Covered Goods- Giveaway!

***GIVEAWAY closed. Amanda Z- please email me- you are the winner of the giveaway!***

One of the most nerve wracking things about becoming a parent the first time around was the thought of breastfeeding in public. I quickly learned after Logan was here that a hungry and crying baby trumped all worries I had about what anyone else thought. The first few weeks I tried really hard to time outings so they were in between feeds but one night we went out to eat with a coworker of my husbands family. I brought a bottle for Logan because I was nervous and had never met them before.... you can probably guess what happened next. It was the first time he refused a bottle and sat at the table screaming. Lucky for me, they were awesome (and the wife was also breastfeeding their youngest) so they told me to go for it and ordered me a beer.

Even now the second time around, when I am out, I like to use a cover. It is totally a personal preference and I don't bat an eye at those who don't... but I quickly found out that I have some very inquisitive babies. If they aren't covered, they want to stop eating to see what is going on and after delivery, I guess I'm still trying to hold on to what little modesty I have left. ;) Logan wasn't a huge fan of the cover but would tolerate it... Quinn is definitely not a fan at all of being covered up.

On our trip to Seattle a few weeks ago, we were out and about a lot. I quickly learned that the second Quinn is done eating she wants out and likes to karate chop the cover out of her way. It's crazy fast and I barely have time to adjust my shirt before shes peeking out and laughing at me. I knew that there had to be a better solution than the small and lightweight nursing cover I had been using. One that would actually keep me covered...

 Checking out Instagram, I came across Covered Goods. There is was, a nursing cover that actually covered you. I had to have it. Luckily, they were oh so nice and sent me one to try out. Let me tell you- this cover is fantastic. Not only did I get a beautiful design, but it covers your front and back and stays on until you are done and pull it off. I have used it nursing all over the place and haven't had to once worry about anyone accidentally seeing anything.

Not only does it work as a nursing cover, but it also can cover your baby in the infant bucket seat. So if it's windy out or your little once is napping, you don't have to worry about bringing another blanket along. It also can not blow away- which is amazing.

Also, when you baby starts sitting up in carts, you can also use it as a car seat cover. Right now, Quinn still goes in the carrier when we shop... but once she can sit a little better, I will be using this on our errands out!

In a few weeks, I'll be heading to the beach with a few girlfriends while Geoff hangs out with the kids. I will be pumping a lot to keep up my milk supply while I am gone. Two years ago when I went, I was in the same position and I remember how akward it was trying to pump and keep my nursing cover from flying all over the place. This year I am so excited that I will stay fully covered and could probably pump with a tropical drink in my hand instead. ;)

If you aren't completely sold on this cover yet Covered Goods is giving one away to one of you!

To enter to win a cover of your choice all you have to do is leave me a comment on what design you would love to have!
Contest will be open until Sept 4th at noon and I will email the winner shortly after it closes!

Good luck.

You can check out more Covered Goods here. Also feel free to look at their Instagram as well!


*This product was received for review, no other compensation was provided. All views expressed are honest and my own! :)

Big Brother

I know that things around here have been pretty quiet this summer. Well, there has been a good reason for that...

Our family is growing by one. He/She will be joining us sometime in January!!!

We are thrilled to be adding a squishy little winter baby to our clan and I am very happy to say that I am finally feeling better.

I am 20 weeks! Hooray. 

I am one of those people who pregnancy is very hard on them in the beginning. I have really bad morning ALL DAY sickness and have trouble keeping a lot of foods down. These first few months were all about survival over here... and let me tell you- second time around, the exhaustion is out of this world!

15 weeks I finally started feeling better, most of the time. :)

16 weeks I felt baby move for the first time.

19 weeks Geoff felt the baby move as well. 

Tomorrow we go in for our ultrasound and find out if we are adding another Boy or a little Girl to our family. 

Anyways, I hope to start posting again more often but I am not going to stress myself out over it either. Thanks for anyone still reading along for hanging in here with me all this time. :)

Sick babes

Well, I don't really have much to say about this past week besides my household was sick. :(

Logan was sick, Geoff got sick and I did a lot of cleaning and cooking. We cancelled all our fun playdates and gym classes and stayed in, watched too much tv and snuggled. It was pretty rough, and to be completely honest- I love how full and fun our days have gotten with Logan's growing age and stage. I can completely admit that I schedule our mornings full to get us Both out of the house and having fun.

I don't know if they boys had a form of food poisoning or a stomach bug but nothing was staying down for very long. Logan actually had a day and a half where he didn't keep any food or liquid down. Wouldn't drink water, Pedialyte came back up... I was so worried and he was running around our first floor, playing peekaboo like normal. I have no idea where the energy comes from. The nurse on call gave me a few things to watch out for and that was all we had to go on.

Wednesday morning we tried a little bit of milk and toast. He drank down half a cup like he was dying of thirst and a few minutes after we let him down to run around he projectile vomited all over our couch. Oops. He was fine after we got him and the couch all cleaned up.

Yesterday morning we finally got out of the house for a playdate. 24 hours vomit free and he kept down breakfast and milk. We were so excited and had a great time.

