In order to survive life as a busy mom, and still look halfway decent, you need to have some quality swag in your arsenal. Here are some of my favorites...
Dry Shampoo A shower can sometimes be hard to come by, especially as a new mom, and I was no different from any other mom in this fact. I am also not blessed with the type of hair that can do a few days in between shampoos, looking better each day. Even if I've managed to get in the hsower, my hair looks flat and greasy by the end of the day. I had heard rumors about the existence of dry shampoo in the past. Then I really heard about it during a brief viewing of I'm a Celebrity Get me Out of Here when Heidi Montag freaked out because another cast member had stolen her dry shampoo, leaving her an oily mess. Then over a recent glass of wine, a friend told me that she uses it. So off to Sephora I went to try it out. The result - fabulous! My brand of choice, Oscar Blondi . It actually works great at taking away any greasiness and keeps you looking impossibly fresh for another 12 hours.
Totally Tubular I don't tend to wear a lot of make-up on a daily basis - but I am not one of those wash and go people. I still have a minimum number of products that have to grace my face to leave the house, loose powder, blush and mascara. My latest obsession is Trish McEvoy's lash curling mascara. All of Trish McEvoy's mascaras utilize new tubes technology - which if you've never heard of it means - it DOES NOT SMUDGE. This stuff doesn't budge until you decide to remove it with warm water - it doesn't even require soap! When you do take it off, you give your lashes a gentle tug and the mascara pulls off in these weird little tubes that kind of look like tiny black whiskers. But if you are feeling tired or lazy and don't bother to wash your face before you go to bed, you won't wake up with raccoon eyes, or stained sheets. You just wake up with mascara still on your lashes! If you don't feel like shelling out $28, L'Oreal also makes a tube mascara that works very nicely and will only cost you about $11.
Vaseline I have a serious love of Vaseline . I use it for everything! I love it so much in fact that last year for Christmas my mother-in-law gave my a jar of Vaseline the size of a cereal box. I keep it in my car, in the bathroom, and by my bed. You can rub it into your heels and cuticles, and glob it on your lips before you go to sleep. I'll even put it on instead of my under eye cream in a pinch. I have even heard makeup artists say putting a little on your cheekbones or on your eyelids can give you a lovely glow.
Your Kid If all else fails, and you're having a bad everything day, dress your kid extra cute and use them as a shield. I know that if I put Jon Jon in a Gap ad worthy outfit, no one is probably going to notice me anyway. And if someone unexpectedly grabs a camera, throw on some big sunglasses, a little Vaseline on your lips, and hold your child in front of you. Picture perfect!
Being a mom has really opened up a whole new world to me - of shopping! Who knew it was so exciting to buy 4" inseam jeans and moose covered jammies! Even buying new sippy cups has a certain thrill to it. Here's a few of my past, present, and future favorite shopping adventures.
A few months ago a friend introduced me to Etsy.com, a fabulous website for artisans and collectors of super cool stuff to sell their wares. Aside from having tons of fun just looking at the crazy things you can buy on this site, like leather children's lederhosen (because who doesn't need a pair of those), you can also get great kids clothes. I just ordered these super cute Robeez-esque shoes embroidered with Jon Jon's name on it. Same price as Robeez, but you choose your color combo and style, and get to put your little tike's name on them.
On the subject of shoes, I just found this fabulous footwear through Daily Candy Kids. Stonz Wear makes the most fabulous looking boots for kids I've ever seen. A little pricey at $47, but when you see them, you just might bust out your Amex anyway. The good news, is because the sizing is pretty loose, you could get away with one size for the whole winter, which may make you feel a little less guilty about buying them. Or you could so what I'm doing, and adding this to Grandma's Christmas list.
One website that is no stranger to moms everywhere is One Step Ahead. They have affordable, practical and just plain cool stuff to makes moms and kids lives easier and more fun. My latest favorite from this website is this sleeping "blanket" with legs! Now that Jon Jon is Mr rolly
polly in the crib, I knew there was no way he could be put into sleeping bags this winter. But I am terrified of the blanket-SIDS possibilities so these little gems are the perfect solution. Plus he feels super cuddly when you hold his while wearing this baby version of the Snuggie.
