Nose Frieda (a review)

I have had the NoseFrida recommended to me several times by several people. I really don't know what took me so long to get it, the first time Evey was sick, I swore up and down I was going to order one online the next day, but I didn't. Then Evey got sick with me mid January, and I finally ordered one. I really wish I had ordered one sooner. Its a wonderful booger removal tool, and works far better than I expected.
The only downside is Evey HATES IT. I literally have to pin her down to use it. At first I felt terrible doing it, because she screams bloody murder, But it works so well, far better than any bulb sucker I have ever tried. It gets all the boogies. 

When I explain how it works, to people they think it sounds like the most disgusting thing ever, but once you get your baby breathing clear for the first time in a week, you'll be sold too. 

It works just like the picture on the box shows, you put one end into the babies nose, that part is attached to a filter to prevent boogies from passing into the hose, and you put the end of the hose in your mouth and suck those boogies out. 

It forms a seal in the nostril so when you suck those boogies, all your mommy (or daddy) powered sucking is going straight to getting those boogies out. 

Well enough with the words, let me introduce you to the NoseFrida: 

Front of the package

The NoseFrida all opened up to show how it comes apart for washing (the hose detaches too)

filter will go back into that little hole. 

mouth piece

additional filters. There's three cut out in that you just have to pull them out. 

You can get your very own NoseFrida from Amazon and CottonBabies, among many other retailers, maybe even locally if you live in a bigger city than I do. 

Sorry no action photos, I don't know how I would take pictures of me using this, and Paul refuses to use it, so I can't take pictures of him sucking the snot. 

Baby Led Weaning

The other day I touched on Baby Led Weaning. I wanted to elaborate a little more on that. Many months ago we started our journey with baby led weaning (BLW) with asparagus.

Pretty much the basis of BLW is to let your child feed herself. They decided how much to eat, and when they are done eating. Part of the reason we went this way is that it is supposed to help grow kids with better eating habits, they like a wide variety of foods. They learn to feed themselves, they learn to stop when they are full, and they (supposedly) will be more apt to try new foods.

We rarely ever spoon fed Evelyn, for a short while we would feed her when she was eating pouched food, but now we just hand her the pouch and hope for the best. She is now pretty good with a spoon and shovels her yogurt into her mouth with only a little mess. Quite an improvement from when we first handed her the spoon and the bowl of yogurt.

much less mess, although the bowl and spoon have both been thrown to the dogs

 I also liked the idea because we didn't have to buy baby food (but we still keeps some pouches on hand). You feed the baby what you eat. Early on this was hard, how are you going to feed a baby a hamburger, or chicken noodle soup? Things have gotten easier with time, also our dinner choices are a little better, I think, because I take into mind the things that Evey can't  or shouldn't eat. The other day we had pizza, Evey had pizza too, if we have spaghetti, so does she. Sometimes we will still make poor meal choices, or we will eat something that she has no interest in, and those nights se will get a pouch of pureed food.

There is tons of information on BLW, and I am not an expert, If you are interested I strongly recommend the book Baby Led Weaning . There are also several facebook pages and websites out there with more information, and precautions you should take when feeding your baby solid food.
So far I am really pleased with her progress, even before she had teeth she has been eating things like chicken and veggies. She loves fruit, and recently discovered kiwi. She's not really a picky eater, one of her favorite meats is fish, of all shapes and sizes, halibut, cod, shrimp, yummy! I can't wait to get her out to California where we will have so much more food to choose from.

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Ikea ANTILOP high-chair review

When I was researching introducing food to Evelyn I was drawn to Baby Led Weaning, which is more or less letting your baby feed herself. Well it can be very messy. Somewhere in the tons of information I was reading I saw someone recommend the Ikea ANTILOP highchair because it's very easy to clean, there is no fabric besides the buckles, it's all plastic and wipes down easy. And if necessary you can just put the whole thing into the shower or outside and hose it off! 

I was so sad that we don't have an Ikea nearby, and at the time they didn't have it available for online purchase (they do now!) So I sent my mom to Ikea, they were planning on driving up to visit us over the summer and I saw that as my opportunity to have the highchair I wanted delivered to my door! 

Ikea ANTILOP

I love that it's very simple, and very light weight. Ours gets a deep clean in the shower where I scrub every nook and cranny about once a week or so. I have never taken it apart but it looks like it should break down pretty easily. I should mention, although there are no buckles and straps in the one pictured, there are buckles on the one I have, you should make sure that yours has buckles because Evey has tried to climb out many times. I highly recommend this highchair, if you are looking for something simple and inexpensive that is 100% washable this is a great chair.

I was not compensated in any way for this review, this is entirely my own opinion. 

camping with baby

When I learned that we would be camping for 5 days with a 6 month old I almost didn't go. I wanted to bail and let my husband go on his own. But what kind of wife would I be if I missed out on "Mandatory Military Fun Time" because I was worried about being out of my comfort zone.

I would have to leave my comfort zone with her eventually. But diving into a 5 day camping trip sounded scary.

My biggest concern was keeping her warm/safe at night. 