Here is hoping we have a much better weekend ahead of us!

Hope your week was better than ours was! 

Working mom.

I am back to work.

Lets catch up. December I had to go back to training to make sure that I didn't forget how to do my job... I passed. January, I had to pass a 'requal' flight with a trainer before I was signed back off to fly the line. February was the first month that I had had a real schedule and have been "back to work". (I do want to say right away that I am part time and am in no way trying to relate to those of you who work full time- you full time working moms are strong strong women!)

However, we have a weird situation in my household. My husband and I both work in the airline industry. It is much different that your normal 9-5 job. A lot of people have been asking me how this works and how it is going, so I thought I would write a little bit update on our working life.

My husband works mainly one and two day trips. He is pretty senior so he can hold most of what he wants... it's nice because while I hold a line (set schedule), I have no idea what trips I am going to get when I bid for my schedule.
So far, have been working late florida turns (where I fly to florida and back in the same day and get home reaaaaal late- like 2 or 3am) and a Raleigh overnight (where I visited my good friend Laura, yay!). This is exactly what I wanted, fingers crossed that I can continue to hold these.

I pretty much work 6 days a month. I scheduled my flights at the end of Feb/beginning of March and Geoff's mom flew in from Seattle to help us out as we navigated down this new road. She stayed for almost 3 weeks and then flew back to Seattle. She is now flying back into town tonight to help us while I work the first week of April.

I laugh now, because I thought this would be so very easy on everyone. A babysitter that loves Logan as much as we do- check, only working a week out of the month- easy as pie! Looking back, I feel so silly about how nonchalant I was. If I've learned anything since having Logan, it is that looking back is now so so humbling and I am constantly learning things about myself.

Leaving your child- even in the care of someone else that you love and trust, well, it is anything but easy. I feel like for the most part, I'm pretty laid back when it comes to our trusted few watching my child (aka- my mom, Geoff's mom and now the gym daycare). I trust them and so we leave them with limited instructions for the day or night. Basically meal/milk times and when he usually naps. I try hard not to micro manage and just let things happen. It's really easy to have this mindset when someone watched Logan for an evening or a few hours during the day... so I didn't think it would be any different and I was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Working multiple days in a row in February, I really saw how much the shift in our daily life affected Logan. Everyone parents/interacts differently and the change in the afternoons changed how Logan was acting. I saw him throw more fits and act a little more aggressively. It was honestly really hard for me to watch and in turn, affected me a lot while I went into work. It's not that anything was wrong, but I could tell that he was thrown off by it all. A hard part was also that it wasn't a new normal for us. I worked my 2 1/2 weeks and then had 3 off at home. I think it was enough time for us to get back into our routine... to have it change again when I head back to work on Tuesday.

As I sit here, typing this out, my heart feels heavy about it all. This mom guilt is no joke. I can only imagine the millions of women out there working, who are feeling or have felt the way I do now.

Right now I am trying to take things really slow... one day at a time, one week at a time. Last time, I allowed myself to be sad and cry on my drive into work. Once I hit the Massachusetts line, I took a few deep breathes and told myself that I was already gone for the day so I might as well enjoy it.

So, that is basically what is going on around here in the work department.
I got some really good advice and encouragement when I was heading back to work (thanks guys!)... any words of wisdom to help get me through this next week?

Mommy mishaps

Lately, I've noticed a trend... a few friends have been opening up on social media about mistakes that they have made with their children. Nothing has been life threatening and while I feel bad for their guilt and the short lived pain of their children...  it's a little refreshing to see such honesty. It's nice to know when I make those mistakes, that I'm not the worlds worst parent and it happens to everyone.

I think... actually... I know there is a pressure today to portray a picture perfect life online. Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can easily be used to paint a really pretty picture of someones life. It's also pretty easy to get a false sense of what really goes on day to day, behind the scenes. Quickly, you can feel like you know someone just by reading their blog, even though you only see what they allow you to see of their life.

I follow a few blogs and quickly scroll through them in the mornings when I'm giving Logan milk and we are both waking up for the day. Admist all the posts of perfecr families and full weekends... one of my favorite to check out is Reasons My Son is Crying
This is not because I love to see children cry, but because it makes me feel more normal to know that everyone has days where their child cries and has meltdowns. It's normal to feel like a parenting failure when your kid has a tantrum in the middle of a store and you have no idea what to do.

I especially love the ones that go something like this...
My child wanted a cup and so I gave it to him. 

This is totally normal people!

I have a few up my sleeve but I thought I would share with you my biggest mommy mishap.

We moved into our house at the end of Sept. Our doorknobs are these fancy doorknobs that can stay locked on the outside even when you open them on the inside.

One morning, I was hanging out with Logan in our dining room, which is currently without furniture and our playroom. We had boxes and baby gates set up to keep him contained in the room. This morning he was in quite a mood and pretty cranky. We were expecting a package to be delivered and as I looked outside I noticed that it had started to rain. Logan was distracted playing with a toy so I took a moment to run outside to check on the package and enjoy a moment of silence. I exited into the garage and closed the door behind me. I checked outside... no package. As I turned around and looked at the closed door, I immediately knew what I had done.

