Especially since having babies, I've become a bit of a handbag addict. Bags are the one fashion splurge I've always known would fit over the past four years as I've been pregnant, postpartum, nursing, pregnant again (whilst nursing!), postpartum, nursing, and yes, pregnant AGAIN (!). A truly fabulous bag can make any t-shirt-and-jeans with a three-days-without-a-wash 'do look amazing, and the right bag can replace esteem-usurping diaper bags if you're willing to give up a little storage space in the interest of personal style.
As I may have mentioned before, I have a serious stroller affinity. I walk a lot, more than I drive (in sunshine, rain and even knee-deep snow), and take my two wee ones, both well under three, with me everywhere I go. So, I consider my stroller to be an alternate vehicle and it needs to function as such.
Since reluctantly giving up my Micralite Toro early last year for a Phil&Teds Vibe ($809 with extra seat) in anticipation of our Little Lou, I’ve acquired three additional strollers to meet my various strolling needs. These include an umbrella stroller, a higher-end umbrella stroller with recline and a Maclaren Twin Techno.
The question is, though, why, after paying an arm and a leg for a Phil&Teds Vibe + doubles kit, the in-line stroller that’s touted as an all-around solution, did I purchase three other strollers where previously just one Micralite Toro did the job? A good question indeed. One my dear husband has oft asked, until he too fell for my latest and greatest stroller acquisition, the new Baby Jogger City Select ($660 with extra seat), which I now take everywhere I go.
Mamas, it's sad but true. Just 28 months into parenthood, I finally figured out what you may already know. When it comes to a stroller, for me at least, it’s all in the fold and that is Baby Jogger's speciality.
Continue reading "In-Line Double Stroller Review: Baby Jogger City Select vs. Phil&Teds Vibe" »
Raines and I visited my parents in Gulf Shores last month. The first day we spent on the beach, I made sure my cell phone was safely zippered into an inside pocket of my bag. Upon unpacking that night, I opened up the zippered pocket to find that *someone* had carefully unzipped the pocket, filled it with sand, and then zipped it back up.
I can't imagine who.
Immediately after, the main button on my iPhone became very hard to push. You could practically hear the grains of sand scraping against the underside of the button. So upon our return, I took my iPhone to the Mac store. I simply wanted them to open it up, blow out the sand, then return it in one piece. HA!
Continue reading "Found! Toddler Proof Cell Phone Cases (for iPhones, Blackberries and Others)" »
The past week has been rife with life lessons for me. 1.) When you plan a romantic weekend away whilst breastfeeding, make darn sure your pump is working well and that you're working well with your pump. 2.) Having not heeded lesson one, when you get home on the brink of mastitis (romantic, I know) and your milk supply is demolished, power pump. 3.) When your toddler, who has a pernicious stomach virus, mentions poop even in passing right before a bath, save the suds for later.
I think lessons one and three are pretty self-explanatory, but I have to share the best breastfeeding/pumping tip I have ever heard during my 20-month (over two babes) breastfeeding tenure. Let me repeat: ever.
Three days after returning from said romantic getaway (during which I lost most of my milk because I just couldn't seem to let down for the pump), I called the lactation consultant at the hospital where both my boys were born to see if there was any hope--my poor little guy was hungry and my milk seemed to be dwindling further! With precipitously plummeting prolactin levels and on the brink of tears (Rants aside, I'm a breastfeeder. I don't ween until my kids can talk and walk. Period.), I nodded through all the advice--pump after every feeding, fenugreek supplements, etc., and then she hit on a tidbit so priceless I can't even believe I'd never heard about it before: power pumping.
It's difficult and super time consuming to essentially double your nursing time by pumping after every feeding, particularly if you have an active or sick toddler on your hands in addition to an infant, so when the lc told me about power pumping, I saw light at the end of tunnel and got straight to work. She told me to pump for ten minutes, rest for ten minutes, on and off, for a total of one hour (of course I did two), to simulate a growth spurt. The best part: you can do it whenever you have time, so I was able to rebuild my milk supply after my guys were already in bed for the night.
