I had a big, elaborate plan to write a lovely blog post while my sweet child slept the morning away. His nap, however, got cut from the hoped-for [at least] one hour into sixteen minutes. Sixteen minutes!! It's because I put him to sleep in the guest bed nursing him... and he nursed for at least thirty minutes before I unlatched him myself. And apparently sleeping without mommy is no fun. On the upside, he woke up calmly, making sweet little noises instead of screaming non-stop. (He only seems to scream if he wakes up in his crib. If he's in a bed, it's all good. Sigh.) Instead, I'm writing this in two minute spurts, moving Logan from one place to another and making sure the dogs don't get anymore dirt on him.
Logan turned five months old over the weekend. It's amazing how many changes occur in just five months! He's still toothless and [mostly] immobile, but for now, that's a good thing. I fear for my sanity (and my desire to continue breastfeeding) once those things change. Anyway, I thought I'd take this time to let you know which baby products have saved me from endless meltdowns. Because... well, why not!
1. Nose Frida -- I never thought I'd actually use an actual, literal snot-sucker, let alone recommend one. But this thing is awesome! It really gets snot out of poor baby's nose (you can see it! Gross, but encouraging when you need to get snot out...) and you can clean the snot out! It's really great!
2. Jumperoo -- Apparently there's all sorts of controversy about these things... but I decided not to read about it. Because, quite frankly, there's controversy about EVERYTHING related to babies. We were able to use the Jumperoos at a friend's house and at the church nursery first--so we knew Logan liked it. And we bought one at a consignment shop for $35 instead of a brand new one for nearly $100. It's been great! (He's in it right now, in fact. Jumping away! Though, I will admit, much like anything else, ten minutes is the longest he'll stay in there happily.)
3. Ergobaby carrier -- It's expensive. It seems ridiculous. But once you try it, and you see how pain-free your back is and how comfortable baby is, suddenly it doesn't seem so crazy. And it's the only way to grocery shop with a baby in tow. Strap him on, and you've opened up both arms to push the cart and grab items. It's wonderful!
4. Play Mat -- This has been our longest lasting item. (In that Logan hasn't lost interest in it yet...the swing and bumbo are old news.) He grabs the toys hanging down and tries to eat them. When he was smaller he just whacked at them, but it was good for his hand-eye coordination. And it's great to have a place to put him while I make lunch/dinner, go to the bathroom, sit without holding a baby... This is another thing we got at a consignment shop. They run like $50 brand new. Ours was only $18. :)
5. Primo Eurobath -- It's big. But it has a nice "lounging" side for infants and a "sit up" side for older babies. Logan loves it! It has more support than most other baths (we used a different one for the first couple of months... then he outgrew it and got really irritated when we still tried to use it) and is better for transitioning. In other words, when he's too little for the bathtub but too big for the baby bathtub.
And there you have it. My first five "essential" baby items. Items that, I'm sure, will vary for each and every baby. But oh well.
Lately my time is spent putting Logan down for naps, feeding Logan, playing with Logan, putting Logan down for naps, and did I mention putting Logan down for naps? He fights them until he's basically cried himself to sleep. And then he sleeps for the shortest amount of time (see above) and we have to do it all over again in an hour or so. Since becoming a mom, my time has been a bit consumed by my baby boy. I knew I'd take on this new role, but I've found that in the process, I forgot about the other roles I hold. Becoming a mother didn't relieve me of my "wife" role or "homemaker" role (I don't know that I thought of myself as a homemaker, but a lot less cleaning gets done now, so apparently, I was), but I put those on the back burner. I talked to Travis about this the other day, letting him know that despite appearances, I'm working on balancing all my roles instead of focusing on just one. Despite always being a daughter and sister, I never felt those roles took specific effort. They were just always a part of me. Becoming a wife wasn't all that difficult, because it was the only "in the moment" role I had. Sure, I still talked to my parents and sisters and worked full-time, but day in and day out, I was a wife. Now day in and day out, I'm a wife AND a mother. And it's been hard to balance the two. Spending completely focused time with my husband is rare, but it's something I need to try to do more often. I really have to rely on God as I figure this out--because I really have no idea how to balance the two. But He gave me both these jobs, and He's going to help me master them. (And if not master, at least get better.)
I'm losing so much hair, I'm surprised I have any left. My sisters came for this past weekend and babysat Logan so Travis and I could go out on a date. It was sweet and wonderful! Brittany also cleaned the floor, which was almost as wonderful as watching my son. And she made us some banana chocolate chip muffins. I've eaten at least three every day. When she gets married, I hope the man she marries either works out a lot or has a really fast metabolism. ;) [Breastfeeding is my best friend when I want to eat a lot of food.] Travis put new baseboards in our living room/dining room this past weekend. My contribution to the whole project was as "painting assistant" (my official title) a couple weeks ago. [I only helped for an hour. Oops.] Travis did everything else. Measuring, cutting, installing, caulking... he's basically awesome. And the house looks so much better with baseboards! Oh! And transitions! Next project? Hm... fix our really wonky shower head? Not a top priority. I still leak when I nurse Logan. Is that normal? I'm getting really tired of buying nursing pads. And wearing them. I get to put "wife" and "mom" on temporary hold on Thursday morning to go get a manicure! I got a coupon for a free manicure at this local spa and I've only ever gotten a manicure in the states twice--and once was when I was thirteen and the other was for my wedding. So I'm excited. And grateful that the hubs is going to watch the baby. :) I long to make really delicious cake. One of these days I will. And frosting. Someday, guys, someday.
Tomorrow it's going to be cold. We're getting closer and closer to winter. And you know what that means? I need to get Logan some socks.
