DIY Mei Tai Baby Carrier

One this I never used much when I had my first baby was a baby carrier. I loved the idea of baby wearing but I never found a carrier that was comfortable and it seemed easier just to carry her in my arms. I didn't want to shell out a bunch of money trying to find the right carrier (this things can be pricey!) so I just gave up on the idea. With baby number two I decided to give it another go however. I figured I would need my hands free to do things with Echo so I might use a carrier more (boy was I right!). I started off with a soft stretch structured carrier that I really liked, it was comfortable and easy to put on. The only problem was that as Clover started to near 13 or 14 pounds it started to sag and it just wasn't working for us any more.

Being the crafty (and cheap) girl that I am I decided to try to make my own carrier. I have had several friends that had Mei Tai style carriers and really liked them. They seemed simple to put on and the design was easy to make so I whipped out some extra fabric I had leftover from our wedding (I've gotten so much use out of this stuff!) and found an online tutorial to follow. There are a ton of tutorials for homemade Mei Tais out there but the one I used can be found here. The instructions are really clear and easy and it took me no time to put it together.

Honestly it has been a godsend, I can wear Clover when she starts to get fussy and it will put her to sleep so i can cook dinner. It's amazing for grocery shopping because I can wear her and still have two hands to push the cart, plus it leaves the seat on the cart open for Echo! It's kind of crazy how expensive theses carriers can be when they are so simple to make! Just be sure that if you make your own you reinforce your straps and use a nice sturdy fabric, safety first!

Clover seems to really like this carrier and it's really comfortable because of how evenly it distributes the weight across your back. Winter is the perfect time to wear your baby too, they are so snuggly and warm! My advice would be to not be intimidated by baby wearing and to give it a shot. It's not right for every mom (or every baby) but if your baby likes it it can really save your sanity and help you get stuff done! Also, if you are at all crafty think about making your own carrier, I was amazed at how simple it can be!

Welcome Clover!

Our little baby girl finally decided to join us last Thursday night (has it already been almost a week? Wow!) and we couldn't be more excited, relieved  and happy.

Everything about this pregnancy, labor, and delivery has been so different than it was with my first. I hear it all the time but this really went to show me that every pregnancy is different and you never know what to expect. My water broke Thursday evening while I was at my parents house and they were able to drive me to the hospital straight away. I called Eric and he met us in the waiting room and I was admitted shortly after that. Even though my water had broken my contractions weren't really strong or regular yet so the doctor wanted to put me on pitocin right away to get things going. My nurse was very pro natural birth though and fought him off as long as she could. When we finally did start pitocin we did a very low dose but it definitely started to speed things up and after about only 30 minutes of painful contractions Clover was born. From the time my water broke to the time she was born the whole thing took only 5 and a half hours so while it hurt like crazy towards the end at least it was very quick!

Emotionally everything has been much easier for me this time around. I'm not sure if it's just that there is so much less of a learning curve with a second child or if my hormones are just less crazy but overall I am feeling really happy and level. My only weepy moments tend to come from watching Echo and Clover together, it's so sweet I feel like I'm going to bust!

In spite of my worries that Echo might feel displaced or jealous of the new baby she has been absolutely wonderful. She love Clover so much and gives her constant kisses and pats. She also loves to help with diaper changes and bringing blankets to Clover. All those months of practicing on her baby dolls has really paid off, Echo is all about her little sister!

So now we are all just figuring out our new rhythm as a family of four and settling in to a new routine. I honestly feel like I've never been happier, I am so in love with my little girls and looking forward to many years of fun together. I'll try to post some more pictures on here soon so stay tuned!

Prepping for Baby Number 2

This is where Clover will sleep for the first month or so, Note the cuter than cute new sheets I sewed for the moses basket!

I'm finally finishing up some of my baby related projects and really getting down to business preparing for our new addition. I felt like everything was on hold until after our trip to Asheville last month but now that all my travel is behind me I can settle down and finish up some last minute things before baby Clover arrives.

It's so weird the difference between a first and second pregnancy, for me at least. Last time I quit work about a month ahead of time so I could have plenty of time to relax and prepare for the new baby. This time around I my job is taking care of a toddler so there is no "taking time off". Life goes on just as it always has and I try to squeeze in some of the things I want to get done before we have this baby in between naps, play dates, snacks, laundry, making dinner and cleaning.  In a way I feel much less prepared this time around but I also know that there really isn't that much that has to get done before we bring a new baby home. Babies really don't need anything except breast milk and cuddle time with mommy and daddy so there really isn't much that has to be prepped. Still there are things that I know will make my life easier, so here is my list of stuff that we've done to prepare for our new baby and a list of things that still need to be done. Hopefully this will help me be organized and get through some of the items that are still hanging over my head!


