Baby Proofing/Baby Gate Review

They (the books not your friends) say you should baby proof before you even have the baby and well that's probably pretty good advice. Think about it for a second... once your baby starts moving (rolling, crawling, walking) you have nothing, then you go out and buy everything only to realize a. the XYZ doesn't fit or work b. the baby can get hurt before you have time to get to the store to replace everything you bought. Jackson didn't ever get hurt before we had everything up but we had a ton of close calls. Like the time he ripped his baby monitor out of the wall or when he removed the air purifier from it's plug, computer plugs, lamps, etc. I think our nanny was about to have a heart attack for the two months it took us to finally get everything done (and I don't blame her!).

We didn't do any of this the right way so here is how we should have done it:
1. Make a list of everything that needs to be baby proofed and MEASURE (I did suggest this to Jamie and he vetoed it for the record).
2. Research the baby gates.. or read what I wrote because I def. would have picked different ones.
3. You need plug covers, cabinet locks, gates, and corner covers, and if you have a fireplace lord help you :) We have one and I just put a ton of blankets and corner things on it. I was not willing to pay $200 to baby proof it. We also keep an eye on him. As far as outlet covers and cabinet locks, you should research those, we just used the ones someone gave us.
4. Baby proof the MONITOR immediately. And it's cord! Babies love cords. Apparently they love danger. Honestly I would do this one first. We bought the safety first outlet cover so you can plug in the monitor- even if you think your baby can't reach the outlet they can. Trust me. Then we hung the monitor on the wall and used the sticky things that came with it to hide the cord. We had to use an extension cord for the plug to work with the cover. If you are thinking of buying a shelf to put your monitor on....test it first. I bought two shelves and it just will never work.

5. Put up all your lamps, just eliminate them. Along with the coffee table or buy a soft one.

Now for the gate review:

*** ONLY BUY GATES THAT HAVE TO BE ATTACHED WITH SCREWS INTO THE WALL*** I know you don't want to mess up your house BUT the pressure ones really won't hold a strong baby from using it to jump, climb, and scream like a monkey in a cage (true story). Jackson has already pulled 1 gate down and has been working on another.

1. Summer Infant Sure & Secure™ Extra Tall Walk-Thru Safety Gate. Don't buy it. It's a pressure gate and you have to use two hands to open it. Who has two hands with a baby?! Although it looks nice.

2. Munchkin Gate: It's cheap, it works for a room you never go in or we put it at the bottom of the stairs because we never go up there, it's really hard to put back in place if you take it down (always takes two people), Jackson can rip this one off the wall, it looks decent.

3. Summer Infant Sure And Secure Custom Fit Gate: THE WINNER! Best gate ever. It's soft so when they face plant into them it's ok. It attaches to the wall so it's not going anywhere. It's extra long or you can make it short. You can open it with ONE hand. Genius. Of course it is much more expensive than all the others.

4. Carlson 0930PW Extra-Wide Walk-Thru Gate with Pet Door, White: We got this one for a friend and it works really well for the cats, however, Jackson has pull this one off the door frame. It's also really hard to open. BUT it's really the only option as far as cat doors goes. 

1st Birthday List

Jackson is almost 10 months old which means his birthday is 2 months away! Can you believe it? I have some what started planning... maybe getting some ideas in my head... ok so I'm really close on picking out his outfit for the party and pictures (which I need to schedule). But I have started thinking of his birthday wish list.

1. Wagon: This one is pretty pricey so this will probably be our gift to him but even Jamie is excited about this one.

2. Chair: The anywhere chair from pottery barn. I mean he HAS to have one. How cute would he be sitting on (ok climbing all over) one of these bad boys? Of course his name has to be on it. Duh. I can't decide which one I like better: the navy or the surf print? I'm leaning towards navy.

3. Grill: Every man has to have a grill and Jackson is no different. I actually thought of this because girls have pretend kitchens and pretend play is very important! Instead of a kitchen he can have a grill.

4. Teepee or play tent: He LOVES the fort I built him but it does make our house look really messy and he's about to wack his head on the pool table if he gets any taller. I would love a Teepee! I found this one on Etsy. Cute ones are hard to find and they are pricey so I'm not willing to buy something I don't like the look. And yes you can DYI these but... have you met my husband? And not to mention I'm not very good at DYI and it would probably look like crap and then we would spend more money buying a good one. 

A close second:

I'm not so sure about the firehouse. It's cute but ehh if we had a girl this wouldn't really work.. we also don't have a play room so this would be hanging out in the living room. 

The realistic birthday list: 

1. Board Books (you can never have too many books!)

2. AGE APPROPRIATE TOYS- 12-24 months please. I really hate storing toys he can't use because we don't have a lot of room and then I forget about them. Obviously if they say 3 years but you think he would still enjoy it that's totally fine but you have to be careful a lot of things have very small pieces. He loves to put things in his mouth.. I know the grill says 3 years.. that's my exception :)

3. Trucks/Cars/Trains/Planes

4. Absolutely no more balls. We have about a zillion and he loves them but we are bursting at the seams with balls. They are everywhere. Everywhere. The stroller, under the couch, in the cat dish, under the bed. Ok except for the Elephant Pop Up Toy that one I would make an exception for.. and we obviously wouldn't complain about getting balls.. heck I'm sure Jackson would be thrilled.. I need to figure out a storage system for balls... PINTEREST.

5. Clothes- we always need clothes and pajamas!

Whoohoo now time to party plan! I should maybe order his outfit? Set a date? Ohh the list continues..

Cloth Diapering Whoops

Baby butt! This is such a hippy picture: cloth diaper and amber necklace :)

Yes, we are still cloth diapering! But of course, I just jumped right into it without really reading up on it so I've made some mistakes.

1. Do not use diaper cream with cloth diapers even if Dr. Google says you can use a little. It ruins them which creates more of a diaper rash. Now that we have most of the food allergies figured out (although occasionally we will still get a diaper rash from food), I started looking into the diapers.. and after researching (googling) I found out that I was creating a diaper rash from:
a. Using diaper cream
b. Using my HE washer to wash cloth diapers

Solution:
1. Strip the diapers (I would google this but basically you add Dawn soap and bleach with an extra rinse)
2. Use disposable diapers with diaper cream to get rid of the rash- VERY IMPORTANT! You might only need to use one disposable and it clears but it beats messing around and making everything worse. We do use disposables at night now and I put some cream on just for maintenance.
3. For HE washers:

• Add a wet towel to the wash
• Do an extra extra cycle (3 cycles)
• Add bleach to one cycle
• Wash less diapers in each load

*I'm still working with this one. I'm pretty consistent on the three cycles right now but I would rather just add a wet towel to the wash. And the second Jackson looks like he might be getting a rash I put bleach in the cycle. 

I will admit I was so ANNOYED that my cloth diapers were causing the rash.. until I figured out that I was causing it. Basically I took a week off messing around trying to figure it all out but now we are good. During that week off I did think wow disposables are so easy and then I though wow what I waste of $$$! hahah I would much rather spend that money on toys or clothes for Jackson! We are getting close to a year and I really think my new goal will be to use them until he is potty trained. I plan on potty training him early.. if possible. Right now we have at least broken even in our cloth diapering investment. Going forward we will be saving more and more with cloth diapering. 

*I should really say if you are working full time, I think cloth diapering would be really hard (time consuming). Now that I am only working two days it's extremely easy. And I started AFTER the newborn stage which I will probably do again with the next one.

9 Month Schedule

Babies schedules change about every three months- 0-3 (sleep, eat, poop), 3-6 (4 naps), 6-9 (3 naps), and now 9-12 we are down to two naps. I thought I would share our 9 month schedule, although I wish it was a little different, it works.

My sweet boy!! Attacking the camera (probably at 5am :) )

5:00am 

Jackson is awake GRR. He has to stay in his crib until 6... we are trying to get him to sleep until 6. And no he isn't hungry at 5 trust me. Half the time he isn't hungry at 6.

