Baby gear

When I find out people are pregnant, I often have an urge to tell them everything I know about baby stuff, e.g. what to buy, etc... I realize that this can be somewhat annoying if they are not looking for advice because I can go on and on about this topic.  So instead of being annoying, I`ll just write everything down here so my pregnant readers can peruse at their leisure.

Pre-birth
- Lansinoh Lanolin cream - it's much easier to prevent cracked nipples than to treat them
- Kushies anything - I especially liked their burp pads, change pads, crib sheets, swaddling blankets
- Bebe au Lait nursing cover - this was the one must-have item in my diaper bag.  I couldn't have breastfed for 13 months without this
- Diaper genie - we tried to do without one for our first child but I ended up caving and bought one for our 2nd child.  What a great investment!
- JJ Cole bundle me - especially good for winter babies
- Graco Infant car seat - they are lighter than the Peg ones
- D-drops - the sunshine vitamin
- Beco carrier - I had a Beco Butterfly 2 but the Gemini is newer and looks great too

- Bravado designs nursing tank tops - didn't own one but wished I did
- Medela Electric breastpump - didn't own one but wished I did
- Skiphop Pronto travelling change pad - I have a similar one but it's not Skip Hop.  Always wished I had this one instead.
- Stroller frame - I had a Graco stroller frame before I committed to buying a Bugaboo Bee.  I loved it because it fit my Graco car seat perfectly.  It was lightweight and had a huge basket underneath.
- Stroller - I ended up buying a Bugaboo Bee about 6 months after my son was born.  I liked how easy it manoeuvres even with one hand and how it folds in 1 piece.  However, I`ve had a lot of problems with it and the customer service sucks if you live in Canada.  The handle bar lock is now broken, suspension is rusted, 5 point harness buckle is broken.  The stroller still works (thankfully!) but it`s just slowly breaking down bit by bit.  I contacted customer service and they said they can`t ship me the parts because I`m in Canada and their only Canadian retailer that sells parts doesn`t have what I`m looking for.  So now I tell people to research how easily you can get replacement parts before committing to a stroller since it`s such a big investment.  
- Graco Pack n Play - Good to have a playpen for travelling or napping at other people`s homes.  I had a basic Graco one which worked fine.  There are more fancier ones out there but probably not necessary.


0-3 months
- Books: Canada`s Baby Care Book, Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, Lullababy Sleep Plan, The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems
- Braun ear thermometer
- J&J nursing pads - I went through so much of these that I decided to get reusable ones for my 2nd child.

3-6 months
- can`t really think of anything right now...

6-12 months
- Fisher Price booster seat
- Baby Bjorn soft bib
- Heinz Baby Basics spoons
- Munchkin suction bowls
- a small food processor - there are a lot of special baby ones out there now like the Baby Bullet but any small one will do
- Gap UV shirts for swimming - these UV shirts and shorts really are good quality.  Even better if you can get them on sale.
- Britax carseat - you`ll need this when your baby grows out of the Graco bucket car seat
- a waterproof camera because you`ll want to take pictures of them swimming or at the beach or at the waterpark when they are older.  There are lots of different ones in the market.

1-2 years
- Baby Bjorn potty chair - when they first start potty training, they need a chair to feel like they won`t fall in

- Baby Bjorn potty seat - when they get older, they can use this one with a matching step stool

Stuff to borrow if you can because you`ll only need these for a few months max:
Bumbo
Swing
Bouncy chair
bassinet

I'll update this list if I think of anything else that was useful for me.  Thanks for reading!

Day in the life of a mom

Here's what I did yesterday:

1. Woke up at 7am

2. Baked cupcakes

3. Baked cookies

4. Fed kids breakfast
5. Removed all the weeds in the backyard
6. Had lunch
7. Bought a bday present from ToysRUs and gift bag and tissue from Dollarama
8. Attended a bday party with present (see above)
9. Bought groceries
10. Bought grass seed
11. Sowed grass seed in backyard
12. Baked banana bread
13. Made and ate dinner (store bought tourtière and steamed broccoli)

14. Made fruit skewers for party tomorrow 

15. Made icing for cupcakes for party tomorrow

Amazing how much can be accomplished in one day.

Hooked on haiku

I attended a workshop today called 90 Minutes to Improve Your Writing.  One of the exercises was to write a haiku, the traditional Japanese form of poetry that consists of three lines of text with 5, 7, 5 syllables on each line respectively.  

We had to describe our jobs and here is what I wrote:

Respond to emails

Run around like a chicken

With its head cut off

I learned that:

Haikus are powerful

To convey the right meaning

Choose words carefully

Here's my new out of office message:

I'm out of office

Will respond when I return 

next Monday.  Thank you

And in summary:

I'm hooked on haikus

I'm going to Haiku-ize 

everything I write!

Flowers are gross?

I play this game with my son where I will say a category "something in the garage" and he will give me the answer.  Here's how our game went today:

Me: Something gross
Him: Flowers!
Me: Flowers are not gross!
Him: [laughing] Oh, I thought you said 'grows'!

:)

Amazing week

We went to Carriage Hills Resort just north of Barrie this past week. Surprisingly, this was the first trip that we have ever taken that was just our own family of four. All of our other trips since my daughter was born have been either with family or friends.

As always, I researched the area before we went. I found a few local events that we went to including an Airshow at CFB Borden and the RCMP Musical Ride which both just happened to be in the area in the past week. Amazing.

The weather cooperated and we went to Wasaga beach, Elmvale Jungle Zoo, and Centennial Park (playground and beach). We ate at restaurants that were recommended by tripadvisor including Tiffins Curry in a Hurry and Casa Mia.

We got in-room massages every other day (thanks to health benefits!) and went swimming at the resort's indoor/outdoor pool almost every day. I even fit in a couple of workouts on the treadmill.

We were in a 1-bedroom unit with a full kitchen so we cooked most of our meals. I love cooking breakfast because it's something i don't usually get to do. There's something special about sitting down together as a family and eating a hot breakfast. And with 2 young kids, it's not too enjoyable to eat out anyway. I must say I have a pretty good breakfast repertoire. Breakfast was different every morning: French toast, egg in a hole, scrambled eggs, over easy, sunny side up, toast, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns in the form of smiles, fruit, and usually served with a fruit smoothie.

The best part: we were able to do most of our laundry before we came back with the washer/dryer there so I don't have to do a week's worth of laundry after coming back home.

Excited

Friends of ours just offered us their 1-week timeshare cottage.  I couldn't turn down the offer for a free 1-week vacation so without even checking my calendar, we jumped at the opportunity.  I love that we are now so flexible to take trips.  Such a blessing!