Even though the Independence Day holiday is a few days away, there have been various fireworks displays several times around here in during the last week. Amazingly, none of them have woken Tate, even the ones at the park a block away! The poor guy won’t know that fireworks exist for at least another year, as dusk is waaay past his bedtime. 

Are you going to be celebrating the 4th of July with a new baby? Look at these cute return address labels and envelope seals for your birth announcements! They’d also be great for shower invitations or thank you notes.

In case you missed the earlier post about them, you can see the birth announcements for July 4th babies online too.

How are you and your family celebrating this weekend? Parades? Picnics? Fireworks?

My brother got married this past weekend. My little brother, Kevin. I’m the oldest of five kids in my family, and there’s a four year gap in the middle, so the last two were generally considered “the kids”. Apparently he’s all grown up now, though!

We got a few fun snapshots, but I can’t wait to see the pictures from the photographer. One series was the bride and groom with Tate and his cousin Keira. They both had their hands in their mouths, so we were trying all sorts of tricks to get them out. My sister-in-law said “Keira, where’s your belly button?”. Apparently she wasn’t finding it fast enough, so Tate started lifting up her dress to find it for her. I guess we’ll have to work on some wedding manners…

I wasn’t sure if he would tolerate his dress-up outfit, but apparently being dressed up like the big boys was a hit. Mr. GQ kept putting his hand in the pockets of the pants, which he’s never done before. And even the shoes ($5 from a thrift store, thank you very much!) stayed on, which has been a challenge with anything other than sandals lately. 

After the family photos, my friend was kind enough to pick Tate up at the church and bring him home. In my opinion, it was the best of both worlds- photos to commemorate the special day for our family, then a free evening for Mom & Dad to enjoy the festivities.

Congratulations, Kevin & Emily! We’re so happy for you!!

What are your secrets for formal family events – leave the kids at home, include them for photos only, bring a sitter to the event?

In Tate’s short 16 months of life, his approach to food has been all over the place. He moved from eating homemade baby food to a sudden refusal to eat any food offered on a spoon, only wanting finger foods. But at least he was branching out, eating a lot of the same foods as us. Then gradually he was rejecting more and more foods until now there are fewer than 10 that he’ll eat. And never a great quantity at any one time.

Our staples are cereal with milk, berries, cheese (but only muenster or pepper jack), hard boiled eggs, peanut butter sandwiches, granola bars, carrots and most types of crackers. The plus side is that these are pretty healthy things (not that he’ll turn down any desserts that are offered to him). The negative is that from day to day I never know which of the “approved” items will actually be eaten.

I often end up feeling discouraged, like I’m failing to fulfill his nutritional needs. It was helpful to watch this Momversation episode this week, to see that others are in the same boat of frustration. My favorite quote was from Dana of Mamalogues: “My 4-year-old hates food! All food except cheese and chocolate!” So I guess it could be worse…

At what point is he old enough for me to say “this is it, eat it or be hungry!”? It doesn’t seem like he’d understand that at this point. The other issue is that he’s still nursing, so if he doesn’t eat a lot of regular food, he just wants more milk.

I’m actually ending on a happy note, however, as Mr. Picky ate a new food today! I’ve been babysitting my 3-year old niece and she gave Tate some of her noodles. He ate them, and a bunch more, as evidenced by the photo above. Apparently he just needed a little peer pressure – maybe I’ll see if she wants to stay all week!

How did you get your kids to eat, especially at younger ages?

I’m so grateful for my husband, and what a wonderful father he is to our son! In every season of the year, and in every season of Tate’s life, Dad plays special roles…

His protector:

His helper:

His buddy:

His example (you’re never too young to learn how to pull weeds!):

Thanks for all that you do for us! Happy Father’s Day!

How did you celebrate Father’s Day today?

This is sort of a continuation of my last post, Pregnancy Journal - there ended up being more material than I expected. I’ve been thinking a lot about the journal I’ve been keeping of Tate’s life. Most of the thoughts revolve around the fact that I haven’t written in the journal in over a month and I know I won’t remember everything when I sit down to finally do it!

Coincidentally, the topic of journaling came up at a baby shower I attended on Saturday. One mom said she jots things down on post-it notes, to be compiled later. Another mom writes them on her wall calendar – I like that because the date is recorded as well.

