Calendar Girl - Three Months

Um, hi.  This girl is about to be four months old.  'Bout time I put the 3 month post up, huh?

Last month I was saying that Ruby usually would take a morning nap not too long after she woke, and then another nap in the afternoon.

Let's just say that month three was where she earned her nickname, "Little Miss No-Naps".

That meant that this was another pretty grouchy month.  Funnily enough, I didn't take any crying pictures this time!   But seriously, she acts tired.  She needs naps.  But she does not want to take them.  In fact, she'll just smile and act all happy to see you when you go into her room to try to get her to go to sleep.  Sigh.

She did drop her early morning (6am-ish) feed though.  So at three months, Ruby was only waking once a night.  

No doctor appointment this month.  She gained 2 pounds last month, but I honestly don't think she's gained as much.  So maybe she's as much as 12lbs?  Her 0-3 clothes fit her with room, and she still fits the Circo brand newborn size.  She IS wearing all of her one-size cloth diapers now.  Yay!  They're a bit bulky on her because she is so small, but it's fun to have colors and prints and match her outfits to her diapers.

She still hates her car seat, bouncy seat, swing, and pretty much being put down.  She wants to be held and moving, but not snuggling.  Her Beco fits her much better now, though, which makes going to the store a lot easier.

She still likes music, smiling, taking strolls around the neighborhood, reading books, baths, and bouncing on the yoga ball.  She's starting to like her rattles and this dragonfly toy that was her cousin Frankie's.  She also is pretty interested in her baby-buddies.  This month we've ventured out with other mommies/babies from our parent-baby class.  It's pretty funny to see the babies check each other out!  And who am I kidding, the mommies need it too.  I've also noticed that Ruby seems to have her good days when we are out and about like that. 

She has decided she has absolutely no tolerance for tummy time.  Which isn't helping her flat head.  I can prop her on the Boppy and maybe get a couple minutes out of her, but pretty much she cries instantly.  It's a point of consternation for me.  How will she learn to roll???  She did it at 1.5months, but hasn't done it again.  We attempt tummy time multiple times a day, but she is just not liking it at all. =(

Finally, I couldn't write the 3 month post without talking about her hands.  She has definitely found them.  They go in the mouth now.  She's also figured out that she can make them do stuff.  She punched her frog toy and bats at stuff.  My mom was over one day and watched Ruby stare at her hand, turn it over, then slowly (as she was watching it) put it into her mouth.  Mom said, "That was a pretty cool little event to witness.  You could see her little brain making a connection."  To true, she's figuring stuff like that out all the time now!

Last month I said it felt like she was turning into a real baby.  She definitely is now.  Every day it seems she's more interactive, or can do a new tiny thing.  It was weird to go to baby class with an almost 3 month old.  She was the big kid, and I knew the answers to the other moms' questions. 

Look at that concentration.

This mom thing, I am figuring it out.

Nostalgia

I just realized that today is August 30th.  Last year, August 30th was the first day of school.  It was a dramatic morning.

After several abysmal SAs, our RE had referred Keith to a reproductive urologist.  It took six weeks to get the appointment, and the only one they'd give us was at 8:00am on the first day of school.  I was bummed I couldn't go.

Anyway, we both left the house at the same time, since we both had to arrive at our destinations at 8.  The doctor was actually right down the street from my work, so Keith and I were taking the same route.  On I-90 my phone rang.  It was Keith.  His car wouldn't accelerate when he stepped on the gas.  Crap.

We both got off at the next exit in a panic.  Neither one of us could be late!  We ended up leaving his car in the parking lot of a business complex (it barely made it) with a note on it, hoping it wouldn't be towed.  Keith got in my car and we sped off to school.  He dropped me off and hustled to the appointment we'd waited so long to get.

Little did we know, he didn't even need it.  I was already pregnant with this little lady:

She was so tiny!

Oh, and the car?  I don't even remember what all was wrong with it, but it cost us $2100 to fix.  And the urologist cost us $800.  I'm so grateful that I spent this August 30th uneventfully with my girl!

It is Overwhelming...

...how much I love this girl.

Lions, and Tigers, and - Oh Wait, Just Bears

This little lady and I took a walk tonight.

She looks a little grouchy because I actually had to wake her up from a nap to go (which I would not normally wake a sleeping baby, but her daddy was at a fantasy football draft and the dog needed a walk).

