This is a quick post before I have to go put Lexi to sleep.
Some days all I have the time for before running out the door is to throw on an outfit and a diaper bag together and put a flower in Lexi’s hair. No make-up, no hair…au naturel, so to say.
But at least Lexi is cute.
Here is what you’re about to see:
The video is pretty long and was not made for the blog but for us, so if you sit through the whole 10 minutes, I’d be surprised. I did leave the funniest thing for the ending.
{all music is by Disney}
4th of July spoilers:
Also I want to let you guys know about this awesome service I found recently that takes your Instagram photos and turns them adorable mementos with just a click of a button. With so little time to do picture books and baby books (which I’m still planning on doing), this is a great way to just take 1 minute to turn some of your best Instargram photos into posters, picture books, mini books and stickers. I am absolutely IN LOVE with all that they offer. It’s super easy to do and the best part is it’s CHEAP!
You simply connect it with you account and pick which pics you want to include or hit select all and two weeks later you will have a mini book, strickers or a poster in your mailbox.
Check mine out.
This is a minibook. Each has 50 photos and you get 2 books in one order for $12
I have one for myself and gave on to my mom to remember the first months of Alexis’ life.
The stickers are so much fun and I can imagine can be used with kids as a reward system. What kid doesn’t love looking at their own pictures?
I put half of them on my laptop and that way each day I get to see my little baby on my wrist pad.
And finally my favorite product is the poster. I totally meant to give it to my mom to take with her to Russia, but we both completely forgot, so now I am trying to decide where to hang it. {any ideas?}
Disclosure: I was NOT compensated for this post. Printstagr.am let me create the products to try. All opinions are my own.
I am trying to catch up with all the photos posts that I’ve planned, so I am hoping once they are all done, I will be more current on things and events. The way Alexis naps, cooking and cleaning have to go by wayside, as I try to get at least 10-20 minutes of blogging during each nap. Sometimes I luck out, sometimes I can’t even get that. That’s life.
So for a few days/weeks you’ll see older photos and posts from when Alexis was 2.5 months and on.
Here we go:
We live relatively close to the beach, about 15-20 minutes to the closest public beach, or more to some other fun ones. Right now, when Alexis is small, beach trips are limited due to many factors. Up until now we couldn’t really take her anywhere without a major meltdown in the car seat. We got a new convertible car seat and another one coming for 2 week trial review, so we’ll see how she does then, but I am very hopeful. Another reason is this is Florida, which means 8 am and it’s too hot to go anywhere with a small baby. So when we can do baby sunscreen at 6 months and swim in the ocean is when I can expect to go back to weekly beach trips. Lexi is like mama, she LOVES water, so I am excited to see how she reacts to the ocean. The key will be to make sure she is comfortable in the heat. My plan is to get a beach tent plus 2 strong battery operated fans plus baby sunscreen plus early mornings and a lot of nursing sessions to keep her hydrated. I am crossing my fingers that will work.
Anyways, our first trip was selfish. We really really wanted to go to the beach, even if just for a few minutes and a few photos and the sunset. Thankfully, Alexis was doing just fine that day and handled the car well and I actually managed to get her to sleep sometime during the walk to the beach. Looking at these pictures, she was soooo little… It’s only been 2 months and she’s a different baby.
The day we went was unfortunate: very windy and kind of chilly, so I held Alexis close and shielded her from the wind and the sun. We spread a blanket on the sand and sat shoulder to shoulder, relaxing for the first time since the birth of our daughter. It was nice to not be so focused on things and just lay back on my husband’s chest with our 2.5 months old baby girl in my arms. It’s a shame there isn’t a picture of the both of us, but I am still trying to get the hang of doing self-portraits while juggling a baby. Eventually, I’ll go back to being able to include our whole family into the picture, not just one of us + Alexis.
She eventually woke up and I nursed her leaning against my hubby’s back. It was getting colder so we pulled out her adorable terry hoodie from My O Baby that she only manage to wear once.
