Banana? Banana.

I love toddler jibber jabber. With his own little language, C has been amazing us with all he knows lately. Much of what he says is actually pretty clear, but some is most definitely his own style. There are some words that I'm going to miss hearing when he starts saying them properly! I suppose its not good for his social well being if he pronounces movie as, "moomie" forever.

Our favorite word by far is, "banana." I can't even type out how it sounds when he says it - its just too funny. Luckily, I caught it on camera when we were playing with his flash cards.

Banana? Banana.

Wordless Wednesday: Lazy Morning

Everyone gets to lounge in bed except for me!

Restocking the Baby Tackle Box

***Before I get started with this post, I wanted to make sure to state that I am not a doctor. Just the Mom with a kid who's gotten sick a lot and the daughter/niece of two very wise nurses. Always check with your doctor before giving your child medication.***

One of my most popular posts, both here and on Pinterest, is the baby tackle box. Who knew that my desperate attempt to organize the sick child midnight madness would turn into such a hit!

I was sad to see that pretty much everything we had left over from C was expired, but then I realized it *had* been at least 18 months since we'd used any of it. The tackle box had transitioned from gripe water and teething gel to Boogie Wipes and band aids. Oh, how he's growing up! Now with #2 on the way, its time for a bit of reorganizing and restocking.

Here is my list of must have's for your 0-12 month tackle box...

Pain/Fever

• Infant acetaminophen/Tylenol
• Infant ibuprofen/Advil (for 6 months and up)  
• Rectal thermometer and probe covers  
• Gentle Naturals Teething Drops

Once your little one hits 6 months, its very handy to have acetaminophen and ibuprofen in your arsenal as they can be given on a rotating basis to keep high fevers at bay. **Always check with your doctor for dosing instructions!**

As for the thermometer, there are lots and lots of fancy no touch thermometers out there, but we rely on a good ol' fashioned rectal therm for the most accurate reading. Especially with tiny ones, a few tenths of a degree can be the difference between Tylenol and the ER, so why not use the most accurate way you can? Scared of hurting baby? There are lots of safety rectal therms on the market that prevent inserting too far.

Cold/Snot

• Snot sucker
• Saline spray/drops 
• Little Remedies Baby Rub
• Boogie Wipes

It may be gross, but we LOVE the Nosefrida snot sucker. Look it up, but don't judge us until you try it. Boogie Wipes are also one of our favorite products. These super soft, saline infused wipes clean up the crustiest, sore noses in one quick swipe with far fewer tears.

Tummy/Tushy Troubles

• Gas drops 
• Gripe water
• Pedialyte 
• Triple Paste

Gas drops and gripe water come in various brands and they all work equally well. Some babies do better with them than others, but C responded relatively well to them. Pedialyte is always handy to have in the case of vomiting or diarrhea that won't let up. Dehydration comes on quickly with little ones and is easy to avoid if cared for quickly.

Now, bear with me - Triple Paste is crazy expensive for something that goes on your butt, but it is literally magic. The absolute worst diaper rash can be cleared up over night with a quick slathering. Just buy yourself a tub when your kid is born and it'll last until potty training.

Skin

• Babyganics Healin Groovy skin protectant
• Sunblock

With all the rest of the chemicals out there, I try to be very careful what I put on my kid's skin. These two products are some of my favorites. Healin' Groovy is basically Aquaphor without the petrolatum, BPA, and other not so great stuff. As for sunblock, read the labels! Sunscreen is different than sunblock and not all sunblock is created equal. Each year, the Environmental Working Group puts out a report called "Skin Deep" that ranks that year's sun products for hazardous chemicals. You will be shocked at how hazardous some "baby" sun products are. Shocked.

Much of what is in the 0-12 months tackle box is also in our toddler tackle box with a few additions...

• Floristor Probiotics (to avoid antibiotic induced diarrhea)
• Children's ibuprophen/Advil
• Children's acetaminophen/Tylenol
• Droppers and spoons (who knows what he'll accept that day)
• Little Remedies Honey Elixir cough syrup
• Sore throat pops
• Neosporin and character band-aids
• Tweezers (for splinters and what not)
• Red wash cloths

Why red wash clothes, you ask? Because my Mom was a certified genius. What freaks someone out more than anything? Seeing their own blood when they get hurt. Red wash cloth = can't see the blood. Invest in a few, you'll thank my Mom. 


Some general tips...

• There is NO cough/cold medication out there safe for infants and young children. Basically, all you can do is suck the snot, turn up the humidifier, and keep them comfortable.
• Honey is a great cough soother, but only for kids over 12 months of age. 
• The concentration of medication can be different depending on the brand (i.e. Triaminic vs. Tylenol vs. store brand). Each comes with its own dropper; use it.
• Baby Vicks/chest rub is very different than regular Vicks and yes it does matter. 
• Put one parent in charge of medicating and write down dosing times to avoid over dosing and confusion.