Another soon-to-be-mom friend introduced to me the fabulous shopping excitement of bTrendie. This super cool site has a never ending rotation of designer brand sales that last only a couple days, and have rock bottom prices; in other words, you snooze you loose. This week on bTrendie they will be having a sale on urban chic strollers from Quinny and Maxi-Cosi car seats, both at 40% off prices. They say these events are invite-only, but this really only means you need to sign up with your email address to create and account.
On the same idea of an invite-only website is Hautelook. This discount shopping site not only has designer children's clothes, but items for mom, dad and the home as well. This week on Hautelook you can score some swag from Right Bank Babies, and Siwy jeans. So go get your shop on! And best of all, all this cool stuff can be purchased while in the comfort of your slippers, and on your couch during baby's nap time. Enjoy!
Babies come with a lot of stuff. As a pregnant new mom, walking into a Babies 'R' Us store is enough to make you hyperventilate and send you into early labor. What the heck is a Boppy? Why are there 30 different kinds of bottles? Do I really need a Diaper Genie? Filling out your baby registry can be a scary experience and by the time you are done you have no idea how you ended up with no less than 40 bibs, 58 onsies, and 10 sets of sheets. Having a baby can certainly be an exercise in excess. But it doesn't have to be. I was really adamant about not letting my home turn into babyland - and have somewhat succeeded. But this only comes from being super picky and not buying everything in sight before the baby comes (very hard to do). Because what you think you need pre-baby, may change drastically post-baby. This is also where having other new mom friends or joining a mom group while you are still pregnant, comes in super handy. Ask lots of advice on what their favorite items were and what were a total waste of money.
These are a few of my most useful and favorite baby products thus far... (in no particular order - because that would tax my mommy brain way too much!) 1. A baby swing. This was not an item I bought before Jon Jon was born. But a Mommy friend of mine offered up hers as a loaner and I was an immediate convert. So much so that I now have two. One upstairs and one downstairs - which is also a travel swing that folds up and can go to grandma's house without too much effort. These are a great place for newborns to nap, a safe place to hold your baby when you can not, and a place they can lounge and play with small toys once their dexterity kicks in.
2. Activity center. If you've been reading my blog already, you know what a fan I am of my Baby Einstein Activity Center. From the time I finally put it together - it is by far his favorite toy! And again, it is a great place to put your baby while you are trying to get a few things done. Granted this is a rather large item and I was skeptical about having it in the middle of my living room. But it is so useful and Jon Jon loves it so much, that it now has a permanent spot. I love the fact that this one has a seat that swivels around, so he can feel he is somewhat control his destiny - and it has a lot of different level toys, that as he becomes more coordinated he can find new things to do. 3. Tivo. Ok - this is not a baby item. But if you have a baby, and you enjoy watching TV, you MUST have Tivo. Never again (unless the baby is sleeping, and sometimes not even then) will you be able to watch your favorite show, uninterrupted, from start to finish. But when you Tivo, you can make better use of your time - no commercials to sit through - and you can be sure that when you do finally have some time to collapse on the couch, you are not stuck watching whatever happens to be on. You can watch American Idol, even if it happens to be 5a.m.
4. Cheap bottles. I registered for Born Free bottles. But when I opened the box, and saw that each bottle had about 5 pieces that needed to be taken apart and put back together every time you filled or washed them, I said "Oh, no. No way." Next time I was at Walmart I bought simple, no fuss, no mess Gerber bottles, and have never looked back. Now, I do realize that some bottles may make certain babies more gassy than others, and Moms may find that these complicated bottle systems are the only way to go. But why not try the simple ones first? Maybe you'll never need anything else. They are also a lot lighter to carry around, and for baby to try and hold. Also, if you leave one somewhere you won't feel so bad about it being out ten bucks.