6:00am

Eat Breakfast

1/4 waffle (dairy, soy, egg free), fruit, and 6 oz formula

6:30-8:00am

Play, crawl around the house or play in the pack n play while we get ready for work

8:00ish

Nap. 

I have tried to push this to 9 but it just doesn't work. He starts melting down at 8.

9:30 

He is up! Time to play

10:00 

Eat Lunch

1 slice of turkey lunch meat (organic no soy), fruit, veggie, 6 oz milk

10:30-12:30ish

Play, Swim Lessons or My Gym, Running Errands

12:30ish

Nap.

Again we have tried to push this back but it just depends on the day. By 1:00 he is usually in melt down mode. Sleeps for 30 minutes to 1 hour and a half

2:00

Snack

"Smoothie" Puree fruit in a pouch, teething biscuit, 6 oz formula

2:30-5:00

Play time, go for a walk, go to the park, run errands, etc.

5:00 

Dinner

Puree chicken, sweet potatoes, rice, fruit, water

6:00 

Bottle 6 oz milk and start the bedtime routine (bath, story, lights out, insert crying)

6:30-7ish

Bed time 

And NO if we push bedtime later he does NOT sleep later. Actually we figured if he gets in bed by 6:30 he usually sleeps the best. The ped said he should be sleeping 12 hours!!!! Ugh. Maybe when he's 16?

Ideally I would like him to wake at 6, nap at 9 and 1 but it is what it is. Besides the 5am wakeup call it's been working really well. I have attempted to take pictures as a "day in the life post" but I always forget! hahaha I'm not quite sure how people do it. I get in our routine and poof the thought it gone. 

Summer Time Favorites

Who doesn't love summer? Now that Mr. Jackson is here and at the perfect age to enjoy summer, we had to get a few necessities:

1. Pool Raft: Get it here. This one is perfect because he can sit in it by himself and kick around (obviously with us holding on to it). It has a little shade you can take on or off. He LOVES it and we really love it too. We have even taken it in the ocean.

2. Baby Pool: We have a baby pool and it works. It was also super cheap. I'm not sure I LOVE it because it's hard to empty/clean, etc. But I would recommend getting one because Jackson loves playing in it. He can sit and play with his toys and splash around.

3. Beach Tent: Here We had a disastrous experience with a different one... this one is great- no poles, it pops up, you put sand in to hold it down, done. He really loves it too.

4. Bubbles: You have to have bubbles in the summer!! We have a giant thing of them outside! We also have bubbles for the bath for inside play. Lots of bubbles!

Next summer: wagon, water table :)

Father's Day

Father's Day 2013

Much different from last year! This year we went to brunch at Black Sheep in Riverside with my parents. It was very yummy! Jackson was quite the trooper this time- I was prepared with toys, food, and teething biscuits (these things keep him busy for long periods of time). I might have talked the men folk into baby proofing when they got home... I know I know it was their day but it HAD to be done. Jackson was really interested in helping out.

We were having issues getting him to sit still long enough to put his shorts back on...

This is my favorite picture!! Looking up at daddy.

Jamie's gift was Starbursts (of course), a handprint/footprint card from Jackson, and two Billabong tanks that he has been talking about FOREVER. He has also continually tried to wear his orange running shirt out in public to go to events!!!!!! With non matching shorts. Need I say more? I had to get Jackson a matching one because he is Jamie's mini and I know he's going to want to be just like daddy one day.

After we all took naps (Jackson was up at 3am) we took a swim in the pool.

And after the pool we went on a run/walk! It was a great day!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the best daddy, who coached several of my sports teams, tolerated hair bows in his hair and countless games of Yahtzee. He is the very best handyman and car man around.. I still wish this would rub off on my hubby. My dad has a lot of patience (especially since he is 1 of 4 boys) and has suffered through endless hysterical phone calls about spiders/bugs, my car, or something else being broken (sorry dad this will still never end). And he absolutely amazing with Jackson! I couldn't ask for a better daddy or poppi!

