baby gear part 2

My pal Erin posted her own list of top 10 baby items for the first weeks.  I particularly enjoy "perspective" - that is so true!  I found that if I could surrender myself to the baby's schedule, I was a much happier Mama . . . everyone says you need to be flexible with a baby, and it's so true!  Check out her post!  

So, Bo's not quite to 6 months yet so I have just a short list of what we used for the next stage.  I'd say these are great for the 2-5 month range.  

Activity Mat

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I did not have this on my registry, but I am so thankful my mom brought one out for us.  Bo uses his EVERY day.  I think he was about 2 months when we got it, and even then it interested him.  Ours is different than the one above, but I like the one shown because it folds up easily and can be put away.  Ours is just out in the middle of the floor . . . and has been for four months . . . which is ok!  Remember, surrender to the baby! :)  But the Infantino one would be easy to throw in the car for trips or long visits.  

The Bumbo

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Yes, these are great.  We are actually borrowing one that had a tray, which is perfect.  Once Bo started getting more interested in things around him, it seemed like he would leap over the side of the Bumbo to reach a toy - the tray keeps him better contained.  We also use this as our feeding chair for now.  (But we are looking for a high chair - any suggestions?)  

Car Seat Toy

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This was the best $9.99 I've ever spent.  Bo went through a loud and disturbing "I hate the car seat" phase, and this little toy got us through.  It attaches to the handles of the car seat and the singing, blinking froggy distracted Bo from his perceived agony while I strapped him down.  Now Bo can look around and see out the window a bit, but when he was littler, I think he just felt lonely and suppressed in the back seat.  His froggy buddy helped him out.  We love you, froggy toy!

Exersaucer

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Now, this thing is large, in charge, and impossible to put away.  It does not really add much to the atmosphere of the living room.  BUT . . . if it keeps the baby happy, it's WORTH IT!  Someone gave us their old exersaucer - I think Bo is at least the third kid to use it.  Now I keep it at work and he's always happy playing with the toys and strengthening his legs.  At home we use a bouncer that hangs from the doorway.  Bo is still getting used to it but I think he'll enjoy it - and it's less obtrusive.  

Jesus Storybook Bible

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I had heard of this Bible before I had Bo and was thrilled to get it in the mail as a gift from our special friends we made in Kenya.  I started reading to him before nap time and got tired pretty quickly of the same little books and Toddler Bible that has one sentence per page.  This is a Bible I think we'll read over and over again as our kids grow.  Sally Lloyd-Jones tells stories from the Bible with fresh perspective and incorporates Jesus into each one.  I find myself looking forward seeing how she will weave in the need for a Messiah and show how this or that person was a shadow of the One to come.  It's wonderful!  And it is our greatest hope for Bo that he will grow to love the Lord.   I hope by reading to him now, we establish a pattern that we can continue as he grows in understanding.  

Now Bo is moving into the "independent sitter" stage and will soon be moving around the house and eating solid foods.  I would love to see what you think is most helpful for these next few months.  Help, help! 

Baby Week: BABY-baby gear

It's baby week . . .
In all truthfulness, every week is baby week around here now!  But this week is a LITTLE less Bo-focused and little more generic.  For all those prego friends out there, here's what your life will soon look like!  For all those varsity moms out there, I'd love to know what you couldn't live without!

This is the "Baby-baby" edition . . . things we used immediately.  It seemed like all of our efforts for a few months were focused on getting the baby to sleep and then praying he stayed asleep, so most of these things help with the all-important SLEEP!

Swaddle Wraps

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I only had the Summer Infant/Kiddopotamus brand swaddlers, but we used them for EVERY nap and at night.  We stuffed Bo in the pouch, closed the velcro - instant swaddle.  He really fell asleep so much easier when he was wrapped up in one of those things.  In fact, we used them until he was 4 months old . . . and then he suddenly didn't really need his "Baby Snuggie" any longer.   

Aidan + Anais Muslin Blankets

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These things are great . . . they are HUGE, which is great for getting a good swaddle.  I was a little late in the game getting these; maybe we wouldn't have been so dependent on the baby snuggie.  These are really multipurpose, though - great for covering up the car seat, as a nursing cover, lying on the floor, keeping sun off the stroller, etc.  I still always have one of these with us wherever we go - I think Bo enjoys snuggling up with them to sleep.

