is anything "safe" for baby?

while we were in ft. wayne, i saw on the news a story about crib recalls and immediately feared the worst.  in fact, i recognized our crib on tv (we have the lauren).  sure enough, i carried my laptop into ian's room, and squeezed myself under the crib to compare model numbers, and there it was.  what a disappointment.  we are just days away from having ian sleep in his crib overnight- in fact, he's probably already there, and now i have to completely stop.  now, i'm sure that he would be perfectly safe sleeping in this crib (i don't even use the drop side), but last year i had to deal with this recall.  this is the bed we purchased for ian to sleep in while in our room.  the recall was issued 6 weeks before ian was born, and we were supposed to have the repair kit in 4-6 weeks (it took 18 weeks).  we had no where else to put ian in our room, so we decided to buy a sleep positioner and let him sleep in the hammock.  once we finally received our repair kit and installed it, i saw how unsteady the hammock was all along, and was practically kicking myself.  i figure i may have gotten lucky once, i probably shouldn't risk it again.  the crib repair kit is supposed to take 2-3 weeks.  we'll see.  geez, these recalls almost make co-sleeping seem like the safest option...

on the same day of the crib recall was the tylenol recall.  i was able to match those model numbers, and i immediately chucked those bottles.  this leaves me wondering what i should do in 2 weeks when ian goes in for his 4 month shots. 

i know these companies are doing what's best for our children, but are they making any safe products?  are we too safely conscious these days?  i was out of a car seat at 3- today booster seats run up to 100 lbs (i could see myself in college, still needing a booster seat).  our parents and grandparents didn't have all the safetly rules that we have today, yet they turned out ok.  i guess those were different times, but something has to give.  i'm over dropping hundreds of dollars on products that you tell me may injure or kill my child.  i have enough to worry about without having to worry about whether the side of his crib is going to fall off and he's going to fall out, or whether his stroller is going to amputate his fingers.  for the sake of our children, please, get these products right, or at least discover their faults before someone gets hurt!!

now that i'm off my soapbox- movie recommendation:


away we go.  such a cute story about a couple who are expecting their first child, and their search for a place to call "home."  we really enjoyed it. the time a couple spends together before having their first child is so precious.  go rent it!

week 8

here are the events from weeks 7-8 for ian...

we started off the week by going to infant massage. it was a lot of fun. ian did really well- letting me massage his legs, feet and stomach before deciding it was time to eat. after that, he dozed off immediately and then slept for a few hours. ahh, what a life. that evening we went to erik's house to watch the blackhawks game. it was the first time the guys had seen ian since he was born!

thursday we went to our group, and afterward we had lunch at panera w\ 2 of the girls and their daughters- wow, mommy has friends in illinois!!

for such a good start it went downhill for me fast- i had been getting sick again, and it hit hard friday. i don't think i left the bed except for changing ian and food. by that evening i had a fever of almost 101! so dave took ian to chris's house so i could just sleep it off. they had a boys night watching the bulls game.

we didn't do much for the rest of the weekend since i was sick. the week ended a little rough as ian didn't want to nap much monday or tuesday- so i'm thinking he hit a little growth spurt.

as far as eating and sleeping- he's doing both very well. eating 6 times a day, and taking naps after just about every feeding. the only exception is bedtime, and he sleeps about 7 hours. according to babywise we are at the end of the "stabilization" stage!

ian also seemed to enjoy his swaddle less this week- i've been going back & forth on how much longer to swaddle him for. by week's end, i was having to keep his left arm out to keep him happy.

here are pictures from this week

passed out on mommy's chest

playing in my gym! i am really into it now!

hanging out with dad. mom is making him watch a few minutes of e's oscar best/worst dressed. she just wants to say that she doesn't care if everyone else hated it, but she loved sjp's chanel couture!

laying in bed with mommy, who's hiding b\c she was sick and looked like she was about to die!

more photos next week- ian is 2 months old today!

week 6

wearing my sweet sweater suit


full of smiles

playing with my cousin, jason

and cousin, christian

meeting great-grandma priscilla for the first time!

Ian just turned 6 weeks old this week! I can't believe it's been 6 weeks already!! So here's what happened from week 5-6!

Ian discovered his hands this week, he keeps putting them in his mouth. We kept smelling this really weird smell that wasn't coming from his diaper- turns out it was Ian's hands- because he keeps putting them in his mouth- they smell like sour milk. Yuck.

I also learned a really awesome trick for getting Ian to nap. i started implementing it on monday, and it works like a charm- he's napping really well now. thanks to Chronicles of a Babywise Mom

Last weekend we took the 4 hour drive to ft. wayne, indiana- where dave's gma and most of his cousins live. so ian got to meet a lot of his family. we also had some newborn photos made- Dave's cousin and his wife have a photography business. he did really really well!

i had my post-partum appointment this week- it went really well. not as bad as i was expecting. i'm healed, and i'm back on the pill. boo, but it's better than being pregnant again so soon!! although Dave & figured out with our insurance debacle (see past posts if you don't know about that disaster) that if i had another baby THIS year, it would be FREE! i still have to go back again in may for my yearly exam, so i dodged that bullet for now. if i haven't said this before- i love my ob. maybe too much. she is pretty much the coolest chick ever, and i want her to be my friend. maybe i'm just lonely for friends up here, but if i were to ever hang out with her, it would be awesome. and possibly awkward.

so many exciting things have happened this week that i have lots to write about for next week! can't wait to share them all!!

things i've learned about motherhood #11

once baby is down for a nap, and has been quiet for about 10 minutes you will decide to try and fall back asleep yourself- you will get yourself tucked in and you will almost be asleep, and that's when baby spits out his pacifier and screams his head off. this may happen a few times...

