Coast to Coast with Lyn & Leigh

We’ve all done it - a zillion pictures of that first newborn. With the second kid, it improves to an appropriate number, and perhaps better shots. With the third - unknown territory for me! Whatever the child, the first year passes so quickly (even though it might feel like a lifetime at month 1).

So how do you capture all those special moments? Let’s break it down based on personality, and hobbies you enjoy…

Scrapbookers (me included): I created a scrapbook for baby’s first year that I will always keep, and a smaller version that Alyssa will take with her when she leaves home (sob!). Included: preggo photo, ultrasound photo, hospital, birth, homecoming, first bath, once a month photos by teddy bear, holidays, baptism (if applicable), 1st birthday party, letter from Mommy, letter from Daddy. Give or take. The cool thing now is digital scrapbooking, cause you can just print out multiple copies for Grandparents, kid, etc.

Don’t scrapbook? Get one of those photo albums where you slide the photo in, and it has a space next to it to write a brief note or description. Or, check out How Fast They Grow, which has the digital scrapbook templates all there, so you just drag in your photos and write a blurb and you’re DONE.

Want an even FASTER way to chart the milestones (first food, etc.)? Get one of those Baby’s First Year Calendars that has the cute stickers that mark each little thing. Some of them even have a spot for a monthly photo.

Whatever you do, make sure it’s meaningful to YOU and your family. What do I wish I had more of? Cute video snippets of their baby giggles and gurgles. I still want to eventually get all my video bits put onto a dvd so I can play with them and make an iMac movie.

You can always make a ‘movie’ with your pictures, with captions and great music. I created a video of our family’s Hawaii pictures, and had copies of the DVD (you can design the cover, too!) sent to our family in California. It only took me an hour, and my friend Katie had one done of her baby’s first year, set to “What a Wonderful World.” Check it out at One True Media. They now make it easy to share via Facebook and YouTube.

Overwhelmed? Don’t panic. Just keep those photos in order (printed or digitally), back them up (if digital) on a regular basis, and keep a notepad to jot down important dates/cute things. Then, when you have the time (you will one day, I promise), you can have fun with these projects. 

During bath last night, as I was washing Alyssa’s hair and she was whining for a towel for her eyes, it occurred to me that I really should’ve started things differently. Instead of carefully pouring water on her hair all that time ago, I should’ve been gently dumping it on her head. She wouldn’t be so sensitive to water in her eyes (same goes for Haylie). And it’s even affected their swimming - neither girl can stand getting splashed in the face, and are hesitant to put their faces in the water even with goggles. 

You know what they say, hindsight is 20/20! Thought I’d mention it so that maybe YOUR kiddos will not be yelling for someone to please wipe their eyes every two seconds.

Clearly I haven’t taken a bath photo for awhile - I think this was almost 2 years ago, as Haylie still looks like a baby (here’s where I start to well up and think about my babies growing so fast)…

I was pretty much a pumping failure. I breastfed exclusively for 8 months with Alyssa and 6 months with Haylie, but I could never seem to get anything out with the pump! Hook a baby up, and it’d be practically running out of their mouths. But a pump? No. I’d work all day for just a measly few ounces. Lyn, on the other hand, is a pumping champ. I’m happy for her that she’s not like Cinderella with a 3 hour window - it is liberating, I’m sure! 

Whether you’re a pumper or ‘just barely’ like I was, breastmilk is like liquid gold. And because I love organizing and making a good process out of everything, I wanted to share Sensible Lines Milk Trays with you. I met these gals at Baby Celebration LA a few years ago, and it made such great sense. Kind of a ‘why didn’t I think of that?’

Their FDA-approved and ‘green’ plastic trays are specifically designed for freezing breastmilk. And get this- each ‘milk stick’ of frozen breast milk is 1 ounce and will fit through any size bottle opening. It makes it so easy to measure your milk and avoid wasting it. Perf, too, for working moms and caregiver situations. Their website is loaded with great info. on breastfeeding and properly freezing/storing breastmilk. Check it out here. We love supporting other Mommy-created and run businesses!

Little kids are always saying such adorable and funny things - especially when they’re YOUR kids! Today I was talking with Alyssa about school coming up, and how excited I am for her.  I said, “I wish I could be there with you!” and she said, “That would be fun! I wish someone just like you was born on my same birthday.”

