I forgot to mention one of the things that happened on my birthday. While we were at the mall, I nursed in public without a covering for the first time. I nurse Scout without a covering in the church nursery quite often, but I don't really count that, since it's just a bunch of women and babies in there. I've nursed her in public a couple times, but it has always been with a blanket draped over us.

We were eating at the food court, and I forgot to bring the diaper bag inside, which contained the receiving blanket I usually use as a nursing cover-up. I was a little nervous. Not so much about the actual nursing in public part, but more nervous about getting her latched on without flashing my nipple to all the poor unsuspecting bystanders in that high-traffic area. I think I did a pretty good job of getting her hooked up to the tap without inadvertently putting on a nudie show. Once she was on, I felt totally comfortable. I had a nursing tank on under my shirt, so I wasn't flashing pasty white belly flab either. Hooray. It was kind of empowering to sit there and sip my lemonade and eat my chicken club sandwich while breastfeeding my baby in the middle of the mall.

Labels: breastfeeding, firsts

Wow - I had an exciting birthday. We went to the mall and walked around and ate at Chic-fil-A and had ice cream at Haagen Daas. Then, we went to see The Simpsons Movie at the movie theater!.....with Scout!

DH and I were a little nervous about it, but we just had to attempt it. The Simpsons is our favorite and it came out on my birthday! And then to make it even more perfect, now it's Scout's first movie.

She did really well. She slept and nursed peacefully through the whole 30 minutes of previews. (Uuuughh) and then woke up and got a little squirmy towards the beginning of the movie, so I sat her upright on my lap and she stared quietly at the screen for a while (I know, flame me for letting my baby watch a movie....I'm a bad mom). So, get this: Of course, the movie is really loud and that doesn't phase her one bit....the lady sitting next to me pops the top on her can of soda and Scout flinches really hard, flips out and starts crying. It was a very short-lived cry. I didn't even make it to the door before she stopped...and we were on the aisle in the very back, close to the exit. I don't think it was too horribly disturbing to the people around us. That was the only time a peep was ever heard from her. It was actually WAY less disruptive than the lady in front who was laughing like a hyena and making loud comments. I sat in the back of the theater on the floor and nursed her the rest of the time. I only missed a few minutes of the movie when I went to change her diaper. Over all, I would say that this very risky outing was a success.

The 25-30 minute drive home was a different story. Scout was exhausted from our busy day. Her whole evening routine had been shaken up pretty badly. Pile that on top of the fact that she hates car rides to begin with. She screamed and SCREAMED in the car...even with me in the back trying to soothe her. We stopped to pick up DH's truck on the way home and we took her out of the car and walked around with her and I nursed her. Her red teary eyes and distraught face was so heartbreaking. She had gotten herself so worked up, she was choking on her drool. I nursed her for a while and she calmed down. I felt so bad that I had to put her back in the seat. She was much better the rest of the way home. She fussed a little and quickly fell asleep. I don't think she had the energy to cry anymore. I nursed her down to sleep in bed when we got home. I'm so proud of her for being cooperative. She deserved to have a total melt-down at the end of the night, that's for sure.

Labels: dates, entertainment, firsts, movies

It's my birthday today. I'm 27. Woot! DH got me a cake and we went ahead and ate it last night instead of waiting 'til today. Organic carrot cake from our local health food store.....it's so yummy. He also picked up some blackberry icecream and some vanilla goat milk icecream to try. It was really good. I had cake for breakfast this morning. But we are out of milk. So sad.

Scout is big enoug to ride upright in the Ergo carrier now. I think she digs it. She likes facing forward in the sling, but I think she gets tired of having her legs folded up inside when I carry her that way. With the Ergo, they dangle down and she can stretch them out...but she can't face forward. (well she kinda can if she rides on my back....which I haven't tried yet)




Hee hee hee...like how I scrambled my name? (most of you know it anyway:)

My sis sent me this birthday "card". Cracks me up!

Labels: babywearing, birthdays

Thanks so much for your feedback on the subject of baby-proofing, ladies! As usual, I think I'm over-analyzing things a bit. I'm sure most of it will be on-the-fly baby-proofing, like you said, Annika...just moving things as they need to be moved.

The queen bed that we moved into her nursery (we now have a king size mattress on the floor of our bedroom where we all sleep) has turned out to be a nice place for her to play while I hang up her laundry. She purposefully reached for a toy for the first time today and I caught it on camera.

