emmaandellie – Page 5

St. Patricks Day

We love holidays around here!

It’s so much fun to do the little things while the kids are still little and let their imaginations run wild… There’s nothing like seeing the joy in the eyes of a child when they experience something “magical”.

And even as they get older, and they realized that Santa Clause and Leprechaun’s aren’t real, there’s still something about the magic of the spirit that makes it a little more fun for just a little while longer!

This year, we have an almost 18 month old and a 3 1/2 year old so we’re sort of on the early end for St. Patrick’s Day, but there’s still lots of fun, and a few shenanigans to be had!

A couple of days before St. Patrick’s Day, we started looking at pictures of leprechauns and talking about them being dressed in green, orange beards, rainbows and pots of gold – and gold coins – so they’d have some idea of what we were doing when the day came. We also talked a little bit about what lucky means!

I took a trip to the Dollar Store and Target and got green and white boas, green sparkly glasses, silly headbands with green, white and orange tubes that dangle down and little hats. We got some of $4.50 t-shirts at Target along with some shamrock stickers, table scatter, window clings and chocolate coins… And a big box of Lucky Charms!

While they were sleeping, we put some of the foam shamrocks at the bottom of the steps, a few on their art table along with some gold “chocolate” coins, stickers and window clings…

Then, we put some Lucky Charms in their favorite cereal bowls and poured in some green milk and dumped some green sprinkles we had left from Christmas on the table… Then, sitting on the bar stools, we put two of their favorite stuffed animals with boas, glasses, and hats on their heads and hung the rest of the items from the chandelier

The Leprechauns that visited even left personal cards for each of the girls wishing them a Happy St. Patty’s Day and day full of mischief and fun!

They loved the Lucky Charms, thought the green milk was “icky” and wanted “regular milk” in their bowls! We put window clings on the back door and decorated cards with shamrock stickers.

Later that day, we went to the park and swung as high as we could on the swings to try to reach for some rainbows.

Next Year… We’ll make us a leprechaun trap to see if we can catch ourselves our very own leprechaun!

Here are some St. Patrick Day items you can gather for your mischievous leprechauns:

1 Box of Lucky Charms
Green Food Coloring
Stickers
Window Clings
Boas and other things you find at the dollar store!
Hats and/or Headbands
Chocolate coins
Note cards

Photos: March 17th

My Baby Girl is Growing Up!

It seems like just yesterday I was holding you in my arms for the first time… seeing you look up at me with those beautiful big eyes.

We’ve gone through a lot of big milestones in our short time together so far…

… your first tooth

… your first smile

… your first giggle

… your first plane ride

… your first vacation

… your first time you crawled

… your first steps

… your first day at school

… your first words

… the first time you slept through the night

… the first time you got sick

… the first time you bumped your head

… and so many more!

But today… I was so happy, and so sad all at once!

Your very first tooth came in when you were just 3 1/2 months old… and today, you lost that very tooth! The tooth that you first used to bite me and laugh!

It had been loose for a while!

We talked lots about hiding it under your pillow, the tooth fairy and how she would bring you money. My goal was to get you excited for this event, and not to be afraid; to want to celebrate it rather than to be uncomfortable.

But, I just wanted to hang on to it for as long as possible… losing it was going to be a visual reminder that you’re growing up, so fast… too fast really!

I would get so upset when your sister would yank the pinky out of your mouth, thinking she was going to pull this tiny tooth out of your mouth and make my little girl grow up that much faster. I cut up your toast. I cut your food into tiny pieces. I was selfish really… It was more for me than for you!!! My only fear for YOU was that it would hurt you, and when your hurt, my heart breaks.

Well, today, we picked you up at school to go to swimming. You were SO sweet and SO excited when I came out to the playground to find you. I scooped you up and we laughed and you told me about your day.

We got to swimming and got changed into your swimsuit and headed off to the pool.

You asked me for “puffs” and I noticed something “different”. Your bottom, loose, tooth was now a missing space!

My heart sank in an instant.

