Splash Class

Thanks to a mom in my mommies group, I learned about a free "splash class" at Hubbard's swim school.  Once a week we can take Maika to a thirty minute class.  There is an instructor who directs parents in activities to help acclimate little ones to the water. Mr. Bean isn't really learning to swim at this point, but we think it is important for him to get comfortable in the water.  One of the activities is putting a colorful pool toy on the side and having baby reach for it.  This teaches the babies to put their hands on the side of the pool, which could be helpful if they were in the pool and needed to get out (although we will not be leaving Maika around any water without us there!).

I have the privilege of spending all day with Mr. Bean (and was not super excited about putting on a bathing suit), so Amel has been doing the splash class with Bean.  This gives them some nice bonding time.  I love seeing my boys have a good time together!

Mr. Bean Five Months

Mr. Bean was five months old on Sunday.  Bean and I were visiting our friends in Los Angeles over the weekend, so I am posting today.  I really cannot believe he's five months already!  This year has flown by since his birth.  About a week ago Maika found his voice!  He has always made cute little sounds and coos.  He has been laughing for awhile, but he has started making loud, sort of screeching sounds, kind of like a pterodactyl lol.  We have conversations that last for quite awhile!  I love hearing him "talk," laugh, and seeing his smile.

He reaches for everything now and can get a good grasp on most objects.  Of course, everything goes straight into his mouth.  He loves to have something in his hands and often puts his sweet little hands on my face.  It melts my heart  ...sigh...

He has figured out how to get his pacifier into his mouth correctly and likes to practice this skill. When he first figured this out, his pacifier was hooked onto his bib with a ribbon.  Every time he got it into his mouth he would pull the string and be surprised he pulled the pacifier out of his mouth.  He is so funny...

The past month, Maika has been boycotting naps.  I guess there is so much to see and he is so aware, he  fights sleep during the day and has some major melt downs in the afternoon/evening. He goes down pretty easily at night after reading a book and nursing, although he is a hungry fellow and is up every three hours for a snack.  I did get him to nap today by sleeping with him - Looks like I will be taking a lot of naps!

Everyday I am amazed at all the new things our little Bean does.  He changes and grows so rapidly.  We could not have imagined how he would change our lives.  We learn just as much from him as he does from us.    I think every stage of his life will be a joy to go through, just wish it could go by a little more slowly!

Family Visit

My mom, my sister, Leah, and her youngest child, Olivia came for a visit February 24-28.  Olivia is 8 days younger than Maika.  This was the first time I got to meet my niece.  She is a cutie pie and full of spunk.  I think she and Mr. Bean will have a lot of fun together!  The weekend seemed to fly by, but it was still good to be able to spend some time together.  Rob, Sarah, Justin, and Erin came down from Anthem to hang out with us the first night Mom and Leah arrived.  We also got to see Erin dance a solo during a dance competition.  Rob and Sarah are Maika's Godparents, so we got to see them again, then had lunch at Rigatony's.  All of our guests like to go to Rigatony's when in town!

If you are wondering who Rob and Sarah are, Rob is my brother in law's brother.  He and his fabulous wife, Sarah live about an hour from Amel and me.  Justin and Erin are their really cool kids :)  Anyway, we are happy they live somewhat close to us!

Overall, it was a good visit and I'm glad they were able to come out.

Grandma Baker and Bean

Bean's First Christmas

Better late than never!  It is two months after Mr. Bean's first Christmas, but I want to blog about it, before I forget!  Maika was just over two months, so we decided not to travel.  Two years earlier we went to Ohio for Christmas and spent 36 hours at O'Hare airport.  My Dad ended up driving from Cincinnati to Chicago to pick us up.  We decided not to take our chances with a newborn.

Even though Maika had no idea what the season was all about, Christmas was more exciting than usual with a little one.  Before baby, we said we would only by our children a couple of gifts.  We had to eat our words, as we had to restrain ourselves from going out of control!  Mr. Bean got a "Sophie the Giraffe" teething toy, a children's world map (which I still need to get a frame for) car seat toys, clothes from Tata, um, actually, I don't remember everything...

Amel's sister came to visit.  She arrived on the 18th, if I remember correctly, and stayed for about 10 days.  It was nice to have some family around for Christmas.  Aida helped us finish decorating and clean up the house.  Mr. Bean had a fantastic time with his aunt.  Aida and Bean spent an evening together while Amel and I went on a date!  Our first and only since his birth.

On Christmas Eve, My friend Alicia (who I thought was terrific at the time, but have gotten to know and love her even more since), her husband Matt, and Maika's girlfriend - Linnea, came over to have an early dinner with us.  We made cevapi for them.  I think it was a success!  We really enjoyed the company.  Later that night, Aida and I made cookies and we exchanged one gift.  Amel and I have started a tradition of opening one gift on Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning, or more like Christmas early afternoon, we opened the rest of our gifts, then headed over to our good friends' Nadar and Diane's for dinner.  We had a great time, as usual!  It was a quiet Christmas at  home, but it was perfect!  Of course the best gift was the new addition to our family!

House Cleaning Schedule

 Pre-baby you might say I was borderline obsessive/compulsive about housecleaning.  I took great pride in my pristine home!  Since our little man arrived, house cleaning has become almost non-existent.  For a borderline obsessive/compulsive, this is very frustrating!

