An heirloom quilt fit for a baby

The inch worms have descended on Richmond over the last few weeks, rappelling from the tree tops on thin silk threads and landing on just about everything in sight. We find them inching their way around in our grass and hair, on our clothing, furniture, and windshields. They are devouring tree leaves and getting fat before they burrow into the ground to emerge as moths after Summer has ended. The whole phenomenon reminded me that I've been meaning to share Merritt's quilt for almost an entire year.

Roscoe and Merritt's Aunt Coco quilted it for him and I think her love note and the pictures speak for themselves. It is a gorgeous and heartfelt gift.

Merritt, 3 months

Dear Merritt,

This is the first baby quilt I haven't delivered on time.  I'm going to let both of us take the blame for that one. You'll find that being early is generally a good thing but that, truth be told, being late usually isn't a problem either. The most important thing is that you show up.

The orange and brown fabrics in this quilt are from a fabric line called chrysalis.  A chrysalis is where a caterpillar makes its home as it grows and changes into a butterfly. A fitting theme for a baby quilt for a baby who has just been welcomed by his new family, don't you think?

I wish you all the love in the world as you grow and change.

                                                                                    Love, Aunt Coco

The one and only

For you quilters: The pattern for the squares is called, "Sunkissed Squares" from Moda Bake Shop. Courtney used one fourth of the pattern for a baby sized quilt but added the borders to make it bigger. The back was improvisationally pieced and follows no pattern. The straight-line quilting was done with a walking foot in a chevron pattern with the lines placed two inches a part. (She used painters tape to mark them off and then sewed along side the tape.) 

Pick-me-up

I bought a new sling for the Fall. Justifiying the cost of another Sakura Bloom was easy considering that I wear the sling most of every day and that Merritt practically lives in it. After 7 1/2 months I wanted to update my look.

Any ring sling might do, but these are luxurious. The Pixie collection is festive and pretty for the cooler months, but will surely be just as versatile through the Spring and Summer.

One is never enough

There are several things that I bought for Roscoe during my pregnancy that I have felt compelled to also buy for Little Sears. The desire to be "fair" to both kids seems inherent, already. Actually, you know how much I love product and gear, and when I find something I love I have to share it. Who better to share it with than my other kiddos?

Tiny Sprouts is one of my favorite small companies, and one you may already be familiar with. For Roscoe we purchased a growth chart and when there was a tiny little bump in the shipping process Tracey gave us a newborn gown embroidered with his name. It was his first outfit after birth, and it was way too big.

I've been prowling the Tiny Sprouts site for months, and finally ended up choosing a "big brother roscoe" shirt and a "little brother x" onesie with mitten cuffs. Today they arrived!!!

I wish I could show you just how tiny and sweet the onesie is, but it would reveal little brother's name (I guess you get a small hint, anyway). Do you think this is just the start of matching outfits for these two because I have to admit, it is kinda fun.

At the top of my wish list is the embroidered hand prints, and as soon as Little Sears is born those teeny tiny hands are going to be traced (as well as Roscoe's) and sent off for their first piece of brotherly artwork.

Baby Shop Hop

After a strange twist of events (more on that later) we found ourselves in Richmond for the weekend. We packed all of our favorite activities into two days, including my adored pastime of baby shop hopping.

A lot hasn't changed since we left the area 4 years ago, but certain neighborhoods are almost unrecognizable, and natural turnover of restaurants and boutiques has changed the look and feel by a landslide. I was left with the impression that Richmond is feeling rather progressive these days?

The weekend's best find was a new baby shop called Franklin Goose, nestled in the heart of Carytown. The storefront is a little less than two weeks old, but the owners have been successfully honing their product lines online for over a year.

Not to overlook their impressive array of feeding accessories, organic clothing, and upscale toy collection, but I was most excited about their extensive selection of cloth diapers, which I was more than happy to explore in person. After lengthy hemming and hawing I decided to add to Little Sears's fluffy butt stash an Organic Caboose size newborn All-In-One.

