What to Get When You're Expecting-- Part 1

Whew, it's been a while since I posted here. What's new? Adam lost his job. We moved to New York. Allen turned one last week. It's been an interesting 2013 so far. Anyways, a cursory glance at my facebook feed tells me that EVERYONE I know is pregnant, most of them first-time parents! So I thought I'd pass on my top list of baby do/do not buy (good news! You don't have to spend as much money as Babies R' Us would have you believe!). I know everyone's list is different, so feel free to disagree with me, but this is my slightly minimalist list of parenting purchases for baby's first year.

YES-- a baby carrier. Every mom needs a baby carrier-- it's a hands-free way to do what you need to do while simultaneously filling your baby's need to be close to you. Allen is what I jokingly refer to as my velcro baby-- he has a more intense need than most babies to be near me, and screams bloody murder nearly every time I put him down. My back-carrying Boba has been an absolute lifesaver-- if I had to throw out EVERY baby item- diapers, clothes, toys- and save only one thing, this would be it. Sometimes, I even chuck Oscar in there when he's being rowdy in a public place. A ring sling is great for the newborn stage, and a soft-structured carrier (SSC) is great for 3 months and onward. Just make sure to get an SSC with a good, wide bottom that supports the entire bottom and thigh (like Ergo, Beco, or Boba) instead of dangling baby by the crotch (Baby Bjorn, Infantino).

Old picture of Adam and the boys going for a walk! Oscar's face is great.

NO-- a crib. This isn't for everyone, but my family has personally done great without ever owning a crib. We just slept with the baby in our own bed. I recommend co-sleeping if you're planning on breastfeeding-- I had a couple months of getting up in the middle of the night to feed Oscar when we were on the learning curve, but since then, I have never gotten up in the middle of the night to feed. Having figured it all out with Oscar, I actually found Allen's newborn stage to be extremely restful-- I got up once a night to change his diaper, and that was it. The rest of the time, I woke up for the ten seconds it took to latch the hungry Allen on, and fell back asleep. I especially recommend co-sleeping if you'll be breastfeeding and working-- sometimes, when mom works, baby does something called reverse cycling where they sleep a lot during the day when mom is gone and wake up a ton during the night to feed and reconnect. Bring baby to bed, and voila!-- mom gets to sleep, baby gets the closeness s/he craves, everyone wins. This means I recommend taking the money you'd otherwise spend on a crib and YES--Queen- or king-sized bed.

If you decide to take this route, be absolutely certain to research safe co-sleeping practices!

For naps, we had a crib mattress on the floor, for reasons which tie into the next item:

NO-- a playpen or exersaucer. I am a strong believer in babyproofing the house so my babies can move freely to explore. I want them to be a part of my world and learn- while I'm there to watch and guide them- appropriate behavior around table edges, breakable objects, and stairs. It gives me peace of mind; it helps them develop motor skills and investigate things that interest them, instead of viewing it all from behind a mesh curtain or a chair that limits their movements. If I really can't spare the attention to make sure Allen is safe, I put him in the baby carrier.

YES-- Sensorial toys. One little joy of mine is being on the lookout for toys that will give my babies the biggest sensorial bang for the buck. By that, I mean toys that give them exposure to all sorts of different sounds, textures, smells, tastes, patterns, and timbres. For this reason, I avoid purchasing plastic toys-- they all pretty much feel, taste, and fall on the floor the same. Instead, I look for things around the house or in nature for the kiddos to explore. Out of all the stuff in the house, Allen's favorite toy right now is... get ready for it... a PINECONE!! You REALLY, truly don't have to go big-budget for toys.

Allen enjoying his little sensory basket. Right now, it has a wooden dinosaur, a pinecone, a wool yarn ball, a sea shell, a metal ring with old metal keys, a felt embroidered letter, a fabric/wood bead teething ring, and a lavender sachet.

YES-- a good kid's TV show. Science has proven that TV makes children aggressive, stupid, cancerous, and insert bad adjective here. But sometimes, I like to take a shower unaccompanied by the pounding of four little hands pounding on the door. Sometimes, I'm working on something hazardous and need both of them out of the way. Sometimes, I like to enjoy a little "grownup time" with my husband, interruption-free, secure in the fact that my kids will stay glued to one spot. If the price for a little parental sanity is that the kids have to watch half an hour of Thomas the Tank Engine, then I think it's a good tradeoff.


Tune in next time for bath time, feeding accessories, and more!

The one-track mind of a toddler

Today, Oscar and I had this conversation:

Oscar: Oscar wants some blue applesauce! (He's referring to some blueberry applesauce we recently had)
Me: You want some applesauce?
Oscar: BLUE applesauce!
Me: Well, I'll see what I can find...
Oscar: Find blue applesauce.

What a silly.

