The Camel Tradition Continues

Facebook reminded me this morning that three years ago I had posted about our trip to the Way of Lights. I didn't really need this reminded because we went again last night. I'm not sure its worth a trip just for it alone but we were up near there anyway and this gave us the opportunity to get our third newborn with a camel picture. It's become a tradition now. 

 

Norah and I (along with our trusty friend, the green ring sling that was also at each event. I love that thing!)

Here's Lucy's shot (at the state fair when she was about 2 months old)

And Jonah's (at the Way of Lights at about 3 months old.) 

I really never would have guessed when we took that first one that it would be repeated but once we did it twice, we had to keep going and luckily, this is the season for camel spotting. Do any of you have "spontaneous" traditions like this? I'd love to hear about them, especially if they are as random as this one.

What I'm into

Reading:

Charlotte Mason's writings. I had read Volume 1 before but after reading A Charlotte Mason Companion last month I  felt compelled to start on the whole series. I re-read 1, just finished 6 and am trying to decide which one to move to now, probably 5. Starting these right before Jonah was born was probably a bad idea because now I'm all inspired but I have to be practical and spending 4-6 hours outside every day with a newborn isn't very practical.

Listening:

Debussy: Yes, this is related to the above readings. I've wanted to be better about listening to classical music during our days but it never seemed to happen. So I've decided to follow along with amblesideonline's composer study. This "semester" we are listening to Debussy. I made a list in spotify and now when I open it up, that's the first thing we listen to before moving on to Raffi, Steve Green's hide 'em in your heart and the Sound of Music soundtrack. It's been about a month and I'm really starting to enjoy it. I recognize the songs and can tell I'm starting to really get a feel for what makes a Debussy a Debussy. My favorite is Clair de Lune but I like Children's Corner as well.

Lucy: Lucy's sung before but right now it seems like she is almost never not singing. She loves the songs from the Sound of Music and is actually pretty good at keeping the words straight. She also loves her Wee Sing bible songs but isn't so good at keeping the words straight - a few days ago she kept singing "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam to L - M - N - O - P!" and then later I heard her singing "Who built the ark. Noah. Noah. And the rains came a tumbling down and the house on the sand went splat." At least that mix up makes a little more sense. She also loves the abc song (which yes, she learned even though I didn't really want her to until she knew all her letter sounds, oh well). But her very favourite song right now is the bible song "Who did" - as in, who did swallow Jonah down. I'm not sure if she likes it because it has Jonah's name in it or because she likes the idea of him being swallowed :-)

Eating: 

All things pumpkin. I blame pinterest. Several of the recipes I have tried were flops (pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin oatmeal) but pumpkin french toast and pumpkin rolls were both pretty tasty. Craig requested a pie for his birthday and I really wanted to make pumpkin but he insisted on apple. Now I think I might go on an apple kick.

Wearing:

Not maternity clothes. I'm still in that weird transition phase but I did go buy a pair of jeans. I haven't worn jeans in so long I almost forgot how much I love them. I just can't wait until I'm a more normal size again and can justify shopping for more than just "get by" stuff.

My baby! Last week was babywearing week and I really wanted to get a picture of me wearing Jonah but I did not. It isn't that I'm not wearing him. I've worn him in both the moby and my ring sling many many times already but not normally when Craig is around (if he's around, I'm normally snuggled with Jonah on the couch or playing with Lucy on the floor) and I want to get realistic pictures, not weird contorted mama in the bathroom mirror pictures. But I'll be trying hard to get at least a couple this week. I realized that while I have a million pictures of Lucy, I only have a few of me wearing her and that was such a big thing for us and I don't want it to happen again.

Planning:

Advent: You know me, I'm always planning something. But I seem to have this canny ability to pick the worst time to want to do an activity. I tried to convince Craig that making me a new coffee table was something we should start when I was 37 weeks pregnant but he, very wisely, talked me out of it. And since this is still not really a good time to embark on any big projects, I've decided to think a bit more in the future and start planning advent things. That way I can plan to my hearts content but I don't actually need to start implementing for a month or so. Win-win. At least until I decided I need to do some crazy-fancy advent project that needs to be completed before advent starts. But I can always rely on Craig to talk me down off that ledge if need be.