Done

Assemble crib and set up nursery.
We had to move out our guest mattress, straighten things up and put the crib back together. I also pulled out a bunch of younger baby toys that echo had outgrown so that Clover can use them when the time comes.

Bake and freeze breads to have on hand for after we come home from the hospital.
I love having fresh baked English muffins and bagels around for snacks and breakfast but I know I won't be up for baking for a while. Thanks to our new freezer space I now have a decent stash of baked goods to see me through the first few weeks or months.

Sew new bedding for our moses basket.
Echo slept in the moses basket for about the first month of her life and we loved it! It has so many advantages, it's small enough to be cozy, it's easy to pick up and carry around so we can move her from room to room with us and not wake her up, plus it's adorable! I bought the basket at a consignment store but was never crazy about the bedding that came with it, it was a floral blue pattern with lace trim that felt really dated and overly girly to me. Last time I didn't know how to sew well enough to make some new sheets for the thing but this time I realized just how easy it would be to give it an update. I sewed three new sheets for the basket in bright and modern prints that are so much cuter than the set of sheets that came with the thing. Now I can rest easy knowing that Clover will have a place to sleep when she comes home with us.

Unpack newborn and 0-3 month clothes.
I did this first thing after I found out we were having another girl. It's fun to see some of my favorite outfits that Echo wore again and I like to show Echo the tiny clothes and tell her that Clover will wear them some day. Echo will then hold the clothes up to my belly in an attempt to give them to Clover, it's adorable. We have all the teeny tiny baby clothes put away in the dresser in Clover's room now, awaiting her arrival.

Buy the basic new things we needed for a second baby.
We didn't need much this time around because we are having another girl and pretty much everything can be reused. There were a few items I picked up new for this baby just because I am hoping they will make my life easier. The biggest item was the double stroller ( a gift from my parents) which has already been amazing and awesome. It's a sit and stand so Echo can either stand or sit on the back and there will be room for another baby in the front. I also picked up a new baby carrier for wearing Clover which I'm hoping will be more comfortable than carriers I've tried in the past and (thanks to a an amazon gift card for my aunt) an extra wet bag, a white noise machine (to help baby sleep), gel nipple pads (for that potentially painful first week of breast feeding) and new nursing tanks and bras.

Buy a big sister present for Echo.
I knew I wanted to get Echo a little something to make her feel special for after the new baby arrives. I know it might be hard for her since she is the apple of our eye and not used to sharing the spotlight. I couldn't think of any one big thing she would want or need so I opted for a little goody bag of activities and books that she can have with her at the hospital to play with. I got her a farm play set with nice all wooden pieces, a book about dogs, a book about cats, and a paint with water activity book. Hopefully it will help keep her entertained and let her know how special she is to us ( I suspect she will be even more excited about having a new baby around but just in case).

Get a bigger car with more room for 2.
This wasn't originally on my list but when more and more problems kept coming up with my old car we decided to go ahead and get me the station wagon I'd been wanting for a long time. It's definitely not as peppy as my old car but it's nice and roomy and good for a family of 4. We still to get the tags and insurance squared away so I get to enjoy my sweet little car a while longer but should hopefully have all that taken care of before we bring Clover home.


Still To Do

Install the car seats in the new car.
We can't do this until the new car is legal to drive, honestly it doesn't take that long anyway so I'm not too worried.

Pack the hospital bag.
I've started this but haven't finished. I have a list on the fridge of all the things that still need to go in the bag but many of the items are still being used like my camera and cell phone charger. If my labor goes the way it did last time I will have plenty of time to pack last minute items before we head to the hospital ( I want to labor at home as long as possible).

Sew more cloth baby wipes.
Thanks to the generosity of a dear friend we have a huge and gorgeous stash of cloth diapers for newborns, I'm so excited to use them! We also have the diapers we used last time with Echo so we should be covered for diapers for a while. One of my goals this time around is to use more cloth wipes and less disposable but my cloth wipe stash is a little low. This is easy to fix since it's incredibly easy to sew cloth wipes though, I just have to find the time and energy to do it. There are a million other sewing projects I'd love to get done before having a second baby but realistically this is probably the only one that will happen.

Clean and organize as much as possible before going in to labor.
Last time I had lots of time to clean all the often neglected areas like the fridge and shower. This time I have so much less energy and time for cleaning. I would love to get some thorough cleaning done before bringing  anew baby home but I won't stress out about anything that doesn't happen. I know from experience that the baby won't care ;-)


Only 4 weeks to go! Can't wait to meet this little lady!

It's a Girl!

