"S" @ 2 months: Punching Puppies

During her 2nd month, S grew like a weed and really began to develop a little personality! At last Monday's pediatrician appointment (on her 2 month "birthday") she weighed 10 lb 5 oz right after a big poop, and a day later clocked in at 10 lb 8 oz right before THREE big poops. So she's somewhere in there, anyway. :) Length-wise, the agreed upon consensus was just over 23 inches. She has almost outgrown her bassinet so will be moving very soon to her big girl bed in her own room! That'll be a bittersweet day!

Here is her "official" two month pic - retiring this romper as well (as much as we love it) as it's now stretching awkwardly over her puffy cloth dipes:



















(Compare to her one month pic here.)

S tired of her black & white sailboat at around 6 weeks old so we replaced it (well OK, covered it for awhile since we were lazy) with a colourful stuffed doggy toy. At first she just stared at it, but a week or so later she started swatting at it. By the end of the month she was going postal on the poor thing - check out the backhand in particular at 0:24!



She has started swatting at the toys in her Baby Neptune gym as well - I'll get a video of this soon.

About midway through her 2nd month, she started experimenting with cute li'l sounds. She now coos at us from her bassinet in the morning and gurgles happily at her favourite toys. She is totally in love with her Sassy Flutterby Teether - another toy with bright contrasting colours and a big ol' smile! This video was taken when she was just 6 weeks old:



In terms of neck strength & head control, she's just about there! She still does the head flop every once in awhile, but she can now keep it up long enough for Dad to do fun stuff with her like this!



















A few other noteworthy developments:

• She turns in the direction of voices - especially familiar ones!
• Her attention span is longer. She'll focus for a good 5-10+ minutes on a book or a parade of animal "friends".
• Her legs are getting quite strong. She loves that pull in and stretch out move, especially during diaper changes. :) If we hold her upright, she pushes down and is showing early signs of wanting to bounce!
  
• She can now see people and objects from much farther away. For example, she loves watching hockey, but she's definitely not a Leafs fan:

Finally, we started her on solids this month*. She really likes sushi - the spicy, crispy salmon rolls in particular:














* Yes, I'm kidding. No need to contact CPS.

:D

Small world & sweet covers!

A few days ago during my regular Kijiji cruise for new cloth dipe listings, I saw an ad for 3 super cute covers - medium size, never worn and just $5 each! I emailed the seller for the brand as it wasn't clear from the photo; turned out they were made by a work at home mom (or "WAHM") who sells her stuff on Etsy. Check out her store - she has some great stuff! The Kijiji seller was letting the covers go at less than half the price as she was no longer cloth diapering her son and clearing out her stash. I wrote her back and told her I'd take'm.

So that was awesome - but even cooler was that it turns out the seller and I go way back. She and I were penpals in Grade 8! We both went to Catholic schools in the KW area, and our respective teachers were married to one another and had the idea of matching up their students to write back & forth. I remember having a lot of fun with this as she was really nice and had a sense of humour, and the two of us had a lot in common. We met once or twice as well. Turns out we still share some commonalities nearly 20 years later as we're both new moms, into living green.

Great to reconnect with you, Jaime - small world!!! :)

First vaccinations

Yesterday S got her 2 month Penta (diptheria-tetanus-pertussis, polio and Hep-B) and Prevnar (pneumococcal diseases) shots. She was a trooper - she did cry when the medication went in, but it wasn't the high-pitched "I trusted you both and you have FAILED me!" wailing I dreaded. After a few minutes, she calmed down and had pretty much forgotten the whole ordeal. She was a bit fussier than normal in the evening and it looked like her thighs were a tad swollen, but this morning she appears to be back to her normal, cooing, smiley self!

