tummy time

Ramona was really working hard at rolling herself over from her back to her tummy while we were in minnesota. shortly, after we got back to colorado, BAM, it was done. way to go, girl!

inspired by this post over at one claire day, i thought i'd go over some of the expectations that may or may not have changed since ramona has been around. before we met her, before we knew what it was like to be parents, jp and i discussed how things were going to be done. and, if you know me personally, you know that i can be a black-and-white type thinker. yes to this, no to that. i don't really consider, ahead of time, the gray area in between or the situations that might necessitate a little flexibility. marrying jp and being a mother to ramona has changed that a little bit. 

ramona doesn't give a crap what i want or expect or plan or schedule or manipulate. she lives to the beat of her own drum and hasn't yet developed the faculties to understand reason or controlling one's emotions. because of this i have had to learn to read her, to attend to her needs whole-heartedly. and also because of this, jp and i have had to find ways that make parenthood simpler, easier, and more beneficial for our sleep and well-being (and certainly for ramona's). that being said, all of our grand plans for being the perfect parents didn't exactly turn out the way we envisioned. let's take a look:

1. I will not give my child a pacifier. When Ramona was six weeks old and her and I were spending some time in Minnesota with my family and I was, subsequently, leaving her for more time with someone else than I ever had before, my dear sister asked if I had ever used a pacifier with her. I hadn't but thought, what the heck? I was ok with this decision since Ramona and I had a healthy breastfeeding relationship and I didn't think it was going to interfere with that (many people advise to hold off on introducing bottles or pacifiers before the baby is 6 weeks old for this reason). Others were able to help soothe Ramona with the use of a pacifier and it certainly helped to take the edge off. As soon as she (finally!) fell asleep, she would pop it out of her mouth. However, she never quite got the hang of sucking on it on her own so someone always had to hold it in her mouth if it was going to be effective. A pacifier worked great with Ramona, but only for about three weeks. I will be there to help soothe her and teach her to settle herself with other comforting aids. Sometimes, when she is so tired during the day, I let Ramona cry for a little bit alone in her swing. I want to see if she will fall asleep. Since she has learned to suck her thumb (I think she is genetically predisposed to this as I was a thumb sucker) sometimes it only takes five minutes: her crying is more like a low whimper and the next thing I know she is asleep. Other times, though, I have put her in there and her crying escalates to screaming and I still wait to see what will happen. Poor girl. Often nothing does and so I take her out and wrap her up (and that works like a charm). 

2. I will breastfeed no matter what. Ramona latched like a champ and, except for when my milk came in and we had to use a nipple shield for a little bit, has had no trouble nursing. At this point, it is safe to say I will breastfeed no matter what, though I completely understand that I had a relatively easy time and had a huge network of support and this is not the case for all women who want to try exclusively breastfeeding. However, full disclosure, Ramona was fed some formula a couple of times when we were in Minnesota. It was convenient for me when others were looking after her and I didn't own a pump at the time (and there was something really freeing about leaving her with trusted others and I didn't have to worry about how she would get calories). Though she is no worse for the wear the poor girl had a helluva time digesting that stuff and was quite unhappy every time she needed to poop. I will never do that to her again. 

3. I will only use cloth diapers. I am seriously considering buying disposables to use at night so she would stop leaking! Also, I not-so-secretly love when we travel and I use disposables on her and I don't have to worry about doing daily loads of poopy diapers. That being said, at home we do only use cloth diapers but, as I've said before, I cannot imagine having a job away from home and trying to keep up with clean cloth diapers.

4. I will not feed my baby to sleep and will follow the SLEEP FEED PLAY routine. While I never really thought of this until I read it elsewhere in the blogosphere and considered it there is no way now that I would stick to that. Nursing Ramona to sleep at night works WONDERS and I'm confident she won't be doing that for the rest of her life living with us. My rule of thumb (for some things): do whatever works for the child and makes parenting as enjoyable as possible (anyone listen to the freakonomics podcast, which states that people with children are generally less happy than those without? why exacerbate the problem?)

5. I will not allow my child to be stimulated for long periods by a television. Ramona has watched some nursery rhyme clips on youtube and an episode or two of community. and sometimes the way she gets sucked into the movement on the computer screen is a big ol' relief to us, esp when we want to quickly shovel some food in our mouths. that being said, we won't be buying those "educational" videos geared at children 2 and under and we won't be using her bumbo chair to place her in front of the tv while we do other stuff. but i'm not too worried about snippets of tv exposure.

6. I will start reading to her every night from birth. sounds like a marvelous and romantic idea but sometimes that girl just is begging and pleading for bed. this means putting on a clean diaper, slipping her into a cozy sleep sack and letting her nurse to her heart's desire bc otherwise she is PISSED. i do try and read to her every day and, recently, she's actually shown some interest in the images of the pages and the pages themselves (RRRRIP!) but reading before bedtime is gonna have to wait until she's a little bit older and doesn't crash so hard at night.

