Mommy must-haves!

My cousin, Josh, and his wonderful wife, Christina, are expecting a sweet little baby in August, and David and I are soooooooo excited for them!  Several weeks ago, she emailed me and asked me, "What in the world do I register for?!?!"  Well, I have been keeping a running list of things (with David's help!), and I was going to email it all to her.  BUT, today, I started cleaning out some of Grayson's things, and I realized there is so much more than I thought there was!  :)  So, I decided that I would share with everyone what I think a new mommy (and daddy!) just CANNOT live without (in no particular order):

1.  Halo Sleepsack Swaddle

These were such a life-saver!!  Grayson could work his way out of a swaddle like it was nothing, which would wake him up.  No matter how tightly we swaddled him, he would still manage to get his legs and/or arms out. The worst part was, he LOVED to be swaddled!  So, once we wrapped him all snuggly in his sleepsack, he would relax and go right to sleep.  Eventually, as we were weaning him from being swaddled, we were able to keep one arm in and one arm out, and it still worked great!  Oh, and Grayson really liked it because he could still kick his legs (and, it reduces the risk of hip dysplasia that can come with swaddling).  

2.  Arm and Hammer Diaper Pail and deoderizers

We have both the Diaper Genie and the Diaper Pail.  BY FAR, the Diaper Pail is the one to get!  It keeps the smell down much better, and it's so much easier to change out the bags. 

These little tablets are wonderful to put in the bottom of the Diaper Pail or anywhere else you might get some smelly/stinky things.  I have about 4 packs of these in the nursery at a time so I always have one handy!  :)

3.  Wipe Warmer

I don't even have to explain this one.  :)

4.  Nuk Pacifiers

We went through our share of pacifiers until we found one that Grayson loved.  We cannot live without the Nuk pacifier.  And, they come in cool designs: colorful for girls, and baseball/soccer/football for boys!  :)

And, the Nuk raspberry teether is great, too!

5.  Dr. Brown Bottles

There is no better bottle for a gas-prone baby.  These are a little more expensive than others, but, again, we went through all different brands and just couldn't have lived without Dr. Brown!

6.  Lovie

Grayson's favorite toy of all-time is his lovie.  (His is a doggie, not a cow.)  He sleeps with it, takes it in the car...it goes wherever he does!  And, I love it because it's machine-washable!  :)

7.  Plush towels

It seems common sense to get baby towels, I know.  But, the important thing is to make sure you get THICK, plush towels.  Some brands of baby towels are so thin that they couldn't dry anything!  

8.  Bath Luves

One of my friends gave me these at my shower, and I have been getting them for everyone ever sense. These are sooooo great!  They help to keep the baby from getting cold during bathtime, AND, they add that little bit of weight that helps to keep baby calm!  

9.  Aquafor

Miracle diaper rash healer.  Period.

10.  All-Purpose Pads

We used these for middle-of-the-floor and on-the-bed diaper changes.  They are machine washable and so handy!

11.  Close and Secure sleeper

Grayson slept in this for the first several weeks.  It was the perfect size for in between David and I, and, you don't have to worry about the baby rolling out of it, or you rolling over on top of the baby.  It also works really well as a travel bed (until the baby gets too big)!  :)

12.  Gerber Zip-up sleepers

They make middle of the night changes so. much. easier.

13.  Swing

We recommend the kind of swing that can go either side to side or front to back, like this one does.  It makes life sooooo much easier.   

14.  Bumbo

I can't even list all the reasons to get this.  It's a definite must have!

15.  Boppy

Great for breastfeeding, snuggling, and, when they get a little older, for supporting them to sit!

16.  Nose sucker

This nose sucker is the ONLY one that we have used (out of the 10 we own) that works!

17.  Playmat

Not only does this help with development, but it also is great for a 20-minute break when you need one! :)

18.  Cleaning wipes for toys and pacifiers

I have packs of these in my car, purse, and diaper bag.  Grayson has always been one to drop things, and these are great for making sure pacifiers and toys are clean when you don't have the time to sanitize or when you are on the go!

19.  Plastic boxes

I use these to organize Grayson's shoes and socks in his drawers.  They make finding the little things so much easier!

20.  Video monitor

If I didn't have the video monitor, I would be getting up at every little sound.  I love being able to see him!

21.  Bouncy seats

Again, I can't even say the number of ways we have used his bouncer!

22.  Baby Trend Snap-N-Go

This is another MUST HAVE.  I love this!  It folds up smaller than a regular stroller, and it fits any car seat.  All you do is snap in the car seat and go!  You don't have to worry about a big bulky stroller taking up all kinds of space and you don't have to take your baby out of the car seat!  

23.  Cool-mist humidifer

Perfect for those nights when the baby is stuffy.  

24.  CD Player/noisemaker

We only used this for the first couple of months, but we use his CD Player and lullaby CD every night!

I am sure I will think of 100 more things, but these are the ones that we can't imagine not having.  Check back often for more ideas/products!  :)

Thanks for checking in!  We love you all!

