ever thattt small. *tear*

she has her 4 month check up next week. shots and all. i'll update weight etc then.

another plus: we have not had to visit the hospital (or pediatrician for that matter) allll month. yayyy! oh. and macie already met her insurance deductible for the year. way to go macie (sarcasm!)

on an unrelated note, i took riley to the ped last week because he was driving me nuts. he was yelling constantly, not sleeping well. i was afraid he was developing some hearing issues. nope. double ear infection. that he probably had for a month. i'm waiting for child protective services to show up at my house. i felt horrible! the ped said a lot of times boys never say anything. and he didn't. he wasn't pulling at them. or digging in them. i even asked him if his ears felt funny because he was talking so loudly. this is only the 2nd ear infection riley has had. well..i guess i should say the 2nd one we knew about. because apparently he is not bothered. oh and he's perfectly happy to take the amoxicillin. i asked him the other day if his ears felt better. he told me "ummm..i think i better keep taking that medicine". probably a good sign, right?












bath time!

(last photo courtesy of riley)

dear moby, i love you.

thank god for the moby wrap. i don't know what i would do without it. macie is not a good napper. not at all. i can't really complain too much because she sleeps soooo well at night. but naps are miserable. i do all the same things i do at night. she gets swaddled. and she sleeps in her bassinet, just like she does at night. even if i put her down sound asleep (which i know isn't a good habit), she's up almost immediately. her naps range from about 10-20 minutes. then she's up and smiling like that was sufficient. nope. she's cranky again in 1/2 an hour. the only way she takes a decent nap (like 1-2 hours decent) is if she's in the moby wrap. as soon as i put her in that thing, she's out. what gives? thankfully the moby is super comfortable (if she's in the baby bjorn for awhile, my back really starts to hurt). i don't know how to get her on a good nap schedule. any suggestions? what are your kids nap schedules like?

day of awesome turned into shitfest

grrr.
so this morning i had my yearly eye appointment. not so great. eyes dilated. all that fun stuff. but thennnn. then i found out that babygap was having a sale. the mother of all sales! 45% off everything in the store. the whole store! even sale stuff! i almost died from happiness and excitement. i went (duh). because babygap is my life. if i could marry babygap i would. i would ask big gap's permission for babygap's hand in marriage. anyway. i got $245 worth of clothes for something like $125 after all discounts. i shit you not. i don't think i've ever been happier. except maybe when i found my moby wrap for $10 (that's right $10)! or maybe those days i gave birth to my children. or the day i got married. but anyway, i got a ton of ridiculously cute clothes for not a lot of money!
but thennnn
then i backed into someone's car. gah! whyyy must my happiest day be tempered by a shitstorm that is snow and my apparent blindness. sooo pissed. long story short, my 4runner hits jeep commander. teeny tiny dent in back of my truck. huuuugggeee monster motherofalldents dent on bumper of other car. fuggin a. figures. the owner was nowhere to be found (yes, i hit a parked car. i was backing out of a driveway, you see). so i left a note. with matt's number of course, because the phone call would have ended one of two ways:
1. me crying and blubbering my apologies and promising my soul in return for his forgiveness. oh and selling my kidney on the black market to pay for repairs.
2. me questioning his motives for parking his giant.ass.car almost directly behind a driveway and whatthefuckwereyouthinkingyoumeanmeanjerkforruiningmylife.
so i let matt deal with it. apparently the guy wasn't too mad. he's going to submit the claim to insurance. yay! does that mean my premiums get to go up? i've been looking for ways to spend more money!
GAH!

dreft=bullshit in a bottle (and other unecessary items)

This is the post where I impart my wisdom on the internet regarding baby items. Of course this is my opinion. But my opinion is always the best opinion. So listen up.

MUST HAVES:

Medela Pump In Style-this pump was my savior. I've heard about people getting horribly sore from pumping, but that never happened to me with this pump. Macie breastfed for 5 weeks, hated my milk like it was poison, and I kept pumping for 5 more in a futile attempt to reintroduce breastmilk. I was able to get 4 ounces or so per side per pumping session with this pump. Not that I have any previous experience with breastpumps. But still.

Swaddling Blankets- I do not mean the blankets that are actual velcro, pouch, meant-for-swaddling things. Nope. Those are crap. I just mean some nice, knit blankets. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Gerber waffle knit blankets. They're pretty cheap and cute and soft. And they stretch so you can wrap the baybee up nice and tight, preventing escape.

Multiple bottles- I did a lot of research on the best bottles (wasted time that I will never get back. But hey, I waste a lot of my time. So what's a little more?). It doesn't matter which bottle is "the best" or which "mimics breastfeeding" the most. It will simply come down to what your baby will eat from. Macie was a champ at breastfeeding. Digesting my devil milk, not so much. She also took a bottle well. As long as it was the correct bottle. She loves the Avent bottles now. When she was younger, the milk came a little too fast, despite the slow flow nipple. She also takes Breastflow bottles well. She never seems to be gassy from these. Playtex dropins are iffy. Second Nature bottles were the bane of her existence. She would not even wrap her mouth around them. I also like Dr. Browns. They are kind of a pain to clean though. I'm glad I bought just a few of a bunch of different bottles. I know people who purchased 20 bottles of the same kind prior to the baby's arrival. FAIL. I like to think I'm smarter than that (insert eye rolling here). Not. I just actually listened to some advice I was given for once.


