Lauren on Living

A Lifestyle Blog about Simplifying Healthy Living

For Your Reading Pleasure // I Read All The Baby Sleep Books

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Ava Neyer

This post by Ava Neyer touches on how confusing and frustrating infant sleep patterns can be and the advice out there isn’t much clearer.  You can basically find something to support any field of thought on infant sleep if you dig deep enough.  I’ve heard a lot of people say that their babies “just aren’t good sleepers.”  While, this may be true in some instances, unless you’re willing to try a lot of different methods, you shouldn’t put the blame on your baby like that. If your baby isn’t responding well to one method, move on to another and if that doesn’t work try something else and so on.  There are so many varied methods of sleep training that you should be able to find one that works for you and your baby.  Don’t give up.

So read this.

On another note, I am once again going out of town.  This time I am heading north to the tiny and lovely town of Eliot, Maine to spend a week with my parents before we all head back to the D.C. area for my younger brother’s wedding.  I will be taking Asher with me, but sadly Rafaan, can’t spare the vacation days so it will be my first time flying alone with the babe.  While, I’m going to miss my hubs immensely, I’m so thankful to him for understanding my need to spend quality time with my parents and giving me his blessing to take his son away from him for a whole week.  I do not think I’d be able to do the same if our roles were reversed.  He truly is the better half of us.

Needless to say, posting may be light while I’m away, but I promise to document our trip thoroughly.   I have a lot of requested posts that I am currently working on in draft form in the queue.  So, if you’ve requested a certain topic, rest assured it’s coming and thank you for your patience.

The First Years Ignite Stroller Review

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When it comes to strollers we are pretty obsessed with our Baby Jogger City Mini GT, but decided that we needed something smaller for ease of use when travelling.  I opted for the The First Years Ignite Stroller, in black stripe.

timthumbAll in all, I’m not overly impressed or unimpressed with this purchase.  The stroller feels pretty sturdy, and maneuvers beautifully, even with just one hand.  It is very easy to fold up and comes with a handy parent console that even fits my beloved nalgene water bottle.  It has about a 5 inch recline, which isn’t much, but at least allowed Asher to nap on the go with his head falling forward onto his chest.  The undercarriage basket is a decent size for an umbrella stroller although it’s a little tough to get to due to the criss-crossing metal frame.  It has a great 5 point harness that is very easy to adjust.  The sun canopy was a bit small, and since it can’t be adjusted I felt like it didn’t really serve it’s purpose well.  When folded the wheels touch the inner portion of the canopy, which can leave dust and dirt behind.  Although it folds easily, it doesn’t lock automatically and locking it, while holding a wriggling babe was a bit challenging at times.  Lastly, I’m 5’6 but tend to have a rather long stride and occasionally I wouldn’t hold the stroller far enough away from my body and my foot would graze the back wheel, which I found annoying.

Pros: 

Light weight, sturdy frame – 14 lbs

Parent console

5 point harness

Great maneuverability

Descent storage basket

Relatively inexpensive – $57

Reclines a bit

Very easy to fold

One handed seat recline

Cons:

Inadequate sun shade

Hard to reach storage basket

No automatic lock when folding

Seat lacks a deep recline

When folded wheels leave dirt on the sun shade

Feet sometimes hit rear wheels while walking

Putting the seat back into the upright position is a bit of a hassle and requires two hands.

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IMG_6079The pros do out weigh the cons and since we plan to just use this stroller when we’re traveling, it’s fine and the price is right.  If we were going to use it for any more than that though I would probably want to invest in something a little nicer.

Anvari Chronicles // Texas Summer 2013

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We had a blast in Texas and Asher was a huge hit!  Raf and I barely held him the whole time we were there, in fact we began to forget that we were parents all together.  We went on not 1, not 2 but THREE dates while we were there and it felt so nice to reconnect with the love of my life.  We ate a ton of delicious food and spent lots of time with Raf’s extended family which was lovely.

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IMG_6184Sorry that this picture is a little blurry, but I had to include it because it highlights the shirt that Rafaan’s mom made for Rafaan when he was a baby and they were living in Pakistan and that has now been gifted to Asher.  

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Recipe: Pecan Pie

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UPDATE: We adopted a plant based diet in September 2013 so, while this was definitely yummy, it no longer reflects the food we eat. IMG_5921

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This recipe is super easy to make and only takes about 5 to 10 minutes to prepare once you get the hang of it.  This pie is not as sweet as most pecan pies that I’ve come across, but that’s what my husband loves most about it.