Oh...I'm being watched...

so I guess I'll go ahead and be cute...

thinking about it.....

Sweet victory!

Labels: firsts, pics of scout

We've still been having great success with the potty. Usually only 1 poop a day lands in the diaper (well, and maybe a few tiny wet farts too. LOL). After her last few naps, her diaper has been bone dry and then when I hold her on the potty she pees like a race horse.

Labels: elimination communication

Scout is not mobile yet, but DH and I have been thinking more and more about ways we can baby-proof our house. But I'm not really sure HOW baby-proof to make our home. My mom said that she never put things of value out of reach and refused to rearrange the whole house for us kids because she believed in TEACHING US what things we could and could not touch. She told me that one of the worst things a parent can do is make a house completely baby-friendly because the child will never learn that there are certain things they should not play with. In which case, everything is fair game in the child's home environment, but if they visit another home, everything is NOT fair game and they can't understand that. The child will then go about, tearing everything up because they don't understand that certain things are off-limits. That seems logical to me.

BUT I want my house to be safe.....and I admit that I'd rather not have to follow an inch behind my toddling little girl 24 hours a day, redirecting her every move as she gets close to things that are a "no-no". Is that a lazy attitude on my part?

Here is my idea: There is a room between our kitchen and entryway that used to be our dining room. We've actually been using it as a second living room, since we have a kitchen table and having a dining room seemed like a waste of space. I would like to put swinging baby gates at each doorway and make that room a child-safe play area for Scout. It would be perfect because it is a centrally located room: I could keep an eye on her while I am cooking and I could also see her from my bedroom door if I'm folding laundry, making the bed, etc. I would also like to be able to sit at my computer and watch her while she plays (I'm planning on selling records on eBay once again), so I moved my computer desk into that 'play' room. There are no cords dangling from my computer desk - just one big fat cord plugged into the wall that leads to the surge-protector/power strip on top of my desk. I'd like to find a way to make that one cord and outlet completely off limits, so there is really nothing dangerous at all in the play room.

Sort of off-topic, but I am in the process of removing all harsh chemical household cleaners from my house and replacing them with natural cleaning supplies like baking soda and vinegar. It's not so much that I'm worried about Scout getting her hands on a bottle of cleaner (I could always move them all to a high shelf), but I suddenly don't like the idea of spraying weird chemicals in our house. I guess having a set of new tiny lungs around has just made me more aware of things like that. There was a point about 4 years ago that we had no chemical cleansers in our home.....I'm not sure how I slowly got away from that.

The room we call "the media room" (where my computer used to be) is certainly not a safe place for a child to play. DH is a computer technician, so there are usually 5 or 6 dismantled computers sprawled out in there at any given time. The other half of that room contains musical instruments and a few pieces of furniture to sit and watch t.v. or play video games on the big projector screen. (we're really not all that fancy....it's a huge ugly projector from the 80's that was given to us for free!:)

I'm sure there are things in our bedroom that aren't entirely child-safe. There's a clothing rack that could probably be knocked over if tugged on just right. I guess that's all. We just recently acquired a king size mattress and put it on the floor in there, so now we have this big cozy family bed and Scout won't get injured if she rolls off.

There are all sorts of things in the entryway a baby shouldn't play with: a big shelf filled with vinyl record albums, a wobbly book case, a low table with sharp corners that has a lamp and a house plant on it. Of course, the laundry room is no place for a child to play. One tug on the cord attached to the iron, and down it goes. And then there's that giant bucket of detergent sitting on the floor. I can close the laundry room door, no problem....and the bathroom door as well. The kitchen has a tall metal shelf with a HEAVY microwave on top. I will probably see if DH could anchor that to a stud in the wall or something. I plan on getting outlet covers for all the rooms and some locks for the few cupboards that contain things babies shouldn't handle.

So, I guess my plan is to have that one special room where I don't have to keep an eagle-eye on Scout....where I can pretty much relax and know that she is not getting into anything while playing in there, as long as I can poke my head in to check on things frequently. And then the rest of the house will be minimally baby-proofed in comparison.

Does this sound like a decent plan? What are your thoughts on baby-proofing? How has your particular set-up worked for you and why? Does it sound like I'm doing too much or not enough to prepare for her toddlerhood?