The sweetest sound in the world:

Where did our baby go?

It has officially hit us: our baby boy isn't a baby anymore.
This weekend has been sooooo much fun, and the majority of our time has been spent chasing our little one around the house.  He is in to EVERYTHING!  :)  He especially loves to pull on wires, open drawers, and pull the baskets out from under the coffee table in the living room.  And, since he has figured out that he can go places without our help, he is always on the move!  It's so great!
He hasn't quite mastered the formal crawl, but he is definitely mobile:

Pretty good, eh?  :)

Other random stuff:
He has also started to want to feed himself his own bottle--I guess Mommy and Daddy just don't do it right!  :)

Look how grown-up he is! :)

We spent this morning organizing/cleaning out our storage unit and garage.  It's amazing how much more space we have when we got rid of the stuff we never use!  We are slowly getting closer and closer to selling our house--I can't wait!

There's really not much else to report.  We are certainly looking forward to Aunt Karen and Uncle Adam visiting next weekend!  Grayson is definitely ready for some extra special loving!  :)  Other than that, we are enjoying spending time together and watching our little boy grow up!

As always, thanks for checking in on us!  We love you all!

Happy Birthday, Ally!

Last Saturday, my niece turned 8 years old.  I can't believe that she is already 8!!!

She completely changed my life the day she was born--I had no idea how much I could love someone until I met her, and I have been in love with her ever since.

She has the BEST sense of humor, she is soooooo well-behaved, she LOVES her family, and she is soooooooo smart!

We had a party for her at her house.  It was lots of fun!  Thankfully, Jarrett got home from the hospital on Thursday night, so he was able to be there for the party, too!!

Uncle David designed a very special birthday cake for Ally.  We tried to make it a surprise, but she peeked before we could surprise her!  :)

We put an "8" sparkler on the cake...Ally didn't like it at all!

We ate pizza and chips, and then opened presents.  Ally got some great presents!!!  I think her favorite was her "Witches of Waverly Place" Nintendo DS game from Grandma and PapPap...she played it all afternoon!

We wanted to make sure to get pictures of the "Grandkids Plank."  I'm pretty sure that we have the cutest kids in our family.  :)

And, of course, Jarrett got to hang out with one of his most favorite people: Uncle David.  They had a very long conversation!  :)

It was a GREAT day!!  We love you so much, Ally Bug!  Happy Birthday!!

Learning to trust

I just attempted to write a whole post about Ally's birthday party, but I don't have enough storage space on my account to upload pictures.  So.....that post will have to wait for now.  But, it will come soon, I promise! 

Anyway, it's been another crazy several days in our house.  It feels like more often than not that I blink and another week has gone by.  In about 10 days, our little munchkin is going to be 8 months old...I absolutely cannot believe he is so grown already.  He brings such joy to our life every day, and I absolutely adore all the little moments that I get to share with him.  He is a ball of energy, and is constantly on the go.  He plays by himself so well, but he also loves when Mommy and Daddy play with him.  He is into everything, and he constantly smiles...seriously.  We have been soooooooo blessed with Grayson!

I have been sad this week, though, and I can't seem to shake it.  I feel like I have been doing pretty well with dealing with our miscarriage, but this week has just been especially tough.  I have been dreading this week for a while (and I am absolutely dreading August 15: the date of the c-section that we had already scheduled).  You see, this is the week that we would have gone in for our 20 week ultrasound and found out if we were having another precious baby boy, or if we would be the parents to a sweet baby girl.  As I said yesterday, this week should have been filled with excitement and anticipation....but, it's not.  I am trying so hard to focus on the fact that God is in control of this situation, and I know in my heart that He will never leave me.  I remind myself mulitiple times a day that our little baby is in Heaven, being loved on by Jesus, and all our friends and family who have already passed on.  That brings more comfort to me than anything else.  Despite that, though, I can't help but think about our little one.  He or she is constantly on my mind each day. The hopes and dreams that we had for our little family have changed.  And, that kind of change is especially hard.

Deep down, though, I am scared...terrified.  We want so badly to have another child, and, thankfully, I have never had a hard time getting pregnant.  But, what if, after the miscarriage and everything that has happened to my body as a result and since then, we can't have another child?  Unfortunately, this is a very real possibilty...and it scares me to death.  Believe me, I know how blessed we are to have Grayson....and I thank God for him every. single. day.  I know that there are many families out there who struggle to have babies and can't.  And, I certainly don't mean to sound like our situation is any worse than theirs...I can't imagine the emotional rollercoaster they face each day.  I guess I am just still trying to process and heal from the hurt that comes with losing a child.  Honestly, it's the hardest thing I have ever done.

I am going to leave you with a quote that I found the other day that I have been repeating to myself when I feel espcecially sad.  It reminds me that I need to focus on the here and now, rather than the what ifs.  After all, my life is pretty darn grand...and I love it.

"Let go of what you think life should be so you can experience the life you have."


Thank you for checking in with us.  I will make my next post not so depressing.  :)
We sure do love each of you!

Wordless Wednesday