Miriam has drank out of a straw for quite some time now. One day, she reached for my camel back water bottle and I gave it to her, fully aware that it took me a couple times to be able to get coordinated enough to actually get water out of it, so obviously, my baby would not be quenching her thirst.
Oh yeah.
I forgot.
My child has an amazing tendency to get what she wants by sheer will and determination. Therefore, her new "sippy cup" is a camel back.
I've had lots of projects going on here lately. Lots of events to make things for. Fun things, for sure. But, I have been a busy girl.
And when you combine these events with the fact that you have absolutely no money.....you would be amazed at the creative juices your brain creates. Seriously. Don't be impressed by what I am about to show you. I am not normally this crafty, but like motherhood, I do what I must to survive. ; ) .......and to attend events and not be labeled as "the one who brings no gift and yet still eats all the food." That title hangs above my head like a threat.
I first came up with my funky canvas art when Miriam was born. I so wanted to hang things up in her room, but, again, had very little funds to do so. A little bit of this and a little bit of that and....voila! I present you with....these things. I was trying to come up with a cool title, but it's just not happening. So, we will continue to refer to them as funky canvas art.
I thought it would be neat to have one solely dedicated to when I was pregnant with her. It was always fun seeing pictures of my mom sporting me in her tummy.
I also especially like that even on this small picture above, you can clearly see how incredibly fat and swollen I was. Yikes. What I went through for you, baby girl.
So, anyway, after tweaking the above projects, I found I was ready for another project when my dad's birthday came around at the beginning of September.
My dad adores Miriam, so I thought it only appropriate to make him some funky canvas art with the two of them on it. I was trying to find some quotes about grandpas and stuff, but just didn't find anything too great, so I decided to do something I REALLY enjoy, but haven't sat down to do in quite awhile.....write! I'm not sure why I haven't written in awhile. I mean, this last year has been pretty easy what with having a baby, post-partem depression, colic, acid reflux, breastfeeding, Daniel losing his job, moving out of our house, moving into my parents' house, our cars breaking down.....wow. Writing it all out like that makes me realize that I actually have enough life experiences lately to pen my very own Greek tragedy.
Moving along......
I had fun! I wrote this for my dad and I really enjoyed it. He liked it, Miriam like seeing her picture....it was a fun night.
Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of my entrance into the hood known as 'mother'.
Werd g-dawg.
Otherwise known as Miriam's first birthday!
If you didn't understand that first statement......then you just aren't hip to the lingo. But, keep reading anyway.
I decided to compile a list of my favorite things for mommy survival the first year in this new journey.
Here we go.......
My Breast Friend Pillow. Silly name.....WONDERFUL invention. I liked the Boppy, as most people do, but this one doesn't sink in the middle, is firm to support the baby, has a handy pocket for a bottle of water and latches around your waste, so if you had to answer the door or something in the middle of nursing, you could just stand up with the baby. You know...instead of frantically unlatching the baby, zipping up your hoodie, catching some of your post-partem tummy in the process and answering the door while wincing in pain. What? Who did THAT?
We could NOT have lived without our baby swing. There were actually nights when we brought it up to our bedroom and Miriam slept in it all night. It swung on its own, had nature sounds, music and 6 different speeds. Ahhh....what a lifesaver.
We purchased the Moby wrap a couple months after Miriam was born and it earned every penny we spent on it. Being colicky and having acid reflux, Miriam wanted to be held constantly. This little puppy was amazingly comfortable to wear and held her tight. We still use it. Its weight limit is preemie to 35 pounds. Most carriers start at 8 pounds. It was a looong time before Miriam reached 8 pounds because she was only 5 when she was born. Hands down, the best baby carrier out there.
The Hot Sling is my second favorite carrier. It is so easy to put on and I don't even hesitate using it when Miriam whines at my feet when I am making dinner or doing the dishes. She loves it and it came in super handy when I was on a road trip and had to take her with me into the truck stop restrooms. Hands free peeing, people!
The Halo Sleep Sack is wonderful! All different materials, all different colors and patterns. It was created by a man who lost an infant daughter to SIDS. The sleep sack zips from top to bottom for easy diaper changes and gives mommies peace of mind regarding blanket use in the crib. Love 'em!
This is another item that earned EVERY penny. I never once regretted purchasing this little darling of a monitor. The Angel Care has a motion sensor pad that fits underneath the crib mattress to detect even slight breathing. If baby stops breathing, a loud beep sounds to attempt to arouse her. If that doesn't work, a series of loud beeps wake up the parents. The day we bought this monitor was the day I was finally able to sleep soundly AND put Miriam in her own room all night. LOOOOOOOOVE this monitor.
Look at this sweet, one-of-a-kind mobile. Isn't it just the cutest thing you have ever seen? It was hand made by MY mommy. She did an amazing job and Miriam loves it. She giggles everytime I turn it on before bedtime. So sweet.
This sound machine has a timer, lullabies, nature sounds and a rotating projector that gives baby something to look at on the ceiling. Miriam can fall asleep without the sound machine (she takes her nap without it everyday), but I love that when we travel (the machine is really tiny), I have something to take with us that helps her ease into sleeping in a new place. I really think it helps a lot. PLUS....now that we essentially all live in the same room with no walls, the white noise really helps her sleep while we are still able to enjoy our evening without having to tiptoe for fear of waking her up.
We used our bouncy ALLLL the time. The entire first month Miriam was home I nursed her and then put her in the bouncy every two hours. That's where she took her nap. And when she wasn't sleeping in the swing at night, she was sleeping in the bouncy seat. It elevated her enough with her acid reflux that it was easier for her to sleep. It has the music, nature sounds and vibrate thing also. She loved it. As you can see.....we pretty much used it until she tried to escape.
This high chair is AWESOME. It can be raised and lowered, so she is actually able to sit at the table with us like a little adult. It has tray covers that can be removed and washed and all of the fabric is vinyl covered and are SOOOO easy to take off. There is not an inch of this seat that is unable to be cleaned, including the straps. AWESOME.
And of course, my FAVORITE thing this last year has been this sweet baby. The funniest, silliest, sweetest, smartest baby you will ever meet. In this mother's opinion, anyway.
Then she went on to mine.
I also especially like that even on this small picture above, you can clearly see how incredibly fat and swollen I was. Yikes. What I went through for you, baby girl.