What about you? Any obsession (books, food music - anything) you just have to share with someone else?

2 Weeks!?

Please forgive all typos and grammatical errors, I know there must be lots. But typing out such a long post while holding a newborn is tricky. And I may or may not get back to regular posting this month but I'm pretty sure I'll manage to at least post pictures. 

I can't believe it has been 2 weeks already. Time flies! Things are going pretty well. Two kids is harder than one but overall, life is more smooth than I was expecting. But tomorrow night is Craig's first night back at work so perhaps I'm just speaking too soon.

Jonah's doing great. I was a bit worried about his growth at the beginning because his "output" wasn't quite what I wanted but I got my hands on a baby scale and now that I can see he is growing like a weed, I can relax. Apparently, he only likes to go once every 24-36 hours, who cares what the books say about newborns needing to poop 3+ times a day. Craig says it's just that he "poops like a man."

 He just had a growth spurt so and was attached me for probably at 18 or more hours a day for 2 days straight and now he is sleeping off the milk coma leaving me to deal with the consequences of his only eating every 3-4 hours. Ah, the life of a newborn. But I love it and wouldn't change a thing about this super short season as I know it will be gone before you know it.

Sunning away some jaundice

Overall, he's pretty mellow. He likes to be held but will tolerate a nap on his sheepskin in his baby seat. Everyday he is more and more alert which I love.

I'm doing great too. My physical recovery this time seems to be much easier. I didn't have a hard recovery last time by any means but I felt like my old non-pregnancy self at about day 3 this time with two notable exceptions. The first is afterpains. Yikes! I had been warned be several moms that whatever afterpains you thought you had the first time are nothing compared to what comes after baby #2 and beyond. I'm so glad I was warned. Not only was I able to pick up some motherwort and liquid calcium and magnesium (which I do think helped because the day I forgot to take them, I paid for it) but if I hadn't been made aware of this horrible fact, I'm pretty sure I would have called the midwife thinking I was dying and that a part of my body was surely infected or about to fall out of me. I'm not kidding.

I also woke up with a cold the morning before Jonah arrived. My only symptoms were a cough and a sore throat which wouldn't have been so bad except I had a baby. Stop a minute and think about the horror of a bad cough during the first post-partum week, shudder, and proceed. So between those two things, I was pretty much living on ibuprofen that first week. Perhaps that is why I felt so good.

He lost his cord on day 5 but I didn't get around to giving him a bath until a few days later. Second child :-) But he didn't seem to enjoy it so I don't think he'll complain if he doesn't get as many as she did.

But after those things subsided, I was feeling pretty peppy. Even so I'm a big believer in a post-partum recovery period and the last thing I wanted to do is overtax myself then crash right before Craig went back to work so I've still been taking it easy. Craig's awesome when it comes to household stuff and working with Lucy so I've just been hanging out in bed or on the couch with one or two of the kids. We have gotten out of the house a couple times though - we took a very short walk on a nearby trail a few days ago and yesterday went out for a fundraising dinner and Noodles and Co. Nothing crazy but it was a nice to get some fresh air. And slowly over the next few weeks I'll start trying to get back into the swing of things - like showering before noon and putting on real clothes everyday, assuming I can find some real clothes that fit me.

  He's a fan of the moby. She's a fan of acorns. 

 Jojo's first "hike"

 Emotionally, I seem to have a rough time between day 5-10. Both times it has been compounded by nursing worries and this time might have been worse than last time. Yes, I'm a lactation counselor but that also means I know all the things that can, but probably won't, go wrong. And when you are hormonal it is way to easy to ignore the "probably won't" part and stress out. But I also work with an awesome group of women that were quick to offer support and reassurance and an awesome husband who believes in me so we made it through and now things are going great.

