Thursday, April 10, 2008

One month pics...

I'm going to try really hard to take pictures of Ella each month to document her growth. It's something I wish I would have done with Wesley. I've seen lots of ideas of how to do this, but the two I like best are photographing her on a rug & with the same stuffed animal each month. So, here are her one month photos from a couple weeks ago...




My sister had her R & R leave from her tour of duty in Iraq recently & was home for 18 days. She & my mom came down & spent a couple days with us. It was so good to see my sister, to be able to hug her & know that for the next few days she wouldn't be in harms way (at least not anymore than what is normal). She met Ella. Here's a picture of her making faces at Ella (she'll probably kill me for posting this picture, but I don't care. I think it's cute) & one of her & my mom talking to Ella & Ella just looking at them like she totally understands what they're saying.


Friday, April 04, 2008

Granola momma

I am a babywearing, breastfeeding, cloth diapering momma, effectively earning me the title of being a 'granola momma.' In case you're not familiar with that term, wikipedia says granola is used as slang "describing a person who is hippie-like."

The babywearing is mostly out of necessity. When she gets bored or is fighting sleep I can put her in one of the carriers (usually the wrap because it's more stretchy & comfortable for us both) and do some housework, which usually lulls her to sleep.

The breastfeeding is because...

  1. It's the best thing for her nutritionally
  2. It's cheaper than formula
  3. It's more convenient (mostly) than formula - I say mostly because while I don't have to worry about bottles for now, when I go back to work I will be pumping & sending bottles with her to daycare - wish I didn't have to go back.
  4. I enjoy being able to do it - it means I get an 'excuse' to stop, sit down & cuddle her multiple times a day
  5. And, I almost forgot...makes it really easy to lose that pregnancy weight (at least for me it has both times)
The cloth diapering is because...

  1. It's better for the environment
  2. It's better for my wallet (besides how much I'll save with just Ella, if I have another child I can diaper him/her for free {except for the cost of washing them}. If I don't have another one, I can re-sell the diapers I have and probably recover at least half what I have spent on them)
  3. They're almost as easy as disposables - the laundering, figuring out how they work, etc. wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be
  4. My friend Sunny was instrumental in bringing me over to the dark side of CDing (short for cloth diapering). If you are at all interested in what 'modern' cloth diapers look like, how they work, etc., I encourage you to click here & take a look at her online store.
  5. And, if those aren't reason enough, they are way cuter than disposables - I can match her diaper to her outfit :)
And, what's a blog post without pictures...


Ella in her first cloth diaper (a Bum genius 3.0 pocket diaper in Blossom - these are one size, meaning they adjust from newborn size up to toddler)




Ella in a prefold & Thirsties cover in Celery


And, Ella in a Swaddlebees - which she has already outgrown (her little buddha belly won't squeeze into it anymore) (don't have a link to these in Sunny's store), sporting an expression that makes her look very much like her Daddy :)

Edited to add: I don't believe parenting is a 'one-size-fits-all' type of thing & I hope this post didn't come off that way. I think all parents should make the choices they believe are the best ones for their family.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

"Enough equipment for two babies..."

That's what Anthony says about all the baby 'stuff,' but if it helps keep her happy & occupied so I can say, take a shower or cook a meal then it's worth it.
What it takes to keep Ella happy...

The swing...The bouncy seat...

The play gym...

And, you've already seen the babyhawk (see post below). We also have an exersaucer in storage that she can use once she's able to kind of sit up on her own.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Snow day

We had a nice snowstorm here a few weekends ago that the three of us took advantage of and went outside to play in. We put the baby monitor to good use & left Ella asleep in the bassinet for a few minutes.

Our pitiful snowman (can you see the eyes, nose & mouth that we poked in his face? :)


Wesley's snow angel