Itzbeen

One of the earliest additions to our baby shower wishlist was the Itzbeen. I don’t exactly recall how we found out about it, but hubby and I were very excited about it. It’s a little portable gadget that lets you punch buttons representing things you’ve done (changed a diaper, fed the baby), at which point it starts counting so later you can check how long itzbeen since you did that thing last. And since neither of us have iPhones, we thought this would do the trick for tracking things you need to track.

Then we read some books. After reading much of The Bible we started thinking the Itzbeen was not really what we were looking for. If we’re not going to be trying to train our baby to eat at regular intervals, we figured we won’t really need to know how long it’s been since he last ate. So we took it off the wishlist.

Long story short, we ended up getting one anyway, and let me tell you–I AM BUYING THIS FOR EVERY NEW MOM I KNOW. I realized the brilliance of this gadget when the nurses starting asking me at the hospital when the baby had last fed. I would confidently say 1 o’clock. Then I’d look at the clock. It was 1:10. Okay….so…maybe not. When we got home, and didn’t really need to time things, it was still part of the routine. It helps us, in our sleepless stupor, to know what he’s being fussy about. It also just helps us be more aware of how he’s feeding when anyone asks. We punch the bottle button at the beginning of feeding, then the sleep button at the end–now we know how long he fed, and how long between feedings (and incidentally, how long I’ve been sleeping). It also has a light and a backlight, so I can check on all these things when I’m half asleep in bed, and have a flashlight to check on him.

We’ve taken to punching the * wildcard whenever one of us says something stupid that only a sleep deprived person would.

Example:

On my way out the door, Hubby passes me the September metropass, and I take it and leave. A few steps down the street I remember it’s October and have to turn back to get tokens.

Hubby: That counts as a * punch on the itzbeen, by the way.

Wifey: I just forgot it was September!

Hubby: You mean December.

Wifey: You mean October.

Hubby: Punch it.

Posted via web from TinyPants’ Posterous

 

Day 7

The sauropodlet’s 7 days old today.

I feel strangely cut off from the outside world–I haven’t had a chance to call the great-grandparents yet, and feel as though I’ve been slow to post pictures where Samson’s not all bruised up from labour and rashy from hospital linens. I was sure we’d be getting up early with a newborn, but instead sleeping in short bursts actually just extends the night into late morning. I’ve been unable to show off my baby to the regulars at the beach because we make it there about 2 hours later than I normally would.

So, I was thinking about this today, and I just had to get to blogging, because I hate the idea of people thinking they’re not hearing from us because we’re freaking out over here and just aren’t coping. The most common piece of advice I’d been getting from new (or newish) parents when I was pregnant was–it’s an adjustment. I would say, “I can imagine.” And they would shake their head at me like–oh, just wait. You have no idea. So before Peanut came, I was careful not to feel too confident. On the one hand, I’ve always heard that having a newborn is hard, and figured millions of people can’t be faking their exhaustion. But on the other, something hubby and I don’t talk about in public too much because we know we’ll be looked at askance–this little being is going to be eating, sleeping, pooping, and sometimes he’ll just *cry* because he feels overwhelmed or lonely or whatever. Sounds kind of like taking care of a dog. Once you go through an intial frustrating time figuring out your baby’s cues, seriously–how hard can it be? Actually the greatest piece of advice, the one that I clung to was something my mom said in passing when she was offerring to come help us in the early weeks of Peanut’s life. She told me that at the beginning it really seems like you have a lot of work, but later you look back on the first weeks of your infant’s life and realize all he ever does is sleep, and you wonder why you found it so hard.

So the best thing we could have done was we went into this with a healthy attitude. We didn’t buy a lot of fancy gadgets (remember, we’re cheap), things that people say you can’t live without, saying to ourselves that if we’re mistaken, and we really do need a wipe warmer, or a baby monitor, or a nursing pillow, we’ll just go out and get them (or if we’re so desperate send someone to buy them). We didn’t have a 100% finished baby room, we invested in slings rather than places to put baby down. We read just enough to be informed, but knew that in the end, our best advice will be from experienced helpers, like our midwives. I got angry when I was sent a sample of formula–I didn’t want this “easy way out” to taunt me. We agreed we may encounter problems along the way, but decided to tackle them when we got to them, rather than worrying about them before. I just couldn’t concede the point that I’ll not soldier on, stubborn as I always am, and prove that I can do this, and even if I can’t make it look easy, I will at least be able to drag myself out for a latte once in a while. 