We got to get our first good look at our sweet little girl today and now I am just feeling so happy and emotional. It just goes to show that my instincts are totally off because I was convinced it was a boy this time. I was amazed at how happy I was when the ultrasound tech girl though! I'm sure I would have been thrilled either way to be honest.

Now I am just filled with visions of me and the girls baking together, doing sewing projects and crafts, maybe some day sharing a love of Jane Austen novels. I'm looking forward to lots of tea parties and dress up but also sports, playing in the mud and climbing trees. I hope our girls are well rounded and enjoy both traditionally male and female pursuits.

I hope Echo and her sister will be best friends and try not to be too competitive with each other as girls can sometimes be. I feel certain their bond will be extraordinary and I can't wait to watch them get to know one another. Echo is already such a great little care taker and is so sweet to her stuffed animals and baby dolls and I just know she will be a great big sister.

Our new baby girl will be named Clover Elizabeth, it feels so good to finally call her by her name instead of just "the baby"! Here are some more ultrasound photos for those of you that are interested. She was all balled up in there and refused to give us a profile view but we think she is pretty darn cute already. She was playing with her feet in the most adorable way and I feel like I can see lot's of personality already!

Right and left foot

A great shot of her leg

Head and hands

Here she is playing with her toes, her hand is on the left and foot is on the right 

This is the shot I put on facebook and i think it's the best one we got

I can't believe I am already halfway through this pregnancy! Can't wait to meet you Clover!

Fun, Free and Easy Things To Do With Your baby

Time was that Echo was totally happy just to chill at home with me while I worked on a sewing project, made bread or did housework. We still have days like this but more and more Echo wants to get out and do stuff!  I've been making a mental list of things Echo enjoys doing out of the house that can be done for cheap or free. Here are some of our favorite activities.

Go to the Pet Store-
On days when we are searching for something to do visiting Petsmart is always a hit. Like most babies, Echo loves animals and enjoys watching the birds, fish and small rodents at the store. It's like going to the zoo for her, only free! It's also a nice inside activity for when it's rainy or super hot or cold.

Library Programs-
I've been taking Echo to the baby story time at the library since she was about 4 months old. She loves it and it gives her a chance to play with other babies. The program itself isn't anything stellar but she still enjoys and it it's fun to do something different. It's nice for parents as well since we all get to chat about our babies.

Play Place at the Mall-
A friend recently told me that our local mall has a soft, indoor playground for little ones. How awesome! We have now been several times and it is the perfect place for Echo to run and play without me having to worry about her getting hurt. Like the library it is also a great place for her to interact with other babies and young children.

Plant an Herb Garden-
This isn't really free but it is cheap and Echo absolutely loves it! She could seriously spend all day out on my back deck picking herbs. They smell nice and she can eat them without me having to worry. This is probably her favorite activity to do at home.

Feeding the Ducks-
We did this for the first time last week. She didn't really get the concept of throwing bread but she loved watching the ducks and chewing on some bread herself. She is fascinated by all kinds of animals and having bread was a good way to get them to come close to us.

Parks-
This one is pretty obvious but it's a classic for a reason. Try exploring some different parks in your area, seek out some that you haven't tried before.

Your own Yard-
If you are stumped for ideas or just don't have the energy to get your baby in a car seat play in your own front or back yard. Being in nature is so important to kids and they love to feel the breeze blow and watch the leaves in the sunlight. Even if your yard is old hat to you it is still exciting for your baby.


If anyone has other great ideas for cheap baby dates I'd love to hear them! How do you keep your baby entertained?

One Year Old

From Echo's one year photo shoot, I'll be sharing more from this soon!

One year ago today, my life was changed forever. My sweet, beautiful and brilliant daughter entered the world. I love her more than I can say, and it seems that every day my love for her continues to grow at an astounding rate.

She has grown and changed so much and so quickly. On the first of the month she took her first steps and now she is staggering around the house at top speed like a tiny sumo wrestler. She began coloring with crayons for the first time (as opposed to eating them.) I've watched her confidence grow by leaps and bounds. I've seen her go charging across a room full of strangers without hesitation and charm everyone she meets with her gap toothed smile. She loves animals and babies and books and dancing. She is at once fiercely independent and incredibly affectionate. I continue to be impressed by her intelligence and out going nature even at this young age.

I remember so vividly my first sight of her. She was so tiny and perfect and whole, with ten fingers and ten toes and perfectly formed little finger nails. I marveled at the small curves of her ears and her full head of hair and her dark, clear eyes. We had a rough go of it at first. She seemed so alien to me and it's no secret among those who know us that it took me a while to bond with her. I was so used to my alone time and my schedule and getting a full night's sleep. Even though I loved her desperately it was a hard adjustment for me. It took me a good few months after she was born to really feel the deep bond and connection with her that I expected to feel immediately. By Christmas of 2012 I was hooked.