It's made of super soft wool (the power of wick!), and best of all doesn't require a diaper cover. ***EDIT: I've since learned that I DO need a diaper cover with this diaper. Oh, am I disappointed since that's the reason I bought it.

Since we rarely make it down to Richmond I'm thrilled that they've invested in a website so that I can resume happily perusing their inventory from the comfort of home. You should check them out!

Do you like what you see?

A place to store your stuff

A treasured pastime for most expectant Momma's: The pursuit of the perfect diaper bag.

Luxury and function rolled into one loaded (and often expensive) purchase. Who can't relate to hoisting that baby purse over your shoulder, and imagining what a hot momma you'll be toting those tiny diapers, sweetly embroidered burp cloths, and brightly colored squeeker toys?

Since Roscoe was born, I've used the same tote bag by Dwell Studio in Gio Lemon print. I bought it because I thought it was cute and functional, and reasonably priced. It did meet my needs for the first 6 months or so, before packing and transporting food and messy snacks became part of its job description.

Then I spilled some pureed squash inside one of the pockets, managed not to clean it out properly and mold started to grow! Over time the two main compartments became filled with crumbs, trash bits, pens, and miscellaneous things like bottle caps. And a few months later, outings necessitated no less than 5 truck books, 3 trucks, and 2 cars, in addition to snacks, diapers, and changes of clothing. Suddenly my formerly adorable diaper bag was not only gross, but too small.

That's when I ditched it in favor of a rotating selection of several of my well-loved canvas tote bags, of which I have many. They do the job just fine and are more convenient at this stage than a cutesy diaper bag.

I've been thinking ahead to my second diaper bag, and have decided that this time I will seek out function over form. I know I'll have twice as much stuff to carry when Little Sears arrives and I need a bag that's easy to clean, and doesn't feature one hundred compartments in which to lose everything and collect garbage.

This tote bag made of oil cloth seems to fit the bill:

So modest, and brown. I think it will be perfect!

What's your favorite diaper bag and what features do you think are most important?

Lil Joeys

For only 8 weeks, we're already feeling incredibly prepared for this baby.

We know where I plan to give birth, who will attend, and are thisclose to contracting our favorite photographer. A nursery of furniture is at the ready, as well as all the newborn essentials--including a perfectly timed seasonal wardrobe if we have another boy.

I've been trying so very hard to find something to buy to commemorate this pregnancy, but to my dismay we don't need much! And I would like to wait to find out the gender before I indulge in a few outfits and gender specific accessories--not to mention THE NURSERY!!

Out of all the baby stuff we bought for Roscoe, there aren't any items that I regret purchasing (although we did not get ideal use out of the boppy pillow, I thought it was too cumbersome for nursing), and I haven't come across many compelling new baby items released since Roscoe's birth--maybe because it wasn't very long ago.

There are some areas, however, like diapering, that I hope to improve on the second time around. For one, we were a little apprehensive at first and opted to use disposables in the beginning, in part because 80 diapers a week sounded a little daunting but also because Roscoe stayed small for so long and just didn't fit into the one-size Bum Genius until he was over two months old. Once we got started it didn't take long before we were hooked and using the BGs exclusively.

Little Sears will have a bum swaddled in cloth starting from day one.

I just bought a pair of Rumparooz's Lil Joeys. Aren't they cool?

They fit babies 4-12 pounds and will hopefully bridge the gap until our little one grows big enough to fit into the BGs. For lack of branching out, I'm a fan of All in Ones and this diaper doesn't even have an insert--sounds pretty easy to me! They also a snap down front to protect the cord until it falls off. I ordered the Kangarooz pattern for its gender neutral appeal.

I'm open to trying out new systems and I could use a boost in confidence to venture into the realm of fitted diapers.

What system did you choose for your newborn and what did you love most about it? Where did you buy them? What are your tips!?

First casualty

Roscoe loves his Little Chubbies. Santa gave them to him as a gift on his first Christmas. Almost six months later he's perfectly content pushing even a block or stick around as he produces a convincing "brrrr", but a chubby is so cute, and small, and hooks together with its other little chubby friends.