I’ve come up with an easy way to save these cute tidbits: create a document on your desktop, and at the end of each day, jot down anything you’d love to remember. As I was writing this recent one down, I scrolled up to the other dates/sayings and got a chuckle out of it! Like when Haylie said it ‘just wasn’t the same without Alyssa in the car too,’ or when Alyssa wanted us all to marry the Wiggles so we could live in the Wiggle House together, or how Haylie says ‘Ub-its’ instead of ‘Is it’… when Craig was BBQing, she asked, “Daddy, ub-its meat?” 

So save your adorable things now! It helps if you scrapbook, as well, cause you can make a note of which layout you will use it with. Or just have it on record to print out and stick in their photo albums. Might also be fun at birthdays as a way to revisit the year. Cause they grow up too darn fast.

So Lyn calls me in a bit of a panic tonight. She and I are big ‘Baby Whisperer‘ followers, and she knows how important it is to ’start off how you want it to be’ (begin routines from the get-go). Anyway, for the past few nights Grant had been fussy at bedtime, and Lyn and Michael had picked him up and held him until he fell asleep. Luckily Lyn saw the red flag! She didn’t want him getting used to this and therefore depending on being held - this is crucial ‘learning how to sleep’ time!

We determined that he’s been happiest when held more upright, which also coincides with his increase in spitting up. Might be a bit of a tummy thing or growth spurt - who knows. But relying on being held to fall asleep is a slippery slope. It made me think of back when my babies got head colds. They were so congested and uncomfortable, that I resorted to putting their bouncy chairs IN THEIR CRIB, strapping them in, and letting them sleep peacefully more upright. Yes, I tried the under-the-mattress wedges, but they barely did anything, and my babies kind of slid off them. Perhaps this method would work in helping Grant get back his sleeping groove!

Now, we’re not recommending this long term or anything. But it’s getting Grant back to falling asleep by himself, in his crib, and slightly elevated for his tummy. Seems to be doing the trick - Lyn snapped this photo of him watching his musical fish. The vibrate is on low, which Lyn will click off in a bit, and after his first nighttime feed (when he’s been asleep awhile) she’ll take out the bouncy and lay him down. They’ll be able to transition away from this much easier.

Sometimes what gets you over the hump is not something you’d ever find in a book, but instead, from a fellow Mommy and friend…

The first 5 weeks have flown by and we are in the process of training Grant to be an A#1 sleeper. Here are my top 10 Tips for a blissful newborn sleeper (not without the help of my cross-continent newborn baby sleep coach expert - Leigh):

10. Make sure baby is not too hot or too cold.

9. Swaddle baby up good and tight.

8. Make sure to get a good burp out of baby.

7. When baby is overly tired and punching the air, literally ’shush’ baby to sleep.

6. Of course, make sure the diaper is dry.

5. Dream feed baby at 7:00 (that’s Grant’s bedtime). Turn out all the lights, change his diaper, swaddle him up and then feed him very quietly with no eye-contact or talking. Feed him until he falls asleep and then carefully lie him down.

4. For mid-night feedings, check diaper first, if dry, feed baby in dark with no eye-contact or talking. Repeat… Feed him until he falls asleep and then carefully lie him down.

3. For a baby that won’t quiet down for a mid-day nap either try running the vacuum cleaner or if your laundry is close to baby’s room pop in a load to create a steady ‘white noise’.

2. For the first few weeks, sleep positioners work great to help baby feel contained and secure (like in the womb)

1. Routine is more important than time - focus on the routine, and differentiate between nighttime and daytime. When it’s officially morning, be sure to open the windows and let light on baby’s face. Practice E.A.S.Y. (eat, activity, sleep, time for yourself) during the day, and dream feed at night. WARNING - at about 4 months, try replacing one nighttime feed with a binky or music - baby does not NEED to eat - it has become routine. And we certainly don’t want to ‘teach’ them to keep waking up at night!