So we mixed up our usual route, and decided that we'd go down a path that has been blocked off for construction, since we'd need to turn around and go back the way we came anyway to use the crosswalk with a light.  There's another one closer to our house, but I'm too scared to use it without Keith to walk ahead of the stroller.  Call me crazy, but it freaks me out.

Anyway, because of our detour, we took a path that we hadn't for a couple of weeks.  And on it, I am certain we saw bear poo.  BEAR POO.

Did I mention I'm scared of bears?  Especially out there all alone with my dog and baby?  Yeah, I'm scared of bears.

See, there really have been bears in our neighborhood.  These signs are on most of the mailboxes around here:

Aaaand, my paranoia might be fueled by the fact that I actually ran into a real, live bear.

No, it wasn't today (thank goodness, I probably would have died of a heart attack, with Ruby being with me!).  It was about three years ago.  Braidy had decided that she needed to go out at around 10:30pm.  Our townhouse has no yard, which meant taking her for a walk.  Keith was being lazy, so he made me go.  I decided to just take her on a quick loop around the park by our house.

We were almost back to our street.  I was looking down at the sidewalk, and noticed Braidy stop and stiffen up.  I looked up in what seemed like slow motion.  I noticed big, dark, furry legs, and I remember thinking, "Why is the neighbor's dog in the street?"  My gaze continued up with confusion, and then I realized.  That was not the neighbor's dog at all.  That was a big black bear. 

Braidy was frozen, staring at it, and it was staring at us.  There was maybe 30 feet between us?  I couldn't decide if I wanted her to bark, or to keep very quiet.  I couldn't remember what to do when you see a bear either.  Was I supposed to make noise?  Keep quiet?  Make eye contact?  Don't make eye contact?  All I knew was that I wanted to go home.  Except to go home, I'd have to walk toward the bear, then turn my back to it to go down my street.  So I just stood there, staring, paralyzed.

Eventually the bear stopped staring at us and lumbered the rest of the way across the street and into a thicket.  Braids and I hustled our buns (she hadn't barked at all, and I decided I was really thankful) down the street.  We topped a little rise in the road, and could see Keith standing on our balcony.  I started yelling, "Bear!  Bear!  We just ran into a bear!" and he was yelling, "Get in the house, now!!!"  I'd left the garage door open when we took our walk, and was, of course, terrified that there was a bear in our garage too.  There wasn't.  That bear was just too darn close though.  

We saw a bear, maybe the same one, several more times out our window at night digging through the neighbors' garbage cans.  I later saw one run past my classroom window (3 miles away).  So seeing the bear poo today, well, it brought back some memories.  I feel bad for the bears because our neighborhood is constantly expanding, but man, I do not want to run into one ever again!

Week in iPhone Pictures

Another week down, and it was a good one!  Friday was the only day we stayed home (aside from a trip to Target).  Speaking of Target - we went because I had to pick up a prescription.  I was in line behind one person, when I heard, "Jennifer?".  Yeah, it was one of the pharmacy cashiers with my prescription in her hand.  She had recognized me, and had it ready before I even said a word.  Errrr, I guess I take too many drugs?  

August 19-25

Sunday:  Um, yeah, I had to unpack my car before we could venture anywhere - the day before I scored an awesome deal on an exersaucer and a jumperoo for my girl!  We "ventured" to Starbucks so Ruby could get some snuggles from Sara.  Playing with links is lots of fun.  Monday:  Buckled in so we could head to our Chipotle lunch date with my (sadly, former) coworker, Nathan.  A three hour nap.  Our regular evening stroll.  Tuesday:  First night without the swaddle = success!!!  Cheesing at her little buddy during music class.  She kicked the water with her foot the whole time.

Wednesday:  Breakfast (I wasn't sure I liked TJ's "cookie butter", but I can't stop eating it...).  She was really interested in what Christine had to say at baby class.  Lucky girl got some new clothes from her great-aunts.  Thursday:  Picnicking in the park on our bright red (scarlet) Ohio State blanket.  Cow diaper!  Friday:  Those crazy feet are getting closer and closer to her mouth...  Saturday:  Tolerating the swing so mommy can get ready.  Midday stroll this time.  Driving to dinner (Keith's cousin is in town, so I rode in the back with her.  She didn't know what to think about that).

Linking up with Amy, of course!

Perspective

Yesterday at baby class Christine, our facilitator, asked how many teachers were in the room. A good bunch of us raised our hands. Many of the mamas will be going back to school next week, and will be leaving their babies. Of course, it's causing a lot of anxiety.