And then the fuss train arrived and Andrew strapped her into our Nordic carrier (btw, I just noticed that it’s on sale for only $79 and this is my favorite carrier, so I wanted to point that out in case someone is looking) walking around singing to her while I took pictures of the beach and people around.
There was some prayer group at the beach or something along those lines, raising hands in the air and chanting. It’s amazing how the beach changes with seasons and times of day. During season, the beaches are crowded with tourists, and at sunset the locals come out, summertime comes and you won’t see a soul on some of the beaches, those are my favorite times to go.
Finally, the sun went down and we rushed home. For the next week, we’d remember how nice it was to get out and go to the beach and feel normal again. It only gets better from here on out.
A month or two later, we took another trip to the beach, however by the time we got in the car and got there, the clouds gathered and the wind picked up indicating the inevitable Florida shower, so we had to quickly pack back up and go home. It was just as I closed the car door that the rain starting pounding on the windshield.
I feel so blessed to live near the beach. I cannot even begin to imagine the fun times to be had when Alexis is big enough to swim and play in the water. We got a sneak peak of what it’s like to have a “beach daughter” with Gabby (and another one here) and are looking forward to repeating it with Lexi.
I am way behind on posting photos and blogging about things, because I get 10-20 minutes every nap to blog which is not even close to enough time to write a post, let alone prepare photos for it.
I read somewhere recently that the best gift you can give a mom blogger is 2 hours of uninterrupted time to blog. This couldn’t be more true and that’s the luxury I don’t have even when I ignore dishes, cooking and cleaning.
About 2 months ago, we went to visit some of our friends and introduce them to Lexi. We hadn’t seen them for a long time prior to that, so we were all looking forward to the visit.
As expected, when we arrived they were already 3-4 drinks into the “party” and were having fun with their other friends preparing for a fishing trip they were taking off on that evening. Alexis was sleeping ( exhausted after a huge meltdown in a car) , so my mom volunteered to stay with her while we went in.
When my baby girl was up, my mom brought her out, all sleepy and disoriented and the whole gang just started “oohing and ahhhhing” and I am sure scared her a bit. So I picked her up and J. walked up to her to say hello. She kept looking at me, like “Is this ok?” and then he takes her in her arms and she just breaks down in tears (broke my heart). She wouldn’t calm down for a while regardless of what I did and I felt so bad.
J kept repeating “My sons never cried. I’d put them on my shoulders and we’d go places”
Yeah probably not at 2.5 months, J, not at 2 and a half months.
So I kept her away from “loud voices” and “beard” while Andrew and I took turns walking around with her
Honestly, that was my first experience with someone getting into her face and next time I’ll know to just shut it down or warn the “new person” to take it slow and smile at her from some distance before taking her into their arms. By the end of the evening, our pouty and quiet Lexi warmed up slightly to both men and actually smiled at them with a very tentative smile.
But what I really appreciated is that one of them stayed back the whole time, watching, being careful, not scaring Alexis. By the end of the evening, he gently walked up to her, gently smiled at her and she just lit up.
We’re going back there for a nice 4th of July party that J holds every year and this time I am guarding my Lexi until I see she’s totally fine with all the people. These 2 months might have made a difference because she absolutely loved Leeka who visited on Father’s Day and spent most of the time being carried and kissed by her. I’ll post pics in a week or so, but she had so much fun with her and a smile never left her face.
I have stayed away from these posts because honestly I don’t enjoy reading them on other people’s blogs, so I just assume other people wouldn’t want to see them here.
However, given the readiness of the photographs and lack of time currently, combined with the more “real” nature of cell phone photos, I thought I’d give it a try and you let me know if it’s something that I should occasionally share here or not.