Parenting has made me stronger than I ever thought possible. I never imagined I could survive on so little sleep for so long or that I would make so many sacrifices for my baby without thinking twice. Everything I have done for her is 100% worth it and I would do it all again and more. All the sleepless nights and frustration and worry are rendered unimportant by one perfect smile or hug or laugh from her. She lights up whatever room she is in and she has brought my husband and I untold amounts of pure joy. We just love her so much!!

Happy Birthday to my darling girl. With all the changes through the last year I can't imagine what is in store for us in the year to come but I am so looking forward to sharing each and every moment with you!

DIY Baby Tank

 I am continuing to love my new Brother Sewing machine and my sewing skills are growing! It's such a satisfying accomplishment to make something from scratch, I am loving every minute of it. I have always been a do it yourself type of person and would rather tach myself something than learn it from a class. I think this comes from my unschooling days, I am a very independent learner. Thanks to the internet it is easier than every to teach yourself just about anything! Check out this awesome tutorial and free pattern from Made, it's what I used to make this baby tank for Echo.

It was my first experience using bias tape (I used store bought but I want to learn to make my own in the near future. I loved the bias tape because it gave the piece a nice finished look, plus it added a fun, contrasting pop of color! Sewing baby clothes is like (almost) instant gratification, it's so easy and fast to make something cute.

Doesn't Echo look so grown up in her faux denim leggings and tank top? She is also showing off those pearly whites in this photo. She has 5 teeth now and is working on a few more!

Sewing Small Toys for Echo

As I mentioned before, I got some awesome new sewing supplies and books for my Birthday and I have had a lot of fun putting them to good use. I have been using some scraps to sew some small stuffed toys for Echo, here's what I have so far.

This small stuffed rabbit is from from the book Baby Stuff by Aranzi Aronzo.It is so cute and made of terry cloth so when Echo chews on it it has the added bonus of soaking up some of her drool, yay! It was actually much harder to make than I thought because it is so teeny tiny and it came out a little bit lopsided but I still think it's cute. It's the perfect size for Echo to hold in her hand or in her mouth.

The next project I took on was a fabric ball. This is a great way to use up scraps and is super cute and fun for baby to play with. Echo is at a stage where she loves balls and will even roll one back and forth to you for a little bit. I can't find the tutorial I used anymore but you can find a similar one here.  Really this couldn't be easier to make, I may do some more of them with different color schemes.

I have also been putting little jingle bells in all my toys for Echo because she loves shaking things that make noise. If you do this you just have to make sure the toy is sewn up really well so it's not a choking hazard.

I tried to get a picture of Echo playing with her toys but she was only interested in running at the camera. You can see her cat scratches here poor thing, some day she will learn to leave them alone!

Reversible Baby Smock

Front

For my Birthday this year I got some great new sewing supplies including fabric trim and sewing books. I am now super inspired to sew more and you can expect a lot of sewing related posts in the near future :-) This pattern wasn't something that I got out of my new books but was one that I made based on an outfit I used to wear when I was a kid. i wish I had a picture of the original on me but I'm not sure if one even exists. Anyway, this is a cute and super easy design to throw together. The best part is it's reversible! I love that in an outfit, especially one for a child because one side is bound to get stained. Here is Echo modeling her new outfit (she's such a good sport).

Back

 Above you can see the other side of the smock, aren't these fabrics just adorable? Unfortunately it is a little big on her and since it is so long she can't crawl in it but with the way she's going she will be walking soon and then she'll be able to wear it no problem.  If anyone is wanting to attempt to make something like this here is what it looks like all laid out. Unfortunately I don't have a printable pattern (maybe I will start doing those one day) but the shape is pretty simple and it is easy to figure out how to make one.

I also got to use my button hole foot for the first time on my new sewing machine. I had always sewn button holes by hand in the past so this was amazing to me! So easy and sturdy, I love it!

Carrot Cake Muffins for Baby

We are getting ready to go on a road trip for my Birthday (yay!) and I have had a busy day with pre Birthday celebrating and preparing for our 8 hour drive to Charlottesville, VA tomorrow. One surefire way to keep Echo happy in the car is to keep her well fed so I have been stocking up on snacks for her. In addition to some store bought baby crackers and fresh fruit I baked up a batch of these pint sized muffins that are just perfect for Echo to munch on. I adapted the recipe from Hello Bee but used carrots in my muffins instead of spinach as well as making some other changes. Who doesn't love carrot cake right? Here is the recipe as I used it.

