The First Time He Hath Peed On Us

Something that I was really hoping my son would never do to me was pee on me. I know it is hilarious when you see it and hear about it, but it is not fun when it actually happens to you the first time. I was able to dodge it and caught it in a receiving blanket, my face showed relief and my son had his signature single dimple smile. My husband was not so lucky. This evening for the first time Baby E decided not to pee on my husband in a spray but he peed through his Huggies diaper on my husband. Baby E-1, Husband-0! At first I think it is the most disgusting thing and want to grimace but my husband and I after being stressed, and dead tired laughed. Compared to what we are going through right now in our lives a little pee is no biggy.

What did you consider a big baby deal prior to becoming parents? Potty Training? Throw up? Embarrassing tantrums?

Now things like that us are just plain old normal.

 

This little man is sometimes a poop monster

BabyE’s Favorite Toys

When I first found out I was pregnant, the last thing on my mind to buy for my son was toys. A surprise pregnancy makes you go into panic mode and think of all the essentials that cost an arm and a leg i.e. stroller, car seat, crib, bottles, et cetera et cetera….

As my due date came closer and closer and the after buying the baby essential, I looked at our new trove of baby items and realized we did not buy one single toy. I want my son to have fun, but thinking about it then and now, buying toys for him would have been useless. The first 3 months he was either being held, in his bouncy chair, or crib. No use for toys, so why bother.

Well, Christmas rolled around and with a new baby and holiday sales my husband and I did purchase a few things for our little man. He was gifted a few of things as well. And the bet part is he a;ready has an attitude when it comes to toys he prefers. At nearly months, he is particular about what he wants in his hand when we leave the house, what he wants to play with while on his back and sitting up. I know this may sound like gushing and I am to an extent but my kid is smart! He dislikes other toys and will cry when they are in front of him, or making sounds and whirring, and others he will tap and shake and loves them!

So here are BabyE’s favorite toys. Enjoy!

1. Fisher Price Laugh and Learn

2. Oball toys

3. Curious George stuffed toy by H.A. Rey

4. Sophie la Girafe- my son also has the ring teether and love it still!

Baby Beach Essentials

Prior to being a mom, my essentials were literally the essentials. I would sip on my bikini, throw a bottle of water and sunscreen in a beach bag with a towel and I was out. Easy, fast, and hassle free! I was all about going to the beach and not wanting to worry about anything, I would even leave my purse in the trunk of my car. But now with a baby things have definitely changed. We have planned our first vacation, and with Baby E only 6 months old, we have to rethink many of the activities we would have partaken in for family friendly engaging day outings. We are spending out time primary at the beach, so we have to take a little more with us, but worth having to end up with a dehydrated, sunburnt, fussy baby.

1. Hat – I received a very colorful wide brim hat for my son as a gift. Its by Melissa & Doug and is oh so cute! This will keep his head and shoulders covered. It is not cloth so I can rinse it off with water if I need to.

2. Sunscreen – Neutrogena Pure & Free Baby SPF 60, is my go to for me. He has not had an allergic reaction to it which is great. We have noticed his skin has gotten more sensitive.

3. Water Diaper – we are going to try disposable diapers on this trip because even though he is 6 months we are not planning on putting him in the water. He will probably be carried and touch the ocean a time or two.

4. Swim suit – nowadays these are awesome! Ours will protect him from his neck to his knees. It reflects the sun up to 50 SPF, and looks adorable with Nemo on the belly.

5. Nursery Water – for formula fed babies or to even rinse off your baby feet, hands, or face. It is better than trying to find a tap or bathroom on the beach.

6. Sandals – I cant tell you the amount of times I thought the san would be nice and had the bottom of my feet burned. The sun will burn you and the sand will too, so make sure to grab a pair of flip flops or sandals that let little breath.

7. Beach Umbrella/Sun screen – just a little bit more protection from the sun. Baby skin is very sensitive, so even though I want him to enjoy himself we need to take every precaution that we can. An umbrella can be as cheap as $5 and as expensive as $100, so do your research. Our umbrella will be primarily for when we have our sun in one of our laps. A sun screen is great because it will protect him from wind and give him shade. Ours has flaps that can go up and down and resembles a kid tent. We purchased ours the from Ozark Trails at Walmart and it had great reviews .

Have fun at the beach!

Baby Roadtrip Must Haves

My family is taking a spur of the moment vacation to Florida, and though air travel is convenient it is also pricey. For a family of 2 and a quarter we decided to drive. I know that many of are thinking over 18 hours in a car with a baby yes it is hard but it is doable. My husband and I used to raodtrip prior to getting married, and now that we have a baby some things do not change. I still love flying but maybe for our next trip.

