Time Flies When You Are Having Fun!

Hope all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Micah enjoyed his first holiday season and did it with flying colors. He even got a tooth but we didn't notice until he fussed one night and it was so unusual that I checked his mouth and saw the little guy popping up! I don't know if I was just contributing his fussiness to the holiday changes or if he just didn't fuss much with the tooth because we never even thought to check! What a good little guy.

Other new things - Micah has been eating food. And boy he is a good eater. The only thing we have found that he doesn't like is avocados. Other than that - he pretty much eats it all. I think he got that from me :-) He even eats bananas and peas - much to his dad's disliking! I guess Andrew is now outnumbered in his hatred for peas and bananas!

I originally wanted to try the Baby Led Weaning Approach to feeding Micah. I bought the book and read it all and talked with our doctor, but I just wasn't sure if it was for him/us. So we decided to do a combination approach (I am his mom - so I can do what I want! haha) So he gets puree foods as well as whole foods.When we eat our meals, he is given whole foods to suck on, gnaw on, or just play with while we eat. At first he had absolutely NO interest and did not even make an attempt to pick it up, but we kept offering it to him and about 2 weeks ago he started to take more of an interest. I am not sure if it was the teething or he just has improved on his motor ability and can get it to his mouth - but he loves gnawing on pears and apples as well as the occasional carrot. His favorite purees are pears and mangos. But for the most part - he pretty much eats it all! I like to say that he is perfect :-)

But here are some fun pictures of Micah's first foods. Being the first time mom I insisted on taking pictures of all of his first foods. So needless to say, I have a variety of messy faced Micah pictures just waiting to be shared. Enjoy!

I love cereal!

Carrots anyone?

Mmmmmmm

Hey - where's the broccoli? 

Prunes! (ya - we regretted that one later! jk)

Just gumming an apple

Sweet Potatos - another favorite

He likes to feed himself - so advanced!

More pictures - really Mom? This is a little ridiculous!

Long Overdue Nursery Pictures

Okay so these are LONG overdue. We kept saying we were going to take pictures of the nursery after we____ (fill in the blank)_____. So I just took some today on my day off because the sun was shinning in the window and Micah was enjoying just hanging out. So here are some pictures! (only 6 months later...)

Here is a shot looking into the room. As you can see in this post, Andrew refinished the dresser and added the top. He also painted the night stand and created the abacus. The last thing we bought was the Alphabet Animal print and this is probably Micah's favorite thing in the room. If he is crying - we just show him his animals and we get smiles all around. We just liked how it brough together the yellow and turquiose!






Micah's Animals upclose. We found it at Gordman's.

And here is Micah's crib in the corner. Andrew created this cool mobile for him which he is now starting to love to look at. My mom made the bedding out of our inspiration fabric: Martini Mustard by Amy Butler.  

And here is Micah's 2nd favorite thing in the room- his bookshelves (and this is my favorite!) Andrew made the shelves and we filled them with books galore. We also have a few pictures of Micah in there when he was first born as well as some stuffed animals. Micah loves to look at and read books (he gets that from me!)

  


And Micah with his 3rd favorite thing - his nightlight. Who needs toys when you can have a nightlight?

The Beginning of Cloth Diapering

Ever since I got pregnant, Andrew and I have said we wanted to do cloth diapers. Many called us crazy when we told them, and I know others thought in the back of their head "it won't last" but we are proving them wrong! Our journey in cloth diapering has begun (and it really has been a journey!)

So me being the book nerd that I am and Andrew being the practical, show me the proof person he is has resulted in us doing massive amounts of research for many of the items we bought for little Micah. So when it came to cloth diapers we of course did our research. This led us to a great little store here in KC called Teeny Greeny. They offered a diaper trial of a variety of different types of cloth diapers. Of course we both thought this was just great as we then could try them and make a decision instead of just stare at them in the store wondering what works best.

So two weeks ago we got the diaper trial and tried out a variety of diapers. We thought we were going to go with BumGenius as we had heard so many good things about them but after trying the different kinds I fell in love with FuzziBunz. Here are my reasons