Lucy's having a rough time with the transition but we are getting there. At first, she just completely ignored him if he was quiet and starting crying and wanting me to pick her up if he was crying. When he was two days old, Jojo* and Craig were sleeping and Lucy and I were having a quiet breakfast together when this conversation occurred:

Lucy: Mommy, I don't like Jonah.
Me: You don't?
L: No, he is loud and he cries and it's noisy and I, I just don't like him
M: I don't like it when he cries either. When he gets older, he won't cry so much, do you think you'll like that better
L: We'll see

But a few days later she said she likes him if he is quiet and now she says even say she likes him! She's also learned to go into the another room when he cries. Of course, she starts grabbing at Craig's arm and yelling "other room, other room!" which isn't quite what we had it mind but it's progress. She still refuses to hold him but she'll pat his head or "bop" his nose (don't worry, that only means touch it gently with one finger) and today she even kissed his forehead. She also likes to pre-emptively try to stop his diaper change crying by saying "Shh, shh baby, don't worry, we only need to wipe your bum." which I think is adorable.

About to "bop" him :-)

And just as I suspected, baby play has risen dramatically. "Baby" is now a boy and her baby bed is now pushed up against hers like a co-sleeper.  Baby didn't seem to cry much before Jonah's arrival but according to Lucy he cries all the time now so he is often being carried around and rocked.

But as I said, she'll slowly coming around and while it breaks my heart when she cries for "all of mommy" at a time when I can't give her all of me, I love seeing her relationship with Craig get stronger as she learns to depend on him for more things. BJ (that would be Before Jonah) she would always say "'I'm only Mommy's girl" if Craig tried to do some things with her but now she is daddy's and mommy's girl on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Pretty soon he might have the whole week!

*Yes, Jojo is an approved nickname, but only if Lucy is not around. While I think it is cute, she strongly prefers Jonah and is not afraid to tell you that.

Big Sister Sewing

When it comes to my accomplishing sewing tasks, inertia really is key. I'll put off even simply sewing tasks for months but once I get the machine out and set up, I'll get on a roll and start sewing everything not nailed down. So when I had Craig carry my machine upstairs last week so I could hem our new curtains, I was pretty sure what was going to happen so I made sure to have all my supplies ready and yep, I got everything done - and more!

My goals were curtains hemed, beanbags sewed, and some baby doll diapers made. I'll show you the beanbags later but here are the diapers - aren't they cute?

I used skiptomylou's pattern but I ended up enlarging the sides and using bigger pieces of velcro so Lucy wouldn't have to be so precise. The last thing I wanted was another "baby" that needed me to attend to its diapering needs. The fabric was just scraps I had lying around - quilting cotton on the outside, flannel and knit on the inside. 

My favorites are the pinks, the inside is an old nightgown I cut up. I'm waiting to give them to her until it is closer to Dewey's arrival but its so hard because I know she will love them. After that sucess, I added another project - a kid-sized ring sling and since I haven't really seen any tutorials for this only, I thought I'd share how I did it.

The only tricky part of this is getting the rings. I happened to have about 40 metal rings from when I bought curtain clips for our living room bay window but only needed the clip part. That was last year and I kept them because I just knew I could find something to do with them and finally I did. But even if you don't have them on hand, they aren't that expensive. Target has a set for $6.39 and it doesn't say how many are included, but I'm sure there would be enough for several slings so you might even be able to find another mom to go in with you or you could do what I did and end up having so much fun you make 4 slings! (Don't worry, Lucy's only getting one, the others are going to some other little girls I know). My rings measured about 1.5 inches in diameter and that worked but a slightly larger ring would probably work even better.

 The only other thing you need is a piece of fabric 10.5 in x 45in. This is approximate too. I just estimated based on my ring sling - mine is slightly taller than me, so I made Lucy's slightly taller than her but you could probably adjust it slightly without harm (but alas, I wouldn't go down to 36 inches no matter how tempting it would be to get away with only using 1 yard of fabric, there just won't be enough of a tail). I used a quilting weight cotton but anything light weight would work. Even a knit would probably be fine since safety isn't a factor. And part of the "wrong side" will show so if you care about that, pick a fabric that has a subtle wrong side.