In terms of the "to vaccinate or not to vaccinate" debate, many of you know I'm not exactly the first person to spring to action when a new vaccine is introduced. I didn't get the H1N1 shot and I've only been inoculated against the annual flu once or twice. All in all, I'm healthy and I feel like my immune system will do its job if I were to come down with an illness like this. Plus, I'm not entirely comfortable with the amount of testing that goes into new vaccines. They need to ship these things quickly at times, so how can they guarantee that they are safe? On the flip side, most of the vaccinations given to infants and children are certainly tried, tested and true. Government authorities CAN state with confidence that the chance of serious side effects is extremely low. That said, one can debate why we're still routinely vaccinating everyone against old school illnesses; for example, Canada was certified polio-free in 1994 however vaccinations continue as part of the global polio eradication initiative. There was also that study conducted in the late 90s claiming a link between the MMR vaccine and the development of autism, however it was recently discovered that medical fraud was at play here. All in all, we did some reading when it came time for S's first shots and there is certainly a lion's share of anti-vaccine literature/propoganda (you choose) out there, but nothing which convinced me that the possible risks of our government-funded, routine vaccinations outweigh the benefits. We're of course going to monitor S closely each time she gets a shot, but otherwise we'll trust the system on this one.

In other health-related news, S had a visit with a pediatrician on Monday - Dr. Abdullah in Stratford. The doctor spent about 45 minutes with us reviewing our concerns and checking S out. It was nice to get this kind of comprehensive attention from a medical professional - unfortunately this strikes me as the exception rather than the rule. :-/ In any case, S is doing well. She does have some cradle cap and the doctor thought she might have a touch of reflux, but otherwise she's healthy and developing well! More on this in an upcoming post on her 2nd month! :)

Not really a parent until...

Today I heard two similar, interesting comments from two different mothers - that they didn't really feel like parents until a particular parental milestone was reached. For one, it was her son becoming mobile (and therefore requiring a lot more supervision and interaction), and for the other, it was the birth of her second child. This made me think that perhaps I haven't reached that milestone with S yet. Although Chris and my lives have certainly changed since she came into the world in terms of daily activities, priorities, long term goals, etc., and I spend a lot of time thinking and (obviously) writing about parenthood, I'm not sure it's really, fully kicked in yet. Perhaps this is because we still have a lot of "us time" as she naps a lot and is generally in good spirits when she's awake. Perhaps it's because her needs are relatively simple at this point which affords us a sense of control. Perhaps it's because she's only been with us for two months - a tiny fraction of the time the two of us have been on this earth.

So when will it fully "kick in" for us? As Chris pointed out, it could be anything - a first soccer goal, a first serious illness. Or heck, it could be when the last child has left home for university and our empty nest reminds us of what used to be. Who knows? That said, having spent the lunch hour with a 9 1/2 month old and the evening with two infants and two toddlers, I do feel that the most demanding aspects of parenthood are certainly still to come - but the most rewarding ones as well. :)

Kijiji'd mahself some more dipes!

18 "baby" size (15-40 pounds) Bummis prefolds and a nearly new medium pink "super bright" cover. Paid $26 total. Retail price? $91! Have I mentioned I love Kijiji? Yup, apparently I have! :)

Now I just need to acquire a few more larger covers and S should be all set for dipes until she's potty trained! w000!

Adventures in Babywearing

One thing I got excited about while researching parenting techniques and baby gear was the idea of "wearing" our baby, especially in a soft carrier. The combination of being so physically close together (which has a whole slew of benefits for baby's well-being and development) and hands-free at the same time was very appealing. Benefits include improved digestive and respiratory health, decreased risk of "flat head syndrome" caused by extended time sleeping on the back and less crying (as babies who are frequently worn are calmer). Apparently it can also lower the risk of postpartum depression in mom as it increases oxytocin levels leading to a closer bond.

Chris' sister Tracey lent us a couple baby carriers she had used with Avery - a Snugli front & back carrier and a ring sling. Chris tried the Snugli with S a couple times and he liked it. Pros: it allows you to be fully hands-free, it promotes safe head positioning (straight up; not "chin on chest"), it provides good back support and baby's head is right there for lots of kisses. :) Cons: It takes some time to put together, it appears to be a two-person job to put her in (though this could just be inexperience) and baby's view is quite limited.



















I haven't tried the Snugli yet myself; I'd rather stick with soft carriers now while she's still really young as I feel they promote a closer bond with baby. We both tried the ring sling and love how easy it is to use - just thread the ring and pop baby in and out. Plus, Chris reported that S seems to like the bold pattern on this particular sling. :) Cons? It isn't 100% hands free and I found that it strained my back (which is already sore from all the lifting and carrying!).


















