New Bath Time Fun

The other day when we were giving Jackson a bath he discovered something new that he could do.

Water got ALL OVER the kitchen.  I think it's time to move this party to the bathroom for bath time.

Best Buds

On June 22, 2013, Jackson's best bud (AKA mom's best bud's son), David Roy Irey, came into this world.  Jackson was so excited and so were we!

Before Jackson was born auntie Carolyn and uncle Ben got him some Halloween onesies because his due date was October 27.

Jackson loved them and wore them as much as he could!  When Jack found out his new friend was scheduled to arrive around the 4th of July, he remembered his Halloween gift and thought it would be perfect to get a 4th outfit for his friend.  He found an outfit that had Chuck Taylor's on them which Jackson thought would be perfect for the Irey family!  A few days later when Jackson was shopping for his own 4th of July outfit he couldn't find anything quite as cute at the one he got for David, so he decided to get the same outfit for himself and thought they would be twins!

The Irey's had a small BBQ on the 4th of July where we all went over and hung out.  It was the first time Jackson and David got to spend some quality time together.

Jackson wanted to touch and grab David while David just wanted to sleep.  They couldn't really agree on what to do so we had to separate them but they both assured me that it's just because they are at different stages of development right now and they really are best buds.  We can't wait for all the best bud fun that is ahead of us!  We love you David!

Cloth Diapers

I love cloth diapers!  

I first became interested in cloth diapers when I found out I was pregnant and saw them in Bellybum Boutique, a cute little local store.  I didn't know much about them at the time but was pretty sure I wanted to use cloth instead of disposable simply to save on money.  I had no idea how many other benefits I would find and how much I would love them.

I only knew of one person that had used cloth diapers, great friend Angie Thomas, so I decided to email her and ask about them.  She wrote me an amazingly descriptive email explaining all the different types of cloth diapers, pros and cons of each, washing information, and other things to think about.  At first I found it to be overwhelming.  Tons of new terminology and it was hard to keep it all straight.  After reading and and re-reading the email several times, and finding visuals to go along with each type of diaper, I knew wanted to do cloth for sure.  My next challenge was to get Arnold on board.  Not a small task.

So I did a bit more research, getting actual numbers on how much money we would be saving (about $3000 from birth through potty training, and more if the same diapers were used with the next children), and how the diapers would be better for his skin without the chemicals in disposable diapers.  I put together a spread sheet with pros and cons of using both cloth and disposable diapers, and then a spread sheet comparing different kinds of cloth diapers.  (If you know me this shouldn't surprise you.)  Then, with all my information and my fingers crossed, I sat Arnold down and went over it all.  To my great surprise, Arnold was on board!  I told him I would clean the diapers so he wouldn't have to deal with that part of it, but he said he wouldn't even mind that!  We decided what type of diapers we thought would work best for us, went to a few baby stores several times to look at diapers (because I kept getting confused with all the different types and brands), and then waited until baby J came to buy a few, just in case he was very large and wouldn't fit the newborn diapers.

When J arrived we had several disposable diapers that were given to us, which we were very happy about, and decided to use those up first before moving into cloth.  We figured being first time parents would be such a huge adjustment along with myself healing from the birth, that disposable would be the way to start.  After J got here and it was time to get cloth diapers I decided to get one diaper of seven different brands to see what I liked.  So here's what I got:

• Happy Heinys
• Tots Bots
• Fuzzibunz
• BabyKicks
• Rumparooz
• BumGenius
• Swaddlebees

After a few uses we decided we liked the Fuzzibunz and Tots Bots the most, and went ahead and bought some more.  All of the diapers we got except for the Swaddlebees, which we only have one of, are one-size diapers instead of sized.  This means they fit babies 8-35 pounds and adjust in size.  When Jackson was a newborn they were very bulky on him, as you can imagine, but they did the job!  I loved the Swaddlebees newborn diaper we got but decided not get any of the Swaddlebees one-sized diaper because they are really bulky, much more than the other diapers we have.  I didn't like the way the Happy Heinys and BabyKicks fit, and thought the BumGenius and Rumparooz were OK.  We also picked up a Charlie Banana diaper somewhere along our cloth diapering journey and think that one's OK too.

