New Type of Headband Addiction

So, a few weeks ago I stumbled on to a new type of headband addiction; making them! I think it might be even more addicting than buying them.

I made these beauties from a lot of supplies I got off ebay. But the most clever idea I've found so far was to make a headband from an old pair of tights: http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2010/08/easy-stretchy-baby-headband-tutorial.html

It's so easy it's ridiculous!

Great Working Mom Quote from Tina Fey

Anyone else have a good sob at work once in a blue moon? For me its more like subtle weeping every other week.

"I would think of Midge's little fingers in the middle of a busy workday. I would tell myself, "Once I have the baby full-time to myself, everything will be easier." And then it hit me; that day was not coming. This "work" thing was not going away. There was no prolonged stretch of time in sight when it would just be the baby and me. And then I sobbed in my office for ten minutes. The same ten minutes that magazines urge me to use for sit-ups and triceps dips, I used for sobbing. Of course I'm not supposed to admit that there is a triannual torrential sobbing in my office, because it's bad for the feminist cause. It makes it harder for women to be taken seriously in the workplace. It makes it harder for other working moms to justify their choice. But I have friends who stay home with their kids and they also have a triannual sob, so I think we should call it even. I think we should be kind to one another about it. I think we should agree to blame the children. Also, my crying three times a year doesn't distract me from my job any more than my male coworkers get distracted watching March Madness or shooting one another with Nerf guns, or (to stop generalizing) spending twenty minutes on the phone booking a doggy hotel for their pit bull before a trip to Italy with their same-sex partners."

By the way, the rest of her book is just as fantastic :)

Amazon free shipping and buying too much stuff

Ahhhh I wasted a whole hour this morning searching for books for baby girl. Amazon free shipping over $35 will be the reason I go bankrupt (and Etsy headbands). It goes a little something like this: I have an actual need for one item. I don't have time to make a trip to the store, so I end up getting it through Amazon and just find other things to buy to get the free shipping. This time it was sunblock. Well, of course being a first time mom, I have to research a dozen brands and get the one that holds up to all my crazy standards. And I don't have time to make special trip to one store for sunblock, let a lone multiple stores searching for a specific brand. So to Amazon I go. I think to myself, "This give me a chance to get that cute global babies book I've had on my wish list for a month". Global babies gets added to the cart, along with another book. Just $3 shy! This is when I got sucked in. Another book, but which one!? No, not that one. This one? No. That one looks tempting, hmm maybe-No, no I can find something better. Oh look! No. Hmmm what about a new toy? A school bus? Little people? Do they make wooden people? Oh yay Melissa & Doug! I can't really tell how big those are? They're kind of creepy. Never mind, back to books. And that is how a spent an hour of time while baby girl was sleeping when I could have been doing much more productive things.

And then, after everything was purchased, I realized that I'm going to need more than one bottle of sunblock and I could have just got multiples to reach my $35. FAIL. Epic fail.

This has become a reoccurring pattern in my life now. Getting so excited to buy such cute baby cloths or fun -and educational!- toys only to feel really guilty after buying said items. I can justify the need for sunblock,  but I didn't need to get the brand that I did. I'm glad that it ranks well on the EWG database for cosmetics, but I know that not everyone can afford that luxury, and I feel a little guilty that I can. Plus, I'm definitely going to feel like a pompus butthead when I show up at daycare with fancy sunblock. All that guilt for the item that I actually needed! Then of course there is the guilt from all the excess stuff. I try really hard to avoid buying so much "stuff", since we get a lot of gifts from friends and family anyway. But sometimes it can be really hard to resist temptation!

