Dreams

Dreams always make me think of Dali.

Recently, I have been having some pretty bizarre dreams. I'm not the kind of person that buys into dreams as premonitions, but I do think things that weigh heavily on you can leak into your dreams from your subconscious. That said, I have NO idea what these dreams were trying to say, although maybe they indicate some kind of deep seated guilt over being a stay at home mom? It's like all the most important people in my life are trying to force me into an intervention...!

The first dream was about two weeks ago. In this dream my mum calls me up and when I answer the phone she says, "GREAT NEWS! You can come live with me!" I do a double take. What is she talking about, live with her? I ask her and she reiterates, "You and Iz can live with me."

Then I realize she wants me to leave my husband to live with her and that she's got a job interview lined up for me (because obviously she makes me leave my husband and then forces me to get a job since I can't support us then.) I argue with her and tell her I'm not leaving my husband and that he is a good dad and that he tries really hard and that I didn't care about what she thought. It was horrible. She wouldn't stop railroading me and forcing her ideas on me so I started to think about moving and never letting her see Iz again. ='( Luckily I woke up from that one (about two 'dreams hours' into our fight.)

But yesterday I had another horrible dream of a similar nature. My sister sent me an e-mail chewing me out and telling me that "I really need to get over myself and go back to work" because we "couldn't afford for me to be a stay at home mom" and "I was just being selfish." It was so out of left field and horrifying I didn't know what to think of it. Mostly because she has no idea our combined household income and whether we could afford it or not and because she's just not that confrontational. At least not about something like that. She might tell me she thought I was making a mistake, but she would never ream me like that. =( Quite upsetting!

I am interested to see if I have another dream where someone else is forcing their opinions on me, though I don't know who it would be.

Ugh, dreams...! I rarely dream, and when I do, they're rarely so unsettling. Hoping for a dreamless night tonight!

9 months

Woohoo! We made it to nine months!

This little goober was 23 lbs and 3 ozs at her doctor's appointment. The doctor walked in and said, "well, I guess you're feeding her then!" =P She is still gaining about half a pound a month which would put her in 18 month clothes in about February...!

 

We had a rather productive month as well!

She is really fast on the army crawl and finally trying to stand (albeit a bit unsuccessfully.) But she will stand if she's holding on to something so I have hope that she might walk before two haha! She has clapped a few times but doesn't much care for it and she's also waved at me in context though only a few times, not with any consistency. She will also say "momma" to me which is awesome! But usually only when she really wants something -- but that's okay. ;-)

 

She is basically eating everything we eat, although she still gets 2-3 bottles a day. (Her EIGHT teeth help with that!!) Unfortunately her naps have changed a lot. Sometimes she takes a little hour nap in the morning after playing for a couple hours and while she still takes her long afternoon nap, it's more like two hours rather than three. At least she'll generally sleep until 7:30 am (even though I'd prefer 10.... haha!) But she's been going to sleep around 8:30 pm so we get a little more "us" time at night now, which is nice.

She's getting more and more bored of her toys so I try to go out every day with her, which is difficult in this rainy weather. (I'm thinking of joining some mommy groups... but anti-social me makes that a bit difficult.) But on the flip side she also gets a lot more gratification from external sources. It is so cute to me how she laughs so hard at the cats running around the house. =) She is definitely one happy, content baby!

What You Really Need Part 1: The Bare Neccessities

Okay, so I decided to make this post for those mommies to be in my life who are completely overwhelmed with the number of baby products on the market. Yes, I know, you're going to buy what you want to buy! I get it. I totally overbought because I wanted Miss Iz to have anything she could possibly ever need. But, if you want a no nonsense guide to the essentials, than please peruse these posts. =)

Okay, okay, I super stocked up...

Diapers + Wipes

This is pretty obvious. Whether you chose the cloth or disposable variety, you probably want some of these bad boys in your life. My only real advice here is if you're going disposable and you want to prepurchase (I did, we were going down to one income so I bought a pack or two every other week) then make sure you purchase from a place that will let you exchange them. (I carried 7 packs of size ones into Target to exchange... oops!)

My personal suggestion is to get the big 300+ diaper box (I procure mine from Costco.) I would get 1 box of size ones, 2 boxes of size twos, 3 boxes of size threes, and 4 boxes of size fours. You may need a few extras in there, but knowing what I know now, this is what I intend to do for baby #2. (Note: I also don't anticipate having a baby smaller than 9 lbs. So 1 box of size ones may not cut it for you, but you'll probably be getting a bunch at your baby shower anyway!)