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 tbsp milk

Filling:

3 eggs (lightly beaten with a fork)

1/2 cup karo light corn syrup

1/2 cup sugar

pinch of salt to taste

1 1/2 cups pecans

2 tbsp butter (cut up into smallish pieces)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Crust:

Mix the flour, oil and milk together until all liquid is absorbed.  You want the consistency to be like play dough, so add a bit more milk and oil to get it there if need be (I forgot this step and my crust was rather dry and crumbly, just saying).  You should mix as little as possible so as soon as there is an even consistency, stop mixing.

Using your fingers, press the dough into a pie pan, making sure to go up the sides, until it is evenly distributed,

Filling:

Mix the eggs, sugar, corn syrup, salt, pecans and butter together in a large bowl, then pour into the pie crust and bake for 50 minutes.

Let cool, then serve with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and enjoy.

For Your Listening Pleasure // Parents’ Saliva On Pacifiers Could Ward Off Baby’s Allergies

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Rob Stein

 

Perhaps not washing Asher’s pacifier every time it hits the floor is actually helping his immune system.  Listen to this pod cast to hear all about it.  I wouldn’t get extreme about this, I mean, I’m not going to suck on Asher’s pacifier and give it right back to him if it falls on a public restroom floor, but if it’s my dining room floor, why not?  I would be interested in more studies like this being done to find out whether or not this claim holds up.  In any case, it seems that Asher has ditched his pacifier and upgraded to his thumb, which is constantly touching the floor anyway.  

Go listen to this.  

Texas Bound

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We are heading off to Texas today to visit Raf’s family, many of whom will be meeting Asher for the first time.  Asher already has them all wrapped around his tiny fingers, but how could he not?  I’m so excited about this trip and I’m looking forward to watching Asher charm everyone with his sweet personality and easy smile.  Posting may be light while we’re away, but I’ll definitely be documenting our time in the Lone Star state and posting about it here when I can.

This will be the maiden voyage of our new stroller so look out for a full review in the near future.

We’ll be gone for 11 days!  That’s 11 days of Raf around during the day, lot’s of delicious food, family time and plenty of hands to help hold and entertain Asher.  I am pretty jazzed about it.  Who knows, maybe the Hubs and I will actually go on a date, which is something we haven’t done since the tiny one arrived.  I even plan to take Asher to the pool for the first time and get lots of adorable shots of him in his brand new cloth swim diaper!

Did You Know? // Car Seats

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Many thrifty and savvy parents are turning to places like craigslist for used baby stuff, while I generally endorse this, I advise caution when it comes to the car seat.  Unless you can guarantee that the car seat hasn’t been in a crash, it’s best to stir clear.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) car seats that have been in moderate to severe crashes need to be replaced due to the structural integrity of the car seat being compromised.  They do state that car seats that have been in minor crashes don’t necessarily have to be discarded as long as they meet ALL of the following criteria:

  • The vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site;
  • The vehicle door nearest the safety seat was undamaged;
  • There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants;
  • The air bags (if present) did not deploy; AND
  • There is no visible damage to the safety seat

Many car seat manufacturers state that you need a replacement after every crash, regardless of severity, however it is to their financial benefit to say so.  In addition, if you have a car seat manufacturer warranty, it may be considered void if it’s been in a crash, so that’s something worth considering.

If your car seat has been in a crash and no longer deemed safe, I recommend cutting up the harness, tearing off the fabric and writing on it in permanent marker indicating that it has been in a crash, so that no one else tries to salvage and use it.

It is always safest to buy car seats new, but if you really want to get a used one I recommend getting one from someone you know and trust.

This is a great post about car seat safety.

On a side note: during winter, make sure you remove your child’s puffy coat before buckling them into their car seat.  In a crash the coat will compress and the car seat harness will be too loose to protect them as well as it should.  To keep them warm on a winter drive, cover them with a blanket instead.

