#WordlessWednesday

Our Favorites: Updated List

I originally wrote a "Top 5 Baby Products" post in August of last year, when James was only two months old. Well now that he is just days away from turning 8 months old, A LOT has changed.

So here we go. But this time it is a "Top 10 Baby Products" list

Number One: Born Free 9oz Bottles

Okay, so our favorite bottles certainly have changed. I originally bought these only because they were on sale and we were desperate to find a bottle that James would like. Turns out these became his instant favorite! What I really like about these bottles specifically is that they have a Patented leak free activeflow venting technology clinically designed to reduce colic and gas, which worked really well with my gassy son!

Number Two: Mesh Teethers

James has been teething since he was 4 months old. Guess how many teeth he has now? NONE! Needless to say it has been a long struggle. Well I have been on the search for ANYTHING that can help my poor boy with his teething pains. I received these mesh teethers as a gift. What I love most about them is that you control what goes in there. So often times I will use frozen cubes of baby food inside so that he gets the relief he so desperately needs!

Number Three: Jeep Clamshell Diaper Bag

My diaper bag struggles have been big and plenty. I used 4 diaper bags before this before I finally found one I loved. I had seen this bag given to a friend at a baby shower. I really liked it because it has a sturdy top so that when you open the diaper bag you the top stays open on its own, which is really helpful when you happen to be carrying your son in your other hand. One thing I also love about this bag is that it's HUGE, and I'm talking HUGE!!!!!!

Number Four: Nuk Pacifiers

Along with my constant search for a bottle that James liked I was on the hunt for a pacifier that he would keep in his mouth for more than five seconds at a time. When he was little the only pacifier he would use was MAM brand, when he got a bit older his views of that brand quickly changed. Now the only pacifiers he will use is the Nuk ones. That is pretty beneficial to me because they happen to be the least expensive ones on the market as well as coming in the most amount of designs! My personal favorite is the lion and the frog!

Number Five: Safety 1st Complete Air 65 Protect Convertible Car Seat

James could not stand his infant car seat from day one. Every time he was in it he would cry the entire trip. We actually moved James to this convertible car seat when he was 4 months old. What's great about this car seat is it can actually be used from birth up to 65 pounds. I wish I had known that! We would have used it from the start. The fabric on this is super soft and breathable, he never gets sweaty in this seat, even in the super hot weather of Florida!

Number Six: Aveeno Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream

James has had bad skin since birth. It is really sensitive and his cradle cap was horrible! Johnson and Johnson products make him break out very badly. Though a wide search we found this lotion is the only one that keeps his eczema under control.

Number Seven: Baby Bullet Complete Care System 

I'm not going to go into much detail about this except for the fact that it is AMAZING! You can read all about my love for the baby bullet here!

Number Eight: Evenflo ExerSaucer Triple Fun - Jungle

There is so much I can say about this amazing thing. James loves it. There are so many fun activities on it, actually after he is done with the ExerSaucer aspect it actually turns into an activity table, which I think is pretty cool. The only downfall with this bad boy is that it has a motion censored toy on it, WITH A REALLY ANNOYING SONG. Try hearing "Red...yellow...blueeeeee" ALL DAY LONG! But besides that, it's practically James most loved toy.

Number Nine: Tiny Love Super Mat

This is my all time favorite purchase I made for James. The thing is amazing. The thing is HUGE which was perfect for James when he couldn't crawl yet. He would roll around on that thing for hours and be completely entertained. It folds up almost completely flat, and has handles to carry it. It is so bright in color. It also has several activities on it like a teether on a string, a crinkly elephant ear, a squeaker hidden inside, a curly tail to pull on. One of my favorite things about it is the fact that is machine washable. Oh and it's not that expensive. Now that James is almost 8 months old we still love this mat, he especially loves pulling the curly tail!

