Macy’s Mom

http://www.ringling.com/offers/baby.aspx

I went to the ringling Brother’s website. As long as your child is less than 1 years old..you can sign up for a free ticket to the circus!

I was having so much fun trading coupons on Craigslist..that Craig decided to set me up with my own coupon trading site! clipalot.com This has been a blast! I’ve been going to craigslist looking for people with postings asking for coupon trades…I e-mail them and ask them to check out my coupon site! This morning I got so carried away with contacting people all over the country..that I’ve been banned from Craigslist for 24 hours! (I actually find this hilarious!)

I love the Britax Roundabout convertible car seat. My peps group arranged for Sue from Regina Providence to come and show us how to correctly install all of our various types of car seats. She told me that all carseats are safe nowadays..but the britax is the easiest to install! Yeah, it costs more than the average car seat..but you won’t need to roll up towels under the car seat to get the right angle! Now, I bought the Roundabout.($219) It was a little less than the Marathon ($269)..I second guessed this choice until I saw my girlfriends Marathon installed. Yikes! It’s huge! Even when you rear-face the Roundabout..the front passenger seat is only usable by small people! And Macy was a large baby! I worried that I would have to buy another converible car seat with a higher maximum weight than the Roundabouts 5-40lbs. Now in hindsight..I know the Roundabout was perfect for us! We moved Macy to a Booster seat when she turned four. (37 lbs) Not because she outgrew the Roundabout..but, because she’s 4..and that makes her a big girl!

I have always preferred Huggies..but I saw the Luvs commercials..and then my mom sent me a Luvs coupon for $3 off. O.K…we’ll try them! At the store, I couldn’t believe the price difference! $9.99 for 60 Luvs vs. (about) $16.99 for Huggies Supreme! (and I have the $3 off coupon!)

The first thing I noticed was the waist band…no elasticity. Sure enough…major blow-out! “WARDROBE!” Not so great absorption of Gavin’s breast-milk mustard poo. And I was not happy with the leakage of pee in the middle of the night…”wardrobe!” I found myself using them in the daytime- only when we were staying home..definitely not at night..not letting my husband use them..(he just doesn’t get them tight enough around the waist)

I figured the money I saved in cost, was equal to the money I spent doing laundry!

And the Oscar goes to………Huggies Supreme!

Grandma bought the Fisher Price Monkey Chase for baby Cole..he loved it so much..that Grandma bought one for baby Gavin too! The box says 6 months and up..but, at 4 months..Gavin thinks it’s hilarious!  Everytime you tap the monkey..it makes ‘monkey’ sounds and runs away.  Big sister is happy to tap the monkey until Gavin is big enough to do it himself!

O.k…it’s not what you think! The Winkel is baby G’s new toy! Grandma bought it for him 2 weeks ago at Babies r us… At 3 1/2 months old..Gavin needed a toy that he could hold for longer than 2 seconds. The Winkel is colorful..rattles..and is easy for a baby just learning to use his hands! He stays busy with it in his infant seat..chewing and drooling away..and according to the label..we can chill it in the fridge when he really starts teething!

I heard about PEPS at my pre-natal swim class from Michelle. New moms in the same area/income/baby age meet once a week..and talk.  Sounds good. We signed up and started meeting when the babies were about 6 weeks old. There were two leaders (moms) who got us started on a topic..breastfeeding..sleep..child developments..that sort of thing. We go around the group and share. It was fabulous! Sometimes it was the only day we got out that week. About 6 weeks after we started, one of the lead moms told us about “mom’s night out”…her old peps group would go out about once every few months without the babies. hhhmmm..What a great idea..how about tonight? The five of us that showed up really bonded and still continue to meet for play-dates..(sometimes we even include the kids.. tee-hee) It’s fun..and Macy considers those kids her best friends!

When I was pregnant with Macy..I read all the books. . napped..ate healthy..took pre-natal swim. I knew I was going to breastfeed. I thought breastfeeding was natural and instinctive. Put a baby up to your breast..they nurse. How difficult could it be…boy was I WRONG! I didn’t really pay attention when the nurse was shoving my new baby on my breast. I didn’t think I needed to go to the class on breastfeeding. And when they come in and ask how the baby has been feeding..I’d just say “fine.” I even left the hospital a day earlier than I had too. I knew that I might have sore nipples..but when they started bleeding..you could say I panicked. I called the hospital and asked if I could come back! Surprise..the breastfeeding class is only offered while you are still there..not after you’ve checked out! They suggested I rent a hospital grade breast pump and gave me the number to a lactation consultant. $120 an hour! We drive clear across the city…she hooks me up to all this supplemental tubing..I’m even more confused! She latches the baby on to me and asks if I can feel the difference? Um..yeah? (not at all..I was so sore..pain..pain) We went home..I cried..they baby cried… I started pumping. The baby stopped crying. hhhmmm…much easier…stress free. I continued pumping for about 6 months.

I’m really missing my Graco SnugRide infant car seat. After Macy out grew her Graco snugride…I sold it to a friend who was leaving the country. We weren’t planning on having any more kids…SURPRISE..hey..we don’t have the infant car seat anymore! Another girlfriend let us use hers. Great! We’ll save some money…and my giant babies out grow the infant carrier by 5 months anyway! (2o pounds or 26 inches..which ever comes first..usually the 26 inches!) Let’s just say it’s not a Graco. And pushing on the handle to get it down is really hurting my wrist! It doesn’t seem to be particularly comfortable..and the hood doesn’t block the sun like my Graco did. I keep telling Gavin to drink up and grow…he’s 3 months old and 25 inches…one more inch and he’s out of there!

OK…it’s not really a bra..it’s a nursing cami/tank. One hand quick release. Your stomach stays covered. You don’t need special nursing attire…just a button-down shirt. Comfortable to sleep in. Comes in white, gray, & black. Toss it in the washing machine and the dryer. Worth mentioning again..THE STOMACH STAYS COVERED! $16.99 at Target. (no, you have to actually go to the store..it’s not on the website!) They were out of what I thought was my size (medium)..so I bought a large. That was a mistake..not the large..the only buying one part. I could hardly wait for it to come out of the wash…I have since made several trips..bought a few more..love them!