Then Christine said, "Now you understand why moms cry on the first day of school, huh? That mom that drives you crazy, sending multiple emails a day? I bet you can relate to her now. "

I may not be going back to my classroom on Monday, but boy did what she say hit home. I think I was a good teacher before, but I think I'll be an even better one when I go back, now that I am Ruby's mom.

Yesterday I also had to go to school and pack up my belongings that had been left in my classroom. It was hard, and it made me sad. But both experiences made me so grateful to be able to stay home this year with my girl. I know it will be all too soon that I am the mom sending the emails.

Week in iPhone Pictures

I have to say, I am really enjoying doing these each week!  Thinking about how I'll be compiling the pictures at the end of the week is starting to make me more intentional about taking pictures, and it's nice to have a little photo-diary!

August 12-18

Sunday:  We went out to breakfast with Grandpa Dale and Grandma Paulette (my dad & stepmom) and someone fell asleep at the table.  It was a good day for tummy time, and can I just say that I'm so excited that she got Keith's blue eyes?!  Monday:  Woke up on the wrong side of the crib.  Aaaand this picture pretty much summed up the whole day. *sigh*  I caved and got a caffeinated beverage from Subway on our walk.  When we got home, my free Bamboobies were in the mailbox, yay!  Tuesday:  Music class wiped her out again.  We made a brief visit to Daddy's softball game before bedtime.  I got my craft on and made Ruby a cute new headband (thanks to this tutorial).

Wednesday:  I hate hate hate hate the I-90/I-405 interchange - we sat there unmoving for ever.  Chewing on her fingers while listening to Christine in baby class.  We went through the car wash.  I'm ashamed to say that it's the first one my car has had since before Ruby was born!!!  Thursday:  Not really wanting to hang out with Daddy...  I guess she just wanted to chew on her fingers some more.  This is the look you get when you say the word "want" around Braidy.  Friday:  Yes, that says 106 degrees (and yes, it's in drive, but no, I wasn't driving).  Saturday:  "Oooooh".  And, you guessed it, more finger sucking on our walk.

That last picture totally cracks me up.  It's hard to tell with it being so small, but she has her two middle fingers in her mouth.  My little brother sucked his two middle fingers until he was in preschool, so I had to ask her if Uncle Tony taught her that!

Good Morning!

I'm cheating a little bit, this picture is from yesterday morning.  Still, look at what we found when Toots "told" us she was up!  The top of the blanket was actually over her face.  Thank goodness she was smart enough to squawk over the monitor so we'd come in and rescue her!

I have no clue how she managed to do this, but it's safe to say I was pretty maniacal about swaddling her good and tight last night! 

Embrace the Camera

So...  Ruby and I had a little fun with the reverse camera on the iPhone.  She actually noticed what was going on and was veeeeery interested in that little screen as we were taking pictures.  I'm not sure if I should be amused or worried...

We embraced.  Did you?

Hallelujah!

Somebody slept from 7:30pm-5:30am.  AND she took a 1.5 hour nap in the afternoon yesterday, and then another one that I didn't time because she fell asleep on me after nursing and didn't even wake when I wrestled my boob back from her.  I am now firmly in the sleep begets sleep camp.

Oh, also?  I put her back in her crib after nursing (so I could shower) and she is still there:

I have showered, gotten dressed, put on makeup, and eaten breakfast.  Oh!  And loaded the dishwasher. I'm probably jinxing myself by posting this, but I am too excited!  Now I better dry/straighten my hair before she wakes up (they make the 3-6 monthers have class at 9:30am, cruel)!

TGI Bedtime

The above picture pretty much sums up my day.  

Braidy went into the nursery and peed RIGHT next to the crib, RIGHT next to where Ruby's head was. She must've done it right before Ruby woke up (or maybe she woke her up, she did get up about an hour earlier than she usually does).  When I went in to get her, I could smell it right away and see the spot on the carpet in the semi-darkness.

I'm still pissed about it (no pun intended).  I'm extra pissed because she also peed on our bed earlier in the evening.  She's been doing this on occasion since Ruby was born, so we don't let her up on the bed anymore.  Keith decided he wanted to snuggle her, so he let her up for maybe five minutes.  Then he asked her to get down, and what do you know?  Wet spot on the bed.  Cue the midnight comforter washing.

I sent Keith into Ruby's room while I fed her to clean up the pee on the carpet.  He didn't want to use chemicals on it if we were going to put her back in there, so he sopped it up as best he could, then we put the fan so it was blowing any potential pee-smell toward the open window.  Who knows if this was the right thing to do, but we'd just packed the bassinet away earlier that day, and I don't really trust Keith to have her bedshare with us.  I did put her at the opposite end of the crib though.

