A Few of My Favourite Things

There are so many things that babies need.  I honestly tried to be a minimalist, I didn't want my house and diaper bag full of unnecessary items.  But regardless of how few things you try to get, the baby still needs certain items and these things can make your life a lot easier.

1. Receiving blankets.  Parker is a spitter and a messy eater.  I go through blankets like crazy and need a ton of them so that I'm not doing laundry on a daily basis.
2. Moses basket.  I ended up borrowing an actual bassinet from a friend, but we still use the Moses basket constantly.  It sits on the floor in our living room so that Parker can be in the room with me during the day.  I can move it around the house, or easily take it to my in laws house.  At this point it's easier than a pack and play to move around.  You can get a stand for them as well and use them as an actual bassinet.
3. Medela Freestyle Breast pump.  As a preemie mom, this was a lifesaver.  I got it for $70 off back in November and am so glad I did as I was using it 8 times a day for the first 6 weeks of Parker's life!  It's rechargeable and transportable which makes it really easy to use.
4.  Boon Grass Drying rack.  I love this because you can put your parts anywhere on it and it looks cooler than a regular drying rack.  
5.  Coffee.  Yes I limit how much I have a day, but it is so necessary.
6. Boppy Nursing Pillow.  Mine has a firm side and a soft side.  I actually use the firm side most of the time as I can literally lay Parker on it and barely have to hold him, leaving my hands free to do other things.
7. Angelcare Monitor.  I know it's crazy to be worried about your babies breathing constantly, but this takes care of so much stress.  If I pick Parker up out of his bassinet and forget to turn it off it goes nuts, so I know it works and I can sleep more soundly because of it.
8. Boppy Nursing Cover.  If you don't want to be covered up when out and about then all the power to you, but I'm just not that comfortable.  Nor do I want to have to go to another room every time I need to pump or feed my baby.  The nursing cover allows me to have visitors while feeding/pumping or to stay and socialize when at someone else's house.  Once we are out more I will be able to use it in public too.  I find that the boppy one is really sturdy at the top curved part so that while I'm nursing I can see Parker clearly.  
9. Bath with sling.  Parker isn't a huge fan of the bath, and right now the sling on this one works great for us so that he doesn't have to be fully submerged in the water.  
10. Ubbi Diaper Pail.  I wanted this pail because it can be used for both cloth diapers and disposables.  You can use regular garbage bags in it and you can buy a cloth bag for it if you are using it for cloth diapers.  It looks good and it really does contain the smell!  It's a bit on the expensive side, but you don't have to buy diaper genie refills, so that's a plus!

Parker at 2 Months

Parker is 2 months old!  I can't believe how fast time is going.  This is a long one so I will get right to it...

Weight: 6lbs 6oz

Hair: Looks like an old man with hair just around the bottom of his head.  He has grown hair on the top but it’s not very dark.  It is still brown though.  Not sure where he got that since I’m definitely a red head and Ryan was very blonde as a baby.

Clothes: He’s been in newborn clothes for a while now.  The preemies are definitely too small! 

Diapers:  Still in Newborn diapers.  I still love Pampers swaddlers.  

Feeding: He’s feeding on demand or every 3 hours (hopefully) during the day.  Sometimes he gets hungry in 2, sometimes we are busy and it’s a bit longer than 3 hours because he still doesn’t really tell us he’s hungry if he’s being held.  The past 4 nights he has had a 5 hour sleep stretch, which I love!  After that he might only go 2 hours though, sometimes 3.  But it’s still nice for me to be able to sleep for 4 straight hours.

I only pump if I’m giving him a bottle or sometimes I do an extra pump in the morning or if I feel like he hasn’t eaten very well.  It sure frees up a lot of time! 

Sleep:  He’s much more awake.  He has a few big naps during the day, but sometimes is wide awake and wants to play. 

We moved him to his crib a week ago so that we could sleep a bit better at night and didn’t have to hear every noise that he made.  Overall it’s actually going really well.  The first 2 nights the angel care monitor kept going off, we still don’t really know why, but it’s been fine since then.  He seems to sleep well on his own. 