:)

35 weeks = 35 days

I found it interesting that my little counter says "I am 35 weeks pregnant. 35 days to go." It's just funny to me that those numbers match. What have I been doing lately besides running around like a crazy woman? I had 2 baby showers the last 2 weekends- 1 in Georgia with my girlfriends and 1 here in Illinois with Dave's sisters, mom and grandma. We got a lot of great things for baby at both showers. I was starting to worry baby wouldn't have enough clothes- I need have no fear! At the GA shower we played a fun game where I was blindfolded and got to taste baby food- it was pretty funny- I even had 2 other friends brave enough to try it- funny that neither of them were my pregnant friends at the shower! Here are a few photos from that shower:

Tiffany- 16 weeks, Me- 33 weeks

I am pretty sure I had just eaten the peas in this picture. GROSS

opening gifts = always fun

Things are looking good in baby's room- all the furniture and accessories have been put together. We have "piles" in the baby's room right now: 1. I have 1 load of clothes left to wash from the stuff we got this past weekend. 2. I have kitchen and eating accessories that need a home in one of our cabinets. 3. I have stuff that needs to be returned (multiples) or exchanged (like for instance how someone registered for the wrong diaper genie refills... i wonder who).

I am ordering our bedding today. God has really blessed us as far as this goes- no one tells you, but baby bedding is EXPENSIVE! It's probably the most expensive item we're having to purchase on our own. Bedding + the accesories to go with it (extra sheets, etc) were totaling out around $300-$400. For starters- I am lucky that I joined this points website about 10 years ago- by simply answering a survey a week, and clicking through on emails I had earned over 30,000 points. Now Dave and I wanted to use those points for gift cards for an HDTV, but then baby came along. We found out that the site that had our baby bedding also was part of the points program, and we were able to cash in my points for $200 in gift cards (to arrive in 2-6 weeks (from last week), but that is another story in itself). Of course, even with that we still had around $175 or so that wasn't going to be covered- and here's where we've been super blessed. We have received money from various people for baby, and we used most of it for painting the room. All that we had left was around $20. Since Saturday, Dave & I have received $160. Put that with the $20, and it is exactly enough to cover the ENTIRE cost of what we were going to have to spend on bedding out of pocket. WHAT A BLESSING!

So we at least will have baby bedding in a few days... with our accessories, it may be a month or so from now. Shh, don't tell baby. Of course, pictures will follow.

Well, it's time for mom to rest- I am working tomorrow, and need as much energy as possible for that. Just over a week left at work... whew! Plus, I know i'll probably wake up a few times during the night before then- not only to use the bathroom, but I have a new affliction- acid reflux. Let's just say it takes about 2 seconds to happen, and in that 2 seconds hurts worse than heartburn. Ugh. I've got to try to stay on my side while i'm sleeping- but my body just wants to be comfortable!

on the move!

well, I can no longer say that I haven't felt baby move! baby is moving all over the place now, and I love it! it usually comes and goes, and sometimes only lasts for a few seconds, but it's a very awesome feeling! even more exciting, daddy finally got to get in on the baby moving action last night! i have told him several times that I have felt movement, but when he's placed his hand on my belly, baby has stopped moving! he finally got to share in the movement this morning around 5:30! Dave had gotten up to go to the bathroom, and had left the door open a little wider than he should have. Eleanor was sleeping right up under me, and Mr. Famous was sleeping in his usual spot on the floor wrapped in our comforter. Eleanor must have noticed the door was open a little and she started moving around, in turn Mr. Famous got up, and before I could roll myself over and leap from bed, both dogs darted out the door and down the stairs. I jumped from bed to try to stop them, but was too late. Poor Dave had to chase them downstairs and wrangle them back upstairs. The point of all this is to say that my sudden movements must've woken baby up from a pleasant slumber because he started moving like crazy. We were both laying there just tossing and turning, so when baby started really moving, I told him to put his hand on my belly, and he felt baby move too! It was a wonderful moment to share, regardless of the fact that it was nearly 6 am!

sleepless nights already?

i am a stomach sleeper. i enjoy sleeping on my stomach, it makes me happy, and I have no problem sleeping. sometimes i even sleep on my back. coming up here in the next couple weeks I am going to have to change sleeping positions to where I am sleeping on my side, or as my book puts it, "change sleeping positions NOW!" i have already been "practicing" for these upcoming nights where i can no longer sleep on my tummy, and for when sleeping on my back or even laying on my back will cause severe trauma to my baby. so far, it's not working so well. i either lay there until i finally start to get sleepy, in which at that time I have to go to the bathroom, or i'm starving and I have to get up to eat...

we found a body pillow here at the house, so i've been using that for now, but i've had a few recommendations: 1. All Nighter total body pregnancy pillow (i would paste that link, but blog won't allow, or i'm dumb) and 2. Boppy Body Pillow. Both are about $50- crazy, and the All Nighter has better reviews, so i'll probably go for that if I decide on one. I still don't know if it's going to help me solve my problems. The last few days I've definitely had an easier time sleeping on my side, but I have woken up in extreme pain, and not where I should be in pain...

1. my ear- I have woken up the last couple mornings with my ear screaming in pain, I don't know if i am sleeping too hard or what, but it does NOT feel good.
2. arm/shoulder- i don't know where to put my arm when i sleep on my side- i can't get it out from under me- i've tried above my head, out to the side, nothing helps- i wake up and my whole left arm is asleep, or sore.

So, i'm hoping $50 and a magic pillow will help solve my problems- we'll see, i'll definitely keep you updated!