Again, we’re doing really well.

We’ve been on a walk every day since we came home Saturday, we’re taking visitors as they invite themselves, and we’re managing to keep ourselves clean and groomed. We’ve been keeping up with laundry and tidying the house. Sure, we’re sleep deprived, but we sleep in 2-3 hour bursts, so it really doesn’t feel that bad. We’re being productive!–today we made a trip to the grocery store, out to the beach with the dog, and to a baby store to buy a nursing bra. Yesterday we had a big photoshoot with Peanut’s Auntie Calla, and hubby’s been getting quality work done on his assignments for class. We’ve been watching Lost. Sauropolet’s 8lbs, up from the 7lbs 6oz he weighed in at the hospital on day 2, which means I’m feeding my baby well. He nurses every 2-3 hours and I’ve been enjoying it so much that I’ve been talking to hubby about continuing until he’s at least one, and I’ve started reading articles on getting back to work without pumping. I’ve had frustrating moments, but we work through them. We’ve figured out his dislikes and know how to comfort him through them. We wear him and are able to feed ourselves, and just generally get stuff done. 

Funny that all this has happened in 7 days.

Anyway, kids, I’m sure some of you are dying to know what went on in the birth, and I will post about that soon, but right now I have some Lost to watch.

Posted via web from TinyPants’ Posterous

 

Samson

He was “…from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped.” ~ Shakespeare

Perhaps not quite so untimely, but on September 24th, at 5:04pm, after 36+ hours of labour, my darling little Samson was born by cesarean section. Hubby and I never really went through the whole “he’ll have your eyes, but hopefully my nose” thing, but the unspoken concensus was this would be a swarthy baby. I often had to convince myself that I could and would be pleased with a little ape.

Well, instead, I got a chirpy little bird fellow. I think his Polish animal name* is destined to be ptaszek, which is rather unfortunately also a euphemism for what makes him a little boy. Perhaps we can think of something a bit more manly for him like hawk or stork or chicken or something.

Samson, where did you come from?

 

* Everyone Polish has an animal name their family knows them by. Seriously. Ask them. Fathers are usually misiu (bear). My mom’s żabcia (frog). I think I used to be rybka (fish) for my mom, and małpiszon (monkey) for my dad. I’ve also known a piesek (dog), and a myszka (mouse).

Posted via web from TinyPants’ Posterous

 

Posted Land

I've probably mentioned that the Plott Hound is the state dog of North Carolina, which is one of the reasons why I love this sign I bought from DomestiKate about a year ago. I hung it just inside our back door to remind Addie of all the things she's not supposed to be doing in the backyard. So far, she has proven to be above the law. Or at least oblivious to it.

Posted via email from TinyPants’ Posterous

 

Amazon’s Universal Wish List

via amazon.com

If you’re like me, you often see things on blogs that you covet, but not enough to buy it right away. But wouldn’t you love to have them catalogued somewhere so they’re available for people to browse come some special occasion?

Get Amazon’s Universal Wish List button!

This new (?) feature (I discovered a few months ago) is great. By clicking the button, you can add things from any website and consolidate all your earthly desires in one place for yourself, friends, and family, so when it comes time to making Christmas lists you aren’t left scratching your head and only realize *after* Christmas what you really should have put on that list. Or with this you may not even have to make a list so people can actually surprise you for a change!

It really came in handy for our baby shower, since we didn’t want to register at any one place. The things we wanted for Peanut came from all over the map, and this allowed us to hunt around a bit for the best prices for our very generous friends and family. I had toyed with the idea of creating some kind of wish list somewhere, but had no idea how I would manage it. With this, when it comes time for people to buy from the wish list, they can click the “I’m getting this” link, and it takes that item off the list so no one else buys it!

Seriously awesome. I want to convince everyone in my circle to have one of these going all year round.

Posted via web from TinyPants’ Posterous

 

White Goose No. 4

Hooray! I won the Spotted Duck's Sharon Montrose giveaway! I've requested White Goose No. 4. I think it'll make a good addition.

