baby must-haves

when i was pregnant i read every one of these lists i could possibly find. i loved researching the best products for our little guy. 

obviously, i still don't have much experience but i thought i would put together a list of things we couldn't live without.

hopefully it will come in handy to someone else expecting their first little one. 

             

         

1. carters onesies: seriously the BEST. they don't lose their shape, they don't shrink and they're thick. don't waste your time with the gerber ones. 

2. butt paste: this stuff is magic. sam doesn't get diaper rashes a lot, but when he does this stuff does the trick. 

3. solly baby wrap: i love this wrap! it was one of the first baby purchases we made. not sure why. but i love it. it helps me to get stuff done around the house without taking my eye off sam. he loves it, too. 

4. lamb dream swing: we love this swing! online it has mixed reviews but sam seems to love it. we started out with this swing but sam didn't like it at all so we switched and have never looked back. he usually naps in this during the day. 

5. pampers swaddlers: the best diapers. we tried huggies for a while but they didn't mask the odor at all. 

6. chicco cortina travel system: we decided to go with a travel system because it was easy and we love this travel system! i like that it is gender neutral and it glides so smoothly. ben loves that it fold in one motion and is easy to get into the back of the car. we love the car seat as well!

7. aden + anais swaddle blankets: soft, breathable and stretchy. sam sleeps with one every night. can't have too many. 

8. gerber cloth diapers: we use these for burp clothes and they are great! super thick and absorbent. yeah they're kind of boring but my mom sewed a cute fabric panel down each one to make them a little more colorful. 

9. little tummys gas relief drops: takes care of a belly ache in minutes. plus sam seems to like how they taste. 

10. nose frida: ok, this totally freaked me out at first! but it had great reviews and when your baby can't breath because of a stuffy nose you will do ANYTHING. it works wonders. 

11. petunia pickle bottom diaper bag: i love this bag. it has lots of compartments to keep your diaper bag organized and the outside is wipeable and stain resistant. 

12. huggies natural care wipes: the thickest wipes i have found. 

13. medela pump in style advanced: this thing has saved my life. i'll admit, i originally received one that kept having problems so medela sent me a new one and i haven't had problems since. i hate nursing while i am out so this is such a lifesaver because i can pump before we leave and take a bottle with me. 

14. avent bottles: we have tried a couple other brands that constantly leaked but we haven't had any problems with avent and love them!

15. boon grass drying rack: i LOVE this. i'm a bit ocd and hand wash all of sams bottles so this is nice to dry them on. plus it's not an eye sore sitting on our counter. 

16. blue dawn soap: i bought this after a friend suggested it and love it. use it with hot water and a scrubber to get out any clothing stain (there are lots). 

17. hand sanitizer: absolutely could not live without hand sanitizer. when we brought sam home and was running around sanitizing everything in sight and had one at the front door for people coming to visit sam. we have one around every corner, in both our cars and in the diaper bag. 

18. aveeno baby shampoo and wash: we originally started out using johnsons lavender shampoo and wash and, while i loved the smell, it made sam's skin so dry and caused him to break out. so we switched to aveeno after our ped recommended it and it got rid of his dry skin right away. we use this shampoo, this wash, and this lotion for his face. 

19. baby aquaphor: this stuff was great for when we brought sam home and couln't really use any lotions or washes on him quite yet. this helped with his dry skin. we also apply some over his diaper cream to help it stick to his little bum. 

20. soothies: sam loves him. it's the only pacifier he will take. 

21. johnsons face wipes: carry these in my diaper bag if his hands or face get dirty. clean well and smell so good. 

22. california baby calming lotion: again, sam has really sensitive skin so this works as a good body lotion. plus a TINY bit goes a long way so the bottle will last you a loooong time. 

three months

december 10, 2012

sammy boy how are you already three months old???

it seems like yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital. 

you are growing at an insane rate and although i love watching you enter this fun new stage, i also get so sad knowing that with each  passing day you are getting bigger and bigger. 

slow down, will you?

stats at three months:

-smiles are getting bigger and bigger. we love our smiley boy. 

-started using his bumbo seat. kind of indifferent about it but you do so great in it!

-getting better and better at tummy time. still grunts at us the whole time though. 

-wearing 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes. 

-hate hate hate to be burped. what happened? you freak out when we take your food away to burp you. it's kind of hilarious. 

-starting to look more and more like dad. we found a 3 month baby picture of ben at his parents house the other day and he looks JUST LIKE SAM. crazy what dna will do. 

-loves book! mom's favorite thing to do is read to you. 

- still such a snuggler. we love it. 

-still sleeping through the night. you go to bed at 10:30. wake up to eat at about 6 and then go back to bed till nine. happy mama. 

-you have started to be much more alert on car rides. before you would fall right to sleep in the car. but now you like to watch out the window and coo. i love seeing you in my rear view mirror. 

- you got to spend a whole week with grandma and grandpa over thanksgiving break and the whole hansen side. you were LOVING all the attention. and they couldn't get enough of you. 

- you have started to hold our swaddle blanket by your face when you sleep. kind of like a security blanket. it's the cutest thing. 
- you love going to surprise dad at work. all smiles. 
- nick names: sammy boy, sam-i-am, bubba, love bug, samsonite, sweet boy. 

seriously, little man, i am not sure how your dad and i got so lucky. you are the sweetest, most good-natured little baby and we couldn't love you more. 

motherhood

i read this quote the other day about motherhood and wanted to share. 