I thought my eyes were playing tricks. HOW could I have missed it… HOW could I have not been there with you the moment it fell out to laugh together, to cry together, to share the moment.

But I wasn’t…

I got so sad for a moment and ran out to the car to see if it was there. I traced every step back to the car, tore apart your carseat and looked everywhere. No sign of it anywhere! I was disappointed to say the least.

But then…

Then I thought to myself, it was so uneventful for my sweet girl. It didn’t hurt her. It didn’t bother her. It didn’t phase her in the slightest.

When you got out of the pool, I scooped you up in your towel and hugged you tight.

I told you how excited I was for you and asked you if you remembered when you lost your tooth.

You told me “at home” and I laughed! You didn’t lose your tooth at home!

We talked about the tooth, the tooth fairy, and that she was going to leave you money under your pillow! You were SO excited and so proud…

I was so happy for you.

You were brave.

You were strong.

You were just amazing.

We went out to dinner and you got Macaroni & Cheese to celebrate and gobbled it up… You ate chips and queso. You ate your mac and cheese. You ate my sandwich. You ate fruit. Sweet potato fries, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, puffs… everything in front of you!

You were so happy and in such a great mood and so excited about the tooth fairy coming tonight to leave you money…

I couldn’t have been more proud of you.

You made me love you even more than I ever thought I could.

Your smile. Your light. And your beautiful spirit reminded me – once again – that you teach me so much every day. I love you so very much that there aren’t even words.

Your tiny tooth is a big milestone for me! Probably not a big deal for you… in fact, it’s been kind of fun for you so far.

And you are SO super cute with your missing tooth!

I love you to the moon and back and I look forward to tackling all of your next milestones together. It’s me and you, kid… today and for always.

I love you big girl and I’m so proud of how brave you are.

Holidays

There’s nothing more fun than using holidays to create special “events” and activities for your kids.

You’re creating memories, traditions, and creating magic that only kids can experience!

There are “obvious” holidays every month that you can celebrate like:

January: New Years Day
February: Valentines Day
March: St. Patrick’s Day
April: Easter (most years) or April Fools Day
May: Mothers Day
June: Father’s Day
July: Independence Day
August/September: First Day of School
October: Halloween
November: Thanksgiving
December: Christmas/Hanukkah

But, then, there are actually holidays for every day, week and month of the year if you want to come up with some creative experiences with your kids!

For example:

First Saturday of February: Ice Cream for Breakfast Day
January 13th: National Rubber Ducky Day
February 17th: Random Acts fo Kindness Day
January 19th: National Popcorn Day
February 2nd: Groundhog Day
February 9th: National Pizza Day
February 20th: Love Your Pet Day
March 2nd: Dr. Suess’s Birthday
March 12th: National Pancake Day
April 15th: National Laundry Day
May 24th: National Scavenger Hunt Day
June 17th: National Eat Your Vegetables Day
June 29th: National Camera Day
July 1st: International Joke Day
Third Sunday in July: National Ice Cream Day
July 25th: National Hot Fudge Sundae Day
August 27th: Just Because Day
First Sunday of September after Labor Day: National Grandparents Day
September 22nd: National Elephant Appreciation Day
October 5th: National Do Something Nice Day
October 10th: National Cake Decorating Day
November 18th: Mickey/Minnie Mouse Birthday
November 18th: National Princess Day
December 7th: National Letter Writing Day

You can literally find a “holiday” for virtually every day of the year!

So… let’s look at a couple of example holidays that you can have some fun with (outside of the well known holidays! If you want some ideas on fun ways to celebrate those check out our special holiday posts!

National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day (photos on 2/2)

Ages: This is a fun one for kids and adults of all ages!

This is a family favorite! When the kids wake up on Saturday and you declare it’s ICE CREAM FOR BREAKFAST DAY, their eyes light up and the giggles can’t help but make you smile!

Whether you do a big bowl of ice cream on it’s on, scoop ice cream on top of little waffles or let the kids decorate their ice cream with hot fudge, whipped cream and sprinkles, it’ll start the day off on a fun note!