Labels: baby-proofing

Just to update you (like you care), Scout pooped in the potty once yesterday and she peed twice in the potty. I missed her morning poo yesterday because I was lazy. She was awake and squirming in bed and I should've taken her to the potty right away, but I was hoping she'd go back to sleep. Oops. So far today, we've caught her morning poop and one pee in the potty.

The only thing on my list that I didn't get done yesterday was straightening up our bedroom. I doubt if I'll do that today. When DH is home, I'm lazy.

BabyLegs had a special going on in June that if you typed the word "Celeb" into the coupon code field, you get 2 for the price of 1! (I don't know if there is a code for this month, but I can try to find out if anyone is interested).

In case you don't know what BabyLegs are, they are darling little legwarmers for babies. They're handy for quick diaper changes and babies that use the potty. They're supposed to be good for protecting little knees when baby learns how to crawl too. I have found that most of the time pants look really funky over Scout's cloth diapers, so these are great for giant cloth bubble-butts too. Besides, some of our cloth diapers are just too cute to cover up.
Some pics from the company website:



My mom bought Scout the anemone and green polka dot ones:

My aunt bought her the cow print and red bandana ones:

And I bought her the rainbow striped and jolly jill ones:


I also bought some onesie extenders off of a seller on eBay so I don't have to buy her bodysuits that are 4 sizes too big.

Labels: baby gear, clothes, elimination communication

This post is dedicated to Danielle for 2 reasons:

1) She asked me to review my new stash of diapers (you know, the ones I am obsessed with and keep going on and on about?)

2) Every time I visit her blog she inspires me with a list of tasks that she sets out to do and then crosses them off throughout the day as she completes them. I have tried the list thing before and failed miserably. But honestly, I think I am in dire NEED of a daily list. It seems like I never get anything at all done. I avoid sitting on my furniture because of the dog hair and my toilet looks like it belongs in the restroom of a run down gas station. These thing ought not be, seeing as how I am a stay-at-home mom with only one child. You'd think I could find a little time to keep up with things like that.

So, here is my review of Baby BeeHinds One-size Bamboo Fitted Diapers:



When I received my first one in the mail, I could hardly believe how soft it was. I wanted to rub it all over my face. I think I DID rub it all over my face, actually. It came with 2 snap-in soakers: One long "snake"soaker that you fold in two and one small oval shaped booster. I believe the website boasts that if you use both of them at once, there are 14 layers of bamboo fleece in the soaker zone. WOW! It is meant to fit babies from 8-35lbs. The rise folds down for younger babies, exposing another row of snaps. I like the fact that you can customize the absorbancy with the 2 soakers.

The care instructions say to wash the diaper 3 times to prep it. Once with detergent, and two more times without....and always in water that is no hotter than 60 degrees celcius (It's an Australian diaper....erm, I mean "nappy"...so that would be 140 degrees Farenheit). Then, you are to dry it either out on the line or in the dryer on low heat.

I did all of that and I was prepared for its crazy-long drying time, as I had read other reviews about the diaper on The Pin. I think it took about 90 minutes on low, plus another 20-30 on no-heat/air fluff to dry in the dryer. That's quite a lot. I'm not super thrilled about that, but I am willing to live with it....especially now that we have a clothes line. I was/am also a little nervous about not being able to wash them in scalding hot water, like I used to do with my prefolds. I'm not sure what our water temperature was when I had turned the water heater up really high (it doesn't have degrees marked on the thermostat), but I have since turned it down because I'm scared I'll shrink the diapers. At $20 bucks a pop, I am treating these things like little babies. (Okay, well we DID get a little bit of a discount by buying them in packages, but not a huge one)

Scout can pee through a prefold in no time at all. One pee, and it's all over. With the BBH diaper, I can put it on her at 11 PM and take it off of her at 9 AM and it only feels a little damp on the outside. These things are thirsty! I am not in the habit of letting Scout go for more than 2 hours between diaper changes during the day....and I'm not too happy about letting her go all night in a pee-soaked diaper, but I think that the nighttime combination of a BBH diaper with a fleece liner, and a wool cover makes for a cool, dry bum....and dry sheets! I will admit that she does smell like a wet sheep that has rolled around in a puddle of pee in the morning, but hey, at least her butt isn't trapped in a hot plasticky outer shell.

