Can You Believe It's Another Post About Hairbows

I finally found a tutorial on how to make interchangeable stretchy headbands on pluckymomo to put all of these darn hair bows I have been making like a crazy person. I also finally gave in to Pinterest. I actually really like having a place where I can find and keep fun ideas for my crafts. Here is what my house looks like right now. Can you tell I am trying to find stuff to do to fill nap time. Can someone please tell the hubs I need a craft room.

P.S. I am making this and this tomorrow. The open back dress will be a trial run for Baby Love's 1st Birthday outfit. I'm always thinking ahead people.

Swaddle Strap

Holy cow I am not sure how we lived before this amazing product came into our lives. You see my child needs to be made into what we like to call the baby burrito every night to be able to sleep. I happen to be pretty good at making this happen.My child sadly is better at undoing all of my hard swaddling work and this made sleeping through the night very difficult.

Can you see her  left arm already out of her swaddle? It is kind of fun to watch her on night vision
trying her hardest to break free after I spent a good 10 minutes trying to get her swaddled as tight as possible.

Fast forward to me looking up a new swaddling technique and coming across the Swaddle Strap. This might be the greatest baby product out there! Especially if only slept 2-3 hours in the past week.

Trying on our swaddle strap or the first time

It is literally a baby proof swaddle. It is cute and comfy and it magically helped my 1 month old finally sleep through the night and fall asleep all on her own without being rocked. It is a Christmas miracle! 

The first time we tried it out was for nap time. Normally I have always had to rock baby in my arms to get her to fall asleep before placing her in her swing or bouncy seat. If I just set her down after about a minute she would start screaming and I would pick her up. Well after strapping her Swaddle Strap on I set her down in her swing and waited for the fussing to commence but it never came.  My child who had never just sat and chilled on her own was enjoying swinging and taking everything in and after about 15 minutes she was asleep and I was in shock.

Now we are only  few weeks in and we have had our good nights (sleeping for 3 hours waking to nurse then back to sleep) and we have had our bad nights (not sleeping at all literally). I thought it would take a few weeks or even months before she started sleeping through the night so imagine my surprise after putting her down at 9 and waking up at 1 to her fussing.  I had not slept 4 consecutive hours in quite sometime. It actually scared me and I jumped out of bed thinking something was wrong. Well everything was just fine and my little lady got changed and I decided to try giving her her paci which hadn't been very successful earlier (she hated the darn thing and wold spit it out) and see what she did. Imagine my surprise when I went in to check on her because she was so quiet and she was sound asleep all on her own.

Fast forward to last night and I me trying to not get my hopes up  that this could all happen again. After being  up night until 3am the night before I had been reading all kinds of articles about "How to get your baby to sleep through the night" and everything seemed so harsh and so not me. We went through our nighttime routine bath, eat, play, cuddle, rock to sleep, swaddle, bed. Little miss only lasted a few minutes after eating and was out like a light so I decided to try swaddling her up while she was asleep. The swaddle strap is so easy to put on she never even flinched when I was putting it on. She did stir when I started wrapping her legs up (she has to have those wrapped up also or she will kick herself to sleep plus her perfect little toes get so cold), but she never fully woke up. Once again we all slept for 4 hours and woke up to get changed. I kept her arms swaddled up, but unswaddled her legs to change her and feed her. After she was clean and full I swaddled her feet back up rocked her in my arms and once again she was out.

She dd randomly wake up once after that because she as relieving herself (I thought that would sound better then pooping.) This takes her a while and you NEVER change her right after the initial poop because she is just going to do it 2-3 more times and Daddy and I have learned after changing diaper after diaper so we give her some to finish so I went and layed back down in bed giving her some alone time. Imagine my surprise when I woke up 3 hours later and she is passed out in her Swaddle Strap. I couldn't remember why her feet were unwrapped then slowly I remembered that I was going to change her 3 hours earlier, but had passed out.

I honestly can't believe this product could work so well, but after reading the reviews and talking with the people at Anna & Eve I can honestly say the Swaddle Strap really does work and it has helped our whole family sleep better then  I ever thought possible.