WARNING: They may wake up asking for ice cream for breakfast again in the near future!

And yes, I realize that ice cream for breakfast isn’t a super healthy start to the day, but every now and then, you’ve got to break the rules and have some fun!

National Rubber Ducky Day

Ages: Todder

If your kids are like mine, they love their rubber duckies! This may be due to the fact that they’ve been in swim lessons since they were both 5 months old and they get to ride on a duck and say quack quack!

“Quack Quack” was Ellies first animal sound!!!

Then, add in the children’s song “5 Little Ducks” and you’ve got a winner!

For rubber ducky day, you can order a bunch of ducks for cheap on Amazon. Here’s one that is fun and could extend this day past your toddlers into preschool/kindergarten by making it a scavenger hunt and practicing their letters.

https://www.amazon.com/Fun-Express-ABCs-Rubber-Duckies/dp/B00S0RX296/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=rubber+ducky&qid=1553788401&s=gateway&sr=8-7

The night before, when the kids are sleeping, hide the ducks throughout the house…

When they wake up in the morning, you can announce it’s Rubber Ducky Day and start the morning off with some music like “Duck Song” or “Five Little Ducks”.

Over breakfast, tell them that “we are going on a DUCK hunt!”

TIP: If you used the ABC ducks, then consider writing all the letters of the alphabet on a sheet of paper and then marking each one off when they find it. For older kids, this will reinforce letters, counting, and math! My 3 year old has our old iPhone for the “camera” and loves to take a picture of each duck that she finds too!

After breakfast, start your duck hunt until you collect all of the ducks…

Once you collect the ducks, you can let them take a bath in the middle of the day with all of their new ducks! My girls LOVE to take baths in the middle of the day – and especially when they don’t have to wash their hair!

BONUS: If you know of somewhere that you can feed the ducks, take the kiddos on a picnic with some extra bread for the ducks!

Surely you could do this any day of the year, but it’s kind of fun to tie into a real day… as real as a “rubber ducky day” is anyways ;-).

Random Acts of Kindness Day

Ages: All

This is a great day to celebrate with kids of all ages and is a good reminder for us all to do kind things for others on a regular basis.

Start the day off by making your kids their favorite breakfast or giving them a special treat (from the dollar bin at Target), buying flowers for your wife/ . Then, use your family breakfast time to talk about what kindness means, examples of kindness that the kids can think of.

Then, ask them 1-2 people that they would like to do something kind for that day… As a family, go out and create random acts of kindness for everyone you all identified at breakfast.

While you’re out shopping or getting lunch, buy someone’s coffee at Starbucks or pick up their check at a restaurant. Tell someone in a store that their smile is beautiful.

Later that day or in the evening, talk about how doing things for other people made you each feel, and made you happiest during the day.

National Laundry Day

Ages: Kindergarten and up

This one may not be as “fun” as some of the others above, but can still be a good reason to do something together as a family that doubles as spring cleaning!!!

This is a great day to clean out everyone’s closets!

Get rid of anything that doesn’t fit anymore, that you don’t like anymore, etc.

Teach the kids about donating to less fortunate or, if you have a budding entrepreneur, help them set up a garage sale or help them with an online store to sell items they no longer want or use!

Also, use it as a way to teach them – and reinforce – bringing their clothes to the laundry room and putting them in the hamper, folding laundry, putting it away, etc.

You’re involving them in chores and being a contributor to the family, which is important.

Certainly, these are just ideas to connect with your kids and plan fun adventures, outings family projects… and you really don’t NEED a day designated to do it, but if you’re like me and you have no less than 1000 things going on on any given day, then it’s sometimes a good reason to stop and enjoy the moments!

Get creative and let me know what other special “days” you celebrate with your kids!

Emma and Ellie 365

I’ve always loved photography. I got my first Polaroid camera when I was six years old from my grandparents. I remember having to be very particular about what I took pictures of because you had to pay for every flash and every photo!