For about a month, I had "create a cleaning schedule" written on my to do list.  One rare afternoon when Mr. Bean napped for more than 20 minutes, I created my cleaning schedule.  I listed everything around the house that  needed to be done.  Next, I determined how often these things needed doing.  Finally, I laid out a monthly cleaning rotation.  In order not to overwhelm myself and (hopefully) get the cleaning accomplished, I made my schedule in such a way that I only do one or two things a day, in addition to making dinner and cleaning the kitchen.Within the month, all major areas of our home will be clean and maybe I won't be embarrassed if someone drops by!  There are a few things not listed here that need to be done every couple months, every six months, and yearly.

(click on schedule for larger view)

While pregnant, I decided to start using natural cleaning products.  My favorite cleaning products are Method (so far) .  The Method tub n' tile cleaner works great.  I also like Method Good for Wood, and Granite Polish.  I tried a few different natural toilet bowl cleaners, but felt like my bathroom was smelly and went back to Clorox. I haven't tried Method's toilet bowl cleaner, as it is hard to find, but think I will order it online.

I have been using my cleaning schedule for two weeks.  Week one went well.  I am behind schedule on week two. I hope to catch up over the weekend, although this is a busy weekend.  This has also been a tough week for Mr. Bean who is cutting a tooth, refusing to nap, and totally melting down in the afternoon.  All in all, I feel good about the schedule and am going to try really hard to adhere to it!

My Baby's First Tooth

Mr. Bean is changing so much so quickly. I need to write down some of his milestones that I don't want to forget! When he was only five weeks old, Maika rolled from his tummy to his back. He really did not like tummy time! He has done it a few times since. On February 1, he put his little hands on my face on purpose. My heart completely melted!

Mr. Bean recently turned four months. I am amazed at how much he seems to have grown up in the past week! He acts more like a baby than like a newborn. He is enjoying tummy time more. Maika is reaching for toys and knows that he is the one causing them to move and light up. While on his tummy, he is lifting his bottom up.

Unfortunately, I discovered I should not eat mass quantities of dark chocolate. On Monday (Valentine's Day) my Valentine came home with a dozen roses and some delicious chocolates. I ate way too many and the next day noticed Maika was rather fussy. I thought it could possibly be the caffeine in the dark chocolate, but thought maybe it was just that he didn't sleep well. On Wednesday I had more chocolate. Again, Bean had a rough night's sleep, lots of gas and no naps on Thursday. He definitely reacts to chocolate. Poor guy. I hate that I made him have a bad day. I am getting to the point here...Bean had a rough night and was up early. I took him for a long walk hoping he would fall asleep. He did, but only for about 20 minutes. We came in and were playing. For some reason, I decided to check in his mouth and see if there might be any teeth beginning to surface (he has been drooling a lot and really going to town on his fingers). To my shock and utter dismay, I felt something sharp!

Later in the day, Maika and I met our dear friends Alicia, and her adorable daughter Linnea at San Tan mall to hit up the Gymboree sale. I made Alicia check Maika's mouth. She concurred that she felt what seemed to be a tooth starting to break through. I have been holding back tears. I am not ready for my baby to be grown up enough to have teeth! I guess it is time for baby toothpaste :(

Cloth vs. Disposable Diapers

This is an exciting day! I ordered cloth diapers for our little Bean! Not everyone is as excited about this as I am, including my husband. Personally, I can't wait until my diapers arrive and we can get started. I couldn't fall asleep last night thinking about diapers...

I decided to go with GroVia diapers (formerly Grobaby). I ordered the all in two (AI2). What is an AI2? It is a waterproof shell that one snaps a cotton "soaker" inside. In order to change the diaper, just snap out the soaker and snap in a new one. I found a good deal on bumritediapers. I ordered 12 shells, 24 soakers, 8 boosters, 2 large wet bags, 1 medium wet bag, GroVia diaper balm, a few backs of bio soakers, a pack of bio liners, and a toilet sprayer. This cost us close to $500, but this should last through potty training. By my calculations if the Beanster is potty trained at two years, we will at least break even. If he is potty trained at three years, we will save a considerable amount of money! It may be possible some of these supplies could be used for a second baby. I was impressed that the owner of Bumrite called me to discuss diapers! This company is a home business run by a cloth diapering mom in Napa, CA.

Why switch from disposables to cloth, you ask? Well, I debated about this before Bean was born and did research on both. I found there may be some links to chemicals in disposable diapers and infertility (although this hasn't been proven that I know of). I was also concerned about Maika's scrotum temperature being too high in disposables that don't breathe (graphic, but this was/is a concern for me). Another reason is that it seems every time I turn around I hear of someone who has cancer. Could it be due to all the chemicals in our health/beauty products? We decided to go with disposables because we travel a lot and thought with the plastic cover cloth might not be that breathable after all.

Disposable diapering has been going OK, but I still have concerns about chemicals in the diapers. Mr. Bean often pees through his diaper and I wipe a lot of diaper gel beads off of him. I have also looked at some cloth diapers and feel they are more breathable than disposables.

I was actually trying to decide if Costco diapers or diapers from Amazon were more cost effective, when I found GroVia diapers on Costco's web site. When comparing the cost, it seemed like maybe the cloth diapers would save us some money and give me a little more peace of mind. I also like the idea of not filling up landfills with lots of diapers. To sum up, we are going with cloth for three reasons 1). health of our baby 2). cost and 3). environmental concerns. I understand not everyone wants to cloth diaper and most babies will probably be completely healthy in disposables. This just seems like the right choice for us and is something I feel good about doing. I will let you know how it goes!