Maybe it's possible that I love them even more than Roscoe does. Perhaps. Either way, it was a loss when I ran over a little blue chubby truck as we left for the store the other afternoon. Poor chubby.

Cute find of the day!

I have a new favorite baby boutique called Pink and Brown--for the locals it's in Alexandria. They carry so many of my favorite brands yet there's always something new to check out. This trip I swooned over these sweet "kicks" by Deglingos, you know, the french company that makes those crazy stuffed animals?

I couldn't help but fall in love with the funky orange cat, and zany pattern combination. They have adjustable straps to accommodate chubby ankles or to grow with your little one as their feet get bigger. I almost walked out of the store with them--which was pretty hard to resist--but Roscoe already has one pair of shoes in the 6-12 month size and I feared that the current pair would be tossed aside if forced to compete with these cool cats.

For girls, Milkos the cow, and Lapinos the bunny are pretty cute too!

Speaking of falling in love

Take a look at this:

Inspired by the mural in his room. One of a kind. Created just for Roscoe by his Grandma. I still have the one she made me 28 years ago.

I can't wait to see the places this quilt will go!

Roscoe has a new ride

It's the Britax Advocate CS in Onyx. Even though we made great use of the versatility of our current infant seat because it was compatible with our stroller system, if we had known about the Advocate we could have gotten away with buying just one car seat, instead of two.

The Advocate's safety features are impressive, and it allows kids to ride rear facing until they weigh 35 pounds--which is important to me. We were a little surprised when we found out it cost 400 dollars, but can you put a price on safety? I don't think so.

RIP The Swing

Remember this?

Here I sit on the floor of Roscoe's room, in the dark of the blackout shade, MANUALLY pushing his swing. I'm going on a half hour now. I admit that we have not made it a priority to transition Roscoe out of The Swing, primarily because the thought of making sleep worse (even in the short term) is an awful one.

Now we will pay!

Roscoe weighs around 18 pounds and while the swing's weight limit is 25lbs, I believe the motor has made its last revolution. All good things must come to an end.

Mid afternoon nap I noticed the swing had slowed to a halt, despite the fact that we just replaced the batteries this morning. After a quick panic and phone call to Andy it is obvious we have only one option. The swing must be replaced!

Update:

After 45 minutes of swing pushing, Roscoe woke up and we hightailed it to babies r us where we perused a sorry selection of swings, called in a request for Andy to do a little review search online, and left with a weird patterned Graco Lovin' Hug PLUG-IN(!!!!!!) swing.

Andy came home early to assemble the the swing--reviews warned it was a bear! And Roscoe eased into his nap without a fuss.

I wish we would have made the switch a couple months back. The two key features that have me dancing with joy: it accommodates babies up to 30 pounds and it plugs in! Freedom from D cell batteries and their exorbitant weekly costs. And we will not miss the abrupt wakes in the middle of the night (or nap) because the batteries died without notice. No more ear-to-the-monitor anxiety just waiting for the telltale click, pause. click, pause. click, pause. of a dead swing. Finally, the white noise "button" that we've come to rely on (heavily) plays for 30 minutes instead of seven, which can't be beat.

It's also become apparent in the past week or two that the swing itself may be a contributing factor to poor sleep--it's a little small and probably a tad uncomfortable, it conks out on him during his best dreams, etc.

The new swings' capacity doesn't change the fact that we need to wean Roscoe from the swing, but it does buy us more time. Need proof that this swing is awesome? Roscoe's been sleeping soundly for over 5.5 hours! I'm a happy momma when my baby is rested.

Fluffy bottoms

My mom sewed a new pair of pants for Roscoe! So warm and cozy, they are made from scraps leftover from his baby quilt.

Powder blue chenille exterior, flannel monkey interior and a cuff to allow for growth. They are perfect for the winter. Would a pair of pants sewn by Grandma, just for you, be complete without a personalized tag? I don't think so!

This photo shows 1) Roscoe modeling his new fluffy pants, 2) the three pounds he's gained in the past 4 weeks:

Grow Baby, Grow!