I feel very confident when I use these diapers for outings. I have never had a leak or a poo blow-out with them. If for some reason I have to go more than 2 hours without changing her, it's no big deal because I know that the BBH will sop up any flood she throws at it. A lot of the time, she goes coverless in them during the day when we're at home and I throw a lightweight wool wrap like a Loveybums jersey cover or a pul wrap like Bummis Super Whisper Wrap on if we go somewhere. A few times when she's gone coverless, the pee might hit the diaper at a weird angle, causing it to sort of bypass the soaker layers in the middle, which makes the leg ruffles really wet.....but that is only a minor annoyance and is of course only an issue if the baby doesn't have a diaper cover on. It's probably just a matter of finding the best place to put the doublers and then getting them in the right place every time.

The fit is really nice. When we got our first one, I think she weighed a little less than 14 lbs. I was able to fold the rise down and snap the tabs on their smallest setting, so I'm not sure how they would fit a newborn. It seems like the legs would gap, but I could be wrong. Now, she's 15 lbs 4 oz and while I still could technically fold the rise down and get an okay fit, I usually just leave it up because I don't mind the top of the diaper sitting above her belly button. It's pretty trim if I only use one doubler (which is what I do during the day), but with both doublers it's a little bulky.....but what diaper wouldn't be, with 2 doublers?

Here are the drawbacks:

• Like I already mentioned, the drying time sucks. I really wish that they were a little more practical in that respect. The fact that I can line dry them right now is nice.....but what about during the winter?
• I have had some noticeable shrinking....on some, more than others. I have followed the washing instructions, so I'm not sure why that would happen. I might be crazy, but it seems like some colors shrink more than others. The purple and blue seem to have gotten denser and smaller than the others. I don't know. Maybe it's my imagination. I was worried that after the shrinking, they may not be big enough to last until the promised 35 lb weight limit. That would be a real bummer, since the one-size feature was the biggest selling point for us. But my fears were put to rest by some other BBH users who post on The Pin forums with 30lb toddlers wearing the BBH comfortably and still have a little room to grow. Some other Pin ladies have said that they like the hemp BBH's better than the bamboo because you can wash them on hot, they dry faster, and appear to be more durable. I am tempted to try one, but I already have a few hemp diapers that I am not too fond of. The hemp seems so scratchy to me and they shrunk horribly. Maybe it was just that certain brand.
• The price. $20 for one diaper is pretty steep. And they're not even and all-in-one, so technically, they require a cover. If they last Scout through potty training and if we can use them on the next baby, they will totally be worth it. Heck, even if they fall short of those lofty expectations, they'll still be worth the $420+ that we spent on them when you consider how much disposables cost. I know that cloth diapering can be done WAY more frugally than that, but once I find something that works, I stick to it. I have tried prefolds w/ polyurethane laminate covers, pocket diapers, and all-in-ones. And I have found that super absorbant bamboo fitteds with lightweight wool wraps is what seems to work the best for us. Since our stash is pretty much all one system now instead of a mish-mash of things, I find cloth diapering very easy and enjoyable.

**ETA**

I forgot to mention that they are 100% natural fibers (70% bamboo and 30% organic cotton) FOR NOW. The company is in the middle of switching over to a blend of materials in the outer layer, with (I believe) 30% polyester. This would only be the outer part of the diaper. The part that touches baby's skin will still contain no polyester. One advantage to them having poly is, of course, a shorter dry time and it may minimize shrinkage. But I would assume that less bamboo means they will be a little less absorbant. The very few of them that remain in the States right now are the "old style" with the 100% natural fibers. The next batch that U.S. retailers will get (sometime in August) will contain poly. On one hand, I wish I would've waited to at least TRY the poly before buying so many of them. But if I would've done that and found that I didn't like the ones with poly, I wouldn't have been able to get my hands on any more of the original ones at that point.

Nature's Nappies has a list of all the US retailers HERE if anyone is interested in trying to get some of the original 100% natural fiber Baby BeeHinds, although I know that colors are very limited at the stores that actually have some left.