***
nicole.: i CANNOT wait. and i am very proud of you.

jumping the gun

ramona was a giraffe on saturday, a jack-o-lantern on sunday, and--because all her costumes were dirty--simply the cutest little baby you ever did see on monday. 

happy halloween.

going home -- day 8

after eight days away from the homestead and eight days having a fabulous time w family, it was time to return. and it is so great to be back.

winding down -- day seven

 

wake up time!: in our favorite sleep sack

plaid tunic w brown leggings: geniune kids oshkosh at target

 

 

birchwood cafe breakfast w nona, savory pumpkin waffle, working on rolling over, naps by the fire, costume changes ("respect your mother" baby gap outfit from jasmin with trumpette subtle mary janes from nona. thank you!)

tomorrow we go back home to denver. it's been fun but the two of us have been itching to see jp.

***
melinda: HAHAHAHAHAHA. bean hasn't pooped since that blowout. we leave tomorrow. i'm nervous.

poopie pants -- day six

the following outfit was short-lived:

cardigan: american apparel (thanks nona!)
striped shirt: thrifted zutano
black pants: thrifted
pink satin bow socks: trumpette lucy's (via nona at pacifier. thank you!)

BLOW (wait for it)

 OUT

(please notice empty wipes container [i actually went through two stashes]).

lunch at brasa, cortado and mast brothers chocolate at dogwood, hair styling at chicky's, dinner w bree at crave, feeling of accomplishment on words with friends.

i also stopped by my old jr high to visit my very favorite, most influential teacher, mrs homans, whom i had in 5th and 6th grade. we chatted over coffee and all was affirmed as to why i keep going back to say hello and let her know how great she was in my young life.

***
melinda: my dad is thoroughly wonderful and thoughtful. his example of love is how i ended up with a man like jp -- i knew i wouldn't settle for anything less. i am having a beautiful time here and would stay for much longer if i didn't miss my dear old bubs back home so so so much (or have a job that resumed on monday).

indulge -- day five

flowered shirt/dress: thrifted baby gap

pantaloons: thrifted makie

mock turtleneck onesie: thrifted hanna andersson

facetime, nap time, dinner time, bed time.

oh, and in between nap time and dinner time was spa time: my dad had his massage therapist come to the house and give his ladies (me, erica, and my mama) the most healing massages we've ever received. thanks papa and joy!

***
kelsey: how fun we share the same tradition! the guys at my hubby's coffee shop give me a hard time for drinking this frou-frou coffee but, like you said, there is just something wonderful and cozy about it.
melinda: i should have mentioned the swing! we don't use it as much anymore but it is a perfect (and secure) place to set her down in while i rush around getting things done. and she seems to have learned how to soothe herself in there when she's oh-so tired. she gives me just a couple of squawks and then usually finds her thumb and passes out. amazing! we got ours off craigslist for pennies.

field trips -- day four

vintage knit sweater: thrift store

onesie with flowers: target

tulle skirt: target

"she's eating my arm!"

my first pumpkin spice latte of the season. every year i text my beautiful friend, jasmin, and tell her i got it and am thinking of her. i love this tradition.

super smiley and happy at yo yo doughnuts. after this we went to visit my father and his eighth-grade students in their earth science class. we are brave souls, i know.

best baby stuff

this post is inspired by a post over at no one thing. so i am just going to take her list and revise it a bit for my own experience. listen up.

didymos wrap. if you've been reading my blog for the past nine weeks then you understand why this thing is amazing. and by this thing i mean any woven wrap that is meant to hold your baby close to you without dangling it by the crotch (like some other unmentionable carriers that seem to think it's ok to dangle little baby bjorn by his goodies [and eight other reasons forward-facing carriers might not be the best bet]). ramona loves this being wrapped up and worn and it's often the best way to get her to fall asleep (though the swing works in the morning and the boob works in the evening). wrapping her on my back allows me to keep her close to me even while i'm running around the house doing laundry or tending to the chickens or holding another fussy baby or trying to wash some dishes. babywearing is key. at least in this mother/daughter relationship.

rump-a-rooz cloth diapers. granted, cloth diapering is SO much easier if you A) stay at home an B) own a washer and dryer. lucky for us we are both. we knew, off the bat, that we would be cloth diapering little ramona. it's both economical and more environmentally-friendly. we at first considered pre-folds with diaper covers but then my friend aubrey showed us the magic of one-size-fits-all pocket diapers. this means ramona will wear the same diapers until she's potty-trained. hooray! thus far, they're working out just fine. she leaks sometimes but nothing horrendous and, a blow out is a blow out. i've seen a blow-out on a disposable diapered boy. if poop is going to come out it's going to come out. pee is a different story and i would say that cloth diapers tend to leak a little more in that department. learn the art of double-stuffing or stuffing with hemp liners. (p.s. this is how i met robin from no one thing. she sold me some bum geniuses off craigslist).

