The Shoe Story

Yesterday my Mom and I took the kids to the mall.  We had a few things to check off our list, including getting the kids feet measured and buying some appropriately sized foot wear.  It had been a few months since we'd had any measurements done and I wanted to go to the back to school sale.

I apparently was way off on the little guy's foot size.  I'd been noticing it was getting a little harder to fit his feet in his sneakers and sandals of late.  And last week I noticed both his big toes were a tad bloody and the top of the nails were broken.  He had been running around up and down our front path with bare feet and had experienced a wipe out. 

Looking back, I'm now wondering if his big toes were so messed up because I had been shoving his feet into shoes that didn't fit or if he had hurt his toes when he fell.

I don't know, but I feel guilty, either way.  Now he's in a size 7.5 (he was in a 6), even though he's a 7.  I figured I'd play it safe at the rate his feet appear to be growing.

The babe was about a 9, and was in a 8.5 sandal, so I'm not feeling so bad about neglecting her (her feet are growing much slower than her brother's).  We got her some new sneakers and some snazzy rain boots for school (which starts 2 weeks from tomorrow!!!).

After the shoe shopping, we headed for the food court which has a play area and a train that you can ride around on.  Good times had by all, including the babe and her Nana who stood in a line for half an hour to get a flower shaped balloon from a clown (which was broken within 2 hours of getting back home).

Second Hand

Why didn't I think of this before?

If you have kids, you know how quickly they grow out of their clothes.  It is so annoying to have to spend good money on clothes that you know will not last (especially as there is only so much unisex stuff I can buy the babe).  I pretty much buy the kids stuff at Target, Costco, and the occasional outlet mall, but I still find I spend more than I'd like to.  Honestly, I'd prefer to spend it on clothes for me that will last for years to come (because, as I've admitted before, I can be selfish at times).

So, when I stumbled upon a second hand store having a 50% off sale, I quickly realized how much I could be saving if I made this part of my regular shopping pattern.  The little guy and I were stranded in the way out suburbs of Northern Virginia having the oil changed and tires rotated on our car yesterday.  After grabbing an iced coffee (for me, not my son), we made our way over to a depressing and run down mini mall.  I didn't have very high expectations.  Boy, was I wrong.

We made our way into this second hand store with trepidation.  But once I got into the kids clothing section, I started grabbing stuff and piling it on top of the stroller.  I was getting brand name clothes which had barely been used for ridiculous prices like $1.25 for LL Bean snow pants, $4.00 for a fall jacket, $2.00 for Polo dress shirts.  It was crazy!  I ended up spending $27 and getting 15 items.

Second hand shopping certainly worked out for me this time.  The fact that the store benefits a shelter for victims of domestic violence made the experience even more worthwhile.  If they had a website, I'd include it.

Not sure if I can make the ridiculously long drive out to this store with any frequency, but I'll certainly be looking into what is going on closer to home.

Sleep Sacks

I had a horrible headache last night and I think I was asleep before my daughter.  It's better off you didn't have to listen to me rant anyway (I wasn't in the best mood!).

Anyway, to make up for it, I wanted to share my sleep sack preferences with you.  Sleep sacks are an amazing invention and I have used many different brands over the past few years.  I'm not a huge product endorser, but I really wanted to share how much I love Sleep Huggers.  They are a Canadian company who make sleep sacks for the summer and winter, and are one of the only companies who make seriously extra large sacks.  They provide awesome customer service and their products are of exceptional quality. 

The little guy had grown out of his Aden and Anais sleep sack and I wanted a new lightweight sack for him.  As he is 95% percentile for height, I had trouble finding many options.  But we love his Sleep Huggers winter sack and I decided to try the lightweight option.

It's super long, comfy, and my husband thinks it looks like a dress, but the little guy loves it and so do I.  So if you're looking, I'd highly recommend them.  It's worth the price tag!

Bye Bye Baby Stuff

It seems as though turning nine months old has gone hand in hand with saying good bye to a lot of baby stuff.

Yesterday was the last day we used the infant car seat. The little guy is much too long at this point and although I have loved the snap and go lifestyle, it was time to move on up to the convertible car seat. Now the little guy and his sister each have their own convertible seat...one is facing forward and one is facing backward.

On Friday I stopped using the aquarium themed bouncy seat. I had been keeping it in our room for when I needed a safe place to put the little guy. The middle of the king size bed has not been a safe option for quite some time. I had just brought a basket of laundry down the stairs and was headed back up when I heard cries from our room. I ran in to find the little guy hanging out of the side of the seat--half on the floor and half attached to the seat. Not cool. So up to the attic it went.

Later that day I inspected the aquarium themed swing in the dining room and decided it was just too risky to be leaving the little guy in that apparatus. A tumble out of the side of it could be a tad more traumatic than our bouncy seat experience. So down to the basement it went.

Then last night the little guy was super cranky a few hours after he had been put to bed. After checking on him, I decided that perhaps he was claustrophobic. He has been sleeping in a sleep sack since we quit swaddling him at about 4.5 months. I realized that perhaps the sleep sack was on the small side and he needed more space to move (as he now knows how to sit and crawl in his crib). Luckily I had already purchased the next size up when it was on sale this past summer. So into the new and very large sack he went. He only woke once at 3am for a feeding and didn't make a peep other than that.

I know I shouldn't be attached to all this stuff, but I am. These items have many memories attached to them. The past 3 years have really been more manageable because of all this baby paraphernalia, and both my kids have spent a serious amount of time in the assorted baby items which are now being stored away. When you know it's your last time using this stuff, it just feels a tad sad to say goodbye. But deep down, I know it's just stuff...and the years ahead will be filled with a constantly revolving collection of more stuff as my kids grow up. There's just something about the baby stuff that pulls your heart stings.