Soothie Pacifiers

Available here.

Oh, little Bo!  There are varying opinions on pacifiers but we decided to go for it after I asked the nurse in the hospital how it was possible that this baby could nurse for 45 minutes.  She said, "No, dear, he was done after 20 minutes, he just likes sucking."  I said, "Give me a pacifier."  And this is what they gave me.  We're only 5 months in to this so I don't know if I'm setting Bo up to going to kindergarten with a pacifier in his mouth . . . but I try to use it only when he's tired.  And it certainly helped him relax when he was a tiny little guy.  Something about releasing that 'sucking energy.'  He prefers a different kind now but for a while we had 10 Soothies spread all over the house.

MAM Anti-Colic Bottles

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I started Bo with an occasional bottle of breastmilk pretty early.  I tried 3 other brands but they all seemed to come out too fast and he choked and sputtered.  My sister-in-law recommended these and they have been great.  They aren't expensive, but they just worked for us.  Bo does so well with formula or nursing, which makes it nice when we want to go out.  

Sleep Positioner

For sale here. 
(Baby Bo modeling the sleep positioner, an unwrapped swaddle blanket, and a discarded soothie pacifier.

So this is one of those 'first time parent' things . . . a friend of ours passed on their sleep positioner and I was sure we wouldn't need it.  When we got home from he hospital and put Bo in the middle of his big crib swaddled to his neck, we immediately fished out the sleep positioner to secure him somehow before he fell asleep.  We were afraid he would roll over and not be able to breathe, but this thing helped us sleep better knowing he would stay on his back all night.  I also took it with us when we traveled so he felt snug in the hotel crib or pack-n-play.  

Bouncer

Available Here

Bo was in this thing for 90% of his waking hours until he was 2 months old.  We went for the bouncer instead of the swing because it was smaller and more portable (and less expensive).  This one is battery operated and bounces on its own.  (We haven't had to change the batteries yet!)  We carried it all over the house and outside so he could sit near us and he napped pretty well in it, too.  

iPhone

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This was probably my #1 baby item, believe it or not.  I used it as my flashlight, clock, record keeper, entertainment, and portal to the outside world.  Would you believe I kept track of every single feeding for three months?  In the middle of the night it was impossible to remember if I'd been feeding him for four minutes or twenty . . . and I could never remember the last time I'd fed him, so I just wrote them all down on my phone.  It's amazing what you can do with one hand on this thing - so much easier to read, email, text, etc.  I don't have a Kindle but I imagine it would be similarly nursing-friendly. 


So that's my non-comprehensive list of essential-to-us infant gear.  What did you use? 

what's up in Bo's world

Some pictures from the past couple weeks:

Bo got a new bathtub.  Despite his apparent happiness in this pic, he's not loving the bath these days.  I'm not sure why.  I think it's because he's usually pretty tired by bathtime and not up for a dip in the tub.

Another bath pic, in which Bo looks like Gollum . . . 

Titled: My Precious

You saw that one already if you follow @bo_yezerski on twitter.  He's a skinny guy, but the angle makes him look even skinnier.

This happened:

I thought it was funny.

Matt's been on call/working a lot so he asks me to text him pictures of our day.  This was a mommy-attempt to feed him cereal . . . notice it's up on the eyebrow.

During that same feeding session we had a little incident with Moose spotting a cat outside.  Just pretend like this is one video, because the instant I stopped recording the first video, I started the second:

And there it is:

I think Bo looks like he's off to sleepaway camp in this picture . . . we were going to Bible Study and I was hoping he'd nap in the nursery.  He gave it his best shot, but I wouldn't sleep well in there either.

Oh yes, THIS happened 2 days ago:

 Oh, my.  What's next?

 And finally, Bo's church look.

And that's what Bo is up to.  

24 weeks

And suddenly we have THIS going on . . .

 

23 weeks

sparkly eyes.

Our buddy really is a joy.  As he gets older, he just gets more fun!  And I think he's read the baby textbooks because he hits the stages right when they say he will.  I had to laugh when I got this email yesterday, detailing Bo's new "Stranger Danger" phase as if it was written just about him.  