I had a complete sense of panic that fled through my whole body. I ran up to the door banging and throwing my weight into it to see if I could get it to open. I started running around my house, checking windows and doors to see if I could get in. At one point, I had a large piece of wood and I was thinking about trying to break a window to get in. I kept peeking on Logan through the window to make sure he was ok. Obviously I was not there and he kept hearing lots of banging so he was a little hysterical.

I honestly tried to kick down the door to get back in through the garage. With that noise, Logan somehow escaped the room we had him in and was screaming/crying at the door. I didn't know what to do.

So, I ran to my neighbors house. People I had not met yet. This wonderful, nice older lady came to the door to a sobbing mess. She  listened as I tried to talk, grabbed her phone and called the police as we headed back across the street. Logan was still at the door and I realized that as long as he was there... he was safe. We had no put the gate on the bottom of the stairs yet and the thought of him getting hurt because of me was more than I could handle. I swear if he had left the door, I would have thrown myself through a window to get to him.

What felt like forever later, the police arrived to help me break into my own house. I was so embarrased but I didn't even care... I just needed to get to Logan. The police officer worked and worked and pried but he too was having trouble to get into the house.

Finally the guy that we bought the house from happened to drive by. He pulled into the driveway and I went running, begging him to tell me they still had a key hidden somewhere. Which, they did. He went running to get it and a minute later, the door was open and I was holding a shaken but unharmed baby.

All I wanted that morning was a moment of silence and once I got it, I didn't want it anymore. It took 45 minutes to get back into my house and I'm sure it will take 45 years for me to forgive myself. (We have since hidden our own key and are replacing the doorknobs)

So, while he was napping later and I googled "I locked my kid in my house" I read countless stories exactly like mine.

It helped. It still helps. I make mistakes, I am not perfect. But I try everyday to keep my family happy and safe. As I read those stories that others posted, I realized how thankful I was for so many people to share their failures for others to know that they are not alone.

So, if anyone out there is having a bad day, did something stupid or feel bad about letting their kid eat a ladybug or fall off a couch... let me tell you- you are NOT alone in your failures! We are all right there with you.

Anyone have any stories you would like to share?

Squooshi review and Giveaway

***WINNER of the Giveaway is Julie E- please email so we can get your prize sent to you!***

Starting baby food for Logan has been so much fun! (Read about it here). However, once you start, you have to keep going. Which is fine until you throw some plans during "meal time" into the mix. I chatted about it before but carrying a bib, spoon, food in a container, something to clean up baby and mom with... it adds a lot of extra stuff to an already packed diaper bag!

There is another type of pouch that really takes the cake for cuteness!
Let me introduce you to the Squooshi pouch!

How is this pouch different from most others?
-The pouches come in 2 different sizes, 2.5 oz and 4.5 oz.
-They fill from the bottom and the spout is on the top.
(This helps to make clean up a breeze because the water runs straight through them.)
-They have Cuuuuuuuute animals on them, which make them extra fun!

Every time I have been out with these pouches, I have gotten stopped by a mom wanting to know what they were and where they could buy them. :)

This past week we traveled to Cincinnati for a friends wedding and to spend time with family. I brought these pouches for Logan to eat lunch on the airplane and used them off and on during the week when we were on the go. It was so helpful to have a quick and easy snack that didn't get allllll over the place while we were out. I filled them with applesauce, yogurt and a sweet potato mix. Half the time I really tempted fate and fed them to him without a bib and all the clothes made it out without a huge mess. Hooray.

Squooshi was started by a father-daughter team after Shannon was inspired to make a reusable pouch by her son Reid's love of eating food from pouches. She wanted to be able to give him fresh homemade food with the convience of the store bought pouches. After 2 and a half years of research, development and product testing Squooshi was launched in October 2012 with reusable food pouches that are BPA-free, Phthalate-free, PVC-free, and Lead-free.
They have a few recipes on the site, check out here to get you started on ideas of what to put in them.
I think we are going to try out the Apple, Carrot, Sweet Potato and Broccoli recipe this week! I also have enjoyed looking at the store bought pouches for food combination ideas.
Another fun tip is you can also freeze the pouches and use them as an ice pack to keep other food or drinks cold while out!

My only complaint with these pouches is that Logan would squeeze the middle and the top of the pouch would slump forward- keeping me nearby and from letting him eat from the pouch by himself. However, I found that if I used a thicker food, it seemed to work better and we didn't spill anything. :)

All in all we LOVED these pouches and are excited to continue to use them in the future.

Since we loved them so much and the people at Squooshi are so generous... I am super excited to give a set of Squooshi pouches to one of my readers!!! YAY.
It's not even the 4 pack that I was sent to try, we are giving away their new 6 pack to one of you. How cute are the new animals!?!?!

Here is how to enter the giveaway- You can do one or all three but make sure to leave me separate comments for each... giveaway will close on Friday (the 12th).

1. Follow "Fly The Friendly Skies" blog and leave me a comment (if you are already a follower just state that- of course you are still included!) I now read all my blogs via Bloglovin on my iphone and if that is your choice, there is a link up top.

2. Like Squooshi on Facebook. :)

3. Spread the word about the giveaway by Twitter, Instagram, Facebook... whatever you feel like. Just link back to this post, include Squooshi in the message AND let me know you did so in the comments! :)

Good luck. I will randomly pick a winner and announce/contact on Sunday.

You can check out more of Squooshi on their twitter, facebook and website!

*This product was received for review, no other compensation was provided. All views expressed are honest and my own! :)

Little Green Pouch

So, as you all know, baby food 101 here at the Ho household has begun! It's exciting, scary and leaving me reading lots of websites and books on the subject. I've decided to start with homemade purees (looked briefly at Baby-led weaning and then continued on with my puree research- not for me). We have a few trips to visit family coming up so I've been thinking about food on the go as well.

I'm sure you all have seen the pouches that are the rage right now. You can buy them at grocery stores, Target, Walmart... pretty much anywhere that sells baby gear. They are an easy way to take food on the go. Applesauce no longer needs a spoon, you can just give your child the pouch and they can suck it out themselves with out the mess. However, for around $1.25/pouch or more, they aren't cheap.

Early on in my research, I decided I wanted to make as much of Logan's food as possible. I figured he has his whole life to fill his belly with processed food and preservatives. While he is all mine and not in the care of anyone else (and not quite at the age where he has strong opinions), I want him to have nutritious whole foods to eat. It's easy to do when we are at home, but when traveling through airports, the last thing I want to do is feed my child and have to clean up a big mess.

Meet The Little Green Pouch! The reusable food pouch that is BPA, PVC and phthalate free, dishwasher safe, and freezable. They have a spout on the side and a zipper top that can be filled with 6 ounces of your favorite pureed food, yogurt, applesauce or even smoothie. Perfect!

Logan isn't eating anywhere close to 6 ounces yet so while trying these pouches out, I fill them with a snack that I don't mind finishing (applesauce has been our favorite). It is really nice to have the option of throwing a pouch of food in the diaper bag, along with a bib and some wipes. Cuts down on the amount of things I need to carry and I know that clean up will be a breeze once we get home.

He is back in the habit of putting EVERYthing into his mouth so we've let him hold and suck on the pouch with the cap on to get used to the pouch. I definitely help him once it's time to eat so he doesn't try and suck too much back too quickly (or throw the pouch on the ground).

There is so much stuff out there for when you have a baby, I've been trying to lessen our environmental impact and switch over to more natural products. Small steady changes that will help us save money and resources. I think that these pouches are a great way to keep up with our busy lives while lessening waste and saving money! Check them out.

You can find Little Green Pouch on their website, twitter and facebook!

*This product was received for review, no other compensation was provided. All views expressed are honest and my own! :)

Starting Solids

We have officially started solids a few weeks ago!

Now I know the AAP (American Acedemy of Pediatrics)  recommends waiting until 6 months to start solids. We planned to wait and then Logan got HUNGRY! Not only was he staring us down when we were eating, but he started reaching and grabbing towards our food. He also was mimicking us chewing which was kinda adorable. He was a tad extra fussy no matter how much milk he was drinking so we decided to go with our gut and just give him a small taste of food to see how he did with it.

I read up a bit on Purees, Baby Led Weaning and what foods are good to start with. We didn't want to do a rice cereal since it's basically just a filler And there was all that news about arsenic in rice. Instead we chose Avocado. Mashed with a fork and a little bit of breastmilk, we sat Logan in his Bumbo (highchair arrived today), strapped a bib on him and before we even got the spoon to his mouth, he reached out, grabbed it and shoved it in for us. The avocado on the spoon was gone in a second. No thrusting it out or spitting it back. He was ready!

I decided to go the Puree route so I bought this book "The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet" (so far I love this book- easy recipes and a page in the back to track what he liked/didn't like)  and have consulted wholesomebabyfoods website for the bulk of my information.

So far we have tried-
Avocado- Loved
Baby Oatmeal- ok
Applesauce - good
Banana- Loved
Baby Oatmeal and Applesauce mix- better
Sweet Potato- Loved
Sweet Potato and Banana- Wonderful!

In the freezer I have Pears, Peas and Carrots waiting to be tested! They say to wait 2-3 days in between each food to make sure there are no reactions... so we've been taking it slow.

Until a year, table food is pretty much regarded as practice so the bulk of his calories still come from breastmilk and I have been making sure that we get in all our feedings each day.
It can seem kind of tricky on when to fit in food since Logan still eats every 2-3 hours. We've been giving him food in between his last 2 evening feeds. It usually looks like

Last nap of the day
Nurse
Play time
Dinner aka baby food
Bath, Pj's, last nurse of the night and Bed.

I'm not sure when we will add in a second meal to our day...

Anyways, just thought I would share... it's been a pretty exciting (and a little messy) experience. We had our first dinner in the highchair tonight which was very exciting!!! We bought the Boon Flair and I looooove it! Woo Hoo. 

