3 hours ago
Showing posts with label 1st Baby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1st Baby. Show all posts
This day before Thanksgiving I'm . . .
. . . making sweet potato casserole. The best Thanksgiving dish ever. At least I kind of think so.
. . . making deviled eggs too. With paprika. Because it's just not pretty without paprika.
. . . hoping Derek and I can resist the temptation to eat aforementioned Thanksgiving Day fare before tomorrow.
. . . cleaning my messy house, or at least attempting to, because I have this thing about my house being clean on holidays.
. . . filing away the last of the photos from Wyatt's first year in a photo album - and maybe I'll get a start on his second year.
. . . starting a project for Baby Girl's room to organize the headbands I plan to buy and/or make her.
. . . thinking it might be a good day to try to watch our childbirth video with Derek as a review.
. . . forming my Black Friday game plan. Which includes buying a new vacuum since ours broke.
. . . thinking it's pretty cool that our church does a Thanksgiving Day service, and wondering if we can go tomorrow if we strategize.
. . . planning for the weekend, when we get out our Christmas decorations.
And this day before Thanksgiving I'm thinking how thankful I am that . . .
. . . sweet potatoes and eggs exist, and we are blessed to be able to afford them.
. . . I have a wonderful husband to swat away from the food.
. . . we have a roof over our heads (and over our messiness).
. . . we've been blessed with our precious son for almost two years now, and for all the memories in the photos.
. . . I have a Baby Girl to buy headbands for, and decorate a nursery for, and dream about.
. . . this pregnancy has been so healthy and uneventful so far, and that my family is healthy.
. . . my vacuum broke right before Black Friday. Could I ask for better timing? I think not!
. . . we live in a country where we are free to gather and worship God as we please.
. . . the reason we decorate for Christmas in the first place is because we're celebrating the fact that God became a baby, Who grew into a man, Who died on the cross to pay for our sins, and Who rose to life again. Who is coming again someday.
Today I'm reminded of everything I've been given, and I thank God for it. And I thank Him for who He is. Because He is good.
Since I very well might be in the hospital again within the next week or so, I thought I'd post my hospital bag packing list. Plus I had a "dry run" at the hospital last weekend, so I know some of the things to bring that I forgot the first time.
What To Bring To The Hospital
Toiletries (makeup, toothbrush, facial cleanser, etc.)
Curling iron
Shampoo and soap
Chapstick
Hand lotion/body lotion
Undergarments
Nursing clothes
Pads (nursing and regular)
Comfy pajamas
Lounge set and pretty pajamas (for when I have visitors)
Socks
Outfit to wear home
Books to read
Bible
Movies
iPod
Video Camera
Camera
Gum (I just feel like I'll want some gum)
Baby blanket
Going home outfit for baby
Baby hat
Baby booties/shoes
Baby book (so they can put his footprints in it)
Phone charger
Cell Phone
Laptop
For Your Husband:
Toiletries
Snacks (Derek only gets one free meal in our hospital)
Change of clothes
Books/Stuff to do
I'd recommend packing all these things, even though you may not need all of it if it's just a straight-forward delivery. But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that you could be put in the hospital anytime in the last few weeks of pregnancy, and you may not be going home with your baby on the outside, or you may be staying several days before you deliver your baby. It's best to be prepared.
For those of you who have had a baby, anything else you'd recommend? Or if you haven't had a baby yet, is there anything else that you think you would bring that I missed?
I've been debating over the past few months about whether to get a baby hat for our newborn pictures.
I think baby boys are especially adorable in hats, but honestly it is so hard to find a cute hat. I found a ton on Etsy, but the prices ranged from 15-30 dollars, plus shipping, and I guess I'm just a bit stingy with my money. I couldn't decide whether to drop the money on a cute hat for our little guy's pictures, so I just did nothing.
Then before I knew it, it was too late to order a hat from Etsy before he was born anyway, because there would need to be more time to make one. So I just figured I wouldn't do the hat thing at all.
But last week I had an extra long lunch break, so I decided to take a trip to GAP to see if I could get these jeans that I saw on sale there.
I didn't find the jeans, but I decided to take a quick look at the clearance baby items. And guess what I found?
Only the cutest little hat I've ever seen! It's a leather, aviator-style earflap hat, with furriness on the inside and little teddy bear ears on top.
Oh my, I just melted. It pretty much combines everything I liked about all the different hats I saw on Etsy in the cutest way possible.
And it was on clearance, with an additional 30% off, so it only cost about $5.50.
How could I say no to that?
A few hours later I was headed into the hospital, and I stashed the hat in my hospital bag. It was kind of fun during my stay to think about how cute he'd look in the little hat if he had to be born over the weekend, and I was glad to have found it before everything happened.
We've got a going home outfit, and we've got an adorable hat.
All ready for him to be born now.