if you care anything about researching your labor options and also think that a natural childbirth is something you would want to consider read these:

ina may's guide to childbirth

birthing from within

if you decide you want to go that route, email me and we'll talk more in-depth.

if you want to breastfeed your child you MUST read this:

the womanly art of breastfeeding. i found much encouragement in this book as it told me to buck the worries of documenting every poopy diaper or time i breastfed on an iPhone app and to just relax and pull out that boob. of course, it directed me to resources for help if i didn't have it and assured me that frustration and difficulty are the norm when getting used to having your boobs sucked on constantly throughout the day. it's written by la leche league international, a free resource for every woman that may need it.

aden + anais blankets. beautiful, soft, versatile. pray that those who give you blankets (and there will be many) choose to give you these.

pre-fold diapers we thought we might go this route for diapers for ramona. instead, we use the ones we got as spit-up rags, changing pads, burp cloths, and all-around-catch-the-nasty-stuff-coming-from-your-baby towels. there are at least two--clean and ready--in each room of our house.

sic my brest friend. jp and i still can't get over the stupidity of the name. and it's not even the play-on words that bother us: why the company didn't name it my BREAST friend (which would have made it an actual pun) is beyond us. that nuance aside, this thing really was a lifesaver when i was first learning to breast feed and ramona was latching on to my boobs every two hours (which really ends up being every hour and a half) for the first two weeks. it continued being useful when she was taking 20 minutes to half an hour during her nursing sessions. the my bre[a]st friend allowed me to lay her across it and still comfortably maneuver her mouth to where it had to go on my chest without me having to hold her up all the time. now that ramona can basically seat herself upon my lap i've passed it on to another friend that recently had a little one. but i'll want it back for when our second one comes along (don't worry, that's not for a little bit).

american apparel sleep sacks. just really wonderful: fit nice and easy to change diapers in the middle of the night if need be.

co-sleeping pillow. i can't find a link for it now (and i assure you it's not those scary contraptions at babies'r'us) but a co-sleeping pillow/snuggler/thing was a lifesaver when we thought we were going to roll over and suffocate our newborn bean. of course, we didn't. and we still probably wouldn't have without this pillow. but it sure eased our fears. ramona fit perfectly inside of it and we were able to snuggle against it and have her right in between us. now she still sleeps in between us, just without this pillow as she's outgrown it.

oxo candela glow lights. these have been perfect for middle-of-the-night happenings. they're just bright enough so i can see what i am doing (changing a dirty diaper or guiding my boob into her mouth) but dim enough that they don't bother jp or wake up ramona too much. for the first couple of weeks i needed a light on so that i could always see her sleeping. my bedside light was way too bright that it was interrupting my sleep. i was so thankful when i discovered these and they arrived in the mail.

what products made your life better with a new little one? or what products do you have questions about?

lazy sunday -- day three

knit sweater: thrifted

onesie: salvagetti bike shop

pink cheetah sweatpants: thrifted zubaz for babies (not really, but they sorta look like them)

cousin time!

while nona and i made a stop to dogwood coffee, pops took a snooze in the car with ramona.

and then more cousin time at home with spanish lessons, smiling instructions, and s'mores!

traveling in style -- day one

off to minnesota to see my family. i used that opportunity to go through ramona's clothes: packed away the too-small items, donated the things she never wore, pulled out the goodies i forgot she had. i went a little overboard and coordinated a different outfit for each day, which is certainly not efficient packing (i only allowed myself four [mix-and-match] outfits for the eight days we'll be gone). ah, well, there's plenty  time yet to teach her how seasoned travelers do it.

vintage aqua knit cardigan: thrifted

vintage hand-dyed aqua onesie: thrifted (and a tad too small so this'll be the last time she wears it!)

leggings: thrifted zutano

mary jane socks: trumpette 

away we go!

leka

we love this silly leka baby gym from ikea. it's simple, straightforward, wood, and nice looking. in these photos ramona is first starting to notice that this thing even exists (even though it hung over her head at our makeshift changing station on our dining room table for the first 6 weeks of her life). now (about two weeks after these photos were taken) she's grabbing for the hanging items and spinning the attachments on the side. today i even saw her take hold of the red ring (seen dangling to the right of her face in the first photo).

it's quite exciting to see your child develop simple abilities such as tracking with their eyes or grabbing with their hands. each day, it seems, she does something new. 

***

andrea: it's nice to hear that i'm not the only one experiencing this situation. it does seem that ramona recently discovered otto and i look forward to when they can (maybe) be friends.

brandon: he works hard for the money!

robin: we love those diapers! thank you so much!