Monday's Musings - Grocery Shopping

I've discovered the #1 way to get strangers to talk to you in a grocery store: bring a baby!.

This was something I didn't realize would happen until the first time we brought Edison into a store. Our first trip out into public with him was to London Drugs. He was only a few days old and I wore him around the store in the Moby Wrap. He was so little (7lbs) and he slept the whole time. With him curled into the wrap, the people in the store couldn't even see him. Yet, I still heard the whispers: "Oh, look at that little baby in there!", "He's so small" ....and I could feel the eyes on me. I really never realized that would happen....and it made me feel kinda weird getting all that attention.

Because of Edison's dislike for being in the car seat, I always wore him around the grocery store in the wrap or the Ergobaby Carrier and just got used to people looking at us and asking how old he was.

Now that he is able to sit up, I can sit him on his own in the top part of the shopping cart. He really likes it, probably because he can see more stuff. And all the shoppers and people who work in the store can see him better too, which has led to even more people talking to us.

A couple of days ago I was in Coopers Foods, the closest grocery store to our house, and I was overwhelmed with how many people asked me about Edison. I was asked how old he was at least five times. Some other comments were: "Wow, he has such big eyes", "He's so observant", "He seems so small to be sitting up on his own", "What a cutie", and lots of people like to tell me about their own kids or grand-kids, like the sample lady who talked my ear off about her granddaughter. It's a small grocery store and I guess word travels in there because while I was down the meat isle one of the ladies who works there came up and said "Oh! I heard there was a baby in the store!".

The funniest experience I've had so far was a few days ago in London Drugs. A man and a woman were shopping in the same area as I was, and the lady was talking baby talk to Edison; at which point the man said to me: "You'll have to excuse my wife, she loves babies. If she were a fish, all you'd have to do is dangle a baby on the end and you'd catch her every time". It gave me a good laugh.

I guess I didn't realize how much people oooh and ahhh over babies until I had one. I think it's funny that normally strangers won't talk to you....but have a baby with you and suddenly everyone's your friend.

7 Months!

The babe turned 7 months old last week! I've been wanting to write a post about all his accomplishments thus far all week but have not had as much time due to the fact that he is still battling this cold and is much more high maintenance when he's sick.

I feel like he's changed a lot in the past month and I know we're on the verge of an even bigger change: crawling! This boy has so much energy; once he starts crawling, we're in for some fun times of chasing him around the house, trying to keep him out of things. He is a wiggler and does not want to stay still. He climbs all over me like I'm the toy and I can tell he really wants to get places, but can't quite figure it out just yet. He is able to get up on his hands and knees, and has started rocking back and forth, so it's only a matter of time before he's off to the races.

Another one of his big accomplishments (just in the past week) is that he is able to pull himself up on things now. He's always really liked to stand and was able to hold himself up standing pretty early, so I'm not surprised that he's trying to stand up on his own now. We've said all along that we wouldn't be that surprised if he learned how to walk before he could crawl, and he definitely tries to stand up more than he tries to crawl. It started with him pulling himself up on me, when I'm sitting on the floor with him. Now he's able to pull himself up in his crib, while holding onto the rail. As soon as he gets a little taller, we'll have to lower the crib mattress so that he doesn't go toppling out. He's also tried to pull himself up on the coffee table but hasn't quite done it yet. Partly because our coffee table is quite high, and partly because I usually move him away because the edges feel pretty sharp and I don't want him hurting himself.

While Edison was always a little ahead of the game with things like holding his head up, sitting up on his own, and now standing up, he has been behind in the rolling over department. Books say babies usually start rolling over between 3-4 months. Edison waited until 6+ months. Now, he has perfected the art of rolling from his back to his stomach; but still has only gone from stomach to back a few times. I will be excited when he is able to consistently roll from his stomach to his back because right now, when he doesn't want to be on his stomach anymore he cries and flails around until I help him out. The rolling is all fun and games until I try to change his diaper and can't keep him on his back long enough to do it. I have to keep flipping him back over so I can get the thing on him.

Edison is still talking a lot and lately has started experimenting with sounds at the front of his mouth like: "th" and "ssss" and "fff" and "b" and "d", it's pretty cute. The funniest thing is when we're feeding him solids and we put a big spoon-full of food into his mouth and he decides that would be a good time to make one of these sounds, thus spraying his food everywhere. His talking is pretty cute, I'll have to try to get some of it on video.

Here are a few more pictures of his 7 month-old self:

Hanging out in his high chair

Digging through his basket of toys

Smiling at his daddy

Smiling at me

Wordless Wednesday - Ummmm.....I married this?

Monday's Musings - 10 things I couldn't get through my day without

I've been thinking lately, about the things I need to get though the day. Not the obvious things (like food and water), but other things, that help my day run smoothly. So throughout the week, I started to compile a list of things I really appreciate having, and wouldn't really want to do without. I've also given a bit of a shout-out to a few of the baby products that I find really useful.....for all of you mommas, or future mommas out there. So, here goes:

1. Coffee - It hasn't been until the last couple of years that I've become a coffee addict. It started out innocently enough.....a Starbucks frappuccino every once and a while...and it slowly morphed into owning a coffee maker and not being able to function in the morning until I have caffeine running through my veins. What happens if I don't have my usual cup of coffee in the morning? A whopper of a headache! The good news is, I only need a cup in the morning and then I'm good for the rest of the day.

