Dog Crazy, courtesy of Etsy

After months and months of planning our nursery and online searches for all things baby, I am broadening my interests yet again.  For some reason, I'm kind of obsessed with our walls again, and trying to make our home feel a bit more "complete."  We still have pretty bare walls.  Granted, we have a lot more on them than when we first started out, but we still have a lot of bare spots.  We are having family pictures (and Logan's 6 month pics) taken this weekend (yay!!) -- so we should have some good shots for the living room walls. So now on to the point of this posting....  We are obviously pretty crazy about dogs given that we have two big, sweet, slobbery smoochers with us at all times.  I found these whimsical prints on Etsy, and I am thinking about getting one or two for our kid bathroom, or maybe even the laundry room.  I think they are just so cute! 

 Link for all of the prints above

 Link for the two above

 Link

And while I was searching for all things "labrador" on Etsy, I found these too....soooo cute:

 Link

Link

Yay fall...

Fall is definitely here, and I am loving the weather we've been having!  It's been bright and sunny, but the temperatures are nice and mild.  Yesterday Logan and I went for an hour run around a nearby lake, and it was just beautiful.  The breeze felt great, the sun was gorgeous (but not too hot), and there was a slight crispness in the air that makes for a great run.  Here are a few more things that make me excited for this new season:

Apple picking!!  I haven't gone in a few years, but I hope to go this year.  PLUS I am loving that Honeycrisp apples are back at the grocery store!

 Changing colors!!

 Football!!  College or pro, I love watching both!  SB is a UGA fan, so that is typically our team of choice.  I'm a Duke alum, and happily they've given us a few big wins this season already!  (and I'm from Madison, WI -- so the Badgers are always a fave too)

 

Pumpkin picking!  Hay rides!  I've never done either before, but I'm hoping to change that this year.

 

Pumpkin anything!!!  (but especially pumpkin bars with cream cheese icing)

 

Sweater weather!  Just bought this beauty at J.Crew this past weekend.  The color is gorgeous, and it's a wool/cashmere mix.  It feels divine (and the price is waaaay better than 100% cashmere)!

 

 

Jack-o-lanterns!  Halloween in general!  Logan is all set with his first Halloween costume ever.  He is so cute in it.  Of course I bought it like 3 months ago....another sign of a first time mom! (Let's hope he still fits into it!)

Warm lattes...mmmm (skinny, decaf until I'm done nursing)

Official Suburban Mommy Status

That's right, as of this past Wednesday, I am officially a suburban mommy.  One would think that title would come automatically by having a baby and living in the suburbs, but in my opinion, I only gained it this past Wednesday.  I attended my first night of Bunco in our neighborhood.  I'd heard of the game before, but hadn't ever played.  One of my sweet neighbors invited me, and it was awesome.  Well, I should say that the game itself is so/so -- but the group of young women in our neighborhood (who all happen to have babies under age 5!!!) was so awesome!!  I loved meeting everyone, and getting to know about 20 of my neighbors who live throughout our subdivision.  I can't believe we've lived here for two years and this is the first time I'd even seen 75% of them (and I run/walk through our neighborhood ALL the time!!).  I'm thrilled that we'll be getting together monthly -- in our neighborhood -- after Logan's bedtime -- and by the time SB will be home most of the time!  What fun!  (now if I can just learn to keep score and play while getting all wrapped up in fun conversations...)

Monday Night Football

 

Go Rams!!!!

SB is in NYC with the team, and Logan and I just returned from a long weekend trip to Wisconsin.  We had a great weekend with lots of family time -- a trip to the farmers' market, a fun family hike, some Scrabble games, a good run with my sister, and lots of tasty meals. 

Logan was a real champ on the 5.5 hour ride.  We stopped just once there and once on the way back to feed Logan.  I am really loving this stage -- 5.5 months old is lots of fun!  We have eating down, he is really interactive, but not totally mobile and into everything just yet :) 

God Bless America

 via

Land of the FREE, home of the BRAVE.

5 Months Old!!

It is with much amazement that we marked Logan's 5 month old birthday on Friday, September 2.  Somehow this month we noticed that he has gone from being a newborn to being a baby, from being a tiny little guy who didn't do much more than eat and sleep to a baby who loves to explore the world around him, who loves to bounce, and roll, and is trying hard to figure out how to crawl.  He loves listening to us read books, and has started to reach out to them (to put them in his mouth!).  He's very interested in whatever I'm carrying, and likes to try to hold it as well. 