Last But Not Least, 

Number Ten: Baby Trend Expedition Jogger

I got this stroller as a gift for my birthday. I guess my boyfriend, Dennis, was tired of hearing me say how much I wanted it, lol. Not only do we use this for walks/jogging we use it as our everyday stroller. I love this thing! I love the "bike" type wheels on it, making it ride really easy no matter where we are. I love how easy it is to fold. I love that the seat reclines almost completely, in case wherever we are James falls asleep. It has two cup holders and a place in between for your wallet. It also has two cup holders for James when he gets older. I also love how it has a pretty large basket underneath, large enough to fit my giant diaper bag + my camera case. I give this an A+++++

Our Struggle With Eating: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

I begin this by saying I never thought I would be a mom who made baby food. Any baby I had ever been around was always formula fed and ate gerber baby food. While for some families there is nothing wrong with that. With formula and gerber baby food of course your child is still getting the needed nutrition, but do you really know what is in that jar of food?
I broke the norm from all babies I had ever been around, interacted with or even seen. I breastfed, although it was only for about a month, the attempt was there. Let me tell you, IT WAS HARD. I'm not talking like oh this hurts hard, I'm talking HARD. Being the only one able to feed your child, the only one that has to get up at all hours, constant pain in the boobs(CONSTANT), and stressful. Oh and of course with stress comes lack of supply, which then causes more stress, it became a downward spiral from there for myself. It was after I was hospitalized for 4 days due to an infection that i finally threw in the towel. I felt defeated.
I had received my baby bullet as a gift from Dennis' mother. After I could no longer breastfeed I knew I would make James food from then on.
I then took that a step further when Dennis and I decided that all James food we gave him(within reason) would be organic. Sure there is plenty of organic baby food lines out there, but we figured since there are still additives in most of those(ever wondered how they stay fresh so long??) we would make as much as we could.
Anyways, so here is how we make James baby food. The example is just one type of vegetable but we basically make every food this exact same way, so you get the idea!

So this is what the Baby Bullet looks like.
The kit includes:
Large Batch bowl
Power Base
Date-dial Cups
Short Cups
Stay Fresh Lids
Blend Blades
Milling Blade
Storage System Completer Kit

Basically I was making sweet potato's in the picture, so I baked them first so they would be soft, along with cooked. I then put the sweet potato in the big batch bowl along with a little bit of water. That is what I like most about making my own food that because I control how much water I put in with it I then control the consistency. Like when James was 4 months old trying his first foods I would make his food very runny. Now that he is almost 8 months old I make his food with very little water. Another advantage is when I steam vegetables like apples, instead of losing all the nutrients when cooked I actually use the steamed water to mix the food with, that has all the awesome nutrients that would be lost. 

After I mix the food I either put it in the date-dial cups, or an ice cube tray. I love using the ice cube tray method because then after I have all these frozen cubes of food I then put it in the freezer safe bags, it takes up much less room that way. Plus food is good for 3 months in the freezer so you can make a bunch at one time so you don't have to constantly keep making it!

You can purchase your own baby bullet from Amazon right here:

KINDLE FIRE GIVEAWAY!!!!

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Enter to win a 7" Kindle Fire 8GB.

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Ends at 11:59pm EST on February 10th, 2013.

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Photo Dump

I know you all haven't seen me in a while, here is a little taste of some stuff you've missed!

Oh, hi!

Where have I been?
That's a question that I wish had an easy answer. Where have I been? I've been living my life instead of just blogging about it. Instead of making a post after every exciting new thing I saw, or experienced, I lived it. I have it as a memory and I actually experienced. I was in the moment I was in and that was it. Did I miss blogging? Of course. Will I try to blog more? Yes. I miss the connections with my online community. I miss having people actually like what I write. I miss people looking forward to a new post. 
I plan on trying to queue up a few posts for everyone, so I don't get so behind. I hate the feeling of being so behind on my blog that there really just isn't a point to catch up.
So what have I been doing?
I recently opened an etsy shop, that you can find here
I've been taking a TON of pictures, I'll post a few for you someday. 
SO MANY HOLIDAYS
Spending time with James and my family
I hope you all missed me just as much as I missed you.
Until a not so long next time,
Patricia