I have a few weeks to catch up on, so let’s start with the week furthest back (top left to bottom right)
1. nursing at the pool 2. Lexi getting all excited about a red flower on the window 3. grumpy pants
4. all set with a fan and a Haba doll 5. out and about, had to put her to sleep in the car while hubby shopped 6. same day, woke up doing tummy time on the seat
7. she loves tummy time in the morning 8. trying to get things done around the house while Lex is in her Nordic carrier 9. more tummy time (seriously that girl is only happy on her tummy or trying to crawl )
1. more tummy time 2. nursing with a friend 3. more carrier action
4. our house 5. lounging outside 6. morning stroller walks
7. up from a nap 8. bathy bath time 9. her first pig tail
1. Loving the new sunny stroll arch 2. reading books ( really she was just interested in eating it) 3. she loves being walked around on mommy’s neck
4. check out that leg lol 5. don’t ask, she does that often with her favorite teether 6. “mommy, need boobie!”
7. more walks 8. out by the pool with friends 9. helping mama work
1. smiley morning girl 2. fathers day with friends by the pool 3. Leeka visiting
4. we can sit up unsupported now 5. more tummy time on our favorite supermat 6. kisses from mommy
7. crawling from supermat to her gym- our family room is her playground 8. women in black 9. going for a walk with another 4months old friend
I am an iPhone fanatic. As in “can’t go anywhere without it” or “can’t do anything without it” or “have withdrawals when I am without it”. You get the idea.
My life is too dependent on all the apps, the instant email checking, twitter, facebook, instagram, the texting to my friends, buying things off of Amazon, researching a question that just popped into my head. So needless to say, it has been a trusty tool in the first 3 months after having a baby. If you don’t have an iphone yet ( or a similar platform phone), you’re truly missing out. Because while it can be a HUGE distraction (and that’s something we all have to fight and have the self-control to work on), it can also be brilliantly helpful during certain times.
So I’ve compiled a list of 9 10 apps that have proven themselves helpful to me as a new mom.
Lifesaver in the first 3 months. I am serious. If you’re expecting a baby or have an under 3 months old, just stop reading and go and buy it ( Ok, don’t stop reading, but do go buy it once you’re done). It’s a baby tracking app. There are a ton of them out there, but this one is user-friendly, has a nice looking interface, good customization options and does EXACTLY what you need. I don’t know how I would have survived if I didn’t use it in the first few months. Before you’re able to decipher your baby’s cries ( and even after you do, it’s not always clear what they want), this app will let you know when your precious one last slept, last ate, when you pumped and how long she/he was doing all these things. There are milestones to record, medical info, pedi visits, play, photos, activities, moods, etc etc.
In the beginning when Lexi would start crying I’d refer to the app to see what it is she most likely wants based on the time, or which boob to offer her at each feeding.
Great Tool!
Besides the awesome German sounding name ( who doesn’t like that?), this TO-DO List app is everything you need. And you can trust me because in conjunction with hubby we have gone through over 2 DOZENS To-do apps in search of that perfect one (our attempts at being productive). With a new baby, things can slip your mind so easily and even if you have an outstanding memory, when you have a newborn you can’t always jump on things you just thought of. Which means you need to either try and juggle the million things you need to do in your head until your brains explode or find a good to-do list system that preferably doesn’t consist of pen&paper. Don’t get me wrong: I am as much of a fan of the traditional to-do list keeper (with all those cross outs and neatly handwritten things-mmm so satisfactory), but a piece of paper won’t last long in your newly crazy pee/poop/spitup soaked household. So Wunderlist WILL save you. It can be used among all the tech you have (laptop, ipad,desktop,ipod, iphone), as it is Internet based and synchs with all your gadgets. You can have the app downloaded on both your and your hubby’s phone, that way when he’s out grocery shopping while you’re home with your babe, you can quickly add a shopping list from the comfort of your rocker while your baby is sleeping and voila, your hubby refreshes his app and he’s all set with the things he needs to buy.
Needless to say, I’ve done it about a million times AND I am so smart that I also have a HONEY-DO LIST on it (my husband IS smarter though, since he pretends that he can’t see it).