Carseat head positioner thingy- I think ours is the kidoppotomus brand. At 12 weeks she doesn't need it anymore. However, even if your carseat has built in head positioners, you will more than likely need something else. We learned this the hard way with our son. We plopped him in that carseat to leave the hospital, only to see a sad little hunched over baby. Sad.


LOTS of sheets, changing pad covers, onesies and burp clothes- sheets get puked on all the time. Changing pad covers. You may think one is enough. Two definitely. Right? WRONG! Some days Macie poops or pees on that thing 3 times. You need lotssss. Unless you're awesome at catching poop. Then you might be OK. Me? Not so much. I prefer to just buy more things. Onesies are a staple. Plus they get stained easily because they're white. Burp clothes can be used for many things. Even if your baby doesn't spit up a lot, they'll still probably drool food all over themselves while they're eating.

Playskool GloWorm- I think the thing is kind of creepy looking. But Macie will just smile at it for hours. Figures.

A good playmat and swing- Macie isn't a big fan right now. I think she missed the memo about her being born, and how that means she can detach from me for, oh, 30 seconds. However, Riley loved these and I'm hoping Macie will eventually (like when she's 9).

Baby carrier or sling- Good Lord in Heaven, I would be dead right now if it weren't for the Baby Bjorn. This thing has saved my life. It is as if Jesus himself descended from Heaven to hand deliver this lifesaving device. Those first 6 weeks were hell. Macie screamed like 20 hours a day. The Baby Bjorn was the best thing to happen to me. I would have gladly traded food, shelter or my husband for it. Somedays it would only make her cry less hard, but hey, I was willing to take anything. And just when I thought I couldn't love anything more than the Baby Bjorn..I discovered the Moby. While it accomplishes the same purpose, I think the Moby is much more comfortable. It also allows for a bunch of different positions for the baby to be in. It is a TON easier on the back as well. I know not everyone is a Moby fan, but I absolutely LOVE it.

Sophie the Giraffe- oh.my.god. Please do not tell me blissfully ignorant husband how much money I paid for Sophie. K? Let's be honest. Sophie is a glorified dog toy. It's rubber. And it squeaks. But my baby is kind of like a dog. Slobbery. Chewing on stuff. Pooping where she pleases. So it works. It must, because Macie loves the darn thing. And I mean L.O.V.E. She's not really into a lot of toys yet. But Sophie she loves.

Wubbanub- What in all that is holy is that, you ask? Only the best thing EVAH, I respond. I'm not really sure how I came across them. I can't find them in any stores around here. So I ordered one. And then Jesus himself crafted it and delivered it to my door. With a chorus of angels and everything. Or so it seemed because that's how awesome this thing is. Well, it's awesome if your kid likes a pacifier. Otherwise it's pretty much useless. It just so happens that Macie lovessss her pacifier. The kid always needs to be nomming on it. My life will be pure hell when it comes time to do away with said pacifier. At this rate she'll be taking a bedazzled wubbanub to prom with her. Meh. I'm fine with it.

MUST THROW IN GARBAGES:

Dreft: This shit is expensive. And unnecessary. I probably have a unhealthy hatred for Dreft. But, such is life. I understand babies have sensitive skin. My son still does. We use All Free and Clear. No dyes, no fragrance. Plus, you don't have to sell your soul for it. Bonus! I'm sticking it to the makers of Dreft. I SEE THROUGH YOU! bwahaha. We don't use it in our household..and..and...my kids are still alive! And not covered in rashes even! WHOA!

Swaddle-Me Blankets- another scam. At least for me. I've heard some people rave about them (leading me to waste my money on them). Both of my children escape these within seconds.

Baby shoes- I know they're cute. Like, really cute. And Macie has a few pair. But, c'mon. They're really impractical. (I'm still going to buy them. bwahaha)

Bottle Sterilizers- boiling water???

Bottle Warmers- We simply use warm water. Orrrr...I have even stooped so low as to microwave a bottle. I know, I know. Sound the alarms. At least I feed my kids, right?

Ear Thermometers- Not for babies. But even for my 3 year old, I don't think they produce an accurate reading.

I'm sure these will change as Macie gets bigger. And, like i said, every baby is different. These are the things that have worked for us...so far.

I didn't include things like food, diapers, clothes. If you don't think these things are necessary, well, I really don't know what to say to you. Plus, everyone obviously has very different preferences for these things. And you probably don't care what I do/use (this is assuming you care about the other stuff I just forced down your throat).


And just because I love this picture of Riley: