My adorable fusspot who breastfeeds her stuffed animals and very tenderly holds my hand when I use a public restroom and reassures me "It's not scary, mama. Not scary" fell asleep clutching her baby doll for the first time ever tonight. A co-sleeping gal after my own heart.
We are off on a road trip in the morning. So very, very excited. My first road trip with 2 babies. 3 different places to sleep, 4-5 cities to visit, 1 paper to give, the dumpling's first visit to the ocean ... should be fun.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
I may just be too old for this adventure
In 2 weeks when we move we will yet again be ... laundromat people. And of course, laundromat folks in a neighborhood where most buildings have laundry in the basement. This morning I went to check out the laundromat options and they are grim. The farther one is bright and cheerful but three (!!!) dollars a load and with a blaring TV. The slightly closer one is about as dank and dark and stinky as you can get, and I can't even imagine where I would sit to nurse the dumpling should he happen to be with me.
Of course there are plenty of full-service laundromats around. Besides the cost, I really can't stand having other people do my laundry. We never dry any of our clothes. I just don't get the point. It's bad for the environment, it's bad for your clothes and in the summer they dry in a couple of hours from the heat and in the winter they dry even faster near the radiators and that just leaves a few wet weeks in the springtime when they take overnight to dry. Which means that all of my clothes are going to shrink when they are sent out.
And then there's the diaper issue. That is, the cloth diaper issue. At this point it's not just all the usual perks of cloth diapers (like my 2 year old toilet training herself) but the added complication of co-sleeping. We only own 2 sets of sheets (and yes, we have guests a lot) and I'd guess that at least twice a week the dumpling's diaper leaks when he's wearing a disposable. Cloth diaper? No leaks. So if we use disposables and have him in our bed we'll need to buy more fitted sheets and be willing to lug those to the laundromat. But if we cloth diaper I can't even get away with once a week laundry (although using a cloth cover over a disposable would let me get away with a once a week trip). Plus, at $2.25 a load at the closer laundromat we're still looking at a minimum of $4.50 just to cloth diaper 4 days a week.
Speaking of cloth diapers, I am newly enamoured of Sunbaby diapers. I got a few in a craigslist stash and they fit really well, plus they are about $5 to buy new. The webpage is a bit sketchy (it looks like some artificially introduced the typos, etc.) but I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about them (they are the only one size AIO diapers made in China apparently)? I am considering buying a super-cheap stash of 24 Sunbaby diapers and being willing to let them sit dirty longer than the recommended 3 days if necessary. Also, going to float the idea of sneaking into our daycare provider's basement to use her washing machine for diapers "occasionally."
Oh, and the last wash at both laundromats is 8 pm. I was imagining putting both kids to bed, getting a teenage babysitter, and then running out to do laundry. But there's no way that I'll make it there by 8.
Ugh.
And if you've read this far, a photo I meant to attach to yesterday's post. An essential part of any complete breakfast (and yes, I was never farther than 2 feet from the table because I am well aware that he can scoot himself off). And since I honestly believe that I forgot to post his real name and birth photo, we went with the Norton Juster inspiration, hence Baby M---:
Of course there are plenty of full-service laundromats around. Besides the cost, I really can't stand having other people do my laundry. We never dry any of our clothes. I just don't get the point. It's bad for the environment, it's bad for your clothes and in the summer they dry in a couple of hours from the heat and in the winter they dry even faster near the radiators and that just leaves a few wet weeks in the springtime when they take overnight to dry. Which means that all of my clothes are going to shrink when they are sent out.
And then there's the diaper issue. That is, the cloth diaper issue. At this point it's not just all the usual perks of cloth diapers (like my 2 year old toilet training herself) but the added complication of co-sleeping. We only own 2 sets of sheets (and yes, we have guests a lot) and I'd guess that at least twice a week the dumpling's diaper leaks when he's wearing a disposable. Cloth diaper? No leaks. So if we use disposables and have him in our bed we'll need to buy more fitted sheets and be willing to lug those to the laundromat. But if we cloth diaper I can't even get away with once a week laundry (although using a cloth cover over a disposable would let me get away with a once a week trip). Plus, at $2.25 a load at the closer laundromat we're still looking at a minimum of $4.50 just to cloth diaper 4 days a week.
Speaking of cloth diapers, I am newly enamoured of Sunbaby diapers. I got a few in a craigslist stash and they fit really well, plus they are about $5 to buy new. The webpage is a bit sketchy (it looks like some artificially introduced the typos, etc.) but I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about them (they are the only one size AIO diapers made in China apparently)? I am considering buying a super-cheap stash of 24 Sunbaby diapers and being willing to let them sit dirty longer than the recommended 3 days if necessary. Also, going to float the idea of sneaking into our daycare provider's basement to use her washing machine for diapers "occasionally."
Oh, and the last wash at both laundromats is 8 pm. I was imagining putting both kids to bed, getting a teenage babysitter, and then running out to do laundry. But there's no way that I'll make it there by 8.
Ugh.
And if you've read this far, a photo I meant to attach to yesterday's post. An essential part of any complete breakfast (and yes, I was never farther than 2 feet from the table because I am well aware that he can scoot himself off). And since I honestly believe that I forgot to post his real name and birth photo, we went with the Norton Juster inspiration, hence Baby M---:
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
A few thoughts on the dumpling (aka Project 2.0) and sleep
It really is astounding how many posts I have from the fusspot's early days obsessing over her sleep and eating and such. It is hardly that we are neglecting the dumpling, but just that we are so much more confident in our choices and he really is an easy baby. But I am starting to wonder whether the poor baby (he's almost 3 months old) needs a bit more sleep. One of the classic signs of sleep deprivation is needing to wake your baby in the morning, and yup, my baby sleeps until woken. And let's be honest: it's lovely. There is nothing nicer than doing a nice dream feed with the baby, getting up and feeding the fusspot breakfast, showering, pumping, and packing up my stuff while he snoozes.
I do think the dumpling is an easy baby, but that statement needs a little moderation. As long as he is being held upright during the day and has his own person space heater to keep him company at night, he's easy. Which is to say that there are definitely days that he won't stand for being in the stroller or the bouncy seat or hanging out on the floor, and also nights that he won't consider going to bed alone no matter how much rocking/nursing/singing I do. But despite all of that he is so laid back. He's the type of baby where you can be mid-nursing session and need to leap up to save the toddler from her own clever idea and you just rip him away from his meal and dump him on the floor and he looks up with a slightly peeved look but hardly breaks into sobs (as the fusspot would have done). He doesn't seem to notice dirty diapers and has thus far not complained about the heat (we have just one window AC unit in our bedroom that we use at night, so it's pretty hot in the rest of the apartment).
So, sleep. He sleeps about 11-12 hours at night. Something like 9 or 10 pm to 8:30. And he takes a decent afternoon nap at home, although I always have to wake him to get the fusspot from daycare. He'll take a long mid-morning nap for me, but not at daycare and he mostly just catnaps in the late afternoon.
The real problem is how to get him to nap at daycare. Our daycare provider Y is entirely opposed to CIO. But she is also way too busy chasing 2 active toddlers to rock him quietly to sleep. I think that we both thought that he'd fall asleep in the stroller so if she just went out every morning he'd get a nap, but there are days that he absolutely won't stand for the stroller. So my question is how to get him to sleep at a busy daycare sans CIO. I've already tried bringing an item that smells like me and a blanket, but he doesn't seem to notice either. She's happy to carry him in the sling but he doesn't seem to fall asleep there when it's noisy. Any other tricks? Should I be really worried? I'm pretty sure that he gets about 13.5-14 hours a day on a weekday, but that's still on the low side.
And thank you for the decluttering suggestions (and Amanda for the clogged duct ideas!). It will certainly be an ongoing process all month.
I do think the dumpling is an easy baby, but that statement needs a little moderation. As long as he is being held upright during the day and has his own person space heater to keep him company at night, he's easy. Which is to say that there are definitely days that he won't stand for being in the stroller or the bouncy seat or hanging out on the floor, and also nights that he won't consider going to bed alone no matter how much rocking/nursing/singing I do. But despite all of that he is so laid back. He's the type of baby where you can be mid-nursing session and need to leap up to save the toddler from her own clever idea and you just rip him away from his meal and dump him on the floor and he looks up with a slightly peeved look but hardly breaks into sobs (as the fusspot would have done). He doesn't seem to notice dirty diapers and has thus far not complained about the heat (we have just one window AC unit in our bedroom that we use at night, so it's pretty hot in the rest of the apartment).
So, sleep. He sleeps about 11-12 hours at night. Something like 9 or 10 pm to 8:30. And he takes a decent afternoon nap at home, although I always have to wake him to get the fusspot from daycare. He'll take a long mid-morning nap for me, but not at daycare and he mostly just catnaps in the late afternoon.
The real problem is how to get him to nap at daycare. Our daycare provider Y is entirely opposed to CIO. But she is also way too busy chasing 2 active toddlers to rock him quietly to sleep. I think that we both thought that he'd fall asleep in the stroller so if she just went out every morning he'd get a nap, but there are days that he absolutely won't stand for the stroller. So my question is how to get him to sleep at a busy daycare sans CIO. I've already tried bringing an item that smells like me and a blanket, but he doesn't seem to notice either. She's happy to carry him in the sling but he doesn't seem to fall asleep there when it's noisy. Any other tricks? Should I be really worried? I'm pretty sure that he gets about 13.5-14 hours a day on a weekday, but that's still on the low side.
And thank you for the decluttering suggestions (and Amanda for the clogged duct ideas!). It will certainly be an ongoing process all month.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
In need of a little (cleaning) inspiration
I keep reading lovely posts about decluttering and living simply and avoiding the endless build-up of baby clothes/toys/accessories (excluding strollers. Ain't no one gonna touch my stroller stash) and it all seems like a good idea and then I turn to my own apartment and ... stress? panic? fail? The problem is that I have a really hard time parting with stuff:
1. I am sentimental. I like souvenirs from travel, old letters (JD and I used to write a letter a day when apart. I like to stash old cards/letters inbetween books so it's a total surprise when I come across one. There are a lot of letters floating around the apartment). My parents also saved most of my childhood toys and it's practically impossible to get rid of those.
2. I love to shop, but I tend to buy inexpensive items so I have far more cheap cardigans than I need, for example. But when I sort through clothes it's hard to get rid of perfectly-nice items just because I don't "need" them. I also have a sinking feeling that this is the pinnacle of JD and my disposable income for a long, long time and that I'll be looking for these items in a few years. I also feel like I am giving away my pre-baby self in order to make room for baby items, which is probably true and necessary but still a depressing thought.
3. The fusspot is a first grandchild (sort-of) and showered with books and clothes. I have done a decent job of keeping the toys to a minimum (toys I dislike such as those that make noise/are large plastic items/have branding/are party favors get a shelf life of one week and then goodwill) but it's still hard to keep the classic forever-toys under control in a small apartment (i.e. her blocks, brio, box of dress-up clothes, play kitchen set (which dates from around 1982 ...), toddler bicycle). I have no idea what to do about books given that we already have two overflowing bookshelves of children's board books and picture books and we really do spend a chunk of every day reading (plus they are in several languages and many were stored from my childhood). I also don't exactly want to pare down the babies' clothes too much given that we are to be laundromat-people in another 2 weeks and I really have no idea how that is going to work with art projects/toilet training/spit-up/baby food.
4. I am a wishful-thinking type of gal, and I truly hope that our family continues to grow. Hence, can't really toss outgrown baby items although they for the most part go in storage at my in-laws.
But we are moving from about 600 square feet to about 500 square feet, sans any closets (although with a real-sized kitchen! YAY to no longer having the silverware stored in the top drawer of the kid's bureau!!!) and I really need inspiration to downsize. I really want to do the sorting/discarding in our current apartment because I think that it's going to be pretty miserable to have piles of stuff lying around in the new place that we don't have any storage for.
