The Tastes of a Toddler

Last night, Lillian feasted on chicken with balsamic fig sauce and steamed zucchini! Yep, and she liked it! She is such a good little eater…usually…and I am thrilled to have found two companies to make eating easier! I enjoy cooking, but I am really bad at being creative with ingredients, and simply having the proper ingredients on hand is a challenge. But give me a recipe with all of the stuff I need and we will eat like queens! That is why I enjoy Dream Dinners so much! I have been using this company religiously for about three years now! When I first started, I would love spending a little over an hour in their cute store, assembling my meals for the coming month. Now that things are a bit busier, it is so great to just breeze in, pick up my already assembled meals, and set a few out to thaw for the week ahead. The meals are made with high quality ingredients, are very healthy, and help to save money since you’re not throwing away unused ingredients (or in my case, eating out!) And the more you go, the more you save – they have a great loyalty program.

My next favorite find is Green BEAN, delivering fresh produce to my front door! I first tried out Green BEAN through Groupon, and what a great decision it turned out to be! I receive a small produce bin every 3 weeks full of a great variety of delicious fruits and veggies! They first put together a bin of seasonal items, but you have the option to go in and edit it to meet your needs. Again, a lot of the stuff I would never think of buying at the grocery store, but it’s fun to discover that Lillian and I both like spaghetti squash! I bought some of the Ziploc steam bags and they are great for a quick little side item to match the Dream Dinners!

Baby Music Class

If you are in the Midwest, look outside. What do you see? GRAY! GRAY! GRAY! It is February and it is gross and gray most days lately. In talking with a lot of other stay-at-home-moms, the grayness and cold means staying inside more often than not, and it drives us absolutely INSANE! Most of my mom friends, including myself, have spoken of a day recently where you just hit your limit and it is absolutely imperative that you get out of the house and do something…NOW! My day hit me a couple of weeks ago and I scoured the Internet for baby classes. To be honest, I am a huge fan of MTV’s Teen Mom series, and after watching a particular episode where Farrah takes Sophia to a music class, I thought that it sounded like fun!

First up, Gymboree Play & Music. We got to try out a class for free and it started out in the colorful gym-type room with other babies all around Lillian’s age. Perhaps we started out on a bad note because all of these other kids were crawling around like crazy and my little girl could not. No matter how many times I read the phrase, ‘Your baby is an individual’, in the baby development books, I get freaked out when Lillian isn’t doing what other kids her age are doing. Anyway, the class had a lot going on, with singing, dancing, mom sharing time, play gym things, and bubbles. Great variety, but perhaps a little too much. Lillian got cranky by the end of class and didn’t want anything to do with the giant parachute activity. I was hopeful for the mom sharing time, but some of the women came off a little too competitive when it came to their babies. Perhaps I was being sensitive due to the crawling issues, but even so, these moms also seemed to be the types that wanted to talk about their baby 24/7. I love Lillian, but I just can’t talk baby all day! Can a girl get some quality discussion on the latest Bachelor episode, please?! After the class, I got the awkward sales pitch and had to push them away. One, because I had a cranky over-stimulated baby, and two, because $59/month seems like A LOT of money for four classes a month. Granted, you also can attend the open gym times when your baby is mobile…did I mention that we still have a non-mobile baby? The package may have been a bit more attractive if that price included the music and art classes, but no, that was an additional $16/month.

Luckily, I had found a back-up baby class! We have a local independent children’s book store, Blue Manatee, that is the cutest place EVER! Add to it an attached coffee bar and cafe, and the fact that it is within walking distance from our house (when it’s not gray out, of course), and it is pretty much perfect. I had received an email communication from them that mentioned their music class for only $8/class and signed up. The class was for children 17 months and under, and there was a good mix of kids at, above, and below Lillian’s age. It was a nice half hour of singing activities with Miss Meghan who wore the cutest pair of toe socks with little smiley faces on them. Lillian LOVED it! She was shaking the musical eggs, waving, bobbing her head, and laughing! The moms in attendance (and one dad!) were much more laid back! On our way out, we signed up for the remaining classes in February and March! I am looking forward to class next week!