Start by heming the rectangle on all four sides. 

Then lay it flat, wrong side up, and slide both rings onto one end.

Fold over that edge a few inches, right sides together and sew the end down. I just followed the hem line.

And that's it! It's really easy. Perfect for walks around the house or when baby needs attention but tea must still be served.

Of course, I'm assuming that you know how to use a ring sling since you care enough to make your kid one, but if you don't, check out Youtube, there are lots of tutorials. Between the fairly grippy cotton and the small ring, I don't actually have to adust Lucy's very much so I help her put it on one arm (she always tries to put both arms through but that doesn't work) but she can take it from there. 


This should go without saying but I'll say it anyway, these are directions for a child-sized carried meant to hold a doll, not a real baby. Because of that, I've left out a lot of the safety features a real ring sling would have so please do not size up these instructions to make a full sized ring sling. It wouldn't be safe or comfortable. There are lots of ring sling tutorials out there if you want to make one for yourself. 

Baby Needs and Wants

According to the media, babies are expensive and needs lots of stuff but most of the mothers I know recognize that the media doesn't know what the heck they are talking about. But I'll admit, it's a bit odd this time around because I really don't need very much at all for this baby. Of course, there is always at least a few things that I would want to have for a baby, some reasonable and some, not as much.

Baby Needs:

Car Seat - We do need one of these and because I don't have other things to research, I'm afraid I've gone crazy with the car seat research. I love our MyRide but it's a fairly deep seat and since Lucy is still rear facing with a good 10lbs or 3-4 inches before she switches, we'll have to put someone rear facing behind the driver so I think we will go with either a Roundabout55 or a Radian (putting Lucy in it with the angle adjuster). The local place that sells the Radian will let us take it out to the parking lot to try it out before we buy it which is very helpful since not only is the rear facing recline an issue, but some cars seem unable to have the Radian installed forward facing at all - and how frustrating would it be to spend $250 on a car seat only to find out it won't work after a few months! Update I wrote this several days ago but just got a Roundabout 55. Craig hasn't tried it out yet but I like the look so far. 

Diapering - Don't really need anything for the first few months. Our prefolds are in excellent condition still and since Lucy outgrew her size 1 Thirsties Due covers at about 4-5 months, they are still in really good shape too even though I didn't expect any of the covers to last two kids. The size 2 covers are still in use over undies when we travel so they have been in service for 20+ months and will probably need to be replaced when Dewey gets that big. I'd also like another wet bag since I keep one available for potty accident cleanup and Lucy and Dewey may occasionally be in different places and I could use a few more wipes but still that puts our second child diaper needs at about $13x5(covers) + $20(wetbag)+$10(wipes) = $95. Not too shabby.

Clothes - We are set for the first few months. All of our newborn clothes and most of our 0-3 mon clothes are gender neutral. They are being washed as we speak and will soon fill up Dewey's drawers.

Others - We definitely have enough burp rags and receiving blankets and we didn't really use them much last time. Lucy was a big spitter until 12 weeks when I figured out I had oversupply and got a little help from my hormones slowing things down but we mostly used prefolds for that. We did have a miracle blanket that we used at the beginning. Craig loved it but I wasn't really a big swaddler and recently I've been reading more and more about the negatives of swaddling so I don't think we will be swaddling Dewey much if at all.

Sleeping location - We have our co-sleeper. The only time we used it with Lucy was for the first few months if I put Lucy down for an hour or so before going to bed myself. I think it might get used more this time since Lucy still joins us in bed in the morning and I'll need to keep them safely separated.

Carrier - Although I don't really have an Ergo anymore, or never did or whatever - I do have a moby and a sakura bloom ring sling.. I love them both for the first few months. But we will be getting some sort of ssc in the future, I really don't think I can do two kids without one. 

