People often look as me with concern and say, “So, how is Abigail doing with the new baby?”  It’s like they’re expecting me to tell woes about how Abi has mistreated Lydia (and just so we’re clear, she has not), just like when they cock their heads to the side and say, “So, you getting any sleep at all?”  (And I happily say, “Yep, a normal 8 hours, and it could’ve been 10, if I went to bed when Lydia did.”)  I’m not trying to be cocky; I’m just trying to say that some people have misconceptions about how ALL babies and toddler will behave, and I want to clear up one of those today.

Thanks to my super cousin Katie, I got some great advice about how to transition the former only child to becoming a big sibling.  She even sent me this book: Welcoming Your Second Baby, by Vicki Lansky.  So giving and thoughtful!  I love her!

Anyway, here are a few tips I learned . . .

1. Take your child to your OB appointments.  Abi went to all of my OB visits, and when we listened to baby’s heartbeat, we told her that Baby was “calling her”.  Abi would say, “What’s she sayin’?  How you doing Baby?”
2. Read books about what it is like to be a big sister/brother.  Here’s one I love, and here’s another one that’s good, too.
3. Get a baby doll.  We got Abigail this baby doll 3 months before Lydia was born, so Abigail could learn how to hold a baby and be gentle.  This baby doll, who she named Rachel, even cries, so Abi learned that babies cry a lot.  Also there are times when Abi wants me to do something with her, but I’m nursing Lydia, and I say, “Go get Baby Rachel, so you can take care of your baby, too.”
4. Get a doll house. We bought this doll house, so we could “roll play” what it would be like to have a new baby and to be a big sister.
5. Buy or make some Big Sister/Brother shirts.  Abigail loved (and still does) wearing her shirts.
6. Put a picture of yourself and hubby in your child’s room, so they know you’re still thinking of them when you’re gone at the hospital.
7. Hide a few small gifts around the house.  When you call from the hospital, you can tell your child where to look for them.  We hid a toy camera for Abigail in the laundry room, and when I called, I told her to go to the place where she helps me put the clothes in the washer.  This was helpful, too, because everyone wants to take picture of the new baby, so she could join in with her new toy camera.  Also, make sure to take plenty of pictures of your older child.
8. Have a present at the hospital for your child to open; tell the child it is from the new baby.  We had 3 gifts at the hospital– one Abigail could open each day we were there.  The first day, she got a barn with animals.  Day 2, she got two dolls.  Day 3, she got a foam puzzle.  This also keeps them entertained while there.
9. Make sure Mom is not holding Baby when the older sibling comes to visit the baby for the first time.  Your child needs time to warm up to Baby on his own time.  When Abi came into the room, my arms were empty, so I could love on her.  I told her after a few seconds of hugs that the baby came out of my belly and wanted to give Abi a present.  Then, she opened the present.  We didn’t show her Lydia for awhile.  Eventually we said, “Hey, Abi, would you like to tell your new baby sister thank you for the gift?”  And that’s when she met Lydia.  It was presh!
10. We try to refer to Lydia as “OUR baby”, so Abigail doesn’t feel left out.

Abi adores Lydia.  Abi always wants to hold Lydia, touch her, kiss her, hug her, and help her.  Abi has never once tried to hurt Lydia emotionally or physically.  Abi has never acted hurt or unloved by us or Lydia.  We’re so fortunate.  I hope these tips can help you, too!

Several women have commented on Lydia’s car seat tent, so I’m finally getting around to doing the tutorial.  It’s SUPER easy!

I remember going out with Abigail and getting frustrated, trying to keep the sun completely out of her eyes with the car seat sunshade.  And don’t even get me started about when it would rain.  Also, the wind, oh the wind where I live is killer and blankets would always blow off, and it was a hassle to hold her car seat, while trying to keep a blanket over her.  So, thank goodness I discovered an awesome way to cover up your newborn with a car seat tent.  Here’s what you need to have on hand to make one yourself . . .

Supplies

• about 2 yards total of fabric (if you want it to be reversible, you can use 1 yd of one color and 1 yd of another color, or you can simply use two yards of the same fabric)
• thread
• velcro (not the adhesive kind; buy the kind for sewing)

Okay, so I started typing up a tutorial for this but erased it all, but I don’t have the patience to remember what all I did, since it’s been about 4 months since I made this.  So, I’ll just leave you some links to some car seat tent tutorials that will be helpful.  Also, here are some of my measurements that might help you (keep in mind that this won’t make sense to you until you look at the tutorial links):

• I cut 2 inches off the bottom; it left my fabrics to be 36 L x 42 W (35 long when sewed)
• For my velcro straps: soft side up, facing back (velro down, facing front) 7-8 inches long
• When I measured the cloth front to back, I sewed the straps directly in the middle lengthwise (21 inches) and measured side to side; 12.5 from outside (7 ¼ in b/t each other).
• 

So technology is awesome.  Sometimes it kills me though . . . like when it comes to my husband’s iPhone.  He has that thing in his pocket, by his nightstand, or in his hands 98% of the time.  The only time it’s not with him is during a shower, I suppose.

I like to refer to this piece of technology as his “mistress”.  I have threatened many a time to throw his obsession across the room.

I, however, have a healthy relationship with my iPod touch.  It is mostly shared with our toddler; she probably uses it 80% more than I do.  Anyway, here’s a break down of some FREE apps we like . . .

Toddler Games*

• WordWorld- Drag letters to build word animals.  Abi loves it so much we bought the full version.
• Baby Piano Lite
• FirstWord Sampler- Move letters onto letters to spell simple words.
• Baby Draw- Draw shapes with different color choices.
• Shapes- Touch the diamond, hexagon, etc.  Then they earns stickers and applause.
• Ding Dong Bell & I Close My Eyes Lite- Abi loves these animated cartoons.
• I Hear Ewe & iBabyBuddy- Touch animals, and they make sounds.
• Shape Lite & Toddlelite- Puzzles.  Abigail really likes these ones.
• PreK Safari Lite- watch animals and learn letters
• Peekaboo Barn- find animals
• 123 Counting- Counting Animals, etc
• 123 Count with Me- Set up like a book
• Alphabet Creatures Lite
• Super Match Madness- matching game
• Letter Quiz Lite
• Up- Pop balloons to find the house.

Healthcare:

• iNeedMilk- It tracks how long you’re nursing and on what side you’re nursing.
• Breastfeed- Mostly for newborn management.  Has FAQs and lets you know what meds interfere with nursing
• What to Expect

Sports:

• ScoreMobile- Convient way to find scores in all sports.
• At Bat Lite & Pro Baseball- Tells you scores, play by play, and more of MLB

Games:

• Paper Toss- Super addicting.  You flick a wad of paper into a trash can, while a fan blows.
• Word Warp- Like Text Twist.
• Sheep Launch- Tap a sheep up into the sky.

Misc

• Voice Memos- Need a microphone for this.
• Mapquest- Find gas stations, stores, restaurants quickly.
• TheFind- Finds nearby and web stores that carry whatever item you search for.
• Bible- I like taking my bible to church so I can mark it up; Jonathan, however, likes using this app.
• Pandora- Choose music you like.
• Moron Quiz & Imbecile Test- How smart are you?
• Traffic!- Especially helpful when you live in a big city; it tells you which streets/highways are crowded, etc.
• Sporcle- Trivia game.  This passed the time on a 9 hour car ride.

So what other apps should I look into?

*I feel as if many of these apps are quite annoying.  However, they occupy Abigail’s attention, so I allow her to play them.

Ingredients:

• Cake mix (I used one box of Betty Crocker Butter Pecan) and whatever it needs (eggs, oil)
• Frosting
• Food Coloring

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray the bottom of a 13×9 in dish with baking spray (the kind that says it has flour).  Grease a 1 qt Pyrex bowl with shortening and then, coat with flour.
2. Make the cake mix and pour 1.5 cups of the batter into the 1 qt bowl.  Then, pour the remaining batter into the 13×9 dish.  [If you want the sheet cake taller or the soccer ball higher, then, you could use two cake mixes, but I just preferred to use one box).
3. Bake the 13x9 dish for 20-30 mins, depending on your oven.  [You might be able to bake the soccer ball and sheet cake at the same time, but I was too nervous to try that, so I baked the sheet cake first, and then, I baked the soccer ball.]  And then, bake the 1 qt bowl 25-35 mins.  Cool each cake for 10 minutes.
4. Then, turn an 8×8 dish upside down and spray the bottom/underside of it with flour baking spray.  Flip it over, and push the coated side onto the sheet cake, in order to get rid of the “dome” shape.  It really works!  With the soccer ball cake, I used a Tupperware bowl (sprayed) to push that dome shape down.  (Sorry I didn’t take a picture, but you can look here: http://www.ehow.com/how_4816098_soccer-ball-cake.html at step #3 for the idea).
5. Flip the sheet cake over onto the serving tray (I put wax paper under mine, so I’d be able to tear the paper off, in case I messed up with the frosting).  And flip the soccer ball onto a plate.  Freeze cakes for 1 hour each.
6. I frosted each cake with a thin layer of frosting as a skim/crumb coat (blue sky, green grass, and white for soccer ball).  Then, I put them back in the freezer for almost an hour.
7. Put the soccer ball on top of the sheet cake.  [Frost the soccer ball again, if you think it needs another coat (I didn't).]  Cut out a pentagon shape and a hexagon shape.  The pentagon needs to be smaller than the hexagon.  [I can't remember my measurements.  I wanna say 1 3/4 in for the pentagon and 2 1/3 inch for the hexagon.]  Use a toothpick to outline the shapes onto the ball.
8. Then, fill in the pentagon with a star shaped tip (I used a decorator’s icing tube) and the lines with a straight tip with whatever color you choose; typically black, but Abigail wanted purple.
9. For the sheet cake: Re-frost most of the cake blue (for the sky).  Re-frost the bottom part green for the grass.  If you have fancy tips/bags, you can make it look more like grass.  I don’t, so I frosted it, and then used a spatula to pull at the frosting from different angles.  I used a decorator’s icing tube to make the soccer net, but I ran out and had to use a knife to do the soccer goal.
10. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

The camera was in Abigail’s room while she was napping, while I was making the cake.   So, I didn’t get a chance to take pictures, until Jonathan got home, and we used his iPhone.  Sorry.

I started making this cake about 11 am on Saturday and finished around 4 pm (maybe?).  And the party was on Sunday, but the cake still tasted great on Sunday and the next day and the next day . . .

Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Any questions?

I was going to write about this prior to Vday to give y’all a free gift idea, but I didn’t want to spoil the surprise to Jonathan.  Sorry, I guess I love him more.

Anyway, here’s a gift you can do at any time, not just Vday:

I covered some canisters with paper and stickers.

Here are the rules:

His & Hers Requests

-Write 46 things (since there are 46 weeks left in the year) that we want the other spouse to do with us or with us.

-Put those sheets of paper in your canister, and then we will swap canisters.

-On Sundays, we will each pull a strip of paper out of each other’s jar, and we’ll have to do whatever the spouse asked for.
-We will have the whole week to do the request.

-We will put the papers (with the writing hidden) on our bathroom mirror as a reminder.

On Sunday, Jonathan and I each drew one strip of paper (his were blue; mine were pink).

I don’t know what he’ll be doing for me or when, but I’m pretty nervous about what I’m supposed to do for him.  I’ll update you after I do his request.

I got this idea from an article I read, and I was happy that Jonathan was super excited about this project.  Yea for a good, free gift!  This way, we can work on showing love in the ways we want to receive it.

Do you have any good, cheap ideas for gifts??

Here’s the tutorial for how to make a crinkle square mini blanket with taggies like the one below for a baby.  It’s super easy, quick, and doesn’t cost much.  If you don’t have ribbon on hand, that might be your biggest expense. 

Supplies

• thread
• 2 squares of flannel (I used 9×9 inches)
• ribbons cut to about 4 inches long and folded in half (I used 4 big pieces, 4 medium pieces, and 4 skinny pieces)
• crinkly sheet/package, the same size as your flannel (I used a wrapper from a sample diaper I got in the mail).  Some other options: wipes package, microwave popcorn wrappers, chips bag, clear gift wrap . . . Just make sure that you cut your flannel pieces to whatever size your crinkle sheet ends up being
  

Directions

1. Put one piece of flannel right side up and pin ribbons along the edges with the cut sides off of the flannel.  between the two pieces of material (wrong sides together).
2. Put the second flannel sheet on top of the ribbons right side down.
3. Put the crinkle sheet on top of the flannel and pin all layers together.
4. Sew along all the edges– except, make sure to leave a big enough section not sewn so that you can turn the blanket right side out.  Take the pins out.
5. After sewing, turn the blanket right side out.
6. Then, sew all the way around the square, and you’re done!