StorkCraft Crib Recall

Yup, the biggest recall in crib history (gasp!) includes Lillian’s crib. Are we running up the stairs and snatching Lillian out of her crib? Nope. Are we going to snatch her from said crib tomorrow night? Nope. Does this make us bad parents? Nope. We will keep an eye on the alleged faulty part and patiently wait for the free repair kit. And boy, will we wait. This isn’t the first time that there has been a recall issued on her crib since we bought it in January of 2009. Soon after the purchase, a recall was issued on the mattress board support brackets. We waited FOREVER to receive that magical kit. We waited so long, in fact, that I followed up on the original request for the new parts. It probably took at least two months to receive it. I do think that it’s pretty crummy that the consumer has to contact the company at fault and wait on hold forever in order to request a replacement kit. Being that this recall is so huge and the StorkCraft website is out of commission for the time being, Lillian may be sleeping in a regular bed by the time we get these new parts!

Chicco KeyFit Infant Car Seat Review

We are very happy with our car seat! While it has thankfully never been put to the ultimate test (car accident), we feel that it is very safe and sturdy. I think that the sturdiness also comes with a drawback – it is HEAVY! Without a baby, the car seat weighs 9lbs. Right now, Lillian weighs around 16lbs for a total of 25lbs! Perhaps I am just a weak lady, but I’m getting to the point, where its impossible to carry that thing around for more than a few minutes! At the grocery store, I usually find a cart before even taking her seat out of the car, and once she can sit up unassisted, I’ll be leaving the seat in the car!

The specifications state that she can be in it weighing between 4-22lbs or 30in or less. I have a feeling that we will be maxing out in Lillian’s length before the weight maximum. We already have the straps at the highest of the three positions! Changing the positions of those straps is really easy! I took out the headrest with this last change. However, I should suggest reading the manual closely. While doing my research for this review, I re-read the manual and noticed for the first time that the infant insert on the bottom should only be used when the child weighs under 11lbs. Oops, I just took it out!

Overall, the seat is VERY easy to use! The installation of the base using the LATCH system, was a piece of cake. Even securing the seat in a car without the base is easy, although it definitely doesn’t feel as secure as when using the base. We decided on buying an additional base at the steep cost of $79.99, which is almost double the cost of the extra bases that Graco offers for their car seats! Would we do it again? Probably not. Lillian is usually in my car, and if we didn’t have the extra base, I think we would just strap in the seat in Brian’s car instead of moving the base for shorter trips.

Moving the seat in and out of the car is easy, and it snaps in and out of the stroller with practically no effort. We got the travel system, and I am glad that we did. Now that she is bigger, it’s nice putting her in the stroller without having the extra bulk of the car seat. Overall, I would definitely recommend this car seat. This seat was also the top rated seat by Consumer Reports!

Munchkin Fresh Totes Review

Lillian’s poos stink. Add a bunch of stinky poo diapers to a bag and nothing can contain its atrocious smell! No, not even the Diaper Genie. Yes, it keeps the smell in while the pail is just sitting there but when you have to add new diapers and the top opens – sickness! While shopping at Target, I found these wonderful stink cover-uppers – Munchkin Fresh Totes. Not only do they come in really cute designs, but they actually work pretty well! They are made to hang on something, and simply hanging outside of the diaper pail would be no match for the stink. So I taped mine to the inside lid and now it smells pretty nice whenever the pail is opened. They are sold in packs of two. I’ve had mine for about three weeks now, and the smell is still fresh. I will definitely be stocking up on these!

Diaper Review

Babies are messy…as if you couldn’t tell from all of the poop pictures that I’ve posted! We have gone through a lot of diapers, probably 1,000 already if I had to guess. Yep, that’s right, 1,000 diapers and she’s only 4 months old! We’ve only had to buy diapers within the last month since we received so many as gifts before Lillian was born. My overall diaper complaint – why do they have the kids characters all over them? Babies can’t see what’s on their diapers, so why not cater to the parents? A nice paisley print, perhaps? My #1 diaper pick thus far: Pampers Swaddlers.