Fairly Reasonable Baby Wants 

Diapering - I'm pretty sure I'll be getting rid of most of our pockets. I will keep our newer pockets since Lucy still uses those pockets night but the rest are going and I just got and the three brand new all-in-ones I got for free (one one-size, twoi newborns). I just couldn't turn down free diapers but I really don't like pockets/all-in-ones and really want to switch to all natural materials, especially those that actually touch baby skin. I didn't think I would like fitteds but I actually love them so I would like to add a few more of those as well as more wool covers. My favorite fitted and the only bumgenius diaper I truly love was, of course, discontinued, but I just bought a firefly fitted to try and I'll probably try out a few other brands too. I want to go a little more off the beaten path with the diapers I choose from now on.  In an ideal world, I would do all wool covers but realistically, I don't have the money to pay for them or the energy/time to make my own and I still prefer a PUL cover for riding in the car situations (or swing, exercisaucer type situations except we don't really do those things). But I would love to have enough wool for overnights at least - perhaps a lanacare sleeper plus a disana cover and/or pants in every size? I'd like to try a firefly cover but they have always been out of stock when I look.

Clothes - I'll say it. I hate onesies. Okay, I hate onesies for newborns and little infants because I'm always snapping and unsnapping to change diapers or take off spitty clothes and they are annoying. And I hate onesies after 9-12 months because babies start crawling away while I try to snap them and we start doing potty learning anyway so they just get in the way. So I guess I don't mind them in size 6 months :-) I love tees - kimono style for newborns and lap tees for older babies. They work well with wool bottoms and if it gets cold, I can just put baby legs on. If a diaper is untucked, no wicking onto a onesie leading to an entire outfit change. Perfect baby attire - so why are they are so hard to find?! I don't blame people for always buying us outfits with onesies because 90% of what you see in the store is a onesie. I am so happy Lucy finally made the switch to 2T because finally finally we can get away from the onesies. I guess I'm in the minority with my onesie hatred but if anyone knows of a good source of cute colorful (and preferable not ridiculously expensive) t-shirts for babies, please please please let me know! I know many people like american apparel but there are aspects of that company I'm not very comfortable supporting. Update: Someone recently shared this company's information with me. I haven't ordered from them but at least it is an option!

Big Sister Kit - This one is really for Lucy, but ties in with the new baby. She loves to take care of her baby right now and I have a feeling that will only increase when our new baby arrives. I'd love to get her a baby carrier of her own (like this little boba or a ring sling to match mine or maybe even a mini mei tai )) and I plan to make her a few doll sized cloth diapers since she currently uses her own pockets (or undies) but they are difficult for her to fasten correctly and dwarf her baby. And don't forget a big/lil sib shirt although I might go this direction instead.

from etsy seller Uzume

Misc - Amber teething necklace. I always meant to get one for Lucy but somehow never did. But I've heard from enough moms that I think they must work.


Not nearly as reasonable baby wants

Montessori mobiles and "toy" set - I wasn't nearly as "into" Montessori when Lucy was first born as I am now. I still don't think these are necessary, babies do just fine with a couple faces to look at for fun. That said, I can see this baby spending more time on the floor since Lucy doesn't like to play alone (she will play by herself but likes me to be sitting near her) and I do like them a lot.

from etsy seller Bella's Casa

,

 This particular etsy seller, Bella's casa comes recommended to me but if I do get some mobiles, I'll probably stick with one of the smaller sets of say, maybe the blue gobbi and the dancer? Or I could try making my own. Kylie over at How We Montessori has just put up a few posts about mobiles that have inspired me to find a way to get at least a few. I'd also love a simple Montessori baby toy set like this.  

Baby hammock - This would be a total splurge and should probably be in it's own "Super ridiculous baby wants" - at least for our family anyway, but they are so cool I had to include them. Amyb's are probably the most well known although I've heard awesome things about the kanoe. If I did get one, I'd probably go for a style more like the specialdelivery or magic cabin ones though.

