Baby All I Want for Christmas is...

... Pajama Jeans.

Yeah, that's right.

Feels like pajamas but looks like denim?

Where do I sign up?

It is my pledge to you all (all 5 of you) to try out these modern miracles. 



Code Brown, Part Deux

So, with the introduction of foods has come very interesting developments with H... in the bowel region. 

My normal "let's go #2 once a week breastfed baby" now likes to go about 37 times a day.

I may or may not be exaggerating - I like to keep you guessing mid-week.

Recently these new developments led to a very fun Code Brown Situation in public.

As I waited in line at Savages - a scrumptious bakery here in B'ham - with H in my arms, I noticed lots of people looking at him.  Of course, being the proud mommy that I am, thought "Oh, look, they think my baby is so cute and precious. That must be why we're garnering so many looks." 

Then I smelled it.  And crossed my fingers that the bakery scent would cover it until we departed.

Getting back to the car (whilst balancing some boxes of calorie-free goods) and putting H in his car seat, I saw the path of destruction.

Poo. 

POO EVERYWHERE. 

Exploding out of his cute smocked outfit, down both his legs, across my waist, smears down both my arms...

Did I mention I was wearing a white cardigan? 

It gets worse.

Since I had about 2 baby wipes left in the diaper bag that day, I used them on Precious Babe and rode home covered in the Poo. 

With the heat on. 

Imagine that smell.

Should I tell you there was smear on my face when I checked the rear view mirror? 

Does that make you laugh harder?

Happy Wednesday.

Love, First Time Mommy

Baby Fever!

Lots of baby love going on around these parts! 

In the past week, I've gotten to meet two lovely ladies as they graced us with their presence:

Sweet Kate Preston, born to one of my oldest friends, Mrs. Bates.

You may remember she is a twin to Mrs. Dean...

...whom I like to call "The Baby Whisperer."

Just a few days later, I got to meet Miss Linley Cate, newest addition to Mrs. Bremmerman.

Proud Big Sister Madilyn wanted in the picture too!

 

And just last night, I got to celebrate with Mrs. Baker at one of her Baby Showers.  Pics to come on her blog, as I was her unofficial photographer with her camera. 

The baby fever is strong around here!!!

What happens in 18 years?

As I'm watching H absorb his "Little Einsteins" today, I wanted to ask y'all about your opinions on saving up for his future college education.

One thing Mr. Smith and I wanted to do for his first Christmas was to have some sort of account already open, so we (and family) can deposit some moola in there to get it going. 

And then we looked at all the accounts (and varying opinions) and were a little gobsmacked.

ESA?  529?  Custodial Account?  Regular Savings?

I've got a basic understanding of each, with their respective ups and downs, but we still haven't pulled the trigger on any one sort of account. 

And Christmas is RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER.

I'm a big believer in higher education, but also a big believer in the idea that the standard "4-year university experience" isn't for everyone.  Hypothetically speaking, if Mr. Smith and I save up moola for H for 18 years, and then he decides the college route is not for him or he gets a full-ride (Please Sweet Lord, let it be so!  Could we have a future Crimson Tide quarterback with a 32 ACT score? A mom can dream, right? ), what do we do with the moola saved?  Get penalized or taxed for it? 

Sigh.

What to do... what to do....what to do...

Anybody have any ideas on this subject???

Number Crunching

Last week I saw an old friend/co-worker who inquired about H's transition to food.  As I started to tell her about making the homemade baby food, she stopped me with a "Oh - you're totally that mom now."

At the risk of getting eye rolls from all of you... yeah, I am. 

But... hear me out. 

Yes, I've been making H's baby food for the past 2-3 weeks, but the nerd in me crunched the numbers, and here's what I've got to show all you frugalistas, ok?  (Plus, did you know some of that baby food can stay on your shelf for up to 3 years?  Think about that.)

So, H has been eating about 2 helpings of baby food per day now.  Sometimes I slide in a third helping, but he's still on a Mommy Milk diet - the baby food is just a happy addition to his diet.

As stated before, I do the grocery shopping for our familia in 2 week spans, so this is based on a 2-week project timeline.

Commercial Baby Food

2 jars of Baby Food @ $1.30 per Day = $2.60

$2.60 X 14 Days = $36.40

That's about $72.80/month.

I'm not adding in tax here... use your imagination.

Homemade Baby Food

2.37  pounds of bananas = $1.64

3.52 pounds of sweet potatoes = $3.48

Plus, I picked up a box of Baby Oatmeal for $3.69 (you make it with Mommy Milk)

And some Baby Yogurt (he loves it!) for $5.00

That's $13.81 for 14 Days.

And will be about $27 for November.

Last time I checked, those numbers added up in my favor with over $40 saved.

Plus, it's really easy.  And you can freeze it. 

As a friend would say... knock me over with a feather.

I'm sold. 

Harrison's First Halloween

Last night Mr. Smith and I took a very cute little Puppy door-to-door for his very first trick-or-treating experience...

Aunt Anna was our tour guide and manuevered us through the neighborhood.

We collected lots of yummies, which Mommy sampled. 

Our last stop was Aunt Suz, who didn't have any candy, but gave the Puppy lots of hugs!

Adventures in B-Feeding

Having jinxed myself in saying that we had not yet seen any teeth from H in my post a few days ago, lo and behold, 2 bottom teeth have arrived... literally overnight.

My normally happy-go-lucky precious babe has been quite cranky and wants Mommy - 24/7 - this week. 

How did we find these teeth?  With a rather painful encounter.  I shall not go into details, but let's just say I haven't yelped that loudly in a good long while... say almost 6 months ago? 

It's a perfect time to remember the commitment to b-feeding, as I now grimace at the sight of H's cute little vampire mouth. 

So, Mr. Smith and I made the decision to b-feed H long before his arrival.  Having mommies ourselves who went down this path, we had long heard of it's magical powers. 

Why is it so rad?

It's convenient.  It's literally right there, ready to go, 24/7.  I think the definition is "on demand" and reads something like "the ability to feed your child whenever or wherever he may desire it."  This is what it really means "the ability to feed your child everywhere awkwardly imaginable: the parking lot of Publix, the parking lot of CVS, the handicap stall at the BJCC, the regular stall at Jim 'n Nicks...  really no place is too awkard for your precious babe to get his tummy full."

Also, let's discuss the "let down" process.  I think the definition for this is something along the lines of "when your baby needs your ladies, your milk will release..something about the psychological and physical aspects..."  This is what that really means: you "let down" or "the ladies gear up for action" when the following happens:

1.  Your baby cries
2.  Your baby smiles at you
3.  You are with a friend and start talking about your baby
4.  You see a baby on TV crying or smiling
5.  You are at Publix and hear a baby 3 aisles over crying
6.  You listen to the radio and get all sappy thinking of your precious babe
7.  You see a Fisher Price or Johnson & Johnson commercial on the TV
8.  You are in the shower and start thinking about everything you need to do the next day for the precious babe.
9.  You are brushing your teeth and start thinking about everything you need to do the next day for the precious babe.
10.  You are typing away on your blog and your baby starts cooing at you on his mat besides you....

On that note, I'll wrap things up here.

 

P.S.  Let's not forget it's free.  Hooray to The Big Guy in the Sky for giving us this precious yet economical gift!

 

Our goal is to b-feed H his first full year. By either straight from the source or pumping/bottles.  With the pains I've endured the past couple of days, that pump is looking better and better.

Side note:  Isn't it funny to use the terms "we" in this department?  Because that last time I checked, Mommy Smith was the slave to the H-Man when he's hungry.  Ah well, marriage and parenting is all about teamwork, right?