Alrighty....and now for my list:

1. Bathe Scout. I put some vitamin E oil on her scalp to help heal her cradle cap and it was about the consistency of Karo syrup. Her hair is so gooey and sticky right now, but I didn't have a chance to wash it today. DONE - I actually managed to get a few smiles out of her while she was in the tub and she didn't cry when I was drying her off. Woohoo! There is still some oily residue in her hair. Phooey.
2. Clean the bathroom....and that includes sweeping the floor and scrubbing the tub. No exceptions. DONE! I had intended on cleaning out the drawers and cupboards in there too, but Scout up from her nap too soon. (And pooped in her potty again, I might add!)
3. Get the bedroom straightened up.
4. Clean up the kitchen. DONE...didn't sweep the floor in there, but I don't care...no little baby hands and knees crawling around on it just yet.
5. Feed the dog. DONE
6. Take burgers out of freezer to thaw. DONE - well, didn't need to. Box says to grill them frozen.
7. Fold diaper laundry. DONE
8. After everything else on the list is done, price as much yard sale stuff as I can. DONE - priced a bunch of baby clothes before finishing the rest of the things on the list because Scout fell asleep in the sling and I was counting on her napping by herself while I clean the bathroom. Guess I'll have to do that later.

There's a lot more than that to do, but if I put anymore than that on the list, I'll get freaked out and I won't do any of it.

Labels: cloth diapering, household chores, lists, pics of scout, product reviews

Scout went pee and poop in her Baby Bjorn Little Potty for the first time today. She will be 3 months old tomorrow.


I've noticed for a long time that she has a huge poop at roughly the same time every morning. She usually gets pretty squirmy right before she does it. Many times she'll wait until I get her diaper off to do it, as if she knows that it is not cool to poop her pants......So, I decided that it would be smart to go ahead and introduce her to the potty.

I had read a little about Elimination Communication on a website called DiaperFreeBaby.org before Scout was born. It honestly sounded a little far-fetched to me. I haven't read any yet, but there are a few books out there that teach about how you can learn your baby's cues well enough to be able to put them on the potty when they need to go....even as a newborn! My first thought when I learned about this was, "Babies pee and poo constantly! Wouldn't I need to hold my baby over the potty 24/7 to be able to catch her messes?" I still don't really know the answer to that question because I need to read more about it.

I don't know what the percentage is, but a large percentage of the world's population do not put their babies in diapers on a full time basis. Here is an excerpt from Diaper Free! The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene by Ingrid Bauer, describing how other societies around the world help their babies to urinate and defecate on-demand:

"In traditional societies, cueing sounds for peeing often resemble the sound of flowing water, or urination itself. It's interesting that these sounds are quite similar from continent to continent. From India to Botswana to Peru, a "sss, sss" sound had become an almost universal mothering signal. In places, a sharp "pssss" or a softer "shhh" or "shuuss" is used. In Japan, the childhood euphemistic equivalent of pee-pee is "shii shii". A low whistle is also sometimes used in Japan, and a steady whistling sound is the primary signal in China. As these cultures move towards urbanisation, a running faucet sometimes replaces the gentle hissing-type vocalizations, for example when peeing the baby over a sink. Cueing for defecation is common as well. A grunting or straining imitation, such as "uhh" or the "ung-ga" used in Korea, is a frequent cue. Low humming or simply saying "hmmm" is also quite common."

I'm not sure how successful we'll be with catching ALL of her pees and poops. In fact, as of now I can't tell by her signals when she has to pee. But then again, I haven't really made an effort to observe her body language for pee yet. Maybe I'll get better about that with time. I don't know.

All I know is that Scout seems to like to poop when her diaper is off, and I don't think it's right for me to hinder that instict by insisting that she crap her pants instead. If I only catch that first morning poop and pee every day, I'll feel like I'm accomplishing something. If nothing else, it will help Scout to get used to the potty. As a toddler, she won't fear it because it will already be a part of her daily routine.

**ETA**
After her afternoon nap, Scout pooped in the potty again! That's right ladies and gentlemen, that first time was not a fluke! I took her diaper off as soon as she woke up. I thought it was too late because she was peeing as I was taking it off, but I sat her down on the potty anyway. Shortly after, she had a huge poop. I waited for a little bit and lifted her off the potty and wiped her bottom. Then she peed on my lap just as I was about to carry her to the changing table for a new diaper. Guess I should've let her sit on the potty for a minute longer.

Labels: elimination communication

DH scored these metal posts on our local freecycle board. He and a friend cemented them into the ground several weeks ago, but we just got it strung up today. I couldn't wait to get my diaper laundry out there to hang out in the sunshine. I hear so many great things about how the sun bleaches the stains out, sanitizes the dipes, and makes them smell super fresh. It's been a long time since I've hung any kind of laundry out to dry.