Your baby may start showing signs of one of her first major emotional milestones —stranger anxiety. She may become clingy and anxious around new (and even familiar) people and may cry if a stranger suddenly approaches her.

Keep this in mind when you're around people she doesn't know, and try not to be embarrassed when she cries in someone else's arms — just take her back and calm her down by holding her yourself. Tell your friends and family to approach your little one with slow, gentle movements.

A case of stranger anxiety doesn't mean you have to avoid new faces. Your baby will benefit from being around people other than you and your partner. Just remember that she needs your patience and understanding to get through this very important stage of development.

Bo started shrieking around strangers this past weekend . . . the nursery pretty much didn't happen on Sunday.  But we'll soldier on.  Just approach with caution, everyone!   

little boy, big appetite

This just in:

Bo is now in the 25th percentile for weight (at 14-9) and 90th for height (27").  Can we say skinny?  

Bo at the doctor's office in his monkey toga.

I mean, this kid eats . . . he's even been known to nibble a toe or two . . . 

So, a little food-related story.  Last week I was trying a new trick, propping the Bo up in his Boppy pillow to give him some support while he was sitting.  As you can see, he's doing a great job and looks like a big boy.  

I turned around to grab a toy for him and when I turned back around, he was making a break for my lunch!!  

(Yes, I eat my lunch on the floor.)  

We'd taken a week-long break from the cereal because we realized how convenient it is NOT to feed it to him, but we tried again that night since he seemed so into the big-people food.  

It was a smashing success:

We still don't give it to him every day, he's only 5 months old, but it's safe to say he likes it!! 

gigi and pop!

We just live really far from our family.

I just heard everyone overseas sigh and say, "Try a 13 hour time difference and get back to me."  I know, I know, it could be WAY worse.  I've always lived far from family, I never had the privilege of grandparents in the same town (or time zone), but we just got used to it and spent holidays with good friends and saw our family when we saw them.  I actually lived with one set of grandparents for 2 months every summer, so that's kind of special.  Anyway, now that we have a kid of our own, we're really feeling the difference.  I know our parents miss seeing Bo and we so desperately want to share the little moments with them.  Thankfully we do all live in the same country, so we talk and text and email and visit when we can!  We were so happy to have Matt's parents out last week for a few days.  

As far as visits go, we didn't really see anything or go anywhere . . . most of the time was spent staring at Bo.  :)  They watched him while I was at work so that was great for me, although weird to come home and not know what he did for the past two hours.  And then we took that to a whole new level and both Matt and I got on planes and left Gigi and Pop on their own with their littlest grandson.  Ideally, Matt and I would've traveled to the same destination for our first night away from the baby . . . but he had a conference in Chicago and I had a free ticket to Charlotte.  Gigi and Pop were gracious enough to encourage me to use the miles before the expired and stay home with Bo.

So with this little picture pulled up frequently on my phone to remind me what I was missing . . . 

I left for a whirlwind trip.  I was only in Charlotte for 24 hours, so I didn't get to make the full run of visits that I would've liked to, but it was really REALLY great to sit and chat with friends.  I also had some spontaneous crying moments, but it was just out of love.

God is faithful in providing friends everywhere we go, but it's always so sweet to see my old pals again.  And their babies.  :)  There was always a baby close by when my arms felt empty.  I saw sweet and portable Haddon again and met Adler for the first time.  

He's so handsome.

His parents fixed me biscuits and gravy.

Kerry drove out from Knoxville, which was awesome.  

The three of us can always pick up where we left off.  

Which was here:

 Ha ha.

So it was short, but so sweet.  And then I got back on my JetBlue direct flight to JFK and my non-direct train ride back to Stony Brook while Gigi and Pop texted me the following pics . . . that train could not go fast enough.

 Our little guy grew up while we were gone!!

I'm really glad Matt's parents were so willing to watch Baby Bo while we were gone.  I think they even enjoyed it. :)  I could relax, knowing he was in such great hands.  I wish we could've spent more time together - I think they only saw Matt for one afternoon, since his work schedule is a little unforgiving.  We look forward to being less than a plane-ride away!!