Leaking: Our experience has been that they will all leak if it’s the perfect storm: the right sitting/laying position, and a major blowout. We haven’t had any urine leaks yet.

General Use:

Pampers Swaddlers: Available in sizes Pl, XS, N, 1, 1-2, 2, 2-3 We have experience with sizes, N, 1, 1-2, & 2. Decoration: Sesame Street. This was the brand that was used in the hospital. The ‘N’ size has a yellow line spanning the length of the diaper that turns green when wet. It sensed both pee and poo. This is a genius idea and I am bummed that the feature is not offered on any other diaper. Pampers – ADD IT TO ALL OF YOUR DIAPERS! Anyways, this is my favorite diaper because it lays flat when changing a diaper making it easy to slide the new diaper under the baby. The material is very soft, it reminds me of cotton. Swaddlers are also very absorbent. It’s crazy how heavy the diaper can feel when Lillian has peed a few times! It seems to keep the moisture off of her really well and she’s rarely had any instances of diaper rash when using these diapers.

Pampers Baby Dry: Available in sizes 1 thru 6. Decoration: Sesame Street. We have experience with size 1-2. These diapers have a more paper/plastic feel to them. While they will hold the moisture, I don’t feel like they keep the moisture off of Lillian like the Swaddlers do. When changing a very wet diapers, her skin appears a little more irritated almost like its damp. She also will has had more instances of diaper rash when wearing these diapers.

Luvs: Available in sizes N thru 6. Decoration: Blues Clues. We have experience with size 1. These diapers have the most paper/plastic feel out of all of the diapers that we have used. They are absorbent, but again, I feel like they didn’t keep the moisture off of Lillian’s skin very well. She had the most instances of diaper rash in these diapers.

Huggies Little Snugglers: Available in sizes P thru 2. Decoration: Winnie the Pooh. We have experience with sizes 1 & 2. This diaper would be my #2 pick and we use them pretty regularly too. They have the most soft and cottony feeling of all of the diapers that we have used. The diapers features a special flap along the back that is supposed to trap messes, but we’ve found that if its the perfect storm, the flap doesn’t stand a chance! These diapers are very absorbent and keep the moisture off of Lillian very well. She has had few instances of diaper rash when using these diapers. The only reason they are my #2 pick instead of #1 is that they don’t lay as flat when putting on the new diaper, and that can make changing the diaper a tad more difficult. Honorable mention in the Huggies cateogry are their Pure & Natural diapers – I received 3 samples in the mail and I was very impressed. The only downer is that they are the more expensive than the other diapers mentioned in this post.

Target brand: We received quite a few of these in different diaper cakes at my showers, but it appears that the specific kind that we used are no longer made. Target has recently rolled out their new up & up brand which I would imagine would be similar to what I had, but I can’t be sure. My review of the diapers that I did use would be very similar to that of Luvs, but these diapers had little frogs on them.

Baby Clothes Review – Clothing Quality & Shrinkage

I was blessed to be given tons of baby clothes before Lillian was born. Of course, I diligently washed everything according to the instructions on the label, and in the finest baby detergent. Keep in mind that Lillian is a very long baby, measuring 21″ at birth, 22.25″ at 1 month, and 24″ at 2 months. Her weight history is 8lbs at birth, 10.5lbs at 1 month, 11.5lbs at 2 months, and 13.4lbs at 3 months.   Here is what I found:

Garanimals – This brand, found exclusively at Walmart, consists of mix and match separates that are really cute! The price is wonderful, starting at $3.00! I was surprised by the quality of the clothing – they were a bit thicker and held up pretty well in the wash. I didn’t notice any significant fading or shrinkage. Sizing is pretty accurate, and I appreciate their wider arm and neck holes – it always seems easier to dress Lillian in these outfits. The designs are so cute, I prefer to put these on her when we’re out and about. I don’t like to waste them on just lounging around the house.