I always have the essentials in the diaper bag regardless of where I go but error has taught me to have a couple of extra things with me. Baby E has only ben on two short road trips thus far and did awesome! We are going for the long haul an with gas stops, feeding and paper stops, the trip should take us from 18-25 hours. with two drivers, good weather, driving through the mountains will not be as stressful. Having one this drive a few times before the most direct way can also be the most stressful with fog, and rain.

So to help my husband and I out here are a few essentials that I will be dead before walking out of the house without. I did not include diaper and wipes because those two are a given.

1. Teether or Toys – My son now being 6 months old realizes when someone is in the seat next to him. He loves to be smiled at and played with. Have a small toy on hand, and if he is teething a teether. This will stop the crying  that may happen and keep him entertained – we will probably bring his Sophie or his favorite Tigger toy.

2. Milk Cooler – I have a Medela cooler and an Enamel cooler, both are exceptional. Because of the length of our trip for the first portion I am going to breastfeed and pump and store milk in my breast milk cooler, and put that inside our conventional travel cooler. Hey, every little bit helps to keep it frozen. I accidentally headed into the city without my cooler once and I had to rush home to feed my son what I had pumped.

3. Burp cloths – the catch-all blanket for baby fluids. I seriously mean all fluids. I did not believe people when they said to snag a few extra from the hospital-now I do! I use the burp cloths from the hospital the most, and my son prefer them to his others.

4. Thermometer – if you are a somewhat paranoid mother like myself the moment you feel your son is slightly warm you will take his temperature. Just in case, have a few of the sleeves with you as well.

5. Infant Tylenol – just in case there is a fever. Never leave town without it, being in a new town it would be an inconvenience to have to run to the pharmacy just to grab something you have at home.

6. Blanket/changing pad – when you need to stop for gas and change a dirty diaper in the car this comes in handy. I usually have something in the car just in case we forget the changing pad, getting pee or poop out of a car cushion is not easy.

7. Baby Food/Formula – Formula or breast milk, is a must! I am breastfeeding and using a bottle to start the weaning process. But for our ride to Florida I will breastfeed and pump. Storing what I have so that I can use the frozen milk and bottles during our stay, this will also help the weaning process. Having a gallon of Nursery water in the car with you as well to mix formula.

8. Bottles & Nipples – A must if you use formula, or bottle feeding. We are taking around 10 bottles and luckily the place we are at has a microwave and dishwasher. So to clean the bottles you can use the microwave bags to sterilize or the dishwasher.

10. Baby Carrier – when my son was born we purchased a Boba wrap which still works great for me but my husband wanted something more “manly”. We are taking a long an Infantino carrier so that dad can have a go around with him- how many times have you gone on vacation and ended up at the nacho by accident.

11. Stroller – if you do have a baby carrier great, but I will suggest a stroller. When I took my son for our last road trip when I checked into the hotel I used the stroller as a makeshift cart. And when I was walking in a conference and could not use the bathroom because it was being serviced, I used my Chicco as a changing station.

12. Sunscreen – now there is a difference between sunscreen and sunblock, so even though the bottle says sunblock it could actually be sunscreen so do your research. I am taking Neutrogena Pure & Free Baby- Tear Free, and non Tear Free. In the car the sun can do damage to your skin so this will keep your little ones face from turning red.

Is there anything you found essential when traveling with your baby on a vacation? Hope this makes you think twice, or thrice, before packing your bags.

I Can Fit My Fist In My Mouth

My son loves to put everything in his mouth now that he is teething. His hands, foot, stuffed toys, teethers, toy cars, and anything really that can be grabbed and lifted. He recently proved he has been able to stick almost his whole fist in his mouth. Incredible but he can also kiss his toes so I should not be surprised.

Now sticking his fist in his mouth is fine, it is all the germs on his hands that I cannot stand. Baby E;s skin is super soft and this may sound stupid but I am afraid that if I clean his hands too much he will lose that baby softness. Yes, lotion is there but still can too much hand washing make his skin dry out. Everyone and their mother wants to touch an adorable baby yes, but think about how many other things that person touches and so on.

There are a million germs that he can be exposed to and all it takes is one in a million to make him sick. So how do I try to keep his hands germ free without spraying everyones hands with Windex before they touch him. He is adorable so they cannot help it but asking people to wash their hands can sometimes get me mean stares and scuffs.

Offering hands sanitizers and a wet nap helps. Also something that I find to be helpful is carrying around some baby friendly wipes. You can always use his normal wipes but there are some from Johnson & Johnson that I happen to love an are baby safe. When people visit my house I always ask for hand washing, but just to be extra safe I keep a wash cloth handy downstairs with baby E’s soap nearby to scoop him up and wash his hands. Hey, every little bit helps to prevent that next cold or flu. What do you use to keep your baby’s hands germ free?