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband! He has done such an amazing job with Jackson, who has been one challenging baby. From the holding my hand during labor, being my coach for the pushing, and encouraging Jackson to stay awake for feedings, I couldn't have asked for anyone better by my side. Jamie was willing to take shifts hold Jackson up right during those first three tough weeks. He still gets up when we have rough nights without a complaint. He has his own way of playing with Jackson that Jackson LOVES. The look on Jackson's face when he sees Jamie is priceless. They will soon be two peas in a pod (as soon as Jackson can run around I'm sure of it). Parenthood has had it's ups and downs- we have laughed, cried, cheered, complained but we have been one great team and it's been worth it. 

Pregnancy Book

It's finally here! I may have mentioned I made a book of the chalkboard posts? It only took my 9 1/2 months to put it together and print it :) Better late than never!

The cover:

The first page was about finding out we were pregnant- sorry no picture.

Then I put all the chalkboard posts.

Baby Shower

Jackson's room

His birth story

And the precious little angel!!

I am so glad that I did all the posts and made a book! It was so fun looking back at it.

Just for kicks.. Jackson this morning... taking all the books off of his shelf. What a big helper.

Rainy Days

As I have mentioned before I work part time so I was only home for a one full day a week with Jackson. That day we spent running errands, going to My Gym, and hanging out with Mimi. Now I am working two full days and I'm home three (not counting weekends) which is a big change! Of course the first week of this it RAINED. My idea this summer was to spend a lot of time in the pool, going to the park, doing play dates but the rained really messed that up. I had to pull out all my great ideas to make it through the day.

1. Throw the mattress on the floor. Yep this happened totally by chance (obviously). I was changing Jackson's sheets and put his mattress on the floor.. who knew this could be so much fun? This is great for building his core :) Also put all of his "baby" toys in a bucket and wow when he finds them they are like new!

I swear he did have clothes on.. most of the day. We went through a lot of outfits and I just gave up.

2. Build a tent/fort. Best idea ever. Cats loved it/ he loves it. We still have it up and he goes in there all the time. Of course the house looks really weird but whatever.

 

Chasing kitty cats!! Oscar loves the fort also. Everyday Jackson goes in there and hides. If I say, "where is Jackson?" he peaks his head out and looks at me! So cute!

I did manage to put some clothes on him..




3. Rocket rides. Use a fitted sheet (left over from your fort), put baby on his BELLY (this is key to not hurting your child- hello common sense) and pull him all over the house. Great times. His face was so freaking cute! Of course I couldn't capture being the pilot.

See he did have clothes on that actually fit :) 

4. Finger paint: Make your father's day gift :) I'm in the process of making edible paint so that will be more fun.

5. Bubbles in the house. We have a bubble machine (it's super messy but worth the fun) and it's fantastic.

6. Ball pit in the pack n play. We just got a bunch of balls and threw them in the pack n play- best idea ever Pinterest. I wish we would have had this for our rainy because I can't get the kid out of there. I'm not complaining because this is key in me getting ready for work.

7. Baby Einstein. I do NOT recommend babies watching tv, especially under the age of one. There is absolutely no purpose or benefit to them watching tv besides rotting their brain.. ok it's not that bad but really they should be playing and exploring! However, there do come times when you might need a break or you have to get ready for work. I'm pretty sure your employer would not approve of coming to work unshowered and in your PJs. If you get to that point I do really like Baby Einstein. We have the animal DVDs and they are great. Just video of real animals with music. Jackson loves watching the animals! Maybe it's because he so rarely gets to watch it? But we only use the DVD player for traveling, when he's sick, and the occasional morning when he won't stop whining because I'm getting ready. Half the time he just listens to the music and plays. But back to the rainy day.. about 4 (when we usually take a walk) he was super fussy (heck I was fussy) and he was sick of the toys, I was out of ideas, we needed a timeout. It recharged both of us to make it through the day.

Now that I am out of ideas, anyone have any others?