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 large egg
1 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs canola oil
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mix first 5 ingredients in a bowl and blend well with an emersion blender. Mix remainder of ingredients in a separate bowl until well combined. Gradually stir wet ingredients in to dry ingredient mixture. Scoop batter in to mini muffin tin filling 3/4 of the way in each cup. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

These are the perfect size for babies that like to feed themselves like Echo and so far she seems to be a fan. I'll let you know how the road trip goes, hopefully these will help keep her happy!

Our Experience With Baby Led Weaning

Echo gleefully eating Cheerios

When Echo turn 4 months our pediatrician said it was ok to start trying solid foods with her. I was so excited, I saw it as a new way to bond with my baby. I even got a cute baby food cookbook, feeding and preparing special foods for her was a fun new experience we could share, or so I thought..

Feeding Echo her first solid foods was a disaster, she hated everything! We tried rice cereal, sweet potatoes  avocados, everything I was sure she would love before we started this whole thing. At around five months I finally got her to eat peas, I was so happy to find something she would eat! This only lasted a few weeks however and then she stopped eating those as well. Eventually I gave up on trying to force new foods on her and I had to admit that she just wasn't ready to eat solid food.

At Echo's 6 month pediatrician appointent our doctor told me she could now eat pretty much anything she wanted aside from whole milk and honey, as long as she could chew it and it wasn't a choking hazard it was fine. We then tried solid food again and the difference was amazing! She was much more open to eating different things and seemed to like almost everything. Of course by then I was sick of preparing special food for her only to have to throw it out. I started just giving her bites of whatever we were having and my life got a whole lot simpler. It was around this time that I started to read some articles about baby led weaning. The basic idea behind baby led weaning is that you feed your child bite sized pieces of food that they can pick up and feed themselves, it also means they can eat what mom and dad eat with no need for special foods. With baby led weaning there are no baby purees and spoon feeding. It was kind of what I had started doing on my own out sheer laziness (my mom did this with me and my brother as kids too but they didn't have a name for it back then).

There are so many great things about using this approach. Your baby learns to feed themselves and be independent while learning to love a variety of tastes and textures. I'm told that baby led weaning can be difficult for anxious parents because they are always worried about the baby choking but if you are easy going parents like us you'll love it.

Echo is almost 9 months now and absolutely loves to eat. I'm so happy about this, at first I thought she would never want anything besides breast milk! She really likes to eat just about anything but her favorites are any kind of fruit, Cheerios, bread, lentils, rice, beans, potatoes, avocados and sweet potatoes. As parents we love cheerios, bread and rice because they are mess free and easy for her to eat on her own. It's been so exciting to get introduce Echo to new foods and watch her tastes grow and expand. For our next baby I know we will use baby led weaning again, it just make life so much easier and happier for everyone.

DIY Gauze Swaddle And A New Sewing Machine!

Echo and her new swaddle blanket. Also wearing a top I sewed for her using my old machine. 

Last year I purchased a used sewing machine at a Goodwill and began the task of teaching myself to sew. Well I've been having a blast sewing things for Echo and re-teaching myself sewing basics that I learned as a child and had forgotten and this Spring I decided that I was ready for an upgrade. I really loved my vintage machine but it did one and only one thing, it sewed in a straight line. Since I love using stretch fabrics and would like a machine that can handle them I decided I really needed something that could at least handle a zig zag stitch. After much research I ended up with a Brother Project Runway CS5055PRW (I'll admit it, I am a huge Project Runway fan!).

My new machine!

 My old machine had also started making a screeching noise so I knew it was time to get it serviced or else get a new one. I'm still learning so I didn't need anything too heavy duty but so far and I am beyond thrilled with this machine. It's super quiet so i won't wake Echo by sewing while she naps and the computerized controls make it easy to do overcast stitches, decorative stitches and button holes. The manual is also really helpful and easy to understand, I am learning so much from it!

Look at all the fancy stitches it does!

 For my first project on the new machine I stuck to something simple, a new swaddle blanket for Echo. I've mentioned before that Echo will not sleep unless she's swaddled. I've tried several times to break her of this but I eventually get too tired and give up. She will go to sleep just fine but then will only stay down for a few hours and then refuses to go back to sleep. It's not worth the struggle so she quickly gets swaddled again. The problem with this is that I guess most 9 month olds don't like being swaddled and they don't make swaddle blankets large enough for a baby her age. I really loved my Aden and Anais swaddles because of the light weight breathable fabric but they are expensive and don't come in large enough sizes for us.

To make my swaddle I ordered this cotton gauze fabric from amazon for $5.74 per yard. I got two yards of it and it should be plenty big enough for Echo for quite some time. The fabric is light weight, breathable, and perfect for summer! Then all I had to do was roll the hem over and sew it all the way around (using one of my new decorative stitches naturally).