1. They dried the fastest out of all of them (line drying).  I know for some people no big deal - but when I go back to work in October I don't want to waste precious time waiting for the diapers to dry instead of playing with my Micah.
2. They were a lot less bulky in the front. This wasn't a big deal for Andrew, but it was for me. When you have to have a row of snaps in the front to make it bigger/smaller like BumGenius, some of his clothes just didn't fit. I personally just didn't like how the bulk in the front looked. Also the one size insert in which you had to fold to make small, medium, or large added to some bulk. FuzziBunz has 2 size inserts and you adjust the size by adjusting the elastic in the legs and back. (I will show you some pics)
3. I like the feel of the fleece in the inside of stead of the suede that BumGenius had. I know fleece gets bally sometimes, but I just thought it felt so nice and would be nice on his bottom.
4. I like the adjustments on the legs and back. Micah is a long skinny guy (like his dad!) and having the option to loosen or tighten up the legs really made the diaper fit great on him.
5. I liked the wipes of FuzziBunz as well. I know I could just get the FuzziBunz wipes with the BumGenius diapers, but Teeny Greeny had a great package deal for wipes and diapers and that just sealed the deal for us.


So we ordered our variety of FuzziBunz and are on our way with cloth diapering. We ordered 24 diapers as we knew we didn't want to spend all of our nights washing/drying diapers, they would all last longer as we wouldn't wash them as frequently, and we want to use them with all of our kids so we might at times have 2 in diapers and need the extras. It was quite the investment, but when looking at what we have already spent on diapers/wipes in his first 2 months, we know it will pay off soon!

**Note about the wipes**

I was not planning on using cloth wipes and we had been making our own wipes with paper towels. My sister had said that her friends who use cloth diapers liked the wipes as well, but I really had to use them first to learn that they are much easier. First, you are already washing the diapers, so the wipes are nothing to just throw in with them. Also when you change a disposable diaper, you put the disposable wipes in the diaper, wrap it up and throw it all away. Trying to use disposable wipes with a cloth diaper was a little more difficult as you can't put the wipe in the diaper but instead throw it away right then. Try it once and you will understand how it can be mildly annoying! Without the diaper trial I wouldn't have found that out till after we bought them.




So here is our latest investment - we went with 2 of each color (except the 2 pink colors). The picture just shows one of each color. Aren't they pretty? :-) My favorite is Mac n Cheese (yellow ).

And each one comes with 2 size inserts, the diaper, and replacement elastic.

Here is an up close look at the diapers for those of you unfamiliar with FuzziBunz (or cloth diapers in general)

 So we got all our diapers and were very excited to get started (Andrew was  excited because we only have a handful of disposal diapers left and he didn't want to buy more!)

Since we had done the trial we had a good guess as to what size he would need on the legs and back. The one downside to FuzziBunz is having to change the elastic when he changes sizes. But it doesn't need to be done all that often so it is worth it. We changed them all while watching America's Got Talent (go Team iLuminate). Micah is at a 4 in the legs and a 2 on the back.

So you just button the elastic to the number you want and tuck them into the little slots. Once he gets bigger you just change it up. And there is the nice snug leg fit on his diaper.

And the back one is similar with a button on each side.

So now we have the diapers all sized, we just had to stuff the insert in.

 Here is an example of one without the insert and then one with the insert.

 Andrew stuffing the Kumquat colored diaper (I love that word)

And now Micah is ready for some wonderful diapering! Sometimes is crazy to think how much money and how excited we got to buy these diapers. Really - they hold poop! Anyways...

This is the diaper all stuffed and ready. This is the "Grape" color - in honor of UNI Panthers!

Although we just spent the time adjusting the leg straps, there are other ways to make sure the diaper fits. If you notice all the snaps in the front - those help make this adjustable as well.  But as you can see there are hip snaps and then two top snaps. Once his legs start filling out and he gets a nice big milk belly, we can adjust the sizing using these before adjusting his legs. So many options for so many different sized babies!

Right now Micah is on the smallest setting as you can see.

So now we diaper Micah up using the new diaper and wipes. Now how do you keep the wipes wet you ask? And where do I keep the smelly diapers (even though they aren't bad right now - another advantage of breastfeeding!) My answer is by using our lovely products from Planet Wise!

We keep his diapers in the large wet dry bag (black and white curls) and the pail liner in a kitchen size garbage pail  (dark brown) Although we haven't used it yet as we don't have the pail.  And in the AM I just wet down about 10 wipes and put them in the medium wet dry bag (brown and green circles) and zip it up. Then when I use a wipe, I just unzip and they are ready. Same for the dirty diapers - when it's time to wash I just dump over the bag and throw the whole bag in the wash with the diapers. The smells stay out but the moisture stays in.

**And when Micah wants his solid foods we will be using these to help with the larger poops!**

I have officially made it 1 full day with cloth diapers and it has gone great. I would say the worst part is pulling out the insert to do the wash, but each time I do it I just think of the all the money we are saving and it doesn't seem too bad. Oh - and I think about how we are helping the planet as well :-)  Did you know a diaper stays in the landfill for over 500 years? That means if the pilgrims on the Mayflower had been using disposable diapers, they would still be over at Plymouth Rock for another 110 years or so before they decompose....ewwww!