   

Back in November, we decided to grow my daughters hair out, but her hair kept getting in her eyes.  Bows come in and out easily, so I decided I’d try to make her some headbands.  You could make some for yourself, too, and your daughter might be extra excited about wearing headbands, just like Mommy.

Materials Needed:

• material
• an elastic hair band/ponytail holder without the metal
• coordinating thread

Instructions

1. Measure around your toddler’s head to the nape of her neck.
2. Cut your material to the appropriate size and iron flat.  [Cut a rectangle that is double the width of what you want your headband to end up, plus about 1/2 in for seam allowance and 3 inches less than measurement you got from step 1.  I think I cut mine 3.5 x 15.5inches.  If you want it to be reversible with two different patterns, cut accordingly.]
3. Measure in on the bottom ends in about 1/2 “  on each side and mark, draw a line up to the top corners and you will have a tapered rectangle.
4. Fold right sides together “hot dog style” and iron flat.
5. Then pin together and sew around, but leave a “U shape” opening in the bottom, as if you were sewing a pillow.
6. Turn tube of fabric inside out and iron flat.  Also, fold a 1/4 inch or so on each end and iron down.
7. Put elastic pony tail on one end inside the flap created in step 6.  Fold the 1/4 over the pony tail, and sew straight down.
8. Do the same with the other side.
9. And you’re all done.

I made the headband in the pictures and a pink one.  I also made a reversible one: one side black and one side red.  Abi loves them.  Let me know if you have any questions.

I love these soaps from Bath and Body Works.  Not only do they smell great, but they’re soft on your hands, and it’s so much easier for Abi to wash her hands with the “bubble soap.”

I had even put them on my wish list for Christmas this year because we just ran out of the bottles in our kitchen and guest bathroom.  Then, I discovered there might be a way to make the foaming soap with regular soap and save lots of money.  Easy and super quick.

Ingredients

• An empty bottle of Bath & Body Works Gentle Foaming Hand soap
• Any liquid antibacterial soap (I used Bath & Body Works)

Directions

1. Put about an inch of the liquid soap into the empty foaming bottle.
2. Pour water into the bottle pretty slowly.
3. Screw the lid on, and turn the bottle upside down slowly several times.  Try not to shake it up because it’ll get too soapy.  And you’re finished!

Also, you could just keep pouring a little water into your regular Bath & Body works Foamy Soap whenever it gets a low.

*In these pictures I used a creamy hand soap, which didn’t work as well as when I used a liquid hand soap.

PAMPERS Gifts to Grow Codes

Worth 10 Points Each

• JUSTFOROURFANS1
• WELCOME2GTG2010

HUGGIES Enjoy the Ride Codes: (here are some codes I’ve posted in the past)

Worth 5 Points Each:

• BCTDHBQWLPZKPGB
• BCSTDHJZXTKPPGB
• BXZWTNJFSLHCPGB
• MLXRCCNRWKKWPGB

Worth 1 Point Each:

• BGGHSPLHNBLFPGB
• BGCSZMBLDWWDPGB
• BGCJJZSTLNNSPGB
• BGDZBQLXKNNCPGB

If you have a baby like Abigail, you can never have too many burp cloths.  Abigail had GERD, so spitting up was a very regular event.  We literally kept two burp cloths in every room and constantly had cloths over our shoulders.

A lot of the burp cloths that you’ll find in stores are so thin and ineffective for a baby like Abigail.  So, what I found worked best were cloth diapers. But they’re kinda plain, so here’s how you can dress them up.

And I am definitely a novice sewer, so know that these are so easy to make!

Items Needed

• Sewing machine
• Cloth Diapers.  Make sure they’re pre folded and 3-ply
• Ribbon
• Matching Thread and White Thread

Directions

1. Wash the cloth diapers and iron them before you begin sewing, so that sewing the ribbon won’t cause shrinkage.
2. Measure your ribbon for the an inch or so wider than the width of the cloth bottom and cut.
3. Then, fold the ends of the ribbon and iron so you can sew more easily.
4. Sew the ends of the ribbon.
5. Sew the edges of the ribbon onto the bottom of the cloth.  
6. Fold the burp rag like this, and you’re all done.