Found!

I finally found a great way to transport Roscoe's homemade baby food to and fro. I first discovered Innobaby's Packin' Smart dispensers years ago in one of my favorite Richmond maternity stores. At the time I thought the concept was a cool one and noted the brand for future use. The Innobaby line has since expanded to include a product called Packin' Smart Stack-N-Seal, which is designed to store items both dry and wet. They come in stacks of two or four and have the capacity to hold a volume of a half cup in each container--perfect portions for Roscoe's banana and mango fruit puree, cheerios, or even water.

I love their versatility. Each container can be used individually, or when more storage is needed, the containers interlock and stack into a neat tier. The lid on each container creates a natural dispenser great for sprinkling dry snacks out onto a surface, or pouring into another dish. Each lid can also be twisted off entirely and then you have a nice open-mouthed container from which to spoon out the contents. Oh! And they're dishwasher, microwave, and freezer safe, as well as BPA, and Phthalate free.

I just fill 'em up and toss them into the diaper bag, and we're all set. No leaks so far, and they make for convenient portability of healthy food when we're out and about.

Keep'n Fresh Baby Storage is also made by Innobaby. The glass containers hold a half cup serving. These too are microwave, oven, and freezer safe. They are adorable in person--way cuter than I ever thought baby food storage could be--and they have lids that snap on to create an airtight seal to keep food protected. Leftover bananas, avocados, and apples always turn brown if I just cover them with saran wrap and store in the fridge. Not the case with these! Additional sizes offer smaller portion sizes for babies new to the foodie world, though they are not available in glass.

Both products have a long list of nice features. But what I love best is that they are functional, and make it simple and easy for me to feed Roscoe the way that I want to, even when we're not at home.

2 ounces of sanity

Last week I received the breastshields I ordered from Hawaii--they arrived 4 days early in a crumpled box tossed on the back stoop. A brief bolt of fear struck through me as I envisioned my shields cracked, or worse. To my relief, they were in perfect condition.

That night after nursing Roscoe to sleep, I hooked myself up to the pump and immediately realized the difference in having a breastsheild that fits: suction.

Just a few minutes into the expression phase and the milk was flowing. The first let-down! Unfortunately, it was the only let-down. My 20 minute pumping session produced one let-down and a little less than an ounce of milk. One single ounce.

I was panicked. How can I workout if I can't leave the baby? I re-channeled my anxiety and committed to pumping once every night with the hope that my body would begin to make more milk in order to cover the "feeding". I've pumped every night since, and slowly but surely, I've been able to produce more milk--last night, 2 ounces which = 1 feeding.

What's even better is that I've been to the gym 5 times since I joined, and on the night that Andy braved it alone, he fed Roscoe a bottle and lulled him back to sleep. I arrived home to a quiet house, a long hot shower, and another pumping session.

It's hard to describe how it feels when everything works. Roscoe seems to be mellowing out and I'm back at the gym. I think I'm getting the hang of being Roscoe's mom, and I'm finally starting to feel like myself again. My life: different but improved.

Here's another note of thanks--I'm grateful for technology that allows me to mother the old fashioned way, and still keep up with the modern day.

Splish Splash, part II

Since Roscoe was born he has taken his baths or showers with us, or more commonly we use a bath sling in the tub. The sling allows for the bathtub to be filled up with enough water to keep him warm, elevates his head above the waterline, and gives his arms and legs freedom to move around. Tonight his sling was in the washing machine, and he's pretty much outgrown it anyway, so we decided to revisit the Wash Pod.

You might remember the first time we used it, which was a mini disaster, but now that Roscoe can sit up more or less on his own, the Wash Pod has proven to be as cool as I had originally hoped.

With a slip-proof cushion nestled into the bottom, Roscoe was so content and seemingly comfy sitting with his legs crossed, water up to his chest. He stayed nice and warm with plenty of room to splash around, and even had enough space to share it with a few of his favorite bath toys.

