Milestones

All babies have their own time when they reach their different milestones.  For me being a first time parent I was obsessed with Audrina hitting all her milestones "on time." I would read books and blogs about when babies hit certain milestones such as rolling over, sitting up, grabbing toys, etc and I would freak out each month hoping Audrina will hit these milestones on time. I became kind of obsessive in ways because I didn't want my child to be delayed in any way. I would start comparing my child to others. Oh that baby is already rolling over, why isn't mine. I think a big part of it is we all want our babies to be advanced for  their age. Thats why us parents love to brag if our child does do a milestone earlier than usual. I've had customers who have had kids that started walking at 7 months! Now thats impressive. The more I freaked out about the milestones the more I realized that each baby is unique in their own way. They will hit each milestone at their own time. Audrina is 6 months old and I have seen babies that can crawl and pull themselves up at this age. I am happy that she is now content on her stomach. When she's ready to crawl she will. She's already doing the rocking motion and its hilarious! I want to enjoy each milestone I can because the first year in a babys life flies by too fast and soon enough she will be running away from me. Tear. My advice to new mamas and papas is to embrace each milestone, some babies may be more advanced than others and never feel bad if your child is not hitting the milestone "on time." Babies find their own time to do what they want.

Audrina 3 weeks old. Photos by Lisa Lizzaraga

How did she get this big?

Cloth Diapering Vs Disposables



Audrina Sporting her love for cloth diapers



I chose to write on the topic of cloth diapering Vs. disposable diapers. It took me a good month to decide to convert from disposables to cloths because I had a hard time understanding how cloth diapers work. There are many different ways you can cloth diaper and there are so many brands out there on the market. . Theres Happy Heinys, GroVia, Flip, BumGenius, Fuzzibunz and millions of other ones out there. Theres the All in ones, pocket diapers, ones that you can take out the liner and reuse the shell of the diaper, it can give you a headache thinking of all the types they have created. They even make them with cute designs and very fashionable colors. For me it took 3 different brands to finally choose the type that I liked Now to some and maybe most, cloth diapering may seem gross or inconvenient. I was a skeptic also. When I finally chose the brand that I preferred (Fuzzibunz) and tried them out for a week, I fell in love. Not only were they cute as hell on my bitty baby, but there was no stench to it. The fuzzibunz is a pocket diaper and it has an outer shell and then a pocket where the cloth pad goes which holds the urine. I use a liner with the cloth diapers in case she goes number 2 so I can flush the liner down the toilet and not worry about a hot mess. Now washing them is totally easy, its basically like doing a load of clothes. You use special detergent for it, but I usually prewash, regular wash cycle on hot, then rinse one more time. Now the price of the diapers are pricey upfront. Each diaper is from 15-25 a diaper depending on which brand you prefer. The ones I liked were 17.95 and I bought a good amount to last me two full days without washing. Greatest investment I made so far for my child. They are also good up til she's potty trained, which hopefully I can accomplish that before age 2! Cloth diapering is not for everybody. If it fits with your lifestyle then go for it!

Top Reasons Why I Like Cloth Diapers

1. Environmentally friendly

2. Soft for my babys bum and not as many rashes

3. Easy to use, and pays off in the end of not buying disposables

4. Cute as hell

New Year New Me

I thought a great way to kick start the new year is to do a blog. Reasons for this; I can basically keep a record of my childs development, to release any thoughts and feelings that I feel, to let others read and relate to the everyday things that I go through and last, to be able to write again. I finished my BS 2 years ago and I have not written anything out (besides FB posts and repair tags to customers) in so long and I looooove to write. New Year New Me! I have 5 New Year Resolutions for 2011. I would say 80% of the time these will not stick, but I am determined to stick with them, well hopefully at least one resolution.

1. How many of you will stop eating McDonalds and start eating carrot sticks thsi year? Ummm Meee! Well, hopefully. I need to be on a healthier diet. This means Mrs. Fields I will have to retire your oh so delicious cookies :(

2. Get into shape. I remember a long time ago when I could run 5 miles, now I run a mile and I am sweating like a pig. I didn't get a two year gym membership at the best local gym in town for nothing. I'm not trying to get a six pack, although that would be nice! Gym at least 2-3 times a week.

3. For my business I would love to find new ways to promote it. The Watchman needs more exposure!!

4. I need to be more organized. Plain and simple everything needs to be organized in my life. From my car to my kitchen. I will not be a hoarder!!

5. Last, but not least I want to cook more. Hubby has been cooking for me for way too long. Lucky am I ? yes. He deserves some good home cooking too. I'm not a bad cook, but also not a good one. Anyone have any recipes for me?

Can I stick to the resolutions, I hope so......