I think baby boys are especially adorable in hats, but honestly it is so hard to find a cute hat. I found a ton on Etsy, but the prices ranged from 15-30 dollars, plus shipping, and I guess I'm just a bit stingy with my money. I couldn't decide whether to drop the money on a cute hat for our little guy's pictures, so I just did nothing.
Then before I knew it, it was too late to order a hat from Etsy before he was born anyway, because there would need to be more time to make one. So I just figured I wouldn't do the hat thing at all.
But last week I had an extra long lunch break, so I decided to take a trip to GAP to see if I could get these jeans that I saw on sale there.
I didn't find the jeans, but I decided to take a quick look at the clearance baby items. And guess what I found?
Only the cutest little hat I've ever seen! It's a leather, aviator-style earflap hat, with furriness on the inside and little teddy bear ears on top.
Oh my, I just melted. It pretty much combines everything I liked about all the different hats I saw on Etsy in the cutest way possible.
And it was on clearance, with an additional 30% off, so it only cost about $5.50.
How could I say no to that?
A few hours later I was headed into the hospital, and I stashed the hat in my hospital bag. It was kind of fun during my stay to think about how cute he'd look in the little hat if he had to be born over the weekend, and I was glad to have found it before everything happened.
We've got a going home outfit, and we've got an adorable hat.
All ready for him to be born now.
It's hard to register for a baby.
When you go to register for your wedding it's so easy - you just pick things that you like. But when you register for a baby you have to think of everything you are going to need, and then there's quality and safety to consider.
Honestly, I had no idea where to start. I've never had a baby before, so I don't know what I need!
Thankfully several months ago I came across a list of baby things on Ashley's blog, For The Love Of Shoes And A Baby Too. So when I realized my baby shower was just a month and a half away and I needed to register, I copied the list I found on her blog and took it to my mom.
My mom not only took care of me when I was a baby, but she took care of my twin brother and sister - she had three of us under three years old for a while there! I knew she could help me figure out what I really needed and what was just icing on the cake, and the list was a great place to start.
My mom and I tweaked it a bit, and I thought I'd post the modified list here - just in case any of you need a starting point in the future! Please feel free to copy this list and take it to your mother, or someone else you know, for tweaking as well - it won't hurt my feelings at all!
Things For Baby
4-8 bodysuits and onesies
8 one-piece pajamas
2 blanket sleepers
1-3 sweaters or jackets
1-3 rompers or dress-up outfits
4-7 socks or booties
1-3 hats
1 bunting bag or fleece suit (for winter baby)
Crib, cradle, or bassinet
Firm, flat mattress
2 washable crib mattress pads
Bumper pads - breathable
4 fitted crib sheets
6 light receiving blankets
2 heavier blankets
Music box, sound machine, or CD player
Crib mobile
Baby monitor
Nightlight
Dresser
Storage baskets
Swing and/or bouncy chair
Contoured changing pad for table with safety strap
Changing pad cover
Diaper pail
Diaper pail liners
Vaseline or Diaper cream
Diapers
Unscented Baby Wipes or Handi Wipes
Soft baby washcloths
Baby bathtub
Baby soap
Baby shampoo
2-4 soft hooded bath towels
Baby grooming items (hairbrush, comb, clippers, toothbrush)
16 bottles and nipples both 4 and 8 ounces
Bottle brush
Dishwasher basket for small items
4-8 bibs
Burp cloths/cloth diapers
High chair
2-4 pacifiers
Infant car seat and stroller
Diaper bag
Changing pad
Baby carrier/sling
Pack 'N' Play
Medical items for baby
2-3 week's supply of pads
Nursing pads
Pump
Nursing gown
That's the list. Hopefully some of you will find it as helpful as I did!
Derek and I already have several of the bigger items (thanks to family members and hand-me-downs), so I didn't have to register for everything on that list!
Looking at the list of things we need for baby always makes me anxious to (1) meet the little guy, and (2) go shopping! But I'll wait until after our baby shower . . .
On Saturday Derek and I had our gender reveal party!
When the guests first arrived, we had them vote for what they thought the baby was and pin on a pink or blue ribbon to go with their guess.
For the food we mostly did finger food or snack-type food. The party was in the middle of the afternoon, between lunch and dinner. My family offered to bring some food to the party, which was so sweet of them - it took alot of pressure off of me. We ended up with a nice spread!
Ignore the fact that I forgot to take the guacamole out of the package until after the picture. Whoops!
The menu included a veggie plate and fruit salad, tortilla chips and potato chips with accompanying dips, and potato rolls with tuna fish salad. To drink we just had lemonade, iced tea, coffee, and water.
Later on, after the reveal, we ate dessert. I made a blueberry and cherry pie (to stick with the boy/girl, blue/pink thing), and we also had an apple crisp with ice cream, and an adorable cupcake arrangement!
