I am a planner, a researcher, a super organized kinda gal. I have to say that since having a baby things have gotten crazier but I do my best to stay on top of my game. I planned my destination wedding all by myself. I planned a 10-country world tour for hubby and I all by myself. Easy peasy. But you know what is throwing me for a loop?? My baby's damn first birthday party!! HA! One problem is Pinterest, and Facebook. They put so much freaking pressure on us to make the cutest most adorable and memorable party ever. You know what? It's just not freaking possible to live up to those kinda standards! Well, not for 99% of us anyway. Yeah, there is a new "1%" and they are the people who are pinned time and time again with their amazing decorations and kids storage ideas and photo ops. Ugh. Hate them. Down with the 1%!!! I'll get off my soap box and instead talk about how the party prepping is going. First of all, I'm not in it alone, thank god!! We're doing a triple birthday party with 2 baby friends of ours - they all had their bdays between Christmas and New Year, so our theme, OF COURSE, is "Winter ONEderland". On the one hand, planning it with two other moms is cheaper and easier, it's also harder in some ways because you have to have decisions discussed and voted on, and divvying up tasks is a task all on its own! LOL! But, getting together to work on the crafts and stuff is a blast, once we get over the stress of planning and being surrounded by squealing or tantruming toddlers!! This week we worked on a few big items: the snowflake pom poms, the birthday banner, and our photo doilie display! I got the snowflake pom poms from a great Etsy shop called The Shower Planner (like them on Facebook, check out their blog, and follow them on Pinterest!). Everyone knows those cute pom poms, you see them at baby showers and stuff like that. Sure, they're a pain in the butt to make, but they are great cheap decorations. Well, PHC sells those and they come with these awesome snowflakes that hang down from them!! They were not too tough to put together and came out really cute! Next we worked on the birthday banner, which we got from Paper Heart Company (like them on Facebook!). They have digital designs which they can personalize, and then you print then, cut them out, hole punch them, and string them together... a bit of work on your end, but they come out great! We also worked on a project for highlighting each month of our babies' first year. We thought doilies worked with our theme, so decided to throw photos on doilies and string them together... The big day is this Sunday, so will definitely do a post afterwards with photos of how everything looked set-up (we have FIFTEEN minutes to set up the room... WHAT THE EF GYMBOREE!?!?!?! Grrrrr that is probably where 95% of our stress lies...). Wish us luck! Hopefully we can do what we can do and then just have FUN at the party!!
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Whoopsie - guess I took an unplanned 2 week hiatus from the blog, sorry about that but as they say, Life Happens!! The biggest thing that happened was that my baby turned ONE YEAR OLD!!! Wahhhhhhh!! Actually, no tears were involved surprisingly! Nostalgia, yes, looking through newborn photos and videos - GAH! But he's growing up and it's very exciting - he's 21 pounds, loves playing hide and seek, is eating table food with his 8 teeth, is running around and playing soccer (he even has itty bitty calf muscles LOL), and is also getting quite the attitude (advice on handling tantrums is MUCHO appreciated!!). I also went home to North Carolina from December 13 - 24, so I was on vacation mode and lazy as hell. Who can blame me?? I've wearing a ton of different hats now working for Miny Moe and Mommy Nearest and Romio and Kidz Central Station, not to mention running after my little toddler, planning his first birthday party, managing several Facebook pages and of course this blog. Phew!! I'm exhausted just thinking about it!! There are just not enough hours in the day, and not enough dollars in my pay checks HA!