Detail of the decorative stitching

It was nice to get a feel for my new machine with something so simple, now I feel ready to move on to bigger and better projects! Echo loves her new swaddle and has been sleeping really well with it. I just cant get her to sit still long enough to pose for a decent picture with it ;-)

Packing For A Weekend Away With Baby

Echo likes to help pack

This weekend I will be photographing a wedding out of town and the lovely bride I am working with was kind enough to invite my husband and baby to the wedding as well so I don't have to be away from them! Since becoming a parent packing has turned in to a 2 day event, I miss the days when I just threw a few clean pairs of underwear in a backpack and took off! Here is a list of what I'm packing for baby Echo. Hopefully it will prove helpful for those of you who will be traveling with your little ones in the near future. 

1. Travel baby shampoo and a little washcloth. This is for Echo's nightly bath. We started doing these in an effort to get her to sleep more. She has been a really bad sleeper from about 4 months to now (8 months) but over the past week she has been sleeping better and better! I don't know if it's the baths or the fact that she recently started crawling but I don't want to take any chances and mess things up now that she's finally sleeping through the night. Therefore we will continue nightly baths while we're on our trip.

2. Swaddle blanket. Another sleep aid that we can't do without. I know it's unusual for an 8 month old to be swaddled at night but my daughter CAN'T sleep without it! I asked the pediatrician and she said I can swaddle her for as long as I want as long as it helps her sleep. So for my own well being the swaddling will continue for as long as possible.

3. Sippy cup. Echo just loves her sippy cup, it has a fun rubbery tip that she likes to chew on and drinking water in the car helps to keep her from fussing.

4. Plenty of toys. Again, this is to entertain her in the car. We will only be going 3 and half hours away but she does not like being restrained in her car seat so the toys will help distract her (we hope).

5. Snacks! I have this great set of bowls with suction cup bottoms (making them impossible to tip over) and lids that I use for packing all her snacks. This bowl contains chopped watermelon. I'll also be packing bowls of sweet potato and mango, some of her current favorite solid foods.

6. Books. Echo is finally at the age where she enjoys looking at books instead of chewing on them (although she still likes to taste them too!). Her favorites are the kind that have different textures in them, she enjoys feeling the different pages, especially the furry ones.

7. A big blanket to play on. Echo is a crawling machine these days and wants to have lots of space to move around. There aren't a lot of great places to crawl at rest areas of roadside gas stations so I wanted to have a portable area she could move around on and stretch her legs. This lovely quilt is a baby gift from my friend Maru over at Mursaki Creates  and it is both beautiful and durable.

8. Lots of clothes. This time I packed some dresses for the rehearsal dinner and  wedding she will be attending but I also packed lots of play clothes since I know she won't want to wear the dresses for long. Sadly since she started crawling dresses are pretty much a no go but she looks so cute in them that I want her to wear one at least for a little bit. Also since she is eating so many solid foods now her outfits get dirty quickly. Lots of outfit changes might be a necessity.

Not pictured are plenty of diapers, wipes and pacifiers. You know, the obvious stuff.

Echo isn't too sure about this whole road trip thing

I'm so very excited about the wedding this weekend and hopefully Echo will think the car trip is worth it once she gets to try the wedding cake :-)

Let The Baby Proofing Begin!

Echo against the new fabric we put up to keep her from falling out of the loft ;-)

Echo has been getting increasingly mobile over the past few weeks and although she isn't technically crawling yet she is so close! In spite of the fact that she isn't exactly making the crawling motions she still manages to scoot, wriggle and pivot her way around the room. You can seriously look away for a minute, look back and she'll be five feet from where you left her. This has necessitated the beginning of our baby proofing efforts. It's a day we both looked forward to and dreaded. While we are excited at Echo's continued development our house is a baby proofing nightmare and we have so much to do! Here is what we've started with so far. 

A small portion of the cords we removed from the loft.

 Echo has lately developed a fascination with cords and wires of any kind, yikes! Any cord she can get her hands on goes directly in her mouth for chewing, this obviously had to stop. Since we spend most of our family time in the loft where the carpet is easy for her to play on we had to really re-examine the space. You see, the loft is also where our computers and tv live. Eric spent a good part of the day yesterday reworking as many of our electronics as he could to be wireless, allowing us to remove a lot of the wires and cables. What we couldn't remove got tucked away either up under a desk or under the edge of the carpet.

The loft seen from below

One of our big worries in baby proofing was the railing in our loft. It has widely spaced rungs that would be easy for her to slip though. At the same time this area is highly visible when you first walk in the house so we wanted it to be somewhat attractive still. We purchased three yards of fabric on sale at Ikea and used a heavy duty staple gun to fasten it to our railings. It's up there so well now that there's no way she can tear it down and it keeps us from worrying about her falling through.