Professional Pics of Our Little Man

So at 1 month we got some pictures taken of our little guy. Even though it was only 3 weeks ago - he is already changing! Man time flies! We got them done at Picture People in Buy Buy Baby. They do a good job and are reasonably priced. Plus we joined their picture club for free (it was their special this month) so we get a few discounts when we go back.


Anyways it was our first long (as in more than 2 hrs) outing with him and he did well. He fell asleep for the first half and then woke up when we changed it clothes (or took off his clothes!) But he did great - we didn't get a few poses we tried, but hey what can you do? Then when he was done he peed all over his daddy. All in all it was a pretty fun time :-) Enjoy!

 (This one is my favorite! But the sad thing is - he doesn't fit into this outfit anymore!)

Ready to Rock this Baby

So I just have to share - Andrew and I are so excited about our latest Amazon purchase. As most of you know - we are both big Weezer fans and so when I came across this CD I just knew we had to get it!

Rockabye Baby Weezer

Check out the website and you can get a little listen of what baby V will be falling asleep to on some of those long nights. And if Weezer isn't your bag - there are plenty of other lullaby renditions you might like such as U2, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Cure, Elvis, etc. We also ordered a Coldplay rendition for baby. Hopefully he or she gets a taste for some good music at an early age! (Yes I am aware this sounds like an ad for Rockabye Baby but it isn't - I am just excited about our new nursery music selections!)

Baby Bib Time

So we have had a few baby showers as well as some very generous family giving us some gifts. As most of you know - Andrew and I love to give people funny onesies, T-shirts, bibs, etc. Anything that says something humorous - we just feel the need to make our niece/nephew/friend wear it for our enjoyment. This being said - we have received quite a few bibs for Baby V that are now fitting into this category. We are more than excited to finally have a child of our own to dress with our favorite sayings. Hope you enjoy some of the bibs as much as we do!

This is baby's message to Andrew.

Obviously this one was in honor of me!

Andrew is the official pea hater of the family.

Aunt Sarah just couldn't help herself.

Baby has attitude!

This one takes after baby's daddy.

Just had to end on this one from my mom. Not even born and already the star!

New Dresser

So the nursery is starting to come together - and I can't be more excited. Our favorite piece so far is the dresser. Andrew and I had been looking for a Mid-Century Modern piece on Craigslist and thrift stores but they were either too expensive, in horrible shape, or Victorian style (less is more as Andrew says!) Andrew really wanted something that he could refinish (since he had never done that before he of course wanted to learn!) but we weren't having any luck. We thought we should just order the dresser that matched the crib - but the reviews online kept saying it was really cheap and falls apart. Then one night we decided to check out a local thrift store that we hadn't been to for a while. We didn't see much but Andrew got to talking with the owner about what we were looking for and played the baby card ("It's our first baby and we are really excited and we want this dresser as a changing table") Lucky for us, the guy was "goo-goo ga-ga" over babies and showed us a dresser he bought to refinish himself. He said he bought it for $25 and would be willing to sell it for that. We were in love and were sold!

But this is what it looked like... (The lighter color drawer had been sanded - got a little "sand happy" before I could get a picture taken!) So this weekend Andrew and his dad got to work on making this piece in to a modern baby changing station. Andrew is now dictating the process for me.

1. Sanded down everything - including the laminate top. The handles are mahogany and the drawers are walnut. Power sanded with his new random orbital sander. Hand sanded the finer details.

2. Once sanding was complete, they bought a water based walnut stain. Water based dries fast and has less nasty fumes (thoughtfully thinking of the pregnant lady in the house!) They used walnut so the mahogany would have the same color as the walnut.

3. They brushed on the stain, wiped it off, and waited 3 hours. (cleaned the garage while they waited!)

4. After the 3 hours, they put on 3 coats of polyurethane (clear coat) using Andrew's dad's sweet sprayer. In between coats they wet sanded it to get a super smooth finish.

5. Dresser dried overnight and *poof* - a "new" beautiful dresser/changing station for baby v! And here are some fun detail shots Andrew took for your enjoyment! "Check out the piloti on that thing" as Andrew says. Architect humor... Solid wood construction and dovetail joints...they don't make them like they used to! Andrew's first "purchase" for the baby... (ball was free) And a little sneak preview of our nursery fabric theme...stay tuned for the updates!