Nate’s First Cow

Posted on May 12, 2011 by lauren

A few weeks ago we took Nate to Airfield Farm, a wonderful gem in the middle of Dublin. Unfortunately it started pouring rain and Nate was getting sick with a cold, so we had to cut the trip short. We did get to see a calf, a pregnant mini horse and eat some ah-maz-ing cakes by the outstanding Louise Lennox. If you haven’t been to Airfield, you absolutely have to go. It is a great day out for kids of all ages and a wonderful way to get some country into these cityslicker babies.

On Sustainable Saturdays there’s a great vintage and craft market. There’s also a book exchange, so be sure to pack along a few of your old books and you could take home a pressie for yourself.

Teeth

Posted on May 9, 2011 by lauren

Did I mention Nate has two teeth? Well, Nate has two teeth! Yay! This boy has been teething since he was 4 months old. Everyone told us “It can take a long time” No kidding! Four months of drool and tears and finally we have some teeth. They are pretty much the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Now that we have teeth, we’ve started to “brush”.

There are lots of options in the world of baby toothpaste, a world I was previously unfamiliar. You can start brushing baby teeth as soon as they appear. We put a little dab of toothpaste on a cloth and scrub the tiny teeth. Once he’s bigger, we’ll use a toothbrush. The important thing is setting up good habits for Nate and us.

The market for toothpaste runs from big brands like Aquafresh or Colgate for around €2 a tube to specialist homeopathic brands like Weleda or AloeDent for €4. You’re bound to find a wide variety at Boots, but smaller pharmacies my be limited. Right now we’re trying the Weleda. I like that it is all natural and not tested on animals, but it is double the price of less holistic brands.

I’ve only ever used Aquafresh for toothpaste. Seriously, I’m a brand evangelist. So a part of me wants to make Nate use Aquafresh because it would be funny. (Yeah, that’s my parenting style) We put a little dab of toothpaste on a cloth and scrub the tiny teeth. Once he’s bigger, we’ll use a toothbrush. The important thing is setting up good habits for Nate and us.

I’ll do anything to keep this kid handsome. Lady babies look out!

Happy Mother’s Day Mom

Posted on May 8, 2011 by lauren

It’s Mother’s Day in the US and my mom’s first time as a granny! She is an amazing grandma to Nate, sending lots of love all the way from Texas. While I love her dearly, I have to question her decision to dress us in matching plaid jumpers. Every Mother’s Day she’d make us matching dresses and we’d go out to lunch together. So mom, today I’m wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, just to make it easy on ya!

Despite her dubious fashion choices in the late 80s, she was (and is) a beautiful, poised and incredibly kind woman. Nate is very lucky to have her as a granny. I’m sure he’ll get in lots of trouble with her as he gets older.

I know it is really hard on her to be far away from us, but I appreciate her willingness to let me go on adventures far from home (first to Boston, then to Dublin). I wouldn’t be the woman I am without learning from her. My childhood was full of fun and projects and trips to museums, zoos, parks, shops. There was never a moment left empty, never a dull day. I plan on doing the same with Nate. She definitely wan’t a Tiger Mom, more of a Kangaroo Mom, always taking me along with her as her little sidekick. She might be a bit of a Bunny Mom too, nothing but kisses and cuddles and the odd carrot!

Cool Tricks

Posted on May 5, 2011 by lauren

Nate is starting to interact with us a lot more now. It is amazing thinking that only a few months back we were cheering his first awkward jab towards the items dangling from his play gym. Now he giggles, dances (well, rocks back and forth), waves and claps his hands. I’m starting to see a little personality peek through and see a lot of mischief in those eyes! My dad always asks if he has any new tricks. Finally I can say he does!

How adorable is his little outfit today. We got it the mail yesterday and I couldn’t wait to dress up Nate. I totally grew up with OshKosh B’Gosh and the metal fasteners brought back so many memories (particularly a purple and red striped corduroy ensemble). This is a vintage find from Edith’s Closet on Etsy who I found via the Little Vintage Style gallery on Hart + Sew. I think I’ll have to dress him in it for his trip to the US Embassy to get his citizenship!

Nate’s Birth Story on Mama.ie

Posted on May 5, 2011 by lauren

Nate’s birth story is featured on Mama.ie today! I’m really pleased that Lisa let me share my positive birth story with her readers. It really was an easy birth!

Now that you’ve heard the birth story, I thought I’d share our post-birth story. Chris will kill me for this. I was part of the Community Midwives scheme in Holles St, so it was just me, Chris and our midwife, Fiona, in the deliver room. Every so often Fiona would have to leave to check on women just arriving to the ward or to answer the pager. She told us she was never more than a couple of doors away and that there were lots of other midwives nearby. If anything were to happen and we needed help we were to push a big red button behind the bef. Of course, she meant if I were to start delivering the baby with no one around or had some other emergency.

Well, after Nate was born, the cord was cut and he was given to me to nurse. Fiona had to leave the room for a moment to check on another woman in labor, so she left the three of us alone to enjoy the moment. Nate didn’t nurse for long before he started crying. Chris and I both panicked. This was the first baby either of us had seen in about 15 years. We were exhausted, tired, totally loopy and the baby was obviously distressed. (We had yet to learn that babies cry, a lot). Chris, my hero, jumped into action. Baby is crying. Can’t stop it. Must be something wrong. Push. The. Button.