Sweet Sleep

Crafts

I made These and These yesterday and they turned out super cute. I am off to buy more supplies and hitting up Ebay to make some more.

Say Wha

I just had to document this moment so I never forget!

Mckinly slept for 4 hours IN A ROW!!!

11pm-3am!!

Mama is So happy and rested!

First night in her crib at 3 weeks.
Don't let this fool you she woke up 5 min. later because she wasn't swaddled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I never thought this day would come and I pray it continues.

 MGD slept from 4am-8am!

My view from bed every night.
No matter how tightly I swaddle her she always gets that one arm out and then it s over.

I think we can call that Seeing Through The Night people!

1 Month

Mckinley Grace

It has taken me a week to even write this post and I think I could add to it ever day. You have already changed so much since we first met 4 weeks ago today. It is such a strange feeling because it feels like you have always been here, but it feels like it was just yesterday I was still pregnant and wondering when you would finally arrive. I feel like I already know every little thing about you and every inch of you. It could be because I can't get enough of you and I love to kiss every little inch of you especially your sweet feet and that belly.

You are such a busy little lady which is no surprise because you are my child. Daddy and I sit around like dopes just staring at you and freaking out about every little cute think you do. We also try to decide who you look like more. I think you have my nose, mouth, and ears and I think you have daddy's eyes, hair, and face shape.


I feel like we already have a little routine going and now that we have successfully taken to the bottle daddy gets to hang with you at night and do a little daddy Kinley bonding and mommy gets a little extra sleep time. We haven't ventured out of the house a ton, but we have gone a few places like dinner and a few shopping trips and if you are  asleep it goes pretty smoothly. That was not the case in Target the other day, but we will keep working on that. You have also finally given in to the power of the paci at little more. At first you HATED it and would scream and literally throw it out of your mouth. You also finally fit into anything other then newborn clothes which makes our outfit choices even more fun, but we are sad we can't wear any of the precious outfits Nonni got us.

We are still working on sleeping at night, but we are still doing pretty good as long as you will stay in your swaddle and not Houdini yourself out of it. You love being all wrapped up and snuggled, but you love trying to break out even more even though you can't sleep with your hands all willy nilly.

I am not going to lie, but I love that 99% you don't want anything or anyone, but me. I love that only I hold the source of  food and comfort for you and like I told Daddy God has given me this one pleasure because in a few years you will be a daddy's girl who wants nothing to do with me so for now I am totally and completely ok with being your end all be all.

Daddy and I had our first "night" out and I wasn't sure how we were going to do. We dropped you off with off with Nonni and Car Car, taught them how to use your diapers and  bottles and set off to a wedding shower. I was glad to be out of the house, but  your daddy and I missed you like crazy and were so ready to get back to you and take you home so we could snuggle without having to give you up to anyone else. I am looking forward to getting out of the house more, but I plan on taking you with me and spending as much time together as i possibly can before I have to go back to work. We still have to work on the whole freaking out when we are out somewhere, but we will get there.

You are a fantastic eater and you have already gotten so big from the peanut we brought home. My favorite time of day is when we snuggle and you eat and I play with your hair and rub your back. I love watching your eyes look at me and take everything in around you. You are so ready to get going and see everything there is to see, but mama is ready for you to stay little forever.

I am not sure if you like them or not, but Mama and Daddy are loving your cloth diapers. I don't think you really like any diapers because you despise being wet or dirty and even when we had to use the yucky disposable diapers while we were in between sizes of our cloth diapers you would scream the second you peed. This makes for more diaper changes, but we would probably need to do this anyways since your diapers don't have all those chemicals that pull the wetness away which means you can feel it right away. We are praying this makes life easier in the future and we are hoping you will want to start potty training earlier and it will be easier since you don't like to feel wet. Our gdiapers are the favorite so far. They work just like a regular diaper and they are so easy to clean. We are slowly starting to use the Best Bottoms, but they are a bit bulky when they are snapped up to the smallest size so they are our backup diaper and they will be our daycare diaper since they are easier to change the liner.