Posted via email from TinyPants’ Posterous

 

Nellie’s Dryer Balls

This recent post on Re-Nest about giving up dryer sheets in favour of nothing at all has prompted me to tell you about my new favourite laundry tool. You’re not supposed to use dryer sheets for baby clothes because they say using them may cause your baby to burst into flames or have an allergic reaction or get some sort of cancer. Some people use the unscented kind, but faced with the prospect of buying another box of dryer sheets that are baby friendly and having to remember which ones to put into the dryer at what time, I looked into these dryer balls. See, I’m not really green, and I’m not a fanatic about non-toxic things, but I am cheap. Twenty dollars for two little balls that fluff, soften, and eliminate static for at least two years? Sign me up. If you are a fanatic about things plastic, they also come in the PVC-free variety, and you can even buy lavender inserts to make your stuff smell nice.

These little Nellies have been working fabulously. No static, clothes are soft, they decrease drying time (so now I can actually dry even heavy things like towels in our old dryer on the low heat cycle!), and my absolute favourite feature is I never have to remember to pop them into the dryer, because they just live in there. This weekend we’re heading up to my parents’ house with our huge boxes of Kirkland brand dryer sheets under our arms, as a donation, because I won’t be using them anymore.

p.s. This is also my first time posting through Posterous. Exciting times!

 

Nursing Reminder Ring Set

Ever since seeing this porcelain nursing ring almost a year ago, I’ve searched for something similar that I’d be able to work into my own jewellery. I don’t wear a lot of jewellery–I have a few rings that I wear often, in rotation–so it had to be something simple, something that would go with everything I already own, and something that wouldn’t be too fancy so I don’t wreck it wearing it around the house or when I’m working.

Lovely Tina at tinahdee made this ring set for me, in sterling silver. It’s stamped with an L and an upside-down R, so I can just flip the one ring to remind me which side to start with next. Not only will it serve as a good reminder, it’s also very pretty and goes well with my wedding ring, so I can still wear all my favourite rings on the ring finger of my right hand. Also, since it’s a set, I can choose how many rings to wear on any given day.

After my request, Tina’s even added a similar ring to her shop. She also offers free worldwide shipping, and is having a sale until the 30th of August. Go check her out!

 

Lomo Fail

I was only able to take two shots with the oktomat on our trip to North Carolina before it broke. We weren’t even out of Pennsylvania. I’m not very impressed with lomo’s winding mechanisms.

Actually, there was a third image, but since it was a grainy, creepy picture of Addie’s eye, where she actually looks more like a dead fish, the lab technician didn’t deem it worthy for scanning to the CD. Obviously, this lab technician is not into lomo.

Luckily, this holga from the trip makes up for the lack of lomo.

Oh and I played with quadruple exposure. Ha.

We have since exchanged the oktomat and the new one seems to be working fine. For now.

 

The alphabet is not even.

I bought these cute little correspondence cards at Winners ($5.99!) to use as decoration for Peanut’s room.

So, I thought I would be smart and tested the layout in Photoshop before I went to Ikea to purchase the frame. On my computer, everything fit neatly into the frame I had chosen, and I had several options for the layout. Of course, I was too lazy to actually go and measure the cards, and assumed they were just 4×6s.  Not only did the cards not fit into the 50cm x 70cm frame I purchased, they didn’t even come close to my estimations, and so now I have 10 homeless cards.

Of course, I could just go and buy a larger frame, but the thing is: the alphabet is not even. Twenty-six letters just doesn’t divide evenly into rows, and always leaves you with an orphan line of letters. Hm. Maybe orphan isn’t the right term to use exactly, but you get my meaning? You cannot “full justify” the alphabet. Well, I guess you could but then the bottom row would be all spaced out and it would look like those documents where someone’s trying to make it look longer than it actually is.

Okay. Enough with the word processing metaphors. At some point, I’m going to have to get creative with the layout, so I figure I might as well just do it with the framing, and then maybe the little orphan letters won’t look so alone. I’m already into abstract framing and picture hanging, as I did with my Sharon Montrose prints (also in Peanut’s room):

…and as I’ve done with my burlap coffee sack in the kitchen:

So now tell me, dear readers, given the Ikea Catalogue, what would you do? I could buy two smaller frames from the same series and hope all the cards fit. I could do the rest individually, but that could get expensive. Or I could do a combination of the two. Or perhaps you’ll say I should just get one large frame because my off-kilter picture hanging techniques have just gotten out of hand! (This may actually be the cheapest way to do it. It just seems so boring!) And then comes the question, how do I mat the pictures within the frame?

So what do you say?