Curtains

I read in the Modern Girls Guide to Motherhood (by Jane Buckingham) that you should purchase curtains that do not block out the sun for your nursery. I trusted this advice and bought some boring, non-baby oriented, cream coloured curtains (I am not a decorator). I think the logic behind the theory is that it helps your child understand the difference between daytime and night time sleeping.

So far, this advice has not turned out so great for me. I have a black fleece blanket hanging over half the window (in front of the babe's crib). Very stylish. The other half is bright 24/7 as there are some pretty darn powerful street lights in front of our place. Hopefully she enjoys the orange glow. In terms of daytime sleeping, she's got to be pretty tired to fall asleep easily in there.

I think that we had it right when we chose dark navy curtains for our bedroom. Maybe that's why she likes it in there so much more than in her own room.

Television and Plastics

I'm not sure whether I should be impressed or scared. As I was quickly brushing my teeth/getting ready for sign and sing class this morning, the babe managed to turn on the TV in our bedroom (pre-baby we used to watch the BBC at night before reading and going to sleep--ahhhh, weren't those just the calm and quiet days). She then managed to turn the channel to Sesame Street and, realizing she was happy with what she saw, stopped flipping (Elmo's World had her hooked). The babe was so impressed with herself when I came into the room. It's her 15 month birthday today, so I suppose it's appropriate she can channel surf (despite the fact she doesn't get to watch TV other than NHL hockey with her father and her sign and sing DVD with me).

After class we drove over to Babies R Us (a place I generally like to try and avoid) to pick up a few things. Most of what I bought turned out to be plastic. I am being cautious with plastics as they're not saying good things about them these days, especially in relation to children. For some interesting reading, check out A Mom's Blog which has some quality plastics information. Another good blog to check out for safe plastic product recommendations is Z Recommends.

Everything we bought today was within the acceptable realm. There are 7 kinds of plastics and they say you should avoid numbers 3, 6, and 7. Your best bets with plastics (for food and beverage) are 1, 2, 4, and 5. For the grown ups, keep in mind that plastic water bottles are generally made out of the harmful plastics. I've switched to drinking out of a refillable SIGG container. It's safer and cheaper.

Television and plastics...evil parts of our modern world. Although I'll admit that I bought the Sesame Street "Beginning Together" DVD with Spanish track today as a little treat...after all, the babe and I both need to learn Spanish, and why not start with Elmo and Big Bird?

New Shoes

It must be a right of passage: buying your first pair of shoes (that aren't slippers or Robeez). Last Thursday my friend and I packed up our little ones and headed to the outlet mall. It was my first time taking the babe on the 45 minute trek to Potomac Mills (which is a right of passage in and of itself).

What was even more exciting was having her feet measured at Stride Rite by a "professional" and choosing a pair of size 5 shoes for the babe to wear now (see above), a pair of 5 1/2 sandals for the summer and a pair of 6 shoes for the fall (they were super reduced to $11.50!). I'm thinking one pair per season will have to do as this whole foot growth thing is going to be tough to deal with. I picked the shoes based on sale price and not colour (the fall shoes are brown). On Saturday she had on a red top with a pair of blue shoes with pink flowers. Beautiful.

Our pediatrician recommended Stride Rite. I must say that I'm thrilled they have an outlet store as there's no way I'd feel comfortable paying the prices they have in their regular stores. I know toddler foot growth/support is important, but why should the babe's shoes be as expensive as my shoes? OK, I'm exaggerating a little.

Although I'll be keeping the babe in gripped socks and Robeez as much as possible, I'm now comfortable for her to walk on pavement and gravel, etc. After all, doesn't everyone deserve real shoes to walk on pavement with?

Bumbo Caution

A word of caution on the Bumbo chair. After months of feeling pretty secure with the bumbo, we've turned a corner: the babe can now get out of it pretty easily. From about 8 months old, she's been able to extend her back and wiggle her way out. It's true they warn you not to leave children unattended in the seat (granted, all baby products say that). But I know how easy it can be to think your baby is secure and will be OK for just one minute. Whatever you wanted to do in that one minute is probably not worth it.

I've heard too many fall on the floor stories lately and wanted to share this in hopes it may save someone a trip to the ER (a place most new Moms will end up at some point).

The Playzone

We have just spent a nice chunk of change on a playzone for the babe. I was getting tired of moving the coffee table, setting out the blankets and toys and sitting on the floor to monitor play time by the 42 inch television screen every day. There was also the part about putting everything away every night that I wasn't a fan of. It was time for a new plan: the playzone plan.

I really love it. It's functional, colorful, large (with the two extension kits we purchased), and perfect for a baby to play in. The foam mats on the floor are each a letter of the alphabet! Who doesn't love the alphabet?

Why then does my daughter start to whine and cry if I leave her in it alone for more than 20 minutes? I though the playzone would allow me time to sit on the couch and read, write in my very neglected blog, or work in the kitchen. It's only been fully set up with the foam pads since last night, but so far the babe seems to have a problem being behind the colorful bars alone for an extended period of time.

I am hoping and praying that this is just something that will take time to get used to. There are enough toys and happy things in there to keep her occupied. And I don't see why, if she has a full belly and a clean diaper, she can't just chill out and have a good time in her new land of baby fun. We shall see.

Bumbo

For those of you who are familiar with the Bumbo chair, you may appreciate this link. It has stay-at-home day written all over it:

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=392011

The follow up is at:

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=602153&fr=yvmtf