Sharing his precious blue applesauce with Allen

Why Reduce Plastic?

It's no secret that I'm just a little bit of an environmentalist hippie. The other day, a family member asked me, "Why reduce your plastic usage?" Reducing my plastic consumption is something I am highly motivated to do, and here are a few reasons why:

~ It's healthier. Plastics have chemicals in them that are known endocrine disruptors, which have been linked to cancer, obesity, and hormonal problems. The recent unpopularity of BPA (a type of plastic) is due to the fact that we now know that it has endocrine disruptors, and BPA is found in a LOT of food-related items, such as plasticware, tin can linings, and jar lids. It is particularly problematic when plastic is used to store oily foods like meats or sauces, because those types of food are a perfect medium for plastic chemicals to leach into.

~Recycling is not a great solution. Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't recycle. You absolutely should! However, recycling is not a great solution because most recycling is downcycling. A plastic water bottle is not recycled into another plastic water bottle. Oftentimes, it is recycled into a lower-grade product, which is then downcycled even more, until it is eventually not suitable to be recycled anymore. Every time a piece of plastic is created, it all ends the exact same way: sitting in (hopefully) a landfill  for the next several hundred years or more. The best solution is to just not buy plastic at all.

~It's good stewardship. I'm sure that everybody has heard about the problems with trash in the wild, or about the massive Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It's a fact that many species, particularly sea turtles and waterfowl, are declining because they mistake plastic bags in the water for fish or jellyfish, and then eat them or feed them to their young. Animals are regularly found dead, stuffed to the gills with plastic. Here's a picture of an albatross chick carcass filled with plastic water bottle caps and other plastic debris (warning: graphic).

I have run in conservative Christian circles for most of my life, and it astounds me how Christians can say with a straight face, "The earth is the Lord's; and everything in it!" and at the same time have absolutely no problem with trashing said earth. God calls us to be good stewards of everything He's given us; He has given us dominion over the earth, but not a free license to waste it away. It really ticks me off that many conservatives refuse to be environmentally conscious because that has traditionally been an issue championed by liberals. Folks, taking care of our children's future world should not be a partisan issue, and people who wantonly create waste just to stick it to the liberals are being irresponsible and petty.

I have also encountered the mindset that it's okay to let the world burn because Jesus is coming back any day now. But who's to say He won't wait another 2,000 years to return? And even if He came back tomorrow, wouldn't all Christians have to account for how they have taken care of His earth?


Those are my top three reasons to reduce plastic. Wondering where to start? In all my research on plastics, the #1 action recommended by experts is to stop using plastic grocery bags. That is the most prolific and harmful type of plastic waste, so getting rid of them would be a great start! I'm not in favor of governmental plastic bag legislation, but I would absolutely love it if stores voluntarily enacted plastic bag bans or charged a fee for plastic bag usage. Either way, once you get into the habit of using reusable grocery bags, it is easy to get hooked. They are way stronger than plastic, so you'll never have to worry about bags ripping or having to double-bag. There are gazillion different designs to buy (or make at home!) and so many of them have cute designs.

Anyways, Adam is asking me to end my rant so that the computer will stop smoking, so I'm going to end it here. Maybe later I'll add some plastic-free living resources for everyone to check out if you're interested!

Car Seat Safety Tips

Last week, my parents and sister came into town to cuddle some babies. There was a lot of this

and a little of this.

Much fun was had, and my parents got to relive all over again the joys of getting peed on by a potty-training toddler. Whoops, sorry, Mom!

At some point during their visit, we transferred Oscar's car seat to their car, and then back to ours, which brought the subject of car seat installation to my mind. Over these past couple years, I have discovered piece by piece how very little I actually knew about car seat safety in the beginning. Car seat safety is one thing I never hear discussed, which is ironic, considering that this actually is one of the real life-and-death decisions one can make as a parent. I am increasingly more and more thankful that we haven't gotten into a wreck, because the majority of the time that we've been using car seats, we have been using them incorrectly!

So here is a little FYI post of tips I have picked up over the course of two years for car seat safety. Maybe everyone already knows these, and I have just been living under a rock, but if they help just one person, I'll consider this post worth the time it took to type!


1. Children should avoid wearing puffy coats in their car seat during the winter. They can compress during an accident and possibly cause the child to slip entirely out of the car seat. Here's a video talking more about it.

2. The chest buckle needs to be up high, around the child's nipple or armpit area.

3. Straps need to be tight enough around your child so that you can't pinch the slack. "Snug as a hug" as is the saying that keeps getting tossed around.

4. When installing the car seat, it's best to actually get in the car and press down on the seat with your full body weight.while tightening the restraints. That car seat needs to be tightly embedded in that seat! If the seat can shift more than 1" in any direction, then it's too loose!