Finally, the most important thing about medication and kids (of any age) is to be sure of the dosage and ask your doctor if you have ANY doubts or questions. I'm not a huge fan of giving meds, but having a kid who likes to spike 105 fevers at 3am has taught me to be prepared for the worst.

Officially in Uncharted Territory

Yesterday marked the gestational age that I had Charlie; 34 weeks, 5 days. Despite my neurotic worrying over the past few weeks, the day came and went like nothing. ::whew::

I thought that once this time marker passed, I would find a whole new state of relaxation where I could enjoy the rest of my pregnancy, but for some reason I find myself more anxious than ever. When will she come? Tomorrow? Two weeks from now? A week late?

I have realized two things: 1) No one knows when their baby is coming, so this is very normal and 2) Worrying could easily be a moot point and she could be late. I have two 17P shots left (one tomorrow, one next Monday), but with the increasing number of Braxton Hicks I've been getting as I wait for the next shot, I'm nervous what will happen after my last one next week. Could I really have a baby in two weeks once the shot wears off? Holy crap, someone hold me. The house is ready for a baby, but are we?

So, here we go. Bring on the late 3rd trimester weight gain, the waddling, the lightning crotch, the leaky boobs, super swelling, and all the other fun stuff I skipped out on last time. I'll happily take it all in return for one healthy, full term baby.

14 days until full term, 35 days until her due date!

34 Weeks

Woo hoo! Chugging along through 3rd trimester. And does this baby look like she dropped or what?!

Baby is almost 18" and about 4 3/4 lbs!

Weight: Up quite a bit at this point (about 30 lbs.), but whatever. I'm eating healthy and while I'm not getting as much exercise as I probably should, my blood sugar and blood pressure is perfect so I'm not going to complain.

Sleep/Energy: My hips are starting to crack quite a bit when I roll over in my sleep. Sounds lovely! I've adopted the pillow fort method of sleeping, much to J's pleasure. Two regular pillows, a body pillow, and a Boppy Sleep Wedge - which I highly recommend.

Cravings/Aversions: Since just about everything gives me heartburn, I'm going to claim Zantac as one of my cravings. Otherwise, its the normal stuff that I've wanted all along - salty, savory anything!

Movement: Lots of kicking and rolling. Her movement is easily visible from the outside and sometimes I get some really funny looks from people around me.

Appointments: Two more 17P shots to go! Next week is my 35 week check up and GBS test. After that, I start weekly appointments, which is just nuts.

Best Moment of the Week: Two words for ya - prenatal massage. Yesssssss.

Can you tell I went back to work?

Winter break was a lovely down time to reset my blog and get lots of posts up. Then, I went back to work and haven't slowed down since! It has been a busy few weeks of after hours meetings, a sick toddler, and facing the ever increasing 3rd trimester exhaustion.

The good news is that we're still organizing the house and making a good bit of progress. My Pinterest board is bursting with good ideas and my nesting (i.e. the urge to purge your house of junk) is in high gear. We were able to organize the two most cluttered places in the house thus far - the kitchen and the utility closet. I'm especially proud of the utility closet as it used to be a hell hole of lost things. We use the space like we would a garage, so our tools, gardening stuff, cleaning supplies, and couponing stash of extra items are in there. With the help of some dollar store baskets and a whole lot donated to Goodwill, we have EXTRA shelves. What's that about.

We have also been gathering up the last few things we need for G's arrival. Last weekend I was able to spend a few hours in her room sorting through awesome hand me downs from our friends Diana & Adam, washing bedding and blankets, and doing a little inventory on all of our bottles and my pump stuff. Apparently, breast shields make excellent musical instruments....says the 2 year old.

Thanks to some ridiculous sales at Target and Babies R Us, we were also able to get our double stroller and an AngelCare movement monitor for way cheaper than we first thought. When looking for a stroller, we had a long list of options that we were considering, but after looking at price/sales, availability, and what would grow with C and G, we went with the Graco Ready2Grow LX. Its a bit bigger than we'd originally hoped for, but its a double - what do you want? It has 12 different configurations to seat different combinations of kids from newborn to toddler. Two car seats, infant and toddler, two toddlers...you name it.

My favorite combination option sits C in the front and G facing me in the car seat or in the "shopping cart" seat. It'll be nice to have her close when she's little while still keeping C in the front so he can see what's going on. Most doubles have the bigger kid tucked in the back, in a "basement" seat, or exclusively on a bench seat. With this stroller, we have the option of eventually using a sit and stand option, but after C has gotten a bit bigger.

We still have a few months before actually using this, so hopefully its as awesome as we think it'll be! For now, its taking up residence in our front hall closet with the Snap and Go frame stroller, waiting for baby.

Speaking of waiting for baby....tomorrow is 32 weeks. Slow down, time!!