Boba Carrier 3G & Giveaway

First things first... I Love love love Baby wearing!

When Logan was just a tiny little newborn, his favorite place was to be snuggled up on Geoff or my chest. It made for lovely, slow days enjoying his newness and getting to know each other but eventually we had to get back to real life. To keep him close to us, feeling safe and secure, we would wear him in wraps and carriers. This also allowed us to get a few things done like making lunch, grocery shopping or running errands. He was also a newborn in the middle of winter (aka flu season) so it also kept strangers faces further away from Logan when we were out. (People love babies always wanted to "take a peek". It was much easier to cover and turn my body to keep him away from someone coughing or getting too close, then if he was sitting in his car seat or stroller.)

There are many benefits of baby wearing such as
-Physical contact with baby creates a more intimate bond (works for both parents) and their attachment is more secure.
-Walking and movement and hearing the parents heartbeat mimics what was experienced in the womb and have a soothing effect.
-Decreases the risk of "flat head syndrome". Babies are supposed to sleep on their backs due to SIDS and spend a lot of time in their infant days on their backs in car seats, swings, seats. Tummy time and wearing your infant helps to keep the pressure off the back of their heads.

Boba was nice enough to send me a Boba Carrier 3G to try out in their very cute 'Tweet' pattern. (They also have a Boba wrap, Boba air and Organic carriers as well available on their website)

When it arrived in the mail, we immediately took it out of the package, adjusted the straps to fit (very easy to do with the instructions) and tried it on. There are some really cool features that makes this carrier really stand out.

You can wear this carrier with an infant without an extra infant insert.
They have foot straps that attach on for older children to keep their legs from hanging down- it keeps them in better alignment.
The strap for the chest/back slides up and down for a comfortable fit.
My favorite- there is a little strap on the shoulders that you can strap a purse to so it doesn't fall off your shoulder! Awesome. :)

Since the carrier is adjustable, Geoff can also comfortably wear it as well. Lucky for us, we are similar in height so most times i just have to adjust the straps around my hips after he has worn it. (I guess my hips spread a little since giving birth) I do have to caution that his arms aren't as flexible as mine so getting the carrier off is a bit trickier for him to do by himself. After wearing this carrier around for hours, we both agree that it is very comfortable!

He loves looking around while we are out and there is a sleeping hood (removable- just snaps on/off), which is great for sunny days or when Logan falls asleep on us.

You can also wear the carrier on your back, which we have not tried yet since it's meant for babies over 20lbs. The carrier can be worn from birth up until 45 lbs (or your baby is 4 years old) so we have a few more years of carrying little Logan around!

Logan absolutely loves being carried! I think our first big outing was at 12 days old to Costco and since then he has been worn on countless walks, days trips to Portsmouth Nh, Newburyport Ma & Boston, doing chores around the house and my favorite through the airport. (I didn't even have to take the carrier off to go through security!)

If you are pregnant, have small children or want to have a really great gift to give a pregnant friend...

Enter for your chance to win a Boba Baby Carrier, a Boba Wrap or a Boba Air! All products can be seen at www.bobafamily.com. With Boba products it is easier than ever to enjoy Freedom Together as a family and Boba wants YOU to get a chance to use their products. To enter to win, “Like” them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/boba) and follow them on Twitter (www.twitter.com/boba).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*This product was received for review, no other compensation was provided. All views expressed are honest and my own! :)

Baby Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit

The time had come to ditch the Swaddle. I am not going to lie... I was scared! Logan had been sleeping so well- getting up usually once during the night (around 3am for a quick meal and right back down to sleep). We were in a groove and it was working well. I was not ready for a change.
However, he was rolling more and breaking out of his swaddle nightly. Even though we have the Angelcare monitor, I didn't like the thought of extra fabric that could cover his face. (Plus, my baby still looked like a newborn all swaddled up nice and tight... sniff, sniff)

A friend of ours had recently told us about Baby Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit
and how well it was working for them post-swaddle. I went right home and googled it to see what it was about.

The Magic Sleepsuit was designed by Maureen a mother of four and a pediatric physical therapist, who was having troubles with her babies sleeping well in their crib. The sleepsuit is designed to help make the transition from the swaddle by providing babies a cozy and secure feeling by muffling their reflexive startles. (Check out the moro reflex for more information.)

When ours came in the mail we opened it right away to check it out!

They have 3 color choices- blue, pink and yellow and I was very happy to have a yellow one since we have tried to keep most of our baby things (besides clothes) gender neutral.

The first night we decided to use it, we were so nervous of how the night was going to go. We did our normal bedtime routine and then zipped him up in his new suit. He looked so cute, like he was ready to roll around in the snow. I nursed him, laid him down in the crib on his back, whispered 'I love you' and tip toed out of the room. 11 and 1/2 hours later he woke up. Whhhhhat!!!!

We have used the sleepsuit for about 3 weeks now and I can say that his sleep is right on where he was in the swaddle. This was pretty much a seamless transition for us. I tracked his sleep on my iphone app (which I had stopped doing) just to make sure I could remember both the bad and good nights.