2. Hair Products - To get my hair to do anything (other than just be a big poofy mess) I need some sort of hair product. Whether I want it straight, curly, or pulled up I need an some sort of spray, mouse, or serum. My usual "style" as of late is to pull it back into a pony-tail. I'm usually a pony-tail kinda girl anyway, but at the moment it's pony-tail by necessity. Edison likes to look at my long dangling hair, grab a big handful and pull....usually towards his mouth. So my best solution is to just pull it back and take the temptation away....and save myself from having to pry his little hands out of my hair.

3. Nursing Pillow - I'm deeply attached to my nursing pillow. I bought it a couple of months before Edison was even born and started sleeping with it at night. While I was pregnant I could only sleep on my side and back. I am a stomach sleeper....even though I know that's probably the worst way to sleep. So being forced to sleep on my side was annoying. This pillow really helped me stay comfortable at night. And in the midst of my labor, I waddled into the hospital.....clinging onto my nursing pillow. I've been using it everyday since, for its intended purpose...nursing a baby. I wouldn't want to go without it, it makes nursing so much more comfortable. 

4. Swaddling blanket - Edison has always been a bit of a high-maintenance sleeper. We swaddled him every night from birth until he was 6 months old. A couple of my favorites are the aden + anais swaddling cloths because they are large and made of muslin which is light and breathable; and the Miracle Blanket, which holds his arms down really well so he can't get out of it, no matter how much he wiggles. He is finally able to sleep the night in his sleep sack now, but he still can't seem to handle his nap times with his arms loose. The only way I can get him to stay asleep during his naps, is to swaddle him. No swaddle = no naps = crazy mommy!

5. White noise - This one might seem weird, but Edison has always needed white noise to fall asleep. He is gradually getting better and eventually I'm sure we won't have to use it anymore. We used to put him to sleep with the blow dryer, which is pretty loud when its right by your head. He doesn't need it quite so loud any more, so we use the Cloud B Gentle Giraffe, a friend of the Sleep Sheep. Not only is he super cute, but the sound of the waterfall does the trick every time. The white noise also comes in handy in the car if Edison is crying. While most people know the numbers of all their favorite radio stations, I know the numbers of all the fuzzy radio stations that don't come in. Oh, how life changes when you have a baby. Some of my faves (depending on the area I'm in) are 99.7, 103.9, and 105.5. As I said, I know it's kinda weird..... but when he's crying and I turn on the static, he stops every time. 

6. Notepad and pen - I'm a list maker. To-do lists, shopping lists, reminder lists for my dear (but forgetful) husband. Even as I'm writing this, I realize both of my Monday's Musings have been in the form of lists. I always have a notepad and pen in my kitchen for my many lists. I know we live in a high-tech world of laptops and smartphones....and I know I can make lists in my phone...but to me, nothing beats a good, old-fashioned pen and paper. I love stationary!

7. Camera - Obviously, the camera is always on hand. The little one is constantly growing and changing and we want to capture all of the precious moments. We have about a billion pictures of his cuteness. And good ol' Albert still gets a photo-opp every once and a while too.

8. Laptop - Jonathan and I don't have cable TV. We don't want to pay for something we don't use very often. I also like to keep the TV off because I don't want Edison watching it. Whenever he sees something on a TV, he's totally mesmerized by it. I don't want him becoming a TV junkie. I've read that babies learn more through play than they do through "educational" videos like Baby Einstein. Jonathan and I watch TV shows and movies online on our laptops, through things like Netflix. And of course I also use my laptop for all my other online activities....facebook, blogging, email, twitter, and google-ing anything and everything.

9.Books & Magazines - I love to read. I don't get as much time to these days, but I always have a book on the go....even if I only read it bits, here and there. I've also been trying out an electronic reading program called Kobo and I've read a couple of books on my computer. I looked at my packed bookshelves and decided to try electronic reading out to see if I liked it. I don't mind it, but there's nothing like flipping through an actual book. I suppose one day I'd like to get an electronic reader like a Kindle....or if I win the lottery, an iPad. I also like to read magazines... especially ones that have recipes in the back!

10.iPod/Music - One thing I noticed when we got rid of our cable TV was the quietness in the house. Does anyone leave their TV on just for the background noise? We did that a lot. Although you get used to the quietness, I also like to have music on when I feel like breaking the silence. I've got all my favorite tunes on my iPod (a lot of Hillsong and other contemporary Christian musicians, and some kids music for little Edison too).


So what are some things that you couldn't get through the day without? Leave a comment if you'd like to share something. I love to get comments..... it means someone's actually reading my ramblings.

Happy Monday!

Playing

A few weeks ago, Jonathan and I bought a nice shag rug for our living room. Now that Edison is sitting up, we thought it would be more comfortable for him to sit in our living room on a rug, instead of hardwood floor. Here are a few pictures of him playing on it.

Wandering Through the Zoo

Here are a few pictures from our latest zoo wandering....we're looking forward to some warmer temperatures, it's still a bit chilly.

We may have the chase them off the porch with a broom, but I still think raccoons are cute

The porcupines poofed their quills out for us

We've spent a lot of time watching the giraffes; they're one of my favorite animals at the zoo. We like to watch them because:
1. You don't have to walk 50 miles to get the the giraffe habitat.
2. There is a nice, high look-out so it's easy to see them.
3. Giraffes have awesome tongues.
4. Edison has a few giraffe toys that he really likes and maybe one day (just like my sister's husband Ryan), Edison will also strive to be a giraffe when he grows up.

 Check this crazy tongue out! You can click on the pictures to make them bigger if you want a close-up!

 A few of the cats where out enjoying the sun. This is a lynx (left) and a lion (right).

Here are a few more. This was the first time we'd seen the rhino; we'd never wandered over to him before. We was staying inside where it's warm.

Edison and I on the train