Any good thoughts for inspiration? Tricks which have worked for you? Good websites?
ps - please don't suggest a storage unit. I am already worried that I lean towards the hoarders side when it comes to sentimental/baby items and I like the fact that I have to keep that under control by having our storage restricted to one very-large closet in my in-laws basement. We also don't own a car and I can't imagine the hassle of renting a car every time we needed to get something out of storage.
pps - 11 large boxes packed already and not so much as a dent in our 10 bookshelves ...
1. I am sentimental. I like souvenirs from travel, old letters (JD and I used to write a letter a day when apart. I like to stash old cards/letters inbetween books so it's a total surprise when I come across one. There are a lot of letters floating around the apartment). My parents also saved most of my childhood toys and it's practically impossible to get rid of those.
2. I love to shop, but I tend to buy inexpensive items so I have far more cheap cardigans than I need, for example. But when I sort through clothes it's hard to get rid of perfectly-nice items just because I don't "need" them. I also have a sinking feeling that this is the pinnacle of JD and my disposable income for a long, long time and that I'll be looking for these items in a few years. I also feel like I am giving away my pre-baby self in order to make room for baby items, which is probably true and necessary but still a depressing thought.
3. The fusspot is a first grandchild (sort-of) and showered with books and clothes. I have done a decent job of keeping the toys to a minimum (toys I dislike such as those that make noise/are large plastic items/have branding/are party favors get a shelf life of one week and then goodwill) but it's still hard to keep the classic forever-toys under control in a small apartment (i.e. her blocks, brio, box of dress-up clothes, play kitchen set (which dates from around 1982 ...), toddler bicycle). I have no idea what to do about books given that we already have two overflowing bookshelves of children's board books and picture books and we really do spend a chunk of every day reading (plus they are in several languages and many were stored from my childhood). I also don't exactly want to pare down the babies' clothes too much given that we are to be laundromat-people in another 2 weeks and I really have no idea how that is going to work with art projects/toilet training/spit-up/baby food.
4. I am a wishful-thinking type of gal, and I truly hope that our family continues to grow. Hence, can't really toss outgrown baby items although they for the most part go in storage at my in-laws.
But we are moving from about 600 square feet to about 500 square feet, sans any closets (although with a real-sized kitchen! YAY to no longer having the silverware stored in the top drawer of the kid's bureau!!!) and I really need inspiration to downsize. I really want to do the sorting/discarding in our current apartment because I think that it's going to be pretty miserable to have piles of stuff lying around in the new place that we don't have any storage for.
Any good thoughts for inspiration? Tricks which have worked for you? Good websites?
ps - please don't suggest a storage unit. I am already worried that I lean towards the hoarders side when it comes to sentimental/baby items and I like the fact that I have to keep that under control by having our storage restricted to one very-large closet in my in-laws basement. We also don't own a car and I can't imagine the hassle of renting a car every time we needed to get something out of storage.
pps - 11 large boxes packed already and not so much as a dent in our 10 bookshelves ...
Friday, May 27, 2011
hello long weekend
We have ever-so-busy plans to visit the in-laws, have some of my relatives come meet the dumpling, and clean up in anticipation of our move.
Which is why it was lovely to realize that I have a nice, hard lump in my left breast. It usually takes 2-4 hours for me to spike a fever so that should put me ... oh yeah, alone on a packed Long Island Railroad train right about the time that the thermometer passes 104.
Wish us luck folks.
Which is why it was lovely to realize that I have a nice, hard lump in my left breast. It usually takes 2-4 hours for me to spike a fever so that should put me ... oh yeah, alone on a packed Long Island Railroad train right about the time that the thermometer passes 104.
Wish us luck folks.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
In search of a good idea ... for a vacation
Let's be honest. I am under a lot of stress at the moment, and one of those things which I was most happy to put on my husband's lap was planning a summer vacation. Despite all of my travel with kids in tow, we have not actually had a family vacation (i.e. all of us, not visiting my parents) in 2 full years and since he will be out on official leave there's a good chance that he may not be called back to work (which happened twice last year when we tried to visit family over long weekends). So yeah, JD's planning our summer vacation and ... nada. Nothing planned. Oh, and now we need 3 plane tickets and everything is getting pricey and ... seriously? He has made no progress.