Carter’s – I think you can find this brand all around, we even visited their location at the outlets this weekend! The outlet prices weren’t phenomenal, with $3.99 clearance onesies. Often, you can find a five pack of the onesies at department stores for $14.99 on sale. The fabric tends to be a little thinner on their standard onesies. I haven’t noticed much shrinkage in the wash, and they run true to size. I think this is my favorite brand for everyday wear – on a particularly messy day, Lillian could go through 3 of these! I recommend stocking up on these to lounge around the house in.

Gerber – I’m pretty sure you can find this brand at any convenient store. Prices are standard for plain white onesies, $9.99 for a 5-pack. I love putting Lillian in them because they’re so soft and gentle. I have noticed a lot of shrinkage with their clothing. When Lillian was first born, the newborns were tight and she fit better in the 3-6. Now that she’s 3 months old, the 3-6 barely button at the bottom. We also put her in their wrap around t-shirts and they shrunk as well. We always swaddle Lily at night, and like to put the plain white onesies on her to sleep in under the swaddle.

Circo – This brand is found exclusively at Target. Prices are usually around $10 for a 3-pack of onesies or sleepers. They have really cute designs and only shrink a little bit in the wash. They do show wear after a couple of uses. The colors fade a bit and get those little balls on them. Even so, the prices on their outfits are reasonable and since we stop at Target so often, its fun to pick up a cute little outfit for her to wear once or twice before growing out of it.

BebeSounds Angelcare Monitor Review

Since I have so many knocked up friends, I thought it might be helpful to review baby products that I find helpful, or a waste of money. Not that I’m a baby expert by any means, but I hope this can be somewhat useful to moms/moms-to-be.

My first product review is a baby gear item that I consider to be essential! The BébéSounds Angelcare Monitor works just like a regular sound monitor but also senses the movement of your baby. A small sensor pad is placed underneath the crib mattress and can sense your child’s movement – even their breathing! If movement is not detected for 20 seconds, first a warning beep will occur, and if that doesn’t stir the child, an alarm will go off. The alarm can be heard on each end of the monitor. The sound is thought to jar the child so that if they were sleeping so deeply that they actually forgot to breathe, they would snap out of it. Or, if they had actually stopped breathing, the early alerting of the caregiver would hopefully allow for the child to be saved from a tragic event. There is also a ‘tick’ feature that be turned on that will make a ticking noise on each end of the monitor each time movement is sensed. I choose not to use this feature, the alarm is enough for me.

False alarms are possible with this product if the baby moves to an area of the crib that the sensor can not detect. Our unit has gone off twice so far (we have had it for about a month). Once was the warning mini-alarm and that was all. Two days ago, the alarm actually went off for about 5 seconds. I shot out of bed, but before I even made it out of our room, the alarm had stopped…Lily woke up shortly after that.

The version that I have was $89.99 at Babies R Us and includes one parent unit. There are other versions that include two parent units, or units that also display the temperature in the baby’s room. Our crib came with a board that our mattress sits on and it also holds this sensor perfectly. However, if cribs do not have that feature, BebeSounds also sells a board that can go under the mattress that the sensor will sit on.

I consider this essential because I think it’s a great SIDS deterrant. A close friend of mine lost her son to SIDS and it was absolutely tragic. I’ve mentioned before that Lillian loves to cuddle, and in her crib, she likes to cuddle with the crib bumper. We put the bumper back in her crib because she moves around a lot while she sleeps and I’d come into the nursery and find her crying with an arm or leg through the crib slats, or she would have her head jammed again the edges. Once she started sleeping through the night (STTN) I would wake up in the morning and be panic stricken because she hadn’t made a noise all night. I didn’t want to go in her nursery and wake her, but I couldn’t fall back asleep because I would be so nervous. Ever since I bought this monitor, it has given me total piece of mind.