Getting ready to to head out of town with the girls, and in my preparation craziness, I almost forgot to pack the lolipops! If you have a toddler or small child(ren), it’s a good idea to have something they will suck on for the airplane’s descent. Their ears can be so sensitive, and I’d rather have my child happily sucking away on a lolly than screaming (especially these organic, gluten free lovelies from Yummy Earth). I always bring a few extra to pass out to other parents who might be in need. Also, my girls are finally at the age to wear the regular airplane seatbelt, but if your child is in that ‘middle phase’ where they are too big for the car seat (and their feet kick the seat in front of you), but too wiggly for the lap belt, ask around your friends to borrow one of those harness straps that are made for airplanes.

So… shoes that come off easily for security, a backpack for me, charged dvd player and favorite videos (with one new one), Color Wonder pens with fresh books, bag o’Lolipops (see below), and of course leaving a clean house (something I learned from Mom) - we’re off to Cali (although those of us from California never really called it that).

Watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 got me inspired to get back on track with my laundry - it was the episode where Jon and Kate do a question & answer and behind the scenes of their life and the show. It got me thinking about when my MOMS Club had a speaker who was a Professional Organizer. Which is probably my secret dream job. Me and my sweet labelmaker… anyway, here are some tips (from both the organizer and Kate) that I’ve found work wonders in keeping up with laundry:

1. Pick 1-3 days (depending on the number of people in your household) that will be your consistent laundry days. Choose days where you are home the most. Make sure that you FINISH your laundry (meaning, put it away!) by the end of the day.

2. Do sheets and towels on one day, and clothing on another day(s).

3. To make sorting/putting away easier, do laundry by CLOSET or AREA. For me, that means keeping my husband and my laundry (we have two bins - one for darks and one for lights) separate from the girls’ clothes. 

4. Create a system that works for you. I realized that I like to hang just about everything. So why was I wasting time folding? Now I sort clothes by laying them in piles, and then take right to the proper closets and hang them up. For socks, I decided to save the hassle and buy only white socks for the girls, so that I can just split the sock pile in half and dump them in their sock drawers. I also try to get different style panties for them so I don’t have to waste time checking each label for the size/child.

Anyone else found some tips or tricks for laundry?

p.s. When I first gave Lyn some hand-me-downs for Malia, she loved the smell so much that she wanted to know which detergent (Costco’s Kirkland) and dryer sheets (don’t have a preference) I used. But nothing worked. Upon meeting Haylie, Lyn finally figured out that it wasn’t the laundry smell, it was Haylie’s sweet little smell. So cute.

Anyone brave enough to do a theme park in the summertime? Well, whenever you go, you MUST absolutely MUST get a copy of The Unofficial Guide To Disneyland (or - The Unofficial Guide To Disneyworld, depending on where you go). We took the girls this past year for their 5th and 3rd birthdays, which are only 10 days apart (I got their “I’m Going to Disneyland!” shirts from my friend Kirsten’s Logan & Blue).

I was a bit skeptical about the Touring Guides in the book. But I loved the writing (easy read) and the tone - these peeps were methodical about studying crowd routes, time waiting in lines, etc. They put out a new version each year, updated for new rides and changes to existing rides. We decided to follow it right down to which line to stand in to buy tickets, and which direction to turn. Does it take the fun out? HECK NO. Unless you consider standing around, arguing, looking at the map and keeping your kids from running off to be fun.

When we followed the plan (different plans available for different aged kids, number of days, etc.), it was amazing. We’d hustle right through a line, and on our way out, see it stack up. When we strayed from the plan, we got bogged down. It does allow freedom to repeat rides and add things in. But it takes the guesswork and chaos out of your trip. And it allowed US to get a chance to meet each and every princess.

I get the giggles sometimes thinking of Lyn having a cutie pie baby boy. I mean, we are girl peeps around here: I have 5 nieces (no nephews) and 2 daughters (no sons) and Lyn has a daughter (and now a son!). 

I remember watching my good friend Katie’s little boy and having my first boy diaper changing. Katie had a good tip to avoid getting sprayed on (with girls, it’s more like a bubbling fountain, I’ve found!). She used a disposable nursing pad - the kind that absorb a bunch like diapers. Anyway, she’d place one on that joker while changing, and then use it to tuck things away in the diaper, and then when it got ‘used’ she tossed it. Super convenient especially if you are breast feeding and therefore have them on hand.

Another cute alternative are the PeePee Teepees. You wash and re-use, which is nice, but they are not so cheap. Okay, I am getting the giggles again…