I think the new position messed her up (maybe?) and she woke up just two hours later.  So... it was 5-something in the morning.  At that point Keith was about to get up (once I was done feeding her), so I just kept her in bed with me.  Guess what?  She never went back to sleep.

She didn't take any naps either.  I'm not kidding, NO naps.  Ok, well, I guess she did sleep about 10 minutes in the stroller this afternoon, but that is it.  So that picture above?  Yeah, that was her.  ALL DAY.  All day unless she was nursing.  So I nursed her a lot.  Hey, it worked and she didn't protest.

Tonight we did our normal bedtime routine (vitamins, lotion, diaper/pjs, swaddle, then nurse).  She fell asleep nursing like she always does, and unlatched herself.  I carried her off to bed, set her down in the crib, and BAM.  Eyes open.

I couldn't handle it, I sent Keith in there to put her back to sleep.  It took him a while.  Then, not too long after, she woke, crying hard.  She never wakes up crying.  In fact usually when she wakes, she makes just enough noise for us to know to come get her.  But this was loud crying.  Keith went back in again, got her back to sleep, put her in the crib, then eyes opened.

They shut again right after, though, and he retreated back to our room.  So here I sit, fingers crossed that she sleeps off her funk (she's not sick and doesn't have a fever for the record).  I don't know that I can take another day full of screaming like that.

Mind Dump

I kind of abandoned the ol' blog this week.  Oops!  We actually had stuff to do!  Anyway, this will just be a post of randomness.

I'm watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, and I'm really bummed out about it.  I really enjoyed these games (I always do, but I liked them being in London).  Four years seems like too long to wait for another.

Related to that, we celebrated Braidy's "birthday" this week.  Four years ago Keith brought her home from the shelter.  It was 8/8/08, and we watched the opening ceremony of the Beijing games with out brand-new-to-us doggie.

I LOVE summer.  I like the sun, and being tan, and enjoying the outdoors.  We rarely get summer in Washington, so when it happens, I usually embrace it.  This year though, we've been kind of stuck inside.  It has been record-breaking heat around here, which you can't really take an infant out in.  It's not like I can lay by a pool with her, right?  Oh well.

The other crappy thing about heat?  Ok, actually there's two.  First, Keith keeps the fan pointed at our pillows.  It completely dries my contacts out and gives me a headache every day because my eyes hurt so bad.  I ask him to move it so it's not in our faces, but it is a constant fight and I just don't understand why he'd rather have his head cool than his wife free of pain.  The other one is: nursing.  When it's hot as Hades out, you get really sweaty with that tiny little hotbox pressed up against you all throughout the day.

I mentioned in my week in iphone pictures post that we were pretty busy this week.  Tuesday is our usual baby class day, but for August we're going on Wednesdays.  That's because Tuesday mornings we are taking a Kindermusik class.  Thanks to our baby class, we got a coupon for a month free of classes!  In the summer they do month-long camps, so we get a free camp.  I wasn't sure what I'd think of it, but it turns out it's pretty fun.  Ruby was alert and attentive the whole time.  And then she napped when we got home.  It's a win.  Plus, there are two ladies (and their babies) in our class that we took hypnobirthing with.  A nice surprise.

Wednesday, not only were we going to class on a different day, but we've also moved up to the "big girl class".  That's right, the 3-6 month class.  Ruby was the youngest baby in there.  Those other babies are so big!  It was neat though, I can see what she has in store.  It was also freaky because all of the mommies were talking about sleep regression and teeth.  Eek.  Also, the Wednesday class is facilitated by a different person than my beloved Tuesday lady (who has been out of town anyway, in London of all places, lucky!).  Fortunately, I really liked this other facilitator.  She went off on a rant about how parent-centric our culture's parenting style is, and how ridiculous that is, which I was totally digging.  The only boo is that big girl class is at 9:30am, instead of the more reasonable 12:30 that the 0-3 class is at.

Thursday I conquered my fears of being trapped in one seat with my active baby for 2+ hours, and went to the movies.  The fancy theater here does mommy matinees on Thursday mornings.  They don't turn the lights all the way off, and turn the sound down.  Babies and strollers and noise and all that is welcome.  Plus, they give you a menu for the concession stand and a "waiter" takes your order and brings it to you!  Nice!  Even better, Ruby did great!  She nursed/slept/sleep-nursed most of the time.  And I got to see Ruby Sparks, so, yay.  A bunch of us ladies and babies from our baby class all went together.  It made me feel like a real human.  And afterward we went to lunch at this health food cafe where I had the most delicious quinoa salad.  Ruby was so tired from our whirlwind of a week, she fell asleep in the middle of our bed at 6 that night.

