My Yummy Valentine

Blake's friends at MyGym had a Valentine's Party on Friday afternoon. And it was probably the cutest little party I've seen so far!

There were kids of all ages there. I think Blake may have been the youngest by a few months but he was so interested in the other kids. They were running, tumbling, dancing, and jumping. He couldn't help but giggle and smile at all of them.

We all introduced ourselves and then we sang songs together as a group. Sweet, little Valentine's songs. :-) Then the bigger kids were grouped together to do some activities while Blake and the other little ones were doing other activities.

First up was cupcake decorating! (I was screaming and jumping for joy... quietly, to myself!)

It was Blake's first time smushing a cake. I let him play with food at home so he could get familiar with the textures and all, but this was his first time with sugary sweets. He didn't eat any of it, but he definitely played with it. Actually, taking a look at the pictures... it looks like he did get a little taste of it! Silly boy! ;-) He was more curious and intrigued by the feeling of the icing. He was so quiet, just pushing the icing with his little pointer finger and then finally putting his entire hand on it.

He kept reaching back and patting me, getting icing all over my shirt and pants. But it was just too adorable, I really didn't care.

The final cupcake design!

After cupcake decorating, we made his first Valentine's card. I unstuck some stickers and gave it to him to put onto his heart card. I squirted some glittery goo onto the card and tried to get him to play with it. But once he put his hand on the goo, he wasn't having it. I guess the slimy feeling between his fingers didn't fly for him.

After cupcake decorating and card making, the little ones gathered in a circle and sang more songs. And played with bubbles!

That was Blake's first up close and personal experience with bubbles. He was nervous and shaking at first but kept looking at the other babies playing with them. He started to reach out and catch them, but every time they disappeared he had this blank look on his face. lol!

Where did the bubbles go?

Ahhhh... it was just too much cuteness in one afternoon!

Is it weird that I keep passing his Valentine's card and getting a little emotional? I'm not sure what emotion it is that sweeps over me but there's some feeling there. Like I'll never let go of it! (Uh oh... is this the start of mommy hoarding?!)

8 Months

My little blakeybee turned 8 months the other day. February 5th. I'm a little late in posting it because I haven't had a chance to take his picture.

He is pulling himself up now, and gets in the crawling stance but he's not quiet there yet. He rocks back and forth and then falls on his belly or face plants. And boy, does he hate that!

I've noticed that during the past 3 days he has also been taking long naps in the afternoon! 3 days in a row... Is this a dream? A teaser?! Or is this trend here to stay?!! :)

Busy Wednesdays

I had my workout this morning and then Blake had his. Our busy, busy Wednesdays! I love it!

Timing works out perfect. My workout is from 9-10:15ish. Blake's MyGym class starts at 11:45 so he gets to nap in the car. I usually get to MyGym a little earlier so while he's napping, I get about 15-20 minutes to read my textbooks while we wait in the car.

We go into his class a little early so we can get settled. Make sure his diaper is changed, shoes and socks off, take off his winter layers, and then let him get situated and familiar with where he is.

By the time class is over, he's worn out. So back in the car we go...

Except this time, we stopped by Cupcake Blvd. since it's in the same plaza. And mommies always deserve cupcakes! ;)

Before he could nap again, we stopped and looked at the delicious options and picked a few up for later.

Time to head home!

He napped for a bit in the car but the drive is only 10 minutes, if that. Once we got home, I brought him up to his crib and my little munchkin has been sleeping since!

... Going on two hours of naptime now...

I've finished a load of laundry and put more in, finished another chapter for one of my classes, ate lunch without rushing, and now... Here I am... With time to update the blog!

Man... I love long naps for this kid! I'll take a 2 hour nap versus mini 30 minute naps every 2-3 hours.

Cloth Diapering Adventure - Part I

As a single mom, working part time, and studying full time, I tend to research a lot of things before I actually spend the money to buy something.

Like diapers.

I found that 20 cents a diaper is the typical going price. I knew there had to be a cheaper option. To find the cost of a diaper, I took the price of boxes and packs divided it by the number of diapers included.

When Blake was a wee one, he easily went through about 8 diapers a day. Now that he sleeps a little longer through the night and he has been pooping on his potty, he goes through about 4-6 diapers a day. On average, that's about $33 to $45 a month. Not too bad, I guess... but I like to try and cut costs wherever possible.

I researched cloth diaper options and was overwhelmed with the types, fits, and brands. But there's a local baby store that is big on cloth diapers so I made a little trip with the Blakester. They totally answered all of my questions! I left feeling like a pro!

Thinking of how I can keep things easy and understandable for Blake's dad, his grandparents, and babysitters... I needed to find something that was just like a disposable diaper. So that narrowed it down to hook-and-loop diapers, which are also known as velcro diapers. They stick and unstick just like disposies. But I only purchased a few of those since Blake is with me for the most part. The rest of his cloth diapers are snaps. Snap button diapers are known to last longer because the velcro on the other dipes tend to wear down.

Next, I found that one size diapers would be more beneficial for me in the long run because most accommodate kids up to 35-40 pounds. At the time, Blake was already past the newborn sizes anyway so I had no need to worry about tiny little dipes. Why wouldn't I go with the go-as-you-grow option?!

Now... did I want all-in-ones or pockets? Pockets seemed more reasonable to me because I could clean the inserts separate or treat the diapers if they get stains on them.

