New Piece of Art

August has a new focal piece adorning the wall at the head of his crib. My 'other' mom, Margie, has made cross-stitch pieces commemorating August's cousin's births over the years, and has now created one for his birth! I am 1) overwhelmed by her abilities and obvious patience for the craft 2) in love with how well it matches his room and our tastes, and 3) so thankful to have such a personalized, hand-crafted piece created by someone so dear to us. It's definitely something we will treasure for years to come.

Don't judge me for my amber necklace and cloth diapers!

No we're not out to raise the next generation of tree-hugging hippies. There are plenty of other people hanging out in the park across the street who are willing to do that for us. We are however interested in products that will make our lives easier and perhaps loosen the wallet a bit. So far, two August-centered products that we have found to help us reach these goals are reusable cloth diapers and an amber teething necklace.

We originally became interested in cloth diapers before we even knew August was going to be joining our clan. We came across a few different people who swore up and down that cloth diapers were cute, easy, environmentally friendly, and more importantly, quite affordable! After doing a literal ton of research on the topic, we made the decision to purchase 12, one-size, reusable, pocket diapers. Since we heard so many great reviews about two of the brands, we decided to buy 6 Bumgenius (velcro closure) and 6 Fuzzibunz (snap-button closure). At about $18/diaper, it's a bit of a commitment to dive all in without trying them first so that's how we decided on a dozen. We had to wait quite a while longer for August to grow big enough to use them than originally estimated though. They advertise that they work for 7lbs-30+ lbs, but as our little guy's pediatrician constantly reminds us, he's lacking a bit of substance in the 'trunk' area. So when he finally hit about 11lbs, we decided to dive right into the cloth and we haven't really looked back since!

How does it work you ask? Well, they have a colorful outer shell that has a slot at the top for an absorbant microfiber insert to slide in for absorbancy. Once the diaper has been used, you just pull out the insert and throw both the shell and the insert into the diaper pail. At the end of the evening we empty the whole pail into the washer on a plain, cold soak cycle which is followed by a hot wash cycle using an all natural soap product called Charlie's Soap,then we follow that with a cold rinse cycle. Then we transfer everything to the dryer on the air fluff cycle and go to bed. In the morning I just pre-stuff all of the diapers and we're good to go again. It was a ridiculously easy transition for us, with the only minor catch being that they are a bit bulkier than the slimming pampers he was sporting before, so he sometimes has to wear a bigger onesie just so it will snap over the fluff. We purchased the one-size style so that as he grows bigger we can just adjust the elastic, the snaps, and the inserts to suit his needs, and typically isn't a problem just hanging around the house.

Now because we only have 12 diapers, we still use disposables at night and when we are out  of the house for a few hours. Though we are far from living the 'green' lifestyle, it really is amazing to see how little trash we are throwing away than the first couple of months we were solely using disposables. Of course having married a math person, Kevin has calculated that the 12 we have purchased will pay for themselves in 4 months and will then save us over $60/ month on diapers

We've also recently been introduced to the wonders of amber teething necklaces. It feels like August has been teething for the past 2 months with nothing to show but a whole lot of drool. Orajel and holistic teething pellets under the tongue seem to do the trick temporarily, but sometimes he's bearing down on his teethers and crying so hard that we need to give him some tylenol to take the edge off. Well I recently read about the natural anti-inflammatory powers of Baltic Amber and thought I would give it a whirl. Apparently it reduces inflammation by releasing a natural oil when it is warmed by the skin. After unsuccessfully scouring local bead shops for the materials to make my own necklace for him, I just hopped on etsy and purchased one here: tweetbaby Now, I have no real, scientific proof that it is working, but when he is wearing his necklace I do feel that the frequency of medication is greatly reduced and he's perhaps just a smidge happier. But if nothing else, he looks cute wearing it and will have loads of baby pictures to look back on and wonder why he's always sporting a necklace :)

Week 20

The World Cup kicked off last week, so we've enjoyed catching as many games as possible while still being productive. August and I even managed to make it to a local pub to watch the Germany vs Ghana game with some friends. I couldn't have asked for a more perfectly behaved baby, and think we may try doing that more often!