Then another blogger, Shannon from Rocks in My Dryer, wrote a post on journaling at Parenting.com this past week. It has lots of great tips, but I especially like her encouragement to make a habit of writing several times a week, even if it’s just a sentence or two.

I know that as a parent you can’t do everything, but stories are important to me. I want to look back on these words, both for myself and for my son. I want to share these memories with Tate, to pass them on to his family someday. It’s the same reason I fill albums with photos.

So I’m on a quest to be a better journaler. Just as I wished I had done briefer, more frequent entries in my pregnancy journal, I think brevity is the key here as well.

What has helped you in keeping a journal for your child? If you have more than one child, do you keep a separate book for each, or just one for the family?

P.S. Don’t forget, the 20%-off sale on birth announcement magnets ends Monday, June 22nd. See complete details here.

Midway through my pregnancy, I went journal shopping. I was considering colors and textures when it occured to me that 9 months (or about 5 at that point) worth of my thoughts would not fill an entire blank book!

Then I realized that this book could be used as a place to record my baby’s milestones and the cute things he or she would someday say. Not knowing if the baby would be a boy or a girl, and not really wanting something babyish in style, I finally chose a simple black Moleskine book. 

I didn’t know it at the time, but there are (of course!) specific pregnancy journals out there. Expecting You, The Belly Book (my friend Dawn had this one; I love the space for a photo each week), Getting to Know You, Butterflies & Hiccups and My Pregnancy Journal are some of the options I found. Each one has a specific approach, so the online reviews are helpful. 

My first journaling challenge was deciding how to address my entries. My frame of mind was writing letters to my unborn child, so my first instinct was to say “Dear Baby”. Then I realized that by the time the pages would be read, he or she would no longer be a baby. I finally settled on “Dear Beloved” and now of course I use “Dear Tate”.

Another mental hurdle was references to family members. Our parents were suddenly the grandparents, siblings were aunts and uncles. Strangest of all was referring to my husband as Dad.

I ended up journaling about once a month, recapping the events in our life, what we’d learned at doctor visits, name ideas, etc. Looking back, I wish I had written a little more frequently. And specifically, I wish I had captured more of my emotions and thoughts. Whereas I usually took quite some time with each entry, I think a brief sentence or two every few days would have encouraged more “here’s where I’m at today”-type records.

At Chasing Cheerios, Melissa suggests filling a Journal Jar with slips of paper that prompt you to write on a certain topic. What a fun motivation that would be! Did you keep a pregnancy journal? Please share any hints you have!

Another great sale this week at MagnetStreet Baby! Starting today, June 15th, through the 22nd, our top ten 5″ x 7″ magnet designs are 20% off!

Within the ten most popular designs, there are birth announcements, birthday invitations, and baptism/christening invitations.

Scroll over any of the designs on the sale page to see an example of customizing the colors and fonts in our Design Studio. This sale only lasts one week, so spread the news to your friends and family who are celebrating big events in their baby’s life!

I just bought matching flag t-shirts for the three of us at Old Navy (men’s are 50% off right now – just $2.50!). So even though we’re not even halfway through June, I’m in the mood to talk about 4th of July birth announcements…

Yes, I can appreciate the irony in celebrating independence when a new baby’s arrival means less of it, at least for awhile. Don’t worry- they’re well worth it!

If your little one is due in early July, any of these announcements would be perfect. Check out all the styles online. Remember too, that the colors can be changed on any birth announcement on our site. So if you find another design that you like, it could be customized with red, white and blue for a non-traditional 4th of July look.

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Welcome to this edition of Pregnancy Decisions. As always, I’m Kara, your host. Today we’re joined by Lindsay, mother of 2 beautiful children. Both were born via cesarean section (c-section); the second one was scheduled ahead of time.

1. What were the main factors in your decision to have a scheduled c-section?
I had a c-section because the baby was measuring so big. I had trouble delivering my first baby who was 9 lbs. 12 oz., and the second was on track to be at least as big. My doctor recommended it because a planned surgery is better than an emergency one.

2. How was your planned c-section different from your first c-section?
Jackie (my firstborn) was an emergency c-section, because we couldn’t progress. I think “emergency” is the term used for any unscheduled surgery. It was quick, but since we weren’t having health risks they didn’t run. To me it seemed a little slow, since I was in pain!