So, we'd love your ideas. One idea was an apartment swap since we do have a lovely (petite) 2-bedroom in NYC, but I'm not entirely sure how to go about that. Another idea was to fly to a part of the U.S. we don't know well like Colorado or New Mexico and just drive around (although it'll be July and hot for 2 babies ...)
I briefly priced international plane tickets and definitely not happening. However, we are always up for a trip to Canada (we've driven across most of Canada and been to Banff/Jasper and Halifax on separate trips).
So, tell me about your summer travel plans. Or your best vacation in the U.S. Or anyplace lovely to visit. As you might have guessed, it does not need to be particularly baby-friendly for us to try it, and the beach is not high on our list of priorities.
So, we'd love your ideas. One idea was an apartment swap since we do have a lovely (petite) 2-bedroom in NYC, but I'm not entirely sure how to go about that. Another idea was to fly to a part of the U.S. we don't know well like Colorado or New Mexico and just drive around (although it'll be July and hot for 2 babies ...)
I briefly priced international plane tickets and definitely not happening. However, we are always up for a trip to Canada (we've driven across most of Canada and been to Banff/Jasper and Halifax on separate trips).
So, tell me about your summer travel plans. Or your best vacation in the U.S. Or anyplace lovely to visit. As you might have guessed, it does not need to be particularly baby-friendly for us to try it, and the beach is not high on our list of priorities.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
A few thoughts on double strollers at 9 weeks postpartum
First, I have to be upfront. I own a lot of strollers. And I will not take any criticism for that for several reasons:
a. We don't have a car.
b. I have never bought a stroller new. I have sometimes searched for months to find a stroller on craigslist.
c. I have both children with me 99% of the time that I am running errands (including grocery shopping), and we also travel quite a bit.
So here are the strollers we own:
1. a much-beloved and fairly ancient bugaboo
2. a Maclaren (ok, two. This will be our stroller of choice for big city adventures when we are 2 adults and 2 babies starting in the fall given the 3 flights of stairs at our current subway entrance)
3. a Firstwheels twin stroller (Dutch, no American distributor so rather rare, but think imitation double bugaboo). This is the only side-by-side stroller where both kids can be rear facing, and I love that option but the stroller itself is a bit hard to push and also too large for some doorways
4. a city mini double jogger (stroller of choice for flying with 2)
5. a snap 'n go stroller base for road trips with the dumpling
6. a Jane Powertwin stroller (stored at in-laws, not ok until both kids can sit up)
7. a Phil and Ted (bargain-priced and worth a try, also stored at in-laws until dumpling can sit up)
8. a jogging stroller (in storage at the moment, was a free gift and I'd love to use it if we had more storage)
Things to consider when shopping for a double stroller:
a. How often will you need to fold it? How often will you have 2 hands free while folding it?
b. How easy is it to wash the seats? At some point you -will- be toilet training one or more babies and some stroller seats can take hours to take apart and wash (best stroller seats for spills/accidents: bugaboo and maclaren; worst: firstwheels twin)
c. Can you put the sunshade over the baby and not the toddler?
To state the obvious: I think that you need different strollers for different occasions but for our everyday stroller for a newborn and a toddler we have come to the sad conclusion that the City Mini Double is the best option, even though it has some serious downsides.
Pluses: Lightweight, easy to push with one hand, folds very easily and without any pieces coming apart, small enough to fit through most standard doors (although not all).
Downsides: Non-functional raincover, practically no storage underneath and you have to empty the storage 100% to fold it, no decent lock on the fold mechanism, has plastic instead of rubber wheels so it's hard to bounce up and down stairs
(To my dear local reader: we use ours without a carseat in which case the infant is also facing forward, but if you purchase the carseat piece and use a carseat the baby can face you).