Within seconds several midwives ran into the room and stared at us holding the crying baby. Fiona jumped into the room. “Is everything OK with the baby?” I said I didn’t know, he was crying and I didn’t know what to do. She just laughed and ushered the confused group of midwives out of the room. Then she put her arm around us and said, “I think you both need a cup of tea.”

I think Nate looks very suspicious of the silly parents he just got.

My Red Balloon

Posted on April 20, 2011 by lauren

We got this print for Nate’s room a few weeks before he was born. Chris and I wanted something special and searched all over Etsy before we found Trafalgar Square. It took a while to decide on this print, everything in the shop is so lovely. Every time I look at the shop I want to buy a few more prints, especially the elephants!

7 months

Posted on April 1, 2011 by lauren

7 Months: We discovered your true passion, eating. We can’t make enough food. You’ve had lamb stew, yogurt, loads of veg, avocado, banana and lots of rice cakes. Meal time is always funny.

View Nate’s previous monthly photos

Sleeping Like a Baby

Posted on March 25, 2011 by lauren

Prebaby, I thought surely babies knew how to sleep. Where else would be get the phrase “sleeping like a baby”. And then there was the beautiful, if not misleading, Mila’s Daydreams that made me think all babies would be happy to pose during deep, blissful naptimes.

Then I met Nate. The most anti-sleep baby on the planet. And I discovered an awful truth about humans–we need to be taught to sleep (and eat, talk, play, walk–we are almost as useless as the panda). At 7 months, Nate had yet to sleep through the night. We had a whole host of problems at the beginning related to feeding and reflux, but that cleared and now he was waking up just to get a little late night mommy time. While I love being an object of his affection, the sleepless night were getting a little out of hand and I was getting a lot grumpy.

So, last week I sucked it up and started the dreaded, and ridiculously named, sleep training. Ugh, I hate that term and nothing short of the feeding debate (breast or bottle) will raise the cockles of new moms like the question of sleep. We tried cosleeping, which I honestly loved. Nothing is sweeter than snuggling close to my little man, but he stopped sleeping then too. I could only be woken up by tiny baby fists ripping out my hair so many times before I kicked him out of bed.

Chris and I read several books and talked to my brilliant MIL (a PHN and sleep expert), weighed up all the options and took the plunge. I’ll give you the spoiler first: Nate is now sleeping through the night! But it took lots of tears from baby and mom to get there.

We agreed on a bedtime routine and feeding schedule: Nate nurses at 5ish, gets a bath or massage, has dinner around 7, plays for a bit, nurses around 7:45, goes up to his room for story time and a round of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, then kisses and bed by 8:30. We gradually want to bring bedtime up earlier, but that is going to take a lot of dinner-time coordination on my part.

Night 1: We put Nate down in his cot with a soft toy at 8:30pm. Chris sat next to his cot and softly shushed him or sang for a bit and then just sat still. And he cried and cried, and I cried. It was horrible and went against all my maternal instincts. Two hours later, Nate fell asleep. He was up and down the rest of the night as we kept vigil beside the cot.

Night 2: Same routine. Cried for 30 minutes before going to sleep. Woke up once to feed during the night and took about 30 minutes to get back to sleep.

Night 3: Same routine, moved the chair a little further away. Cried for 30 seconds. Played with toy for a few minutes. SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!

Each subsequent night we’ve moved the chair further away until we eventually just wait at the door and he keeps sleeping through the night! Now, naps are a different story but the jackhammering outside isn’t helping the situation. It was frustrating and difficult the first night, but the reward really has been seeing him fall asleep on his own and snuggling up to his little cot toy.

Every mom has her own journey to take and this route might not be right for you. If you have any questions or want to know more about the book we used (I have it on PDF) email me.

Nate’s Domain

Posted on March 9, 2011 by lauren

Here’s a peak inside Nate’s nursery. I took these photos before Nate arrived, so a few things have changed as we learned to live practically inside the space. We had a few limitations to the room. We rent our house that came with a double bed, so we had to leave it in the room. We also can’t paint or change fixtures. On the bright side, the room has a lovely old iron fireplace in the room and a built-in wardrobe with mint green doors.

This isn’t how I imagined Nate’s nursery at the beginning. I thought it might be dark green and woodland creatures, but after finding the aqua striped duvet at Ikea and the monster print, everything seemed to fall into place. I call it cartoon monster explosion. I really love how bright and colorful the room is. I made all the pillow cases while waiting for Nate on the early days of maternity leave.

His cot bed and cot top changer are from Mothercare and we love it, a great space saving solution to the changing table that we don’t have room for. We found the awesome T-Rex clock made from an old vinyl record, stack of 1960s kids books and old nursery rhyme tin at the Dublin Flea market over the summer.

I made this mobile of little felt animals and foolishly thought it would be enough stimulation for the little guy. I was wrong and he now has another mobile attached to the cot.

There isn’t enough room for a dresser, so a quick and easy storage solution is the small metal bookcase and storage boxes from Ikea. We’ve changed the configuration a few times to suit our needs. It’s great to have storage that can grow along with you.