We're also on the fence about going into contract on a co-op (if you're not from NYC, a co-op is basically a condo but instead of owning the unit, you own shares to the building instead, and your monthly maintenance includes your portion of the entire building's property tax and mortgage - really strange, definitely a NYC thing!). We bid and counter-bidded 3 times before they finally accepted our offer. But when the contract came in there were a few things that made us balk including a 10% increase on the monthly maintenance and financial reports that look like there is a pretty constant assessment being charged. It's such a huge decision, we just don't know what to do!! It's definitely on the high end of what we can afford, and we don't want to stress about making ends meet. I think we're going to have to sit down and finally make a decision today >_< Home buying in NYC is a freaking joke, a cruel and punishing joke! OK, so that's what's been going on here! Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things with more regular posts here! Also planning an awesome group giveaway for to-be and new moms coming up! If you have a suggestion for a great company I should reach out to for this, please let me know! Or if you're a blogger who'd like to help out on this one doing reviews and promoting on social media accounts, please get in touch! My little baby boy is 11 months old today. And it has hit me. He's almost a year old! He has 6 teeth (#7 and 8 are about to pop through), he's walking (practically running) around the house all by himself, he's talking up a storm (though has no words yet per se), is starting to graduate from baby food to table food... Somehow, without my realizing it, my baby turned into a toddler!! How does this happen so soon!? I'm starting to understand how, "accidents" aside, the pull toward the whole "2 under 2" thing ^_^ But that would mean getting preggo in less than 4 months! o_O whoa whoa whoa...
Kenzo just hit 10 months, actually about 30 minutes ago! ^_^ I really can't believe how fast he's growing, it's kind of scary! Exciting, but scary. One by one his friends are all turning one year old and all the moms say what a hard day it is, full of sobbing and memory lane. I feel full of anxiety just thinking about that and it's still 2 months away!! Speaking of turning one, we just booked his birthday party - we're gonna have a joint one with 2 of his baby friends who were all born within a week of each other during the crazy week of Christmas and New Year. Of course all 3 of us moms have been sucked into Pinterest getting ideas for save the dates and invitations and decorations and food and.... Man, that thing is EVIL! haha!! Anyway, back to my 10 month old little one... he's got 6 teeth now (4 top, 2 bottom), is taking solo steps, usually about 2 but up to 5 at a time! I introduced chicken and turkey so he's no longer a vegetarian! He is really into cuddling now which is uber uber cute, he is also a big fan of clapping, waving, and most recently throwing things. Ha! He's still a monster at night (since about 6 months) waking up multiple times and I've totally been enabling him as I just pull him into our bed and nurse him back to sleep cuz it's the fastest and easiest. He's dealing with his 3rd cold in about 6 weeks, but I swear as soon as he recovers we're conquering this sleep thing!! You're in for it little dude!!! Also as one year approaches I'm having to think about the whole going back to work thing. I really really don't want to. I've got my hands in so many pies at the moment (blogging, Miny Moe, Mommy Nearest, Kidz Central Station, Eczema Company, and of course my Facebook groups Bay Ridge Baby Mamas and Bay Ridge Swappies) none of them raking in a ton of cash but together they take care of groceries, haha. But they keep me busy and my hope is that through them I'll develop the right skills and meet the right people so when/if it comes time for me to find a 9-5 again I'll have some good connections. And no one can ever say I was just twiddling my thumbs during maternity leave, that is FOR SURE!!
I can't believe my little guy has now been growing outside of my tummy as long as he was growing inside - happy 9 months to my baby Kenzo!!! At 3/4 of a year old, he has 4 teeth, loves to walk (with 1 or 2 hands assisting him), can stand unassisted for up to 20 seconds or so, loves to play "Find Mommy" (both the peek a boo variety and also crawling from one room to another towards mommy's silly voice), loves blowing VERY wet raspberries, and has just started to wave and clap sporadically. He's also just had his first illness - a very mild cold. Time for some reflection :) Inside or Outside, which was... Easier: Inside More fun: Outside Faster: Outside More physically exhausting: Inside (and the process of coming outside, haha) More mentally exhausting: Outside More stressful on the marriage: Outside More worrisome / Google Search inducing: Both! More rewarding: Outside I loved my pregnancy. I had a pretty easy one, thankfully. Other than extreme nausea from weeks 5-14, a couple of short bouts with back pain (because I cleaned the house too vigorously!), and minor sleeping discomfort toward the end, it was a really fun period of bonding with my husband, growing our little one, and enjoying the road toward parenthood!