5. My Bugaboo stroller. I can't say enough great things about this stroller. This is an investment item for sure, and if you can get a few people to go in on one for a gift, even better. But this stroller will most likely be the only stroller you need to buy, saving you money, hassle, and garage space in the long run. From infancy, if you buy the car seat adapter and corresponding car seat, you can take baby from car and into the store or for a walk with a quick snap on the frame. We also used the bassinet portion of this stroller for the first month of Jon Jon's life. We kept it in our bedroom and wheeled him around to the side of bed to who ever was in charge of the next feeding. The seat also pops on and off very easily - so you could really use to double as an infant seat - easily plopping it on the floor or on a table. I could go on and on about this stroller.... not to mention that they look cool and come in all sorts of fun colors!
6. Portable Ipod speakers. When we started our night time routine with Jon Jon at about 6 weeks old, it included listening to a Bach for Babies CD. Then we placed small Ipod/nano speaker dock in his room and it is always cued up to Bach - press one button and you're all set. But this has also been invaluable for traveling. We have done a lot of mini vacations since Jon Jon was born, and this speaker has come everywhere with us. And no matter where he is, in a pack 'n' play or crib, at Grandma's or Nana's, as soon as he hears his favorite Bach tune, he knows its sleepy time. Our player also runs on batteries if needed, and I have used this for long car trips, to give him something familiar to listen to when he starts to get fussy.
Since Jon Jon is on the eve of his 6 month birthday, we'll stop at 6 favorites. I am sure there will still be mistaken purchases in the years to come. But in the current economy, getting the biggest bang for you baby gear buck has never been more important. So bring on the advice! What are your favorite baby items? Looking ahead to months 6-12, what do you think will help us make it through relatively stress free?? Because isn't that really the point of all this stuf?!
OK - so I've definitely been feeling pretty unmotivated lately, and haven't updated in awhile. Or perhaps it's because I've been busy building an ark because of all the freakin' rain we've been having! I can not remember the last time it rained so much. I haven't taken Jon Jon for a walk in his stroller in 2 weeks. And rain boots have become a permanent fashion accessory. The only upside is that I have not had to water my gardens since Memorial Day.
It leads me to question, if I did have to build an ark, what would I put in it? And I'm not talking about packing it with pairs to keep the animal kingdom in balance. What are the necessities for my families survival? Well this question is not too far off from reality. Next week Big Jon, Little Jon and I are heading north for 5 days. Childhood friends of Jon have a home on the island of North Haven, Maine. We are super excited to spend some quality time with good people, good food, good drink, and we hope - good weather! But to get there we need to travel a solid 5 hours by car, and then another hour and half by ferry - all with a 5 month old strapped into his car seat. If you are a mom, you can imagine that I have been having nightmares about making this trip and even more so, packing for it, for weeks.
Normally when you travel, and you get that nagging suspicion that you've forgotten something, you say "Well, there are stores. If I forget something, I'll just buy it." But this will not be the case on North Haven. There is one store (I think) and I'm pretty sure they won't have my child's specific Evenflow bottle nipples, or the bath lotion without which he cannot sleep. So everyday I have been making a mental list of all the things I must not forget (yes - writing it down would make more sense - but mommy brain prevents me from being sensible). And then there are my worries of how will I keep my baby happy and amused when not in his own surroundings. Ideally I want to throw the Baby Einstein activity center in the back of the car - but that's crazy, right? Nobody else coming has a child and will most likely look at us like those crazy parents who have to drag all this paraphernalia with them wherever they go. But all I want to do is make sure Jon Jon is happy and not crying and miserable the whole time, and thus making everyone else miserable.
