now that we’re almost three months out and i’m finally feeling a little more normal (in some ways), i can look back with a little clarity even though that first month and a half was a complete crazy blur. it’s kinda weird how you think you’ll need certain things and expect some items to be crucial and then end up never using them — everyone is different but for my first month with the baby, these were the things i could NOT have survived without. Read More
while i am usually more of a mayonnaise person (i dip my fries in mayo because i am very european and chic), i do love a good flavored ketchup here and there. i’m excited to have teamed up with with Newell Brands, makers of Ball® Fresh Preserving Products to create a couple of fun posts for the rest of the year and show you how easy canning is, and i thought it would be really fun for gid and me to make ketchup together. any excuse to eat more fries and lose less baby weight tbh.
so this might make me sound so lazy, but we keep a lot of lights on… all the time. we feel safer having our outdoor light on all night, we keep a light on for the cats to eat at night (no — our cats cannot see in the dark, that is a total myth or ours are just complete brats), and these days we keep a kitchen light on for the 4am feed/pumping session. the problem is that we forget to turn them off during the day, so our outdoor light is just always on and that’s always been something that bugged me but not enough to remember to turn it off every morning. so no joke, my life was just changed by sengled element bulbs.
you can control these bulbs with your phone, but the thing i love by far the most is the timing and schedule abilities. these are especially crucial rn with a newborn, because now i have the light scheduled to turn on at 6pm (no longer will i be nursing in pitch black until gid gets home from work), and then they get dimmer (8% brightness) at 10pm and stay on until morning, which again has been a lifesaver for when i go out to pump in the living room in the middle of the night and then wash everything in the kitchen. you can schedule each individual light, or groups of lights — also would be super helpful when you’re out of town and want it to seem like you’re home.
i get so many questions about the rugs we have in our house, and also i am kinda over the rug in our living room right now, so here we are. i feel like i could always buy more rugs and more jackets, no matter how many i have of either.
sorry to all you non-moms, but today is a baby DIY. but to all you moms, have you noticed how expensive play gyms are? i’m sure you have. i was annoyed by this and wanted something cute for arlo, but wasn’t going to spend a lot considering i’m assuming he won’t even be using this kinda thing for that much longer, so when i saw the bones and price of the ikea LEKA one, i thought it would make the perfect one with a little finessing. Read More
arlo is 2 months old! i have been a mom for 2 months whoaaaa. it’s unbelievable how much he’s changed in one month! i don’t even think of him as a newborn so much anymore because he’s so large and sturdy. my little butterball.
he is such a happy baby, laughing and smiling so much — he has so much personality and joy and his huge gummy smile and squeal is so infectious! this photo sums it up pretty well. (this was one of 10 photos i couldn’t decide between because he’s becoming such a good little model) i have the best time just watching him find so much entertainment in a window shade or an outlet in the wall, and i’m obsessed already with the way he smiles at me.
he’s now fitting in all of the 3-6 month clothes we have for him, which is very fun because i’m really obsessed with playing dress up. he’s almost 14 pounds and is the size of babies many months older than him. my shoulders are killing me.
he also eats so much (and lately way too often). and you can tell, he’s developed the squishiest rolls everywhere. and missing a neck because his double chin so big. but yeah, some days i have to feed him ALL day, so i’m looking forward to that slowing down. when’s that happen anyway?
he is really good and cute at bath time, and we also took him into the pool for the first time a couple of weeks ago — he wasn’t so into the being cold after part but the water part he seemed to like. although the second i got in the pool with him and held him, he started licking the outside of my bathing suit and i had to feed him on the spot (so gid says now he’ll always love the water).
he just started being able to hold onto his rattle and he can already roll himself over a little. he’s starting to enjoy toys and i’m hoping that means i don’t have to entertain him myself so much. he’s slightly more into tummy time now, and even though it would appear he does not actually have a neck, it seems like it’s getting stronger.
we’ve had some rough days and when he gets overtired i’d like for him to move out and get his own apartment, but luckily we have way more of the good days than the hard ones. so he can continue to live here with us. i’m still not really able to wear him, i have all of the different kinds of carriers and i must have a very low IQ but so far we’re not there yet. maybe he’s just too big or most likely we just need to actually practice and we’ll get the hang of it. but i’m sure when i figure that out, the fussy days will go a little better (although then i will ruin my back with his huge body on me all day). nights have been really good though, he’s slept up to 7.5 hours so far!
and maybe the most important thing of all — we’ve now gone a whole month without him peeing on his mama. so proud. oh and the other night he farted so loudly in his sleep it woke me up.
some of the cabinets in our house are like legit scary. and the pantry was one of them for sure. i tackled some of the worst ones during my hardcore nesting phase before the baby arrived, but forgot to do the pantry — so here we are.
it was honestly so bad, we didn’t even know what foods we had so we’d stock up on the same items over and over again and it got to be ridiculous. so i said ok i am making us go to ikea with a baby in tow (horrible idea) and i’m getting supplies to fix this pantry the fuck up. Read More
i have been meaning to finish this post for 3 weeks now, and now that arlo is about to turn 2 months old — i thought i better hurry and post!
arlos first month flew by. i’m sure every month will, even though some of the [harder] days seem to never end. he and i are getting into the groove of life together and for the most part it’s been great. Read More