When I learned of this trip a couple months ago and was doing lots of research on camping with a baby, she was still sleeping on her own in her pack and play. After lots of asking friends questions and reading all kinds of info, I decided on Co-Sleeping, it seemed like the warmest option, and the safest should a river monster creep into our tent. Coincidentally about a month ago she quit sleeping in her own bed and now we are co-sleeping now anyway. So it wasn't that big a deal. 

For sleep clothes I choose to get sleep sacks. the ones I have are made from fleece so they would be very warm.

I gathered all the sleep sacks I had and was ready to go, and I had some layers to wear underneath if she needed. Thankfully I also ended up bringing a few lighter footie PJs, Evey must be hot blooded because we found her sweaty every morning. So after two nights we switched to the footie PJs. These were also much easier because I was able to put her in PJs and put her into the Ergo, nurse her to sleep, and wear her until we went to bed. 

Another concern of mine was staying cool during the day.

During the past it was blazing hot during the day, and chilly at night. (although last year I was 400 months pregnant for the trip so my memory of the temperature may have been slightly off.) 

But it was still hot. Almost 90 on friday. So I had to keep the dogs and the baby cool. Our tent has an inclosed screened in area, which was nice because it was like a shaded porch, but it was also partly enclosed so it was still very hot. But being in the shade was better than the sun so we laid a blanket on the cool grass under the porch and toughed it out. There was lots of naps for Evey. 

Swaddle Me Muslin Blankets by Summer Infant 

We also had a couple muslin blankets that were very convenient, we would wet them and drape them over her or wrap them around her. Like a swamp cooler they kept a cool breeze on her and kept her skin cool. 

I also had some Frog Toggs chilly pads that I got for the dogs that we would use on us and her when the dogs weren't using them. 

They are basically a blanket made from a spongy material that you wet and it keeps you cool for a long time as the water slowly evaporates. 

Food was easy, Evelyn is still breastfeed. I have introduced some solids, but not enough to have to worry about her expecting more than just the boob.

This was also important in keeping her hydrated. Breastfeed babies really don't need additional water as long as mom is staying hydrated and feeding on demand baby will be fine. During the heat of the day I was feeding her ever 45 minutes or so, I think mostly for comfort because she was hot and she would fall asleep. We did give her some watermelon one morning, but she spit out everything she bit off and just sucked the juice out of it. 

I brought many of her toys and her Bumbo chair. She is pretty independent and she would sit in her chair and play with her toys or listen to me talk to her. She also loved the grass, picking it and tasting it. 

Really the most difficult part about camping with her was keeping her happy for the 4 1/2 hour drive to and from our campsite. We didn't want to stop for feedings if we didn't have to so I pumped breast milk while Paul drove and gave her bottles. 

All in all it was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to do it again. Hopefully next time we will not have to drive as far. 

Evelyn's Nursery

Evelyn shares her room with a guest bed, but she doesn't mind (because she doesn't actually sleep at night in there yet, she still sleeps in our room). But she wanted me to share her half of the room with you.

Dresser that her daddy and I worked on for months, also in the right corner we have her diaper basket. The changing pad on the dresser is attached under the mirror to the top of the dresser, so it's not going anywhere. The rocking chair I got the first year we were married, while living inWestern Mass. 

Her bed and her Aiko dog. The nightstand that is painted the same way as the dresser. 

Her cute little mirror above her little bed.

Taco wanted to say hi too. 

Tune in Wednesday for a DIY post about her dresser.

You should know, I am well aware the walls are green, and that doesn't at all, even a little bit go with a purple bedroom. But we rent, So I have no say in the colors. 

Evey's Favorite Things

Moby Wrap!

blury side veiw

 Evey pretty much loves this thing. She usually falls asleep within 15 min of me putting her on. It's pretty comfortable too. Although I don't wear her for long periods of time. I'd say so far the longest has been about 45 minutes. I am still a little nervous she is going to fall out, but I think that's just mom nerves because she seems to be in there pretty darn good. When it warms up I plan to go on walks with her in it. And I keep meaning to bring it to the grocery store with me so I don't have to pile groceries on top of her in the cart.

she's eating my shirt

And if you are wearing it with a newborn, make sure you are wearing it correctly! I was not, although I only wore it with her wrong, for a few minutes before I watched this and got it right.

And putting your newborn in correctly!

- Alana

Evey's Favorite Things

Even though she's just a little tiny thing, Evelyn has already taken a liking to certain things that we have gotten for her.

Fisher Price Rock and Play Sleeper

 One of these things is the Fisher Price Rock and Play. She loves it, so do we. It's something I registered for, and didn't give it much thought, just "that would be nice".  My mom got it for us and I really didn't think we'd use it a whole lot. But I was so wrong.
I like that it gives me a chance to put her down and do things, I can do some laundry, or load the dishwasher. It's light weight enough that I can carry it into the bathroom, so she can be in there while I shower.  She naps very well in it throughout the day. She can still be right next to me, and she is up away from the dogs, and still able to see me when she wakes up.



 Alana
(UPDATE 1/10/13) I am aware there has been a recall on this product due to a molding possibility. I think it's more of a common sense thing, keep your baby stuff clean and dry.  Fisher Price Recall article How to clean, from Fisher Price