“I looked on child rearing not only as a work of love and duty but as a profession that was fully as interesting and challenging as any honorable profession in the world and one that demanded the best that I could bring to it.” - rose kennedy

(quote via this post)

becoming a mother to sam has been such a humbling experience for me. i know i have only been at it for a short three months but i have learned invaluable lessons that have taught me how to love unconditionally and the importance of being selfless. i know that motherhood is of divine nature and is a sacred calling and there is nothing else that i would rather be doing than watching sam grow, teaching him daily, and, more importantly, learning from him. i still have a lot to learn. but knowing that the Lord trusted me enough to place this beautiful, perfect little baby in my care to look after and to raise into an honorable young man is such a blessing (although sometimes a little daunting). 

i love my sam and can't wait to continue to grow together.  

i mean, not to brag or anything.

i understand that i am biased. but i have the cutest baby on the planet. 

sammy boy. two months.

can someone please tell me how to freeze time? 

i can't believe that sam has already hit the two month mark. 

STOP GROWING!

i am packing away his newborn clothes today and am not ok with it. 

however, he is at such a fun stage! he smiles constantly. 

his biggest smiles are when dad comes home (what the heck?)

although he will smile and even throw in a few laughs when i sing to him. 

still not sure if he is laughing at me or with me. 

we love our little man and can't imagine life without him. 

stats at two months

- now 11 lbs 3.5 oz! CHUNK!

-grew three inches since your last appointment. hoping for a tall boy like dad. 

-loves to eat and oddly loves to be burped. 

-can fall asleep in any position. it's kind of adorable. 

-loves car rides. 

-still unsure about tummy time. you usually just bury your head in the ground and grunt until i pick you up. still working on that one. 

-now sleeping through the night! hallelujah! 

-we moved you into your own room this week and you're doing great. 

-had your two month shots. worst day of my life but you handled it like a champ. 

-now in 0-3 month clothes. 

-experienced your first halloween. i dressed you like a pumpkin, naturally, and you will probably forever resent me for it. 

-loves books!

-you rarely cry. you just grunt when you want something, kind of odd, but i'm not complaining. 

-makes the most adorable cooing sounds. 

enjoying the journey + a video

i recently stumbled across this quote.

i often find myself thinking and worrying about the future so much that i forget to enjoy what i have right now. where will ben go to grad school? and when? where will we settle down? when will we sell our home? these are all questions that i worry about on a daily basis. i'll be the first to admit, idaho was the last place i thought i would find myself once i graduated from school and got married. however, it turns out our little life here is perfect for us right now. i have everything i could ever need right now. sam is at such a perfect and cute little age. he is also at a stage in his life where he is looking different each day and growing each day. it terrifies me to think that i could miss out on this fragile stage of his life waiting for "better days" ahead. i'm not entirely sure what the lord has in store for us in the future, but i have faith in his timing and know that right now i have it pretty great. sure, there are a million places that i would be thrilled to live.  and this isn't to say that i'm not still so excited about our future. but what i am realizing is that happiness is not dictated by how close i live to a beach or how many target stores are in a 5 mile radius of my home. so much of our happiness depends on the people we choose to surround ourselves with and the 2 boys i've got by my side are pretty great:)

speaking of happy people, 
we can't get enough of this smiley boy lately. 

one month

how has it already been one month?

sam is already getting so big! i can't believe how fast they start to grow and develop. 

i'm not gonna lie it makes me a little sad to see him grow so fast but i love getting to spend all day everyday with my happy little man. 

sammy boy at one month:

- i still think you have your days and nights mixed up a bit but you are such a great sleeper. you wake up a couple times during the night to eat and then you back to sleep. you went about a week with a really stuffy nose and didn't get much sleep at all. that was awesome for mom and dad. but you are back to normal and sleeping great.

-you absolutely love to be held. you would sleep in our bed with one of us holding you all night if you could. such a little cuddle bug. i love it!

-you had jaundice when we brought you home and you had to go on a bili blanket. we had to take you to the doctors every day to get your blood drawn until your levels were back to normal. not fun for mom but you handled it like a champ. 

- you were a little unsure about the bath situation at first but you love it now. you totally zone out when you're in the tub. it's kind of the cutest thing ever. your favorite is getting your hair washed. 

-you are so strong! you can hold your head up on your own and are so close to rolling over. 

-you nurse great and can go from nursing to a bottle very easily. which is so nice for mom and dad. 

-love love love car rides. 

-when you're hungry you just grunt at us until you get out attention but you don't really cry much. 

-you smile in your sleep all the time and have just barely started to smile at us while you are awake. 

-still wearing newborn clothes but i think in a few weeks you'll be ready for 0-3. 

-you are starting to get even more of that dark hair. i love it. mainly because that's about the only think you got from mom. 

-you also have mom's olive skin. everything else is all dad.

-you love your binky. 

-your hands are ALWAYS by your face. we have to keep little mittens on you 24/7 to keep you from scratching your face. 

-we took you to get newborn pictures at one week and you handled it like a champ. slept through the whole thing. 

-you're starting to find your tongue. we'll stick our tongue out at you and you'll stick out your tongue back at us. 

we love you baby boy and feel so lucky to be your parents. after having you i have decided that i want all boys. 4 more of you and i'm set. you are absolutely perfect to us and we can't wait to continue to watch you grow.