Jambalaya Recipe

Jambalaya Crook Pot Style

Last week I had a disappointing recipe adventure.. I tried Philly Cheese Steaks, Stir Fried Rice, and Hot Cocoa Cookies... ehhh not fantastic. Everything was good but not great. Not good enough to make again so I will not be sharing those recipes. I'm the guinea pig see! A few weeks ago I did make this Jambalaya recipe and it was great!! I know it's a winter recipe but whatever.

Slow Cooker Jambalaya
adapted from AllRecipes.com
(Printable Recipe)
approximately 5-6 servings

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pound smoked turkey sausage, sliced 
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
3 Tbsp dried minced onion flakes
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
white rice or instant rice (I used 2 packs of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice - Garlic & Butter flavor)

In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic, celery, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.  (I do this the night before and put it in the fridge.  I put it in the slow cooker before I leave in the morning.)

Cover, and cook 7 to 8 hours on Low, or 3 to 4 hours on High. Mix in cooked rice cook for about 15 minutes to warm through.

Homemade Coffee Creamer

It's coffee time!! Who doesn't love coffee? Freaks! Just kidding. I know a lot of people don't. In fact I used to never drink coffee, until I had to be at the hospital at 7am in grad school and study at night, I needed a caffeine boost. My mom's advice was to add a ton of creamer or sugar. She's always right!

On Pinterest I saw This website on how to make your homemade creamer so I thought I would give it a try. I did make a slight change to it the recipe but it's pretty fantastic!

Homemade Coffee Creamers

4- 8oz canning jars

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Half and Half

see below for flavor combos

Add equal parts sweetened condensed milk and half and half to each jar. (I used up the whole can of milk and left about an inch of room at the top of each jar for flavorings and shaking space.)

Flavors

Maple Almond - 1 tbsp maple syrup and 1 tsp pure almond extract

Cinnamon Vanilla - 1 tsp cinnamon extract and 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

Mocha - 2 tbsp cocoa powder and 1 tsp espresso powder

Coffee - 1/2 tbsp espresso powder

Once the flavors are added, screw on the lids and shake them well before refrigerating. Label each jar lid with a sharpie!

Chill them for at least one hour, brew some coffee, and enjoy.

Note: If you're working with powders like cocoa and espresso, shaking won't be enough to get everything fully incorporated, so you'll want to use a blender or food processor, mix, and then pour the creamer into your jar. If you prefer a rich creamer, you can substitute heavy cream for half and half.

© Around My Family Table

I tried the maple almond one, however, I added sugar to mine and it was MUCH better. Enjoy :)

Egg, Soy, Dairy Free Waffles

After my initial panic/freakout of Jackson's allergy diagnosis, I decided I was going to figure out how to make everything  I wanted him to eat without egg, soy, dairy, etc. I have googled, searched Pinterest, tried writing on allergy boards (no luck), and final found this Fantastic Website

My first recipe was waffles. This was the closest thing to a puff I could come up with and most kids love waffles. Ok I really love waffles so naturally Jackson should love them too.

I downloaded the babycakes app and it's well worth the $4.00.

Getting started: Jackson napping (ok he was screaming but he did nap in about 4 minutes), Starbucks (a treat... sometimes an everyday treat if I'm being completely honest), IPAD

The crazy ingredients. I went to Native Sun to buy them but I did see a few of these items at Target. Next time I'm going to try to buy them all from Target and see if it's cheaper. The ingredients are $$$. Good news I had plenty left over to make a least another batch.

Mix all the dry ingredients:

Add wet ingredients:

Time for the waffle iron! This waffle iron is seriously the best. It's the kind that flips- like the ones at hotels. 

Looks like a waffle! It tastes much better than expected! I think if I could add butter and syrup I wouldn't be able to taste the difference. The waffle isn't sweet so for Jackson I put a little agave nectar on top. He loves it!

To freeze them like frozen waffles: 1. Let them completely cool. I cut mine in pieces because I know my 9 month old isn't going to eat an entire waffle 2. Then put them on wax paper in the freezer for 6 hours 3. Put them in a freezer bag and freeze 

To reheat just pop them in the toaster.

And there you have it! It can be done and it was relatively simple.