ChooMee Sip'n Soft Top

Have you ever discovered something that just makes life easier?

Baby food pouches are fantastic.  They are portable, individual servings, efficient (no spoon necessary), and (in theory) neat...except for when an excited, wants-to-be-independent child takes it from your hand, and in the process squeezes pouch contents all over the: car seat, couch, themselves, you, kitchen floor, dog (don't ask)...

Enter the ChooMee Sip'n Soft Top.

A friend turned me onto this product and at first I was underwhelmed by the idea.  Then, she gave me one of hers and OHHH EMMMM GEEEE.  It is amazing and is absolutely one of those simple inventions that just makes mommyhood easier.  The silicone soft top snaps onto the top of the food pouch and works similar to a sippy cup spout.  The soft top also folds in half in order to cap the pouch to save the remainder for later.

Now, the most annoying part of food pouches is remembering to not dispose of the soft top with the empty pouch!

*I was not paid for my review of this life-simplifying product.

First Birthday Portraits

The week before Luke turned one, we invited an aspiring photographer friend to practice with our boy.  What came out of that session is so cute I can't stand it!  Thanks, Alison!

ONE banner {source} used for his high chair during his party the following week.

One-year-old Luke with Newborn Luke

Birthday Outfit compliments of Grammy

Smash Cake Adventures {source} 

The boy never messes around when it comes to food.

First Birthday Time Capsule

I was inspired to create a time capsule for Luke's First Birthday {source} and {source}.

We were able to pull it off with a little help from our friends, who contributed movie ticket stubs, gas receipts, housing classifieds, etc.  We also added party decor, a favorite onesie from Newborn Luke's wardrobe, birthday cards, newspapers from the day he was born, and notes to 21-year-old Luke.  We plan to add savings bond(s) before we truly seal the capsule for the next two decades.  It will be fun to open it in 2035!

Frogs, Snails & Puppy Dog Tails Birthday Bash

"They" always say that, as a parent, childhood flies by.  That's no joke.  March 2015 arrived in the blink of an eye and I won't lie about the fact that I was pretty emotional about successfully surviving Year One of Parenthood!  That being said, Brooks and I wanted to celebrate Luke's first birthday by thanking the people who were integral in helping us successfully navigate the roller coaster that was this year.

Here are some details about our incredibly budget-friendly Frogs, Snails & Puppy Dog Tails bash.

The front door decoration

Food Labels
not pictured: pasta bar

{source}

Framed First Birthday portrait collage and Time Capsule explanation for display.

Freecycle for blue and white poufs; Target clearance for green poufs

Dirt Pudding cake {source}

smash cake {source}

Photos from Luke's first year strung on yarn across the windows.

Birthday outfit compliments of Grammy.

How is this little goober ONE?!

Tips for New Moms

Tips for New Moms

1. Baby Bargains was integral in sorting through all of the "essential" baby gear!
2. Watch The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp – available through the library or on Amazon Instant.  Don’t read the book – you’ve got enough on your plate.  Watch the hour-long video with Dad as close to birth as possible.  The S’s are key!!
3. White Noise Baby app!!!  Luke’s favorite was the Doppler, the hair dryer, or the vacuum.
4. Feed Baby – Baby Tracker app – this is very helpful, especially in the beginning, when keeping track of diapers/feeding sessions.
5. Books I found helpful: Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman and On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo.  I haven’t followed either to a T, but I’ve used a hybrid approach of all of my research plus common sense to figure out what works for us.  I still refer to both books as we reach new crossroads in our parenting adventures.
6. Bravado nursing tank tops – somewhat pricey, but comfortable, supportive, available in many colors, and worth the investment!!  I literally lived in these for 10 months of nursing.
7. Buy some high waist undies if you have a c-section.
   
8. Oatmeal helps in the lactation department big time.  These No Bake Energy Bites are awesome (add some Brewer’s Yeast for extra lactation oomph)! {recipe}
9. Drink even when you aren’t thirsty.  If you get thirsty, it is too late; you’re already somewhat dehydrated (from a lactation standpoint).  
10. INFANT PAJAMAS WITH SNAPS ARE EVIL.  You’ll understand why at 3 am.
11. Speaking of, during nighttime feeds, change diaper FIRST, then feed.  Diaper change wakes Baby up, feeding puts them back to sleep.
12. When storing breast milk, make sure you label each bag with the date and amount in the bag.  Also, heaven forbid it happen, it IS OK to cry over spilled milk.
13. Lanolin is great for the sore nips as well as any baby skin irritation/scratches (it is like the burn ointment in The Hunger Games).
14. Speaking of sore nips, for the first few weeks, the latch is toe-curling pain.  If you take a sip of a drink while baby latches on, it distracts you from the pain and helps your milk let down.
15. For groceries, Giant Peapod pick up/delivery and Harris Teeter curbside pickup are instrumental until baby can sit up in a shopping cart.
16. Nordstrom and Buy Buy Baby have phenomenal Mother Rooms for nursing in comfortable privacy.  Fitting rooms also do the trick.  In airports/stadiums/etc, ask an information desk where nursing mom resources are located.  In a pinch, the back seat of the car will work, too.
17. Scarves are awesome about hiding the unfortunate, inevitable boob leak!  They are also good nursing covers and baby blankets.
18. A wise woman (my mom) once told me, “No time spent with Baby is time wasted.”  This has gotten me through many moments after a long day of work while confronted with a daunting sink full of dishes and loads of clothes to tend to…but all Luke wants to do is play or snuggle.  Chores can wait.  Baby time goes way too fast.  As a result, my house tends to look like a crime scene, but oh well, Luke is more fun anyway.
19. Hospital Bag suggestions (based on my comfort preferences):

Pacifier, lanolin, Velcro swaddle, newborn mittens, clothes/pajamas for baby while in the hospital, comfortable pajamas/robe/slippers for after L&D, sports/nighttime nursing bra for during L&D, soothing gel nipple pads (refrigerate before use if you can), lip balm, lotion, dry shampoo, hair ties, music, snacks/shower shoes/toiletries for Dad, pillow, Boppy pillow

19. When the going gets tough, remember that this too shall pass.  Motherhood is hard and far from all sunshine and roses (though, the sunshine and roses make the hard parts worth it), and you ARE NOT alone!!  The days are long, but the weeks and months are FAST.  Before you know it, you’ll be having conversations with your tiny little bundle of love!

airbnb

We had an incredible experience using Airbnb to arrange our vacation accommodations.