For decor I just did regular fall decorations. We had the party in the late fall, so it seemed appropriate, plus I can use them again for Thanksgiving. Derek liked that I just went with a fall party theme, instead of the pink and blue decorations. We didn't want it to feel too much like a baby shower, and he thought skipping the pink and blue decorations helped with that. It definitely had a normal party atmosphere, instead of a baby shower atmosphere, which probably made the men more comfortable.
We played several games as well. We split everyone into "Team Pink" and "Team Blue" depending on their guess. I'll explain the games we did in more detail in a seperate gender reveal party games post.
For some of the smaller prizes for the games, I bought mini Hershey bars and colored the "HE" blue, and the "SHE" pink in the word Hershey. We also gave away full-size candy bars and Starbucks giftcards. More on that to come.
Finally it was time for the big reveal! We decided to reveal the gender using a pinata. My wonderful husband, Derek, came up with that idea weeks ago - I thought it was pretty brilliant!
I filled the pinata with candy and on the back of one piece of candy I taped a little card with the gender. Whoever found the piece of candy with the card got to open it and reveal the gender to everyone else.
Alot of the guys had fun taking a swing at the pinata. My brother took the first swing and actually knocked the pinata off the string without breaking it! So we grabbed one of Derek's heavy-duty straps that we use to secure things to the back of the truck, and we hung it again.
When it broke there was a mad rush for the candy. My sister ended up finding the candy with the card on the back.
And it's a BOY!
Team Blue celebrating!
After the grand finale, we just ate the dessert and got to visit with everyone.
My grandma, mom, and me.
I also discovered that several of our family members ignored the clear statement on the invitations not to bring gifts, and they brought us presents anyway. It was actually very sweet! We got a pack of onesies, a wipe warmer, two sleepers, a baby carrier, a guardian angel figurine, an on-the-go diaper changing set, a pack of diapers, and several sweet cards! It made me feel pretty special to receive a few gifts (even though they disobeyed the "rule" to give them to us), so thanks to our families!
Overall, it went very smoothly, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves! Derek and I certainly did.
Click to read about our second gender reveal party, and more gender reveal party games!
When the guests first arrived, we had them vote for what they thought the baby was and pin on a pink or blue ribbon to go with their guess.
For the food we mostly did finger food or snack-type food. The party was in the middle of the afternoon, between lunch and dinner. My family offered to bring some food to the party, which was so sweet of them - it took alot of pressure off of me. We ended up with a nice spread!
Ignore the fact that I forgot to take the guacamole out of the package until after the picture. Whoops!
The menu included a veggie plate and fruit salad, tortilla chips and potato chips with accompanying dips, and potato rolls with tuna fish salad. To drink we just had lemonade, iced tea, coffee, and water.
Later on, after the reveal, we ate dessert. I made a blueberry and cherry pie (to stick with the boy/girl, blue/pink thing), and we also had an apple crisp with ice cream, and an adorable cupcake arrangement!
For decor I just did regular fall decorations. We had the party in the late fall, so it seemed appropriate, plus I can use them again for Thanksgiving. Derek liked that I just went with a fall party theme, instead of the pink and blue decorations. We didn't want it to feel too much like a baby shower, and he thought skipping the pink and blue decorations helped with that. It definitely had a normal party atmosphere, instead of a baby shower atmosphere, which probably made the men more comfortable.
We played several games as well. We split everyone into "Team Pink" and "Team Blue" depending on their guess. I'll explain the games we did in more detail in a seperate gender reveal party games post.
For some of the smaller prizes for the games, I bought mini Hershey bars and colored the "HE" blue, and the "SHE" pink in the word Hershey. We also gave away full-size candy bars and Starbucks giftcards. More on that to come.
Finally it was time for the big reveal! We decided to reveal the gender using a pinata. My wonderful husband, Derek, came up with that idea weeks ago - I thought it was pretty brilliant!
I filled the pinata with candy and on the back of one piece of candy I taped a little card with the gender. Whoever found the piece of candy with the card got to open it and reveal the gender to everyone else.
Alot of the guys had fun taking a swing at the pinata. My brother took the first swing and actually knocked the pinata off the string without breaking it! So we grabbed one of Derek's heavy-duty straps that we use to secure things to the back of the truck, and we hung it again.
When it broke there was a mad rush for the candy. My sister ended up finding the candy with the card on the back.
And it's a BOY!
Team Blue celebrating!
After the grand finale, we just ate the dessert and got to visit with everyone.
My grandma, mom, and me.
I also discovered that several of our family members ignored the clear statement on the invitations not to bring gifts, and they brought us presents anyway. It was actually very sweet! We got a pack of onesies, a wipe warmer, two sleepers, a baby carrier, a guardian angel figurine, an on-the-go diaper changing set, a pack of diapers, and several sweet cards! It made me feel pretty special to receive a few gifts (even though they disobeyed the "rule" to give them to us), so thanks to our families!
Overall, it went very smoothly, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves! Derek and I certainly did.
Click to read about our second gender reveal party, and more gender reveal party games!
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