The carrier I was really excited to use was my Moby Wrap (which was one of the items I scored for a great deal on Kijiji). It is a SPOC carrier ("simple piece of cloth", NOT Sex Professionals of Canada - to eliminate any confusion :). It's literally a piece of fabric which you wrap around yourself in a particular way and then put baby in using one of several different positions. I love the variety it offers in the different holds (from newborn to older baby up to 35 pounds), the closeness it promotes between wearer and baby (which best fosters the benefits alluded to above) and the fact that one size fits all - mom and dad can both use the same wrap! The main downside - there is definitely a learning curve to using this puppy!

I first gave my Moby a shot when S was about 3 weeks old. The initial wrap part was a bit tricky itself, as the fabric is 5.5 metres long and there are quite a few steps to get it tied on right. However the Moby site has a good instructional video which helped out, and there are dozens on YouTube as well. Putting S in...well that proved to be more of a challenge. I tried the newborn cradle hold but it was awkward getting her in and then she didn't appear to be enjoying the situation too much. It felt like she may have already been too big for this position. I called it a night at that point and vowed to try a few days later, but then the whole appendix thing happened which put things on hold for awhile.

Fast forward a month or so, and I've finally got things (mostly) figured out! I was working on the newborn hug hold for a little while as this felt more natural than the cradle hold, but I was still running into difficulty getting her legs and butt down into the pockets properly. I finally concluded that although she's still within the 0-3 month range recommended for this hold, she's big and strong enough for the full hug hold which involves baby's legs hanging out rather than tucked into the fabric. This position is much easier to get her into, and she seems to be quite comfy in it, tending to fall asleep right away.


















Chris agreed that it looked warm & fuzzy, so he set up his own Moby of sorts for our other "daughter"!













All in all, I was worried I'd end up giving up on this bad boy, but now I'm glad I persevered! I love having her close to me like this - so much nicer having her snooze against my chest rather than across the room in her swing or bouncer! Now I just need to work on subtle adjustments to ensure that her neck and head are positioned in the most comfortable manner for her. Right now, for example, she's Moby-d up and sleeping soundly, but her head is kind of craned over to the side which doesn't seem ideal! I plan to wear her in the Mobe for at least an hour or two each day, and I look forward to trying the forward-facing position when she's older so that she can discover her surroundings from an adult vantage point!

Bummis, you have failed me!!!

Well it was bound to happen at some point. We had our first true poop blow-out which made it past S's Bummis wrap and onto/through her pants. Chris and I were actually confused when we saw the leak spot. "She's wearing a prefold!" I exclaimed. "That can't be a leak!" Then we both touched the spot and declared that it didn't feel like pee - it felt sort of sticky. Since these diapers have been SO awesome at containing messes, my first thought was that we somehow got something on her. But nope - opened the dipe up and there was poo EVERYWHERE. It was impossible for it not to have crept out a bit! This was the first time I felt compelled to actually soak the cover rather than quickly rinse/stain treat it.

...and I feel the need to repeat that these are the things that excite us as new parents. Pee, poop and barf, oh my!!

Why I love Kijiji!

As some of you know (as you've been subjected, possibly more than once, to my monologues on the subject :) I looooove Kijiji! Since early November when I was off on mat leave waiting for little one to arrive, I've been actively involved both buying and selling items and I'm HOOKED! Why? Well:

1. There are some great barg00ns to be found on nearly new stuff - especially for babies, since many items are only used for a short period of time. So far, I've purchased the following items for S, all in EXCELLENT condition:
   
• A Moby Wrap ($35 - retails for $80)
• A Baby Neptune Ocean Adventure Gym ($25 - retails for close to $100)
• An extra Bummis Fabulous Wet Bag - brand new ($10 - retails for about $30)
  
• A Cozy Cover for her carseat ($5 - no longer sold but previously retailed for $25-30)
2. It's a great way to de-clutter your home of duplicate, unused, no longer desired, etc. items AND make a little extra cash to boot. Chris and I have sold over $300 worth of stuff so far - better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, especially now that we're temporarily down to a single full income.
3. Related to 2, it promotes realignment of items so that they're in a better place. It was gratifying to hear that, for example, the Lilliput Lane cottage I received as a gift several years back went from being boxed up in our basement to proudly showcased within the display of an avid collector in Owen Sound. Y'know?
4. Post creation is a great exercise in honing one's salesmanship skills. Describing the item in a compelling fashion to attract potential buyers, ensuring the right keywords are in place, setting effective price points, photographing the item in the best light, etc.
5. It's fun! I check a few listings each day (for example, I'm currently scanning the bathing & changing section of baby item classifieds for great deals on new or nearly new cloth diapers to expand our stash) and the prospect of sweet new deals emerging is somewhat titillating. :) In the other direction, it's also great to check email and see new responses to our own ads.