We hit a rough couple of days where Logan started waking up twice at night, which even though it is still good for his age- is not normal for us. The third night, Geoff wanted to try the swaddle again to see what would happen. He was still up twice and arms were out in no time. Call it the 4 month wakeful, a wonder week, teething or a full moon but I'm glad it only lasted a few days.

(See he already knows Sleepsuit= Sleep. haha)

Most of our naps are either still in the swing or on the go (car seat, stroller or carrier) but I've been working on moving one nap into the crib. Mostly so I can workout without having to tiptoe around not to wake the baby. I've been using a combo of the Sleepsuit and our crib mobile to aid in his naps. Most days he goes anywhere from 45 minutes to around an hour. This is an improvement since crib naps use to only last around 20-25 minutes. 

Babies at this age are not supposed to have any blankets in the crib with them (SIDS) so the sleepsuit not only keeps them cozy but also warm. The warmth is supposed to aid them in staying asleep- once they are put down in the crib and not snuggled in close to mom or dad. It has open feet and hands so that the baby doesn't get too hot, or if it's too cold, you can just add socks or mittens. It's also fluffy enough that I don't worry about him rolling over and getting stuck just yet, like I did with the swaddle (since rolling is so fun for him now). It's easily washable and can be dried on the low setting just in case of any accidents.

The only complaint I have is that it does make is a little harder to nurse on the boppy before bed since he is so fluffy. :)

I have to say that I would completely recommend the Magic Sleepsuit to anyone whose baby loves the swaddle but is quickly outgrowing it. There are two sizes 3-6 months and 6-9 months, so you can keep your baby all snuggled up for the majority of his first year.

You can learn more about Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit here.
You can also find Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit on Facebook!

*This product was received for review, no other compensation was provided. All views expressed are honest and my own! :)

Months 3 and 4

Since I never got around to posting about month 3, I thought I would just double up and make these monthly recaps a tad bit shorter! :)

3 months was a whirlwind. The hardest part was Logan and I got Thrush, which is basically a yeast infection inside his mouth and my breasts. It was very painful for me and I was so worried about how it was affecting Logan but he seemed to be fine and still ate like normal. It lasted about a month, both of us were on medication and I will be honest... I had lots of tears, a few thoughts of quitting breastfeeding and we got a lot of use out of my pump! I was afraid it was never going to end, but it did. I am so proud that we made it through the tough part and I didn't give up. It is so much easier now and I am so proud that my boy is growing big and strong from my milk.

Other than the Thrush, 3 months was pretty fun. Sleep continued to get better. For the most part we would get up once or twice at night. On exactly his 3 month birth date he slept for 9.5 hours straight! I felt like a whole new person.

We celebrated Logans first Valentines Day, went out for sushi and he slept the entire time. :) We also went out for Geoff's birthday downtown Boston to the Aquarium and for hot pot. Later in the month, we headed to Cincinnati to visit with my side of the family. Each time we take him out for a long day, it gets a little easier as we figure out exactly how much he can handle before a meltdown.

3 month milestones:
Lifted your head up during tummy time
Moved into 3 month clothing
Took your first airplane ride
Visit to Ohio and met lots of friends and family
Found your hands
First Baby Smiles and Laughs!
First baby tear... so sad!

It has been amazing watching him go from flailing arms to making an effort to reach out and bat at a toy. He has started to grasp at things now and loves his play mat. We always tell him it's time to "play with your friends" when we place him down on it in the morning. He also does this really cute thing where he stares at his hands as he grabs his fingers together...

We also broke down and bought a Bumbo. He gets cranky when he is laying down too long and wants to be able to see the action going on around him. He sits in it for short periods of time right now while he works up his muscle strength. So far, he is loving it.

4 months old-
My baby no longer looks like an infant. He is a chunky little baby with full big cheeks and cute little baby fat rolls. :) I can not believe how big he is! I laugh because I honestly thought I was busy before becoming a mom and it is no where near as busy as I am now. It's a different kind of busy when you are needed to take care of someone. The days are flying by and I cringe each time my little boy out grows more clothes and I pack them away...

Each month is my favorite month with Logan. As much as I loved him as a smushy little infant, his personality is now coming out and I can not get enough. We get constant smiles, giggles and boy does this baby babble. I think we might have a "talker" on our hands once he starts speaking real words. He started to blow spit bubbles a week or two ago but that has calmed down a bit.

Not only is he completely into his hands (which grab everything... especially loves grabbing my hair and neck skin) but he has now found his feet!!!

He also is very into watching us eat. He will just stare at us if we get any sort of food near our mouths. I can not wait until we start foods around 6 months!!! Did I mention anything he gets his hands on goes right into his mouth... soon instead of blankets and toys it will be purees and soft foods... yay!

