K-Mac, Sophie & the Cloth Diaper Experience

Have you heard about Sophie?  Well today, Sophie the Giraffe, turns fifty years old, and yet I have just now heard of her and her magical teething powers.  In my midnight teething baby desperation, I shopped online for something that would soothe her.  So far teething rings have been a waste as she just holds them while crying.  Baby orajel is wonderful, but it is medicine and shouldn't be used too often.  So, we have the internet.  Dear reader, the internet said it was time for Sophie.

Sophie is perfect for K-mac right now.  She's bright white and brown, which makes it easier for her to see.  She also squeaks easier which puts both a smile on her face and our dog, Bandit's.  She is made with 100% natural rubber and food paint and EVERY inch of her is chewable and soft.  Sophie weighs just about nothing and has a super long neck that K-Mac can easily grasp.  Heaven.  In a Giraffe.

I love that she is finally "getting" toys.  She will grasp Sophie, some rattles, and will hit her activity gym's musical toys.  I'm sure she doesn't understand the cause and effect aspect yet, but we'll get there.  K-Mac is finally starting the whole "playing" thing.  She's sitting still for books and watches me turn pages and my mouth move.  Progress!

We also have started another adventure recently.  Cloth Diapers.  I was terrified but curious.  Thankfully, I've been blessed with a pretty good group of mommy friends, one is particular, nice and patient enough to literally talk me through the entire process.  Fantastic.  So, with her advice we are now cloth diapering with gDiapers.

These things are crazy.  I bought the starter pack, which came with 6 diapers.  They have these nylon like snap in parts on the inside.  On those you place either your biodegradable liners or your hemp washable liners.  The bio refills can be flushed, compost, or tossed.  The washables are super absorbent and not expensive.  Some fun facts about why I switched:

• average baby uses 6,000 diapers.  we buy the 72 pack for $25.  do the math.
• 6,000 diapers = 715 lbs = 1 female polar bear = all members of The Rolling Stones. Interesting.
• 8 a day will save the earth 1,824 qts of oil, 876 lbs of plastic, & 2,918 lbs of CO2.

• i don't have to worry about chemicals (and chemical burns, if you remember that incident)

I'm sold.  And K-Mac doesn't mind either way.  I feel good that our little family is helping the planet and our wallets.  The whole thing was under $200, which we can spend on regular diapers in no time.  Plus our possible future children can use them.  Facebook has a group of women that trade, sell, and love gDiapers, so pink ones aren't far away in our future.

So far, no leaks!  We've worn them for naps, for play, for tummy time, and for a pretty long trip around town.  We're excited! 

Bottle Business and Milestone Madness

K-Mac has been busy entertaining us with a new talent...bottle holding! On May 13th she held her bottle (un-coached) for the first time.

We also want to point out that our little baby is no longer a newborn!  She is now 3 months old, meaning she is an infant! 

There is a list of "milestones" that most babies reach in their first few months.  It is important to note that not all babies are the same and grow at very different rates.  But for the sake of memory, we'll compare what K-Mac has done and what she'll do soon!

ONE MONTH MILESTONES:

• lifts head while lying on tummy
• responds to sound
• stares at faces
• follows objects briefly with eyes
• ohhs and ahhs
• holds head at 45 degree angle

TWO MONTH MILESTONES:

• gurgles and coos
• follows objects across field of vision
• notices hands
• holds head up for short periods
• smiles
• holds head steady
• mini push-ups while on tummy

THREE MONTH MILESTONES:

• recognizes your face
• tracks moving objects
• squeals
• blows bubbles
• recognizes your voice
• rolls over *
• turns toward loud sounds
• brings hands together
• bats at toys
• put weight on legs
• laughs

The * symbol represents what we can not do (yet!).  So far, that just leaves rolling over.  She has rolled from back to tummy three times so far but we really aren't convinced she did it on purpose.  The times that it has happened, she just kicked and pulled on her sheets until it happened.  Without the sheets though (ie; activity gym, rug) is another story.  We'll see. 

Maybe that's what we'll do this week!

If you feed a baby a lemon..

Today has been so exciting!!!

Today, at exactly twelve weeks, K-Mac LAUGHED.  Legit laughed.  It was a raspy laugh that startled me more than anything.  It was 9:15 this morning and we were playing in bed (while daddy snored slept) and pretending to be super baby and when she "landed" she started laughing.  It only lasted maybe 10 seconds, but it was amazing.  I just stared and she stopped (bad mommy- but I was confused haha). 

Later on, daddy took me (and K-Mac) out for lunch!  We didn't do much for mother's day, so I'm counting this as my day.  While there, we may have fed our baby a lemon...twice.



For the record, she stopped crying as soon as I put the camera down, I swear she wasn't that upset.  I was half-kidding when I reminded him that when his brother and sister in law were here, their baby was three months old and licked an olive.  So, wouldn't it be funny if we fed the baby bacon or a lemon?  I'm glad he picked lemon.

When we got home we put K-Mac in the bumbo and picked up in the living room.  I don't know what we were joking about but Derek laughed and K-Mac just lost it.  She started laughing to her daddy's laugh.  It was adorable and we tried to get her to laugh for the camera but she just talked to us and smiled a lot.  Pretty soon she started looking a little tired from sitting up so we gave up.  But fear not friends!  We will get a video of that adorable old lady laugh soon enough!

A Bumbo Story

Have you heard of the bumbo? I'm pretty sure it is God's gift to my family. K-Mac loves her activity gym and swing but she does get bored. We have to actually alternate between the crib and the bassinet to get her to sleep. Being somewhere new is a good thing. So when we got our bumbo for Easter it was the greatest.

K-Mac lifts her neck and turns her head with ease. She lifted her head off of my shoulder when she was just an hour old. I have faith in her neck muscles and get frustrated when people tell me that she's too little for the bumbo. It's also equally frustrating when I try to take pictures of her enjoyng the bumbo and she suddenly stops smiling and collapses her head to stare at my camera's flash. But oh well, here are some snap shots anyway!