We were totally lazy on Friday, which meant I wanted to get out of the house on Saturday.  Ruby seems to do better when we get out too.  So we decided to go to this small-town festival nearby.  Yeah, it sucked, aside from the elephant ear we ate.  There was an insanely loud band, a ton of ill-behaved teenagers, and a woman who stole our elephant ear so we had to wait for them to make another.  Boo.

This is a really long post.

I use too many commas, but I can't stop.

In a moment of nostalgia, Keith bought Drumsticks at the store and I want one.

Finally, those pictures above are of Ruby rocking out the tummy time today on her Boppy.  Ruby really hates tummy time which makes me so stressed out because of the flat spot on her head.  I hold her a ton, but I really want her to like tummy time so we can do it a lot and she can learn to roll over!  Today was a step in the right direction.  Both Keith and I got some really good, long sessions out of her with no tears. Keep it up little girl!

Ok, that's enough, yes?

Week in iPhone Pictures

August 5-11

Sunday:  Naps only happen on Mommy these days...  My happy girl!  It was so hot, it the entire jar of coconut oil (that we use as diaper cream) melted.  That red number is hard to see, but it says 85.  As in, degrees.  In the nursery at about 11pm.  Monday:  Midriff exposure is a regular thing now.  Sitting up on the bed like a big girl (don't tell Keith, we were watching the equestrian events of the Olympics).  Tuesday:  Somebody woke up very early, so she had to watch me get ready.  We found a snail when we let Braidy out.  Exhausted after her first day of Kindermusik.

Wednesday:  Ruby was eyeing her buddy at baby class.  Thursday:  All buckled in and ready to go to the mommy-matinee.  Stylin'.  Fell asleep on her own in the middle of our bed.  She was pooped from all of her social obligations this week.  Friday:  Hangin' out in pjs, playing with links.  Getting ready for ni-nights.  Saturday:  An outfit that fell victim to spit-up.  Replacement outfit, ready to go to a local little town fair.  Mom-bellies make good recliners.

Linking up with Amy, wondering if she's had that baby yet!

Week in iPhone Pictures

July 29-August 4

Sunday:  Chewing on her hand (of course) while sitting on Grandma's lap at breakfast.  A little floor time on the softest blanket ever.  The Olympics!  Swimming is my favorite!  Monday:  Nap refusal.  We had a lot of change to take to the Coinstar.  Tuesday:  Oh, you know, just chillin' in a diaper, sans sock.  OMG, a frog!!!  PUNCH!  Anniversary flowers.

Wednesday:  Somebody chicken-winged herself...  Loungin' in the Boppy.  Practicing some neck strength.  The only way she'd take a nap.  Thursday:  Tummy time.  Morning smiles.  Neighborhood stroll (I love that her Wubbanub makes her look like she has a handlebar mustache).  More baby strength-training.  Excited about walk #2 for the day.

Friday:  Watching the women's gymnastics all-around at 3am while nursing.  Nap strike = having to lay on the bathroom floor (yes, my bathroom has carpet, ugh) while mommy dries her hair.  Nap strike ended, only after laying swaddled in mommy's bed for 30 min (but then I got a nap too!).  First softball game.  Snuggling daddy instead of watching the game.  Saturday:  Summer finally came, which meant diaper-only naps.  Determined to chew on her dress.  A far off blue heron on our walk.  The diaper fairy (UPS man) came to deliver a new diaper!

Linking up to Amy today!  Go see what everybody else caught with their phones!

Damn You, P & G

We've been watching a lot of tv in our house this week.  It's ok though, because it's been 100% Olympics.  I LOVE the Olympics.  When I was young, we'd watch it, and for weeks I'd try to do handstands and splits like the gymnasts.  Then I went to high school and joined the swim team (I was a back stroker), so I loooove watching the swimming.  It takes me back.

What's NOT good about all this tv watching, is this commercial:

It (and its many offshoots, this is the long one) make me cry EVERY TIME.  Seriously, just now when I went to YouTube to find it, I was watching it without the sound and I still cried.  It makes me think to the future.  Whatever Ruby wants to do, I will totally be there for her.  I see myself in the bleachers somewhere cheering and wanting to give her a hug, no matter the outcome of her endeavors.  Being a mom changes you in so many ways, and putting that little person first is one of the biggest ones.