I try to have more of a routine now for my own sake.  Regardless of the last time he ate, I try to feed him around 9:30-10pm, then put him down for the night, turn on his sleep sheep, and I go straight to bed so that I can maximize that 5 hours.

Likes: Being held, baths from Auntie Tal (hates baths from Mom…), talking, cuddles with Dad.  He likes his car seat or stroller, he goes straight to sleep.

Dislikes:   When I don’t feed him the second he’s hungry.

Milestones: I wasn’t sure if his smiles were real, but the midwife saw him smile and said that it was definitely a real smile.  She also said that his neck strength is very good.  When he does tummy time he pushes with his legs and has definitely been putting more weight on them.

Parker had his 2 month vaccines the other day.  He cried pretty hard for about 30 seconds and then he was fine.

This past month:  Parker had 2 showers and was totally spoiled!  I think we have everything we need and he has a closet full of clothes and book shelves full of books!  Lucky boy!

Some days I feel like I can get stuff done, but a lot of days it feels hopeless.  I feel more rested now, but he’s still eating a lot.  He also still spits up a lot so after a feeding I try to hold him if I can.  That doesn’t leave a lot of time for getting anything substantial done.  At my shower though somebody gave me this poem, and it’s so true.  Although it would be great to get a lot accomplished, have a clean house, blog every day, take on some projects, etc, the purpose of mat leave is to spend time with my baby boy.  He’s a baby for such a short period of time, and this year will be up before I know it, so I have to enjoy it while I can!  

28.

I wanted to have a baby when I was 27.  I figured that would give me enough time to have all my babies by 32 (if we decided to have 3, if we are only having 2 we are in really good shape!) and that seemed like a reasonable plan.  And then I wasn't sure that it would happen.  Well Parker, you made it, just under the wire. I thought that I would be sharing birthday celebrations with him since his due date was so close to my birthday.  But clearly he didn't want to share.  

I turn 28 today.  And 28 seems kind of old.  It's closer to 30 than 25.  But I feel like I am where I'm supposed to be.  I'm happily married, we have a nice house, I have a good job, and a sweet baby boy who has really turned us into a family.  Oh and a cat, the poor forgotten about kitten.

For my birthday Parker decided to have an upset tummy all night and keep me awake.  Thank you for that wee Parker, but mommy would have preferred sleep for her birthday.  

And he has continued the trend into today and I'm having to keep him in my baby wrap or else he's a very unhappy baby.  He makes it hard to get anything done.  

But what more could I ask for then spending my 28th birthday with this sweet little man.

Some days

Some days I feel like I have my stuff together.  Some days I don't.  

Some days I think to myself, we are really getting into this routine, Parker and I.  I can feed him and pump and actually function and get stuff done in the time between.  And then I realize I haven't actually cleaned my bathroom in over 6 weeks. 

Some days I shower,  Some days it just doesn't happen.

A few days I have actually put makeup on.

One day I straightened my hair.  And then I didn't wash it for 3 days because I didn't want to ruin it.

Some nights I cry.  And then I feel bad that I'm crying.  But it's ok.  Sometimes I get frustrated that Parker won't eat the amount I want him to eat when I want him to eat.  Or that he then throws a bunch of it up after I feed it to him.  But I should be out of that newborn stage now and things should be easier, but they aren't, because of his preemie status.  So I think the odd breakdown is to be expected.

Some days I get really sick of watching TV.  Never thought I would say that.... but what else is there to do when I'm glued to my couch and too exhausted to accomplish anything else.

Some days I nap.  Some days it doesn't happen.

Some days I get peed on and puked on, one day they happened at the same time.

But every day this little guy is my new world.  It's hard, but it will get easier.  

Every day we have some sweet newborn snuggles.  

This stage won't last forever, and there are things about it that I will miss when it's over. Some day he will talk back and say no and won't want snuggles.  And then I will definitely be missing this stage.