That said, nothing beats actually having your baby in your arms and watching him grow physically and mentally. Seeing him explore the world, laugh, and even cry - it's priceless!! It's hard work, don't get me wrong. It's exhausting physically and mentally, and will have you worrying about every single thing possible. But if you have the right support system, nothing beats being a mommy. NOTHING! Not even going at a tub of Nutella and sipping cocktails while being massaged on a tropical beach. Though, that does sound pretty damn nice right about now... ^_^ I love my local mommy group. Love love love! Since I started the group on Facebook in March of this year, we've grown to over 150 mommies strong!! Need a buddy to take a stroll with on a lovely afternoon? Need reassurance that you're not the worst mother in the world because you bumped babies head into the door frame? Looking for baby food recipes or a eco-laundry detergent recommendation? Check, check, and check. Need a babysitter? We've got a babysitting circle going on, too! My most recent creation within the group has been a Mommy & Me Class Co-op. A lot of us are stay at home moms on tight budgets. We love the classes such as Music Together and Gymboree and Piano Masters, but just can't justify paying $30 per class for our infants. Months ago, a few of us were chatting about how we should go spy on these classes, and teach them amongst our group for free. That idea took hold and came to fruition just a few weeks ago as the Bay Ridge Baby Mama's Mommy & Me Class Co-op. I really had no basis of how it would work, but somehow, it's been working! The basic principal is that 1) it is free for all members, and 2) you have to take turns teaching. We started with 3 groups, each having a different regular day/time to meet. Each group has a leader who comes up with the schedule for their own group. To join a group, you have to agree that you will teach/lead/host the meeting in rotation with other members. When it's your turn, you can do whatever you want! You can lead the group on a strollercise-esque walk, you can do a Spanish Immersion class, you can read, dance, sign, sing, whatever you want! If you're hosting in a space that can accommodate more people, you can invite members from the other co-op groups. If you're hosting in a space that is very tight and can't accommodate even all of your own co-op members (which is OK if it's not happening regularly), then it would be the first X number of moms to RSVP only. So far, we've been having a blast!! A couple weeks ago, the mom in charge of leading that week had her professional dance instructor come in and teach us a choreographed dance to "Say Hey (I Love YOU)!" while WEARING OUR BABIES!!! It was hilarious, fun, a nice workout, and did I mention HILARIOUS??? Check out some of these photos: Should this be a baby wearing commercial or what? haha!! Anyway, this co-op is rocking our mama socks off. I highly recommend starting one of your own!!
My lil' guy is almost 8 months and is still considered a baby on all accounts, but still, I can't help but sometimes feel a wee bit sad that he's not an itty bitty baby anymore! This morning, he was army crawling around and playing on the floor and I saw him for the very first time go from laying down to sitting up, all by himself with no assistance from person or object! I clapped my hands and he grinned at me with his big gap-toothed smile. Then I got down on the floor to play with him. I started tapping two bowls together, then he picked up two bowls and mimicked my clapping. It's amazing how quickly he's learning and growing into a real kid who plays and interacts and is so much darned fun (most of the time). But... this afternoon I met up with a group of my mommy friends and one of them had her 1 month old with her. We all oohed and aahed over the teeny tiny leg dangling from her carrier. When she got him out later, he was just so friggin' adorable I nearly lost it! It brought back such a powerful whirlwind of memories and emotions! Remember when Kenzo was so teeny and stayed all scrunched up most of the time, and then would streeeeeeeetch out so far and make this funny wrinkly forehead like an old man! And he would make these teeny tiny grunts and sneezes, man he sneezed ALL THE TIME! haha! His explosive poo's triggered his startle reflex and he would flail all 4 limbs way out and make the funniest scared face!