And now I'm crying again.

And, yes, I do cry at the Pamper's little miracle commercial too.

Things Loved 0-3 Months

On Saturday my baby will turn 3 months old...  Where has the time gone???

Because my mind is like a sieve, I wanted to record our favorite things from this time in her life.  In case, you know, any other babies come along and I can't remember my own name, let alone what baby gear we liked.  Something about motherhood, seriously, it makes your brain turn to mush.

I did a LOT of research on baby gear while I was pregnant.  I carefully selected pretty much everything we bought, and there really isn't much that I don't like.  So without further ado, here's my things loved, 0-3 month edition.

1.) Aden & Anais Swaddling Blankets.  Ruby doesn't really sleep without being swaddled.  She fights it like a champ, and there are (many) times where she gets an arm (or a leg?!) out, but these things are seriously the best.  We have several other swaddling contraptions that are supposed to make your life easier, but she hates them.  Plus, these are so cute.  I get compliments on the star print all the time.

2.) Homedics Mini White Noise Machine.  After we brought Ruby home from the hospital after her jaundice episode. we realized that she'd been sitting in a bassinet that made a constant humming sound.  And she liked it.  After Keith spent a night in the bathroom with the fan running, we knew we needed a white noise machine.  This one was only $10 at Target, and has 4 sounds: heartbeat, ocean, white noise, and rain.  I prefer the rain.  It eats batteries like nobody's business, though, which is a major drawback.

3.) Chicco Keyfit 30.  Did you know that Chicco is pronounce "key co"?  Yeah, I didn't either, until very recently.  Anyway, Ruby doesn't love being in the car seat, but she should because this one is pretty great.  It is SO easy to use and install.  Being the safety-conscious mommy that I am, I wanted her seat to be in the center of the car.  My car only has LATCH on the outboard seats, but I could safely install the base in the center and it took about 2 seconds.  The seat is quite user-friendly.  It is quite stylish in the "Limonata" color (another thing I get compliments on), and I liked that it fit her when she was under 6lbs.

4.) Beco Butterfly II.  Since my baby decided she hates her car seat, this baby carrier has saved my life.  Or, you know, my sanity.  I will admit, it took me a bit to figure out how to use it because the instructional DVD only shows the newborn carry with baby's legs spread out.  But once I learned to "froggy" her legs in there, we've been golden.  Plus, now I have two hands free to hold a basket or a shopping cart.  The Beco also has an inner panel that will make it so I can wear her on my back and put her on by myself when she's bigger, which will be SO handy.  I bought it on a daily deal site for only $60.  Nice!

5.) Wubbanubs.  I was pretty anti-paci at first.  I kind of still am, BUT since Ruby has decided she hates riding in the car, these really help.  Because it has the little animal attached, I can reach back into her car seat while she's screaming (and I'm driving), find it easily, and put it back in her mouth.  I also like that it won't fall out of the Beco when she spits it out while I'm wearing her.  They come in lots of animals (I wanted the pony, Keith said no, so we compromised with a long horn bull, lol - it's quite the conversation starter) and is worth the $13.

6.) Baby Jogger City Mini.  This might be my favorite piece of baby gear.  It's also the first "big" baby thing we bought.  We were both suckers for the purple, and I was worried it would be discontinued so we actually bought it before we found out Ruby was a girl and decided we were ok with purple for a boy.  I LOVE this thing.  It reclines all the way, so we can use it now, and has a huge sunshade so I can use it now, in the summer, without having to worry about her getting burned.  She likes the two peepholes in the top, too.  I like that it is super light, and folds up with one hand.  We got a "parent console" so almost every day I load it up with a drink, a burpie, dog poo bags, and my phone and off we go for a 1-2 mile walk around the neighborhood.

7.) Motorola MPB33 Video Monitor.  This thing is fantastic.  Ruby has slept in her crib since around 6 weeks.  I am totally a paranoid first time mom, though, and need to check on her constantly.  This thing limits my obsessiveness quite a lot!  I can see that she's fine, or that she's making noises but isn't really awake.  The battery in the parent unit seems to last a long time, too.  It doesn't interfere with our wifi either, which I'd read was a downfall of many other video monitors.