4 month memories
Talking up a storm.. coos and babbles like crazy
First St. Patricks Day and Easter
Found your feet
Started rolling over tummy to back
Got your passport
Slept 10 hours straight one night
Starting to out grow 3 month clothes and wearing the few 3-6 month we have
Invited to his first baby birthday party

We celebrated his first St. Patricks Day (isn't his outfit cute? My mom made it) and his first Easter (I made the hat). The Easter Bunny came and brought him a few new toys and a Cadbury Cream Egg for mom and dad. ;)

We found that lately Logan isn't enjoying the play mat as much as he used to. Instead of batting at his toys, he grabs and pulls. I think he is getting frustrated that he can't pull them down and into his mouth. We were lucky enough to have friends gift us their exersaucer and we bought a doorway Jumper (to save space instead of a big Jumperoo) and so far he loves both of these! We also got him a mobile for his crib to help us transition one of his naps during the day out of the swing and into the crib. So far it's going okay. It helps him to fall asleep but his naps are much shorter in the crib. 

We've also tried reading him more books but it's hit or miss with them so far. He would rather take them out of my hand and try and get them into his mouth...

We are still swaddling at night. We had to buy the larger size Swaddleme's while we were in Cincinnati because he was barely fitting into them. We are planning to try and transition him into Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit next because I think he still needs something to stop his arms from waking his up. He has rolled over from stomach to back a few times and back to stomach once, but not in his crib yet. I'm sure it's coming soon though.

Even though my boy is getting so big, he still looks like my little baby when he sleeps... and I love every second of it! 

Are we teething already?

When Logan turned 3 months, something fun happened... he found his hands! He was already swatting at toys and starting to grab or hold onto everything like my hair, fingers and blankets but all of the sudden he couldn't get enough of his own hands. He would grab his fingers, hold on, stare at them and put them straight into his mouth... all ten... well more like as many as he could fit. :)

We traveled home to Cincinnati to visit my family and introduce him to all the relatives who had not met him yet and my mom kept saying over and over again- he's working on those teeth! I thought she was crazy and that he was way too young to already be working on teeth. We've had over a week of chewing, slobbering and crying. At first I thought we had just screwed up his nap and sleep schedule (which I am sure we did just a little) but, he seems to be back on the schedule we are used to here at home and still the fussiness continues. He seems to be in a little bit of pain and cries until something gets into his mouth for him to gum on.

I went to the doctor that is google and low and behold he has some of the signs of teething...
-Drooling. Yup, it's everywhere.
-Gnawing. Yes, Yes, Yes, Everything goes in his mouth.
-Crying. Uh huh, we've been extra fussy these days.
-Waking. Our up once at night has gone back to twice. (might also be from 3 month growth spurt).
-Flushed Cheeks.
I especially loved the part where it said that a baby could be teething for weeks/months before a tooth even pops through... great...

This is the one time I wish my boy liked a pacifier because I feel like that might help. I've been trying everything... Sophie the Giraffe, teething rings, a wet, cold washcloth. His favorite soother seems to be sticking part of an Aden and Anais blanket with half of his fist and gnawing on that. (Those blankets are miracle workers). We take most of our naps in his swing and I was hoping to transition one into the crib once we got home but I'm putting that on the back burner for now.

I honestly can not believe how fast he is growing up... three months have flown by and time does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon!

Any advice or encouragement on how to deal with a teething baby?

We made it to Cincinnati and back!

We had a very exciting week, last week, heading down to Cincinnati to visit my friends and family! During our time away, we had a lot of firsts... Logans first plane ride, a first tear, first time rolling over from front to back by himself and my first time flying solo with a baby!

Packing for the trip was a mess. Since, we were flying standby and checking bags gets a little more complicated, we decided to have only carry on bags and tried to pack as light at possible. We decided not to bring the stroller with us, or a carseat (my lovely friend Katie let us borrow hers) and instead brought the Ergo. Geoff came down with us and stayed for the first 4 days before having to go back to work while Logan and I stayed for another 4 days. This meant I had help on the way down and had to wing it myself on the way back. I packed up both my clothes and Logan's clothes in my suitcase. Bulked up the diaper bag with our large camera and finally decided to bring the pump with us. (I wasn't sure how much I would use it but figured I might need a bottle or two for my parents to feed Logan). We did a decent job packing but I did fedex a small box back home so I would have less to carry through the airport. I'm sure next time we will do even better. :)

Here are a few tips from my experience

- If you babywear your baby, you can go through security without taking him/her out or the carrier off. They just swabbed my palms after I went through and I was good to go.
Beware though, taking shoes on and off is very tricky when you can not bend over (remember the feeling in pregnancy?) so choose your shoes wisely.
Also if you are by yourself, going to the bathroom is also quite complicated. A stroller would have made this easier.

-You are allowed to take breastmilk, juice and formula/water through security when you are traveling with a baby. They just placed my bottles into a machine, it took a few seconds to test them and I was on my way. (Make sure to have them already out in the bins when you go through so you don't have to search for them when your bag gets pulled).
I also like to bring an empty water bottle for myself to fill up at a water fountain after security.