Sure now he's fun to play with and makes cute squeals and babbles and is nice and plump and has total head control (working on the body control) and I'm not scared of breaking him every second, so there's that! But man, those teeny tiny babies... I can see why some moms just keep having them! ^_^ As for me, I can wait a few years! I'll just get my kicks from drooling over my mommy friends' new babies! Thank you to Lauren of mama{love} for this great post and review! You can check out her profile at the end of the post :) ~Heather I had heard about diaper samplers, but never actually tried one, so I was super excited to receive a Size 3 sampler from Miny Moe in the mail this month. We have always been a Pampers family, for both my son and my daughter. Besides the occasional pee-through overnight, we had no complaints, but I was looking forward to seeing what else was out there. The Miny Moe package included 6 individually-wrapped samples of 5 different brands of diapers: Pampers, Huggies, Luvs, The Honest Company, Target "Up & Up", & Walmart "Parent's Choice" in my daughter's size: 3. A score card was also included to rate each brand's price, softness, fit/absorbency, design and eco-friendliness, which I thought made the whole process so fun. Each day I tried a different brand on my product tester, Harper, 14 months. At the end of each day, I put our rankings on the card and in the end we actually decided to stay with our original choice, Pampers Cruisers. Across the board they were the best for us in all of the categories minus eco-friendliness and cuteness/design. I loved the look of The Honest Company diapers - cute anchors over cartoon characters are a great complement to any baby outfit, but any mom knows function wins over fashion. Why it's a mama{love}: 1. When you're a first-time mom you usually buy the diapers other moms or experts tell you to buy. The sampler lets you decide for yourself. Every baby's needs are different based on their gender, size, activity level, etc. Why not try some on first? 2. The Miny Moe sampler saves moms money in the long run. The largest expense beyond childcare is disposable diapering. Testing the product prior to investing in mass quantities avoids spending money on the wrong brand. You may find that the Target brand does just as good of a job as Pampers, but saves you a good amount per diaper. 3. It's fun! Use your baby as a "product tester" and track your observations with the scorecard. 4. If you like the sampler idea, Miny Moe also offers nursing pad samplers for breastfeeding moms. Choosing the best nursing pad for you can be just as essential as choosing the best diaper for your baby. 5. The sampler is a great shower gift for expectant moms, especially the NB/Size 1 combo sampler. Moms will get enough clothes. This is a unique gift that they can really use to educate themselves. About the guest poster: Lauren Deneroff is the founder of mama{love}, a maternity consulting and baby planning firm in New York City. mama{love} offers services to expectant and new moms such as new parent coaching, registry guidance, nursery design and preparation, baby gear education, and organizational services. I'm a breastfeeding mom, and have come to find myself surrounded by breastfeeding (and non-breastfeeding) moms day in and day out for the past several months They are my friends, they are my customers, they are me!! So when I heard about The Bump & Boppy's campaign, Public Display of Breastfeeding (PDB) Day on August 15, I was pretty excited. Unfortunately, I only found out about it the day before! They had events going on around the nation in select cities, where the first so many moms would win door prizes. The only one around here was on the Upper East Side, and that 1.5+ hour journey was totally not happening for us. So, I took to Facebook! With the weather set to be gorgeous, my Bay Ridge Baby Mamas group and I planned a small picnic and even alerted the press (check out our article the Home Reporter)! Miny Moe even donated some nursing pad and diaper samplers to the mamas :) We're not lactivists, or at least we didn't see ourselves as such. We're just a group of moms who want to be able to feed our babies whenever, however, and wherever we need to without being glared at and made to feel uncomfortable.