This week was full of all kinds of new accomplishments. First of all August started really laughing, like an extended chuckle followed by a cute, raspy little gasp at the end. He also gives a courtesy giggle every once in a while that just makes me laugh harder because he keeps a smirk on his face like he's just laughing out of obligation as he really isn't all that amused with you.

He also moved out of his moses basket, and into his crib in his own room. I think that was more of a difficult transition for us than for him. So far he's been managing just fine and has two furry nurse maids that take turns watching over him at night.

The biggest advancement of the week is that he started eating food! While his pediatrician has always encouraged us to wait until 6 months, when I told him that we were now waking up every 3-4 hours at night to eat, he decided it was a good time to try some solids. We started with rice cereal which was less than impressive, but once we mixed it with pears, August's sweet tooth kicked in and peaked his interest. It took him about 3 messy attempts to figure out how to get the whole system to work together, but as of tonight he's definitely enjoying the experience. As for longer sleep patterns, I'll keep you posted...

liquid courage

clean, fat, and happy

New Playmate

There's yet another giraffe in the house. This particular one comes in the form of a super soft blankie. August is always wrapping himself up and around blankets, clothes, towels, anything he could find, so I had a feeling he would love to have a small blankie all his own. Sure enough they've already formed quite the bond.

Week 19

Kevin had another trip to Virginia planned this week, so August, Daphne, Lilly, and I spent the week in Granbury with my mom while my dad was in Sweden. We had a great fun-filled week spent with family and good friends. Once Kevin returned, we were able to spend a couple of more days hanging out and relaxing in the pool. It was a nice way to start the summer though we were all ready to get home and back into our routines.

cousin Noah declared his super power: DROOLING

Week 18

This week started with August's 4 month well-baby check-up. We are proud to declare that he is doing quite well! He weighed in at a hefty 14 lbs 7 oz, and measured an even 24". This brought him from the 5th% at his 2 month appointment, into the 50th% at this appointment. The little guy is really starting to pack on the pounds and shed some of that 'little old, wrinkly man' appearance. Once again he received 5 vaccinations, but handled it like a champ with minimal crying.

He also started doing a lot of log rolling. You can't keep the little guy off of his tummy these days. Needless to say he's spending a lot more time on blankets on the floor and less time on elevated objects. It's fun to put him down in one position and look over to find him completely on the opposite end of his palette after just a matter of seconds. He will also try to crawl and finds himself easily frustrated with his inability to get his tummy up and off the ground.

ready for summer!

kitchen utensils 101

where's the food?

Four Months!

Week 16

There was a slight shift in the dynamic of our household this week. I started an old job back up again and am now spending quite a lot of time at the computer, that is when August lets me. My goal is to accumulate 20 hours a week, and after the first week I must say it is going to be quite a feat. Don't get me wrong, I am quite thankful to have the extra income and even more grateful that I didn't really have to join the masses to search out a job, it just kind of casually fell into place. Come to think of it, that's how all of my jobs have happened thus far...my old professor George Mann was correct that it's a little about talent and a lot about who you know! 

Needless to say, it was quite the juggling act this past week. Don't worry August is as fat and happy as ever, I just can't say as much for my appearance or for that of the house. Oh and sleep has dropped down to 3rd on the list of priorities. But now that I need a little more independence throughout the day, August acquired yet another entertainment contraption. He really loves to stand (with support of course) and bounce around so I thought it would be the perfect time to introduce him to an exersaucer. He loves it! He hasn't quite figured out how to spin it around to the different toys, but he will stand there and play for a very long time. So now I'm thinking of setting up a little circuit workout to keep his day exciting, much like they have at that Curves for women place. He has quite the collection now: bouncer, swing, doorway jumper, floor gym thing, and now his exersaucer. I can just set them all up in the living room and let him have at it. He also has a new swing hanging on our balcony, but that needs a little more adult supervision than the others. Moral of the story, I hope all of his contraptions keep him happy and not feeling neglected :) Hopefully this next week will help us find a little more routine to our day.