Stats:
Weight:  ~18 lbs.
Height:  26.5"
Milestones:
Sleeping: You are now consistently sleeping through the night.  I feed you one last time right before you go to bed (around 7:30pm), and then you (for the most part) sleep through the night till 6:30 or 7am, when you wake up for breakfast!
Eating:  You ate like a champ this month.  You love your rice cereal, you started eating baby oatmeal, and it seems that you are not in pain anymore thanks to our reflux medicine.  You are a little more spitty these days though.  You have really gained a ton of weight this month (over 2 lbs!).  So much so that my elbows and arms are sore and tired from carrying you!
Clothing Size:  6-12 months, 9 month  -- every brand is different
Etc:  Your biggest milestone this month is that you now roll from your back to your tummy.  We find you in your crib on your tummy lots of times even though we put you down to sleep on your back.  We haven't been swaddling you (really every since 4 months or so) anymore -- so now you sleep in a "sleep blanket."  I bought you some new fall/winter clothes this month, and it appears that they aren't going to be as loose on you as I thought they would!  I hope they last longer than 1 month!  We had a really fun play date with your pals Tinsley and Caleb this month, and we'll see them again in October.  Daddy has been working long, long hours in preparation for the season.  Tomorrow marks the first regular season home game, and you'll be going to it with me and our neighbors.  I bought some special "noise canceling" headphones for you, so we'll see if that allows you to enjoy the game without all that noise.  I have no idea how long you'll be able to last at the game, but it will be worth a try!  We are absolutely in love with you, and we marvel at the new things you are discovering and doing every single day.  XOXO

A few outtakes from our photo shoot....the dogs wanted to make an appearance!  Logan LOVES to pet them, and sometimes breaks into giggles when he touches their fur.  I just love that.

 

Cute Lilly for Fall

Exercise, Pregnancy, and Working Out with Baby

A post by Abbie, of A Glimpse of the Girl Next Door, got me to thinking about how to fit in exercise during pregnancy and once you actually have a baby in the mix.

The number one thing you have to do throughout it all is listen to your body.  Especially when you're pregnant.

 via

So, this is my experience -- and of course, everything here is specific to me.  The best advice for you will probably come from your doctor. When I found out I was pregnant, one of the first questions I had for my doctor is how much I will be able to exercise during the pregnancy.  He advised that I could keep up with everything my body was already used to (running, tennis, classes at the gym), but suggested that I keep my heart rate below about 160 for any extended periods of time.  I invested in a heart rate monitor because I didn't know how else I'd know exactly what my heart rate was.  I like the Polar F6 Women's Heart Rate Monitor.  The bonus is it also tells you how many calories you burn, and it'll send you a report each week detailing how many times you worked out that week, total time, calories, etc.  There were times that I had energy to do a 3-5 mile run, there were times that all I could muster was a walk with the dogs, and in that first trimester, there were times when I just felt too ill to leave the couch.  I stopped running and intense classes at the gym at about month 4 (I didn't last long - it just wasn't comfortable for me).  I played tennis till month 7.  I did the elliptical, used free-weights and walked 3 miles till the very end.  I feel like because I stayed active throughout my pregnancy, I was able to bounce back to getting active post-pregnancy pretty quickly.  It didn't necessarily stop me from gaining weight -- I gained 45 pounds (yowza!), but the first 35 came off ~2 weeks after Logan was born (it was amazing!).  The next 5 pounds took like a month, and I'm still somewhere between 1-4 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight, depending on the day.  I'm almost there....I will note that my body still feels totally different compared to pre-pregnancy.

So after Logan was born, in the first 6 weeks you're really only able to walk.  It was painful at first, so I would walk around the block, and slowly increase the distance/time.  Very slowly.  Don't rush yourself during that time while you're still healing.  After 6 weeks, I gained my doctor's clearance and I started to play tennis again, and jog.  Tennis was harder to work into the schedule as it meant I could only do it when SB was home and could look after Logan.  The best thing about running for me, is that I can bring Logan along with me.  The BOB Revolution is our jogging stroller of choice, and it is a-ma-zing  (highly recommend it with the infant attachment.  Worth every penny.)!!!!  I do feel lucky that working from home allows me to run before work if Logan wakes up early enough, during a lunch hour, or after work.  The heat we've experienced this summer limited my options - so I'd only do it if the temperature was comfortable enough for Logan.  I'm not sure if/when I'll be able to re-join the gym as Scott is just working too late right now for me to get away, but as long as I can get out and run a few days a week, I'm happy :)

The bottom line is that exercise is important for your health, and especially, if you're like me, it helps keep you happy.  It is worth the effort to fit it into your day.  Don't think of it as selfish, because it isn't -- you need to make some time for yourself, and you need to stay healthy! 

Travelin' Man...er....Baby

Logan took his first plane ride on Friday, August 5 to Lynchburg, VA.  We flew out there for my  college roommate's wedding.  Scott wasn't able to join us as he is working around the clock right now, but fortunately my parents were excited to meet us there for the festivities!  They were an enormous help.  I could not have done it without them.  The day started at 3:50am when my alarm sounded to get ready.  We were out the door by 4:20am (thanks for the ride, husby!) and the plane took off at 6:00am.  I'm not going to lie, that early wake-up made for a loooong day, and a tired mama!  However, this little guy was a real champ throughout it all:

 Love those little piggies!