Now if we actually had an ark, I could fit everything I needed in it! Fabulous - no worries. But alas we do not have an ark. What we do have is my mother-in-law's Lexus SUV - the largest car of any family member that we could borrow - and hopefully that will do the trick. We plan to pack it to the brim with essentials for the whole family, clothes, food, cocktails, board games, croquet mallets and possibly, if we can fit it, Baby Einstein himself. A refreshing change will be the lack of un-essentials... cable TV, Wi Fi, cell phone signals, computers, etc. What we will enjoy is the view of the ocean, the smell of steaks on the grill, eagles soaring by, the taste of fresh lobsters and the clink of a wine glass or two. I think I can live with that for a few days, even if we do have to have the tunes of Old MacDonald in the background.
I am a total Ebay addict! I love it! The bargains, the thrill of the auction and the "presents" that come in the mail thereafter. All in all, a great experience. But as a Mom it's an amazing place to get all the gear you need for you new life with baby. Soon after I got pregnant I starting Ebay stalking Bugaboo strollers - the Mercedes Benz of strollers. Big Jon was horrified when I told him that the limited edition Denim Bugaboo Cameleon I wanted went for a cool $1000! But with some perseverance I found one on Ebay, barely used, for $580! Almost half price! And the great news, is that these strollers are so popular, and hold up so well, that I will probably be able to turn around in sell it to another Mom in a few years when we are done with it.
I've also bought a shamefully large amount of baby clothes on Ebay. New or used, it makes no difference to me - after all, at the rate babies grow out of clothes, you know the used items have not been worn that many times. Cute boys clothes are especially hard to find, and the baby stores at the mall just don't always cut it. But on Ebay you can find great, boutique only brands from all over the country. You can save searches for certain brands you like, and you'll get notified when those items get listed - thus saving you lots of precious searching time. Buying Robeez has been a recent favorite pastime of mine. These fun and colorful leather crib shoes sell for $28 new, but I only paid $12 for my favorite "Mom Tattoo" shoes!
Aside from getting a great deal, I love the idea of "recycling" Mom money. Most of the baby items for sale are coming directly from other moms, who are trying to earn money to buy new gear for their kids. And I have done the same thing. I have sold already outgrown items on Ebay and then used that same money to buy new items for Jon Jon. It helps me out, and it helps other Moms out. And in this economy, who couldn't use a little help? But possible the best thing about Ebay, is that you don't have to take a shower, pack up the baby, find a parking space, fight the crowds and pray that your baby doesn't start screaming, in order to go shopping. You can do it during nap time, while in your bathrobe and slippers, sipping a cup of tea, on the comfort of your sofa. So thanks Ebay for giving Moms a place to exchange their fabulous finds! Now if you'll excuse me, I have some shopping to do - while still in my slippers of course!
When Jon Jon was 6 weeks old, the novelty of sleep deprivation was wearing off. He was certainly not sleeping through the night, and we were experiencing the "Witching Hours" - where he was fussy from 6-10pm. At my wits end, I did what any looking-to-be-informed mom would do - I Googled. At this point we were not swaddling Jon Jon. The receiving blankets just weren't cutting it, and the velcro style swaddles were no match for his wiggling hands. He would pop them out and start scratching and rubbing his face, thus waking him up. But during my internet search about swaddles I came across the Miracle Blanket. I watched the demonstration video on the companies website, and thought that this straight jacket style swaddle just might be on to something. And then it occurred to me, I had seen this strange, bat-winged piece of blue fabric somewhere before. It was in my closet! My sister-in-law Jill had included it in a box of hand-me-downs from her son Jack. When I first saw it, I had no idea what it was! But I quickly ran upstairs and pulled out the wadded up piece of mystery fabric and could hardly wait to try it out on my little guy.
The Miracle Blanket was a miracle for sure! Jon Jon started sleeping better right away. I was in love - with the swaddle that is. Fast forward to this past week. We had been swaddling Jon Jon consistently every night, and occasionally during naps, and the affects on his sleep quality, and ours, were wonderful. But as he has grown, the little bugger has started to bust out of his swaddle. First one foot, then one arm, then all limbs - which basically left him with a wad of fabric wrapped around his belly. Sadly I thought we had reached the end of our swaddle days. So we attempted to put him to sleep without the swaddle, and once more he scratched and rubbed his face awake. In a panic of - how will we all ever sleep again?! - once more I Googled, this time, "sleeping without swaddles", to see how other parents dealt with this challenge.