8.) Baby Kaed Shanti Diaper Bag.  I knew I'd need a bigger diaper bag.  I also knew I didn't want it to scream "diaper bag!".  The ones I'd been eyeing were $200-300.  I didn't really want to spend that much.  Enter this bag!  I had signed up for MyHabit, an Amazon daily deal site.  One night, I was sitting on my couch holding my phone and got an email.  It was a MyHabit flash diaper bag sale.  I decided to make a quick decision and scored this bag for $27.  It originally retails for $145 (although now it looks like you can only get it in blue, and for $117 - maybe they aren't making this style anymore?  sad).  I get a lot of compliments on this, too.

9.) iPhone 4.  I don't know what I'd do without this thing.  I spend a LOT of time nursing.  Ruby's not the best conversationalist while eating, so my phone entertains me.  I also got a baby app (Total Baby) when we got home from the hospital to keep track of diapers and feedings.  I still use it now, it is so helpful.

10.) Cloth Diapers.  Ok, I take it back.  THIS is my number 1 favorite baby product.  I knew I wanted to go cloth before I was even pregnant.  I spent tons of hours in the 14 months it took us to conceive researching cloth.  Once pregnant, I compiled a newborn stash of Green Mountain prefolds, covers (Proraps, Thirsties, Bummis Super Brites), Lil Joeys, and Kissaluvs 0 fitteds.  She wore her NB diapers for over two months, and we never once had a diaper blowout.  Poop never got on clothes.  She doesn't get rashes, and her fluffy bum looks so cute.  She now fits into our one-size stash of Bum Genius (Elementals, 4.0s, and Freetimes), Tots Bots Easy Fits, OhKaty!, Blueberries, KaWaii, Thirsties AIO, Rumparooz, and fitteds (Bububebe, Goodmama, Old School Cool).  I love them all.  And I just ordered a Swaddlebees that I am just itching to try.  OMG laundry, poop in washer!  No.  Laundry is not a big deal.  None of our stuff has poop on it.  It is so so so easy to do, and I love that we don't have to spend all our dollars on nasty, smelly, chemical-filled disposables.

11.) Carter's Onesies.  I like Carter's.  The quality is good, you can find it anywhere, and while there are a bunch of items that have cartoony animals on them (I can't stand that crap), there are a lot that don't.  Ruby is long and skinny.  Carter's onesies are long and skinny.  As much as I like Gap and Old Navy, their onesies are short and wide.  That just doesn't work on my kid (especially with the above-mentioned cloth diapers).

12.) Yoga Ball.  I bought this when I was pregnant and could no longer easily get up and down off the floor.  I needed something comfy to sit on at work, and as a bonus, I'd heard that bouncing on a yoga ball can help baby put pressure on your ladyparts, getting things ready for labor.  I needed all the help I could get, since there was a possibility I'd need to be induced early.  We kept the ball inflated at home, and one night during some extreme fussiness, decided to bounce Ruby on it.  It worked like a charm.  Ever since then, the ball has lived in her room (Keith is actually sitting on it with her right this minute) and is usually the only thing (besides nursing) that will soothe her when she is being a total grouchbaby.  My thighs and core will thank her later, I'm sure.

13.) Sassy Look Book.  We call this her "crack book" because when she looks at it, it totally cracks her out.  Basically, it's just a soft foam book that has black and white graphics on each page.  Babies love that stuff.  She is no exception.  As soon as we hold it up, she gets all intense and concentrates really hard on the page (her favorite is the white page with the black squares).  It's apparently supposed to be a photo album too, so I guess when she gets tired of being cracked out from black and white images we can put some pictures in there for her.

14.) Trumpette Socks.  Ruby has tiny feet.  At (almost) three months old, not only can she not wear 0-3 shoes, she can't even wear newborn sized shoes!  I guess I really shouldn't have bought her those 0-3 flip flops after all.  She'll fit into them in, oh, November.  Anyway, because she's got freakishly small feet, socks don't stay on them.  Except for these.  These ones stay on.  AND they're cute.  I wish I had more, but they are ridiculously expensive.  I got these on MyHabit though, so I didn't pay that much.  I hear that normal-footed babies have trouble keeping socks on too, so I'd recommend them to anyone.

So there you have it.  My things loved for baby 0-3 months.  Can I believe we've survived three months of parenthood?  Hardly.  Even more unbelievable is that my little girl is three months old already (sob!).

Happy Anniversary?

Yesterday was our anniversary.  Two years ago we became Mr. & Mrs. G.

Keith hates this picture because he thinks my earring looks like a giant booger coming out of his nose.  Whatever, I like it.