I have a million lists in mine: home, work, baby to buy ( I always think of things we need when I can’t just jump on amazon and buy them, so i enter them into my phone), blog to do, posts to write ( same thing here: I think of an awesome post topic, so I enter it before I get distracted and forget), things to clean, shopping list, honey-do, etc etc. There are 17 lists total that I have in this app and that’s how I keep organized and my brain from exploding from everything I want/need to get done. When I enter an item into it, I mentally remove that thought from my head, otherwise I go crazy.
A recent find and a pretty cool one. Alexis is not one to go to sleep on her own. Ok, who are we kidding, she has NEVER ONCE in her short little life fell asleep without what they call “parental help”. And most of the time (ok, who are we kidding? ALL THE TIME!), she needs a lot of said help. There’s rocking and shushing and jiggling and swaddling, and singing and talking and more vigorous rocking and louder shushing…. Whew! I’m just tired thinking of it. Sometimes when my little Lexi would cry and squirm and I would rock her and shush really loudly, I’d run out of breath, my throat would go dry and I’d start coughing and choking (sorta). Not fun, but you do what you gotta do to help your baby fall asleep. Well, with time and a light routine Alexis has gotten better at falling asleep but shushing has always been a part of her going to sleep. This app is brilliant. Some dude recorded himself shushing really loudly and made an app out of it. You can set it to run for as long as you want, it’s this nice rhythmic shush sound and it can even adjust the volume automatically depending on how loudly the baby is screaming (though who leaves a screaming baby alone that it needs the app to adjust it?) AND… the kicker is you can record your own shushing sound! Currently it plays my own rendition of Twinkle Twinkle on a loop.
White noise at its best. That’s another app that helped us and is helping still. The best one out there in terms of noise quality. And you can make your custom noises like white noise+heartbeat+bubbles.
Oh what would I do without my trusted nook app. It’s a B&N e-book reader. Nice and simple. I found Barnes & Noble has the best selection of e-books out there. I made a mistake of buying 2 paper baby books and I haven’t been able to read them at all. My nook books are quite the opposite. I keep reading one after another. That’s one of the more productive things I can do while rocking sweet Alexis. I’ve read about 10-15 baby/parenting/brain/sleep books in this time. Btw all the books listed in the BOOK page are available in eformat.
My new discovery. It lets you read all your sources in a super cute and convenient format of a photo flip book. Add your twitter feed, Facebook feed and friends, google reader, and a million other blogs/magazines, newspapers, fashion, news, politics, tech, advice-all presented in a photo format. I’m a HIGHLY visual person, I need eye candy along with my reading (hence the million trillion photos on this blog). And as you flip if you see something you want to read later, it also works with your Pocket app. Again it’s a life saver when I have to rock/pump, etc
I’ve gotten some great ideas about streamlining my life from the Lifehack and Lifehacker boards. So be sure to add those.
Have you ever been reading something and got interrupted but by the time you were free again, forgot what you were reading or lost the link? How about seeing an article that interests you but you can’t read at that moment so you pass on it? Or while reading a post you click on a link you were curious about then followed another link and another and completely lost the original source? Or finally you come upon an article written with such an annoying or small font you have trouble focusing on it?
Well with a baby I am sure you have.
You can thank me for introducing you to POCKET. I’m in love with the app and it’s so simple. It’s a reader, a bookmarker and formatter.
Here’s how it works: every time you bump into an article you’d like to read but don’t have time for, you hit read later and it instantly adds it to your pocket. The functionality is built in with most apps and if it’s not you simply copy the link into pocket or email it to your account. You can also install a bookmarklet on your desktop/laptop browser.
Once you find yourself looking for something to read, you go into your pocket app and it displays all your pocketed articles in a nice easy to read format (much more pleasant than the design of some articles/blogs out there). You’re done reading, hit check mark. Want to save for later, favorite it. See a link you want to follow but you’re not done reading the article, hold it and hit read later. Brilliant!