I remember being at a family dinner in Manhattan when my little one was only 6 weeks old. I wasn't yet comfortable feeding him in public, so I nursed him in the bathroom. We were huddled in the corner for a good half hour, and missed most of the dinner. It was really sad, and at the time I thought that's what life was like as a nursing mom! Thankfully my son and I both got a LOT more comfortable with nursing and have no problem doing it anywhere these days. On a plane, in Herald Square, in the park, restaurant, bar, you name it! If you get on Twitter and search #Breastfeeding, you'll see tons tons TONS of hate going on. Lots of "This lady is #breastfeeding her baby in the restaurant - gross!! could you NOT??". I just don't understand how people can get so heated and offended by breastfeeding. I really can't. Can you explain it to me? I know that breasts are sexualized and culture says they should be covered. But feeding your baby is natural, and necessary! It's not especially convenient to pump just so that you can give your baby a bottle while you're out of the house. Personally, I'm quite modest and always use a nursing cover. But covers are tricky. When my baby was very little, it was soooooo hard to use the cover because I couldn't see what I was doing very well and was scared I would drop him while getting everything situated. And then he would fuss and not latch on and oh my gosh - HARD!! Now that he's 8 months he's grabbing at the cover and trying to flash my ta-ta's at every moment. It's a struggle! For many moms, the cover is just not worth the hassle. With nursing tops these days, you really don't see much more than you would on any given beach or in a MTV music video. Am I right?? So to the breastfeeding haters out there, get over it. You feel awkward? Don't look! Moms should be able to feed and nourish and comfort their children however and wherever they need to, whether by breast or bottle, it shouldn't matter. You want us to go feed our babies in the bathroom so as not to offend you? You know what? You're so offended?? Whey don't YOU take YOUR meal to the bathroom, huh?? Go on then. To all the breastfeeding moms out there, whether you feed in private, with a cover, or letting your boobs run free, #ISUPPORTYOU! To moms who formula feed, whether you had to or you chose to, #ISUPPORTYOU, too! Motherhood is hard enough without all the judgement and criticism and hate. OK, stepping off my lactivist soap box for now... Kenzo is 7.5 months and has 4 teeth already. Early? Perhaps. Cute? Definitely! But teeth are not as simple as they sound. With teeth come trouble...
1) Teething For Kenzo it hasn't been so bad, thank goodness. He's never been inconsolable or needed Tylenol. He just gets has a few days and nights where he is extra needy, wakes up throughout the night in search of comfort (i.e. boobs!), and is cranky throughout the day - meaning he needs constant distraction and stimulation. If you let him ponder on what's going on in his mouth for more than a few seconds he'll start to fuss and then wail. 2) Biting Babies get used to breastfeeding and are quite comfortable in using their mouths and tongue to get milk. But then all of a sudden there are teeth getting in the way! The bottom teeth must be scraping the underside of his tongue when feeding, and I've felt those teeth, they are like serrated knives!! And now the top teeth... there is nothing coming between those and my nipple. We had our first "CHOMP" situation today and WOWZA!! I screamed, he screamed, we all screamed for (not ice cream). He cried so hard, poor guy! He still can't produce tears, but he did manage to squeeze one out! It's not just the nipples that have to worry about being bitten though. Anything he can get his little mouth on - your shoulder, your finger, the table... I'm looking into getting a teething guard for the crib soon. Not that it was ever safe for him to gnaw on electrical cords, but now it's even more of a hazard so I can't even let him approach them. 3) Grinding This is something I had no idea would happen. He is grinding his teeth!!! He makes a funny little Popeye face which is hilarious, sorry I haven't been able to catch it on camera yet! But the sound.... ohhhhhhhhhh the sound! Like nails on a chalk board!! On the bright side, maybe he's making those razor blade teeth a little smoother? 4) Brushing Did you know you have to start brushing your baby's teeth? I sure didn't. Not sure when I thought that was supposed to start, maybe around 2 years old? Anyway, I'm not using a tooth brush but just a washcloth after he eats solid food. I just kinda rub it around for a few seconds on the top and bottom. He was fine with this at first but now he tries to escape my efforts. Ah, what fun. 5) Worries Of course worries. What part of parenting comes without worries? For me, I worry about the spacing of his top teeth - aren't they like REALLY FAR APART??? Like, you could fit 2 more teeth between them!! I know baby teeth are supposed to be spread out, but come on, is this normal: |
About ME:I'm a NYC metro area mom blogger living in NJ with my Japanese husband & our 3 kids (twins plus 1), focusing on fun and honest product and travel reviews, saving moms time finding the best for their families! Find what you need in the menu bar or search section above! Categories
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