After all of that, I purchased about 12 diapers at about $15 a pop (give or take a dollar or so). That rounds up to $180. $180 for diapers... for the rest of Blake's diaper-wearing days. A year of disposable diapers would have cost me about $480 - $500 something. That's just one year...

I honestly love cloth diapers. The idea of not filling up landfills with my baby's stinkies is pretty cool, too. To top it off, Blake is absolutely adorable in cloth dipes! The patterns and colors are so fun to play with when I get him dressed!

Staying Active

Blake and I recently signed up for Stroller Strides to get some time out of the house and be active. We missed today's mommy workout/baby play group because my mother had an appointment. But... I made up for his out-of-the-house activity time.

We went to Westfield Annapolis Mall late this morning/early afternoon. I love going to that mall with Blake because of the awesome Family Lounge set up and private nursing rooms! Makes breastfeeding a whole lot easier when Blake isn't distracted or when I'm fighting to keep the nursing cover on. Lol!

the family lounge

 



 little kids play area

 

 the nursing rooms

 

(can you find my little monkey in the picture?)

 

We also went to the play place there. Tons of kids, some his age and some a little older but he's used to that. He loves trying to crawl around and pull himself up. I think the colors and the happy kids just always amuses him. Just like when we go to MyGym. He gets so happy when he's on the floor and free to do almost anything he wants!

 

 

 

 

 

 

After play time, he got exhausted and napped in his stroller while I was able to roam around... And dream about spoiling myself. Instead, I bought stuff for Blake. I can't help it!! Especially since there are so many great sales going on right now!

Milk Money

Blake and I have been really blessed with a great breast milk supply!

Once we established a routine, and after he was a month old, I started hand expressing milk so I could try and sleep through the night and his dad or my parents could feed Blake. After two weeks of hand expressing, I started pumping...

I pumped after every feeding. About every two hours. That was a seriously exhausting time in my life... But I adjusted. It just took a little time.

When Blake was almost 4 months, I started pumping every 4 hours so I could go back to school and work. And since then my milk supply has been golden! Blake is on one bottle of breast milk a day, IF THAT. The rest of the time he feeds off of me. Soooo...

I have a ton of extra milk.

I had to buy another freezer, in addition to the two we already have.

To stop myself from buying a fourth freezer, I looked into donating and selling my milk.

Every two months, I donate 300-500 ounces of milk depending on if I have a local family that needs to restock their supply and how much I produce. The organization I use is the National Milk Bank (nationalmilkbank.org). And they have been more than accomodating and helpful. I'll get into that later.

So I have a few families in the area that contact me for milk. We found each other on onlythebreast.com. Thankfully, I found sane, funny, and adorable families. There really are some creepers and perverts out there so if you choose to use the site, make sure you do a thorough screening of the family. If you have questions, just message me. I would love to help you!

One mom purchases 1000 ounces every two months from me. Another mom gets a supplemental stock every month. About 150-300 ounces. The other mom just 50 ounces a month. If you do the math, that's a huge butt load of milk!

Being a single mom, working part time and in school full time, I'll take whatever we are blessed with. We've been given the gift of breast milk, and we want to share it! Plus, a little extra income on the side is certainly helpful.

Yesterday, Blake's dad was able to watch him while I trekked out about an hour to meet my bulk-buying mama. We did a 650 ounce exchange at the rest area between us. Every time I do that, I feel like it's so shady. Transferring bags of milk from my cooler to her cooler and then exchanging the money. I call the transactions my "milk drops". haha! It was nice to get out on my own though, driving and taking in the scenery...

The mom showed me pictures of her daughter before she started drinking my milk (at a little under one month old) and of her now. She is a beautiful little girl and it's just so awesome seeing how I've helped a family. I always love seeing the pictures of the kids growing up! It's so... rewarding! I wish I could explain the feeling but for now, I'll stop rambling... ;-)

So Sili!

Blake's food is all homemade, if not already ready-to-eat fruits and veggies.

He loves salmon and chicken. Apples, pears, bananas, and peaches. Broccoli, carrots, pumpkin, yams, and eggplant. Quinoa and oatmeal. He eats almost everything. He basically eats whatever I eat here at home, but without all the spices and stuff. He doesn't like potatoes, but I'm ok with that. At least he's eating. And he's healthy. ☺

To make eating on the go a bit easier, I researched ways to pack up his homemade purees. We tried one of the Happy Baby purees in a pouch and he enjoyed it. So I wanted something similar to that way of feeding when we're out and about.

The less I have to pack with me, the better. The less mess, the more sanity I get to hold onto!

And in comes the Sili Company products (http://thesilico.com/). I bought the Sili Squeeze and the Sili Squeeze with Eeeze when they were half price on one of those daily discount baby sites. They are basically the same as the to-go pouches you see in the store, but instead of paying $1.25+ for each one, I can just wash and re-use these with the already made food we have at home.

The Sili Squeeze has a bit of a tricky spout but it is a no-mess spout. The baby or child has to bite down on it and suck in order for the food to come out. Blake couldn't really get a hang of that just yet. Maybe it'll be better when he's a bit older and can hold it himself.

For now, we use the Sili Squeeze with Eeeze. Just like the store bought pouches, you can squeeze the food into the child's mouth with no hassle. No need for packing up a spoon, napkins, baggies, or little food container. Pour the purée in the Sili and you're good to go!

I love it! Helpful and affordable! Would I recommend it to friends? You betcha!