What I found surprised me. On parenting chat boards people were consistently talking about their babies being addicted to swaddling, and unable to sleep without it. Jon Jon addicted to swaddling?? And here I thought he was trying to break out of his swaddle because he didn't like it anymore, and it was I who was addicted to his swaddle, or rather the side effects of the swaddle - a good nights sleep. People talked of slowly transitioning their baby out of their swaddle, first one arm, then the second. But others talked of just swaddling their babies arms, so that they wouldn't wake themselves with their twitchy hands. Bingo! So last night when he woke up at 1am, I broke out the swaddle once more, and wrapped up those arms nice and tight, but left his legs dangling out the bottom. Jon Jon slept like a rock once more. So maybe he was addicted to this blue, cotton miracle.
But when will our addiction end? Will he ever sleep without his swaddle? I suddenly have visions of swaddling a teenage boy. I know it won't come to that, and at some point he will sleep soundly without the aid of turning into a little burrito. But for now I will continue to swaddle Jon Jon and hopefully it will once again bring back our sleep filled nights.
At about 12 weeks old, my precious Jon Jon started sleeping through the night. And I'm not talking about the baby books definition of 5-6 hours. He was sleeping a blissful 10-12 hours a night! I was in heaven. Finally, the bags under my eyes and the fog in my brain started to lift. I was basking in the glow of my "good sleeper".
Last night Jon Jon quickly passed out at his normal sleep time of 6:30, but soon he would be changing the rules. A couple times I could hear (and see) him on the baby monitor crying early in the evening. I went to check on him, and he appeared to be crying in his sleep?! I did not even know this was possible. I left him alone and just as fast as he had started crying, he stopped. Then, during American Idol (grrr), he did it again. And at 10pm he was awake for real and wanting a bottle. Well that was not all - he woke again at 1am talking to himself in his crib for 20 minutes until he finally started to cry and we fed him again. At 3:30 I heard him once more and when I turned in bed to look at the monitor, there was my little angel, completely escaped from his swaddle and playing with the toy attached to the side of his crib. But he was also yelling at it. Kind of funny, if it was at 3 in the afternoon, but not at 3 in the morning. I fed him another bottle and he went back to sleep but only for another 2 hours, and then he was up for good.
Well, this was totally unacceptable! I have gotten used to sleeping again. This just would not do. So when Jon Jon went down for his first nap, instead of taking that much needed nap myself, I went straight to the internet and Googled "baby night waking." Good ol' Baby Center had some ideas. Temperature change? Nope. Change in nighttime routine? Guess again. Developmental milestone? Hmmm - he has been talking and yelling, umm I mean vocalizing, a lot the past few days. Could this be the answer? Could all his daytime chatting have left him wanting more?
So if this is the answer, what can be done about it? Should I "talk" to him nonstop during the day, so that he's all talked out by bedtime? Should I ignore his ooos and ahhs? Well obviously this would be a horrible thing for a Mommy to do! I am supposed to be encouraging his development. In fact all his talking has even led me down the Mom fantasy road of: Will he be saying his first words by six months old? Maybe he'll become a great singer! Or a fabulous public speaker! Maybe he'll travel the world on the lecture circuit and always thanking his Mom for her fabulous mothering and encouraging him from an early age. But I quickly see where all this mom-tasizing could lead, and reel myself in.
What will tonight hold? Will Jon Jon be talking in his sleep once more? Only time will tell. But for the moment I will enjoy the ooos and ahhs, even if they come at 2 in the morning, and spend my extra waking hours thinking of all the great things he may do with his amazing oratory skills... like saying Mamma.
On the subject of shoes, I just found this fabulous footwear through 
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