Woombie Review

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Asher was a swaddle houdini.  No matter how I swaddled him he always managed to get the fabric up around his face and I was worried that he would suffocate.  Not swaddling wasn’t an option due to his over active arms, which would constantly flail about and keep him awake, so I was thrilled when I discovered the Woombie. images This thing is seriously amazing.  There was absolutely no way that he could get out of it and I especially love the two way zipper, which made changing his diaper in the middle of the night a breeze.  They also come in a variety of fun colors and styles that suit any situation.  They have fleece ones for winter, cotton and mesh ones for summer and even a slightly tighter one called the ‘houdini‘, which was the very first one that I got Asher.  I eventually ended up getting a second woombie in their original style, just so that I would always have one handy if the other was in the wash.  I am in love!  They come in two sizes, but we never ended up needing to get the bigger size, since we stopped swaddling Asher before he got that big. The whole idea is that it’s supposed to mimic being in the womb.  The babies can still move their limbs about and bring their arms up to their chest (which is much nicer than having their arms strapped to their sides) but they can’t escape, which is key. At around $26 a piece, they are a bit pricey for a swaddler, but they’re a good quality stretchy fabric that held up beautifully to countless washes and I’ll be able to use them again for the future babes.  Overall I am really impressed with the Woombie. I suggest getting two, I thought I’d be able to get by with just one, but boy was I mistaken.  Get two, trust me.  The houdini is a bit tighter and shorter than the original.  So I suggest starting with the original and going from there.

IMG_1192I’m sorry, for this awful picture, but I promise he really did like it better than any other swaddle.  This is just the way Asher looked at me or anyone for that matter for the first two months of his life, with deep unbridled concern.  In fact, I took this very picture in order to send Rafaan an email, saying something like “this is why you need to be extra affectionate, how would you feel if you spent your day with someone who looked at you like this 95% of the time?”

Thank goodness, he’s all smiles now!

I should also mention that for the first couple months we only took iphone pictures of him, so that’s why all his early pictures are sub par.  I’m kicking myself over this, but at least his early months got documented.  Lastly, I’ll mention that one of Raf’s favorite things to do was free him from his cocoon after a long nap and to watch him perform an amazing stretch.

Seriously, the woombie was a lifesaver.

A Love Like No Other

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Everyone told me that having a baby would truly show me what it meant to love.  That nothing would compare and that the love I would feel for that tiny bundle would be like nothing I had ever felt before.  When I was pregnant with Asher I knew I loved him, I could feel him inside me and as he grew so did my love for the tiny stranger within me.  Once he was born I stared into his eyes and I loved him even more, but I didn’t exactly think that what I was feeling was something new or unfamiliar.  I loved him, but I felt it was the same depth of love that I felt for my husband, parents, family and dearest friends.  I felt I had been deceived in some way, or that the reality of the feelings that I would have for my son was blown out of proportion.  Like it was a story that parents told other parents because it sounded romantic.

Slowly and almost imperceptibly at first that love grew.  The more I got to know my little boy, the more my heart swelled with love for him.  One day as I looked at his tiny face I was suddenly struck by the enormity of the feelings that I felt for him.  I could hardly comprehend the power of my love for this perfect soul.  To love someone so completely is something I have never experienced.  I ache every time I see my nose and his father’s lips together on his face.  Sometimes I literally can not get close enough to him.  I want to inhale him and soak him up.  I want to bottle the way his skin feels under my finger tips and the way he smells in the grey early morning light, so that years from now, when he is grown, I can be brought back and remember them as vividly as I am experiencing them now.

He is growing so fast, I feel like this precious time with him is slipping away.  This time when I am the center of his world.  I have never wanted to be the center of anyone’s world, but now that I am, I savor the weight of it.  In just one month he will start on solid food and I suspect that will be the first step towards him gaining his independence.  I want that for him.  I want him to grow up and to leave the nest and to get married and to have babies of his own, but it still aches.  The thought of him leaving.  He will only be a baby for a year.  One, single short year and then he’ll be a toddler, a little boy, a teenager, a man and I won’t be able to sneak into his room at night just to gaze at him and savor the sweet sounds of his breath.  That year is nearly half gone already and I can’t seem to comprehend how that even happened.  Every day the depth of my feelings for him grows stronger.  I already struggle to understand the vastness of how I feel for him and I know that there is no way to even fathom what my love will be for him in 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 years, 2 decades.  I feel so incredibly humbled that I get to know this bright soul before anyone else does.  I don’t always cherish the moments I have with him.  When I’m up with him at 4 a.m. or when he spits up down my shirt I think about how I can’t wait for him to outgrow this stage, too just be a little bit older. But when he’s nursing and gazing at me with those slate grey eyes, I know that I want to hold on to these fleeting second for eternity.  I can’t though.  I blink and they’re gone, soon to become distant fading memories, clouded by the onslaught of time.  My yucky, sticky, sweet, happy little boy.  

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