I don’t know HOW much they spent on flashbulbs and photos for me during those early years…

Truth is… It was probably a great lesson in choosing your subject matter carefully and really planning your photo! I like to think SOME of that has stuck with me over the many years that have since passed…

A few weeks after Emma was born, a dear friend of mine told me about a “challenge” that a photographer friend of hers had posed to himself. And that was to take a photo of something in Austin each and every day for 365 days.

Immediately, I thought “I’m going to do that with Emma”…

That first year, I think I missed one, maybe 2 days of her entire first year.

It started out with the intention of making a coffee table book of Emma’s first 365 days (and then, of course, when Ellie was born… to document her first year as well). But it grew into something bigger… it grew into a habit… just something that I do.

But, then, a funny thing happened along the way! I got in the HABIT of taking a photo (or video) every day. Here we are 1386 days later (6/17/10) and I can still count the days missed on my two hands, possibly one!

Every day, I make it a point to take a photo of my girls…

Why, you ask?

Don’t they just fill up your phone?

And what exactly do you DO with all of these photos?

Why?

For starters, it’s a great way for me to “practice” photography even though I’m busy running two businesses and raising two tiny humans. It gets me looking through a lens every single day. And on days when we’re out and about and I can take my “real” camera with me, I use it to practice all of my camera settings.

But more than that, it’s a way for me to never forget the little things that happen… It’s a way for me to catalog memories that may otherwise fade away. It’s a way for me to share their childhood with them when they grow up and the details get lost!

I love to look back “on this day in XXXX” to see what we were doing, how much they’ve grown since then, and to remember that time goes by fast and to cherish today!

Don’t They Just Fill Up Your Phone?

Yes! But they also fill up my heart when Apple sends me a memory from a special event or a season of life that has passed.

Plus, storage is cheap… and the memories are forever!

I back them up to the cloud. I keep copies on hard drives as a fail safe… And one of these days, when time slows and life settles a little bit, I’ll get to go through them and live their childhood over once again.

And What Exactly Do You DO with All of These Photos?

There are so many options when you have the photos and the memories!

As an old friend once told me, “it’s better to have and not need, than need and not have!”

Here are just a handful of things that I do with all these photos:

Monthly Prints

First things first, I was lucky to find an app called TimeShel about a month after Emma was born. They let me go back a month and ever since then, I’ve chosen my 30 favorite photos each and every month and have prints delivered to myself, my mother in law and my mother.

They get beautiful printed photos every month… I have used these to make banners for birthday parties, to hang in their playroom, 12 month calendars, and more…

Thank You Cards

I use the photos to send thank you notes and birthday wishes to family and friends using an app called “Ink”. Whenever we get a special gift from someone, my photo that day highlights the girls with the gift they’ve received. We then turn that into a thank you card to the person that sent it to us.

Photo Wall

Print square photos (8×8, 10×10, etc.) and then use spray adhesive to attach them to a foam board of the same size and then put a light command strip on the back and hang them on the playroom wall. Each piece costs a couple of dollars and it brightens up a playroom with memories and fun for the kiddos.

Update them every few weeks with new photos of special events or memories. When your child plays, they’ll be surrounded by the memories of family, friends and love.

I know that some will say I should live the moment and not just always have my camera, but the UPSIDE of having a high quality camera on my phone and by my side is that I can quickly pop it out and shoot and then get back to the activity – and be in the moment!

Admittedly, I could do a much better job of going back through the photos and getting rid of all the bad ones, or ones that don’t tell a story! And like with so many things as a mom “I’ll get to it one of these days!”

Slideshow

Every birthday, I do a slideshow of the previous year for each of my girls. I highlight key milestones and major memories. Every year, they have a 3-4 minute video of the highlights from that year. Over the next 18 years, I’m hoping it will be a treasure for them… Plus, it’s a great gift to share with our family and friends.

While taking a photo every single day may not appeal to you, I encourage you to capture the moments… Record the memories… You can still live in the moment…

And… don’t forget to get in the photos at least a few times a month! As much as I hate selfies… take a selfie when you have nobody else to take a photo… and don’t worry if you’re not perfect. In 20 years, it’s not going to matter. It’s just going to matter that you were PART of the memory, not simply standing on the outside looking in!