 This is us before I left for the bridal luncheon. 

 My mom was happy to get to squeeze Logan's little thighs!

 We stayed at Betty's house, which is always a treat.  She is a real hoot.  At age 86 she just recently had to stop playing tennis (my idol), and mentioned "that big tennis court in the sky" a couple times.  Here she is watching Logan as we all got ready for the wedding.

All in all, I must say that I was happily surprised with how easy it was to fly with a baby.  It would have been a million times easier had SB been seated next to me (those seats are quite close!), but I was ready for the worst and it just wasn't that bad.  I will admit that nursing on a plane is really awkward, but it made Logan happy, so everyone else could just deal with it.  I used my oh-so-cute nursing cover, and I just hope I didn't flash anybody!  We had a great time celebrating with Francie and some other Duke friends, and it was really, really fun to be able to spend time with my parents.

Favorite Things: Baby Edition, 0-3 months

When you bring a baby home from the hospital, it is amazing how much stuff you feel like you need just in order to enable them to eat, sleep and bathe.  With as many questions as we had about if we were doing things right (is he napping too much, too little.....eating too much, too little.....can we take him outside, etc. etc.), it was helpful to have seen a few lists from friends about the items that worked best for their babies.  Here are the things that I feel like we really needed in the first 3 months.

Sleeping 
 The miracle blanket is just that.  A miracle.  Logan was a Houdini when it came to breaking out of his swaddle.  This contraption kept him snuggled up tight and helped him sleep better and longer (which was much needed for our sanity!):

When we did swaddle him in blankets, we found these Aden & Anais blankets to be the best.  They are bigger, which allows you to get a better, tighter wrap - and the light fabric was great as Logan was born in April.

You start a bedtime routine pretty quickly after you bring your little one home.  Ours involves the mobile every time, and he loves to watch the boats move around.  There are other mobiles that are more visually stimulating, and I'm still considering getting one of those for over his changing table, but for now, this one does the job!

Eating
I feel fortunate that Logan took to breastfeeding pretty well.  For the first 24 hours in the hospital, he wouldn't latch on quite right, and we had to pump so that he'd get the colostrum (which was a very frustrating thing for me seeing as how I felt the only thing I needed to provide him was my milk and I couldn't get him to take it straight from the source).  However, he did eventually catch on and aside from my worries over how much he is actually getting -- it's been a good experience.  All that to say....if you breastfeed, you don't need a lot of equipment, which is nice!  The Boppy pillow has been great for me -- it makes the whole thing a little easier and more comfortable.

Resources
So while I was pregnant I read all about the pregnancy, and what the baby was doing week by week.  I didn't think ahead to actually read about how to care for the baby.  I wish I had done more of that.  After Logan was born, we were given the first book by my parents (and it was actually recommended by our pediatrician).  It is produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and is a little more science-based than some other books.  It has terrific information about each age range, and then specific issues that may arise.

This second book was recommended (as is this site:   http://www.babywhispererforums.com/) - - it helped me to get a sense of knowing when Logan was tired, and structuring the day with the EASY schedule (Eat, Activity, Sleep/Your Time).  It is a good idea to separate eating and sleeping early so that they can soothe themselves to sleep.

Bath
We had baby registries at Target and Pottery Barn Kids.  Target was great -- they have so much online and in stores, and their return policy was excellent.  PBK was good b/c their stuff is so darn cute, but I found that a lot of items would be unavailable all of a sudden, and they don't have tons and tons of stuff.  Anyways -- this is the bath we got from Target and it is just great.  

Out and About
The BOB Revolution is just awesome.  I love that stroller.  It has such a smooth ride, it's easy to open/close, and the infant adapter makes me happy because I feel he's secure in his carseat.  

We also got the Graco Snap and Go stroller for traveling.  It's smaller, lighter, and much less expensive (ie:  you don't care if it's dinged up on a plane ride quite as much as you'd care if your Bob were dinged!).  This is what I usually toss in the trunk of my car if we aren't doing serious walking anywhere.  It's just light and easy.  We got the Graco 35 snugrider carseat that fits with it.  I like it - but it is SOOO dang heavy. 

I absolutely love my diaper bag.  It's Petunia Picklebottom -- and my favorite feature is that it converts to a backpack.  I know that isn't the most stylish thing around (though I do love the pattern), but being able to have my hands free is a great relief.  It has ample room on the inside, and a great zip-out changing pad. 

So that's my advice for those first few months!!  One thing that I wish I'd known prior to buying a cute crib bumper is that the AAP (and our pediatrician, specifically) advise against putting anything in the crib other than the mattress itself to reduce the risk for SIDS.  We bought an adorable bumper from PBK and it never really saw the light of day b/c once she said that it shouldn't be in the crib, it was in the basement pronto.  Yes, they are adorable, and yes it seems like it would be nice to have a soft side in the crib, but anytime they mention SIDS - I take the advice to heart! 

I'll start working on the next phase now :)