Do's and Doozies

So my dear friend and soon-to-be-new-mommy, Molly, asked for advice on baby "stuff." So here's a quick sum-up of do's and doozies when it comes to baby gear. Granted, Brady is only 6.5 months old. And this is strictly my opinion. Every family/mommy/baby is different.

Do's: Brand Newborn
Bassinet
SwaddleMe (small size only, by the time he fit in the large we had to stop swaddling him)
Sleep sheep
Postpartum yoga class
Happiest Baby on the Block
Insert for carseat so baby's head doesn't dump over

3-6 Months
"the office"
Bumbo chair

Throughout
A GREAT camera
Infant positioner
Bibs
Burp clothes
Boppy Infant Bouncer
Gumdrop pacifiers (the pacifier they give you at Northside)
"Peas n Carrots" pacifier leash
Mirror (anything to make "tummy time" more interesting)
"Wheels" for the carseat
Twilight Turtle nightlight
bath chair
video monitor
Circo Pajamas from Target
Avent BPA-free bottles
Activity mat
Infant Tylenol drops (for fevers and ear infections)
Glider/recliner - something that's comfortable for YOU to sleep in while holding a baby all night.

Doozies:
Co-Sleeping Box
First aid & grooming kit (hospital sends you home w/ a rectal thermometer and a boogie bulb, pharmacies send you home w/ syringes to dispense antibiotics. The only thing we use regularly out of this kit is the nail clipper.)
Luvs diapers
Any contraption that claims to protect you from little boys who conveniently pee after you remove their diaper.
Moses basket
Don't buy yourself clothes - especially for a newborn. People love to give these as gifts and they
outgrow them faster than they can wear them all.

Do's: If Breastfeeding:
Hooter Hider
Medela Pump-In-Style
The Nursing Mother's Companion
My Breast Friend
Lansinoh Nursing Pads
A back-lit digital clock for the nursery

Six Months Old Already!?

Brady went to the doc today for his six month check up. He weighed in at a whopping 18 lbs 5 oz (61st percentile), measured 27 inches (66th percentile) and his head measured 45 cm (79th percentile...Tim is very proud). He didn't nap at daycare, which is not terribly uncommon. So by the time we got to vaccine time, he was pretty cranky and tired. The eye exam really wore him out. They put a band-aid over one eye and hooked electrodes to his forehead, temple and back of the head. We watched a funny video featuring mostly white and dark grey stripes that progressively danced smaller. He did ok, but it was frustrating for him. His also got his third DTaP vaccine, Hib vaccine, Pneumococcal and Rotavirus vaccines. He did pretty darn well. He cried a good bit with the three needles, but he got over it quick enough.

So what else have we been up to these past couple weeks? We've been sitting up, laughing, roaring, reaching for daddy, flying in airplanes, zooming in trains, buses and rental cars. We visited with Grammy and outgrew even more jammies! It's been crazy!

From Snow to Sunburn

It is amazing that this past week began with a massive snowstorm and ended with a sunburn and a small case of dehydration. Last Sunday was Brady's first encounter with snow. He was fascinated. We put him in his buzz chair and faced him toward the window. It snowed with force for over 5 hours. Many county schools and daycare facilities were closed the next day due to icy roads. Thankfully, ours was not one of them!

This week Brady and Dad were buddies. Mom was a lunatic with the work thing, so Dad got Brady up, fed, burped, dressed, packed and out the door (he also somehow managed to feed the dogs and clothe himself). BW continues to eat rice cereal with a spoon and he's making progress sitting up on his own. We finally put batteries in his penguin toy. Man, does he love to bat at it now! He also doesn't mind being on his tummy. He will reach for a toy with one hand, followed by the other. He's definitely headed toward army crawling.

Brady's Grams and Bubs came to visit him this past weekend. Poor Bubs had caught the funk, so he was barred from holding the baby. But he laughed and 'goo-goo'd from afar. BW was quite taken with his Grams. He looked around for her, constantly smiled and reached for her face. He was also the perfect angel at the fancy restaurant for Bubs' birthday. He slept the entire time. Too bad he missed out on all the funky, cool lighting fixtures. He would have loved that. Or perhaps somehow he knew this wasn't the type of place to feature his *true* favorite fixture - the neon beer sign.

It was 70 degrees this weekend. BW and I went to watch Dad play soccer today. I was good to keep Brady out of the sun, but not so diligent with my own skin. My forehead and the left side of my body are just a bit red.