Downsides of Kijiji-ing? Living in New Hamburg, I've had quite a few people request delivery of items to KW. I'd generally only do this if it's very "convenient", but convenience is admittedly relative. For example, we met an individual at the Sunrise Starbucks on the way into town to sell them a $12 item. Considering the time and effort to coordinate and complete the transaction (and also the fact that I "had" to have a latte in the process!) this was of questionable monetary value. HOWEVER...said individual is now happily poaching eggs and we've reclaimed some precious space in our kitchen cupboard, so I'd say it was still win-win in the end, dammit! :)

"S" @ 1 month: Sailin' away!

As new parents, Chris and I are of course fascinated with and excited by all the new developmental changes and milestones we observe with S. I thought it would be interesting to track these developments month-to-month so we have a record of how our little one is learning and growing!

Since S's almost two months old now (!!! where did the time go ??) I'll need to rewind a bit to cover her first month, but luckily we have a jillion photos, videos and baby book notes to jog my memory! :)

As I noted in S's birth announcement, she arrived into the world on November 24th, 2010 at a healthy 8 lb, 8 oz and 20 1/4 inches. Her hospital discharge weight 2 days later was just under 8 lb, but then she had almost gained back her birth weight by her 1 week doctor's appointment. As her first month progressed, she lost some of her birth "pudge" and her growth tended toward lengthening rather than fleshing out. She's already taking after Mom & Dad that way. :) By the end of her first month, my guess is that she was just over 9 pounds and close to 21 1/2 inches (based on her measurements shortly after that during her early January check up.) Here's a picture of her taken on Christmas Eve, her first month "birthday" - a few more inches and she'll be too big for her bassinet!


















To help stimulate her vision & brain development, we started introducing black & white images when she was around a week old. She was intrigued by these, especially her sailboat picture which we found in a Nestle baby brochure. This was basically baby crack - she's stare at it endlessly, and when she was a few weeks old she started "talking" to it with little cooing sounds. We had it attached to her bassinet initially, and then put it up on her change table to give her some entertainment during diaper changes. You may have seen this pic in my last entry about cloth diapering - it does double duty here!













She liked the "multi-image" pages we printed out as well, but they didn't captivate her as much as her sailboat:













Near the end of her first month, we started showing her some toys with bold colours which definitely captured her interest! She'd stare at them with wide, alert eyes and by the end of the month could track them as we moved them back and forth across her field of vision. Her favourite was her Learning Curve Baby's First Rattle - lots of bright, contrasting colours and a happy, smiley face! Here's a video of her tracking the rattle back and forth:



We also introduced her to her Baby Einstein Neptune Ocean Adventure Gym (nabbed on Kijiji, nearly new, for a mere $25) and she was fascinated by this as well - particularly the octopus hanging toy. Of course she wasn't yet old enough at this point to purposefully bash at the toys to make noise, but this'll come along!














Finally, near the end of the month we started giving her some tummy time on her colourful mat. Just a couple minutes at a time for now! She could hold her head up momentarily but she'd get tired pretty quickly.














In terms of social development, S's been very content with other people from Day 1. Usually she'd just fall asleep when someone would hold her, but during her alert phases (especially near the end of her first month) she would smile and even coo a little bit! She was basically smiling from the start, though of course there's that whole argument that a super early "smile" is actually gas (especially when baby's sleeping at the time). That said, this video shows her clearly entertained by Daddy - again near the end of her first month:



Lots of exciting developments during month 2 which I'll write about soon! :)

Changed my blog name & URL

Bellies & Babies was entirely too generic & heavily used, and Chris isn't really into the blogging thang. Manager to Mom is much more relevant and has a nice ring to it. w00t - can check that off the ol' list! Now I just need to replace the rather boring clouds with something more visually tantalizing, and Bob's your uncle! (Or mine?)