5. Forward-facing is illegal until one year of age, but the AAP recommends rear-facing until two years, or even longer. In Europe, it's not uncommon to see kids rear-facing until three or four. The chance of serious injury from a car crash is significantly reduced by rear-facing. More on that here. The footage of a forward-facing crash test as opposed to rear-facing is definitely worth seeing!

6. Children should stay in a harnessed car seat until they are at least 4 years old and 40 pounds; then, they should use a booster seat until they are 8 years, 80 pounds, or 4'9".

7. Not sure if your seat is installed correctly? You can talk to a local Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST), usually at a fire or police department, and have them look over your setup. Find a CPST here.


I'm sure there is more, but these were the big ones I didn't know. Happy driving!

The difference between starting solids with Baby #1 and Baby #2

Baby #1. One by one, I carefully check off the biological readiness signs: at least six months old, can sit up unsupported, has lost the tongue-thrust reflex, has the pincer grasp, et cetera, et cetera. Finally, I set the stage for his first food-- I lay down a large sheet to catch any spilled food, set up the baby seat, make a special trip to the store to buy an organic avocado. Slightly mash it to the perfect consistency- not too chunky, not too pureed- set it in front of Oscar, and eagerly watch as he pokes at it. Take lots of pictures.

Baby #2. At dinner, a  few days after he turns 6 months old, I say, "Eh, close enough," and fish a carrot out of my lentil soup for him as he sits on my lap. There may or may not have been a lentil attached.

Re-entering the work force after being a SAHM

I haven't been as active on this blog this month as I wanted, but that is mainly because most of my online time has been devoted to job hunting. You heard that right, I am (hopefully) going to be gainfully employed soon! We were surviving on one income, but- this sounds so cliche, but it really is true- rising healthcare costs have completely eaten away what little wiggle room we had. So it looks like the Downright Domicile will be joining the ranks of two-income families once again!

Since it makes no financial sense to put the kiddos in daycare, I am going to be working from home.

Just replace that bench with a couch, and there I am!
(photo source)

I have much experience in administrative duties, and have some killer English skillz (see what I did there?), so I'm focusing on freelance writing and virtual assistant-type work. I loved doing independent contractor work with  the symphony and opera company in Oklahoma, and I'm excited to do something along those lines again!

So if you're wondering why I've been so scarce this month, that's the reason why. Wish me luck on the hunt!

A Day of Cloth Diapering: Oscar Edition

I ran across this idea yesterday, and thought it would be fun to show a day in the life of a cloth diapered kid. Right now, Oscar is 26 months and a little under 35 pounds, and this is what he wears nowadays.

We start off the morning with a Bumgenius 4.0 pocket stuffed with a Joey-Bunz hemp insert. I loooooove me some hemp because it absorbs a ridiculous amount of liquid! They are pretty much the only insert I use in Oscar's diapers these days.

Today was sheet-washing day, so the mattress is bare!

Next up, we have a fitted that I made out of an old T-shirt a while back. Oscar has super delicate angel skin that breaks out into a rash if you just look at it wrong, so I like to keep him either in a stay-dry pocket, a coverless fitted so I can change immediately after he pees, or butt naked.





Training pants that I made from fleece over some Gerber training pants. Alas, I'm afraid that Oscar is a ways off from potty training, but I like to get him used to the idea of pulling his pants up and down.

I just love that chubby little hand.

 

Here, we have a Knickernappies Custom Fit large. These are far and away my favorite diaper-- I have six of them for Oscar, the most of any single type of diaper in our crazy eclectic stash. Surprisingly, this was the only one he wore today, but that is mainly because I like to save these for going out, and we were homebodies today.

Right before naptime, I changed Oscar into a Thirsties Duo pocket, stuffed with the original microfiber/hemp insert. I've never really understood all the fuss about having a super-absorbent naptime diaper, so I just grab any old diaper and slap it on for naps.

The very tired boy.

 After he woke up, he got another Bumgenius 4.0.

*******

For the late afternoon/early evening, he went bare butt-- all that remains of our failed EC experiment. I like to give him some naked time every day because it helps keep any rashiness at bay, and EC isn't a total failure if he still has diaper-free time every day, right? Right??

*******

The next diaper was a Mother-Ease one-size fitted. Whenever I think about the babies that Mother-Ease fitted these diapers to, I imagine Barbie babies with matchstick waists. I can't even get both snaps on both sides to snap around Allen, let alone Oscar, so my toddler has to wear it with just the very outer snap attached on either side.

 

Finally, bedtime. For bedtimes, I stuff a pocket with a Thirsties hemp duo prefold, and that does the trick for night-long absorbency. This Tiny Tush diaper is one of Oscar's favorites, because of all the " 'tars".

I forgot to get a picture of Oscar wearing it because I was most eager to put that boy to bed!

I'm hoping to do the same thing for Allen tomorrow, so stay tuned!