I don't know what it is, but I LOVE the look of a clothesline with fabric waving in the breeze on a hot summer day. Maybe it's because I grew up watching smutty soap operas with my mom and grandma. Every. Single. Day. Which means I've seen about a billion maxi-pad, douche, and laundry detergent commercials in my lifetime. Maybe the sight of a clothesline just takes me back to those days. I'm sure I'd get the same warm-fuzzies if I were to see a woman with a flowing white dress walking through a field of wild flowers (a la Summer's Eve ad) Ah...memories.

Labels: cloth diapering, laundry

I have 12 more Baby BeeHinds bamboo diapers coming in the mail. That makes 26 total! I'm so excited. I have been doing diaper laundry every day just so I can always have some Baby BeeHinds clean. They are the only diapers I use for outings and nighttime. I also have 2 Loveybums wool covers (one jersey and one interlock) and a Stacinator wool cover on the way. I just received a pretty orange Baby BeeHinds wool cover in the mail today. I need to get it washed and lanolized so she can wear it. I'm feeling the wool love.

Yes, Scout's butt cheeks are totally spoiled rotten.

Labels: cloth diapering, laundry

Here's a couple pics of Scout riding in the sling:




She was kind of in there funky - like if I didn't support her w/ my right arm, she'd fall out.....but she was comfy (ended up eventually falling asleep like that), so I didn't try to shift her around. Since we got the new silk sling in the mail the other day, it's been SOOOOO much easier getting her into the sling and adjusted properly. She can ride in it tummy-to-tummy and I can pull the sling tight to hold her in and free up both of my arms....which is something I couldn't do with my other wonky sling.

I just started using cloth wipes instead of disposable wipes this week. I love it. I don't know why I didn't try them sooner. Well, I did have a huge case of wipes to use up. Those are almost gone now so I took the cloth plunge. I've just been using the billions of little baby washcloths we received as shower gifts and they are working great. I made a wipes solution that consists of:

2 cups bottled water
2 drops tea tree oil
a splash of Burt's Bees baby apricot oil
1 tsp natural sweet violet baby wash

I put the mixture in the peri-bottle that came with my birth kit. I just set the bottle by the changing table and squirt a little onto a wash cloth as I need one. Voila! I haven't thought about what I will do for the diaper bag. I guess I could just get a tiny spray bottle and fill it w/ wipes solution.

Labels: baby gear, cloth diapering

Who are these clowns that design baby clothes, anyway? Do they even have any children?

Scout has lots of cute outfits that friends and family have generously bought for her. Even with all the adorable overalls, jean skirts, dresses w/ bloomers, and frilly button-down shirts, I always find myself reaching for a comfy cotton onesie, a sleeper, or a one-piece shorts jumper when I get her dressed.

Whenever I put her in an actual "outfit" I feel bad....it seems like there are always scratchy tags and rough serged edges and seams inside the high-fashion clothes. The other day, she had a cute denim jumper/dress on over a onesie. I thought that would be comfy enough.....but every time she was in my arms (which is all the time!) the top of the jumper would ride up past her chin and the dress part would ride up her belly. I find that happens with most dresses.

When we're at home, she's usually just in a onesie and socks....or a onesie w/ soft elastic pants over it. I like getting her dressed up when we go out, but I think I'm going to stop doing that so much. I want her to be comfy. Babies look cute no matter what they wear anyway. I think a baby should just be able to wear pajamas everywhere for the first year of life.

Labels: baby gear, clothes, pet peeves

I am really loving this whole mommy thing lately. I don't think I saw it at the time, but having a baby was a really rough adjustment those first several weeks. (duh, I know) With Scout being fussy most of the time and me just feeling like I could never get anything done, I was pretty sure I was doing something "wrong"....like I was making everything harder than it needed to be, but I didn't know how to NOT do that. Now, I just look back and realize feeling that way was all part of having a newborn. It's something so wonderful, but so scary and weird at the same time.

I can remember my mom telling me that Scout would grow out of her "colicky-ness" around 12 weeks, at which point her mood would change for the better. I was skeptical and thought to myself, "Yeah right - it's like a magic switch, and all of the sudden she'll turn into little miss happy baby. Pshaw!" I guess it hasn't exactly been like flipping a magic switch.......but pretty darn close. She is napping better now, not fussing as much in the evenings, and just generally has a more laid back demeanor. Don't get me wrong, there are still times when I have to walk the floor with her, bouncing, shushing, and playing loud music to get her to calm down......but those times are getting few and far between.