Newly cleaned and organized loft

We also spent some time generally de-cluttering and cleaning the loft, the less random junk we have laying around the less there is for her to get in to. It already looks so much nicer without all the clutter that tends to build up in a highly used area. I just hope we can keep it this nice!

Still to come are baby gates at the tops and bottoms of the stairs and child safety locks on the cabinets and drawers. On top of that we still have to baby proof the rest of the house! This baby thing sure is a lot of work! Good thing she's so cute ;-)

Teething necklace DIY

I haven't seen or felt any teeth poking through yet but this little girl sure does love to chew on anything and everything she can get her hands on! I'm thinking teeth must not be far off.

Having a baby has severely limited the jewelry that can wear since everything goes straight in to her mouth so a teething necklace kills two birds with one stone. I get a pretty necklace to wear and she gets to chew! Not only that but it's super easy to make! Find the tutorial I used here at See Kate Sew

All you have to do to make this awesome (and comfy!) necklace is to sew a long tube of fabric (make sure to make it longer than you think you'll need, I made mine too short the first time and had to start over) and flip it inside out. Next you insert large wooden beads and tie knots in between each one.

The last step is to flip the ends of your fabric tube in, insert a pretty ribbon on each side, and sew it off. Echo totally love the necklace, both when I wear it and when I let her play with it on her own. I need to get more wooden beads so I can make one of these to go with every outfit I own :-)

New Mommy Survival Kit

This is another post for all my pregnant friends out there. 

One of my dearest friends recently gave birth and it got me feeling all nostalgic and weepy about the time we brought Echo home from the hospital. Those were some magical, exhausting, painful yet joyful days. Bringing home a baby is amazing and wonderful but the aftermath of birth can be not so fun. Here is my list of recommended products to get you through the first two weeks. In my opinion the first two weeks are the worst! After that you tend to figure out what you're doing but in the mean time you might need these survival tools.

1. Witch Hazel Pads. I really didn't think I would need these but my nurse practically insisted I try them and I was so glad I did! they are incredibly soothing on a very sensitive area of your body after you have put yourself through a lot. They sent me home with a bunch of extras and they really helped me though my healing process.

2. Gel Nursing Pads. These are a gift from God! I can't tell you how much these saved my life. Breast feeding was very painful for me at first and I ended up being really sore and chapped. I honestly don't know if I would have made it without these, they saved my life and allowed me to continue nursing even though I was in a lot of pain.

3. Some kind of E Reader. If you don't have one already, I highly recommend you get one. I took Eric's old one when he got a newer, fancier version and it is great reading while nursing. Personally, I got really bored while nursing in the beginning. It used to take Echo around 20 minutes to eat and I hated sitting there doing nothing. The E Reader is great because you can easily hold it and turn the pages all in one hand which allows you to position your baby with the other. Of course if you can get your husband to read to you that's even better. Eric always reads to me when he's home but once he went back to work and i was by myself during the day it was great to have a book in a format i could easily handle.

4. Yoga Pants. Your body takes a bit of time to get back to normal and being comfortable is really important while you heal. I lived in yoga pants for the last part of my pregnancy and soon after birth. They are as comfy as pajamas but not quite as embarrassing to wear out in public as flannel pants with bunnies on them. You may also want to pick up a pair of fat jeans at the thrift store to wear until you can fit in your old ones again.

5. Sleep Mask. I didn't actually have one of these but looking back I wish I did. You get so little sleep in the beginning and you have to take your naps where you can get them. This was really hard for me since I'm not a napper by nature. I think it would have been easier if I could have blocked out the light with a little sleep mask.

6. Netfilx. This is along the lines of the E Reader as in it's a way to entertain yourself while nursing. I would use it mainly at night when I was up for countless hours rocking and feeding my new baby. It kept me from freaking out about the fact that I wasn't in bed asleep. It's also nice for during the day when you're just too tired to do anything else. Save up a good series or two that you can watch straight through after your baby arrives, it will save your sanity.

7. Disposable Underwear. I know this sounds silly but the disposable underwear they give you at the hospital is the best stuff ever! It's not the sexiest thing ever but I have never worn a pair of panties this comfy in my life, I would wear them all the time if I could.

Your experience may be different from mine and you may have other great suggestions for things to help you adjust to your new life as a mom but these are what came in handy for me. Hopefully it will be helpful to some of you out there!

Tips for Car Travel With Baby

I have now made several long car trips with Echo and figured I would share my words of wisdom with all of you pregnant ladies and new mamas out there. In December and again in March I made the 11 hour car trip to DC with baby Echo. Here is my advice for preserving you sanity on long car rides with a wee one.