I use it in conjunction with Flipboard and it’s so easy. I have a ton of articles there that sounded like something I might want to read when I get a chance, and they sit patiently waiting for me to get time to read.
This is for blog readers. If you use a google reader to read blogs (and if you don’t, you should), this is an app for you. It’s basically a Google Reader in an app- all your lists, folders in a nice and easy to read format, with an option to add posts to “Pocket” (see above). FREE
Ok, so we all take a bazillion photos of our kids on our cell phone. I am not going to list the reasons why I don’t think cell phone photos are good enough, but the truth of the matter is we don’t always have our cameras on us when the precious one smiles or rolls over for the first time. So we do what we have to do and snap photos on our cell phone. I am not sure if most of you do the same, but I take 5-6 photos of the same subject in hopes of getting a better angle/light in it. So I end up with a trillion pictures of essentially the same thing.
If you’re the same way, please don’t tell me you post them all on Facebook. “But my baby’s face is funny here and cute here and goofy here. Which one do I choose?” The answer is ALL but in one photo. So instead of posting 3 essentially same poor quality cell phone shots to your FB account, you combine them into a really nice collage in Diptic (Or Framemagic is another app). It improves all the photos and gives your facebook friends something attractive to look at. Plus you can do a diptic of seemingly unrelated items to give you photo a feel.
I haven’t used this app for a while, but it is a great tool for a new mom. The concept is to take 1 photo a day for a year ( and it’ll probably be of your kid). It formats it in a nice calendar view and later you can go back to see what you or your baby was up to on the same day last year
What are some of your favorite apps that you’d like to share?
Husband showing Lexi things in the pantry and labeling them for her (per my request, helps with speech development in the future):
- “This is bread!” (point at a stale French baguette) “It’s rock hard…. You could fend off a thief with it….”
- “This is macaroni. It’s good. You can spread it on the floor and the thief would crunch on them as he walks and you’ll know he is coming…”
- “These are potato chips.” {pauses as he’s thinking} “…You can feed them to the thief and he will die from obesity?”
{while changing the diaper}
- “Clean up on aisle one. Clean up on aisle one. And by aisle one I mean the crack of your ass.”
Sometimes our days are spent simply like this (in 86 degree heat):
on a mat outside in the shade while waiting for daddy to come home with sweets and sushi {Ok, to be fair, “we” weren’t waiting. It was all me jonesing for sushi}
;
By the way, we’re still not rolling (aside from the two times she rolled at 2.5 months )and really couldn’t care less about it {go figure}, but let the girl crawl and she won’t need food for a week. Today’s pediatrician appointment told us that for Lexi being in the 97th percentile in weight, it’s totally normal not to roll over for a long time, but instead be happy sitting up or crawling, since you need a whole lot of inertia to get that big body rolling {haha}
Makes total sense and also explains what I was seeing with the cloth diaper weighing her down. Now, however, it’s her {wait for it!} 18.6 lbs of goodness that are weighing her down {ta-da!} Who can beat that? lol
Ok, to be fair she’s also at 95th percentile for height. So basically, we have a GIANT BABY! or Baby Giant? Either one of those. I see volleyball and modeling in her future. Though having done both myself, this mama ain’t letting her 14 year old leave for NYC without adult supervision (I’ve seen enough of this: Tenjune. teenage models. coke {and not the kind you drink}. not cool.) If she goes, I’m going right there with her. And she’s not modeling locally, because markets outside of NYC (and LA) are a joke.
Wow, I got sidetracked…
So I just wanted to share this pic from yesterday… Hope the week is going good.
{i have lotsa fun posts brewing, so stay tuned}
Stepping out to go to a grocery store! Haha! Very glamorous, I know! But to be completely honest, it’s a big event to go to a store with Lexi. She’s getting a bit better about getting out, so I really enjoyed even a grocery outing.
Elena: Boob Design Nursing Dress
Andrew: MG Black Label Polo from MyHabit and Express Shorts
Alexis: Little Bambino Bamboo onesie from Zulily