As far as toys go, I think we have done pretty well all in all. I usually just end up getting so overwhelmed looking at toys, both online and in stores, that I just give up. But I know what it is like to see something on facebook and think-oh I need to get that for my little one! It is sad to me that, as parents, we place so much value on what toys we buy for our children, as if more toys equals more love. We just want to give our kids everything we can, and now a days more people are financially able to do that. Parents that grew up poor want to give their children everything they didn't get to have, and who can blame them? But does 'because we can' mean that we should? I would like my baby girl to learn that she doesn't need material things to be happy and that the earth is more than just a planet of resources for us to consume, so I am trying my best to model that. Of course I do buy her (and myself) things, and sometimes I catch myself going overboard -we are all human. But I think it is a worthwhile goal to live modestly and value time spent with loved ones as the most cherished gift there could be.

9 Months Old Today

Words of Wisdom: Buy Second-Hand

I say while your pregnant (with your first or others), go ahead and get some things new. In my opinion, it is probably the most exciting time in life and there is no better cause for celebration. But I'm sure you will eventually settle into the same realization that I (and many moms before me) have: second hand is a mom's best friend.

Baby clothes and accessories are my weakness. I don't really know why, but the cuteness of ity bity baby polos and darling headbands are just too hard for me to resist! Baby clothes are worn for such a small amount of time, especially special event outfits, that it really makes so much sense to buy second hand. This also makes it possible for me to purchase some of the pricier brands that I would never be able to afford new. I am ashamed to admit that I have literally spent a few of my breaks at work in bidding wars on Ebay!

The same "buy used" strategy also works for a lot of baby gear and toys, with the exception of car seats and older cribs probably. Just like clothes, the gear you buy in the first year is primarily just used for a few months at a time. Babies grow out of bouncers and swings by about 5 months, breastfeeding pillows like the mumbo or boppy are great but also grown out of usually around 6 months, excersaucers and jumperoos are really only popular with babies from 4-8months, you get the picture. Plus, there is no way to predict what items babies will like or dislike and it really sucks to spend a bunch of money on something you never use. Trust me, I've been there.

I recommend finding garage sales of people you know who take good care of their things. While I was pregnant, I sent my mom to a garage sale back in my hometown that my cheering coach was throwing. She has a preschool age daughter so I knew that there would be tons of good items and that I would feel really comfortable knowing where they came from. You can also find lots of local Facebook swap/sell groups for infant and children's stuff.

But the best strategy for baby gear is borrowing from a friend or family member. Even if you just borrow it to try it out, you will be making smarter purchases and not wasting time on things you won't use.

Non-traditional Baby Book

For any mommies who aren't really into the whole baby book thing, I thought this was a really cute idea. It would work especially well with one of those baby calendars that have the sticker for major milestones and such.

The Baby Book by Dr. Sears

The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby From Birth to Age Two

by Dr. William Sears, Martha Sears RN and their two pediatrician sons

The sheer size of this thing sold me right away; 749 glorious pages! As you may have figured out by now, I am a reseach finatic. I won't deny it, I'm a geek--hands down. So the pocket guidebook on baby's first year I got from my midwife when pregnant was fine, but it wasn't going to sustain me for long.

Readers should be forewarned though, the book is heavily based on attachment style parenting. It's hard to say weather the Sears family has become popular because of the rise of attachment parenting or that attachment parenting has become popular because of the rise of the Sears family. It's probably a little of both. The attachment theme of the book works well with what comes naturally to me, so I think it's great. So great-in fact that I decided to buy it (which I rarely do). However, I know not everyone buys into it or feels comfortable parenting this way, so this book probably won't be for everyone. With that said, attachment parenting isn't all or nothing, and there is A LOT of information in this book that any parent could use. So, I don't want to discourage anyone from checking it out, but as with all books- give it a good look over before you decide to spend your precious dollars.

The only critique I have is the images are so LAME! They are basically monotone pencil drawings of people who look like they are straight out of the early 90s. Usually I love me some 90s nostalgia, but not these illustrations-- not at all. To be fair, I had checked out a older edition from the library and I have purchased the newest edition, primarily in hopes that these horrible pictures will be updated. We shall see.

Bottomline: I definitely recommend this book for parents who like the attachement parenting style and are in search of a very comprehensive guidebook.