I power pumped and took fenugreek three nights in a row and saw a huge increase in my milk that I hadn't seen with the fenugreek + sporadic pumping regimen I'd been futilely practicing for most of the week. For three days,Little Lou had been taking full 8 oz bottles at bedtime after 20 frustrating minutes of succor-less suckling. After the first power pumping session, he nursed for 20 minutes and took 4 ounces. The second night, he nursed for 20 minutes again and took a 2 ounce top up. The third night, he nursed 20 minutes and fell fast asleep, milk drunk.
Power pumping would not only be great for re-gaining a lost milk supply, but would also be a stellar way to stockpile milk if you're going back to a paid job or on a trip away from the kiddos.
Power to the pump, mamas! Let it set you free. (And thanks much to the fab lc at St. Joes!)
- M
But I was surprised at his concern. I am usually pretty predictable, gift-wise. I love all things shiny or sparkly or wrapped in a tiffany blue box with a white bow. I mean, really - any item off of M's holiday accessories post, or even our Perfect Winter Party Shoes, and I'd be delighted. Home run.
But this year, Mike detected something different. Or perhaps he noticed that I already went on a small shopping bender, coming home with fun holiday party items. <<giggle>> In any case, he was questioning his usual methods. Which made me think: What do moms really want for Christmas this year?
I'm not sure if it's the sad state of the economy, or if Raines' turning two (and acting like it), or my husband's crazy schedule (work + school), but life has felt a bit hard lately. I find myself already looking to the new year and wanting to do things differently. Simpler, somehow. I want to spend more time with family, but at a slower pace. Think long walks with self-brewed coffee instead of crazy running from place to place and hitting Starbucks drive-thrus.
I don't think I'm alone. So this year, my Christmas picks reflect this need to slow down, to simplify.
...And to wear something pretty everyday. Because some things never change.
It's one thing to get out with the kiddos when the sun is shining
and shoes are optional. It's a WHOLE DIFFERENT BALLGAME when it's
freezing, and your two year old not only doesn't want to wear shoes,
but throws a screaming fit over long-sleeve anything. Not to mention
that once you've stuffed the little screamer into his snowsuit and are
now hauling him football-like down the stairs, you yourself drenched in sweat....by
the time you get outside (and cooled off), you realize that the hat
your grabbed for yourself is the one with the moth holes, and that you
are missing a glove. Not that this has happened to me (cough), I'm
just sayin. In addition, over the last two years, my diaper bag has
mysteriously gotten heavier. It's the same bag. With the same stuff.
It just bugs me more.
So here are a few items are help ease this process. Nothing but time will cure the kiddo's long-sleeve phobia, but here are a few goodies that inject a little bliss into the "we're having fun, dammit!!" process.
I've been coveting the Lug Life Glider Sling Bag, currently on sale at ebags.com for $50. This is the perfect long-walk diaper bag. It sits close enough to your body to feel like a backpack, but is urban enough to look cool. It comes in a wide range of colors, including ocean (pictured).
I'm also in love with J.Crew's Merino Trapper Hat, $45, and their Ribbed Merino Glittens, $24. They are soft, warm and cute. Cream may not be the most practical color, but it's beautiful and snow-bunny-like. And they are just expensive enough to feel like a gift. (I think nothing of dropping $200 on jeans, but a $50 hat? Whoa!)
Lastly, if your lady sports a ponytail even half as much as I do, try Juicy Couture's Faux-Fur Earmuffs, $55 at Neiman Marcus. The key with earmuffs is that you want to choose a color OPPOSITE to her haircolor. Blond? Choose a darker earmuff. Brunette? Go light. Else, they blend in too well and from a distance it will look like she has hair spurting from her ears.
Continue reading "A Gift Guide To Help Guys Who Google "wife christmas"" »
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