Speaking of which, I will recommend these fun sea lights made by Munchkin: they have a soft plastic outer that is perfect for little hands, they float, they stick to the side of the tub, and they have three settings: on, off, and blinking. Roscoe really enjoys them! The only downside is that the batteries cannot be replaced when they die, but ours are still going strong several months after purchase, and at 5 or 6 dollars a pair, I think it's totally worth it!

The only downside to the Wash Pod is that when it was time to actually bathe Roscoe (as opposed to play) I had to pull him out, soap him up, and rinse him in the faucet. It wasn't a big deal, but I didn't get the job done without getting wet.

The last to know.

Kickboxing has been my sport of choice for years. I took my first kickboxing class in highschool, but I really fell in love with the power and the sweat during undergrad. In the world of fitness there are few things I like more than weightlifting, plyometrics, and kickboxing. Oh, and rowing. And running, but only races...seriously though, my heart remains with boxing.

I recently learned that there is an LA Boxing gym in my area. It's tucked in a place where no one would find it, and in fact, when I looked for boxing gyms a few months ago I completely missed it.

Now that I know it exists, I can't stop thinking about it, and I've suddenly found something worth leaving Roscoe for.

Back to the Pump!!

I haven't even attempted to pump in the last three or four months. It was so much work for such little milk, and I found ways to workout closer to home so there really was no need. Still, I figured that something might have changed in the last few months and when I pulled out the pump two nights ago, I had visions of pumping a half bottle with ease....but instead I pumped an ounce. TOTAL. I guess that's what I get for having a baby that nurses every hour, 24 hours a day.

So I turned to the Internet to help me troubleshoot, and I know there are so many variables involved in this equation, but I believe that I definitely have the wrong breastshield size. This article helped, but why is the importance of proper breastshield size not common knowledge? This is a pretty important piece of the pump (there are only three parts!)!

I had to order the shield online because apparently no one in the DC area needs a small breastshield. It's shipping from Hawaii so I have to wait until the 20th to get it. Which is a big fat bummer.

I heart BGs!!

Wow, long time no post!

With one week under out belts, I would give Bum Genius cloth diapers 4 stars (out of 4).

I used BGs during the daytime when we were at home, and disposables for outings and overnight. Roscoe typically goes through 8 diapers a day. We have 12 BGs, so I had to wash them about every other day in order to keep up with him.

This is how we do it
1) Remove dirty diaper
2) Secure velcro tabs
3) Remove insert and place both the insert and diaper in a plastic bag
4) When all but one or two diapers are dirty, take the bag and dump the ENTIRE contents into the washing machine
5) Add 1/4 the recommended laundry detergent and wash in COLD
6) Wash a second time in HOT with an extra rinse cycle
7) Dry on warm
8) Restuff the diapers

I've found the whole routine to be very simple; the diapers are so easy to use, they wash really well, and we've had no leaks so far--unlike with the disposables. Plus, I think Roscoe looks pretty cute!

I did realize that I need more inserts (so I can stuff and reuse the diapers that are only wet), and two wet bags for our disposal system. We'll go another few weeks and if I still love them we may buy another set of 12.

Who knew dirty diapers could be so much fun?!

Let the cloth diapering begin!

Roscoe is finally big enough to wear his Bum Genius diapers!


This marks day 1 of non-exclusive cloth diapering! I'll post a 7 day recap next week.

Time and Money

While some women shop for shoes, purses, or other fashion accessory, the object of my shopping affection has been for a long time paint chips, textiles, and upholstery. I love agonizing over the details of shade, shape, and form vs. function.

Shopping for items to furnish the spaces in which we live has always been somewhat of a hobby for me. And I never bring into the house a thing that I don't love.

When we found out we were expecting, our attention turned from the communal living spaces to Roscoe's nursery. We had been dreaming about the look and feel of his room long before he was conceived when we encountered an inspirational find from Richmond's favorite toy store: a sweet, hand knit bunny made of wool. With his purchase, our color scheme was born. From there, we scoured stores online and on foot to piece-by-piece create a cool, eclectic, nature themed space fit only for our little one.