1. Budget Extra Time
This trip is going to take twice as long as you think it will. You may have been able to drive for 11 hours straight when you were in college but your baby is not going to be up for that. You'll need to make frequent stops to feed, change and exercise your baby. Echo hates being restrained in her car seat because she can't move the way she wants to. Frequent stops allow her a chance to stretch, kick and wiggle. Getting exercise during stops helps her be able to sleep while we drive for long stretches too which is easier on everyone.

2. Bring A New Toy... And An Old Toy
I hate to break it to you but your days of packing light are over. You'll need multiple extra bags to bring enough diapers, toys and clothes for your baby on the trip. I think I overpack on toys and books because I am so nervous about keeping her entertained in the car but if you want to cut down on the amount of toys you lug around try the bring a new toy, bring an old toy tip.
I found that is was helpful to bring a new toy on the car ride, or just something that Echo doesn't play with that much at home. The novelty of it really helped distract her from being miserable in her car seat.  It's also helpful to bring an old toy, something you know your child loves and something they find comforting. For Echo it's something she can chew on that will always soothe her.

3. You Are The Best Toy
Toys are great and all but nothing beats your undivided attention when it comes to entertaining your baby. So get ready to make a fool of yourself and learn some good kids songs because you will be performing for much of the car ride. On our first trip out of state Eric and I made the mistake of both trying to sit in the front seat and letting Echo ride in the back on her own. This did NOT go well. Now I always ride in the back with her so I can talk to her, sing to her, read her stories and help her play with her toys. This makes for a much smoother trip.

4. Pack Snacks!
What's a road trip without snacks right? We all love snacks and so does your baby. If your baby is too young for solids bring a bottle for him/her to sip on during the ride. If they are old enough for solids pack a little tupperware container with whatever they like. On our last trip I brought cooked peas for Echo to eat in the car. Not only does she love them but they are relatively clean for baby food and won't make a mess in the car. I also brought her sippy cup filled with water which she loves. Sometimes when all else fails food is the only way to keep a grumpy baby happy.

5. Never Wake A Sleeping Baby!
This is the cardinal rule of car travel with a baby. If thew baby is still asleep, we keep driving. There will be time to stop later when the baby is awake and screaming her head off.

I haven't tackled air travel yet with my little Echo but we plan to try that over Christmas most likely. In the mean time we will probably continue to take car trips now that we've kind of figured out how it works. I hope these tips are helpful for some of you. Maybe you will get lucky and your baby will love car rides, but keep these in mind just in case :-)

Sitting Up

Echo is growing and maturing at an astonishing rate. The period between 4 and 6 months witnesses a crazy amount of development and she is literally changing every single day! She will be 5 months next week, how the heck did that happen?

Yesterday She sat up on her own for the first time! This of course means that I put her in a sitting position and she stayed there, not that she got in a sitting position by herself. She also pushed up her front half while lying on her tummy, what they call a mini push up, for the first time yesterday. it's amazing to watch her grow so fast. It makes you realize how little time they spend as babies, I want to soak up every minute of it. I'm excited to see what other new milestones she conquer over the next few months.

Seatbelt Covers for Echo

I love love love my travel system that we got as a baby shower gift for Echo. This includes a stroller and infant car seat and it is super cute and practical. However, the one thing that bothers me about it is that right from the beginning the car seat straps rubbed against her neck and left little red marks after a car ride. I hated seeing her with those red marks (even though she didn't seem particularly bothered byt them  so I wanted to come up with something help cushion her sensitive skin from the straps. 

All it took was some scrap fleece fabric and the use of my awesome snap pliers that I got for Christmas.   I cut the fabric in to long rectangles, folded both ends under to meet in the middle, and attached snaps at the edges. 

I threw these together in literally 2 minutes because we were headed out the door so I'm sure I could have done a better job but so far they have done the trick beautifully! Now more red, irritated skin on my babies skin :-)

Sunshine Plushie

I was looking around the house yesterday and noticing how it is being overrun with Echo's toys already. It's so hard not to spoil them! I want to buy her everything in the world! What to do when you just want to keep buying cute stuff for your baby? Make it instead!

I found this wonderful tutorial from Chez Beeper Bebe (via pinterest) and decided it would be my next sewing project. I highly recommend this for beginning sewers. So easy to make and so cute! Plus my baby loves it!

I used an old tshirt for the body fabric and was able to use scraps of ribben for the sun burst so I didn't even have to buy any material.

I'm terrible at embroidery but Echo doesn't care ;-)

Echo loves to put the ribbons in her mouth

Holding it up and looking at it judiciously 

So far it seems to be a hit! I may be making these for baby shower presents in the near future :-)