While I think cloth diapers are lovely for those who chose to use them, I unfortunately have no advice in that arena.

As far as wipes go: some people make their own... I personally purchase them in the largest quantity available. You will never run out of these. In fact, I wish I had purchased more of them before she was born than I did. Stupidly I futzed around with those little three packs they have at the grocery store (you can see them in the picture above!) Skip that nonsense and get the most outrageously huge box you can find. Please. You won't regret it!

Okay, I had to buy some girlie stuff!

An Assortment of Onesies

Now, I recommend an assortment because you might not know which ones you like best until that little baby butt is firmly snuggled into them. I personally didn't care at all for the traditional three snap bottom variety until she was bigger and in 6 months clothes. The footsied zip-up ones were definitely the way to go for me. (Personally, I adore Carter's. They are super consistent and fit amazingly well. Her wardrobe is definitely 90% or more Carter's.)

Mohawk hair! =)

A Baby Bathtub

Okay, I'm a little more hesitant to say you need this. If you plan on co-bathing or have a sink you trust, you probably don't need this. I don't think you'd regret this purchase, though. I found it made bath time way more manageable than any other alternative so in my mind, you need this. I had the simple Fisher Price "Whale of a Tub" variety and we both loved it.

Bundled up in some light blankies. =)

Blankies

Honestly, you will probably get a million and a half of these, but more than likely they will mostly suck. I'm sorry, but the truth can sometimes hurt. I would pick up at least one pack of large muslin receiving blankets. (I personally adored Aden + Anais.) I still use these to this day. They are light, swaddle well, and wash wonderfully.

Probably the only time you'll see her full name on this blog! =P

A Place to Lay Baby Down

Whether you chose to bed share or not, it is nice to have at least a pack and play to lay baby down in because unless you have the patience of a saint, you will need to lay your baby down somewhere for at least five minutes one in a while. I personally chose to crib sleep after the first month to save my sanity and we got into a great routine very easily. Cribs don't have to be expensive! I got this lovely one off of Amazon for $150.

Snoozing in the car. =)

Carseat

At least in the US, you can't leave the hospital without one, so go ahead and get one early. You don't have to worry too much about which ones you chose, but go ahead and read the reviews and pick one you feel comfortable with and that fits your car. Just so you know, car seats do have expiration dates! And you should avoid buying them second hand because if the seat has ever been in an accident it has to be replaced and the seller might not be upfront with you about it's condition.

Personally we bought one of the snap-in seats for my husband's car and a convertible rear to forward facing for my car. So we had the best of both worlds. =)

Nursing Bra

This is obvious, if you intend to nurse. But I thought I'd throw it in anyway. (Sorry, no picture of me in one haha!) I purchased my nursing bras when I had to buy a bigger size due to all those lovely body changes pregnancy puts you through.

And that's really it! Those are all the things you absolutely need before bringing a baby home. It's really not such a daunting list. If you start with these, then you can expand out from there. Look for the next part in the series next Monday, What You Really Need Part 2: The Things You Probably Want.

The Last Three Months

Wow! A lot has happened in the last three months! I can't believe how far behind I've gotten. I guess that's what the holidays do to you. =P I've decided to rework this blog and try to post two or three times a week - likely Monday, Wednesday, and Friday - so that I don't overwhelm myself and still have interesting things to talk about. =)

Iz is really growing up so much! I can hardly believe it. She seems like a totally different person than she was three months ago. So in the spirit of updating, I'm going to post some shots of her from the last three months.

A dress my mother in law got from Dollywood for her official 6 month shots.

The most adorable little elephant that there ever was for Halloween. <3

Her official 7 month photos - I adore her expression!

Enjoying turkey on Thanksgiving!

My little Christmas elf.

 

She was having a great time!

5 months!

She is starting to look so much more like me as a baby. =P

I'm not precisely sure why I'm posting this because in another week or two I'm going to be posting a six month update... but here goes! ;-)

Honestly, we didn't make many big developmental milestones this month. Miss Iz did laugh for the first time, though! Which made me super duper happy. =) There were only a few little giggles there toward the end of the month, but it was definitely a sign of things to come. :D

She was also getting more and more steady sitting up (although she still can't sit up on her own) and her hand-eye coordination was getting better every day.

Towards the end of the month I had to switch to half and half breast feeding and formula feeding, which was a little bit of a blow to my self confidence, but she made the switch really easily.

Aaaand that's about all I got. But the next month she made all kinds of strides I can't wait to tell you about. ;-)