Of course, the biggest benefit for us is that this stroller folds so easily. Our new apartment is rather petite and has no entryway or hall, so we will need to fold the stroller everytime we enter the apartment. Most of the better double strollers (including the Phil and Ted and the icandy pear and the city select double, although not the Jane Powertwin) required you to take one or more seats off in order to fold the stroller and it just wasn't worth it to me. The biggest downside is that I can only buy as many groceries as fit into a backpack on my back with this stroller. I also really don't like not having a working raincover.
There is a very good chance that we will switch to the Jane Powertwin in the fall because it is not a side-by-side and thus fits more easily through the grocery store, etc. It is also a little easier than the City Mini to push, I think and has a better rain cover.
I do not love the Phil and Ted (even though it is the stroller of choice in our neighborhood for baby/toddler combos) because the weight distribution makes it hard to push and it has practically no storage if you are using both seats.
Please feel free to post any stroller questions and I will do my best to answer them in the next post.
a. We don't have a car.
b. I have never bought a stroller new. I have sometimes searched for months to find a stroller on craigslist.
c. I have both children with me 99% of the time that I am running errands (including grocery shopping), and we also travel quite a bit.
So here are the strollers we own:
1. a much-beloved and fairly ancient bugaboo
2. a Maclaren (ok, two. This will be our stroller of choice for big city adventures when we are 2 adults and 2 babies starting in the fall given the 3 flights of stairs at our current subway entrance)
3. a Firstwheels twin stroller (Dutch, no American distributor so rather rare, but think imitation double bugaboo). This is the only side-by-side stroller where both kids can be rear facing, and I love that option but the stroller itself is a bit hard to push and also too large for some doorways
4. a city mini double jogger (stroller of choice for flying with 2)
5. a snap 'n go stroller base for road trips with the dumpling
6. a Jane Powertwin stroller (stored at in-laws, not ok until both kids can sit up)
7. a Phil and Ted (bargain-priced and worth a try, also stored at in-laws until dumpling can sit up)
8. a jogging stroller (in storage at the moment, was a free gift and I'd love to use it if we had more storage)
Things to consider when shopping for a double stroller:
a. How often will you need to fold it? How often will you have 2 hands free while folding it?
b. How easy is it to wash the seats? At some point you -will- be toilet training one or more babies and some stroller seats can take hours to take apart and wash (best stroller seats for spills/accidents: bugaboo and maclaren; worst: firstwheels twin)
c. Can you put the sunshade over the baby and not the toddler?
To state the obvious: I think that you need different strollers for different occasions but for our everyday stroller for a newborn and a toddler we have come to the sad conclusion that the City Mini Double is the best option, even though it has some serious downsides.
Pluses: Lightweight, easy to push with one hand, folds very easily and without any pieces coming apart, small enough to fit through most standard doors (although not all).
Downsides: Non-functional raincover, practically no storage underneath and you have to empty the storage 100% to fold it, no decent lock on the fold mechanism, has plastic instead of rubber wheels so it's hard to bounce up and down stairs
(To my dear local reader: we use ours without a carseat in which case the infant is also facing forward, but if you purchase the carseat piece and use a carseat the baby can face you).
Of course, the biggest benefit for us is that this stroller folds so easily. Our new apartment is rather petite and has no entryway or hall, so we will need to fold the stroller everytime we enter the apartment. Most of the better double strollers (including the Phil and Ted and the icandy pear and the city select double, although not the Jane Powertwin) required you to take one or more seats off in order to fold the stroller and it just wasn't worth it to me. The biggest downside is that I can only buy as many groceries as fit into a backpack on my back with this stroller. I also really don't like not having a working raincover.
There is a very good chance that we will switch to the Jane Powertwin in the fall because it is not a side-by-side and thus fits more easily through the grocery store, etc. It is also a little easier than the City Mini to push, I think and has a better rain cover.
I do not love the Phil and Ted (even though it is the stroller of choice in our neighborhood for baby/toddler combos) because the weight distribution makes it hard to push and it has practically no storage if you are using both seats.
Please feel free to post any stroller questions and I will do my best to answer them in the next post.
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