Now that Roscoe is here, I spend a majority of my day perched on our bed nursing, napping, or keeping Roscoe company while he sleeps. With all this time spent idle, I've become quite good at surfing the Internet one handed. With the nursery complete, a house that's practically full, and a new baby, I've quickly found my way in the baby marketplace.

We'll have to tip our fed ex and UPS delivery men well this Christmas!

A few of my recent favorite purchases:

Twirls and Twigs seahorse recycled cotton blanket
Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether
Picky Stickies
Winkel
Skwish

Bummer

For a long time (5 weeks) I've been complaining about how I want to get back to the gym, and how I've been held prisoner by the "breastfeeding/pumping/bottle feeding/nipple confusion" dilemma.

It's been almost six weeks since Roscoe was born. Six is also the number of weeks we were told to wait before introducing a bottle. Despite the frustrating fact that Roscoe and I really have not perfected the art of breastfeeding, I've become more comfortable with the idea of introducing a bottle.

Our pediatrician recommended that we practice bottle feeding with Roscoe beforehand, in case he did not immediately take to it. I assumed that we would work on bottle feeding this week, and by NEXT week we would all be feeling confident enough for me to re-enter the fit club.

Plus, with Roscoe currently going through another growth spurt, and nursing every hour or so for the last 28 hours, I figured now would be as good a time to start as any.

Andy crossed the street to retrieve my frozen stash of breast milk from our neighbor's freezer (why they had the milk is a story for a different day), and I quickly set about defrosting the baggies in a bowl of running water. Sadly, I hadn't pumped nearly as much as I remembered, and had to use 6 of the 8 baggies I had stored in order to constitute a meager 4 ounces. Given, my initial efforts at pumping in the early weeks did not amount to very much milk, and I haven't really been motivated to pump since then.

After I filled the bottle (a brand that claims to mimic breastfeeding by requiring the baby to first compress the inner chamber, and then suck the nipple to release the milk), I heated a pot of water and diligently swirled the bottle around for several minutes until the milk was nice and warm.

Earlier in the day we had reread an article dedicated to "bottle feeding the breastfed baby" so we were feeling prepared, and excited to get started.

No sooner had Andy touched the nipple to Roscoe's lips, than Roscoe went to town. He quickly sucked down the first ounce which had us worried because we were aiming to spread the feeding out over 20 minutes or more. Andy initiated breaks every so often to burp Roscoe and engage him in conversation, but Roscoe was pretty short tempered, with only one thing on his mind.

Once it was clear that good progress was being made, I sat down on the other side of the room to pump and simultaneously eat my dinner. I could hear Roscoe's satisfied gulps, and little sighs, and could see his fists balled up tight under his chin.



As Roscoe enjoyed his first bottled meal, I was feeling really good about the whole thing. I imagined hopping out the back door, my tennies firmly on the road, and run, run, running .... back at home Andy would prepare a bottle, feed our little Roscoe 'till his belly was full, and I would return home 400 calories lighter to the treat of a sleeping baby.

Just as I was getting giddy I heard a little gurgle. Two seconds later Andy yelled out "Roscoe just projectile vomited all his milk!"

No. Way.

But it was true. In one steady stream, he'd literally evacuated the entire contents of his belly, and the evidence was all over Poppa and poor Baby Roscoe.

At the realization I suddenly felt quite depressed. Seriously. I wanted to cry.

The good news is that Roscoe took to the bottle like a baby leach. The bad news is that my frozen milk supply is practically gone, and now that we've established our desire to bottle feed him once a day, I have to figure out how to logistically breastfeed a baby every couple hours AND pump enough milk to escape the house 5 times a week.

We also learned a few good lessons:
1. Stretch the feeding session even more in order to allow his body to accurately register when he's full
2. Burp often and long enough to get out all the bubbles
3. No bouncing, or playing immediately after a feeding

And, as a final note, I will remind myself that even though this was not a perfect first run, I am that much closer to gaining a little freedom! This could mean a trip to the gym, a run around the neighborhood, date night, a movie, or even just a break during one of Roscoe's feeding frenzies.