We are not big-deal anniversary type of people.  In fact, and I know this is sad, I don't remember what we did last year to celebrate (wow, that is really sad!).  Add a new baby to the mix, and my expectations for anniversary celebration are low.  Which I am fine with.

Yesterday, Ruby and I went to our parent-baby class, which kind of ends up being an all-day event with getting ready and driving and traffic, etc.  Keith had been pestering me to think of what I wanted to do for the evening.  He wanted to go out to eat, but he can't really go out to eat.  He has Meniere's Disease, and is on a doctor-ordered very very low sodium diet to control the symptoms.  So that pretty much rules out all restaurant food.   And what did I want to do?  I wanted to go to Verizon and merge our phones into a family plan, since we'd never done it, and seeing as how I'm now unemployed, I thought now was a pretty good time.  I know, I'm so exciting.


Keith left work early, so he actually beat Rubes and I home.  She was pretty cranky by the time we got there and wanted to eat (did I mention the traffic?), so that was going to be the first thing on my agenda.  I walked in and Keith was furiously cleaning.  We have no idea why, but for some reason while I was gone our dog, Braidy, peed, pooped, and barfed all over the living room.  Awesome.  I have a pretty weak stomach for stuff like that, so I got the baby out of the car seat and retreated upstairs to nurse her away from the nastiness.

Keith came upstairs a bit later, and again asked what I wanted to do.  I told him I wanted to go to Verizon (lol).  He said ok, but then lets go to get dinner after.  That was fine with me, I mean it was our anniversary.  We left right then, because Ruby likes to go to bed at 7:30 and if she's up later, she is a total monster and really hard to get to sleep (even though she is totally tired).

So we went to Verizon and they told us it would be a 20 minute wait.  Ugh.  I don't think it actually was that long, but we had to play around on the iPads and stuff to entertain ourselves.  Ruby, however, was not entertained and was starting to fuss.  They finally called our name and the guy started the process, then told us the system that does it had been down all day, so he wasn't sure if it would work.  Ooookay...  Then Ruby puked all over me and her.  Keith tried to clean us up the best he could, while answering the guy's questions.  Ruby decided that would be a good time to start screaming.  Yay!  I took her to the car and told Keith to get me if they needed me.


After what felt like a long time, Keith came out and told me it didn't work because the system was still down.  The guy gave him some 1-800 number to call to do it.  Whatever.  Ruby was still totally grouching, so we debated not getting dinner.  We were all cranky at this point and needed to eat, so we decided to just go.  Ruby didn't want her pacifier at ALL in the car, but I managed to calm her down by letting her suck on my finger and she ended up going to sleep.  YES.

When we got to the restaurant she was still sleeping.  Every time the waitress would come by and speak (loudly), she'd open her eyes, but Keith was having pretty good success with the finger-sucking trick.  He ordered plain steak and plain vegetables so he could actually eat something.  By the time the food came out, Ruby was awake and starting to get grouchy again.  I was debating nursing her because she probably was starting to get hungry, but we ended up eating the fastest dinner we'd ever eaten and getting out of there.  Keith had suggested getting dessert to go, I suggested getting Blizzards because we were right near a DQ (and we are never near one, yet always want them).

We got back into the car, and of course, Ruby was screaming again.  Keith said he'd go in and get our Blizzards in case I needed to nurse her in the car.  I thought we'd be ok, but then she totally freaked out so into the back seat I went and started to nurse.  Five minutes later, Keith came back.  Ruby was all distracted and kept unlatching, so finally we decided just to put her back in her seat and finish feeding her at home.

We got onto I-90, drove maybe a mile, then everything came to a complete stop.  Yeah.  There was not one, but TWO accidents.  Traffic was a complete nightmare.  Did I mention Ruby hates the car seat?  She was screaming and there was nothing we could do.

We finally got home and I started getting her ready for bed.  As soon as I put her pjs on, she puked all over herself.  I grabbed another pair and her swaddle and took her into our room.  I changed her, then asked Keith to watch her so I could go to the bathroom.  In the two minutes I was gone, she totally freaked out (she'd been fine since we got out of the car), and then puked all over herself again!  So she got another pj change, I finally swaddled her up, nursed her, and she was out like a light.  PHEW.

Then I got on Facebook and instantly got spoiled as to how the women's gymnastics team final ended up.  Thanks a lot, east coast friends.  I ended up falling asleep right after that anyway.

So... yeah.  Not the most romantic anniversary ever.  That's ok though.  It's been quite a couple of years as a married couple.  Some people might say it feels like yesterday, but me?  I feel like we've been married forever.  Love you Mr. G!