I'm not going to lie, the transition from disposable to cloth was difficult at first.  It seemed like a hassle to wash and stuff the diapers when they were dry, but after doing it for literally two days, I no longer felt that way and was in love with the cloth.  When Jackson started sleeping through the night we needed to stuff the night time diapers with more inserts so they would last him though the night but we didn't like having to stuff them as we needed them.  I liked having all the diapers prepared and ready to use so we decided to use the Fuzzibunz for night time and all the rest during the day.  We kept them in a different drawer and so we had everything we needed ready when we needed it, without having look through each diaper.  That system worked really well for us until Jackson was about 7 months old.  At that time he started eating more solid foods and the diapers were no longer holding everything in.  He started waking up in the middle of the night with a leaky diaper.  Not good.  So I went back to my favorite store, Bellybum, for some diapering advice.  They advised me to try the Sustainablebabyish diaper, a bamboo/cotton material mix, as opposed to the all cotton diapers I was using, because bamboo is more absorbent.  The entire diaper is made out of bamboo and cotton, instead of just the liner, so we also needed a diaper cover to prevent leakage.  We tried this out and it worked perfectly!  We have hardly had any leaks during Jack's 12 hour nights.  We bought a few more of this combo and have been using them ever since.

I know cloth diapering isn't for everyone.  The initial investment is a lot, with the need to have about 24 diapers at $18 to $25 each.  Once they are purchased though, we are done with spending money on diapers forever!  With cloth you also have to deal with poop more and there is more laundry to do, but we have all the diapers we need and never need to run to the store for any.  There is a lot more to pack when traveling because the diapers take up so much space and there is planning involved when using cloth diapers because they take about a day to dry, and then they need to be stuffed and folded.  We have adjusted to all of that and absolutely love them.  And I know Arnold even loves them because he promotes them to other expecting parents!  Who would have thought?  They are super cute too and Jackson rarely has any diaper rash.  He even helps fold them every once in a while!

Thanks J!

9 Month Appointment

Today Jackson had his 9 month doctor's appointment.  He was checked out and found to be healthy and looking great!  Jackson is 17 pounds, 15 ounces and 28 1/4 inches long.  Even though he has some nice chunky legs, he is only in the 10th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for length.  His eyes, nose, mouth, ears, head, and joints look great and he is developing as he should be.  As a reward Jack got his first blood test and final hepatitis B immunization.  He wasn't a fan of those but he did get some nice bandaids!

Gymboree

About a month ago, for my birthday, we attended a trial Gymboree class.  It was great fun!  We started off with a few songs and then had fun playing with a drum.

Then we went over to the equipment and played on one of the bridges with a bunch of different instruments.

Next we played a quick soccer game where we held our babies by the armpits and swung them when the ball game came so they kicked it.  After the soccer game we played with a parachute.

We talked about all the colors on the parachute, shook it, and went under it.  Next we played with some bubbles and then finished off with some songs with a puppet.

Jackson did pretty good participating but he spent a lot of time just looking around.  All of the babies were between 7 and 10 months old and it was the first time Jack was around other babies his own age.  He seemed to be interested in the other babies but unfortunately couldn't move by himself yet.  The class was really fun and great socially for Jackson but unfortunately they are really expensive so we did not sign up for any then.  Maybe later.  It was a great experience though!

9 Months Old!

Today, on Jackson's 9 month birthday, he decided to surprise me with something new:

Jackson pooped through his diaper and onto the couch.  Awesome.  Aside from that we had a really good day.  Jack started off his morning with his newest pose:

Right hand grabbing right toes and holding his foot in the air.  A perfect way to start out the day!  Then we had some breakfast which consisted of oatmeal, yogurt, and milk.  We played for a while, took a nap, and then it was lunch time!

Jack had some peach/nectarine/kiwi baby food, one slice of cheese, half of a cherry, one slice of avocado, and one baby carrot.  And then he turned into a beautiful butterfly!  (Sorry, just a little Very Hungry Caterpillar reference.  I always think of that story when I mention everything Jackson eats at one time.)  After lunch we played some more until Aunties Carolyn and Rachel, and best bud David came over.  We took a quick trip to Target for some essentials and then headed back to our house for some mommy lunch and more playing!

As you can see we were very busy with lots of toys!

After everyone left we were relaxing on the couch when the massive explosion in J's pants occurred.  That required a bath and daddy got home just in time to help clean up the couch!  After a quick nap and some more playing it was time for bed.  Quite a busy day for a 9 month old boy!