The apartment we rented in Copenhagen was convenient to the metro, baby proofed, and completely stocked in baby gear (the host had a two-year-old). So, Luke had his own room, a crib, a high chair, and age appropriate toys (which he loved because they were "new"). Mom and Dad loved it because we could use the kitchen to make our own meals, and enjoyed the use of a TV, wifi, and a lovely patio and backyard park area. Our Berlin apartment was also good. In Bruges, we rented an entire townhouse in an old, picturesque part of the medieval town, which was superb!

We will always look to reserve a vacation rental in the future when traveling with kids. I love being able to have a sleeping baby in one room while Brooks and I are in another room able to do other things without waking him up. Not to mention, the use of a kitchen largely reduces our eating out expenses.

While we had wonderful experiences renting accommodations, horror stories do exist. A few things I kept in mind while researching and booking lodging:

• Use the filters to manage your desired amenities. If you are bringing a child, make sure you check "Family/Kid Friendly". 
• Pay attention to the type of property you are searching for. I prefer "Entire Place". 
• Read the reviews. It is harder to have a poor experience if the property has a lot of good reviews. 
• Email the host. Tell them about yourself and your trip. Ask any questions you may have about the property. This was the gist of my initial email to the host for our trip this summer: 

Hello,

My name is Becca and I am from Virginia, USA. I am traveling to your city in June for 3 nights with my husband and our son, who will be 15 months old on our trip. My husband and I have a passion for traveling and we really enjoy experiencing places around the world from a local's perspective! This is our first international adventure with our son, so we are a little anxious about how different a trip with a baby will be compared to life before kids.

I'm interested in renting your property - the fact that your place is set up for a baby is very appealing! I have a couple of questions first. How accessible is it to the sights of Copenhagen? My husband is quite tall - how long is the bed we would use? Finally, will the kitchen be equipped for use?

Thank you for your response. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,
Becca

Want to try it? Here's a link. Good luck and enjoy!

Traveling with Toddler

I wrote a post last year about traveling with a three-month-old.  One year later...we upped the ante and boarded a transatlantic flight and subsequent two week European adventure through three countries with a 15-month-old.  I'll be honest, this trip gave me anxiety from its inception until our final flight landed.  The last thing I want to do anytime is disrupt other people and cause a scene; Luke often does not share his momma's courteous intentions.  A few tools in my arsenal were ready for worst-case scenarios: the Ergo baby carrier, Benadryl, and the local translation for the word "teeth" in hopes of appealing to parent sympathy of the very real teething struggle.  Luckily, the Ergo was really the only worst-case scenario intervention we needed.

I scoured Pinterest and interrogated interviewed some of my tot-mom friends incessantly for a while to stock up my bag of tricks.  It was challenging to try to plan for a 15-month-old when he was still so much younger than that and I only had a slight clue of the kind of social, extremely mobile, rough-and-tumble toddler he would become by the time our adventure would begin.  As it turns out, we were over-prepared and we could not have been prouder of our little guy - he is such an adaptable wanderluster!

Here are some ideas which helped us survive enjoy our trip with our 15-month-old traveling champ!

• Snacks!  A Dollar Tree pill box {source} was a great tool!  We filled the compartments daily with raisins, goldfish, M&Ms, canned beans, etc.

The pill box (among a few other toys) consumed him while on a canal tour of Copenhagen.

• Lollipops...are awesome to help ears adjust to pressure changes in the airplane as well as to occupy him when all else fails.  Bonus points for organic and/or Vitamin C lollies.
• An apple.  I consider this more of an activity than a snack because it takes him so long to get through it.  The sweet juice motivates him to keep at it.  Win for everyone!
• New toys.  Luke was most captivated by a miniature personal fan and a rubber ball.  It's the little things.  (The ball was not used on the plane, but was quite fun to chase when we found open areas for Luke to blow off some steam.)
• Painter's Tape.  Luke loved peeling the tape off the airplane tray/arm rest/etc and handing the pieces to me to re-stick somewhere else.
• A slinky.  This toy got baby boy giggles :)
• Shoes!  I think Luke's shoes provided 30 minute intervals of easy entertainment.  On-off-on-off-oooh the Velcro makes a fun noise!
• Make a game of turning the overhead light on and off.
• Fastening the airplane seat belt, rinse and repeat.
• Walk up and down the aisle.
• Cross your fingers that you have fun-kid-loving people in the row behind you to happily endure: the small child popping up like a PopTart to say "Hi", indiscernible chatter, and a garden variety of potentially unpleasant noises.
• Homemade Toddler Toys.

Content with the seat belt

*Disclaimer: I was equipped with many other activities (an old iPhone stocked with apps and Sesame Street podcasts, coloring book/markers, Play Dough, stickers/paper, blocks, etc) but they didn't really do the trick for Luke...this time.