-Go say hi to the gate agents and show off your baby when he/she is sleeping or in a good mood. This helped us score empty seats around us both ways. :)

-During take off and landing make sure to give your baby something to suck on to combat the pressure changes. I fed Logan on take off both times and he was completely fine and he slept through both the landings. :)

-You can bring your carseat onto the plane if you purchase a ticket for your baby or there are empty seats next to you. Remember that the carseat has to be strapped into the seat next to the window in case of an evacuation (you don't want to be trapped trying to jump over a carseat). If you check your seat, you can hold your baby during the flight but do not strap them into the seatbelt with you. Use your arms as a seatbelt and hold your little one close.

-Bring an extra blanket! Planes get cold and most airlines charge for blankets (and the ones that dont sometimes reuse them from flight to flight... yuck!) so you want to make sure that you keep your baby warm enough.

-If you rely on electronics for entertainment or soothing (like we do with white noise on our iphones) remember that for take off and landing, those will have to be turned off. Come prepared with other plans for those times of flight.

-Don't forget to keep diapers, a change of clothes (and a shirt for you), pacifiers, a bottle, etc. in reachable distance... aka not packed in your suitcase.

-Relax and try to enjoy this new experience. Once we got going I was less concerned with what people would think if Logan started crying during the flight and more concerned with our little family and the memories we were making.

All in all Logan did great! On the way down he was awake going through the airport and slept the entire flight. On our flight home, it was the opposite, he slept until we got onto the airplane and then was awake the whole flight until right before landing. He loved looking around at everyone and watched the people walk up and down the aisles. I brought a few small toys to play with just in case but didn't need them at all. He didn't even really cry, just had a few wimpers when he got tired and I put on some light white noise to accompany the sounds of the engines and he was out in a few minutes.

Now as we plan future trips this year, I'll be a little more excited and a lot less nervous. I'm sure things will change as he gets older and moves around more but, knowing we have flown with him makes it somehow easier in my mind. Our next trips will have to be over to Geoff's side of the family- taking him to meet relatives in Seattle and Canada. One of the things on our to-do lists this month is to get Logan his first passport!

I'll be so excited for Logan when he gets his first passport stamp taking his first flight out of the country to Canada and then coming back on his first of many flights to america! I have a feeling our little boy will be seeing a lot of this big world we live in!

Anyone have any suggestions for traveling with a baby i missed?
Or advice for bringing along a stroller and car seat?

10 weeks

I can not believe it has already been ten weeks that this little guy has been a part of our everyday life. Look at how much he has grown from week one until now. This is a six month onesie and he is starting to fill it out quite nicely. At our 2 month appointment with the pediatrician, this guy weighed in at 11 lbs, 10 oz and almost 23 inches. He's gained 4 lbs and grown 2 inches since birth.

Life with a 10 week old is fun! Logan is more awake everyday and really getting strong. He does great at tummy time which is helping his neck muscles to get stronger. He is much better at head control and we can tell he likes to sit up more than lie down. I'm probably going to break down and get him a Bumbo seat tomorrow in hopes he will like that and give our arms a break. He also loooooves the playmat more and more each day. We caught some of his first smiles while he was kicking and batting at the hanging toys. He is a little stingy with the smiles thus far but, it makes each one we get so special- they really melt my heart! He has also started to coo and babble with us. I love it. It's like we are having a little conversation except I have no idea what it's about. Whatever it is, our talk is filled with lots of snuggles, tickles and kisses.

We are still loosely on the Eat, Play, Sleep schedule which has been working well for us but we are slowly adding in longer outings to see how he does with naps on the go. It's a learning experience for sure and some days work much better than others. As for sleep, most nights he is still sleeping like a champ. He wakes up usually once during the night around 3 or 4 am. Twice this week he slept from 10-5am which was amazing! 

As for toys, we were very lucky and our friends gave us an exersaucer and little toy piano for when he gets a little older. This was so nice of them since baby stuff really adds up quickly. However, after bragging about how great we did not overwhelming our little apartment with baby things, I quickly am realizing that this is a short lived victory. We had no where to really put these toys... so for now they are in a corner by the kitchen table. I seriously think if we do not move into a house soon we are going to have to look into renting one of those pods or researching self storage! Geoff used to joke we would need this for my shoes and purses but I think Logan has me beat already. :) I know that we will be very thankful for these toys since Logan is quickly getting bored with us holding hanging toys over his head and we aren't quite enjoying the book reading yet (even though we try everyday).

Likes are still:
Swaddling- they are getting a bit tight on him so it's easier to keep his arms in now.
White noise- This is a must for him to sleep well.
The swing- Thank goodness we have this! Best naps are in the swing but I'm hoping to transition some into the crib.
The Ergo- He loves being snuggled close to us.
Lion King Playmat
Laying on the bed singing and kicking legs and arms around before bed. It is very cute!

He is almost liking Bath time. We go longer each time before he starts crying.

Dislikes-
Diaper changes
Car rides and the car seat- This is new, he is not happy being strapped in where he can not see.
Socks- He is always kicking them off
Being bored- We constantly have to change it up to keep him entertained but it keeps our days exciting. I love how we are seeing him grow and develop. It really is amazing. :)