I can't wait to see what the future holds for our little family and I can't wait to learn even more about you. You can't imagine how you have made our lives even better. Your daddy and I thought we have it good, but we never knew it could be this good. So for now we will enjoy every second of it and we promise to try to remember every little detail before we let is pass us by.

Mckinley Grace stay sweet and remember we may not know what we are doing and we may be making it up as we go, but we love more then anything and we are trying our best everyday.

1 Month Milestones

Weight almost 9 lbs.
Length almost 20 inches
Cloth diapers

Sleeping in your own bed

First bottle

First bath which you now love and is a huge part of our bedtime routine

First outing to Target
First dinner out

First time away for Mama and Daddy

You finally took the paci
You gained 3 oz. from birth to 1 week (my little piggy) and I am sure you have gained even more
You have finally outgrown most of your newborn clothes
You hate being wet
You LOVE nursing
You sneeze more then anyone I know but they are the cutest sneezes ever
You don't particularly care for the carseat, but you pass out once we start driving
You are taking in everything with those beautiful eyes
Your hair is still blond, but everyone thinks it looks red (Mama and Daddy don't see it), and it looks brown when it is dirty
You love being rocked to sleep in Mam's arms or in your bouncer and you like a good vigirous rock

Mckinley's 102 year old Great Great Aunt Dolly

Mama's Favorite Thing To Do

First Night In Her Big Girl Bed.
This Position Didn't Last Long Because She Wasn't Swaddled.

Trying To Get A Good Picture Of Her Blond Hair

First Target Trip

Loving Her Daddy And The Bottle

Looking Like A Big Girl

She Moves A Lot In Her Sleep Hence The Bow In The Eye

Team Doyle

First Cloth Diapers

Mama's First Drink

Sweet Daddy Kisses

Daddy Mckinley Time

Fluffy Butt

First Daddy Bath. He Did A Great Job

Jingle Bells Batman Smells

 If you are one of the lucky few to be included on our Christmas card list then you are probably wondering what could we possibly do to top last years card? The answer is

"I have no idea!"

You see I start planning next years cards the second after I hit purchase on Snapfish and this years card has to be the most Amesome! Our poor child had no clue what kind of family she was being born into. I hate to say it, but she really has no chance of being "normal" and I say that in the most loving way and realy what I am saying is her parents are weird.

Before we discuss this years card let's look back at the previous 3 years.

Christmas 2008

I honestly don't think Brent knew what he was getting himself into when he married me. I mean I am sure he had some idea that I wasn't right, but I don't think he ever expected what he got. This was our first attempt at making every one's Christmas just a little ore cheery. I think this was  a bit toned down for us, but we had to start somewhere. I made our gloriously awesome shirts and they are still hiding somewhere in a closet just waiting to be brought back out. Brent's had giant pom poms and mine was covered in jingle bells. It was Christmas magic.

Christmas 2009

Imagine my surprise as I was browsing through the intimates aisle at my favorite shopping destination and came across these footed Santa onesies. I couldn't call Brent fast enough to ask him if he would wear one if I bought it. Of course he said H-E-double hockey sticks (my mom would kill me if I actually typed a curse word) Yeah! The best part was these were "girls" onesies and we had to go with the girls XXL so it would fit B right in certain areas. The most important thing about our Santa footy onesies is if we ever lose power and are snowed in by a blizzard we will not freeze because these things are so stinkin hot! I almost passed out twice from laughing so hard and from getting over heated.

Christmas 2010

I think we hit our stride with Christmas cards this year. I am afraid that we may never be able to top these pictures ever again they were just too darn good. It doesn't hurt that our outfits were super fantastic. It makes it really easy to creat such amazingly glorious Christmas cards when you mother has a closet full of Christmas sweaters. Now the only problem is when your mother actually wears these sweaters during Christmas and makes you swear you won't ruin her sweaters because she payed a lot of money for them (no this is not a joke.) We have actually been stopped by a group of kids going to a "Tacky Sweater Party" to ask her where she got her sweater. I can honestly sai I ahve never been so proud of my mother.