Baby Recommendations

My Top Baby Picks

Glider & DIaper Changer

A lot of people have opinions on gliders and changing tables and not worth the money, but I definitely would recommend both! We didn’t have a diaper changer with Emma and it was SO worth it when we got one for Ellie. I actually got a second glider when Ellie was born – one for her room and one for mine. I had a rocking chair and glider for Emma and ultimately got rid of the rocking chair because it moves around too much when you rock in it!

Co-Sleeping

I know there’s a lot about this, so no idea what you want to do here, but for me… we had Emma in a rock and play in our room for the first 3-4 months, but they are have been recalled. Either way, we had this for Ellie: https://www.amazon.com/Arms-Reach-Concepts-Bedside-Bassinet/dp/B01ITQOV0Q/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_75_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=R7SF99K03GZ4QGPRCCSX and I LOVED it. I wish I’d had it with Emma… Ellie was in it until I woke up in the middle of the night and saw her standing in it about to jump out on to me! haha… Then, I moved her to my bed and she’s been there pretty much ever since! I know.. people say it’s awful. I had her in the crib for a bit but it was harder than just bringing her with me cause she climbs out. So we’re waiting on the rails to come in to convert her to a full size bed. I just couldn’t be away from them and wanted them close to me and all the research on SIDS made me opt to keep them in my room for a while.

Diapering

I loved the Honest diapers. You can sign up on their website with an email and don’t order anything.. THey’ll send you a 40% off of your first bundle… We had all of our family do this and got like a year of diapers and wipes for 6 months. If you’re going cloth, I don’t have any recommendations. We did get a diaper genie and still use it. Highly recommend getting two if you have upstairs and downstairs to make life easier.

I also loved these to put on top of the changing mat/pad. Made clean up much easier! https://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Waterproof-Changing-Liners-Count/dp/B009UPUJIY/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3BW5NYRQ3YBCW&keywords=changing+pad+liners&qid=1561479487&s=baby-products&sprefix=changing+bad+%2Cbaby-products%2C168&sr=1-3

We have always used Burts Bees Diaper cream but have had very few issues with rashes. Not sure if it’s the kids, the Honest diapers or what… But have been lucky.

I got a wipe warmer as a gift and never really did use that. If you want mine, you can have it though…

Crib

My sister in law told me about Baby Appleseed. They have some sort of green certification, but aren’t organic so they don’t cost a total fortune, but they are supposedly healthier. Do some homework, but I love our cribs.. We opted for the cribs that convert to full size beds for the future. You can see their cribs at Buy Buy Baby. And if you get their coupons, they honor Bed Bath and Beyond and you can save 20%. I have been very happy with the furniture. Super sturdy.

Bottles/Feeding/Nursing

Seems everything is a “thing” with babies. To make life easier, I went with Joovy Boob glass bottles with a sleeve and then there’s no risk of any sort with all the chemicals in plastic. I’m crazy though.. and millions use plastic bottles with no problems. (This is similar to the set I got for Ellie: https://www.amazon.com/Joovy-Boob-Diamond-Gift-Set/dp/B07MSYCHT2/ref=sr_1_25?crid=28I7Z18IC1PL4&keywords=joovy+boop+bottle&qid=1561478685&s=baby-products&sprefix=joovy+boob+bo%2Cbaby-products%2C174&sr=1-25) I DID use the plastic bottles that I pumped into, however, a bit. If you decide you want these, I bought a good set and you could have them, just get new nipples… If you’re pumping, hands down the Spectra S1 (I believe it’s the one with a cordless option). It takes a minute to get used to all the pieces but was WAY better then Medela and the cordless option was a gamechanger. I think it costs $100 outside of insurance, but insurance covers the rest of it. They send new parts/supplies every few weeks though so I figure the $100 balanced out. I think I got them through aeroflow. They do all the work for you and send it to you when the delivery is close. I had nursing cover ups, but both of my kids HATED to be covered so I gave up. I would just go to the car or even a bathroom stall to nurse because they refused… One tip.. if you are nursing… keep him latched as much as he will in the hospital and start pumping the minute you got home. I didn’t with Emma and struggled the whole year. With Ellie, I got about a week supply built up pretty fast. It helped when my period came back and supply dropped. The downfall is that she developed an allergy to dairy for a bit so I couldn’t use some of it til much later!