The two were completely different. With Jackie, I was in labor for 20 hours! I hadn’t gotten good sleep because we came in at 1am and I could only doze with the epidural. I pushed for 3 hours before we decided that a c-section was the way to go. I was exhausted when we finally got to the surgical room. With Kurt, my second, we had to be at the hospital at 6 am, so I planned for a full night’s sleep. I could get up almost like normal. I was rested and completely alert. The nurses actually said I was just too happy to be having a baby! We got  the surgeon we wanted and since I’d already had one c-section, I wasn’t as scared either.

Afterwards, healing was different too. With Jackie, I had both the pain of labor and the pain of a c-section. I was also pretty tired due to staying up all night and I couldn’t catch up on my sleep. (Imagine that!) With Kurt, it was easier to recover with half the injuries, and I knew what I was getting into.

3. What were the positive aspects of a planned c-section?
Scheduled! You know exactly when your baby will be born. No surprises. I was able to plan for my parents to take care of Jackie while I had Kurt. It was easy to plan at work and at home. Laundry, cleaning, everything was caught up. With Jackie, who was a week late, the house was in disarray because I was too tired to keep it perfectly clean every day.

4. What were the negative aspects of a planned c-section?
I felt a little guilty about taking Kurt out before he was ready. It’s the womb – there can’t be a more comfortable space anywhere! The night before, I was worried about his health a little bit – what if he wasn’t “fully baked”? If he had any health issues I would feel very guilty. Picking his birthday was a little weird too, especially since its kinda like any other appointment, you get what the nurse gives you!

5. Were others supportive or discouraging of your choice to have an elective c-section?
My husband was a little worried; at first he wanted me to try to have Kurt naturally. He’s a nurse in the surgical itensive care unit, so he knows the risks with surgery better than I do. Eventually he came around, especially as I got bigger & bigger!

6. What advice would you give to someone considering a scheduled c-section?
Make sure it’s approved by your doctor. I wouldn’t recommend it if the doctor is against it. Pick your surgeon carefully! I had an inside-scoop because my husband worked at that hospital, so I was lucky.

7. Is there anything else you’d like to share about your birth experiences?
It is ONE DAY. I don’t care how bad it is; it is still only ONE DAY. Days are forgotten very quickly, especially half-drugged days. Can you remember yesterday? How about “yesterday” a year ago? I didn’t think so. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change anything because I got to take my beautiful babies home safe and sound.

Another piece of advice is to have visitors over to the hospital!!!! As much as possible! We had visitors the first evening we came home with Jackie. It was exhausting to host right after I had a baby. If people want to see you the first week, they get the 2-3 days in the hospital- that’s it! Oh, and have flowers sent to the house, not the hospital room (or send gifts home with dad!). It gets to be a lot by the last day.

Thanks so much for sharing your stories, Lindsay! If you’re considering a c-section for your child’s birth, bring a list of questions to your next doctor’s appointment. You can also find some good general information on c-sections in this article from BabyCenter.

Have you had a cesarean section? Was it emergency or elective? We’d love to hear your story- tell us about your decision in the comments section.

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It’s that time of year again, when I shift from trying to keep Tate warm enough to preventing sunburn. It was worse last year, since you can’t use sunscreen on babies under 6 months. But now that we can use sunscreen, he always tries to wriggle away when I’m slathering it on him. 

I’m finding that not only is the application of sunscreen a challenge, but also deciding which one to purchase. I bought a bottle of Aveeno Baby since that’s the brand of baby wash and lotion we use. Then my friend Melissa told me about the Cosmetic Safety Database. It rates the toxicity of over 40,000  products that you would put on your skin, hair, or nails. Here’s the info on baby sunscreens, but you can search any category of products or any brand name too. Turns out that my brand didn’t do so well…

I would love to keep him in a sun hat when we’re outside, but so far am not having great success with that. I probably need to be more firm, but it doesn’t help that his favorite game to play with Dad is “steal Dad’s hat”. He thinks hats are supposed to be taken off!

What’s worked for you, to keep your kids from getting sunburned?

Photo Courtesy:
di the huntress

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