The things I've noticed in the past month are:

• Jackson reaches for mommy and daddy when he wants to be held
• He sits up in his carseat and reaches to be taken out after he is unbuckled
• Jackson laughs really hard when he thinks something is funny
• Jack started rocking when he is sitting
• He reaches for EVERYTHING and does not make it easy to change him or give him a bath
• J needs some cuddle time after waking up from a nap and before he sees unfamiliar people
• Jack loves knocking down block towers
• He grabs his right foot and pulls it into the air
• He seems to prefer using his left hand 
• Jackson seems to really like books as he gets excited when one is taken out and he looks at the pictures intently
• Jackson has gotten good at feeding himself snacks
• He now pronounces the consonant-vowel blends dada, yaya, baba, and lala
• Jack has started to purposefully hit his hand against toys to cause an action
• He rolls over, sits up from laying down, and once pulled himself onto his belly from a seated position
• Jackson likes to use his fork when eating and he has begun to throw things off his high chair
• Jackson just figured out how to tip his sippy cup back so he gets water in his mouth
• He still wants everything he can't have like TV remotes, cell phones, keys, and tissues

These are Jackson's current favorite toys:

Oball, green boat, wooden alphabet, number, and animal blocks, orange car, Indestructibles books, crinkly block,  Move and Crawl Ball, Sofie giraffe, and pop-up finger puppet blocks

I still can't believe Jackson is 9 months old already!  He is growing so fast and it has all been so fun!  I can't wait to see what comes next with my beautiful baby!

He Finally Got Some In!

It has been quite a while since I have been on here.  We have been very busy enjoying our summer!  I plan on catching up soon (hopefully), but I wanted to write about Jackson mastering the sippy cup.  Jack has been using a sippy cup for quite a while now.  He can manipulate the cup to get the spout in his mouth but without help tipping it back, he has not been able to get anything out of the cup.  It has posed quite problem.  So, obviously, we would help him out, tipping the cup back for J.  Today, we were out having a lovely dinner in Andersonville and we were able to capture the progression of the sippy cup:

Sippy cup spout in mouth.

Sippy cup being tipped back.

Sippy cup tipped all the way back but somehow the wrong end is in the mouth.

Rotated the cup so the spout is in the mouth and water is being consumed.

Satisfied.

What a big boy!  Jackson figured out how to give himself a drink.  He is so smart and growing so fast!

Beach Day

Yesterday was beautiful outside with nearly perfect weather so we lathered Jackson up with sunscreen and decided to take him to the beach for the first time.  I knew it was going to be messy, with sand in the mouth and everywhere else imaginable, but hey, I'm a pre-k teacher.  I could handle it.  So we go to the beach, put Jack on a towel with a few toys, and let him go at it! At first he was just interested in the toys.

And then they of course go in his mouth.

And with all this playing and excitement, limbs start to flail about and he slowly gets closer and closer to being on the sand and off the towel.

Soon he is completely off the towel, in the sand, and has forgotten about his toys but discovered the sand.

He picks it up, lets it run through his hands, and surprisingly, does not put it in his mouth.  He plays with it for a little while, as happy as can be.

But then he remembers his toy.  Sitting in the sand, wet with drool.

Where does it go?  Directly towards the mouth.

I manage to block the sand covered duck from going in his mouth but I know this is only a silly game because every time I let go of the toy he tries again.  And I will eventually fail.  It will get in there.  But for now, I remove the toy from view and try to get J to play with the sand some more.  He does.  Except he continues with that whole "I'm going to put this in my mouth" thing.

A nice big handful of sand.  Yum.  But it doesn't seem to bother Jackson.  He just keeps playing, bringing the sand to his mouth and rubbing his face.

So we decide to try something new which I knew would just make more of a mess but hey, we're at the beach.  Who cares?!  We head to the water and check that out.  It is pretty and Jack doesn't like that but he is interested in the wet sand.

Through the fussiness and periodic interest in the wet sand we managed to get a happy baby and mama photo!

We then headed back to our towel and played in the dry sand a bit longer.

When we were all dry we dusted off the sand and headed home.  It was a great day at the beach and much needed preparation for our upcoming North Carolina beach trip in a few weeks!