And start drinking Mother’s Milk tea as soon as you get home!

It’ll be a little bit before you need a high chair but it’s not a bad registry item. My M-I-L gave it to us as a Christmas present for Emma’s first Christmas and we just retired it a few months ago. https://www.amazon.com/Ingenuity-Trio-High-Chair-Ridgedale/dp/B019D3SVQO/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=ingenuity+high+chair&qid=1561480186&s=baby-products&sr=1-3 I don’t know what they make the fabric out of, but EVERYTHING washes out of it. It also converts to more of a booster kind of like the size in restaurants when you want to move to the table but aren’t ready for a booster seat.

Bathing

I loved this bathtub. I’d give you ours but it’s a little tired… https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-4-Sling-Seat-Tub/dp/B00F2MQ0EQ/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=baby+bathtub&qid=1561479788&s=baby-products&sr=1-4 They have both always LOVED the ater sprinkler thing and it’s nice because it’s portable. We bathed Emma on the island in the kitchen for months. With Ellie, we could do that or bring her in the bathroom and bath her on the fllor while Emma was in the tub.

We have always used the Honest wash for them since the beginning

I also got lots of the baby washcloths. You can get like a dozen for $5 at Homegoods!!!

Monitor

Were on our second. The first was a Motorola and lasted a good while, but I don’t think we could add a second camera? I don’t recall the issue… Order early and test in your house. Some work better. DO NOT GET WIFI that connects to your Internet. Google the scary stories about it… Just get the wireless that work in the house. The one we have now is https://www.amazon.com/Infant-Optics-DXR-8-Monitor-Interchangeable/dp/B00ECHYTBI/ref=sxts_b2b_ccp_search_reorder?keywords=baby+monitor&pd_rd_i=B00ECHYTBI&pd_rd_r=d2e455b6-0d2c-40c3-80c6-c34bc329d578&pd_rd_w=6k6Rx&pd_rd_wg=soeJ9&pf_rd_p=a7bfb983-e674-4caa-917b-596cc469ad1f&pf_rd_r=37V8P0BP5YY0NQVENASJ&qid=1561479540&s=baby-products. I like it fine. The battery life was great in the beginning, but dead now. We even bought a second battery and it has to be plugged in, but it’s not that big of a deal. You can add additional cameras when you have more kiddos and it goes between them.

Stroller

I LOVE our Citi Mini GT stroller STILL https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Jogger-2016-Single-Stroller/dp/B019W8W8P0/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2QJZD8KWR2GFJ&keywords=city%2Bmini%2Bgt&qid=1561478496&s=baby-products&sprefix=city%2Bmini%2Cbaby-products%2C170&sr=1-3&th=1. It’s light weight, easy to put up and open up. It’s good for light terrain (like walking Lady Bird Lake downtown, on streets, etc.). If you’re doing hard core running, then I’m probably not the right one to ask!

Carseat

We used the Chicco Keyfit 30 infant seat for both. (https://www.amazon.com/Chicco-KeyFit-Infant-Seat-Orion/dp/B071L1NG6N/ref=sr_1_3?crid=7S3SLIEYSKFC&keywords=chicco%2Bkeyfit%2B30%2Binfant%2Bcar%2Bseat&qid=1561478730&s=baby-products&sprefix=chicco%2Bkeyf%2Cbaby-products%2C177&sr=1-3&th=1) I’d give it to you, but I think they have an expiration on them. However, I DO have the bases for the cars if you end up going with that one. One comes with, but it’s nice to have a second becacuse you can just move the carseat between cars and the bases are installed. You can review it online, but I loved how easy it was to get in and out and install.