This year we have the added element of cuteness

but what can we do to top the previous years. I am starting to panic a little. I bet none of you knew how stressful planning our Christmas cards can be.

I start with the concept: tacky sweateers and turtle necks, footy pajamas, etc. Next we move to poses and styling. After that we take our pictures and I have to edit and chose the best poses. Now we have come to the most difficult part, deciding on something witty for our message.

I am not the cleverest wordsmith, but sometimes I can come up with some good ones, but it takes massive amounts of time, energy, and reserch to come up with the perfect Christmas card slogan. I think last years was pretty good, but that only means I have to come up with something even better this year.

 Well now I am really stressing talking about all of this. I am going to go scour the internet for some starter ideas and pray the bambino sleeps for a few hours to make up for the banshee screaming she did whenw e went to visit her Nonni.

Swaddle Strap

I just saw a post on The Bump about The Swaddle Strap. What a GREAT product idea! Mckinley is a swaddle Houdini, but she Loves being swaddled and won't sleep without it and she always wakes up trying to free her precious little hands with lovely grunts and some screaming if we let her lay there long enough. I think if we had this she would sleep much more soundly.

I just got done watching the product review and it seems so simple and the baby looks so happy.

Let's all watch and see how fabulous it looks

.I have to say I am sold!

Broken

That is how I felt last night. Mckinley pretty much broke me as she layed there screaming and NOTHING I tried seemed to help. The sad thing is my brain just couldn't come up with anything new to try to help her. I can't believe I didn't remember how much she likes for me to rock her like crazy with my feet in her bouncer/vibrating seat.

When it was time for bed tonight this is how I got her down initially and then I rocked her in my arms after she woke up 5 minutes after putting her down. '

Now we are awake for our first feeding (11:00). I fed Baby Girl and she of course started screaming like a banshee so I placed her in her bouncer and started rocking. So far we are doing pretty good and I am hoping she will pass out so I can swaddle her up.

It makes me laugh how hard I shake her in this thing and I will definitely video it some day. The darn kid just likes it rough I guess.

Pray for me that my child sleeps tonight.

Funnies

Late Night Entertainment

This is what I watch to entertain baby and myself when she lovingly wakes me up in the middle of the night all because she wants to eat (so rude). Check Out Mr. Arturo Trejo and his adorable little man Jose Luis. This guy is hilarous.

Since Baby Won't Sleep

I needed Something to read and this is really good.

New To Do

Brent goes back to work Monday (Mama is not happy and may cry!) so I am going to need something to do to keep me busy while Baby Girl naps.

A while back I purchased a great deal off of Living Social. For $36 I got a 2 hour session and an 8x10 picture of Mckinley and I will probably order a few other pictures because she is too stinkin cute not too. I am not sure what props they will have to take her picture in so I am planning on bringing some head bands, but first I need to make the headbands.

 I already have some flowers made, but I want to try to make some pretty silk flowers too. I didn't have any headbands so I had to order some baby sized ones from Etsy. They are pretty neat because they have a little band on them to switch out different clips.

Now all I need is pretty silky material to make my flowers. I am thinking a pretty white and maybe pink flower will look pretty on the munchkin.

Here is what I am looking at making This and This.

Good times

Hurt

Have you ever hurt some one's feelings without meaning too? I hate when this happens because it feels SO much worse. My broken toe is nothing compared to feeling bad about hurting some one I love feelings. I know I can't change or fix it, but I can remember this moment in the future and how I made someone else feel. All I know is 5am baby snuggles mae it a little better, but the toe still hurts.

love her more then life itself even when she wants to rage all night.
what can I say she's a party girl!

What We Did Last Night



1. Celebrated my sisters 32 birthday
2. Broke my toe
3. Gave baby first bottle
4. Changed first out and about diaper

It was a good night.