Sippy Cup Adventures

K-Mac is growing up too fast.



Ignore my dirty kitchen please.

 On August second, she drank out of a sippy cup for the first time.  She actually enjoyed it.  Bye bye bottles.  It's a Nuk Learner Cup but really operates like a "real" sippy cup.  She holds the little handles and drinks from a little spout.

Also, I don't know if I mentioned it lately, but K-Mac hasn't taken a bink (paci, nipple, or whatever you call it where you are from) in months.  HEART BREAKING.  Although I'm glad that I won't have to break her of that habit in a mad panic before she starts preschool, she is still a baby, and I want her to BE a baby. 



Shade twins!

 She's not fighting anymore when I put shades on her.  She used to try to take them off, so I'd let her, and try again later.  Now she rocks them.  I'm probably annoying with this but I want her to wear them and protect her eyes.  Those eyes are too pretty for cataract surgery right now.

K-Mac also met ALL OF HER COUSINS!  It's important to me that she's close to them.  I love my cousins.  They're really like siblings who live in another house sometimes.  I feel sorry for people who don't have cousins they're close to. 

Now for a fun story!



So Proud!

 So, K-Mac's youngest uncle spends his summer days and after school time here with us.  He's actually a big help for a nine year old in fifth grade.  He helps me clean up around the house, hands me wipes while I change K-Mac, entertains her while I'm busy, etc, etc.  He decided he's ready to help me feed her baby food.  This is a big step.  He thinks she's gross when she eats but this is his only niece and he wants to help.  RIGHT ON.  So I tell him to pick out a food and get a spoon and get all set while I fix my hair.  He picks out carrots and a yellow spoon....then he gets bored and leaves her with the OPEN container in front of her in the high chair.  Now, he doesn't leave her, he just starts watching some game on the tv right next to her.  But when I come out of the bathroom, K-Mac has dumped the whole thing of carrots on her tray and is splashing in it and feeding herself with her fists.  I let her continue but let me tell you what...never again.

Cat: 1 & Parents: 0

We have a fancy baby monitor.

It cost too much and is my security blanket and I need it.  It monitors not only morning time cries but also K-Mac's breathing.  Words can not even express how completely terrified I am of SIDS.  Lucky me, hubs also shares some intense fears over it and was completely behind me when I suggested we toss literally a fourth of his paycheck into this.  Blessed. 

We felt better about our decision to "waste" this money when K-Mac was 8 weeks old and stopped breathing.  We ran into her room and I picked her up and shook her (oops).  She gasped and went back to sleep.  We'll never know if she would've started breathing again or if the monitor goofed or if she was really in danger.  Either way, a device told me that my child was without air for 35 seconds and it very well may have saved her life.

So.

The other night, the monitor starts going crazy.  The special thing about these angel care bad boys is that you can program them for everything short of fixing me a frappe.  I've set this thing to go off if it gets to be under 68 degrees or above 80. 

When we wake up, fuzzy eyed and confused to a new sounds on Monday we realize the baby's room is 85 degrees and increasing.  What the hell?  So I walk sprint to her and realize, hey, it feels like the rest of the house (about 77 degrees).  Okay, so that's weird, I go back to bed, tell hubs it must have glitched and we reset the monitor and close our eyes.

Beeping like crazy within a minute.  I call not it and he gets up.  Checks out the baby's room, feels fine, blah blah, let's change the settings to 88 degrees, it's obviously not working.

Wouldn't you know it, that sucker is still going off.  So alright, I'm going in there thinking hey, maybe she peed and it's so warm the monitor is confused.  I get into her room and go to turn on her monitor's night light.  I keep it in her crib (like a bad mom) so I can have easy access plus she really isn't moving too much yet.  Crazy enough, I can't find the damn thing.

THE STUPID CAT IS ON TOP OF THE STUPID MONITOR.

She busted into the baby's room after sneaking out of the mudroom and is in my child's crib.  She's also ON TOP of the monitor, keeping it all crazy warm and stuff. 

Okay cat, strike one.

We were so stinkin' tired the next day but didn't have the strength to tell everyone that we spent an hour freaking out over a monitor that our three month old kitten sabotaged. 

Friends....learn from my fail.

Bounce Bounce Baby!

 K-Mac has a case of the wiggle-butts. 

She has been pushing her booty out, bending at the knees and wiggling up and down while cooing with her tongue out.  It's quite the entertainment and always makes holding her safely a little adventure.  So the other day her Nana and I were shopping at Nanny's Cottage and found a new toy!

So ours is missing one little toy and needed a good scrubbing.  Point is we got this thing for EIGHTEEN DOLLARS.  Yes.  Thrifting.  Boo-yeah.

She's still a little too small for it but with a big ol' book under her feet she likes standing up and bouncing.  She reaches for the elephant and lion and watches the colors light up when I hit the musical buttons.  The fact that the seat swivels is a ton of fun too.  At first it made her cry, but now we are cool with movement.

It feels like just days ago the hubs and I were getting excited about the first movements, the little kicks she would send out.

How time flies.

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!