We also have the attachment that makes it so you can just put the carseat on top of the stroller if you go with that combo.

Carrier

I had the Baby Bjorn wiht Emma and then moved to the Ergo baby 360 (I think) when she was bigger and I was more pregnant. Emma would STILL be happy in the carrier if she could. Ellie doesn’t like to be restrained! I never did well witht he wraps of any sort. I couldn’t figure them out. But… I have the Baby K’tan, Ergo Baby and Baby Bjorn if you want to try them out before you pick one out (if you’re going to baby wear). Emma wouldn’t ever let me be far away so it was the only way I could get anything done.

Misc.

– Swaddles. I probably had close to 20… I used them for EVERYTHING.. Swaddling, light blankets, sitting at the park, burp cloths, etc. I personally don’t think you can have too many. Now that they’re older and love baby dolls, they use them as blankets for their babies.

– Burp cloths/bibs – Emma never spit up. Ellie spit up a LOT. So I used them a good bith with Ellie, never with Emma. For bibs, when they get older, I like the plastic ones with a pocket to catch stuff. Emma was good with them for a long time. Ellie refused bibs entirely forever!!!

– Love this… https://www.amazon.com/Ingenuity-Baby-Base-2-Seat/dp/B07N1GCBLD/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=infantino+high+chair&qid=1561478987&s=baby-products&sr=1-5. I wanted a Bumbo, but Target was out of stock so I got this. I’ve since bought one for my mother in law’s house and a second one for here (more of a booster). You can sit them on the counter with you once they can sit up while you prep meals, do dishes, etc. as well as when they learn to eat. Now that they’ve outgrown the high chair, we have these on the regular chairs. Emma technically doesn’t need it anynore, but has been in a phase where she wants to stand on the chair so we keep it close by and lock her in if she won’t sit down.

– Swing – I could take or leave it. Neither of my kids loved them. Emma WOULD sleep in it though and she was really hard to get to sleep without me holding her! But as soon as the music went off, she’d wake up so we had to keep hitting the button!

– Playmats – I have a couple I can give you. I do like them to give them some independence and provide some stimulation

– Books… Just an idea for your shower. I had everyone sign a book and write a message instead of a card and that’s how we started their libraries. I did the same for Ellie since we already had everything we could ever need… So just asked for books for her.

– Boppy pillow… I hate that they’ve cornered the market on this, but they really are the best. I had another version too that was kind of useless.. Spring for the boppy pillow 🙂

– You won’t need sunscreen at first, but we use ThinkBaby. It’s mineral sunscreen and seems to be one of the safer ones for them.

– Dreft laundry detergent. Smells like baby. I STILL use this sometimes on loads of just kid clothes.

– Forehead thermometer (so many out there. I’d just do some homework)

– Rectal thermometer (If you’re ever worried about temperature, they have you do this. Sometimes the forehead can be a couple degrees hotter).

– Oh… Amazon has some new mom’s club or something. I dont know it requires prime or not… But it was well worth it!

Apps

– Timeshel – This lets you choose your favorite 15 or 30 photos a month and then mails the prints. Quality is great and I found them a month after Emma was born. They let me go back and create that month so I’ve been sending these to us and the moms since Emma was born.

– Ink – This makes thank you notes SO much easier. Snap a photo of the baby in the outfit, wiht the gift, etc. and then you can make a thank you postcard right on your phone. People LOVE them so much more than handwritten notes and I’m real big about making sure we thank everyone for stuff

– Sound Sleeper – I used this SO much with both of the kids. Even now, I use it from time to time if they’r having a hard time going to sleep. It’s like a sound machine on your phone.

Embryo Storage

We have our remaining embryos at Ovation. We had done offsight between Emma and Ellie, but I think they were still local to Austin. I would be nervous to transport too. I don’t have a strong opinion on this though since TFC is pretty stringent on the companies they work with. I think it would depend on the savings and how soon you’d want to try for a second because you’ve got to pay to bring them back I think as well.