Scout will be 12 weeks old on Thursday (holy crap!) and I am in love with her! She is developing such a cool little personality. I love it when she stares into my eyes while I'm nursing her. Sometimes, I won't be paying a bit of attention and I'll just glance down while I'm feeding her and she is staring intently at my face with her bright blue eyes. It's so wonderful. I just can't stop hugging her and kissing her soft little neck over and over while I say, "I love you, little girl!" Of course, she can't understand me, but I hope she knows.

I really enjoy watching DH with her. He loves to entertain her by "flying" her around the house in a Superman-type-position while she looks around contentedly with wide eyes and drool dripping down her chin. He is a wonderful daddy. I feel so blessed that he goes out and works hard every day so I can stay home with our daughter. No offense to any readers that may work outside the home, but knowing that DH and I will be the ones raising our child and not some random day care workers is absolutely priceless.

The thought that I will be Scout's very first teacher is sobering, but exciting too. I've already begun our first "lessons". At diaper changes, I often point to her eyes, nose, mouth, hands, feet, etc and tell her what each one is called. When we go outside, I point to the grass and the trees and say the word "green" over and over again. I sing to her constantly throughout the day. I want to give her every advantage and help her little mind blossom and grow and reach its full potential. I think "wearing" her is really going to help do that too. I've read that infants who are carried in a parent's arms or worn in a baby carrier for the majority of the day spend more time in a quiet alert "learning" state than infants who are not. It makes sense to me; that a baby who can be up where she can take in her surroundings while feeling comfortable and secure will be more apt to learn how things work.....and just be happier in general.

Well, I'm sleepy so I'm going to join my little girl and my hubby in our cozy bed.

Labels: baby wearing, being sappy

Scout has finally warmed up to riding in the ring sling. She loves to sit in it indian-style facing outwards, taking in the view of the world around her. The only problem is, I'm still not feeling the love for my particular sling. My mom made it for me and I just think we picked out really stupid fabric for it. There's a lot of bulk and drag, so it's hard to pull through the rings to get it adjusted right.

So.......I bought this sling over at a babywearing FSOT board that I stalk:



It is a silk Sleeping Baby Productions ring sling. Ones like this retail for $65. I got it for $35 and it has barely been worn. What made me want to try a SBP sling is the pleated shoulder. Lots of slingers are very fond of how in distributes weight evenly over the shoulder.....plus it looks pretty. The sling was actually FREE for me because I bought it with money I made selling cans of sample formula and some homemade co-sleeper sheets on eBay. Woohoo!



I'm not entirely wild about the accent fabric at the bottom of the sling. I mean, I don't hate it, but it's not really "me". I think I might replace it with something I like better....maybe something a little more neutral. I'm pretty sure I feel confident enough in my sewing abilities to do that. I thought about making a silk sling from scratch using the pattern I have, but that idea intimidated me. I've never worked with silk and I didn't want to botch the job on my first try, ruining some relatively expensive fabric.

I can't wait to get my sling!!

Labels: baby gear, baby wearing

Scout is into licking things now. She likes to lick my shoulder when I'm holding her. She likes licking her hands. Apparently, she also likes licking her Boppy pillow.



Here is my prized basket of new Baby BeeHinds diapers.

Labels: cloth diapering, pics of scout

Okay, I swear that this black and white striped onesie is not the only article of clothing my daughter owns. She just happens to have it on whenever I decide to take pictures. Weird.

Here's a pic of her pouty sad (and drooly) face. I just love it when she pokes her lower lip out like that. So cute!



I went to Target today and I bought 2 shirts. I don't normally just go out and buy clothes, since we're on a tight budget...but I am fed up with not having anything to wear. I REALLY need a couple pairs of jeans, but I knew it would be a bad idea to spend any more, so those will have to wait. Nothing fits me right. I'm constantly washing the very few things that do fit me and wearing nappy sweat pants and stained up t-shirts in between.

I bought this top:



And also a plain plum color polo tee. Both of them actually FIT! Yay. I wish I could've bought the empire waist shirt in the black/blue combo as well. Once I find something that fits, I want to buy 20 of them.

Labels: clothes, pics of scout