Woven wrap - This was a mayb before the whole Ergo fiasco but since then I've actually decided I don't think I really want one. I love soft structured carriers and while they may not be as fancy(hippy) looking as a cool woven wrap would be, they are very practical.  Still, they are beautiful and wearing Dewey in one would completely my hippy mom package.

Have any baby wants that have caught your eye lately (reasonable or not)?

Baby it's cold outside!

I never really thought about how you deal with the cold when you have babies. I figured you just put them in one of those cute little suits and that was that - not so much.

Apparently, you aren't supposed to put babies in car seats wearing any outerwear because it prevents the straps from being as snug as they need to be. So what are you supposed to do? Bundle them up, walk 10 feet to the car, unbundle them, drive 10 minutes to the grocery store, wrangle them back into the suit, walk into the store and undress them...then repeat on the way home. Yikes!

I know they have those car seat cozy things but we don't have a infant car seat at home and even at my parent's, she is over 17 lbs and it is not at all easy to lug that thing around with her inside. And what about babies that have outgrown theirs or when you want to wear your baby?

Blankets? I tried using those but I always felt like I was wrestling a cat trying to keep all of her arms and legs covered.

Baby wearing jackets? I've tried a peekaru on and honestly, I loved it but I don't have $80 to spend on a vest. And that is one of the cheaper ones I've seen.

So what's a mama to do? Make one! I call mine a peekalu. Get it? 'Cuz it's kinda a rip off of the peekaru and my baby's name is Lucy. Okay, so the name might need some work but even so, the outcome is awesome.

Where's the baby?

Peek-a-lu!

It looks complicated, but it is actually really simple. You start with two identical fleece jackets. They need to be the same type and size so the zippers match. One you keep as is, the other you use to make your baby panel.

The baby panel is made from the back of the jacket and the zippers. Cut the fleece on the front two inches on each side of the zippers. Then cut a panel from the back. You want the panel to be wide enough to encase your baby, taper it a bit on the top and bottom. Then sew the zipper edged fleece onto each side of the panel. I worried a lot about making sure the zippers were right but then realized as long as the bottom of the zipper was matched up with the bottom of the panel, it was right. Don't over think it. You panel will probably be slightly longer than the zippers but I didn't have a problem with stretching the fleece and easing them together. And there you go, a baby panel!

To use simply unzip the normal jacket and zip the panel into place. It's not perfect but it works well. I can use it while babywearing, or simply hold her in it while I walk to the car.

Patterns Cons:

• For a hack, it is still kinda expensive since you have to buy two jackets. Mine were from Target and were $15 each but Old Navy is another good place to look for cheap ones. If you already own a fleece from one of the places, you could try bring it there and seeing if you can find one with zippers that match.

• Nerve wracking. It isn't hard to make but it was hard on my nerves cutting into a brand new jacket!

Pattern Pros:

• I wear a fleece jacket almost 24/7 during the winter and needed a new one anyway so the cost of an extra one for the baby wasn't that much - especially compared to a "real" babywearing jacket.

• I can remove the panel easily so it will convert back to a regular jacket. This is nice since Craig will sometimes take Lucy when we are out and about and I don't want to look like I have a weird bulgy stomach or have some odd hole in the front of my jacket when I'm walking around without her. And unlike how I show it in the picture, if it isn't super cold, I can unzip the panel a bit so Lucy's head is up and she can see.

• Super simple to make. Fleece is a easy fabric to work with and even though you are working with zippers, your sewing the fleece so it isn't hard (I hate sewing zippers!). It probably only took my an hour and most of that was time spent worrying about cutting into the jacket. And mistakes are well hidden, between the dark color and lumpiness that a baby will naturally bring, no one can even see that my panel isn't 100% symmetrical.

I followed a really good tutorial I downloaded from some babywearing forum but I can't remember where. I do have the pdf saved so if anyone would like it, I would be glad to email it but I'm not comfortable uploading someone else's work. And to pass on the request of the original author, whoever she may be, please feel free to make these for personal use, but don't sell them.